February 28, 2017
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have said they shall not speak to the investigation commission that has expressed their desire to visit the camps in the Teknaf region of the country.
The Ambassador to Bangladesh U Myo Myint Than had spoken of the government’s interest to send members of the commission to the country, according to the Bangladesh foreign ministry. The date for the visit has not been set.
Refugees say the commission is not neutral and they don’t have any genuine interest in the testimonies of the victims. However, the refugees have pledged to cooperate if the media and human rights organisations are also accompanying the team as they want to inform the world of the duplicities by the regime.
Activists allege the commission is one of the many initiatives of the government to sanitise the genocide of the Rohingyas.
The 13 member commission was formed by presidential decree in December last year in response to massive international outcry over the ongoing crackdown against Rohingyas which have killed more than a thousand people since October.
The government’s credibility has been questioned by international observers.
According to Charles Sanitago of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, “the Myanmar government’s repeated denials of rights violations demonstrate that Naypyitaw has no interest in resolving the situation or addressing underlying issues.”
