2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၊ လျှပ်စစ်နှင့်စွမ်းအင်ဝန်ကြီးဌာနသည် လျှပ်စစ်ကဏ္ဍ၏ ဌာနခွဲအသီးသီးရှိ CDM ဝန်ထမ်းများကို ဖိနှိပ် ခြင်း၊ ခြိမ်းခြောက်ခြင်း၊ ရာထူးမှထုတ်ပယ်ခြင်း၊ ဝန်ထမ်းအဖြစ်မှထုတ်ပစ်ခြင်း၊ ဝန်ထမ်းအိမ်ရာများမှနှင်ထုတ်ခြင်း၊ ပြည်သူ့အစိုးရက ပြန်ဆပ်ရန်မလိုဟု ထုတ်ပြန်ထားသည့် ၂ လစာ ချေးငွေများ ပြန်လည်တောင်းခံခြင်းနှင့် စစ်ကောင်စီအလိုကျ ပြည်သူလူထုထံမှ အတင်းအဓမ္မ လျှပ်စစ်မီတာခကောက်ခံ ရရှိရေးဆောင်ရွက်မှုတို့ကို ကျူးလွန်နေသည့် တရားမဝင်အာဏာသိမ်း စစ်ကောင်စီ လက်အောက်ခံအောက်ပါ ဌာနအကြီးအကဲများနှင့် အရာထမ်းများကို အမည်ပျက်စာရင်းဝင်သူများအဖြစ် သတ်မှတ်ကြေညာလိုက်ပြီး ၄င်းတို့အားလုံးကို နိုင်ငံ့ဝန်ထမ်း အဖြစ်မှထုတ်ပစ် (dismiss) ပြီးဖြစ်ကြောင်း ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ ဩဂုတ်လ ၁၁ ရက်စွဲပါ အမိန့်ကြော်ငြာစာအမှတ် (၈/၂၀၂၁) ဖြင့် ထုတ်ပြန်ကြေညာလိုက်သည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Electricity and Energy
Date of publication:
2021-08-11
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-11
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"At least 252 attacks and threats against health workers, facilities, and transports have been perpetrated in Myanmar from February 1 to July 31, 2021, according to an analysis based on open-source reports conducted by Insecurity Insight, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), and Johns Hopkins University Center for Public Health and Human Rights (CPHHR).
The country’s armed forces and police reportedly committed the vast majority of attacks amid ongoing protests against the military coup. In addition to the military’s attacks on civilians and demonstrators, health workers have been targeted for providing medical care to injured civilians and other health workers have been attacked for their participation in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), which is protesting the military takeover. Violence against health care is increasingly derailing Myanmar’s COVID-19 response and vaccine roll-out, the research brief finds.
Within the 252 total incidents that took place across Myanmar during the first six months of the military’s coup and crackdown (February 1 to July 31, 2021), Insecurity Insight, PHR, and CPHHR highlight reports of:
190 health workers arrested
37 health workers injured
25 health workers killed
Hospitals raided at least 86 times
Hospitals occupied at least 55 times
17 incidents impacting COVID-19 response measures
The incidents referred to are based on the dataset 01 February – 31 July 2021 Violence Against Health Care in Myanmar Data, which is available on the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX).
For the purposes of this research brief, one incident can comprise multiple types of violence or threats such as those above. For example, in one reported incident in Kyauk Kone township in Yangon city on February 27, 20 health workers were arrested and four were injured. The brief does not include incidents of violence against patients.
While the vast majority of attacks and threats against health care have been perpetrated by Myanmar’s armed forces, non-state actors also reportedly committed violence against health care in May and June. Of the 252 total incidents, 234 are attributed to Myanmar’s armed forces (State Administrative Council/SAC or the Tatmadaw) and 15 to non-state actors. The increase in attacks by non-state actors was driven in part by escalating conflict between the military and local ethnic militias in recent months, particularly in the Chin and Kachin states.
The research brief highlights reports that staff from the World Health Organization , non-governmental organizations (NGO), and international non-governmental organizations have been threatened and forced to return to work by the military council. Most of them were either working from home or had stopped working due to the current security situation. There are reports that the SAC is trying to replace NGO workers believed to be close to the CDM with government appointees.
“Myanmar’s COVID-19 response is on life support – yet another consequence of the military’s unconscionable violence against health workers and facilities,” said Jennifer Leigh, an epidemiologist serving as PHR’s Myanmar researcher. “Six months into the coup, the military’s war on medics rages on. By brutalizing medical professionals during a pandemic, Myanmar’s junta is escalating its COVID-19 catastrophe and violating long-standing international principles of protection of health care, including the obligations of health professionals to care for the sick and wounded without interference.”
The research brief highlights a range of violence that has marred the country’s COVID-19 response. For example, personal protective equipment and oxygen supplies were confiscated for exclusive use by the military in Chin, Kayin, and Yangon. Throughout July, the military reportedly assaulted four civilians for transporting an oxygen tank in Mandalay, arrested three civilians retrieving oxygen and nine volunteers assisting with fills, and killed one civilian in search of oxygen. In one incident on July 13, 2021, security forces opened fire on crowds of civilians queuing in line for oxygen cylinders in Yangon.
COVID-19 centers have been raided and, at least two, closed down. A COVID-19 facility in Mandalay was raided and its medical equipment seized for alleged COVID-19 violations. Two COVID-19 treatment centers in Sagaing were destroyed by military shelling.
“Tragically, Myanmar has endured more reported attacks and threats against health care in 2021 than any country on Earth,” said Christina Wille, director of Insecurity Insight. “Myanmar’s surging COVID-19 crisis increasingly threatens other countries in the region and the global community. We call on all United Nations (UN) Member States to act to ensure the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 2286 and adopt measures to enhance the protection of and access to health care in situations of armed conflict. All people in Myanmar should benefit from unhindered delivery and distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations, medication, and supplies.”
Insecurity Insight, PHR, and CPHHR used an open-source methodology to compile incidents noted in local, national, and international news outlets, online databases, and social media reports. The incidents reported are neither a complete nor a representative list of all incidents. Most incidents have not undergone verification by Insecurity Insight, PHR, and CPHHR. Data collection is ongoing and data may change as more information is made available. However, the data offers a snapshot of how Myanmar’s military is persecuting health workers and targeting facilities amid its broader crackdown on dissent.
The research brief makes several recommendations to UN Member States, urging the international community to ensure the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2286, adopted May 2016, which strongly condemns attacks on medical personnel in conflict situations..."
Source/publisher:
Physicians for Human Rights (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-08-10
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, Human Rights Defenders, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"As of 11 August, (965) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. Today there were no confirmed fallen heroes. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when.
In relation to the terrorist junta’s raid of the apartment on 44th street in Botahtaung Township, Yangon, some media outlets have said five people died, others that six died. It is without doubt there were deaths, but we are continuing to inquire and confirm the exact figure and identities.
As of August 11, a total of (5550) people are currently under detention. (255) people have been sentenced in person, of them 26 have been sentenced to death (incl. 2 children). 1984 are evading arrest warrants. 118 people have been sentenced in absentia, of them 39 sentenced to death in absentia. In total 65 sentenced to death, in person and absentia. We are also continuing to verify the recently released detainees.
Terrorist junta’s troops entered Htauk Kyant village in Sagaing Region’s Kalay Township on the afternoon of August 10 and arrested the father-in-law and mother-in-law of Maung Phyu when they did not find Maung Phyu living in that village.
AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heroes in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: [email protected] [email protected]
“Our uprising must succeed”..."
Source/publisher:
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication:
2021-08-11
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"Aug 10 (Reuters) - Myanmar's army carried out at least 252 attacks and threats against health workers since a Feb. 1 coup, killing at least 25 medics and hampering the response to a resurgent outbreak of COVID-19, a report by rights groups said on Tuesday.
More than 190 health workers have been arrested and 86 raids on hospitals carried out since the coup, said the report by Insecurity Insight, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), and Johns Hopkins University Center for Public Health and Human Rights (CPHHR).
They identified 15 incidents in which the response to the COVID-19 outbreak had been obstructed - including confiscation of personal protection equipment and oxygen supplies for the exclusive use of the army.
Some COVID-19 care centres were forced to close, it said.
"Health workers have been forced into hiding for fear of being arrested or after having arrest warrants issued against them," said the report. "In some cases, their family members were arrested instead."
Reuters was unable to reach spokespeople for the junta or health ministry for comment on the report.
Myanmar's healthcare system has largely collapsed since the army overthrew elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, with many medical workers joining a Civil Disobedience Movement in strikes to protest against junta rule.
The military authorities have appealed to doctors to return to work and have called for public cooperation to try to curb the latest outbreak of coronavirus, by far the most serious to hit the country of around 54 million people.
An average of nearly 300 people have died a day from COVID-19 over the past week, according to official figures that medics believe to be underestimates because of a lack of testing.
The outbreak was being brought under control to some extent because of the efforts of officials and the public, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing was quoted as saying by the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar.
The report by the rights groups said that while the army had been behind most of the attacks on medical workers, some had been carried out by armed groups opposing the junta - including bomb blasts near hospitals and an attack on a military convoy that was reported to be carrying medicines..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-08-11
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Six months after seizing power in a coup, Myanmar’s military leaders now appear to be moving to consolidate their rule, the UN Special Envoy for the country said on Tuesday, in her latest briefing to journalists in New York.
Description:
"Christine Schraner Burgener said the situation in Myanmar “is still very worrisome”, amid a “severe” third wave of COVID-19 infections.
Last week, senior army general Min Aung Hlaing announced he was appointing himself Prime Minister, and pledged to hold elections by 2023.
Solidifying their grip
“In my view, the Commander-in-Chief appears determined to solidify his grip on power with the latest caretaker government announcement; also, with the formal annulment of the election result from last year and declaration of the Commander-in-Chief to be Prime Minister of the country,” the UN envoy said, speaking from Switzerland.
Ms. Schraner Burgener also expressed fear that the National League of Democracy (NLD), which won the November 2020 election, could also soon be forcibly disbanded. State Counsellor and party leader Aung San Suu Kyi, alongside President Win Myint, were detained in the 1 February coup.
“This is an attempt to promote legitimacy against lack of international action taken”, she said. “And I have to make (it) clear that the UN does not recognize Governments, so it’s up to the Member States.”
She underlined that “as long as Member States do not make any decision”, Myanmar’s Permanent Representative in New York, Kyaw Moe Tun, remains the country’s legitimate UN Ambassador, while Ms. Suu Kyi and President Myint are its leaders.
Recently, international media reported that a plot was uncovered to kill or injure Ambassador Tun, who denounced the coup in the General Assembly Hall in New York.
“I was really shocked to hear this, and clearly it’s now up to the investigation team to find out who is behind this attack,” said Ms.Schraner Burgener.
Violence and pandemic
The situation on the ground in Myanmar remains “very difficult”, she reported.
“There is no freedom of speech, and I have still grave concerns about attacks against the free press. And I urge always in my discussions with the army to release political prisoners, including many media workers.”
The military cracked down on pro-democracy demonstrations in the wake of the coup, and more than 960 people have been killed so far. Thousands more were arrested and detained, including foreigners and over 100 children.
Meanwhile, clashes between the army and local defense forces continue. Violence has risen, and the defense groups are increasingly using “professional weapons”.
At the same time, Myanmar is also facing a devastating battle against the coronavirus. More than 331,000 cases have been reported.
UN agencies and partners are working to resume provision of health assistance, with priority given to vaccine rollout through the global solidarity initiative, COVAX, and to revitalizing immunizations generally.
Ongoing UN engagement
Ms. Schraner Burgener continues her engagement to find a peaceful solution to the political crisis in Myanmar, although she has yet to be allowed to travel there.
The UN Special Envoy has been holding talks with the military, ethnic armed organizations, and other stakeholders, who include the National Unity Government (NUG), formed by exiled lawmakers ousted in the coup. Representatives come from the NLD, other parties and ethnic armed groups.
Over the past two months, she has been promoting the idea of an inclusive dialogue organized around four “clusters” covering pandemic response, humanitarian assistance, and issues related to the Rohingya community.
The final and biggest cluster would address root causes of the crisis, such as discussions around the federal system, the constitution, law reforms and the electoral system.
She has also proposed establishing an international observer group on Myanmar. Membership would comprise China, India, Japan, Thailand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Switzerland, in addition to the UN, the European Union and the Southeast Asian regional bloc, ASEAN.
Promoting inclusive dialogue
“The ethnic armed groups were in the majority very positive of this idea, and really want to find a peaceful solution,” she said, referring to the dialogue proposal.
“The NUG…was interested in the idea but clearly would have pre-conditions to start such a dialogue.”
Ms. Schraner Burgener held “a long conversation” with Soe Win, the army’s Deputy Commander-in-Chief, on 16 July.
Although receptive to some of her ideas, including integrating health workers in COVID-19 prevention measures, “on the dialogue, I didn’t receive an answer: not a positive, not a negative.”
She hoped that with the recent appointment of an ASEAN Special Envoy on Myanmar, an all-inclusive dialogue will take place, otherwise “it goes more and more in the direction of a civil war,” she warned..."
Source/publisher:
UN News
Date of publication:
2021-08-10
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights Reporting (global, regional and Myanmar), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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"အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၊ လျှပ်စစ်နှင့်စွမ်းအင်ဝန်ကြီးဌာနသည် စွမ်းအင်ကဏ္ဍ၏ ရေနံထွက်ပစ္စည်းကြီးကြပ်ရေး ဦးစီးဌာနနှင့် ရေနံနှင့်သဘာဝဓာတ်ငွေ့စီမံရေးဉီးစီးဌာနတို့ရှိ CDM ဝန်ထမ်းများကို ဖိနှိပ်ခြင်း၊ ခြိမ်းခြောက်ခြင်း၊ ရာထူးမှ ထုတ်ပယ်ခြင်း၊ ဝန်ထမ်းအဖြစ်မှ ထုတ်ပစ်ခြင်း၊ ဝန်ထမ်းအိမ်ရာများမှ နှင်ထုတ်ခြင်းနှင့် ပြည်သူ့အစိုးရက ပြန်ဆပ်ရန်မလိုဟု ထုတ်ပြန်ထားသည့် ၂ လစာ ချေးငွေများ ပြန်လည်တောင်းခံခြင်းတို့ကို ကျူးလွန်နေသည့် တရားမဝင်အာဏာသိမ်း စစ်ကောင်စီ လက်အောက်ခံ အောက်ပါအရာရှိများကို အမည်ပျက်စာရင်းဝင်သူများအဖြစ် သတ်မှတ်ကြေညာလိုက်ပြီး ၄င်းတို့အားလုံးကို နိုင်ငံ့ဝန်ထမ်းအဖြစ်မှ ထုတ်ပစ် (dismiss) ပြီး ဖြစ်ကြောင်း ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ ဩဂုတ်လ ၁၁ ရက်စွဲပါ အမိန့်ကြော်ငြာစာအမှတ် (၉/၂၀၂၁) ဖြင့် ထုတ်ပြန်ကြေညာလိုက်သည်။.."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Electricity and Energy
Date of publication:
2021-08-11
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-11
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"Today, during an official visit to Thailand, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced $5 million in COVID-19 assistance for Thailand and more than $50 million in humanitarian aid for the people of Burma. Of this funding, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing nearly $28 million.
Today’s announcement includes $5 million in additional COVID-19 assistance for Thailand that will support health workers administering vaccines and strengthen the supply chain of vaccines. This assistance will reach vulnerable populations. USAID’s long-term assistance to the Thai Red Cross Emerging Infectious Diseases Health Science Centre contributed to the rapid identification of the first traveler-imported COVID-19 cases in the country in January 2020. In addition to personal protective equipment for Thai health workers, USAID has supported national diagnostic and testing surge capacity, surveillance, contact tracing, and hygienic supplies. This assistance has helped mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on the Thai people, especially the most vulnerable, such as low-income communities, ethnic minorities, and migrant workers, who often have limited access to quality and affordable health services. This new support builds on previous USAID assistance delivered during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when USAID accelerated efforts to deliver essential health services, safe drinking water, hygiene supplies, personal protective equipment, support to health workers, and other critical aid.
This new funding also includes nearly $23 million in USAID humanitarian assistance and more than $27 million from the Department of State. These funds will support Thailand’s efforts to address humanitarian challenges resulting from the crisis in Burma, in addition to providing life-saving assistance in Burma. It comes at a critical moment of rising humanitarian needs in Burma and the surrounding region, as people continue to flee their homes in the wake of the February 2021 military coup in Burma. With this new support, USAID is providing emergency food assistance to address secondary impacts of the pandemic, safe drinking water, mobile medical clinics, essential shelter, improved sanitation and hygiene services, and protection support for 600,000 of Burma’s people..."
Source/publisher:
United States Agency for International Development (Washington, D.C.)
Date of publication:
2021-08-10
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Humanitarian assistance - emergencies, Human Rights and international relations, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
An empty chair in New York would be a potent reflection of the situation on the ground in post-coup Myanmar.
Description:
"Across Myanmar, the battle continues between the military and those opposed to the military coup d’etat of 1 February 2021. Opposition to the coup began with non-violent resistance in the form of the Civil Disobedience Movement. The aim is now revolution and an end to the military’s decades-long dominance of political life. The revolutionaries have brought within their fold some of the armed ethnic organisations that have long fought against the military in the country’s borderlands. Civil war is looming.
A different battle for Myanmar is being fought in the United Nations.
On 14 September, the 75th UN General Assembly (UNGA) will meet in New York. Presidents, prime ministers and dictators from across the world – or their representatives – will gather to discuss, debate and make recommendations on global issues. The question de jour is who will represent Myanmar – the military’s representative or the representative of the democratically elected, ousted government?
It is the job of a nine-country Credentials Committee to make a recommendation to the UNGA about whose credentials to accept. It is rare for the Committee to accept the credentials of an ousted government that does not hold power or control territory, but it is not unprecedented (Haiti in 1992, Sierra Leone in 1997). In some contentious cases, the Committee has deferred making any decision at all (Afghanistan in 1996 and Cambodia in 1997).
What happens in the UNGA is another matter again. It is common practice for the UNGA to accept the recommendations of the Credentials Committee without a vote. But there is no rule that it must. In 1973, the UNGA voted to reject the credentials of the representatives of South Africa because of the country’s anti-democratic apartheid regime.
In the case of Myanmar, the UNGA stands with the democratically elected government. In June 2021, the UNGA passed a resolution calling on Myanmar’s armed forces to respect the will of the people – as freely expressed in the 8 November 2020 election – and called on all countries to end arms dealing with Myanmar. The resolution is not binding but it is significant – the UNGA very rarely condemns coups. The resolution was passed with only one vote against – that of Belarus – and with the support of more than half the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states.
A vote in the UNGA about the credentials of the Myanmar appointee would probably go the way of the ousted government.
In the run-up to September, Myanmar’s government-in-exile, the National Unity Government (NUG), is engaged in a worldwide lobbying effort for diplomatic recognition. Recognition – by powerful states or by many states – would boost the NUG’s case for recognition by the Credentials Committee.
Recognition of a government on a state-to-state basis is a unilateral political act – states are entitled to recognise whichever government they want. The general practice is that states recognise the government that exercises military control over the territory of the state – and holds the capital city. On this count, in Myanmar’s case, the military’s claim is stronger.
The military controls Myanmar’s airspace and while it does, the revolutionaries cannot win the battle for territory. China, Russia and many of Myanmar’s neighbours in ASEAN have effectively recognised the governing authority created by the military, the State Administrative Council (SAC).
The NUG is pursuing the argument that states should recognise the body that best represents the will of the people – and their right to self-determination. On this count, the NUG’s claim is undoubtedly the stronger. The National League for Democracy (NLD) was the clear winner of the 2020 election, despite the military’s claim that the election was tainted by irregularities. Key NLD members such as State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint form part of the NUG. Other members include parliamentarians from the ousted government and representatives of most of the country’s many ethnic states – and a Rohingya representative.
No state has yet granted recognition to the NUG, though many have met with NUG representatives. In recent meetings of the UN Human Rights Council and the World Health Organisation, neither the NUG nor the SAC has been given a seat. This may be the outcome in the UNGA as well.
It would be a historic moral victory for the men and women fighting in Myanmar if a representative of the NUG were to take the seat of Myanmar in September. But it would also seriously undermine the prospect of bringing the crisis to an end. With the symbolic support of the UN behind them, those on the ground in Myanmar would fight harder for a costly and improbable victory. The military, ostracised still further, would have fewer reasons to move forward with the only concession it has made to date – the Five-Point Consensus adopted at the ASEAN Leaders Meeting on 24 April.
ASEAN has now appointed a Special Envoy to Myanmar and the UN has committed to working with the Envoy to alleviate Myanmar’s growing humanitarian crisis. Leaving Myanmar’s seat vacant in the UNGA is the best representation of what is happening on the ground. It also provides the best chance of stemming the tide of civil war..."
Source/publisher:
The Interpreter
Date of publication:
2021-08-10
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, ASEAN-Burma relations, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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Description:
"As of 10 August, (965) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. AAPP compiled and documented (3) fallen heroes today. (1) from Falam Township in Chin State was killed today and (2) from Myaing Township in Magway Region and Myanaung Township in Ayeyarwady Region were killed on previous days and documented today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when.
As of August 10, a total of (5534) people are currently under detention. (255) people have been sentenced in person, of them 26 have been sentenced to death (incl. 2 children). 1984 are evading arrest warrants. 118 people have been sentenced in absentia, of them 39 sentenced to death in absentia. In total 65 sentenced to death, in person and absentia. We are also continuing to verify the recently released detainees.
60 year-old Pi Ngeih Tling was shot dead in the chest at home in an unprovoked shooting by the terrorist junta’s soldiers on the morning of August 10 at Falam Township in Chin State.
On the afternoon of August 9, three junta police wearing plainclothes entered Pike Thin village and opened fire because a protest leader San Ko from Pike Thin Village escaped from arrest when three junta police tried to arrest him at a COVID-19 checkpoint. Aung Zay Ya, a villager from Pike Thin village in Magway Region’s Myaing Township, was dragged into their car because he was holding a slingshot when he went out of the house to look. When junta police arrived near a pond at the top of the village, they told Aung Zay Ya to get out of the car and told him to run towards the pond. While Aung Zay Ya was running, they shot him from his back. Aung Zay Ya died on the spot from this gunshot injury, according to a local.
A family was informed that San Win from Tha Pyay Kone village in Ayeyarwady Region’s Myanaung Township, who was arrested by Tha Pyay Kone Village Police Station in the morning of August 7 for questioning, died at the hospital at 2 pm that day due to severe injuries. It is reported there were beatings all over his body consistent with torture. Win Tun and Aung Myint Oo from Tha Pyay Kone village were arrested with him and were released the same day. On the morning of August 9, local police Kyaw Kyaw Maung and a person wearing plain clothes came to his family to settle the case for 3 million kyats. It is reported that his family members will not accept this negotiation.
AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heroes in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: [email protected] [email protected]
“Our uprising must succeed”..."
Source/publisher:
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication:
2021-08-10
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"Belluno (Agenzia Fides) - The resistance of the Burmese people to the military junta continues inside and outside the country while, six months after the military coup of February 1, the "State Administration Council" (Sac, as the military junta is defined) declared itself a "provisional government" with General Min Aung Hlaing as Prime Minister. Abroad, the Burmese diaspora remembered Sunday, August 8, a historic date, known by its 4 numbers: 8.8.88. It was on that date, August 8, 1988, that students from the Yangon University of Arts and Sciences and the Rangoon Institute of Technology began to demonstrate against General Ne Win's regime. The student protests spread throughout the country with the massive participation of hundreds of thousands of monks, professionals and people of all classes and conditions. On September 18, the protests were bloodily suppressed by a military coup that imposed the "State Council for the restoration of Law and order". To commemorate that date, as well as the current situation, demonstrations were held in many countries where the Burmese diaspora is spread.
In Italy, the "Special Day for Myanmar" was held in Auronzo di Cadore, a town in the northern province of Belluno. The Catholic Church was at the side of the Burmese with a "special Mass for Myanmar" celebrated at 11 am in the church of Santa Giustina, parish of Villagrande (diocese of Belluno-Feltre). "It is a Mass that we wanted to celebrate given this difficult situation in Myanmar. For this reason, we welcomed the initiative of the Burmese community in Italy", said parish priest Fr. Renzo Roncada to Fides. Thuzar Lin, spokesperson for the Community residing in Italy, explains: "In the past we organized global days held simultaneously all over the world, in Italy it was held in Rome, Milan and Venice. On this occasion, each community has decided to independently celebrate this date that commemorates 8.8.88".
The choice of Auronzo di Cadore is not accidental: "The Municipality of Auronzo di Cadore has been with the people of Myanmar since the beginning of the coup d'etat", explains Thuzar, recalling the official declaration of the civil authorities for the release of the leaders and political prisoners and to end violence. In addition, the photo of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese leader whose charisma emerged during the tragic events of 1988, was posted in the town hall. "Now - concludes Thuzar - the community of Auronzo di Cadore has given us the opportunity to organize this day for Myanmar and we are infinitely grateful to them".
The day was also an occasion to demand the release of political prisoners and to appeal to the international community to intervene more firmly. The dramatic health situation in Myanmar and how the coup military is exploiting the coronavirus pandemic as a weapon to stay in power was also put on the table. In the Church of Santa Giustina, a sale of items donated by Burmese living in Italy was carried out, the proceeds of which will go to humanitarian initiatives for Myanmar. (MG-PA) (Agenzia Fides, 9/8/2021)..."
Source/publisher:
Agenzia Fides
Date of publication:
2021-08-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Freedom of Movement - standards and mechanisms, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Description:
"Twenty-year-old law student Theint Sandi Soe had been visiting her mother and four-year-old sister at their family home in Mogok when military police burst in and detained all three of them.
Against the backdrop of Myanmar’s ongoing military coup, the arrests themselves did not send shockwaves. It was what happened next—an act of courageous defiance met with draconian law enforcement measures—that propelled Theint Sandi Soe’s name into news headlines, and that continues to fuel a frantic search for answers amid reports that the law student’s health is rapidly deteriorating in prison.
Bargaining Chips Backfire
Few were surprised when Myanmar’s military police burst into the family home; after all, Theint Sandi Soe’s father, U Soe Htay, was a prominent local protest leader, making him an obvious target for the oppressive regime. Since Myanmar’s military leadership, known as the Tatmadaw, overthrew the country’s elected government in February, millions have taken to the streets in protest. As of August 9, more than 7,000 people had been arrested, 962 had died (including, according to Human Rights Watch, some 75 children), and nearly 2,000 people remained in hiding from arrest warrants, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), a human rights advocacy group that tallies these figures daily.
Few were surprised, even, when the authorities instead arrested his wife and two daughters after discovering their target was not at home the morning of June 13, despite only having arrived with a search warrant for the home and an arrest warrant for U Soe Htay. Reports of this grim tactic, detaining an activist’s family to lure him or her out of hiding, have abounded since the early days of the coup.
Upon hearing Theint Sandi Soe had been detained, her friends worried for her, especially given her ongoing struggle with rheumatoid arthritis, which required frequent treatment and vigilant medical observation. Still, none of the individuals whom we spoke with for this interview had suspected at that point that she would be formally convicted of a crime, let alone sentenced to prison time. Common wisdom held that the authorities would use the women as bargaining chips to compel U Soe Htay to come forward, before ultimately releasing them.
The release of the youngest daughter, four-year-old Su Htet Win, on June 30—two days after her fifth birthday, according to local media—seemed at first to affirm this theory. Had they played by the rules, Theint Sandi Soe and her mother Kyi Kyi Khaing, 44, would likely have walked free.
But Theint Sandi Soe and Kyi Kyi Khaing refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of a court purporting to uphold the laws imposed by the Tatmadaw, whose very rule was illegal as far as they were concerned. The two women protested a routine hearing, and shortly thereafter were sentenced to three years incarceration on the grounds that they had violated article 505(a) of Myanmar’s penal code—a law on incitement that has attracted much controversy.
In the aftermath of the sentencing, as Theint Sandi Soe’s family remains in hiding, we spoke with close friends about the promising young law student and the days and months leading up to her sentencing. JURIST conducted these interviews via video chat from Myanmar, with the assistance of a local translator on JURIST’s staff. Our interviewees will remain anonymous for the time being due to concerns for their security.
Her Father’s Daughter
By the time his wife and daughters were arrested, U Soe Htay had come full circle. He first made a name for himself as an impassioned proponent of Myanmar’s 1988 student uprising—a movement that championed democratic values, before being violently suppressed by the country’s military dictatorship. In more recent years, Myanmar appeared to have been charting a gradual course toward democracy; in 2008, the Tatmadaw established a new constitution that secured the military’s grip on power while also opening the door to civilian leadership. Between 2011 and 2021, power shifted from the military junta to a pro-military civilian administration before ultimately reaching the democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been broadly recognized as the face of the 1988 uprising, and who had spent some 15 years under house arrest by the time of her release in 2010. Once the Tatmadaw overthrew the NLD in February 2021, U Soe Htay swiftly reclaimed his role in the pro-democratic protest movement.
Given their lack of a relevant warrant, the Tatmadaw forces were likely unaware at the time of her arrest that Theint Sandi Soe had also been an active member of the opposition. “She thought that the coup was a violation of human rights, and she protested both on the streets and via social media,” said a close friend who had spent three years living in student dorms with Theint Sandi Soe. “She quickly joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) and advocated vocally for the opposition.”
The impassioned advocacy was in keeping with her character: “She lives for the truth,“ said another friend and fellow law student. “And she’s so brave. If she believes something is right, she will never give up in fighting for it.”
Despite their innate understanding of Theint Sandi Soe’s courage and commitment to the movement, her friends were frantic upon learning of her arrest. “When I found out she had been detained, I panicked. Before she was arrested, she had been very active in donating money to the CDM. I was worried that if I spoke out too much, she’d be tortured,” said one friend, who explained that her initial impulse was to attempt to control the potential damage from Theint Sandi Soe’s protest activities.
“The first thing I did was get access to her and her mom’s social media accounts and deactivate them. I then set about looking for lawyers to put her family in touch with. All the while I felt like I was in a mist—I didn’t know what was happening or what I could do, and just felt so helpless and angry,” they said.
Dire Conditions
Much of what is known about Theint Sandi Soe’s prison conditions came from her five-year-old sister, who remained with her mother and older sister for nearly three weeks after their arrest.
“Her baby sister told me how horrible it was in there—how they were forced to sit in stress positions for hours at a time, how they were forced to bathe in toilet water,” a friend and former dormmate recounted.
Other detainees who were subsequently released also spoke of her declining health. “We were told that she’s extremely ill, and that she has not received any medical treatment for her rheumatoid arthritis,” the friend said.
Audibly distressed as she spoke of the situation, the friend added: “I was so upset when I heard about her worsening health, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there’s really no difference between her and the other detainees who have been arrested by the military junta. They are so used to torturing people by this point—they have no humanity left in them,” she said. “This has become everyday life for the people of Myanmar.”
Her friends were thrown for another loop when, less than a month after they were arrested, following their refusal to comply with what they saw as a show trial, Theint Sandi Soe and Kyi Kyi Khaing were sentenced to three years in prison for incitement.
“I couldn’t believe it when I heard she was sentenced so quickly. I figured she and her mom were essentially being held as bargaining chips, as a means of forcing her dad to present himself to the authorities. But I wasn’t as shocked when I learned that she had protested the legitimacy of the court and the judges, who were not members of the CDM. I don’t think her bravery just came because she was arrested; I think her bravery is in her character,” a friend said.
Another friend seconded this point: “I think her courage is in her character. If I were arrested, I wouldn’t have the courage to protest the court. She is unbelievably brave.”
Reverberations Across the Globe
The degradation of Myanmar’s justice system has been lambasted by human rights advocacy groups.
As stated by Human Rights Watch Asia researcher Shayna Bauchner in a recent article: “These bogus military tribunals are handing down unfair and unappealable death sentences under direction from a commander sanctioned by the European Union, United States, and others for committing the worst crimes under international law… “The United Nations, EU, US, and other governments should be demanding the release of all those wrongfully imprisoned and ramping up pressure so the junta knows that what they do—even behind prison doors—is being watched.”
In an open letter, Amnesty International has expressed similar sentiments: “Activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and other individuals opposed to the military’s brutal crackdown have been arrested and charged on spurious grounds. There are allegations of those arrested and detained being denied the rights to prompt access to legal counsel of their own choice and other fair trial rights. Those detained are also allegedly being denied access to healthcare and the medications on which they are reliant. Amnesty International has also received credible reports of ill-treatment and torture, including at least two deaths in custody.”
As they continue to work through the fallout of her arrest, Theint Sandi Soe’s friends are left with a palpable sense of anger. “The way her trial started, the way it ended, and the way she was arrested was simply evil. She wasn’t given the chance to defend her case, and the military fabricated a case against her. They charged her without any reasonable grounds,” one said.
But they remain undeterred in their fight against injustice: “Unjust and unlawful as her and so many other stories are, we hope that law students outside of Myanmar will help protest, raise awareness and fight for the release of all our political prisoners.”
In the days that have passed since our interview with her friends, Theint Sandi Soe has been diagnosed with COVID, which at present is spreading uncontrolled through Myanmar. With this diagnosis compounding her chronic condition, those who know the fearless law student, as well as members of the Burmese diaspora around the world, are watching the story unfold with increasing concern for her health.
Source/publisher:
JURIST
Date of publication:
2021-08-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
Beatings of prisoners are reported though the government says no injuries were inflicted during the rare protest.
Description:
"Political prisoners in Myanmar’s second-largest city Mandalay staged a rare protest marking the anniversary of an Aug. 8, 1988 uprising against military rule, singing and shouting slogans in a demonstration that ended with reports of beatings and gunshots heard behind the walls, sources said.
The prisoners are among the more than 5,500 people arrested in the suppression of the opposition to the Feb. 1 military overthrow of the country’s elected government, a violent crackdown that has killed 962 civilians, according to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
The protest at Mandalay’s Obo Prison began at around 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, one city resident living near the prison told RFA’s Myanmar Service on Monday.
“At about 9:15 p.m. I heard chanting and shouts coming from behind the prison walls,” RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “When I came out of my house, I heard gunshots, and I heard nothing more after that,” he said.
“Then, at about 10:30, I saw three military vehicles and four passenger cars coming out of the prison. They left Aung Chanthar Ward and headed towards the GTC School,” the source said, referring to Mandalay’s Government Technical College.
“Some people said some prisoners had been beaten up,” he said.
Reached for comment, Prisons Department Deputy Director Chan Aye Kyaw said that authorities were now trying to identify the leaders of the protest.
“Last night, inmates at the Mandalay Central Prison started shouting slogans when the lights-out alarm sounded at 9:00 p.m.,” he said. “Around 30 to 40 people began chanting slogans and singing songs. We couldn’t stop them, so we informed the officer-in-charge, and he and his team arrived and the shouting stopped.”
None of the protesters was injured, and no one was put in solitary confinement, the official said.
“We are trying to find out who was involved in the shouting and singing, that’s all,” Chan Ay Kyaw said, adding that protest leaders when identified would be punished according to prison regulations.
'A lot of people got beaten up'
A member of the Mandalay University Students’ Union told RFA that despite official statements that no beatings had been inflicted, “according to reports we got, there were a lot of people who were beaten up, and some were put into solitary confinement.”
“We don’t have any details yet,” he said, adding, “It all started in Block 3 where young people and students are kept. It could have been about the 8888 anniversary, and it could have been about COVID.”
Myanmar’s 8888 uprising was launched on Aug. 8, 1988 by students in Yangon, then the country’s capital, as a protest against one-party rule by Gen. Ne Win, who had ruled the country since 1962. Protests across the country were finally suppressed by the army on Sept. 18, with about 3,000 people reported killed.
The Students’ Union issued a statement Monday calling for an end to the violent crackdown on prisoners in connection with the incident, for the release of political prisoners “unjustly detained” amid a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and for political prisoners’ full access to medical care, including COVID prevention.
“After hearing about the protest in the prison, our family was worried,” said a resident of Maha Aungmyay township, two of whose family members were arrested after authorities found a sword and a National League for Democracy (NLD) banner in their home.
“We heard that a few inmates were shot dead in the prison, and we were really worried when we heard this. We asked out lawyer about this, but he didn’t know anything,” he said.
As news of the Obo Prison protest spread on social media at around 10:00 p.m., a group of young people in Monywa city in Myanmar’s Sagaing region staged a protest near the Monywa Prison to demand the release of political prisoners and an end to the country’s military dictatorship.
At least 20 student leaders of the All Burma Students’ Union (ABSU) detained in Yangon’s Insein Prison are now being held in solitary confinement in connection with a prison protest there on July 23.
On Feb. 1, Myanmar’s military overthrew the country’s democratically elected government, claiming voter fraud had led to a landslide victory for Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD party in the country’s November 2020 election.
The junta has yet to provide evidence of its claims and has violently suppressed nationwide demonstrations calling for a return to civilian rule, killing at least 962 people over the past six months..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-08-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
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Sub-title:
Moe Thuzar, Khin Zaw Win, and Nicholas Coppel discuss the situation in Myanmar six months after the military seized power.
Description:
"On February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s military seized control of the country, arresting civilian leaders and ousting the elected parliament. Since then, the country has perched on the edge of civil war, caught between the use of violent force by the Tatmadaw and a growing armed resistance on the part of ethnic militias as well as the proclaimed National Unity Government. On top of that, the Delta variant of COVID-19 is causing a surge in infections that threatens to collapse the health care system.
Six months after the coup, what does the political and social landscape look like in Myanmar? What are the prospects for the country moving forward, and is there anything the international community can do to shift the needle toward a peaceful resolution?
On August 2, Moe Thuzar, an ISEAS Fellow and co-coordinator of the Myanmar Studies Programme; Khin Zaw Win, director of the Tampadipa Institute in Yangon; and Nicholas Coppel, an Adjunct Associate Professor (Practice) at Monash University, and Australia’s Ambassador to Myanmar from 2015-2018, joined The Diplomat to look at the situation in Myanmar six months after the military seized power..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2021-08-10
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Anti-coup protesters, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
Language:
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Sub-title:
Sources say the hilly town of Mindat has only two weeks of food left.
Description:
"The military junta has cut all supply routes to a hilly town in western Myanmar’s Chin state, putting as many as 50,000 refugees from months of fighting under siege with only two weeks supply of food, sources in the embattled region told RFA.
Junta forces have blocked all entrances and exits to Mindat and shut down supply routes to neighboring regions in Chin state, a hotbed of resistance to the Feb. 1 military takeover, where fighting between troops loyal to the junta and local militias from March through May killed scores of regime soldiers and civilians.
“All the roads have been blocked…The authorities stop, arrest or interrogate all the young men entering the town, and confiscate their mobile phones. Nobody dares to enter,” a refugee in Mindat who requested anonymity for security reasons told RFA’s Myanmar Service.
The junta’s move to cut off access to Mindat came at a time when Mindat’s transportation situation was already complicated by heavy rains over the past month that had caused mudslides that had made some roads impassible, even by motorcycle.
“The landslides west and south of Mindat cut off the roads there… We will run out of food in two weeks,” a refugee the refugee told RFA’s Myanmar Service.
Mindat, with a population of 10,000-15,000 people, including its suburbs, is battling a COVID-19 outbreak, part of a third wave that has overrun the entire country.
“Many goods cannot be purchased here in Mindat anymore, or the prices are up exponentially. No one is selling what we need. The military council’s forces have blocked access roads to the Yaw region, where all our supplies come from,” the refugee said.
Refugees and others living outside of Mindat are too afraid to come into the town for grocery shopping, according to the refugee.
An additional 7,000 refugees have been displaced by fighting since fighting resumed July 21, according to the Chin Defense Force (CDF), a local militia group founded after the military ousted Myanmar’s democratically elected government and seized power February 1.
The CDF is a network of volunteers that formed in April to protect the people of Chin and has enjoyed relative success facing the military—the second largest in Southeast Asia—with slingshots and the same crude flintlock “Tumee” rifles their forefathers used to fight off British colonizers in the 1880s. The CDF said it had killed some 100 junta troops between March and May.
The CDF keeps records of refugees displaced in the conflict, but estimated that in Mindat there are many more than it had the capacity to confirm.
“In the villages there are between 30,000 and 50,000 IDPs, but in our IDP camps, we have around 15,000 to 20,000 on record. This is for the first record taken at the end of May, but fighting resumed in early June,” the information officer of the Mindat CDF told RFA.
“Many IDPs [Internally Displaced Persons] fled to nearby Htilin and Pakkoku townships and the Yaw region. Some have fled to the inner parts of Mindat township and the Matupi and Palatwa townships in Chin state. We don’t know the exact numbers of all IDPs, but we have been able to gather info on the IDPs in the vicinity of the fighting, numbering around 6,000 to 7,000,” the information officer said.
The junta has also prevented the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) from delivering aid that would have helped around 5,000 IDPs , but they were allowed to aid 60 households last month. The rest of the aid package, which included truckloads of food, medicines and necessities like tarps, had to be left at a local monastery.
They stockpiled all the aid… at the monastery and won’t allow it to be distributed to nearby areas like the UNHCR wants,” a resident of Mindat told RFA.
“The UNHCR cannot take it back, but they don’t want to leave it here because they don’t want the military forces to steal it. So they put it at the monastery with the caretaker,” said he resident, who declined to be named.
When asked to comment on having to leave the aid at the monastery, Reuben Wende, information officer of UNHCR office in Yangon, told RFA July 23 that authorities should cooperate with efforts to distribute aid in Chin state, but made no direct mention of the incident.
According to the United Nations and aid groups, conflict in Myanmar’s remote border regions has displaced an estimated 230,000 residents since the junta coup.
They join more than 500,000 refugees from decades of conflict between the military and ethnic armies who were already counted as IDPs at the end of 2020, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, a Norwegian NGO.
Troops loyal to Myanmar’s junta have killed more than 80 ethnic Chins in the country since the military took power during the Feb. 1 coup, including two infants and a 15-year-old rape victim, a Chin watchdog group said last month.
The military killed at least 51 ethnic Chin in Chin state, two in Kachin state, 23 in the Sagaing region, one in Mandalay, one in Yangon, and three in Magwe region, according to a statement issued by the Institute of Chin Affairs (ICA)
Amid nationwide turmoil, the military has stepped up offensives in remote parts of the country of 54 million that have led to fierce battles with several local militias..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-08-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Internal displacement/forced migration in Chin State, UNHCR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Sub-title:
Protests were staged around the country on Sunday as a younger generation renews the struggle against military rule
Description:
"As Myanmar marked the 33rd anniversary of the “Four Eights” pro-democracy uprising on Sunday, activists around the country renewed calls to end military rule once and for all.
Anti-dictatorship protests were held in both urban and rural areas to commemorate the 1988 uprising, which began on August 8 of that year and was crushed the following month by a bloody coup that claimed thousands of lives.
Coming 188 days after the latest military coup, the anniversary was remembered with a renewed sense of urgency, with many activists linking the two events.
“Let’s struggle together towards completion of the unfinished 8-8-88 people’s liberation movement” was a slogan seen on placards and banners at a number of protests.
Some signs, meanwhile, bore starker messages.
“Blood that was shed in ’88 must be repaid in ’21,” read one that hearkened back to the violence that ushered in nearly a quarter century of brutal military rule.
That era ostensibly ended a decade ago after the military orchestrated a “transition” to quasi-civilian rule that left its power largely intact.
However, the country was again plunged into crisis when the military seized direct control on February 1, citing alleged irregularities in last year’s election.
Since then, the newly installed regime has killed nearly a thousand civilians and arrested another 7,000 in an effort to crush a massive popular resistance movement reminiscent of the one that emerged in 1988.
Many who came out into the streets on Sunday made it clear that they considered themselves heirs of that earlier struggle.
“We are carrying over the effort of previous generations who fought against the military dictatorship. The responsibility falls upon our generation now – a student activist.”
“The current generation must learn from history and defeat the fascist military dictatorship once and for all,” the General Strike Committee, a protest organizing coalition, said in a statement released ahead of the protests.
Nyi Zaw, the chair of the Yangon University Students’ Union, also pointed to the intergenerational nature of the current anti-coup movement.
“We are carrying over the effort of previous generations who fought against the military dictatorship. The responsibility falls upon our generation now,” he told Myanmar Now.
Others, meanwhile, called for unity among anti-regime forces, including people of different ethnicities, and emphasized the endurance of the resistance movement.
“Our public struggle and resilience over the past six months are the best proof that we will achieve victory,” said Tayzar San, a prominent anti-coup activist from Mandalay, who spoke to Myanmar Now on Sunday.
One of the most prominent voices of the 1988 uprising used the occasion of the anniversary to denounce the military for acting in bad faith during its past engagement with pro-democracy forces.
“It seems that we need to win by a knockout. Fine, then. We’ll give them a knockout – Min Ko Naing.”
Min Ko Naing, a former student leader who spent nearly two decades in prison for his outspoken opposition to military rule, told Myanmar Now he didn’t think the younger generation would fall for the “lies” that kept the former regime in power for so long.
“All their lies were unmasked on February 1,” he said.
As hundreds of members of the Myanmar diaspora gathered in Washington, D.C., on Sunday to call on US support for the shadow National Unity Government, Min Ko Naing also reflected on the international response to the crisis in Myanmar.
“Our people have fought every round and won every one with a high score. The world knows that. But it seems that we need to win by a knockout. Fine, then. We’ll give them a knockout,” he said..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-08-08
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, The Military's political role, Political History
Language:
more
Description:
"As of 9 August, (962) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. AAPP compiled and documented (2) fallen heroes today. (1) from Myingyan Township in Mandalay region died today and (1) from Mandalay died yesterday. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when.
As of August 9, a total of (5526) people are currently under detention. (255) people have been sentenced in person, of them 26 have been sentenced to death (incl. 2 children). 1984 are evading arrest warrants. 118 people have been sentenced in absentia, of them 39 sentenced to death in absentia. In total 65 sentenced to death, in person and absentia. We are also continuing to verify the recently released detainees.
Doctor Maung Maung Nyein Tun, lecturer of surgery of University of Medicine of Mandalay, who is involved in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), was arrested on June 13 and sued three counts of charges, died on August 8 at Mandalay General Hospital due to COVID-19. It is reported that he was contracted COVID-19 while detained in the Interrogation Center of Mandalay Nandwin. At first, it is heard that the terrorist junta did not transfer him to the hospital and detained him at the No.9 police station for two weeks. He was transferred to the Mandalay General Hospital when his condition was worse as he did not receive sufficient medical treatment in the cell.
Maung Htay from Kywe Chan Village in Myingyan Township in Mandalay Region, who was arrested on July 10 allegedly because he kept youth protesters and charged under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, died in Myingyan Prison on August 9. According to a friend of his family member, although the Prisons Department said Maung Htay died due to atherosclerosis and hypertension, his body was covered and only allowed to look at the face.
AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heroes in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: [email protected] [email protected]
“Our uprising must succeed”..."
Source/publisher:
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication:
2021-08-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup campaigns, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"A 45-year-old surgical lecturer from Mandalay arrested by the military regime in June died of COVID-19 at a local hospital on Sunday after becoming infected with the coronavirus in prison.
Dr. Maung Maung Nyein Tun, a lecturer at the Department of Surgery in Mandalay University of Medicine, and his wife Dr. Swe Zin Oo, a specialist at Mandalay Hospital, were arrested by the junta on June 13 in Maha Aungmyay Township.
Dr. Swe Zin Oo has reportedly also been infected with the coronavirus in prison.
The striking couple were charged with incitement under Section 505-A of the Penal Code for refusing to work under the military regime. The regime amended Section 505-A in mid-February and many pro-democracy supporters have been charged under that section. Anyone found guilty of the charge could be sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.
The military regime also accused the two of having ties to the National Unity Government (NUG), a shadow government designated by the junta as a terrorist group, and its parliamentary committee, and charged them under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Association Act and Section 124 of the Penal Code for high treason.
In its reports of the arrest, the military described the couple as fugitives. Dr. Maung Maung Nyein Tun’s mother confirmed that he died early Sunday morning after suffering a serious case of COVID-19.
The lecturer did not receive timely treatment after he was infected with the coronavirus in Mandalay’s Obo Prison, but was sent to Mandalay Hospital after his situation got worse, said sources close to him.
Dr. Zaw Wai Soe from the NUG wrote on social media that the military regime was responsible for all the tragedies happening in Myanmar including the death of Dr. Maung Maung Nyein Tun. The regime would be brought to trial for its crimes against humanity, he said.
Health professionals from Mandalay released a statement of condolence for Dr. Maung Maung Nyein Tun, saying he would be remembered as a martyr for his bravery and sacrifices in the face of military rule. They also vowed to continue to fight until a new federal democratic country emerges.
The military regime has drawn criticism for arresting volunteers and doctors who are helping COVID-19 patients independently of its anti-coronavirus efforts, while urging them to join hands with it to curb the pandemic.
In July, five volunteer doctors were arrested while working for a community-based COVID-19 prevention and charity group in Yangon’s North Dagon Township, after they were lured to a house by a fake COVID-19 emergency.
The junta has arrested at least 157 health workers including Dr. Htar Htar Lin, the former national immunization director at the now junta-controlled Ministry of Health and Sports, and charged them with incitement. The regime has accused Dr. Htar Htar Lin of misappropriating COVID-19 vaccination funds..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-08-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports
Language:
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Description:
"ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ
စီမံကိန်း၊ ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှင့် ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုဝန်ကြီးဌာန
ကြေညာချက် (၇/၂၀၂၁)
ဩဂုတ်လ ၇ ရက် ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်
“CDM ပြုလုပ်လျှက်ရှိသည့် ပုဂ္ဂလိကဘဏ်ဝန်ထမ်းများနှင့်အတူ တသားတည်းရပ်တည်လျှက်ရှိကြောင်း နှင့် ဘဏ်လုပ်ငန်းရှင်များအနေဖြင့် အဆိုပါဝန်ထမ်းများအပေါ် မတရားသဖြင့် ဖိနှိပ်ခွဲခြားဆက်ဆံနေမှုများကို အမြန်ဆုံး ရပ်တန့်ရန် အသိပေးတိုက်တွန်းခြင်း”
==================================
၁။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စုက နိုင်ငံတော်အာဏာအား မတရားသဖြင့် အဓမ္မလုယူလိုက်သည့် ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ (၁)ရက်နေ့မှ စတင်၍ နိုင်ငံ့ဝန်ထမ်းအာဇာနည်များနည်းတူ၊ အာဏာရှင်တော်လှန်ရေး CDM လှုပ်ရှားမှုတွင် တခဲနက်ပါဝင်ခဲ့ကြသည့် ပုဂ္ဂလိကဘဏ်ဝန်ထမ်းအာဇာနည်များအား လေးမြတ်စွာဂုဏ်ပြု အပ်ပါသည်။
၂။ ယခုအချိန်ထိ “အဆုံးတိုင်-CDM” ဟူသော စိတ်ပိုင်းဖြတ်မှုဖြင့် အာဏာရှင်တော်လှန်ရေးတွင် မဆုတ်မနစ်၊ မယိမ်းမယိုင်၊ ကြံ့ကြံ့ခံ ရပ်တည်တိုက်ပွဲဝင်နေသည့် ပုဂ္ဂလိကဘဏ်ဝန်ထမ်းများအား ထပ်လောင်းဦးညွှတ် အသိအမှတ်ပြုပါသည်။
၃။ ကျွန်ုပ်တို့ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၊ စီမံကိန်း၊ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှင့် ရင်းနှီးမြုပ်နှံမှုဝန်ကြီးဌာနအနေဖြင့် အဆိုပါ ဘဏ်ဝန်ထမ်းများနှင့် အတူတကွ တသားတည်းရပ်တည်လျှက် ရှိပါသည်။
၄။ အဆိုပါဝန်ထမ်းများ၏ CDM လှုပ်ရှားမှုသည် ပြည်သူများလိုလားတောင့်တလျှက်ရှိသော မြန်မာ့မြေပေါ်မှ စစ်အာဏာရှင်စနစ် အပြီးတိုင် ချုပ်ငြိမ်း ပျောက်ကွယ်စေရေးအတွက် မွန်မြတ်ထိရောက်သည့် လုပ်ငန်းစဉ်တစ်ရပ် ဖြစ်သည့်အတွက် ဘဏ်လုပ်ငန်းရှင်များအနေနှင့်လည်း အမှန်တရားဖက်တွင်ရပ်တည်၍ အစွမ်းကုန် အားပေးကူညီရန် တာဝန်ရှိပါသည်။
၅။ သို့ပါ၍ ဘဏ်လုပ်ငန်းရှင်များအနေဖြင့် အဆိုပါဝန်ထမ်းများအပေါ် ဖိနှိပ်ချုပ်ချယ်ခြင်း၊ ခွဲခြားဆက်ဆံ နေခြင်းများကို အမြန်ဆုံးရပ်တန့်ရန်နှင့် ၎င်းတို့၏အလုပ်အကိုင် အခွင့်အလမ်းကို တနည်းနည်းဖြင့် ပိတ်ဆို့ဟန့်တားနေမှုများကိုလည်း အထူးရှောင်ကျဉ်ကြရန် မေတ္တာရပ်ခံ တိုက်တွန်းအပ်ပါသည်။
တင်ထွန်းနိုင်
ပြည်ထောင်စုဝန်ကြီး
စီမံကိန်း၊ ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှင့် ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုဝန်ကြီးဌာန..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Planning, Finance and Investment - NUG
Date of publication:
2021-08-07
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
141 KB
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Sub-title:
As Myanmar’s crisis deepens, the country’s women are bearing much of the burden.
Description:
"Every three or four days in Myanmar, an infamous Telegram account reappears. The account has been taken down many times, usually after being reported for posting sexually explicit images. But each time it is removed, it has sprung up again shortly after in a different guise. The account belongs to Han Nyein Oo, once considered one of the main sources for celebrity gossip and yellow journalism in Myanmar. But these days, the contents are not about celebrities, as before. Instead, it’s to distribute intimate photos – both real and faked – of young female activists opposing Myanmar’s February military coup.
Since the Myanmar armed forces, or Tatmadaw, overthrew the country’s elected civilian government, revenge porn has become a weapon employed used by both the military junta and its opponents, who are currently engaged in a heated war of attrition.
In early February, a week after the military overthrew Myanmar’s elected government, the daughter of a minister on the junta’s State Administration Council (SAC) became the first well-known victim of this tactic. Explicit videos and photos of the woman were well circulated and intentionally spread by opponents of the coup. In subsequent weeks, the same thing happened to other women who were labelled as sympathizers of the military regime, or failed to speak out sufficiently in opposition to it, in what quickly became known to anti-coup protesters as “social punishment” campaigns.
Since the coup, numbers of “social punishment” pages have sprang up on Facebook and Telegram, which have targeted hundreds of women, from celebrities to teenage university students. The pages frequently publish women’s addresses and other personal information, and revenge porn is always part of the mix. Many opponents of the military junta have justified the sharing of these images and information on the grounds that “everything is fair and justified when the people’s voice is ignored and invalidated.”
In this way of thinking, a decent person’s basic morality and ethics are justified according to the righteousness of the political cause for which they stand. While the anti-coup resistance has seen efforts by Myanmar women’s rights organizations to challenge the patriarchy underpinning conservative authoritarianism – one good example is the Sarong Campaign – such efforts undercut this progress, demonstrating that patriarchal norms continue to be weaponized – by both sides of Myanmar’s political struggle.
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For decades, rape as a weapon of war in frontier Myanmar has been amply documented, as has the use other forms of sexual assault. Similar, if less physical, tactics have now migrated into the portable devices that millions of Myanmar people now carrying around with them. Indeed, in many ways this has magnified the impact on women as a whole, as participation in social punishment campaigns is just a click away.
Spiced up with the political justifications and messaging, Myanmar’s current crisis has allowed this human indecency to flourish. In the six months since the coup, thousands of women have been arrested, sexually assaulted, and socially marginalized in the name of a political cause. This number will increase in the upcoming months as the struggle between the military regime and those fighting for an inclusive federal democracy drags on.
No doubt, the anti-coup movement has done a lot take its fight beyond opposition to the authoritarian regime, to challenge the patriarchal social system that underlies it, and to reject the social norms that have limited Myanmar’s women for centuries. At the same time, it is also true that it has failed to protect the dignity of women, regardless on which side of the political divide they stand. Dignity is not a priority for the military regime, but it should be a core value of the pro-democracy cause. It is never too late for those seeking a more democratic and inclusive Myanmar to take a stand against the use of revenge porn as a political weapon..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2021-08-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Freedom of Movement - standards and mechanisms
Language:
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Description:
"Dear Friends and Supporters All Around the World,
Thank you all so much for showing unwavering support to people of Myanmar.
On behalf of the National Unity Government, formed by the democratic will of the people of Myanmar, I
am greatly honored to deliver the message to the Global Campaign for our movement.
This campaign is showing sense of unity and solidarity in our struggle; they are messaging that we are not
alone in this; and they are signaling that the strengths of solidarity transcend the boundaries.
The military thinks that our people will be silenced by instituting fears among us. However, history proves
that our people are never silent.
It has been six months since our democratic sovereignty was taken by force by the brutal military junta.
Within the past six months, all the people in Myanmar, either as an individual or a family or a society, have
been facing the tremendous challenges. The world has fully witnessed the extreme brutalities of the
military junta. Our fellow ethnic nationalities from all over the world have seen that Myanmar people are
struggling everyday to restore basic democratic rights.
The terrorist military (Tatmadaw) has repeatedly committed atrocities in our motherland for decades with
impunity until today. This is nothing short of the act of treason. We must end those atrocities in our
generation. Otherwise, we will owe to our next generations and our fallen heroes.
This August marks the 33rd Anniversary of 1988 Democracy Revolution. After 33 years, we are continuing
our struggles under the banner of "Spring Revolution". This time, each and every one of Myanmar people
are decisively marching towards the end of military dictatorship. Not only are the people inside Myanmar
fighting against the military junta and its supremacy in politics but also the people from different ethnic
nationalities all over the world are joining hands with their brothers and sisters in Myanmar. For that, I
would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you on behalf of the National Unity Government.
While the democratically elected civilian government and people of Myanmar are fighting the global
pandemic COVID-19 together, the military junta staged the coup d’etat just for the sake of power. Due to
the thirst of power of the military, the people in Myanmar are now facing crises not only in politics, but
also in healthcare, economic wellbeing, and social arena. While our people are suffering the attacks of
COVID-19 (Delta Variant), the military is using deceitful techniques to hold onto power at the expense of
our people’s life. Therefore, together, we must fight both COVID-19 pandemic and military dictatorship
and its supremacy in politics which has been internally eroding our country for many decades.
Brothers and sisters, this is the last chance we have. We want nothing, but unambiguous victory from this
Revolution; that is to establish Federal Democratic Union. If we all march together with our fullest
strengths to eradicate the military dictatorship once and for all, I sincerely believe that our next generations
will have the chance to be born in a society which human dignity is not exceptional.
Our Revolution shall win!.....နိုင်ငံခြားရေးဝန်ကြီး ဒေါ်ဇင်မာအောင်သည် မြန်မာ့အရေးအတွက်ရည်ရွယ်၍ ကမ္ဘာအရပ်ရပ်တွင်ကျင်းပသော Global Campaign အတွက် မိန့်ခွန်းပြောကြားခဲ့ပါသည်။
အဆိုပါမိန့်ခွန်းတွင် မြန်မာ့အရေးအတွက် အစဥ်တစိုက်တက်တက်ကြွကြွအားပေးထောက်ခံနေကြသော ကမ္ဘာအရပ်ရပ်မှ မိတ်ဆွေများကို အထူးပင်ကျေးဇူးတင်ရှိကြောင်း။
အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စု၏ အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများ လူ့အခွင့်ရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများကို အားလုံးကသိရှိပြီးဖြစ်ကြောင်း။ အကြမ်းစစ်အုပ်စုကျရှုံးရေး အတွက် အစွမ်းကုန်ကြိုးစားသွားမည်ဖြစ်ကြောင်း။
ယနေ့ သည် ၈၈၈၈ အရေးတော်ပုံကြီး ၃၃ နှစ်ပြည့်သည့်နေ့လည်းဖြစ်သလို မြန်မာပြည်သူများကလည်း ၈၈၈၈ အရေးတော်ပုံမှသည် နွေဦးတော်လှန်ရေးအထိ စစ်အာဏာရှင်စနစ် ဆုံးခန်းတိုင်ရေး တိုင်းရင်သားအားလုံးလက်တွဲ၍ အတူတကွကြိုးပမ်းလျက်ရှိကြောင်း။
ယခုအခါမြန်မာပြည်သူများသည် စစ်အာဏာရှင်တို့၏အကြမ်းဖက်ရက်စက်မှုများနှင့် Covid-19 ကပ်ရောဂါဆိုးကြီးကိုပါရင်ဆိုင်နေရကြောင်း။ ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီပြည်ထောင်စုပေါ်ပေါက်ရေး စစ်အာဏာရှင်စနစ်အပြီးတိုင် ကျရှုံးရေးတို့အတွက် အဆုံးတိုင်တိုက်ပွဲဝင်သွားမည်ဖြစ်ကြောင်း။
စသည့်အချက်များကို အဆိုပါမိန့်ခွန်းတွင်ထည့်သွင်းပြောကြားသွားခဲ့ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Myanmar - NUG
Date of publication:
2021-08-08
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
Format :
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44.81 KB 480.38 KB
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Description:
"The United States on Saturday condemned a thwarted plot to attack Myanmar's U.N. ambassador in New York, saying it fits a "disturbing pattern" of authoritarian leaders and their supporters seeking to persecute opponents around the world.
Two Myanmar citizens have been arrested in New York state for plotting with an arms dealer in Thailand - who sells weapons to the Burmese military - to kill or injure Myanmar's U.N. ambassador, U.S. authorities said on Friday.
Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, who represents Myanmar's elected civilian government which was overthrown by the military in February, told Reuters on Wednesday that a threat had been made against him and U.S. authorities had stepped up his security. read more
The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said on Saturday that the threat "fits a disturbing pattern of authoritarian leaders and their supporters reaching across the globe ... to persecute and repress journalists, activists, and others who dare speak or stand against them."
Thomas-Greenfield cited Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, a Belarusian athlete who refused to return home from the Tokyo Olympics and sought refuge in Poland, and a thwarted plot by several Iranians to kidnap a New York journalist and rights activist who was critical of Iran.
"These are only the most recent acts of transnational repression, and they must be met with the condemnation of the world and with full and certain accountability," Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-08-08
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Human Rights Defenders
Language:
more
Description:
"As of 7 August, (960) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. AAPP compiled and documented (12) fallen heroes today. These (12) fallen heroes from Kani Township in Sagaing Region were killed on previous days and documented today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when.
As of August 7, a total of (5512) people are currently under detention. (255) people have been sentenced in person, of them 26 have been sentenced to death (incl. 2 children). 1984 are evading arrest warrants. 118 people have been sentenced in absentia, of them 39 sentenced to death in absentia. In total 65 sentenced to death, in person and absentia. We are also continuing to verify the recently released detainees.
Khun Nyein Chan, Khun Bay and Khun Phoe O, living in Kayan Tharyar Village in Kayah State’ Loikaw Township, were arrested by the terrorist military at the Kayan Tharyar checkpoint in Loikaw on August 6. They were arrested on suspicion of an alleged connection to the PDF after inspecting their phones.
Wai Yan Tun a.k.a Myo Myo, a dance teacher, who was arrested on June 24 for allegedly being a protest leader in Mohnyin Town, Kachin State, was charged under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code on July 31.
AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heroes in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: [email protected] [email protected]
“Our uprising must succeed”...."
Source/publisher:
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication:
2021-08-07
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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1.34 MB 5.33 MB 1.78 MB
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Sub-title:
Brave activists in Myanmar are still resisting the coup -- at great cost. An international campaign to ban arms sales and target gas sales could help.
Description:
"Six months after the Myanmar military’s February 1 coup, some things are now clear. Most apparent is that there is no limit on the violence and repression the military under the commander-in-chief, Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, is willing to use to hold onto power and destroy its opponents.
This, of course, is nothing new for an institution that ran one of the world’s most brutal dictatorships for 50 years, that in 2017 committed what a United Nations-backed international fact-finding mission called genocide against the ethnic Rohingya, that carried out rampant war crimes for decades against other ethnic groups, and that has never taken responsibility for the corruption and poverty that makes Myanmar one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia.
When the junta arrested political leaders such as State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and members of parliament, it also effectively nullified the results of the November 2020 elections and implicitly acknowledged that its experiment with “managed democracy” had failed.
The military then resorted to what it knows best: the use of force.
Yet it appears to have misjudged the public response. People quickly poured onto the streets in a massive display of resistance that swiftly coalesced into what is called the “Civil Disobedience Movement.” Faced with the threat of people power, security forces have killed over 900 demonstrators and bystanders, including an estimated 75 children, and injured thousands more.
The junta has arbitrarily detained thousands of protesters, activists, journalists, lawyers, doctors and nurses. Many have been tortured, while all risk falling ill with COVID-19 in the country’s squalid and already overcrowded prisons.
The junta has shut down hospitals and targeted medical professionals, leading to a collapse of the health system as COVID-19 surges across the country. They have arrested journalists reporting on the crackdown, closed independent media, and effectively shut down the internet and phone service after almost daily images appeared showing soldiers and police firing into peaceful crowds.
What is also abundantly clear is that the Myanmar people have no plans to back down. As a friend told me from hiding:
“We have experienced dictatorships for 50 years, coups, annulling the 1990 election, massacres of student protesters, killing of Buddhist monks and nuns in the [2007] Saffron Revolution. Millions of people have marched in spite of soldiers who we know will shoot us. Civil servants have stopped working in protest. People have refused to have anything to do with the state. Many have stopped paying income and sales tax, utility bills, and fees since February 1. We are scared but we are not going to give in to these thugs and let them take away our future.”
Another thing that is very clear is that while some international organizations and governments have talked a good game, the response has gone from inadequate to dismal.
While some leaders have issued strong statements denouncing the coup and announced targeted sanctions against junta officials, they also have cynically decided to hide behind the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a club dominated by dictators whose chief principle is “non-interference in the internal affairs” of other members. True to form, when ASEAN held a special meeting on Myanmar in April it couldn’t even agree to call for the release of all political prisoners.
The main outcome was a plan to appoint a special envoy, but more than three months later none has been appointed. Knowing that there was no chance that ASEAN would come together to exert significant pressure on one of its own members, the U.S., U.K., E.U., Japan, and Australia nevertheless issued statements suggesting that ASEAN should take the lead in resolving the crisis. The reality is that ASEAN is serving as the perfect foil for the junta, trying to run the clock out in hopes the world loses interest or another crisis explodes elsewhere.
The world needs to end this diplomatic charade. While the U.K., the lead country on Myanmar issues at the UN Security Council, is concerned that China and Russia would use their veto, it should follow the lead of the General Assembly and circulate a binding resolution to ban arms sales. It should also call for the sanctioning of entities that provide the funds that keep the junta afloat. The U.K., U.S., France, and other Security Council members should make it clear that, if Beijing and Moscow do use their veto, they will submit the same resolution over and over again until they relent.
Until then, they should announce a coalition of states that will engage in “maximum, coordinated sanctions” that would block payments to the junta and state-owned enterprises from foreign-financed oil and gas projects, such as those operated by Thailand’s PTT, France’s Total, and the U.S. behemoth Chevron. Gas revenues are the military’s largest source of foreign currency income, adding up to an estimated $1 billion annually in duties, taxes, royalties, fees, tariffs, and other profits. This is the lifeblood of the junta, without which it cannot survive..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-08-04
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
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Description:
"Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jacqueline Maguire, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Dermot Shea, Police Commissioner of the City of New York (“NYPD”), announced the arrests of PHYO HEIN HTUT and YE HEIN ZAW for conspiracy to assault and make a violent attack upon Myanmar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. HTUT and ZAW were charged in two separate complaints and will be presented later today in the U.S. District Court in White Plains before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew E. Krause.
U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “As alleged, Phyo Hein Htut and Ye Hein Zaw plotted to seriously injure or kill Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations in a planned attack on a foreign official that was to take place on American soil. We commend the tireless work of our law enforcement partners at all levels of government to ensure the safety of foreign diplomats and officials.”
FBI Acting Assistant Director Jacqueline Maguire said: “Time was of the essence when we received information about a threat to Myanmar’s Ambassador to the United Nations. I would like to thank our Westchester Safe Streets Task Force and each of our partner law enforcement agencies that worked quickly and diligently to track down the men allegedly hired in this plot to harm and potentially kill a foreign diplomat on U.S. soil. Our laws apply to everyone in our country, and these men will now face the consequences of allegedly breaking those laws.”
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said: “As alleged in today’s federal charges, these defendants reached across borders and oceans in designing a violent plot against an international leader on United States soil. But our NYPD investigators and prosecutors from the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York worked relentlessly with our law enforcement partners to bring them to justice before any harm could be done.”
According to the allegations in the two Complaints filed today[1]:
Between at least in or about July 2021 through at least on or about August 5, 2021, HTUT and ZAW, citizens of Myanmar currently residing in New York, conspired to injure or kill Myanmar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (the “Ambassador”). During the conspiracy, HTUT communicated with an arms dealer in Thailand (the “Arms Dealer”) who sells weapons to the Burmese military, which overthrew Myanmar’s civilian government in or about February 2021. In the course of those conversations, HTUT and the Arms Dealer agreed on a plan in which HTUT would hire attackers to hurt the Ambassador in an attempt to force the Ambassador to step down from his post. If the Ambassador did not step down, then the Arms Dealer proposed that the attackers hired by HTUT would kill the Ambassador.
Shortly after agreeing on the plan, ZAW contacted HTUT by cellphone and transferred approximately $4,000 to HTUT through a money transfer app as an advance payment on the plot to attack the Ambassador. Later, during a recorded phone conversation with ZAW, HTUT discussed how the planned attackers would require an additional $1,000 to conduct the attack on the Ambassador in Westchester County, and for an additional payment the attackers could, in substance, “finish off” the Ambassador. In response, ZAW agreed, in substance, to pay the additional $1,000 and to try to obtain the additional money.
HTUT, 28, and ZAW, 20, both citizens of Myanmar, are each charged in separate complaints with one count of conspiracy to assault and make a violent attack upon a foreign official, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s Westchester Safe Streets Task Force, which comprises special agents and task force officers from the FBI, NYPD, United States Probation Office, New York State Police, New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Westchester County Department of Public Safety, Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, and the police departments of Yonkers, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Greenburgh, White Plains, Peekskill, Ramapo, and Clarkstown. Ms. Strauss also thanked the Pelham Manor Police Department and the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service for their assistance in the investigation.
Ms. Strauss said that the investigation is ongoing, and asked any individuals with relevant information to contact the FBI at (800)-CALL-FBI.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas S. Bradley is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges in the Complaints are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the texts of the Complaints and the description of the Complaints set forth in this release constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation..."
Source/publisher:
United States Department of Justice (Washington, D.C.)
Date of publication:
2021-08-06
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Human Rights Defenders
Language:
more
Description:
"06 Aug 2021: The newly appointed ASEAN Special Envoy to Myanmar must secure an end to the Myanmar military junta’s violence and engage with true representatives of the people of Myanmar, starting with the National Unity Government (NUG), says the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M).
The appointment of Erywan Yusof, Foreign Affairs Minister II of Brunei Darussalam, as the ASEAN Special Envoy to Myanmar must mark a turning point in ASEAN’s efforts to resolve a crisis caused six months ago by junta leader Min Aung Hlaing. ASEAN took three months to appoint the Special Envoy after reaching its five-point consensus and neglected to consult anyone other than the junta.
“After months of delay and hundreds of deaths, there’s no time to be lost. Implementation of the five-point consensus is now urgent,” said Chris Sidoti of SAC-M. “It should start with the Special Envoy securing an immediate total nationwide ceasefire by the military and the withdrawal of the military to barracks.”
The new Special Envoy has already been leading the 10-country regional bloc’s efforts to resolve the crisis in his capacity as representative of the ASEAN Chair.
During this time, the killing of almost 1,000 democracy activists, peaceful protesters and other civilians by the junta have been verified. More than 5,000 more have been detained. Months of devastating air strikes and artillery fire by the military in massive assaults on civilian areas have killed many more and displaced at least 230,000. Entire villages are either deserted or in ruins.
The junta’s atrocities have only strengthened the people’s commitment to resistance and the democracy movement, represented by the NUG. There is no going back to the quasi-democratic system in place before the coup.
“ASEAN’s efforts thus far, waiting for Min Aung Hlaing’s consent before acting, have been unacceptable,” said Marzuki Darusman of SAC-M. “After six months, it is clear that the junta has neither the military nor the political might to overcome the democracy movement. To ensure any progress, the Special Envoy must engage in dialogue with the NUG, as well as the junta.”
The need for engagement with true representatives of the Myanmar people has been made clear by the catastrophic third wave of COVID-19 in Myanmar, which the junta not only allowed to run free but weaponised for its own political gain.
A decentralised network of local responders, ethnic service providers, civil society organisations, humanitarian groups and others aligned to the democracy movement has been fighting to keep people alive in the vacuum left by the junta’s inability to establish ordinary government functions or assert even a semblance of control. The NUG and Ethnic Health Organisation COVID-19 Task Force is directing cross-border efforts to get life-saving assistance into Myanmar and distributed to where it is needed.
“ASEAN’s inertia has already emboldened the junta as it commits atrocities that amount to crimes against humanity,” said Yanghee Lee of SAC-M. “If the Special Envoy continues to engage only with the junta, he will be taken for a ride while the people of Myanmar suffer the consequences.”..."
Source/publisher:
Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-08-06
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
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Description:
"As of 6 August, (948) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. Today there were no confirmed fallen heroes. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when.
As of August 6, a total of (5502) people are currently under detention. (255) people have been sentenced in person, of them 26 have been sentenced to death (incl. 2 children). 1984 are evading arrest warrants. 118 people have been sentenced in absentia, of them 39 sentenced to death in absentia. In total 65 sentenced to death, in person and absentia. We are also continuing to verify the recently released detainees.
Peter Aung, Pyithu Hluttaw MP for Hpei Hkon Township, Shan State and also NLD member Maung Lwat, Zin Thaw Hein, Sai Lu, Maung Thet, were arrested by the junta at a checkpoint in Shan State’s Nant Hsan Township on July 30.
Nan Sandar Win and Nan Hsu Paing Phue, 4 th year students of Mawlamyine University, living in Sin village in Mon State’s Paung Township, were arrested by the terrorist junta on August 3, and charged under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code then sent to Mon State’s Kyeikmaraw Prison on August 4.
AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heroes in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: [email protected] [email protected]
“Our uprising must succeed”..."
Source/publisher:
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication:
2021-08-06
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
Format :
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Size:
1.33 MB 5.21 MB 1.79 MB
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Description:
"UNOPS-managed Livelihoods and Food Security Fund estimates that one in six Myanmar workers in low-skilled employment is in a situation of forced labour
Yangon, Myanmar - In the first major study on the prevalence of forced labour in Myanmar since 2015, the UNOPS-managed Livelihoods and Food Security Fund (LIFT) shows that one in six workers in low-skilled employment is in a situation of forced labour due to multiple gaps in existing labour protection frameworks.
The LIFT-funded report From the Rice Paddy to the Industrial Park: Working Conditions and Forced Labour in Myanmar’s Rapidly Shifting Labour Market assesses the practical experiences of over 2,400 low skilled workers in relation to freedom of association, wage protection, equal treatment of women, access to justice and other key labour rights.
The study reveals that despite advances being made in increasing workers’ rights, 91 percent of interviewed workers had no formal contract and 93 per cent of workers had no access to social security. This is largely attributed to the decades under neglect - leading up to 2000 - when workers in Myanmar were left without access to basic rights and unprotected by an outdated legislative framework. While reforms to labour governance were initiated in 2010, the labour market itself has continued to be dominated by informality and poor working conditions.
The research findings showed an alarming prevalence of the two elements of forced labour, ‘involuntary work’, experienced by a staggering 63 per cent of workers and ‘threat or menace of penalty’ among low-skilled workers reported by 19 percent of respondents.
Not being told about dangerous working conditions (32 per cent), working for very low wages (25 percent), degrading living conditions in employer-provided housing (16 per cent) and a job that differed to what was agreed upon (11 per cent) are named as the most common forms of involuntary work. These and other findings suggest a high prevalence of exploitative employment practices and a lack of decent work opportunities for workers which are compounded by considerable practical restrictions on freedom of association and collective bargaining as well as by limitations in the reach or effectiveness of available assistance.
The study also provides evidence of the informality of the labour market information system, with over 50 per cent of workers reporting having found jobs by word of mouth and 47 per cent securing their employment through direct hire by the employer. Only (1 per cent) of workers interviewed were recruited through a labour broker (pwe sar in Myanmar language).
The COVID-19 pandemic further accentuated workers’ vulnerabilities with the survey finding that nearly three-quarters of low-skilled workers (73 per cent) reported some reduction in income during COVID-19, while (43 per cent) lost their jobs entirely.
Following the 1 February military takeover of government and the current COVID-19 third wave there has been a further dramatic rise in unemployment amounting to up to 1.2 million job losses in the second quarter of 2021. The sectors hardest hit are those that are the focus of this study, construction, garments, tourism and hospitality. All indications are that the unfolding political and socio-economic crisis will roll back years of hard-fought gains made in expanding labour protection during recent years, particularly through the suppression of trade unions and labour organisations.
“The study provides a critical line in the sand for the status of working conditions before the military’s declaration of a state of emergency and the outbreak of the third wave of COVID-19,” remarked LIFT Fund Director Katy Webley. “The situation of forced labour in Myanmar was significant before 1 February, but there were many individuals and organisations working together to create a momentum of change; the past few months however have seen the situation deteriorate dramatically.”
Mass loss of employment and increased desperation for income will increase the vulnerability of Myanmar’s workers to exploitative labour practices and forced labour both in Myanmar and abroad. The impact of the political situation on workers in Myanmar must continue to be monitored closely with decisive actions taken to ensure that fundamental labour rights are safeguarded from abuse. LIFT’s donors remain committed to supporting the resilience and sustainable livelihoods of poor and vulnerable groups in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations Office for Project Services (Denmark) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-08-06
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNOPS (United Nations Office for Project Services), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
4.35 MB
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Description:
"Your Excellency,
The National Unity Government (NUG) is closely following the discussion at the 54th
ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting, particularly on Myanmar. We noted the 54th AMM Joint
Communique and believed that Brunei Darussalam’s Chairmanship will be able to bring
ASEAN to a more peaceful, stable, and resilient Community with enhanced capacity to
respond effectively to challenges. We also welcomed your appointment as the ASEAN Special
Envoy for Myanmar. We believe your able leadership would bring differences in this situation
that the people of Myanmar are facing.
On behalf of the NUG, I wish to reiterate that our government continues to be
committed to engaging and working closely with ASEAN to ensure the success of ASEAN’s
objectives to create a humanitarian space and start an inclusive process towards resolving
Myanmar’s current political crisis. The NUG fully appreciates that these are long-term
commitments that ASEAN Member States have made towards a fellow member state.
Your Excellency,
In this regard, I would like to highlight a couple of points for your kind information
and consideration. First, while the NUG deeply appreciates the support and commitment of
ASEAN Member States to assist Myanmar and her people, we nevertheless remain greatly
concerned that the military junta gets to continuously representing Myanmar in many of
ASEAN platforms. I wish to highlight that the military junta has clearly put its own people
and other people in this region at risks by disrespecting Article 1 and Article 2 of the ASEAN
Charter. It has evidently belittled the 'Purpose' and ' Principles’ of our association. ASEAN
Charter is the main legally binding instrument that holds us and our people together, clear
violation of these purposes and principles clearly undermining all ASEAN Member States
goodwill in building a better region.
Secondly, while we appreciate greatly ASEAN’s efforts in creating an inclusive
platform for dialogue, the NUG would like to stress that there are pre-conditions for a
possible constructive dialogue with the military junta.
Thirdly, like many other ASEAN Member States understand and as widely reported in
many international media; the civil resistance movements persist despite continues
atrocities by the military junta which led to deteriorating humanitarian situation, economic
collapse, and more recently the rapid spread of the COVID-19 across the country. Our people
are dying every day. We plead your cooperation to support us in addressing humanitarian
and COVID-19 crisis. This has to be made into ASEAN's priority. The NUG has adopted a
people-centred response to prevent, mitigate, and control the spread of the COVID-19 within
Myanmar and at the border areas. We have set-up the Covid-19 Task Force (CTF) on 21st of
July in collaboration with Ethnic Health Organizations. We are looking forward to
collaborating with ASEAN, collectively through the AHA Centre, and in any possible bilateral
cooperation.
Your Excellency,
I understand the weight ASEAN is carrying, the complexity of the region. On behalf of
the people of Myanmar and as part of ASEAN family, I would like to extend our full
cooperation with ASEAN, especially in addressing the humanitarian and COVID-19 crisis we
are facing.
Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Myanmar - NUG
Date of publication:
2021-08-05
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Human Rights and international relations, ASEAN-Burma relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
42.72 KB 609.99 KB
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Sub-title:
Kyaw Moe Tun, who has defied regime attempts to sack him, tells UN it must take action over killings in remote Sagaing area
Description:
"Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations, who has refused to leave his post despite being fired by the junta after the February coup, has alerted the world body to a “reported massacre” by the military.
Kyaw Moe Tun sent a letter to the UN secretary general, António Guterres, on Tuesday saying 40 bodies had been found in July in the Sagaing area of north-western Myanmar.
The junta has denied the massacre in the township of Kani, while news agencies have not been able to independently verify the reports due to mobile networks being cut in the remote region.
The representative wrote that soldiers tortured and killed 16 men in a village in the township around 9-10 July, after which 10,000 residents fled the area.
He said a further 13 bodies were discovered in the days after clashes between local fighters and security forces on 26 July.
Kyaw Moe Tun added that another 11 men, including a 14-year-old boy, were killed and set on fire in a separate village on 28 July.
In the letter, the ambassador repeated his call for an arms embargo on the ruling junta and “urgent humanitarian intervention” from the international community.
“We cannot let the military keep on doing this kind of atrocity in Myanmar,” Kyaw Moe Tun said.
“It is time for the UN, especially the UN security council, to take action.”
It came as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) on Wednesday appointed an envoy to Myanmar after a months-long delay in diplomatic efforts to resolve the coup crisis.
Asean’s foreign ministers said in a joint statement, delayed by internal wrangling, that they welcomed the appointment of Brunei second foreign minister, Erywan Yusof, as the bloc’s special envoy. Asean, which operates on a premise of consensus and non-interference, has been under global pressure to help resolve the crisis.
The appointment of an envoy is expected to clear the way for Aseasn to send emergency aid to help authorities cope with a severe Covid-19 outbreak.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army ousted the civilian leadership on 1 February, launching a crackdown on dissent that has killed hundreds of people.
Kyaw Moe Tun has passionately rejected the coup and brushed aside the junta’s claims that he no longer represents Myanmar. The United Nations still considers him as the rightful envoy.
The representative was sacked by the junta in February a day after he gave a three-finger salute at the UN general assembly following an impassioned speech calling for the return to civilian rule.
The “Hunger Games” gesture was widely used by pro-democracy demonstrators.
Kyaw Moe Tun, who has repeatedly called for international intervention to help end unrest in Myanmar, said on Wednesday that US authorities had boosted his security after an apparent threat was made against him.
“There was a reported threat against me,” he said. “The police and the security authorities here in New York are working on it,” he added, without giving details about the nature of the threat.
Myanmar’s junta chief said on Sunday elections would be held and a state of emergency lifted by August 2023, extending the military’s initial one-year timeline announced days after the coup..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-08-05
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
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Description:
" People arrested
In Karenni State the total number of people arrested since the coup has increased from 132 to
135 during the past two weeks. The three arrested, including a young woman, were aid
volunteers, who were on the way to provide assistance to one of the IDP camps on July 30,
2021.
Ongoing military aggression
The SAC troops have been continuing clearance operations in the areas where KNDF and
IDPs are staying, so on July 23 the KNDF issued a statement that fighting could occur at any
time.
On July 19, SAC troops who had set up a camp near Kalilyah village, Nan Peh village tract,
in Bawlake township fired artillery into the village. On the same day, SAC troops based in
Bawlake town also shelled artillery into Nan Peh village, about 10 kilometers away After the
shelling, SAC troops in civilian clothes patrolled around the villages of Taw Khu, Kalilyah,
Nan Peh and Tah Leh. Most of the villagers of Kalilyah and Nan Peh have now fled to hide in
the jungle.
On July 20, 2021, the SAC shelled into Pruso town for no apparent reason. Residents of
Pruso suddenly heard loud explosions of shells, but luckily no one was injured or killed.
On July 22, 2021, at 4 pm, KNPP troops and KNDF troops ambushed a convoy of SAC
trucks transporting rations and troops near Kayan Thayar village and Kyauk Kone village in
Loikaw township.
On July 31, 2021, at 11:45 am, KNPP troops and KNDF troops clashed with SAC troops near
Pah Tima village and Daw Muklah village in Loikaw township. The SAC troops, from LIB
261 and LIB 250, were heading to IDP camps in Kayan Thayar village tract and Pakyeh
village tract in Loikaw township, on the instructions of the Eastern Regional Command and
Loikaw-based military command.
Situation of IDPs and humanitarian aid
The new displacement of 812 villagers from Kalilyah and Nan Peh villages in Bawlake
township, due to ongoing SAC artillery attacks on civilians, has raised the total numbers
displaced to almost 120,000 in all townships of Karenni State and Pekhon township. This has
increased the need for food, medicine and shelter for the IDPs.
Some villagers have risked returning to their original villages to try and farm their lands, but
dare not bring their children with them in case fighting breaks out again. They therefore leave
their children in the IDP camps, where makeshift schools have been set up..."
Source/publisher:
Karenni Civil Society Network
Date of publication:
2021-08-04
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
849.27 KB 902.22 KB
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Description:
"As of 5 August, (948) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. AAPP compiled and documented (2) fallen heroes today. These (2) fallen heroes from Ye Township in Mon State and Minkin Township in Sagaing Region were killed on previous days and documented today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when.
As of August 5, a total of (5497) people are currently under detention. (255) people have been sentenced in person, of them 26 have been sentenced to death (incl. 2 children). 1984 are evading arrest warrants. 118 people have been sentenced in absentia, of them 39 sentenced to death in absentia. In total 65 sentenced to death, in person and absentia. We are also continuing to verify the recently released detainees.
Pyay Thein, who was arrested while protesting in Ye Township, Mon State on March 22 and charged under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code and detained at Kyeikmaraw Prison, died on August 4 in prison. Even though police said he died from diabetes, Pyay Thein had never suffered from diabetes according to his family’s friend. Myo Chit, a member of Minkin PDF of Sagaing Region’s Minkin Township, who was trapped and arrested along with over 50 members of Minkin PDF on July 28 at Taung Phyu Village in Sagaing Region’s Minkin Township, was killed on August 3 in an interrogation center in Kalay Town.
Thet Htar Hnaung, MP for Kachin State Hluttaw of No (1) Constituency of Mohnyin Township, Kachin State and also NLD member, was arrested and beaten around 2am of August 4 by junta soldiers and those wearing plain clothes. Approximately six people were arrested along with her at the home.
AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heroes in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: [email protected] [email protected]
“Our uprising must succeed”..."
Source/publisher:
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication:
2021-08-05
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
Fifteen countries stand in solidarity with victims of attacks by the Myanmar security forces and condemn attacks on places of worship.
Description:
"Statement from the 15 countries signed up to the International Religious Freedom of Belief Alliance:
We stand in solidarity with the victims of human rights violations and abuses by the Myanmar security forces. People of all faiths and beliefs have come together to condemn the military’s actions since the 1 February 2021 coup.
Faith actors have played prominent roles in the anti-coup movement, including by supporting human rights defenders and vulnerable communities. As a result, some have been subjected to inhumane treatment by the military regime. We remember those who have been killed and call for the release of all those unjustly detained.
We echo the previous calls of Cardinal Charles Maung Bo to protect religious buildings, as well as hospitals, schools and other civilian structures during the ongoing violence. We condemn attacks on all those seeking refuge or protection. We condemn any violence against buildings that are at the very centres of communities, such as the Sacred Heart Church in Loikaw, Katkyaw Monastery in Bago, and Sule Mosque in Mandalay among others.
We condemn any attack on places of worship in Myanmar and support all who pursue peace and human rights in Myanmar. We commend the role of faith actors in responding to COVID-19 in Myanmar as well as civil society organisations who are working in challenging circumstances, and remember all those who have died as a result of the pandemic.
Co-signatories: Albania, Australia, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, US and the UK..."
Source/publisher:
Govt. UK (London)
Date of publication:
2021-08-04
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
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Description:
"The people of Myanmar face an unparalleled national three Cs (coup, COVID and climate change) crisis today as we confront a failed military coup, catastrophic third COVID-19 wave, and natural disasters engineered by changes in the climate. As the third wave of COVID-19 spreads rampantly throughout Myanmar, it is possible that the next COVID-19 variant could arise out of Myanmar; this is a major threat to regional and global public health security, a threat that must be immediately addressed by ASEAN and Myanmar’s neighboring countries as well as the international community.
For six months, the military junta has robbed the people of Myanmar of their sense of security and dignity. The military has murdered 940 people, including over 70 children as young as 6 years old. They have arbitrarily detained over 5,400 people. Of those, 19 percent are women who have been at the forefront of leading anti-junta protests on the streets. The Ministry of Women, Youths and Children’s Affairs has reported rape and sexual violence against girls and women in detention. Along with peaceful LGBTIQ protesters, they have been sexually assaulted and harassed, made to conduct humiliating and degrading acts that amount to torture in detention.
Meanwhile, food insecurity is growing, the banking sector is in crisis, and the economy is collapsing with the World Bank forecasting Myanmar’s economy to shrink by 18 percent, and the World Food Program estimating that an additional 3.4 million people will now go hungry. This adds to the decades of military rule, and the mismanagement of essential administration, including in the health sector. Instead of funding education and health, the military focused on stealing wealth from the people of Myanmar to fund their decades-long civil war against ethnic communities, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in ethnic areas and genocide against the Rohingya with impunity. As a result, more than half a million people are now internally displaced in Myanmar. This is the reason why Myanmar requires such dire levels of international assistance today.
In the face of these challenges, the people of Myanmar, and the National Unity Government (NUG) have repeatedly called on ASEAN and the international community for rapid and expanded humanitarian aid intervention. We welcome the generous support that has been provided by the regional and international community in response to the humanitarian crisis so far, particularly in dialogue with the NUG and NUG-aligned administrative bodies, as well as civil society organizations (CSOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs), but the needs are far greater and require a more robust and coordinated intervention.
Responsibility for this human rights and humanitarian crisis rests squarely with the military junta, which, rather than tackling these issues to the benefit of the people of Myanmar, continues to weaponize COVID-19 and humanitarian aid for its own political gain.
It is vital that humanitarian assistance programs be designed and implemented in a way that ensures that they are not being used to promote or benefit the political or financial interests of the military junta.
ASEAN and the wider international community must coordinate with and empower existing governance structures that are supported by the people in all parts of Myanmar, particularly through NUG-aligned administrative bodies and CSOs/CBOs in ethnic-administered areas for localized humanitarian response to needs on the ground.
The NUG’s people-centered response to humanitarian aid prioritizes the immediate needs of the people of Myanmar. The “People First” approach places the people’s well-being and health services as our first priority, as we endeavor to work with all UN agencies and development partners to bring equitable access to healthcare and COVID-19 vaccination for all people of Myanmar in accordance with international standards, including those laid out by the WHO and UNICEF.
We urge ASEAN, and its humanitarian assistance through the AHA Center, to adhere to certain principles in provision of humanitarian aid. While the people in Myanmar are in desperate need of assistance, support must reach those most in need in a way that does not legitimize the junta, which is the cause of the people’s suffering.
While recognizing that communication with the military may be unavoidable in some instances in providing humanitarian aid, all ASEAN, UN and international partners are strongly urged to avoid communications with the military junta, which will imply or provide it with legitimacy or recognition. To this end, we strongly urge ASEAN to have regular, meaningful and inclusive dialogue with all stakeholders as set out in its five point consensus, in particular by holding dialogue with the NUG and members of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) as well as ethnic armed organizations.
By AUNG MYO MIN 5 August 2021
The people of Myanmar face an unparalleled national three Cs (coup, COVID and climate change) crisis today as we confront a failed military coup, catastrophic third COVID-19 wave, and natural disasters engineered by changes in the climate. As the third wave of COVID-19 spreads rampantly throughout Myanmar, it is possible that the next COVID-19 variant could arise out of Myanmar; this is a major threat to regional and global public health security, a threat that must be immediately addressed by ASEAN and Myanmar’s neighboring countries as well as the international community.
For six months, the military junta has robbed the people of Myanmar of their sense of security and dignity. The military has murdered 940 people, including over 70 children as young as 6 years old. They have arbitrarily detained over 5,400 people. Of those, 19 percent are women who have been at the forefront of leading anti-junta protests on the streets. The Ministry of Women, Youths and Children’s Affairs has reported rape and sexual violence against girls and women in detention. Along with peaceful LGBTIQ protesters, they have been sexually assaulted and harassed, made to conduct humiliating and degrading acts that amount to torture in detention.
Meanwhile, food insecurity is growing, the banking sector is in crisis, and the economy is collapsing with the World Bank forecasting Myanmar’s economy to shrink by 18 percent, and the World Food Program estimating that an additional 3.4 million people will now go hungry. This adds to the decades of military rule, and the mismanagement of essential administration, including in the health sector. Instead of funding education and health, the military focused on stealing wealth from the people of Myanmar to fund their decades-long civil war against ethnic communities, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in ethnic areas and genocide against the Rohingya with impunity. As a result, more than half a million people are now internally displaced in Myanmar. This is the reason why Myanmar requires such dire levels of international assistance today.
In the face of these challenges, the people of Myanmar, and the National Unity Government (NUG) have repeatedly called on ASEAN and the international community for rapid and expanded humanitarian aid intervention. We welcome the generous support that has been provided by the regional and international community in response to the humanitarian crisis so far, particularly in dialogue with the NUG and NUG-aligned administrative bodies, as well as civil society organizations (CSOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs), but the needs are far greater and require a more robust and coordinated intervention.
Responsibility for this human rights and humanitarian crisis rests squarely with the military junta, which, rather than tackling these issues to the benefit of the people of Myanmar, continues to weaponize COVID-19 and humanitarian aid for its own political gain.
It is vital that humanitarian assistance programs be designed and implemented in a way that ensures that they are not being used to promote or benefit the political or financial interests of the military junta.
ASEAN and the wider international community must coordinate with and empower existing governance structures that are supported by the people in all parts of Myanmar, particularly through NUG-aligned administrative bodies and CSOs/CBOs in ethnic-administered areas for localized humanitarian response to needs on the ground.
The NUG’s people-centered response to humanitarian aid prioritizes the immediate needs of the people of Myanmar. The “People First” approach places the people’s well-being and health services as our first priority, as we endeavor to work with all UN agencies and development partners to bring equitable access to healthcare and COVID-19 vaccination for all people of Myanmar in accordance with international standards, including those laid out by the WHO and UNICEF.
We urge ASEAN, and its humanitarian assistance through the AHA Center, to adhere to certain principles in provision of humanitarian aid. While the people in Myanmar are in desperate need of assistance, support must reach those most in need in a way that does not legitimize the junta, which is the cause of the people’s suffering.
While recognizing that communication with the military may be unavoidable in some instances in providing humanitarian aid, all ASEAN, UN and international partners are strongly urged to avoid communications with the military junta, which will imply or provide it with legitimacy or recognition. To this end, we strongly urge ASEAN to have regular, meaningful and inclusive dialogue with all stakeholders as set out in its five point consensus, in particular by holding dialogue with the NUG and members of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) as well as ethnic armed organizations.
It is crucial that resources be provided directly to local actors who can flexibly and creatively meet the needs on the ground in a way that does not legitimize or otherwise support the military junta. By resourcing CSOs, CBOs, ethnic administrations, and in some circumstances services through CDM health professionals, ASEAN and international support can meet the needs of the people without causing greater harm. This can also ensure that COVID-19 support and vaccinations are not used as a weapon against the people and those participating in the CDM.
Commitment to providing cross-border assistance is key to meeting the urgent needs of the people of Myanmar. Cross-border aid can be delivered through CSOs and CBOs with decades of experience in provision of essential services, particularly in ethnic administrations. The COVID-19 Task Force set up by the Ministry of Health, NUG and ethnic health organizations is central to such provision of assistance at this time.
Decentralized and localized aid is reflective of the emerging federal democratic union that we aspire to build and cross-border aid is currently essential in the realization of inclusive and equitable provision of aid.
These above positions of the NUG in regards to humanitarian aid are clearly laid out in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management position paper issued on June 19. On July 18, reiterating these calls, the NUG sent a letter to the UN Secretary General, requesting a robust and well-designed intervention from the international community.
Every day that passes without ASEAN and the international community’s urgent action is a day that we lose more lives. The military exists to serve its own interests and has demonstrated over the past six months that it will not act in the best interest of the people of Myanmar. Rather, it serves to perpetuate its own status quo, which will only be further emboldened by the inaction of ASEAN and the wider international community.
The attempted coup has failed. It is the people of Myanmar, despite the immense challenges and against all odds, who are keeping the future of Myanmar from falling into decades-long military rule once again. But we require immediate support.
ASEAN must act, and it must act NOW. Not only for the sake of the people of Myanmar but for the sake of ASEAN. Their continuing insistence on working through the junta is an affront to its own founding Charter, with its declaration of “adhering to the principles of democracy, the rule of law and good governance, respect for and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms”.
History is repeating itself once again. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is an aspiring dictator, a third-generation military chief who is following in the footsteps of previous dictators, appointing himself as the “caretaker” of Myanmar. This is a threat to global stability and security, and while ASEAN has an important role to play, the world must no longer wait for ASEAN to act. The current human rights, humanitarian and COVID crisis requires robust and immediate action by the UN Secretary General and the UN Security Council. Their immediate action is needed to save lives.
Aung Myo Min is Minister of Human Rights in the National Unity Government of Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-08-05
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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Description:
"Southeast Asian parliamentarians have responded warily to the decision by ASEAN to appoint Brunei’s Foreign Affairs Minister II Erywan Yusof as its special envoy to Myanmar, urging him to take immediate and decisive action to put an end to the military’s bloodshed and chaos.
“While we are satisfied that ASEAN has, at last, appointed a special envoy, there are legitimate concerns with the appointment of Erywan Yusof. Let us not forget that the Minister, as the representative of ASEAN’s Chair, has led the bloc’s ineffective response so far, including a delegation to Myanmar in June, during which he not only met solely with the junta, but also pushed their narrative that elections could take place,” said Kasit Piromya, a Board Member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) and former Thai Member of Parliament (MP). “It is also unnerving that a Minister of an absolute monarchy that does not abide by international human rights standards has been tasked with convincing a murderous army to respect these principles.”
This week, Erywan Yusof, Brunei’s second minister for foreign affairs, was appointed as ASEAN’s special envoy to Myanmar, following several months of negotiations between the bloc and the Myanmar military junta. The role was agreed at the ASEAN Leaders’ Summit in Jakarta in April, during which Member States reached a Five-Point Consensus, which has seen little progress until this point.
“Until now, ASEAN’s response to the ongoing crisis in Myanmar has been deeply, deeply disappointing. With this appointment ASEAN cannot hide behind the excuse of not having a Special Envoy anymore,” Piromya said. “The bloc must ensure that the new Envoy finally gives the bloc the leadership we have so desperately craved in this crisis. Not only do the Myanmar people depend on it, but so does ASEAN’s entire reputation.”
“The Envoy must act promptly, and show skillful diplomacy to ensure he does not become a pawn in the junta’s game to pretend it is taking action, all while maintaining its grip on power and subjecting the people more and more to its oppressive rule. He cannot play into Min Aung Hlaing’s game of using ASEAN to gain international and regional legitimacy anymore, but instead must secure solutions that help the people of Myanmar reach the democracy they have spent the last six months showing the world they so desperately crave,” Piromya said.
The new Special Envoy for Myanmar must change ASEAN’s course of action, and immediately step up action to end violence; secure the release of all political prisoners in the country; immediately meet with Myanmar’s National Unity Government and Ethnic Armed Organization; as well as work with the UN Special Envoy and its international partners to provide much-needed humanitarian assistance to Myanmar, not through its AHA Centre nor the junta, but through independent humanitarian organisations already operating in the country, as well as ethnic health organizations and local health providers, said APHR..."
Source/publisher:
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights
Date of publication:
2021-08-04
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
more
Description:
"A civilian detained by the junta for his alleged involvement in bomb attacks has died in military custody, according to relatives of the victim.
The August 1 issue of regime-controlled newspapers claimed that the 23-year-old victim Ko Htet Ko Oo was arrested with two other people and a homemade gun and explosives at a warehouse in Yangon’s Dagon Seikkan Township on July 20.
Ko Htet Ko Oo’s family said that he left his hometown of Pyapon in Ayeyarwady Region on May 15 along with friends to work in Yangon. They learned of his arrest only after it was reported in newspapers.
“Those who arrested him have told us nothing. But we have been told by a reliable source that he is dead. We can confirm that he is dead,” a family member told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.
The regime had accused Ko Htet Ko Oo of having undergone military and explosives training in Karen State in territory controlled by the Karen National Liberation Army’s (KNLA) Brigade 5. The KNLA is the armed wing of the powerful ethnic organization, the Karen National Union.
Relatives said that they want justice for Ko Htet Ko Oo. The military regime’s spokesperson has not yet responded to The Irrawaddy’s question about his death.
Dozens of people, including members of the National League for Democracy, are feared to have died in military custody since the junta’s Feb. 1 coup. Among the dead are Ko Soe Moe Hlaing, a veteran pro-democracy activist and the younger brother of Lieutenant General Than Hlaing, the junta’s deputy home affairs minister and police chief.
As of Tuesday, 946 people, including children, have been killed by junta forces since the coup. 5,478 people have been detained and arrest warrants issued for another 1,964 people, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-08-04
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
more
Description:
"As of 4 August, (946) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. Today there were no confirmed fallen heroes. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when.
As of August 4, a total of (5495) people are currently under detention. (255) people have been sentenced in person, of them 26 have been sentenced to death (incl. 2 children). 1984 are evading arrest warrants. 118 people have been sentenced in absentia, of them 39 sentenced to death in absentia. In total 65 sentenced to death, in person and absentia. We are also continuing to verify the recently released detainees.
Khin Mar Lin, a chair of Myittar Lay Nyin Social Association of Nan Mar Town in Kachin State’s Mohnyin Township, was arrested at 1am on August 4 by the terrorist junta. Other people were arrested along with her. In addition to this, Min Min Tun, a political activist from Pyay Town and NLD member of Pyay Township in Bago Region, was arrested on the morning of August 3 by the terrorist junta when his father’s funeral ceremony was being held.
Nan Sandar Win and Nan Su Paing Phue, 4th year students of Mawlamyine University, living in Sin Village in Mon State’s Paung Township, were arrested at their homes by the terrorist junta in the evening of August 3. Moreover, Thinzar Tun, third year student of University of Nursing, living in King Ma Village in Magway Region’s Pauk Township, was arrested on the way from King Ma Village to Kan Ma Village on August 2. Three youths from King Ma Village were also arrested with Thinzar Tun.
AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heroes in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses..."
Source/publisher:
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication:
2021-08-04
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Format :
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1.32 MB 5.47 MB 1.77 MB
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Description:
"Aug. 4, 2021, Myanmar: US/Luxembourg satellite company Intelsat is continuing to lease transponder capacity to Myanmar’s brutal military junta via a UK subsidiary. Intelsat confirmed to Justice For Myanmar that they do not know how the capacity is being utilised. Intelsat would not answer questions regarding their compliance with sanctions in the EU and UK, which restrict the sale of technology to Myanmar that can be used for internal repression.
Myanmar’s agreement to lease capacity on Intelsat 39, branded Myanmarsat-2, was signed in 2018 and the Maxar Technologies-built satellite was launched in 2019. The agreement was signed by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, under the National League for Democracy-led government. However, it was overseen by a steering committee headed by military appointed Vice President Lt Gen Myint Swe. Committee members included the ministers of defence and home affairs, who are also military appointees, raising serious concerns over Intelsat’s human rights due diligence following the military’s genocide against the Rohingya.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “We call on Intelsat to act immediately to prevent the illegal and murderous Myanmar junta from using satellite capacity for military purposes. The Myanmarsat-2 agreement was signed under the National League for Democracy-led government and Intelsat must now consult with the National Unity Government over their continued business in Myanmar, not the illegal junta. We also call on the UK, Luxembourg, and US governments to ensure Intelsat is in compliance with sanctions and protecting human rights in Myanmar. The military has been widening its nationwide terror campaign against the Myanmar people and has murdered over 940 civilians, including children. More than 5,400 have been arrested, facing torture. We have grave concerns that satellite communications now under junta control can be used to support their violent attacks against the Myanmar people.”..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-08-04
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Genocide, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
214.47 KB
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Description:
"Southeast Asia's top diplomats are meeting to discuss the ongoing violence in Myanmar. The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are also hoping to finalize an emergency plan to help control the pandemic there. On Sunday Myanmar's military leader declared himself prime minister and extended military rule until August 2023. As we report, some protesters are determined to keep fighting back despite the risks. A warning to our viewers - you may find some of the footage in this report disturbing.
Big protests have become too risky. In their place, flash mobs - often lasting only a few minutes - have been breaking out in Yangon and other cities.
They yell "Down with the dictatorship, we must overcome" - a brief battle cry before they disappear into the back streets. Six months after the coup, Myanmar has become a full-fledged military state.
Its leader and self-declared Prime Minister, Min Aung Hlaing has extended the state of emergency, and pushed back long-promised elections until August 2023.
Likely to be missing from the list of candidates: Aung San Suu Kyi. The deposed leader is facing a slew of charges in what many observers are calling a sham trial.
Adding to the political and economic turmoil, the country is seeing a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases -
pushing the health care system closer to the brink of collapse, as people wait in line to get oxygen.
With many medics part of the civil disobedience movement, they've become a target of violent abuse by the military. Human rights organizations are calling on the international community to act.
Activists say they will never be able to trust the military. That's a sentiment echoed by many around the country.
Six months after the coup, Myanmar increasingly looks like a tinderbox waiting to explode..."
Source/publisher:
"DW News" (Germany)
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
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Description:
"The Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the rest of the international community must provide humanitarian assistance through the COVID-19 Task Force set up by the Ministry of Health under interim government of Myanmar – the National Unity Government (NUG) – and Ethnic Health Organizations, as well as through cross-border channels, local humanitarian networks, ethnic service providers, and community-based organizations, said Progressive Voice and the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) in a joint statement today.
One hundred days have passed since ASEAN leaders and Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing reached the Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar during the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting on 24 April 2021, yet little progress has been made by ASEAN towards the realization of the consensus.
The consensus placed the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) as the main vehicle through which ASEAN shall provide humanitarian assistance to Myanmar. However, civil society are concerned about the capacity and independence of AHA Centre, as its Governing Board is currently represented by the Myanmar junta’s delegation, which would allow the junta to dictate the terms under which AHA Centre operates. This adds to the on-going criticism on the AHA Centre’s failures in regards the situation of Rohingya in Rakhine State after 2017. A solution beyond AHA Centre is needed.
“The AHA Centre’s operations are marred by its response to the genocide against Rohingya in Rakhine State. The AHA Centre failed to acknowledge the atrocities committed by the Myanmar military and their negligence entrenched the apartheid conditions that Rohingya continue to suffer today,” said Khin Ohmar of Progressive Voice.
“The AHA Centre do not have mandate nor capacity to deliver aid to the people of Myanmar in a way that does not lend tactical and political advantage to the junta. The people of Myanmar are in dire need of support from the regional and international community, but tackling the current crisis through the AHA Centre is to allow the military junta, perpetrator of this humanitarian crisis, to control funding and channel the assistance as they please to their political advantage.”
In a new briefing paper Great Expectations: Analysis of the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management, FORUM-ASIA and Progressive Voice examined the dire humanitarian crisis created by the Myanmar military since the coup on 1 February, and analyzed the role of the AHA Centre, exploring the humanitarian implications for ASEAN and the wider international community.
The paper found that not only is the AHA Centre ill-equipped to handle a so-called “man-made” disaster in Myanmar, its Standard Operating Procedure allows the Myanmar junta to “exercise the overall direction, control, coordination and supervision of the assistance within its territory.” As ASEAN has continued to engage with the brutal and illegitimate junta, refusing to meet with other stakeholders in affront to its own Five Point Consensus, it is likely that ASEAN will work with the junta in provision of humanitarian aid as outlined by the AHA Centre’s procedures.
According to the paper, providing humanitarian aid through the AHA Centre would risk strengthening the junta’s position regionally and internationally and emboldening the junta that have so far killed at least 945 people, arrested 7,026, detained or sentenced 5,474 and displaced at least 230,000 ethnic minorities by aerial bombing and artillery shelling since 1 February.
The human rights and humanitarian disasters have been further compounded by the third wave of COVID-19 and recent flooding, incidences which have been weaponized by the junta for their own political gain, including by calling on the international community to support their relief efforts in a ploy to gain legitimacy. On the ground, the junta has continued to arrest healthcare workers, detain those with expertise on COVID-19 and vaccine rollout, and attack medical facilities.
“It is essential to ensure that the junta does not weaponize the access to humanitarian aid to seek legitimacy from the international community. Civil society, the international community, and particularly ASEAN must recognize and cooperate with NUG, and collectively ensure direct access to people in need without junta’s intervention,” said Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA.
“ASEAN and the international community must recognize and engage with the NUG, and disengage with the junta in provision of humanitarian assistance to prevent them from weaponizing humanitarian aid. We also call on ASEAN to work with the UN and international community to ensure that independent humanitarian organizations and agencies can deliver medical and humanitarian assistance, especially much needed COVID-19 related health support including personal protective equipment, ventilators, oxygen concentrators, and vaccines doses,” said the rights groups..."
Source/publisher:
FORUM-ASIA and Progressive Voice
Date of publication:
2021-08-04
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
Format :
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Size:
208.05 KB 607.73 KB
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Description:
"While Myanmar has been experiencing massive political and economic turmoil since the February coup, a deadly third wave of COVID-19 has hit the country, bringing with it all four known coronavirus variants. Thousands of people are dying as a direct consequence of the military regime’s incompetent and negligent handling of the pandemic, and Myanmar is not close to controlling the latest outbreak of the disease.
The Irrawaddy interviewed Dr. Tin Tin Htar Myint, an epidemiologist working for Pfizer, an American pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation, about the pandemic.
The following are excerpts from her interview published on the Burmese website.
All four coronavirus variants have been found in Myanmar. What are the consequences of that?
COVID-19 cases are rising significantly in Myanmar. So are cases in neighboring countries such as India, Bangladesh and Thailand.
Looking at Myanmar, there were no cases in April. Perhaps there were no infections or there were no tests. But even with no tests, we would have known if there were infections. Cases started to rise at the end of June and beginning of July. Cases are still continuing to rise and won’t peak until around the end of August. Then, they may decline gradually. People have to be careful until mid-September.
Some countries are already facing the fourth wave of COVID-19. Do you think the third wave will overlap with the fourth wave in Myanmar?
More waves will come and we don’t know how long they will last. Bangladesh has suffered two waves continuously, the first was not serious, but the second is massive. India has suffered a massive outbreak and cases are drastically declining now.
By THE IRRAWADDY 4 August 2021
While Myanmar has been experiencing massive political and economic turmoil since the February coup, a deadly third wave of COVID-19 has hit the country, bringing with it all four known coronavirus variants. Thousands of people are dying as a direct consequence of the military regime’s incompetent and negligent handling of the pandemic, and Myanmar is not close to controlling the latest outbreak of the disease.
The Irrawaddy interviewed Dr. Tin Tin Htar Myint, an epidemiologist working for Pfizer, an American pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation, about the pandemic.
The following are excerpts from her interview published on the Burmese website.
All four coronavirus variants have been found in Myanmar. What are the consequences of that?
COVID-19 cases are rising significantly in Myanmar. So are cases in neighboring countries such as India, Bangladesh and Thailand.
Looking at Myanmar, there were no cases in April. Perhaps there were no infections or there were no tests. But even with no tests, we would have known if there were infections. Cases started to rise at the end of June and beginning of July. Cases are still continuing to rise and won’t peak until around the end of August. Then, they may decline gradually. People have to be careful until mid-September.
Some countries are already facing the fourth wave of COVID-19. Do you think the third wave will overlap with the fourth wave in Myanmar?
More waves will come and we don’t know how long they will last. Bangladesh has suffered two waves continuously, the first was not serious, but the second is massive. India has suffered a massive outbreak and cases are drastically declining now.
The problem with the pandemic is that we can’t predict when the new waves will come or which variant will suddenly become deadly. There are many variants and we can only wait and see which one will cause problems. I can’t tell you if the third wave will overlap with the fourth wave. But the third wave will continue for some time.
Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people are dying daily in Yangon. Will the crisis get worse?
Cases will continue to increase. But deaths may or may not increase even the infections increase. It depends on treatment. Hospitals are already full and there are oxygen shortages. What’s worse is that it is difficult to buy medicines, even paracetamol. So we have to expect the worst.
What should people do as they can’t get proper treatment?
Health experts have called for flattening the curve [which means slowing the spread of the epidemic so that the number of people requiring care at any one time is reduced and healthcare systems can cope] since the very first outbreaks. If cases rise rapidly, hospitals will become overstretched and there won’t be enough medicines and oxygen.
It would be easier to handle the crisis by flattening the curve. The period of the outbreak may be longer, but the number of patients will be steady and doctors will be able to provide proper treatment and there will be enough medicines. So deaths can be reduced.
What people can do is avoid contracting the virus. Elderly persons, people with underlying conditions such as obesity, heart problems, high blood pressure and diabetes are particularly at risk now. There has been a lot of discussion on Facebook and television about how to avoid contracting the virus by social distancing and wearing masks. People should follow that advice.
When will this pandemic be over?
It was initially thought that there would be herd immunity when 70 or 80 percent of the population is vaccinated. But it appears that is not correct. In France, at least 50 percent of the population has been vaccinated. It’s the same in Germany and Israel. But cases are still surfacing.
So it is very difficult to predict when it will end. Normally, a pandemic wave lasts for three to four months. From the examples of other countries, we hope cases will decline in Myanmar after three or four months. But there is no definite answer for that.
What else would you like to tell the people of Myanmar?
Myanmar is having bad luck now. The military has seized power and the country is suffering with the third wave. But there is always light at the end of the tunnel. The pandemic will not last forever. It will recede over time. Stay strong.
If there are vaccines, take them, take the full doses. Wear masks. Keep a safe distance from people. Eat well, sleep well. Consult with a doctor when you don’t feel good, rather than self-medicating. And keep calm..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-08-04
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"Today, six months and a day since the Myanmar military launched its coup d’etat, 462 civil society organisations (CSOs) made formal submissions to the E.U., U.K., U.S. and Australia demanding sanctions on the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE). Sanctions should allow gas production to continue but require revenues to be paid into protected accounts until a legitimate, democratic government is in power.
State-owned MOGE currently provides around 50% of Myanmar’s foreign revenue, estimated to be USD 1.54 billion per year. Companies like Total, Chevron, Posco and PTTEP keep making and facilitating payments into MOGE accounts that are now controlled by the illegal regime, even as it commits atrocities, from air strikes on communities in ethnic areas to detaining and torturing peaceful protesters and journalists, while the devastating impact of a third Covid-19 wave rips across the country.
“The military junta has used gas revenues to purchase weapons ever since the first revenue from the Total-operated gas field started in the late 1990s. They will continue to use these gas revenues to purchase arms to continue its terror campaign against the population and further suppress the democracy movement,” said Ko Ye, a Myanmar activist who is part of the submission.
“People are struggling with no help, under this illegitimate and brutal junta that is carrying out hundreds of attacks on human rights defenders, democracy activists and medical personnel and facilities, arresting doctors and confiscating oxygen. If the funds keep flowing unchecked, this hell will continue. The military junta of Myanmar has an ugly track record of stealing gas revenues,” said Khin Ohmar, Chairperson of Advisory Board of Progressive Voice.
Citizens are refusing to pay electricity bills to avoid bankrolling the junta’s abuses. The U.S. government froze a billion dollars in assets of the Central Bank of Myanmar to stop the military misappropriating them. Meanwhile, governments have sanctioned state-owned enterprises in the timber, gems and jade sectors because they fund the junta, but MOGE operates unchecked, with no sanctions and bringing in larger revenues.
Myanmar’s elected lawmakers and civil society, who have lived under military rule, have assessed that the humanitarian impacts of funding the junta are far worse than the risk of power cuts if revenues are stopped. However, Total has publicly cited humanitarian concerns, dismissing the voice of Myanmar’s people. Total has even claimed that Myanmar gas is vital to keeping the lights on in Thailand, the destination for 80% of the gas is produces, despite Thailand having a massive energy surplus.
Gas companies are then privately lobbying with their governments claiming they will be quickly replaced by less ethical actors, and that ‘leverage’ would be lost. Yet with revenues from gas projects still flowing, either companies have no real leverage or they are not using it.
“Ultimately, our priority is to stop these revenues reaching the junta. If this cannot be achieved, either through sanctions that allow production to continue or through companies taking action directly, the companies must divest rather than lining the pockets of the junta, undermining the efforts of the Myanmar people who are striving for restoration of democracy and for a peaceful future,” said Khin Ohmar..."
Source/publisher:
Progressive Voice
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Business and the Military, Sanctions, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"Statement on the 100th day of the ASEAN’s Five Point Consensus on Myanmar
We, activists, organizers, and allied organizations of the Milk Tea Alliance - who have kindled,
supported, and mobilized recent and emergent protest movements against authoritarian rule
and oppression across Asia and beyond - releases this statement to strongly condemn ASEAN
for its utter incompetence in responding to the current humanitarian and political crisis in
Myanmar.
ASEAN’s Five Point Consensus, which was announced exactly 100 days ago, has proven to be
futile. The consensus was weak in addressing issues critical to de-escalating the crisis - such
as release of the political prisoners. Yet, despite the low bar it set, not a single point on the
consensus has been implemented thus far. Myanmar military has continued to repress,
threaten, and murder innocent civilians with impunity and is now weaponzing the pandemic
against its own people. Overall, the consensus only undermined the struggle of the people of
Myanmar, rather than deliver the promises it claimed it would serve.
Moreover, it is obvious that the bloc itself is disinclined to take any tangible and effective
measure to deter the military in Myanmar. Not only has the ASEAN been unhelpful in resolving
the crisis, it has been an obstacle. It has shielded the Myanmar military from a more
comprehensive international resposne, even giving a veil of international legitimacy by engaging
with them.
In this regard, we urge the wider international community to stop centering ASEAN for a
resolution of the crisis in Myanmar and instead to step up with stronger, more effective
measures against the military themselves..."
Source/publisher:
Milk Tea Alliance via Progressive Voice
Date of publication:
2021-08-04
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations
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Sub-title:
Police once again blame COVID-19, despite the bodies exhibiting signs of severe trauma.
Description:
"Two more people have died under suspicious circumstances while undergoing interrogation by security forces in Myanmar, bringing to 32 the total number of such deaths since the military seized power in a coup d’état six months ago.
In nearly all the cases, authorities have blamed the deaths on COVID-19, despite markings on the bodies of decedents that are consistent with torture. Family members have also been given limited access to view the remains of their loved ones before they are cremated or buried.
The latest to die in police custody was Htet Ko Oo, who was arrested on July 19 in connection with the bombing of the Shwe Nandaw (Golden Palace) jewelry shop in Myanmar’s largest city Yangon. The July 8 incident was the second in less than a month targeting a business owned by Thet Thet Khine, the junta’s minister for social welfare, relief and resettlement.
According to Burma VJ, a website formed by a group of citizen journalists that documents human rights abuses by Myanmar’s military, Htet Ko Oo died on July 31 after being severely beaten during an interrogation session. The website said that authorities never informed his family members of his death and that they only learned of it after seeing a report on social media.
RFA was unable to contact Htet Ko Oo’s family for comment on Tuesday.
Lan Ko Thang, a resident of Sagaing region’s Kalay township, was arrested along with a friend on July 29 while returning home from the Chinese border, where he had labored as a migrant worker for nearly a year. Police had set up a checkpoint to control the spread of the coronavirus following a surge in cases in China and claimed to have “found weapons” on him after stopping the bus he was riding on for an inspection.
Lan Ko Thang died a day after his arrest at an area interrogation center and his family was informed that the cause of death was COVID-19, even though his body exhibited signs of heavy trauma, a relative told RFA’s Myanmar Service, speaking on condition of anonymity citing fear of reprisal.
“When we asked how he died, the military said he died of COVID, but our brother had a lot of injuries all over his body,” said the relative.
“There was a big wound on his head and one of his legs and one of his arms were broken. There were beating marks on his back and leg. There were also marks on his neck, as if he had been strangled. We are furious.”
RFA was unable to verify police reports that Lan Ko Thang was armed, but a resident of Kalay called him “calm and quiet,” adding that it was “totally impossible” that he would have had any weapons on him.
Lan Ko Thang is the fifth person to die from suspected torture while in custody in Kalay since the military ousted Myanmar’s National League for Democracy (NLD) government in a Feb. 1 coup. Government troops have engaged in a major offensive in the region with members of the People’s Defense Force (PDF) militia, formed to protect the public from the military.
A resident of Kalay, who declined to be named, said the rise in arrests and deaths from torture during interrogation has made residents “very insecure.”
“These days, many houses are being raided and people are being arrested. It’s not safe even on the streets in the afternoon. People are always scared,” they said.
“I don't know where [the troops] are getting all their information. They search any house they want without a warrant. Most of those arrested were kept in detention without any reason. Troops have been stationed at the city gates for some time. People have been arrested there too.”
Veteran lawyer Kyee Myint told RFA that any death that occurs during an interrogation should be considered wrongful and families of victims are entitled to file a lawsuit seeking compensation. Family members have said they were unaware of how to file a complaint against the military and questioned what kind of justice they could expect if they did.
Seeking accountability
On Feb. 1, the military overthrew Myanmar’s democratically elected government, claiming voter fraud had led to a landslide victory for Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party in the country’s November 2020 election. The junta has yet to provide evidence of its claims and has violently suppressed nationwide demonstrations calling for a return to civilian rule, killing 946 people over the past six months.
Last month, the family members of those killed or maimed by junta soldiers urged the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute those responsible for the death or dismemberment of their loved ones. They say the military’s leadership must be held to account for its actions, which they believe fall under the court’s jurisdiction according to its founding treaty, the Rome Statute.
Under the statute, the ICC can accept cases related to four main crimes—genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression. The actions by the junta would most likely fall under crimes against humanity—which include murder, rape, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, and torture as part of a large-scale attack against any civilian population.
Aung Myo Min, human rights minister for the shadow National Unity Government (NUG), recently told RFA that torturing someone to death and not providing the actual cause of death is “a grave violation” of a person’s right to life.
He said the NUG is systematically collecting data on extrajudicial killings and plans to bring the perpetrators to justice at the ICC.
Before the ICC will investigate a case, the Office of the Prosecutor must determine whether there is sufficient evidence of crimes of sufficient gravity falling within the ICC’s jurisdiction, whether there are genuine national proceedings, and whether opening an investigation would serve the interests of justice and of the victims.
After gathering evidence and identifying a suspect, the prosecution requests that the ICC judges issue an arrest warrant or summons against a suspect and—based on summations presented by the prosecution, the Defense, and the Legal representative of victims—the judges decide if there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial.
Attempts by RFA to contact junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment went unanswered Tuesday..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-08-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"ကျမတို့မြန်မာ့အမျိုးသမီးသမဂ္ဂ BWU က လစဉ် အမျိုးသမီးတွေနဲ့ ပတ်သက်တဲ့ သတင်းအချက်အလက်တွေ စုဆောင်းပြီး ပြင်ဆင်ထားတဲ့ လစဉ် သတင်းအနှစ်ချုပ်ကို ဖတ်ရှုလို့ ရပါပြီရှင့်။
ဒီ သတင်းအနှစ်ချုပ်က ဇူလိုင်လထဲမှာ အမျိုးသမီးတွေ ရင်ဆိုင်ခံစားနေရတဲ့ အခြေအနေတွေကို ကျမတို့ စုဆောင်းရရှိတဲ့ အချက်အလက်တွေအပေါ် အခြေခံပြီး ပြင်ဆင်ထားတာ ဖြစ်ပါတယ်ရှင့်။
ဒီအချက်အလက်တွေကို လိုအပ်သလို ပြန်လည်ကိုးကားနိုင်ပါတယ်။ အကြံပြုချက်တွေကိုလဲ ကြိုဆိုပါတယ်ရှင့်။..."
Source/publisher:
Burmese Women's Union
Date of publication:
2021-08-01
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Burmese women's organisations, Women and Politics in Burma/Myanmar, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma
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The Writer Says That Asean Must Deliver Humanitarian Aid Directly To The People Of Myanmar Without Waiting For The Junta's Consent.
Description:
"Three months have passed since Asean agreed to a five-point consensus plan on how to respond to the crisis in Myanmar. During this time, the situation in Myanmar has drastically deteriorated.
Yet, the five-point plan remains little more than a piece of paper, with few signs to date of any steps towards implementation.
Meanwhile, the bodies are still, quite literally, piling up on the streets of Myanmar. Earlier this year, the police and soldiers massacred hundreds who joined peaceful protests against the military coup. These days, it is the junta's deadly weaponising of a third wave of the coronavirus that is filling up morgues and causing untold destruction.
The pandemic is wreaking havoc across the country. Acute oxygen shortages and a collapsed healthcare system mean that very few people are getting the treatment they need. The five-point consensus included an agreement that Asean would provide humanitarian assistance to Myanmar. That has still not materialised, even as the need for life-saving aid has become ever-more desperate.
This week, Brunei will host the 54th Asean Foreign Minister's Meeting. It is expected that the long-overdue appointment of the Asean special envoy to Myanmar - also agreed to as part of the five-point consensus - will be announced.
But the announcement of the special envoy, meant to lead regional efforts to end the crisis, will be irrelevant if there is still no clear idea of what Asean will do next.
What should happen next? The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar, of which I am a founding member, has outlined a way forward. Supply lines must be opened across Myanmar's borders to allow life-saving assistance into the country. Asean plays a key political role in this, with Asean member states neighbouring Myanmar.
Asean must engage with local health and other service providers already on the ground. The National Unity Government has established a joint Covid-19 task force with Ethnic Health Organisations.
It is led by highly respected humanitarian leaders who have decades of experience getting emergency services to people fleeing from the Myanmar military. They know how to deliver assistance safely and securely, and Asean must support them.
There is no more time to waste. With every day that passes, Asean's complacency moves closer to complicity in the junta's brutal assault on the people of Myanmar.
The leader of the junta, General Min Aung Hlaing, stated last week that he is seeking the release of Covid-19 funds from Asean, making a mockery of regional efforts to combat the virus.
After launching his coup in February, he abandoned Myanmar's testing and vaccination programme and decimated the country's healthcare system, his soldiers are using hospitals as military bases and targeting medical professionals, forcing thousands into hiding.
In recent weeks, his forces have opened fire on crowds of people anxiously waiting to refill oxygen cylinders, and then seized what scarce supplies of oxygen there are left. They have looted and destroyed medical supplies, including personal protective equipment, and continued to abduct doctors and nurses who are working undercover to treat patients, all the while in fear for their own lives.
Asean member states would be fools to give Covid-19 relief money to the junta. As I stated in 2018 as chair of a United Nations (UN) fact-finding mission on Myanmar, General Min Aung Hlaing should be investigated and prosecuted for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The only way for humanitarian assistance to reach the Myanmar people is for it to be delivered directly to them. In 1948, the Berlin Airlift overcame a Soviet blockade to see food, water and medicine reach the people of besieged West Berlin. There are no excuses.
It is unacceptable for Asean to wait for the junta's consent to begin implementing any part of the five-point consensus. If the special envoy cannot be appointed, the Asean chair and secretary-general must take the lead.
At this week's ministerial meeting, Asean must finally start acting in the interest of the principles enshrined in the Asean Charter; respect for fundamental freedoms, promotion and protection of human rights and the promotion of social justice, as well as peace, security and stability in the region.
People in Myanmar are struggling to breathe. But in the struggle for relevancy, this could be Asean's last gasp.
The writer is a founding member of the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
South Asia Monitor
Date of publication:
2021-08-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, ASEAN-Burma relations, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Human Rights and international relations, The discussion on humanitarian assistance to Burma
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Description:
"In the sixth month since its forcible and unconstitutional power grab, the junta’s oppressive acts to secure political, territorial, or economic control have escalated conflict and the deadliness of a third wave of COVID-19. COVID-19 ripped ferociously through Burma, where a weakened health system and junta restrictions on treatment measures contributed to untold deaths. As the junta brought testing closer to pre-coup levels, it saw COVID-19 positivity rates up to 40%.
During July alone, security forces killed at least 56 civilians. There were 348 violent attacks that either targeted or failed to protect civilians during 1–23 Jul, and a total 3,446 incidents 1 Feb–23 Jul..."
Source/publisher:
Altsean Burma, Burma Human Rights Network, Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, Initiatives for International Dialogue, International Federation for Human Rights, Progressive Voice, US Campaign for Burma, and Women Peace Network
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, Human Rights and international relations, National Unity Government (NUG), Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), Flooding in Burma/Myanmar, Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"Updated 3 August 2021:
As of 3 August, (946) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. AAPP compiled and documented (1) fallen hero today. This (1) fallen hero from Myingyan Township in Mandalay Region was killed on a previous day and documented today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when.
As of August 3, a total of (5478) people are currently under detention. (255) people have been sentenced in person, of them 26 have been sentenced to death (incl. 2 children). 1964 are evading arrest warrants. 118 people have been sentenced in absentia, of them 39 sentenced to death in absentia. In total 65 sentenced to death, in person and absentia. We are also continuing to verify the recently released detainees.
Moe Zaw, who was arrested with four other villagers from Sone Ywar Kone Village in Mandalay Region’s Myingyan Township on July 6, died on July 31 at Myingyan Hospital and found with injuries consistent with torture from interrogation. Injuries on his dead body included knife cuts, cigarette burns on his back and his ribs and abdomen were bruised with gunstock.
Policeman Phyo Zaw Hein from Yesagyo Town in Magway Region, who is involved in Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), was assaulted and arrested on August 1 by police wearing plain clothes. In addition to this, three youths named Soe Thura Moe, Aung Myo Chit and Zaw Khet, who were involved in the Motorbike Strike Column in Pyinmana, Nay Pyi Taw, were arrested at their homes on the night of August 1. Moreover, Aung Sein, Pyithu Hluttaw MP from Dawei Township in Tanintharyi Region, was arrested at his home in Dawei on the night of July 30.
AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heroes in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses..."
Source/publisher:
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication:
2021-08-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"ASEAN is expected to name its special envoy to Myanmar at the regional grouping’s ongoing foreign ministerial meeting this week. Originally scheduled for Monday, the announcement has been delayed after a last-minute objection from Myanmar torpedoed the group’s consensus choice. The Irrawaddy has interviewed various sources across ASEAN to find out what has been going on behind the scenes.
ASEAN Secretary General Dato Lim Jock Hoi and Bruneian Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof visited Naypyitaw on June 5-6 to discuss the appointment of an ASEAN special envoy and a group of advisers. (Brunei currently holds ASEAN’s rotating chair position.) A list of candidates drafted by the ASEAN members was presented for consideration. Of the candidates, two emerged as favorites for consideration: former Indonesian foreign minister Hasan Wirayuda and former Thai vice foreign minister Virasak Futrakul.
While the ASEAN chair remained tight-lipped, news reports surfaced in Singapore following the Naypyitaw trip that Myanmar preferred Virasak as the special envoy, given his experience and expertise. He served as Thai ambassador to Yangon in the mid-1990s. The news raised eyebrows in Jakarta, which was backing Hasan.
When the ASEAN foreign ministers discussed the Myanmar situation on the sidelines of the ASEAN-China special meeting in Chongqing, China on June 8, the junta’s foreign minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, said Naypyitaw still backed Virasak as the envoy. However, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi continued to push for Hasan’s leadership. According to various ASEAN sources, Malaysia further muddied the waters by suddenly throwing the name of veteran Malaysian diplomat Razali Ismail—a former special envoy to Myanmar—into the ring.
Also on the sidelines of the meeting, the earlier Thai idea that the ASEAN “special envoy” should not be a single individual but rather a group of diplomats working on different tasks was first officially put to Myanmar and formally discussed. Wunna Maung Lwin told the meeting that as a new proposal, it would need to be vetted by the military junta before a decision could be made. This further delayed the decision on the special envoy, as the ASEAN chair had to ponder once again who would be the most suitable candidate. In the end, there was no consensus on how to proceed.
The Chongqing meeting set the stage for a prolonged tussle—both between ASEAN and Naypyitaw and among ASEAN members—over the choice of envoy. Throughout the envoy saga, the ASEAN chair has been reluctant to preempt any ASEAN member’s judgement on the issue, despite its prerogative to do so, which is one of the reasons the selection process has dragged on.
Further complicating the process was the fact that in late June and early July, the ASEAN chair had to attend a few G7 and G20-related meetings, while also observing end-of-Ramadan rites.
On July 13, the ASEAN foreign ministers met again, on the sidelines of the ASEAN-US special ministerial meeting. The choice of ASEAN special envoy was once again discussed, this time without the participation of Myanmar. They now agreed that Erywan would take up the position as the ASEAN special envoy.
According to a highly placed source, Thailand decided at this meeting to withdraw Virasak’s name to make it easier for the ASEAN chair to act. With the consensus now solidifying around Erywan, Retno finally yielded and the Bruneian was suddenly put forward as a candidate to head an envoy team, with Hasan, Virasak and Razali serving as advisers. The three readily agreed to the proposal. Additionally, a senior diplomat from Cambodia, the upcoming ASEAN chair, would be included.
Two days before the ASEAN meeting this week, however, Myanmar junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing asserted his preference for Virasak, adding that ASEAN’s new proposal made it impossible to move ahead. This is an interesting development, to say the least, as Myanmar had known for some time that Erywan would be the head of ASEAN team. Myanmar now insists it will have to consider the proposal to make Erywan the head of the team.
At the meeting on Monday, Myanmar adopted a hardline attitude towards ASEAN, especially over the draft Joint Communique that was scheduled to be released on the day, only to be delayed. Some ASEAN members want a commitment from Myanmar to release all political prisoners including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as foreigners detained since the coup. In addition, there has been a strong appeal to include a sentence in the statement calling for swift and full implementation of ASEAN’s five-point consensus, reached in April, on solving the crisis in Myanmar.
After six months of engagement with the Myanmar junta, it is clear that the ASEAN chair wants to earn the trust of all stakeholders, and, accordingly, is proceeding with the appropriate caution needed to reach a decision. The sources expressed disappointment with Naypyitaw’s response to ASEAN’s effort to end the current stalemate. At one point, they said, the chair even threatened to add a paragraph disowning Naypyitaw.
The ASEAN foreign ministers expected Myanmar to quickly approve Erywan’s leadership and move forward with the implementation of its five-point consensus, especially the immediate deployment of an ASEAN team on the ground to help with the humanitarian crisis in the country, which is being worsened by the collapse of the health system amid a raging COVID-19 outbreak..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-08-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
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Description:
"The bodies of around 40 people killed by junta soldiers were found in the resistance stronghold of Kani Township in Sagaing Region in July, according to residents.
“Junta troops raided our villages. We fled and found corpses when we came back to the villages. Nearly 40 bodies were found in July. Most recently we found 12 charred bodies in Taung Pauk,” a Kani resident told The Irrawaddy.
Kani on the Chindwin River is around 50km from Monywa, the regional capital. The township has seen several massacres as the junta scaled up military operations against the resistance. The onslaught forced more than 7,000 residents from at least four villages to flee their homes.
In the junta’s latest massacre, 12 bodies, including that of a 14-year-old boy, were found in Taung Pauk village on July 30. “The other victims included three brothers and people from Thayet Taw and Kho Twin. The bodies were seriously disfigured,” said another resident.
Only some bodies have been retrieved for burial because the military is still active in the area, he added.
The bodies were found four days after junta troops entered Taung Pauk and Thayet Taw villages and detained male villagers suspected of helping the People’s Defense Force (PDF) resistance. All the 12 victims were reportedly detained by the junta on July 26.
Some bodies were burned and some were rotting but they were all badly bruised and exhibited signs of torture, said residents. This is the third time in less than a month that numerous bodies were found near villages in Kani.
The bodies of 16 civilians were found scattered in the jungle surrounding Yin village tract on July 11 and 12 after villagers fled junta raids on July 8. Witnesses said some were shot dead by junta soldiers chasing them.
Seven bodies were discovered on July 28 and five more were found on farms near Zee Pin Twin village on July 29. One of them was a disabled man and another was in his 60s. Some had apparently been hanged. Residents said some bodies might be PDF fighters because they were not residents.
The military has not yet responded to questions about the killings in Kani.
“The military regime might say they were armed rebels but they were not shot in shootouts. They all bore signs of torture and the bodies were intentionally hidden. It is a war crime,” said a lawyer.
Kani overwhelmingly voted for the National League for Democracy in the 2020 general election. All the NLD candidates won in Kani with each securing more than 83 percent of the vote. It was one of the first towns to take to the streets after the coup in February.
Residents soon started using rudimentary hunting rifles and homemade guns and blowing up junta vehicles. The junta responded with raids and detentions in Kani’s villages. The resistance formed the Kani Township PDF on May 10 attacking junta troops, including on the Chindwin River..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-08-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Military History
Language:
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Description:
"Myanmar’s coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing signed an amendment to the Counterterrorism Law on Monday, introducing harsher penalties for supporting anti-regime activities.
Under the amendment, the jail term is increased from three to seven years for “acts of exhortation, persuasion, propaganda and recruitment of any person to participate in any terrorist group or activities of terrorism”.
Legal analysts said the amendment is a threat to media reports in support of the National Unity Government (NUG) and the People’s Defense Force (PDF) because it allows the military junta to prosecute outlets under the false pretext of propaganda.
They also said the different nature of the Counterterrorism Law makes it harder for the accused to prove innocence. In other criminal cases, the prosecution is responsible to prove the defendant guilty. But under the Counterterrorism Law, the accused has to prove their innocence.
In May, the military regime branded the NUG, its parliamentary committee and their offshoot civilian defense forces as “terrorist groups” for alleged acts of incitement against the junta.
The NUG designated the military and its affiliated organizations as terrorist groups on June 7 for perpetrating acts of terrorism towards innocent civilians, creating public fear for political motives to control the country.
A total of 945 people, including children, were killed between February and August 2 by the regime with 5,474 people under detention and arrest warrants issued for 1,964 people, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-08-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Legislation under consideration, adopted, amended or repealed, Rule of Law - Burma/Myanmar-specific, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, National Unity Government (NUG)
Language:
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Sub-title:
If Myanmar becomes a failed state it will only be because the outside world failed to come to the country’s aid.
Description:
"Since the military coup in Myanmar in February of this year, fears have grown that the country is becoming a failed state, or even sliding into all-out anarchy. While the murderous junta has certainly tried its best to drive the country to the brink of ruin, the fact is that it has not been able to do so. Myanmar is not a failed state, but a failed coup – thanks to the resourceful and resilient people of the country.
Across Myanmar, an almost parallel state has emerged, comprised of a broad coalition of democratic forces. This network provides healthcare, safety, and other vital services in the vacuum left by the illegal junta over the past six months. With a deadly wave of COVID-19 ravaging the country, it is crucial that the international community works with the National Unity Government (NUG) and other actors who are trying to save lives.
The global attention on Myanmar since the coup has been welcome, including headlines highlighting how at least 936 people have been killed by the junta and many thousands detained arbitrarily. Myanmar is now faced with a spiraling third wave of COVID-19, which the junta has weaponized by hoarding medical supplies for itself and its cronies and denying treatment to those who do not support it.
This is where Myanmar’s brave pro-democracy movement has stepped in. This movement has blossomed from workers’ strikes, peaceful protests, and boycotts of military-owned businesses into de facto state organs serving the people where the Tatmadaw will not.
What has emerged is a decentralized web of local responders, ethnic service providers, civil society organizations, humanitarian actors and groups aligned with the NUG and Civil Disobedience Movement. This network, held together by the common thread of building a democratic, inclusive Myanmar, is fighting to ensure the provision of vital services and life-saving humanitarian aid for millions of people.
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Committed residents have formed their own local administrative committees, shutting out the junta and planting the seeds of a new democracy. These parallel civilian structures operate in many important ways: former government health workers have volunteered at mobile and underground clinics, at the risk of their lives, while ethnic administrations are enrolling new students in primary schools. They are also distributing aid to the displaced in Chin, Karenni, Kachin, Shan, and other states.
We should not underestimate the scale of the problems. Millions face food shortages and hundreds of thousands have fled the junta’s brutality, cut off from food, water and medical supplies in the mountains and jungles. Others have sought refuge across Myanmar’s borders. In this context, the third wave of COVID-19 is bringing the country to its knees.
However, despite the damage already done, it is wrong to assume that is only a matter of time before Myanmar joins the wretched list of failed states. If Myanmar becomes a failed state it will only be because the international community failed to come to its aid.
The international community has a significant role to play, not least in ensuring that Myanmar does not become a forgotten crisis. Last week the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar, of which we are the founding members, called for an urgent humanitarian intervention, mandated by the United Nations Security Council, to support the desperate battle against COVID-19.
The international community must recognize the NUG as the legitimate representatives of the people of Myanmar and work with it to get medical supplies and health professionals to the areas most in need. The Tatmadaw has hoarded medical supplies, underreported case numbers, and even seized the oxygen that the sick and vulnerable need to breathe. Their impunity must end, and they must be held to account for decades of atrocities – and certainly not allowed to lead any COVID-19 response.
The world must support the democratic movement holding the country together. The NUG and ethnic health organizations have formed a COVID-19 Task Force, with which the international community must now engage. For decades, ethnic service providers, civil society groups, and humanitarian actors have used their own well-established systems in the border states to get life-saving humanitarian aid to people who need it. Food, water, cash, medical supplies, and COVID-19 vaccines must be directed through the COVID-19 Task Force to these networks.
The cooperation of neighboring States – Bangladesh, China, India, Laos, and Thailand – will be essential to enable humanitarian supplies to cross their borders into Myanmar. That is the kind of international help that is needed, not the sale of more arms by Russia to the junta.
Another important moment will come in September, when the U.N.’s credentialing committee will decide on who will represent Myanmar at the body. The current ambassador to the U.N., Kyaw Moe Tun, has emerged as a powerful pro-democracy voice on the world stage since the coup. The U.N. must recognize the NUG as the legitimate representatives of the people of Myanmar before the U.N. General Assembly meets. Opting for a junta-appointed representative would be a betrayal to the people of Myanmar and legitimize military horror.
We strongly believe that when Myanmar’s history is written, it will be not of a failed state, but of a failed coup. The world must now do everything to make this a reality..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2021-06-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, National Unity Government (NUG), The discussion on humanitarian assistance to Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
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Description:
"Myanmar should return to a democratically elected government, Britain said on Monday, after military ruler Min Aung Hlaing took on the role of prime minister in a caretaker administration six months after the army seized power.
"The decision by the military to extend the so-called state of emergency in Myanmar is unjustifiable and a blatant attempt to solidify their undemocratic power grab," foreign minister Dominic Raab wrote on Twitter.
"The junta must hand back control to an elected government and respect the democratic will of the people of Myanmar," Raab wrote..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-08-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
Language:
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Sub-title:
But critics see a stunt to gain international recognition for the self-styled 'caretaker government.'
Description:
"Myanmar’s junta on Monday released jailed political activists and government employees who took part in anti-coup protests, a day after announcing that it would extend its hold on power, in what observers say was a move meant to appease international critics of its rule.
Monday’s amnesty comes a day after military chief Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing declared himself prime minister in a newly formed “caretaker government” that will rule through 2023. He said he would release all political detainees who had not played a leading role in anti-junta Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM).
Political analysts said the use of the term “caretaker” is an attempt by the junta that overthrew Myanmar’s elected government to get recognition as a civilian government at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
Among those released Monday were prominent critics of the junta, including the abbot of Myawaddy Mingyi Monastery, Ven. Ariyabiwuntha; Dr. Pyae Pyo Naing, from the Mezaligone Sub-district Hospital of Ayeyarwady region’s Ingapu township; and Dr. Than Min Htut, the Chief of the Pathein District Hospital in Ayeyarwady.
The junta’s Ministry of Home Affairs said 27 state employees who were imprisoned for joining the CDM would be released in Ayeyarwady region on Monday, while an official from the Yangon Region Prisons Department said that around 20 prisoners would be freed. The names and exact number of those permitted to leave detention were not provided.
Ven. Ariyabiwuntha, who was arrested on the day of the military’s coup d’état for criticizing its interference in Myanmar’s political system, was released from Mandalay’s Oboe Prison, his lawyer Zey Lin Maung told RFA’s Myanmar Service.
“He was arrested on Feb. 1 and disrobed that very day. The following day, he was charged under Section 500 of the Penal Code for ‘defamation of the military’ and taken to court for a trial that lasted the next several months,” he said.
“Finally, on June 15, he was found guilty … and sentenced to six months in prison with labor. It seems he was freed because he had completed his term [on Aug. 2].”
Dr. Pyae Pyo Naing, who was arrested on Feb. 11, had been charged under Section 188 of the Penal Code, which prohibits civil servants from refusing to follow orders, and Section 25 of the Disaster Management Law, his lawyer, Hla Tin, told RFA.
Hla Tin said it was not immediately clear why Dr. Pyae Phyo Naing’s case was closed or why he was released from Hinthada Prison, where he had been held for the past six months.
“[The guards] said his brother came to pick him up. As far as I know, he was arrested for joining the CDM,” he added, referring to the nationwide Civil Disobedience Movement against junta rule.
Dr. Than Min Htut, who was arrested on March 12 and charged under Section 505 (a) of the Penal Code for “state defamation,” was released from Pathein Prison Monday morning, according to a statement on his social media page.
‘Nothing surprising about this’
In a state television statement and a speech by Min Aung Hlaing in civilian attire, the military regime on Sunday extended army control over the country of 54 million people to two-and-a-half years, more than double the one-year emergency the junta announced days after it ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government on Feb. 1.
Sunday’s announcement came exactly six months after the army seized power, alleging that Aung San Suu Kyi’s landslide re-election victory in the country’s November 2020 election was the result of extensive voter fraud.
The junta, which has yet to produce evidence of its claims, has violently responded to widespread protests, killing 945 people and arresting 5,474, according to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
On July 26, the junta annulled the results of the 2020 election, drawing condemnation from political parties who condemned the move as illegal and said they will not honor it.
An official from the AAPP told RFA on condition of anonymity that Monday’s amnesty was simply a bid by the military to dampen international criticism of its rule.
“This is their usual practice,” he said. “There is nothing surprising about this, nor is there any reason to be thankful. These people shouldn’t have been arrested in the first place and they shouldn’t have been in prison at all.”
The official suggested additional amnesties will occur as pressure continues to build on the regime.
Monday’s release comes nearly five weeks after the junta freed 2,296 inmates from various prisons across the country in a move that was greeted with skepticism by critics who called it a stunt to gain international recognition.
Despite the two amnesties, the AAPP estimates that more than 5,400 people remain in custody on politically motivated charges—including deposed State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, the chief ministers of various regions and prominent political activists, as well as CDM employees and other civilians.
Bid to prolong power
On Monday, political analysts mostly dismissed Min Aung Hlaing’s announcement that he was reorganizing the junta’s management committee into a caretaker government with himself as prime minister, calling it part of a bid to prolong his grasp on power.
Kyaw Thiha, an NLD candidate who won a seat in parliament in the 2020 elections, results of which the junta annulled last week, said Min Aung Hlaing had planned to rule Myanmar ever since he became commander in chief of the country’s defense forces and that the move was made to secure his role at the top.
“He wanted to be No. 1, no matter how deep in poverty it put the country or how many people died as a result. He cannot think of anything else,” he told RFA.
Dr. Sai Kyi Zin Soe, a human rights researcher, said Min Aung Hlaing had formed a caretaker government with himself in the role of a “caretaker prime minister” in civilian clothes “to gain international recognition more easily.”
“It isn’t as easy for him as a military leader,” he said.
Despite the transformation, some observers predicted that the junta will not easily survive without popular support, noting the brutality it has demonstrated during the past six months.
Thar Tun Hla, chairman of the Rakhine National Party (RNP), said he fears such a lack of support could lead Min Aung Hlaing to extend his control of the country again before the two years of state emergency are up.
“We are worried he might come up with additional delays in the long term,” he said.
Defending the junta, Thein Tun Oo, executive director of the military-aligned Thayninga Strategic Studies Institute, told RFA the junta had been transformed to “govern more effectively.”
“Its legitimacy will follow automatically after it has taken control of the country and made progress,” he said.
Third wave worsens
Amid the political machinations, the coronavirus continues to set records in Myanmar, where the healthcare system is now at the brink of collapse due to a poorly managed third wave of outbreaks.
The country’s public hospitals are operating at maximum capacity and have been turning away all but the most seriously ill, while others were forced to settle for treatment at home amid shortages of basic medical necessities, including oxygen supplies critical to mitigating hypoxia.
The number of COVID-19 infections rose Monday to a total of 306,354 with at least 10,061 deaths, according to the junta’s Ministry of Health and Sports, although the actual number is believed to be substantially higher, based on reports by charity groups that provide free burial services.
More than 60 percent of reported deaths have occurred in the past month alone, with the number of confirmed cases doubling in the last two months.
On Monday, 16 international aid agencies warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in Myanmar, citing soaring rates of infections in communities in Kayah state and the eastern Bago region, which have witnessed mass displacement in recent months due to fighting between the military and People’s Defense Force (PDF) militias formed to protect the public in the wake of the coup.
Healthcare facilities remain shuttered throughout the country as healthcare workers who have joined the CDM face violence and threats, while more than 400 doctors and 180 nurses have been given arrest warrants since the takeover, the agencies said in a joint statement.
Meanwhile, lockdown measures, travel restrictions, bureaucratic impediments and insecurity are hampering humanitarian service delivery, they said, adding that cases of food insecurity and indebtedness are expected to climb significantly in the coming months, due to rising food prices, job losses and currency depreciation.
“As aid agencies operating in Myanmar, we call on political leaders to do everything possible to assist the people of Myanmar in their hour of need,” the statement said.
“Their actions should include the immediate … scale up [of] aid and vaccination for all across Myanmar,” the groups said, adding that the military must end its attacks on healthcare workers and provide urgent access to assistance for those who require it..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Anti-coup protesters, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ
အလုပ်သမားဝန်ကြီးဌာန
အမိန့်အမှတ် (၁/၂၀၂၁)
မြန်မာသက္ကရာဇ် ၁၃၈၃ ခုနှစ်၊ ဝါဆိုလပြည့်ကျော် ၁၁ ရက်
၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ သြဂုတ်လ ၃ ရက်
၁။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီက ပြည်သူရွေးကောက်တင်မြှောက်ထားသော တရားဝင်အစိုးရထံမှ မတရား အာဏာသိမ်းကာ နိုင်ငံကို အုပ်ချုပ်ရန်ကြိုးပမ်းခဲ့သည့် ၂၀၂၁ခုနှစ်၊ဖေဖေါ်ဝါရီလ ၁ ရက်နေ့မှစတင်၍ နိုင်ငံ၏စီးပွားရေးမှာ ဆိုးဆိုးရွားရွား ထိခိုက်ကျဆင်းခဲ့ပြီး ၎င်းတို့၏ လွန်စွာညံ့ဖျင်းသော စီမံခန့်ခွဲမှုနှင့် ရက်စက်မှု တို့ကြောင့် နိုင်ငံအတွင်း၌ Covid-19 ကပ်ရောဂါ ကူးစက်သေဆုံးမှုများပြန်လည်မြင့်တက်လာပြီး အလုပ်ရှင်၊အလုပ်သမားများအပါအဝင် ပြည်သူအားလုံး၏ စီးပွားရေး၊ လူမှုရေးနှင့်ကျန်းမာရေးအခြေအနေ အလွန် ကြပ်တည်းနေသောကာလဖြစ်၍ အလုပ်ရှင်၊ အလုပ်သမားထုအပေါ် ကျရောက်လျက်ရှိသော ဝန်ထုပ်ဝန်ပိုးတစ်ခုကို လျှော့ချရန်နှင့် လူမှုဖူလုံရေးထည့်ဝင်ကြေးများကို အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီက အလွဲသုံးစားမှုပြုခြင်းကို အားမပေး/ တားဆီး ရန်အတွက် ၂၀၁၂ခုနှစ်၊ လူမှုဖူလုံရေးဥပဒေ ပုဒ်မ ၁၀၀အရ အောက်ပါအမိန့်ကို ထုတ်ပြန်လိုက်သည်-
(က) အလုပ်ရှင်၊အလုပ်သမားများအနေဖြင့် ၂၀၁၂ခုနှစ်၊ လူမှုဖူလုံရေးဥပဒေ(ပြည်ထောင်စုလွှတ်တော် ဥပဒေ ၁၅/၂၀၁၂) အရ ၂၀၂၁ခုနှစ်၊ သြဂုတ်လမှစ၍ ပေးသွင်းရမည့် ထည့်ဝင်ကြေးများနှင့် ပျက်ကွက်ကြေးများကို နောက်ထပ်ညွှန်ကြားချက် တစ်စုံတစ်ရာမရရှိမီ အချိန်အထိ ကင်းလွတ်ခွင့်ပြုလိုက်သည်။ လူမှုဖူလုံရေး ထည့်ဝင်ကြေးများကို ကင်းလွတ်ခွင့်ပြုလိုက်သော်လည်း လူမှုဖူလုံရေးအကျိုးခံစားခွင့်များကို ဥပဒေနှင့်အညီ ခံစားခွင့်ရှိပါသည်။
(ခ) အပိုဒ်ခွဲ(က)ပါအတိုင်း ကင်းလွတ်ခွင့် ပြုထားသည့် ကာလအတွင်း လူမှုဖူလုံရေးအဖွဲ့အနေဖြင့် အလုပ်ရှင်၊ အလုပ်သမားများထံမှ ကင်းလွတ်ခွင့် ပြုထားသည့် ထည့်ဝင်ကြေးများ၊ ပျက်ကွက်ကြေးများကိုတောင်းခံခြင်း၊ လက်ခံရယူခြင်း၊ ရရှိအောင်ကြိုးပမ်း ဆောင်ရွက်ခြင်းများကို လုံးဝ ရပ်ဆိုင်း ထားရမည်။
(ဂ) အလုပ်ရှင်များကလည်း ကင်းလွတ်ခွင့်ပြုထားသည့် ထည့်ဝင်ကြေးများ၊ ပျက်ကွက်ကြေးများကို အလုပ်သမား များထံမှ တောင်းခံခြင်း၊ လက်ခံရယူခြင်း၊ ရရှိအောင်ကြိုးပမ်းဆောင်ရွက်ခြင်းများကို ရပ်ဆိုင်းထားရမည်။
၂။ ယခု အမိန့်စာပါ ညွှန်ကြားချက်များအား လိုက်နာရန်ပျက်ကွက်သူသည် တည်ဆဲဥပဒေများနှင့်အညီအရေးယူခြင်းခံရမည်။
နိုင်သုဝဏ္ဏ
ပြည်ထောင်စုဝန်ကြီး
အလုပ်သမားဝန်ကြီးဌာန
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ
ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်
စာအမှတ်။ ၇/၁-စီမံ/၂၀၂၁ (၀၀၁)
ရက်စွဲ။ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ သြဂုတ်လ ၃ ရက်
ဖြန့်ဝေခြင်း
နိုင်ငံတော်သမ္မတရုံး
ဝန်ကြီးချုပ်ရုံး
ပြည်ထောင်စုလွှတ်တော်ကိုယ်စားပြုကော်မတီ (CRPH)
ပြည်ထောင်စုဝန်ကြီးဌာနအားလုံး..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Labour
Date of publication:
2021-08-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-03
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The leader of a Tatmadaw-controlled Border Guard Force in a remote region of Kachin State has emerged as a key player in the global rare earth trade, and has turned the territory under his de facto control into a mining hub at a high environmental cost.
Description:
"In mountainous areas of Kachin State bordering China’s Yunnan province, the land is rich in rare earth – elements that are used worldwide in everything from cellphones and laptops to precision-guided weapons.
Rare earth mining in Kachin has turned Myanmar into the world’s third-largest official exporter in just a few years.
Multiple sources told Frontier and Danwatch, a Danish investigative outlet that collaborated on this investigation, that the rare earth mined in Kachin is extracted illegally by Chinese or Chinese-backed companies in areas of Chipwi Township under the de facto control of an armed group and militia led by Kachin warlord Zahkung Ting Ying.
A former officer with the Kachin Independence Organization, Zahkung Ting Ying led a breakaway unit in 1968 that merged with the Communist Party of Burma. When the CPB dissolved in 1989, he established the New Democratic Army-Kachin, and in 2009 the NDA-K became the first ethnic armed group to transition into a Border Guard Force (BGF) under the Tatmadaw. Zahkung Ting Ying also heads a Tatmadaw-aligned militia in the same region, sources told Frontier.
“As a BGF, Zakhung Ting Ying and his former NDA-K are also part of the Tatmadaw chain of command, meaning it is technically a Tatmadaw unit engaged in this rampant illegal mining,” said Ms Clare Hammond, Myanmar researcher with London-based environmental watchdog Global Witness.
Outsourcing environmental costs
As early as 1987, the then leader of China, Mr Deng Xiaoping, predicted that rare earth elements would be crucial to the modern economy. “The Middle East has the oil, but China has the rare earths,” he said during a visit to a production site in Inner Mongolia, a Chinese province.
A group of 17 metals, rare earth elements are actually widely distributed over the earth’s surface but are often not concentrated enough to make extraction financially viable. Mining is also environmentally costly: wastewater and tailings ponds can leak acids, heavy metals and radioactive elements into soil and groundwater, while deforestation leads to erosion and destroys ecosystems.
China has long been the world’s dominant player in rare earth mining, accounting for 95 percent of all official extraction in 2010, according to the United States Geological Survey.
But rising demand for products containing rare earth elements – including in the permanent magnets used in wind turbine generators and electric car motors, as well as for use in the LED screens in our mobile phones and computers – has prompted efforts to diversify production. Rare earths’ utility in military technology, such as drones, has also boosted their global demand and strategic value, including for the US army.
At the same time, China has tightened export laws and introduced comprehensive environmental regulations that have curtailed its own official extraction, particularly since 2015.
Sources familiar with the industry told Frontier and Danwatch that China’s tightening regulations have pushed the extraction of rare earth elements – and particularly a subset known as heavy rare earths, which are in high demand for their use in high-tech weapons, among other products – across the border into Myanmar.
“China has either closed or suspended most of its extraction of heavy rare earths and replaced it with imports from Myanmar,” said David Merriman, a specialist in rare earth elements at the international consulting firm Roskill Information Services, which deals with supply chains of critical raw materials.
China’s official trade data shows that from 2014 to 2020 its imports of rare earth elements from Myanmar jumped from just 300 tonnes to 35,500, with the latter worth US$388 million. By 2019, Myanmar had surpassed Australia to become the world’s third-largest official producer of rare earth elements after China and the United States. Last year, 94 percent of rare earth elements officially imported by China came from Myanmar.
Hammond of Global Witness told Frontier that official trade data may only offer a glimpse into the scale of Kachin’s rare earth mining industry, given its “illegal nature” and because the Kachin State-China border is “highly porous”.
Zahkung Ting Ying appears to have seized the opportunity to make a profit from these trends, with sources telling Frontier that rare earth elements are extracted from territories under the control of his BGF and militia before being driven across the border for processing.
Due to the illegal nature of rare earth mining and its occurrence in territory controlled by Zahkung Ting Ying’s armed groups, it is difficult to track the companies or individuals which are actively engaged in the industry, but local activists and mine workers told Frontier that the bosses and senior workers on the sites are Chinese and that the companies are of Chinese origin. Similar patterns have emerged in other industries in Kachin State, including in the jade mines of Hpakant township and tissue-culture banana plantations across Waingmaw township, where Chinese-backed companies have partnered with Myanmar-registered companies or entered the state illegally in order to skirt regulations when conducting business.
Dr Hkalen Tu Hkawng, a Kachin activist and the minister for natural resources and environmental conservation in the parallel National Unity Government, said that local authorities under the Tatmadaw and armed actors like Zahkung Ting Ying’s BGF might also take taxes or bribes from Chinese businessmen in exchange for permission to mine rare earth – a practice that he said is also common among opium poppy farmers in areas of Waingmaw township under the control of Zahkung Ting Ying’s BGF. “The [former] NDA-K and Tatmadaw know what is happening where, and if they didn’t get anything from it, they wouldn’t stay quiet,” he said.
Cross-border collaboration
The history of rare earth mining in Kachin is murky. Several knowledgeable sources told Frontier that they believed some of the first rare earth mining in the state occurred in areas controlled by the Kachin Independence Organization in the years leading up to the collapse of a ceasefire with the Tatmadaw in 2011, but that mining has now mostly or entirely stopped in KIO-controlled areas.
KIO information department head Colonel Naw Bu told Frontier that the KIO is not officially engaged in rare earth mining, but has allowed exploration in an area of its eastern district known by the Kachin name of Mung Hkawng Pa, in the Mai Ja Yang region. Col Naw Bu said he was not authorised to answer further questions related to rare earth mining in KIO-controlled areas.
Google Earth satellite images show four clusters of pools in a mountainous area northwest of Mai Ja Yang town. The pools look identical to those in photographs given to Frontier by people who worked on rare earth mining sites in Chipwi Township, as well as photos and videos taken by several media who visited rare earth mining sites in Chipwi Township in 2019.
But the number of apparent rare earth mining sites in the Mai Ja Yang region pales in comparison to the mining in Zahkung Ting Ying’s BGF and militia-controlled territory.
Six knowledgeable people interviewed by Frontier said that nearly all rare earth mining in Kachin takes place in areas under control of Zahkung Ting Ying’s BGF and militia, particularly in the area around the border town of Pangwa, alternately spelled Pangwar or Panwar.
Several sources told Frontier that rare earth mining started picking up in this area around 2014 or 2015. Satellite images of the border area show around 100 sites in the region with the pools characteristic of rare earth mining.
The sources said that the mining was happening with impunity.
“Even though there are complaints from local people, rare earth mining is controlled by the BGF, which has weapons, power and money, so they don’t listen to local voices,” said an activist based in Myitkyina.
A representative from the Transparency and Accountability Network Kachin State (TANKS), a local civil society group, told Frontier that land seizures are among many problems which locals face as a result of rare earth mining.
“The [former] NDA-K and rare earth companies forcibly grab local people’s farmland and give compensation without any negotiation. If local people don’t accept, they won’t offer anymore; maybe they will offer less than before. Local villagers have no chance to complain,” said the source, who asked not to be named.
Impunity is nothing new in territory under control of Zahkung Ting Ying’s armed groups, local activists told Frontier. Although the NLD and civil society groups tried to monitor rare earth mining, enforcing the law was almost impossible, said the TANKS representative, whose organisation focuses on monitoring natural resource governance. Tatmadaw personnel would typically accompany assessment teams made up of NLD and civil society representatives on mining site visits, they said, and when the teams arrived, the mining would stop temporarily.
“When they went back to Myitkyina, [rare earth mining] resumed. The NLD government tried to regulate rare earth mining as much as they could … but the main implementers are armed groups, so it wasn’t possible … [The NLD] could only say, ‘stop illegal mining’, but it wasn’t really effective on the groups holding weapons.”
Frontier’s calls to Tatmadaw spokesperson Major-General Zaw Min Tun went unanswered.
Frontier was also unable to reach Zahkung Ting Ying for comment, and his son, politician and former NDA-K senior commander Zahkung Ying Sau, declined an interview request. An official from the New Democracy Party (Kachin), a political party led by Zahkung Ying Sau, who was elected to the state hluttaw in 2020, said the party was not involved in rare earth mining and refused to comment further.
A web of permits
Myanmar mining permit records show that dozens of exploration permits have been issued to mining companies in the stretch of Kachin State’s border with China under control of Zahkung Ting Ying’s armed groups.
Since 2014-15, Myanmar has published records for mining permits as part of its commitments under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which was developed to promote the open and accountable management of oil, gas and mineral resources. The EITI Global Standard requires governments and companies in these sectors to disclose a range of information, including revenues, fees and licences.
Myanmar EITI records for 2016-17 show that of the 148 mining permits issued for Kachin State, more than half were in areas of Chipwi and Tsawlaw townships either within or close to territory controlled by Zahkung Ting Ying’s armed groups. None of the permits listed were for rare earth mining exploration or production, however. Most were issued on a “first come first served” basis for exploration of other materials, such as iron, tin, tungsten, marble, lead and zinc.
Many of the permits were issued to companies that do not appear to have ever been registered with Myanmar’s Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, the country’s repository of corporate records. In the Pangwa area of Chipwi township, where the BGF is headquartered, permits were issued to several firms without a DICA registration record, such as “Chain Yein Taung Mining”, which held 15 licences overall, and “Lan Chaw Pwan Development”, which had three permits.
DICA records also show that Zakhung Ting Ying and his son are directors of several registered companies that hold a large number of the permits. One such company, Myanmar Myo Ko Ko Medical Instrument Co Ltd, held 11 permits in total, all for iron production on a “first come first served” basis in the Pangwa area. Issued in 2016, the permits were due to expire in March 2021 and it is unclear whether they have been extended.
Zakhung Ting Ying is also a director together with Zahkung Ying Sau and two other sons, Zahkung Ying Ting and Zahkung Ying Chan, of San Lin International Import and Export Co Ltd, which has held several permits in the Pangwa area of Chipwi township. Myanmar Myo Ko Ko and San Lin companies also share directors with other permit holding firms, including Bawm Myang Co Ltd, and Sin Kyaing Co Ltd.
Myanmar EITI mining permit records for 2017-18, available through the OneMap portal, show that Bawm Myang, San Lin and Lan Chaw Pwan Development held permits around Pangwa that year.
However, the TANKS representative told Frontier in May of this year that Myanmar Myo Ko Ko was the only company officially involved in rare earth mining under the NLD. They said the company was granted a one-year mining exploration licence by the union-level Ministry of Mines in 2018. Radio Free Asia reported in 2019 that according to the Kachin State Ministry of Mines, Myanmar Myo Ko Ko had been licensed to explore five mining sites totaling 114 acres, while the Kachin State Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation at the time, Dashi La Seng, confirmed to RFA that most rare earth mining was happening illegally in the area.
Frontier tried calling Myanmar Myo Ko Ko, but of all the listed numbers, only one number worked and Frontier was told it was a wrong number.
‘Nothing can live there’
As rare earth mining has shifted from China across the border into Myanmar, the environmental consequences appear to have followed. According to Hammond of Global Witness, the “relatively weak rule of law” in the area means that rare earth mining often doesn’t meet even “basic environmental standards.”
Frontier’s interviews, along with other media reports, have revealed concerns about contaminated soil and water sources as well as erosion, which local activists and mine workers told Frontier was causing landslides as well as sediment build-up in the Chipwi River. They also said that little heed was paid to worker safety.
Seng Awng, the pseudonym for a 30-year-old Kachin from a village near Myitkyina, began working for a mining company whose name he does not know in September 2019. Sut Hting, the pseudonym for a 60-year-old Kachin who lives in a displaced person camp in Myitkyina township, also worked for a company whose name he did not know from December 2017 to May 2018.
The two workers said they knew little about the chemicals used in the mining process. Seng Awng described the powders he worked with as similar to salt, while Sut Hting said that the chemical liquids and powders were stored in containers with lettering in Chinese. “Most local workers don’t understand what’s written on those containers, and no one comes to explain,” he said.
Sut Hting avoided work which involved handling chemicals, even though it paid better, because workers said the chemicals harmed their health. “Most workers didn’t want those jobs. They just did it for one or two months,” he said. “They said those chemical liquids and powders harmed their health. Some workers even got sick. The company didn’t provide proper safety equipment.”
Seng Awng, who was among workers who handled chemicals, said he wore gloves but the few times he touched the powder or liquid, he felt a slight burning sensation.
He said workers avoided using local water sources for drinking or bathing and that forests in the area had been destroyed. “There’s nothing left there, not even trees. They cut the trees and burn them. In the working area, there is not a single animal,” he said.
‘Mining can happen more freely than before’
Those interviewed by Frontier and Danwatch believed that rare earth mining had picked up speed since the February 1 military coup.
“Since the coup we’ve seen an increase in rare earth mining in Kachin State and we expect the lawless environment to be conducive to the business interests of militia groups more broadly,” said Hammond of Global Witness. “Illegal activity thrives in anarchic conditions, and the post-coup chaos has created a perfect opportunity for bad actors to take advantage by pillaging Myanmar’s natural resources.”
Hkalen Tu Hkawng of the National Unity Government also forecast rare earth mining to increase. “When the public and activists don’t have the freedom to advocate for the rule of law and law enforcement, and when their ability to monitor becomes weak, rare earth mining can happen more freely than before,” he said.
As the buyer of rare earth from Myanmar, China has a significant amount of leverage to tackle the rampant illegal mining of rare earths in Kachin State – if it chooses to do so.
In January, China introduced draft policies for regulating the rare earth industry chain, which include prohibiting the purchase and sale of products extracted illegally and establishing a tracking system for rare earth.Hammond called on China to do more to stop the illicit cross-border rare earth industry, pointing out that it provided no benefit to communities, who only see the destruction of their land. “Rare earth mining in Kachin is benefitting militia leaders who answer to Myanmar’s military, and who provide support to the military in exchange for being allowed to pursue illicit business interests,” she said. “Cutting off sources of funding to these groups will in turn put pressure on the military.” – Additional reporting by Jaw Tu Hkawng
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-08-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military, Military History, Political role of the Tatmadaw
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Description:
"Updated 2 August 2021:
As of 2 August, (945) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. AAPP compiled and documented (5) fallen heroes today. These (5) fallen heroes from Mandalay in Mandaly Region, Kalay Township and Kani Township in Sagaing Region were killed on previous days and documented today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when.
As of August 2, a total of (5474) people are currently under detention. (255) people have been sentenced in person, of them 26 have been sentenced to death (incl. 2 children). 1964 are evading arrest warrants. 118 people have been sentenced in absentia, of them 39 sentenced to death in absentia. In total 65 sentenced to death, in person and absentia. We are also continuing to verify the recently released detainees.
Sai Ye Yint a.k.a Myo Chit Thu, who was shot in the groin and detained when the terrorist junta raided a home where youth protesters were staying in Patheingyi Township, Mandalay Region in the morning of July 31, died that same morning. The body was not returned to his family. Moreover, the condition of Khaing Tun who was shot in the leg and detained remains unknown, as with Sai Ye Yint a.k.a Myo Chit Thu initially.
Lam Khant Htan and Lar Kein from Thar Yar Kone Village in Sagaing Region’s Kalay Township were arrested on July 30 on suspicion over weapons allegedly found in a private car they were passengers in when they arrived at the entrance of Kalay Town returning home from work in China. His family was informed on July 31 that Lam Khant Htan died due to COVID-19. However, it is reported his leg and hand were broken, with many injuries to the head, back, leg and neck. Lar Kein who was detained along with Lam Khant Htan is still being detained.
12 men who were arrested by terrorist junta’s troops on July 26 and July 27 in Sagaing Region’s Kani Township, were later found killed with injuries consistent with torture. These men included three brothers named Aung Myint Thu, Chin Twin Maung, and Phyo Kyaw Aung from Kani Town, seven men including a 14 year-old child from Thayet Taw Village, and two men from Kho Twin Village. Their bodies were found in the forest near East Taung Pauk Village in Kani Township on July 31.
AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heroes in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses..."
Source/publisher:
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Topic:
caretaker government, Coup, dictatorship, Election, junta, Min Aung Hlaing, Ne Win, NLD, Prime Minister, regime
Topic:
caretaker government, Coup, dictatorship, Election, junta, Min Aung Hlaing, Ne Win, NLD, Prime Minister, regime
Description:
"Fears are growing in Myanmar that the country is facing another decades-long dictatorship, as coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has taken on the role of prime minister in his newly formed caretaker government, following in the footsteps of former dictator Ne Win, who ruled the country for 26 years.
Min Aung Hlaing’s self-appointment to the position and the formation of the new government were announced on Sunday as the Southeast Asian country marked sixth months under military rule imposed by his State Administration Council (SAC). On the same day, he said elections would be held by 2023.
Since the military seized power from the democratically elected government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in February, Myanmar has been in turmoil economically, socially and politically. The regime has been struggling to rule the country in the face of popular protest and civil armed resistance. Currently, highly contagious new variants of the coronavirus are battering the country.
The caretaker government is nothing new to Myanmar. In 1958 when the then ruling Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL) was divided by faction and intrigue, then Prime Minister U Nu handed state power to then military chief General Ne Win after securing a promise from the general that an election would be held in six months. Ne Win agreed and formed a caretaker government, in which he was the prime minister.
However, the election was not held until 1960. Ne Win handed power back to U Nu’s party after its victory at the polls. Two years later, however, the general seized power back through a coup, claiming that the Union of Burma (Myanmar’s former name) was in danger of disintegration under the U Nu government.
After the takeover in 1962, Ne Win held power for 26 years as the supreme leader of the country. He turned what had been Southeast Asia’s most prosperous nation into a poor socialist state, isolating the country from the outside world and pushing it into the ranks of the poorest nations, with Burma earning the UN’s Least Developed Country (LCD) designation in 1987. Ne Win’s dictatorship was toppled by a nationwide popular uprising in 1988, but the protests were brutally cracked down on by the army, paving the way for another period of direct military rule until early 2011.
Given this historical context, the regime’s announcement on Sunday of the caretaker government and its promise to hold elections in two years were met with skepticism.
“The military is back in absolute power for the long haul,” said Bertil Lintner, a Swedish journalist who has been covering Asia for decades.
He said if anyone had any doubts about Min Aung Hlaing’s intentions when he ousted the democratically elected government in Feb. 1, it should now be clear to all that the military grabbed absolute power in order to crush any attempts to establish genuine civilian rule, which was the aim of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s ousted National League for Democracy government.
A Yangon-based political analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue said the regime appeared set on holding power for as long as it can. He said that by forming the caretaker government the junta was merely playing another card in its game of misleading the international community into believing that it is not a regime, but rather a government that is holding power temporarily.
“They won’t give it back and it will be really bad for the country,” he said.
Min Aung Hlaing earlier promised he would hand over power to whichever party won the next election. On Sunday, he said the polls would be held in 2023 after the state of emergency period was over.
Last week, the regime officially annulled the 2020 election results, which saw the NLD win a landslide victory, claiming the NLD violated the constitution and election laws. The regime has also been working on disbanding the NLD over the alleged violations.
Given the existing situation, it’s doubtful the NLD will survive to see the election Min Aung Hlaing has promised.
Myanmar’s recent history also shows that the generals rarely keep their promises and are not reliable when it comes to polls.
When the NLD won the general election in 1990, the then military regime didn’t honor the results. They organized an election in 2010 that saw its proxy party win but the polls were internationally dismissed as a sham.
For the 2023 election—if it happens—one possible scenario is that a regime-backed party will have the upper hand with the demise of the NLD.
Lintner said it’s “criminally naïve” to believe that the military will hand over power to a democratically elected, civilian government.
Echoing Lintner, the Yangon-based analyst said parties backed by the regime will contest the vote, with one of them eventually forming a government.
“The regime will make sure that one of them will win,” he said..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Military History, The Military's political role
Language:
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Description:
"Since seizing power in February 2021, the Myanmar military has faced widespread allegations of human rights violations. Companies operating in Myanmar must make challenging decisions about how to responsibly navigate the crisis. International oil companies, including energy majors Total and Chevron, are under particular scrutiny as the military regime continues to sustain itself with revenues from the offshore gas industry.
The contracts in force are complex, as are the payment structures. While Total and Chevron have suspended some gas dividend payments, these are a fraction of what is reaching the military regime. 90% of the money >continues to flow.
Using publicly-available information, this Publish What You Pay policy brief summarises how revenues are flowing from international oil and gas companies through the state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), and on to the military. Since the attempted coup, these revenues are more likely than ever to be a direct source of finance for the Myanmar military. The following highlights these key findings:
MOGE has entered into four joint ventures as a representative of the Government of Myanmar for four offshore gas projects, including the Yadana Project operated by Total.
Following the attempted coup d’etat, the military has control over all government bank accounts, including MOGE’s accounts.
In 2017-2018, the amount that MOGE collected from projects under the responsibility of Total amounted to almost USD 400 million.
About 50 percent of Myanmar’s foreign exchange now comes from gas revenues, indicating a high likelihood that the military is relying on them. The brief encourages oil and gas companies to pay revenue owed to MOGE into a trust or protected account until a legitimate and democratically-elected government is in place in Myanmar.
Total’s response to this report
This report focuses on payments made to MOGE as a result of the Yadana Project operated by Total. Total has said publicly that it does not make payments to MOGE and that this is done by PTT. This briefing uses publicly available information to explain the complex contracts and payment structures at play, and what Total’s role is. We shared this briefing with Total prior to publication and it provided this statement. We invited Total to disclose further supporting documents publicly to clarify its position but it did not..."
Source/publisher:
Publish What You Pay (London)
Date of publication:
2021-06-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-02
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Individual Documents
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Sub-title:
A total of 40 corpses, most showing evidence of torture, have been discovered in the area over the past month
Description:
"A dozen bodies were discovered near a village in Sagaing Region’s Kani Township on Friday, offering further evidence of atrocity killings by regime forces operating in the area.
The 12 bodies, including one of a 14-year-old boy, were found in a wooded area near the village of Taung Pauk on the afternoon of July 30, local sources said.
Days earlier, military forces entered Taung Pauk and other nearby villages and began arresting male residents suspected of involvement in the anti-coup resistance movement.
A search party was later formed to locate the detained villagers, all of whom appear to have been tortured and murdered on the day of their arrest.
“The bodies were very badly bruised. They had also started to decompose, to the point that you couldn’t pick them up. They were killed on the 26th or 27th, so that was understandable,” said a local activist who spoke to members of the search party.
Some of the bodies had been kept under a burned hut and were covered by a sheet, he added.
All 12 of the victims have been identified as villagers who were in the custody of the military at the time of their death.
Two were from the village of Kho Twin and seven—including the 14-year-old—were from Thayet Taw, another village in the area. The other three were residents of the town of Kani who were staying with relatives in Thayet Taw.
None of the bodies have been taken away for burial because the military is still active in the area, local residents told Myanmar Now.
This is the third time in less than a month that bodies have been found dumped near villages in Kani Township. A total of at least 40 have been discovered so far, most of them showing signs of torture.
On July 11 and 12, the bodies of 15 people were found scattered in a forest near Yin, a village that had been raided along with several others the day before.
At least 13 more bodies were discovered last week near the village of Zee Pin Twin following clashes between the military and the local People’s Defence Force (PDF).
The mass killings appear to be aimed at weakening support for the resistance movement, according to PDF fighters who insist that the regime’s brutal tactics are backfiring.
“People are joining us now to avenge their dead loved ones, even if they didn’t want to fight before. The military’s attempt to terrify people into submission doesn’t work anymore,” said one PDF member who didn’t want to be named.
Meanwhile, thousands of villagers have been displaced since the second week of July as clashes in Kani continue.
Most have been forced to seek refuge in forested areas due to fears that crowding into camps or other villages could lead to dangerous levels of exposure to Covid-19 amid a recent surge of the disease.
“We can’t make camps because of the pandemic. But we don’t have suitable shelter in the forest, which we need because it has been raining a lot. Aside from Covid-19, seasonal flu has been pretty bad,” said one displaced villager..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Military History, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"KHRG is concerned about the State Administration Council’s (SAC) mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic which has led to a spike in COVID-19 related deaths throughout the country, including in Karen State. Instead of facilitating access to vital medical care, the SAC is posing as the sole provider of healthcare and using the COVID-19 pandemic as a political weapon to legitimize their illegitimate authority. The decisions the SAC has made thus far about access to resources, services and information concerning COVID-19 have not only led to an escalating crisis, they have prevented other key actors from helping manage the spread of the virus and address the health needs of the people of Myanmar.
The SAC’s perverse policy of centralizing control over the COVID-19 response infrastructure despite evidence demonstrating its inability to manage a pandemic has led to many avoidable COVID-19 related deaths, particularly during this third wave. Reportedly, the SAC has only been allowing access to medical oxygen and other COVID-19 related treatment through hospitals under military control, many of which were public hospitals prior to being taken over by the military. Many of these hospitals are also now refusing to treat patients who they suspect have been involved in the pro-democracy movements.
Distrust of the SAC has also led many people to seek private medical treatment, including from healthcare professionals who have joined the Civil Disobedience Movement, as well as from ethnic healthcare providers. In rural areas, where healthcare services are already extremely limited, many villagers have no option but to turn to herbal treatments and home-based care strategies that are not sufficient to handle the more serious symptoms of COVID-19. Rather than allowing patients access to life-saving medical care through non-SAC channels, in early July the SAC prohibited the sale of medical oxygen to private clinics and individuals throughout the country. According to some reports, the SAC has also been seizing and confiscating oxygen sent by charities and NGOs destined to aid populations in ethnic areas.
Public hospitals are also unable to provide adequate healthcare to COVID-19 patients as these hospitals are understaffed since many healthcare professionals have rightly refused to work for the illegitimate SAC by joining the Civil Disobedience Movement, or have been forced to go into hiding because of threats by the SAC. Likewise, the SAC has failed to manage the spread of COVID-19 in Myanmar’s prison system which led to a protest on July 23rd at Insein prison, in which prisoners demonstrated against their lack of access to healthcare.
In Karen State, the SAC is actively undermining the Karen National Union’s (KNU) COVID-19 response policies. Our sources tell us that on July 17th, the SAC destroyed a KNU COVID-19 screening checkpoint at T’Kaw Boe village tract, Hpa-an Township, Doo Tha Htoo District. Also, after the KNU strengthened travel restrictions in Karen State in order to help contain the spread of the virus, the SAC sent a letter to the KNU disapproving because of the potential impact on the movement of SAC soldiers within the region. These actions by the SAC only serve to worsen the spread of COVID-19 in rural ethnic areas where testing kits are not easily accessible, and where COVID-19 prevention supplies and resources have long been scarce, making these populations even more vulnerable to the life-threatening impacts of COVID-19. Curbing travel restrictions to allow for the movement of troops also increases security risks for local villagers because it makes possible the ongoing attacks and violence on the part of armed forces in these areas.
The SAC’s weaponization of the COVID-19 pandemic to assert its authority over the country is clearly evidenced by the actions it has taken to disrupt COVID-19 response and prevention services provided by private clinics and ethnic healthcare providers. The humanitarian crisis that is currently unfolding must no longer be left in the hands of the SAC to resolve. Many deaths could have already been avoided, and more deaths will continue if action is not taken soon.
KHRG condemns the SAC’s disregard of article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Myanmar’s legal obligation to ensure the right to health and medical services. The SAC’s weaponization of the pandemic constitutes retrogressive measures not permitted under article 12. KHRG also condemns the SAC’s overall failure to honor the core tenets of human rights which include the right to life and the duty to protect life. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the UN has repeatedly reminded States that the right to health and access to healthcare is inherent to the right to life, and that human rights need to be put center-stage. It is imperative that those parties who are working towards these ends are allowed to act, and engage in the COVID-19 response and prevention measures that the SAC is trying to thwart..."
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) reports, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Ye Yint, 22, died after he was shot in the pelvis and captured by junta forces on Saturday
Description:
"A 22-year-old anti-coup protester who was shot and injured before being detained during a raid in Mandalay on Saturday morning has died in military custody, two protest organisers have told Myanmar Now.
Ye Yint was among nine protesters who were detained when about 30 soldiers and police raided a house they were staying in in Patheingyi Township’s Nan Oo Lwin neighbourhood.
He was shot in the pelvis while another young protester, 22-year-old Khaing Tun, was shot in the leg during the raid.
“Two kids tried to run in panic and one was shot in his leg,” said one of the protest organisers. “The other one got shot in the back and the bullet went cleanly through his pelvis.”
The detainees were brought to Mandalay Palace, which houses the military’s Central Command headquarters, and Ye Yint’s family was told at around 4pm that he had died, the second organiser said: “His wife told us.”
As of 8pm, the family still had not been able to retrieve his body, the organiser added. Myanmar Now was unable to reach his relatives for comment.
Three other protesters were detained in Mandalay on the morning that Ye Yint and Khaing Tun were shot.
They were captured in Mahar Aung Myay Township after a military-owned vehicle rammed into their motorcycles as they rode back from a march led by Mandalar University students. One of those detained, Zin Myo Khant, is 17 years old.
Late last month Thu Thu Zin, 25, was shot in the head and killed at a protest near the Mahamuni pagoda in Mandalay. Her family had to hold her funeral without her body because the military would not let them retrieve it..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Anti-coup protesters, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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" စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ အိမ်စောင့်အစိုးရအဖွဲ့ အား မတရားအသင်းအဖြစ် ကြေညာခြင်း.."
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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95.38 KB
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Sub-title:
Soldiers burned down two houses and destroyed several others with the help of thugs from the military-backed Pyu Saw Htee group
Description:
"Over 1,000 people have fled a village in Magway Region’s Pauk Township after junta forces burnt down two homes there and raided or destroyed several others on Saturday when the administrator of a neighbouring village was killed, anti-regime guerilla fighters have said.
Members of the military-controlled Pyu Saw Htee group helped soldiers torch the houses in Wun Chone during a rampage through the village, a spokesperson for the guerilla group told Myanmar Now.
“They rampaged through the village and destroyed many shops as well as motorbikes,” he said, referring to testimony from five witnesses. “Many villagers have already fled, fearing they might come back.” Some fled to nearby woodlands while others sought refuge in surrounding villages.
There is a group of soldiers stationed at Pin Taung village, which sits two miles northeast of Wun Chone. The military arrived in Wun Chone immediately after the administrator of Pin Taung was assassinated at around 7am.
The soldiers clashed with guerilla fighters near Wun Chone before beginning their rampage. The guerillas’ spokesperson said none of the group’s fighters were killed in the clash and could not confirm if any of the junta’s forces were killed.
He added that the group’s fighters shot and killed Hti Myo, the 30-year-old administrator, because he supported the junta, and had ordered villagers in Pin Taung not to offer assistance to residents of Kinma village when it was burnt down by the junta’s forces in June.
Myanmar Now was unable to corroborate the allegations about the administrator.
A Wun Chone resident said soldiers also destroyed furniture during their rampage: “I went back to check last night. The fires burned the affected houses’ upper floors and sides. The lower floors were intact since they’re made of brick. I took what I needed and came back because there was a risk of running into Pyu Saw Htee there.”
Junta representatives could not be reached for comment.
Last week soldiers raided Thar Aye village in neighbouring Sagaing Region, displacing around 3,000 villagers, after an alleged military informant was shot and killed on July 28.
Around 10,000 civilians have been displaced by military attacks in the Sagaing townships of Kani, Yinmabin and Depayin since early July, according to local estimates..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Sub-title:
The Chinland Defence Force says it is waiting for the signal from the National Unity Government to join a full-scale war against the junta
Description:
"Anti-junta resistance forces in Chin State say they are expecting intense clashes in the conflict-hit township of Mindat after their fighters killed a Tatmadaw battalion commander last week.
A spokesperson for the Chinland Defence Force (CDF) said the commander, a lieutenant colonel, died during a clash along the Mindat-Matupi highway early on Friday morning.
Military-controlled newspaper The Mirror announced on Saturday that lieutenant colonel Zaw Zaw Soe, 48, died at around 6.15am while on duty, though it did not give details of where or how he died.
Zaw Zaw Soe was among 10 junta soldiers killed in Friday’s battle, according to the CDF. Since that clash, the situation in Mindat has become more tense, the group’s spokesperson said.
“The military has been sending reinforcements. I think they’ve already sent around three columns of their troops,” he told Myanmar Now. “After the battle… around 80 reinforcement troops arrived from Matupi. It looks like the battle will become more serious.”
Fighting along the mountainous highway started on July 21 when the junta’s forces launched an attack, according to the Mindat People’s Administration Team.
Twenty six junta troops and 15 CDF fighters have died in the two weeks since then, the CDF spokesperson said. There are also unconfirmed reports that civilians have been forced to flee their homes.
On July 24, the CDF said it seized control of a police station in the remote town of M’kuiimnu without firing a shot after six police and soldiers surrendered and agreed to join the resistance.
Mindat has become a stronghold of armed resistance to the junta since civilians took up arms there in April, using traditional hunting rifles and later seizing more advanced weapons from the military.
During the latest clashes, the Chin National Front, an armed group that was largely inactive before the coup, has fought alongside the CDF, as have chapters of the People’s Defence Force from different areas of Chin State, the CDF spokesperson said.
The CDF says it plans to continue attacks even as it waits for the underground National Unity Government (NUG) to give the signal for full-scale nationwide attacks against junta forces, the spokesperson said.
“Right now, we’re planning to continue the battles as we prepare for the upcoming war. There’s no way to stop the battles if they’re going to keep trespassing on the areas we are operating in,” he said.
The NUG's defence minister Yee Mon told RFA last month that about 8,000 PDF fighters will finish combat training by the end of July. He urged resistance fighters across the country to wait for its signal to launch a coordinated offensive.
“During this preparation period, I urge our revolution comrades to prepare for their own individual safety, health and morale,” Yee Mon told the broadcaster.
Last month a spokesperson for the eastern Yangon chapter of the PDF, which has been coordinating closely with the NUG, told Myanmar Now that an “all-out” conflict was on its way.
“I promise we will arrive at your door very soon,” he said. “We are currently engaging in guerrilla warfare, but please know that it won’t be long before we begin an all-out battle.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Chin history, Chin (Zo)- economic, social, cultural, political
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Sub-title:
Joint statement from 16 aid agencies warning of a humanitarian catastrophe in Myanmar.
Description:
"Six months since the military’s seizure of power, aid agencies are warning of a spiralling humanitarian catastrophe in Myanmar triggered by skyrocketing Covid-19 cases and widespread violence in the country. Over 60 per cent of reported deaths from Covid-19 in Myanmar have occurred in the past month alone, with the number of confirmed cases doubling in the last two months.
While the country is still reeling from the shockwaves of the military takeover, communities in Kayah State and the eastern Bago region – which have witnessed mass displacement in recent months – must now contend with hundreds of Covid-19 cases a day. Healthcare facilities from Kachin to Mandalay to Yangon remain shuttered as healthcare workers face violence and threats. More than 400 doctors and 180 nurses have been given arrest warrants since the military takeover in February 2021.
“The communities we work with are desperate and dying. A third wave of Covid-19 is crashing down on Myanmar, unleashing yet another trauma for its people. The population needs safe and fair access to humanitarian aid and healthcare now,” said Laura Marshall, Country Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in Myanmar.
Lockdown measures, travel restrictions, bureaucratic impediments and insecurity are hampering humanitarian service delivery. Humanitarian workers and their families have themselves fallen gravely ill as aid agencies are forced to operate at reduced capacity.
The failure to stop the spread of this deadly disease threatens to drive millions of already at-risk families into further need. Pregnant women and other vulnerable groups face new obstacles in reaching essential care and basic services. Cases of food insecurity and indebtedness are expected to climb significantly in the coming months, especially given rising food prices, job losses and currency depreciation.
While humanitarian assistance and medical care is urgently needed to save lives today, a rapidly expanded vaccination programme is required to move the country out of this crisis. Unfortunately, only 3.6 million vaccine doses are expected to be allocated through COVAX, a drop in the ocean for the country’s population of 54.4 million.
As aid agencies operating in Myanmar, we call on political leaders to do everything possible to assist the people of Myanmar in their hour of need. Their actions should include the immediate implementation of the ASEAN five-point consensus, agreed in April, to rapidly scale up aid and vaccination for all across Myanmar. In addition, we call for an end to attacks on healthcare and for all parties to engage in dialogue which allows for urgent access to assistance to those who require it..."
Source/publisher:
Norwegian Refugee Council
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Humanitarian assistance - emergencies, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Health, right to: standards and mechanisms, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
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Sub-title:
New restrictions on the sale and distribution of oxygen to the public have made it harder to treat COVID-19 patients at home and social welfare groups have warned the rules could result in more preventable deaths.
Description:
"When U Maung Ko’s blood oxygen levels began to drop dangerously due to COVID-19, the 42-year-old was lucky enough to secure a bed and treatment at a state hospital.
But when Maung Ko’s father, U Tun Mya, also fell ill on July 4, there was nowhere for him to go; his grandson, Mg Htet Thura Zaw, instead arranged online consultations and medicine for Tun Mya from their Thanlyin Township home.
When Tun Mya’s blood oxygen levels began to drop precipitously on July 7, Htet Thura Zaw began to search desperately for an oxygen cylinder to keep his 72-year-old grandfather alive. He managed to secure occasional oxygen deliveries for his grandfather from charity groups based in downtown Yangon, a one-hour drive away.
On July 11, Htet Thura Zaw received the devastating news his father had died in hospital.
Worse was to come. The next morning, the deliveries of oxygen for his grandfather failed to show up on time because the charity groups were facing longer wait times refill their cylinders. He watched in agony as his grandfather’s blood oxygen level dropped to between 35 and 40 percent. About 10 minutes after Tun Mya died, three oxygen cylinders arrived at the family’s home.
“In 24 hours, I lost both my beloved father and grandfather,” a distressed Htet Thura Zaw told Frontier. “I feel like my future is hopeless without them. But like us, many people in Yangon Region are suffering because of these oxygen shortages.”
Maung Ko and Tun Mya are just two among possibly tens of thousands of victims of Myanmar’s third wave of COVID-19, which has devastated the country over the past six weeks. The official COVID-19 death toll across June and July was 6,000, but many, like Tun Mya, were not counted because they died outside a government health facility.
With an inadequate number of health staff, limited testing, lack of trust in the authorities and low vaccination rate, Myanmar was always vulnerable to a renewed COVID outbreak even without a coup. But the rapid pace with which the virus has spread and the sheer number of cases has created huge demand for oxygen to administer to severely ill patients.
Supplemental oxygen is usually administered when a patient’s oxygen saturation falls below 90pc, but the high demand means that many are being turned away from hospitals until they are far below that threshold. With hospitals overwhelmed, most patients are now receiving treatment in their home, and are reliant on family members and charity groups to find oxygen cylinders and refill them regularly.
Frontier interviewed representatives from fifteen social rescue teams and funeral service groups, who all said that demand for oxygen was only continuing to rise, along with the number of people dying in their homes.
Daw Than Than Soe leads the Shin Than Kwink (Right to Live) Social Rescue and Funeral Services Group, which operates five ambulances in eastern Yangon. She said that from July 1 to 23, at least 150 suspected COVID-19 patients had died while being transferred to hospital by her group.
“As the pandemic goes from bad to worse, the number of patients with hypoxia is increasing day by day,” she said.
Accessing adequate oxygen supplies is only getting more difficult. In mid-July, the regime began restricting sales to the public. From July 28, the regime has ordered oxygen factories to only supply oxygen to those with a recommendation letter from the township “oxygen support committee”, which is run by local officials who answer to the junta.
Social rescue teams and funeral service groups have condemned the restrictions, telling Frontier that it is likely to lead to more people dying in their homes unnecessarily because the regime is not allocating enough oxygen.
Dr Khin Zar Win Pyae, a microbiologist at Nelson Labs in Salt Lake City, Utah in the United States, criticised the bureaucratic delays that prevent patients from urgently seeking care.
Lack of testing and contact tracing meant that Myanmar was likely to see more infections and deaths due to COVID-19, she said.
“People no longer believe that this health care system will protect their parents’ lives. It is a situation of helplessness. So they decide to get treatment at home,” she added.
Oxygen crisis
It took the regime weeks to wake up to the crisis.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing rejected claims of an oxygen shortage at a coordination meeting on COVID-19 prevention, control and treatment in Nay Pyi Taw on 12 July.
“Many people have criticised the oxygen supply in recent days. Actually, we have enough oxygen,” he said. “People are anxious and so they buy it … [but they] should not spread rumours.”
But Dr Zaw Wai Soe, the National Unity Government’s health minister, said the shortage was simple math.
Myanmar has confirmed an average 4,500 cases a day during July, peaking at more than 7,000 cases on July 14. But limited testing and an alarmingly high positivity rate – around 35 percent of all tests have come back positive – means the number is likely many times higher.
Zaw Wai Soe said that about one-fifth of patients are likely to become critically ill and require oxygen. A severe COVID-19 patient may need two oxygen cylinders a day over the course of 10 days to recover.
During the second wave that broke out in August 2020, Zaw Wai Soe served as vice-chair of the committee coordinating COVID-19 response in Yangon. He said officials calculated the number of oxygen cylinders required based on the number of cases, and ensured there were enough available each day.
“The man who said we have enough oxygen may not know the calculations. Probably because he was advised by some good-for-nothing doctors,” Dr Zaw Wai Soe told Myanmar Now on July 18.
Even as Min Aung Hlaing claimed there was no shortage, the junta was taking steps to control how oxygen factories distribute supplies to the public.
At a press briefing in Nay Pyi Taw on July 12, Deputy Minister of Information Major-General Zaw Min Tun admitted that the government was prioritising oxygen supplies to hospitals and clinics, which has made it harder for private individuals to get oxygen on their own. The deputy minister also said that officials had received complaints about price gouging and consumer hoarding.
“First, the reason we put these restrictions in place is because we discovered scams on the internet. Some people are committing fraud, pretending to provide services refilling oxygen supplies, and we received complaint letters,” he said.
“Second, there are many cases of unnecessary use of oxygen supplies. For those who actually need oxygen, they can obtain refills with recommendation letters from local healthcare staff,” Zaw Min Tun added.
In Yangon and other major cities, these restrictions have left people scrambling to secure oxygen supplies for sick relatives. Many are posting on social media about relatives who are in need of oxygen – tragically, these posts are often updated advising that the person in need has died.
In July, Frontier interviewed relatives of 15 suspected COVID-19 patients who were being treated at home and relying on private oxygen supplies because they were not admitted to government hospitals and COVID treatment centres. Among the 15 patients, three recovered, seven died of hypoxia and five are still on oxygen.
Shortages are common in other hard-hit cities such as Mandalay, Mawlamyine in Mon State and Kalay in Sagaing Region, according to Frontier’s interviews with social rescue teams and funeral service associations across the country.
“Oxygen shortages are still happening in Mandalay. We help and donate oxygen to on average 40 residents a day in our township out of 100 requests we receive,” said an official from the Mandalay-based Payaheta Darri charity in Chan Aye Thar Zan township, who requested anonymity citing fears of reprisal.
The restrictions have prompted international observers to accuse the regime of “weaponising” COVID-19 against the public, most of whom oppose its rule.
“With the oxygen, they have banned sales to civilians or people who are not supported by the SAC, so they’re using something that can save the people against the people,” Ms Yanghee Lee, the former United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, and a founding member of the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar, recently told AP.
Controlling the supply
Through most of July, more than 3,000 people from across Yangon gathered each day at three privately run factories in South Dagon – Naing Family, Ayar San and Matesat – that have been refilling oxygen cylinders.
When Frontier visited the Matesat factory on July 12, U Thant Zin from Thingangyun Township was lining up to refill oxygen cylinders for his grandmother.
“She needs oxygen every day, so I come here to the oxygen plants in South Dagon Industrial Zone and line up. It takes a whole day to refill two oxygen cylinders,” he said.
Although there have been confirmed reports of the authorities limiting oxygen sales to the public, the factories in South Dagon were able to continue sales through most of July.
“The junta’s security forces are not preventing us from refilling oxygen for the public at the moment. We provide refills every day, but the number of people who need oxygen increases day by day,” an official from the Matesat factory, who requested anonymity, said at the time.
However, that changed on July 28, when township General Administration Departments ordered factories in Yangon to provide oxygen only to those with a recommendation letter from local authorities. As a result, the queues at oxygen plants have largely disappeared – most plants have put up signs explaining they are no longer selling oxygen to the public.
On July 20 the regime established township and ward-level “oxygen support committees” to issue recommendations and manage the provision of oxygen. The township committees are led by the township administrator and include other officials, community leaders and representatives of social welfare groups.
Anyone who needs oxygen has to apply for a recommendation from their ward administrator by submitting a raft of documents, including the patient’s Citizenship Scrutiny Card, their household list, and photos of the patient, their oxygen level and the number of cylinders they have.
Once approved, those in need are given a regular allocation of oxygen by the ward committees.
Although it is relatively straightforward to get the recommendation for those possessing the proper documentation, both social welfare groups and individuals told Frontier they opposed the new distribution system.
Frontier interviewed residents from North Okkalapa, Thingangyun, South Dagon and Thaketa who had received recommendation letters and all said the committees were not distributing enough oxygen.
The ward committees are refilling only one 10 or 15 litre cylinder a day per person, and all five people said they were not actually filling the cylinders to full capacity.
“I need four 40L cylinders for my friend … so I have to get more from oxygen donation charity groups,” said U Toe Toe Naing from North Okkalapa Township. “Getting oxygen for patients is getting harder and harder. There are likely to be more deaths because of the shortages.”
Five social welfare and funeral service groups in Yangon confirmed to Frontier that the oxygen support committees are only providing them with enough oxygen to fill two 40-litre cylinders a day.
“Two cylinders is not even enough for us to transport patients in our ambulance,” said an official from a social welfare group in North Okkalapa Township. “These days, even social rescues and funeral services groups are struggling to get oxygen – we can’t help patients who are in need.”
Overwhelmed health care system
Under orders issued by the junta in early July, close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 patients and those with COVID-19 symptoms must inform their respective township health departments or hospitals.
If they test positive, confirmed cases must then report to their respective township, region or state health committee, and they will be sent to the relevant public hospital or COVID-19 treatment centre at the discretion of committees managing hospital admissions.
At a COVID-19 coordination meeting on July 18, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing said that 1,934 quarantine centres for about 69,800 patients have been prepared, as well as 1,114 additional locations that can accommodate nearly 46,000 patients. Care is also available at public hospitals, the senior general claimed.
The junta’s announcement also states that patients with severe COVID-19 and emergency patients can go directly to the nearest public hospital or COVID-19 treatment centre, and that it is still possible to be admitted to a state facility for treatment.
“If the patient is not severely ill, they may have to wait for a bed in the hospital. Sometimes it can take a while,” Dr Myat Thu Win, head of the medical services department in South Dagon township, told Frontier on July 18. “In severe cases, we immediately give them a referral letter … These patients can be admitted to the hospital the same day.”
But in reality, COVID-19 treatment centres and government hospitals are already well over capacity and are turning away or sending home patients with dangerously low oxygen levels, according to staff from charities and family members of COVID-19 patients in Yangon and Mandalay.
“Many hospitals lack health staff and have no empty beds,” said Than Than Soe of the Shin Than Kwink (Right to Live) Social Rescue and Funeral Services Group.
She said her teams had transferred dozens of seriously ill patients to hospitals but been forced to take them home again because no beds were available. Around one-third died in the ambulances on the way home, she said.
Thaketa township resident Daw Thidar Soe, elder sister of COVID-19 patient Daw Tin Tin Nwe, 45, told Frontier that North Okkalapa Hospital had refused to admit her sister on July 7, even though her oxygen saturation was below 60pc.
“The doctor told me to contact our township medical officer to request admission to the hospital and we would have to wait. We couldn’t know exactly how many days it would take so I decided on home treatment and found private oxygen supplies for my sister,” said Thidar Soe, adding that her sister recovered by July 12. “The healthcare system just isn’t coping with the number of COVID-19 patients.”
Microbiologist Khin Zar Win Pyae said that even if hospitals are full, the Ministry of Health and Sports should be conducting teleconsultations with patients who are receiving treatment at home. “And I would like to advise patients who use oxygen treatment at home to consult with qualified medical doctors before using it in order to avoid unnecessary side-effects.”
A divided response
The February 1 coup is a major reason that the health system is so chronically underprepared. It prompted tens of thousands of health workers to join the Civil Disobedience Movement, and significantly slowed an already limited vaccination program. Government health staff have refused to work under the military regime, and many of the volunteers who were the backbone of the National League for Democracy government’s COVID response have shunned the junta.
Although they continue to try and provide healthcare to those in need, the regime has sought to stop them from providing medical treatment and have arrested CDM leaders.
At a coordination meeting on July 23, a visibly frustrated Senior General Min Aung Hlaing urged striking doctors and nurses who joined the CDM to return to work and alleviate the staff shortages.
“This is a social issue! This is a national issue,” he said. “I appeal again! I want to urge all healthcare professionals to cooperate.”
The “appeal” has been largely ignored by health professionals who have joined the CDM.
“The junta blames CDM doctors for failing to control the COVID-19 epidemic. But the military council has arrested, killed and imprisoned health doctors and volunteers,” said one health professional supporting the CDM in Mandalay who requested anonymity for security reasons. “When they return to the barracks, the doctors will spontaneously return to the hospitals.”
Although it has been unable to address the manpower shortage, the regime has taken steps to increase supplies of oxygen, by making it easier to import liquid, medicine and medical equipment, such as oxygen concentrators. It has also been working to ensure that access to the increased supply requires interfacing with regime officials.
On July 15, the first truckloads of liquid oxygen began crossing the border from Thailand, depositing their life-saving cargo at public hospitals in Yangon.
Meanwhile, the United Nations announced on July 19 that it would step up its response to the COVID-19 outbreak and would work to alleviate the oxygen shortage by procuring oxygen concentrators and other equipment.
On July 21, the European Union expressed sympathy to all people of Myanmar who have lost their loved ones in the pandemic and committed to doubling efforts with the Global Fund, COVAX, and other partners that can support medical care, oxygen supplies, testing and vaccinations.
The regime has also issued an appeal of sorts for international support, with Min Aung Hlaing telling a “coordination meeting to beef up cooperation with the international community,” and that Myanmar should seek money from a COVID-19 response fund set up by ASEAN. Efforts were being made to work with ASEAN “and friendly countries”, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar quoted him as saying.
The National Unity Government, meanwhile, has pledged to begin rolling out a vaccination programme of its own, targeting to immunise 20 percent of the population by working with the health teams of ethnic armed groups, and possibly international organisations, but it has provided few further details about the programme.
In the meantime, local charities continue their struggle to keep patients alive.
“Even charity groups like us have now run out of oxygen. From morning until night, we wait for the chance to refill oxygen,” said Than Than Soe of Shin Than Kwink.
She said her organisation’s supplies are never enough to meet demand. “It’s devastating when people cry mournfully and ask for oxygen from us to help their family members and relatives who need it,” she said. “Of course I want to give them oxygen – but I simply can’t help.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Anti-coup protesters
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Sub-title:
Six months after seizing power, Min Aung Hlaing extends coup with promise of elections in 2023
Description:
"Myanmar’s military leader has declared himself prime minister and said he will lead the country under the nation’s state of emergency until elections are held in two years’ time – vastly extending the timeline given when the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi six months ago.
“We must create conditions to hold a free and fair multiparty general election,” Gen Min Aung Hlaing said on Sunday during a recorded televised address. “We have to make preparations. I pledge to hold the multiparty general election without fail.”
He said the state of emergency would achieve its objectives by August 2023. In a separate announcement, the military government named itself “the caretaker government” and Min Aung Hlaing the prime minister.
The general’s announcement would place Myanmar in the military’s grip for nearly two-and-a-half years, instead of the initial one year the junta announced days after the coup.
The state of emergency was declared when troops moved against the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on 1 February, a move the generals said was permitted under the military-authored 2008 constitution. The military claimed her landslide victory in last year’s national elections was achieved through massive voter fraud but offered no credible evidence.
The military government officially annulled the election results last Tuesday and appointed a new election commission to take charge of the polls.
The military takeover was met with massive public protests, resulting in a deadly crackdown by security forces who routinely fire live ammunition into crowds. As of Sunday, at least 939 people had been killed by the authorities since 1 February, according to a tally kept by the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Casualties are also rising among the military and police as armed resistance grows in urban and rural areas.
Moves by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to broker a dialogue between the military government and its opponents have stalled after an agreement at an April summit in Jakarta to appoint a special envoy for Myanmar.
Min Aung Hlaing said that among the three nominees, Thailand’s former deputy foreign minister Virasakdi Futrakul was selected as the envoy. “But for various reasons, new proposals were released and we could not keep moving onwards,” he said. “I would like to say that Myanmar is ready to work on Asean cooperation within the Asean framework, including the dialogue with the Asean special envoy in Myanmar,” he said.
Asean foreign ministers were expected to discuss Myanmar in virtual meetings this week hosted by Brunei, the current chair of the 10-nation bloc.
Myanmar is also struggling with its worst Covid-19 outbreak, which has overwhelmed its already crippled healthcare system. Limitations on oxygen sales have led to widespread allegations that the military is directing supplies to government supporters and military-run hospitals.
At the same time, medical workers have been targeted by authorities after spearheading a civil disobedience movement that urged professionals and civil servants not to cooperate with the government.
Min Aung Hlaing blamed the public’s mistrust in the military’s efforts to control the outbreak on “fake news and misinformation via social networks” and accused those behind it of using Covid-19 “as a tool of bioterrorism”..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-08-01
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
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Description:
"Myanmar's military ruler Min Aung Hlaing has taken on a new title as prime minister of a newly formed caretaker government, state media reported on Sunday, six months after the army seized power from a civilian government.
Min Aung Hlaing has chaired the military-backed State Administration Council (SAC) that has run Myanmar since it was formed just after the Feb. 1 coup, and the caretaker government will replace it.
“In order to perform the country’s duties fast, easily and effectively , the state administration council has been reformed as caretaker government of Myanmar,” a newsreader on state Myawaddy television said..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-08-01
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Military History
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Description:
"တာဝန်ယူမှုရှိသော ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုများအတွက် လမ်းညွှန်ချက်ထုတ်ပြန်ခြင်း
-------------------------------
၁။ လက်ရှိမြန်မာနိုင်ငံသည် အကြမ်းဖက်အာဏာသိမ်းစစ်ကောင်စီ၏ လူမဆန်သော ရက်စက်ကြမ်းကြုတ်မှုများနှင့် စီမံခန့်ခွဲမှု အလွဲအမှားများအောက်တွင် စီးပွားရေးပြိုလဲခြင်းနှင့် တကျော့ပြန် ကိုဗစ်တတိယလှိုင်းဒဏ်ကို ဆိုးရွားစွာ ကြုံတွေ့နေရသည့် အတွက် လွန်စွာခက်ခဲသောအချိန်နှင့် ရင်ဆိုင်နေရပါသည်။
၂။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ ရှိနေသမျှ ကာလပတ်လုံး မြန်မာပြည်သူလူထု၏ ဆင်းရဲဒုက္ခများသည် လျော့ပါးသက်သာလာမည် မဟုတ်ပါ။
၃။ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံသည် သဘာ၀သယံဇာတအရင်းအမြစ်ပေါများပြီး၊ လူသားအရင်းအမြစ်ကြွယ်၀ခြင်းကြောင့် အခြေခံအားဖြင့် ဆွဲဆောင်မှုရှိသော ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှု အခွင့်အလမ်းကောင်းများ ပိုင်ဆိုင်ထားသည့် နိုင်ငံဖြစ်သည်။
၄။ သို့သော် ယခုအခါ အကြမ်းဖက်အာဏာသိမ်းစစ်ကောင်စီ၏ အဆင်အခြင်မဲ့လုပ်ရပ်များကြောင့် ကျင့်ဝတ်သိက္ခာရှိသည့် ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုများအတွက် အဆိုပါ ရေခံမြေခံကောင်းများသည် ပြိုလဲပျက်စီးသွားခဲ့ရပြီ ဖြစ်သည်။
၅။ အကြမ်းဖက်အာဏာသိမ်းစစ်ကောင်စီက နိုင်ငံတော်အာဏာအား မတရားလုယူထားချိန်တွင် ကျင့်ဝတ်သိက္ခာရှိသော ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုများ ဆောင်ရွက်ရန် မဖြစ်နိုင်သည့်အပြင် အနာဂါတ်ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီပြည်ထောင်စုအတွင်းရှိ ပြည်နယ်များ၏ အခွင့်အရေးများကို ထိပါးချိုးဖောက်ရာ ရောက်နိုင်သည့်အတွက် မည်သည့်ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှု အသစ်ကိုမဆို အသိအမှတ်ပြုလက်ခံ မည်မဟုတ်ကြောင်း ထုတ်ပြန်ကြေညာခဲ့ပြီး ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၆။ အာဏာသိမ်းမှု မကျူးလွန်မီ၊ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ ၁ ရက်နေ့မတိုင်ခင် ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုဆိုင်ရာ အတည်ပြုမိန့်၊ ခွင့်ပြုမိန့်များအား ဆက်လက်၍ အသိအမှတ်ပြုလက်ခံသွားမည်ဖြစ်ပြီး အဆိုပါရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုများ၏ သဘာ၀ပတ်ဝန်းကျင်၊ လူမှုပတ်ဝန်းကျင်နှင့် စီမံအုပ်ချုပ်မှုဆိုင်ရာ ကျင့်ဝတ်စံနှုန်းများနှင့်အညီ ဆောင်ရွက်နေမှုများအား ပံ့ပိုးကူညီသွားမည် ဖြစ်သည်။
၇။ ရှိရင်းစွဲ ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုလုပ်ငန်းများအနေဖြင့် မိမိတို့၏ ဆက်လက်တည်ရှိမှုသည် မြန်မာပြည်သူများအတွက် ဆိုးကျိုးထက် ကောင်းကျိုးပိုမိုဖြစ်ထွန်းမှု ရှိ/မရှိအား အလေးအနက်ထား ချင့်ချိန်ဆန်းစစ်ကြရန် တိုက်တွန်းအပ်ပါသည်။
၈။ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၊ စီမံကိန်း၊ ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှင့် ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှု ဝန်ကြီးဌာနအနေဖြင့် လက်ရှိရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံထားသော (သို့မဟုတ်) ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံရန်စဉ်းစားပြင်ဆင်နေသော စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်းများအတွက် အထောက်အကူဖြစ်စေရန်အလို့ငှာ တာဝန်ယူမှုရှိသော ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုဆိုင်ရာ ဤလမ်းညွှန်ချက်ကို ထုတ်ပြန်အပ်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Planning, Finance and Investment - NUG
Date of publication:
2021-07-21
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-01
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Sub-title:
6 Months After Takeover, Urgent Need for Targeted Sanctions, Arms Ban
Description:
"Myanmar’s military junta has committed numerous abuses against the population that amount to crimes against humanity in the six months since the February 1, 2021 coup, Human Rights Watch said today.
Since the military takeover, millions of people have taken to the streets across the country and peacefully protested for a return to a democratically elected civilian government. As part of a widespread and systematic attack on the population, security forces have repeatedly fired on and otherwise used excessive force to disperse and harm protesters. Police and soldiers have killed over 900 protesters and bystanders, including about 75 children, forcibly disappeared over 100 persons, and tortured and raped an unknown number in custody. Several thousand people have been arbitrarily arrested and detained.
“Myanmar’s junta has responded to massive popular opposition to the coup with killings, torture, and arbitrary detention of people who merely want last year’s election results to be respected and a government that reflects the popular will,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “These attacks on the population amount to crimes against humanity for which those responsible should be brought to account.”
The concept of crimes against humanity dates to at least 1915 and was part of the 1945 Charter of the International Military Tribunal that created the Nuremberg trials of Nazi leaders. Under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), crimes against humanity are a series of offenses that are knowingly committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population.
The offenses of Myanmar’s junta against those opposed to the military coup have been both a widespread and systematic attack against the population, Human Rights Watch said. The nature of the response, broad-based and frequently consistent, reflects government policy rather than the actions of individual security personnel.
Apparent crimes against humanity committed since February 1 include murder, enforced disappearance, torture, rape and other sexual violence, severe deprivation of liberty, and other inhumane acts causing great suffering. Human Rights Watch previously found that Myanmar’s military had committed crimes against humanity against the ethnic Rohingya population in 2012-2013 and again in 2017 as part of campaigns of ethnic cleansing. The authorities are committing crimes against humanity of apartheid, persecution, and severe deprivation of liberty against Rohingya currently living in Rakhine State. The UN-backed Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) is “closely following” events and is collecting evidence of possible crimes committed following the coup. The IIMM is also mandated to build case files to support efforts to hold individuals responsible for such crimes in criminal proceedings.
The United Nations, regional bodies, and governments, including the European Union, United States, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), should respond to the continuing crimes against humanity in Myanmar by supplementing, strengthening, and coordinating international sanctions against the military and the State Administration Council (SAC) junta leadership under Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. Actions should include targeted sanctions on individuals, a global arms embargo, and financial restrictions that would reduce the junta’s revenues from extractive industries.
Governments should act to reduce the junta’s gas revenues, which are the military’s largest source of foreign currency income, adding up to about US$1 billion annually in duties, taxes, royalties, fees, tariffs, and other profits. The US, EU, UK, and others should block payments to the junta and state-owned enterprises from foreign-financed oil and gas projects, such as those operated by PTT, Total, and Chevron. Such measures can be designed to target the junta’s access to foreign accounts while allowing for the continued production of gas and electricity in the country.
Since the coup, concerns about vetoes by China and Russia have deterred the United Nations Security Council from adopting resolutions to address the human rights crisis in Myanmar. The Security Council should urgently take measures against the junta, including by referring the situation in the country to the International Criminal Court (ICC), Human Rights Watch said. The court’s prosecutor is currently investigating the crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution following the 2017 ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, as those crimes were completed in Bangladesh, an ICC member. The council should follow the June resolution of the UN General Assembly with its own resolution to impose a legally binding arms embargo and targeted sanctions on junta officials and key military leaders.
The Security Council and UN member countries should end the pretense that ASEAN will place sufficient pressure on the junta to restore a democratically elected civilian government, release political prisoners, and hold those responsible for abuses to account, Human Rights Watch said. Since its summit meeting on April 24, ASEAN has failed to appoint a promised special envoy and has taken no meaningful steps to press the junta to address grave human rights concerns in Myanmar.
“The international response to the Myanmar junta’s crimes against humanity has been stymied by fears of Security Council vetoes, ASEAN’s feckless leadership, and the EU’s hesitance to target foreign gas companies,” Adams said. “The Security Council and influential countries, notably the US, EU, Australia, Japan, India, and Thailand, should apply coordinated sanctions to pressure the junta to end its brutal repression.”
Alleged Crimes Against Humanity Since the February 1 Coup
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court defines crimes against humanity as one of several offenses “committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack.” “Widespread” refers to the scale of the acts or number of victims. A “systematic” attack indicates a pattern or methodical plan. Crimes against humanity can be committed during peacetime as well as during armed conflict.
The statute defines “attack” as a “course of action involving the multiple commission of acts … pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy.” The “attack” does not need to be a military attack as defined under international humanitarian law. Furthermore, “the term ‘population’ does not require that crimes against humanity be directed against the entire population of a geographical territory or area.”
The ICC statute’s Explanatory Memorandum states that crimes against humanity “are particularly odious offenses in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings. They are not isolated or sporadic events but are part either of a government policy (although the perpetrators need not identify themselves with this policy) or of a wide practice of atrocities tolerated or condoned by a government or a de facto authority.”
Myanmar is not a party to the ICC, but the UN Security Council could refer the situation in the country to the ICC.
The Myanmar military’s killing of numerous protesters, enforced disappearance of opposition supporters taken into custody, torture and rape of many of those detained, and mass political detentions throughout Myanmar since the coup indicate that these abuses are widespread.
The authorities have made statements that suggest that the response to the protests has also been systematic. On February 21, the State Administration Council stated in the government’s Global New Light of Myanmar: “Protesters are now inciting the people, especially emotional teenagers and youth, to a confrontation path where they will suffer the loss of life.”
On March 26, the state MRTV news channel announced that demonstrators “should learn from the tragedy of earlier ugly deaths that you can be in danger of getting shot to the head and back” and warned that “parents should also talk their children out of it [joining protests], let’s not waste lives for nothing.” This language was widely interpreted to signal that the security forces were planning to respond with force to planned protests the next day, Armed Forces Day.
In a May 8 statement, the junta formally designated the opposition National Unity Government (NUG), its parliamentary committee, and their offshoot militias as “terrorist groups” for alleged acts of incitement against the junta, seemingly to justify a broad suppression campaign. The junta said that the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) – composed of members of the majority party from the 2020 elections of the national parliament – and the NUG “constantly incited Civil Disobedience Movement participants to commit violent acts.”
The following alleged crimes against humanity should be independently and impartially investigated:
Murder
Since the February 1 coup, the State Administration Council junta has responded to massive protests with excessive and lethal force. The police and military have killed over 900 people, most of whom were protesters and bystanders in many cities and towns across Myanmar, including Yangon (Hlaing Thayar, North Okkapala, and other townships), Mandalay, Bago, Monywa, and other townships in Sagaing region, Mindat township in Chin state, and other locations. International human rights standards permit law enforcement officials to use lethal force only as a last resort when there is an imminent threat to life. But in numerous cases reported in the media, and by the UN, Human Rights Watch, and other human rights organizations, the security forces fired on demonstrators who were unarmed and posed no apparent threat.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on April 13 denounced “yet another weekend of coordinated bloodshed in many parts of the country.” She said that “[t]he military seems intent on intensifying its pitiless policy of violence against the people of Myanmar, using military-grade and indiscriminate weaponry.”
The UN Human Rights Committee, in its General Comment No. 37 on the right of peaceful assembly, has stated that “[f]irearms are not an appropriate tool for the policing of assemblies, and must never be used simply to disperse an assembly.… [A]ny use of firearms by law enforcement officials in the context of assemblies must be limited to targeted individuals in circumstances in which it is strictly necessary to confront an imminent threat of death or serious injury.”
The crime against humanity of murder has been defined by ad hoc international tribunals as “the death of the victim which results from an act or omission by the accused, committed with the intent either to kill or to cause serious bodily harm with the reasonable knowledge that it would likely lead to death.”
There have been a number of reports of large-scale shooting of protesters by the security forces. The UN reported that security forces killed 18 people on February 28. On March 3, security forces across the country fired live rounds at protesters, killing at least 38 and wounding more than 100, the UN reported. Killings were also reported in one day in Monywa, Sagaing region; Myingyan and Mandalay, Mandalay region; Salin, Magway region; and Mawlamyine, Mon state, according to media reports and local analysts.
Human Rights Watch investigated incidents in which security personnel appeared to deliberately kill individuals. On March 3 in Yangon, at least 10 security force personnel were captured on video pushing a man ahead of a group of detainees and then fatally shooting him in the back at close range.
Medical doctors told Human Rights Watch that security forces prevented them from reaching wounded protesters, some of whom died from blood loss. Doctors working in mobile clinics during protests said security forces used live rounds interspersed with rubber bullets and that many of the fatal injuries were from bullet wounds to the upper body.
On March 13, the authorities killed at least nine protesters, including five in the Sein Pan area of Mandalay, when security forces reportedly shot into a crowd. On March 14 in Hlaing Thayar township, Yangon, security forces killed an estimated 58 people.
On March 17, police pursuing protesters forced their way into Sandar Linn Shein’s family home in Bayintnaung, Mayangone township. She said they accused the family of sheltering protesters and began shooting indiscriminately, killing her older sister instantly and wounding her older brother in the chest and then arresting him.
On March 27, Armed Forces Day, the day after the MRTV news channel announced that demonstrators “should learn from the tragedy of earlier ugly deaths that you can be in danger of getting shot to the head and back,” security forces carried out violent crackdowns on protesters in at least 40 towns and cities, killing dozens, Fortify Rights reported: “Eyewitness photographs and videos filmed [on March 27] show dead bodies, including children, and soldiers firing weapons street-level, dragging lifeless victims away, and brutally beating people.”
In one case, security forces shot and wounded Aye Ko during a night raid in Mandalay. Local media reported that security forces dragged him away and then set him on fire. Residents said soldiers threatened to shoot anyone who tried to help him. In a another widely publicized incident on March 27, a video shows soldiers shooting and killing Kyaw Min Latt at close range as he drove by them on a motorcycle.
On April 9, military personnel killed an estimated 82 people in Bago in a dawn assault on protesters’ barricades and encampments, according to media reports.
On May 26, the Associated Press, in conjunction with the Human Rights Center Investigations Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, published an extensive and detailed report documenting killings. The AP and Human Rights Center alleged that the junta was using the killings, including by dragging bodies through the streets and returning mutilated corpses to families, to terrorize the population into ending the protests. They identified more than 130 instances in which “security forces appeared to be using corpses and the bodies of the wounded to create anxiety, uncertainty, and strike fear in the civilian population.”
Enforced Disappearances
Since the coup, Myanmar authorities have taken into custody and forcibly disappeared more than 100 politicians, election officials, journalists, activists, and protesters, and refused to confirm their location in violation of international law.
Enforced disappearances are defined in the ICC statute as the arrest or detention of someone by the state or their agents followed by a refusal to acknowledge that deprivation of freedom or to give information on the fate or whereabouts of the person, with the intention of “removing them from the protection of the law for a prolonged period of time.”
Family members and friends of arrested anti-junta protesters told Human Rights Watch that not knowing where the person was being held heightened concerns about their safety and well-being.
In many cases, families only received information informally about the location of their family member, such as when newly released detainees notified others that they had seen another person who had been detained. Some families believe that because a prison accepts a package for their family member, it is most likely the place where their relative is being held. However, there is no factual basis for this conclusion, and it does not relieve the authorities of their obligation to provide information on a detainee’s whereabouts, produce a detainee in court within 48 hours as provided by Myanmar law, and promptly allow access to counsel and family members.
Torture
Many of those detained for taking part in pro-democracy demonstrations said after their release that that security personnel tortured and otherwise ill-treated them and others in custody. Methods of torture reported include beatings, mock executions with guns, burning with cigarettes, and rape and threatened rape. While torture by police in criminal cases has long been a problem in Myanmar, coup opponents taken into custody have been at risk of routine beatings, torture, and gender-based violence, indicating that the mistreatment has been part of junta efforts to suppress the political opposition.
One 19-year-old man told the media that on April 9 he was taken to a military compound on the outskirts of Bago after a deadly day of protests. He said the security forces used cables, the butts of guns, and bottles to beat him on his hands. “The commander tied my hands from the back and used small scissors to cut my ears, the tip of my nose, my neck and my throat,” he said. “[He] hit my head with a glass bottle, beat me up, pointed at me with guns but the bullets did not come out.”
Protesters in Myeik, Tanintharyi region, said after their release that on March 9, security force members beat about 70 protesters detained during demonstrations with belts, rifles butts, pipes, wooden sticks, and chains. On April 19, the junta created a public outcry when it aired on MRTV the images of six young detainees who bore marks of torture suffered while they were detained.
A 17-year-old boy told Human Rights Watch that he had been beaten for days while blindfolded, then forced into a pit and buried up to his neck in a mock burial. He said he and others arrested with him were denied food and water for four days and drank toilet water to survive.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said that since the coup, at least 22 people have been tortured to death during custody.
Human Rights Watch investigated the case of Khin Maung Latt, 58, a ward chairman in Pabedan township in downtown Yangon. On the evening of March 6, witnesses saw soldiers and police forcibly enter Khin Maung Latt’s home, beat and kick him in front of his family, and then take him away at gunpoint. The next morning, after notification by the authorities, Khin Maung Latt’s family recovered his body from a hospital. The body had severe wounds to the hands and back and was covered in a bloody shroud, a witness said.
Rape and Other Sexual Violence
The UN special representative of the secretary-general on sexual violence, Pramila Patten, condemned alleged sexual violence by the Myanmar authorities. She called for an end to the abuses and for unimpeded access for an independent investigation. In a June 25 statement she said:
Night raids, arbitrary arrests, sieges of townships and neighborhoods, torture and deaths in detention, attacks on locations and sites where civilians are gathered or have fled, and reports of sexual violence in detention sites, particularly sexual assault, torture, physical and verbal abuse, and intimidation, have become an alarming feature of daily life.
Mary Lawlor, the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, noted in a July 19 statement on Myanmar that “[w]omen human rights defenders are particularly at risk in remote rural areas and are often beaten and kicked before being sent to prison where they can face torture and sexual violence with no medical care provided.”
The opposition National Unity Government reported that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people have been particularly vulnerable to sexual violence in custody. One transgender woman recounted after her release that she was raped in custody with an object, tortured, and severely beaten.
Human Rights Watch investigated the case of a woman whom the police arrested on April 17 and accused of involvement in a series of bomb attacks against security forces in Yangon. Local media reported that police in Yankin township severely beat the woman, including on her genitals, causing vaginal bleeding, during interrogation at the police station. They beat her again at an interrogation center in Shwe Pyi Thar township, making it difficult for her to eat or urinate. Her cellmate said she herself was molested, threatened with a gun, and slapped during interrogation at another police precinct in Sanchaung township.
On March 3 in Yangon, the authorities arrested two journalists, Han Thar Nyein and Nathan Maung, during a raid of their Kamayut Media office. Nathan Maung, who has been released, said the police beat them for days at an interrogation center and that Han Thar Nyein, who is now in Insein prison, was also burned with cigarettes and threatened with rape.
Imprisonment or Other Severe Deprivation of Liberty in Violation of International Law
On February 1, the military arrested State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and several dozen other senior officials in early morning raids in the capital, Naypyidaw. They remain in detention.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has reported that since the coup, security forces have arrested 6,990 people, of whom 5,442 remain detained. In some instances, security forces have arrested and detained family members and friends of activists, protesters, and opposition members as a form of collective punishment. The AAPP said that at least 119 people, including an infant, have been arrested during raids when security forces were unable to find the person they sought to arrest. At least 83 of them remain in detention and some family members have been sentenced to prison terms.
The junta has particularly targeted members of the media for arrest. Since February 1, the authorities have arrested 98 journalists, 46 of whom are currently in detention, according to the AAPP. Six journalists have been convicted, including five for violating section 505A of the penal code, a new provision that makes it a criminal offense punishable by up to three years in prison to publish or circulate comments that “cause fear” or spread vaguely defined “false news.”
Other Inhumane Acts Causing Great Suffering or Serious Injury
The junta has harassed, arbitrarily arrested, and attacked medical professionals, sometimes as they treated injured protesters. Many healthcare workers were early leaders of the opposition Civil Disobedience Movement and refused to work in government hospitals as a form of protest. Since the coup at least 260 healthcare workers have been attacked while trying to administer medical aid, and 18 killed. The AAPP said 76 remain in detention and up to 600 medical professionals have outstanding arrest warrants against them. Many have been forced to work underground in makeshift mobile clinics or have gone into hiding to evade arrest. The UN Country Team in Myanmar has said that the attacks on medical workers have jeopardized the Covid-19 response.
CCTV footage released online shows at least six police officers removing three workers from an ambulance of the Mon Myat Seik Htar (MMSH) volunteer rescue team, then beating the workers with their guns and batons and kicking them. The MMSH volunteers were subsequently arrested and released on March 24, Myanmar Now reported..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-07-31
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-31
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2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Human Rights Watch Reports on Burma/Myanmar, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"In response to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis in Myanmar, where cases and deaths are soaring since mid-June and patients are struggling to access oxygen against a backdrop of escalating conflict, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns, Ming Yu Hah, said:
“The spread of Covid-19 in Myanmar compounds the existing humanitarian and human rights crisis in the country. It's a stark example of the Myanmar military’s ruinous mismanagement and its enormous human toll.”
“By relentlessly pursuing medical workers, threatening them and arresting them, the military authorities have driven the country’s already fragile healthcare system into the ground during a global pandemic. It’s unconscionable, and it was preventable.”
“Community volunteer groups are engaged in the morbid task of corpse removal, and crematoriums are inundated. The military's response has been to stage photo ops and release statements saying they have this under control when it is manifestly clear that they do not. To make matters worse, the available data shows that less than 3% of the population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19.”
“This is a crisis for all in the country, but we hold particular concerns for at-risk populations including prisoners. The country’s prison system now houses thousands of opponents of the military and, even under ordinary circumstances, detention in these facilities is detrimental to the right to health, as the denial of medical treatment and access to life-saving medications is commonplace.”
“For the more than half a million nationwide who’ve fled conflict or remain interned in camps, it is critical that the authorities allow sustained and unfettered humanitarian access. Neighbouring states should allow cross-border aid to provide for the minority and displaced populations inside Ethnic Armed Organization-administered and contested territories.”
“Unless there is swift, decisive and unified action taken by the international community, the situation in Myanmar can and will get much, much worse. Armed conflict worsens by the day, hundreds of thousands have fled fighting, shelling and airstrikes, millions have been tipped into poverty and unemployment, and food shortages are on the near-horizon. This is a perfect storm.”
Background
People all over Myanmar have been affected by the surge in cases of Covid-19. Amnesty International has received reports of people trying to source oxygen for their loved ones at extortionate prices, with money they simply don’t have. Moreover, media reports detail how security officials have hoarded desperately needed oxygen.
Amnesty International is also concerned at reports of Covid-19 cases among internally displaced populations, including in Kachin and Rakhine States.
On 1 February 2021, Myanmar’s military seized power from the elected civilian government by staging a coup. The move triggered pro-democracy protests nationwide, which in turn saw the nation’s newly emboldened security forces launch an ongoing and deadly crackdown on demonstrators.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners Burma (AAPPB), as of 13 July, the military has killed over 900 people and arrested more than 6,600 people since the coup. More than 5,200 people remain in detention.
The rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly have also been drastically curtailed, including via shutdowns of media outlets, the internet and social media..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-07-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-31
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Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Amnesty International reports on Burma/Myanmar
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"Six months since the military coup in Myanmar, the situation for families is worsening as a wave of COVID-19 rages across the country and children are unable to access medical care and education, Save the Children warns.
Save the Children said many children in Myanmar may lose caregivers as the death toll from COVID-19 is rising rapidly and the rate of positive testing, reportedly over 37%, ranks among the highest in the world - even though positive cases and deaths are severely underreported.
So far more than a million children around the world have lost a parent to COVID-19, and a total of 1.5 million have lost either a parent, a grandparent who helped care for them or some other relative responsible for their care, according to a study published in The Lancet this month.
In Myanmar, the health system has virtually collapsed since the coup began on February 1 and vaccinations remain largely unavailable in a country wracked by disease, poverty and violence.
Entire families are falling sick with COVID-19, with family members desperately struggling to access treatment, medicine, emergency oxygen and other medical supplies that are in short supply for relatives and friends, while prices have skyrocketed.
In the absence of sufficient health care options and threatened by violence, pregnant women are being forced to give birth under appalling circumstances, including while hiding in the jungle from armed soldiers.
Children killed and detained
According to the UN, 75 children have been killed since the coup began, though the actual number of fatalities is thought to be much higher. More than a third of these deaths were of children aged under 16. The youngest was an 18-month-year-old girl, who was killed when a military vehicle hit her father’s motorbike after he refused to stop while taking her to hospital.
At least 104 children, some as young as seven, remain in detention, many in Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison, where a serious outbreak of COVID-19 has been reported. Last month, a 17-year-old boy reported that he was tortured almost to death while being held in an interrogation centre. On 24 May, two boys, aged 15 and 17, were sentenced to death by the courts after they were accused of killing a pro-military informer. Their cases have since been referred to the juvenile court where they are again awaiting sentencing.
In addition to those killed or injured, Save the Children is concerned that countless more children are being deprived of essential medical care and education amid the surge in COVID-19 cases which is devastating the country. Regular vaccination campaigns for children have also stalled, and nearly 1 million children have been unable to receive essential vaccinations in Myanmar since the coup (UN).
The economic situation of many families is growing increasingly desperate. A survey by Save the Children among nearly 1,500 households across seven regions found the crisis was affecting the ability of about 75% of households to meet basic needs. About 34% of respondents reported a total loss of income in the months after the coup. The World Bank predicts an 18% drop in GDP this year, while ILO estimates that 2.2 million jobs have been lost since the start of the year.
Save the Children said:
“Soon after the coup six months ago we spoke of a ‘nightmare scenario’ unfolding. That scenario is now playing out before our eyes and it is far worse than we could have predicted. Not only have children witnessed and experienced violence and horror that no child should ever see, but they are now also losing caregivers and family members due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is rapidly plummeting the country further into chaos. The complex and by now chronic crisis is taking a heavy toll on the mental health and well-being of millions of people, including many children.
“Save the Children calls for an end to the violence in Myanmar and a strong, coordinated and decisive effort by the international community to help address the ongoing crisis, especially the COVID-19 situation. Both the UN Security Council and ASEAN have no more time to lose when it comes to Myanmar. ASEAN should urgently take action during its upcoming formal meeting on August 2. The bloc must do everything it can to make sure that violations against people in the country cease, including against children, and find a regional solution to this crisis.
“People in Myanmar are showing admirable resilience and strength, but they cannot weather this perfect storm on their own. Help is urgently needed.”..."
Source/publisher:
Save the Children (London)
Date of publication:
2021-07-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-31
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Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Children, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group
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"Small groups of students protested against Myanmar's military junta on Saturday in Mandalay and a human rights group accused the armed forces of crimes against humanity as the country approached six months since the army's takeover.
The junta later on Saturday accused the country's ousted civilian leaders and some foreign diplomats of disseminating "fabricated, distorted and one-sided information".
Bands of university students rode motorbikes around Mandalay waving red and green flags, saying they rejected any possibility of talks with the military.
"There's no negotiating in a blood feud," read one sign.
The army seized power on Feb. 1 from the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi after her ruling party won elections that the military argued were tainted by fraud. The country's electoral commission dismissed this allegation.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said on Saturday the violent suppression of protests and arrests of coup opponents included acts that violate international humanitarian conventions.
“These attacks on the population amount to crimes against humanity for which those responsible should be brought to account,” Brad Adams, the group's Asia director, said in a statement.
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun could not be reached to respond to the allegations.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners activist group says at least 6,990 people have been arrested since the coup and accuses the armed forces of killing 939 people. The military says the number of protesters killed is far lower and members of the armed forces have also died in violence. It says its response has met international norms in the face of threats to national security.
The army has branded its opponents terrorists and says its February takeover was in line with the constitution.
The military-run Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday posted a statement criticising an informal United Nations Security Council discussion on Myanmar in which Britain's U.N. ambassador warned of a rapid spread of COVID-19, saying half the population of 54 million people could be infected in the next two weeks. read more
The junta statement rejected those allegations.
"While Myanmar is working hard to contain, prevent and fight against the pandemic, creating divisions and mistrust among its people is unacceptable," the statement said.
"It was observed that the meeting discussed the issue of Myanmar based on fabricated, distorted and one-sided information," it added..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-07-31
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-31
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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It’s been six months since the military coup in Myanmar where there’s grave concern over the widening impact of the deepening political, human rights and humanitarian crisis affecting the country’s people.
Description:
"Speaking to UN News, the organisation’s top aid official in Myanmar, Acting Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator Ramanathan Balakrishnan, described how people have been severely impacted across the country since the junta’s power grab on 1 February.
“The situation in the country is characterized now by instability and a deteriorating socio-economic and security situation and to add to that we have a raging third wave of COVID-19,” said Mr. Balakrishnan in an exclusive interview.
Highlighting the ongoing nature of armed resistance to State security forces “in several ethnic minority areas” including in the states of Shan, Chin and Kachin, the UN official said that more than 200,000 people had been uprooted from their homes there to date.
Displacement swelling
In Rakhine state before the coup, the UN Humanitarian Response Plan pointed to some one million people including internally displaced people in need of urgent assistance, but “this number has only swelled”, Mr. Balakrishnan insisted.
More widely, “following the coup, an additional two million were identified as those in urgent need of humanitarian aid, and those were largely in the urban areas of Yangon and Mandalay”, he said, adding that the intensification of clashes and the worsening socio-economic situation was pushing “tens of thousands of people” into a humanitarian space” every day.
Echoing concerns over rights abuses by UN Children’s Fund UNICEF and others, Mr. Balakrishnan condemned the ongoing and widespread use of lethal force by the military against civilian protesters.
Rising hunger
Looking ahead, the UN’s priorities include ensuring that millions of people do not fall further into hunger, the aid official said. “There has been an increase in the price of basic commodities for many people…this has also resulted in a reduction of the nutrition value of the food basket that people usually take as they substitute their regular food with cheaper, more readily available items.”
Turning to Myanmar’s health system, which is facing extreme pressure because of the coronavirus crisis, as well as attacks on medical personnel and facilities in Myanmar - and a civil disobedience movement by some health professionals - Mr. Balakrishnan warned that even basic services had been disrupted across the country.
Standing with Myanmar’s people
In a message of solidarity, the top aid official insisted that the UN remained committed to respecting the will of the country’s people.
This was despite limited access to parts of the country linked to security concerns and disruption to the banking system, which limited the UN’s ability to transfer funds to humanitarian partners responsible for delivering aid.
“The UN will continue to call out human rights violations and is committed to stay and deliver lifesaving humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar, in addition to sending in the COVID-19 response,” Mr. Balakrishnan said..."
Source/publisher:
UN News
Date of publication:
2021-07-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-31
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Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Human Rights and international relations, The UN and Burma - news and commentary
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"Britain's U.N. ambassador warned on Thursday that half of Myanmar's 54 million people could be infected with COVID-19 in the next two weeks as Myanmar's envoy called for U.N. monitors to ensure an effective delivery of vaccines.
Myanmar has been in chaos since the military ousted an elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, with protests and fighting between the army and newly formed militias. The United States, Britain and others have imposed sanctions on the military rulers over the coup and repression of pro-democracy protests in which hundreds have been killed.
"The coup has resulted in a near total collapse of the healthcare system, and health care workers are being attacked and arrested," British U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward told an informal Security Council discussion on Myanmar.
"The virus is spreading through the population, very fast indeed. By some estimates, in the next two weeks, half of the population of Myanmar could be infected with COVID," she said.
Myanmar state media reported on Wednesday that the military ruler is looking for greater cooperation with other countries to contain the coronavirus.
Infections in the Southeast Asian country have surged since June, with 4,980 cases and 365 deaths reported on Wednesday, according to health ministry data cited in media. Medics and funeral services put the toll much higher. read more
"In order to have smooth and effective COVID vaccination and providing humanitarian assistance, close-monitoring by the international community is essential," Myanmar's U.N. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, who speaks for the elected civilian government, told the Security Council discussion.
"As such, we would like to request the U.N. in particular the Security Council to urgently establish a U.N.-led monitoring mechanism for effective COVID vaccination and smooth delivery of humanitarian assistance," he said.
Myanmar recently received two million more Chinese vaccines, but it was believed to have only vaccinated about 3.2% of its population, according to a Reuters tracker..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-07-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports
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Sub-title:
It's a double whammy that has left Myanmar with no room to breathe - a military coup coupled with a pandemic that has killed thousands.
Description:
"On 1 February, Myanmar's military seized power from its civilian government, leading to a series of mass protests that show no signs of stopping.
Among the protesters were thousands of healthcare workers who walked out, leading to a collapse in the healthcare system and throwing Myanmar's vaccination and testing response into chaos.
And now, a surge in coronavirus cases fuelled by the highly infectious Delta variant has dealt the country a fresh blow.
People are lining up outside of oxygen factories in the hope of buying or refilling cylinders, despite a government ban on direct oxygen sales to the public. Crematoriums are overflowing with bodies.
For some, there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
"We keep asking ourselves, are we going to die of Covid or are we going to die because of the impact of the political crisis?" said journalist Aye Mya, whose name we have changed for safety reasons.
"It's like we have to choose the best way to die," she said.
Catching Covid in jail
Myanmar has so far reported more than 280,000 cases and 8,200 deaths. But the case numbers are thought to be vast underestimates, because of limited testing. In July, Myanmar, which is home to around 54 million people, only tested between 9,000 and 17,000 people per day.
Deaths are likely undercounted too. Only those who die at medical facilities are included in the official figures.
Aye Mya believes her mother's death was not counted, because she was never tested for Covid despite displaying symptoms.
She also fears her mother may have contracted it from her.
Although she tested negative after her mother's death, Aye Mya believes she may have caught the virus while in jail - she was detained for four months after being arrested while reporting on the anti-coup protests. She developed symptoms soon after her release.
Myanmar coup: What is happening and why?
How Myanmar coup caused its healthcare to vanish
"In the prison, we had about 50 inmates in the same room and it was so crowded. I saw a few severely ill people around me," she says.
"My mum was in good health when I got out of prison, she washed my hair and we ate together. But not long after my illness, she got sick. I recovered a few days later but her condition deteriorated. She could not eat and had difficulty breathing."
"Sometimes I feel like we are being attacked with a biological weapon," she said, recounting the horror of her mother's death.
"When we got to the hospital, they said there was an oxygen shortage. We approached anyone with an oxygen cylinder and asked if there was any chance that we could rent it for a short period of time, but nothing was available. Mum died while we were hunting for oxygen around the hospital."
Oxygen has become one of Myanmar's most valuable - and most controversial - commodities. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing has denied that the country has a shortage, saying people were stocking up due to "anxiety".
The military has also restricted oxygen sales to private sellers, to prevent "hoarding".
But some allege the army has been funnelling oxygen to military hospitals.
"Our friends who are still working in government hospitals told us that security forces came and took the oxygen cylinders away," said a doctor working at an NGO, who did not want to be named.
Health system collapses
Myanmar's medical system was always fragile, but despite limited resources it managed to weather the virus last year. The coup changed that.
"We were not very well prepared [for the pandemic]. On top of that, the army chose this precise time to mount a coup. The amount of disregard it has for the lives of its own people is staggering," said Khin Zaw Win, the director of think tank Tampadipa Institute in Yangon.
"Other countries try to flatten the curve with an ultimate goal of preventing the medical system from collapsing," said Dr Phyu Phyu Thin Zaw, a public health expert at the University of Hong Kong. "But in Myanmar, the coup caused the collapse of the health system even before the third wave."
Medical workers were among the first group to go on strike against the coup. At least 72 of them, including the former head of the vaccination programme, are currently detained, and nearly 600 have warrants out for their arrest, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
Free medical services provided by doctors and nurses participating in the civil disobedience are under threat too. The military has been accused of arresting several doctors after pretending that there was a Covid patient who needed a home visit. They denied these allegations.
They say about 60% of medical personnel are still working - a number that is most likely overestimated.
The coup has also led to the disruption of the country's vaccination rollout, which was launched by the previous administration five days before the coup. The military has said six million Chinese vaccines and two million Russian vaccines will soon be delivered.
But they are coming too late, according to Khin Zaw Win, who questioned how effective the military would be in mobilising the people to take the jabs.
The impact of the situation is clearly visible outside Yangon's cemeteries, where long lines of hearses, ambulances, and private cars carry the dead every day.
Sein Win Thai, of Bo Sein Funeral Service in Yangon, said he was overwhelmed.
"My own father died three days ago. It was in the morning at about 9am. I could not get a funeral car straight away for him even though I run a funeral service," he said.
"When we [eventually] got to Yay Way cemetery, we had to wait for hours as there were many funerals ahead of him. All were Covid victims."
According to Yangon Region Administration Council chief Hla Soe, there were about 1,500 bodies recorded on 19 July - vastly higher than the official nationwide death toll of 281.
Cemeteries in Yangon, he said, were only equipped to handle 300 bodies a day.
Aye Mya's family managed to find a small oxygen cylinder in the end, though it was too late for her mother. Three other members of her family have now tested positive.
"Dad said he felt sorry whenever he saw this cylinder because he felt we could not save her life, because we did not get that in time," she said.
"Now we have to closely look after each other as we do not want to lose any more family members."..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-07-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma
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"The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM), which is controlled by the military regime, has sold nearly US$90 million (148 billion kyats) since the February coup as the kyat’s value tumbles.
The CMB auctioned $6.8 million to domestic banks in February following the coup, $12 million in April, $24 million in May, $12 million in June and $33 million by July 28.
The kyat has depreciated by 23 percent against the US dollar since the coup to around 1,700 kyats, according to currency dealers.
It is partly because of supply and demand pressures, said a businessman. Myanmar is earning fewer dollars as exports have fallen and export earnings have declined. But demand for the dollar has not changed significantly as Myanmar imports numerous products, including fuel, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods.
“People are saving dollars as their trust in the kyat has declined. Our country relies on imports and there is always demand for the dollar. The dollar value will remain high,” he said.
The floor price fixed by CBM at its dollar auctions is 1,645 kyats. Before the coup, the exchange rate was just over 1,300 kyats.
The bulk selling of dollars while the kyat is depreciating, the growing trade deficit and Myanmar not receiving new foreign investments will only reduce the foreign currency reserves of the regime which is keen to acquire hard currency.
Myanmar’s economy is expected to shrink by 18 percent this fiscal year under the regime and a rapid surge of COVID-19, the World Bank said in its latest report..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-07-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-30
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"With coronavirus deaths rising in Myanmar, allegations are growing from residents and human rights activists that the military government, which seized control in February, is using the pandemic to consolidate power and crush opposition.
In the last week, the per capita death rate in Myanmar surpassed those of Indonesia and Malaysia to become the worst in Southeast Asia. The country’s crippled health care system has rapidly become overwhelmed with new patients sick with COVID-19.
Supplies of medical oxygen are running low, and the government has restricted its private sale in many places, saying it is trying to prevent hoarding. But that has led to widespread allegations that the stocks are being directed to government supporters and military-run hospitals.
At the same time, medical workers have been targeted after spearheading a civil disobedience movement that urged professionals and civil servants not to cooperate with the government, known as the State Administrative Council.
“They have stopped distributing personal protection equipment and masks, and they will not let civilians who they suspect are supporting the democracy movement be treated in hospitals, and they’re arresting doctors who support the civil disobedience movement,” said Yanghee Lee, the U.N.’s former Myanmar human rights expert and a founding member of the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar.
“With the oxygen, they have banned sales to civilians or people who are not supported by the SAC, so they’re using something that can save the people against the people,” she said. “The military is weaponizing COVID.”
Myanmar’s Deputy Information Minister Zaw Min Tun did not respond to questions about the allegations, but with growing internal and external pressure to get the pandemic under control, the leadership has been on a public relations offensive.
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In the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper this week, several articles highlighted the government’s efforts, including what it called a push to resume vaccinations and increase oxygen supplies.
Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the military commander who heads the SAC, was cited as saying that efforts were also being made to seek support from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and unspecified “friendly countries.”
“Efforts must be made for ensuring better health of the State and the people,” he was quoted as saying.
Myanmar reported another 342 deaths Thursday, and 5,234 new infections. Its 7-day rolling average of deaths per 1 million people rose to 6.29 — more than double the rate of 3.04 in India at the peak of its crisis in May. The figures in Myanmar are thought to be a drastic undercount due to lack of testing and reporting.
“There is a big difference between the actual death toll from COVID-19 of the Military Council and reality,” a physician from the Mawlamyine General Hospital in Myanmar’s fourth-largest city told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of government reprisal. “There are a lot of people in the community who have died of the disease and cannot be counted.”
Videos proliferate on social media showing apparent virus victims dead in their homes for lack of treatment and long lines of people waiting for what oxygen supplies are still available. The government denies reports that cemeteries in Yangon have been overwhelmed but announced Tuesday they were building new facilities that could cremate up to 3,000 bodies per day.
“By letting COVID-19 run out of control, the military junta is failing the Burmese people as well as the wider region and world, which can be threatened by new variants fueled by unchecked spread of the disease in places like Myanmar,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch. “The problem is the junta cares more about holding on to power than stopping the pandemic.”
Myanmar is one of the region’s poorest countries and already was in a vulnerable position when the military seized power, triggering a violent political struggle.
Under the civilian former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar had weathered a coronavirus surge last year by severely restricting travel and sealing off Yangon. Vaccines were secured from India and China, but Suu Kyi’s government was ousted less than a week after the first shots were given.
As civil disobedience grew after Suu Kyi’s removal, public hospitals were basically closed as doctors and other staff refused to work under the new administration, instead running makeshift clinics for which they faced arrest, if caught.
Some have returned to public hospitals, but the Mawlamyine doctor interviewed by AP said it was too dangerous.
“I could be arrested by the junta anytime if I returned to the hospital,” added the doctor, who was part of the disobedience movement and has been treating patients with supplies he has scrounged.
According to Tom Andrews, the U.N. Human Rights Council’s independent expert on human rights in Myanmar, government forces have engaged in at least 260 attacks on medical personnel and facilities, killing 18. At least 67 health care professionals had been detained and another 600 are being sought.
Military hospitals kept operating after Suu Kyi’s ouster but were shunned by many people and the vaccination program slowed to a crawl before apparently fizzling out completely until this week. There are no solid figures on vaccinations, but it’s believed that about 3% of the population could have received two shots.
The rapid rise in COVID -19 illnesses is “extremely concerning, particularly with limited availability of health services and oxygen supplies,” said Joy Singhal, head of the Red Cross’ Myanmar delegation.
“There is an urgent need for greater testing, contact tracing and COVID-19 vaccinations to help curb the pandemic,” he told AP. “This latest surge is a bitter blow to millions of people in Myanmar already coping with worsening economic and social hardships.”
Earlier this week, Andrews urged the U.N. Security Council and member states to push for a “COVID cease-fire.”
“The United Nations cannot afford to be complacent while the junta ruthlessly attacks medical personnel as COVID-19 spreads unchecked,” he said. “They must act to end this violence so that doctors and nurses can provide lifesaving care and international organizations can help deliver vaccinations and related medical care.”
After a long lull in humanitarian aid, China recently began delivering vaccines. It sent 736,000 doses to Yangon this month, the first of 2 million being donated, and reportedly more than 10,000 to the Kachin Independence Army, which has waged a decades-long insurgency in a northern border area where the virus has spilled over into China.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian declined to comment directly earlier this week on the report of the delivery to the KIA, noting instead “the epidemic is a common enemy to all mankind.”
The Global New Light reported Myanmar received another 1 million doses purchased from China.
COVID-19 outbreaks have been reported as widespread in Myanmar’s prisons. On Wednesday, state-run MRTV television showed what it said were 610 prisoners from Yangon’s Insein Prison being vaccinated. The report was met with skepticism and derision on social media.
Lee said if the government is trying to use vaccines and other aid to its advantage by positioning itself as the solution to the pandemic, it’s too late.
“The people know now and it’s been too long,” she said. “COVID was not manmade but it got out of proportion because of complicity and deliberate blockage of services — there’s no going back.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Associated Press" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-07-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Human Rights and international relations, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
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Topic:
civil disobedience movement, civilian deaths, Coup, crackdown, Democracy, Human Rights, junta, military in politics, military regime, Min Aung Hlaing, Mingin Township, National League for Democracy, National Unity Government, November 8 general election, PDF, People’s Defense Force, Political Prisoners, Rule of Law, Sagaing Region, Spring Revolution, State Administrative Council, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Tatmadaw
Topic:
civil disobedience movement, civilian deaths, Coup, crackdown, Democracy, Human Rights, junta, military in politics, military regime, Min Aung Hlaing, Mingin Township, National League for Democracy, National Unity Government, November 8 general election, PDF, People’s Defense Force, Political Prisoners, Rule of Law, Sagaing Region, Spring Revolution, State Administrative Council, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Tatmadaw
Description:
"Almost 60 civilian resistance People Defense Force (PDF) fighters in Mingin were detained while they tried to attack a Sagaing Region village on Wednesday.
At about 5am on Wednesday, civilian resistance fighters attacked Pan Set and Taungbyu villages, which are strongholds of Pyu-Saw-Htee military allies who are armed with automatic rifles by the junta, according to the PDF.
According to residents, junta troops and Pyu-Saw-Htee raided have villages and attacked the resistance in the township over the past month.
A resistance fighter in Mingin told The Irrawaddy on Thursday they attacked villages on Wednesday to prevent junta attacks with the Phyu-Saw-Htee on villages in the south of the township.
During the firefight at Taungbyu village, the 57 resistance members were seized by the Pyu-Saw-Htee, according to the PDF.
“Our fighters were detained by a trap after entering the village as the Pyu-Saw-Htee said they would surrender,” said a member of the PDF. Another 12 resistance fighters outside the village escaped.
The resistance fighters trying to save the detainees were forced to retreat by junta reinforcements. After the firefight, the military regime used a helicopter to supply ammunition, residents said.
“We have learned our members were detained at the Taungbyu village and some of them were slain,” said the PDF member.
The Irrawaddy was unable to independently confirm the killing of PDF detainees.
U Maung Myint, a former lawmaker for Mingin Township who is a central executive committee member of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), posted on Facebook on Wednesday that the PDF members were captured because of military tactics.
The former military officer said one villager was killed and three injured during fighting in Pan Set village.
During the firefight, five resistance fighters were injured, according to the PDF.
Also on Thursday, troops and Pyu-Saw-Htee members raided Konyin village and tortured villagers, a PDF member said.
Residents of three villages nearby have fled their homes to avoid junta raids.
Clashes between the resistance and junta in Mingin Township began in June.
More than 10,000 residents from Twin, Linponeyi and Zee Pin Twin villages in Kani Township, Sagaing Region, have fled their homes due to junta raids. The bodies of 12 villagers buried by junta troops on Monday were found near Zee Pin Twin on Tuesday, according to residents..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-07-29
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, National Unity Government (NUG), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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" Myanmar's military ruler is looking for greater cooperation with the international community to contain the coronavirus, state media reported on Wednesday, as the Southeast Asian country struggles with a surging wave of infections.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing called in a speech for more cooperation on prevention, control and treatment of COVID-19, including with fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and "friendly countries", the Global New Light of Myanmar reported.
Myanmar has been in chaos since the military ousted an elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, with regular protests and fighting between the army and newly formed militias. Various countries including the United States and Britain have imposed sanctions on Myanmar's military rulers over the coup and the repression of pro-democracy protests in which hundreds have been killed.
The junta leader said vaccinations needed to be increased, through both donated doses and by developing domestic production, aided by Russia, the newspaper said, adding Myanmar would seek the release of funds from an ASEAN COVID-19 fund.
Myanmar recently received two million more Chinese vaccines, but it was believed to have only vaccinated about 3.2% of its population, according to a Reuters tracker. A drive to vaccinate some 40,000 inmates in densely packed prisons, which have seen major virus outbreaks recently, started on Wednesday, state-run MRTV reported.
The military has appeared wary of outside help in past disasters, forcing Myanmar's people to help each other, though a previous junta did allow in aid via ASEAN after a devastating cyclone in 2008.
There have been desperate efforts by people to find oxygen in many parts of the country. The Myanmar Now news portal, citing witnesses, reported that at least eight people died in a Yangon hospital at the weekend after a piped oxygen system failed.
A medical staff wearing a protective suit stands near an ambulance, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Yangon, Myanmar, September 27, 2020. REUTERS/Shwe Paw Mya Tin/File Photo/File Photo
Reuters could not independently confirm the report and the North Okkalapa General Hospital and a health ministry spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Infections in Myanmar have surged since June, with 4,980 cases and 365 deaths reported on Wednesday, according to health ministry data cited in media. Medics and funeral services put the toll much higher.
Last week, prisoners in Yangon staged a protest over what activists said was a major COVID-19 outbreak in the colonial-era Insein jail, where many pro-democracy protesters are being held.
Vaccinations began at Insein and a prison in the capital Naypyitaw on Wednesday and would be extended to inmates countrywide, MRTV reported, citing the prisons department.
Efforts to tackle the outbreak have been further hampered by some of the worst flooding in years in eastern Myanmar.
Despite Min Aung Hlaing agreeing to an ASEAN peace plan reached in April, the military has shown little sign of following through on it and has instead reiterated its own, entirely different plan to restore order and democracy.
The military justified its coup by accusing Suu Kyi's party of manipulating votes in a November general election to secure a landslide victory. The electoral commission at the time and outside observers rejected the complaints.
But in a further sign of the junta's tightening grip on power, the military-appointed election commission this week officially annulled the November results, saying the vote was not in line with the constitution and electoral laws, and was not "free and fair", MRTV reported..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-07-29
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, Human Rights and international relations, Humanitarian assistance - emergencies, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"Since the 1 February 2021 coup, Myanmar’s military has clamped down on internet use in the country. What repressive tactics did the coup regime use, and did they succeed? How can tech companies and donors respond to emerging digital cultures in post-coup Myanmar? This commentary sums up arguments made by three panellists at RightsCon 2021 on the coup regime’s use of the Internet and key areas of civil society resistance. The panel was hosted by the SecDev Foundation, a Canadian non-profit that supports digital safety research, training, and outreach in support of better digital futures for all.
‘The military knew perfectly well that the Internet is vital to their struggle for legitimacy,’ said Alex Aung Khant, a researcher and independent consultant. Alex was speaking alongside Myo Min Aung, a digital rights activist and a former programme manager of the Myanmar ICT [Information and Communication Technology] for Development Organisation (MIDO), and Saijai Liangpunsakul, a tech organizer who worked at a Yangon-based technology hub before the coup.
The three panellists gathered online on 9 June 2021 at RightsCon, an annual global conference on human rights in the digital age. They discussed the ways in which the State Administration Council (SAC, the title assumed by the military coup party), protesters, and the private sector are dealing with Myanmar’s evolving digital landscape following the 1st February coup. The panel made clear that Myanmar has developed a vibrant, post-coup digital culture that contests the SAC’s repressive tactics. However, the anti-coup movement remains constrained by knowledge gaps pertaining to the military’s surveillance capacity. The panellists also called on tech companies and donors to consider their role in maintaining citizens’ access to the internet.[1]
Digital repression and the SAC
Internet shutdowns are the best-known of the SAC’s digital repression strategies. Shortly after the coup, the military blocked access to the Internet. Thereafter, nightly internet blackouts occurred for at least seventy consecutive nights. By April 2021, the SAC had blocked all means of accessing the internet apart from those using fiber optic cable. This means that most of Myanmar’s population—who rely on less costly mobile networks and broadband connections—can no longer access the Internet. Fiber optic cables have also been working at greatly reduced speeds.
While panellists called attention to the internet shutdowns, they nuanced the narrative that the SAC had gained sudden and complete control over Myanmar’s cyberspace. For one, Myo highlighted that internet blackouts did not begin with the coup. Between June 2019 and February 2021, the NLD government imposed them in nine townships in Rakhine and Chin State amid intense armed conflict. MIDO and Phandeeyar, among other organisations, lobbied for an end to the shutdown, which only ceased a day after the coup. It was likely that the military had been ‘practising’ for the coup in Rakhine State, Myo said. In November 2020, Phyu Phyu Kyaw, an Information Controls Fellow of the Open Technology Fund, had already unveiled substantial levels of online censorship and surveillance during NLD rule. Repression strategies documented in this research prefigure numerous strategies used en masse in the post-coup period, such as the seizure of digital devices and targeted website blocks.[2]
Panellists also highlighted the substantial resources that had been poured into digital repression before the coup. Alex discussed the Tatmadaw’s investments in surveillance technologies, likely to have been imported from China, Europe, and the US. He was particularly concerned about the installation of Chinese facial recognition technologoy in public spaces, which were to be rolled out in Mandalay, Naypyidaw, and Yangon between 2020 and 2021—the three cities associated with the most vibrant protests and the harshest crackdowns. Citing the aforementioned research by Phyu Phyu Kyaw, Myo also stated that the NLD government had spent USD 4.6 million on social media monitoring tools in 2017. He also stated that despite approximately USD 4 million allocated to implement a lawful interception system between 2019-2020, such a system still does not exist. Lawful interception refers to legal frameworks that delimit the extent to which governments have access to private communications between citizens, usually to solve criminal cases. In Myanmar, the absence of such safeguards gives the SAC free rein to spy on citizens without any legal repercussions. In all, there was little doubt among the panellists that the SAC’s anxieties over the Internet were practiced and premeditated.
However, Myo added that a narrow focus on Internet shutdowns diverts attention from other kinds of digital repression. At checkpoints, SAC officials check peoples’ digital devices to identify whether they pose a threat to the coup regime. ‘The first thing they check is Facebook, then [photo] galleries and Messenger,’ Myo said, ‘they search every possible kind of content. If these officials see anything offensive to the military coup, they arrest [the device’s owner].’ Youths travelling in groups through checkpoints are at particular risk of being harassed in this way, as the SAC presumes that younger people are protesters. Saijai added that phone checks conducted by the SAC are one of the key concerns of activists and journalists. ‘This technique has created fear among the people,’ she said—not only among high-level protesters, but also for regular civilians who are concerned that their phones may incriminate them.
Is the SAC’s digital repression complete?
The panellists concurred that digital repression in Myanmar was incomplete, highlighting two challenges that the military faces in imposing complete controls over the internet. Firstly, the SAC is caught in what Stephen Feldstein calls the “dictator’s digital dilemma”: an authoritarian regime’s trade-off between the gains derived from repression and a loss of benefits they accrue from free access to the Internet. Alex pointed out that contrary to popular belief, the internet was not shut down in the early hours of 1 February, while the putsch was taking place, as the military used the internet to coordinate between coup-makers. The internet was only cut at about 7.30 am to stem immediate public outcry. The nightly internet blackouts instituted from 6 February, between approximately 1 am and 9 am, were also a response to the SAC’s digital dilemma. According to Alex, these too were a result of the junta’s struggle to maintain a business-friendly image, by allowing businesses to use the internet during regular working hours, while pursuing a countervailing desire to propagate fear, terrorize civilians, and disrupt protest coordination at night.
In addition, military operations require the internet. A blanket internet shutdown would make it impossible for troops to communicate, and would hamper the morale of foot soldiers. ‘We’ve all seen soldiers taking rest, on their phones, going through TikTok videos,’ Alex said. These videos are not innocuous: photos and death threats posted on social media have allowed the military to spread a culture of impunity within its ranks. The SAC’s economic interests and legitimacy among its troops depends on some measure of access to the internet, making a complete shutdown unlikely.
The question is whether the SAC can implement sophisticated controls which maximize forms of internet usage that serve business and military interests, while minimizing the internet’s capacity for engendering resistance. The panellists pointed out a second challenge that the SAC faces: namely, that it currently lacks the means to formulate an overarching surveillance strategy. According to Myo, even though a full picture of the military’s surveillance capacities remains unavailable, ‘one thing is for sure: [the SAC] are very keen to buy hardware and to install software. But the team’s capacity to direct and utilize those resources is very questionable… They lack a strategy.’ Myo implied that the SAC appears to be throwing money at the problem, rather than coming up with a forward-thinking strategy. As a result, they consistently underestimate the population’s adaptability and resilience.
The SAC’s lack of overarching strategy is evident in the scattershot manner in which it has implemented digital repression in the five months since the coup. First, they blocked all internet access at specific times. Then, they brought the internet back online while blacklisting specific websites, most notably Facebook and Twitter. More recently, since May 2021 the military has shifted to a “whitelisting” strategy, enabling access to specific apps such as Zoom, LinkedIn, and various mobile banking applications, via mobile data. Other forms of internet use still require fibre connection, while the aforementioned blacklisted websites, like Facebook and Twitter, remain inaccessible without a Virtual Private Network (VPN). This ‘whitelisting’ of apps for mobile data usage is likely being practiced in the hopes of staving off an impending economic crisis. However, more crude tactics are still at work. During the National Unity Government’s first press conference on 4 June 2021, the SAC blocked internet access throughout the country. Myo expressed the need to better understand these haphazard tactics and the anti-coup movement’s hopes of circumventing them: ‘this is an area for us, activists and revolutionaries, to study more.’
An anti-coup digital culture
In Myo’s words, ‘to answer the question: did the military succeed? I would say no.’ This is partly due to the SAC’s inability to navigate Feldstein’s “dictator’s digital dilemma”, but it can also be attributed to civilians’ ability to circumvent repression. In the face of repression, internet users across Myanmar have developed a thriving anti-coup digital culture through which they experiment with new protest tactics, engender community, and keep one another safe.
The creativity of Myanmar’s protesters has been widely remarked, and extends into the digital realm. Saijai provided three observations on this matter. Firstly, civilians use the Internet to keep safe and to circumvent blocks. For instance, civilians shifted to Signal, which allows for end-to-end encrypted communications, amid rising fears of surveillance. Secondly, civilians have formulated protest tactics based on the unique capacities of various apps. Saijai showed that Twitter has become particularly significant during the coup because its interface allows protesters to communicate effectively with the outside world. Amid the closure of media outlets, civilians use Twitter to obtain news—both from formal outlets and from each other. Trending hashtags, such as #whatshappeninginmyanmar, are testament to the groundswell of anti-coup sentiment in Myanmar. Protesters also use Twitter to tag specific, well-known journalists, thereby using Twitter to ‘gather international attention to Myanmar.’ Protesters thus use both the one-to-one and many-to-many communicative functions of Twitter to great effect. Thirdly, Saijai discussed how protesters were supporting one another through the internet. Protesters have used OpenStreetMap to track the location of police forces in big cities, while the app Way Way Nay provides users with a list of military-linked individuals and businesses, making boycotts easy and accessible. Their use of these apps shows how online engagements feed into the offline activities of protesters. They also show how protesters foment community online, amidst brutal offline crackdowns. ‘I see young people translating frustration and anger into innovation,’ Saijai said, ‘it touches my heart to see them supporting each other.’
Widespread smartphone ownership in big cities also allows citizens to assist journalists in a hostile media landscape, in which journalists—working for both local and foreign media outlets—face arrest, torture, and detention. Citizens take photos and videos of crackdowns, which are then uploaded and shared on social media. Alex explained that this has shifted journalists’ relationships with media users. Since journalists face immense risks when identifying themselves in public, they increasingly rely on information provided by civilians, rather than the other way around. On their part, civilians have adapted quickly. The videos that civilians provide to journalists are generally clearer than what they provided in the early days after the coup, and are accompanied by information that journalists need, such as dates, times, and locations. That said, these videos—while important—expose citizens to several risks. For instance, videos of protests could provoke crackdowns in particular areas, when videos include geotags and place-specific imagery. Such risks make clear that knowledge of digital safety is paramount in post-coup Myanmar.
The Internet is a conduit for another form of post-coup resistance: leaked documents. Alex used Total, the French oil and gas company, as an example of the potency of this tactic. In early May, the activist group Justice for Myanmar used leaked financial reports to show how Total has profiteered from its links with the military. Under pressure, Total has since suspended cash dividends to the junta. In Alex’s words, ‘this is information that we would not have without people being willing to leak it, securely and anonymously, through social media.’ Alex also called on international listeners to leave behind presumptions of a free (if privatized) media sector, which are based on the experiences of Western democracies. In Myanmar, where citizens cannot expect to access critical information from the mainstream media, the need for citizens to document ongoing events cannot be underestimated.
Finally, civilians have managed to remain online in spite of the SAC’s haphazard internet blocks. VPNs, for instance, have been used to access Facebook and other banned websites since the first week of the coup, while mesh networks have been used to communicate at shorter distances. Days after the coup, digital rights activists were advocating the use of the app Bridgefy, a mesh-messenger that relies on short-range Bluetooth technology rather than mobile data. The success of civilians efforts at staying online, Alex maintained, was evident in the themed protests held across the country from February to April, during which street protesters demonstrated their solidarity through coordinated tactics and symbols. These included watermelons, Easter eggs, and shoes. Such extensive coordination would not have been possible without civilians staying online. Myo also highlighted the widespread use of burner phones and the Android app Second Space to hide all or part of one’s digital engagements during home raids or at military checkpoints. Moreover, activists are exploring more imaginative solutions to internet restrictions. ‘I think StarLink will be the best alternative,’ Myo said, referring to the satellite internet system pioneered by SpaceX. There has already been a Twitter campaign pushing the provision of StarLink to Myanmar’s civilians.
For Myo, who has been working in this space for a decade, a silver lining amid the present crisis has been civilians’ heightened and pervasive awareness of digital safety. For years, the rate of smartphone penetration in Myanmar outpaced the population’s digital literacy. ‘After the coup,’ he said, digital safety ‘became a survival skill. If you don’t know about digital safety, you can’t go out.’ That said, all panellists warned against romanticizing the protests. As Alex put it, in Myanmar, ‘digital literacy is borne out of necessity, not just innovation.’ Furthermore, Myo highlighted that more knowledge about the SAC’s surveillance capacity is necessary for protesters to formulate more permanent means of staying online. Only then will this anti-coup digital culture prevail.
What can Big Tech and donors do?
While references to the international community tend to focus on state governments and international bodies, the panellists emphasised that the private sector can play a significant role in shifting Myanmar’s political trajectory. ‘We have to keep in mind that tech companies are almost as large, if not larger, than actual governments,’ said Alex ‘so accountability for these businesses should be on the same level as governments. We have seen how staying neutral is effectively giving way to the evils conducted by the military.’
Some tech companies have founders who have travelled to Myanmar. In 2018, when Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey went to Myanmar for a meditation retreat, he was criticised on his own platform for glossing over the role of social media in stoking anti-Rohingya sentiment. Twitter continues to be largely silent about the coup, while TikTok struggles to manage the flow of military propaganda on the platform. ‘When times were good, we were loyal customers, and everyone was happy about it,’ Alex said. ‘Myanmar supported these businesses, we were on these platforms; they made lots of profit, and they had a foothold in Myanmar, without knowing, or caring much, that it was a digitally vulnerable country. Now that things are the other way around, we need [these platforms] on our side. So the question is: where will they stand?’
Facebook, Myanmar’s social media stalwart, is in a more complex position than other social media giants. Although observers sounded the alarm on anti-Rohingya sentiment on Facebook in 2013, they were not taken seriously. By early 2015, Facebook had seven million Burmese users, but only two Burmese-speaking content moderators. Facebook’s automated systems for detecting dangerous content did not work with the Burmese language. The needle only began to move in 2018, after 700,000 Rohingya had fled Rakhine State, when a UN fact-finding mission reported that Facebook was ‘a useful instrument for seeking to spread hate.’ Min Aung Hlaing, now the leader of the SAC, was removed from Facebook thereafter, the first time Facebook banned a country’s military or political leader. Saijai and Myo were cautiously optimistic that Facebook had learned from its mistakes. Saijai spoke positively of three approaches taken by Facebook: taking down posts advocating military violence; barring Facebook accounts associated with military personnel and military-owned businesses; and creating a new “locked profile” feature that prevents non-friends from accessing one’s posts and photos. Myo was likewise glad that Facebook had been consulting with digital rights organisations in the country.
However, a week after the panel, Global Witness released a report showing how Facebook’s algorithms continue to amplify harmful content in Myanmar. Global Witness documented the extreme ease by which Facebook users can access content that conveys support for Myanmar’s junta and death threats against protesters, some of whose names and photographs circulate on the site. This content violates the community standards that Facebook professes to uphold. Such complexities speak to how difficult it is for anyone, including those in the digital rights sector and Facebook itself, to obtain a comprehensive picture of the platform’s impact on society. It is entirely possible that despite the targeted strategies highlighted by Saijai and Myo, Facebook remains betrayed by its own algorithm. Moreover, the panel did not have time to consider the relationship between ethnic conflict and Facebook, which is beset by even more complexities. There is a dearth of information in this respect, too. Many pre-coup observers zeroed in on the Rohingya crisis, overlooking how social media and the internet affect other embattled ethnic groups. Therefore, Alex’s point to consider how tech leaders can redress massive power inequalities between themselves and their clientele remains salient. Tech companies should take their role in perpetuating power inequalities seriously, and ensure that they can listen to their users. Some first steps could be to hire sufficient staff conversant in Myanmar’s numerous ethnic languages and to engage with digital rights groups across the country.
Finally, Saijai called for donors not to be let off the hook. The preceding discussion has shown how Myanmar’s anti-coup digital culture has not evolved in isolation; rather, it has responded to the coup regime’s control of print media, its desire to remain “open for business”, and the tenacity of Myanmar’s protesters. Similarly, the endurance of an anti-coup digital culture depends on the extent to which people remain healthy and retain their livelihoods outside of the virtual realm. For instance, people’s access to alternatives to the SAC’s education system, such as the newly developed Virtual Federal University and the Spring University Myanmar, depend on their ability to pay for smartphones and VPNs. The panellists also foregrounded the need to plug existing knowledge gaps. They called for donors to fund investigations into the state’s surveillance capacity and the role that tech companies play in Myanmar’s post-coup society and economy.
Donors should adapt, not leave, and remain flexible in response to the changing political situation, including difficulties in obtaining cash. ‘There are many organisations on the ground doing good work,’ said Saijai. The question is whether these organisations can remain connected to one another and to the people reaching out to them.
[1] All three panellists consent to being named in this piece.
[2] Phyu Phyu Kyaw’s analysis of blocked websites is based on research done by the Open Observatory of Network Interference..."
Source/publisher:
Tea Circle (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-07-29
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Human Rights and international relations
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"Since seizing power in a coup on 1 February 2021, the people of Myanmar have been forced to defend themselves amid the growing instability and state chaos. The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest battle civilians are facing. In a new briefing paper, “How the Myanmar Junta is Violating Humanitarian Principles in their COVID-19 Response,” the Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma (ND-Burma) finds that the junta is failing to respond effectively to the pandemic, and have violated humanitarian principles meant to ensure effective remedies during emergencies. The military cannot be trusted to allocate funds or resources to the general public.
Rather than work to meet the needs of the thousands of COVID-19 patients who are dying in their homes and in crowded hospitals, the junta is arresting healthcare workers and denying life-saving medical supplies in urban and rural areas. The pandemic response has been complicated further by internal conflict fueled by the military junta. Ceasefires have been violated and urgently needed aid is being intercepted by junta soldiers. Their behavior is in direct violation of the humanitarian principles, which refer to healthcare as a human right. In failing to adhere to principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, the junta is failing the people.
ND-Burma calls on the junta to relinquish their illegal hold on power. Combined with a lack of will power and intention, the junta has proven they cannot be tasked with coordinating an inclusive humanitarian response. With lives quite literally on the line, there is no time to waste. The international community must act swiftly by intervening to ensure the most vulnerable are protected and that health workers can do their jobs safely, and with dignity..."
Source/publisher:
Network for Human Rights Documentation - Burma
Date of publication:
2021-07-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Humanitarian assistance - emergencies, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"နိုင်ငံရှိ စစ်တပ်၊ ရဲအစရှိသည့် လက်နက်ကိုင်တပ်ဖွဲ့များက လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများကို ပြင်းပြင်း ထန်ထန် ကျူးလွန်နေသည်။ ထို့အပြင် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအတွင်း လူအသေအပျောက် များပြားလာခြင်းဖြင့် ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ကပ်ရောဂါကလည်း ခြိမ်းခြောက်နေပြန်သည်။ ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ကပ်ရောဂါ ထိန်းချုပ်နိုင်ရေးနှင့် လူနာများကို ကုသပေးသည့် ကျန်းမာရေး လုပ်သားများအား စစ်အာဏာရှင်များက ဖိနှပ်ချုပ်ခြယ် ထိန်းချုပ်ထားသည်။ ကျန်းမာရေးလုပ်သားများ၏ ကျွမ်းကျင်မှုက ပြည်သူလူထု၏ အသက်ကယ်ဆယ်ရေးအတွက် သေ ရေးရှင်ရေးတမျှ အရေးကြီးသည်။ တိုင်းပြည်၏ သူရဲကောင်းများဖြစ်သည့် ကျန်းမာရေးနယ်ပယ်တွင် ကျွမ်း ကျင်သူများ ကို ကူညီရမည့်အစား စစ်တပ်သည် ၎င်းတို့၏ အကျိုးစီးပွားကိုသာ ရွေးချယ် ဦးထိပ်ပန်ဆင် လျှက်ရှိသည်။
ဖေဖော်ဝါရီ ၁ ရက် အာဏာသိမ်းချိန်မှစပြီး စစ်တပ်၏ တရားမဝင် ထင်ရာစိုင်း အုပ်စိုးမှုကြောင့် ပရမ်းပတာ၊ ဝရုန်းသုန်း ကားဖြစ်နေသည်။ စစ်အာဏာရှင်များသည် လူ့အသက်ပေါင်းများစွာကို တန်ဖိုးမထား လျစ်လျူရှု ပြီး လူသားမျိုး နွယ်အပေါ် ဆန့်ကျင်သည့်ပြစ်မှု (CAH) ကျူးလွန်ကြသည်။ ၎င်းတို့ အာဏာတည်မြဲရေး အတွက် လုံခြုံရေးတပ်ဖွဲ့များက စစ်အာဏာသိမ်းချိန်မှစပြီး အပြစ်မဲ့ပြည်သူ ၉၀၀ ကျော်ကို အညှာအတာ ကင်းမဲ့စွာ သတ်ဖြတ်၊ ညှဥ်းပန်းနှိပ်စက်ကြသည်။ စစ်အာဏာရှင်များက လုပ်ငန်းကျွမ်းကျင်သူ ဆရာဝန်ကြီး များကို ဖမ်းဆီး ထိန်းသိမ်းထားပြီး သတင်းလွတ်လပ်မှုနှင့် နိုင်ငံသားအခွင့်အရေးလှုပ်ရှားသူများကို ကြောက် ရွံ့စေရန် ဖန်တီးထားသည်။ ကပ်ရောဂါ၏ ခြောက်လှန့်မှုနှင့် ပြည်သူလူထုအပေါ် ဆိုးကျိုးသက်ရောက်မှု တို့က “အားအပြင်းဆုံး မုန်တိုင်းတခု” ပမာဖြစ်သည်ဟု ကုလသမဂ္ဂက ပြောဆိုသည်။ လတ်တလောတွင် ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ အတည်ပြုလူ နာ ၂၀၀,၀၀၀ ကျော်ရှိနေပြီး ကူးစက်ခံရသူ အရေအတွက်မှာ တိုးလာနေသည်။ အာဏာသိမ်း စစ်အာဏာရှင်များသည် တိုင်းပြည်၏ အချုပ်အခြာ အာဏာအလုံးစုံအား ထာဝရယူလိုသည် ကလွဲ၍ ပြည်သူလူထုအကျိုးအတွက် ဆောင်ရွက်ခြင်းမရှိသဖြင့် လူထုမှာ အောက်စီဂျင်နှင့် တကိုယ်ရေ အ ကာအကွယ်သုံး ကျန်းမာရေးပစ္စည်းများအပါအဝင် အသက်ကယ်ဆယ်ရေး အထောက်အပံ့များကို လက်လှမ်းမီ ရယူနိုင်ခြင်း မရှိပေ။
ကျန်းမာရေး အထောက်အကူပြု ပစ္စည်းများ ပိုမိုလိုအပ်လာသည့်အတွက် ဈေးမှာလည်း ထိုးတက်သွားပြီး မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ၏ ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ဆောင်မှု အခြေခံအဆောက်အအုံအပေါ် နောက်ထပ် ခြိမ်းခြောက်မှု ဖြစ်လာ သည်။ တိုင်းပြည်အနှံ့ရှိ ပြည်သူများမှာ ဆေးဆိုင်များရှေ့တွင် အကိုက်အခဲပျောက်ဆေး၊ ချောင်းဆိုးပျောက် ဆိုးနှင့် ဗစ်တာမင်စုံဆေးတို့ကို တန်းစီဝယ်သူနေကြပြီး ဆေးများမှာ အချိန်တိုအတွင်း ရောင်းကုန်သွား၍ ဈေးမှာလည်း နှစ်ဆခန့်တက်သွားသည်။ မျက်နှာဖုံးများမှာလည်း လုံလောက်မှုမရှိပဲ သာမန်ပြည်သူများ ဝယ် ယူနိုင်သည့် ဈေးထက်ကြီးမြင့်နေသည်။ သုဿာန်နှင့် မီးသဂြိုလ်စက်များတွင် ရာနှင့်ချီသည့် အလောင်းများ ကို နာရေးကူညီမှုအသင်းများက နေ့စဥ်မှတ်ပုံတင်၍ သဂြိုလ်ပေးနေရသည်။ သေဆုံးသူအများစုမှာ အောက် စီဂျင်ပြတ်လတ်၍ သေဆုံးကြခြင်းဖြစ်သည်။ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ (NUG) က စစ်အာဏာရှင်တို့ ၏ ကိုင်တွယ်ဆောင်ရွက်မှုနှင့်ပတ်သက်ပြီး “ကိုဗစ် တတိယလှိုင်းကို ရင်ဆိုင်ကြုံတွေ့နေရသည့် မြန်မာပြည် သူများ၏ ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်ပိုင်ခွင့်ကို စစ်အာဏာရှင်တို့ က ငြင်းပယ်နေသည်”ဟု ထုတ်ပြန်ခဲ့ သည်။
ND-Burma မှ ယခုစာတန်းငယ်တွင် ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုသည် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးဖြစ်သည်ဆိုသည့် လူသားချင်းစာနာ ထောက်ထားမှုဆိုင်ရာ အခြေခံမူ ၄ ချက်အပေါ်တွင် အခြေခံ၍ သုံးသပ်တင်ပြထားသည်။ မြန်မာစစ်တပ်၏ အားနည်းချက်များကို မီးမောင်းထိုးပြထားပြီး ကပ်ရောဂါအပေါ် ၄င်းတို့၏ တုန့်ပြန်ဆောင် ရွက်မှု မရှိခြင်းကြောင့် လူ့အသိုင်းအဝိုင်းအတွင်း အထိခိုက် အနစ်နာအလွယ်ဆုံးသူများကို ကျောခိုင်း ဥပက္ခောပြု ချန်လှပ်ထားသည်။ စစ်ကောင်စီသည် လူသားချင်းစာနာသည့် အကူအညီပေးရေးအဖွဲ့ မဟုတ် သော်လည်း ၎င်းတို့လက်ထဲတွင် အရေးပေါ်ကူညီ ကယ်ဆယ်နိုင်သည့် ပစ္စည်းကရိယာနှင့် အရင်းအမြစ်များ ရှိနေသည်။ ကျန်းမာရေးသည် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးဖြစ်သော်လည်း မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင်မူ ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့် ရှောက် ပိုင်ခွင့်၊ ကုသခံပိုင်ခွင့်နှင့် အန္တရာယ် တစုံတရာမရှိပဲ အရင်းအမြစ်ရရှိခွင့်တို့ကို စစ်အာဏာရှင်တို့က ထိန်းချုပ်ဖယ်ရှားနေသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Network for Human Rights Documentation - Burma
Date of publication:
2021-07-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Humanitarian assistance - emergencies
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Sub-title:
Special rapporteur urges security council to call for ceasefire amid fears Covid will spread across wider region
Description:
"Myanmar is at risk of becoming a super-spreader Covid state that fuels outbreaks across the region, the UN special rapporteur for the country has warned as he urged the security council to call for a ceasefire.
The south-east Asian country is facing its most severe outbreak yet, on top of a deep political and economic crisis brought about by the military coup in February. Its vaccination programme has ground to a standstill, testing has collapsed, and government hospitals are barely functioning.
Doctors, who have been at the forefront of an anti-junta strike and are refusing to work in state hospitals, have been forced to treat patients in secret because they face the constant threat of military violence or arrest.
The exact number of cases and fatalities in Myanmar was unclear, said Tom Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, in an interview with the Guardian. The targeting of journalists and doctors has made it hard to obtain accurate information about the crisis.
“We know that this is a spike upward. It’s a very rapid, an alarmingly rapid rise,” said Andrews.
According to the military-controlled ministry of health and sports, 4,629 people have died of Covid since 1 June. The figures are thought to be an underestimate. Military-controlled media announced on Tuesday that 10 new crematoriums would be built at cemeteries in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, to cope with the fatalities, the Irrawaddy news site, an independent outlet, reported.
“In Yangon, it’s common to see three types of lines,” Andrews added. “One before ATMs, one for oxygen supplies – which is very dangerous because people are literally being shot at by the Myanmar forces for standing in line for oxygen – and the third being lines at crematoriums and morgues.”
There is a severe shortage of oxygen, medical equipment and medication in cities across the country. Outside homes, people have hung yellow and white flags to signal that they need food or medicine, while social media have been flooded with pleas for help and death notices.
Myanmar: number of coronavirus deaths per day
Starting from day of first reported death
The military has been accused of seizing oxygen supplies. It has ordered suppliers not to sell to the public, claiming that people are hoarding tanks.
Andrews said international governments, including Myanmar’s neighbours, needed to act swiftly, or they would see the consequences of an uncontrolled outbreak at their borders.
“Myanmar is becoming a super-spreader of Covid-19 with these very virulent variants – Delta and other forms of the disease, [which are] extremely dangerous, extremely lethal, extremely contagious … This is very, very dangerous for all kinds of reasons,” Andrews said.
“It’s just a fact that Covid does not respect nationalities or borders or ideologies or political parties. It’s an equal opportunities killer. This is a region that is susceptible to even greater suffering as a result of Myanmar becoming a super-spreader state.”
About a third of the world’s population lives in countries neighbouring Myanmar, he added. This includes China, which, along with Russia, has blocked previous attempts by the security council to pressure the Myanmar military.
In February, the security council passed a resolution demanding ceasefires in all states experiencing conflict so that health workers could safely provide Covid vaccinations. Andrews said the resolution should now be reaffirmed in relation to the Myanmar crisis. This could help pave the way for international agencies to provide greater assistance.
On Wednesday, the military-controlled Global New Light of Myanmar reported that junta chief, Min Aung Hlaing, had addressed a meeting “to beef up cooperation with the international community, including Asean [Association of South-east Asian Nations] and friendly countries in the prevention, control and treatment of the Covid-19”. The details of the cooperation are not clear.
Junta forces have engaged in at least 260 attacks against medical personnel and facilities, killing at least 18 people, according to the Office of the United Nations high commissioner for human rights. The military is holding at least 67 healthcare workers, and has issued arrest warrants for a further 600 medics.
Last week, military officials reportedly posed as Covid patients in need of treatment to entrap medical volunteers in Yangon. Three doctors who went to help were subsequently arrested, according to a report by the independent outlet Myanmar Now.
In total, at least 5,630 people are being held in detention facilities, including Insein prison in Yangon, where the virus has spread. U Nyan Win, who previously served as Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyer, and who was a senior member in her National League for Democracy party, died of Covid after becoming infected in jail, it was confirmed last week.
At least 931 people – protesters, politicians and bystanders – have been killed by the military since February.
There is significant evidence that crimes against humanity are unfolding in Myanmar, Andrews said. “This is not an errant commander here or there doing horrible things, this is very systematic, very clear … The junta going on state television and telling people don’t go on the streets [to protest] or you’ll get shot in the head. And then suddenly all these people are shot in the head.”
Andrews said the need for international action was more urgent than ever. “The people of Myanmar are losing hope that the international community cares about what is happening in Myanmar,” he said..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-07-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, Humanitarian assistance - emergencies
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Description:
"The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar called on the United Nations Security Council and Member States to push for an emergency "COVID ceasefire" today in light of an explosion of COVID-19 infections and deaths in Myanmar even as the State Administrative Council (SAC) escalates its attacks against health care workers.
UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews stressed the urgent need for Member States to use all the tools of the UN, including passage of resolutions demanding that the SAC immediately cease all attacks, especially against health care professionals who are desperately needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to devastate Myanmar.
"Too many in Myanmar have needlessly perished and too many more will die without action by the United Nations," Andrews warned. "The UN must act immediately to halt the military junta's attacks, harassment, and detentions in the midst of a COVID-19 crisis.
"Member States of the United Nations cannot afford to be complacent while the junta ruthlessly attacks medical personnel as COVID-19 spreads unchecked. They must act to end this violence so that doctors and nurses can provide life-saving care and international organisations can help deliver vaccinations and related medical care," Andrews said.
"Member States with influence on Myanmar's State Administrative Council must follow passage of a UN resolution by urging an immediate cessation of attacks."
The junta has murdered at least 931 people and is holding at least 5,630 in arbitrary detention where they are in danger of being infected with the virus. Another 255 people have been sentenced for trumped up crimes, with 26 of them - two of whom are minors - sentenced to death. According to the UNHCR, there are 570,320 internally displaced persons currently living in Rakhine, Chin, Kachin, Shan, Kayin, Mon, and Bago states.
Junta forces have engaged in at least 260 attacks against medical personnel and facilities, claiming the lives of at least 18 people. Over 600 health care professionals are currently eluding outstanding arrest warrants and at least 67 are being held by junta forces.
In February, the UN Security Council passed a strong resolution demanding ceasefires in all States experiencing conflict. Resolution 2565 demanded "all parties to armed conflicts engage immediately in a durable, extensive, and sustained humanitarian pause to facilitate the equitable, safe and unhindered delivery and distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations in areas of armed conflict". The Council further called for "full, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access, without delay, for humanitarian personnel and medical personnel, their equipment, transport and supplies, in order to facilitate, inter alia, COVID-19 vaccinations, as appropriate". It also demanded the "protection, safety, and security of such humanitarian and medical personnel…"
"This resolution represented a principled framework to address the outbreak of COVID-19 in States experiencing unrestrained violence. Given this escalating crisis, these demands must now be focused specifically on Myanmar. Doing so will save untold numbers of lives."
Andrews concluded: "Of course the best outcome would be for the junta to stand down so that a legitimate civilian government can lead a coordinated response to the COVID-19 crisis. But in the immediate term, the junta's relentless attacks and detentions must end. For this to be possible, the people of Myanmar need the UN and its Member States to step up with strong, principled action."..."
Source/publisher:
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Geneva)
Date of publication:
2021-07-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
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Sub-title:
ပြည်တွင်း၊ ပြည်ပ ဒေသအသီးသီးမှ ကျောင်းသားသမဂ္ဂများမှ မြန်မာ့အရေးအတွက် ပိုမိုထိရောက်သော နိုင်ငံတကာအရေးယူမှုများ နှင့် ဆောင်ရွက်မှုများ ချက်ခြင်းအကောင်အထည်ဖော်ရန် တောင်းဆိုချက် (မြန်မာဘာသာပြန်)
Description:
"We, the undersigned Student Unions from all across Burma and in the diaspora, release this
statement to call for immediate and strong action by the international community in their fight
against the military junta and the COV ID-19 pandemic.
Students and student unions have historically been at the forefront of the struggle against
illegitimate rule and oppression in Burma - from Burma’s independence movement, to the 1962
protests against Ne Win’s coup d'etat, the U Thant funeral uprising, the 1988 uprising, the 1996
protests, and 2007 Saffron revolution, to today's Spring Revolution, thousands of students have
given their lives for the country’s freedom. As we write this statement, many of our fellow student
leaders remain in jail, some facing extreme torture in the interrogation centers.
Since the illegal military coup on Feb 1, Burma has been in deep political turmoil. As the military
cracked down on peaceful demonstrations, over 920 people have been killed nationwide, with
thousands detained and tortured. Additionally, hundreds of thousands in the ethnic areas have
been displaced due to artillery attacks and air strikes.
To make matters worse, the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating the crisis, affecting millions that
are already vulnerable from the violence of the coup. Hundreds, potentially thousands, of people
are dying every day as the virus ravages the country. Meanwhile, the junta - in addition to
upending the pandemic control efforts and vaccine rollout plans by the previous civilian
government - has been cutting off critical lifesaving resources for the people. It has militarized
hospitals and healthcare facilities and continues to threaten, arrest, and kill frontline doctors and
nurses, making it impossible for the healthcare sector to function adequately. The junta is also
shutting down oxygen plants and hoarding oxygen for their own use, while the civilians face an
oxygen shortage, failing to save their loved ones.
The brutality of the Burmese military is outrageous and beyond comparison. Yet, for far too long,
the international community has allowed them to enjoy impunity, even as they continue to commit
mass atrocities against their own people. Many statements of "deep concern" released from
various international entities not only are unsupportive but even undermine our struggles that
many of our friends have sacrificed their lives for.
For decades, the people of Burma have been conveying their message loud and clear that the
military has no support in the country. We have written our revolution with blood and bones that
the military can never, ever rule us. It is about time the international community must start
listening.
Hence, we, the undersigned Student Unions, urge for immediate and strong international action
and demand the following:
• Impose a global arms embargo on the military junta since restricting arms flows to the
military is critical in ending their impunity.
• Recognize and support the National Unity Government (NUG), including keeping
Ambassador U Kyaw Moe Tun as the legitimate representative of Myanmar at the UN
General Assembly in September.
• Immediately dispatch humanitarian aid and COV ID-19 relief to Myanmar, channelled
through cross-border mechanisms, international organisations, local CSOs, the NUG, and
the Ethnic Health Organisations.
• Pressure the ASEAN and neighbouring countries to take similar steps instead of relying
on them to take actions on their own against the junta; ASEAN's five-point consensus has
proven to be weak and futile, and thus, the larger international community needs to step
up with stronger, more vigorous measures.
• Sanction the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise to deplete the military of a sizable portion
of its revenues, which the military has allegedly been using to procure arms and military
equipment.....ပြည်တွင်း၊ ပြည်ပ ဒေသအသီးသီးမှ ကျောင်းသားသမဂ္ဂများမှ မြန်မာ့အရေးအတွက် ပိုမိုထိရောက်သော နိုင်ငံတကာအရေးယူမှုများ နှင့် ဆောင်ရွက်မှုများ ချက်ခြင်းအကောင်အထည်ဖော်ရန် တောင်းဆိုချက် (မြန်မာဘာသာပြန်)
နိုင်ငံတကာအသိုင်းအဝန်းမှ လက်ရှိ မိမိတို့မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင်း အာဏာရှင်စနစ်တိုက်ဖျက်ရေးလှုပ်ရှားမှုများနှင့် ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ကပ်ရောဂါအခြေနေများအားစပ်လျဉ်း၍ စစ်အာဏာရှင်အား ပိုမိုပြင်းထန်ထိရောက်သော အရေးယူဆောင်ရွက်မှုများကို ထပ်တိုးဆောင်ရွက်ပေးပါရန် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတဝန်းမှ ကျောင်းသားသမဂ္ဂများ နှင့် ပြည်ပရောက် မြန်မာကျောင်းသားသမဂ္ဂများ စုပေါင်း၍ ဤသဘောထားကြေငြာချက်အား ထုတ်ပြန်တောင်းဆိုလိုက်သည်။
ကျောင်းသားများ၊ ကျောင်းသားသမဂ္ဂများသည် မတရားအုပ်ချုပ်မှု၊ ဖိနှိပ်မှုများကို ဆန့်ကျင်ပုန်ကုန်သည့် ခေတ်အဆက်ဆက်တော်လှန်ရေးများကို ရှေ့ဆုံးမှဦးဆောင်လှုပ်ရှားခဲ့ကြသော သမိုင်းအစဉ်အလာကြီးမားသည့် တော်လှန်ရေးအင်အားစုများဖြစ်ကြသည်။ မြန်မာ့လွတ်လပ်ရေးလှုပ်ရှားမှုမှ အစပြု၍ ဦးနေဝင်းအာဏာသိမ်းမှုကို ဆန့်ကျင်ခဲ့ကြသည့် ၁၉၆၂ ဆန္ဒပြပွဲများ၊ ဦးသန့်အရေးအခင်း၊ ရှစ်လေးလုံးအရေးတော်ပုံ၊ ၁၉၉၆ ဆန္ဒပြပွဲများ၊ ၂၀၀၇ ရွှေဝါရောင်တော်လှန်ရေး တို့အပြင် ယနေ့ နွေဦးတော်လှန်ရေးအထိတိုင် ထောင်ပေါင်းများစွားသော ကျောင်းသားအာဇာနည်တို့သည် တော်လှန်ရေးအတွက် ၎င်းတို့၏ အသက်၊ သွေး၊ ချွေးတို့အားပေးဆပ်ခဲ့ပြီးကြပြီဖြစ်သည်။ ယခု ဤသဘောထားထုတ်ပြန်ချက်အားထုတ်ပြန်သည့်အချိန်တွင် ကျွန်ုပ်တို့၏ ရဲဘော်ရဲဘက် ကျောင်းသားခေါင်းဆောင်အချို့မှာ အကျဉ်းထောင်အသီးသီးတွင် ဖမ်းဆီးထိန်းသိမ်းခံထားရပြီး၊ အချို့မှာ စစ်ကြောရေးစခန်းများတွင် လူမဆန်စွာ ရက်ရက်စက်စက် နှိပ်စက်မေးမြန်းခံနေရသည့် အခြေအနေရှိသည်။
စစ်အကြမ်းဖက်အုပ်စုက ပြည်သူ့အစိုးရထံမှ မတရားအာဏာသိမ်းခဲ့သည့် ဖေဖော်ဝါရီ ၁ ရက်နေ့မှစ၍ မိမိတို့ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံသည် နိုင်ငံရေးမတည်ငြိမ်မှုများကို ရင်ဆိုင်ကြုံတွေ့နေရသည်။ ငြိမ်းချမ်းစွာဆန္ဒပြမှုများကို စစ်အုပ်စုမှ မတရားအကြမ်းဖက်ဖြိုခွင်းမှုများကြောင့် အပြစ်မဲ့ပြည်သူပေါင်း ၉၂၀ ကျော် သေဆုံးခဲ့ပြီးဖြစ်ပြီး လူပေါင်းထောင်ချီ ဖမ်းဆီးအကျဉ်းချခံထားရသည်။ ထို့အပြင် စစ်အုပ်စု၏ လက်နက်ကြီးပစ်ခတ်မှု၊ လေကြောင်းတိုက်ခိုက်မှု စသည်တို့ကြောင့် တိုင်းရင်းသားဒေသများတွင်လည်း စစ်ဘေးရှောင်ပေါင်းသောင်းချီ၍ နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာ ထွက်ပြေးတိမ်းရှောင်နေရသည်။
ယခုကဲ့သို့ စစ်အုပ်စု၏ မတရားအကြမ်းဖက်မှုများကြောင့် ထိခိုက်ဆုံးရှံးမှုများစွာရင်ဆိုင်နေရပြီးဖြစ်သော သန်းပေါင်းများစွာသော ပြည်သူလူထုကို ကိုဗစ်ကပ်ရောဂါသည် ဆင်းရဲဒုက္ခတွင်းထဲသို့ ဆတိုးတွန်းပို့နေသည်။ နိုင်ငံတွင်းတွင် နေ့စဉ်နှင့်အမျှ ကိုဗစ်ကပ်ရောဂါကြောင့် ရာထောင်ချီသေဆုံးမှုများရှိနေသည်။ မြန်မာစစ်တပ်သည် ယခင်ပြည်သူ့အစိုးရ၏ ကိုဗစ်ကာကွယ်ဆေးဖြန့်ဝေရေးအစီအစဉ်များကို ပျက်စီးစေယုံမျှမက လက်ရှိအခြေအနေတွင် ပြည်သူလူထုအရေးတကြိးလိုအပ်သော အသက်ကယ်ဆယ်ရေးအရင်းအမြစ်များကို လိုက်လံဖြတ်တောက်နေသည်။ ဆေးရုံ၊ ဆေးခန်းများအား စစ်သားများမှဝင်ရောက်စီးနင်းထားခြင်း၊ ဆရာဝန်များ နှင့် ကျန်မားရေးဝန်ထမ်းများအား ပစ်မှတ်ထားခြိမ်းခြောက်ခြင်း၊ ဖမ်းဆီးခြင်း၊ သတ်ဖြတ်ခြင်းတို့ကို လုပ်ဆောင်နေကြသည့်အတွက် ကျန်းမာရေးကဏ္ဍသည် ပြိုလဲပြီးအခြေအနေတစ်ရပ်တွင် ရှိနေသည်။ ထို့အပြင် မြန်မာစစ်တပ်သည် အောက်စီဂျင်စက်ရုံများ နှင့် အောက်စီဂျင်ဆိုင်ရာထောက်ပံ့ရေးပစ္စည်းများကို ပြည်သူများ မရရှိနိုင်စေရန် ပိတ်ပင်တားဆီးမှုများပြုလုပ်နေပြီး စစ်တပ်နှင့် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီအသိုင်းအဝိုင်းအတွက်သာ အောက်စီဂျင်သိုလှောင်မှုများပြုလုပ်နေသည့်အတွက် ပြည်သူများစွာ အချိန်မသင့်ပဲ သေဆုံးနေကြရသည်။
မြန်မာစစ်တပ်၏ ရက်စက်ကြမ်းကြုတ်မှုများသည် တုနှိုင်းစရာမရှိလောက်အောင်ကို လွန်စွာအကျည်းတန်လွန်းလှသည်။ သို့ပါလျက် နိုင်ငံတကာအသိုင်းအဝန်းသည် ပြည်သူလူထုအား အစုလိုက်အပြုံလိုက် တိုက်ခိုက်သတ်ဖြတ်မှုများ ကျူးလွန်နေခဲ့သည့် မြန်မာစစ်တပ်အား ထိရောက်သည့်အရေးယူမှုများ မပြုလုပ်ခဲ့သည့်အတွက် လက်ရှိအခြေအနေတွင် စစ်အုပ်စုသည် ဘေးမဲ့ရထားသည့်အလား ထင်တိုင်းရမ်းကားနေခြင်းဖြစ်သည်။ လွန်စွာမှ စိုးရိမ်ပါကြောင်းဖော်ပြထားသည့် သဘောထားထုတ်ပြန်ချက်များသည် ထိရောက်သည့်အကူအညီမဖြစ်လာသည့်အပြင် ကျွန်ုပ်တို့၏ သွေးချင်းသူငယ်ချင်းများ အသက်ပေးပုန်ကန်နေသည့် တော်လှန်ရေးကို လျှော့တွေးသဟန်ဖြစ်နေသည်။
စစ်အုပ်စုအား နိုင်ငံတွင်း ထောက်ခံမှုမရှိကြောင်း မြန်မာပြည်သူများသည် ဆယ်စုနှစ်များစွာ ပြတ်ပြတ်သားသား အသိပေးကြွေးကြော်ခဲ့ပြီးဖြစ်သည်။ စစ်အုပ်စုလုံးဝအုပ်ချုပ်၍မရစေရကြောင်း ကျွန်ုပ်တို့၏ သွေး၊ချွေးတို့ဖြင့် တော်လှန်ရေးအတွင်း ရေးသားထားပြီးဖြစ်သည်။ နိုင်ငံတကာအသိုက်အဝန်းအနေဖြင့် မြန်မာလူထု၏အသံအား နားထောင်လုပ်ဆောင်ချိန်တန်ပြီလည်းဖြစ်သည်။
သို့ပါ၍ ပြည်တွင်းပြည်ပ ဒေသအသီးသီးရှိ လက်မှတ်ရေးထိုးထားသော ကျောင်းသားသမဂ္ဂများသည် မြန်မာ့အရေးအတွက် ပိုမိုထိရောက်သော နိုင်ငံတကာအရေးယူမှုများ နှင့် ဆောင်ရွက်မှုများ ချက်ချင်းအကောင်အထည်ဖော်ရန် အောက်ဖော်ပြပါအချက်များကို တောင်းဆိုလိုက်ပါသည်။
-အာဏာသိမ်းစစ်ကောင်စီ၏ အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများကိုရပ်တန့်ရန်ဆောင်ရွက်ရာတွင် ၎င်းတို့ထံသို့ လက်နက်စီးဆင်းမှုများကို ဖြတ်တောက်နိုင်ရေးသည် ပဓာနကျသည့်အလျောက် မြန်မာစစ်တပ်အပေါ်တွင် အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာမှ လက်နက်ပိတ်ဆို့မှုဝါဒ ချမှတ်ပေးရန်။
-အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရကို တရားဝင်အစိုးရတစ်ရပ်အဖြစ်အသိအမှတ်ပြုပြီး ပံ့ပိုးမှုများဆောင်ရွက်ရန်။ စက်တင်ဘာလတွင်ကျင်းပမည့် ကမ္ဘာ့ကုလသမဂ္ဂအထွေထွေညီလာခံ၌ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံဆိုင်ရာသံအမတ်ကြီးနေရာတွင် သံအမတ်ကြီး ဦးကျော်မိုးထွန်းကို ဆက်လက်ခန့်ထားရန်။
-လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုအထောက်အပံ့များနှင့် ကိုဗစ်ကပ်ရောဂါဆိုင်ရာ ကယ်ဆယ်ရေးအကူအညီများကို နယ်စပ်ဒေသယန္တရားများ၊ နိုင်ငံတကာအဖွဲ့အစည်းများ၊ ဒေသခံ အရပ်ဘက်အဖွဲ့အစည်းများ၊ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရနှင့် တိုင်းရင်းသားဒေသကျန်းမာရေးအဖွဲ့အစည်းများမှ တစ်ဆင့် ချက်ချင်းအမြန်ဆုံး ဖြန့်ချိပေးရန်။
-အာဆီယံနှင့် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ၏ အိမ်နီးချင်းနိုင်ငံများအား မြန်မာစစ်တပ်အပေါ်တွင် ထိရောက်သောအရေးယူမှုများပြုလုပ်ရေး ဖိအားပေးမှုများပြုလုပ်ရန်။ အာဆီယံ၏ ငါးချက်သဘာတူညီမှုသည် အားနည်းပြီး အချည်းနှီးသာဖြစ်ကြောင်း ပြသပြီးဖြစ်သည့်အတွက် နိုင်ငံတကာအသိုက်အဝန်းအနေဖြင့် အာဆီယံကိုသာအားကိုးမနေပဲ ရှေ့တိုး၍ ပိုမိုပြင်းထန်ထိရောက်သော လုပ်ဆောင်ချက်များကို ဦးဆောင်ချမှတ်ရန်။
-မြန်မာစစ်တပ်၏ လက်နက်ဝယ်ရာတွင်သုံးစွဲနေသော ဝင်ငွေအရင်းအမြစ်အား ကန့်သတ်ရန်အတွက် မြန်မာ့ရေနံနှင့် သဘာဝဓါတ်ငွေ့လုပ်ငန်းအား စီးပွားရေးပိတ်ဆို့မှုစာရင်းသွင်းရန်။
ပြည်တွင်းပြည်ပကျောင်းသားမဂ္ဂအဖွဲ့များ (၁၇၈) ဖွဲ့မှ ပူးပေါင်းထုတ်ပြန်သည်။
(ပူးပေါင်းထုတ်ပြန်သောအဖွဲ့အစည်းများစာရင်းအား English Version တွင်ကြည့်ရှုပေးပါရန်)..."
Source/publisher:
Student Union Representatives Committee - SURC
Date of publication:
2021-07-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Humanitarian assistance - emergencies
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Sub-title:
Pro-military Facebook accounts are seeking to drive a wedge between ethnic armed groups and civilian resistance with disinformation, but are struggling to break the unity of the anti-coup opposition.
Description:
"As pro-democracy activists embrace armed revolution to remove the Myanmar military from power, alliances with ethnic armed groups have emerged as key to any potential long-term success. Groups like the Kachin Independence Army, Karenni Army and Karen National Liberation Army have sheltered dissidents, trained would-be revolutionaries, and even fought alongside civilian militias against the junta.
Reflecting the importance of these partnerships, pro-military social media users have responded by spreading disinformation in an apparent attempt to cause rifts between the groups or discourage other prospective trainees from entering ethnic-controlled territory. Many Facebook posts viewed by Frontier have accused ethnic armed organisations of killing or in some way mistreating civilian trainees. The posts provide no evidence to support the allegations, and both People’s Defence Forces trained by armed groups and the armed groups themselves have denied the incidents.
A wave of disinformation
The posts began proliferating around the same time in late June, suggesting a coordinated campaign.
On June 28, a Facebook user who claims to be a doctor in Mandalay posted that members of the overthrown National League for Democracy had asked the military to help rescue “Gen Z” members – a term many use to refer to protesters and members of newly formed armed resistance groups regardless of their actual age – who were trying to flee from training camps in KIA territory.
According to Tu Hkawng, an ethnic Kachin member of the parallel National Unity Government, this post was later also shared by a pro-military social media influencer named Shwe Yupar Oo. Screenshots posted by Tu Hkawng show that Shwe Yupar Oo’s post received over 5,200 reactions.
Frontier was unable to independently verify these posts, as the Shwe Yupar Oo account has since been deleted. But a new account under the same name was created in early July and encouraged followers to join a Telegram channel, where the person controlling the account continues to post disinformation, including claims of KIA members killing PDF trainees.
On June 27, a video of soldiers in the woods beating civilians to death began circulating online. Pro-military users claimed it showed members of the Karen National Defence Organisation killing PDF trainees.
The KNDO, which is part of the Karen National Union, has been accused of massacring construction workers in late May and early June; it did not deny the killings, but claimed they were Tatmadaw soldiers disguised as construction workers. The KNU is investigating the incident.
This video was also shared by the Shwe Yupar Oo account, according to Tu Hkawng’s Facebook post. Frontier could not verify the authenticity of the video, or the identity of either the perpetrators or victims.
Also on June 27, a user named Kwee Kyaw posted that the KNDO killed three civilian fighters and the KIA killed 15. The post received over 1,100 reactions and was later copied and pasted by other pro-military users, like Hnin Maung, who has nearly 5,000 followers and often shares content from the ultra-nationalist Myanmar National Post.
Another post, by a pro-military user with more than 10,000 followers, claimed on June 29 that there was “video evidence” that Gen Z members are being killed by the KNU and KIA, but did not link to any video.
“They worshiped NUG and CRPH as gods. They danced when the media promoted them. Now that they are being brutally killed in the jungle, what do you see NUG saying?” he wrote, questioning why the media and the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners did not report these deaths. This post received over 1,400 reactions and was shared more than 500 times.
These claims have also been shared in a closed pro-military group called National Force, which has over 31,000 members. On June 30, a member named Kal Gyin repeated the unsubstantiated claims of ethnic armed groups killing trainees.
While state media has not yet adopted these narratives, it urges youth who have gone to ethnic-controlled areas to return home. The notice, which is posted in Global New Light of Myanmar nearly every day, notes that some people have fled to ethnic rebel territory due to “incitements and intimidation” by the NLD and its “extremist followers”. It says these youths “face no security guarantee” and “wish to return to their native lands”.
‘A unity that has never been achieved before’
A spokesperson for the Mandalay PDF said that no civilian trainees had been killed or mistreated by ethnic armed groups, and accused the military and its supporters of trying to cause a “blood feud” between the two sides.
“The young people and the EAOs have a unity that has never been achieved before,” he said, explaining that the time spent with ethnic armed groups has led them to “understand each other more and more, overcoming difficulties together, regardless of age or religion”.
He dismissed the disinformation campaign as toothless. “The Mandalay PDF and EAOs laugh at their conspiracy theories,” he said, adding that he doesn’t think it will deter trainees from heading to ethnic territory in the future.
While the PDF fighter might not fear disinformation, those behind the disinformation campaign may be seeking to capitalise on a series of dark events that followed the 1988 uprising, when hundreds of young people fled to ethnic territory to fight the military regime. Calling themselves the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front, that civilian armed group also received training from and fought alongside both the KNU and KIA.
The group was marred by ignominy when leaders of its Kachin branch, apparently fearing they had been infiltrated by Military Intelligence, detained 106 of their own members. Many were tortured and at least 35 executed on suspicion that they were government spies.
But resistance fighters claim this time is different.
A man who works as a recruiter for civilian defence forces also denied that any trainees have been killed, tried to flee, or been influenced by the disinformation. “There are no consequences. The young people who went to the armed areas have already reached an understanding with their parents,” he said. The man has helped send new recruits to train with ethnic armed groups after which they have served in the Chinland Defence Force, the Mandalay PDF and the Tanintharyi PDF.
“No one fled from the KIA or KNU. However, there are some who had to return due to ill health,” he added.
KNU spokesman Padoh Saw Taw Nee likewise dismissed the rumours, saying the “terrorist military council” is trying to “mislead and undermine trust among those who are fighting the common enemy of the military dictatorship”.
Taw Nee appeared to be more concerned by the threat of divisive disinformation than the PDF member, though, repeatedly saying “we have to be careful”. His caution stems from experiences under previous military dictatorships.
“Not so long ago, in 1994 and 1995, General Khin Nyunt and others, who were so dirty and filthy, incited religious divisions” among the Karen people, he said, referring to the former junta’s spymaster. Taw Nee was referring to an old schism within the armed group, when Buddhist fighters split from the predominantly Christian-led KNU and formed the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army in late 1994. The DKBA subsequently fought alongside the Tatmadaw and helped capture the KNU’s headquarters.
Taw Nee said the disinformation campaign reflects the junta’s fear of an alliance between PDFs and armed groups, which is why they are “working full time to create problems between us and our friends who came to seek refuge”.
The Mandalay PDF member refused to say where he trained or with which ethnic armed group, but given the geographic proximity and other reports, the Mandalay PDF is likely supported by the KIA.
He said he trained for two-and-a-half months in rebel territory before returning to Mandalay.
“We received a full basic military training course as well as small arms and light weapons,” he said. “I had to study urban guerilla warfare with specific courses. In addition, we learned about jungle battles.”
While life in the training camps was rough, he remembered it fondly.
“We were tired there, but it was fun. Every day we eat tofu. For two and a half months, we ate only eggplant curry. We were very happy with that curry,” he said. At the end of a training course, the instructors rewarded their trainees with a roast pig.
“The training period was tiring, but for all of us, the memories were lovely. There are so many things to miss. We used bamboo sticks to drink water. We built our own tent. We dug a bomb shelter. We dug our own toilet … Our instructors trained us to keep our guns ready. Even if we went to the toilet, we would not leave without a gun. If we left the gun, we had to do some jumping for punishment when the teacher found it.”
He called the instructors “very lovable”, saying they were like “a brother” to him. Trainees even cried when some instructors were deployed or reassigned to another camp, he said..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-07-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Anti-coup protesters
Language:
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"၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် ဖေဖော်ဝါရီ ၁ရက် စစ်အာဏာသိမ်းပြီးချိန်မှစပြီး တိုင်းပြည် မတည်ငြိမ်မှုနှင့် ပရမ်းပ တာ ဖြစ်နေချိန်တွင် ပြည်သူလူထုသည် မိမိတို့ဘာသာ မိမိတို့ ကာကွယ်နေရသည်။ ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ကပ် ရောဂါသည် ပြည်သူများ နောက်ဆုံးတိုက်ပွဲဝင်နေရသည့် ရောဂါဖြစ်သည်။ “ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ကပ်ရောဂါ အား တုန့်ပြန်ရာတွင် စစ်အာဏာရှင်များက လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထား မှုဆိုင်ရာ အခြေခံမူများ ကို မည်သို့ ချိုးဖောက်နေကြောင်း” အသစ်ထုတ်ပြန်သည့် စာတန်းငယ်တွင် စစ်အာဏာရှင်တို့သည် ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ အား ထိရောက်စွာ တုန့်ပြန်မှု မရှိကြောင်းနှင့် အရေးပေါ်ကာလအတွင်း ထိရောက်စွာကု သပေးရန် ကျိန်းသေစေမည့် လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှုဆိုင်ရာ အခြေခံမူများကို မည်သို့ချိုး ဖောက်နေကြောင်းကို ND-Burma မှ တင်ပြထားသည်။ စစ်အာဏာရှင်များအနေဖြင့် ပြည်သူလူ ထုအား ကျန်းမာရေးအတွက် အရင်းအမြစ်နှင့် ငွေကြေးခွဲဝေပေးမည်မှာ ယုံကြည်စရာ မဟုတ်ပေ။
နေအိမ်များနှင့် လူနာများပြွတ်ကြပ်နေသည့် ဆေးရုံများတွင် သေလုမြောပါး ခံစားနေရသော ထောင်နှင့်ချီသည့် ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ လူနာများ၏ လိုအပ်ချက်နှင့်အညီ ကုသပေးရမည့်အစား စစ်အာဏာ ရှင်များသည် ဆရာဝန်နှင့် ကျန်းမာရေးလုပ်သားများအား ဖမ်းဆီးထိန်းသိမ်းနေပြီး မြို့ပြနှင့် ကျေး လက်များသို့ အသက်ကယ်ပစ္စည်းများ ပေးဝေရန် ငြင်းပယ်နေသည်။ အပစ်အခတ်ရပ်စဲရေး မှာလည်း ချိုးဖောက်ခံနေရပြီး အရေးပေါ်အကူအညီများမှာလည်း စစ်အာဏာရှင် တပ်များ၏ ကြားဖြတ် လုယူခံနေရသည်။ ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုသည် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးဖြစ်သည်ဆိုသည့် လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှု အခြေခံမူများကို စစ်အာဏာရှင်များ၏ အပြုအမူတို့က တိုက်ရိုက် ချိုးဖောက်နေသည်။ လူသားခြင်း စာနာထောက်ထားခြင်း၊ခွဲခြားမှု မရှိခြင်း၊ ကြားနေခြင်း၊ လွတ်လပ်ခြင်း စသည့် လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားသည့် အခြေခံမူများကို လိုက်နာစောင့်ထိန်းရန် ပျက်ကွက်ခြင်းဖြင့် လူထုအပေါ် ပျက်ကွက်နေသည်။
စစ်အာဏာရှင်များအနေဖြင့် တရားမဝင် အာဏာရရယူထားမှုကို စွန့်လွှတ်ရန် ND-Burma မှ တောင်းဆိုသည်။ ရည်ရွယ်ချက်ရှိရှိ လုပ်ဆောင်ခြင်းနှင့် လူထုအတွက် ဆောင်ရွက်ပေးလိုစိတ် မရှိခြင်းတို့ ပေါင်းစပ်ထားခြင်းဖြင့် စစ်အာဏာရှင်တို့သည် ပြည့်စုံကုံလုံသည့် လူသားချင်းစာနာမှု ဆိုင်ရာ တုန့်ပြန်ဆောင်ရွက်နိုင်စွမ်းမရှိသည်ကို ပြသနေသည်။
လူ့အသက်များ ကယ်ဆယ်ရေးမှာ သေရေးရှင်ရေးတမျှ အရေးကြီးနေပေရာ ထိခိုက်နစ်နာ အလွယ်ဆုံးသူများအား ကာကွယ်စောင့်ရှောက်ပေးရန်နှင့် ကျန်းမာရေးလုပ်သားများ ကုသရေးလုပ်ငန်းများကို လုံခြုံဘေးကင်းပြီး ဂုဏ်သိက္ခာရှိရှိ ဆောင်ရွက်နိုင်ရန် နိုင်ငံတကာ အသိုင်းအဝိုင်းမှ အလျင်အမြန် ကြားဝင်ဆောင်ရွက်ရမည် ဖြစ်သည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Network for Human Rights Documentation - Burma
Date of publication:
2021-07-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Humanitarian assistance - emergencies, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"The State Administrative Council (SAC), the governing body of the military regime, has imposed a news blackout on COVID-19 deaths in the military, despite widespread infections.
The infected junior personnel and their families do not receive treatment at military hospitals until their conditions are serious. Until then they are ordered to isolate in their accommodation, said military personnel.
“Four cases have been found in my unit and many more are sick. [The commanders] do nothing for them. They were transferred to [military hospitals] only when they had difficulty breathing,” said a soldier from a battalion in Meiktila, Mandalay Region.
“But they received no treatment at hospitals. [Doctors] only tell them to stay strong. They had to buy medicine. They were tested after two weeks and discharged if they test negative,” he said.
Widespread coronavirus infections have been reported among battalions in Yangon.
Personnel and their families who have fever and no sense of smell are ordered to isolate in their quarters, said a soldier assigned to help patients in a military hospital in Yangon.
“There have been many infections in my unit. I am still clear but I haven’t returned to my family for more than three weeks because I am concerned about infecting them. We are sliding into chaos and I don’t want to work any longer,” he said.
COVID-19 infections have also been reported among senior military leaders. Deputy Home Affairs Minister and Police Chief Lieutenant-General Than Hlaing and his wife and the wife and son of Adjutant General Lt-Gen Myo Zaw Thein are reportedly receiving treatment at military hospitals for COVID-19.
Some units in Yangon, including the Yangon Command Headquarters, have reportedly been placed under lockdown.
More than 300 military personnel at an ordnance factory on the banks of the Pyay in Bago Region were infected with coronavirus and nine died last week. But the military regime only registered two deaths as COVID-19 fatalities, the independent media outlet Democratic Voice of Burma was told by “People’s Soldier”, a Facebook page run by striking military personnel.
Despite infections, personnel were forced to continue working at the factory, said the People’s Soldier.
Soldiers are seeking help from striking officers as the regime is unable to provide proper treatment for them, said Captain Nyi Thuta, who is on strike.
“Soldiers can do nothing. They are at the hands of the regime. Ordinary people can still look for oxygen but soldiers can’t go out and are helpless. They told me that they can do nothing but are waiting to be infected,” he said.
Though Myanmar’s military initially revealed the infections and deaths of its personnel and their families, it is now hiding the COVID-19 death toll.
In early July, coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said there was enough oxygen in Myanmar. Since then, cemeteries in Yangon have been overflowing with bodies from coronavirus deaths with most fatalities blamed on a lack of oxygen.
At least 10 military personnel and their relatives have been dying per day at a military hospital in Mandalay due to a shortage of oxygen and doctors, Myanmar Now reported on Sunday, quoting a military medic at the hospital.
Another military medic, Major Min Maung Maung, said: “Though they had made preparations, they can’t handle it when the pandemic broke out. I want to question what they are doing. They can neither control the virus in the military nor provide proper treatment for the people. They keep saying that they are addressing but it is untrue.”
There have also been widespread infections among police amid independent media reports of around 10,000 police officers infected with coronavirus nationwide.
Around 100 trainees caught COVID-19 at the training school of the Criminal Investigation Department in Yangon’s Insein Township in early July.
“The military leaders have no goodwill not only to the people or lower ranks. The other ranks are becoming more aware of that. It has become more obvious during the COVID-19 outbreak that they are being ignored. It has become clearer that not only the people but also the soldiers are suffering from the bad legacy of the dictators,” said Capt. Nyi Thuta..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-07-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma
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"In response to the ongoing rapid increase of COVID-19 cases in Myanmar, the European Commission has mobilised €2 million in emergency assistance to actions helping to fight the pandemic in the country.
Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: “The EU stands in solidarity with the people of Myanmar in this difficult time. With this funding, given the challenges of a fragile health system in the country, the EU will be helping in providing treatment to COVID-19 cases. The people of Myanmar continue to suffer from the rampant violence since the takeover by the military junta and it is of great concern that the medical sector is increasingly being targeted. The EU strongly condemns these attacks and calls for the protection of medical workers in respect of International Humanitarian Law. Medical workers are putting their life on the line to save people - they should be able to carry out their work in safety and the humanitarian access to medical facilities should be guaranteed.”
The funding, allocated to trusted and independent humanitarian organisations, will help to support:
the procurement and use of medicines for COVID-19 treatment, oxygen and related equipment, personal protective equipment and provide technical medical support
emergency healthcare, first aid and water, sanitation and hygiene related activities in response to the latest COVID-19 wave
home-based clinical management and stabilisation through tele-medicine and care corners.
The EU continues to support vulnerable people in Myanmar. In addition to the funding announced today, in 2021, the European Union allocated €20.5 million in humanitarian aid to address the immediate needs of displaced and conflict-affected communities in Myanmar.
Background
Myanmar is currently reporting its largest number of coronavirus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic. The majority of public hospitals and testing centres in the country are not functioning at full capacity, leaving the country with limited capacity to detect and respond to a new wave of COVID-19.
The COVID-19 situation is exacerbating a dire humanitarian situation that has arisen since the military coup d’état of February 2021, which has resulted in the killing of 931 people by the junta, and the displacement of 206,400 people.
The European Commission has been active in Myanmar since 1994. It has funded emergency relief programmes to assist victims of both conflict and natural hazards, with total funding of over €287 million.
Since 2013, we have provided €8.65 million for emergency education to conflict-affected children, including €2 million in 2021.
All EU humanitarian funding is provided in line with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, and is channeled directly through NGOs, UN Agencies, and the Red Cross..."
Source/publisher:
European Commission (Brussels)
Date of publication:
2021-07-26
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
Release Journalists Wrongfully Detained, Sentenced
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" Myanmar’s military junta should stop prosecuting journalists and end its assault on independent media, Human Rights Watch said today, releasing a video about the media crackdown.
Since the February 1, 2021 coup, Myanmar’s junta has arrested 98 journalists, 46 of whom are currently in detention, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). Six journalists have been convicted, including five for violating section 505A of the penal code, a new provision that makes it a crime to publish or circulate comments that “cause fear” or spread “false news.” “Fake news” appears to be any news that the authorities do not want to reach the public.
“Myanmar’s junta has made the mass arrest of journalists and control over the media a key component of its seizure of power from a democratically elected government,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director. “The junta’s intensifying surveillance, harassment and detention of journalists is rapidly turning Myanmar into one of the region’s most dangerous places to be a journalist.”
On June 30 the Ministry of Information issued a warning to journalists to stop describing the military-appointed State Administration Council as a “junta” or face prosecution. It also warned foreign news agencies to cease using the terms “military council” or “military junta,” and to stop “disseminating false news to global people.” The order threatened that “action will be taken against them under the existing laws if they apply wrong usages, quote and exaggerate fake news, and disseminate false information.”
Those sentenced under section 505A are:
Kaung Myat Hlaing, from Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), who was arrested at his home in Myeik, Tanintharyi Region, and sentenced to two years in prison.
Min Nyo, from DVB, who was arrested while reporting on a protest in Pyay Region, and sentenced to three years.
Thet Naing Win, from DVB, who was arrested in Bago Region and sentenced to three years.
Zaw Zaw, a freelance reporter who was arrested while covering demonstrations in Myeik, Tanintharyi Region and sentenced to two years.
Htoo San, a freelance photographer in Myeik, Tanintharyi Region, who was sentenced to three years.
Another DVB reporter, May Thwe Aung, was sentenced to one month in prison under penal code section 188 for disobeying a public servant. She had learned on March 16 that the authorities had arrested her husband, Min Min Aung, who is a reporter for The Voice Daily. When she arrived at the police station in Oakkan township in Yangon region to try to find him, the police detained her, ultimately leading to her being charged and prosecuted.
The crackdown on journalists is part of the junta’s larger effort to suppress independent media coverage of the situation in Myanmar, and to deny the serious rights violations the military is committing across the country, Human Rights Watch said. “If the situation becomes worse, then it becomes not a safe place for us and the only choice would be to leave the country,” one local reporter told Human Rights Watch.
On May 4 the authorities arrested the US journalist Danny Fenster, the managing editor of Frontier Myanmar, at the Yangon International Airport as he prepared to leave the country. On June 18 the authorities charged Fenster under penal code section 505A in a closed hearing inside Insein prison. The basis for the charge against him is not clear.
On March 9 the police arrested the Kamayut Media founders Nathan Maung and Han Thar Nyein at their office in Kamayut township in Yangon. Nathan Maung, who has since been released and left the country, said both endured days of torture including routine beatings and sleep deprivation. Han Thar Nyein remains in detention. “Although I am free, my aim now is to make sure Han Thar and the others are also released,” he said. “They are journalists, not criminals.”
The many arrests and prosecutions of journalists have had a severe chilling effect on independent journalism in Myanmar. On March 8 the junta stripped media licenses of five local outlets: DVB, Khit Thit Media, Mizzima, Myanmar Now, and 7Day. On May 4, the authorities banned 2 other outlets, the Kachin-based 74 Media and the Shan-based Tachilek News Agency. They also banned satellite television on May 4, extending strict censorship restrictions. Mobile internet restrictions imposed on March 15 remain in place.
International human rights law prohibits arbitrary restrictions on the rights to freedom of speech and expression, including by detaining journalists and banning media outlets.
“The military’s sustained crackdown on independent media and the arrests of journalists, combined with tightening censorship, threatens to isolate Myanmar’s people with only junta propaganda,” Robertson said. “The junta should immediately and unconditionally drop all politically motivated charges against journalists, reinstate the licenses of banned media outlets, and revoke abusive laws used against members of the media.”..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-07-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights Defenders, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"Myanmar’s ongoing political turmoil and a rapidly-rising third wave of COVID-19 cases are severely impacting an economy that had already been weakened by the pandemic in 2020. The economy is expected to contract around 18 percent in Myanmar’s 2021 Fiscal Year (Oct 2020-Sep 2021), with damaging implications for lives, livelihoods, poverty and future growth, according to the World Bank’s Myanmar Economic Monitor, released today.
An 18 percent contraction, coming on top of weak growth in FY2020, would mean that the country’s economy is around 30 percent smaller than it would have been in the absence of COVID-19 and the military takeover of February 2021. Around 1 million jobs could be lost, and many other workers will experience a decline in their incomes due to reduced hours or wages. The share of Myanmar’s population living in poverty is likely to more than double by the beginning of 2022, compared to 2019 levels.
“The loss of jobs and income and heightened health and food security risks are compounding the welfare challenges faced by the poorest and most vulnerable, including those that were already hit hardest by the pandemic last year,” said Mariam Sherman, World Bank Country Director for Myanmar, Cambodia and Lao PDR.
Economic activity has been hit by reduced mobility and incomes, protests and labor shortages, as well as the ongoing disruption of critical business services, including logistics and telecommunications, and public services such as health and education. Despite bank branch re-openings and several interventions from the Central Bank of Myanmar, physical currency continues to be in short supply and access to banking and payment services remains limited. As of mid-July, the Myanmar kyat had depreciated by around 23 percent against the US dollar since late January, which combined with trade disruptions has led to rapid price increases for some imported products, including fuel. Farmers have been affected by lower wholesale prices for some crops, higher input prices, and limited access to credit.
Taken together, these shocks have weakened consumption, investment, and trade, and disrupted businesses’ operations and the supply of labor and inputs.
“While there were initial signs of stabilization in some areas in May and June, with mobility improving and logistics disruptions easing, overall economic activity remained very weak and a further contraction is likely from July onwards due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases,” said Kim Alan Edwards, World Bank Senior Economist for Myanmar.
The current third wave of COVID-19 is posing an immediate threat to lives, livelihoods, and the economy, especially given the lack of capacity in the public health system to adequately respond. While testing rates remain limited, extremely high positivity rates among those who have been tested indicate widespread community transmission. Combined with the impact of containment measures and precautionary behavior, this will amplify Myanmar’s economic challenges.
Over the longer term, recent events have the potential to jeopardize much of the development progress that has been made over the past decade. Significant impacts on investment, human capital accumulation, and the environment for doing business are likely to impair prospects for economic growth over the longer term..."
Source/publisher:
The World Bank (Washington, D.C.)
Date of publication:
2021-07-23
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
World Bank Group - Burma/Myanmar, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
Soldiers rode boats along the Chindwin river and fired guns and artillery at villages along its banks, residents said
Description:
"Junta soldiers injured three people, including a pregnant woman, and destroyed several houses during attacks on villages in Sagaing Region last week, locals told Myanmar Now.
Troops travelled down the Chindwin river on boats during a two day assault in Kani Township, coming ashore to fire guns and heavy artillery at villages sitting along the riverbank.
Locals said soldiers from nine military boats attacked the villages of Sar Pho Gyi, Nat Gyi, Yinyein, and Thit Khat on Friday and Saturday.
The pregnant woman, who is 30 years old, was shot in the leg trying to escape when soldiers fired guns at one village, said a Kani local who volunteered to help rescue those injured.
“The military started shooting at the shore. The pregnant lady got shot in the leg while trying to flee. She’s seven month pregnant now,” the volunteer said.
The volunteer and another local said a house and three motorcycles were burned down in the town of Kani, while two houses in Yinyein and a house from Thit Khet were hit with artillery shells.
There were also reports that two men were injured when soldiers came on land and rampaged through Nat Gyi on Saturday morning, and the village was hit with around 20 shells, the residents said.
The attacks were likely a response to ambushes by People’s Defence Force fighters against military boats, said a Kani-based political activist.
“There were some occasions where People’s Defence Force troops shot at the military vehicles from the shores of the Chindwin river. I think the military was trying to scare off the civilians on the shore,” he said.
Thousands of people living along the riverbank have fled their homes since the attacks and are in need of food, medicine, and shelter, the residents said.
The junta has not commented on the attacks.
Earlier this month villagers found the bodies of 15 men in Kani who appear to have been the victims of a military massacre after they were captured and tortured by soldiers.
Kani emerged as a hotspot for anti-coup protests after the military’s February power grab, and some of its residents have since taken up arms in response to murderous crackdowns by the junta..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-07-26
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Description:
"Myanmar Economy Expected to Contract by 18 Percent in FY2021: Report..."
Source/publisher:
The World Bank (Washington, D.C.)
Date of publication:
2021-07-26
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
World Bank Group - Burma/Myanmar, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"Updated 24 July 2021:
As of 24 July, (931) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. Today there were no confirmed fallen heroes. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when.
As of July 24, a total of (5360) people are currently under detention. (255) people have been sentenced in person, of them 26 have been sentenced to death (incl. 2 children). 1963 are evading arrest warrants. 118 people have been sentenced in absentia, of them 39 sentenced to death in absentia. In total 65 sentenced to death, in person and absentia. We are also continuing to verify the recently released detainees.
On July 17 in Magway Region’s Pwintbyu Township, Min Wai from Pay Taw Village, Soe Naing from Kywel Di Village, Tin Htay Aung from Thamin Chan Village and Myint Myint Htwe from Kan Pyae Village were arrested by many terrorist junta troops, due to informers alleging they were in possession of weapons. Myint Myint Htwe is pregnant and was arrested as a hostage when the junta did not find her husband Nyunt Win, in Kan Pyae Village.
On the night of July 23, Kyaw Moe, who has COVID-19, was arrested while he was banging pots against dictatorship in North Dagon Township, Yangon Region.
AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heroes in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses..."
Source/publisher:
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication:
2021-07-24
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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1.29 MB 5.17 MB 1.87 MB
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Description:
"The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is closely following information that has been released
recently, on the current situation at various prisons in Myanmar. We are deeply concerned about the
increasing impact of COVID-19 in Myanmar, including in detention centers.
The ICRC is continuing its dialogue with prison authorities to resume its purely humanitarian visits and
activities in places of detention, including Insein Prison, which have been on hold since the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic. We reiterate our offer to support to address Covid-19 and health care in general in
places of detention.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization
whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and
other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance. The ICRC also endeavours to prevent
suffering by promoting and strengthening international humanitarian law (IHL) and universal humanitarian
principles..."
Source/publisher:
International Committee of the Red Cross (Geneva)
Date of publication:
2021-07-24
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
15.5 KB 167.33 KB
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Description:
"၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ ဇူလိုင်လ ၂၄ ရက်နေ့
-------------------------------------------------
သို့
Ms. Hai Kyung Jun
မြန်မာနိုင်ငံဆိုင်ရာကိုယ်စားလှယ်
ကုလသမဂ္ဂဒုက္ခသည်များဆိုင်ရာမဟာမင်းကြီးရုံး
အကြောင်းအရာ။ လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှုဆိုင်ရာအကူအညီများ ကူညီဆောင်ရွက်ပေးရန်ကိစ္စ
လေးစားအပ်ပါသော ကိုယ်စားလှယ်ခင်ဗျာ -
မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတစ်ဝှမ်းရှိ နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာနေရသည့် ပြည်သူများအတွက် ကုလသမဂ္ဂဒုက္ခသည်များဆိုင်ရာ မဟာမင်းကြီးရုံးမှ လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှုဆိုင်ရာ အကူအညီများ ပံ့ပိုးကူညီနေမှုများအတွက် အထူး ကျေးဇူးတင်ရှိကြောင်း ဦးစွာပြောကြားလိုပါသည်။
စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ အာဏာသိမ်းမှုကို ဆန့်ကျင့်သည့် တိုင်းရင်းသားလက်နက်ကိုင်တပ်ဖွဲ့များ၊ ဒေသအလိုက် ပြည်သူ့ကာကွယ်ရေးတပ်ဖွဲ့များနှင့် အာဏာသိမ်းစစ်ကောင်စီတပ်များအကြား ဖြစ်ပွားခဲ့သည့် တိုက်ပွဲများကြောင့် လည်းကောင်း၊ စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်တပ်က အပြစ်မဲ့အရပ်သားပြည်သူများ နေထိုင်ရာ မြို့၊ ကျေးရွာ များသို့ တိုက်ခိုက်နေမှုများကြောင့်လည်းကောင်း ပြည်သူထောင်ပေါင်းများစွာသည် နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာ၍ ဘေးကင်း လုံခြုံရာ နေရပ်များနှင့် ဝေးလံသော တောတောင်များထဲသို့ ထွက်ပြေး တိမ်းရှောင်နေရသည်ကို သိရှိပြီးဖြစ်မည် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
UNHCR ၏ အကူအညီပေးမှုများသည်လည်း စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ ဟန့်တားပိတ်ဆို့မှုများကြောင့် တောတောင် များထဲတွင် ထွက်ပြေးခိုလှုံနေရသည့် ပြည်သူများထံသို့ ရောက်ရှိနိုင်ခြင်း မရှိဘဲ အမိုးအကာ၊ အစားအသောက်၊ သောက်သုံးရေနှင့် ဆေးဝါး မလုံလောက်ခြင်းတို့ တွေ့ကြုံခံစားနေရပါသည်။
ထို့ပြင် ရာသီဥတုဆိုးဝါးခြင်းကြောင့် ရာသီတုပ်ကွေးနှင့် နိုင်ငံတွင်း ကိုဗစ်ရောဂါကူးစက်မှုသည် ဆိုးဆိုး ရွားရွား ဖြစ်ပွားနေမှုများကြောင့် အသက်ဆက်လက်ရှင်သန်နိုင်ရေးအတွက် ကာကွယ်ရေးပစ္စည်းများနှင့် ကျန်းမာရေး စောင့်ရှောက်မှုတို့သည်လည်း အရေးပေါ် လိုအပ်လျက်ရှိပါသည်။
သို့ဖြစ်ပါ၍ ကုလသမဂ္ဂဒုက္ခသည်များဆိုင်ရာမဟာမင်းကြီးရုံးအနေဖြင့် ဝေးလံသော တောတောင်များရှိ နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာရသူများအတွက် ဖြစ်နိုင်သမျှ ထိရောက်သော အကူအညီများ ပေးအပ်နိုင်ရေး ဆောင်ရွက်ပေးပါရန်နှင့် အခြားသော စစ်ဘေးရှောင်စခန်းများသို့ လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှုဆိုင်ရာ အကူအညီများ ဆက်လက်ဆောင်ရွက် ပေးပါရန် မိမိတို့အနေဖြင့် လေးနက်စွာ တောင်းဆိုအပ်ပါသည်။
လူကြီးမင်း၏ အကူအညီပေးမှုအပေါ် များစွာ ကျေးဇူးတင်ရှိပါသည်။
လေးစားစွာဖြင့်
အောင်ကြည်ညွန့်
ဥက္ကဋ္ဌ၊ ပြည်ထောင်စုလွှတ်တော်ကိုယ်စားပြုကော်မတီ..."
Source/publisher:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH)
Date of publication:
2021-07-24
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), UNHCR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
Tom Andrews urges the junta to stop attacking healthcare workers during a COVID-19 outbreak.
Description:
"Tom Andrews, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, recently warned that a steep increase in the number of COVID-19 cases during a third wave of the coronavirus coupled with the public mistrust of the junta following its Feb. 1 coup d’état had created “a perfect storm of factors that could cause a significant loss of life in Myanmar.”
In an interview with RFA’s Myanmar Service on Thursday, he said the crisis will not end until the junta ends its attacks on healthcare professionals, and he called on the international community to exert more pressure on the military. He said there has been an “exponential increase” in cases of COVID-19 in the Southeast Asian nation since the latest outbreak began in May.
RFA: What is your opinion of the situation in Myanmar right now?
Andrews: There's very, very deep concern within the United Nations about conditions in Myanmar. Needless to say, there's been an explosion of COVID cases. We're still unclear exactly what the count is of people that have been infected or people who have succumbed to the disease, but we know that there has been a significant increase, almost an exponential increase in the number of cases. And so, it is a very dangerous situation and we're very deeply concerned about what's going on in Myanmar right now.
RFA: Are you positive that the junta will allow the U.N. and international NGOs to come in and provide assistance in Myanmar?
Andrews: Well, that's the key question right now. I mean obviously, the junta will play the most decisive role in terms of stopping, of preventing, the care, the support and the help that the people of Myanmar desperately need. I mean let's face it, the best thing that could possibly happen would be for [junta chief] Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and the military junta to stand down for a civilian government, a legitimate government to be immediately reinstated so that this emergency response to this crisis could go on.
Since the coup, all of that [prevention and vaccine roll out by the civilian government] has collapsed. We know that the healthcare system as a whole has collapsed since the coup. So that's been just simply a disaster. That's the only way to put it.
Short of stepping down, the next step would be for the junta to at least agree to stop attacking doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. These attacks continue as I speak. And the fact is, you can't attack COVID-19 and attack doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. All hands have to be on deck, and as long as the junta continues this extraordinarily destructive path, then there's really not going to be the kind of help and support for the people of Myanmar that the people of Myanmar desperately need and deserve.
So, I think what has to happen, frankly, is for those interlocutors or potential interlocutors who have the ear of the junta, those who have a direct interest in stopping COVID to speak with the junta and appeal to them to at least take the minimal steps that would be required to stop this disaster from getting any worse. And the first step of that, of course, is to stop attacking those who are providing health care or could be providing health care to the people of Myanmar in their hour of desperate need.
Pressure needed
RFA: You are calling for an emergency coalition for Myanmar from the United Nations with U.N. member states, so how far does that go? What kind of action can we expect from that coalition in the near future?
Andrews: Well, an emergency coalition is, I think, important. I continue to call for it and encourage countries to consider it. There are two major areas that I think it could have a significant impact on. One, of course, is in confronting this healthcare crisis—nations coming together in a very coordinated and focused way to provide for the extraordinary needs that exist right now within Myanmar and working together to try to create the conditions necessary for that aid to get through.
Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and his generals are not going to end this horrible reign of terror because they wake up one day and realize they've made a terrible mistake. They're only going to do this when there is the requisite pressure, when they feel that there is no alternative but to stand down. And that is exactly what we have to focus on.
The suffering that the people of Myanmar are suffering through, it's hard to imagine. The hopelessness that's being felt. I've spoken to people in the country. I know that there are people who are losing their families. I understand just the horrific conditions that are being confronted by the people of Myanmar and I'm so deeply, deeply sorry for what is happening to you. And I'm just so amazed at the courage and the tenacity of the people of Myanmar, dealing with this crisis and standing up as best as they can against this military junta.
The international response to this crisis is painfully slow. And I want you to know that that there are those of us who are working very, very hard and focusing as much energy and attention as possible to move the international community forward as directly and as powerfully as possible. So please know that we are with you, that we will continue to work with you and that this crisis that you are facing, you are not facing it alone. And I fully understand the suffering and the frustration that is being felt by the people of Myanmar. And I'm sorry that it is taking as long as it's taking, but we will persevere..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-07-23
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
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Description:
"Melbourne swimmer Win Htet Oo says pulling out was an ‘easy decision to make’ and a small price to pay
Kieran Pender in Tokyo
Sat 24 Jul 2021 16.00 EDT
There are almost 1,000 athletes here for the swimming competition, which began on Saturday. Win Htet Oo is not among them. Having qualified for the 50m freestyle, Oo was ready to make his Olympic debut as Myanmar’s lone swimmer. No longer.
Oo is absent, in lockdown 8,000 kilometres away in Melbourne, after the military seized power in a coup in February. With the junta committing human rights atrocities and dismantling civilian governance – and the Myanmar Olympic Committee (MOC) among those government structures expected to fall in line – Oo felt he could not represent his nation’s flag.
“After the February coup I knew I couldn’t go to the Olympic Games,” he says. “It was a very easy decision to make, even after training for two decades for the chance to go to the Olympics.
“I just couldn’t bring myself to attend, if [the MOC] was being controlled by the military.”
Oo says this so plainly, almost nonchalantly, that it is hard to imagine the internal turmoil it must have caused him. Because of his principled stance, the 27-year-old will probably never make it to an Olympics. But for Oo, that is a small price to pay to resist the military regime.
“This is a military government accused of genocide and crimes against humanity. They are now the ones controlling the MOC,” he says. “That should be grounds for expulsion from the Olympic movement.”
Born and brought up abroad – he went to college in the US – Oo had always dreamed of representing Myanmar at the Olympics. Competing under its flag for the first time on home soil in 2013, at the Southeast Asian Games, was a proud moment. Securing a spot in Tokyo with a B qualifying time at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games even more so.
At the beginning of this year, the situation in Naypyidaw began to deteriorate. “We were watching closely,” he says. “The elections had just happened, there were some signs that the military might pull something, but it still came as a surprise to me and my family that they would completely remove the government.”
Myanmar’s democratically elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was detained. The crisis has been compounded by Covid-19, which is rapidly spreading across the country.
“The human rights situation is rapidly deteriorating as a devastating third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic hits Myanmar,” says Manny Maung, a researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“Since the coup, the junta has killed hundreds of civilians and detained thousands including medical professionals. The military has attacked doctors and ambulances and now they are looting medical equipment and hoarding oxygen, preventing civilians from accessing life-saving medical care.”
In March, grappling with the morality of representing such a regime on the global stage, Oo wrote to the International Olympic Committee asking them to distance themselves from the MOC and allow athletes to compete independently. The IOC declined.
“At that point I knew talking to the IOC wasn’t going to lead me anywhere, so I went public,” he says.
The Guardian asked the IOC why Oo’s request to compete as a neutral was denied and how the MOC could be seen as complying with Olympic values, given the military junta’s human rights violations. The IOC said that it was in regular contact with the MOC, which had “repeatedly confirmed its focus on the preparation of its team for the Olympic Games”.
While Oo is not in Tokyo, three other athletes have made the journey. In an open letter Oo recently penned to the trio, he implored them not to represent the junta-run MOC at the Games. “History will judge you for your actions,” he said.
Next Sunday, Oo will be at home in Melbourne, watching his event, the 50m freestyle splash and dash. “I know how hard it is for athletes to have trained through the pandemic,” he says.
“I want to see them parading at the ceremony and competing at the highest level. I am very proud of all those athletes – I’ll be watching.”
Oo wants the IOC to examine the MOC more carefully. “I’m hoping that after the Tokyo Games – they have plenty to focus on right now – but afterwards they might make an independent investigation and expel the MOC.”
In the absence of action from the IOC, Oo is hoping his own absence will encourage solidarity from his peers in the pool.
“I wish athletes would try to be aware of what is going on in my country,” he says. “That’s why I have made this stance – to let people know what is happening. That’s all I can ask; that they take the time to learn what is going on in Myanmar.
“I hope they can show solidarity with the people of Myanmar in whatever way they can.”
It is a small ask from someone who has sacrificed their Olympic dreams. While an appearance at the Paris Games in 2024 is not impossible, Oo knows that the latest struggle for democracy in Myanmar will not triumph overnight.
“It all depends whether the military relinquishes power in Myanmar,” he says. “That is the only way I can see myself competing for Myanmar.
“Until the MOC is fully independent of the military, until the struggle against the military dictatorship succeeds, I don’t see myself representing Myanmar at the Olympics. That might take more than three years."..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-07-24
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
more
Description:
"The people of Burma, already suffering under the hands of an oppressive military dictatorship, are now facing a third wave of COVID-19. Prior to the coup, during the first and second waves of the pandemic, volunteers, medical staff, and civilians organized under the civilian government were coordinating an effective response. Burma was one of the first countries in Southeast Asia to receive the vaccine, gaining international recognition for its pandemic prevention.
On 1 February, a junta seized power, and since then, the country’s key sectors in economy, education, and health have all been deteriorating. The people of Burma face a pandemic but without adequate healthcare services. Across the country, testing facilities have been eradicated, the true number of civilians infected is impossible to calculate.
Basic medicine is now in short supply, prices are soaring. The military has imposed severe restrictions on the importation of essential medicines and medical supplies. In addition, the junta has been closing hospitals and clinics, and stopping civilians from being able to purchase lifesaving oxygen. This terrorism has resulted in escalating death tolls throughout the country. Much of this is going undocumented. The junta are withholding facts and figures, covering up cases and presenting only an insignificant number of cases.
From the very start of the coup, and throughout this third wave of the pandemic, the junta has been arresting, issuing arrest warrants, and conducting raids on the homes of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals, who have been helping treat civilians affected by the junta’s violence.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), (67) medical professional are currently detained, and nearly (600) are evading arrest warrants. In addition, 221 medical students have been arrested this coup, including 9 currently detained. A total 7 medics have been killed by the junta since the coup. This is just the number confirmed by AAPP.
Some medical professionals could not be contacted by AAPP, and their condition remains unknown. Below are some cases of medical professionals who have been affected by the junta’s terrorism:
On the night of July 13, junta troops raided the home of Dr. Kyaw Kyaw Thet. He was beaten and arrested by the so-called police and junta soldiers. He is currently detained in the Mandalay Palace military base interrogation center, where he has been facing torture in interrogation for some time. Kyaw Kyaw Thet is also a close friend with Dr. Thiha Tin Tun, was shot dead by the junta on March 27. He also volunteered at a charity clinic and taught medical students.
On July 16, Dr. Thet Htay, a well-known surgeon in Mandalay who worked at a charity clinic and in a hospital was detained, and beaten, when he was on his way back from treating a patient. Dr. Thet Htay is a doctor who has been active in treating civilians injured in the junta’s brutal crackdowns.
The junta has also been taking hostage family members and friends of medical experts. On 10 June, Director of the National Immunization Program, Dr. Htar Htar Lin, was arrested together with her husband, son, her friend, and her friend’s daughter. Htar Htar Lin played a key role in the NLD government’s civilian COVID-19 vaccination program. During detention, she has become infected with COVID-19.
On July 19, Martyrs’ Day, in North Dagon Township, Rangoon Division, junta forces pretending to be patients suffering with COVID-19 called up doctors known to be treating those affected by the pandemic. They then arrested these doctors and raided their clinics. The terrorist group arrested a total of 5 medical professional, they were 2 doctors giving medical advice to patients online, and 3 volunteer doctors who were going into communities to treat civilians. In addition to this, during the raid on the doctor’s offices, five 40-liter oxygen tanks, which had been donated by civilians, along with eighteen 15-liter oxygen tanks, 1 sets of oxygen equipment, medicine, and all the doctors’ PPE equipment, were stolen by the junta who claimed it was illegitimate material.
Regardless of the country, civilians should be able to have access to urgent healthcare. The junta is using the COVID-19 pandemic as a weapon to further torture the people and put civilian’s lives at risk. The unlawful arrest, prosecution and torture of medical professionals are clear genocide and crimes against humanity. Targeting doctors, nurses, and medical students is a grave violation of international law. The international community has a specific responsibility to protect healthcare workers, who are being systematically detained, abducted and murdered by a terrorist group. 2016 UN Security Council passed Resolution 2286 in 2016 resolutely condemning attacks on medical personnel, hospitals, and medical supplies, maintaining “states to ensure that those responsible do not operate with impunity, and that they are brought to justice”. But international inaction, and a lack of accountability in Burma has allowed these brutal crimes to continue with impunity.
Article 24 of the 1949 Geneva Convention, the pinnacle of international law states medical personnel, particularly those involved in the “transport or treatment of the wounded or sick, or in the prevention of disease… shall be respected and protected in all circumstances”. The UN General Secretary also released a statement at the outbreak of COVID-19, “it is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives”. Instead of initiating a ceasefire, the junta is methodologically using covid as a tool to inflict further violence upon civilians. The global community must adhere to these commitments made to protect the healthcare providers in Burma and no longer neglect these blatant crimes against humanity.
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)..."
Source/publisher:
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication:
2021-07-23
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
Format :
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