Myanmar rejects UN report accusing military of genocide against Rohingya

Myanmar on Wednesday responded to areport by UN investigators that callsfor topgenerals to be prosecuted for genocide by saying the international community is making"false allegations."

The report marked the first time the United Nations hasexplicitly called for Myanmar officials to face genocide charges over a crackdown on Rohingya Muslims last year.

"Our stance is clear and I want to say sharply that we don'taccept any resolutions conducted by the [United Nations] Human Rights Council,"Zaw Htay, the main government spokesperson, said in an interviewpublished in state media.

The fact-finding mission on Myanmar was established in March2017 by the Human Rights Council.

Myanmar did not allow UN investigators to enter thecountry, he said. "That's why we don't agree and accept any resolutions made by the Human Rights Council."

He saidthe country has "zero tolerance to any human rights violation" and had set up a Commission of Enquiry to respond to "false allegations" made by the United Nationsand "other international communities."

The government earlier this year set up a panel oftwo Myanmar and two international members Filipino diplomatRosario Manalo and Kenzo Oshima, Japan's former ambassador tothe UNto investigate human rights abuses.

Myanmar has denied most of the allegations, saying themilitary responded to a legitimate threat from Rohingya militants, who attacked police posts across the western Rakhinestate.

"If there is any case against human rights, just give usstrong evidence, record and date so that we can take legal action against those who break the rules and regulations," ZawHtay said.

Neighbouring countries weigh in

Malaysia's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it was Myanmar's responsibility to take action against those to blame for the alleged genocidein Rakhine State.

Should Myanmar prove "unwilling or incapable of ensuring justice", the UNSecurity Council should step in and establish an international judicial mechanism to try the individuals most responsible for the crimes, the ministry said.

"Malaysia will continue to speak about the plight of the Rohingyas. We will also continue to call for international support for the government of Bangladesh, in which close to a million Rohingyas have found refuge," Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said in the statement.

Some 700,000 Rohingya have fled the military crackdown in western state of Rakhine to neighbouring Bangladesh, according to UNagencies. They joined nearly 200,000 Rohingya who hadalready been living in camps there for years.

In Bangladesh'scapital of Dhaka, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam told reporters the UNproduced "the most comprehensive, factual and crucial report since the attack in August last year."

Alam said it was natural for Myanmar to reject the report, but added: "That does not matter. The world knows everything."

On the same day as the UN released its report, Facebook shutdown the account of army Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and other topmilitary officials, accusing them of using its platform to spread "hate and misinformation."

In the interview publishedWednesday, Zaw Htay said thegovernment had not ordered the ban and was questioning Facebookabout the action, saying it had caused "mounting criticism andfear among the people."

Myanmar's civilian government shares power with themilitary, which controls key ministries including home affairs and immigration.