Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw)
Between 2018 – 2022, CIJA conducted a four-year investigation into crimes against Myanmar minorities by the Burmese Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) as well as the police forces and government ministries. By developing small teams of Burmese investigators, CIJA collected, verified and archived more than 24,000 pages of documents and other written materials, including internal military documents. From this, a legal brief re-established the policies and practices that were developed to control, monitor, oppress and direct violence against the Rohingya people, as well as ethnic minorities from Shan and Kachin states. Using the Tatmadaw’s own documents, CIJA was able to reconstruct the Tatmadaw command and control structures, as well as the police forces, the general administration department and government ministries, and prove that superiors had effective command and control over the units on the ground, carrying out the killings, rapes and village clearance across Rakhine state. Furthermore CIJA identified 31 persons of interest from the Tatmadaw, security forces or government, who could be held responsible for some of the atrocities committed in Kachin, Rakhine and Shan states, of whom 20 senior level individuals held relevant authority and participation in criminal acts against the Rohingya community in 2016 and 2017. Read more in our report here.
