Israel has refused to stop selling weapons to Myanmar amid violence in the Rakhine state that has resulted in the Rohingya crisis.
The Israeli Defense Ministry “is refusing to halt weapons sales to the regime in Myanmar,” wrote John Brown in the Haaretz newspaper.
“Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, visited Israel in September 2015 on a 'shopping trip' of Israeli military manufacturers,” wrote Brown in the article titled “As Violence Intensifies, Israel Continues to Arm Myanmar’s Military Junta.”
Brown adds that Gen. Hlaing was met by President Reuven Rivlin and the Israeli army’s chief of staff among other top military officials. The delegation visited military bases and defense contractors Elbit Systems and Elta Systems.
HIGH COURT TO RULE ON SALES
Israel’s High Court is due to rule on a petition launched by human rights activists opposing the sustained arms sales to Myanmar in September.
The Defense Ministry described the arms sales as “clearly diplomatic,” and said the court had no authority over the matter.
When Knesset member Tamar Zandberg directed a question regarding the arms sales to Myanmar in parliament on June 5, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the Knesset was not a suitable platform to discuss the matter.
US AND EU BAN ARMS SALES TO MYANMAR
Israel “subordinates [itself] to the entire enlightened world, that is the Western states, and first of all the United States, the largest arms exporter. We subordinate ourselves to them and maintain the same policy,” said Lieberman.
This statement, however, is incorrect, writes Brown. “The United States and the European Union have imposed an arms embargo on Myanmar. It’s unclear whether the cause was ignorance, and Lieberman is not fully informed about Israel’s arms exports (even though he must approve them), or an attempt at whitewashing,” Brown added, before stating that Lieberman’s words were historically inaccurate.
“Israel supported war crimes in Argentina, for example, even when the country was under a U.S. embargo, and it armed the Serbian forces committing massacres in Bosnia despite a United Nations embargo,” he stated.
An ongoing attack escalated against the Rohingya Muslims on Aug. 25. Rohingya fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh say the Myanmar army is trying to force them out with a campaign of arson and killings.