Bangladesh has outright rejected Indian Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on the condition of religious minorities in the country.

The Indian minister, during a debate on their controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill at the Lok Sobha on Monday night, said Hindus, a religious minority in Bangladesh, had “found it impossible” to undertake their religious activities in the country.

Speaking to Dhaka Tribune on Tuesday night, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said: “What they are saying in regards to torture on Hindus is unwarranted as well as untrue.

“There are a very few countries in the world where communal harmony is as good as in Bangladesh. We have no minorities. We are all equal. If he [Amit Shah] stayed in Bangladesh for a few months, he would see the exemplary communal harmony in our country,” he added. 

“They have many problems within their country. Let them fight among themselves. That does not bother us. As a friendly country, we hope that India will not do something that affects our friendly relationship,” the foreign minister further said.

“This matter has just come to our attention. We will study it minutely, and afterwards we will take this matter up with them,” Momen added.

First published in https://www.dhakatribune.com/

The post Bangladesh rejects Amit Shah’s remarks on religious minorities appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Fact-finding mission completes task, shares information with new UN investigative mechanism

File photo: Rohingya refugees leave after attending a demonstration at Camp No 4 (Extension) at Kutupalong’s Modhurchhara in Ukhiya on August 25, 2019 Syed Zakir Hossain/Dhaka Tribune

The United Nations Independent Fact-Finding mission on Myanmar has identified more than 150 individuals who are suspected of being involved in numerous international crimes.

The mission completed its task and shared its findings with a new UN body, called the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, which will now be responsible for follow up and preparing of files for criminal prosecutions.

“Exactly one year ago, this mission concluded that the Myanmar authorities, in particular the Tatmadaw, committed crimes against humanity and war crimes against ethnic communities in Myanmar. We found genocidal acts and the inference of genocidal intent in the Tatmadaw’s 2017 ‘clearance operations’ against the Rohingya population,” Marzuki Darusman, chair of the body, said in a statement at the 42nd session of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva on Monday.

“We recommended further investigation of these crimes, to establish individual criminal responsibility as a basis for future prosecution. I commend this Council for taking the historic decision to mandate an Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar to do exactly that, and I am pleased to report that the Mission has completed the transfer of its materials to the Investigative Mechanism in full compliance with the mandate given to us,” he added.

Darusman further said: “This includes 1,227 interviews with victims and witnesses from a total of 56,500 files. We are confident that the materials we have shared, including a list of over one hundred and fifty people suspected of involvement in numerous international crimes, will serve as an important foundation upon which potential prosecution cases can be prepared. 

“We underline the time-sensitive nature of this information and we encourage the Myanmar Mechanism to make the best use of these files,” he added.

How culpable is Suu Kyi?
Darusman called for an expert evaluation on whether Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi can be legally implicated in the abuses committed against the Rohingya minority in Rakine, reports AFP.

“It will become a legal issue whether or not there is an element of culpability here,” he added, mentioning that the mission was not equipped to determine what level of responsibility Suu Kyi should shoulder for the Rohingya crisis.

Furthermore, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee urged Suu Kyi to “feel with her heart before it is too late.”

“I would like to ask the State Counsellor if the Myanmar that exists today is what she had truly aspired to bring about throughout the decades of her relentless fight for a free and democratic Myanmar? I implore you Madame State Counsellor to open your eyes, listen, feel with your heart, and please use your moral authority, before it is too late,” Lee told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Economic disengagement and Myanmar’s crimes
Over the last year, the UN mission produced three additional thematic reports as conference room papers; one on the economic interests of Myanmar’s military, one on sexual and gender-based violence and the gendered impact of Myanmar’s ethnic conflicts, and one on conflict-related and other human rights violations.

In mapping out the Tatmadaw’s vast economic interests in Myanmar, the mission sought to provide a roadmap for economic disengagement from the Tatmadaw, aimed not only at states and inter-governmental organizations, but also at the business community, including international and domestic investors. The purpose of this research is to deter continued and future violations, and ensure accountability for perpetrators. Following the publication of the research, a number of entities have already indicated that they will halt economic dealings with Tatmadaw businesses. 

“I call on other businesses and states to follow suit. I also reiterate our recommendation regarding the need for targeted sanctions against Tatmadaw leaders and their businesses, and for investors to prioritize investing in non-military sectors of the Myanmar economy,” Darusman said.

Regarding sexual and gender-based violence, the mission presented a detailed and painful picture of patterns of rapes, gang rapes and other gender-based violence against ethnic communities in Myanmar, including against men, boys and transgender people. 

The mission renewed its call to action for accountability for these grave crimes, as action so far taken has been very inadequate.

Rohingya situation in Rakhine has worsened
Contrary to the Myanmar government’s claims, camps for internally displaced persons have not been closed. Those who live in them continue to face daily hardships associated with being segregated from the other communities. If anything, the situation of the Rohingya in Rakhine State has worsened, as they endure another year of being subjected to discrimination, segregation, movement restrictions and insecurity, without adequate access to livelihoods, land, and basic services, including education and health care, or justice for past crimes committed against them by the Tatmadaw.

According to the UN mission, the policies, laws, individuals and institutions that laid the groundwork for the brutal “clearance operations” in 2016 and 2017 remain in place and strong. Human rights catastrophe, impunity, discrimination, hate speech, and persecution continue and the Myanmar government is unconcerned.

The return of close to one million Rohingya refugees to Rakhine State is simply impossible under the current circumstances. There is nowhere safe and viable for them to return to. Rohingya lands and villages have been destroyed, cleared, confiscated and built on, including new structures that resemble camps, with Rohingya forced labour. The government’s repatriation plans are inadequate.

“For this reason, we recommend a moratorium on domestic and international investment and development assistance in Rakhine State to ensure that investment and development assistance do not directly, indirectly or inadvertently consolidate the Tatmadaw’s persecution and genocidal intentions against the Rohingya population,” the statement from the UN mission said.

“This mission firmly believes that international monitoring and public reporting are essential to ensure fact-based advocacy,” it added.

First published in Dhaka Tribune

The post Atrocities against Rohingyas: UN mission identifies over 150 people suspected of committing int’l crimes appeared first on SabrangIndia.

‘Most importantly, it might pave the way for the Rohingyas, who suffered extremely to get justice they deserve’
 

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is exploring ways to conduct investigations into the forced deportations of hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas from Myanmar to Bangladesh as a possible crime against humanity, a top diplomat at the Foreign Ministry told the Dhaka Tribune on Thursday.

“This is our best bet to bring those responsible on the other side of the border to account for their crimes,” he said, expressing optimism that the ICC investigation will help solve the Rohingya crisis Bangladesh is facing without being a party to it.
“Most importantly, it might pave the way for the Rohingyas, who suffered extremely to get justice they deserve,” he added.

The diplomat did not specify the date and time of beginning and completion of the investigation.

“If you look at past instances you will see that the ICC investigations are always time-consuming. It does not have its own resources. The court gets the investigations done by the parties of the state,” he explained.

 “Though time consuming, I think it’s worth it. Think about the implications worldwide if the ICC in one year or so, issues an arrest warrant against one of the generals.”

“The ministry and our embassy in The Hague, Netherlands where the ICC is based, are following the developments and we stand ready to provide any assistance in regards to the investigation,” said the diplomat.

Responding to a query, he said: “I don’t have any idea if anyone from the ICC visited Bangladesh in respect of the investigation.”

On September 18, ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda issued a statement stating that a preliminary examination into the allegations of crimes committed by Myanmar in forcing deportation of Rohingyas from Rakhine to Cox’s Bazar had begun.

“Since the end of 2017, my Office has received a number of communicationsand reports concerning crimes allegedly committed against the Rohingya population in Myanmar and their deportation to Bangladesh,” she said in the statement.

ICC jurisdiction
“The review of these communications, which constitutes the first phase of my office’s preliminary examination activities, shed light on a preliminary legal issue concerning the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “the Court”), which I deemed appropriate to bring to the attention of the Court’s judges,” said the prosecutor.

“Having received confirmation from the Judges of Pre-Trial Chamber I that the Court may indeed exercise jurisdiction over the alleged deportation of the Rohingya people from Myanmar to Bangladesh, as well as potentially other crimes under article 7 of the Rome Statute, I have decided to proceed to the next phase of the preliminary examination process and to carry out a full-fledged preliminary examination of the situation at hand,” she said.

On September 6, the ICC, in response to a request from the prosecutor Bensouda, ruled that the court had jurisdiction over alleged deportations of Rohingya people as a possible crime against humanity.

Although Myanmar is not a member of court, Bangladesh is, and the cross-border nature of deportation was sufficient for jurisdiction, it said in its ruling.

“The Court has jurisdiction over the crime against humanity of deportation allegedly committed against members of the Rohingya people,” a three-judge panel said in a written summary, adding, “The reason is that an element of this crime – the crossing of a border – took place on the territory of a State party (Bangladesh).” 

The post ICC exploring ways to investigate Rohingya deportation as crime against humanity appeared first on SabrangIndia.