Observers dismiss Myanmar’s new inquiry into Rohingya as political gimmick
Yangon — A new commission set up by Myanmar to look into human rights abuses in Rakhine state has been criticised by observers on Tuesday as a "political gimmick", as the country tries to stave off further censure over its treatment of its Rohingya Muslims. The government announced on Monday evening that an "independent" commission of inquiry had been established but gave no details about its remit, powers or the timeframe given to complete its report. The military tore through Rohingya villages in a campaign that started last August following a spate of insurgent attacks, forcing about 700,000 to flee over the border en masse to Bangladesh. The Rohingya have recounted testimony of widespread murder, rape, torture and arson at the hands of the army and ethnic Rakhine Buddhist mobs, in violence the UN has branded as ethnic cleansing. In the decades before that the Rohingya systematically had their rights stripped away by a country that widely regards them as illegal immigrants from B...
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