THE HAGUE: The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor on Wednesday sought an arrest warrant for Myanmar’s acting President Min Aung Hlaing over alleged crimes against humanity committed against Rohingya Muslims.
Karim Khan’s request to the court is the first application for an arrest warrant against a high-level Myanmar government.
“After an extensive, independent and impartial investigation, my office has concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Senior General and Acting President Min Aung Hlaing … bears criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity,” Khan said in a statement.
This included crimes of deportation and persecution, allegedly committed between 25 August and 31 December 2017, Khan said.
The ICC prosecutor in 2019 opened an investigation into suspected crimes committed against the Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in 2016 and 2017, which prompted the displacement of 750,000 of the Muslim minority in Bangladesh.
It is pertinent to mention that about one million Rohingya now live in shelter camps near the Bangladesh border city of Cox’s Bazaar.
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“This is the first application for an arrest warrant against a high-level Myanmar government official,” Khan said. “More will follow,” warned the prosecutor.
Since the ouster of former president Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, the country has been facing a conflict between the military and various armed groups.
Earlier this month, Min Aung Hlaing told China’s Premier Li Qiang that the military was ready for peace if armed groups would engage.
If the ICC grants the arrest warrants, the 124 members of the court would be obliged to arrest Min Aung Hlaing if he travelled to their country.
Khan’s request comes just days after the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ex-defence minister over the war in Gaza.
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The ICC which started functioning in 2002, is an independent court, set up to investigate and prosecute those accused of the world’s worst crimes.
