UN has no right to interfere, Myanmar army chief says

Myanmar's army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has said the United Nations has no right to interfere in the sovereignty of the country.

His remarks came after UN investigators called for the prosecution of Hliang and other top Myanmar military brass for the ‘genocide’ perpetrated against the Rohingyas.

“Protecting the interests of the country and ethnics amount to waging a just war,” Hliang said at a meeting with military personnel on Sunday, reports bdnews24.com quoting the Myawady Daily.

“Take a look at the democratic practices in the world. Countries exercise the democratic system suited to them. So, the democratic practices of countries are not exactly the same,” he said.

“As countries set different standards and norms, no country, organisation or group has a right to interfere in and make decisions regarding the sovereignty of another country.”

The senior general warned that talk about meddling in a country’s internal affairs can lead to misunderstandings.

Regarding the calls for prosecution of incidents in Rakhine State he said that the military cannot accept demands that are unacceptable.

On Aug 25, 2017 the Myanmar military began a crackdown in Rakhine State in response to insurgent attacks.

Nearly 700,000 members of the Rohingya minority fled across the border to Bangladesh in response to the operation.

The Rohingyas reported that troops and local mobs had committed murder, rape, torture and arson during the crackdown.

Myanmar has denied the claims, saying that it was fighting back against militants.

Though Myanmar and Bangladesh signed an agreement for the return of the Rohingyas in late 2017, the process has yet to be initiated.