UN has ‘no right to interfere’: Myanmar army chief

Rangoon: United Nations has no right to interfere in Myanmar sovereignty, said Myanmar’s army chief Min Aung Hlaing. His comments came a week after UN investigators called for him and other top generals to be prosecuted for “genocide” against the Rohingya.

It must be noted that a UN fact-finding mission urged the Security Council to refer the top military brass to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Reacting upon that Min Aung Hlaing said UN has no right to interfere in his country’s matters. He also rejected demands from UN investigators for the army to withdraw from politics in Myanmar.

A military-run newspaper Myawady quoted the powerful army chief as saying, ‘No country, organisation or group has the “right to interfere in and make a decision over sovereignty of a country.” He told this while delivering a speech to troops on Sunday.

The UN probe report, submitted by a fact-finding team had highlighted the atrocities against the Rohingya, who fled a violent military crackdown that started in August last year. More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims took refuge in Bangladesh.