Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing faces genocide complaint in Indonesia

A criminal case against Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing, who was voted president by a pro- military parliament on April 3, was filed in Indonesia on Monday by a group of civil ‌society organisations, accusing him of acts of genocide against the Rohingya ethnic group.

Myanmar is a member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), but relations have come under strain since a 2021 coup led by Min Aung Hlaing, leading ​to civil war and a humanitarian crisis, with large numbers of Rohingya displaced and forced ​into refugee settlements.

Indonesia, which hosts ASEAN’s headquarters, is the biggest Muslim majority country in ⁠the world, and is among the destinations for Rohingya people fleeing Myanmar or the refugee camps by boat.

Myanmar’s armed ​forces, under then-Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, launched an offensive in 2017 that forced at least 730,000 Rohingya ​from their homes and into neighbouring Bangladesh, where they recounted killings, mass rape and arson.

The complaint to Indonesia’s Attorney General’s office was filed by Yasmin Ullah, a Rohingya who fled Myanmar, and several Indonesian figures, including a former attorney general and the chairman ​of Muhammadiyah, one of the country’s biggest Muslim groups, they said in a statement on Monday.

They said they ​would present evidence of forced displacement of the Rohingya, the world’s largest stateless population, as well as killings by the military, adding that ‌the ⁠case had been accepted by the Indonesian prosecutors.

“It is the first time under Indonesia’s new penal code that a case has been officially received and I warmly welcome this historic development as a milestone for all Rohingya people on their long march to justice and accountability,” Ullah said.

The claimants stated that Indonesia’s penal code allows ​for “universal jurisdiction” when certain ​crimes are considered so ⁠serious they can be processed regardless of victim nationalities or where the crime was committed.

Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Another ​predominantly Muslim country, Gambia, told judges in January at the United Nations’ top ​court that Myanmar ⁠targeted the Rohingya for destruction and made their lives a nightmare in a landmark case accusing Myanmar of genocide.

Myanmar has always denied genocide. The regime did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Min ⁠Aung Hlaing ​was elected president through a parliamentary vote last week after an army-backed ​party won the December and January election in what Western governments described as a sham, formalising his grip on political power.

The 2021 ​coup has led to widespread protests and nationwide resistance ever since.

REUTERS