ICC arrest warrant request for Myanmar military chief step towards ensuring justice: Bangladesh

DHAKA, Bangladesh

The Bangladesh government described the recent arrest warrant request for Myanmar’s army chief Min Aung Hlaing as a "significant" step toward securing justice for the atrocities committed against persecuted minorities in the Southeast Asian nation.

Khalilur Rahman, the high representative of Rohingya affairs of the Bangladesh interim government, told Anadolu that this arrest warrant “is a step towards ensuring justice and accountability.”

On Wednesday, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) filed a request for an arrest warrant for Myanmar’s military leader over crimes committed against the Rohingya minority.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan alleged that Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is “criminally responsible for crimes against humanity,” including deportation and persecution of the Rohingya, carried out in Myanmar and parts of Bangladesh from Aug. 25 to Dec.31, 2017.

The ICC estimates that the violence led to the forcible displacement of over one million Rohingya, many of whom sought refuge in neighboring Bangladesh.

Shamsud Douza, the additional refugee, relief, and repatriation commissioner for the Bangladesh government, said the arrest warrant has brought the “Rohingya crisis back into the global spotlight.”

Aung, the leader of Myanmar’s powerful military, known as the Tatmadaw, has served as the country’s military ruler since seizing power in 2021.

The ICC investigation initiated in 2019 implicates Myanmar’s armed forces, the Tatmadaw, along with the national police, border guard police, and non-Rohingya civilians in the alleged crimes, Khan said in a statement on Wednesday.

Myanmar has consistently denied accusations of genocide, claiming its military crackdown targeted Rohingya rebels involved in attacks.