International
U.S. formally declares that Myanmar’s army committed genocide against Rohingya minority

WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) – The United States formally determined that Myanmar’s army committed genocide and crimes against humanity in its violence against the Rohingya minority, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday, warning that as long as a military junta was in power nobody in the country would be safe.
Announcing the decision, which was first reported by Reuters on Sunday, Blinken said the attacks against Rohingya were “widespread and systematic” and that evidence pointed to a clear intent to destroy the mainly Muslim minority. read more
The determination could bolster efforts to hold the Myanmar generals accountable and help prevent further atrocities, U.S. officials believe. Activists welcomed the move but called for concrete actions like tougher sanctions on the junta.
In his speech at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, the top American diplomat readout tragic and chilling accounts of victims, who had been shot in the head, raped and tortured.
Myanmar’s armed forces launched a military operation in 2017 that forced at least 730,000 Rohingya from their homes and into neighboring Bangladesh. In 2021, Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup.
“Since the coup, we have seen the Burmese military use many of the same tactics. Only now the military is targeting anyone in Burma it sees as opposing or undermining its repressive rule,” Blinken said.
“For those who did not realize it before the coup, the brutal violence unleashed by the military since February 2021 has made clear that no one in Burma will be safe from atrocities so long as it is in power,” he added.
Days after U.S. President Joe Biden took office, Myanmar generals led by Commander in Chief Min Aung Hlaing seized power on Feb. 1, 2021, after complaining of fraud in a November 2020 general election won by democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi’s party. Election monitoring groups found no evidence of mass fraud.
The armed forces crushed an uprising against their coup, killing more than 1,600 people and detaining nearly 10,000, including civilian leaders such as Suu Kyi, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an advocacy group, and setting off an insurgency.
Blinken’s recognition comes after two earlier State Department examinations failed to produce a determination on the atrocities, which U.S. officials had only referred to as “ethnic cleansing” until now.
“There is no doubt that being allowed to get away with genocide of the Rohingya encouraged the military to think it could get away with holding a coup as well,” said Tun Khin, a Rohingya activist who heads the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK and attended Blinken’s address.

“Accountability for Rohingya genocide will not just help protect the Rohingya, it will help protect all the people of Burma.”
FEW REAL CONSEQUENCES
In response to the coup, the United States and Western allies sanctioned the junta and its business interests, but have been unable to persuade the generals to restore civilian rule after they received military and diplomatic support from Russia and China.
Advocates say Monday’s declaration, which does not automatically unleash any punitive measures but carries political weight, could help judicial efforts worldwide to hold the junta accountable, but say more action needs to follow.
Washington should work through U.N. bodies to push for accountability while also extending sanctions to target the foreign currency reserves Myanmar’s junta gathers from oil and gas revenues, said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.
“The Myanmar military will continue to commit atrocities so long as other governments fail to impose measures to hold them accountable,” Sifton said.
Blinken on Monday announced $1 million in new funding for a U.N. investigation on Myanmar and said the United States has shared information with Gambia connected to its case at the International Court of Justice, where it has accused Myanmar of genocide.
Monday’s announcement comes after more than four years of examinations by the State Department, including a 2018 report prepared with outside lawyers that surveyed more than 1,000 Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh.
Three-quarters of those surveyed had witnessed the military kill someone and more than half witnessed acts of sexual violence, Blinken said, adding the findings “demonstrate that these abuses were not isolated cases.”
Blinken also recalled the experience of his stepfather, Samuel Pisar, who was sent to the Nazis’ first concentration camp at Dachau a dozen years after it was built – an example of how the groundwork for genocide is laid over years or even decades.
An exhibit at the museum showed how Rohingya had their rights and citizenship “methodically stripped away” over many years, Blinken said.
International
Israel declares Gaza City a ‘battle zone’

Deaths from both Israeli attacks and starvation continue to rise in Gaza. In the past 24 hours, at least 59 Palestinians were killed, including 23 who died while collecting aid. The Health Ministry also confirmed that five more people, including two children, died of hunger and malnutrition, bringing the total number of starvation-related deaths to 322, of whom 121 were children.
Since Israel’s military campaign began on 7 October 2023, more than 63,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 160,000 injured. Following the introduction of a new aid distribution system in late May, over 2,200 people have died and more than 16,000 injured while trying to collect aid.
Israel has now declared Gaza City a “battle zone,” suspending daily humanitarian pauses that previously allowed limited aid delivery. The UN said nearly half of all planned humanitarian missions in Gaza have been delayed or blocked by Israeli authorities in the past week.
Aid agencies and UNICEF warn that malnutrition among children in Gaza is worsening, with supplies of therapeutic food critically low. Thousands of children are undergoing emergency screenings and treatment.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces have recovered the body of Ilan Weiss, a citizen abducted by Hamas on 7 October. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to bring back all Israeli hostages, dead or alive. In the US, Microsoft has fired four employees who protested the company’s technology links with Israel.
International
Denying Islam’s place contradicts Hindu philosophy,” Bhagwat remarks

Mohan Bhagwat, chief of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has said that Islam has been an integral part of Indian society and will continue to remain so. He made the remarks on Thursday (28 August) at an event in New Delhi marking RSS’s centenary celebrations.
Bhagwat stated that those who believe Islam should not exist in India do not understand Hindu philosophy. He emphasized that mutual trust and unity are essential to resolve social conflicts.
Addressing migration issues, he said the government is working to curb illegal infiltration, but stressed that employment opportunities should first go to Indian citizens, including Muslims, rather than outsiders. He also urged respect for religious sensitivities during festivals.
On population, Bhagwat said every family should have no more than three children to maintain balance in the country. He added that this guideline should be accepted by all.
International
Russia Uses Naval Drone to Destroy Ukrainian Ship for First Time

Russia’s Defense Ministry has claimed that Ukrainian warship Simferopol was sunk in a drone strike on Thursday (28 August) in the Danube Delta, partly located in Ukraine’s Odesa region.
The ministry said the medium-sized Laguna-class vessel was designed for radio, electronic, radar, and optical surveillance, and was the largest ship commissioned by Ukraine in over a decade.
According to Russian media, this marks the first successful use of Russian naval drones to destroy a Ukrainian warship.
Ukraine’s Navy confirmed the attack, reporting at least one crew member killed and several injured. The Simferopol was launched in 2019 and joined Ukraine’s naval fleet in 2021.
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