Major media outlets are promoting a dubious story about Myanmar soldiers "confessing" to war crimes. Although video evidence shows that the soldiers made statements under questioning by a rebel army fighting Myanmar's government, statements under these conditions are not credible. But the press downplayed the context of the statements, with the Toronto Star editing out the reference to the rebel army, in a story reprinted from the NY Times.
According to the NYT, the alleged confession was made to the Arakan Army, a rebel militia in Myanmar. The Arakan Army, in turn, turned over the video of the "confession" to a Harvard fellow, who represents a group called Fortify Rights. The two soldiers were then transferred to Bangladesh, a country that does not have friendly relations with Myanmar.
It also isn't clear how the two soldiers were sent to the ICC in the Hague, where they have not yet seen lawyers or representatives of the government of Myanmar.
Phil argues that it is reprehensible that the Dutch government has removed these two soldiers illegally from their country and that Bob Rae, Canada's ambassador to the UN, regards the statements made under duress from captured soldiers as a "confession" of malfeasance by the Myanmar government.
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