Two soldiers of the Myanmar army, also known as Tatmadaw, have made detailed confessions about atrocities committed by their respective infantry units against the Rohingya civilian population in Myanmar. According to reports by the Thai human rights organization Fortify Rights, Myo Win Tun of Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 565 and Zaw Naing Tun of LIB 353 are now in The Hague – where they are questioned by the International Criminal Court (ICC). "The shocking first-hand reports and confessions of the two soldiers confirm what we have been hearing from the victims' side and from independent UN commissions of experts for years: In 2016 and 2017, the government of Myanmar led a concerted genocide campaign against the Rohingya," stated Jasna Causevic, expert on genocide prevention and the Responsibility to Protect at the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP). "Their statements must now lead to charges against those responsible in the military and the government.

In their detailed confessions, the two infantrymen admitted that they were directly involved in up to 180 murders of Rohingya people. They also disclosed the names and ranks of the commanders who had ordered the killings, rapes, and burning of countless Rohingya villages. "The soldiers belonged to different units. They were ordered to kill all Rohingya they encountered in the villages –independently of each other," Causevic stated. "We must assume that many other units of the Tatmadaw received the same order and carried it out in the same way. The statements of the two soldiers are considered authentic. Two mass graves have meanwhile been discovered based on their reports.

The ICC usually prosecutes high-ranking suspects accused of the most serious crimes such as genocide or crimes against humanity – not ordinary soldiers. "The fact that the two infantrymen are now in court custody could encourage other perpetrators in Myanmar to testify before an international court as well," Causevic hopes. The ICC has a witness protection program, also for so-called "insider witnesses" – regulated in Article 68, paragraph 1 and Article 43, paragraph 6 of the court's statutes. Gambia had filed charges of genocide last year, and the Netherlands and Canada announced their legal support for these efforts last week, describing the matter as "a concern of all mankind".

"Now, the EU and the German government must press for change in Myanmar more than ever," Causevic emphasized. "The genocide campaign was preceded by decades of repression, deprivation of rights, and hate propaganda. The situation will not change unless those who are responsible are sanctioned. In order to end the suffering, the Rohingya must receive justice and security. Only then can the hundreds of thousands of refugees return home from the misery camps – and only then can Myanmar open a more peaceful chapter in its history.