Irrawaddy/AFP-Feb 16
Myanmar’s junta on Sunday announced the ejection of Timor-Leste’s top representative in the country, after a rights group said Dili had opened a legal case against the military for war crimes. Myanmar’s military—which snatched power in a 2021 coup—has for decades been accused of rights abuses, mostly targeting the nation’s ethnic minorities. The nation is currently defending itself from prosecution at the International Court of Justice over allegations of genocide against the mostly Muslim Rohingya minority. But the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) said this month Timor-Leste has opened its own case against the junta for both war crimes and crimes against humanity. The CHRO —which represents Myanmar’s Chin ethnic minority—said “a senior Timorese prosecutor has been appointed to look into the criminal file” presented by the organization. A junta statement said Dili’s reported appointment of a prosecutor to probe the case was a “great disappointment”. It said Timor-Leste’s charge d’affaires had been summoned on Friday and was given a week to leave Myanmar. According to the CHRO, its case against the junta includes “irrefutable evidence” of gang rape, a massacre of 10 people, the slaughter of religious officials and a hospital airstrike. The organization entered the complaint under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows domestic courts to try international offenses. Timor-Leste only joined the bloc in October 2025, becoming its 11th member. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-expels-timor-leste-representative-over-war-crimes-case.html
