World Bulletin / News Desk

The heads of Myanmar’s army had a shopping spree with the Israeli security industries, even meeting with the president and the Chief of Staff. Despite ongoing war crimes, Israel continues to maintain extensive security ties with the South East Asian country.

Israeli human rights activists are petitioning the Israeli Supreme Court, demanding it force the Ministry of Defense to explain why it does not put an end to Israel’s trade agreements with Myanmar’s military, following reports of crimes against citizens and ethnic minorities, including possible crimes against humanity.

The petition, filed by Attorney Eitay Mack and a list of human rights activists, specifies a series of crimes committed and still being committed by the regime, including proof thereof, such as evidence of the extensive ties between the heads of the Myanmar military and senior officials in the Israeli government and military, as well as with Israeli security industrial firms.

Ever since Myanmar (also known as Burma) gained its independence from Britain in 1948, a ceaseless civil war has taken place in various regions of the country. In November 2015 Burma held democratic elections, won by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. However, the government is not in actual control of either the state’s security forces or the private militias, which still do the bidding of the junta that controlled the country until those elections. These persist in their crimes against humanity, war crimes, and serious violations of human rights throughout the country — especially against ethnic minorities, some of which do not even have citizen status.

These forces are still perpetrating war crimes and violating international law in conflict areas, especially those of Shan and Kachin where sweeping acts of killing, arrests, torture and rape are committed against civilians and anyone suspect as supporter of the rebels.

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