2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Individual Documents
Source/publisher:
Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Ta'ang National Liberation Army, Arakan Army
Date of publication:
2022-10-24
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-24
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Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Political History
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Source/publisher:
Karenni State Consultative Council
Date of publication:
2022-10-24
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Military History
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"ကချင်လွတ်မြောက်ရေးအဖွဲ့ (KIO) အထိမ်းအမှတ် အကြိုနေ့အဖြစ် ဖားကန့်မြို့နယ်၊ အနန်ပါ ကျေးရွာအနီး တေးဂီတဖျော်ဖြေပွဲ ကျင်းပနေစဉ် အောက်တိုဘာလ ၂၃ ရက် ညပိုင်းက စစ်ကောင်စီ လေတပ်မှ ဂျက်တိုက်လေယာဉ် (၃) စီးဖြင့် ဗုံးကြဲတိုက်ခိုက်ခဲ့သဖြင့် ကချင်အနုပညာရှင်များ အပါအဝင် အရပ်သားပြည်သူ အများအပြား သေဆုံး၊ ထိခိုက်ဒဏ်ရာ ရရှိခဲ့ကြောင်း ဝမ်းနည်းဖွယ် ကြားသိရပါသည်။
ထိုသို့ တိုက်ပွဲအချိန်လည်း မဟုတ်ဘဲ အရပ်သားများပါဝင်သော တေးဂီတပွဲ အခမ်းအနားတစ်ခုအား ပစ်မှတ်ထား၍ အစုလိုက်၊ အပြုံလိုက် သတ်ဖြတ်ခြင်းသည် စစ်ရာဇဝတ်မှုများကို ပြောင်ပြောင်တင်းတင်း ကျူးလွန်ချိုးဖောက်နေသည့် စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ အကြမ်းဖက် ဖက်ဆစ်ဝါဒအား ပြသသည့် ထပ်လောင်းသက်သေပင် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
စစ်ကောင်စီသည် စာသင်ကျောင်းများ၊ ဆေးရုံများ၊ ဘာသာရေး အဆောက်အဦးများ၊ မြို့ပြကျေးရွာ လူနေအိမ်ခြေများ စသည့် အရပ်ဘက်ပစ်မှတ်များအား ရည်ရွယ်ချက်ရှိရှိ လေကြောင်းမှ ဗုံးကြဲတိုက်ခိုက်ခြင်းများကြောင့် နိုင်ငံအနှံ့ အပြစ်မဲ့ အရပ်သားပြည်သူများ နေ့စဉ်နှင့်အမျှ ထိခိုက်သေဆုံးနေကြရပါသည်။
စစ်ကောင်စီ လေတပ်အရာရှိများအနေဖြင့် စစ်ခေါင်းဆောင်များ၏ အမိန့်ကို တသွေမတိမ်း လိုက်နာပြီး အရပ်သားပြည်သူများအပေါ် လေကြောင်းမှ ဗုံးကြဲ တိုက်ခိုက်နေခြင်းများသည် စစ်ရာဇဝတ်မှုများအား ကိုယ်တိုင်ပါဝင်ကျူးလွန်နေခြင်းပင် ဖြစ်ပြီး တချိန်ချိန်တွင် တရားစီရင် အပြစ်ပေးအရေးယူခံရမည် ဖြစ်ကြောင်း သတိပေးလိုပါသည်။
စစ်ကောင်စီလေတပ်၏ ဗုံးကြဲတိုက်ခိုက်မှုကြောင့် ထိခိုက်သေဆုံးခဲ့ရသည့် မိသားစုဝင်များနှင့်အတူ ထပ်တူ ဝမ်းနည်းကြေကွဲရပါကြောင်း နှင့် စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ စစ်ရာဇဝတ်မှုကျူးလွန်နေသည့် လုပ်ရပ်များအား ရှုတ်ချကြောင်း ပြည်သူ့ပန်းတိုင်အဖွဲ့မှ သတင်းထုတ်ပြန်အပ်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
People's Goal
Date of publication:
2022-10-24
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Military History
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pdf
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"၁။ ယနေ့ကျရောက်သည့် အမှောင်ကိုခွင်း၍ အလင်းဆောင်ပေးမည့် ထူးခြားသော ဟိန္ဒူ ဘာသာဝင်များ၏မီးထွန်းပွဲတော်နေ့တွင် တိုင်းရင်းသားပြည်သူများနှင့်တကွ ဟိန္ဒူဘာသာဝင်များ အားလုံး တော်လှန်နေ့သစ်တိုင်းတွင် ကျန်းမာဘေးကင်းကာ အမှန်တရားအတွက် မျှော်လင့်ချက် ဆီမီး ထွန်းညှိနိုင်ကြပါစေကြောင်း ဆန္ဒပြုလျက် ဦးစွာနှုတ်ခွန်း ဆက်သအပ်ပါသည်။
၂။ “ဒီပ” ဟူသည့်အဓိပ္ပာယ်သည် မီးအလင်းရောင်ဖြစ်သည်နှင့်အညီ အမှောင်ထုကို အလင်းရောင်က အနိုင်ရခြင်း၊ မတရားမှုအား တရားမျှတမှုက အနိုင်ရခြင်း၊ ကိုယ်ကျိုးအတ္တအား အသိဉာဏ်ပညာက အနိုင်ရခြင်း၊ ကောင်းကျိုးအဖြာဖြာရရှိခံစားစေခြင်းစသည့် ကိုယ်စားပြုမှုများ အား ဖော်ညွှန်း၍ ဆီမီးထွန်းပွဲတော်ပြုလုပ်ကာ ဒီပါဝလီနေ့ထူးနေ့မြတ်အား ကျင်းပကြပါသည်။
၃။ နွေဦးတော်လှန်ရေး၏အရှိန်အဟုန် မြင့်တက်လာသည်နှင့်အမျှ ဟိန္ဒူဘာသာဝင်များ အနေဖြင့် အခြားဘာသာဝင်များနှင့်အတူ မိမိတို့၏တူညီသော ဘုံရည်မှန်းချက်ဖြစ်သည့် အာဏာရှင်စနစ်အား မြန်မာ့မြေပေါ်မှ အမြစ်ဖြတ်ဖယ်ရှား၍ ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီ နိုင်ငံတော်သစ် တည်ဆောက်နိုင်ရေးတွင် ကျရာကဏ္ဍမှ အတူတကွ တက်ကြွစွာ ပူးပေါင်းပါဝင်နေသည်မှာ လွန်စွာတန်ဖိုးကြီးမားသော အင်အားတစ်ရပ်ဖြစ်သည်ကို ဂုဏ်ပြုဖော်ပြလိုပါသည်။
၄။ကမ္ဘာ့ဒေသအသီးသီးတွင် ရောက်ရှိနေထိုင်နေကြသော ဟိန္ဒူဘာသာဝင်များနှင့်တကွ မြန်မာတိုင်းရင်းသားပြည်သူများအားလုံးသည် အာဏာရှင်စနစ်အမှောင်တရားအား စုပေါင်းအား ဆီမီးထွန်းညှိ၍ တန်းတူညီမျှသော ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီ နိုင်ငံတော်သစ်အလင်းရောင်အား ဖော်ဆောင် နိုင်ပါစေကြောင်းနှင့် ပြည်ထောင်စုလွှတ်တော်ကိုယ်စားပြု ကော်မတီအနေဖြင့် အလေးအနက် ဆုတောင်းမေတ္တာပို့သလျက် ယခု သဝဏ်လွှာအား ပေးပို့အပ်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw
Date of publication:
2022-10-24
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Festivals
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"" စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ လူမဆန်သော အကြမ်းဖက်တိုက်ခိုက်မှုကို ကရင်နီအမျိုးသားတိုးတက်ရေး ပါတီ KNPP အနေဖြင့် ပြင်းပြင်းထန်ထန် ရှုံ့ချပါသည်။ ပစ်ခတ်မှု ဖြစ်ပွားခဲ့သည့် နေရာဒေသသည် စစ်ရေးလှုပ်ရှားမှုနှင့် စစ်ပွဲများ ဖြစ်ပွားနေသည့် နေရာဒေသ မဟုတ်သည့်အတွက် စစ်ကောင်စီ အနေဖြင့် တမင်သက်သက် အရပ်သားများကို ပစ်မှတ်ထားတိုက်ခတ်ခြင်း ဖြစ်သလို စစ်ရာဇဝတ်မှု (War Crime) အား ကျူးလွန်ခြင်း ဖြစ်ကြောင်း ထင်ရှားပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Karenni National Progressive Party
Date of publication:
2022-10-24
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Military History, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar
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Format :
pdf
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343.64 KB
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"Executive Summary: Anti-junta protests constitute 99 % of mass protests, with some socioeconomic protests including
protests organized by thousands of garment laborers in the compounds of the Zaykabar company’s
factory, strikes of Food Panda riders, PMG bottle refinery factory workers’ strikes calling for the
increase of bonus and riots-like pro-military rallies.
Following the burning of civilian homes, markets, and public property near flash mobs, the military
junta has accelerated its tactics to divide the public and strike organisers.
In total, military and private vehicles were rammed into peaceful protests and struck 19 times,
including eight times in Mandalay Region, five times in Yangon Region, three times in Sagaing
Region, and once in each of Shan State, Kachin State, and Tanintharyi State.
Prison strikes include hunger strikes against the junta, prisoner strikes calling for their rights in
prisons and strikes showing solidarity with the oppressed outside. Inmate protesters were beaten,
kept in solitary confinement, denied access to letters and family, restricted in security, and tortured
to death.
In many cases, the charges against the detained protesters were replaced with more severe offenses. Demonstrators who have been arrested face criminal prosecution under the Penal Code or the
Counter-Terrorism Act rather than under the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law,
which is less intense.
The lawyers defending and providing legal assistance to the detained protesters, politicians, and
activists were also jailed. A number of young female lawyers providing legal assistance to the detainees have been sexually harassed by both junta forces and police.
Despite the violent crackdowns and oppression, anti-coup flash mobs have continued to persist in
major cities with peaceful protests such as the main strike of Kalay township, Yinmabin Shwenwethway strike, the “Our Village Searches No Savior” strike in Yinmabin and multi-village strike
of eastern Yinmabin and northern Salingyi Sagaing Region..."
Source/publisher:
Athan - Freedom of Expression Activist Organization
Date of publication:
2022-10-23
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Anti-coup protesters, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
11.86 MB (Original version) - 29 pages
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"Executive Summary: Anti-junta protests constitute 99 % of mass protests, with some socioeconomic protests including
protests organized by thousands of garment laborers in the compounds of the Zaykabar company’s
factory, strikes of Food Panda riders, PMG bottle refinery factory workers’ strikes calling for the
increase of bonus and riots-like pro-military rallies.
Following the burning of civilian homes, markets, and public property near flash mobs, the military
junta has accelerated its tactics to divide the public and strike organisers.
In total, military and private vehicles were rammed into peaceful protests and struck 19 times,
including eight times in Mandalay Region, five times in Yangon Region, three times in Sagaing
Region, and once in each of Shan State, Kachin State, and Tanintharyi State.
Prison strikes include hunger strikes against the junta, prisoner strikes calling for their rights in
prisons and strikes showing solidarity with the oppressed outside. Inmate protesters were beaten,
kept in solitary confinement, denied access to letters and family, restricted in security, and tortured
to death.
In many cases, the charges against the detained protesters were replaced with more severe offenses. Demonstrators who have been arrested face criminal prosecution under the Penal Code or the
Counter-Terrorism Act rather than under the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law,
which is less intense.
The lawyers defending and providing legal assistance to the detained protesters, politicians, and
activists were also jailed. A number of young female lawyers providing legal assistance to the detainees have been sexually harassed by both junta forces and police.
Despite the violent crackdowns and oppression, anti-coup flash mobs have continued to persist in
major cities with peaceful protests such as the main strike of Kalay township, Yinmabin Shwenwethway strike, the “Our Village Searches No Savior” strike in Yinmabin and multi-village strike
of eastern Yinmabin and northern Salingyi Sagaing Region..."
Source/publisher:
Athan - Freedom of Expression Activist Organization
Date of publication:
2022-10-23
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Anti-coup protesters, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
10.3 MB (Original version) - 31 pages
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"22 October, 2022: The beheading of a National Unity Government (NUG) school teacher by Myanmar junta forces is an act of terror under international and Myanmar law. The United Nations (UN) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must take urgent action to hold the junta accountable for atrocities committed against school children and teachers in Myanmar, says the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M).
According to reports, U Saw Tun Moe, a teacher at a civilian NUG-funded school in Thit Nyi Naung village in southern Pauk Township, Magwe Region, was abducted by junta troops on Sunday, 16 October. The next day his body was found decapitated leaning against the gate of a school in the nearby village of Taung Myint. His head was impaled on a spike on the school gate above his body and three of his fingers had been cut off and placed between his thighs.
“The atrocities being committed by the junta in Myanmar have reached a new level of inhumanity,” said Marzuki Darusman of SAC-M. “The junta is escalating its barbaric attacks against children and teachers in a vain attempt to break the morale of the population who steadfastly reject it and for whom education is a pillar of the society they are sacrificing so much to create. If ASEAN supports the Myanmar peoples’ vision of the future, it must take urgent action to end the senseless junta-violence.”
Education in Myanmar is increasingly becoming a target for junta atrocities. A school headmaster who was taking part in the nationwide Civil Disobedience Movement was reportedly stabbed to death on Monday in Ayeyarwady Region while on 16 September, junta attack helicopters fired heavy weapons into a school in a monastery in Sagaing Region killing at least 11 children and injuring 17. Such attacks are gross violations of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child.
The junta has been committing systematic and widespread atrocities against the civilian population of Myanmar ever since its failed coup attempt in February 2021. Despite this, the alliance of democratic resistance forces, represented by the NUG, have the greatest claim to effective control in Myanmar. The NUG, people’s administration bodies and Ethnic Resistance Organisations (EROs) are delivering government services, including education, to millions of people across the country in areas under their control.
“Beheading someone and putting the body on display for the public to see is a clearly defined act of terror,” said Chris Sidoti of SAC-M. “The Myanmar military leaders have waged a bloody campaign of terror against the Myanmar people for more than 20-months. They must face international accountability. The ICC urgently needs to act on the NUG’s article 12(3) declaration and the military needs to be declared a terrorist organisation under international law.”
The Myanmar military meets the criteria of a terrorist organisation under both Myanmar and international law. SAC-M continues to call on the international community to designate and treat it as such.
“The junta shells schools, massacres school children and decapitates teachers in Myanmar with impunity. This is a deliberate attack on Myanmar’s future,” said Yanghee Lee of SAC-M. “The Myanmar people know the military has no future in Myanmar. When will the United Nations wake up to this reality and finally hold military leaders accountable for their horrific crimes? The UN’s current approach to engagement with the junta makes it complicit in the atrocities being committed against the Myanmar people.”
To protect the lives of the Myanmar people and bring the leaders of the military junta to justice, SAC-M is calling on:
– The UN Security Council to put to a vote a resolution on Myanmar to impose a comprehensive global arms embargo on the junta, financial and economic sanctions against the junta, to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC), and to commence the process of declaring the Myanmar military a terrorist organisation and require UN members states treat it as such;
– The UN General Assembly to fully accept the credentials of Myanmar’s representative to the UN, NUG appointee Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, with all the rights and privileges of any other member state, including representation in all other UN bodies and forums;
– ASEAN to engage formally with the NUG, accept the NUG as the representative of Myanmar in ASEAN meetings and forums, and use the ASEAN Summit in November to reach a new agreement on how to respond to the junta-made crises in Myanmar, developed in consultation with the NUG;
– UN officials, agencies and other humanitarian actors to cease all activities that grant legitimacy to the junta, including presenting credentials to Min Aung Hlaing and participating in photo opportunities with the generals and their collaborators, and adhere to humanitarian principles by engaging primarily with the NUG and resistance organisations;
– The ICC to accept the NUG’s article 12(3) declaration accepting ICC jurisdiction in Myanmar dating back to 2002 and urgently expand the current investigation on the basis of the declaration..."
Source/publisher:
Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-10-22
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, National Unity Government (NUG), Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
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pdf
Size:
212.62 KB
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"The Malaysian government must immediately halt all forced deportations of people from Myanmar and ensure they are
given the opportunity to claim asylum, Amnesty International urged today. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) should also be given access to all persons in immigration detention centres, including women, children, and
men from Myanmar who are held there. People who wish to seek asylum must be released from detention. Since the
beginning of October, over 150 Myanmar nationals have reportedly been deported from Malaysia, in cooperation with the
Myanmar military authorities. Given the grave human rights situation in Myanmar, those who are forcibly deported are at
risk of persecution, torture, arbitrary detention and ill-treatment.
On 19 October, news reports stated that Malaysia had deported over 150 Myanmar nationals since the beginning of the
month. Amnesty International is concerned that more people may be forcibly deported in the coming weeks and months.
The Malaysian government has continued to forcibly deport people to Myanmar in spite of the insecure situation resulting
from the coup in February 2021 as part of an agreement with the military authorities responsible for the takeover in the
country.
Amnesty International has documented ongoing and serious human rights violations in Myanmar since the 2021 coup.
The organization recently published compelling evidence of torture at the hands of the Myanmar military to extract
information as well as appalling conditions inside prisons and interrogation centres there. The Myanmar military regularly
arrests people for expressing dissent and subjects detainees to torture in detention. In eastern Myanmar, Amnesty
International documented war crimes and possible crimes against humanity committed by the military.
Tom Andrews, the United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, said in September that
conditions have gone from “bad to worse to horrific” since the military seized power last year. More than 2,300 people
have been killed since the coup and thousands arrested, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a
local civil society group monitoring human rights violations. Efforts to restore peace, such as the ASEAN five-point
consensus plan, have also failed, as Malaysia’s Foreign Minster Saifuddin Abdullah recently acknowledged.
Forced deportations of people from Myanmar without the option to seek asylum directly contradicts recent
pronouncements by the Foreign Minister, who has been critical of the military authorities. Malaysia, as a member of the
UN Human Rights Council, should refrain from actions violating international human rights law, including the right to seek
asylum. The government must stop forcibly deporting asylum seekers – including dissidents or any other opponents of
the Myanmar military, and others facing persecution if they were to be returned. Amnesty International considers all
individuals subjected to indefinite detention for immigration purposes to be victims of forced deportation if they are
returned to Myanmar. The organisation considers that forcibly deporting anyone from Myanmar under the current
conditions to be refoulement – when a government deports people to a country in which they would likely face human
rights violations – which contravenes customary international law.
Amnesty International calls on the government to respect human rights and international law and halt any plans to forcibly
send people from Myanmar back to a violent and dangerous situation. People who are unable or unwilling to return to
Myanmar should be allowed to remain safely in Malaysia without risk of refoulement, and be able to regularize their stay
either through extension of their work permits and other visas or access to asylum proceedings, and should be able to
enjoy their rights. No one should be forcibly returned to Myanmar for any reason due to the current brutal conditions in
the country.
Amnesty International remains concerned by the arbitrary and indefinite immigration detention of people in Malaysia,
including those from Myanmar who are being held indefinitely around the country. The organization calls for immediate
access to detention facilities for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Those who wish to make asylum claims should
be released, and the government should work together with UNHCR to end the system of indefinite detention..."
Source/publisher:
"Amnesty International" (UK)
Date of publication:
2022-10-21
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, The discussion on humanitarian assistance to Burma, Human Rights and international relations
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"Last week in the East Asia Pacific region, civilians were killed during a clash between the Myanmar military and a local resistance group near a Buddhist religious site in Myanmar's Mon state. The United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA) attacked and occupied a border guard police outpost in Rakhine state, while the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army-South (RCSS/SSA-S) clashed with the Pa-Oh National Liberation Organization/Pa-Oh National Liberation Army (PNLO/PNLA) in southern Shan state. North Korea carried out another series of missile tests. In the Philippines, fighting between the communist New People's Army (NPA) and state forces intensified. Meanwhile, police shot three militant detainees dead after they took a detained former senator hostage during an attempted jailbreak.
In Myanmar, a local resistance group attacked a military checkpoint at the foot of the Kyaiktiyo Golden Rock Pagoda, a famous Buddhist pilgrimage site, in Mon state on 12 October. Three women pilgrims were killed in the crossfire. Eighteen others, including a police officer, were injured. The resistance group and military accused each other of killing the civilians (Myanmar Now, 13 October 2022).
Elsewhere, in Rakhine state, the ULA/AA attacked and occupied the Lait-ya border guard police outpost in Maungdaw township on 10 October, inflicting police casualties and seizing weapons and ammunition (Irrawaddy, 11 October 2022). One ULA/AA member was killed in the fighting (Narinjara, 10 October 2022). Members of another border guard police outpost in nearby Kyein Chaung village fired artillery at the ULA/AA during the clash. The ULA/AA claimed the Lait-ya border guard police outpost had been responsible for artillery attacks on civilians (Narinjara, 11 October 2022). Fighting between the two groups has intensified over the past few months. These trends contribute to the 717% increase in average weekly violent events in Rakhine state in the past month relative to the weekly average for the preceding year flagged by ACLED's Subnational Threat Tracker. The Subnational Tracker also warned of increased violence in Rakhine state during the preceding four weeks.
In southern Shan state, fighting broke out between the RCSS/SSA-S, an ethnic Shan armed group, and the PNLO/PNLA, an ethnic Pa-Oh armed group, on 11 October in the reportedly PNLO/PNLA-controlled Ka Du Gyi area of Mawkmai township. The PNLO/PNLA claimed that the clash resulted from the RCSS/SSA-S's failure to inform them of troop movements, as required by the 2015 Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (Shan Herald Agency for News, 13 October 2022). The clash came after the RCSS/SSA-S invited ethnic armed organizations operating in Shan state and other areas to meet to ease tensions and to discuss potential cooperation (Thanlwin Times, 11 October 2022). ACLED's Subnational Surge Tracker warned of increased violence in southern Shan state during the preceding four weeks. Violence in southern Shan state is both common and highly volatile; it is considered an area of 'extreme risk' by ACLED's Volatility and Risk Predictability Index.
North Korea continued to carry out missile tests last week. On 9 October, North Korea test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off the country's east coast, before test-firing two long-range cruise missiles into the sea off its west coast on 12 October. On 14 October, North Korea flew 10 warplanes close to the border with South Korea, before launching a short-range ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast and firing hundreds of artillery shells into a maritime buffer zone surrounding the Northern Limit Line (AP, 14 October 2022). These activities came after North Korea's defense ministry criticized the recent redeployment of a US aircraft carrier near the Korean Peninsula (YNA, 6 October 2022).
Last week in the Philippines, fighting between NPA rebels and the military intensified, with clashes reported in Bicol and Soccsksargen, as well as Central, Western, and Eastern Visayas. These trends contribute to a 75% increase in violent events in the Philippines over the past week relative to the weekly average for the preceding month, as flagged by ACLED's Conflict Change Map. In Western Visayas, Himamaylan city saw fierce clashes on 8, 10, and 12 October, leaving a suspected high-ranking NPA leader, Romeo Nanta (also known as Juanito Magbanua), dead. The NPA claimed that Nanta was not killed in the clash, but rather, captured and summarily executed (Rappler, 11 October 2022). Human rights group Karapatan condemned alleged military abuses against civilians during the clashes, including allegedly indiscriminate artillery fire and aerial bombing (Karapatan, 12 October 2022). As a result of the clashes, the military implemented lockdowns in several affected barangays, and the city government declared a state of calamity (Manila Bulletin, 12 October 2022). Around 15,000 villagers were also evacuated from the area (Panay News, 12 October 2022).
Meanwhile, a high-profile jailbreak attempt led to the deaths of three detained Islamist militants in Quezon City last week. On 9 October, three militant detainees -- alleged members of Abu Sayyaf and Dawlah Islamiyah -- attempted to escape from the Philippine National Police Custodial Center, wounding a police officer with an improvised knife and taking detained former Senator Leila de Lima hostage during the attempt. Responding police officers shot the militant detainees dead and freed de Lima, who was lightly wounded. The incident led to renewed calls for the release of de Lima, a prominent critic of former President Rodrigo Duterte. De Lima has been held in police custody since February 2017 on drug-related charges, which human rights organizations and opposition groups view as politically motivated (HRW, 4 May 2022; Manila Bulletin, 9 October 2022).
Note: This dashboard automatically updates to cover the latest four weeks of data released by ACLED. Use the date filters to view data for the one-week period covered by this Regional Overview..."
Source/publisher:
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project
Date of publication:
2022-10-20
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-20
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, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians
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Sub-title:
Three prison staff and five visitors died after the bombs hit a crowd queuing to drop off parcels for inmates at prison housing political detainees
Description:
"At least eight people have been killed in explosions at Myanmar’s main prison for political detainees after two bombs exploded on Wednesday morning.
Three prison staff and five visitors, including a 10-year-old girl, died after the bombs hit a crowd queueing to drop off parcels for inmates at Insein Prison, junta authorities said in a statement.
The visitors were delivering parcels to prisoners when the explosion occurred at about 9.40am, according to News of Myanmar, an online news service sympathetic to the country’s military government.
The blasts occurred inside and outside the parcel reception office near the main iron gate of the prison in Yangon.
State-owned MRTV said the explosions were caused by “mines inside parcels” while the military’s information office said an unexploded bomb had also been found in a parcel. At least 13 visitors, including a nine-year-old boy, and five prison personnel were reported to be being treated for injuries at Insein township hospital.
The prison has been notorious for decades for holding political prisoners under various military governments whom often rely on friends or family for food and medicine supplies.
Several resistance groups engaged in struggle against the military government, including the Yangon revolution force, Yangon urban guerrillas and the general strike committee, quickly released statements condemning the attacks for hurting civilians.
However, a little-known anti-government group known as the special task agency of Burma later posted a statement on Telegram saying it had carried out the attack as “retaliation against (junta chief) Min Aung Hlaing” and the continued oppression of revolutionary fighters by prison personnel. The group said the civilian casualties were caused by indiscriminate gunfire by security forces after the blasts.
“Today … the special task agency of Burma (STA), carried out two attacks to execute the prison head. We’re retaliating against Min Aung Hlaing and … the prison officers for continuously oppressing our revolution comrades,” Reuters cited the statement as saying.
The south-east Asian nation has been in turmoil since a military coup last year, with swathes of the country engulfed by fighting.
About 2,367 civilians have been killed in a crackdown on resistance, according to detailed lists compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights watchdog group.
Photos of Wednesday’s bombings distributed by the military’s information office show items scattered by the blasts and blood on the floor inside the building where parcels for prisoners are received.
A resident who lives near the prison’s entrance gate told The Associated Press by phone that he heard about 10 gunshots after hearing the two explosions but did not know if they caused any casualties.
One witness queueing at the parcel counter told Agence France-Presse the first blast hit at about 9.30am (0300 GMT). “Then another two went off quickly. After that we heard shooting as well,” said the witness, who requested anonymity. “I saw some people bleeding. The glass around the counter was all shattered.”
According to another witness, security forces locked down the area around the sprawling colonial-era prison after the explosions..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2022-10-20
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights Defenders
Language:
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Title: Pregnant woman and her mother-in-law killed in Myanmar army ground and air assault in Sagaing
Sub-title:
Junta troops capture civilians who were seeking refuge in a monastery and displace thousands of locals from six villages across Yinmabin and Pale townships
Description:
"Two women were killed when Myanmar military forces launched a two-pronged attack on villages on the border between Yinmabin and Pale townships in Sagaing Region on Wednesday morning, firing on the area from above and sending soldiers to attack on foot, locals said.
Two fighter jets carried out an airstrike on the area before a pair of helicopters dropped soldiers off at a site near the village of Nyaung Tan at 10am. They proceeded to raid the neighbouring communities of Pyar Oh and Yin Paung Taing.
A 35-year-old woman named Ma Soe—who was five months pregnant—and her mother-in-law Nyunt Nyunt, in her 60s, were killed in the attack on Pyar Oh.
The raiding troops captured displaced villagers who had been taking refuge in the Pyar Oh monastery and brought them to Yin Paung Taing, which they occupied next.
A local said that the junta forces were “using that village as a meeting point” and noted that they had blocked all roads in and out of the area.
Local anti-junta defence teams confirmed that two columns of Myanmar army soldiers had set up a base in Yin Paung Taing.
The village was targeted in both ground and air assaults by the military in August that killed some 19 civilians. Several nearby communities were also torched.
“They fired heavy weapons from aircrafts during the previous airstrike, but this time, the sound was not as loud, so I think they were using light weapons,” the local man said. “The aircrafts were hovering around an area several miles long and firing shots.”
Thousands of villagers from Yin Paung Taing, Pu Htoe Thar, Ywar Thit, Non Tan, Pyar Oh and Nyaung Tan villages were displaced by the military’s recent assaults despite there being no battles with resistance forces in the immediate area.
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2022-10-20
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
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Description:
"Two six-year-old boys in Chin State and one 14-year-old girl in Rakhine State have been killed by Myanmar junta shells, according to residents.
Regime troops based at a hill in Yay Soe Chaung village in Rathedaung Township, Rakhine State, shelled Pyain Taw village yesterday morning and Ma Nyein Nyein San, 14, was killed at her house, residents said.
A villager said four shells were fired at the village although there had been no fighting nearby.
“Three shells landed outside the village. The frightened villagers ran from their houses, including the girl. The last shell killed her,” he said.
Pyain Taw villagers said Arakan Army (AA) troops were closing routes to the Yay Soe Chaung outpost, prompting troops to fire shells at random every day.
Villagers were not able to hold a funeral for Ma Nyein Nyein San because they fear more shelling if junta troops see a crowd in the village, said residents.
A shell also hit Bon Lun village in Hakha Township, Chin State, on Wednesday afternoon.
James Siang Za Uk and Henry Bawi Za Lian, both six, were coming home from school when they were killed by a shell and a six-year-old girl was injured, according to a village pastor.
“The injured child is in Hakha hospital in critical condition. There was no fighting and no armed groups around the village,” the pastor told The Irrawaddy.
Fighting with the AA is escalating in Rakhine State and regime troops in Minbya Township in the state were reportedly continuously shelling villages this week..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-10-20
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Children, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group
Language:
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Sub-title:
This news comment is attributable to Gillian Triggs, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection
Description:
"UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is urgently appealing to countries in the region to immediately stop forced returns of Myanmar nationals seeking safety from serious harm. Sending them back to the country is placing countless lives at risk.
UNHCR remains gravely concerned about multiple reports of refoulement - the forcible return of refugees and asylum seekers - since February 2021 from countries neighbouring Myanmar. We repeat our call on states to continue offering protection to Myanmar nationals fleeing for safety. This also includes ending the practice of indefinite detention of asylum seekers and refugees from Myanmar.
In Myanmar, acts of indiscriminate violence against civilians continue across the country, as well as fighting between the Myanmar military and ethnic armed groups in some border areas, driving people to flee within the country and across borders.
People fleeing Myanmar must be allowed access to territory to seek asylum and be protected against refoulement. Myanmar nationals already abroad should not be forced to return when seeking international protection.
The principle of non-refoulement is a cornerstone of international law and is binding on all states.
Myanmar’s neighbours have a decades-long history of providing protection and assistance to refugees. We call on them to continue upholding their international legal obligations and lifesaving humanitarian tradition of safeguarding the lives of all those forced to flee.
UNHCR and partner organizations stand ready to step-up support to national and local authorities in the region to ensure that refugees receive the protection they need..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva)
Date of publication:
2022-10-20
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNHCR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
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Description:
"Yaw Defense Force (YDF) Deputy Commander Ko Phyo Wai Soe was returning with two comrades from a front-line guerilla operation in Gangaw township when they were ambushed by regime forces on the afternoon of Oct. 9.
The three YDF fighters were riding motorbikes when they encountered a group of eight junta policemen near Kyun Khone Thar village, 40 kilometers north of Gangaw town in Magwe Region — a resistance stronghold. Of the three, only Ko Phyo Wai Soe was armed.
The YDF deputy commander had only his 9 mm pistol as he and his comrades confronted the heavily armed police squad. He was hit in his chest and thigh, while his comrade Pwar Lay was shot in the head. Both died in the firefight. The third resistance fighter, Naing Thein, managed to escape back to base to deliver news of their deaths.
The untimely death of the 21-year-old technological university student-turned-guerrilla leader was a severe blow to fellow YDF fighters and supporters of the armed anti-regime resistance.
YDF Commander Ko Myat Thu said Ko Phyo Wai Soe’s passing was a big loss for the resistance force but also further motivation to uproot Myanmar’s military dictatorship as this was what their deputy commander had fought for.
“His final words were, ‘I do nothing without the consent of the people,’” Ko Myat Thu said.
“We will just try harder to achieve what he wanted.”
‘Outstanding young man’, ‘a person of untold bravery’
At least a dozen local resistance groups, ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) – including the Arakan Army and Chinland Defense Force – and two ministries of the National Unity Government (NUG) have released statements of condolence, praising the YDF deputy commander as “an outstanding young man” and “a person of untold bravery.”
In a condolence letter from the NUG’s Ministry of International Cooperation, Union Minister Dr. Sasa described Ko Phyo Wai Soe as “one of the heroes who sacrificed themselves for the future of the country”, calling his death a big loss not only for the YDF but also for the whole of Myanmar.
The powerful Arakan Army (AA) ethnic armed group described him as a “model” leader in the country’s fight against the junta, commonly known as “Myanmar’s Spring Revolution.” The AA praised him not only for his talent on the battlefield but for leading the push to reopen schools in areas outside of junta control where the YDF operates.
“He was one of the leaders, involved in the revolution since the earliest days. He was decisive and strong-minded in military affairs. I salute him with sadness and praise,” said Ma Grace, platoon commander of the Myaung Women Warriors, a regiment of the Civilian Defense Security Organization Myaung (CDSOM) in Magwe Region.
Known as Ko Phyo by his comrades, the deputy commander not only led troops on the ground but also networked and cooperated with other armed groups, including EAOs, since their early days of operation. He forged friendships with many other armed resistance groups that emerged in the region after the February 2021 coup, and as well as with EAOs that had been fighting military dictatorship for decades.
Rich kid leading fight against brutal junta
YDF is a people’s armed resistance group founded and based in Yaw Territory, Gangaw district, covering the Gangaw, Htilin, Saw and Kyaukhtu townships bordering Chin State. The area is now a hotbed of armed resistance to the junta’s military forces.
YDF is among the area’s largest resistance groups formed since last year’s coup, and now boasts 15 units.
It was founded just days after the Feb. 1 coup by Ko Phyo, Ko Myat Thu and two other Yaw residents.
A university student and the youngest son of a wealthy family, Ko Phyo had a happy life with a bright future until the military takeover. Unlike many rich kids of his age, he loved reading and getting involved in social activities and the student union, his colleagues said.
When street protests against the coup first broke out, he and Ko Myat Thu, three years his senior, organized the rallies in Gangaw.
From the beginning, Ko Phyo believed that only armed struggle could root out military dictatorship. Having made their decision to resist the coup regime, he and Ko Myat Thu immediately traveled to EAO-controlled areas for basic military training.
They returned to Yaw territory a couple of months later, and the YDF was born with support from EAOs in Kachin, Chin and Karen States.
The YDF has offered strong resistance to regime forces in several operations and claims to have killed over 700 junta troops. Ko Phyo was responsible for directing most of the battles on the ground. The Irrawaddy is unable to verify the number of casualties claimed.
Ko Phyo was also the first to smuggle Pakistan-made automatic rifles through regime checkpoints to resistance fighters in Yaw territory. But still faced with a shortage of automatic rifles, he helped produced homemade guns and was working on manufacturing contact-explosion cannons.
But he was constantly at risk of arrest.
In September last year, Ko Phyo was returning from a meeting to buy weapons when he was arrested at a junta outpost.
Police and military personnel found out he was a YDF member and interrogated him. Ko Phyo told them he was merely a subordinate and had no serious information about the resistance group. Three days of torture followed, during which was stabbed in the ears by a screwdriver, beaten all over his body, and had his crushed by bamboo, Ko Myat Thu recalled.
Fortunately, his young age and stoicism convinced his captors he was telling the truth and they released him on parole.
Following his release, he spent one month in hospital. When he had recovered from his torture injuries, he headed straight back to the front line and his YDF comrades.
Escaping peril until the last fight
In February, the YDF joined up with the Myaing People’s Defense Force (Myaing – PDF) to attack a junta outpost in Min Ywar village, Gangaw Township. Though it was described as a police station, the outpost was housing military troops who were waiting for reinforcements before deploying in the area.
Led by Ko Phyo, the resistance operation was a success with at least 20 junta forces killed and about 30 injured.
But when Ko Phyo was hit by a bullet that pierced his jaw, entered his chest and severed an artery, his comrades thought he would die on the spot.
“But though badly injured, he gave a thumbs-up and an order to keep fighting,” said a YDF comrade who was fighting alongside him.
Luckily, he survived the battle and recovered from his wounds.
Ko Phyo recalled the experience in an online speech to mark the YDF’s one-year anniversary in May.
“I was wounded, so our medics rescued me and took me back to the base. My comrades kept fighting for an hour, and we were almost able to capture the station. But reinforcements arrived, so they had to fall back. I still feel regret today about not managing to seize the station,” he said.
Ko Myat Thu said injuries to arteries usually take years to heal but Ko Phyo recovered in just three months after a strict regime of daily exercise and determination.
However, Ko Myat Thu and other leaders urged him to take a back seat and command from behind the lines rather than fighting on the ground.
But he refused and had just resumed front-line action when he was caught in the Oct. 9 ambush with just his 9 mm pistol.
This time there was no escape.
Another who knew Ko Phyo well was Maung Saungkha, commander of the Bamar People’s Liberation Army (BPLA) resistance group. He expressed his sorrow over losing a revolutionary comrade and seeing yet another young life sacrificed in resisting the military regime.
“To achieve our goal, we pay with losses like these. Those of us who remain alive need to keep up the fight to get the genuine federation we expect,” Maung Saungkha told The Irrawaddy, referring to the democratic federal Union that anti-regime forces are fighting for..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-10-20
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Military History
Language:
more
Description:
"At least eight people have been killed in explosions at Myanmar's notorious Insein prison in Yangon.
Locals told BBC Burmese two parcel bombs went off at the entrance to the jail on Wednesday morning, killing three prison staff and five visitors.
Insein prison is the country's largest jail housing about 10,000 prisoners, many of whom are political prisoners.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. Eighteen other people were injured, officials confirmed.
The authorities said the bombs had gone off in the prison's post room. Another bomb - which did not detonate - was later found there wrapped in a plastic bag.
All five of the visitors who were killed were women and relatives of prisoners, the authorities confirmed.
One was the mother of student leader Lin Htet Naing, alias James, who was arrested by Myanmar's military authorities last June. She had been visiting the prison to deliver a rice box to her son during the week of his court hearing.
Lin Htet Naing's father-in-law, Nay Win, said he'd been allowed to see her body in the morgue.
"I feel very sad. Her husband died quite a while ago and she was the only one who always went and dispatched food and necessities to her son," he said.
Lin Htet Naing, 35, has been arrested several times since coming to prominence as a student leader more than a decade ago. His arrest in June was for opposing last year's military coup, which toppled Aung San Suu Kyi's elected civilian government.
Lin Htet Naing's wife, Phyo Phyo Aung, a mother of two, has been on the run since she took part in the protests following the coup.
Insein prison is a vast, heavily-guarded complex on the outskirts of the former capital.
The century-old prison is infamous for its harsh conditions and inhumane treatment of prisoners, rights groups say.
Tortured to death: Myanmar mass killings revealed
Why is Myanmar's military so brutal?
However the junta faces stiff resistance in large parts of the country where there is an active guerrilla front known as the People's Defence Force (PDF).
In Yangon, there have been frequent bomb attacks, most of them small, since the military crushed the mass protest movement against its coup last year.
These have usually targeted individuals viewed as collaborating with the military - such as government officials, alleged informers and more recently air force pilots accused of taking part in aerial attacks on villages which are resisting military rule.
There have also been assassination attempts, drive-by shootings and, as attitudes have hardened, beheadings in rural areas which are blamed on both sides
The extent of deadly fighting and battles this year have been indicative of a civil war, observers say..."
Source/publisher:
"BBC News" (London)
Date of publication:
2022-10-19
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights Defenders
Language:
more
Description:
"Ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) based in northern Myanmar, which are long under the influence of neighboring China, are paying close attention to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) congress as changes in Beijing’s leadership and policies can impact them.
President Xi Jinping is due to be confirmed as president and CCP general secretary for a third term and head of the powerful Central Military Commission.
China is a major investor in Myanmar and has important projects as part of the Belt and Road Initiative that will give it access to the Indian Ocean.
Xi visited Myanmar in 2020 and signed 33 memorandums of understanding, agreements, exchange letters and protocols with the then National League for Democracy government.
During the visit Xi acknowledged that Myanmar was an important partner.
Following the coup last year, Beijing said it will support Myanmar’s regime “no matter how the situation changes”. China and Russia are protecting the regime at the United Nations Security Council.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in April that Beijing “has always placed Myanmar in an important position in its neighborly diplomacy” and wants to “deepen exchanges and cooperation”.
Political analyst on China Dr. Hla Kyaw Zaw recently talked to The Irrawaddy about how the congress could impact Myanmar.
Will there be a change in China’s policy regarding Myanmar?
I don’t think there will be significant changes. China is looking at the whole Asian continent for its economic recovery. Xi Jinping has recently visited central Asian countries.
And China is in the ASEAN Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership together with the 10 ASEAN countries. It plans to turn the entire Asia continent into its trade routes.
Myanmar is in the network and there won’t be significant policy changes.
As to the peace process in Myanmar, China is facilitating it as best it can. In the aftermath of the coup, China sent an envoy and called for a meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
China is pushing for dialogue to build peace. It appears that China also supports the peace talks between the regime and EAOs based in northern Myanmar.
China tends to keep a low profile in what it does.
It might have been taking steps that we don’t see.
The Chinese authorities have reportedly told EAOs in northern Myanmar to make sure there is no gunfire along the border during the congress. Is it true and why did China demand this?
It is nothing new. Since the Kokang incidents in 2015-17 [clashes between Myanmar’s military and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army], when shells landed in its territory, China has warned that it would respond if stray bullets and artillery landed in China’s territory.
It has repeatedly warned both the military and EAOs against fighting near the border.
The national security strategy rolled out by US President Joe Biden on October 12 seeks to contain China’s rise and calls it the largest threat to the global order.
Will the CCP respond at its congress?
China will only view it as a seasonal US statement and Biden setting off fireworks to attract voters for the mid-term elections in November. Republicans and Democrats may have different views on other things but they both take aim at China.
Despite the war in Ukraine, the US plan says China is the main threat.
It is seasonal. They are just playing the China card to win votes. This is how Beijing views it.
Will there be more friction between Washington and Beijing and how could that affect Myanmar?
There has been constant friction between China and the US. Economically, the US cannot shun China. Their economies are intertwined and there are many US companies in China.
Chinese analysts think relations between US and China will somewhat improve after the mid-term elections.
The US is playing the Taiwan card. But China apparently is not concerned much.
China believes it can threaten Taiwan a lot with its air force and navy. As long as Taiwan does not declare independence, China will not attack and it will keep the status quo.
Will China change its policy on Taiwan? Will it use force?
The general policy of China regarding Taiwan is the peaceful reunification of the Chinese people. China said it will consider various means, including the use of force, for reunification.
Some pro-independence groups are taking action with the help of certain countries.
China is unlikely to do anything unless Taiwan declares independence. But China has made preparations to take control of Taiwan by force if it declares independence.
How can revolutionary forces in Myanmar succeed without being stuck between China and the US?
It is a good opportunity for our revolution. But don’t oppose China by placing all the reliance on the US. Don’t expect anything from China and don’t curse the US with the hope of receiving help from China.
We have to take whatever we can get from the US. The US politically supports us.
And Myanmar’s ambassador [to United Nations] can speak freely from the US and we have to make use of it.
On the other hand, China has close ties with EAOs in Myanmar, including the United Wa State Army, Mongla (National Democratic Alliance Army), Kokang (Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army) and the Arakan Army.
We need to attract those forces into our revolution. It is important to attract all the ethnic armed groups into the revolution. And we should avoid being fiercely critical of China. We should be as flexible as we can be in dealing with China and persuade it.
We should take the cue from Indonesia regarding our diplomacy. Indonesia attended the Nato summit organized by the US and after it went to China and invited it to attend the G20 summit [in Bali next month]. And it also told China what it discussed at the Nato summit.
We must learn how to act between big powers. It is not good for us to take sides with one country and make another an enemy..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-10-19
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Anti-coup protesters, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar
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"The National Unity Government is saddened to learn of two explosions and shootings that took place at approximately 9:40am on October 19, 2022, near the delivery point at Insein Prison in Yangon. We understand that these explosions have killed both some prison staffs and five innocent civilians who were there to deliver parcels to imprisoned family prisoners.
It is a matter of the deepest sorrow to the National Unity Government that the mother and family members of some of the political prisoners and other civilians were killed during this bombing and explosion. It was a day on which political prisoners unjustly detained in Insein Prison happened to appear in court, and could receive parcels from their families.
The National Unity Government is investigating urgently the details of this event, including the cause of death of all civilians who died in the incident.
The National Unity Government's Ministry of Defence is committed to protecting civilians from the atrocities and torture carried out by the terrorist military Council, in accordance with its published Code of Conduct. This Code of Conduct sets out that only military targets under the command of the military dictatorship should be targeted. The intimidation of civilians and the targeting of civilians is explicitly contrary to the code, and must be avoided at all times.
All soldiers engaged in the defensive war against the junta must adhere to this Code of Conduct. Training on the implementation of the Code of Conduct is being delivered. The full Code of Conduct is available at https://mod.nugmyanmar.org/my/pdf-code-of-conduct
Any person or group committing an act that harms the civilian population will be censured and condemned by the National Unity Government.
The National Unity Government also makes clear that appropriate action will be taken against any such person or group, in accordance with our commitment to the rule of law..."
Source/publisher:
National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-10-19
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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pdf
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66.41 KB
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2022-10-19
Topic:
2022-10-19
Description:
"ယနေ့နံနက် ဖြစ်ပွားခဲ့သော အင်းစိန်ထောင် တိုက်ခိုက်မှုဖြစ်စဥ်အတွင်း ဗုံးပေါက်ကွဲမှု နှင့် ထောင်လုံခြုံရေးမျှော်စင်ပေါ်မှ ပစ်ခတ်မှုများကြောင့် ထောင်ဝင်စာပို့ဆောင်ရန်နှင့် ထောင်တွင်းရုံးထုတ်သို့ လာရောက်သူအရပ်သားများ ထိခိုက်သေဆုံးမှုများ ဖြစ်ပေါ်ခဲ့ကြောင်း ကြားသိရသည်။
အင်းစိန်ထောင်သည် မတရားအကျဥ်းချခံထားရသော နိုင်ငံရေးအကျဥ်းသားများအပါအဝင် အကျဥ်းသားများအတွက် ထောင်ဝင်စာပေးပို့ရန် လာရောက်သည့် မိသားစုဝင်များ၊ ဥပဒေအထောက်အကူပြုပုဂ္ဂိုလ်များ အပါအဝင် အရပ်သားများ အမြဲလှုပ်ရှားသွားလာနေသည့် နေရာဖြစ်သည်။ ထိုသို့ အများပြည်သူသွားလာနေသည့် နေရာများသည် စစ်ရေးပစ်မှတ်အဖြစ် မသတ်မှတ်သင့်သည့် နေရာများဖြစ်သည်ဟု ယူဆသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
General Strike Committee, Anti-Junta Mass Movement and General Strike Committee of Nationalities
Date of publication:
General Strike Committee
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Military History
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153.25 KB
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"၂၀၂၂ ခုနှစ် အောက်တိုဘာလ ၁၉ ရက် နံနက် ၉နာရီ ၄၀ ခန့်အချိန်တွင် ရန်ကုန်မြို့ အင်းစိန်ထောင် ထောင်ဝင်စာပေးပို့သည့် နေရာအနီး ပေါက်ကွဲမှု(၂)ကြိမ်နှင့် ပစ်ခတ်မှုများ ဖြစ်ပွားခဲ့ကာ အကျဉ်းဦးစီးဝန်ထမ်းအချို့သာမက ထောင်ဝင်စာပေးပို့ရန်ရောက်ရှိနေသည့် ပြည်သူ အနည်းဆုံး(၅)ဦး သေဆုံးခဲ့ရသည့် ဖြစ်စဉ် ဖြစ်ပွားခဲ့ကြောင်း ဝမ်းနည်းဖွယ်ကြားသိရပါသည်။
အဆိုပါ နေ့ရက်သည် အင်းစိန်ထောင်အတွင်း မတရားဖမ်းဆီးခြင်းခံထားရသော နိုင်ငံရေး အကျဉ်းသားများ ရုံးထုတ်ရက်နှင့် ထောင်ဝင်စာပေးပို့နိုင်သည့် ရက်ဖြစ်သောကြောင့် ပေါက်ကွဲမှုနှင့် ပစ်ခတ်မှုများ ဖြစ်ပွားသည့် ဖြစ်စဉ်အတွင်း သေဆုံးခဲ့ကြရသည့် အပြစ်မဲ့ပြည်သူများထဲတွင် နိုင်ငံရေးအကျဉ်းသားများ၏ မိခင်များနှင့် မိသားစုဝင်များလည်း ပါဝင်ခဲ့သည်ဟုလည်း သိရှိရပါသည်။
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရအနေဖြင့် အဆိုပါ ဖြစ်စဉ်အသေးစိတ်အား စုံစမ်းလျက်ရှိသလို အဆိုပါ ဖြစ်ရပ်အတွင်း သေဆုံးခဲ့ရသော အရပ်သားပြည်သူများ၏ သေဆုံးခဲ့ရခြင်းအကြောင်းရင်း (Cause of Death) ကိုလည်း စုံစမ်းစစ်ဆေးလျက်ရှိပါသည်။
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ ကာကွယ်ရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာန အနေဖြင့် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီက ပြည်သူလူထုအပေါ် ဥပဒေမဲ့ ညှဉ်းပမ်းနှိပ်စက် သတ်ဖြတ်နေမှုများအား အကာအကွယ်ပေးရေး ပြည်သူ့ခုခံတော်လှန်စစ်ကို စစ်သည်တော် ကျင့်ဝတ်စည်းမျဉ်းစည်းကမ်းများနှင့်အညီ ဆင်နွှဲလျက်ရှိရာ ယင်း စစ်သည်တော်ကျင့်ဝတ်စည်းမျဉ်း (Code of Conduct) များထဲမှ စစ်ရေးဆိုင်ရာပစ်မှတ် သတ်မှတ်ရာတွင် စစ်အာဏာရှင်စနစ်၏ ယန္တရားများကိုသာ ချေမှုန်းရမည်၊ အရပ်သားပြည်သူများအား ခြိမ်းခြောက်ခြင်း၊ ပစ်မှတ်ထားတိုက်ခိုက်ခြင်း မပြုရဟူသည့် အချက်များပါရှိပါသည်။ အဆိုပါ စစ်သည်တော်ကျင့်ဝတ်စည်းမျဉ်း များကို အားလုံးလိုက်နာနိုင်ရေး သင်တန်းများပို့ချကာ ကြပ်မတ်ဆောင်ရွက်လျက်ရှိသလို အလွယ်တကူ လေ့လာသိရှိနိုင်ရန်လည်း https://mod.nugmyanmar.org/my/pdf-code-of-conduct/ တွင်ဖော်ပြထားပါသည်။ ထို့အပြင် လိုက်နာရန် ပျက်ကွက်မှုများ ရှိပါကလည်း ထိရောက်စွာအရေးယူ ဆောင်ရွက်လျက်ရှိပါသည်။
အရပ်သားပြည်သူများအား ထိခိုက်စေသည့် မည်သည့် လုပ်ရပ်မျိုးကို မည်သည့်အဖွဲ့က ကျူးလွန်သည်ဖြစ်စေ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရအနေဖြင့် ကန့်ကွက်ရှုတ်ချရုံသာမက ကျူးလွန်ခဲ့သော အဖွဲ့အစည်း၊ လူပုဂ္ဂိုလ် မည်သူ့ကိုမဆို တရားဥပဒေနှင့်အညီ အရေးယူဆောင်ရွက်နိုင်ရေးကိုလည်း မဖြစ်မနေဆောင်ရွက် သွားမည်ဖြစ်ကြောင်း အသိပေးထုတ်ပြန်အပ်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-10-19
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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Format :
pdf
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508.99 KB
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"The Myanmar Air Force has ordered several FTC-2000G midrange fighter jets from China, a major arms supplier to the Southeast Asian nation.
The Irrawaddy has learned that a group of approximately eight Air Force pilots, eight technicians and at least two armaments officers traveled to China via Kunming in June.
China has strict COVID-19 regulations and the Myanmar personnel had to go through quarantine in Kunming. The pilots are known to fly the F-7 interceptor, A-5 bomber and K-8 W trainer and light attack jet for the Myanmar Air Force.
The new jet fighters will replace the Myanmar Air Force’s aging F-7s and A-5s. Once they are delivered they are expected to be based at Namsang airbase in Shan State, according to sources familiar with the purchase.
It is not yet known when the agreement was reached between Beijing and Naypyitaw. The purchase of Chinese jet fighters may have begun in 2020, but delivery and pilot training were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and China’s strict policy on containing the disease.
The FTC-2000G is an advanced light multi-role trainer/combat aircraft designed and manufactured by Guizhou Aviation Industry Corporation (GAIC) under the supervision of Chinese state-owned aerospace and defense firm Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).
It is the export variant of the Guizhou JL-9 trainer/combat aircraft, which is in service with the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).
The two-seat jet fighter has training capabilities with attack and fighting capabilities in combat.
It can be used to perform pilot flight training, aerial surveillance, patrol missions, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, close-in air support and air escort missions.
In April 2020, news emerged in Cambodia and in China’s Global Times that China planned to sell the aircraft to an undisclosed Southeast Asian country. It did not say how many units were to be sold, stating only that the deal was signed in January 2020 and that deliveries would start in early 2021 and be completed after two years.
The cost of the jet fighter is around US$8.5 million.
The reports identified Cambodia and Myanmar as potential buyers, as both countries are closely aligned with China, both militarily and politically.
Well-known middleman
The sources stated that Gateways Hong Kong Ltd. was involved in brokering the deal. A key arms broker, Gateways Hong Kong Ltd is also involved in buying spare parts for F-7 and A-5 aircraft.
Dr. Naing Htut Aung, a major arms supplier to Myanmar’s military, was also a key weapons dealer for the previous regime led by dictator Senior General Than Shwe.
Registered as a director of the Yangon-based International Gateways Group of Companies Ltd., Dr. Naing Htut Aung has had strong ties with successive military leaders, including current Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, sources told The Irrawaddy.
He is a key procurer of weapons, spare parts and upgrades for the Navy and Air Force and is an agent for major state-owned Chinese arms producers, said Justice for Myanmar (JFM), an activist group that monitors the military’s businesses, citing a private-sector source with military connections.
He was a middleman in the Air Force’s procurement of 16 JF-17 Thunder fighter jets from Pakistan in 2015, and was also a key figure in a joint venture between the Directorate of Myanmar Defense Industries and China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation to produce the K-8 jet trainer and light attack aircraft in Myanmar.
His businesses, Gateways International Holding Company and International Gateways Group of Companies, were registered at the same address as Myanmar Consultancy until late 2020..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-10-18
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Climate change and the Myanmar economy, Military History
Language:
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Description:
"A former admiral’s son who used a UNESCO-funded regional media forum to attack Myanmar’s democracy movement is believed to have penned an article published pseudonymously in pro-regime media urging the country’s junta to be more assertive in dealing with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the West, while calling China, Russia and India “very good allies.”
Appearing in the Friday edition of the Myanmar junta’s English mouthpiece The Global New Light of Myanmar, “Myanmar and ASEAN”, credited simply to “U AC”, is basically an attack on the regional grouping. It says the bloc is doing as much as possible to embarrass the Myanmar regime while some member states are “contributing significantly to the instability and insecurity in Myanmar” and that ASEAN seems to be “acting as a lapdog for the US.”
“The country must move from a position of defence to a more offensive position. Because there are some people out there, who would bully us and talk bad about us, regardless of how well we do and how good our intentions are,” the author claims.
The publication of the article comes at a time when the relationship between the junta and the 10-member bloc, of which Myanmar is a member, has turned sour. ASEAN has barred the junta leadership from at least five meetings, including summits, since last year due to the regime’s failure to honor the group’s peace plan for the country, which has been ravaged by conflicts sparked by the military coup last year.
The article states that the current relationship between ASEAN and Myanmar seems to be based on the fundamental belief that the Myanmar military is good for nothing, ruthless and killing innocents, and that the current “government” is doing nothing good for the country.
It continues that the West and ASEAN are indirectly supporting the killing of innocent people and targeted assassinations in Myanmar, referring to anti-regime resistance groups’ attacks on junta targets.
Normally, whenever it is sidelined by ASEAN, the regime issues statements denouncing the bloc’s decision to exclude it.
But the opinion piece goes further by saying that “the time to appease everyone all over the world is over. We have to do what is right for Myanmar.”
It’s not clear whether the author is suggesting that Myanmar should quit ASEAN or the other way round. However, he describes Russia, China and India as “three very good allies” and encourages more engagement with them.
As the piece appears in the junta’s mouthpiece paper, it’s safe to say that the opinion stated in the story reflects the regime’s jittery view on ASEAN.
So who is behind the nom guerre U AC?
It is likely that the letters stand for a Myanmar name spelt in English. It could be U Aye Cho or U Aung Chan or U Aye Chan, among other names.
However, the excessive use of exclamation marks, sloppy arguments, and raising of unnecessary questions in the story make it possible to make an educated guess that the person behind the pen name U AC is Aye Chan, who joined last month’s UNESCO-funded Dili Dialogue Forum 2022 as a member of the regime’s press council to attack Myanmar’s democracy movement and independent journalists while defending the military’s 2021 coup. He is the son of ex-admiral and former minister Soe Thane, who in 2012 helped Myanmar’s then quasi-civilian administration fool the world into believing that the country’s military dictatorship was at an end, and is now a pro-regime hardliner.
Nobody familiar with Aye Chan’s presentation on Myanmar media at the Dili forum would argue that Aye Chan and U AC aren’t one and the same. Evidence can be found in shared sound bites such as “more than 90 percent of NLD [National League for Democracy] ministers are now in jail for corruption”, the duplicated coinage “NNCP”—created from the first letters of National Unity Government (or NUG, Myanmar’s shadow civilian government), NLD, CRPH (the NUG’s parliamentary wing) and PDF (its armed wing)—and the repeated accusation of vote-rigging against the NLD, a major feature of Aye Chan’s Dili presentation.
Any lingering doubts will be dispelled once you have read this story, which attempts to discredit Myanmar’s ongoing anti-junta movement under the name Aye Chan. It bears some striking similarities to the recent story on ASEAN, right down to the rhythm of its sentences and style of presenting information, not to mention its staunch defense of last year’s military takeover. Another similarity between U AC and Aye Chan is their penchant for peppering articles with quotations from famous figures like Bill Gates, Lee Kuan Yew and even Sun Tzu to support their lame arguments.
Demonstrating loyalty to the junta, in the story, U AC blasts Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia as ASEAN’s “anti-Myanmar” wing, pointing to Singapore’s rejection of the regime; Malaysia’s meeting with representatives of the NUG, which the regime has branded a terrorist group; and Indonesia’s parliament for seeking to put the regime on trial. He also laments ASEAN’s serial exclusions of the regime leadership from group summits. The US, according to U AC, continues to push ASEAN, especially Singapore, to prevent the Myanmar “government” from accessing state funds from its banks, with the sole objective, the author writes, of bringing the regime down.
It’s noteworthy that the story appeared ahead of the ASEAN summit next month. With the bloc’s envoy to Myanmar having canceled his third trip to the country due the lack of positive engagement from Naypyitaw, the regime has been barred from the upcoming summit—another blow for the legitimacy-craving junta.
In that context, “Myanmar and ASEAN” by U AC can be viewed as nothing but a desperate howl from a pro-junta stooge looking to badmouth the regional grouping for its repeated exclusions of the junta leadership..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-10-18
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"An alliance of pro-democracy forces and ethnic armed organizations in Myanmar has congratulated Chinese leader Xi Jinping, saying it wants to work with China to restore peace in the country.
The National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) said it wanted to work with China for Myanmar and the region as a bedrock for the building of a community with a shared future.
Formed after the military takeover last year, the NUCC represents hundreds of anti-junta forces, including the shadow National Unity Government (NUG)’s parliamentary wing, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, ethnic armed organizations, political parties, civil society bodies and other groups. The goal is to achieve a federal democratic union by building unity among the forces.
The message congratulated the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people during the party’s 20th National Congress.
“This [bilateral] community is particularly important as the people of Myanmar continue their own search for a path towards peace and prosperity, which can only be realized once the military returns to the barracks and a true federal government representing the people can emerge,” said the NUCC’s congratulatory message.
China is a major investor and controls several strategic infrastructure projects in its southern neighbor, including energy pipelines and a proposed port that would give Beijing vital access to the Indian Ocean. China also has leverage over some ethnic armed organizations active near the border.
It is one of the few powerful countries, along with Russia, which has engaged with the regime since the coup.
Despite its engagement with the junta, China has said it wants to see stability in Myanmar.
The NUG, which commands the loyalty of the vast majority of citizens, has committed itself to China’s goal of a shared future with Myanmar and repeatedly pushed China to engage with the civilian administration.
It said if China continues to work with the regime, it will damage its international reputation and increase hostility from Myanmar’s population.
China has had no official engagement with the NUG..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-10-17
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Anti-coup protesters, China-Burma relations
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"The Myanmar regime’s No. 2 man, along with an adviser, a minister and pro-regime media were behind the junta’s decision to take legal action against The Irrawaddy and the BBC Burmese Service for their reporting on last week’s fatal shooting at the base of Kyaik Htee Yoe Pagoda in Mon State.
Three Buddhist pilgrims were killed during a firefight between regime troops stationed there and a resistance force on Wednesday.
The regime accused an anti-regime People’s Defense Force (PDF) group allied with the Karen National Liberation Army’s Brigade 1, the civilian National Unity Government (NUG) and its parliamentary wing for the attack. It said three people were killed and 19 injured.
Local people said the incident began when the resistance group attacked a regime outpost at the site, and the pilgrims were killed when the junta soldiers opened fire in response.
The Irrawaddy reported the incident and the BBC Burmese Service interviewed the local resistance group, Thaton PDF, which claimed responsibility for the attack on the outpost but denied opening fire on civilians. The resistance group blamed the junta for the civilian deaths. Other Myanmar media outlets reported the fatal shooting, too.
On Friday, the regime announced it would take legal action against the news outlets under the Communications Law, News Media Law and other laws for reporting that security forces opened fire on pilgrims, contradicting its official account.
“Pessimistic Irrawaddy and BBC news agencies turned a blind eye to the correct information [which] mentioned security forces opened fire at pilgrims,” the statement said.
The Irrawaddy has learned that the junta’s deputy chief, Soe Win, took charge of issuing the orders for legal action to be taken, as junta leader Min Aung Hlaing was in Pyin Oo Lwin at the time.
The action against The Irrawaddy came after one of the regime’s advisers, Dr. Yin Yin Nwe, complained about the news outlet’s reporting on the attack on her Facebook page, saying, “This is Fake News! It contradicts all evidence and eyewitness accounts! It is NUG-PDF who murdered our Buddhist pilgrims.”
Then, others joined the bandwagon, including regime Minister of International Cooperation Ko Ko Hlaing. He commented under Yin Yin Nwe’s post: “What [matters] is how to counter their black propaganda effectively. I think it is crucial and urgent to do that.”
It has been learned that Yin Yin Nwe reported to Soe Win about The Irrawaddy’s story, while pro-regime media organizations Myanmar Hard Talk and Myanmar National Post complained to Chief of Military Security Affairs Lieutenant General Ye Win Oo asking him to take action against the BBC Burmese Service, which has been allowed by the junta to operate inside Myanmar along with 18 other foreign news agencies.
Since the coup in February 2021, The Irrawaddy, one of the country’s independent news media outlets, has been targeted by the regime several times for its critical reporting on the junta. Its website has been banned by the regime.
In March last year, the military regime sued the news outlet under Article 505 (a) for “disregarding” the armed forces in reporting on the anti-regime protests that were occurring at the time. The police opened a case against The Irrawaddy as a whole rather than individual employees, making it the first news outlet to be sued by the regime after the coup.
On two occasions later that year, The Irrawaddy’s office in downtown Yangon was raided by security forces. No one was arrested during the raids, as The Irrawaddy ceased its operation inside Myanmar following the coup.
Myanmar has become the world’s second-biggest jailer of journalists since last year’s military takeover, with more than 140 journalists detained. Over 60 remain behind bars and four journalists have died in custody..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-10-17
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Military History
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Description:
"JAKARTA — Parliamentarians should uphold freedom of religion or belief and work in preventing religion from being turned into a political weapon in the midst of increasing conservatism and discrimination against minorities worldwide, a group of twelve sitting and former lawmakers from Southeast Asia said at a conference held in Jakarta.
“Religion is too often weaponized as a political tool, especially in election years. It is important for parliamentarians to connect and discuss strategies on how to combat such tactics, particularly with upcoming elections in Malaysia, Indonesia, as well as Timor-Leste,” said Timor-Leste MP Antonio Benevides.
In recent years, religion has often been used in the region to attack political enemies. One example discussed during the conference was the 2019 presidential elections in Indonesia, when supporters of President Joko Widodo and his challenger Prabowo Subianto traded accusations about the rival candidate’s lack of commitment to Islam.
In Myanmar, the military and its proxy party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), have often accused the National League for Democracy (NLD) of endangering Buddhism and being infiltrated by Muslims plotting to take over the country. Now, the junta that ousted the NLD government in an illegal coup d’état in February last year is attempting to use Buddhism to legitimize its rule.
“The world is not okay right now and we need to work together to help make it better by ensuring that everyone enjoys basic rights including freedom of religion and faith, particularly minorities,” said Eva Kusuma Sundari, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) board member and former member of the Indonesian House of Representatives.
This and other issues were discussed by lawmakers hailing from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Timor-Leste, Thailand, Myanmar and the Philippines, who were attending the annual Southeast Asia Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief (SEAPFoRB) conference in Jakarta on 16-17 October 2022.
The SEAPFoRB conference was hosted by APHR, together with the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief (IPPFoRB), and is part of an initiative to strengthen parliamentarians’ action to promote and protect the right to freedom of religion or belief in Southeast Asia.
On the second day of the conference, eight MPs visited the Indonesian House of Representatives to have a roundtable discussion with Indonesian MPs – including Luluk Nur Hamidah, Sylviana Murni, and Bobby Rizaldi – on the freedom of religion or belief situation in Indonesia.
“Indonesia celebrates all the six religions as well as the many indigenous beliefs that are practiced here, but given the huge diversity here we face a large challenge in continuing to develop respect for plurality in order to maintain the ‘Unity in Diversity’ that is our national motto. We also realize that protecting religious freedom is something that requires a global response,” said Luluk.
The conference concluded with a number of key conclusions and recommendations, including the need to provide counter-narratives toward intolerant messaging on social media and increasing engagement with other key stakeholders such as religious organizations and civil society.
“Freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right that is incredibly important to protect. MPs have a huge role to play in ensuring that protection.,” said Philippine MP Arlene Brosas..."
Source/publisher:
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights
Date of publication:
2022-10-17
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-17
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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Description:
"Daily ambushes and attacks on Myanmar’s regime targets have put Sagaing Region at the center of the armed revolution against military rule.
Following the 2021 coup, the revolution started in Sagaing when anti-regime protesters took up improvised firearms and old-fashioned hunting rifles to stop junta troops killing civilians during a crackdown in Kale, which has a mixed Bamar and Chin population, on March 28 last year.
In March last year, the regime escalated crackdowns, killing hundreds of peaceful demonstrators across the country, including in Yangon and Mandalay.
By April 2, 2021, a prolonged clash was reported in Yinmabin Township, Sagaing Region, when residents with improvised weapons fought nearly 100 troops attempting to raid Thapyay Aye village, where a protest leader lived.
On April 7 last year, residents in Taze Township used slingshots, air guns and improvised firearms to fight regime forces arriving in seven vehicles to break up a demonstration of tens of thousands in the town.
At least 11 civilians were killed and more than 25 injured by the regime forces using automatic firearms and sniper rifles.
Now sprawling Sagaing, which straddles the central plains and has no experience of armed rebellion, has become a resistance hub.
Many resistance groups have acquired automatic firearms and upgraded improvised weapons and explosives.
They are increasingly attacking army outposts and police stations in the large region.
An estimated 12 troops are being killed daily in raids, mine ambushes and drone attacks. In upper Sagaing, the Kachin Independence Army is cooperating with resistance groups to attack regime forces.
Outside the towns, the junta has lost control. But regime bases and junta-controlled government departments and offices in towns are increasingly being attacked by urban resistance groups.
The region has reported the second-highest number of clashes with junta forces after Karen State, which had reported over 6,000 with the armed wings of the Karen National Union and their resistance allies by September.
As a restive region, Sagaing has suffered the heaviest regime atrocities with several massacres, arbitrary killings, arson and artillery attacks on civilian targets, airstrikes and looting and acts of sexual violence.
Internet and mobile connections have been blocked in several Sagaing townships since last year and some highways have been destroyed by the regime, stopping food, trade and medical supplies.
By August 25, an estimated 38,434 houses have been burned down by junta forces across the country since the coup, according to Data for Myanmar, an independent research group that monitors the junta.
Sagaing has suffered the heaviest arson damage with around 20,153 houses torched by junta forces. Neighboring Magwe Region, another resistance stronghold, has lost around 5,418 properties in regime arson attacks.
By September 26, an estimated 1,017,000 people across the country have been displaced by conflict and violence since the coup, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).
More than half of those displaced are from Sagaing Region, accounting for 545,200 people, Unicef reported.
On Saturday, an estimated 12 civilians and 20 resistance fighters were killed by two junta jet fighters and two Russian-made MI-35 helicopters and foot soldiers during a raid on a people’s defense force training camp and nearby Nay Pu Kone village in Wetlet Township in Sagaing Region.
An estimated 13 civilians, including seven children, were killed in Depayin Township in the region on September 16 when two MI-35 helicopters and soldiers airlifted by helicopters attacked a school with 200 children at Let Yat Kone village.
Amid junta atrocities, the resistance forces in Sagaing become more united and relentlessly attack regime targets.
“We had a chance to enjoy a taste of democracy during the past five years. We know the country will return to the dark ages under this military dictatorship due to the coup. So we found firearms to fight back,” Ko Nway Oo, a founder of the Civil Defense and Security Organization Myaung, which has been fighting the regime in Sagaing since early 2021, told The Irrawaddy.
He said Sagaing’s residents have come to sympathize with ethnic minorities who have suffered from military atrocities for many years.
“That is another reason why we are fighting to root out the military dictatorship as we don’t want other people across the country to suffer under military rule anymore.”
Topics: civil disobedience movement, civilian deaths, Coup, crackdown, Democracy, Human Rights, junta, military in politics, military regime, Min Aung Hlaing, National League for Democracy, National Unity Government, November 8 general election, PDF, People’s Defense Force, people’s war, Political Prisoners, regime, Rule of Law, Sagaing Region, State Administrative Council, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Tatmadaw..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-10-15
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Anti-coup protesters
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Description:
"More than 20 Myanmar junta troops were killed or injured in the last two days when People’s Defense Force groups (PDFs) and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) attacked regime targets in Bago, Mandalay and Tanintharyi regions and Chin, Kayah and Karen states.
Meanwhile, around 10 civilians were killed or injured in regime attacks.
The Irrawaddy has rounded up the following reports of significant attacks by PDFs and EAOs as well as regime atrocities.
12 junta soldiers killed in PDF ambushes, raid in Bago
At least 12 junta soldiers were killed and many others injured when PDF groups ambushed a military detachment and raided a junta camp in Nattalin and Taungoo townships in Bago Region on Thursday, claimed Bago Region-PDF.
Four soldiers were killed and seven others injured when PDF fighters from a PDF battalion of Tharyarwaddy District, Bago used land mines to ambush a military detachment of 50 soldiers between two villages in Nattalin Township at 10 a.m. on Thursday.
Six more regime troops were also killed and eight other forces injured when the military detachment was hit by mine ambushes by resistance groups on that afternoon, the PDF group claimed. After the ambushes, the regime forces retreated.
Two regime soldiers were also killed on that afternoon in Taungoo Township, Bago when Taungoo District PDF raided a camp of 20 regime forces in a village. No PDF casualties were reported in the ambushes and raid.
Four civilians burned alive by junta soldiers in Magwe
The remains of four civilians who had been bound and burned alive by regime soldiers and Pyu Saw Htee pro-regime militia members were found in a burned house in Anout Village in Tilin Township, Magwe Region on Thursday, said Yaw Defense Force-Tilin.
Regime forces stationed in the village burned some houses before leaving on Thursday. Six male villagers are also missing from the village, said YDF-Tilin.
Junta outpost bombarded in Kayah
The Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) claimed on Thursday that it and two other resistance groups managed to bombard the Pon Chaung junta outpost on the border of Loikaw and Shadaw townships in Kayah State on Tuesday.
he junta outpost has been used to randomly attack nearby areas using heavy explosives.
Regime forces are believed to have been killed or injured when the outpost was directly hit by explosives fired by resistance forces, said KNDF.
A KNDF video shows the outpost being hit directly by explosives.
Regime forces ambushed with land mines in Mandalay
TGYR-Youth Guerrilla Counter Revolution said on Thursday that it and five other resistance group used 11 land mines to ambush regime forces stationed at Thargyin Village school in Ngazun Township, Mandalay Region on Wednesday night while they were patrolling between two villages.
Following the ambush, a shootout broke out between the regime forces and the resistance groups.
At 4:15 a.m. on Thursday, the resistance groups continued to ambush military reinforcements arriving in the clash area, using 12 additional land mines.
However, military casualties for both ambushes were unknown.
Seven junta troops killed in Tanintharyi
Seven regime forces were killed and four others seriously injured on Wednesday evening when PDF-Federal Column attacked a military convoy traveling to Dawei from Myeik Township in Tanintharyi Region, claimed the PDF group.
Amid the PDF’s ambush, the convoy fled without returning fire, the PDF group said.
Two junta soldiers injured by land mines in Karen
Two regime troops were seriously injured by land mines planted by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) on Thursday morning as junta soldiers from three military battalions were entering the Luukhoe area in Myawaddy Township, Karen State, said KNLA’s Cobra Column.
Five civilians including three children injured by junta attack in Karen
Two villagers and three children were injured in Hpa-an Township, Karen State on Wednesday when regime forces in a military convoy of 10 vehicles randomly opened fire on villages along the Hpa-an- Zarthapyin highway using both firearms and heavy explosives without being attacked, said the Karen National Union (KNU) on Thursday.
In the attack, a school building was also damaged, the KNU said.
Four ethnic Chin resistance fighters killed in Chin State
Four ethnic Chin resistance fighters were killed and another injured during an intense firefight with a military detachment in Hakha Township, Chin State on Thursday, said Zalen, a local media outlet.
A clash broke out between the regime forces and Chin Defense Force groups near a college in the township on Thursday afternoon.
Military casualties were unknown..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-10-14
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Political History
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Description:
"Bangkok, October 13, 2022 — In response to multiple news reports that a Myanmar court on Wednesday sentenced Japanese documentary filmmaker Toru Kubota to three more years in prison for allegedly violating the country’s immigration laws, bringing his total incarceration term to 10 years, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement calling for his immediate release:
“Myanmar’s latest action in adding three years to Japanese journalist Toru Kubota’s prison sentence for immigration violations is excessive, grotesque, and must be reversed,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “Myanmar’s military junta is sending a deliberate and threatening message to all foreign journalists that they too could be imprisoned under arbitrary laws if they report on its crimes and abuses.”
Kubota, a freelance filmmaker who has contributed to international media outlets including Vice Japan, the BBC, and Al-Jazeera English, was sentenced last week to seven years for violating the electronic transactions law and three years for incitement, as CPJ documented. Those sentences are to be served concurrently, and Wednesday’s additional three-year sentence brings Kubota’s total prison term to 10 years, reports said.
Authorities arrested Kubota on July 30 while he filmed a small protest in Myanmar’s commercial capital of Yangon.
Myanmar was the world’s second-worst jailer of journalists in 2021, according to CPJ’s December 1 prison census. Several journalists have been jailed under Section 505(a) of the penal code for incitement and dissemination of false news, an anti-state charge that Myanmar’s military regime has used broadly to stifle independent news reporting since staging a coup in 2021..."
Source/publisher:
Committee to Protect Journalists (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-10-13
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports
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Description:
"France condemns in the strongest possible terms the new prison sentence imposed today on State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and the manipulation of the justice system for political, partisan purposes by Myanmar’s army. This new sentence undermines the rule of law once again and shows that the individuals who seized power in February 2021 seek to discredit Aung San Suu Kyi and to permanently exclude a legitimately elected civil leader from political leadership. France recalls its commitment to seeing the establishment of a political dialogue that includes the democratic opposition, including the National League for Democracy and its historic leaders.
France reiterates its call for the immediate, unconditional release of all those who are being arbitrarily detained, including State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, as well as its call for an end to the violence committed by Myanmar’s security forces. France continues to support the efforts of ASEAN and its Special Envoy as well as those of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and states once again that the establishment of political dialogue is a necessary condition for any solution to this crisis..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs
Date of publication:
2022-10-12
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
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Description:
"Six civil society organizations that work on business and human rights sent a letter dated September 30, 2022 to 160 major investors in three major Japanese banks (MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Mizuho Bank) that are investing or lending to projects that may benefit the Myanmar military, or that hold shares in Japanese companies that may be complicit in human rights violations in Myanmar. The letter urges the investors to engage with the banks.
Since the Myanmar military attempted a coup d'etat in February 2021, we have pointed out that some of the Japanese companies investing in projects in Myanmar may be complicit in human rights violations by the Myanmar military through business operations benefiting the military. Through letters of request and meetings, we have also asked these companies to act in accordance with their human rights policies and international human rights responsibilities. There is a strong concern that if these business operations continue or are conducted as planned, they will provide a source of funds for the Myanmar military, thereby facilitating the military’s international crimes, which include the murder of citizens, unlawful arrest, arbitrary detention, sexual violence, forced disappearance, and torture.
In their human rights policies, the financial groups that oversee each of the banks (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mitsui Sumitomo Financial Group, and Mizuho Financial Group) publicly state that they will follow and implement international human rights standards such as the UN Global Compact and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
The letter requests that the institutions holding shares in the three banks promptly engage with the banks to take the "measures required of banks" shown in the letter, and that if the three banks do not take measures even after engagement, to consider divestment..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-10-11
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military, The Burmese military's role in the economy
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211.81 KB 55.86 KB
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"On this International Day of the Girl Child, we bring your attention to the difficulties faced by girls in Kawthoolei (Karen State, Southeast Burma). Obstacles to growing up in peace, to securing food, to obtaining education, to accessing healthcare, and to attaining justice. The challenge for girls in Burma to remain children; sheltered in a safe environment where they can develop in a wholesome manner. On this 11th October, the Karen Women’s Organization (KWO) and the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) call the international community to take concrete action to end violence in Burma, which is harming all girl children in the country.
Violations of girls’ rights
Since the 2021 military coup, over 350,000 people have been displaced by the violence and military attacks committed by the State Administrative Council (SAC; or Burma Army) in Kawthoolei. Displacement disproportionately impacts women and children: almost half of all displaced people are children and half of those are girls. Both KHRG and KWO have received numerous reports of women fleeing while pregnant, or right after giving birth. While displaced, people must live in very poor conditions, moving suddenly and often, escaping SAC soldiers and their weapons, constantly at risk of injury or death from landmines, air strikes, and artillery shelling. There is little access to clean water and food, to education, sanitary facilities, and health services, including maternal and paediatric health care.[1]
Women and girls who remain in their villages are also particularly vulnerable to threats and attacks from Burma Army soldiers since many local men are forced to flee to escape systematic arrest and torture by the junta. In one case reported to KHRG, SAC soldiers tortured the wife and child of a villager in order to obtain information about his whereabouts following a nearby bomb explosion.[2] Gross human rights violations are being committed by the military junta against girls in Burma, including forced labour, use of human shields, air strikes and shelling, trafficking in human beings, and sexual violence. Girls’ basic rights are being violated in Karen State every minute of every day, including today.
Protection challenges and justice
Under previous military regimes, violence against women and girls (VAWG), including sexual violence and gang rape, committed by Burma Army soldiers was taking place on a wide scale, particularly in conjunction with forced portering.[3] These military leaders and soldiers enjoyed total impunity for their crimes, and still do to this day. Lack of jurisdiction over Burma Army personnel by the civilian justice systems remains one of the biggest challenges in combatting sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in the country. Since the 2021 military coup, villagers in Karen State have reported sending young women and girls to hiding sites to protect them whenever the Burma military enters their village or sets up nearby camps.[4]
Crimes of sexual nature committed by the Burma Army soldiers do not get reported, as impunity prevails. Since the coup, SGBV crimes reported in Karen areas are those perpetrated by community and family members, which are prosecuted through local community procedures which are still functioning, albeit with even fewer resources and less security. The current situation of conflict hinders the legislation and justice mechanisms in place, that already fell short of ensuring adequate protection for survivors. Stigma placed by the community on survivors of SGBV diminish reporting, justice-seeking processes, and the welfare of women and girls. Girl victims of sexual violence do not expect to get justice; it is not something we can celebrate today.
Call to action
In the current situation in the country, girls in Southeast Burma are increasingly exposed to violence and insecurity. KWO and KHRG urge the international community to:
Put pressure on the military junta and its army to stop killing and injuring children, and eradicate all violence against girl children. Stop selling weapons, ammunition, aircrafts, and jet fuel to the military junta, and sanction those companies and individuals responsible for arms deals. Make violence against women and girls, including sexual violence, a stand-alone designation criterion for sanctions where possible, and include it as a criterion in more sanction regimes. Direct funding earmarked for protection services for victims of SGBV and other forms of violence to local existing CSO/CBOs (in Burma and neighbouring countries) already operating on the ground so that they can expand and develop support programmes and services, including child protection services. Prioritise and strengthen methods of humanitarian aid delivery that are cross border and organised by local CSO/CBOs and ethnic service providers that have the networks for local implementation of support programmes. Do not act in any way to legitimise the SAC. Do not collaborate with the SAC to implement any development or humanitarian programs. Take immediate action to bring military leaders in Burma who permitted and perpetuated systematic and widespread child abuse, and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) to justice in international courts and tribunals..."
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group
Date of publication:
2022-10-11
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Women's rights, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians
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Sub-title:
Tokyo Should Immediately Suspend Non-Humanitarian Aid to Junta
Description:
"Tokyo) – Myanmar’s junta used Japan-funded passenger ships donated for civilian use for military purposes in September 2022, Human Rights Watch said today.
Letters from Myanmar officials, analyzed by Human Rights Watch, stated that two of three vessels delivered by Japan between 2017 and 2019 were used to transport more than 100 soldiers and material to the town of Buthidaung on the Mayu River in Rakhine State, where the military is fighting the Arakan Army ethnic armed group. The Japanese government should suspend non-humanitarian aid to Myanmar and sanction junta officials implicated in serious human rights violations.
“The Myanmar junta’s misuse of Japanese development aid for military purposes effectively makes Japan a backer of the junta’s military operations,” said Teppei Kasai, Asia program officer at Human Rights Watch. “The Japanese government needs to urgently reassess its obviously failing approach to curtailing the junta’s abuses.”
On September 13, 2022, the Rakhine State government’s transport minister ordered the Rakhine Department of the Inland Water Transport (IWT) to “ready” the Japan-provided “Kisapanadi I” and “Kisapanadi III” vessels for “Sittwe-Buthidaung-Sittwe voyages,” said a letter labeled confidential from the national IWT to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, on September 21. The letter stated that, on September 14, the two ships transported “over a hundred Tatmadaw [Myanmar] troops, as well as their supplies and materials” to Buthidaung.
The transport minister “instructed that the voyages were top secret and that their destination was also classified and no report [to a third party] should be made,” the letter said. Evidently recognizing that this was problematic, IWT noted that it “already had a discussion” with the Rakhine transport minister and “the vessels are no longer used for [military] purposes.”
On September 23, the Rakhine State chief of police and the transport minister, on behalf of Rakhine State’s chief minister, wrote to the national transport and communications minister and specifically confirmed that the two vessels had been used for “military purposes.” In the letter, the Rakhine authorities sought to justify this use of ships, citing provision no. 250 of Myanmar’s 2008 Constitution, which states that “the Region or State Government shall have the responsibility to assist the Union Government in the preservation of the stability of the Union, community peace and tranquility and prevalence of law and order.”
An informal ceasefire between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army, in place since November 2020, has broken down in recent months. In August, the military reinforced its troops in northern Rakhine State, where fighting has since escalated in intensity and scope, including airstrikes, heavy artillery shelling, and landmine use, with growing civilian casualties.
Since mid-August, the military has isolated and terrorized civilians in Rakhine and southern Chin States to weaken the Arakan Army, using abusive means embodied in the military’s longstanding “Four Cuts” policy. The junta has imposed broad new travel restrictions on humanitarian workers, blocked access to roads and waterways, and arbitrarily arrested aid workers, in violation of international humanitarian law.
On September 15, the junta issued a directive banning United Nations agencies and international nongovernmental organizations from six Rakhine State townships – Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Rathedaung, Mrauk-U, Minbya, and Myebon – and shut down boat lines and public transportation. The fighting has displaced more than 18,000 people since August, joining over 70,000 others who are internally displaced, many of whom are facing shortages of food and medicine exacerbated by the junta’s restrictions.
In response to a Human Rights Watch inquiry on September 20, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said on October 3 that the “Japanese government, based on the principle of ‘avoiding any use of development cooperation for military purposes’ in the Development Cooperation Charter, will work to secure appropriate use of facilities and equipment provided through ODA [Official Development Assistance] programs.” The official added that Japan “is taking appropriate measures regarding the issue in question,” but refrained from disclosing further details because it was a “diplomatic matter.”
Japan provided the three vessels to Myanmar under the 500 million yen (US$3.5 million) Economic and Social Development Programme, signed on September 12, 2016. The Japanese embassy in Myanmar said the program “aims to improve the ability of the water transport in Myanmar and to contribute to the Economic and Social Development of Myanmar, by donating passenger ships for the coastal transport in Rakhine State.”
Following the February 1, 2021 military coup in Myanmar, the Japanese government stated it would refrain from carrying out new non-humanitarian ODA programs in Myanmar, but did not suspend ongoing projects. As of November 2021, Japan had provided about 1.4 trillion yen ($9.6 billion) in loan assistance, 360 billion yen ($2.5 billion) in grant aid, and 100 billion yen ($690 million) in technical assistance to Myanmar.
The Japanese government should trigger human rights-based conditions enshrined in its Development Cooperation Charter, which states that “Japan will pay adequate attention to the situation in the recipient countries regarding the process of democratization, the rule of law and the protection of basic human rights, with a view to promoting the consolidation of democratization, the rule of law and the respect for basic human rights.”
With respect to humanitarian aid, Japan should maintain such projects but redirect the funds through nongovernmental groups to ensure it is used effectively and directly benefits populations in need, Human Rights Watch said.
“Japan’s halfhearted approach to sanctions has not slowed down the Myanmar junta’s abuses at all,” Kasai said. “Japan should make full use of its reputation as a rights-respecting democracy by using all diplomatic tools available to hold the Myanmar military accountable.”..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2022-10-11
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
more
Description:
"ယနေ့ကျရောက်သော နိုင်ငံတကာမိန်းကလေးများနေ့တွင် မြန်မာပြည်အရှေ့တောင်ပိုင်းရှိ အမျိုသမီး ငယ်လေးများ ရင်ဆိုင်နေရသော အခက်အခဲများကို မီးမောင်းထိုးပြလိုပါသည်။ ၎င်းတို့အတွက် ငြိမ်း ချမ်းစွာ အသက်ရှင်နေထိုင်နိုင်ရန်၊ အစားအစာလုံလောက်ရန်၊ ပညာသင်ယူခွင့် ရရှိရန်၊ ကျန်းမာရေး လက်လှမ်းမီနိုင်ရန် နှင့် တရားမျှတမှုရရှိရန် အခက်အခဲများစွာ ရှိပါသည်။ ၎င်းတို့မှ ကလေးသူငယ် များကဲ့သို့ အသက်ရှင်ပြီး လုံခြုံသည့်ပတ်ဝန်းကျင်တွင်ကြီးထွားလာရန် အခက်အခဲများစွာရှိနေပါ သည်။ ယနေ့ အောက်တိုဘာလ ၁၁ ရက်နေ့တွင် ကျရောက်သော နိုင်ငံတကာ မိန်းကလေးများနေ့တွင် ကရင်လူ့အခွင့်အရေးအဖွဲ့နှင့် ကရင်အမျိုးသမီးအစည်းအရုံးတို့မှ မိန်းကလေးများအား အကြပ်အ တည်းထဲသို့ တွန်းပို့စေသည့် မြန်မာပြည်အတွင်းဖြစ်ပေါ်နေသော အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများကိုရပ်တန့်နိုင်ရန် အတွက် နိုင်ငံတကာအသိုင်းအဝိုင်းအား လုပ်ဆောင်သင့်သည့် အရာများကို အကောင်အထည်ဖော်ရန် တိုက်တွန်းလိုပါသည်။
မိန်းကလေးများအပေါ် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများ
၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် စစ်အာဏာသိမ်းပြီးနောက်ပိုင်း စစ်ကောင်စီ၏အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများနှင့် ထိုးစစ်ဆင်မှုများ ကြောင့် ကရင်ပြည်နယ်အတွင်း ထွက်ပြေးတိမ်းရှောင်ရသူ ၃၅၀၀၀၀ ကျော်ရှိလာသည်။ အမျိုးသမီး များသည် နေရပ်ရွှေ့ပြောင်းနေထိုင်ရမှုများကို မတူကွဲပြားစွာ ရင်ဆိုင်နေရပြီး ထွက်ပြေး တိမ်းရှောင် နေရသူထက်ဝက်သည် ကလေးသူငယ်များဖြစ်နေပါသည်။ ထိုကလေးငယ်များ ထက်ဝက် သည် မိန်းကလေးများဖြစ်ကြသည်။ ထွက်ပြေးတိမ်းရှောင်နေရသူများသည် ထိခိုက်ဒဏ်ရာ ရရှိမှု၊ မြေမြှုပ် မိုင်းပေါက်ကွဲမှု၊ လေကြောင်းတိုက်ခိုက်မှုနှင့် လက်နက်ကြီး အန္တရာယ်များကို ရင်ဆိုင်ကြရသည်။ ထွက်ပြေးတိမ်းရှောင်နေရချိန်တွင်လည်း ဆင်းရဲကြမ်းတမ်းမှုများအတွင်း နေထိုင်ကြရပြီး စစ်ကောင်စီ စစ်သားများနှင့် ၎င်းတို့၏ ပစ်ခတ်တိုက်ခိုက်မှုများကို ရှောင်ရှားရန် မကြာခဏနှင့် အလျှင်အမြန်ရှောင် တိမ်း ကြရသည်။ ၎င်းတို့သည် သောက်ရေသန့်၊ အစားအစာ၊ ပညာရေး၊ ရေဆိုးစနစ်နှင့် မိခင်နှင့်က လေးကျန်းမာရေး ကဲ့သို့သော ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှု စသည်များကို လက်လှမ်းမီနိုင်ခြင်း မရှိကြ ပါ။[1]
စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ ဖမ်းဆီးမှုနှင့် ညှင်းပန်းနှိပ်စက်မှုများကို အမျိုးသားများမှ ရှောင်ရှားနေချိန်တွင် ကျေး ရွာများအတွင်း ရှိနေသေးသော အမျိုးသမီးများနှင့် မိန်းကလေးငယ်များသည် စစ်ကောင်စီ စစ်သား များ၏ ခြိမ်းခြောက်မှုနှင့် တိုက်ခိုက်မှုအန္တရာယ်များကို ရင်ဆိုင်ကြရသည်။ ကရင်လူ့အခွင့်အရေး အဖွဲ၏ အစီရင်ခံစာတစ်ခုထဲတွင် ဗုံးပေါက်ကွဲမှုဖြစ်ပွားပြီးနောက် သံသယရှိသူ အမျိုးသား၏ အ ကြောင်းကိုသိရှိရန် စစ်ကောင်စီစစ်သားများမှ ထိုအမျိုးသား၏ ဇနီးနှင့် ကလေးကို ညှင်းပန်းနှိပ်စက် ခဲ့ပါသည်။[2] မြန်မာပြည်အတွင်း မိန်းကလေးများအပေါ် အဓ္ဓမခိုင်းစေမှု၊ လူသားဒိုင်း အဖြစ်အသုံးပြုမှု၊ လေကြောင်းတိုက်ခိုက်မှုနှင့် လက်နက်ကြီးပစ်ခတ်မှု၊ လူကုန်ကူးမှု၊နှင့် လိင်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာ အကြမ်းဖက်မှု စသည့် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှု အများကို စစ်ကောင်စီမှ ချိုးဖောက်နေပါသည်။ ကရင်ပြည်နယ် အတွင်းတွင် မိန်းကလေးငယ်များ၏ အခွင့်အရေးများသည် နေ့စဉ်နှင့်အမျှ ချိုးဖောက်ခံနေရပါသည်။
အကာအကွယ်ရရှိမှုဆိုင်ရာ စိန်ခေါ်မှုများနှင့် တရားမျှတမှု
လွန်ခဲ့သည့်စစ်အုပ်ချုပ်မှုများ အောက်တွင် အထူးသဖြင့် ပေါ်တာထမ်းခိုင်းမှုများနှင့်ဆက်စပ်ပြီး စစ် သားများသည် အမျိုးသမီးများနှင့် မိန်းကလေးများအပေါ် လိင်အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများ၊ အုပ်စုလိုက် မုဒိန်း ကျင့်မှုများကို ကျယ်ကျယ်ပြန့်ပြန့်ကျူးလွန်ခဲ့ကြသည်။ ထိုကျူးလွန်သူစစ်ခေါင်းဆောင်များနှင့် စစ် သားများသည် ၎င်းတို့ကျူးလွန်ခဲ့သောပြစ်မှုများအတွက် ပြစ်ဒဏ်ကင်းလွတ်ခွင့် အပြည့်အဝ ရရှိခဲ့ကြ သည်။ မြန်မာပြည်၏ အရပ်သားတရားရေးစနစ်မှ စစ်တပ်အပေါ် လွမ်းမိုးနိုင်မှုမရှိခြင်းသည် ကျား၊မ အခြေပြု အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများကို ကာကွယ်တားဆီးရန် အဓိကစိန်ခေါ်မှုတစ်ခုဖြစ်cခဲ့သည်။ ၂၀၂၁ခုနှစ် စစ်အာဏာသိမ်းမှုဖြစ်စဉ် ပြီးနောက်ပိုင်းတွင် ကရင်ပြည်နယ်အတွင်းရှိရွာသားများသည် စစ်ကောင်စီ စစ်သားများ ရွာအတွင်း သို့မဟုတ် ရွာအနီးတွင်စခန်းချသောအခါ အမျိုးသမီးငယ်များကို ပုန်းခိုသည့် နေရာများသို့ပို့ ဆောင်ကြကြောင်းတင်ပြခဲ့ကြပါသည်။
စစ်ကောင်စီစစ်သားများကျူးလွန်သော လိင်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာနှင့်ဆက်စပ်သည့် ပြစ်မှုများသည် ပြစ်ဒဏ် ကင်းလွတ်ခွင့် အလေ့အထ ရှိနေသောကြောင့် ကျူးလွန်ခံရသူများအနေဖြင့် တိုင်ကြားခြင်းမပြုကြပါ။ စစ်အာဏာသိမ်းကတည်းက ကရင်ဒေသအတွင်း တိုင်ကြားခဲ့ကြသော ကျား၊မ အခြေပြုလိင်အကြမ်း ဖက်မှုများသည် လူမှုအသိုင်းအဝိုင်းအတွင်းနှင့် မိသားစုဝင်များ ကျူးလွန်သော ပြစ်မှုများသာ ဖြစ်ကြ သည်။ ဒေသတွင်းရှိနေသော တရားရေးစနစ်များသည် အရင်းအမြစ်နှင့် လုံခြုံရေး အားနည်းသော် လည်း ထိုပြစ်မှုများကို ကိုင်တွယ်ဖြေရှင်းပေးနေကြရသည်။ ယခုဖြစ်ပွားနေသော ပဋိပက္ခများသည် ဥပဒေပြုရေးနှင့် တရားမျှတမှုယန္တရားများကို နှောင့်နှေးစေပါသည်။ လူမှုအသိုက်အဝန်းမှ လိင်အ ကြမ်းဖက်မှု ကျူးလွန်ခံရသူများအား အပြစ်တင်ဝေဖန်မှုပြုခြင်းသည်လည်း လိင်အကြမ်းဖက်မှုနှင့် ပတ်သက်သည့် တိုင်ကြားမှု၊ တရားမျှတမှုဆိုင်ရာ ရှာဖွေရေးလုပ်ငန်းစဉ်များနှင့် ကျူးလွန်ခံရသူများ၏ ကိုယ်စိတ်ကျန်းမာရေး နှင့်လုံခြုံရေးများကို ထိခိုက်စေပါသည်။ လိင်အကြမ်းဖက်မှု ကျူးလွန်ခံရသည့် မိန်းကလေးငယ်များသည် ယခုလက်ရှိအချိန်တွင် တရားမျှတမှုရရှိရန် မျှော်လင့်ချက် နည်းနေသေး သောကြောင့် ဤနေ့သည်ကျွန်ုပ်တို့အတွက် လိင်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာ အကြမ်းအဖက်မှုအတွက် တရားမျှတမှု ရရှိနိုင်သည့်နေ့တစ်နေ့မဟုတ်သေးပါ။
လုပ်ဆောင်ရန်ဖိတ်ခေါ်ခြင်း
မြန်မာပြည်၏လက်ရှိအခြေအနေတွင် မြန်မာပြည်အရှေ့တောင်ပိုင်းရှိ မိန်းကလေးငယ်များသည် အ ကြမ်းဖက်မှုနှင့် မလုံခြုံမှုများကိုပို၍ ရင်ဆိုင်လာရပါသည်။ ကရင်အမျိုးသမီးအစည်းအရုံးနှင့် ကရင်လူ့ အခွင့်အရေးအဖွဲ့တို့မှ နိုင်ငံတကာအသိုင်းအဝိုင်းကိုအောက်ပါအတိုင်းတိုက်တွန်းလိုပါသည်။
မိန်းကလေးများကို သတ်ဖြတ်ခြင်းများ၊ ထိခိုက်ဒဏ်ရာရစေခြင်းများနှင့် မိန်းကလေးများ အ ပေါ် ကျူးလွန်သည့်အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများ ရပ်တန့်သွားစေရန် စစ်ကောင်စီအပေါ် ဖိအားများ ပေးရန်။ စစ်ကောင်စီအား စစ်လက်နက်၊ လက်နက်ခဲယမ်းများ၊ လေယဉ်များနှင့် လေယဉ်ဆီများ ရောင်းချခြင်းများကို ရပ်တန့်ပြီး စစ်ကောင်စီအား လက်နက်ရောင်းချရာတွင်ပါဝင်သည့် ကုမ္ပဏီများနှင့် လူပုဂ္ဂိုလ်များကို စီးပွားရေးပိတ်ဆို့မှုများ ပြုလုပ်ရန်။ လိင်အကြမ်းဖက်မှုအပါအဝင် အမျိုးသမီးများနှင့် မိန်းကလေးငယ်များအပေါ်ကျူးလွန်သည့် အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများကို ဖြစ်နိုင်လျှင် ပိတ်ဆို့အရေးယူမှုအတွက် သတ်မှတ်ချက်တစ်ခုအဖြစ် ထားရှိပြီး နောက်ထပ်ပြုလုပ်မည့် ပိတ်ဆို့အရေးယူမှုများတွင်ထည့်သွင်းသွားရန်။ ကျား၊မ အခြေပြုလိ င်အကြမ်းဖက်မှုကျူးလွန်ခံရသူများအား အကာအကွယ်ပေး နိုင်ရန်အ တွက် ငွေကြေးထောက်ပံ့မှုများထားရှိပြီး မြေပြင်တွင်လှုပ်ရှားလုပ်ကိုင်နေသော အရပ်ဖက်နှင့် လူထုအခြေပြုအဖွဲ့အစည်းများသို့ ထောက်ပံ့မှုများအားတိုက်ရိုက်ပေးသွားရန်။ သို့မှသာလျှင် ၎င်းတို့မှ ကလေးသူငယ်များအတွက် အကာအကွယ်ပေးရေး ဝန်ဆောင်မှုအပါအဝင် ထောက် ပံ့မှုအစီအစဉ်များနှင့် ဝန်ဆောင်မှုများကို ချဲ့ထွင်လုပ်ဆောင် နိုင်မည်။ ဝန်ဆောင်မှုများပေးဆောင်ရာတွင် ဒေသခံများနှင့်ပုံမှန်ထိတွေ့မှုရှိပြီး ၎င်းတို့၏ ယုံကြည်မှုကို ရရှိထားသော စွမ်းရည်နှင့်ကွန်ယက်ရှိပြီးသား ဒေသခံ CSO/CBO များနှင့် ဝန်ဆောင်မှုပေး သည့် တိုင်းရင်းသားအဖွဲ့အစည်းများကို ဦးစားပေးရန်နှင့် ထိုအစုအဖွဲ့များ၏ ဝန်ဆောင်မှုပေး သည့် နည်းလမ်းများကို အားဖြည့်လုပ်ဆောင်ပေးရန်။ စစ်ကောင်စီကို အသိအမှတ်ပြုစေမည့်အရာများကို မပြုလုပ်ရန်။ စစ်ကောင်စီနှင့်ပူးပေါင်းပြီး မည့်သည့်ဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးနှင့် လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှုလုပ်ငန်းများကို မပြုလုပ်ရ။ ကလေးသူငယ်များအပေါ် ညှင်းပန်းနှိပ်စက်မှုများနှင့် ကျား၊မအခြေပြု လိင်အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများ အား ခွင့်ပြုခဲ့ပြီး စနစ်တကျကျူးလွန်ခဲ့သော စစ်ခေါင်းဆောင်များကို နိုင်ငံတကာ ခုံရုံးများတွင် အရေးယူလုပ်ဆောင်မှုများ ချက်ချင်းလုပ်ဆောင်ရန်။..."
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group
Date of publication:
2022-10-11
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Women's rights, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians
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Description:
"Crackdown on media freedom in Myanmar and the cases of Htet Htet Khine, Sithu Aung Myint and Nyein Nyein Aye
Strongly condemning the military junta’s violent and illegitimate rule in Myanmar, MEPs urge it to drop all politically motivated charges against the members of the press and media workers, and unconditionally release every unfairly-detained journalist. They also call on the juntato immediately end its abuses, including arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, sexual violence and other ill-treatment, as well as unfair trials against people working in the media.
Calling for the unconditional release by the military junta of President Win Myint, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and all others who have been arrested on unfounded accusations, MEPs also want an immediate end to the unlawful state of emergency in the country, the restoration of the civilian government, the re-establishment of a path towards democracy, and a swift opening of parliament with the participation of all elected representatives.
The resolution welcomes the sanctions imposed by the Council against members of the junta and their businesses, and calls on the EU to introduce additional targeted sanctions against those responsible for the country’s most serious human rights violations.
Finally, MEPs condemn Russia and China for their political, economic and military backing of Myanmar’s junta..."
Source/publisher:
European Parliament (Strasbourg)
Date of publication:
2022-10-06
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations
Language:
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Sub-title:
A Japanese documentary filmmaker has been sentenced to a total of 10 years in jail by a court in Myanmar.
Description:
"A Japanese documentary filmmaker has been sentenced to a total of 10 years in jail by a court in Myanmar.
Toru Kubota, 26, was first detained in July near an anti-government rally in the capital Yangon.
He was sentenced to three years on sedition charges and seven years for violating an electronic communications law. It's not clear if he will be able to serve these concurrently.
He faces another charge of breaking an immigration law next week.
According to Japanese news agency Kyodo, the Myanmar junta claims Kubota entered Myanmar from neighbouring Thailand using a tourist visa, and that he had participated in anti-government demonstrations in 2021.
They also said that he had previously reported on the Rohingya minority.
Kubota, who first arrived in Myanmar in July, was filming a "documentary featuring a Myanmar person", a friend of his was reported to have said earlier this year.
According to filmmaker site Film Freeway, Kubota started his career when he met a Rohingya refugee in Japan in 2014, and subsequently made "several films about refugees and ethnic issues in Myanmar".
His Instagram profile also features several pictures of Rohingya refugees from as far back as 2017.
"Myanmar's detention of Japanese journalist Toru Kubota shows that the military regime will stop at nothing to suppress independent news reporting," Shawn Crispin, the Committee to Protect Journalists' senior Southeast Asia representative said earlier this year.
"Myanmar's junta must stop treating journalists as criminals."
Earlier last year, a Japanese freelance journalist was also arrested and charged with spreading false news - the first foreign journalist known to be charged since the military took power in February 2021.
He was later released, with Myanmar authorities maintaining he had violated the law but saying they were releasing him at the request of the Japanese government.
It's estimated more than 15,600 people - including lawmakers, activists and journalists - have been arrested since the military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi's democratically elected government in February 2021 - sparking huge protests across the country and a widespread resistance movement..."
Source/publisher:
"BBC News" (London)
Date of publication:
2022-10-06
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports
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Description:
"Responding to reports that a military-controlled court in Myanmar sentenced Japanese filmmaker Toru Kubota to serve a total of seven years in prison, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns Ming Yu Hah said:
“With this latest verdict Myanmar’s military is cementing its reputation as one of the top jailers of journalists in the world.
“Filming a protest is not a crime. Myanmar’s military should release Toru Kubota immediately and let him go home. It should also drop charges against and release all journalists arrested and sentenced simply for doing their job.
“It is extremely dangerous to be a journalist in Myanmar today, where military authorities regularly trample on the right to freedom of information and media. Since seizing power in the coup last year, they have banned media outlets, arrested, beaten, sexually assaulted and even killed journalists in custody.”
Background:
Japanese documentary filmmaker Toru Kubota was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of incitement and seven years for violating a law on electronic communications. The sentences will be served concurrently for a total of seven years, according to reports.
Toru Kubota was apparently detained after covering a protest in Myanmar’s biggest city Yangon in July 2022. His trial was held in a secretive, military-controlled court, and he appears to have been jailed for filming the protest, which should not be a crime.
He is one of more than 15,000 people arrested since Myanmar’s military coup on 1 February, 2021.
Amnesty International continues to call for the release of anyone arbitrarily detained in Myanmar for peacefully exercising their human rights..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International (UK)
Date of publication:
2022-10-06
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Freedom of Opinion and Expression - tools for change in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights Defenders
Language:
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Description:
"Responding to Puma Energy’s decision to withdraw from Myanmar nearly two years after a military coup in early 2021, Amnesty International’s Business and Human Rights Researcher Montse Ferrer said:
“Amnesty International acknowledges Puma Energy’s decision to leave the country, which comes after a long campaign by civil society groups including Burma Campaign UK and Justice For Myanmar, who among others have placed vital scrutiny on aviation fuel supplies that may end up in the hands of Myanmar’s military.
“The announcement also comes one month after researchers from Amnesty International met with Puma company representatives to present findings from a forthcoming report on the supply of aviation fuel to the Myanmar military, with research supported by Justice For Myanmar.
“Puma Energy must ensure a safe and responsible disengagement now that it is leaving the country, including by providing a transparent and clear roadmap of its plans and preventing the military from accessing its aviation fuel infrastructure. Any valuable assets Puma Energy leaves behind should not fall into the hands of the military or its crony businesses.
“Puma Energy must also explore ways to remedy any harm it may have contributed to while operating in Myanmar.”
Background
Puma Energy said in a statement on 5 October that it was exiting the country and selling its stake in Puma Energy Asia Sun (PEAS) and minority share in National Energy Puma Aviation Services (NEPAS) to a “locally owned private company”.
Through PEAS and NEPAS, Puma Energy has been the main supplier of aviation fuel to the country since it commenced operations in 2015.
Several civil society organizations as well as Myanmar’s National Unity Government have called for aviation fuel supplies to the military to be restricted or outright banned.
Shortly after the 1 February 2021 coup, Puma Energy said it was suspending its operations in Myanmar. It subsequently resumed operations but, according to the company, only for civilian purposes..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International (UK)
Date of publication:
2022-10-05
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Business and the Military
Language:
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Sub-title:
The UK Human Rights Ambassador, Rita French, delivered a statement on the Myanmar regime's access to weapons and arms.
Description:
"Thank you, Mr President.
Thank you Acting High Commissioner for your report.
The United Kingdom supported the council’s Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar and its’ important work to shine a light on the military’s economic interests. We call on all States to engage with its recommendations, which remain all the more important amid today’s calamitous situation in the country.
We are committed to working with partners to target the regime’s access to finance and arms, which facilitate the most egregious human rights violations. These violations must stop.
The UK has a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar and we are clear that no Member State should sell arms to Myanmar; doing so exasperates conflict and instability and directly contributes to violations in the country.
Since the coup, we have announced targeted sanctions on the military leadership, and its access to revenue, arms and military equipment.
While responsible businesses have a role to play in Myanmar in job creation, poverty alleviation and standard setting, we must ensure that their work does not inadvertently support the military regime. For this reason, the UK has also strengthened its advice to UK business, encouraging enhanced due diligence to avoid inadvertent support for the military.
Madam Acting High Commissioner,
What more can the international community to do to pressure those who sell arms to the military?
Thank you..."
Source/publisher:
Govt. UK (London)
Date of publication:
2022-10-05
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, UN human rights documents on Myanmar
Language:
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Sub-title:
Sequel Report: Civilians, including children, were allegedly hit with artillery in different incidents
Description:
"Since the military attacked M’dat (မဒပ်) village with artillery shells in May 2022, leading to a 10-year-old boy and his mother being seriously injured (Child Injured in M’dat Village, Mindat Township), it has been alleged that villages in Mindat Township (မင်းတပ်မိနယ်) have suffered from further artillery shelling, the destruction of houses and the killing of civilians.
In one such case, the older brother of the child originally reported on by Myanmar Witness was allegedly killed by artillery fire a little over a month after the original incident.
In this report, Myanmar Witness has investigated reports of civilian damage and deaths in Mindat Township (မင်းတပ်မိနယ်) as a result of artillery fire from the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 274 military base. This included:
reports of homes destroyed and villagers killed in Mui Tui (မွီတွီ) village on 16 June;
the reported death of the older brother of the child whose injuries were investigated in a previous report on M’dat village, on 29 June 2022; and,
the destruction of homes in Kyam Ain Nu (ကာအိမ်း) village, also on 29 June 2022.
These villages are all located within a 7 or 8km firing range from the LIB 274 military base, located in Mindat Town (မင်းတပ်). Myanmar Witness was able to previously verify the location of the LIB 274 base in Mindat Town (မင်းတပ်), Mindat Township (မင်းတပ်မိနယ်), Chin State (ချင်းြပည်နယ်).
On 16 June 2022, there were reports of villagers killed by artillery fire in Mui Tui (မွီတွီ) village, in Mindat Township (မင်းတပ်မိနယ်). No user-generated content (UGC) could be verified of the dead individuals in Mui Tui (မွီတွီ), but their images match those described to have died and
Myanmar Witness geolocated other images of destruction to the village.
On the morning of 29 June 2022, the Chindwin News Agency, reported that the 274th Light Infantry Battalion in Mindat fired medium artillery mortar rounds at civilian areas in Mindat Township (မင်းတပ်မိနယ်), Chin State (ချင်းြပည်နယ်) killing a 13 year old boy in M’dat village (မဒပ်).
The boy was reportedly the elder brother of a 10-year-old boy who was seriously injured, also by artillery fire, along with his mother on 23 May 2022. This event has been described in more detail in Myanmar Witness’ report Child Injured in M’dat Village, Mindat Township.
Myanmar Witness was not able to thoroughly verify images of the dead child, but analysed images of a deceased child alleged to be the child in question, with wounds consistent with those described in eye-witness reports provided to Myanmar Witness by a partner.
There was no verifiable footage of the attack itself, meaning it was not possible for Myanmar
Witness to independently verify how the child was killed. However, Myanmar Witness has
geolocated images alleged to be of the child’s home in M’dat (မဒပ်) village. The hole in the wooden wall and the inside structure of the house, as well as some damaged foliage close to the home all indicate a strike of some sort that had caused this destruction. This was the same house geolocated by Myanmar Witness in the incident involving the child’s brother (see: Child Injured in M’dat Village, Mindat Township).
Images of ammunition reportedly found in M’dat (မဒပ်) village after the attack are consistent with locally produced 120mm mortar rounds known to be used by the Myanmar military. Myanmar Witness verified the presence of a military base within firing range of the village and identified a mortar present at the base in our last report, although it was not possible to verify whether it was a model capable of firing the particular rounds alleged. Attribution is difficult without verified UGC to confirm the munitions were found in M’dat (မဒပ်), their origin, or images of the deceased child.
While Myanmar Witness was able to identify a likely location for images of a destroyed home in Kyam Ain Nu consistent with media reporting, it was not possible to confirm this with 100% certainty or independently verify that the home was destroyed on 29 June 2022.
These collective incidents in Mindat Township (မင်းတပ်မိနယ်) are some of many monitored and analysed by Myanmar Witness documenting alleged indiscriminate attacks in civilian areas in Myanmar since the coup which has - in this case - allegedly led to the deaths of civilians.
To read the full report download the PDF.
[Warning: Graphic] has been inserted ahead of links to sources that show graphic and distressing images of injured or dead persons..."
Source/publisher:
Myanmar Witness
Date of publication:
2022-10-04
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Chin State, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians
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pdf
Size:
8.88 MB (Original version) - 27 pages
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Description:
"At least 68 civilians have been killed and over 2,100 houses in 64 villages torched by the Myanmar military and pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia in Sagaing Region’s Taze Township since last year’s coup, according to local People’s Defense Forces (PDF).
Regime troops belonging to Division 33 and Pyu Saw Htee groups raided and torched more than 20 villages in the north of Taze in September alone, said Taze PDF.
Pyu Saw Htee militia have a strong presence in Kantbalu, Kyunhla and Taze townships in Sagaing Region. Taze has been hit hardest by the junta’s arson attacks in Sagaing, and more than 10,000 people made homeless by them have yet to receive any humanitarian assistance from the international community and are in urgent need of emergency relief supplies, added Taze PDF.
Five of the villages torched by regime forces were completely burned to the ground. Two Buddhist monasteries and a rural healthcare center were also razed. Ka Baung Kya Village was torched at least 12 times, while Chaungzon Village was torched at least seven times, according to Taze News, a group documenting junta atrocities in the township.
One resident of Ka Baung Kya Village said: “My house was burned to ashes. I don’t have any supplies of rice or even any plates and bowls now. We had to flee frequently because junta troops often came to our village. We don’t want to see them because they arrest anyone on sight and torch houses once they enter the village. My village is almost ruined.”
Some 200 junta troops guided by Pyu Saw Htee militia started raiding villages in the north of Taze on September 16. They reportedly killed two civilians and 12 resistance fighters and looted numerous houses during the raids.
A member of Taze PDF said: “They torch villages to instill fear in people. But it has only fueled their desire for vengeance. Now young people are only eager to fight back. They are determined to fight until the revolution succeeds. It is fair to say that the revolution has reached the next level. Revolutionary spirit can’t be burned to ashes.”
Displaced people need shelter, food, medicine and other emergency relief supplies, said an official from Taze Support Organization.
“As it is rainy season now, they need proper shelter even if it is temporary. The assistance they are receiving locally is not enough. If they don’t receive supplies soon, they are going to go hungry,” said the official.
Many villages were torched for no apparent reason as there were no clashes taking place near them. Over 20,000 people from 35 villages displaced by junta raids and arson attacks still can’t return to their homes. Internet access in Taze Township was cut off by the military regime over eight months ago.
A Taze resident said: “I am lost for words watching them [junta forces] torching and destroying our ancestral homeland and we can do nothing about it. We don’t know where we can live and our livelihoods have been completely destroyed.”..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-10-04
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups.
Language:
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Sub-title:
Observers say the ruling is one of many politically motivated acts targeting the party.
Description:
"A prison court in Myanmar’s Magway region has sentenced at least 20 National League for Democracy (NLD) members to lengthy jail terms on charges of violating the country’s Counterterrorism Law, officials from the ousted political party said Monday.
The 20 NLD members from Magway’s Pwintbyu and Sidoktaya townships – which included senior officials from the party’s executive committee – were each sentenced to jail terms of 20 years or more in a closed trial at the Daungnay Prison Court on Sept. 30, the officials told RFA Burmese, speaking on condition of anonymity citing security concerns.
Sources within Myanmar’s judicial system and NLD members called the hefty punishments “politically motivated” and typical of how the military regime has threatened and harassed the party whose democratically elected government it sidelined in a Feb. 1, 2021 coup.
Pwintbyu Township NLD Executive Committee member Win Zaw Oo, and party members Zaw Myo Htet, Zaw Win, Win Kyaing, Ni Thway, Kyi Linn, Chit Nyi Nyi, Hlaing Win, Kyaw Win Sein, San Htay and Than Htay were each sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Similarly, Pwintbyu party members Kaw Zin Min, Tin Maung Htun, Nyi Nyi Aung, Than Soe, Nyo Win Aung, Sann Lin Aung, Zaw Myo Aung and Bhone Kyaw, were each sentenced to 20 years in prison.
An NLD party official from Pwintbyu who declined to be named told RFA that authorities also sentenced Aye Aye Aung, chairwoman of the Women’s Affairs Committee for the NLD in Sidoktaya township, was also sentenced to 20 years in prison for violating the Counterterrorism Law. The chairwoman had been arrested on Dec. 18, 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in prison for terrorism, and last week’s conviction brings her total term to 40 years.
A member of the NLD in Pwintbyu told RFA that those sentenced had been arrested “for various reasons,” without providing further details.
He also accused authorities of using questionable methods to arrest the two NLD executive committee members.
“[Win Zaw Oo] had been in hiding [with his brother-in-law] in the Sidoktaya area to avoid arrest … He was arrested [on Sept. 21, 2021] after authorities took his family members hostage and used them for leverage,” the party member said, adding that Win Zaw Oo was known for his charity work in the region.
“[Aye Aye Aung] was arrested in Salin township. [Junta] authorities tricked her into thinking she would meet someone she knew and then arrested her.”
Another NLD official in Pwintbyu called Aye Aye Aung’s sentencing “heart wrenching.”
“She was given another 20 years sentence on Sept. 30, as they charged her for a second time under the same articles,” the official said.
Sentences for ‘political reasons’
Speaking to RFA on Monday, a veteran attorney in Myanmar noted that all of the sentences delivered on Sept. 30 were “the maximum penalty under the law.”
“The [junta] always lectures the people about the rule of law, but they do not respect the law themselves,” he said.
“They always give the maximum penalty to NLD leaders … so we can conclude they [are doing it] for political reasons.”
Bo Bo Oo, a former NLD lawmaker for Yangon’s Dala township, said he had seen similarly lengthy punishments handed to members of the party in his region.
But he called the tactics of the junta authorities in Pwintbyu and Sidoktaya townships “particularly unlawful and underhanded.”
“In these cases, authorities arrested or harassed family members and friends when they couldn’t arrest the person they wanted,” he said. “They are increasingly using this tactic throughout the country.”
NLD members say that in addition to arrests, authorities have been confiscating and sealing off properties belonging to the party and its supporters.
According to party records, the military regime has arrested 972 members and killed 55 between last year’s coup and Sept. 23, 2022.
Speaking to the media during a Sept. 20 press conference in the capital Naypyidaw, junta Deputy Information Minister Major General Zaw Min Htun warned the public that anyone who donates as little as one kyat to anti-junta groups could be persecuted under the Counterterrorism Law.
Thailand’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) says that authorities in Myanmar have killed at least 2,332 civilians and arrested 15,744 others since last year’s coup – mostly during peaceful anti-junta protests. At least 12,569 of those arrested remain in detention, the group says..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of publication:
2022-10-03
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Articles and reports about the NLD, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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"1. Kalay protesters mark 600 days of protest...2. Terrorist SAC kills hundreds of children 240 children, abducts
hundreds more...3. Over 300 advance orders in NUG investment housing project...4. NUG Labour Ministry helps secure compensation for migrant workers 28/09/2022..."
Source/publisher:
National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-10-03
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Anti-coup protesters
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"Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) has raised over US$9 million in just over two and half days from the sale of land in Mandalay illegally seized by the Myanmar military.
To raise funds for the ongoing revolution against the military regime, the NUG’s Ministry of Planning, Finance and Investment (MOPFI) launched ‘Spring Mandalay Investment’ on October 1, a month after a similar scheme was launched in Yangon.
Under the new project, MOPFI is auctioning off a total of 980 plots of land in Ye Tagun Taung in Patheingyi Township, east of Mandalay Hill in Aungmyaythazan Township and south of Aung San Suu Kyi Street in Maha Aung Myay Township. All the plots of land were illegally confiscated by the military.
As of Monday morning, 579 of the plots – almost 60 per cent of the total – had been sold, raising almost US$9.3 million. MOPFI said that even before the official launch of the scheme, the ministry had received pre-orders for over 300 plots of land.
“The belief of the people and their determination and enthusiasm for the revolution is truly amazing,” MOPFI said on the Facebook page for the project.
The NUG hopes to raise a total of US$24 million from the land sales.
MOPFI urged more people to contribute, saying that the military dictatorship will spare no one and is even attacking schools and killing children, and that its atrocities will only end with the success of the revolution.
Valued at one-third of the market price, the plots range from US$20,000 to US$800,000, based on their size and location. More details of the project are available here.
The ministry said that the plots of land will later be developed into housing projects and that buyers are only required to pay 40 per cent of the price initially, with the remainder to be paid after the success of the revolution.
A similar scheme in Yangon has proved equally successful. Some 400 plots of land offered for sale in Thanthumar in Yangon’s Mayangone Township sold out on the first day they went on sale. The NUG is continuing to sell the remaining plots available in Yangon.
In May, the NUG also put junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s illegally seized property in Yangon at 14 Inya Road on sale, raising US$10 million..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-10-03
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-03
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Source/publisher:
National Unity Consultative Council
Date of publication:
2022-10-03
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-03
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2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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"National Unity Government Weekly News Update (23/2022)..."
Source/publisher:
National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-10-03
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Anti-coup protesters, National Unity Government (NUG)
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"နိုင်ငံပိုင်ရွှေစင်များ ရောင်းချခြင်းကိစ္စနှင့်ပတ်သက်သည့် ကြေညာချက် (၈/၂၀၂၂)
သယံဇာတနှင့် သဘာဝပတ်ဝန်းကျင်ထိန်းသိမ်းရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာန
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation - NUG
Date of publication:
2022-10-02
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Natural Resource Use, Burma/Myanmar - policy and law
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251.15 KB
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Source/publisher:
Karenni National Progressive Party
Date of publication:
2022-10-01
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Karenni (Kayah) - cultural, political
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"MONTHLY HIGHLIGHTS: Director of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar announced that
Facebook provided millions of items to support accusations of genocide and war crimes against the Burmese junta.....The Burma Special Advisory Council demanded that the UNGA recognize the current NUG-appointed representative, Kyaw Moe Tun.....Since the attempted coup, the Australian government spent $2.5 million of taxpayer
funds on luxury accommodations linked to the Burmese junta.....The UN called on the international community to support human rights defenders in Burma.....APHR launched a press conference on the results from the international inquiry investigation on the global response to the
crisis in Burma..."
Source/publisher:
US Campaign for Burma
Date of publication:
2022-09-30
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-30
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, Business and the Military
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"CSW is calling on the Council of the European Union (EU) to introduce a fifth round of sanctions against the Myanmar/Burma military, with a particular focus on arms sales.
The EU has introduced four rounds of sanctions against the Myanmar army and its enterprises, and notably took the lead in sanctioning Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) in February 2021. However, the EU’s last round of sanctions was over seven months ago, during which time Canada, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) have initiated new rounds of sanctions.
In a letter dated 29 September, signed by CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas, and addressed to the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, and the Foreign Ministers of the EU member states, CSW urges the recipients to “expedite the introduction of new sanctions, targeting the sources of arms, equipment, and revenue of the Myanmar military.”
Since the February 2021 coup, the military junta’s increasing use of airstrikes against civilians and civilian structures has been a major driver of displacement, occasioning a humanitarian crisis.
In its letter, CSW contends that limiting the military’s access to parts, ammunition, and aviation fuel could assist in reducing its ability to wage war on civilians from the air, and by extension save lives. The letter suggests that targets for additional sanctions should include “the numerous arms brokers exposed by the advocacy group Justice for Myanmar.”
CSW Senior Analyst for East Asia Benedict Rogers said: “Since the coup in February 2021, the people of Myanmar have suffered crimes against humanity, violations of human rights and humanitarian law, and war crimes. We commend the EU for its first four rounds of sanctions. However, seven months after last the round, it is beginning to fall behind its allies, and is missing vital opportunities to further obstruct the military’s ability to continue its brutal campaign against civilians. By acting swiftly to sanction arms brokers highlighted by Justice for Myanmar, the EU will assist in saving civilians lives.”..."
Source/publisher:
Christian Solidarity Worldwide
Date of publication:
2022-09-29
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Business and the Military, The Burmese military's role in the economy, Sanctions, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
EU must introduce a new round of sanctions against the Myanmar military
Description:
"Your Excellencies will be aware of the horrific human rights violations that have taken place in Myanmar since the military coup last year.
Severe violations of human rights and humanitarian law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, are occurring on a daily basis. More than a million people are now displaced internally, and more than 15,000 people are detained arbitrarily. Military tribunals have handed down extremely harsh verdicts, including the death sentence.
The people of Myanmar continue to resist the military junta in the face of air and ground attacks on villages, mass arrests, severe repression, and the use of the death penalty for the first time in decades. They believe that there will be no positive future for their country for as long as the military remain in power, and have been calling for international action to cut off the supply of revenue and arms to the Myanmar military.
The people’s unwavering commitment to struggle for their freedoms is being paid for with lives. However, the European Union (EU), which initially surpassed other countries in sanctioning the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), has now fallen behind in sanctioning arms brokers.
The military junta is currently using aerial bombardment on an unprecedented scale. Airstrikes are a major driver of displacement and have occasioned a humanitarian crisis. Sanctioning the suppliers of parts, ammunition, and aviation fuel alongside further revenue sources could save lives by reducing the military’s ability to wage war on civilians from the air.
It is now seven months since the EU introduced new sanctions against the Myanmar military, and there is an urgent need for further sanctions, including against the numerous arms brokers exposed by the advocacy group Justice for Myanmar.
May I, therefore, urge you to expedite the introduction of new sanctions, targeting the sources of arms, equipment, and revenue of the Myanmar military..."
Source/publisher:
Christian Solidarity Worldwide
Date of publication:
2022-09-29
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Sanctions, Business and the Military, The Burmese military's role in the economy, Human Rights and international relations
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"Military orchestrated an “information coup” စစ်တပ်သည် “သတင်းအချက်အလက် အာဏာသိမ်းမှု” ကို ကြိုးကိုင်ဆောင်ရွက်လျက်ရှိသည်
SEP 28, 2022by COORDINATORin NEWS သတင်း
As the world marks International Day for Universal Access to Information, the people of Myanmar face propaganda, disinformation, and secrecy under the military’s “information coup”.
Since 1 February 2021, the military has devised, orchestrated, and intensified six parts of a vast “information coup” intended to starve people of the information that they need to make good decisions about their lives, for their families, and for their communities.
1. Public information disappeared
The military has hidden what they do, including information on budgets, contracts, education, health, agriculture, justice, economics, laws, policies, and directives, among other subjects. Statistical information has disappeared or is unreliable. Widespread secrecy is likely to conceal widespread corruption. Without the transparency of public access to information, the military is unaccountable, impune, and unrestrained from misappropriating public resources.
2. Information became threat to “national security”
All information has effectively been classified as a state secret and a matter of so-called “national security” for the military. Requesting information from the military or any part of the military-controlled State has become high risk. Any attempt to request information is seen as deeply suspicious. Fact checking, even on the most innocuous subject, is dangerous.
3. Information replaced by propaganda
The military’s old propaganda machine has returned. Military press conferences deny facts and create a fictional reality. Ministries have become information bunkers keeping the public out. State media publishes and republishes only that information which portrays the military positively. Much of the propaganda is disinformation, containing knowingly inaccurate, misleading, or false news, facts, and allegations. Some of the propaganda appears to want to incite hostility, discrimination, or violence.
4. Private information seized
The military has not been satisfied with the amount of public information under its control, and has actively tried to seize more information, much of it private. The military has set up large networks of CCTV cameras, ordered banks to track payments, moved forward with e-IDs, and forced mobile telecom companies to collect personal information and monitor their customers.
5. Sources of independent information attacked
Independent sources of information, such as television and radio broadcasters, print media, digital media, and printing houses have been banned, blocked, and forced into exile. The Broadcasting Law and Penal Code were amended to increase possible sanctions for sharing information. A sham Press Council was appointed full of military proxies. Many journalists have been subject to violence and detained for doing journalism and trying to uncover information. Almost all journalists have been forced to operate underground or from areas not controlled by the military.
6. Internet platforms and access curbed
The military has attacked the technology enabling public access to information. Whitelisting and blacklisting policies have blocked access to large parts of the internet, including social media platforms such as Facebook. The military has announced new military-controlled social media platforms to replace global platforms. The military has set up checkpoints to check people’s devices, detaining those who have certain applications, including VPN software. The military has also increased data prices and SIM card tax in order to make accessing information expensive too. The military’s six attacks on the right to access information have been severe but were also built upon previous failures to adequately protect the right. Before the coup started on 1 February 2021, FEM’s investigations in partnership with journalists nationwide found that public officials were inaccessible, information was regarded as government property, secrecy was rampant, and any request for information was treated at best with suspicion and at worst with arrest. But the then government and various State institutions did at least commit to improving. For example, by committing in their policy plan to a future law guaranteeing the right to information. Since 1 February 2021, even that commitment has disappeared under the military’s “information coup”.
အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာသတင်းအချက်အလက်လက်လှမ်းမီရေးနေ့ အထိမ်းအမှတ်အား ကမ္ဘာအနှံ့တွင် ကျင်းပနေချိန်တွင် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိလူများသည် ဝါဒဖြန့်ချီမှု၊ သတင်းတု နှင့် သတင်းလျှို့ဝှက်ထိန်ချန်ခံရမှုများကို စစ်တပ်၏ “သတင်းအချက်အလက်အာဏာသိမ်းမှု” အောက်တွင် ရင်ဆိုင်နေရသည်။
မိမိတို့ဘဝ၊ မိမိတို့မိသားစုများနှင့် မိမိတို့လူမှုအသိုင်းအဝိုင်းများအတွက် ကောင်းမွန်သောဆုံဖြတ်ချက်များ ချမှတ်နိုင်ရန် သတင်းအချက်အလက်များကို လိုအပ်နေသည့် ပြည်သူများအား ရည်ရွယ်ချက်ရှိရှိဖြင့် သတင်းအချက်အလက်ဖြတ်တောက်ရန် စစ်တပ်သည် ၂၀၂၁ခုနှစ်၊ ဖေဖေါ်ဝါရီလ (၁)ရက်နေ့မှစ၍ကြီးမားကျယ်ပြန့်သော အပိုင်း (၆) ပိုင်းပါ “သတင်းအချက်အလက်အာဏာသိမ်းမှု” ကို ကြံစည်ဖော်ဆောင်ခြင်းဖြင့် သတင်းအချက်အလက်အခွင့်အရေးအခြေအနေကို များစွာပိုမိုဆိုးရွားလာစေခဲ့သည်။
၁။ ပျောက်ကွယ်လာသော အများပြည်သူလက်လှမ်းမီနိုင်သည့် သတင်းအချက်အလက်များ
စစ်တပ်သည် ဘဏ္ဍာရေး၊ စာချုပ်စာတမ်းများ၊ ပညာရေး၊ ကျန်းမာရေး၊ စိုက်ပျိုးရေး၊ တရားရေး၊ စီပွားရေး၊ ဥပဒေများ၊ မူဝါဒများ ညွှန်ကြားချက်များနှင့်သက်ဆိုင်သည့်သတင်းအချက်အလက်များအပါအဝင် ၄င်းတို့ပြုလုပ်သမျှနှင့်ဆိုင်သည့် သတင်းများကို ဖုံးကွယ်ထားသည်။ စာရင်းအင်းဆိုင်ရာ သတင်းအချက်အလက်များသည်လည်း ပျောက်ပျက်သွားခြင်း၊ သို့မဟုတ်ပါကလည်း မှန်ကန်ခိုင်လုံမှုမရှိခြင်းများ ဖြစ်နေသည်။ သတင်းလျှို့ဝှက်ထိန်ချန်မှု ထွန်းကားလာခြင်းက တိုးပွားလာသော အကျင့်ပျက်ခြစားမှုကို ဖုံးကွယ်ထားနိုင်ချေပိုရှိသည်။ လူထု၏ သတင်းအချက်အလက် လက်လှမ်းမီနိုင်မှုသည် ပွင့်လင်းမြင်သာမှုမရှိသောကြောင့် စစ်တပ်သည် အများပြည်သူဆိုင်ရာအရင်းအမြစ်များကို အလွဲသုံးစားပြုမူခြင်းမှ တာဝန်ခံရမှုမရှိဘဲ ၊ အပြစ်ဒဏ်မှကင်းလွတ်လျက်ရှိကာ အထိန်းအသိမ်းမဲ့ အနေအထားတွင် ရှိနေသည်။
၂။ နိုင်ငံတော်လုံခြုံရေးကို ခြိမ်းခြောက်သည့်အရာဖြစ်လာသော သတင်းအချက်အလက်
စစ်တပ်အတွက်မူ သတင်းအချက်အလက်အားလုံးသည် နိုင်ငံတော်လျှို့ဝှက်ချက်ဟူ၍လည်းကောင်း၊ “နိုင်ငံတော်လုံခြုံရေး” ဟူ၍လည်းကောင်း လက်တွေ့တွင် အဆင့်သတ်မှတ်ခွဲခြားခံထားရသည်။ စစ်တပ်ထံမှ သို့မဟုတ် စစ်တပ်ကထိန်းချုပ်ထားသော မည်သည့်နိုင်ငံ့အစိတ်အပိုင်းများထံမှမဆို သတင်းအချက်အလက်တောင်းခံခြင်းသည် မြင့်မားသောအန္တရာယ်ဖြစ်နိုင်ချေကို ဖြစ်ပါ်စေသည်။ သတင်းအချက်အလက်တောင်းခံသည့် ကြိုးပမ်းမှုမှန်သမျှသည် ကြီးစွာသံသယဝင်ခံနေရသည်။ ထိခိုက်လွယ်သောကိစ္စများမဟုတ်သည့် ပေ့ါပေ့ါပါးပါးအကြောင်းအရာများအား အချက်အလက်စစ်ဆေးခြင်းသည်ပင်လျှင် အန္တရာယ်ရှိသည်။
၃။ ဝါဒဖြန့်ချီမှုနှင့်အစားထိုးခံရသော သတင်းအချက်အလက်
စစ်တပ်၏ ဝါဒဖြန့်ချီမှုယန္တရားအဟာင်းသည် တဖန်လည်ပတ်လာခဲ့ပြီဖြစ်သည်။ စစ်တပ်၏ သတင်းစာရှင်းလင်းပွဲများသည် အချက်အလက်များကို ငြင်းပယ်ပြီး စိတ်ကူးယဥ်ဇာတ်လမ်းများကို အမှန်တရားသဖွယ် ဖန်တီးနေသည်။ ဝန်ကြီးဌာနများသည် သတင်းအချက်အလက်များအား ပြည်သူထံမရောက်အောင် သိုလှောင်ပိတ်သိမ်းထားသည့် နေရာများဖြစ်လာကြသည်။ နိုင်ငံပိုင်မီဒီယာသည် စစ်တပ်ကိုအကောင်းမြင်အောင်ပုံဖော်သည့် သတင်းအချက်အလက်များကိုသာ ထုတ်ဝေခြင်းနှင့် ပြန်လည်ထုတ်ဝေခြင်းများ ပြုလုပ်သည်။ ဝါဒဖြန့်ချီမှုအများအပြားသည် မတိကျသော၊ ဦးတည်ချက်လွဲနေသာ သို့မဟုတ် မှားယွင်းနေသာ သတင်းများ၊ အချက်အလက်များနှင့် အထောက်အထားမဲ့ စွပ်စွဲချက်များဖြစ်နေသည်ကို သိသိလျက်နှင့် ထည့်သွင်းထားသော လုပ်ကြံသတင်းအမှားများသာ ဖြစ်သည်။ အချို့သောဝါဒဖြန့်ချီမှုများသည် ရန်ငြိုးဖွဲ့ခြင်း၊ ခွဲခြားဆက်ဆံခြင်း၊ သို့မဟုတ် အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများကို လှုံ့ဆော်ဆောင်ရွက်လိုဟန်ရှိသည်။
၄။ သိမ်းယူခံထားထားရသော ပုဂ္ဂလိကသတင်းအချက်အလက်များ
စစ်တပ်သည် ၄င်းထိန်းချုပ်မှုအောက်က အများပြည်သူဆိုင်ရာသတင်းအချက်အလက်ပမာဏကို စိတ်တိုင်းကျကျေနပ်မှုမရှိ၍ ပိုမိုများပြားသော သတင်းအချက်အလက်များကို သိမ်းယူနိုင်ရန် အားတက်သရောကြိုးပမ်းနေပြီး အများစုမှာ တစ်ဦးပုဂ္ဂလဆိုင်ရာအချက်အလက်များဖြစ်သည်။ စစ်တပ်သည် ကြီးမားသော စောင့်ကြည့်ကင်မရာကွန်ယက်ကို တည်ထောင်ခြင်း၊ ငွေပေးချေမှုများကို ခြေရာခံရန် ဘဏ်များကို အမိန့်ပေးထားခြင်း၊ အီလက်ထရောနစ်မှတ်ပုံတင်များကို ရှေ့ဆက်ဖော်ဆောင်ခြင်းနှင့် မိုလ်ဘိုင်းဆက်သွယ်ရေးကုမ္ပဏီများကို ပုဂ္ဂိုလ်ရေးဆိုင်ရာ အချက်အလက်များစုဆောင်းရန်နှင့် ၎င်းတို့၏သုံးစွဲသူများကို စောင့်ကြည်ရန် ဖိအားပေးခြင်းများ စသည်တို့ကို ဖော်ဆောင်ပြီးထားပြီးဖြစ်သည်။
၅။ တိုက်ခိုက်ခံရသော လွတ်လပ်သည့်သတင်းအချက်အလက် အရင်းအမြစ်များ
တီဗွီနှင့် ရေဒီယိုထုတ်လွှင့်မှုများ၊ ပုံနှိပ်မီဒီယာ၊ ဒီဂျစ်တယ်မီဒီယာ၊ ပုံနှိပ်ထုတ်ဝေရေးလုပ်ငန်းများကဲ့သို့ လွတ်လပ်သော သတင်းအချက်အလက်အရင်းအမြစ်များသည် ပိတ်ပင်ခြင်း၊ တားဆီးခြင်းနှင့် ပြည်ပသို့ထွက်ခွာရန် ဖိအားပေးခံရခြင်းများကို ကြုံတွေ့ခဲ့ရပြီးဖြစ်သည်။ သတင်းအချက်အလက် ဝေမျှခြင်းကို ပိုမိုအရေးယူပိတ်ဆို့နိုင်ရန် ရုပ်သံထုတ်လွှင့်မှုဆိုင်ရာ ဥပဒေနှင့် ရာဇသတ်ကြီးဥပဒေများကို ပြင်ဆင်ခဲ့သည်။ သတင်းမီဒီယာကောင်စီ အတုအယောင်သည်လည်း စစ်တပ်က ခန့်အပ်ထားသော တဆင့်ခံကိုယ်စားလှယ်များဖြင့် ပြည့်နှက်နေသည်။သတင်းထောက်အများအပြားသည်လည်း သတင်းသမားအလုပ်လုပ်ခြင်း နှင့် သတင်းအချက်အလက်များဖော်ထုတ်ရန် ကြိုးစားမှုများအတွက် အကြမ်းဖက်ခံရခြင်း၊ ဖမ်းဆီးထိန်းသိမ်းရခြင်းများကို ကြုံတွေ့နေရသည်။ သတင်းထောက်အားလုံးနီးပါးသည် လျှို့ဝှက်လှုပ်ရှားရန် (သို့မဟုတ်) စစ်တပ်မထိန်းချုပ်ထားနိုင်သည့် နေရာများမှ လုပ်ကိုင်ရန် ဖိအားပေးခံနေရသည်။
၆။ တားဆီးချုပ်ကိုင်ခံထားရသော အင်တာနက်ပလက်ဖောင်းများနှင့် လက်လှမ်းမီမှု
စစ်တပ်သည် အများပြည်သူက သတင်းအချက်အလက်များကို လက်လှမ်းမီနိုင်ရန် ဖော်ဆောင်ထားပေးသည့် နည်းပညာကို တိုက်ခိုက်ထားသည်။ ပစ်မှတ်ထားခွင့်ပြုခြင်း (Whitelisting) နှင့် ပစ်မှတ်ထားပိတ်ပင်ခြင်း (Blacklisting) မူဝါဒများသည် ဖေ့စ်ဘွတ်ခ်ကဲ့သို့သော လူမှုကွန်ယက်များအပါအဝင်
အင်တာနက်၏ အစိတ်အပိုင်းအများစုအား လက်လှမ်းမီအသုံးပြုနိုင်မှုကို ပိတ်ပင်ထားခဲ့သည်။ စစ်တပ်သည် ကမ္ဘာသုံးလူမှုကွန်ယက်ပလက်ဖောင်းများကိုအစားထိုးရန် ၄င်းထိန်းချုပ်သည့် ပလက်ဖောင်းအသစ်ကို ကြေညာခဲ့ပြီးဖြစ်သည်။ စစ်တပ်သည် လူများ၏ ဒစ်ဂျစ်တယ်ဆက်သွယ်ရေးပစ္စည်းများကို စစ်ဆေးရန် စစ်ဆေးရေးဂိတ်များဖွင့်လှစ်ထားပြီး၊ ဗီပီအန် (VPN) ဆော့ဖ်ဝဲလ်အပါအဝင် အခြားသော သတ်မှတ်အက်ပလီကေးရှင်းများကို သုံးစွဲသူများအား ဖမ်းဆီးထိန်းသိမ်းလျက်ရှိသည်။ ထို့အပြင် စစ်တပ်သည် သတင်းအချက်အလက်ရယူရာတွင် စရိတ်စကကြီးစေရန်လည်း အင်တာနက်ဈေးနှုန်းများနှင့် ဆင်း(မ်)ကဒ်အခွန်များအား တိုးမြှင့်ခဲ့သည်။
သတင်းအချက်အလက်ရယူပိုင်ခွင့်အပေါ် စစ်တပ်၏ အဆိုပါဖိနှိပ်တိုက်ခိုက်မှု (၆)ချက်သည် ပြင်းထန်ဆိုးရွားလျက်ရှိပြီး၊ ယင်းသတင်းအချက်အလက်အခွင့်အရေးကို ပြည့်ပြည့်ဝဝကာကွယ်ပေးရန် ပျက်ကွက်ခဲ့သည့် အတိတ်က အခြေအနေပေါ်တွင် ယခုပြသနာများ ဆင့်ကဲဖြစ်ထွန်းလာခြင်းလည်း ဖြစ်သည်။ ၂၀၂၁ခုနှစ်၊ ဖေဖေါ်ဝါရီလ (၁) ရက်နေ့တွင် စခဲ့သော အာဏာသိမ်းမှုမတိုင်ခင်ကာလတွင် နိုင်ငံတဝှမ်းရှိ သတင်းထောက်များနှင့် မိတ်ဖက်ဆောင်ရွက်ချက်များမှတဆင့် ပြုလုပ်ခဲ့သော လွတ်လပ်သောထုတ်ဖော်ပြောဆိုခြင်းမြန်မာ၏ စုံစမ်းလေ့လာခဲ့မှုများအရ သတင်းအချက်အလက်စုံစမ်းမေးမြန်းရန် ပြည်သူ့ဝန်ထမ်းမျာအား ဆက်သွယ်၍မရနိုင်ဘဲ၊ သတင်းအချက်အလက်အား အစိုးရပိုင်အဖြစ်သတ်မှတ်ထားခံခဲ့ရပြီး၊ သတင်းလျှို့ဝှက်မှုထိန်ချန်မှုများလည်း အားကောင်းခဲ့သည်ကို တွေ့ရှိရသည်။ သတင်းအချက်အလက်အတွက် မည်သို့သောတောင်းခံမှုမဆို သံသယဖြင့် ဆက်ဆံခံရပြီး အဆိုးဆုံးအခြေအနေအဖြစ် ဖမ်းဆီးခံရမှုများလည်း ရှိခဲ့သည်။ သို့ရာတွင်မူ ထိုအချိန်ကတာဝန်ထမ်းဆောင်ခဲ့သော အစိုးရနှင့် များစွာသော နိုင်ငံတော်အဖွဲ့အစည်းများသည် သတင်းအချက်အလက်အခွင့်အရေးအတွက် တိုးတက်အောင်ဆောင်ရွက်ရန် အနည်းဆုံးတော့ကတိပြုခဲ့ကြသည်။ ဥပမာအားဖြင့် သတင်းအချက်အလက်ရပိုင်ခွင့်ကို အာမခံပေးမည့် အနာဂါတ်ဥပဒေတစ်ခုအတွက် ၄င်းတို့၏ မူဝါဒရေးရာအစီအစဥ်တွင် ကတိပြုခဲ့သည်။ အဆိုပါ ကတိပြုမှုများသည် ၂၀၂၁ခုနှစ်၊ ဖေဖေါ်ဝါရီ ၁ ရက်က စတင်ခဲ့သော စစ်တပ်၏ “သတင်းအချက်အလက်အာဏာသိမ်းမှု” အောက်တွင် ပျောက်ကွယ်သွားခဲ့ရပြီ ဖြစ်သည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Free Expression Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-09-28
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Bangkok, Thailand
CNN
—
A beauty queen from Myanmar who took refuge in Thailand after criticizing her home country’s ruling military junta has left Bangkok for Canada where she is expected to seek asylum, Thai immigration officials told CNN.
Han Lay, 23, captured international attention with an emotional pageant speech during the finals of the Miss Grand International Myanmar competition in 2021 when she held up a banner with the words “Pray for Myanmar” to raise awareness of human rights atrocities committed by junta officials.
She received death threats after the speech and decided not to return home after the competition – which was held in Thailand.
However, she appeared to face the threat of deportation after returning to Thailand last Wednesday following a trip to Vietnam. She was stopped by officials at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport who said they had discovered a problem with her passport and since then she had been in limbo.
Archayon Kraithong, deputy chief of Thailand’s immigration bureau, told CNN on Wednesday that Han Lay had left Bangkok on Tuesday night. “Her final destination is Canada,” he said without giving further details.
Han Lay previously told CNN that she was seeking political asylum in Canada despite wanting to remain in Thailand.
“Han Lay was the victim of a deliberate political act by the junta to make her stateless when she flew back to Thailand from Vietnam last week,” said Phil Robertson, Asia deputy director of Human Rights Watch, adding that it was “not the first time” junta officials had “weaponized” Burmese passports.
“There is no doubt that what transpired was a trap to try to force Han Lay to return to Myanmar, where she would have faced immediate arrest, likely abuse in detention, and imprisonment,” Robertson added.
The situation in Myanmar continues to deteriorate following the 2021 military coup. Human rights violations remain rife, rights groups say and state executions have returned as conflict across the country rages.
Millions continue to resist the ruling junta led by Min Aung Hlaing, which has killed hundreds of pro-democracy protesters and locked up the country’s democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi..."
Source/publisher:
"CNN" (USA)
Date of publication:
2022-09-28
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Human Rights Defenders
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"A Myanmar woman has been jailed for six years by a military court for posting pictures on adult subscription site OnlyFans, amongst other platforms.
Nang Mwe San, a model and former doctor, had been charged two weeks ago for "harming culture and dignity", military authorities said.
She had also previously taken part in protests against the military, which seized power in 2021 in a coup.
She is believed to be the first person in Myanmar jailed for OnlyFans content.
Another model, who had also posted pictures of her participation in protests on social media, was also arrested in August under the same law. Thinzar Wint Kyaw is to face trial in October.
Nang Mwe San was found guilty of distributing nude photos and videos on social media sites for a fee, under Section 33 (A) of the country's Electronics Transactions Law, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years.
The model lived in Yangon's North Dagon Township - an area where martial law is in force.
In such areas - and under state of emergency laws renewed by the Myanmar junta government earlier this year - those charged with crimes are tried in a military court where they're denied rights like access to a lawyer.
She was tried at the Insein Prison Court - the capital's notorious prison and the largest in Myanmar - where many political prisoners have been sent since the coup last year.
Her mother told the BBC's Burmese Service she was able to contact her daughter in recent weeks, but had not known of the sentencing until military media confirmed it on Wednesday.
Myanmar's military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi's democratically elected government in February 2021 - sparking huge protests across the country and a widespread resistance movement.
It's estimated more than 15,600 people - including Ms Suu Kyi, other lawmakers, activists and journalists - have been arrested since the military seized power.
On Tuesday a freelance journalist for the BBC had her prison sentence increased by three years after being convicted of making contact with an outlawed pro-democracy radio programme set up by activists last year.
Htet Htet Khine had already been sentenced to three years hard labour under new laws which criminalise comments deemed to cause fear or spread "false news" about the military.
More than 12,000 people remain detained while at least 2,322 political prisoners have been killed by the regime says the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group.
Earlier this month, Britain's former ambassador to Myanmar Vicky Bowman and her husband were both jailed for a year for breaching immigration laws. But their case is likely to be about wider political concerns rather than immigration offences, for which foreigners are rarely prosecuted in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
BBC News (London)
Date of publication:
2022-09-28
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-28
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Individual Documents
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"One day a civilian government will assume power in Myanmar and the United States will come back promising security, democracy, human rights and free trade.
The return is likely to happen much as it did after 2011, when as described in Erin Murphy’s new book Burmese Haze, a triumphal US State Department arrived in Naypyitaw with planeloads of people and gifts, claiming credit for “midwifing” the transition to democracy.
It will then dangle a visit by a US president as a critical marker on that western-designed road to peace and democracy. Lectures about the nobility of US-style democracy and capitalism will be delivered, while Myanmar’s explanations about its own history brushed aside as well, boring.
Bilateral relations from the perspective of the Department of State are well-described by Murphy, the occupant of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Burma desk from 2007-12. As she relates this, US policy is about democracy, humanitarianism and free-market values that both nations share. And citizens pass on information in exchange for cash and vague promises of a US visa should things become difficult.
But there are two important things left out of Murphy’s book: that the US largely views Myanmar as a pawn in the chess game with China or any acknowledgment of Myanmar’s views of the bilateral relationship.
Murphy was a front-seat observer of Myanmar’s peace and democratic reform process between 2007 (just before Cyclone Nargis) and the coup in 2021. Her views are well-informed, at least regarding the US perspective, because of her top-secret clearance and high-level access.
She conducted interviews for the book with former secretaries of state Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, and even State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, maintaining access to the highest levels of the US government, even after quitting the CIA. Academics and journalists can only dream of such access.
Covert action
Burmese Haze avoids serious discussion of US reliance on the CIA and other intelligence work in Myanmar.
The “listening post” that is the sprawling embassy on Yangon’s Inle Lake, completed under the Than Shwe regime, is passed off as basically a reading room with US magazines, computer terminals and a place to learn English.
But the embassy includes 10 buildings built since 2007, including a four-story chancery, as Google Earth shows.
In other words, Myanmar’s junta long cooperated with the US to establish facilities which presumably collect electronic data from southeast Asia and China and cultivate human intelligence in Myanmar.
Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine reported that National Security Agency eavesdropping equipment was in the embassy.
The problem for any future civilian government will be that different US hands will offer contrasting opportunities and risks.
But the only hand described in Burmese Haze is the open hand of the generous US promoting democracy and human rights and opposing the junta.
That hand can be a bit brash and overconfident but generously supports programs of democracy, human rights and development.
The other hand is ignored in Burmese Haze. The secretive security-conscious US wants to block Chinese goals for Myanmar and has routinely used Myanmar’s military to further its aims. A civilian government will need to deal with both pressures.
Cyclone Nargis: where the two US policies came together
US assistance to Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis in 2008 opens Burmese Haze. Murphy describes an ever forward-thinking US Navy conducting Cobra Gold exercises in Thai waters just before the cyclone. After consulting satellite images, but without asking permission from the Than Shwe regime, the US Navy immediately repositioned itself off Myanmar’s coast for a major relief operation.
In response, the regime ignored the typhoon and focused on the threat of a potential US invasion.
Than Shwe repositioned the armed forces in preparation for an invasion. The junta denied visas to relief workers and restricted travel to afflicted areas by US Embassy staff. According to Murphy, the denials were accompanied by boring lectures from military officers, presumably about the CIA’s history of supplying insurgencies, funding the Nationalist Chinese armies in the north of the country from the 1950s to the 1980s, support for ethnic armed organizations and that spy center in Yangon.
As Murphy writes, the regime finally relented and permitted the US Navy to deliver relief. Murphy brags about how embassy staff managed the relief operation and naval planes, helicopters and relief deliveries assisted millions of victims in the Irrawaddy delta. Murphy writes that embassy staff took over management of Yangon Airport and became air-traffic controllers, managing flights that the incompetent junta could not.
By describing the airport takeover, Murphy finally describes clandestine operations and how US democratic values were compromised, while the State Department cozied up to the generals to build the huge US Embassy in 2007.
How was it that air-traffic controllers appeared from the massive embassy? Air-traffic controllers are typically not found among embassy staff. The embassy is a US intelligence hub with staff presumably focused on monitoring Chinese capabilities.
Needed to do this, it seems, are air-traffic controllers able to take over Yangon Airport at short notice.
Democracy, human rights and US jets in Naypyitaw
US visitors appeared more regularly following Myanmar’s 2010 general election. The release from house arrest of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi encouraged visits from those who believed Myanmar was on a path to democracy and human rights. Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama sought to deliver a new round of assistance for democracy, human rights and peace-building.
As Murphy tells it, Clinton planned a personal visit to Myanmar. Her staff rolled out her Air Force jet for the visit. But after some consternation, the air-traffic controllers at the embassy apparently warned that Naypyitaw Airport was too small to handle her plane. They asked if it could use the capital’s broad boulevards instead.
Murphy says the plane had five books for the visiting diplomats: David Steinberg’s Burma/Myanmar: What Everyone Needs to Know; Thant Myint-U’s The River of Lost Footsteps; Pascal Khoo Thwe’s From the Land of Green Ghosts, Emma Larkin’s No Bad News for the King and George Orwell’s Burmese Days. It had movies, including “Beyond Rangoon” about a US citizen who participated in the 1988 demonstrations. Somehow though they forgot 2008’s Rambo IV about a renegade US soldier rescuing an American missionary family from the military.
Strangely they forgot Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Freedom from Fear. And then halfway across the Pacific, they realized that both Clinton and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi were dog lovers. A hapless foreign service officer was sent from the plane in Korea to find a dog toy for Clinton to give as a gift.
Clinton’s brief time in Myanmar was full of pomp. Much television time was spent with Daw Aung Suu Kyi, recognizing her Nobel Peace Prize. And of course, Myanmar was lectured publicly about human rights, democratic elections, peace, health, and China. And then the money spigot for supporting the police and armed forces in drug intervention programs was opened and the capacity of the military enhanced.
Quieter lectures were likely delivered pointing out that aid to the military was contingent on stopping Chinese dam construction at Myitsone, slowing China’s Belt and Road Initiative and perhaps limiting Chinese investment in factories and retail. But unlike the surfeit of detail about dog toys, such requests are left out of Burmese Haze.
How would a civilian government deal with the two faces of US policy?
If this regime eventually falls and a civilian government emerges, the US will return. The problem is that despite the failure of US policies described in Burmese Haze, the approaches are likely to be the same.
There will be an emphasis on democracy, capitalism and human rights, even while clandestine cooperation for “security” supports the armed forces and police.
This will be done in a quiet exchange for access to the huge US Embassy as Washington’s geopolitical concerns about China will remain.
The clandestine arrangements funding policy on Myanmar are always secondary to concerns about China. Issues regarding CIA activity, past and present, will remain off-the-table too, dismissed as boring history speeches. Complaints about ongoing clandestine involvement will be ignored and concerns about a US military presence in the region brushed aside.
But a civilian government should not brush aside the CIA’s involvement in the fight against drugs and Chinese Communists, dating back to the Second World War.
A new government must insist that bilateral relations run two ways. They need to make clear that the United States is deeply distrusted by generations who ask questions like, “What are those naval ships offshore doing?”, “What about the threats of armed intervention during the Rohingya crisis in 2017?”, “Why are so many visa applications rejected?” “What about that ‘war on drugs’?” and “What about the past support for the military and police?”
And, “What about the construction and maintenance of the large ‘listening facility’ at the embassy under the Than Shwe regime, despite sanctions, and US claims to be apostles of democracy and human rights?”
Such questions should be addressed in a book about US relations with Myanmar between 2010 and 2021. Burmese Haze does not do this. I guess such a book awaits a future author, although probably not one who is from the CIA.
Tony Waters is a guest professor at Leuphana University in Germany and was a professor of sociology at Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He has been writing about Myanmar since 2017..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-09-28
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-28
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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Sub-title:
There is a growing consensus that the world should engage directly with the opposition National Unity Government.
Description:
"Ever since Myanmar’s military seized power and ousted an elected government, international efforts to negotiate a clear way out have focused on dealing with a military that month by month becomes more belligerent, more violent, and less capable.
The assumption was that “the military now controls Myanmar and has all the guns” and that talks – however unpalatable – must proceed. To a large extent, the opposition National Unity Government (NUG) was simply relegated and has struggled to get a hearing on the diplomatic front.
But a briefing paper by the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) challenges such assumptions and says that the military junta in Myanmar simply does not have effective control of the country to warrant its engagement with the international community.
The paper applied international standards in determining which side in the conflict best meets the criteria used to establish control of a state and found the NUG and resistance groups had “effective control” over 52 percent of the country.
Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and his generals are being actively contested by opposition forces in a further 23 percent of Myanmar and therefore the Tatmadaw, as the military is known, can only claim to have stable control over 17 percent of the country’s territory.
According to the SAC-M, the “trajectory of the conflict favors the resistance, and the junta is losing what control it does have at an increasing rate despite the continued use of mass atrocities by junta forces.”
That correlates with dispatches from inside Myanmar that say independent ethnic-based rebels are increasingly working together and have emerged from the jungles and are taking out military posts in the villages and pushing the fight to the outskirts of provincial cities.
This was a turning point noted at the recent Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Phnom Penh when this year’s host Cambodia admitted negotiations with the junta had failed and the prospect of opening direct talks with NUG became real.
As Bart Edes, a Professor of Practice at McGill University, noted: “ASEAN countries are sensing the weakness behind the regime. They are facing an armed opposition from many different corners within the country. Their status quo can not last.”
This notion is finding much support amid a growing body of evidence that the junta is losing its grip on large parts of the country.
“Armed resistance to the junta has now saturated wide swathes of townships across most states and regions in Myanmar, demonstrating the strength of the population’s rejection of the military playing any further role in the nation’s politics,” the SAC-M added.
Others have noted the world is running out of excuses not to recognize the NUG and the United States is pushing Myanmar up the foreign policy agenda after its plight was raised by President Joe Biden in the United Nations General Assembly last week.
To date, talks with Tatmadaw have proved insipid, at best. And the execution of the four pro-democracy activists on the eve of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was as tragic as it was stupid and warrants Myanmar’s expulsion, or at least suspension, from ASEAN.
The removal of the Tatmadaw from the negotiating table would enable Indonesia, with backing from Malaysia and Brunei, to deliver on earnest talks with the NUG when Jakarta assumes control of ASEAN’s rotating chair in 2023.
The SAC-M briefing paper also found that the military had forced Myanmar’s former central administration to the brink of collapse, adding the junta is unable to govern and has been reduced to an occupying military force with a diminishing territorial base.
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“The world needs to wake up to the reality that a new Myanmar is already taking shape,” Yanghee Lee, a SAC-M founding member, said.
“The NUG is not a shadow government or government in exile. It is the representative of the people’s revolution and resistance to the military junta, the combined of which control the majority of the country,” he added..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2022-09-28
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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Description:
"[Warning Graphic] ...
According to local news media, on the morning of the 23 May 2022, while families were having breakfast, the military attacked M’dat (မဒပ်) village with artillery shells. A 10-year-old boy and his mother were seriously injured. The child was reportedly in a critical condition, and lost a limb...News sources claimed that the military base of the 274th Light Infantry Battalion in Mindat Town (မင်းတပ်), Mindat Township (မင်းတပ်မိနယ်) was responsible for firing heavy artillery shells at civilian areas that morning...
Myanmar Witness collected and analysed open-source footage relating to the incident and made the following conclusions:
1. Myanmar Witness was not able to fully verify the footage of the injured child as being taken in M’dat village. However, possible locations in M’dat village and Mindat Township which are consistent with footage of where a heavily wounded child was taken for medical care were identified...2. There was no verifiable footage of the attack itself to verify how the child’s wounds were incurred, but Myanmar Witness was able to verify the location at which the child was allegedly hit, with what appears to be blood stains on the wall and floor outside of a structure claimed to be the child's home...3. Footage of ammunition reportedly found in M’dat village after the attack are consistent with locally produced 120mm mortar rounds known to be used by the Myanmar military...4. Myanmar Witness verified the presence of a military base within firing range of the village and identified a mortar present at the base, although it was not possible to verify whether it was a model capable of firing these particular rounds...This incident is one of many monitored and analysed by Myanmar Witness, which documents alleged indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas since the coup. Attacks on villages like this are of particular concern as many villages do not have sufficient medical facilities.
To read the full report and gain an insight into the techniques used by OSINT investigators, download the full report..."
Source/publisher:
Myanmar Witness
Date of publication:
2022-09-27
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Children, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group, Children, Military History
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Sub-title:
The junta’s tactics have grown more brutal in the face of resistance. The international community doesn’t have an answer.
Description:
"Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, remains locked in an armed struggle with its own people, but the crisis barely reached the surface at last week’s United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York. Officials from the United States and Malaysia met on the sidelines with representatives from Myanmar’s National Unity Government, a cabinet formed by elected lawmakers ousted when the military seized power in February 2021. The United Nations has delayed responding to the junta’s request for a seat; Myanmar’s current representative at the United Nations, Kyaw Moe Tun, remains loyal to the overthrown government.
As diplomacy sputters, violence in Myanmar is spiraling. At least 11 children were killed on Sept. 16 when military helicopters fired on a school in Sagaing region, a resistance stronghold. The killing of students was shocking, but extreme violence has come to characterize the junta. Last month, the military allegedly rampaged through a village in Kachin State, burning down homes and killing civilians. These attacks followed a trend: The monitoring group Data for Myanmar said the military has torched more than 28,000 civilian homes since the coup, and August was the worst month on record.
The increasingly brutal tactics are a sign of the military’s growing frustration as it fails to assert control more than 18 months after seizing power. In another illustration of this dynamic, the military regime executed four political prisoners in July, the first known judicial executions in Myanmar since the 1970s. All were accused of organizing or participating in armed resistance to military rule; they were hanged at Insein Prison in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city and economic center.
Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has had ample opportunity to make minor concessions to the international community, such as allowing a meeting with detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, that would have allowed him to reenter the fold without fundamentally threatening the military’s power. At every turn, the regime has instead chosen the path least conducive to compromise. The July executions took place against a backdrop of global outcry, including from authoritarian Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who currently chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. But like most of the junta’s decisions since the coup, the killings were intended for a domestic audience, not a global one.
The military regime choosing to execute four political prisoners also served as a grim reminder that the Tatmadaw is prepared to kill virtually anyone to stay in power. Among those executed was Phyo Zeya Thaw, 41, an elected member of parliament for the ousted National League for Democracy party, and Kyaw Min Yu (known as Ko Jimmy), 53, a renowned democracy activist. With most civilian political figures in military custody—including Aung San Suu Kyi, held in solitary confinement in the capital, Naypyidaw—the military sent a powerful warning to the population.
It also may have sent another message: The executions are one of “several obvious incidents that evidence the military’s desperation,” said Ye Myo Hein, a researcher on civil-military relations and a fellow at the Wilson Center, a Washington-based think tank.
Although Myanmar’s democratic resistance forces have shocked many observers with their success so far, arguments that they are on the verge of victory or that the military is on the verge of collapse are overly optimistic. The military has far superior firepower—using weapons from China and Russia—and complete air supremacy, whereas the resistance often relies on hunting rifles or homemade weapons and has no international support. The helicopters that fired on children in Sagaing were reportedly Russian-made Mi-35s.
Furthermore, the junta’s losses, while bolstering opposition morale, prompt further extremism from a regime that acts impulsively—and brutally—under pressure. Some of the deadliest atrocities since the military took power occurred in the weeks after the coup, when mass protests and strikes shut down cities, with neighborhoods barricaded, public services suspended, and trade frozen. The military unleashed violence to wrest back control. In March 2021, at least 65 people were killed in a single incident in Yangon.
Similar atrocities have followed in rural areas where armed resistance is the fiercest. With many of these regions under internet blackouts, some of the violence may go unreported. More than 40 civilians were killed in massacres in Sagaing region last July, and at least 35 people were executed in one incident in Kayah state last December. The military ramped up these campaigns last October, “but such campaigns eroded its military objectives,” fueling a cycle of violence, Ye Myo Hein said. The more ground the military loses, the more brutal it becomes, which only creates stronger resistance. “I have not seen any sign that the generals will back off in the foreseeable future,” Ye Myo Hein added.
Some analysts say the military hasn’t reached a tipping point yet. The military is “frustrated and vengeful” but not necessarily desperate, said Richard Horsey, the Myanmar advisor for the International Crisis Group. “Its frustration comes from the fact that local resistance remains determined and effective rather than quickly crumbling as the generals may have thought,” he added. “They seem to be hoping that by imposing a severe cost on civilian populations, they can undermine the support base for resistance groups without the military risks of a major offensive.”
Myanmar’s military is still capable of significantly worse violence, as the experience of the persecuted Rohingya minority shows. Although the regime has killed more than 2,300 civilians since the coup, this toll pales in comparison to the horrors of the 2017 Rohingya crisis, when the military slaughtered between an estimated 10,000 and 25,000 civilians in a matter of weeks in just the northern part of Rakhine state. The military’s dehumanization of the Rohingya is unique, but the junta leadership would not hesitate to use similar tactics against the civilian population if it felt that it truly risked being overthrown.
“If the past is any guide, I would expect the military to double down on its current strategy rather than changing course,” Horsey warned. “That implies continued punitive attacks and more atrocities for months and possibly years.”
An institutional collapse of the military or an internal coup against its senior leadership could hasten the end of Myanmar’s crisis, but Ye Myo Hein said he sees no sign of either happening soon. At this point, a “negotiated settlement is highly unlikely,” he said, and the generals will likely continue down this path even if they “ruin the country and their institution.” “The civil-military relations in Myanmar [have] irretrievably broken down,” Ye Myo Hein said.
The military is holding the nation hostage, but its people should not simply give up. The regime hopes that its extreme violence will eventually convince the public that anything, including living under military rule, is better than war. But for now, the people of Myanmar have shown they are willing to endure tremendous hardship—and even lay down their lives—to continue their struggle for democracy. The international community should respect that decision rather than blithely call for a “cessation of violence” and for “all parties” to show restraint, which is effectively a call for the resistance to surrender.
For its part, every atrocity Myanmar’s military commits proves that the regime has no intention of making even basic concessions to the international community. It is an irrational organization that only knows how to solve its problems through violence, which has only incentivized revolutionaries to approach the ongoing crisis as an existential conflict. As the violence spirals without an off-ramp in sight, countries sympathetic to Myanmar’s plight have an obligation to take more creative action to assist the people of Myanmar in liberating themselves from potentially decades of oppression..."
Source/publisher:
"Foreign Policy" (USA)
Date of publication:
2022-09-27
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
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Description:
"“Mom, it hurts so bad. I can’t bear it anymore. Just put me out of my misery”. These were the actual last words of Phone Tayza, a seven-year-old Myanmar boy, to his mom just a few minutes before he passed away from gunshot wounds by Myanmar soldiers who stormed his school. The massacre took place on 16 September 2022 at Let Yet Kone village, in De Pe Yin Township, Sagaing division where at least 10 others were killed.
Since the military coup in February 2021, Myanmar has witnessed the birth of People’s Defense Forces (PDF) all across the country. Despite their overwhelming disadvantages in weapons and ammunition, the clashes between PDFs and Myanmar military have escalated drastically in the past eighteen months afflicting significant casualty to Myanmar military troops. Given their inferior armaments, PDFs have resorted to ambushes and roadside IEDs to great effect forcing Myanmar military to use helicopter and jets to attack villages and in troop movements.
In the school attack, two Russian made Mi-35 helicopters appeared on the horizon, raining down machinegun fire and rockets toward the school and the adjacent Buddhist monastery. According to the witnesses, the firing lasted about 30 minutes. At about the same time, two other helicopters dropped infantry troops who stormed the school compound shooting indiscriminately. They also warned villagers not to approach the school. As the soldiers entered the school, instead of the armed men, they encountered crying school children with fatal or near fatal gunshot wounds. The soldiers ordered everyone to come out of the school with hands above their heads. Terrified, many children despite their wounds, dragged themselves out of the building, crying and moaning.
When a teacher tried to help a girl, whose thigh was shattered and bleeding, the soldiers threatened to shoot the teacher if she moved. Many villagers whose children were in the school came running only to be blocked by the soldiers at the school entrance. When the mother of Phone Tayza recognized her son’s moans and cries she pleaded to be allowed in.
Finally, the soldiers relented. And when she found her son, those were his last words before he died a few minutes later in her hands. Later the dead and the wounded were taken away by the military. The village wasn’t even given a chance to retrieve or bury the bodies of the loved ones. At the end of the hellish episode, eleven students and villagers were killed while another twenty were wounded that day.
Sadly, for Myanmar such a tragic event is not the first or the last of its kind. The only thing certain is these atrocities are going to become worse as long as the military junta remains in power. Hasn’t the world learned yet? This is the same military command who committed genocide towards Rohingya population in 2017. And the one who fired indiscriminately time and again into unarmed protesters on the city streets in 2021 when people rose up against the coup. It also is responsible for the murder of unarmed NGO workers and civilians on Christmas 2021.
The people of Myanmar tried to protest the coup through peaceful civil disobedience, but the brutal crackdown of the military left them with no choice. The military only understands the language coming out of a gun barrel as explained here. Myanmar military leaders don’t understand the term negotiation. In July 2022, the junta carried out death sentences on four political prisoners despite the international pleas. These were the first in more than 30 years. When the international community condemned this outrage, Britain being the loudest, the junta in turn arrested a British national Ms. Vicky Bowman, the former British ambassador to Myanmar, who is now married to a Myanmar man in Yangon on flimsy immigration charges.
All of these past instances raise a question why the international community, both the west and neighboring ASEAN countries, can’t see to the fact that the military junta will not be influenced by the usual diplomatic and political means. If what is happening in Myanmar doesn’t amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity, what does? The usual targeted sanctions and the diplomatic condemnation is not working and is not going to work. How many more children need to die before the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is considered?
Thankfully some countries and leaders have reached to this conclusion as witnessed in the recent remarks by UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews, Malaysian prime minister Mr. Yaakob and the President of East Timor who questioned why no such aid has come to Myanmar (compared to Ukraine) when both are similarly fighting against tyranny.
The dictatorial Myanmar military regimen is heavily contributing to regional instability. Fighting against the ethnic armed resistant group Arakan Army (AA), Myanmar’s military has fired multiple rounds and motor shells into Bangladesh and its helicopters entering the airspace has led to tension between the two neighboring countries. The systemic torching of civilian villages by the Myanmar military has also created a large population of internally displaced people in the states of Sagaing, Kachin, Karen, Chin and Kayah with many refugees fleeing into neighboring Thailand and India. It is a humanitarian and regional catastrophe in the making.
The main arms supply to the Myanmar military is Russia. For example, Myanmar has just received two Su-30 fighter jets from Russia with four more on the way in the next few months. Many Myanmar officers get trained at various Russian military institutes yearly. The international outcast Mr. Putin has newly found an ardent supporter and a minion in General Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar. Yet according to an air force pilot who defected from the military, Myanmar’s air force has only 13 functioning Mi-35 helicopters. It should not take much assistance to the parallel government, National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar and the PDFs under its chain of command, for a victory against the military. A recent report by the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar stated that the NUG and affiliated EROs already control about 52% of the country’s territory. A dozen 1980’s era shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles, like those used in Afghanistan, could quickly reset the balance of power in the Myanmar. Currently PDFs and EROs have no anti-aircraft capability. Ironically, it is the same old adversary from Afghanistan, Russia, whose helicopters are doing the killing in Myanmar. PDFs rely on homemade single bolt-action rifles and very few automatic weapons purchased at exorbitant prices. Some assistance in upgrading their small arms arsenal would go far.
A significant interruption of cash flow to Myanmar Military’s coffers, such as sanctioning the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) that serves as its lifeline of foreign currency could also be effective. The usual argument has been that such a sanction might also create hardship towards the ordinary Myanmar population. This opposition is invalidated as the energy needs and delivery of the country are already in the hands of the junta which has diverted all the available resources to the military. To think that a military regimen that slaughters children considers the needs of the citizens of the country over its own is delusional. Finally, removing the Myanna Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) from the international SWIFT code banking system should also be used to punish the junta. The U.S. has done this to some Russian banks.
Myanmar is withering away while the world silently watches. The world needs to wake up and think outside of the box when dealing with this murderous Myanmar military regimen. Being a beacon of democracy, the U.S. should take a leadership role in rallying international action. Drastic times call for drastic measures. Time is running out before we hear a repeat cry of a Myanmar child asking to be put out of his misery..."
Source/publisher:
EurAsia Rewiew
Date of publication:
2022-09-27
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Human Rights Defenders, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar
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Description:
"Bangkok, September 27, 2022 – Myanmar authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Htet Htet Khine and stop jailing journalists for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.
On September 27, Htet Htet Khine, a freelance BBC Media Action reporter, was sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor, according to a statement by BBC Media Action, which did not specify the charge she was convicted under.
On September 15, Htet Htet Khine received her first three-year prison sentence with hard labor for allegedly violating Section 505(a) of the penal code, which criminalizes incitement and the dissemination of false news, as CPJ documented.
According to a report by the AP, Htet Htet Khine was also facing charges under the Unlawful Association Act for allegedly contacting “illegal organizations,” which carries a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment.
“Myanmar’s junta must reverse this outrageous verdict against journalist Htet Htet Khine and set her free immediately and unconditionally,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “The military regime must stop treating journalists like criminals for merely doing their jobs.”
The journalist, who has been detained since August 15, 2021, received a reduction in her sentence for time served and therefore faces five years of hard labor, according to the outlet’s statement, which said it remains “concerned for her safety and well-being in detention.”
Htet Htet Khine was moved after her September 15 trial to Insein prison in the city of Yangon, news reports said. Myanmar’s Ministry of Information did not immediately reply to CPJ’s emailed request for comment.
Myanmar was the world’s second-worst jailer of journalists as of December 1, 2021, according to CPJ’s annual prison census..."
Source/publisher:
Committee to Protect Journalists (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-09-28
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders
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Description:
"Myanmar is in a state of revolution. It is a society in an existential fight against a single institution: a military that has brutalized generations of Myanmar’s people. In the early months after the junta’s February 2021 coup, peaceful protests emerged across the country. Predictably, the Myanmar military responded, as it has done for decades, with widespread, barbarous violence to crush the protests by unarmed civilians. Subsequently, and understandably, armed resistance to military rule emerged.
Amid all of this, the phrase thway-ma-aye, which translates as ‘Never Cold Blooded’, began to be used by protesters, whether the flash mobs in the cities or the demonstrators in rural areas. The phrase first emerged in Sagaing Region, notably in Monywa, Kalay and Yinmabin townships, and is most associated with a village named Shwe Nwal Thway in Yinmabin known for its strident, ongoing anti-regime protests. Now it is used across Myanmar.
In English, the term ‘cold blooded’ is generally used to describe actions done with intent but without emotion. Often, it connotes particularly cruel violence. If someone kills in cold blood, they kill in a way that seems especially cruel because the perpetrator displays no emotion. If one wishes to understand the ethos, or spirit, of Myanmar’s revolution, it is useful to peel away the layers of what ‘Never Cold Blooded’ means and why the term has become so important to the country’s revolutionaries.
Subtly distinct from the English meaning, the use of the term ‘Never Cold Blooded’ by Myanmar’s protesters has important nuances; it is more akin to being ‘warm blooded’ by continuing to strive and persevere and to keep one’s heart in the fight. But whether in Burmese or English, the phrase and its multiple meanings captures the essence of so much of what Myanmar’s revolution is about and stands in stark contrast to the junta’s tactics and objectives.
To make better sense of Myanmar’s revolution – its intents, actors, and prospects – it is useful to explore the works of one of the 20th Century’s most brilliant political theorists, Hannah Arendt. Her 1963 book On Revolution is justifiably considered one of the most comprehensive and thoughtful detailings of what revolution means and how and why it emerged as a driving political phenomenon of modern history. Core to Arendt’s conceptualization of revolution is the “idea that freedom and the experience of a new beginning should coincide.” Her use of the term freedom connotes “participation in public affairs, or admission to the public realm.” Critically, her emphasis on freedom is additional to liberation or liberty, namely “to be free of oppression” in one’s personal life. This basic dialectic still defines the political tensions between the world’s liberal democracies, which speak of freedom, and authoritarian regimes that seek legitimacy through economic growth and domestic stability.
As Arendt so eloquently summarized, revolution fundamentally “aimed at freedom and that the birth of freedom spelled the beginning of an entirely new story.” Echoing the acting President of the National Unity Government Duwa Lashi La’s statement that this revolution is a “second war for independence”, it seeks not a return to anything but rather a new beginning. This is what defines the country’s events since February 2021 in simplest terms as a revolution. It is to be the break from the past. When protesters proclaim ‘Never Cold Blooded’, what they affirm is the conviction to persevere towards that new beginning, whatever the cost. This is why, despite all the horrors and atrocities thrown at them by the junta, they persist, and will continue doing so. Juxtaposed against this determination is the military regime’s archaic desire for the restoration of a mythologized past of Bamar nationalism. Who but a senior general of the Myanmar military could now sit in that ridiculous throne hall in Naypyitaw and not be ashamed of such backwardness?
Moreover, the intent of Myanmar’s revolutionaries contrasts with the toxic phrase thrown around by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with international backing, that the bloc supports a “return to normalcy” for Myanmar requiring dialogue and mediation with the military. This is not a new beginning, but simply an attempt at restoring a flawed process. ASEAN and the rest of the world delude themselves by believing that the decade of ‘transition’ represented some type of ‘normal’ leading to a more permanent, more democratic order. The country was effectively held hostage by the military and its self-serving 2008 Constitution, meaning it was always able and willing to stage a coup.
The rage of the Myanmar public since the putsch is that they nonetheless peacefully engaged in the military’s process for ‘discipline-flourishing democracy’ and were then cheated via the coup, with thousands of people subsequently murdered. Moreover, what can ever be ‘normal’ about expecting a ‘peaceful transition’ back to [quasi/coerced] democracy when that requires engagement with a regime that is genocidal. Exactly how many genocides and massacres must a regime commit before they are no longer to be engaged with but simply ended? ‘Never Cold Blooded’ means ending a toxic disgrace of a military that has denied the Myanmar people both liberty and freedom for over six decades.
Another key insight of Arendt’s framing of revolution is the notion of a “point of no return”, namely when enough of a society feel that they are “agents in a process which spells the definite end of an old order and brings about the birth of a new world.” One outcome of the preceding decade of ‘transition’ which was actually positive was that it socialized the Myanmar public, and particularly its youth, to the notion that a different future was in fact possible except for one thing. Arendt summarized this nicely when she notes that what is sought by revolution is a “citizen’s right of access to the public realm, in his share in public power.”
As Arendt notes, the concept of rage is central to revolutions, particularly “the rage of naked misfortune pitted against the rage of unmasked corruption.” These emotive, competing forces compel a society, like Myanmar’s, to rise in revolution after experiencing, at least partially, a better future. One where, at least conceivably, the military did not wrap the country’s people around its own greed, coerced through unending violence and division. As such, Myanmar’s military laid the foundation for the revolution through the decade of quasi-democracy and economic growth and then lit the flame for it through the 2021 coup.
This in turn builds upon Arendt’s emphasis on “revolutionary spirit”, which is the “the most impressive facet of modern revolutions.” Key to Arendt’s emphasis on revolutionary spirit are themes that link more closely with the English language connotations of ‘Never Cold Blooded’ but inherently sync with the ethos of Myanmar’s revolution. Uniting revolutionaries is the “notion of novelty and newness” of the endeavor. Moreover, key to this is the awareness of the agency of collective action for common good. As Arendt explained, successful revolutions only occur when a sufficient number of citizens are willing to act knowing that they may fail, but nonetheless are “eager to organize and to act together for a common purpose.” This stands in contrast to societies that prioritize personal well-being, most often in terms of affluence, at the price of public good, namely democracy and basic liberties. It is telling that Myanmar’s revolution is driven by its youth, who have risen in massive numbers to say that they want a different country for theirs and future generations.
‘Never Cold Blooded’ is in effect a declaration that indifference to the sufferings of others has been one of the country’s ‘original sins,’ most recently by widespread indifference to the Rohingya genocide. While there is still much to do, there has been more societal reckoning and reconciliation in the 20 months since the coup than in the preceding decades. That Bamar heartland regions, specifically Sagaing and Magwe, are core areas of armed resistance and are actively supported by partner ethnic armed organizations is but one example of the shifting parameters of how and who to define what is Myanmar.
Another important dynamic in this regard is the oft-stated declaration by the country’s youth that they wish to participate in the revolution precisely because it is a responsibility they must bear so that future generations do not. This is surely one of the purest meanings of ‘Never Cold Blooded’. Ending the military’s dominance is the most immediate goal of the revolution and creating a federal democracy the clear political outcome sought, but there are other major societal shifts being driven along by the churning forces raging across the country.
Revolution is a process. It is a societal reckoning. What is sought in Myanmar, to quote Arendt on modern revolutions, is “the foundation of freedom and the establishment of lasting institutions.” In simplest terms, this means a new beginning. ‘Never Cold Blooded’ is the fitting ethos of a society attempting to start anew. The revolution must be won and then a new, stable political settlement enacted around federal democracy. At its core will be a basic but fundamental notion that so exemplifies what is sought during these turbulent, violent months of revolution. As Arendt wisely summarized, we must be able “to grasp the enormous difference in power and authority between a constitution imposed by a government upon a people and the constitution by which a people constitutes its own government.”
This awareness seems self-evident to Myanmar’s revolutionaries but sorely missing amongst the international community. Outsiders who wish to support the Myanmar people in their revolution should support it as a sprawling, dynamic process rather than nitpick or over-generalize inevitable failings and challenges. It will never be as clean or obvious as anybody would want, but the international community, and especially its democracies, owes the Myanmar people real support in their just endeavor to secure a new future free of military dictatorship. To do otherwise is simply cold blooded..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-09-27
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Human Rights Defenders, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar
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Description:
"The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar is collecting evidence concerning the recent sustained attack on a school located in Let Yet Kone village, Sagaing Region, to assess criminal responsibility. At least 12 people are reported to have been killed, including several children.
Multiple reports indicate that the school, located in the compound of a monastery, came under attack by Tatmadaw forces for several hours on 16 September – first from helicopters firing rockets and machine-guns, followed by an infantry attack.
Armed attacks that target civilians are prohibited by international laws of war and can be punished as war crimes or crimes against humanity.
Tatmadaw spokesperson, Major General Zaw Min Htun, has claimed that the attack on Let Yet Kone did not target civilians but rather Kachin Independence Army and People’s Defence Force soldiers thought to be present at the school. However, even if this was the case and the armed attack had a military objective, it is prohibited according to the laws of war if it is expected to result in civilian injuries or deaths that are excessive in relation to the expected direct military advantage achieved by the attack.
Commanders who decide to launch a military attack in proximity to civilians have three specific obligations under international law. They must do everything possible to verify the existence of the military objectives; take all practicable precautions in the choice of methods and means of warfare to avoid or minimize harm to civilians; and must not launch attacks which may be expected to cause disproportionate civilian casualties or civilian property damage.
Commanders who intentionally or recklessly disregard these obligations in ordering or launching an attack may be criminally liable, as would be any soldiers or pilots who follow orders to carry out what they must know, given the circumstances, to be a disproportionate attack.
Schools are places where civilians – including children – are typically present in large numbers. Commanders must therefore take special care to confirm the existence and nature of any possible military target, assess the number of civilians in the area, and adopt means and methods to minimize the risk of harm to them.
Information on how to communicate securely with the Mechanism about this or other serious international crimes that may have been committed in Myanmar can be found at iimm.un.org/contact-us/. Please avoid taking unnecessary risks that may compromise safety, and only communicate with us via secure channels.
The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM or Mechanism) was created by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2018 to collect and analyse evidence of the most serious international crimes and other violations of international law committed in Myanmar since 2011. It aims to facilitate justice and accountability by preserving and organizing this evidence and preparing case files for use in future prosecutions of those responsible in national, regional and international courts..."
Source/publisher:
Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-09-27
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Education rights: reports of violations in Burma, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group
Language:
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Sub-title:
As UN aid agencies line up to sign deals with the junta, local groups fighting “for victory and humanity” continue to be the country’s real saviours
Description:
"The recent rush of UN agencies to sign memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Myanmar’s military junta has raised important questions about who is really carrying the burden of humanitarian assistance in the country—international aid agencies, or local relief groups engaged in resisting the regime?
In a recent paper, Hugo Slim, a UK-based expert on the ethics of humanitarian aid, offers some valuable insight on this issue, which has been the subject of often passionate debate in Myanmar. Titled “Humanitarian resistance: Its ethical and operational importance,” this paper examines the respective roles of local civil society organisations and activist groups participating in the Spring Revolution on the one hand, and UN agencies and the INGO aid community on the other.
There is growing frustration on both sides. Those who work for international aid agencies, especially foreign nationals, feel that they are being unfairly criticised for trying to assist vulnerable populations. While they lament that this may mean making “many hard and unpleasant compromises in order to serve higher humanitarian imperatives,” as one such individual put it to me recently, they insist that this is necessary in order to function in a very complex situation.
On the other side, local activists feel that they are speaking for most in Myanmar when they say that the country has been largely abandoned by the international community—not least by the UN and its humanitarian agencies. Looking back over the past 19 months, what they see is the failure of UN agencies and INGOs to provide aid where it is needed most. Only a trickle of aid has come into the country, and it has only reached areas where the regime has allowed them to operate.
In Slim’s terminology, this is a dispute between what he calls the “local humanitarian resistance community” and the community of “conventional international humanitarian agencies.” The first term in particular is helpful in understanding the core of the disagreement, because it highlights the emergence of an alternative to more traditional thinking about the place of humanitarian relief work in the context of conflict.
Since its attempt to seize power in February of last year, Myanmar’s military has faced protests, civil disobedience and armed resistance; in response, it has unleashed harsh, indiscriminate, large-scale and systematic violence. Its sole aim is to crush dissent at any cost, and its inability to achieve this goal has only made it more brutal. Currently in control of less than 50% of the country’s territory, and vulnerable to attack even in areas where it has a strong presence, it routinely deploys jets, helicopters and ground troops to carry out “clearance operations” anywhere that it cannot impose its rule. The result has been a huge and growing humanitarian crisis.
This crisis has been created by the junta, and nobody else. As it continues to worsen day by day, week by week, the people of Myanmar have responded with an impressive display of what Slim calls “humanitarian resistance,” which doesn’t just address immediate needs, but also recognises that inflicting suffering on the civilian population is not just an unfortunate side effect of the country’s conflict, but an integral part of the military’s strategy. Thus, no amount of international aid will help as long as the regime continues with its systematic dislocation of civilians and destruction of their property and livelihoods.
Within Myanmar, local humanitarian resistance groups enjoy the trust and appreciation of the general population, while international aid agencies are increasingly regarded with frustration and even anger. Conversely, people outside of the country, who have little knowledge or recognition of the value of resistance humanitarianism, continue to hold the international agencies in high esteem, if only because these agencies have been so skillful at promoting themselves on the world stage.
There are a number of reasons that many in Myanmar take such a dim view of international agencies. One is that they are seen as remote, top-down organisations. They are also far less numerous and diverse than local, grass-roots groups. But perhaps the most important reason is that they see themselves as obliged to remain “neutral” and “non-partisan”—unlike local humanitarian resistance groups, which, according to Slim, “simultaneously [take] sides for human life and human freedom” and “combine a desire for victory and humanity.”
In his paper, Slim looks at Myanmar and Ukraine as examples of humanitarian resistance in action. In both countries, he sees evidence of how the humanitarian response to their respective political crises aims to serve “the cause of victory”:
“In Myanmar, people committed to the resistance are boycotting government institutions and have either created new associations for the rescue and relief of people suffering from the dictatorship’s violence and increasing poverty, or they are surging existing social and religious institutions for the same effect. In Ukraine, where an entire nation is fighting for survival against outside aggression, people have come together en masse as volunteer auxiliaries to dramatically expand the provision of food relief, emergency housing and education, social work, civil defence and ambulance and fire services.”
According to Slim, “All these welfare activities combine a humanitarian and a resistance purpose in the same activity. Being a resistance humanitarian in Myanmar or Ukraine means playing your part in the struggle. Working as a medic, a firefighter or an emergency teacher is experienced and understood as a valuable form of civil resistance.”
The fact that many see their humanitarian activities as part of a political struggle in no way detracts from the effectiveness of their efforts, says Slim. Indeed, he observes that humanitarian resistance has had a “significant” impact in terms of meeting people’s needs:
“Tens of thousands of people have been rescued from Ukrainian cities under Russian attack by informal groups using their own cars and covert routes in a continuous relay of rescue runs. These rescuers see their humanitarian work as part of the political struggle against the Russian invasion. In Myanmar, hundreds of thousands of people are being helped with food, healthcare and emergency education by rescue committees and relief committees formed by people from the [Civil Disobedience Movement] who have left their government jobs to work for alternative, resistance institutions.”
Unlike international aid organisations, which are relatively generously funded by donor countries, the local humanitarian resistance community is primarily financed by members of the public who are in many cases struggling with hardships of their own due to the economic fallout of the coup. An energized and self-organised diaspora is also making a contribution.
Another difference is that local humanitarian resistance work relies heavily on volunteers, whereas international aid agencies are mostly staffed by well-paid professionals. Expats employed to do international aid work typically follow a career path that takes them from one “crisis spot” to another. Most currently working “on Myanmar” do so from a safe distance—from neighbouring Thailand or even farther afield. And while they can expect to advance in their careers even under these circumstances, many humanitarian resistance workers actually inside the country have had to abandon their professions to oppose the injustice and repression of the military regime.
Needless to say, “resistance humanitarians” don’t just sacrifice their careers—they also risk their lives. On numerous occasions people providing aid have been arrested, tortured and imprisoned. Some have been killed.
Meanwhile, conventional humanitarian agencies have been struggling to respond to the suffering in Myanmar. Their mode of operations requires the explicit or implicit consent of the regime, which has hugely restricted what they can do. But beyond this, they have also been constrained by their own bureaucratic character, which makes them extremely slow and expensive, as well as prone to self-censorship.
In short, there has been an enormous disproportionality between these two very different aid communities, in terms of their cost, effectiveness, and risk. This raises the question of which side actually receives the most money from international donors. The answer, of course, is that almost all funding flows to major agencies or organisations, while virtually none reaches groups engaged in humanitarian resistance.
This is not a new situation. It has long been the case that local groups have had to operate on shoestring budgets, while international aid agencies have been far more lavishly funded. This has been a source of some resentment among local aid groups, but most have hesitated to speak out about it, as they see the international aid agencies as being at least potential allies against the real enemy—Myanmar’s repressive military.
More recently, however, many have become more outspoken about this disparity, as they watch multiple UN agencies hasten to sign MOUs with the junta. In effect, according to those who are now witnessing this spectacle from the trenches of Myanmar’s ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, these agencies have broken their long-held principle of neutrality by reaching agreements with a regime that has no legitimacy in the eyes of the country’s people.
This cannot be defended as pragmatism. A genuinely pragmatic approach would be one that involves deals with both the regime and with the National Unity Government and governing entities in liberated ethnic territories. This would enable a more fair and balanced distribution of aid into areas that are currently being served almost entirely by humanitarian resistance organisations.
At this point, there are few in Myanmar who believe that the UN agencies are primarily motivated by a desire to deliver aid more effectively. Rather, they are seen as acting mostly out of institutional self-interest. Meanwhile, resistance organisations and networks continue to do what they have been doing to save the country from the coup regime. They need to be noticed, recognised and supported by donor countries. Yangon-based UN agencies and INGOs will not provide for them.
Igor Blazevic is a prominent human rights campaigner based in the Czech Republic. He is a lecturer at Educational Initiatives, a training program for Myanmar activists, and a senior adviser with the Prague Civil Society Centre..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2022-08-27
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Human Rights Defenders, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar
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Description:
"Burma Campaign UK today accused Apple CEO of hypocrisy for announcing a partnership on racial equality and justice with the Southbank Centre, London, at the same time as hosting Apps controlled by the Burmese military which use racist language against the Rohingya minority, and which deny genocide.
The Burmese military is facing charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice and is being investigated for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.
Apple hosts apps for Burmese state-owned media, which are now under the control of the Burmese military, including MRTV.
Apple also hosts Apps for the Burmese military-owned Mytel mobile phone network, which helps to fund the Burmese military and the violations of international law which they commit. The Apps are a crucial part of the marketing strategy for Mytel, Apple host 8 of their Apps.
Apple also hosts a new social media App, OKPar, created by the military as part of its attempt to limit access to information from independent social media sources such as Facebook.
“Apple helps the Burmese military make money and helps the Burmese military spread lies and propaganda,” said Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK. “For Tim Cook to come to the UK and claim to be supporting equality and justice while his company provides services to a military which committed genocide and rapes children shows staggering hypocrisy.”
Apple are on the Burma Campaign UK ‘Dirty List’ because of their provision of service to the Burmese military. https://burmacampaign.org.uk/take-action/apple/
Apple removed Russian state media Apps after the invasion of Ukraine but has kept on hosting Burmese military Apps. https://burmacampaign.org.uk/apple-removes-rt-and-sputnik-apps-but-keeps-myanmar-military-apps/
More information on Apple hosting the OKPar App is available here:
https://www.accessnow.org/myanmar-facebook-youtube-ban/ ..."
Source/publisher:
"Burma Campaign UK" (London)
Date of publication:
2022-09-26
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"DW Asia editor Rodion Ebbighausen has written an opinion piece in which he argues that “Myanmar activists are attacking the wrong target”. “Activists and civil society groups in Myanmar are increasingly attacking humanitarian aid organizations, especially the United Nations, online. They are the wrong target,” says Ebbighausen in the DW article.
Let me quickly comment on why Ebbighausen’s defense of the UN agencies is wrong and why the UN agencies are coming under deserved public scrutiny and criticism.
What Ebbighausen is overlooking is that no UN agencies have signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the legitimate National Unity Government (NUG), which does not intentionally and systematically kill the civilian population and uproot them from the land.
However, all relevant UN agencies (OCHA, UNICEF, ICRC, FAO and IOM) have simultaneously signed MoUs with the illegitimate power-usurper, which is intentionally and systematically executing cleansing operations and terror over the civilian population.
They have signed MoUs with a force that is waging a war, not against guerrillas, but against the civilian population. They have signed an “understanding” with the same force and the same people who are actually creating a humanitarian emergency and using brutal violence to expel the population from the land.
In addition, the military junta—after 19 months in which the people have mounted a heroic self-defense operation—currently controls only about half of the country’s territory. There is a long history of the junta using a “Four Cuts” policy, which means cutting the civilian population off from food, supplies, medicines, fuel and anything else in order to blackmail the insurgency into conceding defeat through the heavy price imposed on the civilian population. The military did that for decades and is doing it now.
So once the UN agencies sign an MoU with the junta, they agree that they will not deliver aid to half of the territory where the situation is the most dramatic and urgency is the greatest. If at the same time there is not a single UN agency that has signed an agreement with the NUG and Ethnic Revolutionary Organizations (EROs) about delivering much-needed aid to non-junta controlled territory as well, then what we have is UN agencies assisting the brutal counterinsurgency operations of the junta.
This is a problem and this is a big problem, and that is why the UN agencies are coming under deserved public scrutiny and criticism.
Cheap, pathetic arguments about “a starving child receiving food does not starve to death” should not hide this ugly reality. There is a systematic, murderous and brutal counterinsurgency operation going on in the rural areas of the country. This is being done by the military junta. This must be stopped. This is a humanitarian imperative.
If that is too much for the UN to do, then at least the UN agencies must be on both sides of the conflict lines, and not only on the side of the aggressor.
Activists and civil society groups, as well as the people of Myanmar, are rightly outraged because the UN agencies have signed an understanding with the junta and have not made any agreement that aid will also be delivered to the NUG- and ERO-liberated territories.
Myanmar society has enough determination and strength to defend itself from the attempted military power grab. Myanmar society and its own civil society also have enough determination and capacity to keep under scrutiny what the UN agencies are doing—and what they are not doing.
The UN has a long history of failures in Myanmar. The 2019 Rosenthal Report analyzed and highlighted “systemic and structural failures” of the UN agencies during the Rohingya genocide in 2017. The same military under the same command structure that committed the crime of genocide in 2017 in Rakhine State is now applying the same cleansing operations in other parts of Myanmar. The UN agencies have obviously not learned anything from their own previous failures. The people of Myanmar have learned. They have learned enough to know that they have only one way to gain security, peace, development, rights and freedom, and that is by liberating themselves from predatory and repressive military rule.
They have also learned enough about the humanitarian neocolonialism of the UN agencies. That is why the UN agencies will get pushback from Myanmar society whenever they start to do harm. The UN agencies have started walking down the very slippery road of doing more harm than benefit.
Myanmar civil society is ringing alarm bells. The UN agencies would do well to hear those alarm bells, and not to make themselves blind and deaf, hiding behind an argument that it is fulfilling a “humanitarian commitment that can alleviate the suffering of the people”.
In places like Myanmar, where the junta (and only the junta) has weaponized humanitarian aid, it is not enough to say that one is “alleviating the suffering of the people”. One must be more precise and say where the aid is going and where the aid is not going, and why. It also matters a lot when the aid is delivered and when it is not delivered, and why. It also matters through whom the aid comes and through whom it does not come.
At this moment UN agencies have committed themselves to deliver aid where the junta wants them to send it, to deliver it when the junta allows them to send it, and to do it through structures that are affiliated with the junta—the same junta that is the sole and only source of all suffering and of the humanitarian emergency.
This is rightly criticized.
Igor Blazevic is senior adviser with the Prague Civil Society Centre. Between 2011 and 2016 he worked in Myanmar as the head lecturer at the Educational Initiatives Program..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-09-26
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-26
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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"On 16th September at around 1 pm, the terrorist military used its MI35 helicopter and Light Infantry 368 to fire upon a school within the grounds of a monastery in Lat Yat Kone Village in Depayin Township, Sagaing Region.The Attack lasted for about an hour. The army refused to hand over the bodies of six children who were killed and instead carried them away in jute bags. In addition, another child died later in Ye-Oo Hospital.
Six innocent civilians also died in the incident whose bodies were handed over the families. In total thirteen innocent civilians died, including seven children. Another twenty-one civilians, including school children, teachers, were taken away as ransom. Junta forces then torched the homes and buildings including animals in Lat Yat Kone Village and continued with the armed assault on nearby settlements. In so doing eighteen civilians from Nyaung Hla, Thit Tone, Moo Sone, Moo Khan, Nyaungyi Kone, Innpin and Lat Yat Kone villages within Depayin Township were injured. This has resulted in the eastern part of Depayin Township sinking into a renewed state of emergency, forcing tens of thousands of villagers to abandon this area of conflict.
Data from National Unity Government’s Ministry of Women, Youth & Children’s Affairs has shown that from the start of the coup d’etat on 1st February 2021 to date, the terrorist military council has killed 234 youths under 18 years of age, 363 youths have been illegally detained.
Since it illegally stole power, in a period of just over a year, the terrorist military council is found to have committed the following mass slaughter according to the available data souces.
• In July 2021, 40 people were killed in Taung Paut Village, Kyat Chaung Taw Taight village, Yin village, Kone Thar village in Kani Township, Sagaing Region.
• On December 7, 2021, 10 local people, including four children between the ages of 14 and 17, were killed in DonTaw Village, Sar Lingyi Township.
• On December 24, 2021, 49 people, including a child and two employees of Save the Children, were burned to death in Moso Village, Phruso Township
• On January 6, 2022, 11 people, including a journalist and a child, were abducted and killed in Mutupi Township, Chin State.
• On April 19, 2022, 9 men were burned to death Southern in the village of Peyin Taung, Southern Shan State
• On May 12, 2022, 28 people were burned to death in Mon Tine Pin Village, Ye U Township.
The National Unity Government has been systematically recording and gathering the evidence of every atrocious act that the terrorist military council has been committing, identifying those who have lost their lives and has been reporting this to international legal organisations and professional bodies in order to bring justice for victims in the future.
The relevant ministries of the National Unity Government have also been assuring the welfare of the families of those killed and the safety and security of eyewitnesses involved in these incidents. The NUG is in the process of urgently planning and drawing up a legal treatise so that those who were responsible and who took part in these brazen atrocious acts and killings face appropriate legal penalty and punishment its convicted. The NUG with its allies, the Ethnic Communities, together are urgently drawing up legal processes so that those who have broken the law and committed crimes can be issued with warrants, arrested, and brought before the courts of law in liberated areas.
The United Nations and the international community are urged to take prompt, effective and serious measures regarding Myanmar to stop the brutality of the terrorist military led by Min Aung Hlaing, which is threatening peace, democracy and the human rights of every human race around the world..."
Source/publisher:
National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-09-26
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Children, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group
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"Redesignation Allows Additional Eligible Burmese Nationals to Apply for TPS and Employment Authorization Documents
WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced an extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Burma for an additional 18 months, from Nov. 26, 2022, through May 25, 2024, due to extraordinary and temporary conditions in Burma that prevent individuals from safely returning. In addition, DHS announced a redesignation of Burma for TPS for the same reason, allowing Burmese nationals (and individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Burma) residing in the United States as of September 25, 2022, to be eligible for TPS.
The February 2021 military coup d’état has led to continuing violence, large-scale human rights abuses, including arbitrary detentions and the use of deadly force against unarmed individuals, mass displacement of civilians, worsened humanitarian conditions and limited access to shelter, food, water, and medical care, and spurred an economic crisis. These conditions prevent Burmese nationals and habitual residents from safely returning.
“The people of Burma are continuing to suffer a complex and deteriorating humanitarian crisis due the military coup and security forces’ brutal violence against civilians,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “Under this extension and redesignation, Burmese nationals and habitual residents will be eligible to temporarily stay in the United States until conditions in the country improve and individuals can safely return.”
The extension of TPS for Burma allows approximately 970 current beneficiaries to retain TPS through May 25, 2024, so long as they continue to meet TPS eligibility requirements. It is estimated that approximately 2,290 additional individuals may be eligible for TPS under the redesignation of Burma. This population includes nationals of Burma (and individuals without nationality who last resided in Burma) in the United States in nonimmigrant status or without lawful immigration status.
Current beneficiaries re-registering under the extension of TPS for Burma must re-register in a timely manner during the 60-day re-registration period from September 27, 2022, through November 26, 2022, to ensure they keep their TPS and work authorization without a gap. DHS recognizes that not all re-registrants may receive new Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) before their current EADs expire on Nov. 25, 2022, and is automatically extending through Nov. 25, 2023, the validity of EADs previously issued under the TPS designation of Burma.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will continue to process pending applications filed under Burma’s initial TPS designation. Individuals with a pending Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, or a related Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, do not need to file either application again. If USCIS approves a Form I-821 or Form I-765 filed under the initial designation of TPS for Burma, USCIS will grant the individual TPS through May 25, 2024, and issue an EAD valid through May 25, 2024.
Initial, first-time applicants for TPS under the redesignation of Burma must submit Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, during the initial registration period that runs from September 27, 2022, through May 25, 2024. Burma TPS applicants may file Form I-821 online. When filing a TPS application, applicants can also request an EAD by submitting a completed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization with their Form I-821, or separately at a later date. Applicants may also submit Form I-765 online.
The Federal Register notice (FRN) explains the eligibility criteria, timelines, and procedures necessary for current beneficiaries to re-register and renew EADs, and for new applicants to submit an initial application under the redesignation and apply for an EAD..."
Source/publisher:
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Date of publication:
2022-09-26
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
Shadow government claims with ethnic army allies to control 53% of nation’s territory but West remains reluctant to provide assistance
Description:
"Just over a year ago, Myanmar’s shadow government declared a defensive war against the military junta that seized power in a February 1, 2021, democracy-suspending coup.
The junta’s unpopular rule has moved from disaster to disaster, driving the economy into ruins and sparking resistance to its rule that has spread civil war across the country to an unprecedented scale.
In a speech earlier this month, Duwa Lashi La, acting president of the anti-coup National Unity Government (NUG), stated that it and anti-military “ethnic armed organizations” (EAOs) now control more than half of Myanmar’s geography.
“Amid our territorial dominance and as our military capabilities have strengthened, the operations, territorial control and public administration of our partner EROs have significantly improved,” he stated, referring to the newly-popular and alternative acronym for the ethnic militias, “ethnic revolutionary organizations.”
A recently-released report by the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar, a group of former UN experts, argued that the junta has effective control over less than a fifth of the country’s territory while the NUG and its allies control 53%. The rest is contested, according to the report.
Estimates on who controls what in Myanmar are complex and contested, though. Yet Western democracies are, slowly and unevenly, beginning to engage more with the NUG. Malaysia is leading the charge for greater recognition of it by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
And there are now rising calls from some in the Western establishment for either outright recognition of the NUG as Myanmar’s legitimate government or at least greater financial support.
“It needs support—and especially money—from the West. If America recognized it as the legitimate government, the NUG could claim the US$1 billion in Burmese assets that America froze after the coup,” argued a recent article in The Economist headlined “Myanmar’s shadow government deserves more help.”
But there’s still scant interest among Western democracies to open channels with some of Myanmar’s EAOs that analysts say are providing essential support to hundreds of thousands displaced by the conflict or refuge to those targeted by the junta.
The US position on the EAOs is non-recognition with no direct engagement, said Zachary Abuza, professor of Southeast Asian studies at the Washington-based National War College.
Most likely that is because some of them are involved in illicit narcotic production, although that is “short-sighted,” he said, as only a few EAOs are involved in the drug trade. Of those that are, most have sided with the junta or are not taking sides in the civil war. Almost all of them are in Shan state.
“The EAOs control vast swaths of territory. Four of the largest are now allied – or at least aligned – with the NUG,” Abuza said. “They will have a seat at the table in a future government, especially should there be a negotiated settlement that leads to a genuine federal democracy.”
The NUG, formed by members of the coup-ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) and anti-military activists, has vowed to introduce a new federal system if it is able eventually to remove the junta from power.
Representatives of eight EAOs, either as direct participants or part of local consultative councils, are part of the National Unity Consultative Council, a consultative platform between the NUG, EAOs, civilian activists and non-profit organizations.
Certain anti-military People’s Defense Forces, or PDFs, are actively working with the EAOs, which are known to provide training and security. The NUG has control over many PDFs but not all, including several fighting in fierce battles against the Tatmadaw in Sagaing Region.
According to one recent estimate, 13 of the NUG’s 26-strong cabinet are from ethnic nationalities, including the acting president, Duwa Lashi La, and Prime Minister Mahn Win Khaing Than.
While four major EAOs are cooperating intensively with the NUG, another three or four are only quietly collaborating, according to the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar report. Around a dozen more oppose the junta but are not actively supporting the NUG.
The well-armed Arakan Army, active in Rakhine and Chin states, has not formally aligned itself with the NUG but recently clashed with the Tatmadaw after a ceasefire period and now appears to see its future best served in a federal Myanmar.
According to some observers and analysts, the coup has also altered ethnic relations in Myanmar.
“The coup has prompted a shift in how much of the Burman majority views ethnic armed groups and minorities’ demands for a fairer distribution of political power,” argued a paper by the International Crisis Group, a think tank.
“Decades of propaganda had castigated minorities as the cause of Myanmar’s political problems, but Burmans angry at the regime now view ethnic grievances much more empathetically,” it added.
Last year, the NUG and its allies published their Federal Democracy Charter, a roadmap of how they intend to rule during a transitional phase — meaning current conditions amid divided control of the country — and then once the junta is ousted.
“Some of the major EROs are also deliberating options for re-orienting their existing constitutional frameworks to the new situation, as they gain increasing autonomy and responsibilities for local populations,” stated the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar report
“Continued negotiation and implementation of the Federal Democracy Charter, widened to include other EROs and political parties, could lead to these various systems developing into a viable federal and democratic structure that would be able to assume the rights and responsibilities of the state.”
Myanmar’s numerous and long-fighting ethnic armies are far from homogenous and are warring for different demands. Indeed, some are in open conflict with one another in their states. Shan state, Myanmar’s largest by territory, is particularly rumbustious.
Many are taking a wait-and-see approach and historically have distrusted both the military and the NLD, the party of deposed and now-jailed Aung San Suu Kyi who failed to live up to democratic expectations among many EAOs.
The powerful United Wa State Army (UWSA), the country’s largest narcotics-trafficking militia with as many as 30,000 under arms, is still fence-sitting.
The Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), meanwhile, at first declared its support for the Civil Disobedience Movement, a series of anti-coup actions in early 2021, but has since held talks with the junta.
In April, ten EAOs attended peace talks with the junta. But fewer attended second-round talks last month, according to media reports. Some objected that the NUG, which the junta considers a “terrorist organization”, was not a party to the discussions.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the junta chief and coup-maker, has proposed that ethnic armies sign ceasefires and be absorbed into the national military – a rejected suggestion that has been made by military leaders since the 1980s.
In 2015, during the quasi-democratic presidency of Thein Sein, a military appointee, ten ethnic armed groups signed a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement. The larger and more relevant EAOs did not sign the deal, which was widely panned as a farce by analysts and observers.
Now, they argue that Western governments need to rethink their approach to certain EAOs because they will play a key role in a post-junta Myanmar if the NUG wins.
Scot Marciel, a former US ambassador to Myanmar, argued in an essay last month that the international community needs to “increase public and private engagement with the NUG and other key actors who are active against the junta, including the critically important ethnic armed organizations and leaders of the civil disobedience movement.”
Foreign powers, the analysts say, need a more nuanced position that allows them to engage different EAOs. That must be done on a case-by-case basis; Western capitals could even learn a few things from how China has engaged its favored EAOs, including most crucially the UWSA and to a lesser extent the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).
“The Chinese arm them, but in return expect them to protect Chinese economic interests. They have a diplomatic and security flexibility that the US simply refuses to give itself,” said Abuza.
Foreign assistance has long been provided in EAO-controlled areas through local affiliates of these groups. But because few foreign governments recognize them officially, funding and support has to go through intermediaries, explained Kim Jolliffe, a researcher on Myanmar politics.
This is an increasingly problematic dynamic as the escalating civil war decimates news areas of the country previously unperturbed by conflict, including in Sagaing Region and Chin state.
Vital assistance to Myanmar’s many impoverished regions has been disrupted by the conflict, with the UN estimating in May that more than one million people have been internally displaced nationwide.
It is thus now “crucial” that greater social and humanitarian assistance is channeled to and in coordination with EAOs and the NUG, argues Jolliffe.
“This cannot continue through piecemeal grants to community-based organizations only. There need to be foreign commitments to establishing a much more comprehensive aid mechanism with direct participation of the EROs and NUG as the responsible local authorities and social service departments,” Jolliffe added.
“Foreign democracies also need to firmly back these groups politically,” he said, meaning through monetary assistance and diplomatic support to their civilian wings.
Neither a spokesperson for the US State Department nor the European Commission responded to Asia Times’ requests for comment on the issues of recognizing and funneling assistance through the NUG and EAOs.
According to Roshni Kapur, an independent researcher based in Singapore, while direct military and financial support to EAOs are for now off the table, “Western governments can reach out to these groups through unconventional ways including humanitarian assistance, capacity building and distribution of vaccines.”
“Working with rebel groups could be a better alternative to deliver the much-needed assistance,” she added, noting that many of the EAOs are key providers of education and healthcare in local communities.
Several EAOs are also willing to build better relations with the West, noted Salai Samuel Hmung, a research officer of the SEARBO project, an academic research and advocacy program.
“Since the coup, some EAOs, especially those fighting against the military, have been able to extend their influence in domestic politics with public support,” he said. “The West cannot ignore their influence and their role in shaping the course of the revolution and the country’s future.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2022-09-26
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-26
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
Language:
more
Description:
"Civilian Harm Report (Part Two): Violent civilian deaths in North-West Myanmar
During Myanmar Witness’ investigation into fires and military activity in the North-West regions of Sagaing (စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်း), Chin (ချင်းပြည်နယ်) and Magway (မကွေးတိုင်း), reports of civilian harm and multiple violent deaths emerged.
Following on from Myanmar Witness’ joint investigation with the BBC into killings in Kani Township, Sagaing (စစ်ကိုင်းတိ) in May 2021, Myanmar Witness has identified and analysed a number of incidents involving the discovery of significant numbers of corpses, allegedly the victims of mass killings by the Myanmar military. Each of these followed reports of anti-regime protests and clashes between the military and defence forces in the local area.
This short article provides an overview of Part Two of Myanmar Witness’ report ‘Civilian Harm: An investigation into the impact of two military operations in North-West Myanmar’. This analysed and verified evidence of multiple killings in the same areas that the military operations widely known as Anawrahta (အနော်ရထာ စစ်ဆင်ရေး) and Alaungmintayar (အလောင်းမင်းတရား စစ်ဆင်ရေး) occurred.
Part One revealed how the use of fire and destruction of villages in these North-West regions aligned closely with these military operations. To read the full report, download the PDF here.
Killings of multiple people
Myanmar Witness verified three separate incidents alleged to be mass killings committed by the Myanmar military in the north-west region:
18 people found dead in Myin Thar (မြင်သား), Gangaw (ဂန့်ဂေါ) Township, Magway (မကွေးမြို့) in September 2021 (partially verified). The dead reportedly included minors, the elderly and the physically disabled.
11 people found dead in Done Taw (ဒုံးတော), Salingyi (ဆားလင်းကြီး), Sagaing (စစ်ကိုင်းတိ) in December 2021 (fully verified). The dead reportedly included minors and an elderly women.
Six people found dead in Thit Seint Gyi (သစ်ဆိမ့်ကြီး), Wetlet (ဝက်လက်) township, Sagaing (စစ်ကိုင်းတိ) in January 2022 (fully verified).
This summary report focuses on the case study of Salingyi (ဆားလင်းကြီး) Township in the Sagaing (စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်း) Region. To read the other case studies, download the full report.
Salingyi Township, Sagaing - December, 2021 (fully verified)
Background
[Warning: Graphic] On 7 December 2021, Myanmar military troops reportedly raided the village of Done Taw (ဒုံးတော), Salingyi (ဆားလင်းကြီး) Township in Sagaing (စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်း) Region. . This was, according to a report by Myanmar Now, following a mine ambush on military vehicles on the Monywa-Pathein highway near North Yamar bridge, located about 300 metres from the village. Salingyi (ဆားလင်းကြီး) is an area which was reportedly targeted by a convoy-centred military operation in November 2021. Salingyi (ဆားလင်းကြီး) residents have reportedly engaged in anti-regime protests - one of which occurred just days before this incident.
Locals interviewed by Myanmar Now state that military soldiers entered the village from near the Pathein-Monywa road at 0800. Done Taw (ဒုံးတော) has only one entrance and exit route, through the Shwe Myin Tin farm on the bank of the Chindwin River. According to villagers and a local PDF leader (reported by Myanmar Now and The Irrawaddy), 11 villagers were reportedly captured, set on fire, and burned to death. A video uploaded to social media by various media outlets shows the aftermath of the attack, including the burnt remains of bodies (graphic footage – available on request). The video’s voiceover states: “They were shot and stabbed while forced to kneel, with their hands tied”.
Verification
Myanmar Witness can verify that the location where these bodies were found was just outside of Done Taw (ဒုံးတော) village, in farmland located at 22.142916, 95.062057 (Figure 48). However, it cannot be verified that this was the area where the people were killed, whether they had their hands tied, or whether they were dead before or after the fire started.
It’s also reported by the Irrawaddy, as well as elsewhere online, that a Done Taw (ဒုံးတော) resident, Daw Win Yi, who was over 50, was also killed by the Myanmar military in farmland outside the village. While images of a deceased elderly woman have been collected, Myanmar Witness could not verify where these particular photos were taken.
According to the official NUG twitter account, the NUG were supplied with a victim’s list by a local PDF group (Figure 49). This included f
our victims under the age of 18 : Arkar Soe (14), Hsan Min Oo (17), Than Myint Aung (17), Kyaw Thet (17). Most of the victims were unrecognisable as a result of the impact of the fire, except for 17-year-old Than Myint Aung, who was identifiable from his ear piercing, according to Myanmar Now.
To read the other two case studies, download the full report here.
Conclusion
Through a detailed investigation, this report demonstrates the grave civilian impacts of military operations in north-west Myanmar. The widespread destruction of communities along military routes represents a worrying trend. The verified reports of civilian deaths, which eye witnesses attribute to the military, indicates the precarious situation everyday citizens face across Myanmar.
Myanmar Witness is still verifying footage related to further alleged killings in the north-west and other regions. These will be documented in a forthcoming report. Many trends documented in this report have been seen across the country more broadly, for example, see Myanmar Witness’ published reports: Burning Myanmar, Moso Village Christmas Eve Killings, and Using Pamphlets for Propaganda, Misinformation, Intimidate and Division.
To read a summary of Part One of the report - on the use of fire and the destruction of civilian property - go to the reports page of the Myanmar Witness website. To read the full report, download the PDF.
Myanmar Witness continues to document and investigate evidence of possible human rights abuses in Myanmar. These findings will be made available on the Myanmar Witness website, as and when they are completed..."
Source/publisher:
Myanmar Witness
Date of publication:
2022-09-23
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Human Rights Defenders, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar
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10.94 MB
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Sub-title:
Decision Opens Door for Targeted Sanctions Against Junta
Description:
"On Tuesday, September 20, Japan’s Defense Ministry announced that as of 2023 it would no longer accept new military personnel from the Myanmar military for training in Japan. The ministry cited the junta’s execution of four pro-democracy activists in July as a major factor in its decision.
“We decided it’s not appropriate to continue the military cooperation and exchange in its current form,” said Takeshi Aoki, a spokesperson for the Defense Ministry. However, two officers and nine cadets who are currently receiving training at Japan’s National Defense Academy and Japan Self-Defense Forces facilities will remain until their programs finish.
Since 2015, Japan has accepted cadets and officers from Myanmar under article 100-2 of the Self-Defense Forces Act, which permits training and educating foreign nationals in Defense Ministry facilities with the defense minister’s approval. Following Myanmar military’s coup in February 2021, Japan accepted two officers and two cadets in 2021 and another two officers and two cadets in 2022.
In May, Human Rights Watch and Justice For Myanmar located Myanmar Air Force Lt. Col. Hlwan Moe, who received training at Japan’s Air Command and Staff College from August 2016 to March 2017, at Magway Air Base in Myanmar’s central Magway Region. Military units deployed at the air base have been implicated in serious abuses, including possible indiscriminate airstrikes in Magway. In August, Human Rights Watch found that Myanmar Army Brig. Gen. Tin Soe, who received training at Japan’s Ground Self Defense Force Staff College from August 2016 to March 2017, was based at Eastern Command headquarters from August 2021 to July 2022. Eastern Command oversees operations in southern Shan and Karenni (Kayah) States and its forces were responsible for a massacre of civilians and other atrocities.
The Defense Ministry’s decision to suspend the training program is critical to ensuring that Japan does not risk becoming complicit in Myanmar military abuses. It is a small and long overdue step, but one that should embolden the Japanese government to join with other democracies that are taking stronger action against the junta. Japan should publicly voice its support for the draft Myanmar resolution that Britain circulated at the United Nations Security Council. That resolution reportedly calls for a global arms embargo on Myanmar that would prohibit all military training and imposes sanctions on the junta..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2022-09-23
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-23
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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Description:
"1. The National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) is deeply saddened by the
death of at least (13) civilians, including (7) children, on September 16 as a
result of the heinous air and ground attacks and killings by the militaryjunta
on residents of a self-supporting school in Let Yet Kone village in Depayin
township in Sagaing region. In addition, approximately (20) injured students
and teachers have been arbitrarily arrested.
2. Children are the country's future; it is completely unacceptable that
the military terrorist group is killing, torturing, and arresting our children in
cold blood for their own benefit This is not the first time the military junta
committed atrocities. The military junta is an inhumane and ferocious
mercenary army that has targeted and murdered all religions and ethnicities
that opposed them, including children, s ince Myanmar gained independence,
through more than (70) years of civil war.
3. This is because the law grants them total impunity from all the injustices
they have committed.
4. Therefore, the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) would like to make
the following request to the entire public and all the revolutionary forces:
(a) The entire public should rise up and continue to resist where it is able to
in order to prevent the injustices from continuing.
(b) With the common aim of achieving a Myanmar free from military
dictatorship, revolutionary forces should maintain its strong unity and
continue resisting together in the revolution.
(c) The international community should support the process of seeking
accountability of the military junta that has blatantly violated
international humanitarian law; it should bring justice for victims
through international legal mechanisms and help end impunity.
(d) Enforce a comprehensive arms embargo, including on the supply of jet
fuel.
(e) The international community should provide humanitarian aid.
5. The National Unity Consultative Council is deeply Condemned this brutal
attack and will continue in its efforts to ensure that all the above-mentioned
actions are implemented..."
Source/publisher:
National Unity Consultative Council
Date of publication:
2022-09-23
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group
Language:
Format :
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30.74 KB
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Source/publisher:
National Unity Consultative Council
Date of publication:
2022-09-23
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group
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470.5 KB
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Description:
"Mr. President,
Excellencies,
The report on economic interests of the Myanmar military is being presented to you pursuant to Human Rights Council Resolution 46/21, which requested the High Commissioner to report on the status of implementation of the recommendations made by the independent international fact-finding mission on Myanmar (FFM) in its conference room paper (A/HRC/42/CRP.3) on the same subject in September 2019.
I will be updating this Council separately on the overall human rights situation in Myanmar on 26 September.
In its 2019 report, the FFM concluded that the military’s ability to draw on various sources of revenue enabled its operations, including perpetration of serious international crimes. The FFM called for the Tatmadaw’s financial and economic isolation as a crucial element in pursuing accountability and contributing towards civilian oversight over the military’s actions.
Since the FFM report, the human rights situation in Myanmar has become even graver.
Further to the military coup of February 2021, the Myanmar military has continued its exploitation of the country’s resources to advance its own interests and fuel a campaign of violence and repression against Myanmar’s people. The Myanmar military has steadily escalated its use of force on cities, towns and villages throughout the country. To date, nearly 2,299 persons, including 188 children, have been killed and nearly 30,000 buildings, including whole villages, schools, churches/places of worship and other protected objects, have been burned to the ground. Such offensives have relied heavily on the use of air power, artillery and other military hardware, being bought and paid for by the profits from the Tatmadaw’s own business interests and exploitation of resources.
While there have been some steps taken by various actors following the FFM’s recommendations, particularly since the coup, substantially more can be done to stem the economic resources and supply of arms that enable the military to continue its assault on the Myanmar people.
Curtailing the Tatmadaw’s economic interests and, in particular, its access to revenues and foreign exchange are essential elements of preventing the further spiral of human rights violations.
In addition, the General Assembly has called on Member States to prevent the flow of arms into the country, and our report urges Member States that have not already done so to impose arms embargos on the Myanmar military.
As OHCHR has highlighted in previous reports to this Council, the military has been consistently repressing and terrorizing the country’s population in its attempts to assert full control. These actions have pushed an economy already hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic into a deepening crisis. We have observed a two-fold increase in poverty and the breakdown of the public health system. Also, over half of all school-aged children have not accessed education for two academic years.
Despite the dramatic economic, political, financial and social deterioration in the country, the military’s so-called State Administrative Council (SAC) continues to prioritize military operations by increasing defence spending and reducing budget allocations to education, health and social protection. The SAC has failed to govern in meaningful and sustainable ways, including by being unable to raise taxes, and with the local SAC administration collapsing in various parts of the country. This has been compounded by the Myanmar people’s courageous resistance to military rule. For instance, households are refusing to pay electricity bills despite threats of being cut off; and many are boycotting military-linked companies and businesses.
Excellencies,
The report shows that since the military coup of 1 February 2021, some companies ended their business relationships with military-owned companies, in line with some FFM recommendations. The coup has further heightened the reputational and other business risks of such relationships, whether for international or Myanmar companies.
In parallel, several Member States have introduced further targeted sanctions, including on military leaders, military-owned entities and some State-owned entities now under the direct control of the SAC.
However, the military’s continued use of foreign currency to buy arms, particularly, aircraft, aerial munitions, and artillery has enabled its attacks against its opponents including in populated areas, as well as the targeting of civilians and locations protected under international humanitarian and human rights law.
The current crisis has also enabled the military to extend and strengthen its patronage networks. It is involved through proxies in illicit extractive activities, for instance increased mining of rare earths in Kachin State, vital for production of “green technologies”, but at a cost of enriching key Tatmadaw allies and devastating the local environment. Given the ongoing non-international armed conflict in the area, this activity warrants further investigation as to the possible war crime of pillaging.
Excellencies,
Concerted action is needed now.
The report urges the international community to take all steps within its power to support the people of Myanmar and to act in coordinated fashion to financially isolate the military. In so doing, efforts must be made to avoid adverse socio-economic impacts on the people of Myanmar more generally. To that end, consultation on appropriate steps with civil society and the wider democratic movement, including the ‘National Unity Government’, representatives from ethnic and religious minorities, and trade unions, will be crucial.
The Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise generates approximately 50 per cent of Myanmar’s foreign currency earnings. Additionally, the military has open access to foreign exchange held in overseas accounts of State-owned banks. As a result, the report calls on Member States to implement additional targeted measures against key entities that facilitate the Tatmadaw’s continued access to foreign currency.
Furthermore, we urge all businesses active in Myanmar or sourcing from the country to take steps to ensure their operations do not economically benefit the military, including by conducting ongoing and transparent heightened human rights due diligence. Companies disinvesting or decoupling from supply chains in Myanmar should, of course, also take responsible measures to best protect the interests of their employees and consumers.
These measures are fundamental to uphold business and human rights principles and to ensure that financial partnerships do not fuel human rights violations..."
Source/publisher:
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Geneva)
Date of publication:
2022-09-22
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Business and the Military
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"Over seven months have passed since the EU’s last round of sanctions on Myanmar, and the illegitimate military junta’s campaign of terror has intensified, with indiscriminate airstrikes, shelling, the execution of political prisonersand the murder of school children.
In the past week, at least eleven school children have been killed, the highest recorded number of children killed in an attack since the Myanmar army’s attempted coup in February last year.
The junta’s ongoing atrocity crimes are enabled by their continued access to funds, arms and related equipment, including from within the EU.
Justice For Myanmar calls for an urgent round of EU sanctions, focussing on arms brokers who aid and abet the junta’s war crimes and crimes against humanity.
We have identified 31 companies that have been involved in these activities since the coup attempt that must be sanctioned.
Among the 31 companies documented, only one – Htoo Group of Companies – has been sanctioned by the EU to date.
Some arms brokers we identified have confirmed business links to the EU. These include:
Dynasty Group & its subsidiaries, which imported parts for Mi-17 helicopters from Russia since the coup attempt. Dynasty International Company Limited procured a fleet of aircraft, and later, parts from the Germany company Grob Aircraft SE. Dynasty Group has been sanctioned by the UK and its director, Aung Moe Myint, has been sanctioned by the UK and Canada.
KT Group, Ky-Tha Group & their subsidiaries, which have produced arms and equipment for the Myanmar military, including coastal surveillance radar from the French corporation Thales. They have ongoing business with the Myanmar military, financing atrocity crimes. KT Services & Logistics and its director, Jonathan Myo Kyaw Thaung, have been sanctioned by the US.
Mega Hill General Trading, which brokered a deal for an air defence weapon station since the coup attempt, and has procured equipment for the military from EU and US companies.
Miya Win International, which has procured unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from the Austrian company Schiebel Corporation and received parts following the coup attempt. Miya Win International has been sanctioned by the UK.
Myanmar Chemical & Machinery (MCM), which has procured arms and related materiel including tanks and has also been involved in arms production and a technical transfer project producing K-8 trainer jets in Myanmar with the Chinese state-owned arms company, CATIC. MCM’s energy business involves a partnership with Wartsila Corporation. MCM and its director, Aung Hlaing Oo, have been sanctioned by the UK, US and Canada.
Other major arms brokers that have been sanctioned by the US, UK and/or Canada while the EU has delayed action include International Gateways Group, Star Sapphire Group, Sky Aviator and Synpex Shwe.
Last Saturday, a prominent arms dealer to the Myanmar military junta was arrested in Thailand on drug trafficking and money laundering charges.
Despite arms dealer Tun Min Latt’s well-known involvement in arms trading, he has so far escaped international sanctions.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “Last year, EU members voted in the UN General Assembly to stop the flow of arms to the Myanmar military.
“The EU must take concrete steps to cut the junta’s access to arms, intensifying sanctions against arms brokers and all other business interests of the military junta.
“As long as the junta has access to arms, equipment and funds, it will be able to continue its terror campaign against the people of Myanmar, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity with total impunity.
“This week, the junta murdered at least 11 children attending school, and will continue its rampage as long as it has access to resources.
“We call on the EU to stand with the people of Myanmar and sanction arms brokers now!”
More information:
Read our investigation into companies brokering arms and equipment for the Myanmar military here
Read our investigation into companies supplying the Myanmar miliary with arms and equipment from Russia here..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-09-22
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-22
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Individual Documents
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"Today, the United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. State Department, announced more than $170 million in additional humanitarian assistance for vulnerable populations in Burma and Bangladesh, including support for Rohingya who remain in Burma, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, their generous Bangladeshi host communities, and other communities affected by the 2021 coup in Burma and the escalating conflict and repression that has followed. This additional funding brings the total U.S. humanitarian assistance for these populations to nearly $1.9 billion since it began in August 2017.
With this new funding, the United States will provide food and nutrition assistance, health care, shelter, safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene support, protection for the most vulnerable, and other critical support for relief operations in Burma and Bangladesh. This support includes assistance to Rohingya refugees sheltering in camps and affected host communities in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar District, as well as internally displaced persons across Burma affected by ongoing violence.
The United States remains committed to delivering assistance to crisis-affected communities in Burma and Bangladesh, but much more is needed. We urge other donors to join us in providing additional assistance to vulnerable populations in both countries..."
Source/publisher:
United States Agency for International Development (Washington, D.C.)
Date of publication:
2022-09-22
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, The discussion on humanitarian assistance to Burma, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"Council Concludes General Debate on the Promotion and Protection of All Human Rights, Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, including the Right to Development
Thomas Andrews, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, told the Human Rights Council this afternoon that conditions for untold numbers of innocent people in Myanmar had gone from bad to worse to horrific. Around 1.3 million people had been displaced; and the military had destroyed more than 28,000 homes, burning entire villages to the ground. The number of innocent people who had been killed or injured by landmines was rising significantly. There was a looming food crisis and a dramatic increase in childhood malnutrition; women were losing economic and social gains; and 130,000 Rohingya remained confined in de facto internment camps.
Mr. Andrews said the people of Myanmar were frustrated and angered by Member States that were working to prop up this illegal and brutal military junta with funding, trade, weapons, and a veneer of legitimacy. They were also disappointed by those nations that voiced support for them, but then failed to back up their words with action. The international response to this deepening crisis had failed. Member States needed to take stronger, more effective action to deprive the junta and its forces of revenue, weapons and legitimacy. A coalition of nations needed to be established that could build a coordinated strategy on the crisis.
Conflict was spreading throughout Myanmar, with more and more civilians taking up arms against the junta, said Mr. Andrews. Ethnic armed organizations were increasingly engaging junta forces. Clashes between the Arakan Army and junta forces were escalating. Newly formed People’s Defence Forces were now attacking the military throughout the country. The junta was deeply unpopular in every corner of Myanmar. The junta was using aid as a weapon by obstructing deliveries to displaced populations and communities that they perceived to be aligned with pro-democracy forces. Untold numbers of innocent people had been left without access to food, medicine and the means to survive.
In the ensuing discussion, speakers said that for the past five years, the human rights situation in Myanmar had been catastrophic. The illegal coup of 2021 had plunged the country into a situation in which the entire population was held hostage by the military junta. Mass atrocities continued to be committed against the entire population. Full, safe, and unimpeded humanitarian access was essential for all persons in need. It was necessary to ensure the safety of humanitarian personnel, and to create the necessary conditions for a voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of refugees and internally displaced persons. The conflict also threatened peace and stability in the region, including India and in Bangladesh, where a durable solution had not been found to the Rohingya refugee crisis.
One speaker said not listening to the State concerned ran counter to the Human Rights Council’s commitment to peaceful cooperation, and there should be understanding for the situation of Myanmar, and therefore the international community should seek means for cooperation. The unilateral coercive measures imposed on Myanmar should be lifted immediately. The Human Rights Council should cease to use politicised mandates against countries of the South, as they ran counter to the spirit of the United Nations Charter, and should tackle issues around the world in a cooperative and lasting manner.
Speaking in the interactive dialogue were Luxembourg on behalf of a group of countries, European Union, Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Sweden on behalf of a group of countries, Sierra Leone, Republic of Korea, France, Australia, India, Austria, and Venezuela.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Council concluded its general debate on agenda item three on the promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development.
Some speakers said that the protection and promotion of human rights was vital, and only when the right to development was guaranteed could there be guarantees of the other human rights. Economic, social and cultural rights were vital in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, which had pushed millions into poverty and unemployment, showing the weakened public system. The impact of this crisis and the environmental crisis had shown that this was a key moment in human history. Human rights had to be integrated in all recovery processes and plans, and the international human rights framework should be used in the progress towards a more harmonious international system in harmony with the environment, ensuring the survival of humanity.
Speaking in the general debate were the following non-governmental organizations: Law Council of Australia on behalf of International Bar Association, Disability Association of Tavana, International Fellowship of Reconciliation, Soka Gakkai International on behalf of Instituto de Desenvolvimento e Direitos Humanos and International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Mouvement National des Jeunes Patriotes du Mali, China Society for Human Rights Studies (CSHRS), Instituto de Desenvolvimento e Direitos Humanos, YouChange China Social Entrepreneur Foundation, International Federation of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture on behalf of Advocates for Human Rights and Ensemble contre la Peine de Mort, China Foundation for Human Rights Development, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Centre Europe - tiers monde, Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, International Harm Reduction Association (IHRA), Friends World Committee for Consultation, Youth Parliament for SDG, Asociacion HazteOir.org, China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetian Culture (CAPDTC), Make Mothers Matter, Edmund Rice International Limited, Shaanxi Patriotic Volunteer Association, Centre for Gender Justice and Women Empowerment, Physicians for Human Rights, Conscience and Peace Tax International (CPTI), and Association pour la défense des droits de l'homme et des revendications démocratiques/culturelles du peuple Azerbaidjanais-Iran - « ARC ».
Also speaking were Mother of Hope Cameroon Common Initiative Group, Organization for Poverty Alleviation and Development, Global Institute for Water, Environment and Health, Associazione Comunita Papa Giovanni XXIII on behalf of a group of organisations, Meezaan Center for Human Rights, Interfaith International, Association Ma'onah for Human Rights and Immigration, Peace Track Initiative, Rencontre Africaine pour la defense des droits de l'homme, Association Internationale pour l'égalité des femmes, Tumuku Development and Cultural Union (TACUDU), Beijing Guangming Charity Foundation, Il Cenacolo, Global Welfare Association, United Nations Association of China, Partners For Transparency, Al-Ayn Social Care Foundation, Jubilee Campaign, Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peuples, Caritas Internationalis (International Confederation of Catholic Charities), Al Baraem Association for Charitable Work, Right Livelihood Award Foundation, Africa Culture Internationale, World Muslim Congress, Istituto Internazionale Maria Ausiliatrice delle Salesiane di Don Bosco, International Muslim Women's Union, Peace Brigades International, International Union of Socialist Youth, International Commission of Jurists, CIVICUS - World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Sikh Human Rights Group, Action Canada for Population and Development, International Humanist and Ethical Union, Medical Support Association for Underprivileged Iranian Patients, Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism, Beijing Changier Education Foundation, Promotion du Développement Economique et Social - PDES, Centre for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy, Organisation internationale pour les pays les moins avancés (OIPMA), International Action for Peace & Sustainable Development, Global Appreciation and Skills Training Network, and iuventum e.V..
Also taking the floor were African Green Foundation International, China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience, Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of Associazione Comunita Papa Giovanni XXIII, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain Inc, Iraqi Development Organization, Alsalam Foundation, Villages Unis (United Villages), Chunhui Children's Foundation, Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights Association, International Human Rights Association of American Minorities (IHRAAM), United Towns Agency for North-South Cooperation, PRAHAR, Anglican Consultative Council, solidarité Suisse-Guinée, Association D'Entraide Médicale Guinée, Zero Pauvre Afrique, Synergie Feminine Pour La Paix Et Le Developpement Durable, Community Human Rights and Advocacy Centre (CHRAC), and Commission africaine des promoteurs de la santé et des droits de l'homme.
Speaking in right of reply were the United States, Azerbaijan, China, Iran, and Armenia.
The webcast of the Human Rights Council meetings can be found here. All meeting summaries can be found here. Documents and reports related to the Human Rights Council’s fifty-first regular session can be found here.
The Council will next meet at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 22 September, when it will conclude the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. This will be followed by an interactive dialogue on the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Myanmar.
General Debate on Agenda Item Three on the Promotion and Protection of All Human Rights, Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, including the Right to Development
The general debate on the promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, started in the previous meting and a summary can be found here.
General Debate
In the debate, many speakers said that the protection and promotion of human rights was vital, and only when the right to development was guaranteed could there be guarantees of the other human rights. States should engage civil society and recognise lacunae in their protection of human rights, and take more seriously the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals by monitoring their impact on the ground.
States had a major responsibility to create ripe conditions, at the international and national levels, to ensure the right to development, including combatting militarism and attacks on the international system. Unilateral coercive measures should not be used to implement iniquitous systems; there should be an inclusive international system based on the respect of human rights. Some Member States had not participated in the elaboration on a draft convention on the right to development, which was regretted, as it was essential for the implementation and guarantees of the right. The text should be progressive enough for the expectations for a text drafted in the modern period to be fulfilled.
The staggering challenges facing the world required international efforts to review the economic integration of countries as a priority to ensure economic balance and development, as well as food security, which was still hanging in the balance. The challenges were fundamental, and were related to the right to development as well as the need to meet environmental challenges whilst ensuring sustainable development.
Governments should respect and observe the independence of the judiciary, and ensure that proceedings were undertaken in an accountable and transparent manner. All States had obligations under international law on arms transfers, and should respect these rights, and the risk of arms being used against children should be assessed at sales.
There was concern for the situation of elderly persons living in countries under international sanctions, as there was for persons with disabilities, who found access to resources and aid limited by the sanctions. All vulnerable people and groups should be protected to a greater extent, including from economic declines. Human rights education was vital for helping those in situations of danger and vulnerability. There should be a Special Rapporteur for unilateral coercive measures.
Economic, social and cultural rights were vital in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, which had pushed millions into poverty and unemployment, showing the weakened public system. The impact of this crisis and the environmental crisis had shown that this was a key moment in human history. Human rights had to be integrated in all recovery processes and plans, and the international human rights framework should be used in the progress towards a more harmonious international system in harmony with the environment, ensuring the survival of humanity. Economic, social and cultural rights were basic rights, which covered many rights, including access to safe housing and drinking water, and the right to development was essential for achieving these rights.
The pandemic had disproportionately affected youth, and the digital divide had excluded many from a digital education, particularly girls. The pandemic had taken a toll on the mental health of young people, leaving them unable to contribute to society. It had hindered youth volunteering. A Special Rapporteur on youth and an annual youth forum should be created to advance and mainstream youth rights, including the right to decent work. The Human Rights Council must play a driving role in ensuring the rights of young people.
The right to freedom of expression was enshrined in many international instruments, however, around the world many organizations, including those of the media, did not hesitate to insult those who asserted this right, seeking to limit the rights and freedoms of those who asserted their rights through various means, including violent ones.
The right to objection to military service was of concern, as there were still some States that did not recognise this right, forcing objectors to flee their own countries. The right deteriorated further in situations of armed conflict. Freedoms of thought, conscience and religion were non-derogable, and the work of the Council was vital for the protection of these rights, which were relevant to the right to conscientious objection to military service.
Gender and sexual violence were used against human rights defenders, and to repress opponents in various areas of the world, and many journalists faced discrimination and harassment. Tough measures should be applied to those States violating the rights of journalists and media workers. Human rights defenders found their ability to act restricted, with a lack of security and access to justice, with direct repercussions on their ability to function effectively. Human rights defenders were vital for the protection of human rights, and should be protected, as without them, there could be no achievement of rights; State legislation restricting the scope of their activities must be erased.
Other issues raised included that natural resources were being exploited, resulting in the economic deprivation of indigenous people, with concomitant effects on their health and extreme poverty. Further, a tragic reality faced migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees seeking safety in Europe, and there should be prompt, impartial and independent investigations into their deaths, as well as into the trafficking of migrants. Sexual minorities remained persecuted in many areas of the world, and they could suffer life imprisonment or even death, and the Council should examine these situations and ensure that the States involved respected the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex plus persons and groups, whilst punishing crimes committed against them. Illegal migration had a serious impact on indigenous rights, due to forced integration and assimilation, and caused great misery. The Human Rights Council should examine this issue in order to better safeguard the human rights of indigenous people. The Council should put pressure on militias to release all those in arbitrary detention.
Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar
Presentation
THOMAS ANDREWS, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, said that conditions had gone from bad to worse to horrific for untold numbers of innocent people in Myanmar. Around 1.3 million people had been displaced; the military had destroyed more than 28,000 homes, burning entire villages to the ground. The number of innocent people who had been killed or injured by landmines was rising significantly. There was a looming food crisis and a dramatic increase in childhood malnutrition; women were losing economic and social gains; and 130,000 Rohingya remained confined in de facto internment camps.
The people of Myanmar were frustrated and angered by Member States that were working to prop up this illegal and brutal military junta with funding, trade, weapons, and a veneer of legitimacy. They were also disappointed by those nations that voiced support for them, but then failed to back up their words with action. The Myanmar military was committing war crimes and crimes against humanity daily, including sexual violence, torture, deliberate targeting of civilians, and murder. The junta was holding at least 84 political prisoners on death row; and more than 12,000, including 295 children, remained arbitrarily detained in deplorable conditions, subject to torture.
Conflict was spreading throughout the country, with more and more civilians taking up arms against the junta. Clashes between the Arakan Army and junta forces were escalating. Newly formed People’s Defence Forces were now attacking the military throughout the country. The junta was deeply unpopular in every corner of Myanmar. The junta was using aid as a weapon by obstructing deliveries to displaced populations and communities that they perceived to be aligned with pro-democracy forces. Untold numbers of innocent people had been left without access to food, medicine and the means to survive.
The international response to this deepening crisis had failed. Member States needed to take stronger, more effective action to deprive the junta and its forces of revenue, weapons and legitimacy. A coalition of nations needed to be established that could build a coordinated strategy on the crisis. The amount of humanitarian aid that was available to address the crisis was grossly inadequate. More than 80 per cent of the United Nations Myanmar Humanitarian Response Plan remained unfunded. Local organizations needed strong support and flexibility from Member States and donors. The crisis was forcing many to flee Myanmar, embarking on perilous journeys across land and sea, and it was imperative that the Governments of host countries and the international community protected their human rights.
Mr. Andrews said that he had spoken with more than 100 Myanmar human rights defenders, pro-democracy activists, aid workers, youth leaders, and women’s rights advocates. He had been deeply inspired by their courage and their tireless efforts to resist the illegal military junta. These people needed the world’s support. Many in Myanmar had come to the conclusion that the world had forgotten them, or simply did not care. The people of Myanmar desperately needed all Member States to re-think status quo policies that were clearly not working, and to stand with and for them as they fought for their lives, their children, and their future.
Discussion
In the ensuing discussion, speakers said, among other things, that for the past five years, the human rights situation in Myanmar had been catastrophic. The illegal coup of 2021 had plunged the country into a situation in which the entire population was held hostage by the military junta. Mass atrocities continued to be committed against the entire population. Full, safe, and unimpeded humanitarian access was essential for all persons in need. It was necessary to ensure the safety of humanitarian personnel and to create the necessary conditions for a voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of refugees and internally displaced persons. All acts of violence against civilians must end, including sexual and gender-based violence, and violence against women, children, human rights defenders, religious minorities, journalists and media workers. All those arbitrarily detained must be released immediately and unconditionally. All United Nations Member States should end all supply, sale and transfer of arms to the Myanmar armed and security forces.
Some speakers said that the conflict in Myanmar also threatened peace and stability in the region, including India and in Bangladesh, where a durable solution had not been found to the Rohingya refugee crisis. There should be meaningful accountability, justice, and a permanent solution to the crisis, with an immediate end to the violations against all inhabitants of Myanmar, including the Rohingya, who should have their citizenship restored, and should be repatriated to their country immediately and without delay, in full security. The complete human rights catastrophe continued, and there should be an immediate end to all mass killings, torture, including of children, and gender- and sexually-based violence. The military should restore the de facto moratorium on the death penalty, and release all political prisoners, including minors, whilst ensuring justice and reparation for victims. Further acts of violence against unarmed civilians should cease immediately, and the country should be allowed to return to democratic rule. The international community needed to take further steps to halt the deteriorating situation.
A number of speakers said the efforts of the Association of South East Asian Nations and the United Nations Mission in Myanmar were applauded, as was the Bangladesh Government’s sustained efforts to provide for the needs of the Rohingya people it hosted. International efforts should continue to find a peaceful solution to the problem. The Special Rapporteur was commended for his work and his commitment to shedding light on the situation. The international community needed to remain committed to restoring peace and security to Myanmar. A peaceful solution involving all stakeholders was the only way forward towards resolving the humanitarian and national crisis.
One speaker said that not listening to the State concerned ran counter to the Human Rights Council’s commitment to peaceful cooperation. The report was lopsided and contained allegations that were unverifiable. Politicised mandates did nothing to advance human rights, and should be rooted out of the work of the Human Rights Council. The unilateral coercive measures imposed on Myanmar should be lifted immediately. The Human Rights Council should cease to use politicised mandates against countries of the South, as they ran counter to the spirit of the United Nations Charter, and should tackle issues around the world in a cooperative and lasting manner..."
Source/publisher:
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Geneva)
Date of publication:
2022-09-21
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-21
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
Language:
more
Description:
"21 September 2022: The United Nations (UN) and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) can no longer wait to take action on the side of the Myanmar people after the Myanmar military junta committed its deadliest attack against children since the attempted coup began. Without action, then they are complicit in the junta’s crimes, says the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M).
At least 11 children were killed and 17 injured after junta air strikes against a school in a monastery in Let Yet Kone village in Tabayin Township, Sagaing Region of Myanmar on Friday, 16 September.
The assault began when two junta helicopters fired machine guns and heavy weapons into the school in sustained fire which lasted for an hour. Junta troops then entered the monastic compound where the school is located and continued firing indiscriminately. The airstrikes could not have taken place without authorisation from commanders who report to Commander-in-Chief of the military, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing through their chain of command.
“The military junta attacked and killed the Let Yet Kone school children in cold blood. Altogether, the junta has killed, tortured or taken hostage hundreds of children since the attempted coup began, and driven thousands into displacement, hunger and fear,” said Yanghee Lee of SAC-M. “The United Nations and ASEAN are allowing this to happen. Children in Myanmar will continue to suffer and die at the hands of this barbaric military until it is stopped, and its leaders finally brought to justice. How many more innocent children need to be killed for the United Nations and ASEAN to take definite action?”
For almost twelve months, the junta has waged a brutal offensive against communities in Sagaing in response to widespread popular resistance in the Region to the attempted coup. The relentless campaign has involved massacres of unarmed civilians, rape, arson, looting, destruction of food and medical supplies, and shelling of schools and places of worship.
The junta has resorted to the use of mass atrocities across the country in an effort to crush anti-coup resistance which has become entrenched nationwide.
Resistance organisations, represented by the National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG), control more of the territory of Myanmar than the junta and are expanding provision of services, including education, in those areas. But the resistance is yet to receive significant diplomatic, financial or humanitarian support from the international community.
“The attempted coup, which is the latest bloody manifestation of Myanmar’s military-induced crises, began twenty months ago,” said Marzuki Darusman of SAC-M. “What has the United Nations done in that time, besides sending envoys and agency officials to shake hands with the junta? What has ASEAN done, besides making futile appeals to the junta? Where is the protection for the Myanmar people and their children? When the junta’s full crimes are finally accounted for, the glaring complicity of international actors will be laid bare.”
The Myanmar military has never faced justice for its decades of atrocities committed against the Myanmar people, including attacks against children. The members of SAC-M have been calling, since before the attempted coup began, for the investigation and prosecution of Min Aung Hlaing and his senior generals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Those calls grow more urgent by the day.
The NUG, as the legitimate government of Myanmar, has sought to advance accountability in Myanmar through international mechanisms. It has accepted the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in Myanmar (ICC), dating back to 2002, by lodging a declaration with the Court under Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute.
“The junta’s horrific attack on Let Yet Kone school last week is consistent with the military’s 70-year history of brutality and criminality,” said Chris Sidoti of SAC-M. “Criminal accountability is needed to stop history from continuing to repeat itself. The generals fear justice – and rightly so. The ICC must act on the NUG’s article 12(3) declaration, which is now more than a year old.”
To protect the lives of the Myanmar people and bring the leaders of the military junta to justice, SAC-M is calling on:
– The UN Security Council to put to a vote a resolution on Myanmar to impose a comprehensive global arms embargo on the junta, to impose targeted financial and economic sanctions against the junta, and to refer the situation in Myanmar to the ICC;
– The UN General Assembly to fully accept the credentials of Myanmar’s representative to the UN, NUG appointee Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, with all the rights and privileges of any other member state, including representation in all other UN bodies and forums;
– ASEAN to engage formally with the NUG, accept the NUG as the representative of Myanmar in ASEAN meetings and forums, and use the ASEAN Summit in November to reach a new agreement on how to respond to the junta-made crises in Myanmar, developed in consultation with the NUG;
– UN officials, agencies and other humanitarian actors to cease all activities that grant legitimacy to the junta, including presenting credentials to Min Aung Hlaing and participating in photo opportunities with the generals and their collaborators, and adhere to humanitarian principles by engaging primarily with the NUG and resistance organisations;
– The ICC to accept the NUG’s article 12(3) declaration accepting ICC jurisdiction in Myanmar dating back to 2002 and urgently expand the current investigation on the basis of the declaration..."
Source/publisher:
Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-09-21
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, International Criminal Court
Language:
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Description:
"ယနေ့ကျရောက်သော အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာ ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးနေ့တွင် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးမှတ်တမ်းကွန်ရက်- မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ (ND-Burma ) မှ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အာဏာရှင်၏ အရပ်သားပြည်သူများအား အဓိက ပစ်မှတ် ထားသည့် လူ့အခွင့်အရေး ချိုးဖောက်မှုများ ချက်ခြင်းရပ်တန့်ရန် တောင်းဆိုလိုက်သည်။ ဆယ်စုနှစ် များစွာကြာ စစ်တပ်သည် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးနှင့် တရားဥပဒေစိုးမိုးရေးကို ပြောင်ပြောင်တင်းတင်း လျစ် လျူရှုကာ ချိုးဖောက်ခဲ့သည်။ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ ၁ ရက်နေ့ စစ်အာဏာသိမ်းပြီး သည့်နောက် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်တပ်သည် ရက်စက်ကြမ်းကြုတ်သော လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများကို ပြစ်ဒဏ် ကင်းလွတ်ခွင့်ဖြင့် ပို၍ ရဲရဲတင်းတင်း ကျူးလွန်လာကြသည်။ ND-Burma သည် စစ်အာဏာရှင်ကြောင့် ဖြစ်ပေါ်လာသော ဆုတ်ယုတ်မှုများနှင့် ပျက်စီးဆုံးရှုံးမှုများကို ရှုတ်ချပြီး စနစ်တကျ မှတ်တမ်းတင်ထား သော စစ်ရာဇ၀တ်မှုများနှင့် လူသားမျိုးနွယ်အပေါ် ကျူးလွန်သည့် ရာဇ၀တ်မှုများကို ချက်ခြင်း စုံစမ်းစစ် ဆေးရန် တောင်းဆိုလိုက်သည်။
မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ၏ ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးသည် စစ်ဗိုလ်ချုပ်ကြီးများ၏ လက်ချက်ဖြင့် ခံစားနေကြရသော ပြည်သူ များ၏ အသံကို စတင်နားထောင်၍ နိုင်ငံသားများ၏ ကောင်းကျိုးချမ်းသာကို ဖော်ဆောင်ရမည့်အစား မိမိတို့၏ အကျိုးစီးပွား တိုးပွားစေခြင်းကိုသာ ပိုမိုအလေးထား ဆောင်ရွက်နေသည်။
“ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးဆိုသည်မှာ လွတ်လပ်မှု၊တန်းတူညီမျှမှုနှင့် တရားမျှတမှုတို့ကို ဆိုလိုခြင်းဖြစ်သည်။ ဤအရာများသည် လူသားတိုင်းအတွက် မရှိမဖြစ်တန်ဖိုးများဖြစ်သည်။ ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးတည်ဆောက်မှု အကြောင်း ပြောသည့်အခါ ဖယ်ဒရယ်စနစ်သည် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံကဲ့သို့သော နိုင်ငံအတွက် တစ်ခုတည်းသော လမ်းကြောင်းဖြစ်သည်။ ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးကို ဖော်ဆောင်နိုင်ရေးအတွက် ပူးပေါင်းဆောင်ရွက်မှုနှင့် ယုံ ကြည်မှုတည်ဆောက်ရေးတို့ လိုအပ်ပါသည်။ ဤနေရာတွင် တစ်ဦးနှင့်တစ်ဦး နားလည်မှု၊ စာနာမှုများ မျှ ဝေခြင်းသည် ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးကို တိုးတက်စေမည်ဖြစ်သည်။ အဓိကပြဿနာမှာ စစ်အာဏာရှင်တို့တွင် ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးတည်ဆောက်ရာ၌ မရှိမဖြစ်လိုအပ်သော အဆိုပါတန်ဖိုးများ ကင်းမဲ့နေခြင်းပင်ဖြစ်သည်” ဟု
နိုင်အဲမွန်- မွန်ပြည်လူ့အခွင့်အရေး ဖောင်ဒေးရှင်း (HURFOM) မှ ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးနှင့်ပတ်သက်၍ ပြောဆိုခဲ့သည်။
မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေး ကြိုးပမ်းအားထုတ်မှုသမိုင်းကြောင်းတွင် အမျိုးသမီးတို့၏ အသံကို ဖယ်ထုတ် ထားပြီး ၎င်းတို့၏ ဖြည့်သွင်းတင်ပြချက်များကို လျော့ပါးစေရန် လုပ်ဆောင်ခဲ့သည်။ အမျိုးသမီးများ သည် လူဦးရေ၏ ထက်ဝက်ကို လွှမ်းခြုံထားပြီး စစ်တပ်၏ မအောင်မြင်သော ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေး ညှိနှိုင်းမှု များ၏ နောက်ဆက်တွဲ ပဋိပက္ခများတွင် အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများကို ခံနေရသည်။ အမျိုးသမီးများ ပါဝင်လာ သည့်အခါ ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေး စေ့စပ်ညှိနှိုင်းမှု အောင်မြင်ရန် အလားအလာ ပိုများသည်ဟု အထောက်အထား များ အခိုင်အမာ ရှိနေပါသည်။
“အမျိုးသမီးထုရဲ့ အသံမပါတဲ့ ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးဟာ ဘယ်တော့မှ မတည်မြဲနိုင်ဘူး၊ စစ်မှန်ပြီး ရေရှည်တည် တံ့တဲ့ ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးဖြစ်ဖို့ဆိုရင် အမျိုးသမီးထုရဲ့ အသံတွေ ပါဝင်မှုတွေကို မဖြစ်မနေ ထည့်သွင်းရပါ မယ်။ ရှုထောင့်စုံကအသံကို လေးစားစွာနားထောင်ပြီ: ထည့်သွင်းခြင်းက ဖယ်ဒရယ်နိုင်ငံ တည်ဆောက် ရေးမှာဘဲဖြစ်ဖြစ် စစ်မှန်ပြီးတည်ငြိမ်တဲ့ ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးကို ဖော်ဆောင်တဲ့အခါမှာဘဲဖြစ်ဖြစ် ကောင်းမွန် တဲ့ ရလဒ်ကို ပိုင်ဆိုင်နိုင်မှာဖြစ်တယ်” လွေးပိုးကမေဲးခြိုဝ်း
– တအာင်းအမျိုးသမီးအဖွဲ့ အစည်း (TWO)
မြန်မာစစ်အာဏာရှင်သည် ၎င်းတို့၏ အကျိုးစီးပွားကို မြှင့်တင်ရန်သာ စိတ်ပါဝင်စားကြောင်း တစိုက် မတ်မတ်သက်သေပြခဲ့သည်။ ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးအတွက် အဓိပ္ပါယ်ပြည့်ဝသော ဆွေးနွေးပွဲများသည် စစ်အစိုး ရဦးဆောင်သည့် စေ့စပ်ညှိနှိုင်းရေးကြောင့် စဉ်ဆက်မပြတ် ကျရှုံးခဲ့သည်။ တိုင်းရင်းသား တော်လှန်ရေး အဖွဲ့အစည်းများက ၎င်းတို့ ပြည်သူများ၏ အခွင့်အရေးကို ကာကွယ်ရန် ကြိုးပမ်းစဉ် အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်တပ်၏ရှည်လျားပြီး နက်ရှိုင်းသော အပစ်အခတ်ရပ်စဲရေးပျက်ပြားမှု၊ တာဝန်များနှင့် ကတိကဝတ် များကို လိုက်နာရန် ပျက်ကွက်ခဲ့သည့် သမိုင်းကြောင်းကြောင့် စစ်တပ်၏ ရည်ရွယ်ချက်များကို ထုံးစံ အတိုင်း မေးခွန်းထုတ်စေခဲ့သည်။ တပ်မတော်၏ ‘ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေး’ လမ်းကြောင်းသည် လိမ်လည်လှည့် ဖြားမှုနှင့် အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများဖြင့်သာ ခင်းကျင်းထားသည်။
“မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ၏ ဒီမိုကရေစီနှင့် ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးခရီးအတွက် အဓိကစိန်ခေါ်မှုတစ်ရပ်မှာ ကိုယ်ပိုင်အုပ် ချုပ်ခွင့်ရ မျှော်မှန်းချက်များကို ဖြည့်ဆည်းပေးသည့် စစ်မှန်သော ဖက်ဒရယ်ပြည်ထောင်စုတည် ဆောက်ရေးအစီအစဉ်ဖြစ်သည်။ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံကဲ့သို့သော ယဉ်ကျေးမှုပေါင်းစုံရှိသည့် လူ့အဖွဲ့အစည်း အတွက် ဒီမိုကရေစီနှင့် ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေး၏ အကြီးကျယ်ဆုံး စမ်းသပ်မှုမှာ အစိုးရသည် တိုင်းရင်းသား လူနည်းစုများအား လူများစုနည်းတူ တန်းတူ ဆက်ဆံခြင်းပင်ဖြစ်သည်။”
ကိုအောင်ဇော်ဦး -လူ့အခွင့် အရေး ကာကွယ် မြှင့်တင်သူများအဖွဲ့ (HRDP)
ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးထိန်းသိမ်းမှုကို ကြိုးပမ်းဆောင်ရွက်ရာတွင် အခြေခံမှ လုပ်ဆောင်ရမည်ဖြစ်သည်။ အရပ် ဘက်အဖွဲ့အစည်းများ၊ လူ့အခွင့်အရေး ကာကွယ်စောင့်ရှောက်သူများ၊ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေး အစိုးရ (NUG) တို့သည် နိုင်ငံတကာ တာဝန်ခံမှု ယန္တရားများမှတဆင့် စစ်အာဏာရှင်တို့အား တာဝန်ခံရန် ခြေလှမ်းများလှမ်းခဲ့ကြသည်။ ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးနှင့် ပတ်သက်၍ မြေပြင်မှ ပြည်သူတို့၏ အသံကို ကြားနိုင် ရန်အတွက် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးအခြေပြုအဖွဲ့များ ပါ၀င်မှုကို တိုးမြှင့်ရန် ND-Burma မှ တိုက်တွန်းတောင်း ဆိုလိုက်သည်။ စစ်အာဏာရှင်သည် လမ်းကြောင်းလွဲကာ ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးအလားအလာအားလုံးကို ဖျက် စီးပစ်ရုံမှတပါး မည်သည့်အရာကိုမျှ လုပ်ဆောင်ခဲ့ခြင်းမရှိသောကြောင့် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေး ဖော် ဆောင်မှုတွင် နေရာမရှိပါ။..."
Source/publisher:
Network for Human Rights Documentation - Burma
Date of publication:
2022-09-21
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-21
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
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Country’s military has deployed brutal violence to crush dissent since taking power in a 2021 coup but resistance is growing
Description:
"On 1 February 2021, Myanmar’s military took power in a coup, abruptly halting the country’s fragile transition towards democracy.
It justified the coup by alleging widespread fraud in the 2020 election – which Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won by a landslide. Independent observers have rejected such claims.
In the weeks following the coup, huge numbers of people took to the streets for mass protests. The military responded with deadly violence and imposed a campaign of terror, raiding homes and arresting anyone suspected of supporting democracy.
More than 15,500 people have been arrested as of September 2022 – a number that continues to rise. Reports of torture in prisons are common.
Many resorted to taking up arms to oppose the military, forming people’s defence forces. In some cases anti-coup groups are supported by established ethnic armed organisations that have fought against the military for decades.
Faced with defiant and widespread resistance, the military has been unable to consolidate its control of the country. It has deployed increasing brutal violence to try to crush dissent.
The UN’s human rights office said earlier this year that the military’s actions might amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Almost 700,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict since the coup, meaning more than 1.2 million are currently displaced. The economy is in crisis, and public services have collapsed.
Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained since the coup and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Further cases against her, which could lead to decades more prison time, are ongoing..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2022-09-19
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians
Language:
more
Description:
"Eleven children were killed in junta air strikes in Let Yet Kone Village in Tabayin Township, Sagaing Region on Friday, after which junta soldiers cremated most of their bodies in Ye-U, about 11 km away, in an attempt to remove any trace of the killings, according to local sources.
Two regime Mi-35 helicopters attacked a monastic school in Let Yet Kone Village at 1 p.m. on Friday. Seven children were killed immediately, and 17 other people—three teachers and 14 students—were injured. Two more children died when ground troops raided the village.
Regime forces took the bodies of the seven children who were killed in the initial airstrike, and those who were injured, to a traditional medicine hospital in Ye-U overnight, and cremated their bodies at Ye-U cemetery the following day. They cremated two more bodies at the cemetery around 4 p.m. that day. Locals suggested those two might have been among the students taken for medical treatment at Ye-U traditional medicine hospital.
“Some of the children taken with the vehicle had their lower body parts or limbs severed. A [dismembered] child was wrapped and put in a bamboo basket [used as backpacks by Myanmar military troops]. There were pools of blood inside the school. Pieces of flesh were scattered all over the place, on fans, on the walls and on the ceiling,” said a villager who went to see the monastic school after the air strikes.
Another resident of Let Yet Kone said: “Parents of two children came to search for their children, but all that was left was the clothes of their children. The junta soldiers did not leave a single body part, so parents could not hold funerals.”
The bodies of four boys and two girls, along with a sack of body parts believed to be those of another victim, were cremated at Ye-U cemetery at around 6 a.m. on Saturday, and two more boys were cremated at 4 p.m., according to the Ye-U Township People’s Defense Force (PDF).
Junta troops forced a Let Yet Kone villager to drive the three injured teachers and 14 injured children as well as the bodies of the dead children to Ye-U on Friday evening.
A Ye-U resident who is familiar with the matter said: “The regime forces returned to Ye-U, carrying both the dead and injured children in a vehicle that they forcibly took from Let Yet Kone. The driver thought the bodies were of soldiers. He was shocked when he opened the sacks and found children.”
The injured people are being kept at the traditional medicine hospital in Ye-U, where junta troops have made their base in the town. Some children were seriously injured and had lost limbs.
It is not clear which battalions are responsible for the killings, but local resistance groups believe they belong to Light Infantry Battalion 701 based in Yangon’s Hmawbi, which is under Yangon Command, and Division 33 based in Sagaing.
Apart from the young children, seven other villagers including two teenagers aged 13 and 16 were killed. The five other victims included a woman and were aged 22, 31, 34, 37 and 49.
Junta troops carried out the air raid alleging that resistance fighters were at the village monastery, residents said.
The junta’s Myawady TV said in a newscast on Saturday, “The Myanmar military made checks in response to a tip-off that the Kachin Independence Army [KIA] and PDFs were planning to transport weapons via Let Yet Kone, and the village monastery was a hideout for National League for Democracy supporters and PDF members who extort money from locals and travelers.”
It added: “Civilians were killed as the KIA and PDFs used them as human shields in the exchange of fire.” However, local residents said it was a one-sided attack by junta soldiers.
Similar incidents involving child casualties occurred on Thursday and Saturday. Two displaced sisters aged 7 and 12 taking shelter at a monastery in Moebye on the Shan-Kayah border were killed in a junta artillery strike on the monastery on Thursday.
A 5-year-old boy was shot dead by junta soldiers in Kantbalu Township in Sagaing Region on Saturday..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-09-19
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group, Children, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians
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Description:
"NEW YORK – The Malaysian Foreign Minister, Dato Sri Saifuddin Abdullah, parliamentarians from Europe and Asia, and members of the National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar have urged the global community to take stronger action to tackle the crisis triggered in Myanmar by last year’s illegal coup d’état.
Minister Abdullah hosted a meeting focused on Myanmar today at the Malaysian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, which is taking place this week.
“There should be an inclusive and fair consultation with all stakeholders in Myanmar, including the NUG and NUCC. Then there should be a framework with a clear endgame, which includes a return to democracy in Myanmar,” Abdullah said.
Abdullah is the only ASEAN minister who has publicly met with members of the NUG, the legitimate government in Myanmar, which represents the democratic aspirations of the country’s people. The meeting was attended by the NUG Minister for Human Rights, U Aung Myo Min; the NUG Minister of Communications, Information and Technology, as well as its spokesperson, U Htin Linn Aung; the permanent representative of Myanmar to the UN, Kyaw Moe Tun; as well as representatives of other Myanmar pro-democracy organizations.
“The Myanmar people deserve to have their true representatives at the table where regional decisions are being made,” said Htin Linn Aung.
The meeting was attended by Heidi Hautala, Vice President of the European Parliament and Chair of the International Parliamentary Inquiry (IPI) into the global response to the crisis in Myanmar; Charles Santiago, Malaysian MP and Chairman of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR); Mercy Chriesty Barends, member of the Indonesian House of Representatives and APHR Board Member; U Shwe Maung, former Myanmar Member of Parliament, and APHR Board Member; and Tom Villarin, former congressman from the Philippines, and APHR Board Member.
Since the coup d’état on 1 February 2021, Myanmar has been plunged into a deep crisis, as the military junta led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing engages in an all-out war against its population in order to cement its power. A massive civil disobedience movement has demonstrated that the vast majority of the country’s population does not wish to live under military rule and has valiantly resisted the power grab. Meanwhile, international attention has largely shifted to crises elsewhere.
“Nineteen months after the coup, the international allies of the junta have shown a commitment to supporting Min Aung Hlaing which surpasses that of those countries claiming to support the pro-democracy movement. Simply put, the latter are not doing enough to help the Myanmar people, as countries like Russia or China actively support the military, engage the junta and give it the recognition it so keenly craves. It is high time for those governments that claim to support democracy in Myanmar to act forcefully,” said Charles Santiago.
In order to assess the global response to the crisis in Myanmar and offer recommendations on what international actors should do to support democracy and human rights in the country, APHR launched the International Parliamentary Inquiry on Myanmar in June. Chaired by Heidi Hautala, Vice President of the European Parliament, the IPI Committee is formed by eight parliamentarians from seven countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.
The IPI has held a total of six public oral hearings, as well as two special and three confidential oral hearings, with experts, diplomats, politicians, and activists from Myanmar and other countries. IPI committee members also conducted a fact-finding mission to the Thai-Myanmar border in August, where they met with over a dozen civil society organizations and other stakeholders. On the occasion of the UN General Assembly, the IPI has sent a delegation to New York and Washington, in order to present its preliminary findings. The IPI final report will be released in November.
The IPI members are presenting a position paper to a variety a stakeholders in New York and Washington, in which they assert that the coup has failed in the face of widespread popular opposition. Myanmar has been plunged into a civil war between the military and the pro-democracy movement, which is bound to be long and protracted.
“As the conflict in Myanmar remains undecided, and the coup is triggering a humanitarian crisis of an enormous scale, what international actors do, or fail to do, may tip the scale in favor of military dictatorship or democracy. We urge the global community to scale up humanitarian aid, to increase the pressure on the junta through improved coordination on sanctions and diplomatic isolation. We further urge international actors to fully acknowledge the NUG as what it is, the legitimate government of Myanmar, and support it accordingly with funding, capacity building initiatives, and diplomatic recognition,” said Heidi Hautala..."
Source/publisher:
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights
Date of publication:
2022-09-19
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, ASEAN-Burma relations, Human Rights and international relations
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Description:
"On 15 September, the de facto authorities in Rakhine State have temporarily suspended all humanitarian food and cash distributions, effective immediately.
World Food Programme (WFP) and other UN agencies have been on lockdown in Northern Rakhine State until further notice in response to the announcement of 15 September and by the Arakan Army on 14 September that it would conduct permanent and ad hoc checks on waterways and roads in Rakhine State that are used regularly by the Myanmar Military. WFP’s distribution of relief assistance to more than 237,000 people on a monthly basis is hence on hold.
Both announcements come as clashes in Northern Rakhine continue to escalate, including airstrikes and armed confrontations..."
Source/publisher:
European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations
Date of publication:
2022-09-19
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"1.On September 16, 2022, six children were killed and many were injured because of a military terrorist airstrike on a self-supporting school of local residents in Lat Yat Kone village, Tabayin township, Sagaing region.
2.Following the airstrike, ground troops of military terrorist arrested approximately 20 students and teachers who were trapped in the school, including the injured children, and sent them to Ye Oo township.
3.Ministry of Human Rights, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Women, Youths and Children Affairs of the National Unity Government strongly condemn the targeted attacks on the schools, which is an inhuman and brutal war crime. The arrested children and teachers need to be released without any harms.
4.The National Unity Government has been meticulously documenting the serious human rights violations and maintaining its consistent effort to bring justice in various ways.
5.The international community has responsibility to support the effort of bringing justice for war crimes, such as gross violations of children's "Right to Education" and heinous targeted attacks on schools..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Education, Ministry of Women, Youths and Children Affairs and Ministry of Human Rights
Date of publication:
2022-09-18
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group, Children
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"၁။ ၂၀၂၂ ခုနှစ်၊ စက်တင်ဘာလ ၁၆ ရက်နေ့တွင် စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်း၊ ဒီပဲယင်းမြို့နယ်၊ လက်ယက်ကုန်းကျေးရွာတွင် ဒေသခံများ ဖွင့်လှစ်ထားသော ကိုယ်ထူကိုယ်ထ စာသင်ကျောင်းတစ်ကျောင်းကို အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စုက လေကြောင်းမှ တိုက်ခိုက်ခဲ့ရာ ပညာသင်ကြားနေသည့် ကလေးသူငယ် ၆ ဦး သေဆုံးခဲ့ပြီး၊ ကလေးသူငယ်အများအပြား အပြင်းအထန် ထိခိုက်ဒဏ်ရာရခဲ့သည်။
၂။ လေကြောင်းတိုက်ခိုက်ပြီးနောက်တွင် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စု၏ မြေပြင်တပ်ဖွဲ့ဝင်များသည် ထိခိုက်ဒဏ်ရာရခဲ့ကြသည့် ကလေးသူငယ်များအပါအဝင် ကျောင်းတွင်ပိတ်မိနေသော ကျောင်းသား/ကျောင်းသူများနှင့် ဆရာ/ဆရာမ ၂၀ ဦးခန့်ကို ဖမ်းဆီး၍ ရေဦးမြို့နယ်သို့ ပို့ဆောင်ခဲ့သည်ဟု သိရှိရပါသည်။
၃။ စာသင်ကျောင်းများကို ပစ်မှတ်ထားတိုက်ခိုက်ခြင်းသည် လူမဆန်သည့်၊ ကြမ်းကြုတ်သည့် စစ်ရာဇဝတ်မှုကျူးလွန်ခြင်းဖြစ်ပြီး အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးဆိုင်ရာဝန်ကြီးဌာန၊ ပညာရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာနနှင့် အမျိုးသမီး၊ လူငယ်နှင့် ကလေးသူငယ်ရေးရာဝန်ကြီးဌာနများမှ အပြင်းအထန် ရှုတ်ချသည်။ ဖမ်းဆီးထားသည့် ကလေးသူငယ်များနှင့် ဆရာ/ဆရာမများကို မည်သည့်အန္တရာယ်မှ ကျရောက်စေခြင်းမရှိပဲ အမြန်ဆုံးပြန်လွှတ်ရန် လိုအပ်သည်။
၄။ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရသည် ဆိုးရွားသည့် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများကို အသေးစိတ်မှတ်တမ်းတင်လျက် တရားမျှတမှုကို နည်းလမ်းအမျိုးမျိုးဖြင့် ဖော်ဆောင်နိုင်ရန် တစိုက်မတ်မတ် ကြိုးပမ်းဆောင်ရွက်လျက်ရှိသည်။
၅။ နိုင်ငံတကာ အသိုင်းအဝိုင်းအနေဖြင့်လည်း ကလေးသူငယ်များ၏ ပညာရေးအခွင့်အရေး (Right to Education) ကို ဆိုးရွားစွာ ချိုးဖောက်ရမှု၊ စာသင်ကျောင်းများကို ရက်စက်ကြမ်းကြုတ်စွာ ပစ်မှတ်ထား တိုက်ခိုက်သည့် စစ်ရာဇဝတ်မှုများအတွက် တရားမျှတမှု ဖော်ဆောင်ရေးတွင် အားဖြည့်ပံ့ပိုးရန် တာဝန်ရှိသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Education, Ministry of Women, Youths and Children Affairs and Ministry of Human Rights
Date of publication:
2022-09-18
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Children, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group
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Format :
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415.09 KB
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Sub-title:
A freelance television presenter who worked for the BBC's charity branch has been sentenced to three years hard labour in Myanmar.
Description:
"Htet Htet Khine, the presenter of a programme produced by BBC Media Action for local audiences, was arrested in August 2021.
Many journalists and activists have been jailed since the military seized power in a coup in February 2021.
BBC Media Action's director of programmes said the move was alarming.
"This, and other detentions of media workers in the country, runs counter to basic principles of human rights and freedom of expression," Richard Lace said.
The authorities said Htet Htet Khine's reporting amounted to incitement and illegal association, charges her family said were unjust.
Her contact with family and access to legal representation has been limited since her arrest, BBC Media Action says.
Since the coup, 12 media outlets have been forcibly shut and 142 journalists arrested, according to the independent Myanmar Now website.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which keeps a toll of those killed, jailed or detained by the military, says that more than 14,000 people have been arrested, with an estimated 2,114 killed by military forces.
Htet Htet Khine became well known in the country as the face of Khan Sar Kyi, described by the charity as a national television peace programme.
She had travelled across the country showing the impact of internal conflicts.
BBC Media action is an independent charity that operates separately from BBC News. It follows the corporation's editorial standards but is distinct from BBC News Burmese language news programmes..."
Source/publisher:
"BBC News" (London)
Date of publication:
2022-09-17
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Human Rights Defenders, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports
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Sub-title:
In a rare first-hand account, Frontier journalist Ye Mon recounts being beaten and sexually abused by regime soldiers in December 2021 after being detained at Yangon International Airport.
Description:
"I couldn’t see the soldiers through my blindfold, but their words were terrifying enough.
“If they refused to answer our questions, we raped them – women and men – and then killed them.”
Despite the casual delivery, it was clear that the soldiers were threatening me. I had read numerous reports about soldiers sexually assaulting people in detention but I never imagined it would happen to me.
After covering the aftermath of the February 2021 coup along with my Frontier colleagues, I quietly flew out of Yangon to Thailand in October. The State Administration Council, as the junta calls itself, had been increasingly targeting journalists and I no longer felt safe. I had been living in a safe house for months, and soldiers and police visited my former residence at least twice looking for me.
I made some enquiries and found I was not on the blacklist at Yangon International Airport, so I got a Thai visa and bought a ticket. Nevertheless, I didn’t feel relaxed until the plane actually took off.
After finishing hotel quarantine, I resumed my work in Chiang Mai. I was close to finishing several pieces for Frontier when I got some bad news from Yangon: a close relative was seriously ill. I felt a powerful need to return and care for them.
I knew there were risks in returning but they’d let me leave Myanmar less than two months earlier; getting back in would surely be no harder.
I expected to face nothing more than a two-week stay in quarantine when I arrived back in Yangon. But as my plane landed around 8pm on December 12, I felt an overwhelming sense of fear.
Many people from Myanmar will understand this fear. We can be arrested at any time, for no apparent reason. It doesn’t matter whether you’re involved in fighting the dictatorship – with the military in charge, you can never be truly safe in Myanmar.
The airport was eerily quiet. We filed off the plane towards the counter where we needed to choose whether to spend our quarantine in a hotel or government facility. I chose hotel quarantine and an official directed me to the immigration counter. That was where my nightmare began.
Our interaction started casually enough; I handed my passport over the counter, and the immigration officer stamped it and entered my arrival date. But then he said vaguely that I needed to wait a moment while they checked some other things.
Ten minutes later, four fully armed police officers arrived and took me off into the corner of the room, a short distance from the immigration counter. They didn’t tell me why I was being stopped, but I knew it couldn’t be good. I sent a few short messages to my colleagues that the police had stopped me.
The officers started asking questions, things like, “Did you write anti-SAC articles?” and “Do you have connections to the National Unity Government and People’s Defence Forces?” Then they said, “Do you know that you have been charged under 505A?”.
This set my heart racing. By now, most people from Myanmar are familiar with the phrase “505A”: an incitement charge in the Penal Code that carries a potential three-year prison term, and which the junta has used regularly against its opponents.
I had no idea what to do but tried to stay calm. I replied that journalists need to speak to all sides, so I had to contact the NUG and PDFs for my articles. Obviously, I would not have returned to Myanmar if I knew that I had been charged, I told them.
At first, I thought my responses had worked. They took me away in a police car, but dropped me at the government quarantine centre in Dagon Seikkan Township. Had they just been trying to scare me?
My heart sank, however, when the police took my laptop, mobile phone and passport. I realised I hadn’t wiped my devices as thoroughly as I had on the way out of Myanmar. They still had some sensitive information on them. I had another phone hidden in my luggage, and with that I sent a message to Frontier explaining what had happened.
An hour later, soldiers and police arrived at my room. I was handcuffed and my eyes were covered with a black cloth, but I had time to see one soldier had the two-star insignia of a lieutenant. One of them told me that I would have to stay at a hotel for 14 days due to COVID-19 prevention measures.
The handcuffs and blindfold suggested this was unlikely. Thirty minutes after getting into a vehicle it came to a halt. To this day I still don’t know exactly where I was taken, but I believe it was one of the junta-run interrogation centres in Yangon. Since the coup, these centres have earned a notorious reputation for the torture handed out to detainees, some of whom have died during interrogation.
They forced me to sit on the floor and left me alone. After maybe three hours – it’s hard to tell when you’re blindfolded – several men came into the room and said they found emails I had sent to the NUG, and a story I had written about the telcos MPT and Mytel surveilling their customers.
They particularly wanted to know the identities of the sources in the story. Knowing what the consequences would be if I gave them the names, I told them I had promised the sources their identities would remain secret. I also pleaded with the soldiers to let me go, trying to convince them that I had quit Frontier in October.
They then started kicking me in the abdomen and beating me around the head with their guns. When I asked for a cup of water, they threatened to kick me again. They kept asking questions, about my work and Frontier. I remained blindfolded the whole time.
I think this continued for an hour, after which they sent me back to a hotel in Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township. It was about 2am and I was starving; I tried to call the hotel reception but the phone seemed to have been disconnected.
In the morning, officials from the Ministry of Health turned up for my COVID-19 test and breakfast arrived at my door. The officials said nothing about the bruising on my face.
I hoped my ordeal was over but spent the day waiting in fear. At about 9pm, the soldiers and police returned and I was again blindfolded and taken somewhere. The interrogation went on even longer that night. They kept repeating the same questions and beating me when I didn’t give them the answers they wanted. At some point in the morning, I was sent back to the hotel. I was in so much pain I couldn’t sleep.
I thought it couldn’t get worse, but I was wrong.
I will never forget the events of the following day, December 14. I had always considered the 14th of any month to be a lucky day: my wife and I got married on February 14, and my son’s birthday is July 14.
Again, I was blindfolded and taken to the interrogation centre. A soldier gave me a cup of water, and then they asked me the same questions. As on the previous days, I refused to give them the information they were after.
I then heard a girl screaming, possibly from the room next door. A soldier told me, “Min thu ko lote ya meh.” This literally meant I would have to do something for or to her, but from the context I knew they meant I would have to have sex with her. If I didn’t, they said, they would do “something” to me. I was terrified, but I refused.
They asked again: who were the sources for the article? I told them I couldn’t remember, but they didn’t believe me.
That was when they started to rape me. I begged them to stop, but they just told me to be quiet. It went on for about an hour.
I was in shock; I never expected the soldiers would behave like that. It occurred to me that if they were sick enough to rape me, they could kill me at any moment.
I couldn’t stay silent any longer; all I could think about was getting out alive. I thought about how to respond while giving away as little information as possible, to minimise the risk to others.
One of the things they had been demanding were the phone numbers of three colleagues who were already out of the country, along with the numbers of an activist and a lawyer. I couldn’t remember the numbers, but I offered to retrieve them from my phone. It seemed as though it would be easy enough for them to get the numbers through other channels, anyway.
Revealing the identities of sources was a more sensitive matter. I told them the position of one government official, but said I couldn’t remember their name or number, and gave a fake name and number for a police officer.
In desperation, I then told the soldiers I also worked as a national consultant for UNICEF. This wasn’t a total lie, but my part-time contract with UNICEF had actually ended months ago – that’s why it hadn’t occurred to me to mention it earlier.
Maybe saying I was with a UN agency worked, or maybe they just felt they had enough information, but shortly afterwards they sent me back to the hotel. Despite what I had experienced, I felt relieved to be alive.
The next day, a senior military officer came to my hotel together with police from Mingalar Taung Nyunt and Sanchaung townships.
They told me I would be charged under not only section 505A of the Penal Code, but also 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act and the Counter-Terrorism Law. But then they offered to withdraw the charges if I agreed not to reveal anything about my detention, including the sexual abuse I suffered.
They had prepared a six-point statement for me to sign: Aside from staying silent about my experience, I would not be able to work for Frontier or contact the NUG or PDFs, and I would need to inform the Sanchaung Township police station at least 10 days in advance if I wanted to travel domestically or internationally. The agreement said I would receive my laptop, mobile phone and passport back within a week. If I broke the agreement, I would face the original charges.
I told them I needed time to think about it. Although I desperately wanted to get out of detention, the idea of making a deal with the regime still made me feel sick.
When they came back the next day, though, I was ready to sign. I was worried about my family, and what they might do to them if I refused.
Once I had signed, the senior officer said I would be able to go home after completing quarantine on December 20. This concern with COVID-19 regulations may seem absurd, but not to those familiar with the workings of the Myanmar military. It is willing to do anything – no matter how barbaric – to hold onto power, but at the same time, it feels the need to show it is upholding and following the law.
The sense of relief I had expected to feel upon returning home never came.
Although my physical injuries soon started to heal and the doctor told me my damaged kidneys would repair themselves, I had trouble sleeping and was terrified of the darkness; just seeing soldiers on social media, let alone on the street, left me a wreck. I felt unable to tell my family, including my wife, the full story of what had happened. After a few months I decided to get tested for sexually transmitted infections, so I went alone, in secret.
Frontier had stopped publishing temporarily in October to make it easier for us to quietly leave the country. The plan was to resume in December but after my arrest they decided to wait, and eventually relaunched in January this year. After my release, I stopped communicating with Frontier so that the authorities wouldn’t arrest me. But once articles were going up on the website again, the Sanchaung police started to call me regularly – perhaps around twice a month – to say Frontier was damaging the reputation of the military and that I would have to face the consequences.
Unable to work for Frontier, or even contact my colleagues, I had little to keep me occupied; inevitably, I could think about little else than what the soldiers had done to me. The guilt of having potentially put others at risk by returning to Myanmar also weighed on me.
I soon started to think about ending my life. I felt like I had no future, nothing to look forward to. Most of all I felt alone.
For months I struggled on. Then, in April, I told my wife that I had been raped. This helped immediately – finally, someone else knew what I had been through. It wasn’t always at the front of my mind.
Nevertheless, I was still in a bad way. The only thing I wanted was to get out of the country, but I was in a bind. Although I didn’t feel safe in Myanmar with the authorities seemingly watching my every step, trying to leave again seemed like such a risk.
Eventually I decided to try to go back to Thailand. As per the terms of the agreement, I informed the Sanchaung Township police station. It was unclear whether I would be allowed to leave, and I was terrified they would arrest me again when I went through the airport.
Travelling alone on June 6, I passed through immigration without a problem and soon landed in Bangkok. My family joined me later the same day on a separate flight.
Why did they let me go? Why did they let me leave last year, and then arrest me when I returned a few months later? The regime’s decision-making is opaque and seemingly erratic. The police officer from Sanchaung told me they had let some other junta opponents leave, including known members of the Civil Disobedience Movement. Perhaps they just thought it was easier if I was out of the country.
Regardless, we were now finally free of the regime, and this time I really did start to feel better. Since arriving in Bangkok, Frontier have been providing me with access to regular counselling and continued treatment for my physical injuries.
But the trauma of my experience is always present, and deciding whether to write about it was difficult. I was sure that soldiers routinely used sexual violence against both men and women during interrogation, but also knew that most victims would not want to speak up – either because they had (like me) been forced to sign an agreement, they were worried about the stigma, or both. Part of me also wanted to stay silent about what had happened.
The military has a particular sensitivity to allegations of sexual violence and nearly always denies that such incidents took place. If faced with incontrovertible evidence, it blames a rogue soldier or soldiers and has insisted for decades there is no institutional pattern. I decided to write this because I wanted the world to know that the use of sexual violence is indeed routine, even if it meant reliving my experience over and over again. I also chose to write under my name, rather than anonymously, to encourage other survivors to come forward about what they experienced.
I believe that the use of rape and other forms of sexual abuse is not just a torture method designed to get information out of detainees. The soldiers see the people as their enemies and inflict sexual violence as a form of punishment, and to show that they have the power to do whatever they want. I think this attitude comes right from the top of the military, from Min Aung Hlaing himself. They know the people despise them, and violence and fear are the only tools they have left to maintain power..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2022-09-16
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights Defenders, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations
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"A Yangon court has sentenced journalist Htet Htet Khine to three years in prison under incitement charges, as disturbing crackdowns on press freedom continue under Myanmar’s military regime. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the court’s decision and calls on the junta to protect the rights of journalists and media workers in Myanmar.
Htet Htet Khine, a former BBC television presenter, was sentenced to three years in prison on September 15, after she was convicted of incitement under Section 505(a) of the Myanmar Penal Code for allegedly disseminating ‘false information designed to foster public animosity towards the military government’.
From 2016 until 2020, Khine presented the BBC’s Khan Sar Kyi (Feel It) program, which covered the devastating impacts of prolonged conflict in Myanmar.
Htet Htet Khine and fellow journalist Sithu Aung Myint were arrested by the military junta in Yangon in August 2021. Khine was initially charged under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act for working with an outlawed radio station and sheltering Myint from police.
Following her sentencing, Khine’s family members said they feared for her safety and reiterated that the charges against her were unlawful. In a statement, BBC Media Action also expressed concern for Khine’s safety and said that the sentence ran “counter to basic principles of human rights and freedom of expression.”
Since the military coup in February 2021, at least 120 journalists have been detained, according to Reporting ASEAN. Last month, a freelance photographer was arrested by junta troops and former photojournalist Ko Zaw Zaw was sentenced to three years in prison. On July 30, Aye Kyaw, a photographer and activist known for covering anti-junta protests, died in police custody.
The IFJ said: “The unlawful charges against Htet Htet Khine are yet another blatant attempt to silence critical voices and stifle press freedom in Myanmar. The IFJ urges Myanmar’s military to immediately release Khine and respect the right of all journalists to report without fear of persecution.”..."
Source/publisher:
International Federation of Journalists
Date of publication:
2022-09-16
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders
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Description:
"This submission outlines the dangerous and rapidly deteriorating on-the-ground situation faced by
women and girls following the coup by the Burma/Myanmar military (the military or Tatmadaw) on
February 1, 2021. Since the coup, women and girls have faced direct and imminent threats to their
health, welfare and safety and have lost hard-won gains in political, social and economic rights. This
precarious situation demands immediate attention and action by the United Nations (UN) and the
international community at large.
Women and girls face significant and escalating security threats
The military has committed atrocities in ethnic areas for over 70 years. Since the coup, the Tatmadaw
and its proxies have expanded these brutal campaigns in ethnic areas, such as Chin and Karenni/Kayah
states, and extended their reign of terror to urban and “dry zone” areas dominated by the Bamar
majority, such as Sagaing and Magway. Civilians and aid workers have been targeted with systematic
and widespread indiscriminate and disproportionate violence, including mass and arbitrary arrests and
killings, air raids, artillery strikes, sexual violence and arson.3 These unrelenting attacks fully meet the
definition of terror under international and national law and amount to violations of international
humanitarian law and human rights laws. The UN has concluded these atrocities amount to crimes
against humanity and, potentially, war crimes.
While there has been a massive deterioration of safety and security for all civilians since the coup,
women and girls face disproportionate threats and risks from security forces. Women have been
victims of escalating sexual violence crimes, with recent qualitative research presenting a troubling
snapshot of security force-perpetrated rape, gang rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment, including in detention. These cases are only the tip of the iceberg given the low level of reporting, and
dovetail with other research demonstrating that security forces have for decades carried out brutal
campaigns of violence, including sexual violence, as part of armed conflict in ethnic areas, including
massive genocidal clearance operations against the Rohingya.
Women have actively and bravely participated in and led the civil resistance movement, facing
great personal risks to put an end to a brutal military junta. An estimated 3,100 women have been
arrested and detained since February 1, 2021, with over 2,400 still in custody.4 Women have
reported widespread violence in detention settings, including sexual abuse, torture and sexual
harassment. Female detainees have also been denied medical treatment, including maternal
healthcare, and access to potable water.5
Currently, there are nine women human rights defenders (WHRD) on death row whose lives are
in grave danger given the military junta’s recent execution of four democracy activists, the first
such executions in 30 years. All WHRDs were convicted after closed trials in a military court that
fell far short of international standards.
At a societal level, women have been hit hard by the economic downturn caused by foreign
divestment and factory shutdowns. This economic hardship and lack of security resulting from
the coup have pushed women and young women to fall victim to trafficking gangs and to agree
to slave-like labour conditions or prostitution. Moreover, the level of societal gender-based
violence has increased since the coup, as civilians have taken advantage of the violent chaos
engulfing the country.
Since the coup, women have lost the economic, social and political gains that they fought for with
increasing political activism and participation over the past decade. Women now face massive
protection needs to secure their welfare, sustain gender equality progress and support women’s
leadership. As the UN has noted, women are “starting to see their future disappear” and the UN
and international community must act with urgency and purpose.6
Burma/Myanmar’s humanitarian crisis has had a devastating impact on women
The military has caused a devastating humanitarian crisis through its Four-Cuts Strategy of cutting off
telecommunication, food, money, and intelligence in Karen/Kayin, Karenni/Kayah and Chin states, and
the Sagaing and Magway regions. These brutal, scorched earth campaigns include air strikes, military
offensives and burning of villages, which has destroyed over 28,000 homes thus far.7 As a result, over
one million people have been displaced – amounting to one in every ten people.8
Civilians have had to travel deep into the jungle on a moment’s notice to avoid military attacks.
Displaced persons, including women and girls, must deal with health risks, food scarcity, lack of shelter
and inadequate medical care, especially during the current rainy season.9 Malaria, dengue fever and
other waterborne diseases are rampant and poisonous snakes are a scourge. Drought, water shortages
and poor water quality have resulted in not being able to meet basic hygienic needs and illness. Dry
goods and food items are being depleted and food insecurity is acute. Women face particular health
challenges, including a lack of sexual and reproductive health services which has led to an increase in
premature births, underweight births and increased infant mortality.10 This dire situation presents
formidable challenges to the health and safety of women and girls and requires targeted assistance,
such as women’s dignity and delivery kits, lactating mothers’ support and sexual and reproductive
health assistance, such as birth control and HIV drugs which are no longer available.
Service delivery to those in need, already limited by decades of ethnic strife and chronic underfunding,
has completely broken down. Humanitarian aid workers cannot access those in greatest need, and
efforts by international and regional agencies to deliver humanitarian aid are woefully inadequate.11
Given this dire situation, brave volunteers from women’s groups, civil society organisations,
communities, Ethnic Health Organisations (EHOs) and Ethnic Resistance Organizations (EROs) have stepped in to help despite security risks. The military targets these courageous individuals and groups,
leading to regular harassment, arrest and murder.12
Current humanitarian aid delivery efforts focus on partnering with the military which is completely
illadvised and counterproductive. The military has caused the crisis and is not to be trusted with aid
delivery to areas that it is currently attacking. Civilians will not accept humanitarian aid distribution
through any military-affiliated channel as they are afraid of backlash and there is a risk that the military
will instrumentalize aid. Instead, the international community must build channels for providing
humanitarian assistance by collaborating only with, and dramatically increasing support to, women’s
groups, civil society organisations, communities, EHOs and EROs. In particular, women’s groups that
have stepped in to fill service gaps have not experienced an increase in funding to support the increased
burdens on the ground, highlighting an urgent priority for the international community.13
No avenues for justice exist
Ample evidence exists to show that the military and its proxies have for decades committed heinous
crimes, including murder, rape and genocide. These crimes have been widespread and systematic, part
of a deliberate strategy to intimidate, terrorise and punish local populations. Since the coup, the
patterns of abuse and violence seen in ethnic areas have been extended throughout the country,
indicating that no group is immune from the security force abuses that ethnic groups have experienced
for more than 70 years. The military has long enjoyed impunity for its actions, which has directly
contributed to the current crisis.
The coup has further proven the military’s disdain for the rule of law and its firmly-held belief in its
omnipotence, including its perceived entitlement to commit human rights abuses without
consequence. Survivors of security force abuses, including conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), are
unable to access any justice in the current context as the legal system has been eviscerated and no
trust exists between civilians and law authorities, which are under the aegis of the military. With no
chance of domestic accountability, international and regional justice and accountability mechanism are
crucial.
The international community has not adequately responded to the crisis
The international community, including the UN Security Council, have a mandate to secure
international peace and security as well as to protect women in conflict settings in accordance with
multiple directives in the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda. Yet, the international community
has ceded to ASEAN the responsibility for finding a solution to the crisis. ASEAN’s efforts have failed, in
part due to continued engagement with a recalcitrant military which has repeatedly thumbed its nose
at the toothless “Five Point Consensus.” This failed strategy has prolonged the crisis and obstructed
necessary protections for civilians, including women, who face massive security and humanitarian
needs.
The international community must abandon reliance on ASEAN and instead take bold action to resolve
this dangerous situation and build trust with the people of Burma/Myanmar. As the 12 July 2022 report
of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar acknowledged, interactions with civilians
“…to build trust and increase confidence in the Mechanism’s ability to contribute to international
criminal accountability processes are critical…”.14 Yet, trust can never be built as long as the UN,
including its in-country teams, international agencies and regional actors work and engage with the
military and the military-appointed State Administration Council (SAC).
Recommendations
The international community must collectively raise their voices to secure the human rights,
safety and welfare of women and girls in Burma/Myanmar and expeditiously take the following
actions:
§ Dispatch a well-equipped monitoring and intervention mission to secure the
immediate and unconditional cessation of the military’s violent terror campaign
against the people to prevent further atrocities.
§ Impose a comprehensive global arms embargo, with robust monitoring and
enforcement mechanisms, to end the direct and indirect supply, sale or transfer of
all weapons and other equipment that may be used for training, intelligence and
military assistance.
§ Impose targeted sanctions against the military and its proxies to effectively cut off
financial flows and endeavor to cut off supplies of aviation fuel to the military.
§ Support and stand with the people by refusing to engage with the military, its
proxies or the SAC and work with the National Unity Government, as the legitimate representative of the people, and other groups working to build a truly democratic
federal union.
§ Condemn the military for killing civilians and executing human rights defenders in the
strongest terms, take effective action to stop further executions and atrocities and
secure the immediate release of political prisoners, including human rights defenders
and WHRDs.
§ Work and collaborate only with local actors, including women’s groups, as described
above, to provide humanitarian aid and avoid any contact and cooperation with the
military or its proxies; mediate with neighboring countries, such as Thailand and India,
to open a humanitarian corridor to provide assistance to local aid actors; protect aid
workers, including women first responders, from harm and harassment; urgently
address country-wide food shortages; streamline aid procedures and delivery to be
flexible and user-friendly to eliminate administrative burdens; and find innovative and
alternative ways, using existing reliable social networks, to distribute aid outside of
military channels.
§ Provide targeted, long-term and specific resources to women’s groups to support
service delivery and the gender equality movement.
§ Ensure impartial and independent investigations so that perpetrators are held
accountable for their crimes; fully and unequivocally support all efforts to ensure
justice, including by: referring the situation to the International Criminal Court;
instituting a special or regional accountability mechanism; supporting and intervening
in international accountability efforts, such as those already underway at the
International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court; and initiating
domestic proceedings via universal jurisdiction.
§ Protect those fighting for democracy and justice, especially women, and develop a
comprehensive protection plan in accordance with WPS mandates to provide a safe
haven for CRSV survivors, WHRDs and women peacebuilders; ensure that any
resolution to the crisis includes the meaningful participation of women and has a clear
mandate for justice and accountability for CRSV survivors.
§ Establish a Task Force on Myanmar and conduct an exceptional inquiry into the
situation of women and girls in Myanmar, as the CEDAW Committee has done for
Afghanistan and for Myanmar in 2019..."
Source/publisher:
Women’s Advocacy Coalition - Myanmar and Women’s League of Burma
Date of publication:
2022-09-15
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Burmese women's organisations, Women's rights
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"1. On every September 15 of a year, the global community widely observes the
International Day of Democracy with the purposes to uphold and protect the
democratic principles in many ways. Today marks the 25th years anniversary of
Universal Declaration on Democracy by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
However, misusing of weapons and power including global pandemic have
significantly impacted a great risk to democracy norms and practices such as
freedom, freedom of expression, assembly, right to access information, justice, rule
of law and human rights.....
2. Although Myanmar's people have sacrificed to uphold democratic system in the
country, the military regimes in decades prohibited the citizens from embracing
democratic norms. In 2015, the very first elected civilian government led by
Myanmar Democracy Leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was emerged by inclusive
efforts of our people through election. However, developed democracy gains have
been destroyed due to military putsch by the brutal military of Min Aung Hlaing, a
leader of terrorist group.....
3. We, the elected representatives and the people, are continuing our fighting against
the military to return democracy back in the country even facing various tortures
such as unlawful detentions, cruel murders without any reasons, and forcing to
fl ee from our own places. Until now the military terrorist has killed over (2279) and
the number of detained people is now over (12430) while thousands of people in
Myanmar are displaced because of burning homes and villages, and launching
massive air-strikes on the Citizen' areas.
4. The international community should support practically and effectively the
governments, organizations and individuals who are making efforts to flourish
democracy and to work for human rights in the world. At the same time, the
undemocratic regimes should be punished with strongest actions. It is the time to
show your solidarity by the effective actions but not the words and with the people.
of Myanmar, the democratic institutions and democracy activists who are badly
suffering serious and heinous human rights violations by the military junta.....
5. On other side, the military junta which is not a legal government is creating an old
story of lying for global community as promising to hold a fair, free and transparent
election. There will be no rights to freely vote and elect, and with no independent
media accesses. According to the facts in history, it should notice that the military
regimes systematically destroyed democratic system and killed the people who
passionate democracy. Therefore, the arrangement of fake election of regime must
not be recognized.....
6. The Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw is the legitimate representative
body which was organized by the democratically elected parliamentarians by its
people. It is the legislative body of the union exercising people’s mandate and is
performing the legislating, overseeing the government’s administration and
supporting the people in need.....
7. Here, in order to take preventive measures on Myanmar’s democracy under
dangerous condition, we strongly and deeply urge international governments,
parliaments, organizations and individuals including the United Nations Security
Council to carefully listen the voices of the citizens of Myanmar and then, to
officially recognize and engage with us, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu
Hluttaw and the National Unity Government we formed by the effective supports
in time in order to restore democracy, stability and development in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw
Date of publication:
2022-09-15
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations
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Source/publisher:
National Unity Consultative Council
Date of publication:
2022-09-15
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-15
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
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
290.85 KB
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Source/publisher:
National Unity Consultative Council
Date of publication:
2022-09-15
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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"၁။ နှစ်စဉ် စက်တင်ဘာလ ၁၅ ရက်နေ့တွင် နိုင်ငံတကာဒီမိုကရေစီနေ့ အခမ်းအနားများ ကို ဒီမိုကရေစီစည်းမျဉ်းစည်းကမ်းများ လိုက်နာကျင့်သုံးနေမှုအား တိုးမြှင့်ထိန်းသိမ်းကြရန် ရည်ရွယ်ချက်ဖြင့် ကမ္ဘာတစ်ဝှမ်းက ပုံစံအမျိုးမျိုး၊ နည်းလမ်းအမျိုးမျိုးဖြင့် ကျင်းပလျက်ရှိ ပါသည်။ ထို့အပြင် ယနေ့သည် နိုင်ငံတကာပါလီမန်များအဖွဲ့က ဒီမိုကရေစီကြေညာစာတမ်းကို ထုတ်ပြန်ခဲ့သည်မှာလည်း (၂၅) နှစ် ပြည့်မြောက်ခဲ့ပြီဖြစ်သော်လည်း ကမ္ဘာတစ်ဝှမ်း၌ ကမ္ဘာ့ကပ် ရောဂါအပါအဝင် လက်နက်နှင့် အာဏာ အလွဲသုံးမှုများကြောင့် လွတ်လပ်ခွင့်၊ လွတ်လပ်စွာ ထုတ်ဖော်ပြောကြားခွင့်၊ စုဝေးခွင့်၊ သတင်းရယူပိုင်ခွင့်၊ တရားမျှတမှု၊ တရားဥပဒေစိုးမိုးမှု၊ လူ့အခွင့်အရေး စသည့် ဒီမိုကရေစီစံနှုန်းများကို သိသိသာသာ ထိခိုက်လျက်ရှိပါသည်။
၂။ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင် ဒီမိုကရေစီစနစ် ကျင့်သုံးနိုင်ရေးအတွက် မြန်မာပြည်သူများက နှစ်ပေါင်းများစွာ အသက်ပေး၍ တည်ဆောက်နိုင်ရန် ကြိုးပမ်းခဲ့သော်လည်း စစ်အာဏာရှင် အဆက်ဆက်ကြောင့် ဒီမိုကရေစီစံနှုန်းများကို ခံစားပိုင်ခွင့်မရှိခဲ့ပေ။ ၁၉၆၂ ခုနှစ် နောက်ပိုင်း မြန်မာပြည်သူတို့၏ ဝိုင်းဝန်းကြိုးပမ်းမှုများကြောင့် မြန်မာ့ဒီမိုကရေစီခေါင်းဆောင် ဒေါ်အောင် ဆန်းစုကြည် ဦးဆောင်သည့် ပထမဆုံး အရပ်သားအစိုးရကို ၂၀၁၅ ခုနှစ်တွင် ရွေးကောက် တင်မြှောက်နိုင်ခဲ့ကြသော်လည်း အကြမ်းဖက်ခေါင်းဆောင် မင်းအောင်လှိုင် ဦးဆောင်သည့် စစ်တပ်၏ ဥပဒေမဲ့အာဏာသိမ်းခဲ့မှု ကြောင့် ကြိုးပမ်းတည်ဆောက်ထားခဲ့သည့် ဒီမိုကရေစီ အသီးအပွင့်များသည်လည်း ကာလတို အတွင်း ပျက်စီးသွားခဲ့ပြီး ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၃။ မိမိတို့ ရွေးကောက်ခံလွှတ်တော်ကိုယ်စားလှယ်များအပါအဝင် မြန်မာပြည်သူများ သည် ဥပဒေမဲ့ဖမ်းဆီးထောင်ချခံရခြင်း၊ အကြောင်းမဲ့သတ်ဖြတ်ခံရခြင်း၊ နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာ ထွက်ပြေး စေရန် ဖိအားပေးခံရခြင်းတို့အပါအဝင် ဖိနှိပ်မှုအမျိုးမျိုးကို ရင်ဆိုင်ကြုံတွေ့နေရသည့်တိုင် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ၌ ဒီမိုကရေစီပြန်လည်ရရှိရေးအတွက် အသက်ပေး၍ တွန်းလှန်ဆန့်ကျင်လျက်ရှိ ပါသည်။ ယနေ့အချိန်ထိ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်တပ်က မြန်မာပြည်သူ (၂,၂၇၃) ဦးအား သတ်ဖြတ် ထားပြီး (၁၅,၅၀၆) ဦးကိုလည်း ဖမ်းဆီးထားသည့်အပြင် လူနေအိမ်များနှင့် ကျေးရွာများအား မီးရှို့ ဖျက်ဆီးနေခြင်း၊ အရပ်သားပြည်သူများ နေထိုင်ရာ နေရာဒေသမများသို့ လေကြောင်းဖြင့် တိုက်ခိုက်နေခြင်းတို့ကြောင့် ပြည်သူထောင်ပေါင်းများစွာသည်လည်း အိုးမဲ့အိမ်မဲ့ဖြစ်ကာ ထွက်ပြေးတိမ်းရှောင်နေရလျက်ရှိပါသည်။
၄။ နိုင်ငံတကာအသိုက်အဝန်းအနေဖြင့် ကမ္ဘာတစ်ဝှမ်း၌ ဒီမိုကရေစီ ရှင်သန်ထွန်းကား စေရန် ဒီမိုကရေစီနှင့် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးများအတွက် ကြိုးပမ်းဆောင်ရွက်နေသည့် အစိုးရများ၊ အဖွဲ့အစည်းများနှင့် လူပုဂ္ဂိုလ်များအား လက်တွေ့ကျစွာ အားပေးကူညီ၍ အာဏာရှင်များကို ထိထိရောက်ရောက် အပြစ်ပေး အရေးယူသွားရမည် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်တပ်၏ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုကို ဆိုးရွားစွာ ခံစားနေရသည့် မြန်မာပြည်သူများ၊ မြန်မာပြည်သူ များက ရွေးကောက်တင်မြှောက်ထားသည့် ပြည်သူကိုယ်စားပြု ဒီမိုကရက်တစ် အဖွဲ့အစည်း များ၊ ဒီမိုကရေစီအရေး လှုပ်ရှားဆောင်ရွက်နေသည့် လူပုဂ္ဂိုလ်များနှင့် အတူတကွ ရပ်တည် ကြောင်းပြသရန် စကားလုံးဖြင့် မဟုတ်ဘဲ ထိရောက်သော လုပ်ဆောင်ချက်များဖြင့် အားပေး ထောက်ခံရန် အချိန်ကျရောက်ပြီ ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၅။ တစ်ဖက်တွင်လည်း ဒီမိုကရေစီအယောင်ပြ၍ တရားဝင်အစိုးရမဟုတ်သည့် အကြမ်း ဖက်အဖွဲ့အစည်း စစ်တပ်သည် တရားမျှတ၍ လွတ်လပ်သော ပွင့်လင်းမြင်သာမှုရှိသည့် ရွေး ကောက်ပွဲ ကျင်းပပေးမည်ဆိုသည်မှာ နိုင်ငံတကာအသိုက်အဝန်းအား လှည့်စားရန် ကြိုးပမ်းမှု သက်သက်သာဖြစ်ပါသည်။ လွတ်လပ်စွာမဲပေးပိုင်ခွင့်၊ သတင်းရယူပိုင်ခွင့်နှင့် ရွေးကောက် တင်မြှောက်ပိုင်ခွင့်တို့သည်လည်း လုံးဝရှိမည် မဟုတ်ပါ။ သမိုင်းအထောက်အထားများအရ တရားဥပဒေကို လိုသလိုအသုံးချတတ်သည့် စစ်အာဏာရှင်တို့သည် ဒီမိုကရေစီစနစ်အား ဖျက်ဆီးရန် ကြိုးပမ်းကြသူများဖြစ်ပြီး ဒီမိုကရေစီအရေး ဆောင်ရွက်သူများကို လူမဆန်စွာ သတ်ဖြတ်နေကြသူများဖြစ်သည်ကို အထူးသတိပြု၍ ယင်းရွေးကောက်ပွဲကျင်းပရန် စီစဉ်နေမှု ကို တားဆီးကန့်ကွက်သွားကြရမည် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၆။ ပြည်ထောင်စုလွှတ်တော်ကိုယ်စားပြုကော်မတီသည် ပြည်သူလူထုက ဆန္ဒမဲပေး၍ ဒီမိုကရေစီနည်းကျ ရွေးကောက်တင်မြှောက်ထားသည့် လွှတ်တော်ကိုယ်စားလှယ်များဖြင့် ဖွဲ့စည်းထားသည့် တရားဝင် ပြည်သူကိုယ်စားပြုအဖွဲ့အစည်း ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ပြည်သူလူထု၏ ဆန္ဒသဘောထားအရ ပေးအပ်ထားသည့် အခွင့်အာဏာဖြင့် ဥပဒေပြုရေး အပါအဝင် အစိုးရအား ထိန်းကျောင်းခြင်း၊ ပြည်သူလူထု၏ အခက်အခဲများအား ထောက်ပံ့ကူညီခြင်းများကို ဆောင်ရွက် နေသည့် ပြည်ထောင်စုအဆင့် ဥပဒေပြုအဖွဲ့အစည်းတစ်ရပ် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၇။ သို့ပါ၍ အန္တရာယ်အတွင်း ကျရောက်နေသည့် မြန်မာ့ဒီမိုကရေစီအား အချိန်မီ ကာကွယ်တားဆီးနိုင်ရန် မြန်မာပြည်သူတို့၏ အသံကို လေးနက်စွာ နားထောင်၍ ပြည်သူ ကိုယ်စားပြု မိမိတို့ ပြည်ထောင်စုလွှတ်တော်ကိုယ်စားပြုကော်မတီ၊ မိမိတို့က ဖွဲ့စည်းတာဝန် ပေးအပ်ထားသည့် အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရတို့အား တရားဝင် အသိအမှတ်ပြုကာ ထိရောက် သော ကူညီပံ့ပိုးမှုများ အချိန်မီ ပေးအပ်နိုင်ရန် ကုလသမဂ္ဂလုံခြုံရေးကောင်စီအပါအဝင် နိုင်ငံ တကာအစိုးရများ၊ လွှတ်တော်များ၊ အဖွဲ့အစည်းများ၊ လူပုဂ္ဂိုလ်များကို လေးလေးနက်နက် တိုက်တွန်းအပ်ပါသည်။ ..."
Source/publisher:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw
Date of publication:
2022-09-15
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations
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Sub-title:
Atrocity Alert is a weekly publication by the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect highlighting situations where populations are at risk of, or are enduring, mass atrocity crimes.
Description:
"DEADLY ARMED CONFLICT RETURNS TO MYANMAR’S RAKHINE STATE
Following weeks of escalating conflict in Rakhine State and southern Chin State, a ceasefire that has been in place between Myanmar’s (Burma) military — the Tatmadaw — and the ethnic armed organization the Arakan Army (AA) since November 2020 appears to have entirely broken down. The temporary ceasefire was established following two years of war between the Tatmadaw and AA – an armed group seeking greater autonomy for the ethnic Rakhine Buddhist population in Rakhine State. Since June, tensions between the Tatmadaw and AA have steadily risen, with reports of intense fighting, shelling and deployment of troops since early August.
Most of the fighting has been concentrated in Maungdaw, Rathedaung, Buthidaung and Mrauk-U townships in Rakhine State, as well as in Paletwa township in southern Chin State. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as of 5 September the violence had displaced nearly 9,600 people, bringing the total number displaced by past and ongoing fighting between the Tatmadaw and AA to almost 84,000. Key roads and waterways have been blocked, restricting freedom of movement and halting humanitarian assistance from reaching people in need.
Escalating armed conflict in Rakhine State comes as populations across the country continue to face atrocity risks resulting from the February 2021 coup. On 12 September Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), presented the IIMM’s fourth annual report on Myanmar during the 51st session of the Human Rights Council. Between 16 June 2021 to 30 June 2022 the IIMM found that “the scope of potential international crimes taking place in Myanmar has broadened dramatically,” with evidence indicating that the military continues to commit war crimes, as well as the crimes against humanity of murder, torture, deportation and forcible transfer, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution and imprisonment.
Renewed fighting between the Tatmadaw and AA not only increases the risk of atrocities facing civilians but also complicates the prospects for the safe, dignified and voluntary repatriation of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to Myanmar. Liam Scott, Myanmar Expert at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, said, “the resurgence of violence between the Arakan Army and the Tatmadaw underscores the international community’s ongoing failure to effectively respond to the post-coup crisis in Myanmar. Imposing arms embargoes and sanctions against the oil and gas sectors are the least individual states and the UN Security Council should do to uphold their Responsibility to Protect.”..."
Source/publisher:
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Date of publication:
2022-09-14
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Human Rights and international relations
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Description:
"Myanmar’s junta added a charge that carries a death sentence against jailed protest leader Ko Wai Moe Naing for his role in the protest movement against military rule.
The 27-year-old pro-democracy activist has been held in Monywa Prison, Sagaing Region, since his arrest in April last year during an anti-regime rally. He has already faced several charges and was given a 10-year sentence in five incitement cases last month.
On August 26 the junta filed a fresh case against him under Article 122 of the Penal Code for leading protests in Monywa and for affiliating with the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw of deposed lawmakers, which the junta has declared an unlawful organization, his mother told The Irrawaddy.
Article 122 enforces a death sentence or life in prison for high treason.
Ko Wai Moe Naing defended himself in court as neither of his lawyers was able to attend court. One lawyer was detained and the other has been in hiding for over a month after the junta issued an arrest warrant.
He also faces charges of murder, wrongful confinement, defamation and under the Natural Disaster Management Law.
A hearing for the latest charge is scheduled for September 22.
The regime, which has killed at least 2,273 people since the February 2021 coup, has used the death penalty to intimidate opponents as it struggles to control the country.
It carried out Myanmar’s first execution in nearly four decades in July by hanging four detainees, including veteran democracy activist Ko Jimmy and Ko Phyo Zeya Thaw, a former National League for Democracy lawmaker, who were sentenced to death in January.
The other two victims were Ko Hla Myo Aung and Ko Aung Thura Zaw, who were accused of murdering a woman they believed to be a junta informant.
Many other political prisoners now face death sentences issued by junta courts..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-09-14
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Human Rights Defenders, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Anti-coup protesters
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"Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said the prospect of a new election slated to be held next year depends largely on whether there is peace and economic recovery plus political stability in the country, in an interview with Russian news agency RIA.
His remark is viewed as implying that the election slated for August 2023 is not certain, considering that Myanmar’s economy is spiraling downward and the armed clashes in many parts of the country are expected to escalate once the rainy season is over.
When asked about the possibility of the election being delayed during the interview, which was published in junta-controlled newspapers, Min Aung Hlaing replied, “It is too early to discuss it because it is around five months [until emergency rule expires], and a decision has to be made depending on the situation.”
Under the military-drafted 2008 Constitution, the chief of the armed forces can impose emergency rule for one year, and renew it twice for six months each. Emergency rule has already been renewed twice, and will expire on Feb. 1 next year. The election must be held within six months of that date, under the Constitution.
Holding an election is also part of the junta’s five-point roadmap released after the bloody military coup. To prepare for it, the regime has been amending electoral laws and taking steps to replace the current first-past-the-post electoral system with the proportional representation (PR) system—a move that would overwhelmingly favor the military and its allied political parties.
Whether the election can be held as planned is open to question as the junta leadership including Min Aung Hlaing himself have repeatedly set out unrealistic preconditions for a free and fair election to take place, including that there must not be “pressure” on people, that it must be able to hold the election across the country, and that the armed conflicts must end before a vote is held.
Renowned political analyst U Than Soe Naing told The Irrawaddy he believes Min Aung Hlaing will hold the election no matter what in order to achieve his dream of becoming president.
“They will hold the fraudulent election in areas they can control, to prolong their rule—unless they are removed before it,” he said.
The junta’s planned PR system is designed to prevent the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) or any other democratic party from winning a landslide victory like the NLD did in the 1990, 2015 and 2020 general elections.
As the military already holds 25 percent of seats in the parliament under the Constitution, the PR system will enable Min Aung Hlaing to fulfill his presidential dream, as it will ensure the military’s proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and its allied parties win enough seats to officially put Min Aung Hlaing into the presidential residence. Smaller parties allied with the USDP did not win a single seat in the 2020 election.
According to the analyst U Than Soe Naing, even if the election can’t be held, Min Aung Hlaing might follow in the footsteps of his predecessor as dictator, Than Shwe, and scrap the 2008 Constitution and write a new one in order to cling to power..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-09-14
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-14
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Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Political History
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"Myanmar’s detained democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is facing several health issues in solitary confinement, ranging from an irregular heartbeat to festering insect bites.
The 77-year-old civilian leader had to undergo a medical check-up in early September after her heart rate quickened, according to sources familiar with the case.
She had no history of heart problems previously.
Before the coup, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was in excellent shape for her age, and had no problems with her kidneys, heart, lungs, stomach, liver or other vital organs.
However, her physical condition has started to decline since she was moved from house arrest to solitary confinement in Naypyitaw Prison in June this year, the sources said.
Moreover, she has developed itchy lumps due to insect bites. Some of these have begun to fester because the water inside the prison is not clean.
Food provided by the prison is lousy, and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has to make do with bread and milk, as well as nutritional supplements like Ensure. The poor nutrition is taking a toll on her physical condition.
She is being kept in a small building in the prison compound in Naypyitaw, where daytime temperatures are high. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi asked for six curtains to ward off the heat, but prison authorities only gave her three.
She also has to attend four trial hearings every week in cases filed against her by the regime.
The regime has detained Daw Aung San Suu Kyi since the coup in February last year and filed 20 charges against her, including 13 corruption cases. As of Sept. 2, a regime court had sentenced her to a total of 20 years and she still faces other charges.
If she is found guilty of all charges, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will have to spend the rest of her life in prison. Local and international observers see it as a deliberate strategy by the junta to remove her from politics once and for all..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-09-14
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-14
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Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Human Rights Defenders
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"At least 15 protesters were arrested in Yangon on Wednesday afternoon when regime personnel in civilian clothes broke up a flash mob in Kyimyindaing Township.
The protest in Pan Pin Gyi Street was in support of the civilian National Unity Government and its United Nations representative, U Kyaw Moe Tun.
The security forces were prepared and waiting for them, residents said.
Protesters who escaped said the security forces were in plain clothes.
“They arrived soon after we began the protest and beat us with sticks. Three vehicles suddenly appeared and at least three shots were fired,” said a protester who escaped.
“At least 15 were taken away and we are very concerned for them. We saw them being beaten and shot at in public and anything can happen to them in an interrogation camp,” he said.
Daw Win Win, a Kyimyindaing resident who witnessed the incident, said: “It happened very quickly. I saw the people in plain clothes with sticks and some with guns watching from a distance. They beat the protesters. I ran away because I was scared.”
Ko Min Thurein, an executive member of the East Yangon University Students’ Union, was detained, according to the students union.
Others seized were representatives of the Basic Education Students’ Union, Myanmar Labour Alliance, Myanmar Youth Network and Pyinnya Nan Taw private school.
Five were members of the Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar (CTUM), the group said, denouncing the crackdown.
U Nay Min Tun from the Building and Wood Workers Federation of Myanmar and Daw Zuu Zuu Ra Khaing, Daw Yamin Kay Thwe Khaing and U Than Zaw from the Industrial Workers’ Federation of Myanmar were seized, according to the CTUM.
Last December junta forces rammed a vehicle into protesters and bystanders in the same street and arrested at least 12 people, including two journalists..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-09-14
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Anti-coup protesters, Human Rights Defenders, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations
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"A Response to the Announcement by "Save the Children' Regarding the Report, "The Impacts of the Attacks on Education and Military Use in Myanmar"...ပညာရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာန၊အမျိုးသမီး၊လူငယ်နှင့်ကလေးသူငယ်ရေးရာဝန်ကြီးဌာန နှင့် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးဆိုင်ရာ ဝန်ကြီးဌာနတို့၏ ပူးတွဲထုတ်ပြန်ချက်..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Education, Ministry of Women, Youths and Children Affairs and Ministry of Human Rights
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-14
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Individual Documents
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National Unity Government (NUG), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations
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"His most recent visit to Russia has made it increasingly clear that junta chief and militarist Min Aung Hlaing is chasing the unrealized dream of his predecessor as military dictator, Than Shwe: to possess a nuclear weapon.
Some two decades ago, revealing his desire for an atom bomb as a deterrent against external threats and provocations, Than Shwe told his confidant, then Science and Technology Minister U Thaung, “Ko Thaung, if possible, do make an atom bomb, [I don’t mind] even if it is just the size of a bael fruit.” The military dictator said this during a regular informal evening meeting of generals at the War Office, according to a military official who was in attendance. U Thaung was also a former military officer.
Min Aung Hlaing, who was handpicked by Than Shwe, has inherited this dream.
During his trip to Russia last week, Min Aung Hlaing again met Alexey Likhachev, director general of Russian state energy company Rosatom. The junta chief previously met him during a weeklong “personal” visit to Russia in July, his second since last year’s coup.
On that occasion, the two sides signed memorandums of understanding to cooperate on skills development in nuclear energy in Myanmar, Rosatom said in a release.
Last week’s visit saw the regime sign an initial agreement with Russia’s atomic energy agency on the possible implementation of a modular reactor project in Myanmar.
Junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun told the press that the project was aimed solely at developing nuclear energy for peaceful use in Myanmar.
But it is not the first time the Myanmar military and Rosatom have announced plans to work together on a nuclear project.
In 2007 the then military regime led by Than Shwe struck a deal with Rosatom to build a nuclear research center in Myanmar, which Rosatom said would be under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency. But construction never moved forward amid pushback from the U.S. and other countries.
In his speeches, Than Shwe constantly invoked the need for a proper defense capability that would ensure total protection of the country, and to apply science and technology to modernize the military.
This perceived need led Than Shwe to approach Russia and North Korea about acquiring technology to produce nuclear energy. Russian and North Korean experts arrived in Myanmar under his rule, and hundreds of Myanmar military officers left for Russian academies to study nuclear science and missile technology.
The regime defended its actions by saying the nuclear energy would used for peaceful purposes in the interests of the people—the same justification offered by Min Aung Hlaing’s current regime.
The No. 3 man in Than Shwe’s regime, General Shwe Mann, and other military leaders made a secret visit to Pyongyang in 2008 and signed agreements on defense cooperation. In 2012, Shwe Mann, by that time the Speaker of Myanmar’s Lower House under U Thein Sein’s government, said the visit was only intended to study air defense systems, and that only a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the countries’ militaries was signed during the visit.
In 2010, however, Major Sai Thein Win, an engineer in the Myanmar military’s Science and Technology Workshop (known locally as the “nuclear unit”) who received a doctorate in atomic energy in Russia, publicly disclosed information, including photos, showing that the military regime was conducting research, with technological help from North Korea, on possessing nuclear weapons.
The nuclear research program was abandoned under U Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government when the country embarked on its purported “democratic transition” in 2011.
Myanmar signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 2016 under the democratically elected government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy.
But since the military coup last year, the two countries have grown closer, with Moscow backing the putsch and Naypyitaw supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as both become increasingly isolated internationally under US and European sanctions. Russia has become the regime’s major arms supplier, selling to the regime weapons to crush the resistance movement.
Though Min Aung Hlaing publicly says he intends to use nuclear energy peacefully for the socio-economic development of the Myanmar people, it is clear that his real intentions aren’t that simple.
He surely feels irritated that the world has shunned him for his coup and subsequent bloody crackdowns on civilians. He may wonder whether possessing militarized nuclear technology would make a difference in that regard—a strategy adopted by North Korea. At the very least, as a military dictator who has demonstrated his total lack of concern for the wellbeing of the people, Min Aung Hlaing’s promise that such technology would be used for peaceful purposes in health and electricity generation is highly suspicious. He clearly believes possessing a nuclear weapon has the potential to guarantee his position as dictator for life..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2022-09-13
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Military History
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"Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) to what extent has the ongoing crisis in Myanmar affected the credibility of ASEAN in promoting peace and stability in the region; and (b) whether ASEAN is considering a joint effort to engage the Myanmar leadership at the highest levels.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs in view of the Myanmar military government’s failure to implement the Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar reached with ASEAN in 2021, whether Singapore plans to work with ASEAN to (i) implement targeted sanctions on Myanmar’s military, including an arms embargo and imposing travel restrictions on members of the military and (ii) establish contact with, and provide assistance, to the National Unity Government.
REPLY
The coup in Myanmar was launched by the Myanmar military or the Tatmadaw on 1 February 2021. Since then, the tragic consequences arising from the coup, which include large scale civilian deaths and injuries, have continued with no sign of abatement. The situation remains dire. The primary responsibility for the ongoing crisis in Myanmar lies with the Tatmadaw.
2 The Five-Point Consensus was formulated by the ASEAN Leaders and accepted by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing at their meeting on 24 April 2021 in Jakarta. However, Singapore and ASEAN are deeply disappointed that there has been little progress in its implementation. This is despite efforts by successive Special Envoys of the ASEAN Chair – Brunei and Cambodia – and direct entreaties by current ASEAN Chair, Cambodia. Instead, aerial bombings of opposition-controlled areas and the execution of opposition activists have occurred. The timings of these actions by the Tatmadaw underscore their disregard for both ASEAN and the Five-Point Consensus.
3 Myanmar’s peace, security and stability is not only in its own interest but also for the whole region. However, without political reconciliation and dialogue in good faith by all stakeholders, the necessary political solution cannot be found. The setbacks to ASEAN’s efforts are not a matter of ASEAN credibility, but rather of the Tatmadaw’s intransigence. The ASEAN Leaders will have to assess the progress in the Five-Point Consensus’ implementation at the ASEAN Summits this November. Depending on how the situation evolves, they will have to make some difficult decisions to guide ASEAN’s next steps.
4 Singapore voted in favour of UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/75/287 “The Situation in Myanmar” in June 2021, which calls on UN Member States to “prevent the flow of arms into Myanmar”. Since April 2022, Singapore has not authorised the transfer of items assessed to have potential military application to Myanmar, where there is a serious risk that the item may be used to inflict violence against unarmed civilians. This is in line with our firm commitment to measures that will facilitate the de-escalation of violence in Myanmar and support efforts by ASEAN and the UN to achieve a negotiated political solution..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore
Date of publication:
2022-09-13
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-13
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Six Cases Highlight Alleged Torture, Junta’s Failure to Investigate
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"(Sydney) – Myanmar’s military and police are responsible for scores of deaths in custody since the February 1, 2021 military coup, Human Rights Watch said today.
Human Rights Watch documented the deaths of six detained activists that involved apparent torture or the denial of adequate medical care. The junta authorities have not seriously investigated these deaths or taken action against those responsible.
“The six deaths Human Rights Watch documented are just the tip of the iceberg of suffering and torture of those detained by Myanmar’s military and police,” said Manny Maung, Myanmar researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Given the junta’s cruelty in all aspects of its rule, there’s little surprise that no evident action has been taken to investigate deaths in custody and bring those responsible to justice.”
The junta should immediately end its abuses against those opposed to military rule, including arbitrary arrests and detention, torture and other ill-treatment, and unfair trials. Deaths in custody should be immediately reported with proper documentation to the person’s family, the body should be returned, and those responsible for abuses held to account.
The Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners estimates that at least 73 people have died in police or military custody in police stations, military interrogation centers, and prisons since the coup, which effectively ended the democratic transition under Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). These deaths are only a small percentage of the at least 690 people that have been killed shortly after being apprehended by the security forces, often during military operations in ethnic minority areas. The military junta has only acknowledged a few custodial deaths but attributes them to illness or heart failure. However, human rights activists, witnesses, and sources close to the victims said that the physical evidence available indicates that many died from torture or other mistreatment, including poor detention conditions and a lack of access to adequate medical care.
Human Rights Watch documented the six deaths between May and July, remotely interviewing 10 witnesses and others familiar with the cases, reviewing 40 photographs and 5 videos posted to social media platforms, and obtaining independent medical analysis of the visual evidence by an emergency physician with expertise in torture.
The six men were all political activists or vocal opponents of the military junta in Yangon, Mandalay, and Sagaing Regions. Khin Maung Latt, 58, Zaw Myat Lynn, 46, and Than Tun Oo, 48, were NLD members apparently arrested for their political affiliation. Khet Thi, 43, Tin Maung Myint, 52, and Kyaw Swe Nyein, 55, joined or led protest movements after the coup. Five died within 24 hours of being arrested and interrogated, while Kyaw Swe Nyein, died two months after his arrest.
Myanmar police and soldiers arrested five of the six victims during night raids; they arrested the sixth, Than Tun Oo, in Mandalay during the day. In all but one of the cases, the arrests were carried out during joint military-police operations. A law enacted in March formally brought the police under junta control, requiring police officers to comply with all military orders, including taking part in military operations.
Photographs of five of the victims show physical marks on their bodies or heads that indicate torture. There are no photographs of Than Tun Oo’s body since junta authorities said he was cremated soon after he died.
Dr. Rohini Haar, an emergency physician whom Human Rights Watch consulted, analyzed images of the bodies: “Having reviewed photographs and videos of the five victims after their deaths, it is clear from the physical marks on the bodies and faces that these men suffered immensely, and that torture occurred.… There are so many signs of abuse and torture that it is hard to pinpoint exactly what killed these individuals.”
None of the men’s families received official medical certificates, cause of death, or autopsy reports, despite evidence that autopsies were conducted on four of the six bodies. The junta should issue medical certificates for all death-in-custody cases and provide autopsy reports to families if autopsies were performed.
Four of the victims’ families said they felt pressured by officials to have the bodies cremated immediately, presumably to hide evidence of wrongdoing. Two families said they buried their loved ones quickly out of fear the authorities would confiscate the body.
The UN special rapporteur on Myanmar said in October 2021 that he had received credible reports of “over 8,000 arbitrarily detained with many tortured, including dozens who were tortured to death.” At the UN Human Rights Council in March, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said she had received credible reports that at least 21 percent of deaths by the security forces had occurred while victims were in custody.
Human Rights Watch has found that the junta’s widespread and systematic abuses since the coup amount to crimes against humanity, which include murder, torture, and wrongful imprisonment.
The UN Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016) sets out that all death-in-custody cases should be subjected to “prompt, impartial, and effective investigations into the circumstances and causes” of the death. In addition, “family members should be informed immediately and thereafter a notification of death posted in an easily accessible way. To the extent possible, family members should also be consulted prior to an autopsy. They should be entitled to have a representative present during the autopsy … [H]uman remains should be returned to family members, allowing them to dispose of the deceased according to their beliefs.”
The UN, regional bodies, and governments – including the European Union, United States, United Kingdom, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – should specifically raise concerns about deaths in custody and press the junta to end them, Human Rights Watch said. They should strengthen targeted sanctions against military-owned businesses, the military and the State Administration Council (SAC) junta leadership under Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.
The UN Security Council should urgently take measures against the junta, including by referring the situation in the country to the International Criminal Court and passing a resolution to impose a global arms embargo.
“The deaths of people in custody are among the hidden atrocities that junta security forces are committing every day,” Maung said. “Concerned governments should be ensuring global condemnation of these horrific abuses.”
For detailed accounts of the deaths in custody, please see below.
Deaths in Custody
The following case histories are based on remote interviews with family members of the victims and witnesses and other sources of information. In all but one of the cases, witnesses said they were afraid to be named due to fear of reprisals from the Myanmar military or police.
Kyaw Swe Nyein, Nyaung-U town, Mandalay Region
Plainclothes policemen and a military intelligence unit arrested Kyaw Swe Nyein, 55, at his home in Mandalay Region on January 30, 2022, after he joined protests in Nyaung-U, Mandalay Region.
The authorities accused Kyaw Swe Nyein of spreading “fake news” and sharing a Facebook post supporting anti-coup protests. A closed court in March sentenced him to six months in prison for incitement under section 505A of the penal code. This section, amended by the junta shortly after the coup, makes it a criminal offense to make comments that “cause fear” and spread “false news,” and is punishable by up to three years in prison.
On March 9, Kyaw Swe Nyein sounded well when he spoke to his family on a mobile phone borrowed from one of the prison guards at Nyaung-U prison. However, he told a family member that he had been badly beaten at the Myingyan interrogation center, where he was held for the first 10 days. He told his family that he had experienced some dizziness as a result. On March 11, prison authorities informed Kyaw Swe Nyein’s wife that he had died that evening after complaining of dizziness. Doctors at Nyaung-U hospital, where his body was taken, told relatives that he had died of heart failure.
The family did not receive a death certificate or an autopsy report, even though authorities conducted an autopsy. A family member said a police official told the family to sign a blank document acknowledging they were informed of Kyaw Swe Nyein’s death.
A family member said:
I was so distressed. I just signed the document, but I don’t know what it was, and I don’t have a copy.… If he died from natural causes, then I could forgive myself [that he died in prison] but now, it’s the unknown that is unsettling. Of course, it’s very difficult for us to accept his death with so few answers but we can’t do anything about it now.
After reviewing images of Kyaw Swe Nyein at his funeral, Dr. Haar said a photograph showed evidence of trauma to the head from bruising around the eyes and ears.
Than Tun Oo, Mandalay town, Mandalay Region
On September 26, 2021, at about 3:30 p.m., soldiers and police arrested Than Tun Oo, 48, a former political prisoner and activist, at his home in Mandalay and took him to the No. 7 Area Police Station. Neighbors and family members watched as security forces beat him with his hands tied behind his back and then shot him in the legs, supposedly for being slow to respond to orders. A witness said:
There were around 50 to 100 soldiers and police with army trucks and private cars. Some soldiers were from the LID [Light Infantry Division] 33 command and there were police from the local station here in Mandalay.… They told [Than Tun Oo] to kneel but he weighed 400 pounds, so they shot him in his leg to make him kneel.
The witness said the next day, September 27, police and military officials told Than Tun Oo’s family that he had died in the police station from heart failure. The authorities did not give the family a medical certificate, a witness said, but security forces made family members sign a document acknowledging they had been informed of Than Tun Oo’s death.
The family said Than Tun Oo was in good health prior to his arrest. When the family demanded his body, junta authorities said they had cremated the body immediately because Than Tun Oo had tested positive for Covid-19 while in custody.
A family member said:
Everyone has dreams, so did [Than Tun Oo]. He was interested in art and loved writing. Many people liked him. I could endure the pain of loss if he died while fighting against the [junta]. But he died during interrogation where they have the power to do whatever they wanted. It is painful to accept that he died in this way.
Khet Thi, Shwebo city, Sagaing Region
Khet Thi, 43, a popular poet known for his sharp political wit, took on a leadership role opposing the military coup. He organized protests and spoke at rallies to encourage dissent against the military. His poetry became part of his resistance to military rule. “They shoot in the head, but they don't know that revolution is in the heart,” he wrote.
On May 8, 2021, about 40 soldiers and police arrested Khet Thi at his home in the city of Shwebo, Sagaing Region, and accused him of leading a plan to lay landmines targeting the security forces. Junta authorities also arrested Khet Thi’s wife, Chaw Suu, and her brother-in-law, Aye Pyo, for allegedly helping to plan the attack.
A witness said that police handcuffed all three, then took them in a police vehicle to Myo Ma, the main police station in Shwebo, where they were separated into male and female cellblocks for interrogation.
After hours of interrogation overnight, Chaw Suu and her brother-in-law were released on the morning of May 9. A police officer informed Chaw Suu that her husband had been taken to Monywa General Hospital, almost 90 kilometers from Myo Ma police station. Sources familiar with the case said that Chaw Suu thought her husband was ill and asked the head of the police station to take her to the hospital so she could care for him. The officer in charge then told her that Khet Thi was dead.
On May 9, at about 2 p.m., junta officials at Monywa hospital told Khet Thi’s family that he had died of a heart attack. However, family members deny that he had any heart problems, and say he was in good health apart from poor eyesight. A source said hospital staff pressured the family to have the body cremated at the hospital the same day. Fearing junta officials would force them to immediately cremate Khet Thi, the family took his body to prepare for burial the next day.
Junta officials failed to provide the family a medical certificate or autopsy report, and there was no investigation into his death.
A family member said:
We rushed back to another township with his body because we were afraid that they would take the body back.… When we went to prepare the body, his head moved slightly and that’s when blood came out of his head. They had performed an autopsy on his head and there was a wound but there were also two bruises on the right side of his face and black marks on his nose. He had square shaped burn marks on his thighs. We didn’t check his back because we were afraid the sutures from the autopsy might burst open.
Khet Thi was buried on May 10, 2021, less than 48 hours after his arrest.
Dr. Haar, the emergency physician, said that images of Khet Thi taken after his death showed likely head trauma.
Zaw Myat Lynn, Shwe Pyi Thar township, Yangon
Zaw Myat Lynn, 46, was a former NLD member who ran a vocational education school named after Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon’s Shwe Pyi Thar township. He and his family lived with the students.
On March 9, 2021, at about 1 p.m., police and soldiers arrived at the school, appearing to target Zaw Myat Lynn for arrest due to pro-democracy posts on his Facebook account. He ran and jumped over a fence but was surrounded by police and soldiers who took him into a military vehicle.
A teacher said:
I heard from students around 2 a.m. on March 9, 2021. [They told me] about 40 police and soldiers were at the Suu Vocational School. Some students were arrested first when military forces came in from the front door. Zaw Myat Lynn jumped over the fence and cleared it, but the building was surrounded, and he was arrested. Neighbors from next door also told me they heard Zaw Myat Lynn say, “Don’t shoot, I’ll surrender and come with you.” He didn’t get any injury from jumping over that fence.
Zaw Myat Lynn’s family was told the next day to come and identify his corpse.
Dr. Haar, who reviewed 12 photographs and 2 videos of Zaw Myat Lynn’s body, said visible injuries suggested scalding liquid was poured onto his face.
After examining similar photographs, The Guardian newspaper concluded that the nature of Zaw Myat Lynn’s injuries were consistent with torture: “It appears that boiling water or a chemical solution had been poured into his mouth. The tongue was melted, his teeth missing. Facial skin was peeling off. The body had been wrapped up to conceal further traumatic injuries.”
A source close to the family said that junta officials told Zaw Myat Lynn’s family that he had died from heart failure. The officials failed to provide the family with a medical certificate or autopsy report.
Tin Maung Myint, Yin Mar Bin township, Sagaing Region
On April 4, 2021, soldiers arrested Tin Maung Myint, 52, during a raid on his village in Yin Mar Bin township, Sagaing Region. He was a farmer and village leader who had joined the opposition to the junta. Witnesses said that soldiers arrested Tin Maung Myint around 4 a.m. along with seven others who were keeping watch on the military column that was preparing to raid their village.
Tin Maung Myint’s body, along with that of another villager who was arrested with him, turned up the next day about 2 p.m. at the Monywa General Hospital, bearing marks of torture. A witness who viewed the body said:
I saw bruises and swollen marks all over his and the other victim’s face. They were in pretty bad shape. We only checked their faces, not their whole bodies. It was unsettling to get close to their bodies. I didn’t want to look that closely, so I don’t know about marks on their bodies, but their faces were so black and blue.
One photograph posted on social media of Tin Maung Myint’s body shows numerous wounds. Dr. Haar, who reviewed the photograph, said she observed massive trauma consistent with skin tears and avulsions – or forcible tearing – on his shoulders that looked like burns. Bruises are visible on the face, as is a deep gash on the forehead. She said it was unclear which injury was the cause of death.
Junta authorities failed to provide a death certificate to the family or explain how Tin Maung Myint had died. Hospital staff who found the bodies told the families the men were already dead when they were discovered dumped at the hospital.
Khin Maung Latt, Pabedan township, Yangon
On March 6, 2021, soldiers and police arrived at the home of Khin Maung Latt, 58, a ward chairman and NLD member, in Pabedan township, Yangon. Witnesses said that after forcibly entering his home, security forces beat and kicked Khin Maung Latt in front of his family, then took him away at gunpoint. His family was notified the next morning that he had died of heart failure, and they retrieved his body at 8 a.m.
A friend of Khin Maung Latt’s who attended his funeral on March 7 said that his legs looked broken, his white funeral shroud was covered in blood, and that his face appeared blue and swollen. The friend said:
When I arrived at Ye Way cemetery, Khin Maung Latt’s body was already being prepared in the morgue, in the Muslim tradition. But we’d instructed our contacts who washed the body to take photos as soon as they’d stripped him. The water ran with blood and his body was marked as if he was badly beaten.… There was blood coming out of his ears and bruises all over his body; his legs looked damaged, broken. The person washing the body had put gauze in the ear and up his nose, but it was still dripping.… The white cloth was no longer white, it was stained red and rust-colored.
He said that the authorities appeared to have carried out an autopsy:
They said he died from a heart attack, but they had performed an autopsy on his body and on his head. The head was cut open, as if they’d taken one side and pulled it back like a flap. But why did they do this? There was no explanation given.… You could see the stitches on his head and on his body and the stitches were still oozing. No matter how we washed the stitches, they kept oozing and his blood was still warm. There were blue and brown marks around his eyes and his body, marks everywhere.
A member of the Muslim community who helped to prepare Khin Maung Latt’s body for a Muslim burial said there were deep wounds on his back and hands consistent with torture.
Dr. Haar, who reviewed nine photographs and one video of Khin Maung Latt’s body, observed unskilled, haphazard suturing of the autopsy wounds on the head and chest: “The sutures are very unusual and not in line with medical best practice. By even conducting the autopsy under such unusual circumstances, may also suggest medical complicity to the acts of torture that clearly occurred to the individual.”
Khin Maung Latt’s body was cremated at the Ye Way cemetery on March 7, less than 24 hours after his arrest. The friend said officials failed to provide the family with a medical certificate or autopsy report..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication:
2022-09-13
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Crimes Against Humanity
Language:
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