US House of Representatives calls Myanmar’s expulsion of Rohingya Muslims a ‘genocide’

Washington: Adopting a resolution on Thursday, December 13, the United States House of Representatives called Myanmar’s expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims a “genocide”.

The lower house of Congress also alleged that the Myanmar military indulged in “crimes against humanity” and called for the immediate release of two Reuters journalists who have been detained for covering the crisis.

According to AFP, the resolution which was backed by 394 votes from both parties, with a single Republican opposing, stated: “all those responsible for these crimes against humanity and genocide should be tracked, sanctioned, arrested, prosecuted, and punished under applicable international criminal statutes and conventions”.

It must be noted that the United Nations has already classified the mass expulsions of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya from their homes as a “genocide”.

More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since the Myanmar military launched an offensive in August 2017.