Maungdaw officials show observers the site where, they say, the uniform, boots and overcoat of Pol. Sergeant Aung Kyaw Thein were discovered. (PHOTO: President's Office)
By Colin Hinshelwood
January 29, 2014
January 29, 2014
Burmese President Thein Sein has ordered an independent
investigation into allegedly fatal incidents which occurred in the village of
Duchira Dan [also written Du Char Yar Tan] in Maungdaw Township, northern
Arakan State, on 13 January.
Speaking at a diplomatic briefing in Rangoon on Tuesday
evening, Burma’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin said the presidential order
for an independent investigation team into the alleged killings would include
separate probes and field trips by: the Central Committee for Peace Stability
and Development of Rakhine [Arakan] State; the Myanmar National Human Rights
Commission; and the Rakhine Conflict Investigation Commission.
The appointment of Burma-based teams to the Maungdaw
inquiry would appear to scupper calls by the UN and US Ambassador Derek
Mitchell for an investigation including international members to be conducted
into the disappearance of the Arakanese policeman and the alleged massacre of
Rohingyas in a retaliatory attack by police and an Arakanese Buddhist mob in
Maungdaw two weeks ago.
Wunna Maung Lwin confirmed, however, that the government
would arrange a trip to the area for the diplomats and that a team led by the
EU Ambassador would travel to Maungdaw in the near future, state-run The New light of Myanmar reported
on Wednesday.
Speaking to DVB on Wednesday, US Embassy spokesperson Sarah
Hutchison said that Ambassador Mitchell reiterated calls to the Burmese
government to launch an “immediate, impartial and independent investigation
into the violence, in conjunction with a representative from the international
community.
“We [the US] continue to encourage the Government of Burma
to work toward a durable solution in Rakhine State that addresses the
underlying grievances that have afflicted that state for decades. The
United States stands ready to assist in these efforts,” Hutchinson added.
Britain’s Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire said on
Tuesday that he has urged the Burmese government to conduct a “transparent
investigation into recent reports of people being killed, mainly Rohingya women
and children.
“Urgent action must be taken to enforce the rule of law
and ensure justice,” he said. “The continuing violence is a tragedy which must
be stopped and which otherwise risks jeopardising the wider reform process.”
Iyad Ameen Madani, the secretary-general of the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has expressed concern over what he
called “the looting, raping and killing of Rohingya Muslims.”
The Burmese government has vehemently denied that any
massacre of Rohingyas took place and has slammed the UN and foreign media for
“false reporting” of the alleged incidents.
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