Twenty-Two US Lawmakers Urge Pompeo To Confirm Acts Of Genocide In Myanmar - Letter

(Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2018) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo must confirm publicly that acts of genocide are taking place in Myanmar against its Muslim Rohingya minority, 22 members of Congress wrote in a letter cited in a press release from Congressman Eliot Engel on Friday,

"We urge you to confirm publicly that acts of genocide have occurred and to make public such evidence to support this legal determination," the congressmen wrote. "To do less sends a troubling message� [to] any other nation who may contemplate such crimes now or in the future."

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), nearly 700,000 Rohingyas have left Myanmar for Bangladesh since August 2017 fearing persecution.

The lawmakers said in the letter the US government needed to ensure that the perpetrators of the crimes were brought to justice, that the victims received restitution, and that the clashing communities sought reconciliation over time.

Last week, the US Department of the Treasury announced sanctions on Myanmar military units and officials connected to the crimes against the Rohingya, the letter noted.

Among those members of Congress who joined Engel in signing the letter were Representatives Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington, DC, Barbara Comstock of Virginia, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Jan Schakowsky of Illinois and Joaquin Castro of Texas.