2 Myanmar Soldiers Confess To The Mass Killing And Rapes Of Rohingya Men, Women And Children, And Are Now Facing War Crimes Charges

Photo: Myo Win Tun and Zaw Naing Tun confessed killing and raping Rohingya Muslims in The Hague.

Two members of the Myanmar military that deserted and were later captured have said that they were forced to take part in the mass killing and rape of Rohingya Muslims. The incidents are said to have taken place in 2017.

The confessions were captured on video after the soldiers were detained by the Arakan Army, a rebel group in open conflict with the Myanmar military. While it may be claimed that the soldiers were confessing under duress, there is a huge amount of evidence to back up the mass killings and mass rapes taking place in the north of Myanmar against the ethnic minority Rohingya people.

In the video, one of the soldiers says:

"We destroyed the Muslim villages near Taung Bazar village. We implemented the clearance operations in the night-time as per the command to 'shoot all that you see and that you hear.' We buried a total number of 30 dead bodies in one grave…. We buried a total of 30 dead bodies in one grave ... eight women, seven children, 15 men and elderly."

He also claims that he was told by a military commander that the Rohingya race must be exterminated.

The other says:

"We shot dead and wiped them out according to the order to kill all, irrespective of children or adults."

Fortify Rights, an NGO group operating in the country, said that they believe the confession to be credible. The two soldiers have been handed over to international authorities are now believed to be in the Hague, The Netherlands, where international war crimes are dealt with.

Since 2016 there have been ongoing reports of atrocities in Myanmar where a military loyal to the Buddhist majority government is alleged to be involved in genocide. As many as 700,000 Rohingya people have fled the country into neighbouring Bangladesh (approximately 70% of the total population) and are now living in some of the largest and most squalid refugee camps in the world. The Rohingya have long fought for their own separate state and have at times resorted to violence in order to achieve this goal.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi who currently leads Myanmar, and was once regarded as a hero of human rights and democracy by many in the West, has denied that the military is involved in any wrongdoing, and says that the claims made by the Rohingya and international human rights groups are misleading and incomplete.

Asean Parliamentarians For Human Rights estimates that by 2018 43,000 Rohingya had disappeared, presumed dead. This number is now expected to be far higher.

It will now be upon the international community to stand up for the Rohingya people if they are ever to return to their homeland.