Asean must not remain silent

OVER a year has passed since the Myanmar military, the Tatmadaw, began its August 2017 “clearance operations” targeting the Rohingya Muslim population of the country’s Rakhine state. Since then, a UN-commissioned report has confirmed that the Tatmadaw was not seeking to combat terrorist elements as it claimed, but instead carried out a systematic campaign to eliminate the Rohingya from Myanmar.

The UN report describes the Tatmadaw’s campaign as one which was marked by the targeted killing of civilians, use of sexual violence and total impunity. Most significantly, it also names specific Tatmadaw officials who should be prosecuted for genocide.