Zaw Min Htut, Vice President, Burmese Rohingya Association in Japan

Michimi Muranushi, Citizen Ambassador, Free Rohingya Coalition

“Rohingya Crisis and Japan’s Denial of Genocide”

Language: The speech and Q & A will be in English.

 The ongoing Rohingya crisis in Myanmar that has seen more than 700,000 people from the ethnic minority of the Rakhaine region driven out of their homes and pushed beyond the country’s border into Bangladesh, has been regarded by many, if not most, in the international community as a crime against humanity. There have been many cases of murder, rape and looting. The United Nations Human Rights Commission has repeatedly called on the government of Myanmar to bring the perpetrators to justice and a number of countries have imposed sanctions against its military leadership.

The crisis has also seen the spectacular transformation of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from international icon to pariah, no longer a symbol of courage and resistance but an apologist for the acts of the Myanmar military she used to confront.

Until recently, Japan sat on the diplomatic fence. However, the Japanese Ambassador in Myanmar has stated in interviews that what has been happening in Rakhaine State is an internal matter for Myanmar and not a crime against humanity. The International Court of Justice in the Hague is expected to make a ruling on the matter in the near future.

Source : fccj.or.jp