For decades, the world watched as Myanmar descended into cycles of brutal violence against its Muslim minorities, culminating in the horrific genocide of the Rohingya people. While recent military leaders face scrutiny, true accountability demands, we confront the mastermind who laid the ideological and operational groundwork for this persecution: retired Senior General Than Shwe.

A meticulous legal assessment reveals that Than Shwe, Myanmar’s former head of state and military commander (1992-2011), is not merely a figure from a dark past, but the primary architect of a system designed to eradicate Muslim communities, particularly the Rohingya. Justice requires piercing the veil of his retirement and confronting his enduring legacy of hate.

Than Shwe: The Ideological Engineer and Operational Commander

Than Shwe’s culpability begins at the source. His background in military propaganda wasn’t incidental; it was foundational to his reign. He actively cultivated an ideology of Buddhist supremacy and virulent Islamophobia within the state apparatus. This wasn’t passive tolerance of extremism; it was state sponsorship. Evidence strongly suggests he covertly nurtured and directed the very hate groups – like the notorious Ma Ba Tha and 969 movements – that became the public face of anti-Muslim vitriol, providing them ideological cover and operational space.

Under his direct command as Commander-in-Chief, and critically, through his continued shadow influence after his 2011 retirement, Myanmar witnessed a relentless campaign of state-sponsored violence. The massacres and expulsions weren’t isolated incidents or spontaneous riots; they were systematic. From Meiktila and Mandalay to Taung Goke and repeatedly across Rakhine State, the pattern was clear: state forces and their proxy extremists targeted Muslim communities with impunity.

Burma Military regime initiated the legal erasure of the Rohingya through the discriminatory 1982 Citizenship Law, a policy weaponized to render them stateless and vulnerable. The genocidal intent crystallized through subsequent military operations under successive governments, designed not just to suppress, but to destroy.

The Machinery of Genocide and the Facade of Transition

Than Shwe’s genius for control extended beyond active command. He meticulously engineered political transitions, installing figures like Thein Sein and ensuring the dominance of the USDP, specifically to shield himself and his legacy from accountability.

This wasn’t a retreat; it was a strategic repositioning. The anti-Muslim policies, the institutionalized discrimination, the violence – it all continued unabated under his watchful, albeit unofficial, guidance. The “democratic transition” became a carefully orchestrated smokescreen for enduring military dominance and the continuation of his brutal agenda against Muslim minorities.

The Weight of Evidence and the Mandate of International Law

The case against Than Shwe is not built on conjecture, but on a substantial body of evidence:

• Documentary Trail: Official propaganda, internal communications (where available), social media archives, and extensive NGO reporting (Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Reuters) consistently link state actions and hate speech campaigns back to the structures established under Than Shwe. Historical records detail mosque demolitions beginning as early as 2001/2002, part of a sustained campaign of religious persecution.
• Survivor Testimonies: Harrowing accounts from Rakhine State and other affected regions repeatedly describe coordinated attacks involving military units and extremist mobs, operating in areas where Than Shwe’s sponsored groups held sway.
• Legal Frameworks: The 1982 Citizenship Law and later “Race and Religion Protection Laws” enacted under his proxy, Thein Sein, provide clear evidence of state-sanctioned discrimination intended to marginalize and ultimately eliminate the Rohingya identity.
• International Findings: The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar explicitly implicated the highest levels of the Tatmadaw leadership in crimes against humanity and genocide – leadership that was shaped by and remained loyal to Than Shwe.

International law provides clear pathways for holding him responsible:

1. Rome Statute (ICC): Articles 6 (Genocide) and 7 (Crimes Against Humanity) directly cover the mass killings, rape, displacement, and persecution inflicted upon the Rohingya and other Muslims. Article 25 establishes individual criminal responsibility for those who order, solicit, or intentionally facilitate such crimes – a description fitting Than Shwe’s role as the system’s architect and overseer.
2. Genocide Convention (1948): The systematic destruction of the Rohingya group, evidenced by mass killings, causing serious bodily/mental harm, inflicting conditions of life calculated to destroy them, imposing measures to prevent births, and forcibly transferring children, meets the definition. Than Shwe’s policies demonstrably intended this destruction.
3. Command Responsibility: Customary international law holds superiors liable for crimes committed by subordinates if they knew, or should have known, about them and failed to prevent or punish the perpetrators. As the ultimate commander and later the de facto power behind the throne, this doctrine squarely applies to Than Shwe.

The Imperative for Action: No Safe Haven for Architects of Genocide

The passage of time and the facade of retirement cannot be allowed to grant Than Shwe impunity. The victims – the Rohingya driven into squalid camps in Bangladesh, the Muslim communities terrorized across Myanmar, the thousands murdered and raped – demand justice. This requires concrete, coordinated international action:

• ICC Prosecution: A comprehensive dossier meticulously detailing Than Shwe’s command responsibility and direct role in planning and executing these crimes must be submitted to the ICC Prosecutor. His position as the architect makes him a primary target.
• UN Security Council Referral: Since Myanmar is not an ICC member state, a UNSC referral is essential to grant the Court jurisdiction. This necessitates a sustained diplomatic campaign to overcome political hurdles, particularly from potential veto-wielders influenced by Myanmar.
• International Arrest Warrant: The ICC Prosecutor should seek an arrest warrant for Than Shwe. Concurrently, efforts should pursue an Interpol Red Notice to restrict his movement and increase pressure.
• Universal Jurisdiction: Countries like Bangladesh and Malaysia, hosting large Rohingya refugee populations, should be encouraged and supported to investigate and potentially prosecute Than Shwe under their own universal jurisdiction laws.
• Targeted Sanctions: Global Magnitsky-style sanctions must be leveraged to freeze Than Shwe’s assets and those of his family network, and impose travel bans, directly targeting his comfort and influence.
• Inclusion in Transitional Justice: Any future genuine democratic transition in Myanmar must include mechanisms specifically designed to address Than Shwe’s central role. Truth commissions and reparations programs will be incomplete without confronting his legacy.

Conclusion: Justice Delayed is Justice Denied

Senior General Than Shwe is not a relic, but the root.

His calculated use of propaganda, his creation and manipulation of extremist movements, his implementation of discriminatory laws, and his command over a military apparatus that committed genocide constitute a clear case for legal accountability under international law.

The suffering of Myanmar’s Muslim communities, most catastrophically the Rohingya, is inextricably linked to the systems he built and the hatred he institutionalized.

The international community – the ICC, the UN Security Council, and individual nations committed to human rights and the rule of law – must act decisively. Allowing Than Shwe to live out his days in impunity would be a profound betrayal of the victims and a dangerous signal that the architects of genocide can escape consequences.

The time for legal action against the primary architect of Myanmar’s anti-Muslim atrocities and the Rohingya genocide is now. Justice cannot wait.