Myanmar Officials Visit Israeli Arms Expo despite Weapons Ban

Myanmar officials attended weapons conference in Tel Aviv, despite weapons ban over Rohingya genocide. (Photo: via Social Media)

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.

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

The Amnesty report said:

“Israeli companies continue to export weapons to countries that systematically violate human rights … Often these weapons reach their destination after a series of transactions, thereby skirting international monitoring and the rules of Israel itself.”

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”.

(Al Araby Al-Jadeed, PC, Social Media)

(The Palestine Chronicle is a registered 501(c)3 organization, thus, all donations are tax deductible.)
Our Vision For Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders & Intellectuals Speak Out