Junta criticises court order
An Argentine court has issued arrest warrants for the head of Myanmar’s military junta and former officials, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, over alleged ‘genocide and crimes against humanity’ targeting the Rohingya minority group.
The court ruling, seen by AFP on Friday, was issued in response to a complaint filed in Argentina by a Rohingya advocacy group.
It was filed under the principle of ‘universal jurisdiction’ by which countries can prosecute crimes regardless of where they occurred if, like genocide or war crimes, they are considered sufficiently serious.
Warrants were issued for military and civilian officials including current junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, ex-president Htin Kyaw, and former elected civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in her capacity as ‘state counsellor’ from 2016 to 2021, when she was ousted in a coup.
In that time, she has been accused by detractors of doing little to stop the abuse of Rohingya.
Hlaing is also under investigation by the International Criminal Court, while the International Court of Justice – the UN’s highest tribunal – is examining a complaint of ‘genocide’ against Myanmar.
Meanwhile, Myanmar’s ruling junta criticised the Argentine court on Saturday for issuing the arrest warrant for its top leader.
The Rohingyas are a predominantly Muslim community from Buddhist-majority Myanmar where, according to Amnesty International, they have been subjected to apartheid conditions.
In response, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said: ‘Does Argentina know Myanmar? The Myanmar government does know Argentina.’
‘We like to suggest Argentina to appoint their needed and vacant judge positions firstly for their domestic judiciary if they want to criticise Myanmar according to the law,’ he told journalists in a message on Saturday.
Zaw Min Tun’s comments appear to reference reports in December that Buenos Aires needed to name 150 judges across all levels of the judiciary.
Many Rohingya have been forced to flee persecution and violence to refugee camps in Bangladesh or risk their lives on perilous sea journeys to try to reach Malaysia or Indonesia through Thailand.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the 2021 coup that sparked renewed clashes with ethnic rebels and saw the formation of dozens of ‘People’s Defence Forces’ now battling the junta.
Argentine courts have in the past opened investigations into crimes in other countries under the principle of ‘universal jurisdiction,’ including for acts committed by the Francisco Franco regime in Spain.
And last December, a judge ordered the arrest of Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega for ‘systematic violation of human rights.’
None of the cases have yet resulted in action against a foreign national.
Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, nevertheless welcomed the latest ruling as an ‘historic step towards justice for Rohingya and everyone in Burma suffering under the Burmese military.’
It was ‘also a victory for international justice at a time of growing violations of international law worldwide,’ he said in a statement.
Tomas Ojea Quintana, the Rohingya’ plaintiffs’ lawyer in Argentina, told AFP the next step will be for the ruling to be forwarded to prosecutors, who will take the steps necessary for the notification of Interpol, which issues international warrants.
