observers denounce new Myanmar Rohingya probe panel

A new commission set up by Myanmar to look into human rights abuses in Rakhine state has been criticised by observers today as a “political gimmick”, as the country tries to stave off further censure over its treatment of its Rohingya Muslims.

The government announced on Monday that a commission of inquiry had been established but gave no details about its remit, powers or the timeframe.

The military tore through villages last August following a spate of insurgent attacks, forcing some 7 lakhs to flee over the border en masse to Bangladesh. The Rohingya have recounted testimony of widespread murder, rape, torture and arson at the hands of the army and ethnic Rakhine Buddhist mobs, in violence the UN has branded as ethnic cleansing.