Myanmar’s junta continues to erase evidence of the Rohingya genocide. Allegations have been made that Rohingyas are being coerced into not revealing the true facts of persecution under the threat of torture and arrest. They are going to present this evidence to the International Court of Justice in this April.
Recently, Yangon-based news media Fronttier Myanmar reported this information.
The members of the Myanmar Army’s Thirty-Third Light Infantry Division burned down the village Chut Pyne in Rakhine on August 25, 2017. In the video taken by the locals, the dead bodies of two children and 16-year-old Jamila Khatun could be seen, who was later found in a Rohingya camp in Bangladesh. She revealed the story of the brutal torture of the military.
Jamila Khatun said, “When I tried to escape, the army shot me from behind, I fell in the paddy field, I could not get up due to unbearable pain, then 4 soldiers raped me.”
More than 350 people of that village were killed and hundreds became the victim of inhumane torture in the army raid that lasted for several months.
The village of Chute Pyne is also among the 608 pages of evidence in the case filed by The Gambia at the UN Court in October 2020. In view of the hearing of this case on the 24th of this month, the Janta Army has been active in collecting evidence for several months.
According to the report published by the Myanmar news media Frontier, the army witnessed the Rohingya group fleeing the village and taking shelter in the temporary camp. At that time, if they tell the truth, they fear torture and arrest.
Not only Chute Pyne, but also from various Rohingya villages including Maungdaw, Buthidaung, they took testimony by fearing the same. It is compelling to say that the Rohingyas themselves, not the army, set fire to their own homes.
Lawyer representing The Gambia, Paul Richler, said that the junta had forcibly taken these testimonies and presented them to the court.
Last year, Myanmar’s application to reject the Rohingya genocide case was denied. In this phase, both parties will get the opportunity to present evidence. A decision is expected in mid-2025.
