[Bangla Daily Star] Myanmar said yesterday it has detained several coppers over a video shot by a fellow policeman that shows them beating Rohingya civilians, a rare admission of abuse against the Moslem minority.Tens of thousands of people from the persecuted ethnic group -- loathed by many of Myanmar's Buddhist majority -- have fled a military operation in Rakhine state, launched after attacks on police posts in October.
Dozens of videos have emerged apparently showing abuses against Rohingya, but this is the first time the government has said it will take action over them.
The refugees' stories have raised global alarm and galvanised protests against Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been accused of not doing enough to help the Rohingya.
Her government has said troops are hunting hard boyz behind the deadly raids on police border posts, denying claims of atrocities with a flurry of public statements.
However,
some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves...
authorities yesterday pledged to take action "against police who allegedly beat villagers during area clearance operations on November 5 in Kotankauk village".
Suu Kyi's office named four officers involved in the operation including constable Zaw Myo Htike, who looks nonchalantly into the camera smoking as he records the video.
"Those who [were] initially identified were detained," it said in a statement. "Further investigations are being carried out to expose other coppers who beat villagers in the operation."
'SADISTIC CINEMA VERITE'
The footage shows police hitting a young boy around the head as he walks to where dozens of villagers are lined up in rows seated on the ground, hands behind their heads.
Three officers in uniform then start attacking one of the sitting men, beating him with a stick and kicking him repeatedly in the face.
A Rohingya activist contacted by AFP said the footage had been verified by a refugee from the nearby camp, Shilkhali.
Analyst David Mathieson said the video "brings into sharp question the government's denials of security forces abuses in Rakhine since October, when here is sadistic cinema verite of how they are treating the local Moslem population".
Around 600 people have been detained since the start of the military operation, according to state media, including six who died in police custody in largely unexplained circumstances.
Matthew Smith, chief executive of Fortify Rights, said the video adds to a growing body of evidence of widespread abuse by security forces.