Myanmar army defends crackdown on Rohingya, denies abuse reports

Record ID: 332721

  • Title: Myanmar army defends crackdown on Rohingya, denies abuse reports
  • Date: 28th February 2017
  • Summary: NAYPYITAW, MYANMAR (FEBRUARY 28, 2017) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** CHIEF OF THE GENERAL STAFF, GENERAL MYA TUN OO, TALKING ON PODIUM MEDIA AND MILITARY OFFICERS IN THE MEDIA ROOM MILITARY OFFICERS LISTENING SCREEN READING (Burmese): "MILITARY OF DEFENCE, EXPLAINING MAUNGDAW RIOTS" GENERAL MYA TUN OO SPEAKING ON PODIUM MYA TUN OO SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE)
  • Embargoed: 14th March 2017 16:27
  • Keywords: Myanmar military General Mya Tun Oo Rohingya news conference law defense
  • Location: NAYPYITAW, MYANMAR
  • City: NAYPYITAW, MYANMAR
  • Country: Myanmar
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
  • Reuters ID: LVA00165FOQPX
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Myanmar's military defended its crackdown on the Rohingya minority as a lawful counter-insurgency operation at a rare news conference on Tuesday (February 28).
    It was the first time the country's top generals directly addressed the mounting accusations of human rights abuses. United Nations experts say the abuse may amount to crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
    General Mya Tun Oo, Chief of the General Staff, told reporters that the accusations were "reckless".
    He was referring to reports in the media, quoting Rohingya residents describing the alleged abuses by the military, such as the burning of houses in the area.
    He presented a series of slides with selected media reports claiming the military has "investigated" them and that the villagers told military investigators they did not know about any abuses.
    The military launched the operation after nine policemen were killed in attacks on security posts near the Bangladesh border in October.
    More than 70,000 Rohingya have since fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh, according to U.N. estimates.
    At the conference, the military tried to support its claims by quoting several international observers who have been to the area for a brief period as saying that they did not find any evidence of abuses.
    The visitors, however, such as the U.N. independent human rights investigator Yanghee Lee or Western diplomats based in Yangon, have said the point of their visits was never to carry out conclusive and full-scale investigations.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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