Rohingya feel ‘glad’ at ICC Myanmar junta head warrant request

The news on Wednesday (Nov. 27) that the International Criminal Court prosecutor was looking for an arrest warrant for the junta chief made Rohingya refugees who had fled deadly violence in Myanmar happy.

A Rohingya civil society leader in Bangladesh, Sayod Alam, said, “We are happy to hear that the ICC has issued an arrest warrant against the Myanmar military commander Min Aung Hlaing.” Alam lives in one of the overcrowded refugee camps across the border in Myanmar.

“It’s a success for us.”

About a million members of the stateless and persecuted Muslim community live in the huge, dispersed relief camps of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. They came there to escape the killings in Myanmar, where they are from.

Min Aung Hlaing, who led the army during the 2017 crackdown and is currently under UN investigation for genocide, has referred to the term “Rohingya” as “imaginary.”.

Despite having lived in Myanmar for a long time, the Rohingya people endured harsh treatment for many years because various governments believed they were illegal foreigners.

ICC top prosecutor Karim Khan requested arrest warrants for Min Aung Hlaing on Wednesday. Khan said that Min Aung Hlaing was responsible for crimes against humanity against Rohingya.

Senoara Khatun, who works at a school for Rohingya people, said she was “happy.”

The Rohingya had been waiting for this moment, she said. “I hope the ICC brings every criminal to justice under the law, taking further steps to hold them accountable and punish them.”

This is the first request for an arrest warrant against a high-level Myanmar government figure for crimes against the Rohingya people.