Lawmakers demand Pompeo take a stand on 'genocide' in Myanmar
Source: Politico
By NAHAL TOOSI 09/26/2018 02:32 PM EDT
U.S. lawmakers are demanding that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo take a stand on whether Myanmar’s military committed genocide against Rohingya Muslims, arguing that a new State Department report cataloguing the atrocities against the minority group is not enough.
House and Senate members from both political parties had repeatedly urged Pompeo to release the report. He quietly did so this week, with almost no public notice. But, to the surprise of many observers, the document failed to declare whether Myanmar was liable for genocide or even crimes against humanity, both terms with potential legal ramifications.
Sens. Todd Young (R-Indiana) and Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) wrote a letter to Pompeo on Tuesday requesting that he provide Congress with a “formal legal determination” about the actions of Myanmar’s military.
The military’s crackdown last year left thousands of Rohingya dead and forced some 700,000 to flee to neighboring Bangladesh, where they now live in crowded refugee camps.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/26/lawmakers-pompeo-myanmar-genocide-843646