Myanmar natives file war crimes complaint vs. Myanmar military

Chin State, Myanmar natives file war crimes complaint before DOJ against the Myanmar military @gmanews pic.twitter.com/wIiMdxQElx

— Joahna Lei Casilao (@joahnacasilao) October 25, 2023

Natives of Chin State, Myanmar on Wednesday filed a complaint for war crimes with the Department of Justice (DOJ) against some members of the Myanmar military amid the ongoing civil war in the country.

The complaint, filed against 10 officers of the military, is for violations of Republic Act 9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.

Atty. Gilbert Andres, one of the legal counsel of the five complainants, said the crimes involved the killing of a Christian pastor in September 2021, the killing of two church elders, the burning of buildings dedicated to religion, the intentional targeting of civilians, and the intentional starvation of Chin State civilians.

“‘Yung nangyayari po dito ay binobomba, sinusunog ‘yung mga bahay, pinagbabaril, ano, tino-torture ‘yung mga civilian. ‘Yun po ay paglabag sa alituntunin ng humanitarian law,” Atty. Romel Bagares, another counsel, said in an ambush interview.

[What is happening here is they are being bombed, their houses are burned, the civilians are tortured. This is against the humanitarian law.]

According to Bagares, the Philippines has an obligation to prosecute the case as it is part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“Bilang bahagi po ng ASEAN, may obligasyon ‘yung Pilipinas na tulungan ‘yung mga ibang— mga karatig bayan natin, kasama natin sa ASEAN, kagaya nung mga Myanmar people na magkaroon sila ng hustisya,” Bagares said.

[As part of ASEAN, the Philippines has a duty to help other nations that are in the ASEAN such as the people of Myanmar in achieving justice.]

Asked how this will be enforced in case of a positive ruling, Atty. Gilbert Andres said the DOJ may forward the subpoenas and other legal documents it will issue to the central authority of Myanmar.

Andres said the complainants believed in finding justice in the Philippines.

“They really went here specifically in the Philippines so that they want to find justice here in the Philippines in the belief that we have a robust mechanism for protection of international humanitarian law,” Andres said.

Bagares, meanwhile, said that filing the complaint in western countries may be difficult for the complainants due to high costs.

“Ayaw din naman nila doon sa malayo, halimbawa sa kanluraning mga bansa, napakalayo po noon sa Myanmar. Kung pag uusapan po ‘yung pagkuha ng testimonya, ng ebidensya, mas mahirap po. Mas malaki po yung gagastusin,” he said.

[They don’t want to file it far away, for example in western countries, those are very far from Myanmar. If we will talk about the taking of testimonies, the evidence, it will be more difficult. The costs will be higher.]

Meanwhile, complainant Salai Ling said they are hoping to attain justice with the support of the Filipinos and the ASEAN community.

“Unfortunately, Burma has been forgotten by the rest of the international community and also people in our neighboring countries tend to not really see what’s happening in Burma,” he said.

“So we’re really hoping that with the solidarity and support from the Filipino people and people in the ASEAN region we will be able to get some justice for the atrocities that our people suffered, he added. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News