US Declares Myanmar’s Military Committed Genocide Against Rohingya

MAR 21 2022·Updated JAN 23 2023

Story

Image credit: Reuters [via The Guardian]

The Facts

The US has declared the Myanmar military's mass killing of the Rohingya Muslim population genocide, joining other nations that include Canada, France and Turkey in doing so.
nytimes
This comes after the US investigated alleged atrocities by speaking to more than 1,000 Rohingya refugees who were displaced during the violence in 2016 and 2017.
guardian
Multiple layers of sanctions against Myanmar's military-led government are already in place.
Politico
The US has also pledged $1M additional funding for the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, which may help the Rohingya build a better international legal case against the military.
Al Jazeera
Other foreign atrocities designated as genocide by the US include massacres in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda, Iraq and Darfur, ISIL's attacks on Yazidis and other minorities, and China's treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslims.
Al Jazeera

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The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

This is a welcome move that the world has been waiting for. It will add pressure on other nations and companies to change their policies toward Myanmar, which could go a long way toward justice for the Rohingya.

nytimes

Establishment-critical narrative

Although this puts the US on the right side of history in this particular case, the country's moral authority will remain tarnished until it does more to acknowledge its own genocide of indigenous peoples.