ARNO Rejects Government’s Investigation Commission

Press Release by Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO) | December 4, 2016

Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO) is strongly opposed to the government’s pretension and lack of honesty, and rejects the 13-member investigation commission formed on 1 December, inter alia, for the following reasons:

1. The military and police crackdown on innocent Rohingya civilian population in Northern Arakan since 9 October is state sponsored. It has been carried out with manifest intention of destroying the Rohingya minority community. Not only Myanmar military top brass but also the State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi is morally, officially and wickedly responsible for it.

2. The investigation commission is headed by Vice-President 1 U Myint Swe, who was much feared former Chief of Military Security Affairs. No Rohingya or Muslim is taken in the commission and it fully represents the perpetrators and their interest. It cannot be taken as impartial and independent.

3. The Myanmar security forces are still indulging in violent killings, rapes and arson attacks in Rohingya villages even when the former UN Secretary-General Mr. Kofi Annan, the head of the Advisory Commission on Arakan, is on his observation tour to Maungdaw District from 2 December.

4. So far, more than 500 innocent Rohingya civilians were killed, many hundreds of women raped, about 3500 houses were burned down, unknown number of people arrested and involuntarily disappeared, and at least 40,000 internally displaced, in addition to systematic destruction of rice, paddy and food products. About 10,000 people fled to Bangladesh. In fact, this level of indescribable criminal atrocities is aimed at forcing the entire community to flee their ancestral homeland of Arakan and make them to wander from place to place with ultimate aims of perishing them.

5. By all legal definition, the Myanmar government is committing genocide and crimes against humanity, including ethnic cleansing, against the Rohingya people. They are international crimes with international jurisdiction. Thus the Rohingya issue is an international issue and it cannot be pleaded as internal affairs of Myanmar.

6. Like all other previously formed inquiry commissions on Rohingya issue, the newly formed Investigation Commission is just for show and impression. It is not trustworthy and we REJECT it totally.

7. We therefore demand an urgent UN sponsored international commission to investigate into genocide and crimes against humanity and bring the perpetrators to justice.

For more details, please contact:
U.K.: Ronnie +44-7783118354
Japan: Zaw Min Htut +81-8030835327
Australia: Dr. Hla Myint +61-423381904
USA: Dr. Mohammed Habib Ullah +1-4438158609
Canada: Nur Hasim +1 (519) 572-5359
Bangladesh: Ko Ko Linn: +880-1726068413

Email: info@rohingya.org
www.rohingya.org