On 9 April, Indonesian authorities accepted a complaint against Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing for genocide against the Rohingya. Filed by a survivor and ten public figures, the case seeks an investigation into his role in mass atrocities under Indonesia’s new penal code.

The statement is as follows.

In an unprecedented move, the Indonesian authorities have formally accepted a criminal file under the country’s new penal code, in which a Rohingya genocide survivor and ten leading public figures have accused dictator, Min Aung Hlaing, of genocide. The move comes within days of Min Aung Hlaing, being selected by a military-dominated parliament formed after elections widely condemned as fixed.

“It is the first time under Indonesia’s new penal code that a case filed under universal jurisdiction has been officially received and I warmly welcome this historic development as a milestone for all Rohingya people on their long march to justice and accountability”, said genocide survivor, Yasmin Ullah. “The architect of our extermination and other mass atrocities across Myanmar cannot be allowed to sit comfortability in the presidential palace without facing the consequences of his heinous crimes”.

One of the signatories of the genocide file, Marzuki Darusman, former Indonesian Attorney General, urged the authorities to open an investigation as the first step towards bringing Min Aung Hlaing to justice. “Indonesia has an obligation to act and to act decisively against mass murder, sending a powerful signal that impunity in Myanmar must end. Our new laws reflect the terms of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide. We have an obligation to prevent genocide and today we have presented irrefutable evidence that genocide is taking place now in Myanmar, against the Rohingya People”.

The lead lawyer in the case, Feri Amsari, Managing Partner of Themis Indonesia, also urged swift action. ”The new law unambiguously asserts the principle of universal jurisdiction by Indonesia, specifically for the crime of genocide. It does not matter that the victims and perpetrators are not Indonesian and that the crime did not take place in Indonesia. Our evidence is confirmed and reconfirmed, and our case has been supported by extraordinary human rights investigators working on the ground inside Myanmar. Min Aung Hlaing commanded an army that deliberately murdered and raped Rohingya men and women on an industrial scale, deliberately inflicted mental and physical harm and, as a systematic policy, imposed conditions of life intended to destroy the Rohingya People. As a country serving as the President of the UN Human Rights Council, it is imperative for Indonesia to follow up on and implement the principles of Universal Jurisdiction”.

Chris Gunness, Director of the Myanmar Accountability Project (MAP), which supports universal jurisdiction cases against the Myanmar junta across the ASEAN region, argued that “the age of universal jurisdiction is dawning within ASEAN. And the case against Min Aung Hlaing has never been stronger. Moreover, Myanmar has become the epicentre of crimes such as scam operations, drugs and human trafficking that has engendered a regional refugee crisis.  There is growing consensus within ASEAN that Myanmar is a regional embarrassment, that the recent sham election will only deepen the crisis within the country and that it is time for a new approach”.