A Timor-Leste court has accepted an indictment against the junta, invoking universal jurisdiction over war crimes committed by the coup regime in Chin State.
The Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO) has filed a lawsuit in Timor-Leste against 10 senior officials of the coup regime, including junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, and the court has now formally accepted the case, according to the CHRO.
CHRO, London-based Myanmar Accountability Project (MAP), and Timor-Leste–based law firm Da Silva Teixeira & Associados Lda. jointly filed the application for indictment on January 12.
“Timor-Leste has its own laws and judicial system. It will handle the cases of the individuals we’ve charged using its own legal processes. We hope that further action will follow,” said Salai Za Uk Ling, Executive Director of the Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO).
The CHRO chose to pursue legal action against the junta in Timor-Leste because the Southeast Asian country allows crimes committed abroad to be prosecuted under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
“Like Chin State, Timor-Leste has experienced war crimes and crimes against humanity under a dictatorship. Its constitution also allows for the prosecution of crimes committed outside the country. That’s why we decided to bring our case here,” Salai Za Uk Ling explained.
The cases against the junta include five main charges, such as the killing of eight people including a child and a journalist by throat-slitting in Matupi Township in 2022, the killing of four Christian missionaries in Mindat Township, and airstrikes on a hospital and religious buildings in Mindat Township.
The junta condemned the decision to accept the indictment and, on January 16, summoned the acting chargé d'affaires of the Timor-Leste embassy in Yangon to Naypyidaw to protest. The coup regime also accused Timor-Leste of violating the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) charter by interfering in a member’s internal affairs. Timor-Leste joined ASEAN late last year.
“Timor-Leste is a democratic country, and this legal case is fully in line with its constitution, so it doesn’t violate the ASEAN charter. In fact, you could say Timor-Leste is supporting ASEAN’s commitment to protecting human rights and promoting democracy,” Salai Za Uk Ling argued.
In 2023, Chin ethnic groups tried to take legal action against the junta in a Philippine court, but their case was rejected.
Timor-Leste has long supported Myanmar's Spring Revolution, and its government has also held talks with the resistance-run National Unity Government (NUG).
