In its first report, the investigation commission on Rakhine yesterday denied “external” allegations of abuses related to the ongoing counter-insurgency campaign in the restive northern state. The interim report was released on the same day as the Ministry of Home Affairs announced eight police officers have been detained in connection to a video showing brutality against villagers, and just after the State Counsellor’s Office released a notice about retributive killings in Rakhine.
After a “special investigation” that included a field visit, the commission found that the, “Bengali population residing in Maungtaw region, the increasing population of Mawlawi, mosques and religious edifices are proof that there were no cases of genocide and religious persecution in the region [sic].”
It also said there was “insufficient evidence to take legal action” over women’s claims of having been raped.