Media Advisory
6th March 2017

People’s Tribunal on Myanmar State Crimes to be announced.

6th-7th March 2017
Host: School of Law, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, E1 4NS

LONDON: On the 6th and 7th March, representatives of Rohingya and Kachin victim groups will present first-hand, live and recorded, testimonies about crimes committed by the Myanmar state against their groups to the Rome-based Permanent People’s Tribunal. They will bring forth the charges that the Myanmar government is committing crimes, such as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Additionally, expert witnesses from around the world, including Professor Penny Green (Queen Mary University of London), Dr Mandy Sadan (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London), Azril Mohamed Amin (Centre for Human Rights Research and Advocacy, Malaysia), will testify on specific crimes and/or the historical context of grave violations under international law.

Video-recorded testimonies of Rohingya rape victims, who recently fled to Bangladesh, will also be presented to the Panel of Jury.

The Dalai Lama has issued a formal statement, which will be released during the Press Conference of the Opening Sessions, on Tuesday 7th March. The Tibetan Buddhist leader disclosed that he has ‘privately communicated to Nobel Laureate ad Burmese leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’ about his concerns regarding the persecution of the Rohingya.

Among the initial Panel of Jury, are Prof Daniel Feierstein, renowned genocide scholar and former President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), Dr Helen Jarvis, former Public Affairs Officer at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, and Denis Halliday, UN Assistant Secretary-General (1994-98) and winner of Gandhi International Peace Award 2003.

The inaugural session in London will be hosted at, and webcast live from, the International State Crime Initiative of Queen Mary University of London, on 6th March (1000 GMT to 1800 GMT) and 7th March (0900 GMT – 1200 GMT). The opening session will end with a press conference at 1200 GMT. An announcement about the full and final session to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, will be made at the end of Tuesday’s proceedings.

Notes to Editors:

The tribunal sessions which are open to public, can be viewed live at https://tribunalonmyanmar.com/ and followed on twitter @MyanmarTribunal, #MyanmarTribunal

The People’s Tribunal on Myanmar has been endorsed by over 20 Rohingya, Kachin and Burmese organizations worldwide, International State Crime Initiative of Queen Mary University of London, S. Africa’s Protect the Rohingya Campaign, Genocide Watch, Burma Task Force USA, Malaysian human rights networks such as the International Movement for a Just World and Centre for Human Rights Research and Advocacy (Centhra), and individual genocide prevention campaigners including Youk Chhang of Cambodia.

The Tribunal is a people’s initiative, made possible by the generous support of the International State Crime Initiative, Queen Mary University of London, individual activists: Mark Sampson, Ko Aung, the Rohingya community in London, and Burma Task Force (USA), and Women collective for people’s rights, Lecco, Italy.

NB All sessions to be held in Room 313 Laws Building, Mile End Campus E1 4NS

All 1.5 day sessions to be webcast LIVE by Oxford Digital Media: https://www.oxforddigitalmedia.com/media-gallery/

Webcast can be viewed on the official Tribunal website at: https://tribunalonmyanmar.com/

Tribunal proceedings may be followed on twitter @MyanmarTribunal #MyanmarTribunal : Contact email: info@tribunalonmyanmar.com