2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Individual Documents
Sub-title:
Justice, Solidarity Crucial to Confront Abuses Past and Present
Description:
"On December 10, 2019, Abubacarr Tambadou, then Gambia’s justice minister, posed a question to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. “Why is the world standing by and allowing such horrors again in our lifetime?”
It was the first day of hearings in Gambia’s case alleging Myanmar violated the Genocide Convention in its atrocities against ethnic Rohingya in Rakhine State. It was also the first time the abuses of the Myanmar military had been laid out before an international court.
Over three days, Gambia’s legal team described the Myanmar military’s mass killings, rape, and torture that spurred more than 730,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. The team painted a picture of an armed force unrepentant in its brutality, maintaining power by terrorizing civilians for decades, unchecked. In January 2020, the ICJ unanimously ordered Myanmar to protect the 600,000 Rohingya remaining in Rakhine State from genocide.
On February 1, 2021, the same generals that orchestrated the atrocities against the Rohingya staged a coup. Since then, the junta has carried out a bloody crackdown on the pro-democracy movement with the same callous disregard for life that has long driven their scorched-earth operations in ethnic minority regions.
Police and soldiers have killed more than 1,300 people and arrested more than 10,000 protesters, journalists, and others. The methodical and systematic post-coup abuses, like those inflicted on the Rohingya, amount to crimes against humanity. The roots of the coup and the bloodshed that’s followed lie plainly in the impunity that the military has enjoyed since first taking power in 1962.
Two years ago, people rallied across Myanmar in support of the government and then de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who unreservedly defended the military at The Hague. This week, Suu Kyi was sentenced to prison by the generals she backed.
Since the coup, many protesters have sought to atone for the long history of anti-Rohingya hostility in Myanmar. The opposition National Unity Government committed to ending the Rohingya’s statelessness and other abuses. With solidarity campaigns, activists are reimagining Myanmar as a state strengthened by its multiethnic, multireligious makeup.
Against this shifting backdrop, the ICJ case moves forward. The court will next hold hearings on the preliminary objections Myanmar filed 10 days before the coup.
There is no quick route to justice in Myanmar, but never has the call for it been louder..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2021-12-07
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"The number of children killed by Myanmar’s military regime has risen to at least 100, following the fatal shooting of a five-year-old girl on Monday night by junta forces in Mandalay.
Local residents said the girl was shot in the head when regime soldiers fired random shots in her neighbourhood in Mandalay’s Chanmyathazi Township. The indiscriminate shooting came after a bomb attack on the Aung Tharyar ward administration office around 8pm on Monday.
“We live near the ward administration office. We heard an explosion first, then gunshots. A five-year-old girl from the nearby betel stand was shot dead. They also fired shots at people near the scene. People had to rush into their houses and turn off their lights,” a local resident told The Irrawaddy.
Junta soldiers guarding the ward administration office fired randomly after two men on a motorbike threw a bomb into the building.
Residents living close to the scene reported junta troops shouting, “If you want democracy, stay under military rule” as they opened fire.
The five-year-old was the third child in Chanmyathazi Township to be killed by junta soldiers since the military’s February 1 coup. In March, Khin Myo Chit, six, was shot dead while sitting on her father’s lap during a regime raid on her home. The same month, Tun Tun Aung, 14, was fatally shot in the chest by soldiers when he left his house to fetch water while helping his mother with household chores.
At least six children were killed by regime forces last month. A 17-year-old was shot dead by junta troops after going outside to watch a military convoy passing through Myaung in Sagaing Region.
Wai Thu Aung, 16, from Magwe Region was shot dead while playing a game in his village with other young people. Another youth was beaten and arrested.
The parallel National Unity Government’s Ministry of Women, Youths and Children Affairs reported that 98 children, ranging in age from just one to ten-years-old, had been killed by junta forces as of November 17..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2021-12-07
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Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Children, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group
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"Myanmar must be consistently represented by appointees of the National Unity Government (NUG) throughout the United Nations (UN) system in keeping with the decision made by the UN General Assembly, says the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M).
The UN General Assembly decided yesterday, 6 December 2021, that His Excellency Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, the appointee of the NUG, continues to represent Myanmar in the UN. Although the illegal military junta in Myanmar sought to represent Myanmar in the General Assembly, it was denied by the 193 Member States of the UN.
“The United Nation’s decision confirms unequivocally that the junta does not represent the government of Myanmar in the eyes of the General Assembly,” said Marzuki Darusman of SAC-M. “The principled decision is of great importance for the people of Myanmar and for the credibility of the United Nations itself.”
Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun has continued to represent Myanmar on behalf of the sole legitimate government since the military’s attempted coup in February. However, Myanmar has gone unrepresented in several UN forums in recent months, with bodies deferring to the General Assembly for guidance.
“The General Assembly is the UN’s primary representative political organ,” said Chris Sidoti of SAC-M. “Now that it has confirmed Kyaw Moe Tun will participate in the General Assembly on behalf of Myanmar for another year, there must be consistent representation across the UN system. That means appointees of the NUG – no empty seats and no members of the junta.”
The military junta has tried to impose a military dictatorship on Myanmar through terror and violence for eleven months. Junta forces are engaging in terrorist acts, such as public executions and hostage-taking, and have launched large-scale military offensives in rural and ethnic areas that involve the shelling and torching of homes and denial of access to food and medical supplies for entire communities. Evidence of the junta’s violence shows a widespread and systematic attack on a civilian population amounting to crimes against humanity.
“Kyaw Moe Tun and other appointees of Myanmar’s democratically-elected representatives are the only ones who can speak for the people of Myanmar in the United Nations,” said Yanghee Lee of SAC-M. “The international community must listen very carefully and act accordingly to what the people of Myanmar are asking us to do. We cannot continue to fail the peoples of Myanmar as they struggle to free their country from the Tatmadaw’s violence, oppression and exploitation.”..."
Source/publisher:
Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-12-07
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Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, National Unity Government (NUG), Human Rights and international relations
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Sub-title:
First Verdict in Slew of Fabricated Charges
Description:
"Update: On December 6, the junta announced it was reducing the sentences of Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint from four to two years. It also announced they would be “detained in the current location for the remaining two years of imprisonment.”
(Bangkok) – Myanmar’s junta should immediately quash the verdict against Aung San Suu Kyi, who on December 6, 2021, was found guilty of inciting public unrest and breaching Covid-19 restrictions and sentenced to four years in prison, Human Rights Watch said today. The 76-year-old de facto leader of Myanmar prior to the February military coup faces an additional 10 politically motivated charges, including for possessing unlicensed walkie-talkies, corruption, and election fraud, carrying a total potential sentence of more than 100 years in prison. Ousted President Win Myint was also sentenced to four years.
The military arrested Aung San Suu Kyi, head of the then-ruling National League for Democracy party, along with other senior officials in the capital, Naypyidaw, on February 1, as it nullified the results of the November 2020 democratic elections and installed a junta under a manufactured “state of emergency.” She did not appear in person in court until May 24. Her trial began on June 14. The special court in Naypyidaw remained closed to all journalists and observers, and her legal team has been barred from speaking on the case.
“Aung San Suu Kyi’s guilty verdict has been guaranteed since Myanmar’s military detained her on February 1, and more baseless convictions and sentences can be expected to be piled on in the future,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The junta is using this sham court proceeding to wipe out all opposition to military dictatorship. Yet since the coup and Suu Kyi’s arrest, millions have taken to the streets to protest for freedom and democracy.”
Myanmar’s security forces have killed over 1,200 people since the coup, arrested more than 7,500, and tortured and raped detainees. The junta’s widespread and systematic abuses amount to the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance, torture, rape and other sexual violence, severe deprivation of liberty, and other inhumane acts causing great suffering.
The junta has detained thousands of protesters, activists, journalists, and others on charges that are similarly unjust as those against Aung San Suu Kyi, Human Rights Watch said. The verdict against her should remind foreign governments of the need to adopt urgent measures to press for the release of everyone arbitrarily detained and to bring the junta’s leadership to justice.
“The junta should unconditionally release Aung San Suu Kyi and all others facing politically motivated charges,” Adams said. “The military’s initial disappearance of Suu Kyi, the most well-known person in the country, speaks to the brutality and injustice that detainees with little or no profile are enduring.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2021-12-07
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Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
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"The Burmese military regime’s unjust conviction of Aung San Suu Kyi and the repression of other democratically elected officials are yet further affronts to democracy and justice in Burma. The regime’s continued disregard for the rule of law and its widespread use of violence against the Burmese people underscore the urgency of restoring Burma’s path to democracy. We urge the regime to release Aung San Suu Kyi and all those unjustly detained, including other democratically elected officials. We reiterate our call for the regime to engage in constructive dialogue with all parties to seek a peaceful resolution in the interest of the people, as agreed to in the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus. We join the people of Burma in their aspirations for freedom and democracy and call on the regime to end the use of violence, respect the will of the people, and restore Burma’s democratic transition..."
Source/publisher:
United States Department of State
Date of entry/update:
2021-12-07
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"Myanmar’s junta rammed into anti-regime protesters and shot at them during a crackdown in Kyimyindaing Township, Yangon, on Sunday morning.
An estimated five people were killed and several others injured, according to witnesses. The junta said on Sunday night that 11 “illegal rioters” were detained and a few sustained injuries but did not mention any deaths.
The Irrawaddy talked to one of the protesters who managed to escape.
How did the soldiers attack?
We were just started to demonstrate near Pan Pin Gyi and Strand roads in Kyimyindaing. We had taken only about 20 steps when a military vehicle carrying about eight soldiers rammed into us from behind. I was knocked about five meters and could not move. Some hit their heads on the road. Some died.
When and how did it happen?
It was around five minutes after the protest started at 8:45am on Sunday. The vehicle came from Strand Road. We did not know as it was behind a YBS bus and suddenly overtook the bus. It only took a few seconds and was too fast to react. There was a lot of blood.
Were you injured?
My hands, knee and waist were injured. When it hit me, I fell on the vehicle’s hood. A soldier hit my head with his rifle butt. I pushed and kicked him in the chest. We were both upside down. Fearing he would fire, I kicked his rifle. But he held on and he fired at me. Luckily, I slipped and the bullet missed.
I ran. The soldiers followed and shot at me but they missed. I found a taxi and left. I saw one reporter who was badly injured and taken by soldiers into their vehicle.
What happened to the reporter?
I think the reporter was hit by the vehicle. It did not look good. I did not see how he was attacked. Most of the protesters scattered when we were rammed. It was a terrorist attack.
There were only about eight soldiers but they fired on us and hit us with rifle butts. The violence was intense..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2021-12-06
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"ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ
https://nugmyanmar.org
ကြေညာချက်အမှတ် (၁၂/၂၀၂၁)
၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် ဒီဇင်ဘာလ ၅ ရက်
ငြိမ်းချမ်းစွာဆန္ဒဖော်ထုတ်သူများကို ကားဖြင့်တိုက်၍ အကြမ်းဖက် ဖမ်းဆီး၊ သတ်ဖြတ်မှုများနှင့်
ပတ်သက်၍ ထုတ်ပြန်ခြင်း
၁။ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် ဒီဇင်ဘာလ ၅ ရက်နေ့မနက်တွင် ရန်ကုန်တိုင်းဒေသကြီး၊ ကြည့်မြင်တိုင်မြို့နယ်အတွင်း စစ်အာဏာရှင်ဆန့်ကျင်ရေး ငြိမ်းချမ်းစွာ လျှပ်တပြတ်သပိတ်အဖြစ် ဆန္ဒပြနေသည့် လူငယ်များကို အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်အုပ်စုက စစ်ကားဖြင့် အနောက်မှ အလစ်အငိုက် ဝင်ရောက်တိုက်ခိုက်ပြီးနောက် သေနတ်ဖြင့် ပစ်ခတ်သတ်ဖြတ် အကြမ်းဖက်ခဲ့ပါသည်။ ထိုသို့ဖြိုခွင်းမှုကြောင့် ဆန္ဒပြလူငယ်အချို့ကျဆုံးခဲ့ပြီး အများအပြား ထိခိုက်ဒဏ်ရာရရှိခဲ့ပါသည်။ ထို့အပြင် ငြိမ်းချမ်းစွာ ဆန္ဒဖော်ထုတ်နေသည့် ပြည်သူ ၁၁ ဦးကို အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စုက ဖမ်းဆီးခဲ့ပါသည်။ ထိုသို့ အကြမ်းဖက်သတ်ဖြတ်ခံခဲ့ရသည့် ပြည်သူများမှာ အမှန်တရား၊ တရားမျှတမှုနှင့် တန်းတူညီမှျမှုတို့အတွက် ရဲရဲရင့်ရင့် ဆန္ဒထုတ်ဖော်နေကြသည့် မိမိတို့ ပြည်သူလူထု၏ ရင်သွေးများလည်းဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၂။ ယခုကဲ့သို့ အကျည်းတန်သော စက်ဆုပ်ဖွယ်ဖြစ်ရပ်များသည် ဖက်ဆစ်စစ်တပ်၏ လက်နက်ကိုင် အနိုင်ကျင့်လိုသည့် ဖုံးဖိမရသော အမူအကျင့်၊ အပြစ်မဲ့ ပြည်သူမှန်သမျှကို ကြိုက်သလို သတ်ဖြတ်နိုင်သည်ဟုခံယူထားသည့် စစ်တပ်၏ အင်မတန်နိမ့်ကျ၊ လူ့ကျင့်ဝတ်မဲ့မှု၏ ပြယုဂ်တစ်ခုဖြစ်ပါသည်။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စုသည် ထိုသို့သော သတ္တိကြောင်ပြီး ယုတ်မာရိုင်းစိုင်းသည့် ပြစ်မှုမျိုးကို ကျူးလွန်ခဲ့သည်မှာ ယခုအကြိမ်သည် ပထမဆုံးအကြိမ်မဟုတ်ပါ။ အောက်ဖော်ပြပါ အဖြစ်အပျက်များသည် အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးဆိုင်ရာဝန်ကြီးဌာနက မှတ်တမ်းတင်ထားသည့် အလားတူဖြစ်စဉ်များဖြစ်ပါသည်။
• ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ ၂၇ ရက်နေ့ မြိတ်မြို့တွင် ဆန္ဒပြသူတစ်ဦး အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စု တပ်ဖွဲ့က ကားဖြင့် ဝင်တိုက်ပြီး ဖမ်းဆီးခဲ့သည်။
• မေလ ၂ ရက်နေ့ ရွေဘိုမြို့တွင် ရွှေဘိုပင်မသပိတ်စစ်ကြောင်း လူစုနေစဉ် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စုမှာ လူအုပ်ထဲသို့ ကားဖြင့် ဝင်တိုက်ခဲ့ပြီး ငြိမ်းချမ်းစွာ ဆန္ဒပြသူများကို ဖမ်းဆီးသွားခဲ့သည်။
• မေလ ၆ ရက်နေ့ မွန်ပြည်နယ်၊ ချောင်းဆုံမြို့နယ်တွင် ဆိုင်ကယ်တစ်စီးကို အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စုတပ်ဖွဲ့မှ ကားဖြင့်တိုက်ကာ ဖမ်းဆီးခဲ့သဖြင့် ဆိုင်ကယ်စီးလာသူ ပြည်သူတစ်ဦး အသက်ဆုံးရှုံးခဲ့ရသည်။
• မေလ ၂၁ ရက်နေ့ ကချင်ပြည်နယ်၊ မြစ်ကြီးနားမြို့နယ်တွင် ထင်ရှားသည့်ကချင်တက်ကြွလှုပ်ရှားသူ ၂ ဦးဖြစ်သော ဒေါ်ဆိုင်းနူးပန်နှင့် ဦးလွမ်းဇောင်း အပါအဝင် လူငယ် ၃ ဦးကို အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စု တပ်ဖွဲ့က သေနတ်ဖြင့်ပစ်၊ ကားဖြင့်တိုက်၍ ဖမ်းဆီးသွားခဲ့သည်။
• မေလ ၂၈ ရက်နေ့ မန္တလေးမြို့တွင် သံဃသမဂ္ဂသပိတ်စစ်ကြောင်းကို ကားဖြင့်တိုက်ကာ ဖမ်းဆီးခဲ့သဖြင့် သံဃာနှစ်ပါး ဖမ်းဆီးခံခဲ့ရသည်။
• ဧပြီလ ၁၅ ရက်နေ့ မုံရွာမြို့တွင် သပိတ်ခေါင်းဆောင် ကိုဝေမိုးနိုင်ဦးဆောင်၍ အာဏာရှင်ဆန့်ကျင်ရေး ဆိုင်ကယ်သပိတ်ပြုလုပ်နေစဉ် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စုတပ်ဖွဲ့က အရပ်သား အိမ်စီးကားဖြင့် တဖက်ယာဉ်ကြောမှ မောင်းနှင်လာကာ ကားနှင့်တိုက်၍ ဖမ်းဆီးခဲ့သည်။ ကိုဝေမိုးနိုင် ဆိုင်ကယ်လဲကျသွားသောအခါ ၎င်းတပ်ဖွဲ့ဝင်များ ကားပေါ်မှ ဆင်း၍ ဝိုင်းဝန်းရိုက်နှက်ကာ ဖမ်းဆီးခဲ့သည်။
• ဇွန်လ ၆ ရက်နေ့ မန္တလေးမြို့တွင် လူငယ်သုံးဦးစီးနင်းလာသည့် မော်တော်ဆိုင်ကယ်အား အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်အုပ်စုမှ ကားဖြင့်ဝင်တိုက်ခဲ့သဖြင့် လူငယ်နှစ်ဦး သေဆုံးခဲ့သည်။
• ဇွန်လ ၁၆ ရက်နေ့ မန္တလေးမြို့တွင် မန္တလေး မဟာမိတ်တပ်ပေါင်းစု သပိတ်စစ်ကြောင်း လူစုနေကြစဉ် ဆန္ဒပြသူများ၏ ဆိုင်ကယ်များကို ကားဖြင့် ဝင်တိုက်ခဲ့သဖြင့် ဆန္ဒပြသူအများအပြား ထိခိုက်ဒဏ်ရာရခဲ့ကြသည်။
• အောက်တိုဘာ ၂ ရက်နေ့ မန္တလေးမြို့တွင် မန္တလေး သံဃသမဂ္ဂ သပိတ်စစ်ကြောင်းကို ကားဖြင့် ဝင်တိုက်ပြီး ဖမ်းဆီးခဲ့သဖြင့် သံဃာ ငါးပါးနှင့် ဆန္ဒပြ ပြည်သူ သုံးဦး အဖမ်းဆီးခံခဲ့ရသည်။ ထိုတစ်နေ့တည်းမှာပင် LGBT အရေးတက်ကြွလှုပ်ရှား သူတစ်ဦးဖြစ်သော စူးရှရှင်းသန့်ကို ဆိုင်ကယ်မောင်းနေစဉ် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စုက ကားဖြင့်တိုက်ကာ ဖမ်းဆီးခဲ့ပြီး စစ်ကြောရေးသို့ ခေါ်ဆောင်သွားခဲ့သည်။
• အောက်တိုဘာလ ၁၈ ရက်နေ့ မန္တလေး၊ မဟာအောင်မြေမြို့နယ်တွင် လူငယ် ၆၀ ခန့်စုဝေး၍ စစ်အာဏာရှင်ဆန့်ကျင်ရေး ဆန္ဒဖော်ထုတ်နေစဉ် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စုတပ်ဖွဲ့မှ ကားဖြင့် ဝင်တိုက်၍ ဖြိုခွဲခဲ့ပြီး ဆန္ဒပြသူ ၁၀ ဦးကို ဖမ်းဆီးခဲ့သည်။
၃။ ငြိမ်းချမ်းစွာ ဆန္ဒပြသူများကို ကားဖြင့် တိုက်၍ သတ်ဖြတ်ခြင်း၊ ဖမ်းဆီးခြင်းသည် ငြိမ်းချမ်းစွာ စုဝေး စီတန်းလှည့်လည်ခွင့်ဆိုသည့် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးကို ချိုးဖောက်ရုံသာမက အကြမ်းဖက်လုပ်ရပ်ဖြစ်သောကြောင့် ထိုလုပ်ရပ်များအပေါ် ပြင်းထန်စွာရူတ်ချသည်။
၄။ ပြည်သူလူထု၏တရားဝင်အာဏာအပ်နှင်းခြင်းခံထားရသည့် ပြည်ထောင်စုလွှတ်တော်ကိုယ်စားပြုကော်မတီ (CRPH) နှင့် အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ(NUG)တို့က စစ်ကောင်စီသည် အကြမ်းဖက်အဖွဲ့ အစည်းဖြစ်ကြောင်း ကြေညာထားပြီး ဖြစ်သည်။ ထို့ကြောင့် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ နိုင်ငံတကာရာဇဝတ်မှုကျုးလွန်မှုများနှင့်ပတ်သက်၍ နိုင်ငံတကာခုံရုံး များတွင် အပြစ်ပေးစီရင်နိုင်ရန်ကြိုးပမ်းနေမှုအား ယဉ်ကေျးသည့်၊ လူ့အဖွဲ့အစည်းစံချိန်စံနှုန်းများကို လေးစားလိုက်နာ သည့် နိုင်ငံတကာအသိုက်အဝန်းတစ်ခုလုံးက ဝိုင်းဝန်းပူးပေါင်းလုပ်ဆောင်ပေးကြရန် လိုအပ်သည်။ ထို့ပြင် အကြမ်းဖက် လုပ်ရပ်များကျူးလွန်နေသည့် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီကို အကြမ်းဖက်အဖွဲ့အစည်းများ ဆန့်ကျင်ရေးဆောင်ရွက်ချက် များနှင့်အညီ ကိုင်တွယ်အရေးယူကြရန် တောင်းဆိုသည်။
၅။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများကို ပြည်သူများက အသိတရားရှိရှိဖြင့် ကာကွယ်ပိုင်ခွင့်ရှိသည်။
၆။ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုတစ်ခုစီအတွက် ကျူးလွန်သူတစ်ဦးချင်းစီတိုင်းကို အပြစ်ပေးအရေးယူနိုင်ရေးအတွက် အချက်အလက်အထောက်အထားများ ရှာဖေွခြင်း၊ နိုင်ငံတကာ ရာဇဝတ်ခုံရုံး၊ တရားရုံးမျာမှတစ်ဆင့် အရေးယူနိုင်ရန် ကြိုးစားခြင်းဖြင့် တရားမျှတမှုကို ပြည်သူနှင့်လက်တွဲ၍ ဖော်ဆောင်သွားမည်ဖြစ်ကြောင်း အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရက သန္နိဌာန်ပြုသည်။
၇။ အဖိုးတန်လှတဲ့ ပြည်သူတစ်ဦးတစ်ယောက်ချင်းစီရဲ့ အသက်ပေါင်းများစွာကို ယခုလိုရက်စက်စွာ သတ်ဖြတ်ခံနေရခြင်း၊ ပညာသင်ပြီး ကိုယ့်ဘဝတိုးတက်ရေး၊ တိုင်းပြည်တိုးတက်ရေး ကြိုးစားရမည့် လူငယ်များ လမ်းပေါ်တွင် ဆန္ဒပြရင်း သေကျေကြရခြင်း၊ မိဝေးဖဝေး လက်နက်ကိုင်တော်လှန်ရေးတိုက်ပွဲဝင်ရင်း ပင်ပန်းဆင်းရဲ ခံကြရခြင်း ၊ မတရားဖမ်းဆီး ခံရကာ စစ်ကြောရေးတွင် ညှင်းပမ်းနှိပ်စက်ခံရပြီး အသက်ဆုံးရှုံးခံရခြင်းများအားလုံး အမြန်ဆုံးအဆုံးသတ်နိုင်ရန် ကျွန်ုပ်တို့အားလုံးတွင် တာဝန်ရှိပါသည်။
၈။ ထို့ကြောင့် တရားမျှတမှုအတွက်၊ လွတ်လပ်မှုအတွက်၊ တိုင်းရင်းသားပြည်သူအားလုံး တန်းတူညီမျှမှုအတွက် တောင်းဆိုနေသည့် ပြည့်ရင်သွေးများကို ယခုကဲ့သို့ လူမဆန်စွာ ရက်စက်သတ်ဖြတ်သည့် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အာဏာရှင် များအား အပြီးတိုင်အမြစ်ဖြတ် အဆုံးသတ်နိုင်စေရေး ကျွန်ုပ်တို့၏ နိုင်ငံအဝန်းတွင်ရှိသည့် ပြည့်ရင်သွေးလူငယ်များနှင့် ပြည်သူတရပ်လုံး၏ ပေးဆပ်ခဲ့ရမှုများ ၊ ဆက်လက်ပေးဆပ်နေရမှုများ အလဟဿ မဖြစ်စေရန်အတွက် သမိုင်းကပေးသောတာဝန်ကို ဦးထိပ်ရွက်ဆင်၍ အဆုံးသတ်ထိ တိုက်ပွဲဝင်သွားမည်ဟု ထပ်လောင်းကတိသစ္စာပြု အပ်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-12-05
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights Defenders, Political History
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Description:
"၁။ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် ဒီဇင်ဘာလ ၅ ရက်နေ့၊ ယနေ့နံနက် ၈နာရီဝန်းကျင်တွင် ရန်ကုန်တိုင်းဒေသကြီး၊ ကြည့်မြင်တိုင်မြို့နယ်၊ ပန်းပင်ကြီးလမ်းပေါ်၌ ငြိမ်းချမ်းစွာဆန္ဒပြချီတက်လာသော စစ်အာဏာရှင် ဆန့်ကျင်ရေးသပိတ်စစ်ကြောင်းကို အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်ဖွဲ့ဝင်များက လူမဆန်စွာကားဖြင့် ဝင်တိုက်ပြီး ပစ်ခတ်ဖြိုခွင်းခဲ့ခြင်းကြောင့် ဆန္ဒပြလူငယ် ၅ ဦးသေဆုံးခဲ့ပြီး အနည်းဆုံး ၁၅ ဦးခန့် ဖမ်းဆီး ထိန်းသိမ်းခံခဲ့ရပါသည်။
၂။ အဆိုပါအကြမ်းဖက်မှု၌ အများအပြားပြင်းထန်သော ဒဏ်ရာရရှိခဲ့ပြီး ရိုက်နှက်ခြင်း၊ ခြေထောက် ဖြင့် ကန်ကျောက်ခြင်း၊ သေနတ်ဒင်ဖြင့် ရိုက်နှက်ခြင်းများ ပြုလုပ်ခဲ့သည့်အပြင် ဆေးကုသခွင့် မရရှိဘဲ စစ်ကြောရေးစခန်းများသို့ ဖမ်းဆီး ခေါ်ဆောင်သွားခဲ့သည့် လူမဆန်သော ဖြစ်စဉ်နှင့်ပတ်သက်၍ ပြည်သူလူထု တစ်ရပ်လုံးနှင့်ထပ်တူ များစွာဝမ်းနည်းကြေကွဲရပါသည်။
၃။ လွတ်လပ်စွာစုဝေးခွင့်၊ လွတ်လပ်စွာ ဆန္ဒထုတ်ဖော်ခွင့်တို့သည် နိုင်ငံသားတို့၏ အခြေခံအခွင့် အရေးတစ်ရပ်ဖြစ်ပြီး ယခုကဲ့သို့ အပြစ်မဲ့သော ငြိမ်းချမ်းစွာ ဆန္ဒပြသူများအား ရည်ရွယ်ချက်ရှိရှိ အကြမ်းဖက် ဆောင်ရွက်နေခြင်းသည် အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးကြေညာစာတမ်း (Universal Declaration of Human Rights) ပါ ပြဌာန်းချက်များကို လိုက်နာမှုမရှိဘဲ ပြောင်ပြောင်တင်းတင်း ချိုးဖောက်နေခြင်း ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၄။ ယခုကဲ့သို့သော လူမဆန်သော ရာဇဝတ်မှုများကို နေ့စဉ်ရက်ဆက် ကျူးလွန်နေကြသည့် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီနှင့်လက်ပါးစေများအား ပြင်းပြင်းထန်ထန် ရှုံ့ချပါကြောင်းနှင့် ၎င်းတို့အား သံတမန်ရေးနည်းလမ်းအပါအဝင် လိုအပ်သည့် အရေးယူဆောင်ရွက်မှုများပြုလုပ်နိုင်ရေး ပြည်ထောင်စု လွှတ်တော်ကိုယ်စားပြုကော်မတီအနေဖြင့် နိုင်ငံတကာအသိုက်အဝန်းနှင့် ဆက်သွယ်ဆောင်ရွက်လျက် ရှိပါကြောင်း သဘောထားထုတ်ပြန်အပ်ပါသည်။
ပြည်ထောင်စုလွှတ်တော်ကိုယ်စားပြုကော်မတီ..."
Source/publisher:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH)
Date of entry/update:
2021-12-05
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights Defenders
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Format :
pdf
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96.45 KB
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Sub-title:
The 30th anniversary of China-ASEAN relations was marked by the reiteration of the mutually beneficial relationship that both enjoy. Is this a shadow play by China is yet to known?
Description:
"China and ASEAN held a special summit to commemorate the 30th anniversary of their dialogue partnership (DP) on 22 November 2021. It was co-chaired by the Sultan of Brunei, and the Chinese President, Xi Jinping. It elevated the relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. The event was held virtually even though the 30th anniversary Foreign Ministers meeting was held physically in Chongqing, on 7 June.
China made every effort to bring Myanmar to the Commemorative Summit. Ultimately, the ASEAN position to keep Myanmar’s leadership away from ASEAN summits till they kept their promises, prevailed.
The joint statement recognises ASEAN-China relations amongst the most dynamic and mutually beneficial partnerships for ASEAN amongst all its DPs. The relationship is guided by the Joint Statement of 1997, the Joint Declaration on the Strategic Partnership of 2003 and the vision of the strategic partnership for 2030 adopted in 2018.The preamble recognises ASEANs leading role in the regional security architecture and the inclusive principles of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). The 31-paragraph joint statement covers overall the Chinese-ASEAN relations, political-security cooperation, economic, and socio-cultural cooperation. The main takeaway is that ASEAN centrality is maintained and cooperation in the four areas identified in the AOIP is pursued.
The preamble recognises ASEANs leading role in the regional security architecture and the inclusive principles of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).
‘Mutually-beneficial cooperation with the BRI’ is included. Chinese support to the ASEAN comprehensive recovery framework is emphasised. It proposes to enhance defence exchanges A specific paragraph to preserve Southeast Asia free from nuclear weapons perhaps draws reference to AUKUS, with which some of the ASEAN countries have been uncomfortable. There is a long paragraph upholding international law, including UNCLOS. Enhancing mutual trust and maintaining peace in the SCS are reaffirmed; freedom of navigation and overflight and self-restraint in the conduct of activities without threat or use of force are written in. This is interesting because they also go on to talk about implementing the declaration on the Code of Conduct (COC) which is still in force and look forward to the early conclusion of an effective and substantive COC in accordance with the 1982 UNCLOS within a mutually agreed but undefined timeline. The open multilateral trading system, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic partnership (RCEP) are welcomed. China’s support to the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025 in correlation to the BRI is reiterated. Support from the AIIB is specifically mentioned. China’s support to the COVID-related public health processes and recovery and the positive role of the ASEAN-China centre in promoting socio-cultural and P2P exchanges are appreciated.
The commitment to multilateralism and an inclusive regional framework by supporting ASEAN centrality are indeed important. Xi mentioned in his speech to abide by most of these principles and said that China would not be the neighbourhood bully or hegemonic. They will live in peace and tranquillity with their neighbours; the Philippines President complained about transgressions against their ships and territorial waters. “This does not speak well of the relations between our nations,” President Duterte said.
China’s support to the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025 in correlation to the BRI is reiterated.
During the 30th year, China is invoking its economic capabilities to enhance the partnership while challenging the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) which was designed to keep it out but instead the USA decided to leave! With ASEAN, it shows its policy of “Asia is where China must establish its prestige or “reputation for power.”
It is important to note the growth in China-ASEAN relations over the last 30 years. Trade increased by 80 times from US $8 billion to US $680 billion. Since 2009, China is ASEANs largest trading partner. During the pandemic, ASEAN became China’s largest partner. In 2021, trade grew by 48 percent in the first six months. At US $140 billion, the ASEAN trade is 15 percent of China’s global trade. China’s imports from Vietnam and Indonesia increased significantly manifesting the growing regional supply chains. Electronics, specially integrated circuits, contributed to the increase. China imported US $14.9 billion of ICs in 2020.
Chinese FDI into ASEAN increased 185 percent US $3.6 billion in 2010 to US $9.1 billion in 2019. This is 5.7 percent of ASEAN’s FDI inflows. In 2019, China was ASEAN’s fourth largest source of FDI, after the US, Japan, and the EU. People-to-people exchanges crossed 65 million before the pandemic, when there were nearly 4,500 weekly China-ASEAN flights. About 200 ASEAN cities have sister-city linkages with Chinese cities. 200,000 students participate in exchanges. 2017 was designated as the ASEAN-China Year of Tourism Cooperation and 2018 was the ASEAN-China Year of Innovation to enhance cooperation under the 4.0 Industrial Revolution. Similarly, 2019 was ASEAN-China Year of Media Exchanges and 2020 was designated as the ASEAN-China Year of Digital Economy Cooperation to promote digital transformation, infrastructure, AI, big data, smart cities and in using digital technologies to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.
2017 was designated as the ASEAN-China Year of Tourism Cooperation and 2018 was the ASEAN-China Year of Innovation to enhance cooperation under the 4.0 Industrial Revolution.
Chinese policy towards ASEAN currently can be seen working for a post pandemic world. Their ‘active cooperation and coalition building’ and ‘periphery diplomacy’ have become core policy. The world is certainly focusing on the Indo-Pacific, particularly the ASEAN. The Quad Summit Joint Statement is clear on this. The Chinese are much ahead of the curve in an organised manner. They have undertaken a broad four-pronged effort.
Priority To ASEAN
ASEAN is a priority in Chinese foreign policy. To maintain this, China promotes economic partnership with it. While prioritising ASEAN, China impresses upon them that their cooperation is practical and in mutual interest.
China is using the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party to project leadership in creating a better development matrix by opening its markets and providing economic impetus for ASEAN.
The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership would enmesh ASEAN into a stronger matrix through BRI, COC, and the 50 partnerships they have with China. While China desires inclusive approaches, all its efforts are exclusive of others. It is up to ASEAN to have openness of the region rather than let China be the determinant for its future. The ASEAN often seems allergic to challenging the Chinese hegemony as it will upset the current ‘stability’!
Spirit of partnership
Tackling major challenges in a spirit of partnership. Dealing with the pandemic of COVID-19 is the latest in the disaster management support that China has provided ASEAN. China is perceived as an effective partner in the fight against COVID and a reliable friend.
This is a gain for China, to receive such unequivocal faith from a region where it has grabbed several maritime resources including territory. It calls for Asian values to determine their relations. This allows acquiescence in coups in Thailand and Myanmar. ASEAN appears happy with the non-intrusive Chinese behaviour towards their domestic politics. For that they are often willing to sustain economic muscle flexing and rise in hidden debt.
Benefits for trade and investment
ASEAN believe that the China-ASEAN FTA and the emerging RCEP will benefit them. They don’t have apprehensions like India. ASEAN and China signed the ACFTA in 2002. They upgraded the ACFTA and developed linkages for value chains which can compete with the US and Europe. Today ASEAN countries attract RVCs related FDI for China-plus-one efforts from Quad partners too. The regional production bases that China envisages in ASEAN includes a joint production base for vaccines.
Focusing on ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework, China pursues its objectives of 5G and beyond. China intends to keep ASEAN as the prime market for its digital technologies. The Quad intends to challenge this but China is quite ahead.
Focusing on ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework, China pursues its objectives of 5G and beyond. China intends to keep ASEAN as the prime market for its digital technologies.
Develop mutual respect
The Chinese perception is that the aspiration of preserving regional peace and stability is shared. Despite China dragging its feet for years on the COC, ASEAN sees the situation as hopeful, rather than express frustration.
This is a marvel. Despite several ASEAN members losing island territories to China and suffering IUU in their waters, they still remain optimistic. The longer that COC discussions prolong, the more satisfied ASEAN appears to be! Contrast this with the India-China border talks.
China which is critical of the term Indo-Pacific and Quad policies, is benign in its view of the AOIP. Wang Yi told the media in 2019, after the ASEAN policy was enunciated, that it was part of regional cooperation and ‘adhering to ASEAN’s core positions’. China intends to use the expectation of the COC to temper ASEAN and avoid ‘unilateral actions’ by ASEANs other partners.
Assessment
The summit seems like a shadow play, to present a unified view in light of growing global dynamics. The ASEAN-China contradictions are papered over in the hope that they would be resolved sooner or later. For the long term, ASEAN interlocutors believe that this has set a tone for the diverse China-ASEAN partnership. This could become stronger. In the medium term, there is a sense of achievement within ASEAN that China has gone along with the AOIP and its principles. This is important, since China refrains from supporting references to the Indo-Pacific.
An immediate concern to ASEAN was whether China would abide by its decision on Myanmar. Despite Chinese efforts ASEAN is satisfied that the absence of Myanmar was maintained..."
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Observer Research Foundation
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2021-12-04
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"(Bangkok/Johannesburg, 2 December 2021) ‒ Under the Chairmanship of Cambodia in 2022, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must meaningfully address the regressive human rights crisis in the region, including the rapidly deteriorating situation in Myanmar, said rights groups at a webinar today.
The webinar titled ‘Cambodia as ASEAN Chair: Prospects for Human Rights in 2022’ organised by CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation and Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) discussed the human rights situation in the region and how the ASEAN has responded in 2021 as well as its trajectory as Cambodia spearheads ASEAN next year.
Eleven months after the coup and eight months since ASEAN leaders adopted the five-point consensus, the human rights and humanitarian crisis continues unabated in Myanmar ‒ at least 1,200 people including children have been killed and 10,568 arrested. The deteriorating situation affects not only the daily lives of the people on the ground but also the human rights and political discourse at the regional and international level.
Questions remain as to what extent the regional bloc can effectively bring immediate progress to the situation of Myanmar or if it will just be used to legitimise the military regime.
‘While we welcome the decision by ASEAN to exclude the military junta from ASEAN Summits, we are deeply concerned about the lack of substantive actions to mitigate the Myanmar crisis. The whole country is now dealing with a multi-level crisis. It is not sufficient for ASEAN alone to tackle this crisis. Therefore, we call on ASEAN to cooperate with the UN and international mechanisms to take immediate concrete actions. Further delays in actions will allow the junta to commit more atrocities and this means more bloodshed for the people on the ground,’ said Khin Ohmar, Chair of Progressive Voice.
‘As the next chair, Cambodia has a huge task ahead to ensure that ASEAN unity and credibility is not lost. If ASEAN allows the junta to continue in this manner, the Myanmar crisis will further impact the regional stability and development. ASEAN needs to understand that it is in its best interest to work with the National Unity Government and the people of Myanmar,’ she added.
‘We want ASEAN leadership to have a strategic vision and action plan. ASEAN will not be able to implement its five-point consensus alone, particularly after the junta military has blatantly denied their commitment in the consensus. Under the Cambodia Chairmanship, ASEAN must engage with NUG, the United Nations, dialogue partners, and civil society. What is happening is not only a crisis to Myanmar but a crisis to the credibility of ASEAN and threats to security in general,’ said U Bo Hla Tint, Myanmar National Unity Government Ambassador to ASEAN.
According to the CIVICUS Monitor, fundamental freedoms in half of ASEAN Member States are rated as ‘repressed’. The year 2021 has also shown how restrictive laws have been used to stifle dissent and prosecute human rights defenders in numerous ASEAN countries and new laws passed that would curtail civic space. Further there has been a crackdown on peaceful protests and the use of extra-legal tactics, including online surveillance and smear campaigns, as well as torture and ill-treatment. In Cambodia specifically, CIVICUS documented the arbitrary arrest of dozens of activists, judicial harassment, and intimidation of opposition party CNRP members and families, and reprisals on journalists.
‘It is difficult to see how ASEAN would meaningfully progress on human rights issues with Cambodia at the helm. It has become a de facto one-party state after dismantling the opposition. Civic space has also continued to shrink in the country and those speaking up have faced blatant judicial harassment and at times outright violence. At the same time, we need to keep the pressure on them and support Cambodian civil society,’ said Josef Benedict, Asia Pacific Researcher of CIVICUS.
Under the pretext of COVID-19, Cambodia has introduced draconian measures such as the National Internet Gateway to increase online surveillance. This adds to the long list of concerns including the arbitrary arrest and judicial harassment of defenders and political opposition in the country. Cambodia’s degrading human rights record raises concerns about whether it has the political will to take the steps needed to improve on the human rights situation of ASEAN.
‘Cambodia should strive to improve the dire human rights situation it is facing domestically – especially considering the fact that elections are fast approaching – while also seeking to ensure regional peace and stability. As ASEAN chair, Cambodia must rally its ASEAN partners to answer the calls for support coming from Myanmar, and take concrete action rather than hide behind the argument of non-interference,’ said Sopheap Chak, the Executive Director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR).
ASEAN’s prospects of human rights in 2022 remain rocky and uncertain, reflecting on the domestic situation ASEAN Member States, particularly its Chair, must deal with. Nevertheless, the panelists called on civil society and various actors to keep monitoring the progress, or lack thereof, by ASEAN in responding to the situation of human rights and civic space in the region, particularly on immediate measures to bring an end to the crisis in Myanmar.
***
For the PDF version of this press release, click here
CIVICUS is a global alliance dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society around the world with 8,500 members in more than 175 countries. Based out of Johannesburg, CIVICUS has offices in New York and Geneva. www.civicus.org
The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is a network of 82 member organisations across 23 countries, mainly in Asia. Founded in 1991, FORUM-ASIA works to strengthen movements for human rights and sustainable development through research, advocacy, capacity development and solidarity actions in Asia and beyond. It has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and consultative relationship with the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights. The FORUM-ASIA Secretariat is based in Bangkok, with offices in Jakarta, Geneva and Kathmandu. www.forum-asia.org..."
Source/publisher:
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development
Date of entry/update:
2021-12-04
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"During 1 Feb–26 Nov, there were 6,675 armed clashes and attacks on civilians, a 632% increase from the same period in 2020. The junta’s crimes resulted in a massive increase in displaced persons, including around 50,000 just in Chin, Sagaing, and Magway since May 2021. Junta courts handed down lengthy sentences to high-profile NLD leaders. Sham trials against Aung San Suu Kyi moved forward, but the court delayed two verdicts without explanation. Junta military courts sentenced 21 people to death and 29 to life in prison. The junta ordered its soldiers in Sagaing, Tanintharyi, and Mandalay Regions to shoot at any male passenger on a motorbike..."
Source/publisher:
ALTSEAN-BURMA
Date of entry/update:
2021-12-03
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2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, National Unity Government (NUG), Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), Articles and reports about the NLD, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Human Rights Defenders, ASEAN-Burma relations
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Despite its official condemnation of the coup, Japan continues to move towards normalizing ties with the junta
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"Since the February 1 military coup in Myanmar, the junta’s security forces have killed nearly 1,300 people, arrested more than 10,000, and continue to detain nearly 7,400. The junta-controlled courts have sentenced 65 people to death, including 2 children.
Facing such violence, militias have formed around the country to oppose the junta, and target security forces as well as civilians perceived to be supporting the junta.
Japan, one of Myanmar’s closest allies, has taken some action. Tokyo denounced the coup, while demanding an end to violence and the release of elected government officials, including Aung San Suu Kyi. The Japanese government halted new non-humanitarian Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects earlier this year while allowing existing aid projects to continue.
It also continues to cooperate with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in its efforts to press the junta to address the human rights violations, via an ASEAN Special Envoy. The Diet passed a resolution in June that condemned the coup and called for a “swift restoration of the democratic political system.”
However, Japan has stopped short of placing targeted economic sanctions on senior military and junta officials or their economic interests, as its democratic allies have done.
And now it appears that Japan is playing a double game, officially allied with governments critical of the coup, while increasingly normalizing diplomatic contact with the junta. This approach risks undermining the international community’s efforts to hold the Myanmar junta accountable for ongoing crimes against humanity in Myanmar, including torture, murder, and rape.
In May, Japan’s Foreign Ministry reportedly accepted five junta-appointed diplomats, asserting that refusing their appointment would place Japanese nationals in Myanmar at risk, and that “practical connections” with the junta are necessary. This was a major shift, considering that the Japanese government had earlier refused to accept junta-appointed diplomats since the coup on the rationale that it would risk legitimizing the military’s move to overturn the country’s democratic elections and install the junta.
In November, Yohei Sasakawa, chairman of Nippon Foundation and Japan’s special envoy for national reconciliation in Myanmar, met with the junta chief, Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, and discussed the “current situation and the peace process in Myanmar, as well as Japan’s assistance to the country.” Sasakawa previously voiced concerns about placing targeted sanctions on the military, claiming that doing so would “increase China’s influence.” Although Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi claimed that Sasakawa’s visit was in a personal capacity, independent local media did not interpret it as such, describing Sasakawa as “Japan’s special envoy.”
Hideo Watanabe, former cabinet minister and director of the Japan Myanmar Association, also visited Min Aung Hlaing twice this year after the coup, according to a Japan Myanmar Association member-only newsletter obtained by Human Rights Watch. Watanabe is a leading senior figure in encouraging Japanese companies to invest in Myanmar, especially in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone.
Recalling his latest trip to Myanmar in September, Watanabe described Min Aung Hlaing being “very shocked” by the June parliamentary resolution. Sympathizing with him, Watanabe described the resolution as “interventionist,” “extremely disappointing,” and “pitiful.” Then-Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi also described Watanabe’s trips as private, but it would be naive to believe that Min Aung Hlaing saw his visit as such.
In the newsletter, Watanabe claimed that Min Aung Hlaing has “trust” in him as the “window” between Japan and the military, known as the Tatmadaw. Watanabe also said he had communicated to the commander-in-chief “once again” the Japanese government’s position on a new special economic zone in Mon State, which was discussed by the Japanese and Myanmar governments before the coup. The article said that Min Aung Hlaing once again “approved” the project.
The Japanese government’s claim that high-profile Japanese figures with strong contacts in the Myanmar military or government are acting in a private capacity is not new.
In 2018, the former Japanese diplomat Kenzo Oshima was part of Myanmar’s domestic commission to investigate the military’s ethnic cleansing campaign against ethnic Rohingya in Rakhine State. Japan’s Foreign Ministry had welcomed the commission’s creation. When Human Rights Watch presented evidence that Myanmar’s government had created similar commissions eight times since 2012 and none led to accountability for grave abuses, Foreign Ministry officials distanced themselves from Oshima, claiming that he had joined in a personal capacity.
It’s evident that ministry officials, prodded by Sasakawa and Watanabe, believe they can contain Min Aung Hlaing’s reign of terror through dialogue alone. Their collective cognitive dissonance is perhaps inevitable, considering Japan’s significant economic investments in Myanmar and an overarching concern with containing the influence of China.
But if nothing else, the Foreign Ministry should lend an ear to one of their own.
In an interview earlier this year, Japan’s former ambassador to Myanmar Tateshi Higuchi, expressed embarrassment for not being able to read Min Aung Hlaing’s “nature” during his tenure between 2014 to 2018. He advised Japan to “drop its optimism and illusory assumptions,” and asserted that Japan should prioritize saving lives and alleviating the suffering of people in Myanmar, advocating sanctions against the military.
Higuchi also disparaged the Foreign Ministry and Sasakawa’s go-to “but what about China” line, saying “the situation is not that simple” and that the “the military does not want to be in a situation in which China is the only option.”
Japan should stop playing this double game, and work with its allies to swiftly impose targeted sanctions on the Tatmadaw and its economic interests, while suspending ongoing non-humanitarian ODA programs. Sasakawa and Watanabe should also stop coddling Min Aung Hlaing, and instead use their political capital to demand the junta stop violence against protesters, respect human rights, and restore the democratic system they shredded..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2021-12-03
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Security Forces ‘Kettled’ Demonstrators, Fired on Rescuers in Hlaing Tharyar
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" Myanmar security forces deliberately “kettled” protesters and used lethal force during the March 14, 2021, anti-junta protests in Yangon’s Hlaing Tharyar township, Human Rights Watch said today. Soldiers and police armed with military assault rifles fired on trapped protesters and on those trying to assist the wounded, killing at least 65 protesters and bystanders.
Following the February 1 military coup against Myanmar’s democratically elected government, numerous demonstrations broke out in Yangon and other cities. The police and military forces repeatedly used lethal force against largely peaceful protesters in violation of international human rights law. The deadly shootings in Hlaing Tharyar stand out because of the large number of people killed and the security forces’ apparent premeditated use of lethal force.
“The Myanmar security forces’ massacre of several dozen people outside Yangon in mid-March was not a case of riot control gone astray,” said Manny Maung, Myanmar researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Hlaing Tharyar killings have the hallmarks of a planned attack on protesters for which those responsible, regardless of rank, should be held to account.”
Human Rights Watch remotely interviewed six witnesses to the Hlaing Tharyar violence. Human Rights Watch also verified 13 videos of the protests recorded on March 14, and 31 photographs uploaded to Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.
Anti-coup demonstrations began around early March in Hlaing Tharyar, a largely industrial zone across the Hlaing River, west of Yangon. Because many trade union members live and work in the area, the protests were particularly large and well-organized. Before dawn on March 14, protesters set up cement-block barricades and sandbags as barriers at major bus stops along the Hlaing River Road, the area’s main thoroughfare, ahead of sit-in strikes starting at 5 a.m.
Around 10 a.m., about 200 soldiers and police began moving into Hlaing Tharyar, bypassing the barriers and causing protesters to retreat or disperse. Witnesses said that, by 11 a.m., the security forces had trapped many protesters from the east and west, a tactic known in some countries as “kettling.” Only one witness at Mie Kwat Zay said that security forces gave verbal warning before the military and police began firing at protesters, but at all other locations, witnesses heard no warnings.
The witness accounts and videos indicate that security forces deliberately fired upon protesters to kill or maim without there being any threat to the security forces’ lives. One video shows police and military gathered at 1 p.m. on the Aung Zeya Bridge, which separates Hlaing Tharyar from Yangon. The forces look at the protesters on the streets below and can be heard discussing when and whom to shoot. An unidentified person off camera says, “Just shoot them in the head,” while two police officers point assault rifles toward the protesters. Gunshots are heard and the same unidentified person yells, “Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!”
All six witnesses said that the security forces also fired on people who were trying to reach the wounded. “[W]e weren’t able to help those who were injured because they would shoot at us if we tried,” one witness said. “We couldn’t get to them, and they died. Some people who tried to help went forward anyway and they were shot in the head and died.”
Witnesses said that some protesters used weapons, such as rocks, slings, and Molotov cocktails, in response to the security forces firing on them, but no security force casualties were reported.
On March 15, the day after the killings, the junta accused “rioters” of burning down garment factories and blocking firefighters, and imposed martial law in Hlaing Tharyar and nearby Shwe Pyi Thar township. “Rioters created havoc on roads, and over 2,000 rioters also blocked the roads to prevent fire engines from leaving their stations and fighting the fire,” a junta statement said.
The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials state that security forces should “apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms,” and use the minimum necessary force at all times. Firearms may only be used when other less harmful means are not practicable but must still be used to the minimum extent necessary. Intentionally lethal use of firearms is only permitted when strictly unavoidable to protect life. The Basic Principles further provide that in “cases of death and serious injury or other grave consequences, a detailed report shall be sent promptly to the competent authorities.”
Since the coup, throughout the country, Myanmar security forces have killed more than 1,200 protesters and bystanders, committing killings, torture, and other crimes that amount to crimes against humanity. The crime against humanity of murder has been defined by international tribunals as death that “results from an act or omission by the accused, committed with the intent either to kill or to cause serious bodily harm with the reasonable knowledge that it would likely lead to death.”
The State Administration Council, Myanmar’s junta, is not known to have taken any action against security force officers or personnel, for their involvement in criminal offenses at Hlaing Tharyar or as a matter of command responsibility. The military commander with responsibility for the Yangon Region, including Hlaing Tharyar, was Brig. Gen. Nyunt Win Swe. The Yangon Region police chief was Brig. Gen. Myo Min Htike. Former Myanmar military officers told Human Rights Watch that regional military commanders control police forces during joint operations.
The UN, regional bodies, and governments, including the European Union, United States and United Kingdom, should respond to ongoing human rights violations and crimes against humanity in Myanmar by supplementing, strengthening, and coordinating international sanctions against the junta leadership and military under Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. Actions should include targeted sanctions on specified military and police commanders, including Brig. Gen. Nyunt Win Swe and Brig. Gen. Myo Min Htike; a global arms embargo; and financial restrictions that would reduce the junta’s revenues from extractive industries.
“Hlaing Tharyar was a bloodbath for which all those responsible should be brought to justice,” Maung said. “Such atrocities will continue unless the UN Security Council and concerned governments take concerted action to hold Myanmar’s junta leaders to account.”
For details and accounts of the attacks, please see below.
Killings, Other Abuses in Hlaing Tharyar
In early March protesters set up barricades at several bus stops along the main Hlaing River Road, which runs perpendicular to the Hlaing River. Before dawn on March 14, they gathered at the barriers to participate in sit-ins starting at 5 a.m. By 10 a.m., security forces arrived at the first barricade at Bus Stop 1. Witnesses said that about 200 soldiers and police easily bypassed the barriers, forcing protesters to back up westward along the road, or to disperse north and south into side streets.
Myanmar security forces move into Hlaing Tharyar around 11 a.m. on March 14, 2021, “kettling” protesters from the east, west, and south. Shortly after 11.30 a.m., security forces open fire at protesters. In this video, protesters are seen retreating from Bus Stop 3 to the east around 12:30 p.m., but are trapped by security forces at escape routes, namely a group of military vehicles coming into Hlaing Tharyar from Aung Zeya Bridge around the same time. Credits: © 2021 Maxar Technologies. Source: Google Earth. Road data: Open Street Maps and contributors. Video: Unknown uploader. Verified by Human Rights Watch.
By 11 a.m., the security forces came from both east and west and trapped protesters between Bus Stop 3 and Bus Stop 5. Between noon and 12:40 p.m., the security forces encircled or “kettled” the protesters between Bus Stop 1 and Bus Stop 3, based on Human Rights Watch analysis matching key landmarks visible in two videos with satellite imagery, and the length and angle of shadows in the videos.
Witnesses are identified by pseudonyms for their protection.
“Ko Phyo,” who joined the sit-in at dawn at Mie Kwat Zay bus stop near the local market, said that, at about 11:30 a.m., police and soldiers began firing live rounds. They shot continuously, trapping protesters for the next two hours:
At Mie Kwat Zay, a group of soldiers and police joined the ranks from the direction of the BOC [junction] bus stop, and another group from Bus Stop 1 came to trap us in between. The police were at the front and the soldiers were behind them. The soldiers started the shooting.
“Zaw Zaw” said that, at about 11 a.m., security forces started firing at protesters near Bus Stop 5:
They started with teargas and then rubber bullets. After 30 minutes, they started using live rounds. From our side, we used slingshots and rocks, and some even threw Molotov cocktails back … Many people died in front of my eyes … I will never forget that day.
“Zaw Htet,” who had joined a sit-in with other labor rights activists at the Tar Tar Phyu bus stop on Hlaing River Road, said that by 1:40 p.m. at least 50 military trucks had made their way to the Aung Zeya Bridge near the protesters’ barricade. The security forces had overrun other barricades ahead of him. He said that they began to shoot when they reached Tar Tar Phyu. At least two armed security force personnel were positioned on two higher buildings:
Four people got shot at Tar Tar Phyu in front of me. Out of four, three people died on the spot, and another one was carried by taxi to a clinic … A boy next to me was so scared. I told him to stay on the ground and not to get up, but he was so scared, he stood up to run. He got shot in the neck and died.
“Thiri” said that by the time she arrived at Bus Stop 3 around 2:30 p.m., three people were already dead. She could see that others were trapped because of the shooting, but a few were trying to back up from the main road into a smaller road adjacent to the main highway. She could make out two security force personnel on a high building pointing their weapons toward the bus stop, and another two under a tree on the opposite side of the road:
We could see the police and soldiers making their way towards us, bit by bit. So those of us who could started backing off and dispersing towards Bus Stop 5 by trying to go down the alleyways and back streets. That was when they sent [an aerial] drone out to see which way we were running. There weren’t that many soldiers at this point, but they knew which directions all the protesters were taking … Just in front of my eyes, I saw a person get shot in the abdomen and his abdomen burst open.
Myanmar security forces have used low-flying drones during protests elsewhere in the country, in Monywa in Sagaing Region and in Mandalay Region.
“Thiri” said that, shortly after seeing the drone, five more military trucks came over the Aung Zeya Bridge. Running along with four others, security force personnel shot at them, and one bullet hit a nearby lamp post. She fled back and hid behind a barricade at Bus Station 5, but the security forces were also shooting there:
I saw police and soldiers come into the small roads and snatch everyone they saw. I was at Bus Station 5 by then, and I saw they shot at the people who were running and trying to hide behind the barricades. When additional forces came, the combined police and military team moved forward and fired nonstop. I saw another man get shot dead.
“Zaw Zaw” said:
Around 4 p.m., we regrouped at the BOC bus stop. Police and soldiers had attacked other stops ahead, such as at Tar Tar Phyu and Mie Kwat Zay. When we got to the BOC stop, one person was shot with a rubber bullet, and it penetrated their backbone. They even chased us into smaller back streets.
Another protester, “Honey,” said that around 5 p.m., when the sounds of gunfire had died down, she took her motorbike to check on her friends:
That’s when I ran into a sniper shooting from a high building, possibly from Ko Nyi Ma Swe’s phone shop on Hlaing River Road. I had to get off my motorbike and run away. Earlier, there was a guy shot dead. I saw his blood on the road. His body was taken away by residents nearby.
Witnesses said the shooting continued well into the evening. A journalist reported that, at 6 p.m., security forces were still chasing and shooting at protesters near Bogyoke Aung San Road and the Hlaing River Road, near Bus Stop 3.
Deliberate Shooting of Protesters
Witnesses described situations in which they believed the security forces were aiming at and shooting demonstrators. Video that Human Rights Watch analyzed corroborated these accounts.
Just before 1 p.m., police and soldiers congregate on Aung Zeya Bridge and are seen pointing their assault rifles down at protesters from the bridge while gunshots are fired. Credits: © 2021 Maxar Technologies. Source: Google Earth. Road data: Open Street Maps and contributors. Video: Unknown uploader. Verified by Human Rights Watch.
In one video, recorded around 1 p.m., police and military on the Aung Zeya bridge can be heard discussing who and when to shoot, and where to aim. The suspension bridge is high above the protesters on the ground below, and two police officers on the north side of the bridge can be seen pointing their rifles down toward Bo Ba Htoo Road. Commands are shouted in the background to hold fire as the security forces coordinate when to shoot. Repeated gunshots are then heard off frame.
A police officer posted a video on Tik Tok, which Human Rights Watch analyzed, that shows 11 police officers wearing the distinctive insignia of the Lone Htein riot police, preparing to advance on protesters from a location in Yangon at around noon. As they discuss the weapons they were going to use, one officer says to the others, “You guys will handle Hlaing Tharyar.” Another replies: “I will show no mercy for these people.” Human Rights Watch and others have long documented the highly abusive role that the Lone Htein riot police have played in previous government crackdowns, beating and wrongfully detaining protesters, often working closely beside the army.
Two witnesses said that they heard automatic weapons being used during the crackdown. Both military personnel and police carried military assault rifles that can be fired in a fully automatic mode. A photo posted by a local media outlet shows military officers and vehicles stationed on Hlaing Road between Mie Kwat Zay and the BOC bus stops between 4 and 6 p.m. and a soldier carrying an apparent MA-1 assault rifle. Other photos of police officers on the Yangon side of the Aung Zeya bridge show them using BA series assault rifles.
Videos and images Human Rights Watch reviewed capture the security forces using lethal force against protesters. They also show security forces making a coordinated maneuver to surround protesters and block their exit routes.
In one video, taken just before 12:30 p.m., a group of protesters stand under a row of tarps about 35 meters from Bus Stop 3, as intermittent gunshots can be heard nearby. Soon tear gas is deployed from the west and more gunshots are heard, causing the protesters to disperse to the east.
A second video, filmed one block north of Bus Stop 3 at around 12:30 p.m., appears to show protesters fleeing from gunshots, with tear gas visible about 10 to 40 meters east of the bus stop. A minute later, at least 10 security force trucks are seen in an apparent pincer move, driving west from the Aung Zeya bridge into Hlaing Tharyar toward the retreating protesters. One man is seen lying on the pavement from an apparent gunshot wound to his head. Someone attempts to help him, but gunshots force them to leave the man and run for cover.
Videos corroborate witness accounts that the security forces cut off protesters’ exit routes from the west and the south. A very brief video and two images posted on social media appear to show security forces crossing the Bayint Naung bridge over the Hlaing River, south of Aung Zeya bridge, into Hlaing Tharyar around 3 p.m. Two other photos show at least one bulldozer and two military trucks on an elevated highway roughly a kilometer east of Bayint Naung bridge driving toward Hlaing Tharyar. The one-second video shows three trucks parked at the western end of Bayint Naung bridge. The angle and length of shadows in the video and photos indicate they were taken between 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Targeting People Trying to Assist the Wounded
Protesters carried injured people to mobile clinics that had been set up around the wards and to a clinic nearby Mie Kwat Zay. However, all six witnesses said they saw security forces prevent injured people from receiving help, and fire on those trying to reach wounded protesters or retrieve dead bodies.
“Yadanar,” a medical student, anticipated violence on March 14 so volunteered at a mobile clinic near Mie Kwat Zay. She said patients started arriving shortly after 1 p.m.:
At least 10 people who came into the clinic were people who’d been shot. They were shot in the arms, legs, head and neck. One person died at our clinic. There might have been other patients who died on their way to a hospital ... When a headshot patient came in, I saw he was having a seizure. We sent him off with an ambulance to a hospital. But one ambulance that took an injured person from our clinic to a hospital was attacked and the ambulance driver badly injured, so they were even shooting at ambulances.
Witnesses said the security forces piled bodies on the back of military vehicles. Other bodies remained on the street because the security forces shot at protesters who tried to retrieve them. The police and soldiers also shot at protesters and health care workers who tried to assist other wounded protesters. Security forces shot a healthcare worker who was trying to retrieve a body just 30 meters away, hitting the healthcare worker in the thigh, a witness said.
Human Rights Watch analyzed a video recorded around noon about 100 meters east of Bus Stop 5 on Hlaing River Road that shows protesters under gunfire as they attempt to carry wounded demonstrators away from advancing security forces. At least four protesters are visibly injured as they try to help others who are shot; one protester is limp and motionless as he is carried away and another is bleeding from his back on the pavement. Teargas is visible in the center of the road. Gunshots ring out throughout the video, and police and military officers are seen advancing west together toward the bus stop..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2021-12-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Anti-coup protesters, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Defenders
Language:
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Sub-title:
The decision to leave Myanmar’s current representative in place comes as a blow to the junta’s bid for international legitimacy
Description:
"Myanmar’s underground government has welcomed a decision by a United Nations credentials committee to keep the country’s current representative in place, calling the move a “first step” towards international recognition.
The nine-member Credentials Committee of the General Assembly, responsible for approving the nominations of each UN member state’s ambassador to the world body, on Wednesday deferred a decision on who will represent Afghanistan and Myanmar.
The deferral means that Kyaw Moe Tun, appointed by now-deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi's government last year, will remain as Myanmar's permanent representative for now. The 52-year-old diplomat denounced the junta and chose to continue to represent the elected government shortly after the military takeover.
The National Unity Government (NUG), comprised of elected lawmakers, civil society groups, and other anti-regime forces, sees the UN committee’s move as a step forward in gaining legitimacy as the official government of Myanmar.
“We can say that the first step has succeeded for U Kyaw Moe Tun to continue representing Myanmar as a permanent ambassador,” Aung Myo Min, the NUG’s minister for human rights, said in an interview with Myanmar Now on Thursday.
“The General Assembly’s decision would be a master key for NUG and U Kyaw Moe Tun to open every door,” he added.
The next annual General Assembly gathering is scheduled for September of next year. Aung Myo Min said that the UN body’s decision on who can occupy the country’s seat will strongly influence the stance of many other international organisations.
He added that Kyaw Moe Tun will be able to represent the voice of Myanmar people and NUG’s policies at the world body as an ambassador of a legitimate government if his nomination is approved by the General Assembly.
“With that master key, we will also have a direction and a roadmap for the path we have to continue. [The deferral] is an opportunity for us to keep walking straight, steadily,” said Aung Myo Min.
The UN’s credentials committee held a closed-door meeting on the nominations by the Taliban and Myanmar junta to replace the representatives of the governments they had deposed.
The New York Times reported that Swedish ambassador Anna Karin Eneström, who chairs the committee, told reporters after the meeting that the panel “defers its decision on the credentials in these two situations.”
Citing diplomats, the report said the committee would make the deferral recommendation in a report to the General Assembly next week.
Aung Myo Min said the General Assembly traditionally makes decisions on member countries’ credentials according to the recommendations of the committee.
He added, however, that gaining the UN seat would be only one important means of establishing the NUG’s legitimacy. More important, he said, was the conduct of the revolution at home.
“Getting the UN seat will be just the white of the egg. The yolk will be our domestic force. We are doing everything we can to work on our domestic force,” he said, adding that he could not reveal everything that the NUG is doing inside the country due to security concerns.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) also welcomed the UN decision and called for further action on the international front.
“Political, economic and diplomatic sanctions on the junta rendered by global communities and countries are pivotal and effective actions to terminate brutalities of the military junta,” said the CRPH, which was formed by ousted lawmakers in the wake of the February 1 military coup.
The Myanmar junta’s spokesman responded to the deferral by saying that it “does not reflect” the reality on the ground.
“We will continue submitting [to the UN] as usual according to diplomatic procedure and the right to representation in accordance with international and local laws," Zaw Min Tun told AFP in an interview.
The junta charged Kyaw Moe Tun with high treason and issued an arrest warrant against him in Myanmar. In July, the regime tried to replace him with former military official Aung Thurein..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2021-12-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, National Unity Government (NUG), The UN and Burma - news and commentary
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Description:
"Across Southeast Asia, parliamentarians are increasingly at risk. Lawmakers who use their mandates to defend human rights or to hold power to account have for years been targeted through trumped-up criminal charges, threats and harassment, physical violence, and detention. In 2021, we continued to see MPs targeted, to a large extent because of the military coup in Myanmar and its devastating aftermath, but also due to alarming developments elsewhere.
This briefing from ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) provides an overview of human rights abuses against elected lawmakers in Southeast Asia. The findings in 2021 are stark, and APHR must unfortunately report that the situation facing MPs has only deteriorated further. The number of detained lawmakers in the region rose from just one in 2020, to 91 in 2021 due to the Myanmar military regime’s wave of arrests. In fact, Myanmar has previously been a country where APHR has rarely documented abuses against MPs, but it has now joined the ranks of Southeast Asian states repressing lawmakers.
The coup in Myanmar is the most dramatic example of a wider trend of closing democratic space in the region. In countries where APHR has previously documented abuses against MPs, such as Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, authorities continued to level baseless criminal charges against opposition MPs, while often also being implicated in or failing to prevent or effectively investigate threats, online abuse, and disinformation campaigns against lawmakers. In 2021, the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region also served as an apparent excuse to justify the silencing of democratic debate, either by targeting lawmakers exercising their freedom of expression to scrutinize official measures, or by suspending parliament, as was the case in Malaysia..."
Source/publisher:
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights
Date of entry/update:
2021-12-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Human Rights Defenders, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar
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In one case, soldiers repeatedly beat a farmer in front of villagers and splashed water on his face to wake him when he passed out
Description:
"Two men were murdered by soldiers after being detained in Mandalay Region this week in seperate incidents, locals have told Myanmar Now.
Than Tun Aung, a 25-year-old farmer, was detained and severely beaten on Monday after soldiers stationed in his village of Khine, Myingyan Township, started firing their guns at random, several locals there said.
He was among 11 men at the village bar at the time who were accused of an “unauthorised gathering” and taken to the local school.
Than Tun Aung fainted from the beatings on his way to the school, but the soldiers splashed him with water to wake him up and kept beating him as they continued on their way, said a local who spoke to eyewitnesses.
“The kid died while they splashed water on him and kicked him repeatedly,” the local said. “They were beating him for ‘not answering’ their questions but the truth is he just couldn’t speak anymore because of his injuries.”
Five hours after his arrest, villagers found his body between the market and the local clinic covered with a blanket. Soldiers told villagers he died of a cold, said another local, who has now fled Khine.
Than Tun Aung’s funeral was held at the village cemetery on Tuesday, but soldiers disrupted the ceremony by blocking the way for people who were carrying his body to be cremated, said the second local.
“The main road to the cemetery is the road near the school where the soldiers are stationed,” he said. “The soldiers came out of the school and told us that they couldn’t let us pass, so we had to go through the woods to get to the cemetery.”
Than Tun Aung leaves behind a 22-year-old wife and a one-year-old son.
Around 30 soldiers have been stationed at the school for about a month and more than 1,500 residents have fled to nearby villages.
The 10 other people detained with Than Tun Aung have been released but are not allowed to leave the village, locals said. “Those who were arrested didn’t dare to flee because the military threatened to harm their families if they did,” said one resident.
Than Tun Aung’s family did not want to speak with the media because soldiers were still in the village, the locals added.
Soldiers have been checking villagers’ mobile phones and social media pages, they said.
There have also been incidents of soldiers detaining villagers and forcing them to sing the Myanmar national anthem while they beat them, the locals said, adding that in other cases soldiers have forced villagers to fight each other.
Junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun could not be reached for comment.
In a similar case on Wednesday, Phyo Maung Ye, the 30-year-old owner of the Today teashop in Sintgaing Township’s Kathe village, was shot in the leg three times as he was detained by junta forces and died in custody at the Hpalanbo police station the same day.
Twelve police and soldiers detained Phyo Maung Ye along with his wife and two-year-old son, who were also taken to the police station but released hours later, according to locals.
Phyo Maung Ye was arrested on suspicion of helping to fund the People’s Defence Force (PDF), said one local.
“A Facebook account wrote that Phyo Maung Ye was financially supporting the PDF and he posted a status to refute that claim, but he was arrested at his shop the next day,” said the local. “He was shot three times in his leg during his arrest. We heard he had his arm broken during interrogation as well.”
The police station claimed that Phyo Maung Ye died when he tripped and fell during an escape attempt. They did not allow his family to take his body and said they had cremated it themselves.
“It’s impossible that he tripped and fell and died. He died because they tortured him. He had already been shot when he was arrested,” said another local.
“He was a good person doing honest work. He was not affiliated with the PDF either,” he added. “He did not give them any financial support. It saddens me a lot that our own villager had to experience this.”
The Sintgaing chapter of the PDF said Phyo Maung Ye’s killing was an act of terrorism by the military. “He was not a member and he was not a supporter. They took out their anger on an innocent civilian,” said a member of the group.
Myanmar Now tried to contact the military council and the Hpalanbo police station about Phyo Ye Maung’s death but all calls went unanswered.
In July junta forces arrested and tortured another teashop owner in Sintgaing. Min Thu Tun was detained along with his wife and child in Ohn Pin Chan and reportedly lost his hearing and some of his eyesight while being interrogated.
At least 1,302 civilians have been killed by the junta since it seized power in February and 7,687 remain in junta custody, according to recent figures from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2021-12-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Human Rights Defenders, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Satellite Imagery, Thermal Anomalies Data Show Numerous Burnings
Description:
"Since October 29, numerous fires have severely damaged Thantlang, a remote town in Myanmar’s northwestern Chin State. The evidence from space is undeniable: residential homes, places of worship, commercial buildings, and more have been reduced to ash.
To monitor the situation, Human Rights Watch used data provided by the Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), which distributes Near Real-Time (NRT) thermal anomalies and active fire data within three hours of satellite observation from MODIS and VIIRS instruments.
These environmental satellites have detected several thermal anomalies over Thantlang town on at least 10 different dates in the past month, during the day and at night.
Human Rights Watch also reviewed dozens of satellite images collected by PlanetScope, a constellation of satellites operated by the company Planet, that capture the entire world every day at three meters resolution. Human Rights Watch was not able to estimate the total number of destroyed buildings, due to the images’ spatial resolution, but before and after satellite imagery helped to confirm the locations of the most severely damaged areas as indicated in the thermal anomaly data.
The satellite imagery and thermal anomalies data corroborated multiple reports of burning in Thantlang, including aerial photos and videos of fires and damaged buildings that appeared on social media over the past month, plus reports from local media and human rights groups.
The evidence shows the damage did not result from one large fire that spread through the town but from numerous fires that originated in different parts of the town over several days, suggesting they were deliberately set.
How exactly these fires started remains unclear. Both the Myanmar military and the anti-junta militia fighting the military have blamed each other for the burnings. Over the past month, local media have reported brief clashes between the Myanmar military and anti-junta militia groups in the area. The town has been largely uninhabited since September when most of its population fled due to earlier fighting. Independent monitors are needed to determine what’s happening in Chin State. Concerned governments and the United Nations should press for humanitarian agencies to get unhindered access. Coordinated sanctions are needed against those responsible for the abuses..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2021-12-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Chin (Zo)- economic, social, cultural, political, Military History
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Mr. President and Honourable Members of the Committee on the
Human Rights of Parliamentarians,
Mingalarbar !
It is a great honour for me to have the privilege to present testimony and
our report on the human rights violations situation of parliamentarians in
Myanmar.
Firstly, on behalf of the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw and
all legitimately elected Parliamentarians in Myanmar, I would like to take
this opportunity to thank leaders of the IPU and the Committee on the
Human Rights of Parliamentarian for your continuous support in the
struggle of Burmese Parliamentarians in restoring democracy, human rights
and rule of law in Myanmar/Burma since 1990. I also thank the IPU for its
strong condemnation of the February 1st military coup in Myanmar and
other means of support.
Mr. President,
I am sure you are aware that the brutal behavior of the State Administrative
Council (SAC) falsely accused that voting fraud was found in the 2020
election and against the results of the votes from the citizens, illegally seized
the state power from the civilian government on 1st February 2021. This
accusation entirely neglects the Electoral Laws and Rules. It not only
violates the 2008 Constitution, which was drafted by this very military, also
Article 21 (3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which states “the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority
government".
The 2020 general election was recognized as a free and fair election by the
local and international observers. However, the desire and hopes of the
citizens were destroyed by the SAC using the arm power due to the
announcement of the invalidation of the 2020 general election’s results.
However, we, the elected parliamentarians, had formed the Committee
Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) with the mandate from the
people. The CRPH went on to form the National Unity Consultative Council
(NUCC) which approved the Federal Democracy Charter, abolished the 2008
constitution, and constituted the National Unity Government (NUG). We
continue to perform the parliamentary functions of legislation, oversight and
relations with international parliamentary bodies; doing so for most MPs in
such dangerous situations facing unlawful arrest and even murder.
Mr. President and Committee Members,
In Myanmar, all the people are facing the most serious human rights
violations such as threats, torture, illegal arrests, arbitrary detentions and
imprisonment, confiscation and destruction of private properties.
The SAC has been trying to destroy the offices of the NLD party, the party
that won the majority votes from the people, with bombing attacks, burning
down, trespassing and appropriating the properties which are legally
registered. While the SAC and the military are committing those atrocities
against the NLD party, they are simultaneously meeting with political
parties which are their proxy counterparts trying to deceive the world
pretending that they are engaging with other political parties.
There is a total of (121) arrested parliamentarians including President U Win
Myint and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Tragically one MP
passed away in prison following an illegal arrest by the brutal SAC.
The Members of the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw who are
doing their utmost to serve the people along with other MPs are being
accused of being terrorist organisations and terrorists and are struggling
with illegal arrests and imprisonment. Moreover, our families, friends and
relatives are forced to flee due to targeted threats with our properties extralegally
seized and in some cases destroyed by the SAC.
Mr. President,
The obvious example that happened was on 6 March 2021, the military
forces in their campaign of terror tried to arrest Pyithu Hluttaw
Representative U Si Thu Maung who is with us in this meeting today. When
they did not find him, his Election Campaign Manager U Khin Maung Latt
was arrested instead and cruelly the military informed his family to come
and retrieve his dead body the day after his arrest. It was clear that he had
been physically and mentally tortured under interrogation. This is one of
the inhumane incidents among many. On the 7th March, the day after this
tragedy, the military forces raided U Si Thu Maung’s house and destroyed
and appropriated the valuable property in his house and his father was also
violently arrested.
In addition to these violent incidents, MP U Nyunt Shwe from the Bago
Regional Parliament was unlawfully detained by the military force on 9
February and died on 16 August after being infected with the COVID-19
prison due to the lack of medical treatment. It was an extremely b
situation to not even have the right to access basic health care as a human
being, also as a Member of Parliament. Similarly, Daw Tin Tin Yee, a Pyithu
Hluttaw Representative from Tan intharyi Region, died due to the inability
to receive necessary treatment while she was evading arbitrary detention by
the military, as so many MPs are forced to do.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3 stated that "Everyone
has the right to life, liberty and security of person” but the cited incidents,
a few among many, clearly indicate that all these rights have been violated
in Myanmar. In addition, the judiciary bodies such as courts, police and
legal offices, including the Attorney General’s are ignoring the laws and
procedures because they are under the full control of the military junta.
For example, information is cut off after the detentions, meetings with the
families are not allowed, failure to provide public hearing and even the
lawyers who are helping them are facing tthe sentence of Article 505(A) and
are restricted from doing media interviews. Such violence, human rights
violations, including systematic torture, are widespread to the
parliamentarians from all levels and areas.Mr. President,
Myanmar Parliament has committed its efforts to enhance democracy and
developments with the support of international communities including
notably the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) since 2012. But now all the MPs
who were elected from the free and fair election are facing violations against
the rights of the MPs and even the basic rights of a human being. While even
MPs are facing insecurity and violations of basic rights, no doubt, the
ordinary people must be facing more serious violations against human
rights by the military campaign of terror.
Although the 2020 general election was actively voted by the citizens with a
strong desire for democracy, the peaceful protestors against the dictatorship
were handled by the SAC with violence and armed powers and the right to
peaceful assembly was lost under the threats carried out.
In this year, we can see that democracy is being threatened not only in
Myanmar but also in some countries in many ways and the value and norms
of democracy are under, threat. This is a threat to regional and world peace
and clearly point out the needs to be effectively solved by the global
community.
Mr. President and Members of the Committee,
IPU is the only platform to meet the global parliamentarians who are
working for the desire and expectation of their citizens and an organization
to implement the development of the political and legal framework in order
to promote democracy, citizen rights, human rights, equal rights and
sustainable development.
Here, I would like to draw your attention to our request to help the Members
of the CRPH to better exercise their mandate and, by all means, to stop all
kinds of threats and human rights violations to parliamentarians in
Myanmar.
In this special meeting, on behalf of the Committee Represent
Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), I would like to restate that we will continue
working together with all stakeholders to eliminate military dictatorship and
establish a federal democratic state in the future.
In conclusion, I wish to appeal the Inter-Parliamentary Union and its
member parliaments, and the internal communities as well as follows:
- Strongly condemn the brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrations
and call for the immediate cessation of brutalities.
- Call on the Myanmar military junta for the immediate and
unconditional release of all Parliamentarians, including Aung San Suu
Kyi, and the restoration of the state power of the legitimate government
by respecting the 2020 election results.
- IPU and the member parliaments to recognize the “Committee
Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH)".
- To urge your respective governments to recognize and engage with the
civilian government, the National Unity Government (NUG) formed by
the legitimate CRPH.
- Cooperate with the NUG and the CRPH for the humanitarians and
other necessary assistance
- Continue exerting political, diplomatic and economic sanctions on the
brutal SAC
- Support for the credential of Ambassador U Kyaw Moe Tun as the
Permanent Representative of Myanmar to the United Nations by all
means
- Present this report to the 143rd IPU Assembly and Human Rights
Commission Session and adopt an IPU resolution on Myanmar at the
143rd IPU Assembly.
I have the honour to urgently call you to cooperate with us for the
restoration of democracy and the end of military dictatorship in Myanmar.
Thank you..."
Source/publisher:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH)
Date of entry/update:
2021-12-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, National Unity Government (NUG)
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"၁။ ယနေ့ မြန်မာသက္ကရာဇ် ၁၃၈၃ ခုနှစ်၊ တန်ဆောင်မုန်းလပြည့်ကျော် ၁၀ ရက်၊ ခရစ် သက္ကရာဇ် ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ နိုဝင်ဘာလ ၂၈ ရက်နေ့သည် ဗြိတိသျှနယ်ချဲ့တို့က မြန်မာတစ်မျိုးသားလုံး ၏ ပညာသင်ယူမှုအခွင့်အရေးများကို ကန့်သတ်ချုပ်ချယ်ထားသော ရန်ကုန်တက္ကသိုလ် အက်ဥပဒေ (၁၉၂၀) အား အတင်းအကျပ် အတည်ပြုပြဋ္ဌာန်းခဲ့သဖြင့် တက္ကသိုလ်ကျောင်းသားများက ကိုလိုနီ ကျွန်ပညာရေးစနစ်ကို တွန်းလှန်ခဲ့ကြသည့် ၁၀၁ နှစ်မြောက် အမျိုးသားအောင်ပွဲ နေ့ထူးနေ့မြတ် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၂။ ကျောင်းသားလူငယ်များက မတရားမှုကို ခေါင်းငုံ့မခံဘဲ ရဲရဲဝံ့ဝံ့ စတင်ဆန့်ကျင်တော်လှန်ခဲ့ သည့် သပိတ်တိုက်ပွဲတွင် နိုင်ငံတဝှမ်းရှိ ကျောင်းသားပြည်သူများက တက်ကြွစွာပါဝင်ခဲ့ပြီး တခဲနက် ထောက်ခံအားပေးခဲ့ခြင်းကြောင့် တန်းတူပညာသင်ယူနိုင်ခွင့်သာမက နယ်ချဲ့ဆန့်ကျင်ရေးနှင့် အမျိုးသားလွတ်မြောက်ရေးကိုပါ သန္ဓေတည်စေခဲ့သည့် သမိုင်းဝင် အမျိုးသားအောင်ပွဲနေ့အဖြစ် မှတ်တမ်းတင်နိုင်ခဲ့ခြင်း ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၃။ ထိုအချိန်မှစ၍ ကျောင်းသားလူငယ်တို့၏ လေးစားအတုယူဖွယ်ကောင်းသည့် ရဲရင့်မှု၊ ဉာဏ်ပညာကြီးမှုနှင့် စွန့်လွှတ်အနစ်နာခံမှုတို့ကို သမိုင်းတစ်လျှောက် လက်ဆင့်ကမ်းယူဆောင်လာ ခဲ့ပြီး ယခုအချိန်တွင်လည်း နိုင်ငံတော်အာဏာကို လက်နက်အားကိုး၍ မတရားနည်းဖြင့် သိမ်းယူ ခဲ့ကာ ပြည်သူလူထုတစ်ရပ်လုံးအား ဖိနှိပ်အုပ်ချုပ်နေသော အကြမ်းဖက် ဖက်ဆစ်စစ်တပ်အား ဆန့်ကျင်တော်လှန်ရာတွင် ကျောင်းသားလူငယ်များ၏ အခန်းကဏ္ဍသည် ကြီးမားသည့် အင်အားစု တစ်ရပ်ဖြစ်ကြောင်း အသိအမှတ်ပြု ဖော်ပြလိုပါသည်။
၄။ ကျောင်းသားလူငယ်များက နယ်ချဲ့ဖက်ဆစ်တို့၏ ကျွန်ပညာရေးကို တွန်းလှန်ခဲ့သည့် နည်းတူ ယခုအချိန်၌ အကြမ်းဖက် ဖက်ဆစ်စစ်တပ်၏ စစ်ကျွန်ပညာရေးကို သပိတ်မှောက်ကာ စာသင်ခန်းအား ကျောခိုင်းနေသည့်အပြင် တတ်ကျွမ်းသည့် နည်းပညာနှင့် ကျွမ်းကျင်မှုတို့ကို အသုံးချပြီး ဤတော်လှန်းရေးအတွက် ကဏ္ဍာပေါင်းစုံမှ ပါဝင်နေမှုများသည် လေးစားဂုဏ်ယူဖွယ် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၅။ အကြမ်းဖက် ဖက်ဆစ်စစ်တပ်၏ တရားဥပဒေမဲ့ ဖမ်းဆီးထောင်ချခံရခြင်း၊ စစ်ကျောရေး စခန်းများတွင် ညှင်းပန်းနှိပ်စက်ခံရခြင်းတို့ကြောင့် သေဆုံးခဲ့ရသည့် ကျောင်းသားလူငယ်များနှင့် တိုက်ပွဲများအတွင်း ကျဆုံးခဲ့ရသည့် ကျောင်းသားလူငယ်များအတွက် ဝမ်းနည်းစွာဖြင့် ဂုဏ်ပြုမှတ် တမ်းတင်အပ်ပြီး ကျောင်းသားလူငယ်များ မျှော်လင့်တောင့်တနေသည့် တန်းတူအခွင့်အရေး၊ ခွဲခြားဆက်ဆံမှု ပပျောက်ရေးတို့နှင့်အတူ အနာဂတ်တွင် ဖက်ဒရယ်ပညာရေးစနစ်ပေါ်ပေါက်ရေး တို့ကို ကြိုးပမ်းဆောင်ရွက်သွားမည် ဖြစ်ကြောင်း ကတိပြုလိုပါသည်။
၆။ ပြည်သူတစ်ရပ်လုံး၏ ပြင်းပြသော စိတ်ဆန္ဒနှင့် မလျော့သောလုံ့လများဖြင့် အားသွန် ခွန်စိုက် တော်လှန်နေကြသည့် တော်လှန်ရေးခရီးရှည်၏ အန္တိမရည်မှန်းချက်သည် ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမို ကရေစီနိုင်ငံတော်ကြီး တည်ဆောက်ရေးပင် ဖြစ်ပြီး မိမိတို့ ပြည်ထောင်စုလွှတ်တော်ကိုယ်စားပြု ကော်မတီ (CRPH) အနေဖြင့် ကျောင်းသားပြည်သူတို့နှင့်အတူ အစွမ်းကုန် အားထုတ်ကြိုးပမ်း သွားမည် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၇။ သို့ဖြစ်ပါ၍ မြန်မာပြည်သူတစ်ရပ်လုံးက လိုလားတောင့်တနေကြသော ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမို ကရေစီနိုင်ငံတော်ကြီး တည်ထောင်နိုင်ရေးနှင့် “စစ်ကျွန်မခံ ‘ဘူး’ ငြင်းဆန် အမျိုးသားနေ့အဓိဋ္ဌာန်” ဟူသည့် အဓိဋ္ဌာန်အတိုင်း စစ်အာဏာရှင်အား ဖြုတ်ချနိုင်ရေးအတွက် စစ်တပ်ထောက်တိုင်များကို ကျောင်းသားပြည်သူတစ်ရပ်လုံးက စည်းလုံးညီညွတ်မှုအားဖြင့် တွန်းလှန်ဖြိုဖျက်ကြပါစို့ဟု တိုက်တွန်း နှိုးဆော်ရင်း ယနေ့ကျရောက်သော (၁၀၁) နှစ်မြောက် အမျိုးသားအောင်ပွဲနေ့တွင် ဤသဝဏ်လွှာ အား ပေးပို့အပ်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH)
Date of entry/update:
2021-12-02
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"Since June 2021, Burma Army troops have intensified shelling and persecution of civilians in Mutraw (Hpapun) District of
northern Karen State, in retaliation for increased KNU guerrilla attacks, which are blocking the regime’s supply routes
and eroding their pockets of control in this mountainous border area.
Most of the shelling has taken place in southern Mutraw, along the main access road from Kamamaung on the Salween
River to Hpapun town, where the regime’s bases are centred. Shelling was heaviest in September, with dozens of shells fired
nearly every day. Shells were fired indiscriminately into villages and fields, causing civilian injuries and damage to property,
but failing to hit any military targets.
Unable to retaliate directly against their guerrilla assailants, regime troops have increasingly targeted villagers for collective
punishment: looting and destroying property, arbitrarily arresting men and women, and using them as porters and human
shields.
The regime’s shelling and terror tactics have caused new displacement in southern Mutraw, bringing IDP totals to over 82,000
in the district – almost the entire rural population. Most of the IDPs remain sheltering in the jungle, not daring return home
in case of renewed airstrikes after the rains. Unable to plant their rice-fields this year, they are in urgent need of food aid.
Yet the regime’s areas of control are shrinking. KNU blockades and attacks have forced the Burma Army to abandon eleven
of their camps in Mutraw since the coup. Morale is low and dozens of the regime’s troops have recently deserted. Deserters
interviewed by KPSN say most troops want to leave the army, and are no longer obeying orders.
At this critical time, with resistance mounting across the country, KPSN urges the international community to stand with
the people of Burma, and cut off all diplomatic and economic support for the illegitimate coup regime. KPSN also urges
foreign donors to immediately scale up cross-border humanitarian aid to IDPs in Karen State and other conflict-affected
areas of Burma.
Burma Army steps up shelling in response to increased
KNU guerrilla attacks
In KPSN’s May 2021 briefer “Terror from the Skies”, we provided a background of the Burma Army’s decades-long attempts
to crush the KNU in Mutraw District. Even after the KNU’s 2012 ceasefire, the Burma Army set up new bases in Mutraw, and
started building new access roads for quick deployment of troops and military supplies. In 2020, the Burma Army stepped up
artillery attacks, causing the Karen National
Liberation Army to issue an ultimatum
on December 1, 2020, for the Burma
Army to withdraw all its bases from
KNU-controlled areas and dismantle all
camps set up since the NCA by the end of
2020. When the ultimatum was ignored,
the KNU tightened its blockade of access
routes into Mutraw, and in March 2021,
after the military coup, began attacking
and capturing Burma Army camps. The
Burma Army retaliated not only with
renewed shelling, but with airstrikes –
the first in the area for over 25 years.
This caused mass displacement of over
70,000 villagers, mostly into the jungle.
Thousands fled across the Salween River
to Thailand, but were pushed back within
days by the Thai authorities.
The regime’s fierce air and ground
assaults only galvanized the KNU to step
up guerrilla attacks against Burma Army
bases and supply lines in Mutraw. Since
June, the KNU has mainly targeted the
main access road leading from Kamamaung
in the south to Hpapun town, where the
regime’s bases are centred.
In an attempt to deter the KNU attacks,
the Burma Army has fired hundreds of
artillery shells and sprayed gunfire from
its bases into surrounding civilian areas.
Shells landed in villages and surrounding
farmlands, damaging houses, property
and livestock, and injuring at least eight
villagers, including a monk. Gunfire also
killed one villager. However, the shelling
failed to hit any KNU military targets.
Increased Burma Army looting and
vandalizing of villagers’ property
Since June 2021, KPSN has documented numerous incidents of looting across
Mutraw by Burma Army troops, mainly of villagers’ livestock and food supplies,
but also clothes, tools, phones, solar panels and cash.
One likely factor for the frequent looting is food shortages caused by the KNU
blockade of supply lines. In a well-publicized incident on October 12, 2021, twelve
Burma Army soldiers from LIB 404, based at Kyauk Nyat on the Salween river,
looted food from a Thai boat transporting goods along the river. Kyauk Nyat is
one of the last remaining military outposts on Mutraw’s northeast river border
and the troops there had apparently run out of rice rations. The troops fired shots
to force the boat to stop, and demanded rice. As the boat was not carrying rice,
the troops instead looted chickens, vegetables and dried noodles.
However, another factor is clearly retaliation for losses inflicted by the KNU, as
Burma Army troops have not only looted, but also deliberately vandalized and
destroyed villagers’ property. For example, after suffering heavy casualties in early
September during clashes around Mae Wai, on the main supply route to Hpapun
town, the regime troops looted and vandalized all the villagers’ property in Khaw
Poe Khee, Mae Wai tract.
A woman from Khaw Poe Khee interviewed by KPSN, who had fled during the
fighting, described the damage she found when she returned home a month later.
“Things were scattered all over the house. There were holes made in some pots and
some were thrown to different places. They took all my rice and cooking oil. After
cooking and eating in the house, they defecated in the pots and plates. They used our
blankets, mosquito nets and clothes for cleaning, then threw them in the pond and mud.”
Arbitrary arrest, torture, use of human shields
Another form of collective punishment used by the Burma Army troops has been
arbitrary arrest and torture of villagers, and use of men and women as human shields.
On August 12, troops from LIB 407 based at Ma Htaw, on the main road south of
Hpapun, arrested three male villagers from Ma Htaw, aged 25, 34 and 45, and beat
them with guns. On August 19, troops from LIB 341 and LIB 401, entered Ter Kee
Koh village, northeast of Hpapun, and arrested three elderly male villagers, aged
42, 56 and 65, who were on their way to their farms. They were kicked and hit in
the head, and then forced to porter and serve as human shields for the troops..."
Source/publisher:
Karen Peace Support Network
Date of entry/update:
2021-12-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma
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Description:
"Reporters Without Borders (RSF), along with three other organisations, Info Birmanie (IB), Justice For Myanmar (JFM) and Sherpa, denounce exports of military technology carried out by French transnational company Thales to an Indian intermediary partner of the Myanmar military junta, which could allegedly be carried out in violation of the restrictive measures imposed by the European Union (EU), after the February 2021 attempted coup in Myanmar. The organisations call on Thales to stop these exports, and ask the French authorities to take the necessary measures to put an end to this partnership and adopt a law making it possible to penalise violations of arms embargoes.
A JFM investigation published last spring revealed that one of Thales' long-time partners, the Indian company Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), has a particularly close relationship with the Myanmar junta, and exports military technology to it. On the basis of these revelations, IB, RSF and Sherpa wrote a letter to Thales on November 26, 2021, calling on the French company to put an end to any transfer of its technologies to the junta in Myanmar, and more generally to definitively end its business relationship with BEL and with any other partner of the Myanmar junta.
JFM's investigations outline BEL's close ties to the junta and demonstrate the supply of equipment to the military, which BEL confirms in its 2020-2021 annual report. According to the information gathered, BEL has carried out at least seven exports of radars and equipment for the benefit of the Myanmar junta since the attempted coup of February 1, 2021, even though international sanctions were taken against Myanmar and that States and companies were called upon to take all necessary measures to avoid fuelling the junta's human rights abuses. BEL also reportedly exported a remote-controlled weapons system, partly managed by executives of the BTSL joint venture created between BEL and Thales Systems Limited.
In view of this information, it is likely that the technology shared by Thales to BEL, and re-exported by BEL in its equipment, is therefore directly transmitted to the Myanmar military junta, and potentially used to perpetrate its atrocities. These exports could then constitute a violation of the European restrictive measures and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
“Terrorist”
“More than 1,290 people have been killed by the military junta since its attempted coup, including children, said Yadanar Maung, of JFM. The military is now stepping up its campaign of terror through indiscriminate airstrikes, destruction of homes and villages, killings and rape. This is the context in which Thales' partner, Bharat Electronics Ltd, continues to do business, supplying equipment to the military junta with knowledge of the crimes being committed. Thales must sever its relations with Bharat Electronics, stop transferring technology and end all direct and indirect support to the military, who are terrorists.”
IB coordinator Sophie Brondel states:“this case confirms the urgent need for a global arms embargo in Myanmar, as 136 organizations around the world called for in February, including Justice For Myanmar and Info Birmanie.”
"Thales must put an end to its business relations which benefit the Myanmar junta," declares RSF’s legal officer, Paul Coppin. ‘Business as usual’ is no longer possible with a country like Myanmar, whose ruling junta fiercely represses journalists and destroys civil society. "
Laura Bourgeois, litigation and advocacy officer at Sherpa, considers that "French companies which directly or indirectly supply armed groups and thus support their actions are not sufficiently worried or held accountable: the existing rules to sanction them are special rules too scattered and restricted to be dissuasive. It is time for French legislators to create an offense punishing violations of embargoes. "
The Member States of the EU, and therefore the French State, have the responsibility to take all necessary measures to guarantee the scope and effectiveness of EU law, notably of the restrictive measures, and to put in place sanctions at the national level that are effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
The four signatory organisations do not exclude taking legal action on these revelations, and mobilizing civil society and the competent authorities so that they make the best use of the rules applicable to the violation of EU restrictive measures.
Legal background
European Council Decision 2013/184 / CFSP renewed until April 30, 2022 by Council Decision (CFSP) 2021/711 of April 29, 2021 prohibits "the sale and supply in Myanmar, as well as the transfer and export to that country, by nationals of the Member States or from the territory of the Member States (…) of equipment liable to be used for internal repression, whether or not it comes from their territory.”
Article 3a of Council Regulation 401/2013 concerning restrictive measures imposed due to the situation in Myanmar as amended by Council Regulation 2021/479 of March 22, 2021 prohibits "the sale, supply, transfer or export, directly or indirectly, dual-use items and technologies listed in Annex I to Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 (…) to any entity or body in Myanmar or for the purposes for use in that country, if these goods and technologies are or may be intended, in whole or in part, for military use, for a military end user (…)” being specified that “when the end user is the Myanmar Army, any dual-use good and technology supplied to it is considered to have military use. "
Principle 13 of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights provides that:
"The responsibility to respect human rights requires that business enterprises:
(a) Avoid causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts through their own activities, and address such impacts when they occur;
(b) Seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships, even if they have not contributed to those impacts."
The Court of Justice of the European Community ruled in its time, on September 21, 1989, that "it should be noted that, when a Community regulation does not contain any specific provision providing for a sanction in the event of violation or refers to this in relation to national laws, regulations and administrative provisions, Article 5 of the Treaty requires Member States to take all appropriate measures to guarantee the scope and effectiveness of Community law." (Case 68/88, Comm. V. Greece, §23)..."
Source/publisher:
Reporters Without Borders (Paris)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-30
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
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Sub-title:
Covid-19 and the Struggle for Peace and Justice in Myanmar
Description:
"The peoples of Myanmar are presently struggling with three grave challenges: a coup, conflict and Covid-19. This new TNI briefing analyses how these three crises have unfolded, leading to health system collapse, a new cycle of humanitarian emergency and deepening political divisions within the country. Taking a narrative approach, the report focuses on the consequences of state failure, the impact of Covid-19 and the actions taken by different military, political and civil society actors during a time of national breakdown.
Special attention is paid to community perspectives, the plight of at-risk populations, the neglect of ethnic conflict, the issues of peace and justice, political and health schisms, international dilemmas, and the attendant challenges in addressing Covid-19. Great suffering has already occurred. But the vision must be that the Covid-19 response serves as a model for equality and inclusion rather than regression and division. Health is a human right for everyone, and this primacy must not be lost sight of amidst political breakdown in the country.
Key Points
Following the assumption of power on 1 February 2021 by the military State Administrative Council, Myanmar has slid into ever-deeper crisis. Compounding the worsening situation is a new wave of Covid-19 infections that have spread to all parts of the country. Every sector of society has been affected. With the government’s health system all but collapsed, the peoples of Myanmar have been thrust into the precarious position of addressing the pandemic with little or no assistance. The three “Cs” – covid, coup and conflict – have come together in a terrible collision.
During 2020, the looming scale of the crisis indicated the need for cooperation between the key actors in national politics to combat the disease. Even before the SAC coup, Myanmar did not have a response capacity that covered the whole country. For its part, the National League for Democracy administration pledged a policy of “No One Left Behind”. This promise was not delivered by the authorities, and United Nations calls for a global “Covid ceasefire” were not acted upon.
The peoples of Myanmar are now paying a heavy price. Testing was fragmentary, the security forces disrupted non-governmental programmes in the ethnic conflict-zones, and an equitable system of vaccine rollout was not prepared. Instead, the socio-political landscape became dominated by the rivalry between the two leading actors in national politics: the NLD, which won the November 2020 general election; and the national armed forces (Tatmadaw), which seized control of government on 1 February.
A perfect storm was created, and the health crisis has exponentially worsened since the SAC takeover. In one of the poorest countries in Asia, there are huge limitations in health infrastructure, medical supplies, human resources, monitoring, personal protective equipment and emergency response to address Covid-19. Communities from every ethnic background lack access to essential health facilities and reliable information about the virus.
Adding to the emergency, the country is in the midst of one of its most volatile periods of political turbulence since independence in 1948. Covid-19 is not the only crisis facing the country. Rather, its emergence – and the inability to cope – have further exposed the political failings and long-standing need for peace, reconciliation, consequential reforms, and end to military rule..."
Source/publisher:
Transnational Institute ( Amsterdam)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-30
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2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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The troops took Htoo Myat Lwin and three others during an early morning raid on a house in Dawei
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"Soldiers arrested a prominent protest leader in the southeastern coastal town of Dawei on Tuesday along with three members of the family living in the house where he was hiding, according to a fellow anti-coup activist.
About 30 troops burst into the house at 6:30am and detained 22-year-old Htoo Myat Lwin, an organiser with the Coalition Strike Committee - Dawei. The soldiers also took Hla Pe, 50, along with his 28-year-old son Sai Ko Ko Tun and 18-year-old daughter La Pyae Pyae Tun.
“The house was raided while they were sleeping,” said a member of the strike committee, requesting anonymity. “We heard that they surrounded the house before arresting the victims. The neighbours said that they could hear people being beaten and cursing.”
“It was Htoo Myat Lwin that the military wanted but the hosts were also taken along with him,” he said, adding that a fifth person in the house, who suffers from a cognitive disability, was left behind by the soldiers.
Htoo Myat Lwin is a student at Dawei University. Soldiers found out about his whereabouts after arresting and interrogating nine members of the strike committee in recent days; Htoo Myat Lwin is the tenth member to be arrested since November 25.
“The majority of Htoo Myat Lwin’s friends are in detention now,” the activist said. “He was also called from the phone numbers of his friends who were detained and asked where he was.”
The soldiers took mobile phones, two computers, a motorcycle and books from the house. The strike committee member said the four detainees were taken to an interrogation center, but Myanmar Now was unable to verify this.
Dawei is a stronghold of the anti-coup movement in Tanintharyi Region, where the junta has raided the houses of several National League for Democracy officials. The military has deployed armed troops at security checkpoints across the township, according to locals.
The junta banned the use of motorbikes by two or men at the same time in Dawei and elsewhere in a bid to curb guerrilla forces’ hit-and-run attacks against soldiers. Locals said the ban is causing hardship to people who rely on the vehicles for their livelihoods..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-30
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Individual Documents
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2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Human Rights Defenders
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Attacks on a number of villages in the Sagaing Region township are believed to have left at least six civilians dead
Description:
"Air raids and shelling forced thousands of people from at least nine villages in Sagaing Region’s Depayin Township to flee over the weekend, according to local sources.
The latest attacks, carried out on Saturday, come as Myanmar’s junta steps up its use of military aircraft to crush anti-regime forces in Sagaing.
Earlier this month, around 100 soldiers raided three villages in Depayin and torched homes after being transported to the area by helicopter.
On Saturday, attack helicopters were used to carry out airstrikes on Nyaung Hla, a resident of the village, located near the Muu River about 16km southeast of the town of Depayin, told Myanmar Now.
The attack, which also included artillery shelling, forced most of the village’s roughly 5,000 inhabitants to flee, he said.
“We could hear guns and artillery. Some of the elderly who couldn’t run didn’t get out,” said the man, who identified himself by the alias Nyi Naung.
He added that smoke could be seen rising from the village.
“They say the military set motorcycles parked at the monastery on fire. That’s where most people left their motorcycles,” he said, citing reports from other village residents.
Other sources claimed that at least six people were killed in the attack, although this could not be confirmed at the time of reporting.
Another villager who called himself Zero said that a military unit stationed at a nearby bridge fired on the village continuously during the assault.
“They fired artillery at the houses and shot up the village non-stop. We don’t know who was still in the village or who was killed,” he said.
Local residents said that four of the five helicopters used in the attacks were carrying soldiers. These troops were dropped off near Nyaung Hla on Saturday evening, before the attacks began, they said.
The affected villages were Nyaung Hla, Segyitaw, Thayetdaw, Mukatwin, Me Oe, Letyetkone, Weagyi and Yinkyin, local sources reported.
Residents said there hasn’t been any recent fighting in the area, so they didn’t know why their villages were being targeted.
“There haven’t been any clashes around here,” said Zero, who speculated that reinforcements were probably sent because troops based in the area thought they were surrounded by resistance forces.
“I think they were also too afraid of landmines to go out,” he added.
On Sunday morning, the Depayin People’s Defence Force issued a statement warning residents not to gather in groups in open fields or cover their vehicles with waterproof sheets, to avoid being mistaken for regime troops.
Regime officials could not be reached for comment..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-30
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Individual Documents
Category:
Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar
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Sovereign wealth fund’s holdings include 14 companies that have done business with military which has killed more than 1,200 since coup
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"Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Future Fund, has invested in a Chinese state-controlled weapons manufacturer that has sold combat aircraft to the Myanmar military, which is accused of crimes against humanity.
A weapons company controlled by India is also among companies the fund has invested in that are linked with the Myanmar military, documents released under freedom of information laws show.
Myanmar’s military seized control of the country in a coup in February and has since killed more than 1,200 civilians in a crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
In total, Australia’s Future Fund has invested $157m in 14 publicly traded companies that have done business with the Myanmar military.
The fund’s holdings include $4.9m invested in five subsidiaries of the Chinese arms conglomerate Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).
It also has $17.8m invested in Bharat Electronics, a company controlled by the Indian government that has supplied materiel to the Myanmar military and was sanctioned between 1998 and 2001 by the US over allegations it was involved in developing nuclear weapons. The sanctions were lifted in 2001 due to India’s cooperation with the US in an anti-terrorism campaign.
The Future Fund holds about $200bn in investments made on behalf of the Australian government. It is overseen by a board of guardians chaired by Peter Costello, who was treasurer in the Howard government.
Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, has faced international condemnation over its 2017 “clearance operations” – executed with “genocidal intent”, according to UN investigators – against the ethnic minority Rohingya in Rakhine state, which included mass killings, including of children, as well as gang rapes, arson and torture. More than 25,000 Rohingya were killed, and 700,000 driven over Myanmar’s border into Bangladesh.
In 2019, a UN fact-finding mission said China was breaching international humanitarian law because of AVIC’s transfers of military supplies to the Tatmadaw.
The bulk of Australia’s investment in AVIC is through subsidiary AviChina, in which it has invested $3.2m. AviChina manufactures the K-8 light combat aircraft, which have been used in military operations in the state of Kachin in Myanmar.
In 2015, the Myanmar military ordered 16 JF-17M combat aircraft from AVIC under a US$560m contract. The first four planes were commissioned in 2018, a year after the Myanmar military’s genocidal campaign against the Rohingya.
AVIC also delivered 40 short-range PL-5E missiles and 24 longer-range PL-12 missiles, both of which can be fitted to the JF-17M aircraft, to the Myanmar military in 2018-19, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Arms Transfers Database.
Bharat Electronics has continued to sell military supplies to the Tatmadaw since the coup. The company has supplied the Tatmadaw with radar, sonar, a coastal surveillance system and a remote-controlled weapons station, according to export data.
The Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung said that since the 1 February coup, the military had killed more than 1,200 civilians, including children, had tortured thousands, committed rape, torched villages and launched indiscriminate airstrikes on homes.
“It is deplorable that Australia’s Future Fund is seeking to profit from companies arming the Myanmar military and effectively financing its campaign of terror.
“In the name of Australia’s ‘future’, taxpayer funds are being invested in companies that supply the Myanmar military with fighter jets, missiles, radar and provide millions in annual revenue to war criminals. It is time Australia stops profiting at the expense of the lives of Myanmar people and Myanmar’s future.”
Other companies in which the Future Fund has investments that have links to the regime include Sinotruk, which makes trucks used by the Tatmadaw but has denied selling the vehicles to the military. The fund has invested $4.4m in Sinotruk, which did not respond to Guardian Australia’s questions.
The Future Fund’s largest Tatmadaw-linked investment is in Korean steel giant Posco, which operators the Shwe gas project, a major revenue earner for the Myanmar military. A Posco subsidiary also brokered the sale of a warship for the Myanmar navy. Posco has not responded to questions from the Guardian but Jeong Joon-sung, a Posco director, has previously said: “We don’t think that the gas field business is connected to the military junta.”
The Future Fund has also invested $33m in Kirin, which is in joint venture with a Tatmadaw-controlled company in a brewery business in Myanmar. After the coup, Kirin suspended dividend payments to the Tatmadaw company, MEHL, and promised it would stop doing business with it.
It has not yet done so and earlier this month MEHL applied to the courts in Myanmar to have the joint venture liquidated – a move Kirin said it opposed “because of doubts about the fairness and appropriateness of the liquidation process”.
A Kirin spokesperson, Russell Roll, said the company “has made every effort to negotiate the termination of the joint venture with MEHL”.
“However, MEHL has been uncooperative in the negotiations, effectively rejecting our proposals,” he said.
“We have been and continue to be deeply concerned by the recent actions of the military in Myanmar, which are against our standards and human rights policy.”
The Future Fund did not answer questions about its investments in companies linked to the Tatmadaw.
In a statement, a spokesperson said: “In line with its mandate from government, the Future Fund has built a broadly diversified portfolio which includes passive investments through external investment managers in thousands of entities globally.
“The fund has a well-established policy on environmental, social and governance matters and exclusions which takes account of its objectives, legislation, investment strategy, Australian law and the treaties that the Australian government has entered and ratified.”..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-29
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Type:
Individual Documents
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2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military, Arms (Military Expenditure, Arms Transfers, Arms Production Etc)
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"November 29, 2021, Myanmar: Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Future Fund, has equity holdings valued at AUD$157.9 million across 14 publicly listed companies directly linked to the Myanmar military, according to a Freedom of Information request and new research by Justice For Myanmar. Six of the companies are connected to the arms trade with Myanmar, while others span real estate, tourism, transportation and beverage sectors, providing the military with diverse sources of revenue and equipment to finance their continued atrocity crimes.
Justice For Myanmar calls on the Future Fund and all other institutional investors to immediately divest from companies doing business with the military and its conglomerates, and selling arms and related equipment. Justice For Myanmar also calls on the Australian government to impose immediate targeted sanctions against the Myanmar military junta, their businesses and significant business associates, and to advocate for a global arms embargo.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “It is deplorable that Australia’s Future Fund is seeking to profit from companies arming the Myanmar military and financing its campaign of terror. Since the illegal February 1 attempted coup, the military has murdered more than 1200 people, including children, tortured thousands, committed rape, torched whole villages and launched indiscriminate airstrikes against civilians. In the name of Australia’s “future”, taxpayer funds are being invested in companies that supply the Myanmar military with fighter jets, missiles, radar and provide millions in annual revenue to war criminals. It is time Australia stops profiting at the expense of the lives of Myanmar people and Myanmar’s future.”
International guidelines for responsible investing developed by the UN and OECD are clear that investors have a human rights obligation. Investors are expected to divest from companies that have repeatedly failed to respect human rights and to encourage all of their investee companies to act responsibly, including stopping payments to and business with Myanmar military-controlled entities. If they do not do so, the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct indicates that they risk deepening their relationship to and responsibility for the atrocities in Myanmar. Under the OECD Guidelines, the asset manager may no longer simply be considered to be “linked” to the abuses, but could be considered to be “contributing” to them, and they may be subject to a formal complaint to this effect under the OECD Guidelines’ complaint mechanism.
A 2019 report by the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar revealed that the military in Myanmar owns and operates two large holding companies: Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC). This business empire provides the military with enormous financial resources to fund their atrocity crimes and maintain their autonomy. The UN Fact-Finding Mission called on companies and investors to cut ties with the Myanmar military and its businesses and business relationships, and for a halt to the transfer of arms to Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-29
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Type:
Individual Documents
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Business and the Military, Arms (Military Expenditure, Arms Transfers, Arms Production Etc), Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"This week, the Myanmar military regime’s propaganda machine went into overdrive over the arrest of an ex-NLD lawmaker accused of planning attacks against the junta, even as coup leader Min Aung Hlaing was shunned from two more international summits. It also sentenced 21 young people to death and claimed to support the media despite its record of persecuting journalists, among its other activities.
Regime steps up propaganda after arrest of ex–NLD lawmaker
The military regime has intensified its smear campaign against the civilian National Unity Government (NUG), its legislative body the CRPH and its armed wing the People’s Defense Force (PDF), following the arrest of former National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker U Phyo Zeya Thaw, who allegedly masterminded deadly attacks on regime targets in Yangon, along with dozens of civilian resistance fighters.
“Terrorists from the CRPH, NUG and PDF terrorist groups are destroying schools, hospitals, government offices, public buildings, houses, roads and bridges, in addition to the brutal killings of Buddhist monks, teachers, civil servants and innocent civilians across the country,” reported the junta-controlled English-language newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar in an issue from this week.
Other state-owned newspapers Myanma Alinn, Kyemon and military mouthpiece Myawady have been featuring daily updates on what they call the “list of casualties caused by terrorist attacks.” So far the list includes the names of some 240 people the regime says were teachers, Buddhist monks, ward administrators and clerks.
The newspapers also feature a separate list of some 500 education and health facilities and markets allegedly damaged by the PDF, and another list of some 400 roads and bridges, detailing when, where and how they were blown up. Yet another list published on Nov. 26 included the names of 26 state-owned banks and 41 private banks the regime claims were attacked with improvised explosives by PDF groups.
The headlines of the reports misleadingly state that the attacks occurred between Feb. 1 and late November, but the NUG and PDF were not even formed until some two-and-a-half months after the coup.
Coup leader shunned from China-ASEAN Summit, Asia-Europe Meeting
Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing was excluded from the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) on Nov. 25, marking the third time in two months he has been sidelined from an international summit.
Prior to ASEM, he was barred from attending the China-ASEAN Summit on Nov. 22 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of bilateral relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
He was also excluded from an ASEAN summit after he failed to implement the regional bloc’s five-point consensus.
China wanted to invite Min Aung Hlaing to the annual China-ASEAN summit but the regional grouping objected. His exclusion cost Min Aung Hlaing an opportunity to present his narrative of the military takeover to Chinese President Xi Jinping and other regional leaders, and, more importantly, an opportunity to claim legitimacy for his regime.
On the other hand, his absence saved state leaders from regional countries from having to listen to a lot of nonsense, thus enabling them to focus on other important issues. The regime said nothing about their leader’s absence from the China-ASEAN Summit.
Junta files corruption charge against former investment minister
The military regime brought a corruption charge against U Thaung Tun, who served as minister of investment and foreign economic relations under the ousted civilian government, on Nov. 23, alleging that he rented government-owned land in Yangon to a company at below the market rate.
U Thaung Tun, who was also a national security adviser and chairman of the Myanmar Investment Commission, has been detained since the Feb. 1 coup. He served as Myanmar’s ambassador to Washington, Geneva, New York and Brussels under the former military regime.
Following the coup, the regime named U Aung Naing Oo as the new head of the Investment and Foreign Economic Relations Ministry. Coincidentally, the ex-military officer served as the ministry’s permanent secretary under U Thaung Tun, under the ousted civilian government.
Regime convenes Security, Peace and Stability and Rule of Law Committee
State Administration Council (SAC) chairman Min Aung Hlaing chaired the sixth meeting of the Security, Peace and Stability and Rule of Law Committee on Nov. 23.
At a glance it seems the SAC just held a regular meeting on security affairs. But it is important to note that the meeting was held five days after the arrest of former National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker U Phyo Zeya Thaw.
Significantly, junta media only published a summary of the meeting; after other high-level meetings, they have reported every word uttered by the coup leader.
However, given the latest developments, there can be no doubt that the meeting discussed ways of stepping up the junta’s fight against urban guerillas and PDF groups.
Young people accused of killing junta-appointed administrators sentenced to death
In an attempt to threaten potential opponents, junta tribunals on Nov. 23 sentenced to death 21 anti-coup activists who allegedly killed administrators and an alleged military informant in Yangon’s South Dagon Township and Dagon Seikkan Township, where the regime has imposed martial law.
In April, the regime handed its first death sentence since its February coup. Nineteen people—18 men and a woman—from Yangon’s North Okkalapa Township were given the death sentence for allegedly attacking two junta soldiers.
Junta leader claims to recognize Fourth Estate while oppressing media
Hypocritically, the junta leader, who has ordered bans on several independent media outlets and arrested dozens of journalists, said on Nov. 24 that he recognized the media as the Fourth Estate of the country, as the new members of the Myanmar Press Council took oaths before him.
Just one month after the coup, the regime revoked the publishing licenses of five media outlets. Some media agencies were raided and dozens of journalists were detained at their offices or homes or while covering anti-regime protests and some were charged with high treason and terrorism for doing their jobs.
Currently, some 50 journalists remain under detention with press freedom being increasingly restricted. The regime has reconstituted the Press Council since its coup. New chairman U Ohn Maung, a poet who goes by the pen name Myinmu Maung Naing Moe, is a former lieutenant colonel and won several national literature (poetry) awards under the previous military regimes. The new vice chair, U Myo Tun, a poet and writer going by the pen name Maung Sein Naung (Lewe), was formerly a captain at the Directorate of Public Relations and Psychological Warfare of the Defense Ministry. However, general readers are unlikely to have heard of these two so-called men of letters.
KNU organizes military training with NUG support, junta says
The regime’s Myawady TV said on Nov. 25 that Myanmar’s oldest autonomy-seeking revolutionary group, the Karen National Union (KNU), had organized military training for civilian resistance forces with the support of the country’s shadow National Unity Government in areas under the group’s control in the southern part of the country. Based on information extracted during interrogation of 20 people arrested for attacks on regime targets, it said the brigades 1,2,3,5 and 6 of the KNU’s armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), offered the training, gave shelter to those evading arrest by the regime and supplied arms to groups engaged in urban guerrilla warfare in a number of cities and towns in the country. The KNU signed a peace deal with the government in 2015 but denounced this year’s coup and, following the military’s crackdowns on protesters, launched attacks on regime bases in the country’s south. The junta retaliated with air strikes, causing thousands of civilians to flee. The regime’s official naming of the KNU as supporters of a civilian resistance movement against it may herald more attacks on the Karen armed groups in the near future, as the junta has been intensifying its crackdowns on the civilian resistance..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-29
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Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, National League for Democracy (NLD)
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"ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုလုပ်ငန်းများ၊ ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုပေးသူများနှင့် ပရဟိတသမားများ ဘေးကင်းလုံခြုံမှုရှိစေရေးအတွက် ထုတ်ပြန်ကြေညာချက်
၁။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီသည် ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ (၁) ရက်နေ့တွင် တိုင်းပြည်အာဏာကို လက်နက်အားကိုးဖြင့် မတရားသိမ်းပိုက်ခဲ့သည့်အချိန်မှစ၍ ကျန်းမာရေးအဆောက်အဦးများ ကို ဝင်ရောက်၍ တပ်စွဲသိမ်းပိုက်ဖျက်ဆီးလုယက်ခြင်း၊ ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုလုပ်ငန်း များနှင့် ပရဟိတလုပ်ငန်းများကို နှောင့်ယှက်ခြိမ်းခြောက်ဖျက်ဆီးခြင်း၊ ကျန်းမာရေး စောင့်ရှောက်မှုပေးသူများနှင့် ပရဟိတသမားများကို မတရားသဖြင့် ခြိမ်းခြောက်ဖမ်းဆီးနှိပ်စက် သတ်ဖြတ်ခြင်းနှင့် စိတ်ထင်ရာ ဥပဒေပုဒ်မများတပ်၍ မတရား ဖမ်းဝရမ်းထုတ်ခြင်းကြောင့် တိမ်းရှောင်စေရခြင်း အစရှိသည့် အဓမ္မမှုများ၊ အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများကို ယနေ့ထက်တိုင် မိစ္ဆာ စရိုက်ဆန်စွာ အစဉ်တစိုက် ပြုမူနေခဲ့ပါသည်။
၂။ (၂၆-၁၀-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့တွင် Insecurity Insight အဖွဲ့၊ Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) အဖွဲ့နှင့် the Johns Hopkins University Center for Public Health and Human Rights (CPHHR) အဖွဲ့တို့၏ ပူးတွဲထုတ်ပြန်ချက် (https://tinyurl.com/attackstohealthcare) အရ (၁-၂-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့မှ (၃၀-၉-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့အထိ စစ်အာဏာသိမ်းခဲ့သည့် (၈) လတာ ကာလ အတွင်း မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ၏ ပြည်သူ့ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုလုပ်ငန်းများအပေါ် တိုက်ခိုက်ခြိမ်း ခြောက်မှုပေါင်း (၂၉၇) ခုအထိ ရှိခဲ့ကြောင်း သိရှိရပါသည်။ အဆိုပါတိုက်ခိုက်ခြိမ်းခြောက်မှု (၂၉၇) ခုအနက် (၂၆၇) ခုကို အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ လက်နက်ကိုင်အကြမ်းဖက်သမား များက ကျူးလွန်ခဲ့ကြောင်း ခိုင်မာသော သက်သေအထောက်အထားများနှင့်တကွ တွေ့ရှိခဲ့ရ ပါသည်။
၃။ (၁-၂-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့မှ (၃၀-၉-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့အထိ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ ကျူးလွန်ခဲ့မှု များမှာ ကျန်းမာရေးလုပ်သားစုစုပေါင်း (၂၁၀) ဦးကို ဖမ်းဆီးခြင်း၊ (၄၀) ဦးကို ဒဏ်ရာရစေခြင်း နှင့် (၂၉) ဦးကို သတ်ဖြတ်ခြင်း၊ ဆေးရုံများကို အနည်းဆုံး (၈၇) ကြိမ် ဝင်ရောက်စီးနင်းခြင်းနှင့် အနည်းဆုံး (၅၆) ကြိမ် ကျူးကျော်သိမ်းပိုက်ခြင်း၊ COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ထိန်းချုပ်ကုသရေး လုပ်ငန်းများကို (၂၅) ကြိမ် နှောင့်ယှက်တိုက်ခိုက်ခြင်းတို့ ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ထို့အပြင် အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်ကောင်စီက စိတ်ထင်ရာ ဥပဒေပုဒ်မများတပ်၍ မတရားဖမ်းဝရမ်းထုတ်ခြင်းကြောင့် ကျန်းမာရေးလုပ်သား (၇၀၀) ဦးထက်မနည်းလည်း ထွက်ပြေးတိမ်းရှောင်နေရပါသည်။
၄။ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ စက်တင်ဘာလနောက်ပိုင်းတွင်လည်း ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုလုပ်ငန်းများ အပေါ် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ တိုက်ခိုက်ခြိမ်းခြောက်မှုများမှာ ရပ်တန့်ခဲ့ခြင်းမရှိဘဲ ဆက်လက်ကျူးလွန်လျက်ရှိပါသည်။ (၂၄-၁၀-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့တွင် ရန်ကုန်မြို့၌ ပင်လုံ ပုဂ္ဂလိကဆေးရုံကို ပစ်ခတ်တိုက်ခိုက်ခြင်း၊ (၁၆-၁၁-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့တွင် ကလေးမြို့နယ်၌ အရေးပေါ်ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုပေးသူ ဆေးဝန်ထမ်းအမျိုးသမီးများကို ဖမ်းဆီးသတ်ဖြတ် ခြင်းနှင့် ဖားအံမြို့နယ်၊ ဖလံတောင်တိုက်နယ်ဆေးရုံကို ကျူးကျော်ဝင်ရောက်၍ ဖျက်ဆီး လုယက်ခြင်း၊ (၂၂-၁၁-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့တွင် လွိုင်ကော်မြို့၊ ခရစ္စတူးဘုရင် ဘုရားကျောင်းရှိ ကရုဏာဆေးခန်းကို ဝင်ရောက်စီးနင်းပြီး ဆရာဝန်များ၊ သူနာပြုများ၊ ပရဟိတကျန်းမာရေး လုပ်သားများကို ဖမ်းဆီးခြင်းနှင့် လူနာများကို အတင်းအကြပ် နေရာရွှေ့ပြောင်းခြင်း၊ CDM ပြုလုပ်ထားသော အထူးကုဆရာဝန်များအပါအဝင် ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ထမ်းများနှင့် ပရဟိတ သမားများကို ထပ်မံခြိမ်းခြောက်ဖမ်းဆီးခြင်း စသည်တို့ကို အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီအနေဖြင့် ဆက်လက်ကျူးလွန်ဆောင်ရွက်နေကြောင်း တွေ့ရှိရပါသည်။
၅။ ထိုကဲ့သို့ ကျန်းမာရေးအဆောက်အဦးများ၊ ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုလုပ်ငန်းများနှင့် ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုပေးသူများ၊ ပရဟိတလုပ်ငန်းများနှင့် ပရဟိတသမားများအပေါ် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီက ရည်ရွယ်ချက်ရှိရှိ အငြိုးတကြီး ပစ်မှတ်ထား၍ ဆင်ခြင်တုံတရားမဲ့၊ အသိကင်းလွတ် အကြမ်းဖက်နေခြင်းသည် ဂျီနီဗာကွန်ဗန်းရှင်း (Geneva Conventions) နှင့် ကမ္ဘာ့ကုလသမဂ္ဂ လုံခြုံရေးကောင်စီဆုံးဖြတ်ချက် (၂၂၈၆) အပါအဝင် ပြည်တွင်းဥပဒေများ၊ လူသားချင်းစာနာ ထောက်ထားရေးနှင့် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးဆိုင်ရာ နိုင်ငံတကာဥပဒေများကို ပြောင်ပြောင်တင်းတင်း ချိုးဖောက်နေခြင်းပင် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၆။ သို့ဖြစ်ပါ၍ အမျိုးသားကျန်းမာရေးကော်မတီအနေဖြင့် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအတွင်းရှိ ကျန်းမာရေး စောင့်ရှောက်မှုလုပ်ငန်းများ၊ ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုပေးသူများနှင့် ပရဟိတသမားများ ဘေးကင်းလုံခြုံမှုရှိစေရေးအတွက် အဆိုပါအကြမ်းဖက်မှုလုပ်ရပ်များကို ရပ်တန်းကရပ်ရန် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီအား ပြင်းထန်စွာ သတိပေးတောင်းဆိုလိုက်ပြီး နိုင်ငံတကာအသိုင်း အဝိုင်းအနေဖြင့်လည်း အချိန်မီထိရောက်စွာ တားဆီးအရေးယူဆောင်ရွက်ကြပါရန် ထုတ်ပြန် ကြေညာအပ်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
National Health Committee - Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-28
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Public Health, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Anti-coup protesters
Language:
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Title: Announcement on the safety of healthcare activities, healthcare personnel and charity workers
Description:
"1. The terrorist military council has, from the time of the illegal coup d'etat on 1st
February 2021 up till now, raided and pillaged healthcare facilities, impeded and
interfered with healthcare and charitable work, threatened, harassed and
murdered healthcare workers and charity workers, issued arrest charges on
trumped up charges on healthcare personnel and relentlessly been inflicting these
atrocious inhumane acts.
2. On 26th October 2021, a press release (https://tinvurl.com/attackstohealthcare) on
an analytical report compiled by Insecurity Insight, Physicians for Human Rights
and the Johns Hopkins University Centre for Public Health and Human Rights
(CPHR) stated that at least 297 attacks and threats against health workers,
facilities, and transports in Myanmar were perpetrated by the military from
February 1 to September 30, 2021. Within the 297 total incidents, there was hard
evidence that 267 incidents are attributed to Myanmar’s armed forces (SAC or the
Tatmadaw).
3. Within all the total incidents that took place during the first eight months of the
military’s coup and crackdown between 1st February to 30th September 2021, there
were:
- 210 health workers arrested
- 40 health workers injured
- 29 health workers killed
- Hospitals raided at least 87 times
- Hospitals occupied at least 56 times
- 25 incidents impacting COVID-19 response measures.
In addition, more than 700 healthcare workers are in hiding from warrants issued
by the terrorist military council on concocted charges.
4. The assault on healthcare activities has not ceased and continued beyond
September 2021. The following events have since taken place;
- A shooting took place at Pinion Private Hospital on 24th October 2021.
- Murder and arrests of female healthcare workers in Kalay Township and
raiding and pillaging of Hpa-lun Taung station hospital, Hpa-an Township on
16th November 2021.
- Raiding, arresting and harassing doctors, nurses, basic healthcare staff and
patients at "Karuna" clinic in Christ the King Cathedral in Nyaung Yar, Loikaw
City, Kayah State on the morning of 22nd November 2021.
In addition, the terrorist military council is continuously resorting to arbitrarily
detaining CDM healthcare workers, Specialists and charity workers.
5. Committing all these criminal acts targeting the healthcare workers, the charity
workers and their clinical facilities is in contravention of the Geneva Conventions
and United Nations Security Council’s Resolution 2286 and not in line with national
laws or international humanitarian and human rights laws.
6. The National Health Committee (NHC) hereby gives notice to the terrorist military
council to cease these barbaric acts upon the healthcare and charity workers and
to keep them free from harm. The Committee also urges the international
community for a timely intervention to prevent these atrocities from happening
again..."
Source/publisher:
National Health Committee - Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-28
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
pdf
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Description:
"Burma Campaign UK today called on European Union member states to urgently impose a new round of targeted economic sanctions on the Burmese military, and to agree to impose regular new rounds of sanctions from now on.
It is now five months since the European Union brought in any new sanctions against the Burmese military. In that time:
Another 418 people have been killed by the military, bringing the total to 1,291.
Another 4,221 people have been arrested by the military, bringing the total to 10,452. 7,548 political prisoners are in jail today, many facing torture.
The number of people who have fled their homes since the coup because of threats and attacks by the military has grown to a quarter of a million people.
There is much more that the European Union can do to cut the flow of money to the Burmese military, but while hundreds die and thousands are arrested, the European Union is dithering.
The European Union has sanctioned some military companies and state-owned companies involved in timber and gems, but there is much more that they can do.
The recent failure to keep imposing new rounds of sanctions is all the more disappointing because it had at first appeared that the EU had learnt from past mistakes in imposing sanctions on Burma, when one off rounds of sanctions were introduced only every few years after an atrocity was committed.
Following the military coup on February 1st, there were three rounds of sanctions brought in by the EU. This was a much more systematic and effective way of imposing sanctions. It ensured that the military understood that the European Union would be relentless in identifying and sanctioning sources of revenue to the military.
This is more effective both in reducing revenue, and the psychological impact on the military and the nepotistic business crony cartel which provides vital economic support to the military.
Sanctions which should be considered by the EU include:
Sanction gas revenue to help cut one of the main sources of international money flowing to the military.
Sanctions on the Office of the Quartermaster General and other military bodies responsible for the purchase and manufacturing of arms.
Sanctions on state-owned entities and banks which now provide revenue to the military.
Targeted sanctions on revenue from extractive industries.
Sanctions on Burmese companies and individuals financing the military or which are supplying the military with arms and equipment or facilitating the purchase of arms and other equipment.
“The military has not stopped the killings and arrests and the European Union must not stop doing everything it can to stop money reaching the military,” said Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK. “The EU needs to keep identifying and sanctioning sources of revenue for the military, relentlessly tightening sanctions month after month.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Burma Campaign UK" (London)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်၊ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၊ အလုပ်သမားဝန်ကြီးဌာနက ကြေညာချက်အမှတ် ၃/၂၀၂၁ ကို အောက်ပါအတိုင်း ထုတ်ပြန်ကြေညာလိုက်သည်။
ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ
အလုပ်သမားဝန်ကြီးဌာန
ကြေညာချက်အမှတ် ၃/၂၀၂၁
၁၃၈၃ ခုနှစ်၊ ဝါခေါင်လပြည့်ကျော် ၄ ရက်
၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ သြဂုတ်လ ၂၆ ရက်
၁။ ပြည်သူများက ရွေးကောက်တင်မြှောက်ထားသည့် တရားဝင်အစိုးရထံမှ လက်နက်အားကိုး၍ မတရား အာဏာသိမ်းယူကာ စစ်မှန်သော ဒီမိုကရေစီဖော်ဆောင်ရေးလမ်းကြောင်းမှ သွေဖယ်ပြီး၊ အာဏာရှင်စနစ်ကို ပြန်လည် အသက်သွင်းမည့် အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ အုပ်ချုပ်ရေးယန္တရားကို ရပ်တန့်နိုင်စေရန်အတွက် ဌာနအသီးသီးရှိ နိုင်ငံ့ဝန်ထမ်းများက နွေဦးတော်လှန်ရေး၏ အကြမ်းမဖက် အာဏာဖီဆန်ရေးလှုပ်ရှားမှု(Civil Disobedience Movement)တွင် ရဲဝင့်စွာ ပါဝင်ခဲ့ကြပါသည်။ ထိုသို့ ပါဝင်ခဲ့ မှုကြောင့် နိုင်ငံဝန်ထမ်းများအား အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီက မတရားအလုပ်ထုတ်ပစ်ခြင်းအပါအဝင် ဥပဒေမဲ့ ဖမ်းဆီးချုပ်နှောင် ခြင်း၊ ရိုက်နှက်စစ်ဆေးခြင်း၊ အကြောင်းပြချက်ခိုင်လုံမှုမရှိဘဲ အမှုဆင်၍ ထောင်ချခြင်းတို့ကို ဆောင်ရွက်လျက်ရှိရာ ဝန်ကြီးဌာန များတွင် ရာထူးနေရာ လစ်လပ်မှုများစွာ ဖြစ်ပေါ်လျက်ရှိပါသည်။
၂။ စစ်အာဏာရှင်ယန္တရား ဆက်လက်လည်ပတ်နိုင်ရန် တဘက်တလမ်းမှ ပူးပေါင်းပါဝင် အားဖြည့်ကူညီလျက်ရှိကြသည့် ဝန်ကြီးဌာနများအနက်မှ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ လက်အောက်ခံ အလုပ်သမားဝန်ကြီးဌာနသည် ဦးစီးဌာနနှင့်အဖွဲ့ရုံးများမှ CDM သူရဲကောင်းများ၏ လစ်လပ်ရာထူးနေရာများအတွက် ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် သြဂုတ်လ ၄ ရက် နေ့တွင် အလုပ်လျှောက်လွှာများ ခေါ်ယူခဲ့ ပါသည်။
၃။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏အုပ်ချုပ်မှုကို ပြည်သူတစ်ရပ်လုံးက ညီညွတ်စွာ တွန်းလှန်နေသောကာလတွင် အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်ကောင်စီက ခေါ်ယူသော ရာထူးနေရာများအတွက် အလုပ်လျှောက်ထားခြင်း၊ အလုပ်ခန့်ထားခံရခြင်း၊ ရာထူးတိုးဝင်ရောက်ဖြေဆိုခြင်း၊ ရာထူးတိုးများရယူခြင်းတို့သည် တော်လှန်ရေးတွင် ကျဆုံးသွားသော သူရဲကောင်းများ၊ CDM ဝန်ထမ်းများနှင့် ပြည်သူ တစ်ရပ်လုံးအပေါ် သစ္စာဖောက်ခြင်းဖြစ်၍ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၊ အလုပ်သမားဝန်ကြီးဌာနအနေဖြင့် အဆိုပါ လစ်လပ် ရာထူးနေရာများတွင် ဝန်ထမ်းသစ်ခန့်အပ်ခြင်း နှင့် ရာထူးတိုးမြှင့်ခန့်ထားခြင်းတို့အား လုံးဝ အသိအမှတ်ပြုမည်မဟုတ်ကြောင်း နှင့် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏အုပ်ချုပ်ရေးယန္တရား ပုံမှန်လည်ပတ်နိုင်ရေးအတွက် ဝန်ကြီးဌာနများတွင် ဝင်ရောက် တာဝန်ထမ်းဆောင် သူများ တစ်နည်းအားဖြင့် အာဏာရှင်စနစ်ကို အသက်သွင်းရန် ကြိုးပမ်းမှုတွင် ပူးပေါင်းပါဝင်သူများအား အမည်ပျက်စာရင်း (Blacklist) သွင်း၍ ထိရောက်စွာ အရေးယူဆောင်ရွက်သွားမည်ဖြစ်ကြောင်း ပြင်းထန်စွာ သတိပေးကြေညာလိုက်သည်။
၄။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ အုပ်ချုပ်ရေးယန္တရား ပုံမှန်လည်ပတ်နိုင်ရေး အထောက်အကူမဖြစ်စေရန် မိမိ၏ အသိ စိတ်ဓါတ်ဖြင့် စစ်ကောင်စီက ခေါ်ယူသည့်အလုပ်များကို ဝင်ရောက်လျှောက်ထားခြင်း၊ ရာထူးတိုးစာမေးပွဲများဝင်ရောက်ဖြေဆိုခြင်း မပြုသူများအား အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရက ဆောင်ရွက်မည့် အလုပ်အကိုင်နေရာချထားရေးအစီအစဉ်များနှင့် ရာထူးတိုးမြှင့်ရေး အစီအစဉ်များတွင် ဦးစားပေးစဉ်းစားသွားမည်ဖြစ်ကြောင်းအသိပေးအပ်ပါသည်။
ပုံ
နိုင်သုဝဏ္ဏ
ပြည်ထောင်စုဝန်ကြီး
အလုပ်သမားဝန်ကြီးဌာန
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ
ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Labour - National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
171 KB
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Description:
"ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ
အလုပ်သမားဝန်ကြီးဌာန
ကြေညာချက်အမှတ် ၄/၂၀၂၁
၁၃၈၃ ခုနှစ်၊ သီတင်းကျွတ်လပြည့်ကျော် ၁၂ ရက်
၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ နိုဝင်ဘာလ ၁ ရက်
၁။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီသည် ဒီမိုကရေစီနည်းလမ်းဖြင့် ပြည်သူများရွေးကောက် တင်မြှောက်ထားသည့် အစိုးရကို မတရားဖမ်းဆီး၍ အာဏာလုယက်ကာ တိုင်းပြည်ကိုအုပ်ချုပ်ရန် ကြိုးပမ်းချိန်မှစ၍ နိုင်ငံသူ၊ နိုင်ငံသားများ သည် ၎င်းတို့၏ နည်းလမ်းမျိုးစုံဖြင့် ဖိနှိပ်မှုဒဏ်ကို ကြံ့ကြံ့ခံလျက် နွေဦးတော်လှန်ရေးတွင် ကျရာအခန်းကဏ္ဍမှ ပါဝင်ကာ အာဏာရှင်စနစ် အမြစ်ဖြတ်ရေးနှင့် စစ်မှန်သော ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီစနစ် ဖေါ်ဆောင်နိုင်ရေးအတွက် အစွမ်းကုန် ပူးပေါင်းကြိုးပမ်းလျက်ရှိပြီး အဆိုပါ ကြိုးပမ်းမှုတွင် ဦးဆောင်မှုအခန်း ကဏ္ဍမှပါဝင်ခဲ့သော ပြည်တွင်း၊ ပြည်ပမှ အလုပ်သမားထု၏ စွမ်းအားမှာ အင်အားကြီးမားပြီး အရေးပါသော ဒေါက်တိုင်တစ်ခု ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၂။ ထိုသို့ ပါဝင်မှုကြောင့် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီသည် အလုပ်သမားခေါင်းဆောင်များအား သတ်ဖြတ်၊ ဖမ်းဆီး၊ နှိပ်စက်ခြင်း၊ တရားစွဲဆို အကျဥ်းချထားခြင်းများပြုလုပ်ခဲ့သဖြင့် အလုပ်သမားအများအပြား၏ အသက်၊ ခန္ဓာ၊ အိုးအိမ်များ ပျက်စီးဆုံးရှုံးခဲ့ရသည့်အပြင် မိသားစုဘဝများပါ ထိခိုက်ခဲ့ရသည်။ သို့သော် အလုပ်သမားထုကြီးသည် စိတ်ဓာတ်မပြိုလဲဘဲ နွေဦးတော်လှန်ရေးတွင် တပ်ဦးမှ ဆက်လက်ပါဝင်နေဆဲ ဖြစ်သည်။ ဤသို့ နွေဦးတော်လှန်ရေးတွင် တက်တက်ကြွကြွ ပါဝင်ခဲ့သော၊ ပါဝင်ဆဲဖြစ်သော အလုပ်သမားထုကြီးကို မိမိတို့ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရက လေးနက်စွာဂုဏ်ယူအသိအမှတ်ပြု ပါသည်။
၃။ ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ကပ်ရောဂါ၏ ရိုက်ခတ်မှုကြောင့် အထိနာနေသော နိုင်ငံ့စီးပွားရေးကို အာဏာသိမ်းမှုက ပိုမိုဆိုးရွား လာစေပြီး အကျိုးဆက်အဖြစ် အလုပ်သမားဈေးကွက်တွင် မတည်ငြိမ်မှုများဖြစ်ပေါ်ကာ စက်ရုံ အလုပ်ရုံများအား ပိတ်သိမ်းခြင်းနှင့် အလုပ်သမားလျှော့ချခြင်းတို့ကြောင့် အလုပ်သမားအများစုမှာ အလုပ်လက်မဲ့ ပြဿနာနှင့် ကြုံတွေ့နေရသည်။ ထို့အပြင် အချို့သော အလုပ်ရှင်များသည် နိုင်ငံရေး အခြေအနေကြောင့် ဥပဒေအရ အလုပ်သမားအခွင့်အရေး ကာကွယ်ပေးမှု မပေးနိုင်သည်ကို အခွင့်ကောင်းယူလျက် အလုပ်သမားများ အပေါ် ဖိနှိပ်ခြင်း၊ အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်ခြင်းများ ပြုလုပ်နေသည်ကို သိရှိရပါသည်။
၄။ အလုပ်သမားများအပေါ် အလုပ်ရှင်အများစု ကျူးလွန်နေသော ဖိနှိပ်မှုနှင့် အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှု အများစုမှာ-
• နွေဦးတော်လှန်ရေးတွင်ပါဝင်သော အလုပ်သမားများအား ဖိအားပေးပြီး အလုပ်မှထွက်စေခြင်း၊ ခြိမ်းခြောက်ခြင်း၊ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီထံ သတင်းပေးခြင်း၊
• အလုပ်သမားသမဂ္ဂခေါင်းဆောင်များအား ဖမ်းဆီးစေခြင်း၊
• ညှိနှိုင်းစာချုပ်ပါ အချက်အလက်များအား ချိုးဖောက်ခြင်း၊
• ယခင် ရရှိထားသော လုပ်ငန်းခွင် ကျန်းမာရေး၊ သက်သာချောင်ချိရေး ခံစားခွင့်များ ရုတ်သိမ်းခံရခြင်း၊
• လူမှုဖူလုံရေးခံစားခွင့်များ ရရှိရန် ဟန့်တားခံရခြင်း၊
• ယခင်စီစဥ်ဆောင်ရွက်ထားသော ကိုဗစ်-19 ကာကွယ်တားဆီးရေးအစီအမံများအား ဆက်လက် စီစဥ်ထားရှိမှု မရှိတော့ခြင်း၊
• အချိန်ပို အလုပ်ခိုင်းစေမှုများအား အလုပ်သမားများ၏ သဘောတူညီမှုမယူဘဲ အဓမ္မခိုင်းစေခြင်း၊
• အချိန်ပို လုပ်အားခများအား ဥပဒေနှင့်အညီ မရရှိခြင်း၊
• အလုပ်သမားသမဂ္ဂများ၏ စည်းရုံး၊ လှုပ်ရှားခွင့်များ ကန့်သတ်ချိုးဖောက်ခံရခြင်း၊
• အလုပ်ပိတ်ပြီးမှ ပြန်လည်ဖွင့်လှစ်ကာ မူလအလုပ်သမားများအား လုပ်သားသစ်အဖြစ် ပြန်လည် ခန့်အပ်သည့်အတွက် လုပ်သက်ကြေး၊ ကျွမ်းကျင်ကြေးများ ဖြတ်တောက်ခံရခြင်း၊
• ဥပဒေပါ နစ်နာကြေး၊ လျော်ကြေး မပေးဘဲ အလုပ်ထုတ်ခြင်း၊ အလုပ်ပိတ်ခြင်း၊
စသည်တို့ဖြစ်ပြီး အလုပ်သမားများမှာ လုပ်ငန်းခွင်အတွင်းရော ပြင်ပတွင်ပါ လုံခြုံမှုမရှိသော အခြေအနေများနှင့် ရင်ဆိုင်နေရပါသည်။ ထို့အပြင် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီလက်ပါးစေများက အလုပ်သမားများ လစာထုတ်သည့် အချိန်တွင် ဖယ်ရီကားများအား တားဆီးလျက် ငွေကြေးတောင်းခံခြင်းများလည်း ရှိနေကြောင်းသိရှိရပါသည်။
၅။ ထိုသို့ အလုပ်သမားအခွင့်အရေးသာမက အခြေခံလူ့အခွင့်အရေးကိုပါ ချိုးဖောက်ခံနေရသော အလုပ်သမားများ၏ အတိဒုက္ခကို ကာကွယ်၊ စောင့်ရှောက်၊ ကူညီဖြေရှင်းနိုင်မည့် နည်းလမ်းမျိုးစုံကို မိမိတို့ အလုပ်သမားဝန်ကြီးဌာနသည် အမျိုးသား ညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၏ ဦးဆောင်မှုအောက်တွင် သက်ဆိုင်ရာ ဝန်ကြီးဌာနများ၊ အခြားမိတ်ဖက်အဖွဲ့အစည်းများနှင့် လိုအပ်သလို ပူးပေါင်းဆောင်ရွက် လျက်ရှိပါသည်။
၆။ နိုင်ငံတစ်နိုင်ငံ၏ ဖွံ့ဖြိုးတိုးတက်မှုအတွက် အလွန်အရေးပါသော သက်ရှိအရင်းအမြစ်များဖြစ်သည့် အလုပ်သမားများ တစ်နည်းအားဖြင့် နွေဦးတော်လှန်ရေး၏ ဦးဆောင်မှုအခန်းကဏ္ဍတွင်ပါဝင်ခဲ့ပြီး ယခုအချိန်အထိ တိုက်ပွဲဝင်နေဆဲဖြစ်သော မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ၏ ပြည်တွင်း၊ ပြည်ပအလုပ်သမားထုအား မိမိတို့၏အကျိုးစီပွားအတွက် အရေးကြီးသော မိတ်ဖက်များဖြစ်သည်ကို မထောက်ထားဘဲ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီနှင့် ပူးပေါင်း၍ နည်းလမ်း မျိုးစုံဖြင့် ဖိနှိပ်မှုလုပ်နေသော လုပ်ငန်းရှင်များ၊ ၎င်းတို့၏ကိုယ်စားလှယ်များနှင့် စစ်ကောင်စီ၏လက်ကိုင်တုတ် ဝန်ထမ်းဆိုးများအနေဖြင့် ၎င်းတို့၏လုပ်ရပ်များကို ချက်ချင်းရပ်တန့်ရန်နှင့် ကျူးလွန်ဆဲနှင့် ကျူးလွန်ပြီး ဖိနှိပ်မှုများ အတွက် လက်တလောကာလတွင်လည်း ဖြစ်နိုင်သမျှ နည်းလမ်းပေါင်းစုံဖြင့် အရေးယူမည်ဖြစ်ပြီး မှတ်တမ်းများထားရှိကာ နောင်တချိန်တွင် ပြင်းပြင်းထန်ထန်အရေးယူသွားမည်ဖြစ်ကြောင်း သတိပေးလိုက်သည်။
ပုံ
နိုင်သုဝဏ္ဏ
ပြည်ထောင်စုဝန်ကြီး
အလုပ်သမားဝန်ကြီးဌာန
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Labour - National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-26
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"အလုပ်သမားများ ရထိုက်သည့် ဥပဒေပါရပိုင်ခွင့်များ၊ လုပ်ငန်းခွင် ဘေးအန္တရာယ် ကင်းရှင်းရေးနှင့် ကျန်းမာရေးဆိုင်ရာ ကာကွယ် စောင့်ရှောက်မှုများ အပါအဝင် COVID-19 ကပ်ရောဂါဆိုင်ရာ ကြိုတင်ကာကွယ်ရေး အစီအမံများနှင့် အထောက်အပံ့များကို အပြည့်အဝစီစဉ်ပေးရန်နှင့် လိုက်နာမှုမရှိသည့် အလုပ်ရှင်များနှင့် အလုပ်ရှင်ကိုယ်စား စီမံခန့်ခွဲသူများအနေဖြင့် သိရှိနိုင်ရန်
အသိပေးကြေညာချက် ၅/၂၀၂၁..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Labour - National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-26
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"26 November 2021: People throughout Myanmar are facing starvation. The world can either watch on or resolve the military junta-made crisis by formally recognising and engaging with the legitimate representatives of the Myanmar people – the National Unity Government (NUG), says the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M).
Across Myanmar the military junta has blocked access roads, cutting off communities’ food and medical supplies, burned food stores and killed livestock. Repeated military offensives have prevented farmers in the northwest and east from planting and harvesting their yearly rice crops which are the main source of local food supply. People throughout the country are facing starvation as a result.
“Instead of wringing our hands wondering what to do, the international community can and must work formally with the NUG and get assistance across borders into the country and to the people who need it,” said Chris Sidoti of SAC-M. “There are trusted local humanitarian and medical networks including ethnic service providers, community-based and civil society organisations that are already helping people. They need to be supported and empowered.”
The military junta has waged a brutal assault on the people of Myanmar for ten long months after junta leader Min Aung Hlaing attempted an illegal coup in February that was wholly resisted by the people and ignited a nationwide movement to liberate Myanmar from the military’s shadow once and for all.
Min Aung Hlaing’s forces have committed daily acts of terrorism since the coup and launched a widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population amounting to crimes against humanity. The intentional deprivation of food constitutes an element of such a crime.
The military junta has remained intransigent to international efforts and appeals for it to change course. Junta representatives, including Min Aung Hlaing, have rightly been prevented from participating in key international meetings. Their exclusions underline the international community’s refusal to recognise the military junta or grant it legitimacy.
“Actions that could be perceived as legitimising the junta are a betrayal to the people of Myanmar who are laying down their lives for their country’s freedom,” said Yanghee Lee of SAC-M. “Anyone claiming to accommodate the military in the interests of the people is in fact only prolonging their suffering. These actions can be viewed as being complicit in the military’s crimes.”
However, Myanmar has gone unrepresented at international meetings as a result of the international community’s reluctance to formally recognise the NUG as the legitimate government of Myanmar. The lack of formal engagement with the true representatives of Myanmar is stalling urgently needed international responses to the military junta-made crises.
“Failure to recognise and engage with the NUG risks undermining the people’s democratic movement, the single direction of which is towards the people’s complete political liberation from the tyrannical yoke of the nation’s totally dishonoured Tatmadaw,” said Marzuki Darusman of SAC-M. “We cannot allow a vacuum to arise leaving the door open for undemocratic bilateral deal- making by major external forces and interests amounting to illegitimate interferences in internal matters and a plundering of the nation’s natural resources.”
Effective and appropriate international assistance for Myanmar is critically needed. The military junta is the cause of the suffering in Myanmar, it is not a solution. The international community must formally recognise the NUG and engage consistently with it to enable a coherent international response to the urgent and overlapping political, security, humanitarian, human rights and economic crises..."
Source/publisher:
Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, National Unity Government (NUG), Human Rights and international relations
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"ထိုင်းနိုင်ငံအတွင်းမှ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံသို့ ပြန်လည်ဝင်ရောက်လာမည့် ပြည်တော်ပြန် ထိုင်းရောက် မြန်မာအလုပ်သမားများ ခင်ဗျား -
ပြည်သူ့အစိုးရထံမှ လက်နက်အားကိုးဖြင့် တိုင်းပြည်အာဏာကို မတရားသိမ်းယူခဲ့သည့် အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်ကောင်စီက မြန်မာနိုင်ငံသို့ပြန်လည်ဝင်ရောက်လာမည့် ပြည်တော်ပြန် မြန်မာအလုပ်သမားများကို မတရားဖမ်းဆီးခံရမှုများမှ ပါးနပ်စွာရှောင်ရှားနိုင်ရေး အတွက် အသိပေးကြေညာအပ်ပါသည်..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Labour - National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-26
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"ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ
ပြည်ထောင်စုဝန်ကြီးချုပ်ရုံး
ကြေညာချက်အမှတ် (၄/၂၀၂၁)
၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ နိုဝင်ဘာလ (၂၆) ရက်
အမည်ပျက်စာရင်းကြေညာခြင်း
၁။ ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်၊ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရသည် နိုင်ငံ့ဝန်ထမ်းများအနေဖြင့် အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်ကောင်စီ၏လက်အောက်တွင် ဆက်လက်တာဝန်မထမ်းဆောင်ပဲ ဓမ္မဘက်မှရပ်တည်၍ ပြည်သူနှင့်တသားတည်းဖြစ် စေရန်နှင့် အမိန့်အာဏာဖီဆန်ရေးလှုပ်ရှားမှု (CDM) တွင်ပါဝင်ကြစေရန် အကြိမ် ကြိမ်ဖိတ်ခေါ် ကမ်းလှမ်းခဲ့ပြီးဖြစ် ပါသည်။
၂။ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ ဝန်ကြီးချုပ်ရုံးအနေဖြင့်လည်း အောက်တိုဘာလမှစတင်၍ အမိန့်အာဏာ ဖီဆန်ရေးလှုပ်ရှားမှု (CDM) တွင်ပါဝင်ခဲ့ကြသည့် ဝန်ကြီးဌာနမဖွဲ့ရသေးသောဌာနအသီးသီးမှ နိုင်ငံ့ဝန်ထမ်း သူရဲကောင်းများ၏ လူမှုဖူလုံရေး၊ လုံခြုံဘေးကင်းရေးနှင့် ဖိအားကင်းစင်ရေး တို့အတွက် အလေးထား ဆောင်ရွက်လျက်ရှိပါသည်။
၃။ သို့ဖြစ်ပါ၍ တရားမဝင်အာဏာသိမ်းစစ်ကောင်စီ၏လက်အောက်တွင် ဆက်လက်တာဝန်ထမ်းဆောင်နေ ပြီး CDM ဝန်ထမ်းများအား ဖိအားပေးခြင်း၊ ခြိမ်းခြောက်ခြင်း၊ ရာထူးမှထုတ်ပယ်ခြင်း၊ ဝန်ထမ်းအဖြစ်မှထုတ် ပစ်ခြင်း၊ တရားစွဲဆိုခြင်းနှင့် ဥပေဒနှင့်အညီပြန်ဆပ်ရန်မလိုတော့သည့် လစာချေးငွေများအား အတင်းအဓမ္မ ပြန်လည်ပေးဆပ်ခိုင်းခြင်းများ စသည့် အမျိုးမျိုးသောဖိနှိပ်မှုများကိုကျူးလွန်နေသော သာသနာရေးနှင့်ယဉ်ကျေးမှုဝန်ကြီးဌာန(ယဉ်ကျေးမှု) မှအောက်ဖေါ်ပြပါ ဝန်ထမ်းများအားအမည်ပျက်စာရင်းသွင်းလိုက်ပြီး ဝန်ထမ်းအဖြစ်မှထုတ်ပစ် (Dismiss) လိုက်သည်။..."
Source/publisher:
President Office, National Unity Government
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-26
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"Executive summary: Since the Burma Army attempted its military coup on February 1, the
Burma government systems have virtually imploded and civil war is
raging at unprecedented levels throughout the country.
Violent crackdowns on peaceful demonstrators have so far led to the
killing of over 1,250 people and over 7,200 currently in prison for demanding their basic rights. The banking system has been crippled by
paranoid military supervision, internet cuts and communication monitoring, all aimed at rooting out opposition. The Burma kyat has plummeted to an all-time low, and there is rampant inflation and shortage
of goods.
Meanwhile, the regime earns over US$ 1 billion annually from export
of Burma’s natural gas resources from four offshore projects to China
and Thailand, which are the single largest source of export revenues
keeping the military in power. It also receives approximately US$ 500
million worth of domestic gas annually, which means the regime earns
an estimated US$ 1.5 billion per year from these projects.
Demonstrators, civil society and the opposition National Unity Government (NUG) have therefore called on governments to impose economic sanctions on the state-owned and military controlled Myanmar
Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE). The NUG has also urged companies
to deposit all payments into a third-party escrow account, until an
elected federal government is in place.
In May, the French company Total, the operator of the Yadana offshore fields, responded by withholding the dividend to MOGE from its
Moattama Gas Transportation Company (MGTC), transporting gas
from these fields. However, the dividend constitutes only 10% of the
Yadana revenues paid to the regime, and only approximately 4% of
Burma’s total gas export revenues.
Meanwhile, Total and other companies currently exporting from offshore fields, including US Chevron, Thai PTTEP and Korean POSCO, are not only continuing to provide funds and legitimacy to the
regime, but also expanding their projects. Planning is also underway
to exploit recent discoveries of gas in three new areas off the Arakan
Coast and south of Yangon which would further entrench the regime.
16 oil and gas companies from 13 countries currently have major
shares in Burma’s oil and gas industry, and more are profiting through
sub-contracts, such as Swiss-based Transocean and USMcDermott
International. Only one company, Japan’s Mitsui Oil Exploration Company (MOECO), has divested from Burma’s offshore fields since the coup, withdrawing its investments from a planned new project in late
October.
By not heeding demands from the people of Burma, international oil
and gas companies are increasingly becoming branded as military
collaborators and placing their staff and operations at risk. A growing
number of People’s Defence Forces are targeting the regime’s infrastructure and revenue-generating projects, particularly in the communications, electricity and energy sectors, including attacks on several
gas pipeline projects. NUG has reported that PDFs conducted 950
attacks, including targeted explosions, between September 7 and October 6, of which 213 were against economic projects of the regime.
One option for international oil and gas companies is to unilaterally
suspend projects by declaring Force Majeure, for a period of up to
two years, citing “insurrection”, “active hostilities or imminent threat of
hostilities” or other reasons stated in their standard Production Sharing Contracts with the Burma government.
International governments, particularly those which claim to promote
democracy and human rights must place comprehensive economic
sanctions on MOGE – consistent with sanctions already placed on
other state-owned enterprises such as the Myanmar Timber Enterprise and Myanmar Gems Enterprise -- and ensure that no revenues
or taxes are paid by their oil and gas companies to the regime.
Oil and gas companies should immediately suspend all revenue and
tax payments to the regime and put these into a third-party escrow
account. Failing that, they must suspend or cancel their projects. All
companies must also stop exploration and development activities
aimed at exploiting additional or new gas discoveries.
This report provides an update of Burma’s offshore natural gas industry, its impacts on the people of Burma and recommendations for the
international community..."
Source/publisher:
Arakan Oil Watch
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-25
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"November 24, 2021, Myanmar: Indian publicly listed jewellery company Vaibhav Global Limited is continuing to trade in Myanmar gems, despite the illegal February 1 attempted military coup and US, EU and UK sanctions against state-owned Myanma Gems Enterprise (MGE), which is now under military control. Through MGE, the Myanmar military receives a share of revenue from all gemstones sold.
Vaibhav Global sells jewellery with Myanmar gems via major online retailers including Amazon and Overstock, as well as its own website and TV channel, The Jewellery Channel. In the US, Vaibhav Global also sells loose rubies from Mogok and Mong Shu, Myanmar, but list the country of origin as “India”.
A ban on Myanmar origin gems is urgently needed to stop the trade. Section 203 of the Burma Act of 2021, introduced in October and currently before Congress, authorises the prohibition of all US imports of Myanmar gemstones. Justice For Myanmar urges members of Congress to stand with the people of Myanmar by passing the Burma Act and prohibit imports of Myanmar gemstones.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “It is unacceptable that over six months since sanctions were imposed on MGE, companies are openly trading Myanmar gems in the US and other jurisdictions. This is a slap in the face of the Myanmar people, who are being subjected to immense suffering at the hands of the terrorist military junta. The US Government needs to do more, including imposing a total ban on the import of Myanmar gemstones and sanctioning Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise. We also call on other international governments to urgently impose targeted sanctions that will stop the flow of funds to the Myanmar military, which finance its campaign of terror. We appeal to members of the US Congress to swiftly pass the Burma Act and ban all imports of Myanmar gemstones. Vaibhav Global investors also must act in accordance with their obligations under the OECD Guidelines. If Vaibhav Global does not stop trading in Myanmar gems, shareholders must divest. These gems are stained with the blood of the people of Myanmar. US consumers have power to act. Boycott Myanmar gems and demand businesses like Amazon and Overstock stop selling these blood-stained products.”
According to filings, Vaibhav Global’s institutional shareholders include The Vanguard Group, Dimensional Fund Advisors, State Street Global Advisors, BlackRock and the Florida State Board of Administration, all based in the US. The USA is Vaibhav Global’s biggest market, with 2021 financial year revenue at US$234.9 million, according to its latest annual report..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-24
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"Since the February 1st 2021 military coup, the human rights situation in Myanmar has seriously deteriorated. The State Administration Council (SAC) headed by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has engaged in systematic violence against civilians and stripped away the few key civil and political protections that the already problematic 2008 Constitution was supposed to guarantee, further opening the door for widespread human rights violations. The SAC’s treatment of citizens as enemies of the state and its unrelenting efforts to crush all opposition have resulted in widespread violence and the loss of lives during this first six months of the coup. The SAC has shot and killed peaceful protesters, bombed rural villages forcing thousands to flee, deprived people of access to health services and information, and turned the law against the people of Myanmar to arrest, detain, and torture at will.
As future returnees could potentially face similar In highlighting the human rights violations that have occurred since the February 1st coup, this report presents the degrading security situation and humanitarian crisis that civilians in Southeast Myanmar are currently facing. It also presents the hopes and struggles of rural villagers and civilians, to show how, despite the increased insecurity that they face, they continue to seek out ways to counter a military regime they know to be both illegal and unjust. Most importantly, this report seeks to ensure that the experiences and concerns of rural ethnic villagers are not just heard but addressed.
Overview
Interviews conducted by KHRG reveal the level of violence that the SAC undertook against protesters, and the ways in which protesters have continued to voice their opposition to the coup in the face of increasing brutality and repression by the state military. Protesters recounted stories of fear and insecurity as they encountered the ruthless response of the SAC to civilian opposition, yet equally expressed a strong sense of hope and an unwavering commitment to upholding the fight for democracy and freedom from oppression through to the very end. These interviews also highlight the efforts of civilians to support and sustain each other as protesters and those engaged in civil disobedience sought refuge and protection.
This report also presents the escalation of insecurity in rural ethnic areas, where the Myanmar military has long used violence against civilian villagers as a key strategy in waging war against ethnic armed actors. Although conflict and attacks had been ongoing in certain parts of Southeast Myanmar even prior to the coup, the shifts currently taking place reflect a complete disregard for human rights and signal a return to a “four cuts” approach that, as independent researcher Kim Joliffe has highlighted, “treats civilians not just as ‘collateral damage’ but as a central resource in the battlefield”. Although some areas in Southeast Myanmar have experienced little to no fighting, others have endured an ongoing onslaught of attacks and fighting since the coup. It is estimated that, as of June 23rd, close to 177,000 villagers in Southeast Myanmar, including 50,000 in Kayin State, have been displaced since the February 1st coup (with over 140,000 still experiencing displacement as of August 23rd). KHRG also received a growing number of reports of direct attacks on civilians, including targeted killings, forced labour, looting and confiscation. That, combined with the SAC’s use of the COVID-19 pandemic as an additional weapon of war, has left rural villagers at-risk from multiple forms of attack.
What is evident in both rural and urban areas is not just the increase in acts of violence since the coup, but that the SAC has sought to legitimise its own abusive actions and inscribe in law the deprivation of fundamental human rights. The Myanmar military, in ousting the newly elected civilian government, not only illegally seized power by making unsubstantiated claims about election fraud, but also set about instituting legislative changes that would effectively legalize state-based repression and its own use of excessive force against civilians.
Similarly, the SAC is using the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) and calls for ceasefire to then give itself permission to undertake whatever measures it deems necessary to “keep the peace”. Although the SAC announced a unilateral ceasefire on its part since April 2021, it also stipulated that it would continue to respond to “actions that disrupt government security and administration”, thus authorizing its own military offensives. Since the coup, it has repeatedly accused other armed actors of failing to honor peace commitments, and to label any groups that oppose the SAC as terrorists.
From the outset, it has also used the COVID-19 pandemic, citing the Natural Disaster Management Law, to justify arrests. It has limited access to information about the health crisis, and more recently to vital medical care, using the pandemic as a political weapon against the public as well as ethnic armed groups.
With ongoing displacements, a worsening COVID-19 pandemic, and the SAC blocking national and international aid organisations’ access to critical areas, the humanitarian crisis has become dire, placing many in life-threatening situations.
Methodology
This report is based on interviews conducted with rural villagers as well as with participants in the protests and Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) who fled to KNU-controlled areas for their safety. KHRG began conducting interviews shortly after the February 1st coup, through the first week of June 2021. A total of 133 interviews were conducted, covering a wide range of topics related to the coup. Forty-nine of those interviews were with people who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement, many of whom had either fled to their home village in Southeast Myanmar or been provided refuge in a KNU-controlled area.
This report also draws on raw data reports prepared by KHRG researchers working in local communities within KHRG’s operational area. The raw data for this report covers the period from the beginning of February through the end of July, thus the first six months of the coup. Over 100 raw data submissions were used for this report.
Key Findings
Chapter 1: Protests
After the February 1st coup, protests erupted throughout Myanmar in both urban and rural areas, often drawing tens of thousands of people in large cities, and/or uniting hundreds of villages in rural areas, all voicing their opposition to the coup and military dictatorship. Although peacefully engaging in the right to freedom of expression, civilian protesters became the target of repression and violence at the hands of the military regime.
Since the military overthrew the civilian government on February 1st 2021 and declared a state of emergency allowing for the transfer of all legislative, executive and judicial power to the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services, it has also instituted laws and policies that restrict or suspend the fundamental rights of citizens. In particular, it has enacted legislative changes that undermine freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and the right to privacy. Although in contravention of international law, these legislative reforms, along with the declaration of a state of emergency, are specifically being used to silence and criminalise any and all forms of dissent. Despite the peaceful nature of the protests, SAC security forces cracked down on the protests using excessive violence, including brutally beating and torturing protesters as well as shooting at them using both rubber and live bullets. Hundreds of protesters have been killed and thousands more injured as a direct result of violence by SAC security forces.
“In joining the protests in Yangon and Mandalay, it is like we pick straws over who will die in the street [joining the protests is like a deadly game of chance]. They [police] can shoot people at any time if they want. In fact, they shot people. Many people have already died. They [police] never gave a warning to people before cracking down on the protests.” --Maung E---, a university student in Yangon
KHRG conducted interviews with a number of SAC soldiers and police officers who had joined the Civil Disobedience Movement, and who confirmed the use of excessive force and violence by security forces during the protests. In some cases, this was violence that they had witnessed, but in other cases, it was violence that they were ordered to undertake as part of their security activities surrounding the protests.
“When there was a protest in Hledan, Yangon we would break up the mass gathering. There was a total of 50 of us. Six of us had real guns [machine guns] including me. We had to fire live rounds [against protesters]. Our bullets are not meant for shooting innocent civilians.” --A police officer based in Bilin Township, Doo Tha Htoo District
As the SAC responded to the protests with increased violence, the protesters adopted more varied protest strategies and also developed self-protection strategies in an attempt to make themselves less vulnerable to injury, violence and arrest by security forces. SAC security forces have also engaged in arrests without providing the reason for the arrest and without allowing access to legal counsel or communication with family members. Likewise, family members and friends of detainees have often been unable to access information about why they were arrested, where they are detained, how they are doing, whether they are alive or dead and other critical information about court proceedings.
“Laws are from their mouth [decided solely by the SAC] because whatever they say is considered law [toward the civilians]; they can kill, they can arrest, they can detain and they can do whatever they want [by the order of SAC authorities]. There is no rule of law. Every action they have been practicing is against the civilians.” --A young teacher from Hpa-an Town
Chapter 2: The Civil Disobedience Movement
On February 2nd 2021, healthcare workers across Myanmar walked off their jobs to express their opposition to the military coup. This form of protest quickly spread to other branches of public service, eventually turning into a nationwide, large-scale Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM).
While CDM participants in general spoke of the desire for democracy, a return to civilian government, and the hope of undermining the SAC by shutting down the wheels of government, SAC security forces (police and military) who joined the CDM also cited unjust and unlawful orders as motivating factors. The CDM participants with whom KHRG conducted interviews faced major barriers to joining the movement, making it clear that a decision to join could have life-threatening consequences. Since joining the CDM, participants have experienced livelihood issues, increased risks and restrictions, as well as threats of arrest and attack by the SAC against themselves and their family members, leading many to go into hiding.
“I also worry for my family’s security because of the actions that the Burmese military has done. If they cannot arrest me, they will target my family. I heard that they will threaten my wife. I heard that they will harm my family.” --A CSO worker from Ayeyarwady Region
KNU local leaders have been attempting to provide security and necessities such as food, shelter, and clothing for CDM participants who have reached KNU-controlled territory, leading CDM members, protesters and human rights activists to flee to KNU territory seeking protection. Informal networks and local community support have also been particularly strong, with some civilians seeing this as their best way to contribute to the movement.
“Ordinary people like us do not need to participate in the CDM. We just have to support those who do participate in the CDM. The situation happening now is not right, so we have to support them. We have to care for them and we have to give them food, and support them in what they need. They are working for us as well.” --Saw Y--- from Ta Naw Th’Ree Township, Mergui-Tavoy District
Chapter 3: Militarisation and a return to violence
The security situation in rural areas of Southeast Myanmar rapidly degraded during the first six months following the military’s seizure of power. Since the military coup, human rights violations have steadily increased, as have displacements and threats of injury and death to civilians in rural areas. Just the news of the military takeover led many villagers to begin preparing for the possibility of fighting, and thus displacement, and for the re-emergence of the kind of human rights abuses that they had suffered in the past.
“Some people dare not to stay at home anymore. They go to stay at their huts. Those who are living close to the road dare not to sleep at their houses. They heard that Tatmadaw soldiers will patrol so they are afraid and go to sleep in other places. Then, they come back to their houses in the morning. Some people hide food in the jungle. If anything happens, they can go and hide there and they will have food.” --A missionary in Dooplaya District
Increased ground attacks in some areas began shortly following the military takeover but the airstrikes in Karen State, which began on March 27th, marked a pivotal moment in the escalation of fighting and attacks, and have contributed to a growing climate of insecurity that recalls earlier periods of military abuse. t is extremely difficult to estimate the total number of displacements due to conflict since the February 1st military coup. UNHCR, which is working on relief operations, estimated 47,700 in Kayin State, and another 1,100 in Mon State. The figures are likely much higher given the poor access to IDP sites and displacement information in many areas, and the variable nature of displacements, which can be recurring or extended, and can vary from several days to several months or longer. One of the biggest problems continues to be access to aid. Due to both COVID-19 and increased insecurity following the coup, many international stakeholders are no longer operating on the ground in some areas. Even attempts by local stakeholders to provide support to IDPs have met with opposition by the SAC.
“We will be shot dead so no boats dare to run. We dare not go to send rations for the IDPs. The supplies are accumulating on the Thai side. The boats from the Thai side do not go to the Myanmar side because they are afraid they will be shot by SAC soldiers.” --A boat driver interviewed by KIC
While airstrikes and fighting have led to large-scale displacements and a growing humanitarian crisis, the human rights situation has also degraded with an increase in abuses (like forced labour, targeted killings, looting and arbitrary arrest) that had curtailed following the NCA. Areas that have faced less fighting and attacks have still been heavily affected by the overall climate of insecurity. Aside from witnessing the movement of troops and reinforcement of troops and supplies in their region, many villagers noted increased patrolling by armed soldiers.
Another cause of concern for villagers in some areas has come from the emergence of various militia groups. Since the coup, the SAC has been appointing new members who are former Tatmadaw soldiers. They are rotating between different areas within the village tract, and have been appointed specifically to monitor the activity of villagers and the local KNU.
“We only dare to criticise the military coup secretly within our family because there are many junta spies that [report] people who criticise and disagree with the military government to the police.” --An interviewee from Dooplaya District
Since the coup, there has been renewed insecurity and threats to freedom of movement for villagers. The military has been checking travelers and making arrests, which has increased fear surrounding travel. KHRG has received an increasing number of reports about landmine accidents since the military coup. Despite ongoing calls on the Myanmar government and all ethnic armed groups to halt the use of landmines and to accede to the Mine Ban Treaty, the planting of new landmines continues to take place.
Chapter 4: COVID-19 since the coup
The lack of testing and reporting by the Ministry of Health and Sports (MoHS) has not been able to conceal the fact that, as of early July, COVID-19 cases have skyrocketed and Myanmar is facing a serious humanitarian crisis.
Since the announcement of the coup, KHRG has received multiple reports that most of the prevention measures that had been set up to protect villagers from the spread of the virus to rural areas were no longer being adhered to. The lack of accurate information about COVID-19 since the SAC took power has contributed to the sense that COVID-19 was no longer something villagers needed to be concerned about.
“Since the military coup, even in our village and at the national level, people didn’t continue thinking about COVID-19 anymore. I myself didn’t continue thinking about it anymore.” --A village secretary in Noh T’Kaw Township, Dooplaya District
The SAC has not only continued to provide inaccurate information, it has also restricted access to resources and services, and prevented other key actors from helping manage the spread of the virus and address the health needs of the people of Myanmar. Prior to the coup, the NLD government had been working to acquire COVID-19 vaccines, and began making plans for rolling out vaccinations. Because it is now the military government taking over this process, rural villagers are refusing the vaccination due to distrust of the military.
“[W]e worry that the Myanmar military will mix something into the vaccine. […] So no one dares to get the vaccine.” --A villager from T’ Nay Hsah Township, Hpa-an District
Chapter 5: Challenges to peace, democracy, and development
The coup has had devastating effects on all aspects of daily life in Myanmar, creating impacts as individualised as lack of access to the internet and as widespread as a downturn in the national economy. By eroding possibilities for peace, democracy and development, these problems have touched the lives of all civilians, but have impacted rural villagers in particular ways.
The coup involved not just a wider shift from elected civilian government to military dictatorship but also a replacement of local administrators with SAC-selected individuals. Replacing elected leaders with military-appointed ones not only serves to further undermine the democratic process, it erodes relationships of trust between local communities and the administrators that are supposed to serve and represent them.
“Everything depends on the village administrator, because no matter how much you protect your village, if the village administrator works under the military government you can’t do anything. He will simply send information to the SAC.” --A villager from Ta Naw Th’Ree Township, Mergui-Tavoy District
The coup has had harsh impacts on Myanmar’s economy, at both the individual and national levels. Civilians across Southeast Myanmar are experiencing job loss, higher prices on necessities, restrictions on travel, and loss of access to telecommunication systems, all of which are increasing food and livelihood insecurity. The CDM has had a large impact on education in Southeast Myanmar. After the SAC seized power, many teachers in government schools joined the CDM, so most of the government schools have had to close. Even when the SAC reopened some government schools on June 1st 2021, there was a shortage of both teachers and students. There have also been heavy impacts on access to healthcare. There are approximately 30,000 physicians in Myanmar, and about 20,000 work for the government hospitals. As a response to the coup, approximately 75 percent of those working in government facilities have joined the CDM and refused to work.
“If people need to go for an operation and they are not allowed to go […] they will just die.” --Naw O--- from Moo Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District
The coup has also had an impact on access to information, through telecommunication interruptions and SAC control of news and media outlets. Telecommunication interruptions are particularly serious in rural areas where information is already limited to what people can access through their phone.
Chapter 6: Moving forward
Although there may have been early confidence that the Spring Revolution would be successful, there have been increasing divides regarding how the fight should go on. Many stressed the importance of continuing the fight until the end, and the need for more government staff to join the CDM. Others noted the lives already sacrificed.
“People from Myanmar have died many times already. Therefore, we must not feel hesitation to die this time [for this cause]. If we are afraid to die this time [for this cause] and just do nothing about it [military dictatorship], our lives will be dead forever.” --An interviewee from Kawkareik Town
For some, the coup has served as an awakening since it highlighted the oppression that ethnic minorities have faced at the hands of the military, as well as the level of violence the Myanmar military is capable of. In the eyes of many, a political solution involving negotiation with the military regime is not possible. Despite the sense that negotiation would not benefit civilians, some believe that the way forward is still through peaceful means. Others spoke of the necessity for well-planned self-defense and carefully executed offensives involving the collaboration of both the People’s Defence Force (PDF) and EAOs. Several interviewees highlighted the need for full inclusion of minority voices in any strategies and plans for moving forward. A strong emphasis was also placed on the need for a federal democracy that allows for self-determination as the only means of ensuring ethnic minority rights and equality.
“I protested for my country to be free from military dictatorship, for my country to become a real federal democracy and for the ethnic minorities to receive equal rights. If we don’t have equal rights in this country while we are living in this country, there is no reason we could consider ourselves citizens of Myanmar.” --A KECD teacher in Dooplaya District
Conclusion
Information continues to pour in regarding incidents of violence, with increasing stories of torture, forced labour and killings in rural Southeast Myanmar. Fighting and attacks continue and are becoming more widespread. Many facing displacement are still not receiving support, and some have reported having little left to eat. Displacements are ongoing and the possibility of seeking refuge across the border in Thailand remains limited. Reports of illness-related deaths are being submitted, yet villagers are unsure whether this is due to COVID-19 or some other illness, since there is little availability of testing or medical care.
Ethnic minorities want their voices to finally be heard, but also to be supported as they stand up for their own rights and for equality and justice.
“We have had [in the past] to solve whatever we face in our own way and suffer it by ourselves. Therefore, people think no one will stand with or for them when they have any problems or face anything. […] [I]t is critical that civilians feel that they are being supported by others, that they are not alone in this fight. They need others to stand with them and beside them.” --An interviewee in Kawkareik Town
Recommendations
To the State Administration Council (SAC)
Immediately step down and hand over power to the National Unity Government (NUG). End the crackdown, arrests and targeted attacks on protesters and CDM participants. Cease the halting and seizure of medical and humanitarian supplies intended to alleviate the COVID-19 and other humanitarian crises in Southeast Myanmar. Reverse the suspension of Sections 5, 7 and 8 of the Law Protecting the Privacy and Security of the Citizens (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Law No. 5/ 2017). Revoke amendments to the Ward or Village Tract Administration Law, the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure (SAC Law Nos 3/2021, 5/2021 and 6/2021). End interruptions to communication services and the suppression of media freedom since this is a violation of the right to access information. Cease attacks on civilian areas, as well as patrols and military transports through, in or near villages or livelihood areas; demilitarise areas close to villages and farms by removing troops and camps. Stop all forms of forced labour, including using villagers as human shields, porters, and navigators; and refrain from making arbitrary demands on local communities such as demanding the use of their vehicles, boats or other property for military purposes. End arbitrary and illegal taxation practices, as well as the confiscation of civilian property for military and personal use. Ensure compliance with international humanitarian standards and human rights law; and end impunity by ensuring that any armed actor who has violated the rights of any person is held accountable for abuses in fair and transparent investigations and judicial processes in independent and impartial civilian courts. Put an end to clearance operations, as well as activities, commonly termed the “four cuts strategy”, that prevent civilian access to food, communication, aid and other basic necessities.
To international organisations, NGOs, funding agencies, and foreign governments
Refrain from giving any legitimacy to the military junta and from recognising them in any international forum. Exclude the SAC as a partner for the distribution of aid. Urge UN agencies in Myanmar to take a clear and strong position in responding to the situation on the ground, and to use all possible resources to limit the human rights abuses and violations undertaken by the SAC. Provide financial and technical support as needed for the NUG, including on international human rights laws and standards and other matters of governance. Consult and sign MoUs with the NUG and EAOs to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis across the country. Support a UN Security Council resolution on a global arms embargo. Diversify international funding distribution so that more funding is made directly available to non-state actors, particularly ethnic service providers and civil society organisations, regardless of their registration status. Prioritise methods of service delivery and communication that rely on local CSOs/CBOs and ethnic service providers that have the ability and networks (due to consistent access and trust from the community) for local implementation of support programmes. Recognize the complex logistics of service delivery and be willing to contribute to solutions proposed by local CSO/CBOs and ethnic service providers. Mitigate the impacts of displacement, armed conflict and insecurity on livelihood through increased support and initiatives that reduce the vulnerability of small farmers and day labourers. Support EHOs and other non-state health actors, both regarding COVID-19 prevention and treatment (including screening/testing and the running of quarantine facilities), and the provision of other essential health services in rural areas. Urge Myanmar’s neighbours to ensure that their authorities do not deny entry to people crossing the border seeking refuge; and encourage them to work with cross border organisations to develop support and protection services for those seeking refuge. Provide neighboring countries with the necessary resources and technical assistance to provide humanitarian aid, including for COVID-19, for the people from Myanmar who are fleeing the military violence. Engage with Myanmar’s neighbours to ensure the passage of aid to Myanmar, in particular through cross border aid organizations and local civil society organizations already operating in the area. Advocate for the release of political prisoners, including political actors, protesters, activists, human rights defenders, journalists and their family members. Insist that the Security Council refer Myanmar to the ICC or set up an ad hoc tribunal to ensure all perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and mass atrocities are prosecuted and that justice is attained for victims and survivors.
To the SAC and EAOs/EAGs
Put an immediate halt to the planting of landmines and ban all further use of landmines; mark all areas contaminated by landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), and inform the local communities of these locations for their safety. Comply with international humanitarian standards and human rights law, particularly with regard to the protection and safety of civilians..."
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Anti-coup protesters, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights Defenders, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians
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2021-11-24-KHRG-Military-Atrocities-and-Civilian-Resilience_Full-Report-en.pdf- 2021-11-24-KHRG-Military-Atrocities-and-Civilian-Resilience_Full-Report-bu.pdf
- 2021-11-24-KHRG-Military-Atrocities-and-Civilian-Resilience_Briefer-Karen.pdf
- 2021-11-24-KHRG-Military-Atrocities-and-Civilian-Resilience_Briefer-en.pdf
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"Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) is pleased to announce the release of its latest report, Military Atrocities and Civilian Resilience: Testimonies of injustice, insecurity and violence in Southeast Myanmar during the 2021 coup. This report highlights the serious crimes committed by the Myanmar military and the deteriorating human rights, humanitarian, and human security crisis as a result of the brutal violence inflicted upon civilians in Southeast Myanmar and throughout Myanmar since the military coup in February 2021. This report also presents the hopes and struggles of rural villagers and civilians, demonstrating that, despite the increased insecurity they face, they continue to seek ways to counter a military regime that is illegal and unjust.
Through interviews conducted with rural villagers as well as with participants in the protests and Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), this report exposes the violence that the military-led State Administration Council (SAC) has used against protesters, and the ways in which protesters have vehemently continued to voice their opposition to the coup in the face of increasing brutality and repression by the military. Interviewees recounted stories of fear and insecurity as they encountered the ruthless response of the SAC to their efforts to defend their rights and the future of their country. And yet, they also expressed a strong sense of hope and an unwavering commitment to upholding the fight for federal democracy and freedom from oppression to the very end.
This report also presents the increased insecurity in rural ethnic areas, where the Myanmar military has long used violence against civilian villagers as a key strategy in waging war against ethnic armed actors. This escalation of violence by the Myanmar military has led to the widespread displacement of villagers in Southeast Myanmar. It is estimated that, as of June 23rd, close to 177,000 villagers in Southeast Myanmar, including 50,000 in Karen State, have been displaced since the February 1st coup (with over 140,000 still experiencing displacement as of August 23rd, 2021).
Also explored in this report are the wider impacts of the coup, like the breakdown of the healthcare system since the military coup and the SAC's restrictions on access to information and healthcare services vital to combatting the COVID-19 pandemic.
KHRG hopes this report will allow national and international stakeholders to understand better the impact the military coup has had on ethnic minorities in Southeast Myanmar. Included in the report are several recommendations for national and international stakeholders. These recommendations state how stakeholders can develop and implement policies that limit the power of the SAC; facilitate humanitarian access without working with the SAC; protect human rights; and promote accountability for international crimes..."
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Human Rights Defenders, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar
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Families of activists hunted by authorities are often targeted for reprisal.
Description:
"Myanmar families fearing arrest or confiscation of their property are severing ties with sons or daughters active in opposing military rule, with announcements posted prominently in public media, sources say.
At least 15 activists or militia members were disowned by their parents during the last week, according to media monitoring by RFA’s Myanmar Service.
Film actor Pai Phyo Thu, pop singer Kyar Paul, and well-known news announcer Kyaw Thet Linn — who had worked for Myanmar Radio and Television before the Feb. 1 military coup that overthrew civilian rule — were among those disowned.
Kyaw Thet Linn told RFA he understood the reasons for his parents’ decision.
“My parents, who are over 80, are more in danger than I am because they can’t run away. And if I return home, it would be dangerous for them and me both,” he said. “So, I think they did this hoping that it would be safer for everyone to totally cut their ties with me.”
“It hurts a lot, because both my parents and my wife have now abandoned me. But our sacrifices are nothing compared to the sacrifices suffered by those who have fallen in the revolution,” he said.
Sources said that the families of anti-junta activists living in countries beyond the reach of Myanmar security services have also been targeted for reprisal, leading them to cut ties with their offspring as well.
Ko Linn, an activist living in a Western country, says he has been given up by his family in Myanmar because he has led anti-junta protests in the country where he now lives.
“Some of us Burmese nationals living overseas have been staging protests in support of the shadow National Unity Government, raising funds and supporting Civil Disobedience Movement workers, and all these actions have affected my mother,” he said.
“My family back home has been questioned, and my mother has been detained because they couldn’t get to me instead. She has now been charged under certain laws,” he said.
Ko Linn’s mother has now been held in custody for almost two months, Ko Linn’s sister said, adding that she had to throw her brother out of the family in the hope that the move might get her mother released.
“My mother is still under arrest, and my family members are being threatened. Activists’ family members are now under pressure in Burma," she said, referring to Myanmar by its former colonial-era name.
“I have nothing to say about my brother’s situation,” she added.
'No guarantees'
Khin Maung Myint, a veteran high court lawyer in Myanmar’s commercial center and former capital Yangon, said that the announcements of severed family ties may not prevent arrests, as the country’s military rulers are simply arresting whomever they want.
“Despite these announcements, there is no guarantee the junta won’t take action against these families,” he said.
“I think that people are making these announcements out of fear, hoping they might be spared and that fall-out from the actions of their loved ones might be prevented."
Similar moves were made during national unrest in Myanmar in 1988, when troops killed thousands of civilians protesting another period of military rule, said Kyaw Htwe, a member of the Central Working Committee of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the government that was overthrown by a military coup earlier this year.
“There were many such incidents in 1988, and even after a person was imprisoned, his family could not carry on with their businesses unless they cast him out,” he said. “It’s not hard to imagine how heartbreaking it would be for the rest of the family to take this as a precautionary measure.”
Myanmar’s military overthrew the country’s democratically elected government on Feb. 1, claiming voter fraud had led to a landslide victory for national leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD party in the country’s 2020 election.
The junta has yet to provide evidence of its claims and has violently suppressed nationwide demonstrations calling for a return to civilian rule, killing 1,291 people and arresting 7,530 over the last nine months, according to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP-Burma).
More than 70 family homes have been forcibly confiscated by military authorities since August, according to RFA records..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
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Description:
"For Immediate Release
DATE: 24 November 2021
Civilians in Myanmar have unjustly been subjected to systematic human rights violations perpetrated by the military junta for decades. A new briefing paper by the Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma (ND-Burma), “Democracy Derailed in Myanmar,” details how the junta has curtailed attempts for democratic reform in Myanmar.
A failed attempt at seizing control of the country by the Myanmar military on 1 February 2021 has left the country in desperate need of humanitarian assistance alongside worsening economic and social crises. With over 3 million civilians lacking critical life-saving materials including food, water and shelter in the midst of raging internal conflict, the Myanmar Generals have effectively left the most vulnerable in oblivion. Villages under martial-law, amid sweeping restrictions on movement and access to information, has made basic survival a daily challenge.
Among ND-Burma’s findings, ongoing conflict in urban and rural areas, as well as the suppression of fundamental freedoms, including that of the press, and the mishandled COVID-19 response has led to the conclusion that the junta is on a war-path which includes the destruction and annihilation of anyone or anything that stands in their way. Using evidence collected by ND-Burma members including the Chin Human Rights Organization and the Human Rights Foundation of Monland, and desk-research, it is abundantly clear that long held impunity is emboldening the junta to commit state-wide atrocities.
Any government which uses violence to suppress basic rights and freedoms must be condemned in the harshest possible terms. It is unacceptable that civilians are fearing for their lives in the midst of a brutal, militarized civil war. Longstanding calls for their protection must be heard, and freedom of expression must not be used to derail civilian rights.
Source/publisher:
Network for Human Rights Documentation - Burma
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights Defenders, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Women's rights, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group
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"Major US online retailers are continuing to sell jewellery with rubies and jade sourced from Myanmar. The continued trade profits the Myanmar military junta, helping to finance its nationwide terror campaign against the Myanmar people. The US has sanctioned Myanma Gems Enterprise but has not banned the import of gems, allowing the trade to continue.
Justice For Myanmar found listings for jewellery with Myanmar gemstones produced by Indian publicly listed company Vaibhav Global Limited and sold through retailers Amazon, Walmart and Overstock. Vaibhav Global has actively traded in Myanmar gemstones since the February 1 attempted coup.
Shipping records since the attempted coup, found in the Panjiva trade database, show imports into India of jade from Vaibhav Global’s Hong Kong subsidiary and rubies from its Thai subsidiary. Some of the shipments originate in Myanmar, while others list precious stones with Myanmar as the country of origin.
Vaibhav Global did not respond to questions from Justice For Myanmar regarding its continued sourcing of jade and gems from Myanmar since the attempted coup.
Online retailers Amazon, Walmart and Overstock also did not respond to questions over the sale of Myanmar gemstones on their platforms and their human rights due diligence. Walmart has removed listings of Vaibhav Global jewellery with Myanmar gemstones, but continues to list Myanmar rubies and jade through other sellers.
Jade and gems are a lucrative source of revenue for the Myanmar military junta and its militias, financing the Myanmar military’s atrocity crimes, particularly in ethnic areas.
The state-owned Myanma Gems Enterprise (MGE), under military control during past regimes, has again come under military control since the attempted coup and controls all aspects of the gemstone industry in Myanmar. Through MGE, the Myanmar military receives a share of revenue from all gemstones sold.
The Myanmar military also profits from mining through its conglomerate, Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL). MEHL has its own jade and ruby businesses and controls the greatest number of licences. MEHL was sanctioned by the US and UK on March 25, and by the EU on April 19.
The US Treasury sanctioned MGE on April 8, followed by the UK on May 17 and EU on June 21.
Vaibhav Global’s international network
Vaibhav Global is a major seller of discounted jewellery, listed on the National Stock Exchange of India and the BSE. According to filings, institutional shareholders include The Vanguard Group, Dimensional Fund Advisors, State Street Global Advisors, BlackRock and the Florida State Board of Administration, all based in the US. The USA is Vaibhav Global’s biggest market, with 2021 financial year revenue at US$234.9 million, according to its latest annual report.
Justice For Myanmar found at least 8 shipments of cut and polished rubies from Vaibhav Global in India to Shop LC Global Inc. in the USA since sanctions were imposed on MGE, based on data from the Panjiva database. These were shipped between May 15 and July 14, 2021.
Other Vaibhav shipments to the USA, as recently as September 19, list unspecified precious and semi-precious stones, as well as manufactured jewellery. Justice For Myanmar asked Vaibhav Global for details about the source of gemstones in these shipments but did not receive a response.
Shipping records from Panjiva show that Vaibhav Global has imported at least 8 shipments of Myanmar rubies to India, where its jewellery is manufactured for export, including since the Myanmar military’s attempted coup and the sanctioning of MGE in Vaibhav Global’s key foreign markets. These shipments were received between February 19 and June 9.
Vaibhav Global primarily sources Myanmar gems from its Thai subsidiary, STS Gems, which lists Myanmar as a key market and claims to procure gems “directly from the source”. Vaibhav Global imports rubies via STS in Bangkok.
Additionally, on April 7, Vaibhav Global received two shipments of jade from Myanmar, sent from STS Gems in Hong Kong.
Vaibhav Global is selling jade and gems from Myanmar through its own websites, its home shopping TV channels, through third-party sites and wholesale to other jewellery businesses.
Vaibhav Global’s main platform for consumer sales in the US is Shop LC, formerly called The Jewellery Channel and Liquidation Channel. Shop LC is headquartered in Austin, Texas.
A search of Shop LC’s website shows at least six items for sale made with Myanmar rubies, including rings, earrings and a pendant, and at least ten items made with Myanmar jade, including necklaces, bracelets and rings. Shop LC also has loose jade available for sale.
Shop LC additionally sells Myanmar jade and ruby jewellery and loose gemstones through major US corporations Amazon, Overstock and until recently, Walmart, who facilitate the transactions and receive a commission on goods sold.
Amazon currently lists a large range of Shop LC jewellery, including Burmese ruby rings, bracelets and pendants, and Burmese jade rings and earrings. Where country of origin is listed, the items specify India.
Amazon also lists loose rubies described as from “Mogok and Mong Shu, Myanmar”. However, the product description lists the country of origin as India.
Overstock lists jade and ruby jewellery manufactured by Vaibhav Global, including rings and loose rubies. Like Amazon, listings specify India as the country of origin, even when the product description describes the stone as “Burmese jade” or “Burmese ruby”.
Overstock states they “require that our suppliers maintain high moral and ethical standards in producing and transporting products offered for sale on our websites”.
Walmart listed a smaller range of Shop LC Myanmar jade and ruby jewellery but appears to have removed listings after being contacted by Justice For Myanmar in October.
Justice For Myanmar asked Amazon, Walmart and Overstock about their business with Shop LC jewellery, their sale of gemstones sourced from Myanmar and their human rights due diligence on third party sellers. None of the companies responded.
Vaibhav Global also sells jade and gems sources from Myanmar through Shop LC in Germany (Shop LC GmBH), and The Jewellery Channel (TJC) in the UK.
In 2018, following the Myanmar military’s campaign of genocide against the Rohingya and the threat of a ban on Myanmar gems, Shop LC launched the promotion “Burmese Ruby Smackdown” with a lighthearted video encouraging increased sales before a ban could be imposed.
Pass the Burma Act and ban Myanmar gemstones
In a press release announcing sanctions, Office of the Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Director Andrea Gacki stated a commitment to “denying the Burmese military sources of funding” through the designation of MGE.
However, Vaibhav Global’s continued trade in Myanmar gemstones shows that US sanctions will have limited impact as the chain of intermediaries between US retailers and MGE may extinguish the sanctions interest, allowing the trade to continue.
A ban on Myanmar origin gems is essential. Section 203 of the Burma Act of 2021, introduced in October and currently before Congress, authorises the prohibition of all US imports of Myanmar gemstones. Justice For Myanmar urges members of Congress to stand with the people of Myanmar by passing the Burma Act and prohibit imports of Myanmar gemstones.
Consumers have an important role to play. Ask retailers to disclose the country of origin of gems they sell and boycott all gems from Myanmar.
Vaibhav Global’s investors must uphold their human rights responsibilities and divest unless the company stops trading in Myanmar gemstones.
The military’s sources of revenue must be cut off to stop the violence and support the rebuilding of a federal democracy..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Gems - mining and trade
Language:
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"၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် နိုဝင်ဘာလ ၂၄ ရက်နေ့
ဆယ်စုနှစ်များနှင့်ချီ၍ မြန်မာစစ်တပ်မှ စနစ်တကျ ကျူးလွန်ခဲ့သည့် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများ ကို မြန်မာပြည်သူများသည် လက်မခံဘဲ ဆန့်ကျင်ခဲ့ကြသည်။ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးမှတ်တမ်းကွန်ရက် (မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ) (ND-Burma) မှ ထုတ်ပြန်သည့် “ဒီမိုကရေစီလမ်းကြောင်းပေါ်မှ လမ်းချော်ခဲ့သောမြန် မာ” အစီရင်ခံစာတွင် အာဏာသိမ်းစစ်အုပ်စုက မြန်မာ့ဒီမိုကရေစီ အကူးအပြောင်းအား မည်သို့ ဟန့် တားနှောင့်ယှက်နေသည်ကို တင်ပြထားသည်။
မြန်မာစစ်တပ်မှ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ ၁ရက်တွင် အာဏာသိမ်း၍ တိုင်းပြည်အာဏာကို မတ ရား ရယူပြီးနောက် အလွန်စိုးရိမ်ဖွယ် လူသားချင်းစာနာသည့် အရေးပေါ်အကူအညီများ လိုအပ်ခြင်း နှင့်အတူ လူမှုရေး စီးပွားရေး ချွတ်ခြုံချ ဆိုးရွားလာသည်။ ပြင်းထန်သည့် ပြည်တွင်းစစ်ကြောင့် ပြည်သူ ၃ သန်းခန့်မှာ စားရေ ရိက္ခာ၊ ရေနှင့် နေထိုင်စရာ အပါအဝင် လူ့ဘဝအသက်ရှင်သန်ရေး အ တွက် လိုအပ်သည့်အထောက်အကူပစ္စည်းများ ကင်းမဲ့ ချို့တဲ့လျှက်ရှိပြီး စစ်ဗိုလ်ချုပ်ကြီးများသည် ထိခိုက်နစ်နာ အလွယ်ဆုံးသူများအားလည်း မေ့လျော့ပစ်ထားကြသည်။
စစ်အုပ်ချုပ်ရေးဥပဒေအောက်ရှိ ရွာသားများမှာ ခရီးသွားလာခွင့်နှင့် သတင်းအချက်အလက်ရရှိမှု အပေါ် တင်းကြပ် ကန့်သတ်ခံရခြင်းကြောင့် နေ့စဥ် အသက်ဆက် ရှင်သန်ရေးအတွက် အခက်အခဲ များနှင့် ကြုံတွေ့ရသည်။
ND-Burma မှ တွေ့ရှိချက်အရက် ကျေးလက်နှင့် မြို့ပြများတွင် ဖြစ်ပေါ်နေသည့် တိုက်ပွဲများ၊ သတင်းလွတ်လပ်မှုအပါအဝင် အခြေခံလွတ်လွပ်ခွင့်များကို ဖိနှိပ်ခြင်းနှင့် ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ကပ်ရောဂါကို ထိရောက်စွာ မကိုင်တွယ် မဖြေရှင်းနိုင်တို့က စစ်အာဏာရှင်တို့သည် ကြမ်းကြုတ် ရက်စက်ပြီး ၄င်းတို့ရပ်တည်မှုကို ဆန့်ကျင်သည့် မည်သူ့ကိုမဆို သုတ်သင်ချေမှုန်း ဖျက်ဆီးမည်ကို ပြသ နေသည်။ မွန်ပြည်လူ့အခွင့်အရေးဖောင်ဒေးရှင်းနှင့် ချင်းလူ့အခွင့်အရေးအဖွဲ့အပါအဝင် ND-Burma အဖွဲ့ဝင်များမှ သက်သေအထောက်အထားများ မှတ်တမ်းတင် စုဆောင်းမှုအရ စစ်တပ်သည် ကာလကြာရှည် အသုံးပြုနေသည့် အပြစ်ရှိသူများအပေါ် အပြစ်ပေး အရေးယူခြင်းမရှိမှုကြောင့် နိုင်ငံနှင့်ချီ၍ ကျယ်ပြန့်သည့် ကြမ်းကြုတ်ရက်စက်မှုများကို ဆက်လက်ကျူးလွန်နေသည်မှာ ထင်ရှားသည်။
မည်သည့်အစိုးရမဆို အခြေခံအခွင့်အရေးနှင့် လွတ်လပ်ခွင့်များအပေါ် အကြမ်းဖက် ချိုးဖောက် လာပါက အပြင်းထန်ဆုံး စကားလုံးများဖြင့် ပစ်တင်ရှုံ့ချရမည်ဖြစ်သည်။ ကြမ်းကြုတ် ရက်စက်ပြီး စစ်အင်အား တိုးချဲ့ချထား တပ်လွှမ်းမိုးသည့် ပြည်တွင်းစစ်ကြောင့် ပြည်သူများသည် ၄င်းတို့ဘဝ ဘေးကင်း လုံခြုံစိတ်ချရရေးအတွက် စိုးရိမ်ပူပန်နေရသည်မှာ လက်ခံနိုင်စရာ အကြောင်းမရှိပေ။ ၄င်းတို့ဘဝ လုံခြုံစိတ်ချရရေးအတွက် ကာလကြာရှည် တောင်းဆိုနေမှုကို မဖြစ်မနေ နားထောင်ရ မည်ဖြစ်ပြီး လွတ်လပ်စွာထုတ်ဖော်ပြောဆိုခွင့်မှာလည်း နိုင်ငံသားအခွင့်အရေးမှ လမ်းချော်သွားရမည် မဟုတ်ပေ။..."
Source/publisher:
Network for Human Rights Documentation - Burma
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights Defenders, Women's rights, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group
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"The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has for the first time invited a minister from Myanmar’s parallel government to an international conference organized by the regional bloc. The move is a significant sign that the 10-member grouping is starting to officially engage with the National Unity Government (NUG), which was formed as the country’s rightful government by elected lawmakers from Myanmar’s ousted National League for Democracy and its ethnic allies after February’s military coup.
Dr. Tu Hkawng, the NUG’s minister of natural resources and environmental conservation, will join the three-day Third Climate Smart and Disaster Resilient ASEAN conference on Tuesday. He will attend the meeting as the minister from Myanmar along with ministers from other ASEAN countries and international experts.
The move came after ASEAN’s attempt to mediate the political crisis sparked by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s takeover in February stalled due to his regime’s lack of cooperation with the regional bloc.
In October, the organization excluded Min Aung Hlaing from its summit over his failure to cooperate. On Monday, he was also barred from the ASEAN-China Special summit due to the regional bloc’s opposition.
While it has excluded the junta leader from its summits, ASEAN had until recently continued to invite the regime’s cabinet ministers to participate in ASEAN-related meetings. However, the regime minister’s name was nowhere to be seen on the announcement of Tuesday’s climate change meeting. Instead, Dr. Tu Hkawng’s name appeared, with the title “Minister, Myanmar.”
The NUG minister told The Irrawaddy that he took the move as ASEAN’s recognition of the NUG as the rightful government of Myanmar.
“I will have a chance to discuss as a minister along with others from ASEAN member states. I take it as a success [for the NUG],” he said.
ASEAN has not made a statement on Dr. Tu Hkawng’s inclusion.
Since its formation in April, the NUG has been pushing ASEAN and other countries to recognize it as the rightful government of Myanmar and has sought to be included in its meetings as the country’s representative..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
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Description:
"To: Kim Jong Yang, INTERPOL President; Jürgen Stock, INTERPOL General Secretary; the INTERPOL Executive Committee and INTERPOL Member Countries
Subject: Call on INTERPOL to ban the illegal junta from representing Myanmar at its General Assembly
Dear INTERPOL President Kim Jong Yang
INTERPOL Vice Presidents Benyamina Abbad and Šárka Havránková
INTERPOL General Secretary Jürgen Stock
INTERPOL Executive Committee Delegates
Khaled Jameel Al Materyeen
Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi
Jean-Jacques Colombi
Rogerio Galloro
Robert Guirao Bailén
Destino Pedro
Olushola Kamar Subair
Jannine Van den Berg
and Member Countries
We, the undersigned 259 organizations, call on INTERPOL to immediately ban the Myanmar military junta from representing Myanmar as a member of INTERPOL. We demand you ensure that the military junta is excluded from the upcoming 89th INTERPOL General Assembly and all benefits and future cooperation that membership entails.
According to media reports, the Myanmar military junta’s police force is currently representing Myanmar in INTERPOL and its members, led by the Head of Police and Deputy Home Affairs Minister Lieutenant-General Than Hlaing, will act as delegates for the Myanmar government at the INTERPOL General Assembly. This is a matter of grave concern to us and raises serious credibility issues for INTERPOL itself for the following reasons:
The military junta does not represent the government of Myanmar. The international community has refused to recognise the military junta as the legitimate government of Myanmar and has prevented members of the military junta from participating in international forums including the UN General Assembly, the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) and the ASEAN Summit.
The attempted coup on 1 February 2021, under the leadership of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing by violent means violated the Myanmar Constitution, international law and the principle of rule of law.
The head of the UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar recently stated that since the attempted coup the Myanmar military junta’s widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population amounts to crimes against humanity.
The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar, composed of international experts including former members of the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar and a former Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, has recently argued that, in addition to crimes against humanity, the Myanmar military is engaging in terrorism and should be classified as a terrorist organization.
General Than Hlaing, as the junta’s Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Chief of Police, is directly responsible for decision making concerning repressive policies and violent actions committed by police against peaceful demonstrators and is therefore responsible for serious human rights violations in Myanmar/Burma.
For this and other reasons, Lt. General Than Hlaing has been placed by the European Union under a travel ban and asset freeze as of 3 March 2021.
Targeted sanctions against Lt. General Than Hlaing also remain in place by the US, UK, and Canada (overview with links here).
Lt General Than Hlaing has been appointed to lead operations in Chin State. Escalating military attacks against civilians there and in Sagaing and Magwe Regions have caused rights groups to draw similarities to “clearance operations” used to violently oppress the ethnic Rohingya population – now at issue in the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice
INTERPOL’s vision is to connect police for a “safer world” and to support security for the world’s citizens. The people of Myanmar are in dire need of safety and security. The single biggest threat to their security is the Myanmar military junta, who is attempting to represent Myanmar in INTERPOL and use the General Assembly as a platform for political gain and international legitimacy. This will embolden the Myanmar military to continue to commit international crimes with blanket impunity.
We note that countering the threat of terrorism is the first of INTERPOL’s seven Global Policing Goals, and INTERPOL has a responsibility to counter and disrupt terrorism wherever it occurs, including in Myanmar.
We draw your attention to condemnation by the UN Security Council regarding the junta following the February 2021 coup, including a November 2021 statement by the Council’s President Juan Ramón de la Fuente Ramírez citing “deep concern at further recent violence across Myanmar”.
We note that upholding human rights is central to INTERPOL’s mandate. We implore you to meet the commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stated in Article 2 of the Constitution of the ICPO-INTERPOL. Recognizing the Myanmar military junta, responsible for systemic and grave human rights violations would be a clear violation of this article.
We appeal to you to adhere to INTERPOL’s commitment to political neutrality stated in Article 3 of the INTERPOL Constitution. Awarding an unlawful military junta that lacks domestic and international recognition with legitimacy would violate this article, and amount to a partisan intervention that would embolden the military to continue to commit international crimes with total impunity.
Instead of legitimizing the military junta through INTERPOL membership, we appeal to you to uphold international law by supporting the ongoing investigation at the International Criminal Court concerning crimes of genocide against the Rohingya, and future investigations, to bring all perpetrators of Myanmar atrocities to account. The Myanmar military must be recognized as a terrorist organization, not recognized as representatives of the Myanmar people who are the very victims of the junta’s daily barrage of violence that INTERPOL aims to protect.
We therefore call on INTERPOL to:
Ban the Myanmar military junta from INTERPOL, including the 89th General Assembly.
Support efforts to bring Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing, Lt Gen Than Hlaing and all other perpetrators of atrocity crimes to justice by identifying and arresting suspects.
Take all measures available to prevent the Myanmar military junta’s continued acts of terrorism by disrupting terrorism movement and tracing and disrupting their international revenue and arms supply networks.
At this fragile and crucial time in Myanmar, INTERPOL and their member countries must act in the interests of the safety and security of Myanmar people, victims and survivors of crime and in accordance with international law and norms..."
Source/publisher:
259 Civil Society Organizations
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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Description:
"The bodies of a 23-year-old female medic and two male members of the Kale People’s Defense Force (PDF) were found at a camp which was raided by junta troops last Tuesday in Kale Township, Sagaing Region.
The civilian resistance group said victims were Biak Rem Chin, Cher Thang Puia and Ram Mawia.
Biak Rem Chin, also known as Chin Chin, was providing medical training at the camp. She had been shot in the forehead while Cher Thang Puia and Ram Mawia showed signs of torture on their faces.
During the raid, the junta captured nine female medics at the base and their condition remains unknown.
The three deaths mean the numbers killed by the military regime is at least 1,281, reported the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which records killings and arrests by the junta. The group estimated that the actual number of victims is much higher.
According to the AAPP’s latest report, junta forces have killed around 50 civilians so far this month, including five teenagers, bystanders, villagers, a striking teacher and a hostage.
High-school teacher U Zaw Min Aung, 40, who joined the civil disobedience movement by refusing to work under the regime, was tortured to death in interrogation hours after being detained in Myin Thar village, Thabeikkyin Township, Mandalay Region.
He was seized with another civilian on the night of Nov. 17 and accused of having links to PDFs.
Ko Ye Aung, who was seized as a hostage in Kyauktada village in Mandalay Region was tortured to death during interrogation, the AAPP said.
On Nov. 12, Ko Myint Naing and Ko Ye Aung, the father and uncle of a young activist who faced an arrest warrant for incitement, were detained. The next day, Ko Ye Aung’s family was told to retrieve his body, which was apparently covered in torture injuries.
Junta forces have detained more than 10,000 people, while nearly 2,000 people face arrest warrants.
Numerous relatives of wanted activists have been taken hostage by the junta.
The AAPP said the 13-year-old son of National League for Democracy member U Htay Aung was seized when junta forces could not find him.
On Nov. 13 morning, the junta seized the wife of U Thein Naing Tun and a young philanthropist named Ko Thein Zaw as hostages in Taung Tha Township, Mandalay Region, when troops failed to find former village administrator U Thein Naing Tun and two other wanted people..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Political History, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Human Rights Defenders, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Interpol confirmed a Myanmar delegation was due to attend its General Assembly in person but refused to name the delegates
Description:
"More than 250 rights groups and charities have called on the international police agency Interpol to exclude a top figure in Myanmar’s junta from its General Assembly on Tuesday, echoing similar calls last week by the National Unity Government (NUG).
Lt-Gen Than Hlaing, the junta’s deputy home affairs minister and head of the Myanmar Police Force, will lead Myanmar’s delegation for the three-day assembly in the Turkish city of Istanbul.
The US, Canada, the EU, and the UK have sanctioned Than Hlaing for his role in overseeing the junta’s murderous crackdown on opponents to the February 1 military coup.
In a letter addressed to Interpol’s leadership and member countries, 259 groups said the junta’s participation in the agency created “serious credibility issues”.
The letter is signed by organisations including ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, the Burma Human Rights Network, Civicus, the International Trade Union Confederation, the Karen Organization of America and Progressive Voice.
“Instead of legitimising the military junta through Interpol membership, we appeal to you to uphold international law by supporting the ongoing investigation at the International Criminal Court concerning crimes of genocide against the Rohingya, and future investigations, to bring all perpetrators of Myanmar atrocities to account,” the letter said.
Last week, 106 South Korean civil society groups wrote to Interpol President Kim Jong Yang to propose that the agency instead invite members of the underground NUG, which was founded to challenge the legitimacy of the junta.
“Interpol is giving legitimacy to the Myanmar military junta and working against the will of the Myanmar people,” said Kinam Kim, a lawyer with Korean Civil Society in Support of Democracy in Myanmar, one of the groups behind the letter.
“This must be condemned,” he added. “If the Korean government does not veto the participation of these criminals in the Interpol General Assembly, then they are going against their own commitment to discontinue cooperation with the Myanmar military junta.”
In a statement to Myanmar Now, Interpol confirmed that Myanmar was due to attend the assembly on Tuesday but that “the final list of member countries actually in attendance will not be available until the event opens.”
The agency also declined to confirm the names of the Myanmar delegates. “It is the decision of each member country to provide details of their delegation,” it said.
The assembly would be held in-person and “only individuals actually in attendance can be considered delegates and vote on resolutions,” the statement said, adding that Interpol’s constitution forbids interventions of a political, military or racial character.
Myanmar Now contacted several Interpol member countries for comment on Than Hlaing’s participation and to ask if they are taking steps to prevent junta representatives from attending the assembly.
Both the Australian Federal Police, the New Zealand Police and Norwegian Police Directorate confirmed their attendance at the General Assembly but would not comment on Myanmar's participation.
A spokesperson for the Swedish Police Authority said that some Interpol member countries are undemocratic and acknowledged there had been concerns about members using the organisation for political purposes.
“All the joint actions we, the Swedish Police Authority, support or participate in, are thoroughly considered in terms of compliance with human rights,” the spokesperson said. “Furthermore, we believe that standing outside the Interpol would be less effective as it would weaken our measures to combat cross-border crimes.”
A spokesperson for the UK’s National Crime Agency said that “membership of Interpol is a matter for Interpol Secretariat General (IPSG), guided by the General Assembly” and that “all members are entitled to attend” the assembly.
A spokesperson for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) would not comment on Myanmar's participation in INTERPOL but said that "attending annual meetings, such as the INTERPOL General Assembly, allows us to build relationships with our international partners and work closely with law enforcement agencies around the world. These relationships are fundamental to our ability to ensure Canada responds to globalized threats."
The US Department of Justice declined to comment. Myanmar Now also contacted officials in Ireland, the Netherlands, the Maldives and the Gambia but did not receive a response.
Khin Ohmar of Progressive Voice said that member police forces have human rights responsibilities and therefore need to proactively prevent Myanmar’s junta from participating in Interpol.
"The Myanmar Police Force is under the direct control of the illegitimate military junta, which is a criminal gang and a perpetrator of cross-border crime,” she said. “Allowing these international criminals to be part of Interpol only emboldens them to continue to perpetrate crimes with impunity.” ..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"We, Women’s Peace Network, are horrified to hear that on November 11, a group of
Myanmar military soldiers gang raped a 27-year-old ethnic Chin woman of Akllui Village, Tedim
Township, Chin State in front of her husband, assaulted him, and plundered their home; and
further gang raped her 30-year-old pregnant sister-in-law.1
We are distressed that the decades-long impunity continues to embolden the Myanmar
military to use rape as a weapon of war. As reported by the United Nations (UN) Independent
Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), the Myanmar military and security forces have
perpetrated the most brutal forms of sexual and gender-based violence -- including rape, gang
rape, sexual mutilation, and sexual slavery -- against Rohingya and other ethnic minority groups
for decades. Since the February 1 coup, the Myanmar military has continued to brutalize women
with this violence, including by raping a 62-year-old woman in Namflom Village, Kutkai
Township of Shan State on November 7, as well as a 14-year-old girl in Namphatka Village of the
same township.
For years, many women’s organizations, including Women’s Peace Network, have
documented and reported about the Myanmar military’s use of sexual and gender-based
violence in our communities. Despite our calls for accountability, the international community
has continuously failed to take concerted action against this brutal military. We now fear that
fueled by this impunity, the Myanmar military’s systematic use of sexual and gender-based
violence will engulf the entire nation -- including Chin State -- without delay.
Therefore, we call upon the international community to take swift action to provide
protection and support to the women of Myanmar, and hold the Myanmar military accountable
for its brutality. As urged by 521 Myanmar civil society organizations on November 4, the UN
Security Council must immediately convene an urgent meeting on the crisis in Chin State, refer
the situation of Myanmar to the International Criminal Court, and impose a global arms
embargo on the country. The UN Member States must also impose economic sanctions and
financial penalties against Myanmar military-owned and controlled businesses and
conglomerates; further financial restrictions must be placed on the junta's private dealings with
global conglomerates.
It is past time for the international community to hold the Myanmar military
accountable. Only when this vicious cycle of impunity ends can we achieve a truly inclusive and
federal democracy..."
Source/publisher:
Women’s Peace Network
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Women's rights, Sexual orientation - Discrimination based on, Chin (Zo) discussion groups
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
48.31 KB
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Description:
"The Women's League of Burma (WLB) strongly condemns the gang-rape of a mother of
four children from Akllui village of Tedim township in Chin state by three military junta
soldiers at her home. She was assaulted between 11 P.M to midnight on November 11,
2021.
Forty soldiers arrived in Akllui village on November 7, 2021. After their arrival, three
junta soldiers entered the home of a mother of a one-month-old baby around 11 P.M on
November 11, 2021. They interrogated and investigated her and her husband on
allegations that they had ties to members of the People's Defense Force (PDF).
Despite the couple's insistent denials that they had no affiliation to the civilian armed
groups, the soldiers refused to accept their testimonies. They began to threaten them, and
forced them to switch off the lights in their home. One of the soldiers took the husband to
the back of the house and aimed a gun at his head before slamming his head on a glass
table where he sustained injuries. The remaining two soldiers went into the bedroom and
told the woman to put her young baby down, and forced her to lie on the bed. Guns were
aimed at her and they threatened to kill her. She was raped repeatedly while she begged
for mercy.
After some time, two of the three soldiers came back. They threatened the husband and
the other one raped the mother again in front of the husband and left. At midnight, the
three drunk soldiers returned and forced the husband to watch while two of the soldiers
raped the woman again.
The soldiers confiscated the couple's phone, power-bank, and a cash amount of 18 000
Myanmar Kyats and gold earrings. They made the husband escort them on a motorbike
to a local liquor shop; and beat and tortured the husband when they found out that the
shop was closed.
This case of a harrowing gang-rape against a post-partum mother in Akllui is further
evidence that impunity still continues for the Burma military's systematic use of rape as
a weapon of war and sexual violence against ethnic women. Since the coup on 1 February
2021, sexual violence has become more widespread.
WLB calls for urgent action to hold the military junta accountable through international
accountability mechanisms for their crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes..."
Source/publisher:
Women's League of Burma
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Women and Politics in Burma/Myanmar, Women's rights, Burmese women's organisations, Sexual orientation - Discrimination based on, Chin (Zo) discussion groups
Language:
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
85.15 KB 418.57 KB
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Sub-title:
Fears for the safety of nine medics captured by regime forces last week have grown amid evidence that three others detained at the same time were tortured to death
Description:
"Regime forces who captured 12 members of the Kalay People’s Defence Force (PDF) during a raid last week tortured three of them to death and used the other nine as human shields, according to a member of the group.
The bodies of two men found dead at a base that was overrun by junta troops last Tuesday had multiple face injuries, while a woman believed to have been killed the day after the raid had a bullet wound in her forehead, Kalay PDF member Victor said.
“The injuries on one of the male bodies suggest that his face was beaten with a rock until he died,” said Victor, who added that the bodies were recovered two days after the raid.
The male victims were identified as Cher Thang Puia, 27, and Ram Mawia, 26. The 23-year-old female victim, Baik Rem Chin (aka Chin Chin), was providing medical training at the base, located in southwestern Kalay Township, when it was raided.
Yati Ohn, a friend of the murdered woman, expressed concern for the safety of nine other young women captured at the Kalay PDF Battalion 3 base the same day.
“I am very worried for the lives of those girls. The military council has no regard for human rights standards or international laws and may subject them to psychological and physical torture,” said Yati Ohn, who leads a team of medics.
“I would like to request help from both international and local organizations,” she added.
A coalition of local resistance forces that clashed with the soldiers following the raid said that they later retreated to avoid harming the hostages, who they said were being used as human shields.
It is believed that the women, whose photos went viral after they were posted online by the junta last week, are currently being held at the headquarters of the military’s Kalay Regional Operations Command (ROC).
“We heard that all nine were taken to Kalay and then to the ROC headquarters,” said Victor.
According to the Kalay PDF, nearly 30 junta soldiers were killed during three days of fighting early last week. Two of its members were also injured by shelling, but remain in stable condition, the group said.
The base that was raided was the closest one to Kalay, according to PDF member Victor, who said that it was easily captured because there were few troops there at the time of the raid.
“The security at the base was lowered as several of our troops had been sent to the frontlines,” he said. He added that the regime failed to obtain any sensitive information.
Residents of Kalay reported a number of clashes late at night last Thursday.
“There was an explosion at around 11pm and then it got worse. We heard consecutive gunshots. There was also a clash at the Kalay police station. Gunshots could be heard all over town. It only stopped after midnight,” said a local man.
Myanmar Now was unable to determine which group the military was fighting that night.
On Friday, the Kalay PDF released a statement warning civilians to avoid using the Kalay-Gangaw road.
The military has dramatically increased its presence in Sagaing Region and Chin State since mid-October, when it launched a new offensive, dubbed Operation Anawrahta, to crush resistance to the regime that seized power in February..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Political History
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Fighters say the group empowers women, who have been targeted by soldiers in village raids.
Description:
"Activists in Myanmar’s Sagaing region have formed the country’s first women-only anti-junta militia, a collection of students, teachers, farmers and white-collar workers fighting to take back the country from well-armed government troops who toppled the democratically elected government in a Feb. 1 coup.
Hera, 16, said she quit high school to take a position as commander in the Myaung Women Guerrilla Group (MWGG) after watching soldiers attack unarmed protesters and civilians.
“The local civilians must flee their homes when the soldiers arrived in the village,” she said. “I shed tears whenever I see them in the refugee camps, and it motivates me to fight. I have no fear because I was willing to give up my life when I signed up to be in the group. I want to fight for democracy.”
The military has launched offensives throughout Myanmar’s remote border regions that are under the control of ethnic armies and anti-junta People’s Defense Force (PDF) militias, and reports suggest that troops regularly raid villages, looting and burning homes and attacking civilians.
Junta security forces have killed 1,275 civilians since taking over in a Feb. 1 coup, according to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. At least 80 of those killed were women, the group said. Last week, soldiers allegedly raped two young women in Chin state’s Tedim township, prompting rights groups to decry the military’s use of “sexual violence as a weapon” since the coup.
A member of the MWGG who gave her name as Amera told RFA’s Myanmar Service that the group was launched in Sagaing’s Myaung township last month to empower women who might otherwise be preyed upon by raiding troops.
“It is assumed that women’s hands are meant for the rocking the cradle, but we want to show to the people that our hands are also capable of armed resistance to the military regime,” she said.
“Besides, we women face discrimination in many ways, given the situation in the country. All in all, we have come out to break down the barriers that limit the role of women in society.”
Amera said that MWGG fighters now regularly participate in operations using explosives and “exterminating military informers.”
A MWGG platoon commander named Athena told RFA that she took up arms to serve in her brother’s place after he was killed in a mine explosion during a militia training drill.
“My family members were worried at first and they asked me to come back home after my brother died. But I decided not to go home until democracy has been restored,” she said.
Women in resistance movements
Many women have taken part in anti-junta movements since the coup, with some joining the armed resistance and others peacefully protesting the military regime.
On Sept. 6, 11 women-led protest groups from Yangon, Mandalay, Monywa, and towns in Sagaing joined together to form the Women Allied Forces.
A woman protest leader who organized daily actions against the military coup in Monywa told RFA that the formation of an all-women militia is a significant milestone in the resistance movement.
“The situation [since the coup] has led us to demonstrate that women can do the same jobs as men. I think these resistance movements bring more equality and may help to eliminate discrimination in the future,” she said, speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal.
“Some people think it is not so special that women participate in protests. But it is extraordinary to see the women bravely fighting in militia group. They have made their mark in the history of the resistance movement.”..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-20
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Women and Politics in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Retired teacher Neih Ki Yaw was determined to make the third coup of his lifetime the last his country would have to suffer
Description:
"Neih Ki Yaw, a native of southern Chin State’s Mindat Township, was born a year after Myanmar won its independence from British colonial rule.
He was still a boy when the country first fell under military rule nearly 60 years ago, but was already a father of five (with one more on the way) by the time of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising.
In the 1990s, as the army strengthened its grip after mounting another bloody coup to hold on to power, he lost his wife and struggled to raise his family on his own.
Eventually, he retired from his job as a middle-school teacher and dedicated himself to serving his community. Then, a little over a decade ago, he witnessed the first signs of real change in his lifetime, as the military allowed the first election in 20 years.
No doubt, he hoped to live out his years believing that his children’s children would never have to know the harsh realities of life under a brutal dictatorship. But Myanmar’s military had different ideas.
When the army stole power again in February, for the third time since his birth, Neih Ki Yaw was determined to resist it in any way he could.
Not letting his age stand in his way, he took part in anti-coup protests—and then, as the regime moved to crush all opposition to its rule, he joined the armed resistance movement.
In the end, this decision cost him his life. Earlier this month, a piece of shrapnel from an artillery shell hit him in the back while he was fighting on the frontline, killing him instantly.
His life ended very differently from the way it began—as a citizen of a newly liberated country—but serves as a reminder of the timeless, and ageless, desire for freedom from oppression.
‘Determined to win’
Neih Ki Yaw was an outstanding student in his youth. As an eighth grader, he won an award for excellence, signalling a promising future.
Growing up in Mindat, however, his prospects were limited. As the poorest state in a country that grew steadily more impoverished over the decades due to military mismanagement of the economy, Chin State did not offer many opportunities.
Despite this, however, Neih Ki Yaw remained in the place where he was born and raised, choosing to become a teacher rather than leave in search of better prospects elsewhere.
Our ethnic regions have faced a lot of injustice under all these dictatorships, and he was well aware of this. That’s why he was determined to win this fight at all costs
Many years later, it was this same commitment to his homeland that compelled him to join the fight against a junta that threatens to rob another generation of its potential.
“Our ethnic regions have faced a lot of injustice under all these dictatorships, and he was well aware of this. That’s why he was determined to win this fight at all costs,” said a friend who worked with him to help develop his neighbourhood in Sawntaung, the village he lived in until his death.
Mindat was among the first places in Myanmar to see the emergence of an armed resistance movement. In late April, local people armed only with traditional hunting rifles began to form into small units to defend anti-coup protesters facing lethal crackdowns by regime forces.
Later, these same units coalesced into what would become the Chinland Defence Force (CDF). Over time, they began to fashion more sophisticated weapons, including handmade pistols and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
As a reserve member of the CDF, Neih Ki Yaw took responsibility for maintaining weapons and making IEDs to be used against military vehicles pouring into Chin State with reinforcements.
“We were so proud of him for playing such a big part in the revolution from his home,” said one of his four sons, a former forestry department employee who quit his government job to join the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Perhaps proudest of all was his youngest son, who took his father’s handmade mines with him when he went to the frontline as part of the armed resistance.
A failed mission
For months, the CDF carried out successful attacks on regime forces using these explosives. However, with the junta’s launch of Operation Anawrahta in October, their efforts to hold back the massive movement of troops proved less effective.
On October 13, a convoy of 70 military trucks and two tanks travelling from Pakokku stopped in Mindat en route to Matupi, in western Chin State. The CDF had laid IEDs along the Mindat-Matupi road to prevent it from reaching its destination, but due to demining and poor weather conditions, only a few were detonated.
When we decided to pull back so that we could return fire, he stayed behind to draw in the junta’s forces. That’s when he was hit
The failure of that mission was a huge disappointment to Neih Ki Yaw, and probably one of the key reasons that he felt a need to go to the frontline, according to CDF spokesperson Yaw Mahn.
“He decided to go to the frontlines because he was afraid his comrades would be hurt by his mines. He was also quite unhappy that they didn’t stop that convoy,” he said.
When the convoy returned to Mindat from Matupi in early November, Neih Ki Yaw left home to join a group of CDF fighters sent to intercept it.
“He didn’t tell us that he was going, but I figured he had already made up his mind. He just gathered all of his weapons and explosives and left for the frontline,” his youngest son told Myanmar Now.
“We didn’t want him to go as he was quite old, but we didn’t try to stop him,” he added.
Fighting spirit
Neih Ki Yaw met his end near Milestone 48 on the Mindat-Matupi road. It was here that he and his comrades came under artillery fire and Neih Ki Yaw decided to sacrifice his life so that others in his unit could retreat, according to Yaw Mahn.
“When we decided to pull back so that we could return fire, he stayed behind to draw in the junta’s forces. That’s when he was hit. A piece of shrapnel penetrated the left side of his back.”
His body was carried back to his home village, where he received a Christian burial at the local cemetery on the morning of November 5. Another ceremony was held for him in Kalay, which has also been a major centre of anti-regime activity. The town, located some 300km to the north in Sagaing Region, also has a large Chin community.
“It was just so sudden. The realization that I didn’t have a father anymore just broke me. But we are proud of him for giving his life for federal democracy, for his people, and for his country,” said his youngest son, the CDF member.
A close friend who asked to remain anonymous said that Neih Ki Yaw was the first person from his village of more than 600 people to die in battle against the junta.
“When the revolution is over, we plan to hold a ceremony to recognize him as a martyr of our cause,” he said, adding that Neih Ki Yaw’s fighting spirit was a source of pride to many living in the Chin Hills.
It was just so sudden. The realization that I didn’t have a father anymore just broke me
His youngest son also vowed to keep his memory alive by continuing the fight until it achieves its goal of ending Myanmar’s decades of oppressive military rule once and for all.
“This is a war and people die during wars. We can’t let his death be the end of our revolution. We will have to continue fighting until the end,” he said.
“We have already decided to end this dictatorship for good. Therefore, we must keep fighting in every way we can,” he added..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-20
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights Defenders, Chin (Zo)- economic, social, cultural, political
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Some of those captured have since been released, but troops told locals they would kill the others if they heard gunfire near their villages
Description:
"Junta soldiers used 13 civilians including a teenaged boy as human shields during raids on villages in the Magway Region Township of Yesagyo on Wednesday, according to residents.
The troops, who were from Light Infantry Division (LID) 101, raided at least 11 villages in the township, which sits at the confluence of Chindwin and Irrawaddy rivers in central Myanmar.
Several locals told Myanmar Now the soldiers were hunting for members of the People’s Defence Force (PDF). The civilians they detained also included two women and 10 men.
About 60 LID 101 soldiers based in Pakokku, 47km from Yesagyo, occupied the villages of Min Ywar and Ngatayaw on Monday and another 60 joined them the next day before Wednesday’s raids began, the Yesagyo PDF said.
Citing eyewitnesses, a leader from the Yesagyo PDF, said that 10 of the 13 people used as human shields were taken from the village of Hlaykhoke.
“We were informed that soldiers tied the hands of those ten locals behind their backs and asked them to walk in front of them,” he said.
About 3,000 residents from Yesagyo reportedly fled the raids, according to a Hlaykhoke villager who is among those displaced.
Five of the 13 detained, two women and three middle-aged men, were released around 8pm on Wednesday, said the Hlaykhoke local and a resident of Ngatayaw village.
The other eight, including a 15-year-old boy, remain in detention, they added.
“One of the two women released said soldiers let them go but told them that they would kill all the remaining captives immediately if they hear the sound of gunfire near the village,” said the Hlaykhoke villager.
“They just wanted to inform us that they had been released and told us to flee to avoid being arrested,” he said.
On Thursday morning, soldiers entered the village of Ngatayaw and ransacked houses belonging to members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, said the Ngatayaw local.
The raids came four days after a coalition of local defence forces attacked a police outpost in Pakan Nge, 20km south of Yesagyo, and seized two motorcycles and two rifles before setting the outpost on fire.
Locals said that junta forces told them they would not stop their attacks until they found the weapons that the PDF members seized from the outpost.
The Yesagyo PDF on Monday released a video of locals clapping for PDF fighters returning from the attack in Pakan Nge.
Lin Yone, the leader of a group involved in the attack called the Phoenix Guerrilla Force, said that the raid on the villages on Wednesday was likely fuelled by the video footage.
“I think the military was checking around the villages in Yesagyo due to this video file in which the people are welcoming us without any fear,” said Lin Yone.
Pakan Nge is on the western side of the Chindwin River and the villages raided by the junta forces on Wednesday are located on the eastern side of the waterway.
In August, the military carried out clearance operations in several of Magway’s townships, including Yesagyo, Myaing, Gangaw and Pauk, to quell armed resistance to its rule.
Resistance fighters in the region have launched numerou attacks on junta troops in recent months..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-20
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"Former National League for Democracy lawmaker U Phyo Zeya Thaw, who has been accused of masterminding deadly attacks on regime targets in Yangon, was arrested by junta forces during a raid on the outskirts of the city on Thursday.
The arrest came after a monthlong manhunt for the 40-year-old former parliamentarian, whom the regime accuses of supporting local civilian resistance forces and orchestrating several fatal hit-and-run attacks on junta troops in Yangon in recent months. The regime claimed the covert attacks include incidents in which soldiers manning security checkpoints in the city have been sprayed with bullets, and the deadly shooting of four police officers on board a Yangon Circular Rail train in August, among others.
Prior to his arrest, the regime charged U Phyo Zeya Thaw under the Counter-Terrorism Law and the Public Property Protection Act.
There has not yet been any official announcement about the arrest, which comes as the regime steps up its hunt for members of the People’s Defence Force (PDF)—a network of local civilian resistance groups—in Yangon. Late last month, the regime arrested veteran Myanmar democracy activist Ko Kyaw Min Yu, better known as Ko Jimmy, one of the leaders of the 88 Generation Students Group. It claimed that he was the leader of Operation Moonlight, which it said was a series of planned attacks in the city to be carried out by a PDF group.
Another 47 suspects were also arrested in Yangon this month. The junta’s mouthpiece Myawady News said they were involved in the attacks in Yangon masterminded by the ex-lawmaker and others.
Sources close to the matter confirmed the raid and U Phyo Zeya Thaw’s arrest, saying “his laptop was also seized.” That means information about the resistance forces opposing the regime, and their supporters, has potentially been exposed, raising the likelihood of more arrests.
Following the junta’s brutal crackdowns on anti-coup protesters, Myanmar has seen deadly attacks by civilian resistance fighters on regime targets including administration offices, police stations and army convoys. The junta has accused ousted NLD lawmakers and party members of masterminding most of the attacks.
U Phyo Zeya Thaw served as an NLD MP in the Lower House of Parliament from 2012 to 2020.
Prior to that, he made his name as a member of Acid, Myanmar’s first hip-hop band. Acid emerged in 2000, when the young Myanmar audience was growing bored of the country’s mainstream rock music and looking for something new. Their debut release—Beginning—was the first rap album by local musicians and propelled the band to nationwide stardom, as well as paving the way for other Myanmar hip-hop artists.
After the junta’s Feb. 1 coup and its subsequent crackdowns on peaceful anti-regime protesters, U Phyo Zeya Thaw went into hiding but appears to have been active against the junta. As he didn’t stand for Parliament in the 2020 poll, he is unlikely to be a member of the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, a group of ousted elected NLD lawmakers that the military regime has branded a terrorist organization..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-19
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2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Articles on the NLD, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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"More than 80 junta soldiers and 14 civilian resistance fighters were reportedly killed during clashes with People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) in Sagaing and Magwe regions during three days this week.
The Irrawaddy could not independently verify any of the reports.
On Friday, a fierce clash between regime forces and several civilian resistance groups, including fighters from Chin State, occurred in Saw Township, Magwe Region.
In the firefight, the regime used helicopters to bombard civilian forces, the groups said, providing video evidence.
Saw PDF said on Friday that there were at least 20 military casualties and some civilian fighters were killed or injured.
“The junta attacked us and military reinforcements are arriving. The whole area is under attack from the junta. The junta is using helicopters,” a Yaw Defense Force (YDF) representative told The Irrawaddy.
On Wednesday, 14 civilian fighters and 10 regime troops were killed in a firefight with the YDF near Htanpinkone village in Tilin Township, Magwe Region, according to the YDF.
On Wednesday and Tuesday, the YDF in Tilin claimed five displaced civilians were killed by regime forces in the township.
A police officer was allegedly killed and a police captain wounded when the Gangaw PDF attacked the police on a motorbike in Kanywar village, Gangaw Township in Magwe Region on Thursday evening.
After the incident, the police raided the village and burned down seven houses, according to residents.
“Villagers had to flee as police opened fire on everything they could see, injuring a villager,” a resident told The Irrawaddy.
About seven houses and two motorbikes were destroyed by the police and a cow was shot dead, the resident said.
On Thursday afternoon, a fierce shootout was reported at a police station in Yesagyo Township, Magwe Region, in a raid by two civilian resistance groups.
After an hour-long firefight, the attackers occupied the police station, said the Yesagyo PDF.
In the shootout, two junta police were killed and another two wounded while the other police officers fled.
Yesagyo PDF said it burned down the police station after seizing police equipment, including an air gun, ammunition, a laptop and motorbikes.
On Thursday, two junta troops were killed when Yesagyo PDF ambushed a military vehicle using two landmines.
On Nov. 13, four resistance forces, including Yesagyo PDF, occupied and burned down a police station in the township after another battle with junta police.
Fighting has been reported in Kale Township, Sagaing Region, since Tuesday when regime force killed three Kale PDF medics and detained nine of its female members.
On Thursday, Kale PDF attacked the regime troops who seized its members while they were based in Nagarpwat village, Kale Township.
Kale PDF said it ambushed military reinforcements trying to reach Nagarpwat using three landmines, killing about 15 troops. After the ambushed, regime forces attacked nearby Chinsai village and torched 10 houses, the PDF said.
On Wednesday, the combined Kale PDF and Chin National Defense Force attacked regime troops who raided a PDF camp and detained the nine PDF medics. In the fighting, 17 junta soldiers were killed and one civilian fighter injured in junta shelling, the group said.
Two junta soldiers were killed and three others wounded when a combined resistance force attacked junta sentries in Tahan ward, Kale Township.
Around 15 junta soldiers were reportedly killed in ambushes and firefights with resistance groups in Tigyaing, Ye-U and Katha townships, Sagaing Region, on Thursday and Wednesday, according to the parallel National Unity Government’s ministry of defense.
The military regime is facing increasing attacks from PDFs and ethnic armed groups across the country..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-19
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"Being unbowed, defiant and outspoken are trademarks of Nan Khin Htwe Myint, the detained Karen State chief minister of the ousted National League for Democracy government.
When the military staged a coup on Feb. 1, the 67-year-old was detained, like other NLD government officials. She told The Irrawaddy in February that during her house arrest, the Karen woman challenged the commander who detained her, saying, “If the military thinks there is vote fraud, I am ready to contest with you via an open ballot system anytime, rather than a secret ballot.” That was her response after the commander read her the regime’s official notice announcing the coup, which said the military seized power due to electoral fraud. The commander responded with an uneasy laugh.
Even under house arrest, she urged the people to continue their anti-regime strike in whatever ways possible, whether by raising three-finger salutes—a symbol of defiance against military rule—banging on pots and pans, or joining the civil disobedience movement (CDM).
She herself engaged in all these different means of anti-regime protest. As she still had access to her phone, Nan Khin Htwe Myint gave interviews to the media, urging public support for “final efforts” to strike against the regime and to speak up for the release of detained leaders, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
She even posted a video online calling on people to unite to fight against military rule and urging soldiers to defend the people and unite with the general public.
On Feb. 8, two days after tens of thousands of Myanmar people took to the streets rejecting the military coup, she was taken to Hpa-an Prison in the Karen State capital.
In May, she was sentenced to two years in prison for comments she made following the Feb. 1 coup calling for people to show unity in striking against the regime, which were deemed by the junta to be incitement.
Then on Nov. 9, the NLD Central Executive Committee member was sentenced to 75 years in prison on four corruption charges—which she denied—by the junta court inside Hpa-an Prison. She is now serving a total of 77 years in prison, a move by which the junta hopes to ensure that the core NLD member stays behind bars.
Her family and people close to her say it shows the depth of the military’s grudge against her for her outspokenness and defiance.
Dedicated democracy activist
Nan Khin Htwe Myint has made many sacrifices due to her activism and family history of opposing military rule.
Her father was the Karen State head of the AFPFL (Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League) in the years shortly before and after independence from the British. Through family discussions Nan Khin Htwe Myint gained a homegrown knowledge of federalism, as well as political and ethnic history. Under Myanmar’s military rulers, her family was targeted for persecution for their political ties.
She has inherited her father’s commitment to working for ethnic rights and equality. She told The Irrawaddy in 2016 that she “is dedicated to establishing my country as a federal-based democratic nation.”
She was detained for the first time in 1975 for taking part in the student movement and imprisoned for six years. She continued to be imprisoned; she was jailed for two years in 1997, and then arbitrarily detained multiple times throughout the 1990s, without any charges.
She became a dedicated member of the NLD upon its formation in 1988, following the nationwide uprising that year. She contested and won a seat in the 1990 general election, in Hpa-an Constituency, the same constituency she represented in the 2015 and 2020 general elections.
The military regime’s targeted acts of oppression against her include prison sentences and numerous arbitrary detentions. Now, she is being defamed by the junta with corruption charges. The allegation is ironic given that as chief minister of Karen State, Nan Khin Htwe Myint was known for her anti-graft stance.
“We are really surprised by the charges and the verdicts,” said her younger brother Saw Than Htut, who won election to an Upper House constituency in the 2020 election.
“We, ourselves, loathe committing graft. She has never committed any corruption. The charges are a complete swindle,” said the brother. “The junta’s charges against her are totally based on grudges as she is a decisive, outspoken and courageous politician.”
Those who know her well speak of her as leading a very simple and far from luxurious life, even though she was the chief minister. She didn’t even own a car.
A senior NLD leader who has known her for more than 30 years, and who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she is loyal to both the party and the country and “a role-model” in the NLD after chairperson Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
Trumped-up charges
After they were detained in prison in the second week of February, the regime filed complaints against Nan Khin Htwe Myint and U Than Naing, Karen State’s municipal minister under the NLD government, accusing them of violating tender and financial regulations related to infrastructure development projects in Karen State. She was given 75 years while her colleague got a total of 92 years for corruption and sedition.
The pair told the court that they “didn’t commit the offenses,” according to their lawyer U Aung Thein.
A source close to the court said that “the rulings were unjust” because they were entirely based on the prosecutors’ arguments, neglecting the defense lawyers’ arguments. The judge just read out a prepared ruling, the source said.
Some lawyers said such cases could be solved through departmental inquiries and did not need to be brought to trial.
“These cases are simply based on grudges,” said a lawyer who is familiar with the cases.
Knowing her integrity, a judge reportedly apologized to her during one proceeding, according to the source close to the court.
Junta’s grudges against NLD
Reflecting their desire for NLD members to stay behind bars, the Myanmar junta’s grudges against the party’s leaders become more obvious by the day. Nan Khin Htwe Myint’s cases are just the latest examples.
Similar charges have been brought against other senior leaders including detained State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other chief ministers.
The junta has filed 11 charges against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the NLD party chairperson, including for sedition, alleged breach of COVID-19 restrictions, violating the Official Secrets Act and corruption, which are also widely believed to be trumped-up charges.
The 76-year-old Nobel Laureate faces up to 102 years in prison if found guilty.
In the 10 months since the military coup, the junta’s courts across the nation have handed jail sentences to 286 people including NLD members, former lawmakers, students and civilians participating in the peaceful anti-regime movement, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which documents rights abuses and killings.
Civilian courts have sentenced them to terms ranging from at least two years to life imprisonment, while fewer than a dozen civilians have been sentenced to death by a military court.
Among them, 80-year-old NLD patron U Win Htein was sentenced to 20 years in prison for high treason by a court inside Naypyitaw Prison for criticizing the coup on Oct. 29.
Rakhine State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu was sentenced to two years in prison for incitement by Sittwe Court on Oct. 8. Magwe Region Chief Minister Dr. Aung Moe Nyo was sentenced to the same term on June 8. Mandalay Region Chief Minister Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, who is also the NLD’s vice chair, is also accused of sedition and corruption, and awaits trial..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-19
[field_licence]
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2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Anti-coup protesters, Articles on the NLD, Human Rights Defenders
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The 40-year-old high school teacher was taken into military custody at 11am—by 5pm his family was notified that he had died
Description:
"A teacher from Mandalay Region’s Thabeikkyin Township who had been taking part in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) was arrested on Wednesday afternoon. Within hours, his family was notified that he had died at an interrogation centre.
Zaw Min Aung, 40, was a high school teacher participating in a general strike across Myanmar in accordance with the CDM, which aims to topple the junta that seized power in February’s military coup.
He was arrested from his home in Myintha village at around 11am by a large group of soldiers and policemen.
A local teacher told Myanmar Now that the victim’s family was notified at around 5pm by officials from the police station in the nearby village of Kyar Nyat that he had died.
“We were only told that he died during the interrogation. We don’t know the exact cause of his death. His body was all wrapped up with only his face exposed,” the teacher said, adding that Zaw Min Aung was reportedly cremated at the Kyar Nyat cemetery.
Another local said that it was likely that Zaw Min Aung was wrongly flagged by a military informant as being involved in the anti-coup movement beyond his participation in the CDM, and was subsequently targeted.
“He was a very honest and quiet person. He liked to help people, too. His only political action was taking part in the CDM. I think he was tipped off to the military by an informant,” the local man said.
Another Myintha resident, 30-year-old Moe Kyaw, was also arrested for shouting warnings to villagers that junta troops had arrived on Wednesday. He was later released from the Kyar Nyat police station, but was reportedly tortured during his interrogation, another villager told Myanmar now.
Of Zaw Min Aung, the latter villager said, “it saddens me a lot to see that a teacher from our village had to face such a fate.”
Myanmar Now tried to contact the Kyar Nyat police station in Thabeikkyin regarding the arrests and the teacher’s death, but all calls went unanswered.
Zaw Min Aung leaves behind a wife and two young sons.
Other teachers participating in the CDM have been recently targeted in Mandalay Region, arrested and killed in military custody.
Thein Zaw, a teacher from Kin village in Madaya Township, was accused of supporting the anti-coup People’s Defence Force and kidnapped by the military on October 6. He was forced to guide his captors to his home three days later, and was killed en route. His body was disposed of by the junta’s armed forces near the village cemetery.
Win Lwin, from Ywar Bo village in Sintgaing Township was also arrested on November 1 and died one day later in military custody.
Villagers in Leik San Khun in Amarapura Township tore up a notice posted on the junta’s local administration office, threatening teachers with death if they did not return to work.
Soldiers responded by carrying out a raid on a group of locals preparing for a wedding, and beating those present.
Thabeikkyin Township was once the site of mass demonstrations against military rule, but the protests waned after leaders were forced into hiding by the junta’s crackdowns..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-19
[field_licence]
Type:
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Category:
Anti-coup protesters, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights Defenders, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar
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Sub-title:
Revenues from Foreign Companies Keep Military in Power
Description:
" Payments by energy and extractive companies to entities under the control of the Myanmar military are providing key funds to sustain the junta and pose serious legal, financial, and reputational risks to investors in those companies.
In October, Human Rights Watch wrote to several dozen investment firms that own shares in companies that operate in joint partnership with entities under the control of the junta installed by Myanmar’s military, which seized control in a February coup, engaged in a brutal crackdown against protestors, and is implicated in multiple crimes against humanity, killings, torture, and war crimes. Joint projects involving natural gas generate over a billion dollars in foreign revenue for the junta annually, transmitted in US dollars to the junta’s bank accounts in foreign countries.
“Investors need to act now to help block massive payments currently flowing to a brutal military junta,” said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “The junta is highly dependent on foreign US dollar income from mining and natural gas, and targeted new measures to block it may be the only real way to achieve changes in their behavior.”
Under existing contracts with government entities, energy companies have limited options for halting payments that go to the junta, but they would need to comply with sanctions or other financial regulatory actions blocking those payments if imposed by the US, EU, and other key governments, Human Rights Watch said.
Human Rights Watch wrote to investment firms with major investments in at least one of the following companies: Total Energies, Chevron, PTT or its subsidiary PTTEP, and POSCO, which together are responsible for the bulk of Myanmar’s natural gas production and revenues.
Blackrock, State Street, and Vanguard own substantial stakes in all four companies, giving them especially potent leverage with company leadership. Human Rights Watch also wrote to JP Morgan Chase, Bank of New York Mellon, Fisher Asset Management, and Dimensional Fund Advisors, as well as to several other funds of varying sizes with significant shares in Total Energies. Human Rights Watch has previously corresponded with Total Energies and PTT about their Myanmar operations.
The letters to firms and investors detail how companies providing revenue to the junta are facing serious legal, financial, and reputational risks and are unable to fulfill their human rights responsibilities in Myanmar under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Investment firms also have human rights responsibilities and could themselves face financial and reputational risks as shareholders in companies generating billions of dollars for the junta.
Human Rights Watch received no reply from Blackrock, Vanguard, or other US-based investors. State Street, which holds substantial blocks of shares in Total Energies, Chevron, and PTT and smaller stakes in POSCO, responded in an email on October 22 saying that the letter had been “passed on to our Asset Stewardship team who develop and implement our engagement strategies with portfolio companies in order that they can consider how this issue might be built into future engagements.”
To address possible unintended negative consequences, the letters outline methods for blocking payments without disrupting natural gas production itself.
Investors should move swiftly to raise concerns with companies, Human Rights Watch said.
“Investment firms should be using their leverage as major shareholders to convince companies to support sanctions by the US, EU, and other concerned governments, freezing payments into the junta’s offshore accounts,” said Sifton. “Failing to act perpetuates harm to the people of Myanmar and only exposes companies to further risk.”..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-19
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"Civilian resistance groups are still trying to rescue nine female civilian fighters captured by the junta earlier this week in Sagaing Region’s Kale Township.
With tensions rising in the township, local People’s Defense Forces (PDF) have warned residents not to travel on the Gangaw-Kale Road, which is used by junta soldiers and Pyu Saw Htee, a militia group trained and armed by the military regime.
On Tuesday, junta soldiers raided a base where over 20 civilian resistance fighters from the Kale PDF Battalion 3 were staying. Two male fighters and ten female members of the PDF’s medical team were at the base at the time of the raid.
Kale PDF confirmed that those captured were medics from the resistance group. The Kale PDF said that it found the bodies of two male members and a 23-year-old female medic at the site on Thursday.
Combined forces from the Kale PDF, Chin Nationalities Defense Force (CNDF), Chinland Defense Force, Ranger Kale Defense Force (RKDF) and other community-based resistance groups have been battling regime troops to rescue the captured PDF members.
“We are very sorry that some of those captured from Battalion 3 are our former colleagues. We will fight tooth and nail to rescue the captured members,” said the RKDF in a statement.
CNDF said at least 20 junta soldiers were killed in Tuesday’s fighting. A civilian resistance fighter was slightly injured by an artillery strike.
A combined force of local resistance groups also attacked junta soldiers on Tuesday in the southwest of Kale Township. They also attacked the police station in Tar Han Ward on Tuesday, and an explosion took place near the runway of Kale airport on Wednesday. Despite the fighting, anti-regime protests are continuing in Kale.
In response to the attacks, junta soldiers torched at least 15 houses in two villages on the Kale-Gangaw road on Thursday..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-19
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2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Human Rights Defenders
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17 November 2021, New York – European Union General Statement at the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly Third Committee after the adoption of the Resolution on the Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar: A/C.3/76/L.30 Rev.1
Description:
"Mr. Chair,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.
The resolution adopted today is the result of the cooperation between the EU and the OIC. We welcome and appreciate this joint endeavour, which allows us to remind the world, through the General Assembly, that appalling crimes, including reported war crimes and crimes against humanity, have been committed against Rohingya and persons belonging to other minorities in Myanmar. These crimes, committed in particular after October 2016, require truth and accountability. Their root causes remain to be addressed. The atrocities that have been taking place in Myanmar are a poignant reminder to all humanity.
The same military leadership who oversaw the crimes against the Rohingya is now leading the junta. The same military leadership staged the 1 February coup and is now reported to orchestrate the military build-up in the central and northwestern part of Myanmar, and give orders to the security and armed forces to kill, torture, imprison, employ sexual violence, including rapes, and shell villages, hospitals, and schools. All acts that are violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. The EU condemns in the strongest terms these acts and continues to call for immediate cessation of violence and for justice and accountability for human rights violations The EU hereby calls for bringing the perpetrators to justice. The current situation in Myanmar also suppresses hopes for the voluntary, safe and dignified and sustainable return of more than 900,000 Rohingya who have found refuge in Bangladesh.
There is not on one side the question of the Rohingya and on the other side the repression of people opposing the military takeover; they are the two sides of the same bloodstained coin. The strong language in the resolution, reflecting the recent deterioration of the overall human rights situation in Myanmar after the 1 February coup, confirms that.
The military coup on 1 February 2021 forcibly overthrew the civilian government in blatant violation of the will of the people, expressed by the 8 November 2020 elections, with important humanitarian, social, economic consequences. The European Union reiterates its strong condemnation of the coup and of the grave human rights violations committed by the Myanmar armed forces against all the people of Myanmar since then, and wishes to express its unequivocal support for all the people of Myanmar, including Rohingya and other minorities, and their democratic aspirations and for the democratic transition in Myanmar. This requires restoring and strengthening inclusive democratic institutions and processes, refraining from violence and arbitrary detentions, and ensuring respect for human rights and the rule of law. The continued flow of arms into Myanmar also gravely undermine human rights and should be stopped immediately. In this context, the EU welcomes the recent appointment of the new Special Envoy of the Secretary General on Myanmar, reiterates its full support to her mandate, and encourages her further engagement and inclusive dialogue with all relevant stakeholders.
The European Union continues to call for the immediate and full implementation of the commitments made at the ASEAN Leaders’ Summit in April, setting out the “Five Point Consensus”. The EU will continue to support ASEAN’s efforts to ensure a peaceful resolution of the current crisis that will ensure the country’s swift return to a democratic path..."
Source/publisher:
Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations - New York
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-18
[field_licence]
Type:
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Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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The troops also badly beat Htay Aung’s wife when they raided his home in Mandalay Region
Description:
"Police took a 13-year-old boy hostage from a village in Mandalay’s Amarapura Township on Sunday when they were unable to find and arrest his father, who is a local member of the National League for Democracy (NLD). locals said.
The police officers also badly beat the wife of Htay Aung, who is in hiding after fleeing his village of Kantaw.
“The wife was covered in blood from their beatings,” said a local man who wanted to remain anonymous. “When the family went to the junta’s administrator to ask about the child, they told them that they would release the kid if the father turned himself in.”
The boy was reportedly being held at Myitnge police station as of Wednesday.
Another villager said it was unclear why junta authorities are targeting Htay Aung. “The man is not even a party leader, he’s just a regular member,” the local said. “We don’t know why they were looking for him so desperately. Our best guess is that a military informant named him.”
In October, soldiers put up notices containing death threats at the local administration office in the Yay Kyi Pauk village tract, where Kantaw is situated. The notice ordered teachers taking part in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) to return to work, the two locals said.
Villagers tore up the notices and were later beaten by soldiers for doing so, they added.
Last week the same thing happened in the nearby village of Leik San Khun; villagers tore up notices containing death threats to teachers who refuse to return to work and were then beaten by soldiers.
The Mandalay regional police force did not answer calls seeking comment on the detained boy.
The coup regime has taken dozens of family members hostage, including young children, in a bid to force its opponents to give themselves up in recent months.
Last week a man was killed in detention after junta authorities in Madaya Township detained him because they were unable to find his nephew..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-18
[field_licence]
Type:
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2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Anti-coup protesters, Human Rights Defenders, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar
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"အမည်ပျက်စာရင်းကြေညာခြင်း - ကြေညာချက်အမှတ်(၁၀/၂၀၂၁)..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration - Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-17
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Description:
"It is a true pleasure to join you this evening to mark the opening of the
Myanmar Diaspora, Human Rights Advocacy, Capacity Building Program. I have
been involved in organising similar training courses for Burmese activists in
Thailand. As a facilitator and co-organizer of these trainings, I was very
impressed with the DTP program and, of course, I am a great fan of Mr. Jose
Ramos-Horta. We shared the same vision and mission for human rights and for
democracy. I take great pride in now addressing a DTP course as the National
Unity Government’s (NUG) Minister of Human Rights. Some of you are joining
us from inside Myanmar, where you continue to fight for freedom, rights and
democracy at great personal risk. This takes tremendous courage and I thank
you for your commitment to our people and to our nation. As of today, at
least 1,260 of our people, including children, have been killed by the military
junta. Another 10,143 have been arrested, while 7,251 remain in detention
subject to torture, disappearances and sexual violence. Another 65 people
have been sentenced to death by military tribunals. Senior United Nations
officials, including the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special
Rapporteur on Myanmar have held the military responsible for a human rights
catastrophe. They have also said that the military’s atrocities likely comprise
crimes against humanity and war crimes. This is because their attacks are
deliberate, widespread and systematic, target civilians, and are conducted in
the full knowledge of the junta leadership.
To repeat, these crimes include murder, rape, severe deprivation of physical
liberty, and enforced disappearances. Tragically, for so many in Myanmar, the
fight for human rights has come at the cost of their lives or freedom. My own
story goes back to 1988 and that revolution of our generation. The military’s
atrocities drove us into the jungles and then, just as now, the youth were
forced to take up arms to fight for their survival. For many years I was exiled
from our homeland, as I am again now. And just as then, I remain committed
to the overthrow of the military. It was in the jungle camps that I first grasped
the true meaning of human rights. At the 1988 protests, we would shout for
democracy, shout for human rights, but I did not yet have a true sense of what
these things were. Out of a hunger for knowledge, we set up a "Jungle
University” in our camp that was filled with donated books. Here I found a
copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and it was unlike anything I
had read. It spoke of equality and it challenged discrimination. Amongst all the
suffering and violations that I saw around me, human rights finally made sense.
I began to collect people’s stories and to document their experiences to share
with the world. To shine light on the military’s crimes against its own people.
As this effort grew, I got the opportunity to study at Columbia University and,
from there, I started the Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB).
Our mission at HREIB was to share knowledge, to teach human rights in
meaningful ways, and to equip future generations to keep the world aware of
the people’s struggle. Over the years, we trained thousands of
participants. Today, we all face a new struggle. We are part of a new Spring
Revolution. Our country and our people are suffering terribly. We must rebuild
our nation. Each of us has been given the gift of education and opportunity.
This DTP course is a new opportunity, and with that comes responsibility: a
responsibility to do all you can with this new knowledge in service to our
country and to all those denied such opportunities. We must never stop learning, also it is important that we must never stop working for Myanmar.
This Program also comes at an exceptionally important time. I express my
gratitude to the DTP for generously holding it, and to the NUG Representative
Office in Australia, led by Dr. Tun Aung Shwe, for its extraordinary efforts in
support. Myanmar needs a new generation of human rights defenders and
advocates, and that is what this course will equip you to be. For our part, the
NUG remains committed to bringing the military junta’s crimes to the world’s
attention and to pursuing accountability. We are engaging with the very bodies
that you will learn about - the UN Security Council, the General Assembly, and
the Human Rights Council - as we fight for recognition as the legitimate
representative of the people, and as we urge the international community to
take desperately needed action against the criminal military junta. In closing, I
wish you a very successful course and I thank you again for your leadership, for
your courage, and for your service to the Myanmar people..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Human Rights
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-17
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights Defenders, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
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"ဝန်ထမ်းသစ်များ ခန့်ထားခြင်း၊ ရာထူးတိုးပေးခြင်းများနှင့်စပ်လျဉ်း၍ ကြေညာချက်
ကြေညာချက် (၉ / ၂၀၂၁)
၃ ရက်၊ နိုဝင်ဘာလ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်
၁။ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ ၁ ရက်နေ့မှ စ၍ မင်းအောင်လှိုင် ဦးဆောင်သည့် အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်အုပ်စုသည် ပြည်သူလူထုရွေးကောက်တင်မြှောက်ထားသည့် ဒီမိုကရေစီအစိုးရထံမှ ပြည်သူ့ အာဏာကို လက်နက်အားကိုးဖြင့် မတရားလုယက် အာဏာသိမ်းယူခဲ့ပါသည်။ ယင်းသို့အာဏာ သိမ်းယူပြီးနောက် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စု၏ လက်အောက်ခံ စစ်ကျွန်ယန္တရားဖြစ်သည့် မီးသတ်ဦးစီးဌာန၏ လစ်လပ်လျက်ရှိသော အမှုထမ်းနှင့် အရာထမ်းရာထူးနေရာများတွင် ဖြည့်တင်းခန့်ထားရေးအတွက် ဝန်ထမ်းသစ်များ ခန့်ထားခြင်းနှင့် ရာထူးတိုးခြင်းများဆောင်ရွက်နေကြောင်း တွေ့ရှိရပါသည်။
၂။ ထို့ကြောင့် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စုလက်အောက်ခံ မီးသတ်ဦးစီးဌာန၏ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ ၁ ရက်နေ့နောက်ပိုင်း ဝန်ထမ်းသစ်များ ခန့်ထားခြင်းနှင့် ရာထူးတိုးခြင်းများအတွက် အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၊ ပြည်ထဲရေးနှင့်လူဝင်မှုကြီးကြပ်ရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာန အနေဖြင့် လုံးဝ(လုံးဝ) အသိအမှတ်မပြုကြောင်း အသိပေးကြေညာလိုက်သည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration - Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-17
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
170.08 KB
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Source/publisher:
Women's League of Burma
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-17
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Chin State, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Women's rights, Sexual orientation - Discrimination based on
Language:
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Size:
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Description:
"အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအတိုင်ပင်ခံကောင်စီ (National Unity Consultative Council - NUCC) ၏ ဖွဲ့စည်းမှု၊ လုပ်ငန်းဆောင်ရွက်မှုတို့နှင့် စပ်လျဉ်းသည့် ထုတ်ပြန်ကြေညာချက်
(တိုင်းရင်းသားဘာသာစကား)
ကချင်၊ ကယန်း၊ ကရင်၊ တအာင်း၊ ပအို့ပ်၊ မွန်၊ ရှမ်း..."
Source/publisher:
National Unity Consultative Council
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-16
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Anti-coup protesters, Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
Language:
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4.69 MB (Original version), 1.31 MB (Reduce version) - 16 pages
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Description:
"It is an honour to join you today as the National Unity Government’s (NUG)
Minister of Human Rights. It is a great pleasure to be with you in Parma and I
join my colleagues in thanking you for the invitation.
The Myanmar people have shown tremendous courage in opposing the
military junta through civil disobedience and organised resistance. Tragically,
this has come at the cost of lives and freedoms. Your support continues to give
us strength.
Human rights situation in Myanmar
Myanmar is facing a human rights catastrophe. Since the military junta
launched its failed coup d’etat on 1 February, it has committed some of the
worst crimes against the Myanmar people.
At 13 November 2021:
• at least 1260 civilians had been killed, many of them children
• at least 7251 people were in detention, with reports of deaths in custody,
torture and mistreatment, sexual violence, and the denial of medical
treatment • and a total of 65 people - including 2 children - had received death
sentences.
• Arrest warrants had been issued for another 1954 people.
Furthermore, over the past 10 months:
Children have been taken hostage with their family members, tortured, and
killed in the street.
Villages In Chin State, Karenni State, Sagaining Division, Magwe Division and
Tenessarim Divisions have been targeted with air strikes and artillery, and set
ablaze.
Entire communities have been displaced, resulting in new waves of Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs), some driven into neighbouring countries.
And COVID-19 has been weaponised by the junta, with medical treatment and
COVID-19 vaccines withheld in an attempt to gain military advantage.
Furthermore, these crimes have been accompanied by the military’s infamous
“four cuts strategy”, which has cut off communities and presumed insurgents
from funding, food, intelligence and recruits, including through internet
blackouts.
This has raised a genocide alarm in Chin State and Kareni State, and there is
limited time for the international community to act. Left unchecked, we could
see atrocities on an unprecedented scale in modern Myanmar. A determined
international response is required.
This is a perfect storm of violations. And, significantly, these acts comprise
crimes against humanity because:
• They are widespread and systematic
• They have been directed against civilians • And they have been conducted with the knowledge and at the orders of
the junta leadership.
And, as we meet here today, there is every indication that these atrocities will
escalate. The Special Rapporteur on Myanmar has also warned that the
military’s tactics in the country’s north and northwest are “ominously
reminiscent" of those it used before its genocidal attacks against the Rohingya
in Rakhine State in 2016 and 2017.
Crimes against humanity
In September 2021, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights held the
military responsible for a 'human rights catastrophe' that included widespread
and systematic violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
Also in September, the Head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for
Myanmar (IIMM) told the UN’s Human Rights Council that analysis of collected
materials showed that the military's crimes were 'widespread and systematic
in nature'.
More recently, the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar confirmed to the UN
General Assembly that the Myanmar military had engaged in probable crimes
against humanity and war crimes.
1. Actions taken by the NUG
The NUG has taken a series of steps to bring these crimes to the world’s
attention and to pursue accountability. For instance:
(a) The NUG continues to report on the human rights situation through public
reports, statements, and by engaging with UN fora and experts, including
the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, the IIMM, and the UN’s Human Rights
Office
(b) The NUG has submitted an Article 12(3) Declaration to the International
Criminal Court (ICC). This Declaration accepts the ICC’s jurisdiction over
international crimes committed in Myanmar since 1 July 2002
(c) The NUG is cooperating with the International Court of Justice in The
Gambia vs. Myanmar hearing on the Genocide Convention
(d) And the NUG has developed a Code of Conduct to ensure that all defensive
actions respect international norms.
2. Recommendations
Despite the scale and nature of the military’s atrocities and their clear threat to
international and regional peace and security, an international response has
been tragically lacking.
There are three immediate steps that Italy, as part of the international
community, can take in support of the Myanmar people:
(1) NUG recognition
The first step, also raised by the Minister of Health and Education, is NUG
recognition. This recognition is a critical step to stopping the atrocities, to
protecting civilians, and to holding perpetrators to account. Here, following
efforts by the EU Parliament, the French Senate and the US Congress, the
Italian Parliament could recognise the NUG as the official Government of
Myanmar, and pressure the Italian Government to do the same. The General Assembly’s Credentials Committee is currently considering
Myanmar’s representation. Italy also has a vital role to play at the General
Assembly and in other UN fora.
(2) Accountability
The NUG continues to urge the Security Council to adopt a resolution that
targets impunity, supports accountability efforts, and starves the junta of cash
and arms. The Italian Government could publicly and politically support these
efforts.
(3) Humanitarian response
As the Minister of Health and Education outlined, humanitarian assistance -
including medicines and vaccines - is urgently needed.
Conclusion
As a final point, the Italian public and media also have incredibly important
roles to play through awareness raising, keeping attention on the situation in
Myanmar, and through encouraging their political representatives to act in
support of the Myanmar people.
I thank you again for your solidarity and support..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Human Rights
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-16
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group, Human Rights and international relations, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Women's rights
Language:
Format :
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Size:
170.77 KB
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Description:
"နွေဦးတော်လှန်ရေး အထူးငွေတိုက်စာချုပ်များ စတင်ထုတ်ဝေရောင်းချမည့် နေ့ရက်ကို အသိပေးကြေညာခြင်း..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Planning, Finance and Investment - NUG
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-16
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
131.12 KB
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Description:
"American journalist Danny Fenster has been freed from prison in Myanmar, according to a Myanmar military official and former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, who had been on a private humanitarian visit to the country.
Fenster's release comes just days after the former managing editor of Frontier Myanmar — an independent news outlet that covered current affairs, business and politics — was sentenced to 11 years in prison by a military court in Myanmar.
Myanmar's military spokesperson Zaw Min Tun told CNN Business that the journalist "has been released and deported. We will release details why he was released later."
According to a statement released by Richardson on Monday, Fenster will be making his way back to the United States "through Qatar, over the next day and a half."
A former US ambassador to the United Nations, Richardson said he had conducted face-to-face negotiations with Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of Myanmar's military junta.
Fenster's family said they were "overjoyed" at his release.
"We cannot wait to hold him in our arms,' they said in a statement. " We are tremendously grateful to all the people who have helped secure his release, especially Ambassador Richardson, as well as our friends and the public who have expressed their support and stood by our sides as we endured these long and difficult months."
Fenster, a 37-year-old from Detroit, Michigan, was arrested at Yangon International Airport on May 24 while he was trying to leave the country to visit his family in the United States. He had been denied bail and was held in Insein Prison in Yangon. On Friday, he was found guilty of three charges brought against him by the Myanmar military, which seized control of the country in a coup on February 1.
Those charges included visa breaches, unlawful association with an illegal group and incitement under section 505a of Myanmar's Penal Code, which makes it a crime to publish or circulate comments that "cause fear" or spread "false news."
Sonny Swe, Publisher, CEO and co-founder of Frontier Myanmar, Fenster's former employer in Myanmar, told CNN Business on the phone that Fenster was already on a plane having left Insein prison earlier in the day.
"I'm very, very pleased to hear about the news. Not only our happiness, I've been there before, I know how Danny and the family will be feeling right now," Swe said. "From this point onwards, it's all positive. He deserves to be reunited with his family."
Fenster was one of about 126 journalists or media workers detained since the coup, according to the UN. About 47 remain behind bars..."
Source/publisher:
CNN Business
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-15
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Human Rights Defenders
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"October 7. 2021• The military soldiers murdered a villager of Htipawsoe Village, Pharuso Township, Karenni
State (Kayah State) for no valid reason. There were totally 80 civilians being killed by
brutal firing of the military-led State Administration Council (SAC) in Karenni State.
• In Loikaw Township, Karenni State, the reckless and disproportionately firing of the SAC
armed forces had resulted one dead, and 7 wounded people including two underaged
teenagers.
• Over 50 troop members of the military were reportedly raiding along the three villages of
the TaingNet Village Tract situated 10 miles away from Depayin Township, Sagaing Region
and destroyed public properties in these villages for several times. There are TaingNet
Village, MyinTant Village, and Kyi Ywa Kone Village in the TaingNet Village Tract.
• The SAC troop members raided and set fire on the Min Tan Village, Myaing Township,
Sagaing and murdered three civilians who were trying to extinguish the fire.
This report is prepared by compiling news and information published/collected by new agencies and on
ground information team
October 8. 2021
• The SAC armed forces riding along the Hukaung-Leedo Road, Kachin kidnapped a young
people from Naung Mee Village to use as a hostage and to prevent them from having
attacked while they were passing from Shaduzut to Dunban.
• The SAC forces bombed a Baptist Church where community members of the Chaung Kwa,
Kalay Township, Sagaing were hiding.
• In Thayarkone Village, Kalay Township, Sagaing Region, there were 4 people being
arrested, and 4 house burnt down by the military armed forces.
• Two villagers were dead due to the firing of the SAC forces in Thaung Pyin Nge Village, Ye
Oo Township, Sagaing.
October 9, 2021
• There was a strife between SAC armed forces and KNDF troops for 5 minutes in Sanpya
(6) miles Village, Demawsoe Township, Karenni State, and two military soldiers were
wounded, followed by retreating of the military forces. This was due to the firing of the
KNDF members who witnessed 2 villagers being abducted by the military forces, one of
which was murdered by the SAC forces.
• The SAC armed forces’ 2 jets bombed the area around Mine Naung Village, Indawgyi area,
Moe Nyin Township, Kachin State in around 11 AM for at least 4 times.
• There were totally 17 civilians including one 10 years old child being abducted by the
military forces in Htichaik Township, Sagaing.
• In Sawpyar Village, Thayetchaung, Tahnintharyi Region, the Pyu Saw Htee, a pro-military
group that is engaging in violence activities against the peaceful civilians, arrested a
woman and her two-year-old and six-year-old children as hostages as they failed to arrest
her husband.
• The SAC forces abducted and killed NLD party supporter and teacher U Thein Zaw in
Mattayar Tonwship, Mandalay Region.
• In Taungnoo Township, Bago, the SAC forces abducted U San Kyi, a trustee board member
of the Shwe San Taw Pagoda and murdered in a hour.
This report is prepared by compiling news and information published/collected by new agencies and on
ground information team
• The military armed forces raided the Taung Pyin Nge Village, Ye Oo Township, Sagaing
and murdered two PDF troop members by burning down them.
• In Wanbe Inn Village, Pinlebu Township, Sagaing Region, the terrorist 33rd Light Infantry
Division of the SAC forces stormed the house, shop of U Tin Pe and house of U Myint Kyaw
(a village tract administrator) and destroyed public properties in other village.
• In Myin Chan Township, Mandalay Region, a certain worker of old-stuff selling shop was
reportedly dead yesterday morning after being beaten by the Pyu Saw Htee group.
• The SAC armed forces and its allied BGF 1014 force had killed a villager in the street nearby
the monastery, Meebone Village, Takaung Boe Village Tract, PharAnn Township, Karen
State.
October 11. 2021
• The SAC forces abducted and killed rubber workers in Lonephaw Village, Kawthaung
District, Tahnintharyi Region.
• In Htekyaik Township, Sagain, the military armed forces stormed the Latha Village and
murdered some PDF members and innocent civilians.
• The terrorist SAC forces raided and burnt down the Done Dit Village, Ayardaw Township,
Sagaing.
October 12. 2021
• In ZayaKone Village, Myaing Township, Sagaing, the SAC armed forces burnt down the
poultry farms located in eastern part of the village, and took sheep and goats forcibly.
• In Lonephaw Village, Kawthaung, Tahnintharyi Region, the military forces shot 11-years
old Mg Thiha Aung and abducted 20 villagers.
October 13, 2021
• The terrorist military troops set fire on four house and church in a village located 4 miles
away from the Falang Tonwship, Chin State.
October 10. 2021
This report is prepared by compiling news and information published/collected by new agencies and on
ground information team
• The SAC forces burnt down the house belonging to the NLD party’s information officer
living in SanOo Village, Taungthar Township, Mandalay.
• In Ngamyaung Taung Village, Myaing Township, Sagaing, the military forces stormed and
burnt down 10 huts.
• The Catholic Church was damaged due to the artillery firing of the military troops in
Pharusoe Township, Karenni State.
• The SAC armed forces killed a young people drilling petroleum in Kani Village,
Kyaukpantaung Township, Mandalay Region.
October 14. 2021
• According to the local, 8 villagers of the Laungpyae Village were missing, and 2 were
murdered by the SAC forces who were travelling to Thapauk Village from Laungpyae
Village along forest trails, Min Kin Township, Sagaing Region.
• The SAC armed forces burnt down a church and 4 houses out of 10 houses in Ralti Village,
Falang Township, Chin State yesterday and set fire on the rest 6 houses as well.
• The military troops burnt down the Thlanrawn Village located 8 miles away from Falang
Township, Chin State.
• Two innocent civilians were reportedly murdered by the SAC forces in Tuphei Village,
Falang Township, Chin State yesterday.
October 15. 2021
• The SAC forces fired guns in and around the villages, urban areas of Kayen Township,
Yangon State around 21:00 yesterday.
• The military troops beat the IDPs who were returning to check their house in Phawgune
Village, Mone Koe Township, Shan State.
• There were over 60 civilians including one elderly woman being abducted in Ingapu,
MaUpin Township, Ayeyarwady Region within a week.
This report is prepared by compiling news and information published/collected by new agencies and on
ground information team
• The SAC forces stormed the Aung Moe Village, KanChaung Village Tract, Yinmarbin
Township, Sagaing Region and abducted at least 10 villagers forcibly.
• Two villagers of KanNet, Myaing Township, Magway Region were arrested and their houses
destroyed by the military forces.
• The SAC forces murdered the 5 IDPs or villagers in Laungpyae Village, Min Kin Township,
Sagaing.
• Totally 21 civilians were arrested by the SAC forces during the armed conflict period in
Khin Oo Township, Sagaing Region.
October 16.2021
• In Matupi Township, Chin, the SAC armed forces murdered six-years old child and a
woman and certain man were dead due to the mine set up by the armed forces.
• In Mokepalin Village, Waw Township, Bago, Ma Moe (or) Ma Khaing Khaing Soe was shot
dead by the military armed forces after she opened the door when the forces knocked the
door around 12 AM yesterday.
October 17. 2021
• In Taungpyaut Village Tract, Thayet Chaung Township, Tahnintharyi Region, over 5000
civilians were fleeing from their villages (9 villages) due to the reckless firing of the SAC
armed forces.
• In Kyauk Kar Village, Monywa Township, Sagaing, CDM village administrator U Nyi Nyi Win
and his twin U Ko Ko Win were shot dead by the unidentifiable armed group.
• A certain civilian of Laung pan Ward, Matupi Township, Chin were dead due to the mine
set by the SAC forces when he went to his farm.
• 20 years-old M Phyu Mar Tun (or) Ma Phyu Mar was abducted by the military armed forces
for allegedly communicating with the PDF.
This report is prepared by compiling news and information published/collected by new agencies and on
ground information team
• Ko Myo Swe from Shwe Ku Tasu Village, Khin Oo Township, Sagaing was arrested and
killed by the military for allegedly being a member of PDF.
• A civilian in Demawsoe Township was dead due to the min set by the military forces.
• The disabled person in Pin Zin Village, Wetlet Township, Sagaing was abducted by the
military troop members.
• The SAC troops fired gun to the traveler in the tollgate, Pakokku Bypass Road, Magway.
• A house belonging to the protester woman in Letkokepin Village, Salingyi Township,
Sagaing was destroyed by certain group of people.
• In Maha Aung Myay Township, Mandalay, 20 protesters from Mandalay youth Strike were
wounded as the SAC armed forces dispersed the crowds by firing the guns.
• A registered lawyer in Alaykone Village, Dawei Township, Tahnintharyi was abducted by
the military armed forces.
• The SAC troops fired 15 heavy artilleries to the Tee myar Village, Muse Township, Shan
State.
• Totally 9 civilians from KyaungSin Village, Babae Seint Village, and Pyingyi Village, Maung
Ma Kan Town, Tahnintharyi Region were abducted by the SAC forces.
• Totally 3 civilians including NLD Ward administrator U Thet Hlaing were arrested in
Taungnoo Township, Bago Region.
• The military armed forces unlawfully abducted a youth in Kamyaing check point, Dawei
Township, Tahnintharyi Region.
• Houses were burnt down and properties inside the church were destroyed in Falang
Township, Chin State.
October 19, 2021
• The SAC armed forces destroyed public properties, dissembled the solar plate, and killed
the cows, sliced the tight leaving behind the rest by resting in 23 miles post, Mindat
Township, Chin State.
October 18. 2021
This report is prepared by compiling news and information published/collected by new agencies and on
ground information team
• The military armed forces stormed the houses belonging to the villagers and stole the
precious things in Kawlin Township, Sagaing Region.
• A youth in Panmaw Village, MyaukOo Township, Rakhine was arrested by the SAC troops
for allegedly communicating with the PDF.
• Ko Min Min Soe (an aerospace engineer), a detainee of the SAC was dead during the
interrogation process.
• The NLD party office was bombed in Myeik Township, Tahnintharyi Region.
• The military troops arrested two civilians who came to the Yesagyo Bus Station to bring
delivery items in Magway.
• A video clip featuring a civilian being beaten during training sessions of the SAC forces in
Ayardaw Township, Sagaing Region was out to the public.
• In Ramthalo Village, Falang Township, Chin, the military armed forces raided over 100
civilians houses and stole rice and pets.
• The SAC troop members burnt down 13 houses including a church in Tharanraw Village
situation along the Falang-Haka Road, Chin State.
• The military armed forces reportedly stationed in Ywathit Village, Kawkayeik Township,
Karen and prevented totally 50 villagers from going out of the village.
• The military truck loaded with soldiers fired the guns around the Haka Township, Chin
State.
October 20. 2021
• In Yephyu Township, Dawei District, Tahnintharyi Region, one was dead, and 5 civilians
were arrested due to the firing of the military troops.
• The SAC forces forcibly arrested over 30 young people after their informer was killed in
Pathein Township, Ayeyarwady Region.
• The military troop members abducted 3 local youths including an university student in
Taungnoo Township, Bago Region.
This report is prepared by compiling news and information published/collected by new agencies and on
ground information team
• The civilians’ houses including former NLD administrator' house were burnt down by the
military armed forces in Thitkyin Gyi Village, Ayardaw Township, Sagaing.
• In AungLan Township, Magway, the SAC forces murdered one local and abducted 3
civilians.
• NLD party office was reportedly bombed by certain group of people and caused damaged
to the 5 houses located around the office.
October 21. 2021
• The SAC armed forces abducted 2 civilians from Kan Gyi Village, Kan BaLu Township,
Sagaing for allegedly possessing guns and reportedly killed them in ChatTin Village.
• Three civilians were arrested while they held their father funeral.
October 22, 2021
• Three men were forcibly arrested by the military troop members in Thayet Chaung
Township, Tahnintharyi Region.
• Six civilians were abducted within a week in Hlegu Township, Yangon.
• 5 dead bodies were found in Ziphyupin Village, Yekyi Village Tract, Matayar Township,
Mandalay where the SAC forces raided the areas.
• The farmers working in their fields around armed manufacturing factory were forced to
leave the area in Nyaung Htaik Village, Ushitpin Township, Bago.
• The military troops arrested workers from a garage and cemetery and brought them as
hostages as they travelled from Haka to Htantalan Township, Chin.
• In BaOh Village, Khin Oo Township, Sagaing, the SAC forces and Pyu Saw Htee group
stormed the area and caused two causalities and one wounded at foot.
• The reckless firing of the military forces caused Ko Aye Min who was out to go shopping
dead by hitting bullets at his chest.
• The military troops stationed in a monastery behind the Demawsoe police station, Karenni
State fired the artilleries toward the downtown areas and many house were ruined.
This report is prepared by compiling news and information published/collected by new agencies and on
ground information team
• One local from Wetchaung Village, Tahnintharyi Township, Tahnintharyi Region was shot
dead by the military troops and they disposed the dead body in front of his house.
• The SAC armed forces members beat and took money of 4 lakh from a farmer who
returned to the village after selling cows in Kyauk Selay Village, Matayar Township,
Mandalay.
• The SAC forces and the Pyu Saw Htee group stormed the tea shop located in the PaNalae
Village, along the Launglone-Dawei Road, and U Nay Nay and U Ohn Ni were dead while
4 civilians were wounded.
• In Pearl Township, Sagaing Region, the military armed forces kidnapped two underaged
young people and asked their parent to give them 1.5 million kyats to get youth released.
• The SAC forces raided the Shwe Saryee Village, Butalin Township, Sagaing and murdered
3 villagers.
October 23. 2021
• One youth who was seriously beaten by the military forces in ZiHon Village Tract, PutaO
Township, Kachin State was dead on October 19.
• One woman was injured due to the artillery firing of the SAC forces to the Yezwa Town,
Matupi Township, Chin.
• The military troops murdered three villagers including Koo Aung San Thu, Ko Zaw in Paline
Village, Shwebo Township, Sagaing Region.
• 20 years-old brain underdeveloped youth was murdered and disposed the dead body in
Paling Village, Shwebo Township, Sagaing Region.
• A prominent leader in 1988 uprising movement, Ko Jimmy was arrested forcibly.
October 24, 2021
• In Phalone Village, Sintkaing Township, Mandalay Region, the SAC forces murdered one
youth for not stopping the motorbike as they asked to do so.
• In Moebyal Township, Shan, the reckless firing of the SAC forces caused one dead and 6
civilians wounded.
This report is prepared by compiling news and information published/collected by new agencies and on
ground information team
• The NLD party office was bombed around evening in Thaton District, Mon State.
• Two CDF members were dead due to the min set by the SAC armed forces.
October 25, 2021
• The terrorist armed forces stationed in Tharanlo Village, Falang Township, Chin fired the
houses insides the villages with the heavy artilleries on October 23, 2021
• Many houses were ruined due to the firing of the military soldiers stationed in Htonebolay
Monastery, Thaton Township, Mon State.
• It is reportedly learnt that the military troops abducted Daw Mar Mar Thet, and her 7-years
old grandchild and the rest of the family members for not being able to arrest Ma Pan Ei
Phyu (a daughter of Daw Mar Mar thet). Around 8 AM on October 24, the SAC forces also
abducted her brother Mg Aung Thet Phyo and her sister Ma Thet Thet Hlaing including her
7 years-old son.
• Around 12:46 PM, there was a gun firing in RC2 premise, Hlaing Township, Yangon and
one car was attacked by two cars loaded with soldiers not in uniform.
• A 44-years old woman were shot dead due to the firing of heavy artillery by the 422th light
infantry battalions based in Moe byal Township, Shan State, and moreover two underaged
children were wounded.
• The military troops having more than 50 soldiers raided the Shaukkha Village, Ayardaw
Township, Sagaing evening yesterday and burnt down some houses, killing a cow with
the gun.
October 26. 2021
• In Dawei Township, Tahnintharyi Region, the Pyu Saw Htee group threaten the civilians
to join the military supporting campaign and if not they will be killed.
• The SAC armed forces destroyed the Catholic Church situated in Sanpya 6 miles,
Demawsoe Township, Karenni State intentionally.
• 8 houses were burnt down to ashes by the military forces in Tarl Village, Falam Township,
Chin State.
This report is prepared by compiling news and information published/collected by new agencies and on
ground information team
• In Dawei Township, Tahnintharyi Region, the SAC forces inspected the passerby by
checking their phones and abducted 3 young people.
• The military forces stormed the houses in Thalanral Village, Falam Township, Chin State.
• The military troop members came to the Yone Pin Kone Village, WetLet Township, Sagaing
with 3 private cars and raided the 10 houses.
• After bomb explosion in front of the No.2 police station in Meiktihla Township, Mandalay,
the SAC forces abducted about 20 local people evening.
• The Pyu Saw Htee group raided the U Kyaw Win, a former village administrator of Nan Oo
Village Tract, Yesagyo Township, Magway and took some money from the house.
• In Gaungkwee Village, Myin Chan Township, Mandalay Region, the SAC forces had caused
one dead as they beat the couple who was having a quarrel.
• The military armed forces did reckless firing to the wards of the Phwe Kone Township,
Southern Shan State.
• In Mawlamyine Township, Mon State, Daw Nwe Nwe Aung, a Pyithu Hluttaw MPs who was
having an agreement with SAC was arrested by the military troop members at her house.
• The SAC armed forces raided the Kyopinthar Village, PaungTe Township, Bago around 4
AM and murdered one local youth.
• In Ngathaine Chaung Township, Ayeyarwady Region, one monk was dead and one young
novice was wounded due to the reckless firing of the military forces.
October 27. 2021
• The SAC forces murdered one youth around 11 AM in Phyu Township, Taungnoo District,
Bago Region.
• The military troops were reportedly arresting locals, and taking their properties in MaUPin
Township, Ayeyarwady Region.
• In Ayeyarwady Region, a 68-year-old U Inn Hoke, a detainee in Myauing Mya prison with
the illegal charge of so-called 505 (A) was reportedly dead.
This report is prepared by compiling news and information published/collected by new agencies and on
ground information team
• In Ayardaw Township, Sagaing Region, the SAC forces raided and burnt down the houses
in ShaukKha and nearby Villages.
• There was an explosion in the YBS (20) bus stationed in front of gas station in Hlaing Thar
Yar Township, Yangon and 4 youths were reportedly abducted.
• Two young Kachin people living in a hired apartment in Sar Theik Street, Daw Pon
Township, Yangon were arrested by the military troops around evening on October 26.
• In East Mawtone Village, Tahnintharyi Township, Ko Min Min Thu (or) HarNi, a NLD party
youth member was abducted by the SAC armed forces and was dead during the
interrogation process.
• The NLD party office in Thayet Chaung Township, Tahnintharyi Region was reportedly
bombed early morning on October 27, 2021.
October 28, 2021
• Two youths were abducted by the military troops after firing the gun in Marlar Nwe Street,
Metta Nyunt Ward, Tamwe Township, Yangon Region.
• In Mandalay, NLD regional office that has been sealed by the SAC was bombed.
• The SAC troops had flied over the Tanze, and Kyun Hla Township, Sagaing Region by firing
military ammunition down the area and by using Jet plan.
• Totally 15 civilians from Chan Thar Village, Ye Oo Township, were abducted by the military
forces.
• 19 villagers from Shwe Pyi Aye Village located in Phak hone Township, border of Shan and
Karenni State were abducted and used as hostages, covering their eyes with clothes by
the SAC troops.
• It is reportedly learnt that the community members were fleeing from the villages as they
had learnt that their villages were set on fire by the military armed forces in Shwe Pyi Aye
Village, Pha Kone Township, Southern Shan State.
• The military armed forces had stormed the Kapaung Village, Tanze Township, Sagaing for
five times.
This report is prepared by compiling news and information published/collected by new agencies and on
ground information team
• The SAC armed forces bombed NLD party office located in Ward 5, Pathein Township,
Ayeyarwady Region.
• In Moenyin Township, Kachin, the military troops raided the Chan Tha Village and
abducted and inspected 15 villagers to figure out where a member of parliament stayed,
and some were released.
• The SAC forces abducted 3 NLD party youth members, one of which was dead in the East
Mawtone Village, Tahnintharyi Township, Tahnintharyi Region.
• 5 villagers from YeLeKalay Village, Maupin Tonwship were arrested and their money were
taken away by the military troops.
• The NLD party office in Ingyin Myaing Ward, Kyun Hla Township, Sagaing Region was
reportedly destroyed.
• The terrorist SAC forces forcibly took 4 barrel of oil and 1 million kyats from huge boat in
Katha Township, Sagaing.
• The military forces murdered the released political prisoner Ko Kyaw Naing Htun in
Magway Township, Magway Region.
• The military troops killed U Myo Lwin for allegedly being a father of PDF member, and for
not being able to get his son arrested in Yangon.
• In Moebywal, Shan State, one man was dead, 6-years old child wounded due to the firing
of the military armed forces.
October 30. 2021
• The SAC forces raided the Lalar Lu Village, Khin Oo Township, Sagaing and killed one
innocent civilian and abducted 8 people.
• It is reportedly learnt that the SAC forces illegally sealed off the house belonging to the
Dr. Salai Lian Hmung Sakhong, a minister of NUG and leader of CDF in Hakha Township,
Chin State.
October 29. 2021
This report is prepared by compiling news and information published/collected by new agencies and on
ground information team
• The military troops stormed the houses in Kyin Kyae Village, Windwin Township, Meiktihla
District, Mandalay and took the valuable things forcibly.
October 31. 2021
• The SAC forces murdered 2 civilians in Ngu Palaw Ward, Demawsoe Township, Karenni
State and burnt down some houses.
• The NLD party office in Mawlamyine Township was reportedly bombed and destroyed.
• One IDP was shot dead due to the firing by the military troops when IDPs were returning
to their houses to bring food in Ngy Palaw Ward, Demawsoe Township, Karenni State.
• In Nyaungshwe Township, Southern Shan State, one Catholic priest was reportedly
threatened by the SAC forces for allegedly supporting PDF.
• In HlwaSin Village Tract, Pyay Township, Bago, community members were fleeing as the
military troops raided the village after they killed administrator Ko Aye Soe.
• One dead boy was reportedly disposed in the field by the SAC forces in In Ngote To Village,
Kanbalu Township, Sagaing Region.
November 1, 2021
• The military troops and police forces searched and abducted CDM staff and arrested the
respective family members as the hostages if they failed to get CDM staff arrested.
• In Gwaypin Village, Chauk Township, Magway, the military forces tortured and murdered
private school owner Ko Wai Phyo Htun and his two brothers were reportedly in the
interrogation camp and their lives were being threatened.
• The SAC armed forces stormed the Myitsone, Myittha, Shwe Lone, Thukatipa and Sin
Laung Kan Villages located in border areas between Myaing, Yesagyo Township, Sagaging
and killed one people, abducted 15 civilians, while thousands of villagers were fleeing
their houses.
November 2, 2021
This report is prepared by compiling news and information published/collected by new agencies and on
ground information team
• Ko Than Htike Zin, 20-years old, was released from Myitkyinar prison, Kachin and 15 days
after that, he was being arrested by the SAC forces again for allegedly stealing the
motorbikes.
• In corner of Phayarni road, Monywa Township, Sagaing, three young people riding the
motorbike were shot dead by the SAC forces as they did not stop the motorbike though
they were asked to do so.
• The military troops came and burnt down the house of Ko Wai Yan Soe, a member of
Dawei Strike Committee located in Sitpyal Village, Launglone Township, Tahnintharyi
Region.
• In Thayet Kan Village, Khin Oo Township, Sagaing, three civilians were murdered by the
terrorist SAC on November 1st, 2021.
November 3. 2021
• About 8:00 PM, two young people living in Seik Mu Village Tract, Pharkant Township,
Kachin were forcibly arrested and another youth was also abducted by forcing the
abductees to contact that youth.
• In Chaungkwa Village, Kalay Township, Sagaing, 4 houses, motorbike repair shop, and rice
storage hut were burnt down by the military troops.
• One man was reportedly shot dead around 4:15 PM yesterday on the street of Ho Moon
Ward, Muse Township, Shan State.
• The SAC forces abducted the CDM teacher U Win Lwin on November 1, in ShweBo Village,
Sint Kaing Township, Mandalay and his family was reportedly informed of his dead body
being disposed on November 2, 2021.
• The terrorist SAC had attempted to take control of the areas along Kalay-Kantgaw Road
and one woman was dead due to the firing of heavy ammunition to the villages located
around the road.
This report is prepared by compiling news and information published/collected by new agencies and on
ground information team
• The military forces reportedly stormed the Natchaing, Natmyaine, Helote, and Chaungkwa
Villages located 15 miles away from Kalay Township, Sagaing and all villagers were fleeing
from their villages.
• The SAC forces in Shan State set fire on the houses in Hlwe Wae Village, Phakone
Township.
November 4. 2021
• Three houses were burnt down as the SAC forces set fire on the Hlwe Wae Village, Phakone
Township, Shan State.
November 5. 2021
• The SAC forces reportedly collected royalties from small-scali gold mine workers in the
Htaw Tha Village, Maw Leik Township, Sagaing.
• There was an explosion around the B.E.H.S (2) where the SAC troops stationed in Tanze
Township, Sagaing, and Daw May Zin Kyaw, a mother of 2-years old child was shot dead
due to the firing of the SAC troops.
• The SAC forces have increasingly abducted university students and civilians across the
country and Ko Thwin Ko Aung, a Chairman of Basic Worker Union was sentenced to 3
years imprisonment with the charge of so-called 505 (A) while Ko Sithu Aung Tin, a former
secretary of the Dagon University Student Union was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.
• The military troops reportedly beat and abducted a certain man living in the 4th floor of
the apartment before the Pizzamaru shop located in BaHo Street, Sanchaung Township,
Yangon.
• There was a continued armed conflict in KaungEi Village, Phakone Tonwship, Shan-
Karenni border area, and many civilians’ houses were destroyed by the reckless firing of
the SAC forces.
• The military troops with holding guns arrived the ShweHlay Village, Chaung Oo Township,
Sagaing Region.
This report is prepared by compiling news and information published/collected by new agencies and on
ground information team
• The military forces abducted a father and a son in BaHo Street, Sanchaung Township,
Yangon.
• The SAC forces arrested Yangon Education University student and his mother living in
Pantaung Township, Pyay District, Sagaing for allegedly supporting the PDF.
• In Monywa Township, Sagaing, a vendor shop-owner Ko Kyaw Zin Htun (or) Ko Gwato was
forcibly arrested by the military troops.
November 6. 2021
• In Ayardaw, and Tanze Townships, Sagaing Region, the innocent civilians were being
beaten by the SAC forces for no apparent reasons and one drinking water factory owner
was shot dead.
• The SAC armed forces reportedly raided the house belonging to the owner of the famous
Mandalay Myint Myin Khin snacks.
• The military forces abducted 8 civilians including 5 social workers or volunteers in
Wakema Township, Ayeyarwady Region.
• The SAC armed troops murdered 2 women and 3 men who were back from their field in
the Ohbo Village, Myaing Township, Magway Region.
• Totally 6 suspected people were abducted by the SAC forces in Ye Township, Mon State.
• A journalist based in Myaung Mya Tonwship was abducted by the military forces for
allegedly composing a poem about the Tantalang township being burnt down in Chin
State.
This report is prepared by compiling news and information published/collected by new agencies and on
ground information team...."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Defence - National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-15
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
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480.81 KB 2.77 MB
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Description:
"ပြည်ထောင်စု သမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်
အမျိုးသား ညီညွတ်ရေး အစိုးရ
ဆက်သွယ်ရေး၊ သတင်းအချက်အလက်နှင့် နည်းပညာ ဝန်ကြီးဋ္ဌာန
ကြေညာချက်အမှတ် (၁၀/၂၀၂၁)
၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ နိုဝင်ဘာလ (၁၅) ရက်
အမည်ပျက်စာရင်း ထုတ်ပြန်ခြင်း..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Communications, Information and Technology - Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-15
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
398.9 KB
more
Description:
"ပြည်ထောင်စု သမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေး အစိုးရ
လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားရေးနှင့် ဘေးအန္တရာယ်ဆိုင်ရာ စီမံခန့်ခွဲရေး ဝန်ကြီးဌာန
ကြေညာချက်အမှတ် (၁/၂၀၂၁)
၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ နိုဝင်ဘာလ (၁၅) ရက်
ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်၊ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၊ လူသားချင်းစာနာ ထောက်ထားရေးနှင့် ဘေးအန္တရာယ်ဆိုင်ရာစီမံခန့်ခွဲရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာနအနေဖြင့် အန္တရာယ်၊ အခက်အခဲ အမျိုးမျိုးကြားမှ မိမိတို့ မြတ်နိုးတန်ဖိုးထားကြသည့် အသက်မွေးဝမ်းကျောင်းအလုပ်အကိုင်ကို စွန့်လွှတ်ကာ ပြည်သူ့ဘက်တွင် မားမားမတ်မတ်ရပ်တည်ပေးခဲ့ကြပြီး နိုင်ငံနှင့် ပြည်သူလူထုအပေါ် သစ္စာစောင့်သိခဲ့ကြသည့် ပြည်သူ့ဝန်ထမ်းများနှင့်စပ်လျဉ်း၍ အောက်ပါအတိုင်း အသိပေး ကြေညာ လိုက်သည်-
(က) အကြမ်းမဖက် အာဏာဖီဆန်ရေးလှုပ်ရှားမှု (Civil Disobedience Movement – CDM) တွင် ပါဝင်ခဲ့ကြသော နိုင်ငံ့ဝန်ထမ်းကောင်း အမှုထမ်း၊ အရာထမ်းများ အားလုံးကို နိုင်ငံနှင့် ပြည်သူအပေါ် သစ္စာစောင့်သိကြသည့် သူရဲကောင်းများအဖြစ် မှတ်တမ်းတင် ဂုဏ်ပြုအပ်ပါသည်။
(ခ) ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ (၁) ရက်နေ့မှစတင်၍ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စု အလိုကျ ၎င်းတို့၏ အာဏာရှင်ယန္တရား လည်ပတ်နိုင်ရေးအတွက် ထပ်မံခန့်အပ်ထားသော ဝန်ထမ်းအသစ်များ၏ ရာထူးတည်မြဲရေး၊ အာဏာရှင်ထောက်တိုင်အဖြစ် ဆက်လက် ရပ်တည်နေကြသည့် ဝန်ထမ်းများ၏ ရာထူးတိုးမြှင့်ရေးဆိုင်ရာ ဆောင်ရွက်ချက်များနှင့် စစ်အာဏာရှင် လက်အောက်မှ ပြည်ပသင်တန်းနှင့် ပညာတော်သင်သွားရောက်ကြသူ များ၏ ဘွဲ့ထူး၊ ဂုဏ်ထူးရယူခြင်းများနှင့်စပ်လျဉ်း၍ လုံးဝ (လုံးဝ) အသိအမှတ်ပြုမည် မဟုတ်ကြောင်း ထုတ်ပြန်အပ်သည်။
(ဂ) ပြည်သူ့အစိုးရလက်ထက် COVID 19 ကပ်ရောဂါကြောင့် ဖြစ်ပေါ်လာနိုင်သော သက်ရောက်မှုများကို ကုစားနိုင်ရေးအတွက် နိုင်ငံ့ဝန်ထမ်းများသို့ ပံ့ပိုးပေးခဲ့သည့် အတိုးမဲ့ချေးငွေများကို ပြန်လည်ပေးဆပ်ရန် မလိုသည့် ချီးမြှင့်ငွေအဖြစ် သတ်မှတ်ကြောင်း အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၊ စီမံကိန်း၊ ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှင့် ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှု ဝန်ကြီး ဌာနက ကြေညာချက်အမှတ် (၂/၂၀၂၁) ဖြင့် ထုတ်ပြန်ထားပြီးဖြစ်၍ ဤဝန်ကြီးဌာနအောက်ရှိ ဝန်ထမ်းများအနေဖြင့် အဆိုပါ (၂) လစာချေးငွေများကို ပြန်လည် ပေးဆပ်ရန်မလိုကြောင်း ထပ်လောင်း အတည်ပြုအပ်သည်။
(ဃ) မတရားအာဏာသိမ်းမှုနောက်ပိုင်း တရားမဝင်ခန့်အပ်ထားသည့် ဝန်ထမ်းအသစ်များ အတွက် ထုတ်ယူထားသော လစာများနှင့် ပြည်သူ့ဘဏ္ဍာများကို အလွဲသုံးစားပြုခြင်း၊ ပြန်လည်ပေးဆပ်ရန်မလိုသည့် နိုင်ငံ့ဝန်ထမ်း အတိုးမဲ့ချေးငွေများကို ဖိအားပေး ခြိမ်းခြောက် တောင်းခံခြင်းနှင့် အာဏာအလွဲသုံးစားပြုခြင်းများကို ကျူးလွန်နေသည့် စစ်ကောင်စီ လက်အောက်ရှိ လူမှုဝန်ထမ်း၊ ကယ်ဆယ်ရေးနှင့် ပြန်လည် နေရာချထားရေး ဝန်ကြီးဌာန၊ ဝန်ကြီးရုံး အပါအဝင် ဦးစီးဌာနအသီးသီးမှ အကြီးအကဲများနှင့် အရာထမ်း၊ အမှုထမ်းများ အနေဖြင့် မိမိတို့၏ ပြုလုပ်မှု၊ ပျက်ကွက်မှုများနှင့်စပ်လျဉ်း၍ အပြည့်အဝ တာဝန်ယူ၊ တာဝန်ခံရမည် ဖြစ်ကြောင်း သိစေအပ်သည်။
ဒေါက်တာဝင်းမြတ်အေး
ပြည်ထောင်စုဝန်ကြီး..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management - NUG
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-15
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"We are deeply saddened to hear of and strongly condemn the murder of Colonel Viplav Tripathi, commander of the 46 Assam Rifles (Indian Security forces), along with his wife, son, and 4 brave Indian soldiers. This murder was carried out by Manipur rebel forces who carry out terrorist attacks in India but have taken refuge in Myanmar with the tacit blessing of Myanmar military generals and their forces (so called Tatmadaw), headed by their brutal leader Min Aung Hlaing, who has supplied them with weapons and munitions.
We, the people of Myanmar, stand together with our Indian brothers and sisters in mourning the loss of this brave leader, his family, and his brothers-in-arms. They died as martyrs to the cause of national security at the hands of rebels supported by a terrorist military in Myanmar (military junta, known also as the ‘SAC’) across the border in Myanmar. These same military generals in Myanmar have supported many attacks against Indian security and defense personnel over the years and decades. We condemn, in the strongest terms possible, attacks on our neighbours by any group or individuals residing within the borders of Myanmar. Unfortunately, this craven and cowardly act of senseless violence highlight a deep problem which requires the cooperation of our great nations to resolve. Cross-border acts of terrorism are a blight and the Myanmar military dictatorship only worsen this crisis by consciously ignoring and secretly supporting terrorist groups who cross the border knowing the junta will grant them safe harbour to evade justice and plot and carry out further attacks. As we grieve for the fallen today, and we must take action to prevent future loss of life of our heroes who are the on the frontlines to defend our democracy, freedom, peace, prosperity and stability.
The government of India and the National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG) have an ethical responsibility to collaborate to end the scourge of trans-national terrorism. The NUG have made our position on national and international security clear, and our official statement can be viewed here: https://web.facebook.com/NUGmyanmar/photos/210022951218344.
We, the National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG), have made our position on national and international security clear. In the interest of domestic, regional, and global security, we intend to work together with the Government of India to allow no place for these terrorist militants to take shelter on our soil in Myanmar. We pledge to do our utmost to help bring to justice the perpetrators of this attack, and attacks like this. We stand ready to engage with the Government of India, and all the QUAD powers, to bring an end to all terrorist activities that target India from the soil of Myanmar.
The NUG desires to maintain a safe, secure, and friendly border with the people and Government of India, and to this end we are striving to bring about an end to this military dictatorship which supports these brutal terrorists’ acts. We aim to establish a true federal democratic union headed by civilians (the brave people of Myanmar), and bring about a complete end to the military dictatorship and their terrorist activities against the people of Myanmar and India, thereby allowing us to secure our brothers and sisters across the borders, and bring to justice militant terrorists who attack our neighbours at the bidding of the Tatmadaw (military junta forces in Myanmar).
Once again, I, on my own behalf, and on behalf of the people and Nation of Myanmar, express our deepest condolences and regrets to the people and Government of India, and the surviving families of the slain victims of the horrible events that transpired today. We will stand together with the people and government of India to bring the perpetrators to justice and seek the end of all further attacks against India by terrorists harboured by the brutal and cruel military generals (military junta in Myanmar). Once Myanmar is under the control of the NUG (the Government by the people for the people of Myanmar), these terrorists will have nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. Justice will be served once and for all. And so, as we pay homage to these brave martyrs and their families, let us pray that their sacrifices and heroism will never be forgotten, and that these senseless murders will never again be repeated. We will never surrender to the terrorism, and we will never give up for our people’s freedom from terrorism and together we will build peace, prosperity, and stability in the region for ALL of our people..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-14
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"The Burmese military regime’s sentencing of U.S. journalist Danny Fenster is an unjust conviction of an innocent person. The United States condemns this decision. We are closely monitoring Danny’s situation and will continue to work for his immediate release. We will do so until Danny returns home safely to his family..."
Source/publisher:
U.S. Department of State
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-14
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations
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Source/publisher:
Interim University Council - University of Yangon
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-14
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Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Sexual orientation - Discrimination based on, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Women's rights
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"၁။ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ နို၀င်ဘာ (၁၃)ရက်နေ့တွင် ပြုလုပ်ခဲ့သော“ပညာဖြင့်တော်လှန်၊ နွေဦးရဲ့အောင်လံ” Virtual Live Show ပွဲဖြစ်မြောက်အောင် နည်းပညာပိုင်း တွင်လိုလေသေးမရှိအောင် ကူညီဆောင်ရွက်ပေးကြသော ဆက်သွယ်ရေးနှင့် နည်းပညာဝန်ကြီးဌာန ဝန်ကြီး ဦးထင်လင်းအောင်နှင့် တကွ MoCIT အဖွဲ့သားများ၊ ပညာရှင်များ၊နည်းပညာရှင်များအားလုံးနှင့် Live streaming ပြုလုပ်နိုင်ရန် အသုံးပြုခွင့်ပေးသူ၊ အွန်လိုင်းလက်မှတ် ရောင်းချခြင်းမှ အစ Live Show အစီအစဉ် ဖြစ်မြောက်အောင် နည်းလမ်းရှာဖွေ စီစဉ်ပေးကြသူများ၊ ပါ၀င်ကူညီကြသူများအားလုံး၊
၂။ ပွဲကို ဦးဆောင်စီစဉ်ပေးသူ Education and Healthcare for Myanmar မှ ကိုရောဘတ်စောထူးအောင်၊ ကိုရန်နိုင်ဘို၊ ကိုရန်ကုန်နှင့် အဖွဲ့သားများအားလုံး၊
၃။ တော်လှန်ရေးစိတ်ဓါတ်အပြည့်ဖြင့် အခက်အခဲအမျိုးမျိုးကြားမှ ပါဝင်ကူညီပေးကြသော နိုင်ငံကျော် ရုပ်ရှင်၊ ဂီတ၊ DJ၊ စာပေ၊ ပန်းချီ၊ performance၊ ကာတွန်း အနုပညာရှင်များ၊ Guest Speaker အဖြစ် ပါဝင်အားဖြည့်ပေးကြသော ထင်ရှားသော နိုင်ငံရေး ဦးဆောင် လှုပ်ရှားသူများ၊ social influencer များအားလုံး၊
၄။ နိုင်ငံအသီးသီးမှ တော်လှန်ရေးစိတ် ထက်သန်စွာဖြင့် အားတက်တရော လက်မှတ်ကူညီ ရောင်းပေးကြသော လူပုဂ္ဂိုလ်များ၊ အဖွဲ့အစည်းများအားလုံး၊
၅။ လိုအပ်သော ဒီဇိုင်းနှင့် Multi-media ပိုင်းကူညီပန့်ပိုးပေးသော ပညာရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာန Media Team
၆။ တော်လှန်ရေး အောင်စေချင်သောစိတ်ဓါတ် အပြည့်ဖြင့် လက်မှတ်များ ဝယ်ယူအားပေးကြသော ပြည်တွင်းပြည်ပ မိဘပြည်သူများအားလုံးကို
အထူးပင်ကျေးဇူးတင်ရှိပါကြောင်း အလေးအနက် ဂုဏ်ပြု မှတ်တမ်းတင်အပ်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Education, National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-14
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"A military court in Myanmar has sentenced American journalist Danny Fenster to 11 years in prison, his lawyer said on Friday.
Fenster, a 37-year-old from Detroit, Michigan, has been detained in Myanmar for more than five months. He has been denied bail and held in Insein Prison, in the country's biggest city, Yangon, since his May 24 arrest.
At a court hearing on Friday, his lawyer Than Zaw Aung said Fenster was found guilty of three charges brought against him by the Myanmar military, which seized control of the country in a coup on February 1.
Those charges include visa breaches, unlawful association with an illegal group and incitement under section 505a of Myanmar's Penal Code, which makes it a crime to publish or circulate comments that "cause fear" or spread "false news." Fenster was also given a fine in local currency equivalent to $50.
The trial was conducted in a military court inside Insein Prison with proceedings closed to the public.
Fenster is one of about 126 journalists or media workers detained since the coup, according to the UN. About 47 remain behind bars.
Earlier this week he was hit with two new criminal charges under the country's sedition and terrorism laws, which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison, his lawyer said.
They include charges under Section 124a of Myanmar's Penal Code, which mandates seven to 20 years imprisonment for attempting to bring hatred, contempt or disaffection toward the government and military.
The other charge is under Section 50a of the Counter Terrorism Law, which makes it a crime to have contact with officially designated "terrorist" groups. Under the terrorism charge, Fenster could face a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison if convicted, according to his lawyer and Myanmar's sentencing guidelines.
These charges will be heard separately.
It was unclear why the charges have been brought against the former managing editor of Frontier Myanmar, an independent news outlet that covered current affairs, business and politics in Myanmar. Fenster was arrested at Yangon International Airport while trying to leave the country to see his family in the United States.
CNN Business has reached out to Myanmar's military for comment.
'Travesty of justice'
Frontier Myanmar said in a statement posted on Facebook it was "deeply disappointed" at the sentencing.
"Everyone at Frontier is disappointed and frustrated at this decision. We just want to see Danny released as soon as possible so he can go home to his family," said Thomas Keen, Frontier's Editor-in-Chief.
Frontier Myanmar said the charges were based on the allegation that Fenster was working for banned media outlet Myanmar Now in the aftermath of the military coup. But Frontier said Fenster had resigned from Myanmar Now in July 2020, and at the time of his arrest in May 2021 had been working with Frontier for more than nine months.
Fenster received a three-year sentence for the incitement charge, three years for the unlawful association charge and five years for the immigration charge, Frontier said, adding the sentences imposed were the harshest possible under the law.
"There is absolutely no basis to convict Danny of these charges. His legal team clearly demonstrated to the court that he had resigned from Myanmar Now and was working for Frontier from the middle of last year," said Kean.
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said the sentence was a "travesty of justice executed by a kangaroo court operating at the beck and call of the Myanmar military junta."
"The rationale for this outrageous, rights abusing sentence is really twofold: To intimidate all remaining journalists inside Myanmar by punishing Fenster this way, while at the same time sending a message to the US that the Tatmadaw generals don't appreciate being hit with economic sanctions and can bite back with hostage diplomacy," Robertson said.
"Journalism is not a crime, and it shouldn't be treated that way — meaning that Danny Fenster and the many Burmese journalists still behind bars should urgently be freed."
A US State Department spokesperson condemned the sentence, saying "the ruling today represents an unjust conviction of an innocent person."
"We are closely monitoring Danny's situation and will continue to work for his immediate release," the spokesperson said Friday. "We will do so until Danny returns home safely to his family."..."
Source/publisher:
CNN Business
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-13
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Type:
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Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"Atrocity Alert is a weekly publication by the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect highlighting situations where populations are at risk of, or are enduring, mass atrocity crimes.
UN ‘GRAVELY CONCERNED’ AS VIOLENCE INTENSIFIES IN MYANMAR
Monday, 8 November, marked the one-year anniversary of the general election victory by Myanmar’s (Burma) ruling party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), which comprehensively defeated the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party. This was the second democratic election held since Myanmar’s transition to civilian rule began in 2011. Myanmar’s military – the Tatmadaw – launched the coup on 1 February 2021 in response to the NLD’s victory. The coup leaders sought to ignore the will of the people of Myanmar by disregarding the outcome of democratic elections, thus reversing progress made over the past decade.
Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have participated in peaceful protests and strikes against the reimposition of military rule, while numerous civilian militias known as People’s Defence Forces (PDFs) have also formed as part of an armed resistance. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 1,200 people have been killed since 1 February and over 7,000 people remain detained for resisting the coup. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, have indicated that abuses committed by the military since the coup may amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes.
On the one-year anniversary of the elections, Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, said that, “the United Nations reiterates its call on the military to respect the will of the people and put the country back on track to democratic transition. The United Nations remains gravely concerned about the intensifying violence in Myanmar.”
Violence continues to escalate in upper Myanmar’s Chin State, Magway and Sagaing regions, where resistance to the coup has been especially active. Eight days after the military razed more than 200 buildings in Thantlang, Chin State, the military launched another shelling attack against the town on 6 November, burning at least seven buildings. Three days later, the military destroyed an additional two buildings. Amidst the escalating violence in upper Myanmar, more than 37,000 people have been newly displaced according to UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths. Violence is also escalating in Shan and Kayah states, where the Tatmadaw is reportedly using civilians as human shields while fighting PDFs and ethnic armies, which may amount to a war crime.
The UN Security Council (UNSC) held a closed meeting on 8 November to discuss the situation in upper Myanmar but did not agree to any substantial action. The UNSC must act to prevent further escalation in upper Myanmar and uphold its responsibility to protect by immediately imposing targeted sanctions and an arms embargo. The UN should not recognize the credentials of the representative of the junta, as the military has no democratic legitimacy.
DRAMATIC INCREASE IN ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS IN WESTERN NIGER
On Thursday, 4 November, the Nigerien government declared two days of mourning after 69 people from a civilian self-defense group were killed by suspected fighters of an Islamist armed group in the village of Adab-Dab located in Niger’s western Tillabéri region. The gunmen ambushed the convoy, who were being led by the mayor of Banibangou, while they were searching for fighters from Islamist armed groups. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.
This latest incident is part of a wave of intensifying violence against civilian populations in the tri-border area with Mali and Burkina Faso since the start of 2021. The tri-border area, which includes the Tillabéri region, has been volatile in recent years as Islamist armed groups allied to the Islamic State, such as the so-called Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), as well as to Al-Qaeda have made inroads in the region. Excluding this latest attack, more than 530 people have been killed by armed groups during attacks on civilians in southwest Niger this year, over five times more than in 2020, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. Populations in Banibangou, Tillabéri region, have suffered from recurrent violence this year, including an attack in August that killed 37 civilians.
Although the group used to spare civilians, ISGS fighters have been responsible for the highest number of civilian deaths in Niger this year. The rise in the targeting of civilians is primarily in response to the creation of community self-defense groups by villagers, who are increasingly resisting the punitive collection of “zakat” or alms, which ISGS uses as a pretext for extortion and cattle theft. While Niger has thus far avoided the expansion of community self-defense groups seen in Burkina Faso and Mali, a growing number of communities in Niger appear to be establishing their own defense capacities in response to ISGS attacks and the government’s failure to protect communities. In Burkina Faso and Mali, these groups and arms proliferation have fueled further violence and inflamed grievances along ethnic lines.
The rise in inter-communal tensions and creation of community self-defense groups in several villages throughout western Niger highlights the growing risk of further atrocities and violence. Christine Caldera, Research Analyst at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, said that, “Nigerien authorities should discourage the formation of these groups and take urgent steps to protect vulnerable populations in the Tillabéri region, including by bolstering early warning capabilities and reducing the army’s reaction time to threatened populations.”
MASS PROTESTS CONTINUE AMIDST POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY IN SUDAN
On Sunday, 7 November, pro-democracy groups in Sudan launched two days of civil disobedience and strikes in the ongoing protest against the military coup last month. The Sudanese Professionals Association, an umbrella organization of several different trade unions that were instrumental in bringing an end to President Omar al-Bashir’s thirty-year rule in 2019, promised continued protests until a civilian government is established. Pro-democracy groups have organized additional protests scheduled to take place on 13 and 17 November, raising fears of a potential crackdown by the military.
According to the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, at least 14 people have reportedly been killed and more than 300 injured as a result of excessive force used by security forces. Security forces also continue to arrest and arbitrarily detain civilians, journalists, human rights defenders and others. Internet and telecommunication have been disrupted since the coup, limiting people’s access to information and inhibiting reporting on human rights violations.
With security forces controlling the streets, populations in Sudan are at increased risk of atrocity crimes due to their history of violent crackdowns on protests and dissent. During mass demonstrations against military rule between December 2018 and August 2019, security forces used teargas and live ammunition against largely peaceful protesters, killing more than 200 people and arresting thousands. Security forces reportedly fired teargas at protesters in several locations in the capital, Khartoum, on 7 November. Amidst the ongoing protests, mediation efforts by the United Nations and others that aim to restore the civilian-military partnership continue.
The military coup has been widely condemned by the international community. On 27 October the African Union suspended Sudan from all its activities. Several states and multilateral organizations, including the United States and the World Bank, paused foreign aid and halted disbursements. On 5 November the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution during a special session that designated an Expert on Human Rights to monitor and report on the developing situation in Sudan since the coup.
Juliette Paauwe, Senior Research Analyst at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, stressed that, “Sudan’s military and political leaders must prioritize human rights and the protection of civilians in any discussion regarding the country’s future. Instead of forcing a new power-sharing arrangement, the international community must ensure that the Sudanese people’s demands for democracy and justice are sufficiently taken into account. Calls for a restoration of the pre-coup situation will not lead to a sustainable solution.”..."
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Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
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2021-11-13
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"The conviction and harsh sentencing of journalist Danny Fenster by a military court in Yangon today following a closed door, unfair trial is emblematic of the wider plight of journalists in Myanmar who have been facing constant repression since the 1 February military coup, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said.
At least 126 journalists, media officials or publishers have been detained by the military since 1 February, of whom 47 remain in detention. Twenty of these individuals have been charged with crimes because of their work as journalists. Nine media outlets have had their licences revoked and 20 others have had to suspend operations. Dozens of journalists reportedly remain in hiding due to outstanding arrest warrants.
Fenster was detained at Yangon airport in May, and was on Friday sentenced to 11 years in prison allegedly for violating laws relating to unlawful association, immigration and for sowing dissent against the military. He was tried by an ad hoc court inside Insein prison in Yangon, with the proceedings closed to any public scrutiny, raising serious concerns of lack of respect of fair trial guarantees. He still faces a second trial on charges of high treason and violations of the counter-terrorism law.
“Journalists have been under attack since 1 February, with the military leadership clearly attempting to suppress their attempts to report on the serious human rights violations being perpetrated across Myanmar as well as the extent of opposition to the regime,” Bachelet said. “Myanmar has quickly reverted to an environment of information control, censorship and propaganda seen under military regimes in the past.”
“Attacks on journalists and the media further exacerbate the vulnerability of huge sections of society that rely on accurate and independent information. With the crackdowns on journalists, Internet shutdowns, restrictions on free access to online and other data sources, people are being deprived life-saving information,” Bachelet added.
“I urge the military authorities to immediately release all journalists being detained in relation to their work,” she said..."
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UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights via "Reliefweb" (New York)
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2021-11-13
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"Editor’s Note: This post is the first installment in an ongoing series, Chronicle of a Coup, comprised of reports, dating from February 22 and written from within Myanmar, which together sketch one person’s first-hand account of the weeks and months following the February 1 military coup. The impressions of Christopher J. Walker (pseudonym), the primary correspondent, are occasionally paired with those of family, friends, and colleagues. Christopher’s copious reports, which are still being written, will be posted weekly, on Fridays for the foreseeable future, and are available in chronological order here.
Tea Circle is grateful to Christopher for sharing his personal account of life under military rule in Myanmar, and to Mathieu Lukas (pseudonym), his friend and amateur editor. Recognizing that Christopher’s voice is one of many, we encourage other authors to submit their own accounts, which might be written independently, or in conversation with the other letters posted here. Tea Circle is also currently accepting Burmese-language submissions, including those describing everyday experiences since the coup. We welcome others to join this ongoing conversation.
An ominous morning | February 22, 2021
Every morning, beginning at 5:15, itinerant pe byouk-, nambya– and rice-sellers walk through the various quarters calling out the names of the foods they are peddling. But today, not one of them is to be seen.
5:30 – By this time, those who sell from pushcarts are in the street out front preparing their carts and wares for the day’s business. This morning there is none of that.
5:45 – By now the call to morning prayers would have been broadcast from the mosque over a loud public address system. Today it’s dead quiet. Strangely, even the roosters and other birds are largely silent.
6:30 – This street serves as an outlet for our quarter. Usually, at this hour scores of private cars and taxis would be coming through. So far today I have counted five. And judging by the markings on the vehicles, they are being driven by supporters of the civil disobedience movement.
As I look up and down the street, all the parking spaces, except one, remain occupied.
The trishaw stations at either end of the street are empty; even they seem closed for the day.
There are no newspaper delivery boys.
7:00 – An elderly woman returns from shopping, but her basket is empty. Obviously the market and its shops are closed.
In the distance, not a single commuter train can be heard, but this is no longer unusual since the railway workers have been on strike for more than a week.
7:45 – I walk over to the main commercial district. Every shop is shuttered except for three that are preparing small food packets to hand out for free to demonstrators.
Many businesses in this area are protected during the night by private security guards, some of whom, ordinarily, would still be lingering around after their shifts. Today, they have all disappeared.
People are angry with the military, very angry. During the night graffiti artists again expressed their indignation in written format. This time they used oil paint, which is not so easily cleaned off.
Painting on the pavements has become commonplace. Yesterday in the late afternoon, in twelve-foot letters, a neighbourhood volunteer work party repainted a statement of their displeasure on the main road. What amazes me is that this was done in broad daylight: the painters were protected by citizens who kept the police at bay.
Protesters, easily identified by their white, black or sometimes red clothing, are beginning to leave their apartments and are headed to the various local staging points before continuing to the main assembly areas.
Today, a Monday, is a day of national strikes. Offices and businesses will be closed.
A message has come that the internet will be shut down until 1:00 pm, apparently to discourage strike and demonstration organisers. But this will have minimal effect because everyone has a cellphone and information spreads quickly.
(Typically, the internet has been down from 1:00 to 9:00 am every day anyway. While it has, at times, been operating outside of these hours, service is frequently intermittent or dreadfully slow. The only reason that the junta tolerates the internet is that institutions and businesses now rely on it in order to function. This was not the case in 1988 or 2007 when there were no internet providers or cellphones, and the vast majority of people had no telephones even in their homes.)
To date the military has done everything it can to incite riots, but for the most part, people are aware of this and are not “biting.” I earnestly hope that they will continue in this way.
I just received word that protesters are being discouraged from demonstrating in the town centre because they can easily be trapped there. There is a widespread fear that starting today police and soldiers have orders to shoot at them. (I had first-hand experience of this tactic in 2007 when I and others were hemmed in by soldiers, and people were beaten and fired upon.)
9:00 – Surprise! The internet is working.
9:15 am – From my window I can see large groups of protesters advancing toward the centre of town, in spite of the danger.
Security | February 26, 2021
As you can probably imagine, communication has been one of the more challenging things for me in the past few weeks. At issue is my safety as well as that of those around me. These days anyone can be imprisoned for the most spurious of reasons. Friends have been of great comfort and help in keeping my communications safe.
At this point I feel reasonably secure, having several layers of security built in with multiple devices, ISPs, passwords, phone numbers, email addresses, etc. This in itself creates numerous challenges as I try to recall passwords, and which computer or device, SIM card or phone number I use for which transmission. I have tiny pieces of paper hidden all over, not just in my apartment but in other places too. And of course I have to remember where those are!
Now that I feel reasonably safe, I shall try to write more regularly and geared more to what you are unlikely to see in the media. No doubt some of you will think that I shouldn’t do this, but it is something I really must do. I promise to use the utmost caution. What I ask, in fact encourage, is that everything I send be shared with as many others as possible.
Every day I experience guilt and frustration because there is so little that I can do to help. However, one thing that I can do is try to explain what life here now is like, the struggles and fears that the Burmese face each and every day.
Few of us know what it is like to go to bed with an intense fear that tonight trucks full of soldiers might pull up in front and take me away, or awake with the thought that I survived another night.
I subject myself to this because it is important that others know what is actually happening here and what the people of Myanmar are going through. The daily news cannot possibly cover it all. I believe that the more people elsewhere know of the situation, the more likely it is that outside assistance will come. Without pressure and support from sources abroad, the struggle here will become all the more difficult.
A simple act can be powerful. A case in point: On day two of the coup an apparently famous American singer named Rihanna posted a message on Twitter expressing her support for the Burmese people. I have no idea whatsoever who this person is, but everyone here was happy to get her message. The response and gratitude were amazing.
The Burmese desperately want the rest of the world to know of the injustices and violence visited upon them daily. They are pleading for assistance from the United Nations, the U.S., U.K., Australia and Japan. Whenever a representative of any of these countries speaks out, here it gets everyone’s attention and appreciation. Most understand that support from abroad is vital for their civil disobedience movement (CDM) to be successful.
…
I just got interrupted. A neighbour, a woman in her 80s, came from across the street to deliver a meal to us. She is doing this for all those in our quarter who have supported the CDM, and in memory of a person who was recently shot and killed by soldiers. I gratefully attempted to refuse her offer hoping that she would pass it on to others who are more needy and worthy, but she wouldn’t hear of it.
…
More than ever I have to look for the positives in all of this, and one is that people have grown closer and more patient with each other. These are incredibly sad times here. I just cannot figure out how such things can happen. Tears start to well up as I think of it. To turn my back on what is occurring is something I could never live with. I must do what I can.
People’s bravery, courage and commitment are truly incredible. Most impressive is their commitment to a nonviolent movement. I have not seen a single example of violence on the part of the CDM demonstrators, although I’ve heard that in some parts of the country it is slightly different. I have heard too that folks in other areas have suffered the worst kinds of torment and brutality, so can understand their frustration and anger. How far can people be pushed?
On one occasion I witnessed a hundred or so protesters throwing plastic water bottles at retreating police trucks, and a few times I saw bricks and stones thrown at police. Twice I saw people using slingshots. And I do see more and more people carrying sticks, but these are rather for defensive purposes. I have never seen nor heard of a single instance when anyone was struck by a demonstrator. When speaking with people I always mention the great importance of remaining peaceful, and to a person they understand and agree.
At times 5,000-kyat men have come into our quarter to cause trouble, and been caught by our new local security team. The 5,000-kyat men are spies and provocateurs hired by the Tatmadaw, the military, often felons and drug addicts freed from prison in exchange for their “services.” They are used to infiltrate the quarters to gather information, to cause diversions by committing acts of vandalism such as breaking windows and lighting fires, and to assault demonstrators in an attempt to provoke them to violence and provide an excuse for soldiers to attack. As a deal-sweetener, they are supposedly paid 5,000 kyat, about US$3.25, for each assignment.
I have seen these provocateurs detained and questioned by our local team. As angry as the local security volunteers were, they never once harmed these people in any way. I once saw the police return to their barracks apparently forgetting two of their vehicles that were left in a throng of protesters. No one laid a finger on either one. Elsewhere in the world, how long would those vehicles have lasted before they were engulfed in flames?
Groups of police or soldiers typically include a photographer. In one situation, the police left an area but their photographer somehow didn’t realize it and quickly found himself alone. A dozen CDM demonstrators surrounded and began photographing him. They didn’t hurl any abuse, nor did they in any way threaten or detain him. When they finished, they just left him to hurry off. In many other places such an opportunity would have resulted in the policeman being badly beaten, or worse.
It is now 9:45 on a Friday morning. In various quarters across town, the police have already begun arresting and shooting people. Previously, this would only happen in the afternoon or under the cover of darkness. At the same time, 100 metres from my window, thousands are beginning to march as they do every day. These are the kinds of things that I see and hear, and do my very best to report as objectively as possible. How long the demonstrators’ peaceful and commendable responses will keep up is anyone’s guess. We all have a breaking point.
I am so very exhausted. My brain is painfully full. I apologize that my writing is so poor—my sixth-grade grammar teacher would be very disappointed. I’m sorry, but I cannot bear to go through this report again. I shall send it as is, knowing that you will understand.
Now, as I finish, police have appeared in our quarter. I don’t know what they are up to. Two nights ago the local citizens took control of the offices of the oakkahta, the elected head of the quarter. Now I am told that police have retaken them. Eventually they leave, and I hear one of my neighbours say, “It’s OK. Tonight we will take them again.”
တို့အရေး တို့အရေး Dote ayae, dote ayae. Our cause, our cause..."
Source/publisher:
"Tea Circle" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-13
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"Responding to the sentencing of American journalist Danny Fenster to a combined 11 years in prison, Ming Yu Hah, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns, said:
“This is a reprehensible outcome in a case that has been deeply flawed from the start. Danny should have never been arrested in the first place and to sentence him to a combined 11 years shows how far Myanmar authorities are willing to go to signal that they do not respect independent media in the country or the impact on family members of those wrongly imprisoned.”
“Danny has done nothing wrong, but has somehow been charged with multiple alleged offences that are completely out of touch with reality and his work as an independent journalist. The court also ignored reams of evidence showing where he worked and records of his time in the country. He should be immediately and unconditionally freed and all charges dropped.”
“Danny is a prisoner of conscience. His liberty was taken away from him cruelly and unjustly, solely for doing his work as a journalist and exercising his right to freedom of speech.”
“His case has illustrated the enormous increase in risks and challenges faced by journalists in Myanmar since the military seized power on February 1. But despite internet blackouts, legal threats and detentions, they continue to courageously report on the dire situation in Myanmar.”
Background
A court in Yangon sentenced 37-year-old Danny Fenster to 11 years in prison on Friday, according to his employer Frontier Myanmar, where he is the managing editor.
He was arrested on 24 May as he tried to board a flight out of the country, which has been in turmoil since the military coup earlier this year.
The three charges for which he was sentenced on 12 November relate to an alleged immigration offence, incitement, and unlawful association with an illegal group. He was given the maximum sentence under each charge, according to his employer, which said there was no basis for the allegations.
Since the coup the military authorities have arrested, detained, prosecuted and imprisoned dozens of journalists, stripped media outlets of their licenses, and erased years of press freedom gains.
Amnesty International calls on the authorities in Myanmar to release journalists imprisoned simply for their work and the peaceful exercise of their human rights..."
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Amnesty International (UK)
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2021-11-13
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"12 November 2021: International humanitarian action for Myanmar, including provision of COVID-19 vaccinations, is a minimum response to the crisis, not a solution, and must not be leveraged by the illegal junta to reach a default political settlement, says the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M).
The United Nations (UN) Security Council issued a statement on Myanmar on Wednesday calling for full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to people in need and for the full protection, safety and security of humanitarian and medical personnel. The Council also called for greater international support to ensure delivery and distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations.
The Security Council met amidst warnings that an offensive launched by the military junta in the northwest of Myanmar could out scale the genocidal atrocities committed by the same military against the Rohingya in 2017. The Council failed to even refer to northwest Myanmar, with stronger action blocked by Russia and China, who continue to supply the illegal junta with weapons and financial resources.
“The one thing even the Security Council can agree on is the need for international cooperation to improve the dire health and humanitarian situation in Myanmar,” said Yanghee Lee of SAC-M. “Humanitarian assistance alone is not a solution to the crisis. The junta will also seek to leverage humanitarian assistance to reach a default settlement. An effective humanitarian response that empowers local actors is urgently needed.”
Since the attempted coup in February, the junta’s sustained, widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population has forced nearly three million people across Myanmar into urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The junta has weaponised Myanmar’s devastating third wave of COVID-19, targeted medical professionals, occupied hospitals, forcibly displaced an estimated 250,000 people, blocked aid and destroyed food and medical supplies.
Local humanitarian and medical networks including ethnic service providers, community-based and civil society organisations, have been working to deliver assistance to people in need. The National Unity Government (NUG) has also established a COVID-19 task force to prevent, mitigate and control the spread of the virus.
However, in addition to facing daily attacks by junta forces, local actors are being hindered by weeks-long bureaucratic processes and onerous requirements placed on them by donors and international agencies resulting in more needless loss of life.
“The only way to meet the calls made by the Security Council this week is for the international community to honour their pledges to ensure localisation of humanitarian assistance,” said Marzuki Darusman of SAC-M. “Relief aid must include reinforcement of the existing humanitarian and medical infrastructure that is in place already and operated by the NUG, civil society and various ethnic communities.”
International donors including ASEAN, the EU, the UK, the US and UN agencies must partner with local actors and direct humanitarian aid through cross-border channels. A people-to-people approach of leveraging existing community networks is fast, adaptive and built on trust. This is essential, as the Myanmar military has a history of exploiting humanitarian crises of its own making for political gain. That was the case in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, on the back of which the military misled the international community into accepting its handling of the crisis giving it legitimacy for its continued control of the country. It must not be allowed to happen again.
“It is critical that humanitarian assistance does not embolden, legitimise or otherwise entrench the military junta — the source of the violence that has long enveloped Myanmar,” said Chris Sidoti of SAC-M. “The junta is the cause of Myanmar’s suffering. It is not a partner for the delivery of aid.”..."
Source/publisher:
Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
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2021-11-12
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"The knife that carved through Gue Gue’s abdomen wasn’t exactly meant for pulling out her inflamed appendix. But it was the only one available in the sweltering jungle clinic, a bumpy ride over mountainous terrain from her guerrilla training camp.
There was no option for general anesthesia to put her under, so Gue Gue was conscious for the operation. The former tour guide, a stylish 26-year-old who listed her interests on Facebook as “Traveling, Adaptive Hiking, Dance, Writing, Gymnastics, Fashion Photography, Listening to Music, and Reading,” tried to keep her mind focused on all the work she had yet to do and not the surgery. “They were cutting the muscle like we are chopping pork,” said a friend who was there.
Gue Gue had no regrets, she said later, except about the jagged red mark left behind. “I really don’t want any scars!” she said, laughing. “After the revolution, I’ll go and remove my scar with a laser.”
Only a few weeks earlier, on an April evening, Gue Gue had slipped out of her family home in Mandalay, an ancient royal city careening into the 21st century, with shiny new malls, snappily dressed students and hipster cafes. Carrying a single change of clothes, she left behind the home where she had lived with her parents as the baby, the youngest daughter, well-loved and comfortable.
She was going to fight the junta, and not just with words.
Since Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup on Feb. 1, toppling the civilian government, Gue Gue had seen many of her peers killed by troops on the streets of her hometown as they chanted democracy slogans. Hopes that the international community would respond to the military’s mounting brutality with practical action had fizzled. For her, and thousands like her, the only option was force.
“I have family. I have dreams. I have things that I want to achieve. I want to travel. I want to write. I want to study,” Gue Gue said a few weeks before her operation in the jungle, in the first of a series of interviews over several months. Two other people, and video and photo footage shared with Reuters, confirmed the outline and many of the details of her story.
Because she still hasn’t healed from her ad hoc surgery, she hasn’t yet been involved in any fighting. But she says she is ready. “I sacrificed all this and joined this training with only one ambition: that we must win.”
Two faces of the resistance
The men and women rebelling against Myanmar’s junta vow to be the last generation to live under the boot of the country’s military. This, they say, is the “final battle” to root out the army, which has been the most powerful institution in the country since it became an independent nation in 1948. The military has withstood popular uprisings and civil war for decades, including the mass uprising in 1988 that led to the emergence of Aung San Suu Kyi as a human rights icon.
It is a fight that has in a few short months made guerrilla fighters of university lecturers, day laborers, I.T. workers, students and artists and forced countless young men and women into a life on the run.
Some, like Gue Gue, who had never considered herself particularly political until the bloodbath on the streets in the wake of the coup, are in clandestine rebel training camps. Hundreds of armed outfits have popped up across the country, according to an October report by the International Crisis Group, many calling themselves People’s Defense Forces (PDFs). A famous poet formed one. Beauty queens and actresses who were wanted by the authorities for supporting the protests re-emerged on social media in areas controlled by armed groups, posting pictures with rifles slung over their shoulders.
Others, like a skinny 32-year-old librarian named Tayzar San, have been hiding in cities, organizing clandestine demonstrations, funneling money to striking workers and strategizing. A young man who once spent his spare time buried in books – as often Burmese romance novels as nonfiction political tracts – he now lives out of a backpack, moving from apartment to apartment to evade the authorities who have put a $5,600 bounty on his head. By September, he said, he hadn’t seen his wife and daughter in seven months.
The utterly changed worlds of Gue Gue and Tayzar San paint a portrait of sacrifice and resolve in a young Burmese generation who, unlike their parents, grew up in a world of smartphones and greater political freedoms. Many are willing to pay any price, including their lives, to overthrow a junta that they say threatens to take them back to a darker past.
Speaking in October, army chief and coup leader Min Aung Hlaing said the junta, which has vowed to hold elections within two years, was working on a five-point plan to reach a “true union based on democracy and federalism.” He said the leadership was working to “change the country peacefully.” In a message to Reuters responding to detailed questions, the junta’s “True News” information unit said, “We have no plan to answer meaningless questions.”
At stake is the fate of a country of 55 million people that once looked to be on its way to becoming Asia’s newest semi-democratic state, a nation on the crossroads of India and China rich with natural resources, considered a frontier market for foreign investors and a keystone in U.S-led efforts to counter Chinese power in Southeast Asia.
It is one of the bloodiest chapters yet in a decades-long struggle to shrug off a series of military dictators who have waged some of the world’s longest-running civil wars, displaced millions of people and consigned multiple generations to poverty and dashed dreams.
Since Myanmar, then Burma, won independence from colonial Britain seven decades ago, it has known less than 25 years of civilian governance. Successive juntas ruled the country from 1962 until 2011, when Gen. Than Shwe appeared to step back and hand limited powers to a civilian government.
It was a managed process that reserved vast political influence under the constitution for the military. Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been imprisoned in her home for 15 years, was freed to participate in elections and, in 2015, won them.
In the years following, Suu Kyi drew criticism for standing by the military as they carried out what the United Nations termed a genocidal campaign against the Rohingya Muslim minority. Testifying in the Hague, where Myanmar faces charges at the International Criminal Court, she admitted that war crimes may have been committed but denied genocide, saying Rohingya had “exaggerated” the extent of abuses against them.
But her government made some steps toward weakening military power and attracting foreign investment. The Myanmar kyat became Asia’s best-performing currency, and the World Bank was predicting economic growth in the country despite the COVID-19 pandemic..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-12
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"This morning AAPP documented the detention of 10,000 civilians by the military Junta in its crackdown on the pro-democracy struggle. These are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, friends, and other loved ones who chose to resist an illegitimate 1 February coup attempt.
Yet, these are only 10,000 individuals documented by AAPP. Our organization knows there are many more. On April 24, the military told an ASEAN leaders’ summit 9,948 had been detained and 4,511 were already released.
But the so-called SAC tries deception with unconditional releases. On June 30, the military said they would release 2,342 protestors, although only 370 have been identified. Again, on October 18, announcing 5,636 would be released. However, AAPP has confirmed 4,075, with only 1,199 identified.
All of those released were forced to sign 401(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, threatening them with harsher sentences in any future arrest. According to these past announcements by the Junta, 12,489 political detainees have been released since the coup. But there is a crater sized gap between reality and what this Junta tells the world.
As of November 11, at least 150 have been killed in custody, some within 24 hours through brutal interrogation methods, others locked in an overcrowded jail and denied necessary medical treatment during a pandemic.
Yet all the detained will be mentally and physically tortured. Even those they take hostage when their relatives cannot be found. 244 people have been arrested as hostages since the coup, 194 of them remain detained. The youngest is an infant under 1-years-old.
As of our sources, prison conditions are ruthless, with corruption everywhere. There is not enough quality food to eat or space to sleep. Detainees need to pay bribes to avoid degrading or harsh labor, denied even the most basic human dignity.
Fundamentally, the 10,000 civilians arrested were not criminals, they are students, doctors, journalists, teachers, striking workers, politicians, lawyers, civil servants. People who do not want a return to harsh authoritarian rule.
ASEAN’s ‘Five-Point Consensus’ to deal with the [military inflicted] political, economic, and social crisis ignored the escalating numbers of political prisoners. The first talking point must be the unconditional release of all political prisoners, including State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint.
Arbitrary detentions began this illegitimate coup, the continued existence of political prisoners is the barometer of democracy in Burma. As long as there are political prisoners there can be no national reconciliation..."
Source/publisher:
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-11
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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"Myanmar’s civilian National Unity Government (NUG) announced that it has blacklisted two junta-controlled conglomerates and their subsidiaries on Wednesday.
The NUG said its Commerce Ministry had found that the military-owned Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) committed high treason and control numerous businesses by abusing military power and exerting undue influence.
MEHL and MEC control a network of more than 100 businesses, including banking, trade, logistics, construction, mining, agriculture, tourism, tobacco and food and beverages, which generate revenue for the regime.
In late March, the US and UK sanctioned the conglomerates following the regime’s deadly crackdown on peaceful demonstrators.
Last month, India’s Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited said it would withdraw investment in the junta-owned Ahlone Port by June 2022 after it came under pressure for doing business with MEC which received US$90-million in rent for leasing land to the Indian port operator.
The NUG on Wednesday urged consumers and businesses not to store, distribute, sell and use MEHL and MEC products and services. Failure to comply would amount to supporting war crimes, it said, warning of punitive action.
“The junta must not be provided with access to funds that allow the generals to enrich themselves at the expense of Myanmar’s people and to continue their acts of terrorism against the people,” the NUG said, declaring its economic sanctions.
The NUG also called for the international community to implement stronger and coordinated measures targeting the junta’s economic interests, including urgent sanctions on Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise.
The state-owned conglomerate is now under regime control and is the military’s most important financial lifeline.
Public campaigns for boycotting military-linked products continue in Myanmar.
Since the February coup, at least 1,252 civilians have been killed by junta forces and more than 9,900 people have been detained, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners rights group..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-11
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military, National Unity Government (NUG)
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Description:
"၁။ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင် စစ်အာဏာရှင်စနစ် အလုံးစုံပျက်သုဉ်းရေးနှင့် ကာလရှည်ကြာ စိုးမိုးမှု မရှိစေရေး အတွက် စစ်အာဏာရှင်များ၏ စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်းများနှင့် ဝင်ငွေရလမ်းများအား ပိတ်ဆို့အရေးယူ ဖြတ်တောက်ခြင်းသည် အလွန်အရေးပါသည့် လုပ်ငန်းစဉ်တစ်ရပ်ဖြစ်သည်။
၂။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စု၏ စီးပွားရေးအင်ပါယာသည် စျေးကွက်နယ်ပယ်စုံ၌ ထိုးဖောက် နေရာယူကာ စီးပွားအရေးအကျိုးအမြတ်များစွာ နှစ်စဥ်ရရှိနေသည်။ မြန်မာ့စီးပွားရေး ဦးပိုင်လီမိတက် (MEHL)နှင့် မြန်မာ့ စီးပွားရေးကော်ပိုရေးရှင်း(MEC)သည် နိုင်ငံတော်ပုန်ကန်မှုကို ထောက်ကူပြုပြီး၊ မလျော်သြဇာဖြင့် စစ်တပ်၏ လုပ်ပိုင်ခွင့်နှင့် အင်အားကို အသုံးပြုကာ စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်းများစွာကို လုပ်ဆောင်လျက်ရှိကြောင်း စီးပွားရေးနှင့် ကူးသန်းရောင်းဝယ်ရေး ဝန်ကြီးဌာန၏ စီးပွားရေး ဆိုင်ရာထောက်လှမ်းရေး ညွှန်ကြားရေးမှူးရုံးမှ စိစစ်တွေ့ရှိ ရသည်။
၃။ ယင်းသို့ နိုင်ငံတော်ပုန်ကန်မှုနှင့် စစ်ရာဇဝတ်မှုများ ကျူးလွန်ထားသည့် အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်တပ်၏ စီးပွားရေး လုပ်ငန်းများဖြစ်သော မြန်မာ့စီးပွားရေးဦးပိုင်လီမိတက် (MEHL)နှင့် မြန်မာ့စီးပွားရေး ကော်ပိုရေးရှင်း(MEC) တို့နှင့် ဆက်စပ်စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်းများအား အကြမ်းဖက် စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်းများအဖြစ် သတ်မှတ်ပြီး အမည်ပျက်စာရင်းသွင်းကြောင်း ထုတ်ပြန် ကြေညာအပ်သည်။
၄။ သို့ဖြစ်ရာ မြန်မာ့စီးပွားရေးဦးပိုင်လီမိတက် (MEHL)နှင့် မြန်မာ့စီးပွားရေးကော်ပိုရေးရှင်း(MEC)တို့၏ ဆက်စပ်ထုတ်ကုန်ပစ္စည်းများ၊ ဝန်ဆောင်မှုများအား ဝယ်ယူသုံးစွဲခြင်း၊ ရောင်းဝယ်ဖောက်ကားခြင်း၊ သိုလှောင် ဖြန့်ဖြူးရောင်းချခြင်း အလျဉ်းမပြုလုပ်ကြရန်နှင့် အဆိုပါလုပ်ရပ်များကို စစ်ရာဇဝတ်မှုကျူးလွန်ရန် ထောက်ခံ အားပေးသော လုပ်ရပ်များအဖြစ် သတ်မှတ်အရေးယူသွားမည်ဖြစ်သည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Commerce , National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-11
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military
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"ပြည်ထောင်စု သမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်၊ အမျိုးသား ညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၊ တရားရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာန၊ ကြေညာချက်အမှတ် ၆/၂၀၂၁ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံလုံးဆိုင်ရာ ပြည်သူ့တရားရေးဝန်ထမ်းများ အဖွဲ့အစည်း (ယာယီ) အလုပ်အမှုဆောင်ကော်မတီ ဖွဲ့စည်းကြောင်း ကြေညာခြင်း..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Justice
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-11
[field_licence]
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"The U.N. Security Council expressed deep concern on Wednesday over increased violence across Myanmar and in a rare statement, agreed by the 15-members, called for an immediate end to fighting and for the military to exercise utmost restraint.
There are reports of a buildup of heavy weapons and troops in Chin state, suggesting an imminent army attack to flush out militia groups formed after the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in a coup on Feb. 1.
“The Members of the Security Council expressed deep concern at further recent violence across Myanmar. They called for an immediate cessation of violence and to ensure the safety of civilians,” the statement said.
Myanmar’s junta has made no comment on the situation in Chin, a volatile border region that has become a forefront of resistance against military rule.
Myanmar has been paralyzed by protests and violence since the coup, with the junta struggling to govern and facing armed resistance from militias and ethnic minority rebels allied with a shadow government that it calls “terrorists”.
“The Members of the Security Council ... reiterated their deep concern at developments in Myanmar following the declaration of the state of emergency imposed on 1 February and their call on the military to exercise utmost restraint,” said the statement, drafted by Britain.
“They encouraged the pursuance of dialogue and reconciliation in accordance with the will and interests of the people of Myanmar,” the statement said.
The council also called for full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all people in need and the protection, safety and security of humanitarian and medical personnel..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-11
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
UN Security Council, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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Description:
"Since the deadly military coup d’état in Myanmar on February 1, 2021, the Myanmar military junta has killed, tortured, and otherwise persecuted civilians, forcibly displacing hundreds of thousands nationwide. In Karenni State—also known as Kayah State—rather than ensure humanitarian aid reached civilians in need, the junta arbitrarily arrested aid workers, destroyed civilian food stocks and non-military objects, prevented the delivery of food and medical supplies at military checkpoints, and delayed or denied administrative approvals for local, national, and international aid organizations. This flash report finds that these ongoing acts may constitute war crimes.
While military-led attacks on civilians increase and impunity for atrocity crimes is further entrenched, the military junta continues to deny any wrongdoing.
To ensure lifesaving aid for an increasing number of civilians forcibly displaced in the country, this report recommends that Thailand, India, China, and Bangladesh authorize agencies to deliver cross-border humanitarian aid to Myanmar, directly as well as through community-based partners.
Source/publisher:
"Fortify Rights"
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-10
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Armed conflict in Karenni State
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pdf
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6.82 MB
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"After his visit to military-ruled Myanmar last week, ex-US diplomat Bill Richardson boasted that his trip had achieved its aims: the release from prison of a local ex-employee of his; increased access to humanitarian aid and vaccines for Myanmar; and resumption of Red Cross visits to the country’s prisons.
The former New Mexico governor described his trip to the country, with which he has had a long involvement dating back to 1994, as a humanitarian visit. Though his visit was made on a private basis, he was the first prominent US figure to meet Myanmar coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who is under US sanctions for masterminding the killing of more than 1,000 people who opposed his ousting of the country’s democratically elected government in February. Richardson has no love for Myanmar’s detained pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Nor does Min Aung Hlaing, who placed her under house arrest at the time of the coup. So the two men had that much in common when they met and talked for 90 minutes.
Talking to the Associated Press about his Myanmar trip, Richardson said he was satisfied with what he had accomplished.
So, it’s worth asking what Myanmar junta got out of Richardson’s visit, apart from humanitarian aid and vaccines, as he claimed.
In short: a significant propaganda boost.
The junta chief’s meeting with Richardson was psychologically important, allowing the general to deceive his military officers and soldiers into believing that he was paid a visit by “a former diplomat” from the US—the arch critic of his regime.
Perfect timing
According to sources, it took two months to plan the trip with the assistance of some former military intelligence officers who knew Richardson. However, it should be noted that the timing of the visit was most convenient for the regime, coming just as Min Aung Hlaing was licking his wounds after being shunned at a regional summit he had been desperate to attend. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member, refused his presence at the meeting over his failure to honor commitments to take steps to ease the political crisis sparked by his coup. As he had counted on the support of his regional neighbors, the group’s exclusion of him was a big blow for Min Aung Hlaing.
On Nov. 2, just five days after the ASEAN summit’s conclusion, Richardson was ushered into the Credentials Hall of the office of the regime’s governing body, the State Administration Council, in Naypyitaw to be received by Min Aung Hlaing. Prior to the coup, the hall, dominated by a gilded throne—a symbol of Myanmar’s sovereignty—at the Presidential Residence was where the country’s presidents welcomed international dignitaries, from US President Barack Obama to Chinese leader Xi Jinping to newly arrived diplomats to the country. Richardson may be the first non-state figure to be received in the room.
Next day, Richardson must have been thrilled to see a picture of their meeting splashed over the front page of the junta’s mouthpiece newspaper with the headline: “State Administration Council Chairman Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing receives former governor of New Mexico State of USA.”
However, the regime’s special treatment of Richardson had an ulterior motive.
Some retired Myanmar military officers who worked for the previous regime said the photo of the ex-diplomat paying a courtesy call to Min Aung Hlaing in the grand hall—with Richardson in a chair and Min Aung Hlaing perched on an ornate, gilded sofa in front of the throne—evoked a feeling of an ancient Myanmar king receiving a foreign visitors. Richardson, meanwhile, appears subdued in the photo.
At the same time, the military’s propaganda mill swung into high gear. The Irrawaddy was told that military commanders have been ordered to share the picture on their social media accounts. They have told their subordinates and their family members to do the same, to create the impression, especially in military circles, that despite international criticism and exclusion by ASEAN, the regime still has friends. This time, American!
Information bubble
Some may find it hard to believe that it could be so easy for the regime to delude its people, especially in the mobile internet age.
Since the coup, access to news from independent media has been largely banned for officers, soldiers and their families living inside army quarters. Their Facebook accounts are monitored to “prevent disintegration of the unity of the Tatmadaw” (Myanmar’s military). They are only allowed to read the regime’s papers and watch the military’s Myawady Channel; all other information available online from independent local news outlets is dismissed as fake news from “state-destroying media”. Amid this blanket information blackout, the regime can filter the information they want to feed to the troops. So, when the junta published the picture of Richardson meeting with Min Aung Hlaing in the Credentials Hall, the majority of people in the military, who have little familiarity with Richardson, would simply think that their boss had a VIP visitor from the US, a country that has long supported Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement and rarely had warm relations with the Tatmadaw.
The former governor told the AP that he was realistic enough to realize that some might try to exploit his presence. Of course, Min Aung Hlaing used him not only for propaganda, but also to raise the spirit of his troops, who have been demoralized by the nationwide popular hatred directed at them for their deadly crackdowns on anti-coup protesters. To add to their dismay, the regime’s soldiers are growing increasingly fatigued and insecure due to the growing and ever more deadly civilian armed resistance against them. To keep his boys’ spirits high, Min Aung Hlaing needed to show them he has friends and is not isolated, especially after ASEAN’s snub. Richardson, as an American, turned out to be the perfect choice.
Unsurprisingly, the ex-US diplomat’s meeting with the Myanmar coup leader has drawn a barrage of criticism, especially from human rights campaigners who said Richardson had given the junta an air of legitimacy—a claim he rejected. However, when offering his impressions of Min Aung Hlaing, the ex-diplomat sounded like a spin doctor, describing the blood-soaked dictator as “cordial” and “open to more contact,” likely paving the way for others who are similarly clueless about Myanmar’s misery under Min Aung Hlaing and who blindly think that isolating the regime is not the answer to the Myanmar crisis.
Talking up his achievements during the trip as “mild progress”, Richardson said he was optimistic and hopeful that it might lead to a better situation. He has also, no doubt, earned the gratitude of Min Aung Hlaing, for arriving in a time of need and turning out to be quite useful—at least when it comes to deceiving his boys in uniform into believing that their chief is not a lonely and isolated figure..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-10
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general, Human Rights and international relations
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The decision marks the second time the military’s representation has been rejected by the UN.
Description:
"Myanmar’s military regime has been snubbed once again on the international stage, this time by the organizers of the United Nations climate change conference, who turned its five-person delegation away at the door to the summit in Glasgow, Scotland, this week.
The move to bar the delegation comes just a month after reports that the U.N. credentialing committee delayed acceptance of the junta’s appointed envoy to the General Assembly as part of a U.S.-China-brokered deal that would have the representative of Myanmar’s deposed National League for Democracy (NLD) government “take a low profile” until a formal decision is made later this year.
Sources close to the military government recently told RFA’s Myanmar Service that Hla Maung Thein, the junta’s director general of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, had planned to send a five-member delegation to the Oct. 31 to Nov. 12 conference, known as COP26. The group was to be led by Ambassador Tun Aung Kyaw of the Myanmar Embassy in London.
However, Myanmar pro-democracy groups learned of the plan and protested the junta’s inclusion, which they said would allow it to raise its international profile despite its violent repression at home of opponents to its Feb. 1 coup.
Kyaw Swa Tun, a third secretary at the Myanmar Embassy in Washington, told RFA that the delegation had been denied entry to the 192-member nation conference when it arrived in Glasgow.
“The military council was trying to get [global] recognition. A delegation of five people, led by the junta’s Ambassador Tun Aung Kyaw and Councilor Chit Win, traveled to Glasgow,” he said.
“At the U.N. there is a group that accepts nominations and there’s another group that deals with credentials. At the time of the nomination of the five, travel expenses were paid by the U.N. nominating group. However, the credentials group rejected their nomination and so they were not allowed to attend the meeting and had to return home from Scotland.”
It was not immediately clear which group or individual objected to the junta’s participation at the COP26. Junta representatives were even barred from taking part in the conference virtually.
RFA learned that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) had paid for the travel expenses of at least three of the five delegates when the junta was initially invited.
RFA was unable to contact the UNFCCC for comment on the decision to block the junta from attending the conference.
Nine months after the Feb. 1 coup, the junta’s security forces have killed 1,252 civilians and arrested at least 7,091, according to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Many of the deaths and arrests have occurred during crackdowns on anti-junta protests.
The junta claims it unseated the NLD government because the party had engineered its victory in the 2020 election through widespread voter fraud, though international observers rated the vote legitimate. Military leaders have yet to present evidence backing up their allegation, and protests against the regime continue.
‘A victory for the people of Myanmar’
Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG) said it had also attempted to send a delegation to COP26 but was rejected.
“As we all know, our government was formed on behalf of the people, so I think U.N. officials should recognize our government’s representation and allow us to attend such major conferences,” NUG Deputy Foreign Minister Moe Zaw Oo told RFA.
“Otherwise, our country will miss a lot of opportunities because of non-participation at meetings on important issues,” he added, saying that the NUG would continue its efforts to represent Myanmar on the world stage.
Moe Zaw Oo said the decision to ban the junta from attending the climate conference was “a victory for the people of Myanmar.”
“They are trying to attend U.N. meetings, but U.N. officials and host countries are also working to prevent them from being represented,” he said.
“It will teach them the lesson that an organization that does not represent the people will not be allowed to attend such meetings.”
Arkar Myo Htet, an NLD lawmaker, said refusing the junta representation at COP26 was a blow to the military regime.
“It is a blessing for our uprising and our people that the junta was not allowed to attend such an important conference,” he said.
“This shows that the global community stands with our people. … The military is slowly failing in the international arena.”
Attempts by RFA to reach junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment regarding the delegation were not successful..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-10
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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"During the past two weeks, SAC troops have scaled up military operations in Pekhon and
Demawso townships, in an attempt to secure control of the main access roads from southern
Shan State to Loikaw, and from Loikaw to southern Karenni State. SAC troops have shelled
directly into towns and villages, killing and injuring civilians and damaging numerous buildings.
Hundreds more SAC troops have been deployed from Naypyidaw to try and sweep out
resistance forces in the hills west of Pekhon town.
On October 25, SAC troops fired artillery shells and shot guns at Lud Mae Taw Catholic church
in San Pya 6 mile, Demawso township. They also indiscriminately shelled into Mar Ner Plaw
quarter in Demawso township, damaging a house there.
On October 26, combined KA and KNDF troops clashed with SAC troops travelling between
Htu Lwi Belar village and Ngwe Taung Ywa Thit village in Demawso township. 10 SAC
soldiers were killed and 2 military trucks damaged.
On October 26, Pekhon PDF troops and other Karenni forces clashed with SAC troops camped
near Katheh village in Gone Hsone village tract, Pekhon township, causing one of the PDF
soldiers to be injured. The SAC then indiscriminately shelled into Katheh village, injuring 3
villagers.
On October 27, the SAC again indiscriminately shelled into Katheh village in Pekhon township
damaging five houses and a local clinic.
On October 29, Moe Bye-based LIB 422 battalion indiscriminately shelled into and around Moe
Bye town, killing a woman from Sigan 2 quarter and injuring a man from Pau Oo 2 quarter; and
also killed a villager in his farm near the town.
On October 30, SAC troops carrying out operations between Loikaw town and Moe Bye town
set fire to stacks of harvested paddy along the roadsides.
On October 31, SAC troops shot at two villagers from an IDP camp in Demawso township while
they were returning to their village to get rations, luckily causing no injury. SAC troops also
burned down several houses in Ngu Plau quarter in Demawso township, according to a
Demawso PDF statement. Moreover, SAC troops fired shells into Daw Tama Nge village in
Demawso township, injuring one villager and damaging some houses.
On November 1, SAC troops patrolling from Shwe Yauk quarter in Demawso township
indiscriminately shelled into Daw Nga Khan quarter 2 in Demawso township, damaging a
community-owned store and 3 houses..."
Source/publisher:
Karenni Civil Society Network
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-10
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Human Rights Defenders
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Description:
"November 8, 2021, Myanmar: Peak accounting bodies CPA Australia and Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) have withdrawn their support from the upcoming ASEAN Federation of Accountants (AFA) annual conference, following a grassroots campaign. The Myanmar military junta’s auditor general, Dr Kan Zaw, is going to be a “Guest of Honour” at the conference. The conference is co-organised by the Myanmar Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA), a body affiliated with the Myanmar military junta.
In a joint response provided to Justice For Myanmar, CPA Australia and CA ANZ stated: “Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and CPA Australia recognize the importance of supporting the accounting profession in the ASEAN region and ASEAN Federation of Accountant’s (AFA) role in achieving this. However, we are concerned that the recent focus on our involvement in the upcoming ASEAN Federation of Accountants conference may distract from this important goal. So we have decided to withdraw our involvement in this event. We will continue to support AFA in other ways as it builds out the accounting capacity in the region and look forward to contributing into the future.”
On November 3, Justice For Myanmar released a statement demanding international accounting bodies withdraw from the conference unless the junta’s auditor general and MICPA are excluded. Justice For Myanmar further called on AFA to suspend MICPA’s membership. On November 5, Justice For Myanmar launched a change.org petition calling on CPA Australia and CA ANZ to help delegitimise the military junta. In less than four days, over 12,000 people had signed the petition.
Event partners for the AFA conference are the UK-based Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the US-based Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (JICPA). The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is participating in the conference.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “We welcome the decision by CPA Australia and CA ANZ to withdraw their involvement in the AFA annual conference. This sends a strong message to ASEAN and its related organisations that it is untenable to recognise the terrorist Myanmar military junta as a government and to continue business as usual. The Myanmar military junta is trying to use the AFA platform to legitimise their illegal rule. We demand remaining international accounting bodies immediately withdraw from the AFA conference unless the Myanmar military junta and MICPA is excluded. The signature of more than 12,000 people calling for Australian accounting bodies to delegitimise the junta is a testimony to continuing grassroots resistance against the illegal military junta. Regional and international organisations must listen to the voices of the people of Myanmar.”..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-09
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Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Business and the Military, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"As multiple Southeast Asia countries begin to ease travel restrictions, Myanmar, which boasts some of the region's most spectacular destinations, has announced that it hopes to begin welcoming international tourists in early 2022.
While this might seem like great news for travelers planning their post-lockdown trips, in Myanmar, it's complicated.
Most nations that closed their borders over the past two years did so solely to prevent the spread of Covid-19, but Myanmar is also still dealing with the aftereffects of a February 2021 coup in which a military junta overthrew the country's democratically elected government.
Visiting Myanmar, which has previously spent decades under military rule, has always presented dilemmas for travelers weighing up whether their trip will support what has in the past been labeled an oppressive regime, or will help locals who need outside lifelines.
The question is now, with Covid still an issue across the region and the wider world of travel, plus the turmoil currently gripping the country, will anyone come?
Officials have already set up a website, anticipating tourist interest, but have made it clear that any opening will be subject to successful Covid mitigation being in place.
"We are planning to reopen tourism for vaccinated tourists if plans are well-prepared for safe and convenient travel," Zeyar Htun, deputy director of the Public Relations and Information Department at the military-run Ministry of Hotels & Tourism, confirmed to CNN Travel.
Meanwhile, some international travelers are being warned by their own governments to stay away, due to both Covid concerns and instability in the wake of the coup.
The US State Department currently has two level four "do not visit" alerts for Burma, as it refers to Myanmar, one for its high number of coronavirus cases, and one for the ongoing political situation.
In a separate advisory, it notes "Burma is facing a grave political, economic, human rights and humanitarian crisis due to a brutal crackdown by a powerful military that acts with impunity."
Religious significance
Details on reopening plans on Myanmar's official tourism website are thin at the moment, but reports have suggested the government will initially target visitors from Southeast Asia.
Beyond international vacationers, there are other travelers who will be keen to enter Myanmar as soon as it's feasible to do so.
There are people of Burmese heritage who want to reconnect with family, Buddhists eager to see some of the country's sacred temples and businesspeople who need to check on factories and other projects.
"There's always been a relationship, especially in that part of the Buddhist world, with Thailand, Laos and parts of Cambodia, where there are religious capitals that are important in the religious calendar," explains Tyler Dillon, a travel planner for high-end company Trufflepig and a longtime leader of tours in the region.
The Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, for instance, is the most important Buddhist site in Myanmar. The bright gold, 100-foot-tall structure is home to several sacred Buddhist relics, including eight strands of hair said to be from Buddha's head. As a result, it's a popular spot for Buddhist pilgrims from around the world.
Myanmar's military junta will be particularly eager to see the return of wealthy visitors from China, it's most important ally and investor.
China has long nurtured ties with Myanmar even while other countries have imposed sanctions. The country is a strategic part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's "Belt and Road" initiative aimed at building regional trade and expanding China's global influence.
Blackouts and closures
When Myanmar's doors do open, travelers returning to the country will notice major changes since their last visit.
According to CNN sources on the ground, infrastructure has been significantly weakened, many businesses have closed due to economic pressure or owners leaving the country, and the tourism industry is now being run by military generals.
Dillon says his contacts in Myanmar tell him of intermittent blackouts and occasional internet shutdowns, which can make it difficult to stay in touch with people outside of the country.
International brands are among those affected. The Kempinski Hotel Nay Pyi Taw Myanmar, a luxury five-star facility in the country's capital is, according to its website, closed for "the foreseeable future" from mid-October. It didn't specify why it was shuttering.
Pandaw, a Southeast Asia river cruising company specializing in Mekong River tours, announced it was permanently closing operations in Myanmar and the wider region after more than 25 years of operation, blaming both Covid and "the critical political situation in Myanmar."
Risk factor
International travelers who do decide to visit Myanmar should make sure they are prepared for contingencies, says Todd Handcock, who as Asia Pacific president of Collinson International advises corporate clients on traveling safely and managing risk.
"Unfortunately, Myanmar is now considered to be a higher risk zone," he says.
Any company thinking of sending staff to Myanmar should have a "robust travel risk management program" in place, he says. Employees should be fully briefed on what they need to know and how to react when trouble rears its head.
He also stresses that it's important for those in any country beset by trouble to send reassurances home to make it clear they're safe when bad news is being reported.
"I continuously send (my family) photos of what was going on around me," he says. "If you've got loved ones that are concerned, then do take that extra step as the traveler to make sure that they're aware."
'Backdoor diplomacy'
As in the past when Myanmar has been in the control of a military junta, there have been calls both from within and without the country to boycott anything that would profit the military -- including the many tourism facilities and destinations its generals control.
Andrea Valentin, a former adviser on responsible tourism in Myanmar, says the issue is complicated.
"It's a bit frivolous to discuss tourism in Myanmar right now, despite all tone deaf attempts of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism to pretend otherwise," she says. "It is not simple black and white anymore. It's not North Korea yet."
Valentin says that it is still possible to travel in a way that doesn't help fund the military regime, although it's difficult and most businesses are in more rural areas.
"Yes, it is still possible to travel responsibly in Myanmar at the minute. There are quite a few places that are even now quite safe and ethical. Before the coup, staying in accommodation that's not owned by the military was definitely possible.
"There are a few amazing initiatives -- which we painstakingly helped build over the last years -- and those deserve our support."
She adds: "We don't believe in a tourism boycott."
Though travel planner Dillon isn't leading any Myanmar trips for the foreseeable future, he refuses to write the country off entirely either.
"Tourism is backdoor diplomacy," he says. "There's still a lot of hope for people on the ground there that things can change."..."
Source/publisher:
CNN Travel
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tourism in Burma - articles and studies, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
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Sub-title:
Deputy ambassador to UN draws comparison to 2017 genocide, as UN aid chief says more than 3 million people need life-saving aid
Description:
"Britain’s deputy UN ambassador has voiced concerns a military build-up in Myanmar’s north-west bears similarities to the Rohingya genocide of 2017.
James Kariuki told reporters before heading into a closed-doors meeting with the UN security council on Monday: “We are concerned that this rather mirrors the activity we saw four years ago ahead of the atrocities that were committed in Rakhine against the Rohingya [Muslim minority]”
The remarks came as UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said the humanitarian situation in Myanmar was deteriorating, with more than 3 million people in need of life-saving aid, adding that “without an end to violence and a peaceful resolution of Myanmar’s crisis, this number will only rise”.
The security council meeting coincides with the first anniversary of the re-election of Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, which was then ousted by the military in a 1 February coup.
Myanmar is facing charges of genocide at the international court of justice over a 2017 military crackdown on the Rohingya that forced more than 730,000 people to flee into neighbouring Bangladesh. Myanmar denies genocide and says its armed forces were legitimately targeting militants who attacked police posts.
About 223,000 Burmese remain internally displaced, including 165,000 in the country’s southeast – adding to those already displaced in Rakhine, Chin, Shan and Kachin states prior to the takeover, the UN emergency relief coordinator said.
Griffiths also said in a statement that the situation in the northwest of the Myanmar had become “extremely concerning” in recent weeks as fighting escalated between the Myanmar military and the Chinland Defence Force in Chin state and the Myanmar military and the People’s Defence Forces in Magway and Sagaing regions.
“More than 37,000 people, including women and children, have been newly displaced, and more than 160 homes have been burned, including churches and the offices of a humanitarian organisation,” Griffiths said.
The UN chief said attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including humanitarian workers and facilities are banned under international humanitarian law and “must stop immediately”.
Griffiths called on the Myanmar armed forces to “facilitate safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access” and the international community to “fund the response”.
“I’m hoping we will speak together today and with one voice and a statement on Myanmar,” Ireland’s UN ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason told reporters ahead of the council meeting..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Genocide, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"Myanmar’s military regime has announced five charges against a detained veteran student activist—including high treason and violating the counter-terrorism law—for allegedly masterminding a campaign of guerrilla warfare against the junta in the country’s biggest city, Yangon.
U Kyaw Min Yu, a member of the ’88 Generation Students Group and popularly known as Ko Jimmy, was arrested late last month when regime soldiers raided his hideout in northern Yangon. He was seriously injured during the arrest.
Regime mouthpiece Myawady TV did not announce the arrest until Sunday night, about two weeks after it happened, showing Ko Jimmy with his hands tied behind his back and kneeling before a haul of seized firearms and ammunitions.
It said he will be charged with high treason; violating the Counter-Terrorism Law; violating the Unlawful Association Act; violating the Arms Act and Explosive Substances Act; and incitement. If found guilty, the veteran student leader faces at least 30 years’ imprisonment. He could face the death penalty, as Myanmar’s terrorism law allows the death sentence in some cases.
In its announcement, the junta said Ko Jimmy was the political and security adviser of the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) and the shadow National Unity Government (NUG). The CRPH was formed by elected lawmakers from Myanmar’s formerly ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) in the wake of the February military coup, and the NUG is its offshoot. The regime has branded both as terrorist organizations.
The junta said Ko Jimmy was the leader of Operation Moonlight, under which eight “huge” missions were to be carried out in Yangon in the wake of the NUG’s nationwide call on Sept. 7 to revolt against the regime. Since the NUG’s war declaration, Myanmar has seen growing armed resistance against the regime across the country, causing serious casualties to the junta. Yangon has been no exception with deadly hit-and-run attacks on regime soldiers.
The Sunday statement said Operation Moonlight had completed three missions as of last month in Twantay, Insein and Hlegu townships.
“The remaining Mission 4, Mission 5, Mission 6, Mission 7 and Mission 8 were planned to be conducted in Yinkin, Mingaladon, Dala, Thakayta, Dagon Myothit (South) and Hlinethaya townships,” it said.
In collaboration with other resistance groups in the city, the regime said, those involved in the operation had launched separate attacks in Yangon since May, targeting schools, killing administrators and regime collaborators, and attacking state-owned buildings and private banks..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, National Unity Government (NUG), Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports
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Local URL:
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Description:
"One year ago, on 8 November 2020, the people of Myanmar cast their ballots in large numbers in the country’s general elections. Their choice was clear and their aspirations for democracy explicit. The elections were an important milestone in Myanmar’s democratic transition and were confirmed as transparent by all independent domestic and international observers. The military coup on 1 February 2021 forcibly overthrew the civilian government in blatant violation of the will of the people, with disastrous humanitarian, social, economic and human rights consequences. The announcement to extend the state of emergency until August 2023 under the guise of a “caretaker government” can in no way grant legitimacy to the military regime. The European Union strongly condemns the grave human rights violations by the Myanmar armed forces since then.
The current military build-up in the central and northwestern part of the country, including the Sagaing and Magway regions, and the resulting escalation of violence particularly in Chin State, are of deep concern. The European Union condemns in the strongest terms the attacks by the Myanmar military on civilians and villages in Chin State, including the use of torture, sexual violence, arbitrary detention and the destruction of private property and religious sites, which are blatant violations of human rights and international law and call for justice and accountability. The European Union reiterates its calls for an immediate cessation of all hostilities and the disproportionate use of force witnessed in recent days. The military authorities must ensure rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all displaced persons and people in need, in all parts of the country. The European Union will continue to provide humanitarian assistance, in accordance with the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence and is deeply concerned by the combined effects of the conflict, food insecurity and COVID-19 on the population.
The escalation of violence led by the Myanmar armed forces also runs counter to the commitments made at the ASEAN Leaders’ Summit in April, setting out the “Five Point Consensus”. The European Union continues to call for its immediate and full implementation. The European Union further calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all those arbitrarily detained in connection with the coup, including President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.
The European Union welcomes the appointment of Noeleen Heyzer as the Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations on Myanmar and welcomes continued close collaboration with the United Nations. The European Union also reiterates its full support for the approach and efforts of ASEAN and the ASEAN Chair’s Special Envoy, Erywan Yusof, Foreign Minister II of Brunei Darussalam, to engage in a meaningful and inclusive process of dialogue involving all relevant parties in the country, including the National Unity Government and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. The European Union underlines that a meaningful political dialogue must include full, equal and meaningful participation of women, youth and ethnic groups.
The European Union welcomes the actions taken by ASEAN in view of its recent summit. The European Union looks forward to engaging closely with Cambodia as the Chair of ASEAN for 2022 and as the chair of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) on 24-26 November 2021. The European Union will continue to support ASEAN’s efforts to ensure a peaceful resolution of the current crisis that will ensure the country’s swift return to a democratic path....ပြီးခဲ့သည့်နှစ် ၂၀၂၀ ခုနှစ် နိုဝင်ဘာလ ၈ ရက်နေ့၌ မြောက်မြားလှစွာသော မြန်မာပြည်သူလူထုသည် နိုင်ငံ၏ အထွေထွေရွေးကောက်ပွဲများတွင် အသီးသီးမဲဆန္ဒပြုခဲ့ကြသည်။ ၎င်းတို့၏ ရွေးချယ်မှုသည် တိကျပြတ်သားပြီး ဒီမိုကရေစီရရှိရေးနှင့်စပ်လျဉ်း၍ ပြင်းပြသောဆန္ဒများမှာလည်း ရှင်းလင်းခိုင်မာနေခဲ့သည်။ ရွေးကောက်ပွဲများသည် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ၏ ဒီမိုကရေစီအသွင်ကူးပြောင်းရေးလမ်းကြောင်း၌ အရေးပါသော မှတ်တိုင်တစ်ခုဖြစ်ခဲ့ပြီး အမှီအခိုကင်းသော ပြည်တွင်းပြည်ပစောင့်ကြည့်လေ့လာသူအားလုံးက အဆိုပါရွေးကောက်ပွဲများကို ပွင့်လင်းမြင်သာမှုရှိကြောင်း အတည်ပြုပေးခဲ့ကြသည်။ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ ၁ ရက်နေ့တွင် ပေါ်ပေါက်ခဲ့သော စစ်တပ်အာဏာသိမ်းမှုသည် ပြည်သူလူထု၏ သဘောဆန္ဒအား ပြောင်တင်းစွာ ဆန့်ကျင်လျက် အရပ်သားအစိုးရကို တရားမဝင်ဖြုတ်ချခဲ့ပြီး ယင်းဖြစ်ရပ်ကြောင့် ဆိုးရွားသော လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှု၊ လူမှုရေးနှင့် စီးပွားရေးဆိုင်ရာ အကျိုးဆက်များ ဖြစ်ပေါ်ခဲ့ပါသည်။ “အိမ်စောင့်အစိုးရ” အသွင်ဆောင်လျက်ထုတ်ပြန်သည့် အရေးပေါ်အခြေအနေကာလအား ၂၀၂၃ ခုနှစ် အထိ တိုးချဲ့မည်ဟူသော ကြေညာချက်ဖြင့် စစ်အစိုးရကို တရားဝင်အစိုးရအဖြစ် မည်သည့်နည်းနှင့်မျှ ထောက်ခံနိုင်မည်မဟုတ်ပေ။
ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂသည် မြန်မာတပ်မတော်လက်နက်ကိုင်တပ်ဖွဲ့များ ထိုအချိန်ကတည်းက ဆိုးရွားစွာ ကျူးလွန်ထားသည့် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများကို ပြင်းထန်စွာရှုတ်ချပါသည်။
စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်းနှင့်မကွေးတိုင်းအပါအဝင် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအလယ်ပိုင်းနှင့် အနောက်မြောက်ပိုင်းတို့၌ လတ်တလောတွေ့ရသည့် စစ်တပ်အင်အားတိုးချဲ့ခြင်းနှင့် ၎င်း၏ရလဒ်အနေဖြင့် အထူးသဖြင့် ချင်းပြည်နယ်အတွင်း အကြမ်းဖက်မှုမြင့်တက်လာခြင်းတို့သည် အလွန်အမင်းစိုးရိမ်ဖွယ်အခြေအနေများဖြစ်သည်။ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးများနှင့် နိုင်ငံတကာဥပဒေတို့ကို ပြောင်တင်းစွာ ချိုးဖောက်မှုများဖြစ်သည့် နှိပ်စက်ညှဉ်းပန်းမှု၊ လိင်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာ အကြမ်းဖက်မှု၊ မတရားသဖြင့် ဖမ်းဆီးချုပ်နှောင်မှုနှင့် ပုဂ္ဂလိကအဆောက်အအုံများ၊ ဘာသာရေးနယ်မြေများကို ဖျက်ဆီးမှုတို့အပါအဝင် ချင်းပြည်နယ်အတွင်းရှိ ကျေးရွာများနှင့်အရပ်သားပြည်သူများအပေါ် မြန်မာစစ်တပ်၏ တိုက်ခိုက်မှုများကို ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂအနေဖြင့် ပြင်းထန်စွာ ရှုတ်ချပြီး တရားမျှတမှုနှင့် တာဝန်ခံမှုရှိရန် တောင်းဆိုပါသည်။ ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂသည် လတ်တလောကာလများတွင် မျက်မြင်ကြုံတွေ့နေရသည့် စစ်မက်ပြုမှုများနှင့် မလျော်မကန်အင်အားသုံးမှုများ အားလုံးကို ချက်ချင်းရပ်တန့်ရန် ထပ်လောင်းတောင်းဆိုပါသည်။ စစ်တပ်အာဏာပိုင်များအနေဖြင့် နိုင်ငံအနှံ့အပြားရှိ နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာတိမ်းရှောင်သူများနှင့် အကူအညီလိုအပ်သူများ အားလုံးထံ လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှုဆိုင်ရာအကူအညီများ မြန်ဆန်ဘေးကင်းပြီး အဆီးအတားမဲ့စွာ လက်လှမ်းမီရောက်ရှိစေရန် ဆောင်ရွက်ရမည်ဖြစ်သည်။ ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂသည်လည်း လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှု၊ ဘက်မလိုက်မှု၊ သမာသမတ်ကျမှုနှင့် အမှီအခိုကင်းမှုဆိုင်ရာ အခြေခံမူများနှင့်အညီ လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှုဆိုင်ရာ အကူအညီများကို ဆက်လက်ပေးအပ်သွားမည်ဖြစ်ပြီး ပြည်သူလူထုအပေါ် စုပြုံသက်ရောက်နေသည့် တိုက်ပွဲများ၊ စားနပ်ရိက္ခာမဖူလုံမှု၊ ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ကပ်ရောဂါတို့နှင့်စပ်လျဉ်း၍လည်း အလွန်အမင်း စိုးရိမ်ပူပန်လျက်ရှိပါသည်။
မြန်မာတပ်မတော်လက်နက်ကိုင်တပ်ဖွဲ့များ၏ အကြမ်းဖက်မှုမြင့်တက်လာခြင်းသည် “သဘောတူညီချက်ငါးရပ်” ပြဋ္ဌာန်းရာ ဧပြီလတွင်ကျင်းပပြုလုပ်ခဲ့သော အာဆီယံခေါင်းဆောင်များ၏ ထိပ်သီးအစည်းအဝေးတွင် ချမှတ်ခဲ့သည့် သန္နိဋ္ဌာန်များနှင့်လည်း ဆန့်ကျင်နေပါသည်။ ၎င်းတို့ကို ချက်ချင်းအပြည့်အဝအကောင်အထည်ဖော်ရန် ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂက တောင်းဆိုပါသည်။ ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂသည် နိုင်ငံတော်သမ္မတဦးဝင်းမြင့်နှင့် နိုင်ငံတော်၏အတိုင်ပင်ခံပုဂ္ဂိုလ် ဒေါ်အောင်ဆန်းစုကြည်အပါအဝင် အာဏာသိမ်းမှုနှင့်စပ်လျဉ်း၍ မတရားသဖြင့် ဖမ်းဆီးချုပ်နှောင်ခံထားရသူအားလုံးကို အကြွင်းမဲ့ချက်ချင်းလွှတ်ပေးရန် ထပ်မံတောင်းဆိုပါသည်။ Noeleen Heyzer အား ကုလသမဂ္ဂအထွေထွေအတွင်းရေးမှူးချုပ်၏ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံဆိုင်ရာအထူးသံတမန်အဖြစ် ခန့်အပ်မှုနှင့် ကုလသမဂ္ဂနှင့် အနီးကပ်ဆက်လက်၍ ပူးပေါင်းဆောင်ရွက်မှုတို့အပေါ် ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂက လှိုက်လှဲစွာ ကြိုဆိုပါသည်။ ထို့ပြင် ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂသည် အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရနှင့် ပြည်ထောင်စုလွှတ်တော်ကိုယ်စားပြုကော်မတီတို့အပါအဝင် နိုင်ငံအတွင်းရှိ သက်ဆိုင်ရာပါတီအားလုံးပါဝင်သည့် အဓိပ္ပာယ်ပြည့်ဝပြီး အားလုံးပါဝင်သော နှီးနှောဆွေးနွေးရေးလုပ်ငန်းစဉ်တစ်ရပ်ကို ချိတ်ဆက်ဆောင်ရွက်ရန်အလို့ငှာ အာဆီယံနှင့်တကွ ဘရူနိုင်းဒါရုဆလမ်၏ ဒုတိယနိုင်ငံခြားရေးဝန်ကြီးတစ်ဖြစ်လဲ အာဆီယံဥက္ကဋ္ဌအထူးသံတမန် Erywan Yusof တို့၏ ချဉ်းကပ်မှုနှင့် အားထုတ်မှုများကို အပြည့်အဝထောက်ခံကြောင်း ထပ်လောင်းထုတ်ပြန်ပါသည်။ ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂအနေဖြင့် အဓိပ္ပာယ်ပြည့်ဝသည့် နိုင်ငံရေးနှီးနှောဆွေးနွေးပွဲတွင် အမျိုးသမီးများ၊ လူငယ်များနှင့် တိုင်းရင်းသားအုပ်စုများကို အပြည့်အဝ၊ ညီတူညီမျှနှင့် အဓိပ္ပာယ်ရှိရှိ ပူးပေါင်းပါဝင်စေရမည်ဖြစ်ကြောင်း မီးမောင်းထိုးဖော်ပြလိုပါသည်။
ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂသည် အာဆီယံအနေဖြင့် မကြာသေးမီက ကျင်းပခဲ့သော အာဆီယံထိပ်သီးအစည်းအဝေးကို အကြောင်းပြု၍ လုပ်ဆောင်ခဲ့သည့် လုပ်ငန်းဆောင်ရွက်ချက်များကို ကြိုဆိုပါသည်။ ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂသည် ၂၀၂၂ ခုနှစ်တွင် အာဆီယံဥက္ကဋ္ဌဖြစ်ပြီး ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် နိုဝင်ဘာလ ၂၄-၂၆ ရက်နေ့များ၌ ကျင်းပမည့် အာဆီယံဥရောပအစည်းအဝေး (ASEAN) တွင် ဥက္ကဋ္ဌဖြစ်လာမည့် ကမ္ဘောဒီးယားနိုင်ငံနှင့် အနီးကပ်ချိတ်ဆက်ဆောင်ရွက်ရန် မျှော်လင့်ပါသည်။ ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂသည် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအား ဒီမိုကရေစီလမ်းကြောင်းအပေါ် ပြန်လည်ရောက်ရှိစေမည့် လက်ရှိပဋိပက္ခဖြစ်ရပ်များကို အကြမ်းမဖက်ငြိမ်းချမ်းစွာ ဖြေရှင်းရန် ကြိုးပမ်းနေသော အာဆီယံ၏ အားထုတ်မှုများကို ဆက်လက်ပံ့ပိုးထောက်ခံသွားမည်ဖြစ်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
European Council (Brussels)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
European Union-Burma relations - European Parliament, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Foreign Secretary Liz Truss gave a statement on the one-year anniversary of the Myanmar elections, held on 8 November 2020.....Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said:
"Elections in Myanmar 1 year ago were a clear demonstration of the Myanmar people’s long standing desire for democracy. The military’s allegations of electoral fraud are entirely unsubstantiated and we reiterate our condemnation of the military coup. The military must end the violence, release political prisoners and engage in dialogue to enable a return to democracy."..."
Source/publisher:
Govt. UK (London)
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
အမည်ပျက်စာရင်းကြေညာခြင်း
Description:
"ကြေညာချက် အမှတ် (၈/၂၀၂၁)
၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ နိုဝင်ဘာလ (၈) ရက်
အမည်ပျက်စာရင်းကြေညာခြင်း
၁။ ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်၊ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရသည် နိုင်ငံတော်အာဏာအား အကြမ်းဖက်စစ် ကောင်စီမှ မတရားရယူခဲ့ပြီးနောက်ပိုင်း နိုင်ငံ့ဝန်ထမ်းများအနေဖြင့် အာဏာသိမ်းစစ်ကောင်စီ လက်အောက်တွင် ဆက်လက်အလုပ်အကျွေးမပြုဘဲ တရားမျှတမှုနှင့် ပြည်သူတို့၏အကျိုးကို ရှေးရှု၍ မတရားသော အမိန့်အာဏာအားဖီဆန်ရေးလှုပ်ရှားမှု Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) တွင် ပါဝင်ကြရန် အကြိမ်ကြိမ်ဖိတ်ခေါ်ကမ်းလှမ်းခဲ့ပြီး ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၂။ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၊ ဆက်သွယ်ရေး၊ သတင်းအချက်အလက် နှင့် နည်းပညာဝန်ကြီးဌာန၏ လက်အောက်ရှိ မတရားသောအမိန့်အာဏာဖီဆန်ရေး CDM လှုပ်ရှားမှု၌ ပါဝင်လျက်ရှိသည့် ပြည်သူ့၀န်ထမ်းများအား အကြမ်းဖက်စစ် ကောင်စီ လက်အောက်တွင် ဆက်လက် တာဝန်ထမ်းဆောင်လျက်ရှိသော Non-CDM ၀န်ထမ်းအချို့မှ ဖိအားပေးခြင်း၊ ခြိမ်းခြောက်ခြင်း၊ တရားစွဲဆိုခြင်း၊ ဥပဒေနှင့်အညီ ပြန်ဆပ်ရန်မလိုတော့သည့် လစာချေးငွေများအား အတင်းအဓမ္မ ပြန်လည်ပေးဆပ်ခိုင်းခြင်း များပြုလုပ်နေသည်ကို နေ့စဥ် တွေ့မြင်နေရပါသည်။
၃။ ယင်းကဲ့သို့ CDM ဝန်ထမ်းများအပေါ်၌ မတရားသဖြင့်ဖိအားပေးခြင်းနှင့် နိုင်ငံနှင့်ပြည်သူကို သစ္စာဖောက်ကာ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီအတွက် ထိရောက်သော အခန်းကဏ္ဍမှ ကျိုးနွံစွာ အလုပ်ကျွေးပြုနေသည့် ပြည်နယ်/တိုင်း ဒေသကြီး၊ ခရိုင်တာဝန်ခံအရာထမ်းဝန်ထမ်းများ အားလုံးနှင့် အောက်ဖော်ပြပါ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ လက်အောက်ခံများအား နိုင်ငံ့ဝန်ထမ်းဥပဒေ ပုဒ်မ (၄၁) အရ ဝန်ထမ်းအဖြစ်မှ ထုတ်ပစ်(dismiss) ပြီး ယင်းတို့သည်နိုင်ငံ့သစ္စာဖောက်များဖြစ်ကြောင်း အမည်ပျက်စာရင်း ကြေညာလိုက်သည်။
(မှတ်ချက်။ ထုတ်ပြန်ကြေညာချက် စာရင်းတွင်ဖေါ်ပြပါရှိသော ရာထူး၊ နေရာများသည် အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၊ ဆက်သွယ်ရေး၊ သတင်းအချက်အလက်နှင့် နည်းပညာဝန်ကြီးဌာန ကအသိအမှတ် မပြုသည့် စစ်ကောင်စီကပေးသော ရာထူး၊ နေရာ များသာ ဖြစ်ကြောင်း သိစေအပ်ပါသည်။)..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Communications, Information and Technology - Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-08
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
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pdf
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