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View all search resultsActivists pin hopes on Indonesia to hold Myanmar's new president accountable for genocide
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Some 264 newly-arrived Rohingya refugees gather to be registered on Jan. 6 after landing by boat on the beach of Kuala Seumilang Alue Bu in East Aceh, Indonesia.
(AFP/Cek Mad)
R
ohingya activists and legal advocacy groups are pinning their hopes on Indonesia’s new penal code to push forward a genocide case against Myanmar's newly-elected President Min Aung Hlaing, in what they say could be a long-awaited breakthrough for accountability.
On Monday, a Rohingya activist and several Jakarta-based activists and Indonesian prominent figures, including former attorney general turned human rights campaigner Marzuki Darusman, filed a criminal complaint against Min Aung Hlaing with the Attorney General's Office (AGO). They accused the 69-year-old retired general and “all elements of the military regime” of genocide and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya.
The complaint was made under the principle of “universal jurisdiction”, which allows any country to prosecute foreign individuals for major human rights crimes of international concern, such as genocide and crimes against humanity.
Feri Amsari from Themis Indonesia, the lead lawyer in the case, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that the Criminal Code (KUHP), which came into force in January, essentially incorporates the principle of universal jurisdiction.
The principal complainant in the case is Yasmin Ullah, a Rohingya who fled Myanmar in 1995 and executive director of the Rohingya Women Collaborative.
She said the case represents a rare opportunity to establish accountability within Southeast Asia, where regional mechanisms have largely failed to produce tangible results.
“Accountability needs to emerge in this region,” Yasmin told the Post on Tuesday. “For years, we’ve been told there is nothing ASEAN can do beyond documenting crimes. This is a chance to change that.”
