Criticism without having precise evidence for Rakhine issue can tarnish the prestige of the State, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said in his interview with Asahi Shimbun news agency on February 14.

“Criticism without having precise evidence for Rakhine issue can tarnish the State’s prestige,” said Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

About 740,000 Bengali Muslims fled to Bangladesh through Myanmar-Bangladesh border in the aftermath of a military operation launched by Tatmadaw during 2017. 

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing raised questions not only about the number of people who had fled, but also about their motives.

“It’s possible to think that the reasons they moved to Bangladesh were things like living with relatives or fleeing to a third country,” he said.

The UN condemned Tatmadaw’s crackdown on ‘genocide against Bengali Muslims. A U.N. rights investigator said Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and others should be held accountable for genocide against the Rohingya and demanded that Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and five other generals should be handed over to International Criminal Court (ICC).

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said, “Myanmar is not a party to the Rome Statute that established the Hague-based court.”

“We will not accept any instructions that threaten Myanmar’s sovereignty,” he said.     

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing denied any systematic army persecution.

Myanmar forces launched their offensive in Rakhine State in 2017 in response to a series of attacks by Rohingya insurgents on security posts near the Bangladesh border.

“Criticism without any certain proof hurts the nation’s dignity,” Min Aung Hlaing told Japan’s Asahi Shimbun daily in an interview published on February 15.

The Bengali Muslims living in the refugee camps in Bangladesh said Myanma Tatmadawmen were involved in mass killings, persecution, rape and arson attacks. 

“All of them are saying the same thing, which I believe somebody told them to say,” said Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.  

Edited by Win Htut