War crimes, not genocide committed against Rohingya: Myanmar probe

Military operations from August 2017 forced about 740,000 Rohingya to flee over the border into sprawling camps in Bangladesh

A Myanmar-appointed panel concluded Monday that some soldiers likely committed war crimes against its Rohingya Muslim community but the military was not guilty of genocide, findings swiftly condemned by rights groups.

The “Independent Commission Of Enquiry (ICOE)” released the results of its probe just ahead of a ruling Thursday by the UN’s top court on whether to impose urgent measures to stop alleged ongoing genocide in Myanmar. It conceded some security personnel had used disproportionate force and committed war crimes and serious human rights violations, including the “killing of innocent villagers and destruction of their homes”. But the crimes did not constitute genocide, the panel decided. “There is insufficient evidence to argue, much less conclude, that the crimes committed were undertaken with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical (sic), racial or religious group.” Military operations from August 2017 forced about 740,000 Rohingya Muslim to flee over the border into sprawling camps in Bangladesh.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar has always maintained the crackdown by the armed forces, or Tatmadaw, was justified to root out Rohingya insurgents after a series of attacks left a dozen security personnel dead. But refugees carried consistent accounts of widespread murder, rape, torture and arson with them and have so far largely refused to return for fear of their safety…

31 Rohingya refugees pushed to Indian territory by Bangladesh forces: BSF

On January 18, BSF troops posted at the border observed ‘suspicious movement’ from the Bangladesh territory. Later, the Border Guards Bangladesh made a telephone call and confirmed the activity

Latest News:  The BSF on Sunday said that the 31 Rohingya refugees apprehended from the ‘zero line’ between India and Bangladesh’s border near Tripura’s Rayemura were “pushed” by the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB).

On January 18, BSF troops posted at the border observed ‘suspicious movement’ from the Bangladesh territory. Later, the BGB made a telephone call and confirmed the activity, discovering a group of Rohingya refugees, BSF DIG Brajesh Kumar told ANI. A total of six men, nine women, and 16 children were found trying to enter into India. The BGB alleged that the Rohingyas were “pushed by the BSF,” into their territory.

“We alerted our troops and next morning approached the BGB to hold a flag meeting. The meeting was held on January 19. They said that there were 31 Rohingyas and claimed they were pushed by the BSF towards Bangladesh,” Brajesh told ANI. Refuting the BGB’s claims, the BSF asked them to identify lapses in the Indian side of the fence and show the place from where the crossing might have happened.

“But they could not justify their allegations. They only keep harping that if they are on the Indian side, the BSF should take care of it. In fact, we later came to know that these people were apprehended by the BGB on their side,” he said.

“It is not known from where they were apprehended, but after apprehending them, they snatched their documents and pushed them about 40-50-metre into the Indian territory from the zero line,” Brajesh said.”We also asked them if they crossed from India to Bangladesh, how are their ID cards with them (BGB)? It indicates they were brought by the BGB,” the BSF DIG added..

Contain Source by Business Standard or BS

India's response to the Rohingya crisis is driven by an 'un-fine' balance

Realist response has taken an upper-hand over a humanitarian response

Myanmar is witnessing a military crackdown against the Rohingya ethnic community. Facing extreme violence, hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas have fled from their homes in Myanmar. It is estimated that more than 300,000 have entered Bangladesh. Even as Bangladesh has been stretched in providing relief to these refugees, the Bangladesh government and activists in India have been pushing the Indian government to admit refugees in India. The Indian government for its part has sent relief assistance to Bangladesh for these refugees but has not agreed to accept more Rohingya refugees in India. What is driving the Indian response to this crisis? What are the factors that make this a complex decision? The author analyses in this Business Standard Special.

‘India remains deeply concerned about the situation in Rakhine State in Myanmar and the outflow of refugees from that region’, began a recent statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India. The rest of this short 166-word note focused on strongly condemning the ‘terrorist attacks on Myanmar security forces’, reminded us of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent aid commitment to the strife torn region, and urged the powers that be in Myanmar to handle the situation with ‘maturity’, focus on the welfare of both civilians and security forces, and restore normalcy ‘expeditiously’. Soon after, New Delhi launched Operation Insaniyat offering aid to Rohingya refugees pouring into Bangladesh. Both the statement and the aid make for fitting examples of how India balances competing domestic and foreign policy advocacies and priorities....READ MORE