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Title: Hopes for UN Security Council action against Myanmar military coup ‘waning’ fast, warns Special Envoy
Sub-title: Hopes placed in the UN and the Member States that serve on the Security Council to take action against leaders of Myanmar’s military coup, are waning fast, the UN Special Envoy for the country warned on Friday.
Description: "Christine Schraner Burgener welcomed the fact that the Council was meeting behind closed doors on Friday to discuss the rising death toll on the streets as daily protests continue but told Ambassadors that “your unity is needed more than ever on Myanmar”. Power to veto any Security Council statements or resolutions, rests with the five Permanent Members, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. ‘Real heroes’ The Special Envoy said she had been in close contact with people across various communities since the 1 February military takeover, noting that “they, including committed civil servants, are the real heroes and protectors of the nation’s democratic progress.” But, she added, “the hope they have placed in the United Nations and its membership is waning and I have heard directly the desperate pleas – from mothers, students and the elderly. I receive every day around 2,000 messages, for international action to reverse a clear assault on the will of the people of Myanmar and democratic principles.” She urged the Council to push further to end the violence, and restore democratic institutions, denouncing the actions by the military, “which continues to severely undermine the principles of this Organization and ignores our clear signals to uphold them.” The envoy noted that around 50 “innocent and peaceful” protesters had now been killed, with scores more injured, with evidence mounting of killings and maiming by military snipers, in contravention of international human rights law. As of 2 March, she said the UN human rights office OHCHR was reporting that around 1,000 are either detained or unaccounted for, having been arbitrarily taken from the streets. “The Secretary-General, who remains closely engaged, continues to speak out and has strongly condemned the violent crackdown”, she said, adding: “The repression must stop.” Be 'resolute and coherent' “It is critical that this Council is resolute and coherent in putting the security forces on notice and standing with the people of Myanmar firmly, in support of the clear November election results” she said, which overwhelmingly returned the party of jailed leader Aung San Suu Kyi to power. She praised the stand taken by Myanmar’s ambassador to the UN, Kyaw Moe Tun, who a week ago publicly sided with the protesters against the coup, and has remained in post, despite the efforts of the Burmese military to remove him. He “needs your full support”, she told the Council. Ms. Schraner Burgener said she had continued to communicate the UN’s “strong dismay and condemnation” for its failure to protect the Burmese people, and said she would continue to engage, with all actors during the crisis..."
Source/publisher: UN News
Date of publication: 2021-03-05
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-06
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Title: Myanmar's ethnic groups have long suffered from military brutality. The junta gave them a common foe
Description: "For many of Myanmar's ethnic minorities, the bloodshed inflicted across the country's towns and cities this week is a continuation of the oppression they have suffered at the hands of the military for decades. The Southeast Asian country is home to some of the world's longest civil wars, where myriad ethnic insurgencies have fought the military, central government and each other for greater rights and autonomy. Some of those bloody conflicts have ebbed and flowed in the borderlands for 70 years. Throughout years of conflict in Myanmar's jungles and mountains, ethnic people have witnessed and been subjected to horrific atrocities including massacres, rape and other forms of sexual violence, torture, forced labor and displacement by the armed forces, as well as state-sanctioned discrimination. In 2016 and 2017, the military launched a brutal campaign of killing and arson that forced more than 740,000 Rohingya minority people to flee into neighboring Bangladesh, prompting a genocide case to be heard at the International Court of Justice. In 2019, the United Nations said "grave human rights abuses" by the military were still continuing in the ethnic states of Rakhine, Chin, Shan, Kachin and Karen. This week, that brutality played out on the streets of Myanmar's biggest cities, as the ruling junta launched a systematic and coordinated attack on unarmed peaceful demonstrators calling for an end to the February 1 coup. Witnesses, footage and photographs showed police and the military shooting dead anti-coup protesters, beating detainees and reported extrajudicial killings, while images of crumpled bodies laying in pools of their own blood or being dragged through the streets shocked the world. Determined to fight against those abuses and ensure their distinct voices and demands are heard, ethnic people have loudly joined the nationwide protests, uniting in solidarity against a common enemy. Though many fear further violence and intensified conflict from an unchecked military junta operating with impunity and now firmly in control of the country. "This fight has been since the beginning of the forming of the country itself. We hope that the current fight against the military coup in 21st century might be a new hope for our people," said Chin activist Sang Hnin Lian..."
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Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-03-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-06
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Title: Myanmar crisis now or never moment for ASEAN
Description: "More than a month on from a democracy-suspending military coup in Myanmar, many see the junta’s increasingly violent crackdown on dissent as approaching a point of no return. As the United States and others press for tougher sanctions on the junta’s leaders, Southeast Asian nations are under pressure to intervene to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. With its credibility on the line after past failures to tackle human rights crises in the region, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is still widely seen as the best hope for a diplomatic solution amid uncharacteristic outspokenness from some of its member states who are pushing to build a regional consensus on the need for Myanmar to return to democracy. But the grouping isn’t speaking with one voice, with some of its members describing the putsch as an internal matter, consistent with the bloc’s long-held tradition of non-interference in members’ domestic affairs. Moreover, the organization’s diplomatic efforts have been met with skepticism by those protesting across Myanmar who are staunchly opposed to any engagement that would confer legitimacy onto Naypyidaw’s generals..."
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Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication: 2021-03-04
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-05
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Title: NLD party stalwart Win Htein requests bail from Naypyitaw court
Sub-title: The 82-year-old’s lawyer asked that bail be granted due to Win Htein’s need for ongoing medical care
Description: "National League for Democracy (NLD) patron Win Htein requested that a Naypyitaw court release him from a detention center on bail on Friday, citing his deteriorating health. He awaits a trial for sedition charges brought against him by Myanmar’s ruling military council. At 82 years old, Win Htein uses a wheelchair and is reliant on an oxygen supply to help him breathe. He suffers from hypertension, diabetes and heart and thyroid diseases, according to his lawyer, Min Min Soe. He is charged with violating Section 124-A of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. “We requested that the court hold the trial with him out on bail because he needs constant medical care for those health issues,” lawyer Min Min Soe told Myanmar Now. At Win Htein’s second hearing on Friday at the Dekkhina District court in Naypyitaw, deputy judge Soe Naing said the court would make a decision regarding the bail request in the next hearing, scheduled for March 19. Lawyer Min Min Soe also said that officials at the Naypyitaw detention center have not allowed her to meet with her client or to obtain a copy of his medical records to submit to the court. She said that the NLD’s legal team has also requested that the judge allow an open court for her client’s hearings. The outspoken party stalwart Win Htein was arrested at his home in Yangon on the evening of February 4. He had recently returned from Naypyitaw, where he gave media interviews in which he said the coup was a result of Min Aung Hlaing’s “personal ambition.” At his first hearing on February 19, Win Htein asked for a sentence to be handed down to him immediately, which was rejected by the judge..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2021-03-05
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-05
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Title: 38 people killed in Myanmar's deadliest day of protest, says UN envoy
Description: "At least 38 people were killed after Myanmar's security forces opened fire on peaceful protesters in towns and cities across the country Wednesday, in scenes that have been described as "a war zone." Thousands of protesters across the Southeast Asian nation have taken to the streets over the past four weeks against a military coup on February 1. Security forces have intensified their response in recent days, opening live fire into crowds, and using tear gas, flash bangs and stun grenades on demonstrators. The United Nations said the total death toll since the coup was now 50, though activists put that total as higher. "Today was the bloodiest day since the coup happened," Special Envoy Christine Schraner Burgener told a briefing Wednesday. Around 1,200 people have been detained, while many relatives are unsure where they are being held, she said. "Every tool available is needed now to stop this situation," Burgener said. "We need a unity of the international community, so it's up to the member states to take the right measures." CNN reached out to the ruling military regime via email but has not yet received a response. Protesters run from police firing tear gas during a pro-democracy demonstration in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Wednesday. Protesters have for weeks been demanding the release of democratically elected officials, including the country's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who are currently in detention. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy Party (NLD) won a landslide victory in November elections; military leaders allege voter fraud but have provided no proof for their claim. Burgener said that in discussions with the military, she had warned that the UN Security Council and members states were likely to take strong measures. "The answer was: 'We are used to sanctions, and we survived those sanctions in the past'," she said. "When I also warned they will go in an isolation, the answer was: 'We have to learn to walk with only few friends'." Security forces -- which include members of the military's Light Infantry Divisions long documented to be engaged in human rights abuses in conflict zones throughout the country -- escalated their deadly crackdown on peaceful demonstrators this week. "Today, the country is like the Tiananmen Square in most of its major cities," the Archbishop of Yangon, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, said on Twitter. In one brutal instance, Myanmar security forces were caught on camera beating emergency services with the butts of their guns, batons and kicking them in the head, according to activist group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). The AAPP released the video on Wednesday and said in a statement that the leaked video was from North Okkalapa, in Yangon. The video provides a glimpse into the brutal methods deployed the security forces..."
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Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-03-04
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-04
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Title: Reports: Myanmar security forces kill at least 33 protesters
Description: "Myanmar security forces dramatically escalated their crackdown on protests against last month’s coup, killing at least 33 protesters Wednesday in several cities, according to accounts on social media and local news reports compiled by a data analyst. That is highest daily death toll since the Feb. 1 takeover, exceeding the 18 that the U.N. Human Rights Office said were killed on Sunday, and could galvanize the international community, which has responded fitfully thus far to the violence. Videos from Wednesday also showed security forces firing slingshots at demonstrators, chasing them down and even brutally beating an ambulance crew. The toll could even be higher; the Democratic Voice of Burma, an independent television and online news service, tallied 38 deaths. Demonstrators have regularly flooded the streets of cities across the country since the military seized power and ousted the elected government of leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Their numbers have remained high even as security forces have repeatedly fired tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds to disperse the crowds, and arrested protesters en masse. The intensifying standoff is unfortunately familiar in the country with a long history of peaceful resistance to military rule — and brutal crackdowns. The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in the Southeast Asian nation after five decades of military rule. The Wednesday death toll was compiled by a data analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared for his safety. He also collected information where he could on the victims’ names, ages, hometowns, and where and how they were killed. The Associated Press was unable to independently confirm most of the reported deaths, but several square with online postings. The data analyst, who is in Yangon, the country’s biggest city, said he collected the information to honor those who were killed for their heroic resistance. According to his list, the highest number of deaths were in Yangon, where the total was 18. In the central city of Monywa, which has turned out huge crowds, eight were reported. Two deaths each were reported in Salin, a town in Magwe region, and in Mandalay, the country’s second-biggest city. Mawlamyine, in the country’s southeast, and Myingyan and Kalay, both in central Myanmar, each had a single death. As part of the crackdown, security forces have also arrested hundreds of people at protests, including journalists. On Saturday, at least eight journalists, including Thein Zaw of The Associated Press, were detained. A video shows he had moved out of the way as police charged down a street at protesters, but then was seized by police officers, who handcuffed him and held him briefly in a chokehold before marching him away..."
Source/publisher: "Associated Press" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-03-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-04
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Title: Dozens killed in Myanmar's worst day of violence since coup
Sub-title: Security forces open fire on anti-coup protesters in Yangon, Mandalay and elsewhere
Description: "At least 33 people have been killed after Myanmar’s security forces opened fire on peaceful anti-coup protesters in multiple towns and cities, in the worst day of violence since the military coup last month. Police and military have increasingly used lethal violence in an attempt to crush demonstrations, killing at least 40 people since the coup on 1 February. Crowds have continued to take to the streets daily in defiance of the military junta, with just goggles, hard hats and homemade shields for protection. Protesters are demanding that the military restore democracy and for their elected leaders to be released. Thinzar Shunlei Yi, a human rights activist based in Yangon, described the military’s use of force against protesters as a “daily slaughter”. Among those who died on Wednesday was a 19-year-old woman shot in Mandalay. Images shared on social media showed her wearing a T-shirt that read “Everything will be OK”. A teenage boy was also killed. Local media reported that he was 14. Security forces used deadly force in several cities including Monywa, where six people were killed and at least 30 injured, a witness told the Guardian. Hundreds of people had turned out to protest when police opened fire around 11am. At least eight people were killed in a neighbourhood in Yangon after security forces opened sustained fire with automatic weapons in the early evening, according to Reuters. A protester who witnessed the crackdown in North Okkalapa township told the Guardian that the firing was continuous. “I’m still going to go to the frontlines. If I get shot and die then so be it. I can’t stand it any more,” he said..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-03-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-04
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Title: A fight is brewing over Myanmar's seat at the United Nations
Description: "The fight for control of Myanmar has now officially arrived at the United Nations. In a letter seen by CNN, Myanmar's UN Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun has told the international body that he still represents Myanmar, after making an impassioned speech last week rejecting the country's military takeover. Meanwhile, a deputy ambassador to the UN from Myanmar will claim that he is now the man the military authorities want to represent the country. Both sides have sent the UN letters to make their case on official letterhead. Myanmar's democratically elected government was overthrown last month in a military coup that saw civilian leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi detained. For weeks, thousands of people in the country have come out to protest against the coup, risking deadly violence and arrest by security forces. "The perpetrators of the unlawful coup against the democratic government of Myanmar have no authority to countermand the legitimate authority of the President of my country," Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun wrote in his letter to the UN. But the Myanmar foreign ministry is backing a deputy ambassador to take control of the country's UN representation, according to UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. "It's a unique situation we have not seen in a long time," Dujarric told reporters on Tuesday of the dueling claims. He added that the UN is "trying to resolve things as quickly as possible." Myanmar's military leaders first announced Kyaw Moe Tun's removal over the weekend, after he called on UN members to use "any means necessary" to help restore the country's civilian leadership. "We need further strongest possible action from the international community to immediately end the military coup, to stop oppressing the innocent people, to return the state power to the people and to restore the democracy," he told the UN on Friday. Kyaw Moe Tun said he was delivering the speech on behalf of Suu Kyi's government, and flashed the three fingered "Hunger Games" salute used by protestors on the streets of Myanmar, prompting a rare round of applause from his UN colleagues at the end. The new US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, praised the envoy's "courageous" remarks..."
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Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-03-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-04
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Title: Myanmar security forces intensify crackdowns on protesters
Description: "Pro-democracy demonstators in Myanmar show no signs of backing down amid the ongoing crackdown by security forces. Police fired tear gas and warning shots to disperse protestors, who have been on the streets every day since the military siezed power over a month ago. Demonstrations are taking place around the country and strikes are planned in at least one state. Diplomatic efforts to ease the crisis stalled on Tuesday as ASEAN countries failed to make a breakthrough in talks with Myanmar's military junta..."
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Source/publisher: "DW News" (Germany)
Date of publication: 2021-03-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-04
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Title: Myanmar security forces kill 18 anti-coup protesters despite calls for restraint: rights group
Description: "Myanmar security forces opened fire on protests against military rule on Wednesday, killing at least 18 people, a human rights group said, a day after neighbouring countries called for restraint and offered to help Myanmar resolve the crisis. The security forces resorted to live fire with little warning in several towns and cities, witnesses said, as the junta appeared more determined than ever to stamp out protests against the Feb. 1 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. “It’s horrific, it’s a massacre. No words can describe the situation and our feelings,” youth activist Thinzar Shunlei Yi told Reuters via a messaging app. A spokesman for the ruling military council did not answer telephone calls seeking comment. Ko Bo Kyi, joint secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners rights group, said in a post on Twitter: “As of now, so called military killed at least 18.” In the main city Yangon, witnesses said at least eight people were killed, one early in the day and seven others when security forces opened sustained fire with automatic weapons in a neighbourhood in the north of the city in the early evening. “I heard so much continuous firing. I lay down on the ground, they shot a lot,” protester Kaung Pyae Sone Tun, 23, told Reuters. A protest leader in the community, Htut Paing, said the hospital there had told him seven people had been killed. Hospital administrators were not immediately available for comment. Another heavy toll was in the central town of Monywa, where six people were killed, the Monywa Gazette reported..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-03-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-04
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Title: Myanmar: End Lethal Force Against Protesters
Sub-title: UN Security Council Should Impose Targeted Sanctions, Arms Embargo
Description: "Myanmar’s military junta should order its security forces to end the use of excessive and lethal force against largely peaceful protesters, Human Rights Watch said today. On March 3, 2021, security forces fired live rounds at protesters, killing at least 38 and wounding more than 100 at demonstrations across the country, the United Nations reported. One of the deadliest incidents took place in Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, where security forces opened fire on largely peaceful protesters. Security forces fired on some protesters as they attempted to rescue an injured man. Earlier in the day, police detained and brutally beat medical workers. Human Rights Watch reviewed an incident in which a man in custody appears to be shot in the back. “Myanmar’s security forces now seem intent on breaking the back of the anti-coup movement through wanton violence and sheer brutality,” said Richard Weir, crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The use of lethal force against protesters rescuing others demonstrates how little the security forces fear being held to account for their actions.” At a March 3 briefing, the United Nations special envoy on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, reported that 38 people had been killed during the day’s violence, bringing the tally of those killed since the protests began a month ago to more than 50. At least four of those killed were children, according to Save the Children. Through the analysis of 12 videos and 15 photographs, Human Rights Watch documented three incidents in which security forces apparently used live fire against protesters along the Thudhamma Road in Yangon on March 3. In a Facebook live video posted on March 3, Human Rights Watch identified a line of at least five military vehicles positioned on the overpass road that merges into the Airport Road near Okkala Thiri Park on Thudhamma Road. The video shows hundreds of protesters shielding and taking shelter from ongoing gunfire coming from the direction of the overpass..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-03-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-04
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Title: Two more protesters shot dead at Mandalay demonstration
Sub-title: Using live gunfire, security forces kill a 37-year-old man and 19-year-old woman in a crackdown on anti-coup protests
Description: "Two people were shot dead after security forces cracked down on anti-coup protesters using stun grenades and live ammunition in Mandalay on Wednesday afternoon. The victims have been identified as 37-year-old Myo Naing, who suffered a gunshot wound to the chest, and 19-year-old Kyel Sin, who was shot in the side of the head, emergency workers and family members told Myanmar Now. No further details about the victims were available at the time of reporting. At least 11 people were also injured in the shootings by security forces according to reporters who were covering the incident on the ground. Of those injured, two are in critical condition, having suffered gunshots to the forehead and to the back. Emergency medical workers have said that the number of people wounded could be higher, as multiple groups were working to treat them at the scene. The protests against the military regime started on Wednesday morning with hundreds of school teachers and members of student unions gathered at the corner of 84th and 30th streets in Mandalay. Soldiers and police officers then used stun grenades and fired their guns into the air to disperse the crowds. The protesters fled into apartment buildings in the area, as well as down side streets. They gathered again half an hour after the morning crackdown. At around noon, the security forces shot into the crowd with live ammunition to break up the demonstration. Mandalay has seen some of the most violent and lethal crackdowns in Myanmar in recent weeks, with at least 10 people killed in the city. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners has estimated that around 30 people in anti-coup protests have been killed by security forces, and more than 1,200 arrested. Security forces also fired guns and detained hundreds of people in an attempt to crush similar protests in Yangon on Wednesday..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2021-03-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-04
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Title: ASEAN set for talks with Myanmar military as crisis escalates
Sub-title: In a virtual meeting, regional foreign ministers will call for Aung San Suu Kyi’s release and encourage talks between the civilian leader and the military.
Description: "ASEAN foreign ministers are preparing to hold virtual talks with a representative of Myanmar’s military on Tuesday, as anti-coup protesters returned to the streets in the main city of Yangon defying fresh threats from Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan, in a televised interview late on Monday, said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will tell the military it is appalled by the violence in Myanmar and call for the release of the country’s elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and for the two sides to talk. “Instability in any corner of Southeast Asia threatens and affects the rest of us,” he said, adding that the coup will cause “grievous damage to Myanmar’s society and economy”. The military’s February 1 power grab has plunged Myanmar into chaos, drawing hundreds of thousands of people on to the streets of cities and towns across the country as doctors, teachers and other civil servants stop work in protest against the coup. In the bloodiest crackdown yet, security forces opened fire on protesters on Sunday, killing at least 18 and wounding dozens more. The killings triggered widespread international condemnation, including from the United Nations and a group of ASEAN legislators who said they were “alarmed at the scale of arbitrary arrests and surge in violence in Myanmar”. ASEAN, which comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, also renewed its efforts to open a channel between Myanmar’s military and civilian leaders. Philippine foreign minister, Teodoro Locsin, indicated on Twitter that ASEAN would be firm with Myanmar and said the regional group’s policy of non-interference in a member’s internal affairs “is not a blanket approval or tacit consent for wrong to be done there”. He also called Aung San Suu Kyi “Burmese democracy’s only hope”. ‘Illegitimate military-led regime’ But ASEAN’s effort to engage with Myanmar’s military was met with a fierce rebuke from groups in the anti-coup movement. Sa Sa, a representative of a committee of deposed legislators, said ASEAN should have no dealings with “this illegitimate military-led regime”, while the alumni of ASEAN youth programmes in Myanmar said the bloc should be talking to the international representatives of Aung San Suu Kyi’s administration, not to the military government. “ASEAN must understand that the coup or the re-election promised by the military junta is utterly unacceptable to the people of Myanmar,” it said it a letter to ASEAN. Aaron Connelly, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said ASEAN member states were in a difficult position..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2021-03-02
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-02
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Title: Army in Myanmar shoot dead “at least 18 peaceful protesters” - BBC News
Description: "The United Nations has condemned the use of lethal force against peaceful protesters in Myanmar. It said at least eighteen demonstrators had been shot dead in the bloodiest day of clashes since military leaders seized power four weeks ago. Elections in November saw the ruling party, the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi, win a comfortable victory. That threatened the military's hold on power. On 1st February, generals seized power in a military coup. There have been huge protests leading to a violent crackdown by the security forces. Reeta Chakrabarti presents BBC News at Ten reporting by South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head...."
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Source/publisher: "BBC News" (London)
Date of publication: 2021-03-01
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-01
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Title: Myanmar anti-junta protesters shot dead by police
Description: "Media in Myanmar are reporting that police have shot dead protestors and wounded several others in a crackdown on protests against the military junta. Tear gas, water cannons and stun grenades were fired into crowds in various locations, while scores of demonstrators were hauled away in police trucks. Authorities are trying to crush weeks of demonstrations against the February 1st military takeover which deposed the civilian government..."
Source/publisher: "DW News" (Germany)
Date of publication: 2021-02-28
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-01
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Title: Myanmar: Protesters killed after police open fire during latest unrest
Description: "Police in Myanmar have fired tear gas, water cannon and stun grenades at pro-democracy protesters, killing at least 18 people, the UN has said. The UN's human rights office said it has received "credible information" that the crackdown on people demonstrating against a military coup included live ammunition being fired into crowds, resulting in the deaths and dozens of injured people. It is the highest single-day death toll among protesters, who demanded the restoration of Aung San Suu Kyi and her elected government..."
Source/publisher: "Sky News"
Date of publication: 2021-03-01
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-01
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Title: 2 dead, several hurt after Myanmar police crack down on protests for second day
Description: "Myanmar police opened fire on Sunday (Feb 28) on protests against military rule, killing at least two people and wounding several on the second day of a crackdown on demonstrations across the country, a doctor and a politician said. Myanmar has been in chaos since the army seized power and detained elected government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership on Feb 1, alleging fraud in a November election her party won in a landslide. The coup, which brought a halt to Myanmar's tentative steps towards democracy after nearly 50 years of military rule, has drawn hundreds of thousands onto the streets and the condemnation of Western countries. Police opened fire in different parts of the main city of Yangon after stun grenades and tear gas failed to disperse crowds. One man was brought to a hospital with a bullet wound in the chest and died, said a doctor at the hospital who asked not to be identified. The Mizzima media outlet also reported the death. Police also opened fire in the southern town of Dawei, killing one and wounding several, politician Kyaw Min Htike told Reuters from the town. The Dawei Watch media outlet also said at least one person was killed and more than a dozen wounded. Police and the spokesman for the ruling military council did not respond to phone calls seeking comment. Police were also cracking down on a huge protest in the second city of Mandalay and in the northeastern town of Lashio, residents there said. Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing said last week authorities were using minimal force to deal with the protests. Nevertheless, at least five protesters have died in the turmoil. The army said a policeman has been killed..."
Source/publisher: "CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication: 2021-02-28
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-28
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Title: Japan: Take Action Against Myanmar Coup
Sub-title: Join Targeted Economic Sanctions, Global Arms Embargo; Review Aid
Description: "The Japanese government should take urgent action to pressure the leaders of the military coup in Myanmar to restore the democratically elected government and respect human rights, Human Rights Now, Human Rights Watch, Japan International Volunteer Center, Justice For Myanmar, and Japan NGO Action Network for Civic Space said today. In a letter to Japan Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on February 25, 2021, the organizations urged the Japanese government to take joint action with other countries, including imposing targeted economic sanctions against the Myanmar military and companies that it controls, supporting a global arms embargo, and triggering human rights-based conditionals enshrined in Japan’s Official Development Assistance programs and charter. “As a major and influential donor, the Japanese government has a responsibility to take action to promote human rights in Myanmar,” said Teppei Kasai, Asia program officer. “It should urgently review and suspend any public aid that could benefit the Myanmar military.” The organizations also said in their letter that Japan should join other concerned governments in imposing targeted economic sanctions against the military-affiliated companies, including Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), while assisting Japanese companies with direct or indirect ties to the military to terminate their business relationships responsibly..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-25
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-28
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Title: Junta ramps up violence as it cracks down on protests around the country
Sub-title: Security forces came down hard on protesters on Saturday, arresting dozens as nationwide demonstrations against military rule continue
Description: "Myanmar’s junta stepped up its campaign to end anti-military protesters in Yangon and elsewhere on Saturday, three weeks after the start of daily protests and rallies against the February 1 coup. In Monywa, a town in central Myanmar, security forces shot a woman in the chest with live ammunition. An emergency worker told local news outlet 7Day that the woman was in critical condition and has been admitted to a hospital. No further details were available. Photos circulating on social media showed security forces, including those in plainclothes, slapping an arrested woman, kicking a man onto a police truck, and violently arresting journalists. According to the Monywa Gazette, at least 50 people have been arrested in the city since the crackdown began Saturday morning. At least five journalists, including a Myanmar Now multimedia reporter and the chief executive officer of the Monywa Gazette, were among several people arrested by the police during crackdowns in different cities. The arrested journalists also include an AP videographer, a photographer from local photo news agency MPA, and a reporter from the Chin state capital Hakha. The whereabouts of the arrested journalists remains unknown. It was unclear how many people had been rounded up by police on Saturday, but witnesses and journalists on the ground reported dozens of arrests at various locations throughout the day. The violence came a day after Myanmar's envoy to the United Nations, Kyaw Moe Tun, made an emotional appeal at the UN calling on the international community to use “all means necessary” to end the military takeover. Calling the military an “existential threat for Myanmar as a polity and civilized society,” he concluded his 12-minute speech by raising a three-finger salute in solidarity with the protesters. In Yangon, police were out in force from early in the day to break up protesting crowds at key rallying points. Using stun grenades, rubber bullets and tear gas, they repeatedly forced protesters to flee into nearby residential areas. As the police advanced, protesters scattered into side streets, sometimes running into apartment buildings or shopping centres..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2021-02-28
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar coup protests: Police fire warning shots in Tamwe, Yangon
Description: "CNA filmed the build-up of Myanmar security forces in Tamwe township, Yangon and the moment they fired warning shots to disperse protesters, prompting many to flee. More on the anti-coup protests on Saturday (Feb 27): https://cna.asia/3uBQK8P..."
Source/publisher: "CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication: 2021-02-27
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar envoy lashes out against the regime at UN
Sub-title: Ambassador breaks with convention to call for the return of state power to the people and to restore democracy
Description: "Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations made an impassioned plea Friday for the international community to take the “strongest possible action” to end the junta’s rule in the country. Kyaw Moe Tun’s voice cracked with emotion as he spoke out against the military regime that ousted the elected civilian government in a coup on February 1. It is extremely rare for a representative to break with the rulers of the country they represent during an address at the UN General Assembly. The ambassador even flashed the three-finger salute that has been used by pro-democracy protesters during street demonstrations against the junta, after concluding his speech with a message in Burmese. “We need… the strongest possible action from the international community to immediately end the military coup, to stop oppressing the innocent people, to return the state power to the people, and to restore the democracy,” he pleaded. Kyaw Moe Tun, his voice trembling, called on all member states to issue public statements strongly condemning the coup during the special meeting on Myanmar. He appealed for countries not to recognize the military regime or cooperate with it and asked them to demand that the junta respects last year’s democratic elections. The envoy also urged nations to “take all stronger possible measures” to stop violent acts committed by security forces against peaceful demonstrators..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication: 2021-02-27
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar military coup: Ambassador to the UN has been fired
Description: "State MRTV says he had 'Betrayed the country and spoken for an unofficial organisation'. - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe​ - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish​ - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera​ - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/​ #AlJazeeraEnglish​ #Myanmar​ #MilitaryCoup ..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2021-02-27
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar police open fire on protesters in Yangon
Description: "Riot police opened fire to disperse protesters in Myanmar's largest city Yangon. Witnesses say they used guns and stun grenades. Protesters have been taking to the streets since the elected government was overthrown in a military coup on February 1st. The military has now officially annulled the results from last November's election. Earlier this month it replaced the election commission, which had ruled the party of Aung San Suu Kyi won a landslide victory. The protest march was quickly gripped by panic as shots rang out in Yangon. Witnesses say police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse the crowd. Hundreds of people had turned out once again, blocking roads in Myanmar's commercial center, their defiance openly on display. But police soon moved in to clear them - banging a warning drum with their truncheons against their shields. And there was an even more severe crackdown in Myanmar's second-largest city, Mandalay - with several people requiring medical treatment for their injuries. There have been daily protests and strikes throughout Myanmar since the military took power on February 1st, despite the threat of a violent crackdown constantly looming. Elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has not been seen in public since the coup. And her lawyer says he's been allowed no contact. Suu Kyi is due to appear in court on Monday, and time is running out to prepare her defense. Outside her Yangon mansion, a group of supporters gathered to offer prayers for her release..."
Source/publisher: "DW News" (Germany)
Date of publication: 2021-02-26
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar police shoot protester dead, and wound others, as they open fire on demonstrations
Description: "Myanmar police shot dead one protester on Sunday and wounded several others as they moved to end weeks of demonstrations against the military coup, according to a local politician and news reports. Police opened fire in the southern town of Dawei, local politician Kyaw Min Htike said. The Dawei Watch media outlet reported that one person was killed and more than a dozen were wounded. Police and the spokesman for the ruling military council did not respond to phone calls seeking comment. Videos posted to social media also captured escalating confrontations between protesters and security forces in the cities of Yangon and Mandalay. In one video from the Hledan district of Yangon, shots could be heard. Local media reported that at least five people were injured in those clashes. At least five students were arrested at protests elsewhere in downtown Yangon Sunday. ​Shots could also be heard in a live stream posted on social media by local media from Yangon's Tamwe township, in which crowds of protesters could be seen fleeing from police. The military intensified its crackdown on anti-coup protesters over the weekend, with hundreds of people reportedly detained. The clashes come a day after the ruling military junta fired the country's United Nations ambassador for making an impassioned plea at the UN General Assembly for international action to help overturn the coup. On Saturday, state television MRTV announced UN ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun's removal, saying he had "abused the power and responsibilities of a permanent ambassador" and that he "betrays the country." Speaking to Reuters following his firing, Kyaw Moe Tun said that he "decided to fight back as long as I can." Myanmar has seen 22 consecutive days of protests since the country's military seized power in a coup on February 1, ousting the democratically-elected government of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained alongside other government leaders including President Win Myint..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-28
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar’s coup takes a rising economic toll
Sub-title: Many businesses are struggling as protests, civil disobedience campaigns and cuts to the internet hit trade
Description: "Business operations are yet to fully resume following a coup d’etat launched by Myanmar’s powerful military three weeks ago, raising fresh concerns about an economic collapse. Many businesses are now dealing with low sales, finding it difficult to operate and face an uncertain future as the coup staged by Myanmar’s military approached its third week. The military regime, however, has been adamant that under its administration it will be business as usual, with Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing stating in his first televised speech on February 8 that agreements made under the previous government will be followed and adding that approaches were being made to the international community to come and invest in Myanmar. “There will be no change in the foreign policy, government policy and economic policy of the country during the period [where] we are temporarily taking responsibility for the state. We shall continue on the same path as before,” Min Aung Hlaing said on the military-owned Myawady TV channel. A forecast of Myanmar’s GDP growth has been lowered to 2% from 5% for the 2020/21 financial year by New York-based research group Fitch Solutions due to the coup..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication: 2021-02-26
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: The staying power of SE Asia’s political militaries
Sub-title: Myanmar is not alone in a region where the armed forces continue to play outsized political roles
Description: "Myanmar’s recent reversion to outright military rule has ended a brief and tentative experiment with electoral democracy and restored the country’s status quo ante as a junta-run dictatorship. While international condemnation grows around the putsch, Myanmar is not alone in a region where the armed forces continue to play outsized political roles. While Southeast Asia’s militaries are deeply enmeshed in politics, their political authority could soon grow as the region teeters towards a potential conflict in the South China Sea and as internal strife simmers in various locales. Southeast Asian states spent US$34.5 billion on defense in 2019, up 4.2% from 2018, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think tank. A report last year by SIPRI’s Siemon T. Wezeman found that military spending by the ten ASEAN states increased by 33% between 2009 and 2018, “significantly more than the global increases [in] military spending or the growth in most other regions and subregions.” Thailand has seen two military coups in the past 15 years, in 2006 and 2014, both against the democratically elected governments of the Shinawatra siblings. Thailand is now ruled by the military-civilian hybrid government of Prayut Chan-ocha, the junta leader who took charge in 2014. He faces mounting street-level resistance among protesters who question his democratic legitimacy..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication: 2021-02-27
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar Ambassador to UN denounces military coup, as envoy warns democratic processes have been ‘pushed aside'
Sub-title: As the democratically elected leader of Myanmar, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is still in detention following the military takeover that triggered country-wide protests, violence and arrests, the UN envoy for the country observed on Friday, declaring that “democratic processes have been pushed aside”.
Description: "Speaking at an informal General Assembly meeting on the Myanmar crisis, Special Envoy Christine Schraner Burgener said, “I told you in 2019 that I would sound the alarm if necessary…This is now the case”. ‘Fragile and fluid’ situation The situation in Myanmar is “fragile and fluid”, the UN envoy said, calling it “a people’s fight without arms”. Ms. Schraner Burgener strongly condemned the military’s “recent steps” and urged the Ambassadors to “collectively send a clear signal” supporting democracy. She underscored the urgency in helping to lay the foundations of a “pluralistic democracy”, balanced with the complex domestic challenges of the civilian leadership. “I have tried again and again to explain the complex situation, namely that the army holds the real power”, the UN envoy said. “Genuine democracy requires civilian control over the military”. Reject regime Noting that “the takeover has not stabilized”, the UN official upheld that the international community must “not lend legitimacy or recognition to this regime”. She labeled it a “coup”, calling the military takeover and declaration of the state of emergency “a clear violation of the constitution regardless of what they claim”. Recalling that the National League for Democracy (NLD) had won the November election with 82 per cent of the vote, Ms. Schraner Burgener emphasized: “There is no justification for the military’s actions, and we must continue to call for the reversal of this impermissible situation, exhausting all collective and bilateral channels to restore Myanmar’s path on democratic reform”..."
Source/publisher: UN News
Date of publication: 2021-02-26
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar envoy urges UN to 'use any means necessary' to restore democracy
Sub-title: Country needs strongest possible action from global community to end military coup, says Kyaw Moe Tun
Description: "Myanmar’s UN ambassador, Kyaw Moe Tun, speaking for the country’s elected civilian government ousted in a military coup on 1 February, has appealed to the United Nations “to use any means necessary to take action against the Myanmar military” to restore democracy to the south-east Asian country. He addressed the general assembly on Friday after secretary general António Guterres’ special envoy on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, warned that no country should recognise or legitimise the Myanmar junta. “We need further strongest possible action from the international community to immediately end the military coup, to stop oppressing the innocent people, to return the state power to the people and to restore the democracy,” said Kyaw Moe Tun to applause and praise from western and Islamic counterparts. Such an address is rare. Kyaw Moe Tun appeared emotional as he read the statement on behalf of a group of elected politicians that he said represented the country’s legitimate government. He ended with a three-fingered salute used by protesters..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-27
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Facebook and Instagram ban Myanmar military as first pro-coup rally takes place
Sub-title: Junta banned from all Facebook and Instagram pages, including all commercial entities linked to the military
Description: "The Myanmar military has been banned from Facebook and Instagram with immediate effect, as the first pro-military rally took place in Yangon. In a blog post, Facebook said: “Events since the February 1 coup, including deadly violence, have precipitated a need for this ban,” adding: “We believe the risks of allowing the Tatmadaw (Myanmar army) on Facebook and Instagram are too great.” The army seized power this month after alleging fraud in a 8 November election won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), and detaining her and much of the party leadership. Facebook said it would also ban all “Tadmadaw-linked commercial entities” from advertising on its platforms. It said the decision to ban the Myanmar army was due to “exceptionally severe human rights abuses and the clear risk of future military-initiated violence in Myanmar”, as well as the army’s repeated history of violating Facebook’s rules, including since the coup.On the weekend Facebook said it had deleted a page belonging to the military’s propaganda agency, Tatmadaw True News Information Team Page, under its standards prohibiting the incitement of violence. The military government could not immediately be reached for comment. Facebook is widely used in Myanmar and has been one of the ways the junta has communicated with people, despite an official move to ban on the platform in the early days of the coup. In the commercial capital, Yangon, hundreds of pro-military demonstrators marched through downtown towards the central railway station, though the crowd was a fraction of the size of anti-coup protests. Democracy supporters met them with crossed wrists and banged pots and pans..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-25
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Huge demonstrations across Myanmar despite military's warning that protesters could 'suffer loss of life'
Description: "Huge crowds brought Myanmar's towns and cities to a standstill Monday in a mass strike against the coup, despite a warning from the military junta that protesters will "suffer loss of life" if demonstrations confront security forces. Activists had called for a historic strike following the most violent weekend since protests against the February 1 coup began, in which police opened fire on protesters in the second largest city, Mandalay, on Saturday, leaving at least two dead. Images from photographers in the country and on social media Monday showed tens of thousands of people packing the streets in Yangon, Mandalay, and Naypyidaw, as well as in towns and cities across the country, including in southeastern Dawei, in Shan state's Taunggyi, in Ayeyarwady's Pathein, Kachin state's Myitkyina, and in one of the country's poorest regions, Chin state. In an ominous statement Sunday evening, the military junta said it could use lethal force against protesters. "It is found that protesters have raised their incitement towards riot and anarchy mob on the day of 22 February. Protesters are now inciting the people, especially emotional teenagers and youths, to a confrontation path where they will suffer the loss of life," the State Administration Council -- the name for the military junta now controlling the country -- declared Sunday evening on state broadcaster MRTV. A protester waves the National League for Democracy (NLD) flag while others take part in a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon on February 22. Video from social media Sunday night and Monday morning showed barbed wire blocking roads to some foreign embassies in the largest city, Yangon, the focus point for many recent protests. Footage also showed what appeared to be police and military vehicles rolling through the streets. Protesters called for all offices and shops to be closed on Monday, with activists urging all citizens to join the protest, known as the "Five Twos" -- or the 22222 strike -- in reference to Monday's date. "22.2.2021 will be a big historic day. Keep watching us and pray for us, friends," leading protest activist group, the Civil Disobedience Movement said in a tweet Sunday..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-21
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Supporters of Myanmar coup attack rivals in Yangon
Description: "Some armed with knives and clubs, others firing slingshot and throwing stones, supporters of Myanmar's military attacked opponents of the coup in downtown Yangon on Thursday (Feb 25), while Southeast Asian governments groped for ways to end the crisis. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army seized power on Feb 1 and detained civilian government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership after the military complained of fraud in a November election. There have been about three weeks of daily protests and strikes and students planned to come out again in the commercial hub of Yangon on Thursday. But before many opponents of the coup gathered, about 1,000 supporters of the military turned up for a rally in central Yangon. Some of them threatened news photographers, media workers and witnesses said, and scuffles soon escalated into more serious violence in several parts of the city centre. Some military supporters were photographed with clubs and knives. Some threw stones and fired catapults, witnesses said, and several people were beaten by groups of men. Video footage showed several apparent supporters of the military, one wielding a knife, attacking a man outside a city-centre hotel. Emergency workers helped the man as he lay on the pavement after his attackers moved off but his condition was not known. "Today's events show who the terrorists are. They're afraid of the people's action for democracy," activist Thin Zar Shun Lei Yi told Reuters. "We'll continue our peaceful protests against dictatorship." The violence will compound worries about a country largely paralysed by protests and a civil disobedience campaign of strikes against the military..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK) via "CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication: 2021-02-25
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: UN Security Council: Impose Arms Embargo on Myanmar
Sub-title: Weapons Transfers Fuel Junta, Abuses
Description: "The United Nations Security Council should urgently impose a global arms embargo on Myanmar in response to the military coup and to deter the junta from committing further abuses, 137 nongovernmental groups from 31 countries said today in an open letter to council members. Governments that permit arms transfers to Myanmar – including China, India, Israel, North Korea, the Philippines, Russia, and Ukraine – should immediately stop the supply of any weapons, munitions, and related equipment. Since the February 1, 2021 coup, the Myanmar military has detained civilian leaders, nullified the November 2020 election results, and installed a junta, the State Administration Council, under a manufactured “state of emergency.” In the ensuing weeks, Myanmar security forces have used excessive and at times lethal force against demonstrators; arbitrarily detained activists, students, and civil servants; and imposed rolling internet shutdowns that put lives at risk. “Given the mass atrocities against the Rohingya, decades of war crimes, and the overthrow of the elected government, the least the UN Security Council can do is impose a global arms embargo on Myanmar,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “Supplying any equipment to the military enables further abuses and bolsters the junta’s ability to repress Myanmar’s people.” The groups’ call reinforces UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s vow to “do everything we can to mobilize all the key actors and international community to put enough pressure on Myanmar to make sure that this coup fails.” The UN special rapporteur on Myanmar has called for a global arms embargo, while he and the deputy high commissioner for human rights have voiced support for targeted UN sanctions. Security Council members should draft a resolution that bars the direct and indirect supply, sale, or transfer to the junta of all weapons, munitions, and other military-related equipment, including dual-use goods such as vehicles and communications and surveillance equipment, as well as barring the provision of training, intelligence, and other military assistance, the groups said. This should be accompanied by a robust monitoring and enforcement mechanism, including close scrutiny of sales to third parties that may be likely to resell such items to Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-24
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Indonesia Leading ASEAN Push on Myanmar Coup
Sub-title: Given its own history of transition from military rule, Indonesia is probably the nation best placed to lead the bloc’s diplomacy on Myanmar.
Description: "Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi is spearheading an effort to get the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to get more involved in resolving the political situation in Myanmar. Retno flew to Brunei yesterday and is scheduled to visit Singapore today for talks aimed at building a consensus within ASEAN on unfolding political crisis inside the country. Her visit comes just over two weeks after the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, seized power, arresting State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and abrogating her party’s landslide victory at national elections in November. The coup has been followed by an escalating nationwide civil disobedience campaign that has brought the country’s government to a standstill. “Many countries, including Indonesia, have raised concerns,” Retno said in a statement from Brunei. “Raising concerns is one thing, but the question is: What can Indonesia and ASEAN do to help Myanmar get out of this delicate situation?” Her tour came after Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin agreed to instruct their foreign ministers to talk to Brunei, this year’s chair of ASEAN, about setting up a special meeting to address the political crisis in Myanmar.The coup looms as an important test for ASEAN, which claims to occupy a position of diplomatic centrality in Asian diplomacy, but has often been sluggish in its response to regional crises. This is because of ASEAN’s decision-making process, which is based on the principles of consensus – meaning that any ASEAN member state can veto a course of action – and an allergy to any hint of “intervention” in member states’ internal affairs..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of publication: 2021-02-18
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Japan, U.S., India, Australia call for return of democracy in Myanmar
Description: "Foreign ministers of the so-called Quad grouping of countries seen as a forum to stand up to China in Asia agreed that democracy must be restored quickly in Myanmar and to strongly oppose attempts to upset the status quo by force, Japan’s foreign minister said on Thursday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts from India, Japan and Australia met virtually for the first time under the Biden administration and discussed Myanmar, COVID-19, climate, and Indo-Pacific territorial and navigation issues, the State Department said in a statement. “We’ve all agreed on the need to swiftly restore the democratic system (in Myanmar),” and to strongly oppose all unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters.“I stressed that, with challenges to existing international order continuing in various fields, the role we, the countries that share basic values and are deeply committed to fortifying free and open international order based on the rule of law, play is only getting bigger,” Motegi said. The State Department said Blinken and his counterparts discussed counterterrorism, countering disinformation, maritime security and “the urgent need to restore the democratically elected government in Burma.” They also addressed the “the priority of strengthening democratic resilience in the broader region,” it said..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-18
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar crisis: ‘Terrified’ UN rights expert sounds alarm ahead of expected protests
Sub-title: The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar has warned of the potential for a sharp uptick in violence on Wednesday, as protests continue against the 1 February military takeover of the government.
Description: "Following reports that a “secretive trial” of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint began on Tuesday, Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews said in a statement that he is “terrified” that violence could break out, as additional soldiers have been deployed in towns and cities, including the commercial hub Yangon, where demonstrations are planned. “In the past, such troop movements preceded killings, disappearances, and detentions on a mass scale,” he said. “I am terrified that given the confluence of these two developments – planned mass protests and troops converging – we could be on the precipice of the military committing even greater crimes against the people of Myanmar”, he added. Mr. Andrews issued an “urgent call” on all governments, individuals and entities that may have influence on Myanmar military authorities to use that influence “to convince the junta that rallies planned for Wednesday must be allowed to proceed without detentions or violence.” ‘Repression must end immediately’ “Continued repression of the people of Myanmar's basic liberties and human rights must end immediately”, he stressed. In the statement, Mr. Andrews also reiterated that those in the chain of command, regardless of rank, can be held liable for any atrocities committed against the people of Myanmar, and that they “must disobey orders to attack”. Of course, we cannot rely on the Myanmar military to avoid bloodshed out of a moral or legal obligation alone, he added, underscoring : “that is why it is so imperative that all those with influence demand that the junta restrain itself from further violence and arbitrary arrests”. International business community urged to act The Special Rapporteur also called on the international business community to take “immediate action”. He urged them to call their interlocutors in State Administrative Council – the body set up to govern Myanmar following the military takeover – and to “stress to them that you [the businesses] will be forced to suspend or cease business in Myanmar if they continue down this violent path". “Specifically stress to them that under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, businesses and investors should suspend or terminate activities with the Myanmar junta when the risk of involvement in serious human rights abuses can no longer be reasonably managed”, the rights expert said. “I, and many others, would argue we have long passed that threshold. Please implore them to use restraint. Implore them to return power to the people of Myanmar”, Mr. Andrews added..."
Source/publisher: UN News
Date of publication: 2021-02-17
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rebel Riot: The punk soundtrack to Myanmar’s anti-coup protests
Sub-title: Inspired by protesters in Hong Kong and Thailand, Myanmar’s youth aim to grab the world’s attention as they fight to remove the generals.
Description: "In the background, mohawked and leather-jacketed punks wave red and black flags and raise three fingers, a symbol of resistance derived from popular film series, The Hunger Games, and adopted by Myanmar’s anti-coup protesters. “We just wanted to create something that can inspire people,” Hnin told Al Jazeera about the clip. “This song is meant for this moment.” Hnin met other members of Rebel Riot in 2015 during student strikes in Yangon. They started hanging out “and somehow I became a punk, I guess.” Describing themselves as a community more than a band, the collective are known not only for their music but for street-level social initiatives, such as handing out food to Yangon’s homeless. Hnin says that being a part of Rebel Riot allows her to share her voice, which she says goes against the grain of what is expected from young women in Myanmar. “One of the things is you can’t get angry. You need to be quiet, you need to be patient, you need to be polite,” she said. “But women have anger. They have things they don’t agree on. So, that’s the reason why we are doing this, why I am doing this – to show that it’s ok to be angry, it’s ok to explode and be aggressive.” Tens of thousands have taken to the streets since the military detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and seized power on February 1 – the day the country’s new parliament was due to sit. The generals have declared a year-long state of emergency and promised new elections, but have given no timeframe. The protests have not only featured mohawked punks, but also young people dressed as ghosts, superheroes and anime characters. Marginalised groups including the LGBTI community have also played a prominent role.
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2021-02-19
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Burmese actress goes into hiding as celebrities opposing Myanmar coup added to arrest list
Description: "Since "day one" of the military coup, Burmese actress Paing Phyo Thu -- one of the country's highest-paid stars -- says she has been on the streets opposing the ruling junta. One of Myamar's highest-paid actresses, she has been offering financial help to striking staff who have given up their jobs to take part in the growing civil disobedience movement, known as CDM. But on Thursday, the Myanmar Academy Award winner and her director husband, Na Gyi, went into hiding after his name appeared on an arrest list, along with a number of other celebrities who have been accused of using their platform to oppose the coup. A police statement on Wednesday said Na Gyi, two other prominent directors, two actors and a singer, were wanted for "using their popularity and encouraging responsible civil servants to participate in CDM, encouraging civil servants to participate in protests." The notice from the governing State Administration Council said information on the whereabouts of the actor Payeti Oo, Director Ko Pauk, actor Lu Min, director Wine, director Na Gyi and singer Anatga was needed by the Myanmar Police Force. They are being sought under a section of the country's penal code that was amended this week by coup-leader Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, in an apparent effort to target protesters, journalists and critics of the takeover. Section 505a makes it a crime to "hinder, disturb, damage the motivation, discipline, health, conduct" of government employees and military personnel and "and cause their hatred, disobedience, or disloyalty" toward the government or military. Paing Phyo Thu said that while "we know that it's very dangerous to speak out like this," she won't stop -- despite the arrest warrant and being forced into hiding. Paing Phyo Thu has gone into hiding with her husband Na Gyi after a warrant for his arrest was issued. "We can talk about our opinions, we don't mind because since day one of the military coup, we've been talking about it on our social media platforms because we want the audience to know that we're with them and nobody likes this. It's such an unfair thing," she said..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-18
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar protesters urge China to condemn coup. Will Beijing act?
Sub-title: Protesters accuse China of backing Myanmar’s generals, but analysts say Beijing does not favour a return to military rule.
Description: "“If this is an internal affair, why are you helping the junta?” read another. The nearly-daily rallies at the gates of the Chinese mission forced a response from China’s ambassador to the country, Chen Hai, who said on Tuesday that “the current development in Myanmar is absolutely not what China wants to see”. Beijing was “not informed in advance of the political change in Myanmar,” Hai said, dismissing as “ridiculous” rumours that China was helping the military consolidate its rule by flying in technical personnel and troops. Part of the speculation about Beijing’s alleged backing for the military’s power grab stems from China’s refusal to unequivocally condemn the coup, which took place just weeks after a meeting between China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar’s commander-in-chief and current head of the military government. During the January 12 meeting in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw, the senior general – who is said to harbour presidential ambitions – repeated his claims that widespread fraud had occurred in a November election that returned civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) to power. The coup has brought Myanmar’s experiment with democracy to a halt, only a decade after the end of nearly 50 years of strict military rule. It prompted mass protests and international condemnation, with the United States has already imposed targeted sanctions on the generals who led the coup. Other countries are expected to impose similar curbs although campaigners want to avoid a return to the punishing sanctions that were enforced following the military’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1988, as well as its refusal to honour the results of an election that the NLD won in 1990..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2021-02-18
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: more than 100,000 protest in streets against coup
Sub-title: Demonstrators reject army claim that majority of country support military junta
Description: "More than a hundred thousand people have poured on to the streets in Myanmar to voice their anger against the coup and reject an army claim that it has majority support. At a demonstration in Myanmar’s main city, Yangon – the largest there since the deployment of troops on Sunday – protesters marched with red flags signalling their loyalty to the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and carried signs denouncing the military. Major junctions were blocked by a “broken down” rally, where drivers left their cars parked across the roads, with bonnets open, and by sit-down protests. Mass demonstrations were also held in the second-largest city of Mandalay, where students, engineers and farmers were among thousands who took to the streets, and in the capital, Naypyidaw. The demonstrations followed claims from a military spokesperson on Tuesday that protests would dwindle and that 40 million of the country’s 53 million population backed its power grab. The military, which once ruled the country for half a century, reiterated its promise to hold fair polls during the press conference, but protesters are unconvinced and have gathered daily to demand the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other politicians from her party, the National League for Democracy. She is now in house arrest. “I want Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, my president U Win Myint and other leaders freed immediately,” said a retired teacher, who was among those protesting in Yangon. “We want our democracy back.” About 1,000 university staff and students gathered outside the Secretariat, a sprawling colonial-era building that once served as the administrative centre for British Burma, to demand the release of their leaders..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-17
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar military files new charge against Aung San Suu Kyi
Sub-title: Junta holds first press conference and describes coup as lawful, as internet shut for second night
Description: "Myanmar’s military regime has filed a new charge against the deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and shut down the internet for a second night as it tries to quell a popular revolt against the coup it launched at the beginning of the month. The junta held its first press conference on Tuesday, seeking in part to limit the economic and diplomatic fallout of its takeover, which it described as lawful. It said it would hold an election soon and denounced protesters for allegedly inciting violence and intimidating civil servants. “Our objective is to hold an election and hand power to the winning party,” Brig Gen Zaw Min Tun, spokesman for the ruling council, told the news conference which the military broadcast live on Facebook, a platform it has banned. The military has not given a date for a new election but it has imposed a state of emergency for one year. Zaw Min Tun said the military would not hold power for long. “We guarantee … that the election will be held,” he said He denied rumours that the military was working with IT specialists from China to ringfence the country’s internet, arguing the state had the capacity to do so itself, and said commercial and diplomatic agreements struck under previous civilian-led governments would be honoured. Some local media outlets boycotted the conference, arguing it legitimised an illegal coup, as well over concerns that tough questions might lead to repercussions from a military that is facing credible accusations of committing genocidal violence in the country’s borderlands..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-16
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: ‘Unacceptable’ violence, intimidation and harassment in Myanmar – UN chief
Sub-title: An increased use of force and the reported deployment of armoured vehicles to major cities throughout Myanmar have sparked the deep concern of UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Description: "In a statement issued on Sunday by his spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, the UN chief called on the military and police of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, to ensure that the right of peaceful assembly is “fully respected” and demonstrators are “not subjected to reprisals”. “Reports of continued violence, intimidation and harassment by security personnel are unacceptable”, he spelled out. The unfolding situation follows a military takeover on 1 February. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Thomas Andrews, tweeted, “it’s as if the generals have declared war on the people of Myanmar: late night raids; mounting arrests; more rights stripped away’ another Intrnet shutdown; military convoys entering communities”. “These are signs of desperation. Attention generals: You WILL be held accountable”, he underscored. Call for respect Ongoing arrests of political leaders, government officials, members of civil society and media representatives are “deeply concerning”, as are internet restrictions and communication restraints, according to Mr. Guterres who upheld that they “must not be disrupted" to ensure the right to freedom of expression, which includes access to information. He reiterated his call on Member States “collectively and bilaterally” to exercise influence regarding the protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Myanmar and reaffirmed the Organization's “unwavering support” to their pursuit of “democracy, peace, human rights and the rule of law”.   “The Secretary-General calls on the military authorities urgently to allow the Special Envoy, Ms. Christine Schraner Burgener, to visit Myanmar under agreeable conditions and to assess the situation firsthand”, concluded the statement..."
Source/publisher: UN News
Date of publication: 2021-02-14
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar protests resume, internet restored as military circles
Sub-title: Armoured vehicles on streets of Yangon as people continue protests for restoration of civilian government.
Description: "NetBlocks, which tracks Internet disruption, said on Twitter that connectivity was being restored, but that social media remained restricted for many users. The system was shut down for eight hours from 1am (18:30 GMT). The military seized power on February 1, the day Myanmar’s parliament was due to begin a new session following elections in November, which were won by the National League for Democracy (NLD) in a landslide. Detaining NLD founder and civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi as well as senior members of her government, the generals said they were forced into the coup because of alleged election fraud. Election officials have said there is no evidence of fraud. The United Nations and a number of western countries including the United States have condemned the coup, and on Friday the US imposed the first new sanctions on military chief Min Aung Hlaing and other senior generals. In a statement late on Sunday, following reports of shots being fired in the northern state of Kachin and the deployment of armoured vehicles to various cities in Myanmar, United Nations’ Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply concerned” about the situation in the country. The Secretary-General reiterates his call on Member States collectively and bilaterally to exercise influence regarding the protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Myanmar, ” he said in a statement released through his spokesman Stephane Dujarric. On Monday, more than a dozen police trucks with four water cannon vehicles were deployed near the Sule Pagoda in Yangon, which has been one of the city’s main centres for protest..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2021-02-15
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar security forces intensify crackdown on protesters
Description: "Security forces in Myanmar pointed guns toward anti-coup protesters and attacked them with sticks on Monday, seeking to quell the large-scale demonstrations calling for the military junta that seized power earlier this month to reinstate the elected government. More than 1,000 protesters rallied in front of the Myanmar Economic Bank in Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, when at least 10 trucks full of soldiers and police arrived and immediately started firing slingshots toward the protesters, according to a photographer who witnessed the events. The soldiers and police then attacked the protesters with sticks, and police could be seen aiming long guns into the air amid sounds that resembled gunfire. Local media reported that rubber bullets were also fired into the crowd, and that a few people were injured. Police were also seen pointing guns toward the protesters. In the capital, Naypyitaw, protesters gathered outside a police station demanding the release of a group of high school students who were detained while joining in anti-coup activities. One student who managed to escape told reporters that the pupils — thought to range in age from 13 to 16 — were demonstrating peacefully when a line of riot police suddenly arrived and began arresting them. It wasn’t clear exactly how many students were rounded up, but estimates put the figure at between 20 and 40. Earlier Monday, Myanmar’s military leaders extended their detention of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose remand was set to expire and whose freedom is a key demand of the crowds of people continuing to protest the Feb. 1 coup. Suu Kyi will now be remanded until Feb. 17, when she will likely appear in court by videoconference, according to Khin Maung Zaw, a lawyer asked by Suu Kyi’s party to represent her. The Nobel laureate remains under house arrest on a minor charge of possessing unregistered imported walkie-talkies. Suu Kyi’s extended detention is likely to further inflame tensions between the military and the protesters who have taken to the streets of cities across the Southeast Asian nation seeking the return of the government they elected..."
Source/publisher: "Associated Press" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-15
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: troops and police forcefully disperse marchers in Mandalay
Sub-title: Protests against military coup continue despite overnight internet blackout and extra soldiers deployed
Description: "Troops have joined police in forcefully dispersing marchers in the city of Mandalay in northern Myanmar, as protests against the military coup continued despite the deployment of extra soldiers in some areas and an eight-hour internet blackout overnight. Images and reports from the city on Monday showed police and soldiers using rubber bullets and slingshots to disperse protesters. A student union in the city said several people had been injured. Myanmar resurfaced online at about 9am local time on Monday after an internet-monitoring service showed a dramatic fall in connectivity from midnight. There were fears the blackout might be used as cover for mass arrests or violence. There was no sign of that on Monday, but the country woke to extra troops on the streets of many cities including the former capital Yangon, where the new forces on the ground included the 77th light-infantry division which, during pro-democracy protests in 2007, was accused of ramming demonstrators and using live ammunition against them. Protests continued in the city despite the show of force, albeit in numbers smaller than the peaks of Friday and the weekend. Students and Buddhist monks demonstrated in front of the troops, and a banner reading “We do not want military government” was stuck to an army vehicle outside Yangon’s central bank. “Patrolling with armoured vehicles means they are threatening people,” said 46-year-old Nyein Moe, among the more than 1,000 gathered in front of the central bank in Yangon. “People are marching on the streets and they don’t care to be arrested or shot. We can’t stop now. The fear in our mind is going away.” There was a fresh rally in the southern city of Dawei, too, a verified live stream on Facebook showed, with hundreds of protesters accompanied by a marching band..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-15
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Tanks on streets of Myanmar city prompt US embassy warning
Sub-title: US warns of ‘military movements’ in Yangon and expects internet to be cut in next 12 hours
Description: "The US embassy in Myanmar has warned of “military movements” in the country’s main city, Yangon, and has said it expects the internet to be interrupted over the next 12 hours. The warning came after the appearance on Sunday of three Tatmadaw armoured vehicles on the streets of the commercial capital and the site of major daily protests against the military’s coup on 1 February. The expected outages, which have not been confirmed by the Norwegian telecommunications firm that runs the country’s communication grid, have raised fears of a possible crackdown overnight. The US urged its citizens to “shelter-in-place” on Sunday evening local time after three armoured vehicles were sighted in the city for the first time since the 1 February military coup. The embassy also said there was a “possibility of telecommunications interruptions overnight between 1am and 9am” (1830 to 0230 GMT). The internet was blocked last Saturday as the protest movement was taking shape but restored after 24 hours. Mostly young demonstrators have used the internet to organise, document their protests and capture the police response including firing rubber bullets at crowds and in some instances the use of live ammunition. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Myanmar’s major cities for a ninth day of anti-coup demonstrations on Sunday. Security forces fired to disperse protesters outside a power plant in the northern state of Kachin, footage broadcast live on Facebook showed, although it was not clear if they were using rubber bullets or live ammunition. Hundreds of people had gathered late on Sunday outside a power plant that soldiers had occupied in the city of Myitkyina. As darkness fell, riot police accompanied by troops arrived to drive away the crowds, the footage showed. A convoy on motorbikes and in cars drove through the capital, Naypyidaw. In the south-eastern coastal town of Dawei, a band played drums in shadows cast by awnings as crowds marched under the hot sun. In Waimaw, on the banks of the Irrawaddy River in Kachin, crowds carried flags and sang revolutionary songs. Many of the protesters nationwide held up images of Aung Sun Suu Kyi’s face. Her detention, on charges of importing walkie-talkies, is due to expire on Monday. Her lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, could not be reached for comment. More than 384 people have been detained since the coup, the monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said, in a wave of mostly night-time arrests..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-14
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: How Myanmar’s popular uprising aims to topple military rulers
Sub-title: Amid crackdown, protesters aim is to take away the coup leaders’ power by stopping all governance mechanisms from working.
Description: "Starve the government of legitimacy and recognition; stop it from functioning by staging strikes; and cut off its sources of funding. That is the strategy emerging from a mass movement in Myanmar aimed at toppling the new military dictatorship. As protesters defying the February 1 coup brave beatings, arrests, water cannon, and even live ammunition, activists hope a “no recognition, no participation” approach can sustain pressure even if demonstrations are stamped out with violence. “The immediate aim is to take away the military’s power by stopping all of its governance mechanisms from working,” said Thinzar Shunlei Yi, who like many activists is now in hiding to avoid arrest. “It will disable the military’s ability to rule.” Myanmar’s fragile 10-year experiment in democracy was snuffed out in early February when soldiers arrested civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and other top officials in early morning raids as military chief Min Aung Hlaing seized power. A civil disobedience movement began almost immediately and amassed support from broad swaths of society. Trains have ground to a halt, hospitals have closed, and ministries in the capital, Naypyidaw, are believed to be straining amid mass walkouts. Many thousands including nurses, doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, farmers, railway staff, civil servants, factory workers and even some police officers, have gone on strike or defected in a bid to cripple the new military government..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2021-02-13
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Facebook curbs Myanmar military over 'misinformation' as protests swell
Sub-title: Thousands take to the streets again as junta releases 23,000 prisoners and detains more opponents overnight
Description: "Facebook has imposed widespread restrictions on Myanmar’s military rulers to prevent them spreading “misinformation”, as tens of thousands again took to the streets in what was set to be the biggest day of protests against the coup so far. The social network site said on Friday that it would reduce the distribution of all content and profiles run by Myanmar’s military, saying the generals have “continued to spread misinformation” after they seized power and detained civilian leaders in a coup. The measures were not a ban, Facebook said in a statement, “but are aimed at reducing the number of people who see the content” and will apply to an official page run by the army and one by a military spokesperson. They would also cover “any additional pages that the military controls that repeatedly violate our misinformation policies”. The pages would no longer appear on news feeds as “recommended”. The social media giant said it had also suspended the ability of Myanmar government agencies to send content-removal requests to Facebook through the normal channels used by authorities across the world. “Simultaneously, we are protecting content, including political speech, that allows the people of Myanmar to express themselves and to show the world what is transpiring inside their country,” said Rafael Frankel, Facebook’s director of public policy. Hundreds of thousands of people have been protesting across Myanmar since the army overthrew the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi and detained most top leaders on 1 February. Friday saw hundreds of separate marches in Yangon alone as people marked the Union day public holiday with what appeared to be the biggest show of defiance since the military takeover. Witnesses said there were hundreds of separate marches, each with around 2,000 participants, and all converging on focal points such as Hledan, Sule pagoda and the Russian and Chinese embassies. One march consisted of the fans of rival English football teams joining together to vent their anger. One student protester outside the Russian embassy said: “We don’t want to join the main rally at Sule pagoda because we are worried the military will go there. The military won’t do anything outside an embassy because it will hurt their image so we feel safer here..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-12
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar coup leader: ‘Join hands’ with army for democracy
Description: "Myanmar’s coup leader used the country’s Union Day holiday on Friday to call on people to work with the military if they want democracy, a request likely to be met with derision by protesters who are pushing for the release from detention of their country’s elected leaders. “I would seriously urge the entire nation to join hands with the Tatmadaw for the successful realization of democracy,” Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said using the local term for the military. “Historical lessons have taught us that only national unity can ensure the non-disintegration of the Union and the perpetuation of sovereignty,” he added. In addition to the military commander’s message published Friday in the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper, the new junta also announced it would mark Union Day by releasing thousands of prisoners and reducing other inmates’ sentences. Min Aung Hlaing’s Feb. 1 coup ousted the civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and prevented recently elected lawmakers from opening a new session of Parliament. It reversed nearly a decade of progress toward democracy following 50 years of military rule and has led to widespread protests in cities around the country. The military has said it was forced to step in because Suu Kyi’s government failed to properly investigate allegations of fraud in November elections, though the election commission has said there is no evidence to support those claims. The rallies against the coup — now daily occurrences in Myanmar’s two largest cities, Yangon and Mandalay — have drawn people from all walks of life, despite an official ban on gatherings of more than five people. Factory workers and civil servants, students and teachers, medical personnel and people from LGBTQ communities, Buddhist monks and Catholic clergy have all come out in force. On Thursday, people from Myanmar’s ethnic minority groups, who are concentrated in far-flung, border states, joined in — a striking show of unity in a country where some groups have resented the Burman majority’s control and have also had their differences with Suu Kyi. But their deep mistrust of the military, which has brutally repressed their armed struggles for more autonomy, has made them uneasy allies with her party. The protesters are unlikely to be swayed by Min Aung Hlaing’s call for unity, which come on Union Day, a national holiday celebrating the date in 1947 that Myanmar, then known as Burma, when many of the country’s ethnic groups agreed to unify following decades of British colonial rule..."
Source/publisher: "Associated Press" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-12
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar police used machine guns against protesters, says Amnesty
Sub-title: Analysis of video evidence shows police firing live rounds at protesters and shooting one woman in the head.
Description: "Analysis of images from the protest showed a member of the police carrying a Myanmar-made BA-94 or BA-93 clone of the Uzi sub-machine gun, the human rights group said, contradicting the military’s claim that security forces only deployed non-lethal weapons during Tuesday’s protest. The video of the shooting captured the exact moment the young woman, identified as Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing, was hit in the head by a bullet. According to local media, the 19-year-old has lost significant brain function and only has a slim chance of survival. Amnesty verified the video and said the alleged police gunman could be seen standing at or close to the other side of the road from where the woman was shot. She was sheltering from water cannon with other protesters behind a bus stop when she was hit. “The social media materials we have verified show that police recklessly targeted protesters, with no respect for their lives or safety whatsoever,” said Sam Dubberley, head of Amnesty’s Crisis Evidence laboratory. “The serious injuries sustained by this young woman were caused by the Myanmar police firing live ammunition directly towards peaceful protesters,” he added. The shooting took place a day after coup leaders threatened to “take action” against protesters. After the young woman was hit, more gunshots could be heard in the video, which also captured fire bursts coming from weapons wielded by the police. Amnesty also verified the exact location of the shooting as being on Taungnyo Road, just southeast of the Thabyegone Roundabout in Naypyidaw. Dubberley urged government forces to “immediately stop” the “unnecessary and excessive use of force”, adding that, as protests continue, people’s right to peacefully express their grievances should be respected..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2021-02-11
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: US sanctions Myanmar coup leaders as generals warn protesters to return to work
Description: " The United States on Thursday (Feb 11) slapped sanctions on the leaders of Myanmar's military government, warning that more punishment could come even as the generals in Yangon ordered demonstrators to get back to work or face "effective actions". As Myanmar was preparing for a seventh consecutive day of anti-coup rallies, the US Treasury Department announced it was blocking any US assets and transactions with 10 current or former military officials held responsible for the Feb 1 coup. Demonstrations condemning the ouster of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi have largely been peaceful, although security forces earlier in the week used tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets on protesters, with isolated reports of live rounds being fired. In the most significant concrete action, President Joe Biden announced his administration was cutting off the generals' access to US$1 billion in funds in the United States. Targets of US sanctions announced Thursday include Army chief General Min Aung Hlaing, who now holds legislative, judicial and executive powers in Myanmar. Min Aung Hlaing was already under US sanctions over the campaign against the mostly Muslim Rohingya minority. Also targeted are military leaders in the new cabinet such as Defence Minister General Mya Tun Oo, as well as three gem exporting companies controlled by Myanmar's military. "We are also prepared to take additional action should Burma's military not change course," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, using Myanmar's former name. "If there is more violence against peaceful protesters, the Burmese military will find that today's sanctions are just the first," she said..."
Source/publisher: "AFP" (France) via "CNA" (Singapore)
Date of publication: 2021-02-12
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Facebook Twitter Myanmar: Evidence police deployed sub-machine guns against peaceful protesters, despite denials
Description: "A young woman was shot in the head by Myanmar’s security forces during protests, Amnesty International has confirmed after investigating footage showing the attack. This evidence also contradicts Myanmar military claims that security forces were not carrying lethal weapons. A video shared on social media of the shooting, which happened in the capital of Nay Pyi Taw on 9 February, was verified by Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence experts. According to media reports, the woman has lost significant brain function and has only a slim chance of survival. The Myanmar military’s ‘True News Information Unit’ said in a statement that security forces only deployed non-lethal weapons. However, images show a member of the police (pictured above) wielding a Myanmar-made BA-94 or BA-93 Uzi clone, a Myanmar-made variant of this sub-machine gun. In the verified coordinates of the image, the alleged police gunman is standing at or close to the other side of the road from where the woman was shot. The distressing video captures the exact moment the young woman, named on social media as 19-year-old Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing, is hit in the side of her head by a bullet as she turns away from security forces. She had been sheltering with protesters from water cannons behind a bus stop when she was shot. “The serious injuries sustained by this young woman were caused by the Myanmar police firing live ammunition directly towards peaceful protesters,” said Sam Dubberley, Head of Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab. “The social media materials we have verified show that police recklessly targeted protesters, with no respect for their lives or safety whatsoever. Their abhorrent use of lethal force against protesters is unlawful, and must be independently, thoroughly and promptly investigated..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Amnesty International" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-11
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: The generals in Myanmar are not as secure as they look
Sub-title: The brazen seizure of power by the military has energised the population and produced a public display of cross-party unity
Description: "little over a week after the Myanmar military seized power and arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and dozens of other ministers and activists, a counter-movement has taken hold across the country. The military’s efforts to thwart the spread of demonstrations – by the downing of internet connections and by use of intimidation and violence, including the shooting of one protester, Mya Thwe Thwe Khine, this week – have been in vain. Mass gatherings have spread from cities in the centre to far-flung towns in the north-east, close to the border with China. Against lines of armed riot police, protesters have so far held their ground. Aung San Suu Kyi remains in detention, her location unknown. The charges she faces – among them possession of illegally imported walkie-talkies – are clearly a ruse intended to prolong her confinement while the military finds a way to stymie her popular influence. On Tuesday night, police raided the headquarters of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, whose landslide win in elections in November set in motion the train of events that led to the military’s coup. It is likely they were looking for evidence to incriminate other party members, or indeed criminalise the party altogether, in an attempt to weaken its organising power. Upon seizing power, the military declared a year-long state of emergency, which it hopes will give it space to develop a strategy for control of the country well into the future. In that time, the generals may seek out ways to condition Aung San Suu Kyi and her colleagues – via negotiation, incentives or threat – into becoming a less assertive political force. Otherwise they will move to banish the party from formal politics altogether. The NLD’s dramatic win in November 2020 was evidence both of the continued emboldening of its support base, despite repeat efforts by the military to undermine Aung San Suu Kyi during her five years as state counsellor, as well as the glaring unpopularity of the military, whose party won only 33 of 476 seats..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-11
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar coup: Woman 'shot' at protest fights for life
Sub-title: A woman who was severely injured while protesting against Myanmar's military coup is in a critical condition.
Description: "She was hurt at a protest on Tuesday in the capital city of Nay Pyi Taw, which saw police trying to disperse protesters using water cannon, rubber bullets and live rounds. Rights groups and news outlets say the woman was shot in the head. There have been reports of serious injuries as police have increased their use of force, but no casualties so far. Tens of thousands have turned out in street protests against the coup, which overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi's democratically-elected government last week, despite a recent ban on large gatherings and a night curfew. Demonstrations re-started on Wednesday morning, for a fifth consecutive day, with a large group of civil servants gathering in Nay Pyi Taw to protest. Pools and princesses: Myanmar protesters go all out Myanmar coup: What is happening and why? 'We have no weapons - so I fight with a pen' Video of shooting On Tuesday, police had used water cannon in Nay Pyi Taw against protesters, who refused to retreat. Warning shots were reportedly fired into the air before rubber bullets were fired at the crowd - but doctors later said it appeared live ammunition had hit protesters. According to BBC Burmese, who spoke to an unnamed medical officer from a Nay Pyi Taw hospital, one woman suffered a serious head injury and another demonstrator had chest injuries. The woman is now in intensive care. According to a report by Human Rights Watch, a doctor from the hospital said the woman had a "projectile lodged in her head and had lost significant brain function". The unidentified doctor said the woman's wound was consistent with that of live ammunition, and that a metal bullet had penetrated the back of her right ear. A man wounded at the same protest also appeared to have similar injuries. A separate report by Fortify Rights quoted a doctor who said the woman was brain dead from an "imminently fatal gunshot wound to the head"....."
Source/publisher: "BBC News" (London)
Date of publication: 2021-02-10
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar junta leader asks Thai counterpart for help on democracy
Description: "Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who himself first seized power in a coup, said on Wednesday (Feb 10) that he had received a letter from Myanmar's new junta leader asking for help to support democracy. Prayut, who overthrew an elected prime minister in 2014 and stayed in office after a 2019 election which his rivals said was badly flawed, told reporters in Bangkok that he had always supported democracy in the neighbouring country. Min Aung Hlaing's army overthrew elected civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb 1 and detained her, alleging fraud in an election last year that her party won in a landslide. The electoral commission had dismissed the army's claims. READ: Myanmar anti-coup protests resume despite bloodshed READ: Myanmar military raids Aung San Suu Kyi's party offices as UN slams violence "We are supportive of the democratic process in Myanmar, but what is most important today is to maintain good relations because it impacts the people, the economy, border trade, particularly now," Prayut said. "Thailand supports the democratic process. The rest is up to him to see how to proceed," he said. Since the coup, Myanmar has been convulsed by the biggest protests in more than a decade as Aung San Suu Kyi's supporters challenge the coup that halted a tentative decade-long transition to democracy..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK) via "CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication: 2021-02-10
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar military implausibly plays the Rohingya card
Description: " After grabbing power in a February 1 coup that has been resisted by massive demonstrations and condemned by the US, EU and UN, Myanmar’s military regime would appear to have few cards to play to win acceptance. But one the coup-makers amazingly think they can play is the plight of Muslim Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, who were driven across the border during brutal military campaigns in 2016-17, and those who have remained behind in Myanmar. Shortly after overthrowing Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government, the new military regime sent a letter to Bangladesh’s government through its ambassador in Myanmar to explain their reasons for the coup, namely unsubstantiated allegations of fraud at the November 2020 election Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) resoundingly won. In the letter, the full contents of which has not been made public, the military regime also mentioned a possible solution for solving the Rohingya crisis. That prompted Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Abdul Momen, quoted by the Dhaka Tribune on February 6, to say “these are good news. It’s a good beginning.” Inside Myanmar’s Rakhine state, several local military commanders have visited Muslim-inhabited areas close to the Bangladesh border and a camp for internally displaced Rohingyas in the state capital Sittwe..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication: 2021-02-09
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar protesters return to streets in huge numbers amid police defections
Sub-title: Protests swell across country, with dozens of police officers choosing to join protesters in call for reversal of coup
Description: "Protesters have turned out in huge numbers across Myanmar, a day after police instigated the most violent scenes yet in demonstrations against a military coup that removed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. An estimated 100,000 people gathered in the commercial capital Yangon on Wednesday, according to witnesses, with many more marching across the country. A day earlier, tens of thousands demonstrated in major cities and smaller towns in defiance of a ban on gatherings in some areas, with police using water cannon, rubber bullets and live rounds against them. One woman remains in a critical condition after being shot in the head in the capital Naypyidaw. In Loikaw, the state capital of Kayah, about 40 police joined protesters on Wednesday and held a banner saying: “Members of Myanmar police force (Kayah state) stand with civilians.” Other officers waved posters that read: “We do not need military dictatorship” and raised three-finger salutes, a symbol of resistance against the military. At a separate protest in the city of Mawlamyine, a single officer moved to join protesters. On Tuesday, about 20 police switched sides at four different sites – at Pathein, Naypyidaw, Myeik and Magway. Protesters in Yangon have largely adhered to a curfew imposed from 8pm to 4am under section 144 of Myanmar’s colonial-era Penal Code – turning instead to pot and pan banging from the safety of their homes – but have defied the ban on large gatherings. The United States and United Nations condemned the use of force against protesters, who demand the reversal of the coup and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) and activists..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-10
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: UN office expresses ‘strong concern’ at use of force against demonstrators
Sub-title: The United Nations in Myanmar has voiced strong concerns over Tuesday’s reported use of force by security forces against demonstrators protesting the military takeover and arrests of elected leaders and politicians.
Description: "“I call on the security forces to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression”, Ola Almgren, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar, said in a news release. “The use of disproportionate force against demonstrators is unacceptable”, he added. The UN office in the country cited reports from capital Nay Pyi Taw, Mandalay and other cities, of numerous demonstrators having been injured, some of them seriously, by security forces in connection with the ongoing protests. Mr. Almgren reiterated UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ call on the military leadership to respect the will of the people of Myanmar and adhere to democratic norms, with any differences to be resolved through peaceful dialogue Over the weekend, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) also called on the security forces in Myanmar to ensure people’s right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and that demonstrations are not subjected to reprisals. The military takeover, last Monday, followed escalating tensions between the military and the government after the November 2020 elections, which was won by Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD). The polls were only the second democratic elections in Myanmar since the end of nearly five decades of military rule. Uphold children's rights: UNICEF The UN Children's Fund UNICEF released a statement on Tuesday through it's office in Yangon, expressing deep concern regarding the impact of the crisis in Myanmar on children’s wellbeing, and reminded all parties of their obligations to uphold all children’s rights as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), to which Myanmar is a State Party, and under its own Child Rights Law enacted in July 2019..."
Source/publisher: UN News
Date of publication: 2021-02-09
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar's military overturned a democratic election. Now they're warning protesters not to 'destroy democracy'
Description: "Myanmar's new military junta, which overturned the results of democratic elections when it seized power last Monday, has warned the public not to "destroy" democracy following three days of protests. In a statement on the government-run MRTV channel, the military warned that "democracy can be destroyed" without discipline, and that people who "harm the state's stability, public safety and the rule of law" could face legal action. It came as concerns are growing that the junta will crack down on tens of thousands of people protesting against the February 1 coup, after the military imposed a curfew and restrictions on public gatherings in the second largest city, Mandalay, amid threats to use live ammunition against demonstrators. Notices have been issued to several townships in Mandalay imposing a curfew from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m., according to official notices posted to social media and translated by CNN. Public gatherings of more the five people, joining marches on foot or in a car, and public speeches have been prohibited in parts of the city, the notice said, citing that people are at risk of causing a riot by carrying out "worrisome behaviors that could affect the public peace and rule of law." Those arrested could face prosecution under Section 144 of the Criminal Code for "unlawful assembly." Section 144 has been used in the past as a way to stop lawful protests and to justify violent crackdowns on mass demonstrations. For a fourth straight day Tuesday, thousands of people gathered in the capital, Naypyidaw, against the military takeover and called for the release of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other elected lawmakers. Riot police used water cannon against protesters who had assembled near a barricade on a main road in the capital. The demonstrators could be heard chanting "people's police." Police warned on loudspeakers that force could be used if the protesters did not leave the area..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-09
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar protesters defy ban on gatherings to demonstrate against coup
Sub-title: Police use water cannon on protesters in the capital and arrest 27 in Mandalay
Description: "Opponents of Myanmar’s military coup have defied bans on big gatherings to rally for a fourth day following the biggest demonstrations in the country in more than a decade. The 1 February coup and detention of elected civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi sparked outrage across the south-east Asian country of 53 million, and a growing civil disobedience movement affecting hospitals, schools and government offices. On Monday the army announced bans on gatherings in certain cities and towns and a curfew. But on Tuesday morning large crowds again gathered near Sule Pagoda in downtown Yangon. One witness estimated there were tens of thousands on the streets by mid morning. The protest in Yangon was largely peaceful but police fired water cannon on demonstrators in the capital Naypyidaw and in Bago. In the second-biggest city of Mandalay police arrested at least 27 anti-coup demonstrators, including a journalist, media organisations said. A journalist from the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) said he was detained after filming the rally. He said people were beaten. Two media organisations also confirmed the arrests. In Yangon martial law and rumours of incoming soldiers had created an atmosphere of unease, but protesters were determined. Pyae Phyo, 33, was gathered with his friends from the Myanmar Seamen Union under the shade of a tree near Sule Pagoda. “Because of last night’s martial law announcement I thought people may not come,” he said. “But they have come. I am so proud of my people. Every day we will come here. Every day we aren’t free we will protest peacefully for our real leaders, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and president U Win Myint.”..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-09
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: In Myanmar, protesters urge police to join democracy fight
Description: " As thousands of protesters again take to the streets across Myanmar in escalating protests against last week’s military coup, some have been met with force by the police for the first time. Videos on social media showed police firing water cannon at protesters in the isolated capital of Naypyidaw, as they demanded an end to military rule and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s leader and founder of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), who is under house arrest in the city. On Sunday, some protesters were also dispersed by warning shots fired into the air in Myawaddy, on the border with Thailand. So far however, there have been no reports of force in Yangon where huge crowds were again gathering on Monday. At the colonial-era City Hall in Myanmar’s largest city, hundreds were on the streets, with more police at hand and water cannons again on standby. Crowds were also forming elsewhere in the city, including the Hledan Center where youth activists have been demonstrating for the past three days. Their placards urged the police to stand with the protesters, as part of a growing civil disobedience movement that has already won support from doctors, teachers and other government workers..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2021-02-08
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar junta imposes curfew, meeting bans as protests swell
Description: " Myanmar’s military government imposed a curfew and bans on gatherings of more than five people in the country’s two biggest cities on Monday as protests against last week’s coup showed no sign of abating. The decrees covering Yangon and Mandalay were issued on a township-by-township basis, and those which have become public so far have the same restrictions. At least seven have been issued, and more are expected for other areas. Rallies and gatherings of more than five people, along with motorized processions, are banned, and a 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew is imposed. The measures are effective until further notice. The decrees say they were issued in response to people carrying out unlawful actions that harm the rule of law. Demonstrations against the coup had intensified Monday and spread to more parts of the country. Police fired a water cannon at hundreds of protesters in Myanmar’s capital who were demanding the military hand power back to elected officials. Protesters also rallied at a major downtown intersection in the country’s largest city, Yangon, raising a three-finger salute that is a symbol of resistance and carrying placards saying, “Reject the military coup” and “Justice for Myanmar.” There were also reports of new demonstrations in towns in the north, southeast and east of the country, as well as in the city of Mandalay, where there was a procession of marchers and motorbikes. The growing wave of defiance — particularly in the capital Naypyitaw, where such protests are unusual — was striking in a country where demonstrations have been met with severe force in the past. That resistance is being seen in Naypyitaw, whose population includes many civil servants and their families, could speak to the level of anger among people who had only begun to taste democracy in recent years after five decades of military rule..."
Source/publisher: "Associated Press" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-08
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar military ruler addresses nation as protests intensify
Sub-title: Senior General Min Aung Hlaing says the military will hold an election and hand over power to the winning party.
Description: "Myanmar’s military ruler has said the military will hold a new election and transfer power to the winner, as protests against last week’s coup continued to grow. Addressing the country on live television for the first time since the February 1 putsch, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing called on the public to prioritise facts and not feelings and repeated the claim that there were irregularities in November’s election that were ignored. Monday’s remarks to the nation were his first since he removed Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in a move that has sparked widespread protests. Tens of thousands of people joined a third day of street demonstrations in towns and cities across Mynamar to denounce the military for its seizure of power. Police warned protesters to disperse or face force to stifle the demonstrations against the coup and the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) party won the November election. The detention of the country’s civilian leader and dozens of other members of the NLD ended 10 years of civilian rule in Myanmar and triggered international condemnation. The generals had previously tried to justify their takeover on the grounds of election fraud and had promised a new poll. Min Aung Hlaing reiterated that position in his address on Monday, saying the military government would form a “true and disciplined democracy” different to previous eras of military rule..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2021-02-08
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: U.K. Sees Myanmar Coup as Irreversible, Risk of Violence Rising
Description: "The military coup in Myanmar has gone past the point of no return, according to a confidential U.K. foreign office assessment, in a sign that major democracies expect to have limited ability to influence the events unfolding inside the country. The latest in global politics Get insight from reporters around the world in the Balance of Power newsletter. Email Enter your email Bloomberg may send me offers and promotions. Sign Up By submitting my information, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. The bleak view last week from a senior British diplomat concludes the coup is irreversible, and that army chief Min Aung Hlaing will seek to crush ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s pro-democracy party in order to install himself as president. The assessment, the broad outlines of which were shared with Bloomberg News, also cites the risk that anti-coup protests -- with tens of thousands subsequently demonstrating on the weekend -- could turn bloody. With Suu Kyi and former President Win Myint in detention and facing criminal charges, the British conclusion is that a leaderless National League for Democracy will likely start to fracture. That will allow the military, which seized power on Feb. 1, to dominate in an election it has promised to hold following a one-year state of emergency. Nations including the U.K., the U.S. and Australia have condemned the coup, which followed Suu Kyi’s landslide win in an election in November that outside observers deem to have been largely free and fair. Some countries have raised the prospect of renewed sanctions on Myanmar, which has made only tentative efforts in recent years to open up its economy to outside investment...."
Source/publisher: "Bloomberg News" (New York)
Date of publication: 2021-02-08
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Internet access Internet access restored as Myanmar coup protests grow
Description: " As enthusiastic crowds of tens of thousands marched through the streets of Myanmar’s biggest city on Sunday to protest last week’s coup ousting Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, their spirits were lifted by the return of internet services that had been blocked a day earlier. Separate protests that began in various parts of Yangon converged at Sule Pagoda, situated in the center of a roundabout in the city’s downtown area. Protesters chanted “Long live Mother Suu” and “Down with military dictatorship.” Protesters in other parts of the country echoed their calls. Authorities had cut access to the internet as the protests grew Saturday, fanning fears of a complete information blackout. On Sunday afternoon, however, internet users in Yangon reported that data access on their mobile phones had suddenly been restored. RELATED COVERAGE – UN chief: UN will seek to unite world, reverse Myanmar coup – Military coup yet another blow for Myanmar's sagging economy – Myanmar's Suu Kyi detained again — without her old support The demonstrators are seeking to roll back last Monday’s seizure of power by the military and demanding the release from detention of Suu Kyi, the country’s ousted leader, and other top figures from her National League for Democracy party. The military has accused Suu Kyi’s government of failing to act on its complaints that last November’s election was marred by fraud, though the election commission said it had found no evidence to support the claims. The growing protests are a sharp reminder of the long and bloody struggle for democracy in a country that the military ruled directly for more than five decades before loosening its grip in 2012. Suu Kyi’s government, which won a landslide election in 2015, was the first led by civilians in decades, though it faced a number of curbs to its power under a military-drafted constitution..."
Source/publisher: "Associated Press" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar coup: How citizens are protesting through art
Sub-title: An atmosphere of fear and anger spread across Myanmar this week as millions of people awoke to find out the military had taken control, ousting the elected government.
Description: "But how do you fight back in a country where protests have been violently supressed before? For some, it has meant putting pen to paper and taking the battle online. Clanging pots and pans One Burmese artist, known only by the pseudonym Pen Holder, says they believed it was their "duty" to protest through art. "We will continue to oppose the government until the real leader of our people is restored," they said. Their drawing depicts an entire Burmese family - from young to old - all gathering together to bang pots and pans in protest, a scene seen across the country in the evenings since the coup. The picture has since gone viral, shared thousands of times by those on social media. "Our people have no weapons - we aren't able to access this. Instead, as an artist, I fight with a pen," they told the BBC. "I am scared. But I also don't want to regret what I didn't do. I want to fight against this."...."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "BBC News" (London)
Date of publication: 2021-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar coup: Tens of thousands join largest protests since 2007
Sub-title: Myanmar has seen its largest protests in more than a decade, as tens of thousands of people rallied against the military coup and demanded the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Description: ""We don't want military dictatorship. We want democracy," the crowds chanted in the main city, Yangon. Rallies were held in more than a dozen other cities. Internet access has now been restored after a day-long blackout. The army has not yet commented on the growing opposition to Monday's coup. The military seized power after claiming, without evidence, that the November election was fraudulent. The rulers declared a year-long state of emergency and have been hunkered down in the capital, Nay Pyi Daw. Ms Suu Kyi and senior leaders of her National League for Democracy Party (NLD), including President Win Myint, have been put under house arrest. Citizens protest through art What this means for Aung San Suu Kyi How Facebook became Myanmar's 'digital tea shop' In Yangon, people wore red shirts and held red balloons, the colour of Ms Suu Kyi's party, while cars and buses slowed to sound their horns in support. Many flashed the three-finger salute, a symbol of defiance against authoritarianism in the region. The internet shutdown imposed by the military failed to curb the protesters. "Respect our vote," read one banner, in reference to the NLD's landslide win in November. Sunday's protests in Yangon were the biggest since the so-called Saffron Revolution in 2007, when thousands of the country's monks rose up against the military regime. Crowds marched towards the Sule Pagoda in the city centre while police vehicles and officers in riot gear were stationed near Yangon University. There were no immediate reports of violence. "First, we don't want to go back to military rule. We don't want to live in fear. Secondly, we want Mother Su to be freed from being under detention unjustly," a protester told the BBC. "And third, we want to root out the system where soldiers take civilian administrative positions." Another demonstrator said that Ms Suu Kyi was "our true leader", adding: "She is our only hope for our democracy, if she died or something happened to her, what is our future? We really need her back." A third said: "This protest is not the end. We'll group... [every day] until we're free from the dictatorship." Smaller protests were also held in Nay Pyi Daw, Mawlamine and Mandalay, the country's second-largest city. In the town of Myawaddy, there were reports of shots being fired, but no immediate reports of any injuries. According to some local media outlets, police had used rubber bullets to break up a rally..."
Source/publisher: "BBC News" (London)
Date of publication: 2021-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: Respect right to peaceful assembly, UN human rights office says
Sub-title: The United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) on Saturday called on the security forces in Myanmar to ensure that people’s right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and that demonstrations are not subjected to reprisals.
Description: "According to media reports, many people took to the streets in Myanmar’s commercial hub, Yangon, on Saturday to protest the military’s takeover and the arrest of several elected leaders and politicians, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. “Myanmar’s military and police must ensure the right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and demonstrators are not subjected to reprisals”, OHCHR said in a Tweet on Saturday. Earlier in the week, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet raised concerns of a “violent crackdown on dissenting voices” in Myanmar and reminded the military leadership of the country’s obligations under international human rights law to ensure people’s rights are protected and to refrain from using unnecessary or excessive force. The military takeover followed escalating tensions between the military and the government after the November 2020 elections, which was won by Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD). The polls were only the second democratic elections in Myanmar since the end of nearly five decades of military rule. The first elections, in 2015, were also won by NLD. Internet and social media blocked OHCHR also called on the authorities to restore internet and communication services. “Internet and communication services must be fully restored to ensure freedom of expression and access to information”, the office said. Myanmar’s military reportedly blocked access to Facebook on Thursday, for several days. The social media platform is said to be used by around half of the country’s population, for access to information. On Friday, Twitter and Instagram platforms were added to the list of services that could not be accessed in Myanmar. Media reports also said that the mobile service provider in Myanmar was ordered to temporarily shut down data networks, effectively cutting off internet on mobile devices. Voice and SMS services are reported to be operational..."
Source/publisher: UN News
Date of publication: 2021-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: tens of thousands march against military coup for second day
Sub-title: Large demonstration across country despite junta blocking internet access and restricting phone lines
Description: "Demonstrators in Myanmar have vowed to continue their protests until their elected leaders are released and democracy returns as tens of thousands of people poured on to the streets of towns and cities across the country for a second day. Large crowds gathered in the main city Yangon and elsewhere, condemning the military for ousting the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup. “Today is about Myanmar’s democracy,” said protestor Myint Oo, 23. “Our hero Aung San Suu Kyi and our president U Win Myint must be freed.” “There may be soldiers tomorrow, but I am not afraid,” he said, adding that he would return to the streets. Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint have not been seen in public since they were detained in early morning raids last Monday. Their party, National League for Democracy (NLD), won a thumping election victory in November but the military has refused to accept the results of the vote. It has alleged widespread electoral fraud, a claim observers have rejected. The junta blocked internet access for about 24 hours from Saturday afternoon in an attempt to stop protests, but large crowds continued to join the biggest demonstrations in the country since the 2007 Saffron Revolution, when thousands of Buddhist monks marched against military rule. By mid-morning on Sunday, protesters had taken to the streets in Yangon, as well as in the city of Mandalay in central Myanmar and the coastal town of Mawlamyine in the south-east. Hundreds more had camped overnight outside a police station in the town of Payathonzu in Karen state, where local NLD politicians were reportedly arrested. They remained outside on Sunday morning, singing pro-democracy songs, Reuters reported..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar’s military built a new capital as a haven for power. Other countries have tried that, too.
Description: "A country’s capital, its seat of power, is typically the center for showdowns during times of political unrest. But not in Myanmar. All was reportedly quiet Saturday in Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s purpose-built capital unveiled in 2005. Meanwhile, 225 miles to the south in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city and former capital, protesters marched in the first major street demonstrations since the military seized power Feb. 1 and jailed leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The roster of capitals-by-design dots the globe: from Canberra in Australia to Brazil’s Brasília. Even Washington was laid out for the job of governing. Yet there are other countries — including Egypt, Kazakhstan, Indonesia and Equatorial Guinea — that have joined Myanmar to build new capitals in part to shield their leadership. Naypyidaw is infamous for its eerily empty 20-lane highways and high-end hotels, golf courses and spas in a city about six times the territory of New York City in one of Southeast Asia’s poorest countries, according to the Guardian. The British paper summarized it as a “monument to hierarchy.” Naypyidaw was the brainchild of Myanmar’s former military leader, Than Shwe, who rescinded power in 2011 when the country began a transition to democracy. Shwe was never publicly challenged when he said Myanmar needed a new capital because of Yangon’s heavy traffic and population density. But analysts have described the decision as motivated by a desire to secure the military’s seat of power from any threat of protests or invasions..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Washington Post" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Why the generals really took back power in Myanmar
Description: "A strangely familiar sight dominated the front pages of Myanmar's state-owned newspaper this week: photos of men in green military uniforms sitting in seats of power. It was as if time had rewound a decade. "The Global New Light of Myanmar" has long been considered the mouthpiece for whoever is running the country, its pages dedicated to government propaganda and stiff images of officials on mundane visits to agricultural or development projects. From 1962 until 2011, successive military regimes ruled Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, with an iron fist -- asserting their absolute power over the people through fear and brutality. But six years ago, there was hope of change when Aung San Suu Kyi -- a Nobel Peace Prize winner and former political prisoner -- formed the first civilian government with her National League for Democracy Party (NLD) after winning a landslide in elections. Soldiers stand guard along a blockaded road near Myanmar's Parliament in Naypyidaw on February 2, 2021. That all changed Monday, when the military seized power in a coup, arrested 75-year-old Suu Kyi, cut internet services and took news channels off the air. A presenter on the military-owned news channel announced that the 64-year-old commander in chief Min Aung Hlaing was now running the country. "Senior General makes speech at government meeting" was Wednesday's "New Light" headline, a sign that Myanmar is now back under military rule, at least for the next 12 months. Devastated residents in the country's biggest city, Yangon, said history was repeating itself. With many still bearing the mental and physical scars of the past, they expressed fears that the intervening years were all for nothing. Myanmar has changed markedly in the years since the military last ruled, with more social freedoms, foreign investment and a growing middle class. For example, SIM cards that used to cost $1,000 a decade ago are now cheap and ubiquitous, and the population has quickly moved online with social media sites like Facebook synonymous with the internet. While deep economic and inequality issues, conflict, and ethnic strife remain, Myanmar is a different place today than it was 10 or 20 years ago, especially in the major cities. But the imperfect transition was not working for everyone..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar coup: Internet shutdown as crowds protest against military
Description: "A near-total internet blackout is in effect with connectivity falling to 16% of ordinary levels, said the monitoring group NetBlocks Internet Observatory. In the main city, Yangon, crowds chanted "Military dictator, fail, fail; Democracy, win, win". Police with riot shields have blocked the main roads into the city centre. The internet shutdown happened hours after the military had blocked access to Twitter and Instagram to stop people mobilising for protests. Facebook had been banned a day earlier. Many users had evaded the restrictions on social media by using virtual private networks (VPNs) but the more general blackout severely disrupted that. How the military disrupted Myanmar's internet In pictures: Myanmar protests defy military coup What Myanmar's coup means for Aung San Suu Kyi Civil society organisations urged internet providers and mobile networks to challenge the blackout order, Reuters news agency reported. Human rights group Amnesty International called the shutdown "heinous and reckless" and warned it could put the people of Myanmar at risk of human rights violations. The military has not commented. It temporarily blocked access to the internet following the coup on 1 February..."
Source/publisher: "BBC News" (London)
Date of publication: 2021-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar junta blocks internet access as coup protests expand
Description: "Myanmar’s new military authorities appeared to have cut most access to the Internet on Saturday as they faced a rising tide of protest over their coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected civilian government. Numerous internet users noted a slow disappearance of data services, especially from mobile service providers, that accelerated sharply late Saturday morning. Broadband connection also later failed, while there were mixed reports on whether landline telephone service and mobile voice connections were still working. Netblocks, a London-based service that tracks internet disruptions and shutdowns, said Saturday afternoon that “a near-total internet shutdown is now in effect” in Myanmar, with connectivity falling to just 16% of normal levels. The broad outage followed Friday’s military order to block Twitter and Instagram because some people were trying to use the platforms to spread what authorities deemed fake news. Facebook had already been blocked earlier in the week — though not completely effectively. The communication blockages are a stark reminder of the progress Myanmar is in danger of losing after Monday’s coup plunged the nation back under direct military rule after a nearly decade-long move toward greater openness and democracy. During Myanmar’s previous five decades of military rule, the country was internationally isolated and communication with the outside world strictly controlled. Suu Kyi’s five years as leader since 2015 had been Myanmar’s most democratic period despite the military retaining broad powers over the government, the continued use of repressive colonial-era laws and the persecution of minority Rohingya Muslims. The blockages are also adding greater urgency to efforts to resist the coup, with Saturday seeing some of the largest street protests against the takeover. In one of the bigger ones, about 1,000 protesters — factory workers and students prominent among them — marched down a main street in Yangon, the country’s biggest city, and were met by more than 100 police in riot gear. Members of the crowd shouted “down with dictatorship” and other slogans. They marched with their hands in the air, formed into three-fingered salutes, a symbol of defiance adopted from protesters in neighboring Thailand, who borrowed the gesture from the “Hunger Games” movie franchise. The demonstration ended peacefully with no clashes reported. It dispersed around the time communications were cut, and it was unclear if the marchers later regrouped..."
Source/publisher: "Associated Press" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: End Crackdown on Media, Communications
Description: "Myanmar’s military junta should immediately lift internet restrictions, release all persons detained since the February 1, 2021 coup, and end harassment and threatened arrests of journalists, Human Rights Watch said today. Journalists in Myanmar have reported credible threats of an imminent, broader-sweeping crackdown on media workers, and several have told Human Rights Watch that they fear for their safety. “A news and information blackout by the coup leaders can’t hide their politically motivated arrests and other abuses,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The military should immediately release those arrested, restore access to online information, and protect the right to free expression.” On February 4, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) in Myanmar said that in addition to 133 officials and lawmakers whom the military detained at the onset of the coup, 14 activists had also been detained. On the morning of February 4, the authorities arrested 4 among about 20 protesters who had gathered outside the University of Medicine in Mandalay to oppose the coup. It is not yet known if those arrested have been charged. On February 5, the authorities detained Aung San Suu Kyi’s senior aide, Win Htein, 79, in Mayangone township. He is facing charges for his comments denouncing the coup. Human Rights Watch called for the lifting of the February 3 and February 5 orders issued by the Transport and Communications Ministry, now fully under the control of the military, directing the blocking of social media services. The government said it was barring the use of the service because people were using it to “trouble the country’s stability.”..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-05
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: New internet blackout “heinous and reckless”
Description: "On 6 February, the Myanmar military reportedly ordered telecommunications companies in the country to fully shut down internet and 4G services. According to information received by Amnesty International, the effective blackout will be in operation until Monday 8 February. An earlier order, on 5 February, instructed telecommunications companies to block access to Twitter and Instagram. On 4 February, the military had already announced that they were ordering telecoms operators to block access to Facebook until 7 February. As the 1 February military coup was underway, internet and phone outages were reported in several parts of the country, including in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, the largest city, Yangon, as well as Shan and Kachin States and the Mandalay and Sagaing regions. Access was later reestablished. There have also been mobile internet restrictions in conflict-affected areas of Rakhine and Chin States in the country for more than a year. 4G internet access in those areas was reportedly restored late in the evening on 2 February 2021. Such restrictions pose a real danger to at-risk civilian populations, especially when access to information is so vital during the COVID-19 pandemic – and even more so when the situation on the ground is so tense amid the coup, and in conflict-affected areas..."
Source/publisher: "Amnesty International" (UK)
Date of publication: 2020-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: tens of thousands protest against coup despite internet blackout
Sub-title: Demonstrators in standoff with police amid demands for release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi
Description: "Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Myanmar on Saturday in the first major demonstration since the military seized power, despite a nationwide internet blackout imposed to stifle dissent. In the main city Yangon, protesters chanted “down with the military dictatorship” and carried images of the ousted leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint, whose party won a landslide election in November. The military detained both in raids early on Monday morning and they have not been seen in public since. “Tell the world what has happened here,” one of the protesters said. “The world needs to know.” The military shut down the internet across the country in an attempt to stop the protests. The NetBlocks Internet Observatory reported that connectivity had fallen to 16% of ordinary levels by early afternoon. The military had already blocked Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Myanmar’s military has shown that it believes it can “shut the world out and do whatever it wants,” said Phil Robertson, the deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division. “They’re going to pull down the shutters and intimidate, arrest and abuse everybody who is daring to speak up. The question is how long people are able to do this and whether there will be any splits in ranks within the police or the military,” he said. Throughout Saturday, the state-run broadcaster MRTV played scenes praising the military, according to Reuters. Despite the internet blackout, several thousand demonstrators gathered near Yangon University. Many wore red headbands, the colour of the National League for Democracy, and raised their hands in a three-finger salute, a gesture also used by Thai pro-democracy protesters which symbolises resistance..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Protests break out in Myanmar in defiance of military coup
Description: "An Australian adviser to Myanmar's recently deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi was detained on Saturday as pro-democracy protests broke out in the country's largest city on Saturday. Thousands of people took to the streets of Yangon in the first major organized demonstration since the military seized power in a coup earlier this week. The crowd, many of whom could be seen waiving flags and holding banners, called for the military to release Suu Kyi, and other democratically-elected lawmakers, who were detained in pre-dawn raids Monday. Chants of "We demand democracy" could be heard coming from the crowd as they marched close to downtown Yangon, prompting the government to impose an internet blackout. Dozens of police, some in riot gear, had initially attempted to block the protest route, forcing the crowd to change direction. During the earlier large-scale march, passers-by could be seen giving the three-finger salute of opposition to army rule, in apparent solidarity with those demonstrating. Others were seen applauding and handing out water to both protesters and police in what one witness described as a way of defusing tension. Witnesses described the crowd as expanding in size, before appearing to disperse after several hours. But a number of smaller, scattered protests remained ongoing including one at Yangon University, where several hundred mostly young people gathered and continued to chant..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: UN chief backs Myanmar people's right to peaceful protest in face of military coup
Description: "United Nations chief Antonio Guterres backed the right of the Myanmar people to peacefully express their rejection of this week's military takeover that displaced the country's elected civilian government. "Coups are not acceptable in the modern world and I reject and condemn the coup," said the UN Secretary-General on Saturday (Feb 6) in an exclusive interview with CNA. "I would strongly recommend the people of Myanmar to express their grievances but to do so in a peaceful way." Mr Guterres' comments come in the wake of Monday's move during which Myanmar’s military declared a state of emergency and seized power. In an early morning raid, the army detained Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint, and a raft of parliamentarians and activists. Social media posts from Myanmar show a growing civil disobedience movement from people banging pots and pans every night, to reports of medical staff going on strike. "BASIC HUMAN RIGHT" Mr Guterres said the freedom of expression is a basic human right and urged the military "not to have any violence in relation to the people of Myanmar"..."
Source/publisher: "CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication: 2021-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Is Your Business Funding Myanmar Military Abuses?
Sub-title: Even Before Coup, Companies Should Have Cut Ties to Armed Forces
Description: "The military coup in Myanmar this week should sound alarm bells in corporate boardrooms around the world. Since Myanmar’s transition from decades of military dictatorship to a civilian government began in 2011, transnational businesses have cautiously reentered the country. But the coup highlights the question company directors should already have been asking: “Is our company directly or indirectly funding the Myanmar military?” The human rights, reputational, and legal risks of continuing to do business with Myanmar’s military are immense. The Tatmadaw, as it is known, has been accused of genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingya Muslims, and war crimes against other ethnic minorities. And now it has overthrown a civilian government that won a massive re- election, with over 80 percent of the vote, in November 2020. Companies doing business in Myanmar have long had access to credible information about the military’s grave abuses and corruption. A 2019 United Nations report found that companies with commercial ties to the Myanmar’s military and its conglomerates, Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), “are contributing to supporting the Tatmadaw’s financial capacity.” The report said these companies are at “high risk of contributing to or being linked to, violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law.” The UN team’s recommendation was clear: companies operating or investing in Myanmar should not do business with “the security forces of Myanmar, in particular the Tatmadaw, or any enterprise owned or controlled by them, including subsidiaries, or their individual members.”..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar cuts Facebook access as military tightens grip following coup
Description: "Internet and news services continued to be disrupted across Myanmar on Thursday, as the country's military sought to secure their grip on power after deposing the democratically-elected government earlier this week. Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's de facto leader, along with President Win Myint and dozens of other senior figures in their National League for Democracy (NLD) were detained in pre-dawn raids Monday. Hours later, the military declared that power had been handed to commander in chief Min Aung Hlaing, in response to unfounded allegations of election fraud. A state of emergency was declared for one year. Late Wednesday, an arrest warrant was issued for Suu Kyi over unspecified "import and export" offenses, while Win Myint was remanded in custody under the country's Disaster Management Law, according to an NLD spokesman. While the dramatic overthrow of Suu Kyi's government attracted international attention, continued disruptions to internet access and communications mean that many in Myanmar may still be unclear about what is taking place. Facebook, by far the largest online platform in the country, confirmed to CNN that its services were "currently disrupted for some people" as of Thursday morning, as independent monitors recorded widespread filtering of Facebook, WhatsApp and other platforms, even as basic internet access was returning in some areas. Limited access to news and internet could affect the ability of people to get information or organize any response via social media. At one point on Monday, the only operational TV channel was the Myanmar military-owned television network Myawaddy TV. By Wednesday, some channels, such as DVB TV, were still off the air..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-04
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Biden administration designates Myanmar military takeover as a coup
Description: "The Biden administration has formally determined that the military takeover in Myanmar constitutes a coup d'état, a designation that requires the US to cut its foreign assistance to the country. "After careful review of the facts and circumstances, we have assessed that Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Burma's ruling party, and Win Myint, the duly elected head of government, were deposed in a military coup on February 1," a State Department official said Tuesday, using another name for Myanmar. "We continue to call on the Burmese military leadership to release them and all other detained civil society and political leaders immediately and unconditionally." The United States provides "very little" foreign assistance directly to Myanmar's government and "the government of Burma, including the Burmese military, is already subject to a number of foreign assistance restrictions, including statutory restrictions on military assistance, due to its human rights record." The State Department official, speaking on a call with reporters, said the administration "will undertake a broader review of our assistance programs to ensure they align with recent events." That review will begin "immediately" and will "look at any programs that indirectly benefit the military or individual low level officers." "At the same time, we will continue programs that benefit the people of Burma directly, including humanitarian assistance and democracy support programs that benefit civil society. A democratic civilian led government has always been Burma's best opportunity to address the problems the country faces," the official said..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-02
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Security Council fails to agree statement condemning Myanmar coup
Sub-title: Diplomats say discussions will continue with China and Russia asking for ‘more time’
Description: "The UN Security Council has failed to agree on a joint statement condemning Monday’s coup in Myanmar, after a two hour long emergency meeting failed to secure the support of China, a key Myanmar ally and a veto-holding permanent member of the council. The meeting, which was held virtually, followed the military’s detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and other top politicians in a series of early morning raids on Monday, after which armed forces chief Min Aung Hlaing assumed power. The 15-member council was considering a UK-drafted statement that the United Nations’ envoy on Myanmar told diplomats should “collectively send a clear signal in support of democracy” in the country. “I strongly condemn the recent steps taken by the military and urge all of you to collectively send a clear signal in support of democracy in Myanmar,” Christine Schraner Burgener told the council, according to her prepared remarks. The military has said its coup was constitutional and promised to hold new elections, claiming last November’s poll was fraudulent without evidence. A state of emergency will remain in force for one year..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2021-02-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar’s military takes power in coup, detains Suu Kyi
Description: " Myanmar’s military staged a coup Monday and detained senior politicians including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi — a sharp reversal of the significant, if uneven, progress toward democracy the Southeast Asian nation has made following five decades of military rule. An announcement read on military-owned Myawaddy TV said Commander-in-Chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing would be in charge of the country for one year. It said the seizure was necessary because the government had not acted on the military’s claims of fraud in November’s elections — in which Suu Kyi’s ruling party won a majority of the parliamentary seats up for grabs — and because it allowed the election to go ahead despite the coronavirus pandemic. The takeover came the morning the country’s new parliamentary session was to begin and follows days of concern that a coup was coming. The military maintains its actions are legally justified — citing a section of the constitution it drafted that allows it to take control in times of national emergency — though Suu Kyi’s party spokesman as well as many international observers have said it amounts to a coup. It was a dramatic backslide for Myanmar, which was emerging from decades of strict military rule and international isolation that began in 1962. It was also a shocking fall from power for Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate who had lived under house arrest for years as she tried to push her country toward democracy and then became its de facto leader after her National League for Democracy won elections in 2015..."
Source/publisher: "Associated Press" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-01
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar military vows to abide by constitution amid coup fears
Sub-title: Armed forces release statement saying remarks by general about political system were misinterpreted
Description: "Myanmar’s armed forces have said they will protect and abide by the country’s constitution and act according to law, amid concerns in the country that the military might attempt to seize power. In an official statement on Saturday, the military said recent remarks by its top general about abolishing the constitution were misinterpreted by media and some organisations. More than a dozen embassies, including the US and EU delegation, urged Myanmar to “adhere to democratic norms” on Friday, joining the UN in a chorus of international concern about a possible coup. The country is just a decade out of nearly 50 years of military rule, with a nascent democracy governed under a junta-authored constitution which dictates power-sharing between the civilian administration and the country’s generals. Advertisement For weeks, the powerful military has alleged widespread voter irregularities in November’s election, which Aung San Suu Kyi’s ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) won in a landslide. Its call for voter list verification ramped up this week, with an army spokesman on Tuesday refusing to rule out the possibility of a military takeover to deal with what he called a political crisis. Fears grew after army chief General Min Aung Hlaing – arguably Myanmar’s most powerful individual – appeared to echo the sentiment on Wednesday, when he said the country’s constitution could be “revoked” under certain circumstances. The newly elected MPs are expected to begin sitting in parliament on 1 February..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-01-30
Date of entry/update: 2021-01-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Soldiers' court-martial Myanmar's latest sham, say Rohingya groups
Sub-title: Activists, organizations denounce lack of transparency, say foolish to expect justice from Myanmar’s military
Description: "Rohingya rights groups have denounced the recent court-martial of three Myanmar army officers as “a miscarriage of justice” and another of the country’s “sham attempts” to mislead the international community. The three officers were convicted on June 29 for the 2017 massacre of Rohingya people in the Gu Dar Pyin village of Rakhine state’s Buthidaung township, where five mass graves were previously uncovered. The UK-based Arakan Rohingya National Organization (ARNO) rejected the ruling, saying the secrecy of the trial negates the essential requirement of transparency and impartiality. “No details were provided on the perpetrators, their crimes or sentences, keeping the people in the dark. This secret trial without transparency is a complete miscarriage of justice,” read a statement issued on Friday. The group reiterated its demand for “a transparent and impartial probe into the crimes against Rohingya in Myanmar by a competent international independent commission.” Referring to a similar trial in March 2018, the rights body said: “All these were sham attempts […] aimed at reducing international pressure and to divert the world’s attention away from the Rohingya genocide. We cannot expect justice from the perpetrators.” In the 2018 trial by court-martial, four Myanmar army officers and three soldiers were sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing 10 Rohingya men in the Inn Din village of Rakhine in 2017. “But the perpetrators were released in less than one year [November 2018], whereas the two Reuters journalists who exposed the massacre were detained for more than 16 months before they were pardoned, following global outcry,” the statement added..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
Date of publication: 2020-07-07
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar Armed forces chief allege "strong forces" behind terrorism in country
Sub-title: The remarks from the Myanmar Armed forces head was made while he was in Russia to attend the 75th anniversary of the country’s Victory Day. Myanmar armed forces maintain close links with Russian armed forces and purchases equipment from Russia.
Description: "Myanmar Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has called for international cooperation in fighting and claimed that terrorist groups exist because of the “strong forces that support them”. While he did not name forces but observers indicated that he referred to Chinese support for some insurgent groups in Myanmar. The remarks from the Myanmar Armed forces head was made while he was in Russia to attend the 75th anniversary of the country’s Victory Day. Myanmar armed forces maintain close links with Russian armed forces and purchases equipment from Russia. During the visit Gen Min Aung Hlaing held talks with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on how to promote ties between their countries’ armed forces, border security and counter-insurgency operations along the border. When asked by Russian state-run ZVEZDA News Agency about terrorism in Myanmar, the military chief said, “A country may be able to suppress terrorist organizations on its soil. But in cases when there are strong forces behind that terrorist organization, the country alone may not be able to handle it.” The senior general stressed the need for cooperation between partners and countries that oppose terrorism, saying that it is otherwise difficult to combat terrorist organizations. The comments made on the Russian territory were significant..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Economic Times" (India)
Date of publication: 2020-07-01
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Western Union 'cuts ties' with Myanmar military's bank
Sub-title: Rights groups have been calling on companies to cut ties with Myanmar military responsible for Rohingya atrocities
Description: "A leading global money transfer service Western Union has stopped using a military-owned bank as one of its agents in Myanmar, rights groups said. Western Union is one among the most recognizable names on the Dirty List of the international companies for doing business with military in Myanmar. The list was published by two rights campaign groups -- Burma Campaign UK and International Campaign for the Rohingya -- in December 2018. In an e-mail to Burma Campaign UK on Wednesday, Western Union said it has ended contract with Myawaddy Bank, a subsidiary of military business conglomerate Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (UMEHL), with immediate effect, said a joint statement by the advocacy groups. Western Union could not be reached for a comment, but an official at Myawaddy Bank confirmed the development to Anadolu Agency. "Western Union services are no longer available from our bank. It is Western Union’s decision to end the contract," the official told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media. The campaign groups said that Western Union has now been removed from the Dirty List. Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, said that Western Union is the biggest company so far to end a business relationship with a military-owned company..."
Source/publisher: "Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
Date of publication: 2020-01-08
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Suu Kyi and the generals drift apart in Myanmar
Topic: MYANMAR, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, MIN AUNG HLAING, TATMADAW, NLD, 2020 ELECTIONS, USDP
Sub-title: Civil-military relations are deteriorating as opposed pro-democracy and military forces gear up for 2020 elections
Topic: MYANMAR, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, MIN AUNG HLAING, TATMADAW, NLD, 2020 ELECTIONS, USDP
Description: "As a general election draws near in Myanmar, a contest that will pit pro-democracy against military forces, political parties are already preparing for the 2020 race. On September 27, the National League for Democracy (NLD) party that won the 2015 election commemorated its 31st anniversary with a spokesman’s lament that the nation’s democracy was not yet “genuine.” In a gauntlet-dropping pronouncement, NLD delegates gathered in the old capital of Yangon said that the military-drafted 2008 constitution, which grants vast powers to the men in green, must be amended to promote more democracy. At the same time, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, has recently acted more like a politician than both incumbent president Win Myint and nominal national leader State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. The military chief, who some suspect has presidential ambitions, has recently visited and donated to Muslim mosques, Christian churches and Hindu temples, in an apparent bid to raise his grass roots profile and soften his public image..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication: 2019-09-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: How Myanmar?s Military Wields Power From the Shadows
Description: "Despite Myanmar?s recent transition to civilian leadership, the military has retained significant power and is most to blame for the sectarian violence against the Rohingya...State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi has faced the brunt of international criticism for what has been described as ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, but Myanmar?s military, which has executed the crackdown in Rakhine State, is largely to blame, says Francis Wade, a journalist and author of Myanmar?s Enemy Within: Buddhist Violence and the Making of a Muslim ?Other.? The military still retains a great deal of political and economic power despite the country?s recent transition to a civilian-led government, explains Wade. Still, he says that in echoing the military?s rhetoric against the Muslim minority group, Aung San Suu Kyi and her civilian government have only fueled the sectarian violence..."
Creator/author: Interview by Eleanor Albert; Francis Wade, Interviewee
Source/publisher: [US] Council on Foreign Relations
Date of publication: 2017-10-02
Date of entry/update: 2017-10-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: The challenge of forging a new Tatmadaw
Description: "One of the greatest challenges of the peace process will be to decide what kind of Tatmadaw will be most compatible with the people?s aspirations for a future democratic federal Union..."
Creator/author: Sithu Aung Myint
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar"
Date of publication: 2017-06-18
Date of entry/update: 2017-06-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Why Myanmar?s military is not planning a coup
Description: "...The generals do not want to run Myanmar -- at least not directly. They are determined to protect the Tatmadaw and its central place in national life, and they would respond to any challenges to the country?s unity, stability and sovereignty -- the former regime?s three "national causes." However, within those bounds they want the NLD government to succeed as they share many of its goals. They have made it clear that they too want Myanmar to be strong, modern, prosperous, stable, united, independent and respected..."
Creator/author: Andrew Selth
Source/publisher: Nikkei Asian Review
Date of publication: 2017-05-08
Date of entry/update: 2017-05-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: How powerless are Myanmar?s military legislators?
Description: "...Notwithstanding the recent consolidation of the military bloc, a series of bold moves by the NLD under its leader, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, have highlighted a reality often overlooked. Despite their automatic seat allocation, military representatives cannot block ordinary legislation. While the military contingent holds a constitutional veto by virtue of the 75% "supermajority" required for any charter amendments, it does not hold a blanket legislative veto. All other bills only require a simple majority vote. In effect, with the majority gained from its resounding victory in the 2015 polls, the NLD can ram through legislation, as long as the new laws do not alter constitutional rule. Likewise, proposals drafted by military members of parliament can only be adopted with the NLD?s approval..."
Source/publisher: Nikkei Asian Review
Date of publication: 2016-06-05
Date of entry/update: 2016-06-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Expected but Permanent? : The Tatmadaw?s continued political involvement in Myanmar
Description: Abstract: "The Tatmadaw remains the most powerful political entity in Myanmar, motivated to preserve four core interests regardless of other changes to the state and society ? maintenance of complete institutional autonomy and independence; exclusive control over security portfolios; veto powers over constitutional change; and inhibiting prosecution for actions conducted during the Junta era. These interests are embedded within and supported by a praetorian ethos pillared upon a national security narrative justifying the military?s ongoing political involvement while the democratic process continues to mature, including past the upcoming parliamentary elections this November. New institutions and practices, however, have opened the political realm in unprecedented ways. Within this increasingly shifting political landscape, it is uncertain the unity and coherence of the regime ? the military and their retired brethren in charge of the executive and parliament- to maintain power, especially due to the large manipulations of the electoral and democratic processes which would be required to ensure their rule. Military intervention cannot be ruled out, but the Tatmadaw is reluctant to overtly and aggressively reintroduce themselves politically unless it feels its core interests will be irrevocably and immediately compromised by a new government. With their roles and responsibilities protected, the military may feel they can control, or at least marginalize, a parliament and/or government hostile to its interests. The 2015 elections will not, therefore, mark the end of the military?s preponderant political influence but continue to erode their control over the pathways of political power and may bring about the first truly civilian-military government in the country?s transition away from military rule; a significant milestone as those outside the old, yet still influential, military regime gain access to begrudgingly-ceded power.".....Paper delivered at the International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-­26 July 2015.
Creator/author: Adam P. MacDonald
Source/publisher: International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-­26 July 2015
Date of publication: 2015-07-26
Date of entry/update: 2015-08-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 252.09 KB
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Title: Misunderstanding Myanmar?s military
Description: "This article is written in response to Time to engage Myanmar?s military by Adam P MacDonald, published on this site on February 4."..... "It is troubling to recently hear of international assertions that the sovereign panacea for what ails Myanmar is the mere "professionalization of the Tatmadaw" - ie, the military. This is profoundly off the mark in grasping what Burman-dominated armed forces both have been and still remain: either a brutally armed enterprise or a profit-making military machine. "Educating leadership out of its dark old ways" reflects the same naivete that the world has witnessed in failed international interventions in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Internationals, seeing themselves coming to the rescue in Myanmar, are on the same track again. In order to reach viable solutions for this country with its rich geo-strategic, human and natural resource potential, there are several critical realities to be faced concerning military reform or Security Sector Reform (SSR) as it is referred to in Myanmar?s case. The context for this understanding should be based on the realization that the Tatmadaw is the core of a massive repressive governance apparatus, whose old power brokers are still in power. In simplest terms, Burman generals have provided the central direction and muscle in designing and wielding the Burman-dominated Army as the lead instrument of government in dominating ethnic minorities. This has been for the specific purpose of controlling ethnics? ancestral lands rich in most of Myanmar?s natural resources, host to the majority of its hydro-power potential, and dominating most of its borders and international trade route access. In other words, the basis for Myanmar?s economy..."
Creator/author: Tim Heinemann
Source/publisher: "Asia Times Online"
Date of publication: 2015-02-11
Date of entry/update: 2015-02-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Time to engage Myanmar?s military
Description: "Despite the widespread and rapid normalizing of relations with Myanmar over the past three years, the United States and the West in general have been reluctant to engage the country?s military - the Tatmadaw. The signing of the US National Defense Authorization Act for 2015 this past December, however, facilitates the gradual opening of military to military relations between the US and Myanmar..."
Creator/author: Adam P MacDonald
Source/publisher: "Asia Times Online"
Date of publication: 2015-02-04
Date of entry/update: 2015-02-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Return of the Myanmar Military?
Description: "...In the initial phase of liberalization, the military tended to follow Mr. Thein Sein?s reform initiatives. The generals rarely defied the political agenda of the president, himself a career army bureaucrat, except to defend their economic and tactical interests. But according to several senior aides to Mr. Thein Sein, relations between the president and the commander in chief, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, are increasingly out of sync. Several sources close to both men told me that General Min Aung Hlaing?s tougher tactics of late were reminiscent of the style of Senior Gen. Than Shwe, Myanmar?s military leader from 1992 to 2011, suggesting that General Than Shwe may still be pulling the strings behind the scenes. Lately, the military leadership has called for expanding the role of the National Defense and Security Council, a military-dominated 11-member body that holds wide-ranging powers, including the right to take over from the civilian government in a state of emergency. During the parliamentary debates last week, military representatives argued that the N.D.S.C. should be able to dissolve Parliament if one-third of the seats become vacant..."
Creator/author: Min Zin
Source/publisher: "New York Times"
Date of publication: 2014-11-17
Date of entry/update: 2014-11-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: New roles and relations for Myanmar?s military
Description: "Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their say. Please click here if you are interested in contributing. There remains widespread skepticism that reforms underway in Myanmar, despite their expediency and comprehensiveness, are simply cosmetic, civilian window dressing masking the institutionalization of military rule in its latest incarnation. Given the longevity and durability of the generals? hold on power in various regime types, this is not an unjustified perspective. Indeed, the military, or Tatmadaw, remains the most powerful actor in the political system but its role has changed significantly. The military has changed from being a hegemonic player, previously in exclusive control of all levers of state power, to being a veto player, retrenching from the day-to-day administration of the country but with the power to ensure that - regardless of other changes to the state and society - the military?s core interests remain preserved. These interests include maintaining its status as an autonomous entity beyond civilian oversight, exclusive purview over security portfolios, immunity for former and current military members for past deeds, and, most importantly, a veto via parliamentary representation over any proposed constitutional amendments. The national security narrative, entrenched in the 2008 constitution as safeguarding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state, is the major declaratory rationale of the Tatmadaw historic control over the political apparatus. In this vein, the Tatmadaw portrays itself as the only institution capable of fending off international intrusions and preventing internal collapse. Significant changes in the military?s relations with civilian opposition parties, ethnic groups and foreign actors, however, are transforming these previously demonized and persecuted entities into partners within new pathways and processes. Even though mistrust and weariness still exist, the future trajectory of these relations will be crucial in the way Myanmar?s political transition evolves..."
Creator/author: Adam P MacDonald
Source/publisher: "Asia Times Online"
Date of publication: 2014-06-06
Date of entry/update: 2014-07-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Military can still be good state-builders for Myanmar
Description: "Since 1988, worldwide public opinion has been firmly against Myanmar?s Armed Forces, the Tatmadaw. The Tatmadaw have been pressed to let civil society take control of the country?s administration. Nobody would claim that the ?Burmese Way to Socialism? was a success, not even the military officials wanted to be linked to the old government?s policies in the nineties. Likewise, most ex-military holding posts in the current quasi-civilian state don?t want to be linked to the former regime. Acknowledging these views, I argue the military might be and should be of great importance to policy making in Myanmar. Nowadays the Tatmadaw is adjusting itself to protect the country against excessive dependence, or even domination, by foreign powers? interests and agendas. This could be achieved through national reconciliation, with both civilian and military groups acknowledging each other?s role and making policies together. Also, the country needs to prepare for undesirable but possible outcomes of the liberalization, such as financial instability and lack of competitiveness. For all these challenges, the military can still be important as ?guardians? of stability in Myanmar. Attempting to avoid and alienate the Tatmadaw from government would only bring back the politicization that plagued the institution for many decades. Given the abrupt socio-economic changes that are being experienced, the political elites should stay together to repel political turmoil and religious fundamentalism (e.g. the 969 movement)..."
Creator/author: Erik H. Ribeiro
Source/publisher: "New Mandala"
Date of publication: 2013-10-15
Date of entry/update: 2014-07-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: An Assured Political Future
Description: Under the guise of national reconciliation, the Tatmadaw tightens its hold on the State... "The National Convention went into recess at a critical phase for the junta at the beginning of February, but most observers suspect they know which way the pendulum will swing once the constitution-drafting body reconvenes later this year. After 13 years of stop-start deliberation, delegates are on the brink of finalizing exactly what role the Tatmadaw (armed forces) will play in Burma?s future. Unsurprisingly, the military?s prospects look very good. One of their objectives is to have the armed forces play a leading role in politics. The National Convention Convening Committee?s Secretary-1 Lt-Gen Thein Sein—has proposed 14 principles concerning the role of the Army which look certain to be approved in the next session..."
Creator/author: Clive Parker
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 14, No3
Date of publication: 2006-03-00
Date of entry/update: 2006-05-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Burma?s Military Politics
Description: "Burma?s ruling military junta caught everyone by surprise when the ruling generals declared the SLORC dissolved and announced the formation of a new junta under the name of the SPDC. The 19-member SPDC consists of four generals who held top positions in SLORC and a host of new generals. They include the heads of the navy and air force and, most crucially, the commanders of military zones (sit taing). There was also a cabinet reshuffle and the formation of a "new" 39-member cabinet, and a 14-member Advisory Council..."
Creator/author: By Chao-Tzang Yawnghwe
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 5. No.7
Date of publication: 1997-12-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Endeavours of the Myanmar Armed Forces Government for National Reconsolidation
Description: Profiles of the main armed groups opposed to the military government...CONCLUSION: "The Armed Forces was obliged to form the State Law and Order Restoration Council and assume State Power on 18th September 1988. But from the time it assumed power the Government has made unceasing endeavors to end the internal armed conflict that had erupted together with independence, and to establish peace and stability in the country. Previously, successive governments had also made efforts to bring about peace, but to no avail. The State Law and Order Restoration Council however, laid down a National Policy comprised of Three National Tasks as well as political, economic and social objectives as guidelines for implementation. Of all the political objectives "national reconciliation" was considered a primary concern and a vital necessity for perpetuation of the Union. It therefore, invited the armed ethnic groups to return to the legal fold. It gave the groups time without limit to hold thorough discussions on the Government?s peace initiatives and with infinite patience awaited their decisions. In the meanwhile the government drew up and began to implement comprehensive development programmes and projects in the border regions where the national races well and which had lagged far behind in development. Due to the correctness of this national political policy and the sincere good will demonstrated by the Government, the armed insurrections have ended in nearly all the regions of the country..."
Creator/author: Yan Nyein Aye
Source/publisher: SPDC via Archive.org
Date of publication: 2000-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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