Bangkok: Myanmar's government has dismissed a devastating United Nations report citing evidence of atrocities against Rohingyas, describing them as "reckless".
In a rare news conference, the country's military defended its actions in the violence-torn Rakhine State, saying the actions were necessary to counter insurgency operations and defend the country.
"I want to say that I am very sad because of the kind of reckless accusations and neglect of the good things that the government and military have done for them," said General Mya Tun Oo, chief of the army's general staff, referring to media reports quoting Rohingya people.
The UN report on February 3 said it was "very likely" the military's behaviour in Rakhine amounted to crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
But General Mya Tun Oo said official investigations failed to substantiate most allegations. He said the increasing population of Rohingya in Rakhine, along with an increase in the number of religious leaders and mosques, disproved general charges of genocide and religious persecution.
The denial will intensify calls for a United Nations inquiry into the abuses at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 13.
The UN report was based on interviews with more than 200 of 70,000 Rohingya living in camps in Bangladesh. They had fled Rakhine after a military crackdown in October which was prompted by an attack by Rohingya on six police border posts.
Atrocities included the slitting of a crying baby's throat while his mother was being gang raped. Among scores of killings, rapes, burnings and forced disappearances, witnesses told how they saw soldiers stomping on the stomach of a pregnant woman while she was in labour.
The report followed other accounts of widespread atrocities, including by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Fortify Rights.
The Turnbull government, which rarely speaks out about human rights abuses in South-east Asian countries, has expressed "deep concern" about the situation in Rakhine to Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, according to Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
General Mya Tin Oo claimed the military had "investigated" some media reports and villagers had said they did not know of any abuses.
He also cited international observers who had briefly visited some villages, saying they did not find any evidence of abuses.
"If we find that these cases are really happening as per the accusations in the media, we will take very serious action according to the military rules and current laws," he said.
The military ruled Myanmar with an iron fist for half a century, impoverishing the once prosperous nation as soldiers brutally suppressed dissent.
Expectations were high in late 2015 when Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won historic elections. She took office in April last year.
But Ms Suu Kyi's attempt to negotiate peace with ethnic armies fighting Myanmar's forces in border areas appears close to collapse. Political and economic reforms have stalled and international criticism has been mounting against military abuses across the country.
Analysts say Ms Suu Kyi's failure or inability to push back against the military is quickly eroding her support base.
Around 80 per cent of voters had swept her into office in a landslide victory.
In a speech on February 26, Ms Suu Kyi appealed for patience, saying her elected government was formed after decades of military rule and that change would take time.
"Ten months or a year is not much," she said. "This is just a short period."
with agencies
