Israel arms expo hosts Myanmar military officials despite weapons ban over Rohingya genocide

Photos published in Israeli media showed Myanmar military officials in uniform touring the weapons and security conference in Israel last week.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

10 June, 2019

Myanmar military officials have been spotted at an arms expo in Israel despite a ban on arms sales to the country over the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims.

Photos published in Israeli media last week showed Myanmar military officials in uniform touring the weapons and security conference in Israel last week.

Representatives from foreign militaries, including from countries with no official diplomatic relations with Israel, also attended the arms expo.

In 2017, Israel claimed it had stopped selling weapons to Myanmar following High Court ruling. It followed mounting pressure from human rights groups.

But in the same year, tens of millions of dollars' worth of arms were reportedly sold to the Myanmar navy despite ongoing allegations of genocide.

News of the sales emerged amid reports that similar boats were used to sink vessels filled with refugees fleeing state violence.


More than 214 Rohingya villages have been destroyed by Myanmar's military in Rakhine State

About 740,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar for Bangladesh following a brutal military clampdown in their home country in August 2017, joining hundreds of thousands already living in crowded camps.

The UN released a 444-page report in 2018 that said the Myanmar military's persecution of the stateless Rohingya Muslims warranted the charges of "genocide".

Last month, Amnesty International denounced the Israeli government for its arms sales to countries accused of severe human rights violations, including Myanmar.

"Israeli companies continue to export weapons to countries that systematically violate human rights," the Amnesty report said.

"Often these weapons reach their destination after a series of transactions, thereby skirting international monitoring and the rules of Israel itself."

An Israeli foreign ministry spokesman told Israeli newspaper Haaretz that "Israel does not sell arms to Myanmar and this policy has not changed".

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