Myanmar forms enquiry commission to address Rakhine issue

Yangon: Myanmar has set up a commission of inquiry to probe allegations of human rights abuses in conflict-torn Rakhine state, local media reported.

The commission was established on Monday as part of a national initiative to address reconciliation, peace, stability and development in the state. It will investigate the allegations of human rights violations and related issues, following the terrorist attacks by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) last year.

The Commission will be assisted by national and international legal and technical experts.Members of the new commission include two foreign and two Myanmar nationals: former Philippine deputy foreign minister Rosario Manalo, Japan's UN representative Kenzo Oshima, the former chair of Myanmar's constitutional tribunal U Mya Thein and Aung Tun Thet, who heads up the Myanmar government body dedicated to the Rohingya crisis.

But observers criticised the government move as a "political gimmick", as the country tries to stave off further censure over its treatment of its Rohingya Muslims

"Given the weight of evidence collected by Amnesty International, the UN and the media, this CoI (Commission of Inquiry) is tantamount to a rude gesture, not a genuine inquiry," said David Mathieson, adding that it can only "collide with a military covering up ethnic cleansing".

Political analyst Soe Myint Aung said the creation of the new commission will not play well inside the country either."Some think she is not tough enough. Others think she is conceding too much by internationalising a domestic problem," he said of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been globally lambasted over the crisis but remains a heroine domestically.

The military have denied nearly all allegations of human rights abuses, justifying their "clearance operations" as a way of flushing out Rohingya terrorists who killed around a dozen border guard police last August.(UNI)