Topline
The Biden Administration formally recognized the violence committed by the Myanmar military against the mostly Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority group as a genocide Monday, warning officials in charge of Myanmar's military government responsible for the abuses will soon face justice.
Key Facts
The U.S. has determined recent violence against the Rohingya people amounted to genocide and crimes against humanity, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday morning during a speech at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Blinken said the U.S. found “compelling evidence” of the Myanmar military committing murder, rape and torture against the Rohingya people, constituting crimes against humanity, and the leaders of the military junta heading Myanmar today were behind the abuses.
Reuters first reported the White House’s determination Sunday, citing anonymous U.S. officials.
Key Background
The Rohingya people have long faced persecution in Myanmar, and a 1982 law largely denied the Rohingya people citizenship in their native country. Violence against the group escalated beginning in 2017, when Myanmar’s military began a deadly crackdown on the Rohingya people in the country’s Rakhine State. About 900,000 Rohingya people have fled violence in Myanmar to overcrowded camps in Bangladesh since 2017, according to Human Rights Watch, and a 2018 ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights report determined more than 43,000 Rohingya people had gone missing since 2017. The United Nations passed a resolution in 2019 condemning abuses including mass rape, murder and torture of the Rohingya people. A case against Myanmar for committing genocide in the International Court of Justice is ongoing.
Crucial Quote
“The day will come when those responsible for these appalling acts will have to answer for them," Blinken said Monday.
Surprising Fact
A 2018 State Department report found violence against the Rohingya people was “extreme, large-scale, widespread, and seemingly geared toward both terrorizing the population and driving out the Rohingya residents,” but stopped short of calling the violence a genocide. Blinken said in December the U.S. was investigating the genocide determination.
Tangent
A group of Rohingya refugees sued Meta in December for $150 billion for allowing hate speech against the group on Facebook leading up to the violence in Myanmar. A 2018 United Nations investigation concluded Facebook played a role in the violence against the Rohingya group for failing to stop the spread of hate speech, and Facebook said in 2018 its platform did in fact “incite offline violence” in the country.
Further Reading
EXCLUSIVE Biden administration rules Myanmar army committed genocide against Rohingya (Reuters)
