Monday, 11 March 2013 12:24 Mizzima News
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| UN Special Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana (L), is greeted by Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the Lower House in Naypyitaw on February 14. (AFP PHOTO / UNIC) |
Myanmar must pursue crimes committed by the former junta, but neither the quasi-civilian government nor opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi have any appetite to do so for now, a United Nations investigator said on Friday, according to a Reuters report.
Speaking at a press conference in Geneva, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, is reported as saying that accountability for decades of violations was crucial for healing as well as for solidifying reforms.
Myanmar’s former military regime stands accused of having committed gross violations of human rights during decades of misrule, including torture, murder, rape and forced labor, especially in ethnic areas.
Quintana, who is due to present a report to the UN Human Rights Council next week, said, "The reality is that in Myanmar, this is not on the agenda of any of the stakeholders. It's not on the government agenda, it's not on the other political parties agenda, and it's not on the ethnic minority groups’ agenda."
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Full Reuters report: Myanmar must face up to junta crimes, U.N. envoy says
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