Mohammadi News Agency News – Features – Photo
MNA Editorial Desk: In response to an international court’s decision ordering Myanmar to take emergency measures to prevent the genocide of the Rohingya, the country’s government responded by saying that there has been “no genocide in Rakhine” – the state from which most of the Muslim-minority group hails.
Rights groups and members of the Rohingya minority have celebrated Thursday’s ruling from International Court of Justice (ICJ) judges.
But a statement released by Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was “important for Myanmar that Court [ICJ] reaches a factually correct decision on the merits of the case”, and condemned human rights organisations that it accused of presenting a “distorted picture” of the situation in Rakhine.
Those groups, the statement said, had “affected Myanmmar bilateral relations with several countries” and hampered efforts for “sustainable development” in the northwest province.
While acknowledging “war crimes had occurred”, the statement said “there has been no genocide in Rakhine.”
While defending her country at the ICJ in December, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in a 30-minute speech, failed to use the word “Rohingya” once.
Critics said her refusal to use the word was part of Myanmar’s attempt to strip the minority of their identity and rights.
Again on Thursday, the word “Rohingya” was absent from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ statement.
