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Title: ‘A humanitarian disaster in the making’ in Myanmar’s Chin State
Sub-title: Men in embattled town of Mindat flee to the hills as military steps up crack down on resistance to February 1 coup.
Description: "On May 15, Biak Thang hastily said goodbye to his wife and two children, grabbed a few days’ worth of food and supplies and ran to the forest. “We heard that [military forces] are arresting men, so most of the men are escaping and only women and children are left,” said Biak Thang, who asked to use a pseudonym for security reasons. “I don’t feel safe. I only heard about war-displaced people in the media, but we are war-displaced people now,” he said from the wooded hills on the outskirts of Mindat, a town in Myanmar’s Chin State. The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) has warned that the military, which seized power in a February 1 coup, may have committed war crimes and “grave breaches of the Geneva Convention” in Mindat, a town of 46,000 people located 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the border with India. Since imposing martial law there on May 13, the military has used local youth as human shields, occupied schools and hospitals, destroyed property and conducted heavy-weapon attacks by air and land, according to the CHRO and local media reports. The military, also known as the Tatmadaw, has described the violence in Mindat as a response to “armed terrorists,” referring to civilian defence forces, which have taken up arms in recent weeks, and said its forces returned fire after coming under attack.. While the military has reportedly used artillery fire, rocket-propelled grenades and automatic machine guns, the civilian forces are armed largely with homemade hunting rifles and makeshift explosives. Worn down by bloody crackdowns and arbitrary arrests, Mindat’s fighters are among growing numbers of people across the country turning to armed resistance to overthrow military rule. Since the coup, millions have taken to the streets in peaceful protest, while a Civil Disobedience Movement has shut down infrastructure and public services. The military, meanwhile, has killed more than 800 civilians and more than 4,000 people remain in custody, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which is tracking arrests throughout the country...... ‘Big machine weapons’: Chin, a rural and mountainous state in Myanmar’s northwest which is among the country’s least developed, has become among the fiercest battlegrounds of resistance, along with Sagaing region to its north. Beginning in late March, a group of civilians armed with hunting rifles and homemade weapons maintained a protest camp for more than 10 days in Sagaing’s town of Kalay, where it successfully negotiated a prisoner swap before the military attacked the camp with grenades and machine guns on April 7, killing 11 people. In Mindat, fighting erupted on April 24, after the military refused to release seven detained youth. Two days later, civilian defence forces ambushed six military trucks carrying reinforcement troops and weapons; the military responded by firing rocket launchers and artillery into the town. “The attacks started from the outskirts of Mindat. A few days later, they entered the town using big machine weapons. The situation intensified because they attacked indiscriminately, even in residential areas,” a local volunteer medic told Al Jazeera. She requested her name be withheld for her security. By April 27, Mindat’s civilian defence forces claimed to have killed more than 30 military soldiers. After the military released the seven detainees, the fighting paused for 10 days but resumed on May 12 when the military refused to release five more detainees. The next day, the military declared martial law over the town, after which it brought in troops and arms by land and air and attacked with heavy weapons during a three-day siege. On the morning of May 15, soldiers stormed Mindat, firing into streets and arresting young men from their homes. According to the CHRO, soldiers used at least 15 of the young people they had arrested as human shields. “These are ordinary youths who were trying to get outside of Mindat to avoid indiscriminate bombardment,” the CHRO’s Deputy Director Salai Za Uk Ling told Al Jazeera. “We are extremely concerned about their wellbeing as they are most likely to be mistreated and tortured under custody.” Since the coup, the bodies of numerous detainees across the country have been returned to families bearing signs of torture..... Community in fear: The Tatmadaw’s power grab, which brought to an end a hesitant transition to democracy, has rekindled unresolved armed conflicts between the military and several ethnic armed organisations, which have been fighting for political autonomy in the country’s borderlands for decades. City dwellers have also begun travelling to the territories held by ethnic armed groups to seek training to fight against the military government, while grassroots civilian defence forces have sprung up in areas that had not previously seen fighting. In March, a group of overthrown legislators and ethnic leaders serving as a parallel government in exile endorsed the public’s right to self-defence. On May 5, the shadow government announced the formation of a People’s Defence Force to protect the public’s “safety, property and wellbeing” and fight for the establishment of a federal democratic union. The People’s Defence Force is considered a step towards the creation of a federal army that could unite the country’s ethnic armed organisations and civilian defence forces under a single cause. Biak Thang, the Mindat resident who fled the town on May 15, told Al Jazeera that the community has been living in fear since the Tatmadaw imposed martial law there. “Civilians cannot move around freely,” he said. “We cannot go out to buy food or supplies. We are just depending on what we have stored.” He estimates about 70 percent of local people are hiding in small groups in the forest, and there is a risk of food shortages. Local media have also reported an urgent need for food and medical supplies for those who fled. The volunteer medic told Al Jazeera that she and her team are shifting to different locations in the forest to avoid arrest, while still attempting to care for the wounded. “When we are moving from place to place, even we uninjured people get really exhausted,” she said. “The patients should be resting, but instead, they have to run … It added so much time for their injuries to heal.” She is concerned that a lack of nutritious food will further hinder their recovery. By the time civilian defence forces retreated on May 15, allegedly to prevent further harm to civilians, seven members had been killed, according to local media reports. The military-run TV channel reported that some of its own troops had been killed and were missing but did not give a number. The US and UK embassies have condemned the military’s violence against civilians in Mindat, as has the National Unity Government, Myanmar’s government-in-exile. The National Unity Government also expressed its support for the people’s right to self-defence and called for a no-fly zone over Myanmar as well as international action to end the violence and protect the people..... Women left vulnerable: With most men having fled Mindat, rights groups now warn the women and children left behind are increasingly vulnerable. Soldiers have been looting property and burning down homes since taking over the town, while some residents have been unable to get medical assistance after being shot, a Mindat resident told Reuters news agency. In the wake of the attacks, the National Unity Government’s Ministry of Women, Youths and Children Affairs said in a statement that it had received verified claims of sexual violence in Mindat. Al Jazeera was unable to reach the Deputy Minister for comment. The secretary of the Chin Women Organization Hakha, who requested her name be withheld as she is currently in hiding, told Al Jazeera that she was “worried that the military could use sexual assault and rape as weapons as they have that history … As the military has occupied Mindat, the lives of Chin women and young girls, and all women in Mindat, are not safe anymore,” she said. In August 2019, a UN Fact-Finding Mission reported that Myanmar military soldiers “routinely and systematically” employed rape and sexual violence and that sexual violence perpetrated by the military was “part of a deliberate, well-planned strategy to intimidate, terrorise and punish a civilian population.” During a campaign of violence in Rakhine State in 2017, sexual violence was a factor indicating the military’s “genocidal intent to destroy the Rohingya population,” according to the UN report. Salai Za Uk Ling of the CHRO told Al Jazeera that due to the stigma and sensitivity of the issue, his organisation was not releasing detailed information about alleged sexual violence in Mindat, but he shared concerns that incidents of sexual violence could happen. He also warned that patterns of violence seen in Mindat could spread to other parts of the country, leading to more displacement as the rainy season approaches. With neighbouring India so far refusing to offer asylum to those crossing the border, Salai Za Uk Ling worries that the displaced will be left with no safe place to go. Although the civilian defence forces have retreated in Mindat, fighting is already spreading to other parts of the state. The civilian defence forces claim to have killed five military soldiers in Hakha township, where a member of civilian defence forces was also killed on May 16. Clashes in Tedim township left four military soldiers and two unarmed civilians dead, according to local media reports. Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify the information. “The junta’s actions in Mindat demonstrate how far they are willing to go in trying to put the population under control. Mindat is only the beginning,” said Salai Za Uk Ling. “We are now basically witnessing a humanitarian disaster in the making..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-19
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Title: ANFREL Releases 2020 Myanmar General Elections Final Observation Mission Report
Description: "The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) released the final comprehensive report of its international election observation mission to the 2020 Myanmar General Elections on 17 May 2021. The 2020 Myanmar polls encountered several challenges including restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the observed shortcomings, the outcome of the elections were deemed to reflect the true will of the electorate. The members of the Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house of Myanmar's national Parliament) were scheduled to convene for their swearing-in ceremony on 1 February 2021, but, the Myanmar military staged a coup and seized power from the civilian government alleging electoral fraud. Several key political figures and activists including President U Win Myint, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and the chair of the Union Election Commission (UEC) U Hla Thein, were arrested. The country was placed under state of emergency. The people of Myanmar continue to resist military rule through peaceful protests across the country but such efforts have been met with violent crackdowns by the military arresting thousands and killing hundreds of people. ANFREL recognizes the voice of the people of Myanmar and hopes this report illustrates the progress achieved by Myanmar as a democracy prior to the coup. ANFREL wishes that the country may soon return on the rightful path to an elected civilian government. ANFREL deployed 13 long-term observers for 24 days, eight short-term observers for eight days, three Election Day observers, a core team based in Yangon, and four electoral analysts, one in Yangon and the rest working remotely. The observers were deployed in 13 out of 14 states and regions in Myanmar. ANFREL's international election observation efforts follow a methodology based on international principles contained in documents such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Bangkok Declaration for Free and Fair Elections, and the Dili Indicators of Democratic Elections. ANFREL is a signatory of the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation..."
Source/publisher: Asian Network for Free Elections (Bangkok)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-18
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Title: At Miss Universe pageant, Myanmar’s contestant pleads “our people are dying”
Description: "Myanmar’s Miss Universe contestant, Thuzar Wint Lwin, used the pageant on Sunday to urge the world to speak out against the military junta, whose security forces have killed hundreds of opponents since it seized power in a Feb. 1 coup. "Our people are dying and being shot by the military every day," she said in a video message for the competition, where she was appearing in the finals at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. "I would like to urge everyone to speak about Myanmar. As Miss Universe Myanmar since the coup, I have been speaking out as much as I can," she said. Myanmar's junta spokesman did not answer calls seeking comment. Thuzar Wint Lwin is among dozens of Myanmar celebrities, actors, social media influencers and sports people who have voiced opposition to the coup, in which elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi was overthrown and detained. At least 790 people have been killed by security forces since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners activist group. It says over 5,000 people have been arrested, with some 4,000 still detained - including several celebrities. Thuzar Wint Lwin did not make it to the last round of the Miss Universe competition, but she won the award for Best National Costume, which was based on the ethnic costume of her Chin people from northwestern Myanmar, where fighting has raged in recent days between the army and anti-junta militia fighters. As she paraded with her national costume, she held up a placard that said “Pray for Myanmar”..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-18
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Title: National Unity Government: Ministry of International Cooperation: Announcement
Description: "ANNOUNCEMENT: On Friday. 14th of May 2021, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (“Myanmar"), acting through the parliamentary-designated National Unity Government (the “NUG"), instructed its legal counsel at the public international law firm Volterra Fietta to make a further series of communications to different international human rights bodies of the United Nations ("UN") in relation to the atrocities that have been committed by the military since 1 February 2021 against the people of Myanmar and their legitimate, democratically-elected representatives. These communications conveyed to the relevant UN bodies evidence of widespread and systematic human rights abuses targeting the civilian population by the military, including torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. as well as violations of the freedoms of opinion and expression. Following the first round of communications to the UN bodies in early April, on the 7th of April 2021, a meeting took place between the legal representatives of Myanmar (acting through the NUG) and the head of the UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar ("IIMM"). This meeting discussed the modalities of dialogue and co operation between Myanmar (acting through the NUG) and the IIMM in relation to the atrocities committed by the military on 1 February 2021 and thereafter. Further meetings with the IIMM were held throughout April, where the issues being discussed were advanced further. Another meeting between Myanmar (acting through the NUG) and the IIMM will take place this week to finalize the transfer of evidence to the IIMM of the widespread and systematic human rights abuses committed by the military.....H.E. Dr. Sasa Union Minister of the Ministry of International Cooperation & NUG Spokesperson..."
Source/publisher: Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-18
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Title: Miss Universe Myanmar Arrives in Florida With a Message for the Junta
Sub-title: Ma Thuzar Wint Lwin hopes to use her international platform as a pageant contestant to criticize the country’s military coup and support the pro-democracy movement.
Description: "As a girl, Ma Thuzar Wint Lwin would watch the Miss Universe pageant and wish that she could be the one onstage representing her country, Myanmar. She entered her first two contests last year, nervous and excited about what to expect. But she ultimately walked away crowned Miss Universe Myanmar, and this week is competing at the global pageant in Florida. But now representing her country has new meaning. With the military seizing power in a Feb. 1 coup and killing hundreds of protesters, she hopes to use her platform to call attention to Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement and to appeal for international help in freeing elected leaders who have been detained. “They are killing our people like animals,” she said in an interview before leaving Myanmar for the competition. “Where is the humanity? Please help us. We are helpless here.” In a dramatic moment on Thursday during the pageant’s national costume show, she walked to the front of the stage and held up a sign saying, “Pray for Myanmar.” The final competition will be held on Sunday. The military takeover in Myanmar sparked widespread protests with millions of people taking to the streets and a civil disobedience movement and general strike that have largely shut down the economy. The Tatmadaw, as the military is known, has responded with a brutal crackdown, killing more than 780 people and detaining more than 3,900, according to a rights group that tracks political prisoners. In the early weeks of the protest movement, Ms. Thuzar Wint Lwin, 22, joined the demonstrations, where she held signs with slogans such as “We do not want military government,” and called for the release of the country’s civilian leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since the coup. She handed out water bottles to protesters in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, and donated her savings to families whose loved ones were killed. She also expressed her opposition to the junta on Facebook, posting black-and-white photos of herself blindfolded, with tape over her mouth and her hands bound. The military’s onslaught has left the country living in fear, she said. “The soldiers patrol the city every day and sometimes they set up roadblocks to harass the people coming through,” said Ms. Thuzar Wint Lwin, who also goes by the name Candy. “In some cases, they fire without hesitation. We are scared of our own soldiers. Whenever we see one, all we feel is anger and fear.” Every evening on television, the military announces new arrest warrants for celebrities and others who have been critical of the regime. Some of those named have been people Ms. Thuzar Wint Lwin knows. Before leaving for the United States, she watched anxiously to see if her name had ended up on the military’s wanted list. She saw reports of well-known people being detained as they tried to leave the country, so she decided to wear a hoodie and glasses to keep from being recognized at the Yangon airport. “I had to pass through immigration and I was so scared,” she said in an interview from Florida. In criticizing the junta from outside her country, Miss Universe Myanmar is not alone. U Win Htet Oo, one of the country’s best swimmers, said from Australia that he was giving up his dream of going to the Olympics and would not compete under the Myanmar flag until the regime’s leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, was removed from power. And the mixed martial arts fighter U Aung La Nsang, an American citizen and one of Myanmar’s most famous athletes, has urged President Biden to help end the suffering of Myanmar’s people. Ms. Thuzar Wint Lwin says she believes that it will not be safe for her to return to Myanmar after speaking out against the regime; she does not know where she will go after the pageant ends. An English major at East Yangon University, her path to the pro-democracy movement can perhaps be traced back to her childhood. She grew up in a middle-class household. Like many parents, her father, a businessman, and her mother, a housewife, dared not discuss the military government that was then in power. One of her early memories was walking with her mother near Sule Pagoda in downtown Yangon in 2007, when monks led nationwide protests against military rule. She was 7. As they neared the pagoda, soldiers broke up the protest by shooting their guns in the air. People started running. She and her mother ran, too. “We were very scared,” she recalled. “We went to a stranger’s house and we were hiding.” Soon after, the military crushed that protest movement by shooting dozens of people. But by 2011, the military began sharing power with civilian leaders and opening the country, allowing cellphones and affordable internet access to flood in. Ms. Thuzar Wint Lwin is part of the first generation in Myanmar to grow up fully connected to the outside world, and for whom a free society seemed normal. In 2015, the country seated democratically elected officials for the first time in more than half a century. “We have been living in freedom for five years,” she said. “Do not take us back. We know all about the world. We have the internet.” November was the first time she was old enough to vote, and she cast her ballot for the National League for Democracy, the party of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, which won in a landslide only to have the military overturn the results by seizing power. Before the coup, Ms. Thuzar Wint Lwin’s biggest ordeal came when she was 19 and had surgery to remove precancerous tumors from each breast, leaving permanent scars. She decided against having laser treatment to improve their appearance as a reminder of her success in preventing cancer. “It’s just a scar and I’m still me,” she wrote in a recent post with photographs of the scars. “I met self-acceptance realizing nothing changed who I am and the values I set for myself. Now, when I see those scars, I feel empowered.” She began modeling when she was in high school and, after her father’s retirement, helped support the family. She is one of fewer than a dozen contestants from Myanmar ever to compete in the Miss Universe pageant, which was founded in 1952. During the period from 1962 to 2011, when the Tatmadaw first ruled, Myanmar sent no contestants at all. When Ms. Thuzar Wint Lwin arrived in Florida on May 7, she was told the suitcase with her outfits for the competition had been lost by the airline. Most contestants had already arrived and were busy rehearsing, making videos and having photo shoots. As the week wore on, the bag still hadn’t arrived, but the pageant organizers were helping her with her gown, and other contestants were lending her outfits. Her national costume was among the missing items. People from Myanmar who live in the United States provided her with a stunning replacement of ethnic Chin origin. She wore it on Thursday to the applause of many in the crowd. Soon after landing in Florida, she posted an autobiographical video on Facebook that would be unusual for any beauty pageant contestant: It shows her wearing formal gowns mixed with scenes of people fleeing tear gas and a soldier shooting a man who rode by on a motorbike. “Myanmar deserves democracy,” she says in the video. “We will keep fighting and I also hope that international communities will give us help that we desperately need.”..."
Source/publisher: "The New York Times" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-17
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Title: The Union Minister of the MoIC and NUG Spokesperson H.E. Dr. Sasa’s Address to the Parliamentarians of the United Kingdom - UK
Description: "The brave people of Myanmar and the National Unity Government of Myanmar greatly appreciate the People, Parliament and Government of the United Kingdom for standing with us at this critical moment in our history. While the fate of our country is in the hands of our people, strong and continued support from the UK Government and the international community is absolutely crucial to our success. Now, more than ever, the people of Myanmar need your continued friendship and support. First of all, I would like to reiterate my sincere thanks to the People, Parliament and Government of the United Kingdom for standing in solidarity and being a strong voice for the people of Myanmar. I also want to express my gratitude for the efforts of the UK on coordinating targeted sanctions against key tatmadaw personnel, tatmadaw linked companies and enterprises such as MEC and MEHL, and for providing extra funding to the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar. Additionally, I would like to further thank the UK government for taking a strong leadership role in the UN and G7 summits on behalf of the people of Myanmar, and for the recognition of CRPH and NUG as important voices of many in this nation. Truly we are the voice of over 54 million brave people who stand in solidarity against the cruel and ruthless junta. Thank you also for lending protection and support to Ambassador Kyaw Zraw Minn since he was illegally removed from office by the junta. I previously had the wonderful privilege of meeting with Minister H.E. Nigel Adams and other British Parliamentarians who reassured me that the People and Government of the UK are strongly committed and supportive of the brave people of Myanmar in our peaceful movement for freedom and democracy against the junta reign of terror. I am also looking forward very much to appearing before the British Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee on the Myanmar military coup hearing. I am proud to serve as the Minister of International Cooperation and Spokesperson for the National Unity Government. It is my job to provide you with the information and assistance that you need to support the people of Myanmar. I am always at your service. The duty of a nation’s military is to defend and protect its people. However, under the command of Min Aung Hlaing, the supposed guardians of our nation are doing precisely the opposite of their duty and continue arbitrarily murdering and detaining without cause the brave and innocent civilians of Myanmar on a daily and hourly basis. The people of Myanmar unanimously consider Min Aung Hlaing and those who report to him as terrorists. It has been 104 days since Min Aung Hlaing and his gunmen instigated this illegal coup d’etat and took the nation hostage. Since that day: • Nearly 800 civilians have been murdered, including at least 52 children; • Approximately 5,000 civilians have been detained with roughly 4,000 still remaining in detention; • Over 1,500 are being hunted by junta forces, evading arrest warrants. • Continually bombing villages in ethnic States; • The junta continues using the ASEAN Summit as a propaganda tool; • I myself am personally wanted for high treason, as are my colleagues; • Daily raids on private homes continue unabated. In a raid last week of the home of an opposition leader, for example, authorities abducted his wife and 20 day old infant when they could not find him. • There is significant evidence of the torture of those captured, including the poet Khat Thi who was detained last week and murdered within 24 hours. • They continue to try and stop the truth from getting out: o They have shutdown Internet access for weeks now, o Abolished all free media outlets, o illegitimately made free association illegal, and o they have harassed and imprisoned journalists. More than 40 journalists remain in detention in Myanmar including an international Journalist from Japan. • The violence we are seeing by the junta is both systematic and widespread. It is clear that they are engaging in crimes against humanity against the people of Myanmar. • Myanmar is quickly becoming a failed state: o Nearly a quarter million people have become displaced. o Food insecurity is rising sharply..."
Source/publisher: Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-17
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Title: Is Myanmar a failed state? | The Economist
Description: "Myanmar is on the brink of collapse. Its armed forces are continuing a brutal crackdown—arresting, torturing and killing protesters—as Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de-facto leader, is detained. Our experts answer your questions..."
Source/publisher: The Economist
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-16
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Title: Myanmar Crisis - Siege and bombardment of Mindat Town in Chin State, Myanmar - happening now.
Description: "Dear: I am sorry to disturb you again so soon after my last correspondence, but another major crisis has emerged that requires urgent attention. In the last few days, attacks by the military junta in Myanmar have seriously escalated with indiscriminate shelling and bombing of 50,000 civilians in the town of Mindat in Chin State. The town is under siege by 1000 troops and is being bombed by helicopter gunships and heavy artillery, including tanks. I attach an urgent statement from Dr. Sasa, spokesperson of the National Unity Government. A few days ago, 20 young men were arrested by the military in the town. Their screams of torture, heard by residents, led to protests that, as elsewhere throughout Myanmar, have been violently suppressed. The military personnel in the first convoy that approached the town, after talking with courageous local inhabitants, abandoned their vehicles and their weapons, presumably because they did not wish to participate in the killing of the civilian population. However, the military subsequently heavily reinforced their presence and are now bombarding the town. The military are arresting anyone who tries to help wounded civilians and those they have arrested, including medical personnel, are being used as human shields by the military. In the last 48 hours, 5 civilians have been killed and 14 injured. Meanwhile, homes are being destroyed by tanks and helicopter gunships. Mindat is an important town for the Chin people and a gateway to Chin State. It is a centre for Chin culture and its Buddhist and Christian population. This could be one reason why it has been targeted by the military junta, which habitually targets ethnic communities. (Such attacks are also being carried out against the Kachin, Karen and Rohingya people). It is likely that the Junta wish to 'make an example' of Mindat, to spread fear across Chin State and the rest of Myanmar. I have visited Mindat and have received gracious, generous hospitality from the people and the community leaders there. They are a peace-loving people who do not deserve to be victims of such violence and have few resources to defend themselves. It is poignant that they destroyed rather than kept the weapons abandoned by the soldiers in the first convoy. I have visited Mindat and have received gracious, generous hospitality from the people and the community leaders there. They are a peace-loving people who do not deserve to be victims of such violence and have few resources to defend themselves. It is poignant that they destroyed rather than kept the weapons abandoned by the soldiers in the first convoy. Since the military coup on 1 February, nearly 800 civilians (including 52 children) have been killed and 5000 civilians detained by the military junta. Today, the elected Minister of International Cooperation and International Spokesperson for the newly-formed National Unity Government (NUG), Dr. Sasa, said: “The international community must support the courageous people of Myanmar to end this reign of terror once and for all. The military forces must be stopped. If delays in the recognition of NUG as the legitimate government of Myanmar continue, the risks of a full blown of civil war are very high.” I call upon the British government and the UN Security Council: • To call upon the junta to end the siege of Mindat. • To immediately sanction the military regime in Myanmar with the suspension of all military trade deals; dealings with stateowned companies; and trade in oil and gas. • To recognise the democratically elected National Unity Government; • and to urge all other nations to do likewise. Yours sincerely, Caroline - The Baroness Cox House of Lords London SW1A0PW..."
Source/publisher: House of Lords via Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-16
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Title: Are critics of Australia’s response to the Myanmar coup expecting too much?
Description: "Australia has been criticised for not doing enough in reaction to Myanmar’s coup. It has been urged to impose targeted sanctions and be more active in its diplomacy through face-to-face meetings and shuttle diplomacy. It has been described as weak, slow and ineffective and accused of prioritising trade over human rights. But does this criticism match the reality of what Australia has done? Australia has put its name on statements condemning the coup in international bodies including the United Nations. Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne has issued six formal statements on Myanmar since the start of February, including unequivocal language calling for the National Assembly to reconvene consistent with election results. She has spoken to more than 20 counterparts about the situation in Myanmar. Defence cooperation has been suspended (Australia already has an arms embargo on Myanmar) and development aid has been redirected to immediate humanitarian needs. As the situation has worsened, with the military using violence to suppress protests, additional humanitarian aid has been pledged. Australia has not minced its words. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said: ‘We have been a longstanding supporter of Myanmar’s democratic transition, including the election in November … We all hope for what I know the Myanmar people want to achieve’. Australia’s most senior diplomat Frances Adamson has called the military coup ‘catastrophic’. There is no doubt about Australia’s position on the coup. Australia believes that a well-governed and stable Myanmar is in the interests of Australia and the region. Other countervailing interests are not significant enough for Australia to prioritise them over human rights concerns. Trade is unlikely to have an impact given Myanmar only just makes it into Australia’s top 50 export destinations. The situation of detained Australian Professor Sean Turnell, an economic adviser to ousted State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, has not stopped Australia from speaking out despite fears it might be affected by hostage diplomacy. The question for Australia is a tactical one: what is most likely to improve the situation for the people of Myanmar? Given that Australia’s reaction has been clear and unequivocal from day one, further condemnation is unlikely to have any greater effect. There are three areas where criticism seems justified. First, while Australia already has some targeted sanctions on Myanmar, it would have been useful to have the option to be able to impose more. Unfortunately, Australia cannot do so easily or quickly under its current system. In this, Australia lags behind, as was shown recently when it could not coordinate with other countries in imposing sanctions relating to human rights abuses in Xinjiang. A parliamentary inquiry recently recommended Australia change this by introducing new Magnitsky-style laws, and draft legislation is expected to be tabled this year. Second, while Australia’s long-term policy is to recognise states, not governments, this is no bar to communicating with the parallel Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) government, as other countries have reportedly done. Third, Australia should have immediately extended the visas of Myanmar students who fear to return. While students were reportedly being assessed on a case-by-case basis, there would have been no downside to announcing a blanket extension as an interim measure, as finally happened in early May. Australia has decided the best tactical approach is to work with ASEAN. A number of ASEAN states are putting pressure on Myanmar, particularly Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. In a departure from its usual diplomatic style, the bloc convened a special summit to deal with the Myanmar issue, with Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo staking political capital on its success. The summit came up with a five-point plan including the immediate cessation of violence, ASEAN provision of humanitarian assistance and a visit by an ASEAN special envoy to meet all parties and facilitate mediation of a dialogue process. In these circumstances, it is reasonable for Australia to frame the question as how it can support ASEAN’s efforts. What is striking in the case of Myanmar’s coup is that nobody thinks it is a good idea: not ASEAN, China, Japan, South Korea, the United States, the EU nor the G7. Some, like Russia and India, have chosen not to condemn, but there is nothing to suggest they welcome the coup. In this case, there is no conflict between those who focus on human rights and democracy and those who focus on stability and development, all of which have been jeopardised. Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing is friendless in his attempts to maintain power by trashing Myanmar’s constitution. But it has been hard for any external forces to have influence given limited leverage. If a regime does not care about international condemnation, it can brazen it out. Myanmar’s coup is a reminder of the limits of any external influence, not just Australia’s. This should be kept in mind through any consideration of the impact Australia could have..."
Source/publisher: "East Asia Forum" (Australia)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-15
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Title: Remaking Myanmar’s devastated economy is the key for a future democracy
Sub-title: Dictatorship must be resisted, but that’s not enough. Solving the country’s economic crisis could transform society
Description: "Myanmar is facing an economic and humanitarian disaster of epic proportions. There is an urgent need to protect the poorest and most vulnerable and provide assistance in a way that doesn’t entrench dictatorship. Equally important is to use this crisis to transform Myanmar’s incredibly unequal and singularly exploitative political economy. It’s the key to democratic change. It’s also the key to creating a fairer, as well as a freer and more prosperous, society. The army’s coup d’état in February has been followed by strikes and protests, and intense repression. The army has not been able to consolidate its coup and has instead unwittingly unleashed revolutionary movements determined to end the military’s role in politics once and for all. Years of turbulence lie ahead. Meanwhile, the economy has collapsed, with tens of millions of people descending fast into extreme poverty and the World Food Programme estimating that 3.4 million people will be unable to feed themselves properly within the next six months. The healthcare system has also collapsed, jeopardising the lives of many more, including the several hundred thousand people dependent on TB and HIV drugs and the 950,000 infants normally inoculated each year against measles, polio and other diseases. There is now next to no Covid-19 testing and no possibility of large-scale vaccination. The proximate cause of the unfolding catastrophe is the coup and its aftermath but understanding the history of Myanmar’s political economy is critical for thinking about what may come next. Myanmar’s economy under British rule was based on the immigration of Indian labourers and the export of primary commodities. After independence in 1948, politics was dominated by the left and efforts to overturn the colonial legacies. But in the late 1980s a new army junta ended the “Burmese way to socialism”, creating new markets, in particular around extractive industries tied to China’s industrial revolution next door. Taxation and social services were practically non-existent. Inequality skyrocketed and a mix of climate change and massive land confiscations drove millions to Thailand in search of work. In the uplands, alongside a patchwork of army battalions, militia and ethnic minority forces, were money-making networks far richer than even the men with guns, including a methamphetamine racket said by the UN to be worth billions. The political reforms of the past 10 years were not accompanied by any structural change to the economy. The army took a big step back from business, and liberalisation led to more foreign competition as well as growth in a few sectors such as tourism, property and telecoms. A small middle class emerged but most Myanmar people continued to live on the edge of violence and extreme poverty, including the most vulnerable: upland farmers, landless villagers, new urban slum-dwellers, people of South Asian descent and other minorities. The ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya in 2017 was unmatched in scale and brutality. But the Myanmar state has long failed many of its peoples. With the pandemic came an economic shock that sent an already fragile economy into a tailspin, the result of lockdowns and disruptions to foreign trade. The garment sector, the country’s one promising manufacturing industry, was brought to its knees. An international study last October found that income poverty (people making less than $1.90 (£1.36) a day) had risen from 16% to 63% of the population. There was almost no state support. Now in the aftermath of the coup, the economy is at a virtual standstill. A general strike coupled with the army’s internet blockages have shut down much of the financial system, disrupting business and payroll payments worth the equivalent of billions of US dollars a month. With confidence plummeting and the central bank unwilling or unable to provide needed liquidity, families are hoarding as much cash as possible. It’s difficult to imagine how ordinary people will survive these coming months, especially the rural poor, most of whom are landless and entirely dependent on casual work. However, the army regime is likely to survive any economic downturn because Myanmar’s system has never veered far from the one that grew up under past juntas and under the toughest possible western sanctions. The new businesses of the past decade, such as manufacturing, will wither, old ones, such as timber and mining, will gain renewed ground, and illicit ones in the uplands, from narcotics to money-laundering and wildlife trafficking will flourish in the protracted instability to come. Whatever happens, the international priority should be to ensure that Myanmar’s poor and vulnerable communities are able to receive the assistance needed to stay alive, with special attention paid to children’s inoculations. But this must be done with political skill, so as not to undermine chances for the radical political changes to government that the vast majority of people desperately want. Today’s revolutionary movements aim to cut revenues to the junta and are willing to pay a high economic cost. But a successful transition will come over years, not months, and it’s important to identify the economic landscape best suited for democratic change. Measures to weaken the junta that inadvertently strengthen the hand of transnational criminal networks may lead not to state collapse but a mutated political order, one that will take generations to unwind. Dictatorship must be resisted but democracy is not enough. Over recent months, a new generation of leaders have come to the fore and many have rejected the ethno-nationalism at the heart of Myanmar politics, seeking fresh alliances across racial, ethnic and religious divides. This is not only welcome but essential for any future success. But there should also be a focus on issues of inequality and underdevelopment, protecting the vulnerable now, while reimagining and mobilising around a fairer political economy of tomorrow..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-15
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Title: The Unwanted People: A Story of One of the World’s Most Persecuted Minorities
Description: "Introduction: Not so many people were acquainted with the issue of Rohingya prior to the communal conflict that erupted in 2012. In fact, the conflict has brought the “hidden” issue to the surface, to a new level of visibility particularly among common people. Nevertheless, there is still relatively plenteous unknown patency behind the tragedy that occurred to the Rohingyas, besides a simple fact that it is an ethnoreligious conflict between Buddhist majority of Burman and Arakanese against the Muslim minority of Rohingya. The United Nations, indeed, even has regarded the Rohingyas as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities1 and among the world’s least wanted.2 This paper observes three major issues that are strongly linked and contributed to the creation of predicament for the Rohingyas. Comprehending these three issues are pivotal in order to see and possess thorough understanding about the Rohingyas The first issue covers the problem that related to the legal status of the Rohingyas. Second, the issue that related with the human rights abuse that happened toward the Rohingyas. Third, the issue of Buddhist fundamentalism.....The Birth of The Stateless Rohingya: The statelessness of Rohingya is a product of legal-political process conducted by the Burmese regime ever since the birth of modern Burma. The main driving force behind this policy has been the (political) stance of the Burmese authority that does not consider the Rohingya as a part of its native population (shown by the Panglong Agreement). In fact, the origin of Rohingya is still debatable hitherto. Both sides, the Burmese and the proRohingya, claim to have the most precise argument regarding the origin of Rohingya. Based on the point of view of Burmese historians, Khin Mau Saw, for example, stated that there had never been the term “Rohingya” before 1950’s (when the Mujahids changed their name into “Rohingyas”) supported by the fact that there was no such name as “Rohingya” in the Census of India 1921 (Burma) compiled by G.G Granthan, I.C.S (Superintendant of Census Operation Burma) or in the Burma Gazetter, Akyab District compiled by R.B Smart..."
Source/publisher: Ricky Raymon
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-14
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Title: Myanmar: Time for business to take a stand against human rights violations - UN experts
Description: "As powerful actors in the current fragile and deteriorating context in Myanmar, businesses must uphold their human rights responsibilities and put pressure on the military junta to halt grave human rights violations, UN experts* said today. The coup of 1 February has placed businesses with operations or business relations in Myanmar in a challenging situation. While some businesses have reiterated their public support for the rule of law and human rights, and cut ties with the junta, many continue to engage in business with the military as if nothing has happened, they said. As the military junta is intensifying its campaign of repression against its own people in Myanmar, the experts urged companies to act in line with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to avoid contributing to human rights violations, or becoming complicit in crimes if they continue to operate in Myanmar. “Because the risk of gross human rights violations has greatly increased in Myanmar, action by States and human rights due diligence by business, and investors, should be rapidly and proportionately heightened,” said Surya Deva, Vice-Chair of the Working Group on Business and Human Rights. “Businesses, both individually and collectively, should exert the maximum leverage on the military in Myanmar to halt what the High Commissioner for Human Rights has said may amount to crimes against humanity,” added the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews. Information suggests that the military’s economic interests, including access to arms and technology, remain largely untouched and unchallenged by other States, and businesses operating in the country. “The revenues that the military earns from domestic and foreign businesses substantially enhances its ability and capacity to carry out these grave violations,” Andrews said. The UN experts noted that measures taken by businesses, such as suspension of payments and financial flows that may aid the perpetration of widespread and systematic human rights violations, should target the military and have the minimum possible negative impact on the rights of employees and the general population. In 2019, the Independent International Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar concluded that no business should enter into an economic or financial relationship with the security forces of Myanmar, in particular the military, or any enterprise owned or controlled by them or their individual members, until and unless they are restructured and transformed. The experts also endorsed the Human Rights Council’s call for home States of businesses investing in, or with supply chains in Myanmar to take appropriate measures so that those businesses actively conduct heightened human rights due diligence and ensure their activities do not cause or contribute to any human rights violations. They added that States should also urge international financial and development institutions to exercise heightened due diligence and cut ties with the military. “There may come a point at which businesses might need to suspend operations or even consider exit from the country if risks of involvement in human rights abuse cannot be reasonably managed, while doing so in a manner to safeguard the well-being of workers and affected communities,” Deva said. Businesses which continue to operate in Myanmar should take all possible measures to protect their employees, support the exercise of all human rights by the people of Myanmar, including the right to peaceful protests, and speak up to preserve civic space and the independence of the media. All States, including leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and G20 countries, should take strong, decisive and coordinated action, and encourage their businesses operating in Myanmar to prevent further human rights violations, the experts added. The Working Group has addressed the topic of heightened action and human rights due diligence in its recent report to the General Assembly: Business and Human Rights in Conflict-Affected Regions: Towards heightened Action..."
Source/publisher: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Geneva)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-13
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Title: Thailand: Prevent Pushbacks, Establish Protection Mechanisms for Refugees Fleeing Myanmar
Sub-title: Thai government instructed authorities to block refugees from Myanmar
Description: "The Government of Thailand should protect refugees from Myanmar from being forcibly returned and establish protection mechanisms in line with international human rights law, Fortify Rights said today. On March 19, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha instructed government agencies to prevent “illegal immigration” from Myanmar, according to government meeting minutes. In line with this order, a Thai provincial official confirmed to Fortify Rights that Thai authorities this week returned to Myanmar at least 2,000 refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar’s Karen State. “The Thai government should be preparing to protect refugees rather than prevent border crossings,” said Amy Smith, Executive Director at Fortify Rights. “Thailand has made positive commitments and taken steps to establish procedures to recognize and protect refugees during the past several years. Now is the time for Thailand to put those commitments into action to protect refugees fleeing the ongoing crisis in Myanmar.” According to meeting minutes of the Thai Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), dated March 19, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha instructed the Ministry of Interior, CCSA, and other concerned agencies to “monitor and prevent illegal immigration” along the Thailand-Myanmar border and instructed the Immigration Bureau to “enforce strict inspection of border crossings.” The government has also deployed Royal Thai Army troops and patrol boats to “monitor illegal entry along the western borders both by land and sea,” according to the meeting minutes. The Thai Government does not recognize refugees and considers undocumented or unauthorized entry or stay in Thailand as “illegal immigration.” A Thai government official speaking on the condition of anonymity told Fortify Rights that the Ministry of Defense is responsible for coordinating the government’s response to refugees from Myanmar. Among those responsible for this coordination is the Naresuan Force of the Royal Thai Army. The Naresuan Force is a special unit designated to protect the borders of Tak and Mae Hong Son provinces by “interception, retaliation and pushing back foreign forces deemed to violate Thai sovereignty.” The Naresuan Force held more than 2,100 refugees in makeshift shelters in Mae Sariang District of Mae Hong Son Province after they crossed into Thailand last week to flee attacks in Myanmar. Less than 100 remain in Thailand as of May 11, according to a Thai provincial official. Civil society actors in Karen State told Fortify Rights that Thai authorities also forced back to Myanmar most of the 5,000 refugees who crossed into Thailand in March and April. The official also confirmed that the army continues to restrict humanitarian organizations and U.N. agencies, including the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), from accessing groups of newly arriving refugees from Myanmar, citing security and COVID-19 health concerns. “Ensuring protections for refugees is first and foremost a humanitarian issue that demands an appropriate response from the Thai authorities to prevent the loss of life,” said Amy Smith. “Public health concerns due to the COVID-19 pandemic and national security can be addressed and managed through proper screening mechanisms. Rather than restrict and sideline U.N. and humanitarian organizations who are ready to assist, Thai authorities should draw on their technical expertise and resources to facilitate a coordinated response.” According to the Thai government’s meeting minutes, the prime minister called for “effort” to be made to “prepare an area to host the influx of migrants into Thailand, quarantine facilities and field hospitals.” However, the Thai authorities have yet to announce the construction of facilities for refugees or that refugees will be provided access to quarantine or medical facilities. On May 6, Thai officials, including Mae Hong Son Governor Sithichai Jindaluang, the Commander of the Special Unit 7thInfantry Regiment, Colonel Sujin Subsin, and Permanent Secretary of Mae Hong Son Province Chanathip Semyam met with UNHCR-Thailand to discuss potential refugee influxes into Thailand and responses. At the time of writing, Thai authorities have yet to approve UNHCR operations to assist new refugees from Myanmar. UNHCR’s Key Legal Considerations on Access to Territory for Persons in Need of International Protection in the Context of the COVID-19 Response provides that “[d]enial of access to territory without safeguards to protect against refoulement cannot be justified on the grounds of any health risk.” Myanmar military attacks on civilian areas and clashes between the Myanmar military and ethnic armed groups have displaced more than 55,000 people in Kachin, Karen, and Shan states in Myanmar since February 1 , according to the latest figures from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Myanmar. A majority of the displaced, approximately 40,000, were forcibly displaced following renewed clashes between the Myanmar military and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), as well as airstrikes, “indiscriminate attacks,” and “shelling of civilian areas” by the Myanmar military, according to OCHA Myanmar. Since taking power in a military coup d’état on February 1, the Myanmar junta has continued to kill, arbitrarily arrest, and commit other crimes against political leaders, human rights defenders, peaceful protesters, and others in Myanmar. In a document seen by Fortify Rights and provided by the Myanmar junta to members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ahead of a controversial summit to discuss Myanmar last month, the junta claimed that it detained 9,848 persons, released 4,511, and charged 5,070 between February 1 and April 15. Forcing refugees back to Myanmar violates the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the “rejection at the frontier, interception and indirect refoulement” of individuals at risk of persecution. While Thailand has not ratified the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention nor its 1967 Protocol, the principle of non-refoulement is part of customary international law and is therefore binding on all states. Under this principle, all countries are obligated to protect people from being returned to where they face danger or persecution, including through informal returns. The Thai government has repeatedly expressed a commitment to protect refugees, including by adopting the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration and endorsing the Global Compact on Refugees during the U.N. General Assembly in December 2018. The Thai government also affirmed a commitment to “humanitarianism and to take care of various groups of irregular migrants” during the U.N. Human Rights Committee review of Thailand’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in March 2017. On December 24, 2019, the Thai Cabinet endorsed regulations to establish a national screening mechanism to identify and potentially protect refugees. However, the mechanism has yet to be implemented and has come under criticism from human rights groups for failing to meet international standards. Thailand currently hosts more than 100,000 refugees, most of whom are protracted refugees from Myanmar living in temporary shelters along the Thailand-Myanmar border, as well as refugees from various countries living in Bangkok and surrounding provinces. All refugees in Thailand lack formal legal status and are at risk of arbitrary detention and being forcibly returned to countries where they may face persecution. “Thailand still views refugees primarily through a national security lens, but the only real threat to regional peace and security is the Myanmar junta,” said Amy Smith. “If Thailand wants to protect its own security, it should protect the people of Myanmar and work with the international community to deprive the junta of its weapons and financial resources..."
Source/publisher: "Fortify Rights"
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-13
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Title: Humanitarian Support, Coherent Global Action Still Needed 100 Days after Deadly Military Takeover in Myanmar, Secretary-General Says
Description: "The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres: One hundred days since the Myanmar military takeover that has left hundreds of civilians killed and included numerous arbitrary arrests and other human rights violations, the Secretary-General renews his call on the country's military to respect the will of the people and act in the greater interest of peace and stability in the country. The Secretary-General also encourages the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to swiftly follow through on its own commitments, and the international community to support regional efforts, to bring an end to the repression by the military. He also calls on the international community to respond to the increased humanitarian needs. The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Christine Schraner Burgener, is in the region and continues to engage intensively with a range of key stakeholders, including in light of the broader ramifications of the crisis. She continues to promote coherent international action. The Secretary-General will continue to stand with the people of Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: United Nations ( New York )
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-12
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Title: Ministry of Human Rights' statement marking the 100th Days under the Military Coup - ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော် အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးဆိုင်ရာဝန်ကြီးဌာနက အာဏာသိမ်းမှုရက်တစ်ရာပြည့်နေ့ ကြေညာချက် ထုတ်ပြန်
Description: "Today marks the 100th day our country comes under a military coup. The military council continues to commit human rights violations daily ignoring 100 days of demands from the people of Myanmar to return to democracy and ignoring international condemnation against the coup. Giving no respect to the people of Myanmar and disregarding the election results, taking the country's power by coup means an insult to human rights wherein "the people have the rights to the government of their choosing". Since the coup, the military shows nothing but disrespect to people's basic human rights by continuing to oppress violently, murdering innocent protesters and civilians, torturing the whole public, and use various forms of threats to quash the people's voices. The innocent civilians and peaceful protesters are not only met with extreme force but also are targeted and shot at even in their own homes by the military which uses arms and weapons with an intent to slain them.Worse is that some families are asked to pick up their loved ones who were arrested the previous day but they are picking up their loved ones' lifeless bodies and these dead bodies told the story of inhumane treatment and brute force that they endured during their detention. Moreover, there is verifiable news of women, girls, and persons of LGBTIQA+ being sexually assaulted and raped while under the military's detention. At the same time, the military continues to commit human rights abuses and violations against ethnic nationalities in ethnic areas. In addition to the enduring wreck of nearly a century-old civil wars, ethnic nationalities again become internally displaced people (IDPs) due to airstrikes carried out by the military. In several ethnic nationality areas, humanitarian aid is urgently needed now for children, women, and elderly people. All these violation and atrocity certainly are the crime against humanity by the international humanitarian and human rights standards. I would like to say I am very proud to see people's unwavering protests against the coup amid terrible oppressions and heroes of the Civil Disobedient Movement (CDM) and I am deeply humbled by all of these. I would like to express my gratitude to those supporters of our Spring Revolution from the international communities and those who voice their unity and solidarity to our movement even though they are in refugee and IDP camps after fleeing the military's brutal crackdown and offensive attacks. The military council is not only violating the basic human rights described in international human rights principles and standards but also committing crimes against humanity. The Ministry of Human Rights (MOHR) is determined to work our utmost best in bringing accountability to those who perpetrate these violations and atrocities by employing different ways and methods through diplomatic channels and the international legal system. Only by doing so, we will be able to transform our country and eliminate the longexisted culture of impunity and dictators who think they are above the law. However, we must warn that NOW is a time to stop abuses and violations of human rights, to stop terrorising the public, and to stop giving excuses that they are just following the order. All of us need to understand that no matter which role and capacity you are in, if you perpetrate human rights abuses and violations, you will be brought to justice and you will be held accountable for your actions and inactions, it is crucial time to answer the questions of would you be on the peoples' side or are prepared to appear before the international criminal court systems by continuing human rights abuses and violations. Our invitation is extended to the Army, Navy, Air Force personnel including those from Myanmar Police Force, that it is still a good time to side with justice and the people if you do not want to be charged and punished in the criminal justice system and if you do not want to be recorded in history as criminals..."
Source/publisher: National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-12
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Title: Myanmar coup: Firms quit office block with military ties
Description: "A high-end office block in Myanmar linked to the country's military leaders is seeing an exodus of international organisations. Coca-Cola, the World Bank and McKinsey have told the BBC they have moved out or are reviewing their leases at the Sule Square complex in Yangon. The United Nations said the complex was built on land owned by the military. Myanmar's military seized power from the democratically elected government in February. It has been 100 days since the early morning coup, sparking mass protests across the country in which hundreds have died. How Myanmar coup caused its healthcare to vanish Could sanctions on Myanmar's military ever work? Myanmar coup: What is happening and why?. However, even before they took power on 1 February, Myanmar's military - which initially ruled the country for almost half a century after seizing power in 1962 - owned large areas of land and controlled companies involved in everything from mining to banking. The land on which the building stands was leased from the military, according to a 2019 United Nations fact-finding mission report. Last month, activist group Justice for Myanmar called on 18 tenants of the complex of offices and shops in the heart of Myanmar's commercial hub Yangon to stop indirectly supporting the army. "Sule Square has big-name tenants that continue to lease office space in the building, indirectly supporting the army," Justice for Myanmar said in a report. According to news agency Reuters, six of the companies have said they have moved out or were reviewing their plans, but only one mentioned the military link. Other firms cited various reasons, including business prospects. In a statement via email, Coca-Cola told the BBC that it would not renew its lease when it ends in the middle of next month due to "changing business requirements". "Our office-based employees at Coca-Cola Limited (Myanmar) will continue to work from home for the rest of 2021 as part of overall safety measures. We will be communicating our new office location at a later date," it added. In a statement sent to the BBC, consultancy McKinsey & Company said: "We no longer have space in a serviced office leased in Sule Square. We terminated our lease in early 2021." Reuters said it is not currently using its Sule Square office and was reviewing its tenancy. A spokesperson for the World Bank Group, which also has an office in the complex, told the BBC that it was "assessing the situation in Myanmar, according to internal policies and procedures". Norway's state-owned telecoms operator Telenor said it had known that the military owned the land Sule Square is built on before it moved in but it had picked the location due to a number of reasons, including safety. Telenor has not said whether or not it plans to move out of the building. Sule Square, which is close to the historic Sule Pagoda in Yangon, opened in 2017. It was developed by a local affiliate of Hong Kong listed Shangri-La Asia, which also manages the building and a neighbouring hotel. Shangri-La said in 2017 that it had invested $125m (£88.5m) in the development.
Source/publisher: "BBC News" (London)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-12
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Title: Thailand: Authorities must not deport Myanmar journalists at grave risk
Description: "Responding to news of the arrest of five individuals from Myanmar, including three journalists from the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) news outlet, by the Thai authorities in Chiang Mai on 9 May, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns, Ming Yu Hah, said: “It is imperative that the Thai authorities do not forcibly return these individuals to Myanmar. To do so would place them at real risk of arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and other ill-treatment, and death. “It would also put Thailand in breach of its obligations under the principle of non-refoulement under international law. “There have long been credible reports of torture and other ill-treatment in detention in Myanmar. These have intensified since the coup. Several people detained in recent weeks have died in detention in unexplained circumstances. “For years DVB has been a leading, outspoken outlet holding the authorities to account. If returned to Myanmar, these journalists will be at exceptionally grave risk. “Thailand has long played host to displaced and exiled communities from Myanmar. Whether they are targeted for their brave journalism work, escaping air strikes or evading other forms of attacks by the military, people in Myanmar are fleeing again today. We urge the Thai authorities to give sanctuary to those seeking safety, in line with international law.”.....Background: According to a statement from DVB’s Editor-in-Chief, Aye Chan Naing, three senior DVB journalist and two activists were arrested by Thai police on Sunday 9 May in Chiang Mai (Thailand). They were reporting the anti-coup protests in Myanmar until 8 March, the day the military authorities revoked DVB’s TV license. Amnesty International has confirmed that the five are currently in police custody. Since the military coup on 1 February, the Myanmar military has also revoked media licenses of several other media outlets and dozens of journalists are currently in arbitrary detention, facing charges or fearing arrest. Many more have gone into hiding. Amnesty International opposes refoulement, which is prohibited under international law, in all cases without exception. Non-refoulement is an international legal principle that prohibits the transfer of individuals to another country or jurisdiction where they would face a real risk of serious human rights violations or abuses. It is part of customary international law, making it binding upon all states regardless of whether they ratified the relevant treaties..."
Source/publisher: Amnesty International (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-12
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Title: Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw-Union Parliament of Myanmar: Myanmar Special Envoy to United Nations: Announcement On 6 April 2021 - ကြေညာချက်
Description: "On Friday 2 April 2021, The Republic of the Union of Myanmar ("Myanmar" ), acting through the legitimate parliamentary-designated Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw ("CRPH")) directed its international legal counsel at the law firm of Volterra Fietta to make a series of communications to different International Human Rights bodies of the United Nations, in relation to the atrocities that have been committed by the military since 1 February 2021 against the people of Myanmar and their legitimate, democratically-elected representatives. On 7 April 2021, there will be a meeting between the legal representatives of Myanmar (acting through CRPH) and the head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar ("IIMM"). This meeting is intended to discuss the modalities of dialogue and co-operation between Myanmar (acting through CRPH) and the IIMM in relation to the atrocities committed by the military on 1 February 2021 and thereafter. CRPH has received 180,000 items of evidence. This evidence shows widescale abuses of human rights by the military: 1. More than 540 extra-judicial executions 2. More than 10 deaths in custody of political prisoners 3. Torture of prisoners 4. Widespread use of lethal force and other disproportionate responses on peaceful protestors and other breaches of the right to peaceful assembly 5. Widespread illegal detentions 6. Targeting and arresting journalists, media companies and photographers 7. Restricting access to the internet and other actions to limit free speech on the internet DrS asa 6th April 2021..."
Source/publisher: Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-11
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Title: Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw-Union Parliament of Myanmar: Myanmar Special Envoy to United Nations: Announcement On 7 April 2021 - ကြေညာချက်
Description: "On 7 April 2021, the international legal counsel of The Republic of the Union of Myanmar ("Myanmar"), acting through the legitimate parliamentary-designated Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw ("CRPH"), the law firm of Volterra Fietta, met with the head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar ("IIMM") and his senior staff. At the meeting, the IIMM and Myanmar's legal representatives discussed the modalities of dialogue and co-operation between Myanmar (acting through CRPH) and the IIMM in relation to the atrocities committed by the military on 1 February 2021 and thereafter. This was the first such meeting and the dialogue will continue, with meetings planned in the days ahead. This follows the series of communications that Myanmar (acting through CRPH) directed its legal representatives to make on Friday 2 April 2021 to different International Human Rights dies of the United Nations, in relation to the atrocities that have been committed by the military since 1 February 2021 against the people of Myanmar and their legitimate, democratically elected representatives. To date, the CRPH has received more than 272,209 items of evidence. This evidence shows wide scale, systematic and targeted attacks against the civilian population by the military. Dr. Sasa 7th April 2021..."
Source/publisher: Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-11
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Title: Myanmar coup: ‘No sign’ of end to brutal crackdown on all fronts
Sub-title: One hundred days since the Myanmar military seized power, the "brutal" repression of protesters has continued, despite all international efforts to end the violence, the UN rights office (OHCHR) said on Tuesday.
Description: "“The military authorities are showing no sign of letting up in their brutal crackdown on opponents in a bid to consolidate their hold on power”, spokesperson Rupert Colville told journalists at a media briefing. According to credible reports, as of 10 May, at least 782 people have been killed as security forces used unnecessary, disproportionate and lethal force, to suppress demonstrations and other forms of public participation, since the military coup on 1 February. “While much of the world’s attention has been on the number of peaceful protesters and bystanders killed by the security forces, the authorities continue to commit other gross human rights violations against the people of Myanmar”, added Mr. Colville. The OHCHR spokesperson called for greater international involvement to prevent the human rights situation there from deteriorating further. In particular, he urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to “react quickly and to intensify its actions” to ensure Myanmar’s military leadership adheres to the commitments it made in the five-point plan agreed at the regional bloc’s meeting of leaders on 24 April, in Jakarta. The five-point consensus agreed to an immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar and that dialogue should be held among all parties to seek a peaceful solution in the interests of the people.....‘Daily raids’ on homes and offices: Mr. Colville went on to note that there are daily raids on private homes and offices, with more than 3,740 people currently in detention, including many in situations that may amount to enforced disappearances. “Of those in custody, the vast majority have not been brought before a judge, while most of the 86 people prosecuted thus far have been tried in secret, with limited or no access to any form of legal counsel”, he said. “Military tribunals and courts martial have been established in several townships in which martial law was declared. At least 25 individuals have received the death sentence to date – some 20 of whom were tried in absentia.”.....Military ‘taking relatives’: Over the past month, the military leadership has issued more than 1,561 arrest warrants against civil society activists, trade unionists, journalists, academics, public personalities and online voices, driving the vast majority of them underground. “To intensify pressure, the military authorities have resorted to taking relatives of wanted people into custody to force them to turn themselves in to the police”, Mr. Colville said, adding that there is also increasing pressure on civil servants to go back to work. In recent weeks, more than 3,000 civil servants – nearly 70 per cent women – have been dismissed, removed, or suspended by the coup leadership. Those suspended also include 990 university professors, researchers and assistants. In addition, there are reports that up to 11,000 more workers in the education sector were suspended on Monday.....‘Deeply concerned’ for those fleeing persecution: The OHCHR spokesperson also voiced “deep concerns” for the people fleeing persecution, especially human rights defenders and journalists. According to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), several hundred people from Myanmar have crossed into Thailand and India in recent weeks. The people seeking safety outside Myanmar must receive such protection and support from Myanmar’s neighbours, Mr. Colville urged, adding that while it can take time to decide whether an individual fleeing the country is a refugee or not, “at the very least they should be treated as an asylum seeker and not forced to go back”. “This is particularly important for people with jobs as sensitive as journalists and those active in the civil disobedience movement, opposing the Tatmadaw (Myanmar’s military).”..."
Source/publisher: UN News
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-11
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Title: Press briefing notes on Myanmar
Sub-title: Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Rupert Colville
Description: "More than 100 days after the coup in Myanmar, the military authorities are showing no sign of letting up in their brutal crackdown on opponents in a bid to consolidate their hold on power. At the same time, there is no weakening of the resolve of the civil disobedience movement and other facets of opposition to the coup leaders. As of 10 May, credible sources indicate that the security forces, using unnecessary, disproportionate and lethal force to suppress demonstrations and other forms of public participation, have killed at least 782 individuals since the coup on 1 February. While much of the world's attention has been on the number of peaceful protesters and bystanders killed by the security forces, the authorities continue to commit other gross human rights violations against the people of Myanmar. There are daily raids on private homes and offices, and more than 3,740 people are currently in detention. We are deeply alarmed that the whereabouts and fate of hundreds of these individuals are unknown. These are situations that may amount to enforced disappearances. Of those in custody, the vast majority have not been brought before a judge, while most of the 86 people prosecuted thus far have been tried in secret, with limited or no access to any form of legal counsel. Military tribunals and courts martial have been established in several townships in which martial law was declared. At least 25 individuals have received the death sentence to date – some 20 of whom were tried in absentia. Over the past month, the military leadership has issued over 1,561 arrest warrants targeting civil society activists, trade unionists, journalists, academics, public personalities and online voices, so driving the vast majority of them underground. To intensify pressure, the military authorities have resorted to taking relatives of wanted people into custody to force them to turn themselves in to the police. The military authorities are also stepping up their efforts to pressure civil servants back to work. In recent weeks, the coup leadership has dismissed, removed, or suspended more than 3,000 civil servants – nearly 70 per cent of those targeted have been women. Those suspended include 990 university professors, researchers and assistants who in the last few days have been suspended for failing to report to work. There are reports that up to 11,000 more educational workers were suspended on Monday. We are also deeply concerned about the situation of people fleeing persecution, especially human rights defenders and journalists. As the armed conflicts between the Tatmadaw and some of the ethnic armed organizations, particularly in Kachin and Kayin states, have intensified, people seeking protection are being forced to consider seeking safety outside the country. When they do so, they should receive such protection and support from Myanmar's neighbours. It is clear that there needs to be greater international involvement to prevent the human rights situation in Myanmar from deteriorating further. Despite the five-point plan agreed at the ASEAN leaders' meeting on 24 April, the Myanmar military leadership has shown no sign of abiding by it. We call on ASEAN to react quickly and to intensify its actions to ensure the military keeps to these commitments and to hold them accountable for failing to do so..."
Source/publisher: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Geneva)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-11
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Title: Myanmar: UN expert urges States to impose arms embargo
Description: "The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, today welcomed the call by a broad number of civil society organizations to impose an arms embargo on Myanmar's military junta, and encouraged States to take their own actions immediately. "Stopping the flow of weapons and dual-use weapons technology into the hands of the military junta of Myanmar is literally a matter of life and death. There is no time to lose," said Andrews. "I applaud the efforts of more than 200 organisations to bring this to the attention of the UN Security Council. Action to stop the flow of deadly weapons into the hands of those who are using them to massacre their own people is needed now. "I urge governments who support cutting the flow of weapons to a brutal military junta to consider immediately establishing their own arms embargo against Myanmar while simultaneously encouraging UN Security Council action. "Bilateral arms embargoes should encompass weapons and dual-use technology, including surveillance equipment. Together, they will represent an important step forward to literally taking guns out of the hands of those killing innocent men, women and children." Andrews said he was currently updating a list of States that have established arms embargoes against Myanmar. In his March report* to the Human Rights Council, he identified those nations that had already established arms embargoes against Myanmar. "It is my hope that those who have yet to impose an arms embargo will do so in light of the horror that the Myanmar military continues to inflict on its citizens every day. I intend to publish this updated list next month," he said. "Additionally, I urge organizations and advocates who have called for UN Security Council action to simultaneously urge governments to impose their own arms embargo. They can begin by carefully reviewing the list of nations who have established arms embargoes, and reach out to those who have yet to do so."..."
Source/publisher: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-08
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Title: Military coup puts Telenor’s future in Myanmar on the line
Description: "Since Myanmar’s military ordered telecoms operators to shut their networks in an effort to end protests against its February coup, Telenor’s business there has been in limbo. As one of the few Western companies to bet on the South East Asian country after it emerged from military dictatorship a decade ago, the return to army rule led to a $783 million write-off this week for Norway’s Telenor (TEL.OL). The Norwegian state-controlled firm, one of the biggest foreign investors in Myanmar, must now decide whether to ride out the turmoil, or withdraw from a market which last year contributed 7% of its earnings. “We are facing many dilemmas,” Telenor Chief Executive Sigve Brekke told Reuters this week, highlighting the stark problems facing international firms under increased scrutiny over their exposure in Myanmar, where hundreds have been killed in protests against the Feb. 1 coup. While Telenor plans to stay for now, the future is uncertain, Brekke said in a video interview. Although Telenor had won praise for supporting what at the time was a fledgling democracy, activist groups have long voiced concerns about business ties to the military, which have intensified since the army retook control of the country. Chris Sidoti, a United Nations expert on Myanmar, said Telenor should avoid payments such as taxes or licence fees that could fund the military directly or indirectly, and that if it cannot be independently determined that Telenor is "doing more good than harm" in Myanmar, then it should withdraw. However, Espen Barth Eide, who was Norway's foreign minister at the time Telenor gained a licence in Myanmar in 2013, told Reuters that Telenor should stay and use its position as a well-established foreign firm to be a vocal critic of the military. A spokeswoman for Norway's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, which represents the Norwegian government as a shareholder, said on Thursday that "under the current circumstances Telenor faces several dilemmas in Myanmar". "From a corporate governance perspective the investment in Myanmar is a responsibility of the company's Board and Management. Within this framework the Ministry as a shareholder keep a good dialogue with Telenor regarding the situation," the spokeswoman added in an emailed response to Reuters. The Myanmar junta, which has said it seized power because its repeated complaints of fraud in last year's election were ignored by the election commission, has blamed protesters and the former ruling party for instigating violence. And it said on March 23 that it had no plans to lift network restrictions. It has not commented on the curbs since and did not answer Reuters calls on Thursday....NEW MARKET: Telenor is no stranger to operating under military rule in both Pakistan and Thailand, where it challenged the Thai junta over what it said was an order to block social media access. At around the same time, Telenor was signing up its first customers in Myanmar. Its then-CEO, Jon Fredrik Baksaas, told Reuters that Telenor had thought "a lot" about the risk that Myanmar's experiment with democracy might not last. "But we argued at that time that, when we get in a western company that delivers telecommunication in a country, we stand also with some responsibility, and a bit of a guarantee that things are done correctly," Baksaas said. Its position had support internationally at the time after Barack Obama became the first U.S. President to visit Myanmar in 2012, the year after a military junta was officially dissolved and a quasi-civilian government installed. For its part, the Norwegian government, which owns a majority of Telenor, had long supported democracy in Myanmar, hosting radio and TV stations reporting on it under military rule. And in 1991, the Norwegian Nobel Committee gave the Nobel Peace Prize to Aung San Suu Kyi, who spent 15 years under house arrest in Myanmar before leading a civilian government which retained power in last year's election. Suu Kyi was detained after the coup and charged with offences that her lawyers say are trumped up. While Norway was supportive of Telenor's Myanmar venture, the government also warned of the risks, Barth Eide, Norway's foreign minister at the time, said. "We told them that it's a complicated country which had a harsh military dictatorship. Telenor was very much aware of it ... It's not like they were novices," he added. Telenor was one of two foreign operators granted licences in 2013, alongside Qatar's Ooredoo (ORDS.QA). The other operators in Myanmar are state-backed MPT and Mytel, which is part-owned by a military-linked company. About 95% of Telenor's 187 million customers worldwide are in Asia and it has around 18 million customers in Myanmar, serving a third of its 54 million population....'NO DIRECT LINKS': For Telenor, doing business in Myanmar had its challenges, including trying to avoid commercial ties to the military. Former CEO Baksaas said for the first couple of weeks after it began operations in Myanmar, staff had to sit on the office floor because Telenor refused to pay bribes to customs officials for furniture which it had imported. He also said they had to navigate corruption risks when acquiring land to build mobile towers. Then there was dealing with the military, whose economic interests range from land to firms involved in mining and banking. The military has faced allegations of human rights abuses including persecuting minorities and violently suppressing protests going back decades. It has repeatedly denied such allegations. Activist group Justice for Myanmar said in a 2020 report that Telenor had shown "an alarming failure" in its human rights due diligence over a deal struck in 2015 to build mobile towers that involved a military contractor. Another report by the United Nations in 2019 said Telenor was renting offices in a building built on military-owned land. The report said firms in Myanmar should end all ties with the military due to human rights abuses. A Telenor spokesperson said in an email on April 9 responding to Reuters questions that it had addressed the matter of the 2015 deal, without elaborating, and that its choice of office was "the only viable option" given factors like safety. "Telenor Myanmar has been focused on having minimal exposure to the military and have no direct links to military-controlled entities," the spokesperson said. Since the coup, Telenor has cut ties with three suppliers after finding links to the military, the spokesperson added.....BALANCING ACT: On the day of the coup, the military ordered Telenor and other operators to shut down networks. Telenor criticised the move but complied. Services were allowed to resume but there have been intermittent requests to close since, and the mobile internet has been shut since March 15. Ooredoo has also said it "regretfully complied" with directives to restrict mobile and wireless broadband in Myanmar, which hit its first quarter earnings. It declined further comment on the outlook for its Myanmar business. Like other operators, Telenor paid license fees to the now military-controlled government in March, which critics argue may help it finance repression of public protest. Telenor said in the emailed response to Reuters that it made the payment "under strong protest against recent developments". One of its major shareholders, Norway's KLP, said it had been in a dialogue with Telenor after the coup to ensure it was identifying the human rights risks. "It is a challenging situation because Telenor cannot choose what it can and can't do. They get their directives from the authorities," said Kiran Aziz, senior analyst for responsible investments at KLP. "It is difficult to assess how positive Telenor's contribution can be in this context." Weighing up human rights is just one of the dilemmas Telenor now faces, said CEO Brekke, alongside safely serving its customers and maintaining network access for them. "We work on that balance every single day," he said. And although that balance, for now, is tilted to Telenor staying in the country, it is not a given. “We make a difference like we have done since we arrived. But with the situation being this unpredictable, it is impossible in many ways to speculate about the future and how this will develop,” Brekke added..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-07
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Title: UNHCR Regional Bureau for Asia and Pacific (RBAP) Myanmar Emergency - External Update, 1 May 2021
Summary: "KEY DISPLACEMENT FIGURES: 10,000 Estimated refugee movements to neighbouring countries since 1 February 2021 980,000 Refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar in neighbouring countries as of 31...
Description: "KEY DISPLACEMENT FIGURES: 10,000 Estimated refugee movements to neighbouring countries since 1 February 2021 980,000 Refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar in neighbouring countries as of 31 December 2020 50,000 Estimated internal displacement within Myanmar since 1 February 2021 370,000 Estimated internally displaced persons (IDPs) within Myanmar as of 31 December 2020.....HIGHLIGHTS:Since the military takeover in Myanmar on 1 February 2021, widespread violence against civilians across the country and the resumption and intensification of clashes between the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) in border areas has forcibly displaced thousands of people within Myanmar and to neighbouring countries. Approximately 50,000 people have been displaced internally, these include an estimated 40,000 in southeastern Myanmar and 9,000 in Kachin and northern Shan states. Some 5,000 refugees crossed into Thailand in March and April, most of whom subsequently returned to Myanmar, and an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 refugees have sought safety in India. As those displaced since 1 February are fleeing persecution or generalized violence and events seriously disturbing public order, UNHCR calls on countries across the region to offer refuge and protection to all individuals from Myanmar seeking safety. Humanitarian actors should be granted access to them to assess and respond to their needs.....RESPONSE: In Myanmar, the deteriorating security environment has exacerbated the precarious humanitarian situation that prevailed even before the military takeover. It has impeded the ability of affected populations to seek safety and access urgent life-saving assistance, including the stateless or internally displaced persons (IDPs) who were already in need of protection and assistance prior to 1 February. Although UNHCR has been able to continue field activities in Rakhine, Kachin and northern Shan States—such as needs assessments, quick impact projects and distribution of core relief items (CRIs)—humanitarian actors face increasing security, logistics and supply chain challenges. In southeast Myanmar, for example, UNHCR activities have been curtailed by security constraints, though UNHCR and partners have maintained communication channels with IDPs through community-based mechanisms and have distributed CRIs to IDPs in Kayin State. In India, UNHCR estimates that 4,000-6,000 refugees from Myanmar have entered the border states of Mizoram and Manipur since early March. UNHCR does not have access to the border areas, but local charity organizations and individuals have come forward to provide life-saving assistance to new arrivals. Some 190 have moved onward to New Delhi, where UNHCR is assessing their needs and has begun registering and providing basic assistance to them. UNHCR has offered its support to the Government of India in protection and humanitarian coordination and response to new arrivals from Myanmar. In Thailand, following the arrival in late March of some 2,800 refugees in Mae Hong Son province and their subsequent return to Myanmar, some 2,300 people crossed again on 27 April due to an outbreak of fighting and are currently hosted in safety areas managed by the Royal Thai Army. UNHCR has advocated for access to the population and offered support to the Royal Thai Government’s efforts to respond to further displacement from Myanmar and address refugees’ protection needs. The Government is preparing “holding areas” for receiving new arrivals in provinces along the Thai-Myanmar border. UNHCR has not had access to new arrivals, but has undertaken preparedness actions, including the prepositioning of CRIs for up to 5,000 households, to help ensure that any Government-led response in those areas will be complemented in a timely and coordinated manner. The humanitarian community already present in the nine temporary shelters for some 92,000 Myanmar refugees who fled previous waves of displacement—UNHCR, IOM and a consortium of NGOs—has established a multi-sector coordination mechanism to respond to humanitarian needs for new arrivals..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-07
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Title: Calls Grow to Cut Myanmar Junta’s External Financial Lifelines
Summary: "Tougher action is urgently needed to cut off foreign currency flows to the Myanmar military regime, suggested local and foreign financial experts, who argued that severing its financial lifeline...
Description: "Tougher action is urgently needed to cut off foreign currency flows to the Myanmar military regime, suggested local and foreign financial experts, who argued that severing its financial lifeline would hasten the collapse of military rule. “The largest inflows of foreign currency to the military are from the oil and gas and mining sectors. We need to totally shut off the flow of foreign currency that is keeping the junta alive,” a local economist who asked not to be named told The Irrawaddy. “The international community must pressure all the parties that sustain military rule in Myanmar. It is critical to act before it is too late,” he said. Last week, an anonymous group, Independent Economists for Myanmar (IEM), suggested that effective sanctions limiting the ability of the regime’s State Administrative Council (SAC) to collect revenue from natural gas, mining, forestry, shipping including port fees and airlines could change the military’s calculus. It estimated that such measures would cut off roughly US$2 billion per year in financing for the military. Earnings from natural gas, jade, metallic minerals, land rentals, telecommunications fees and businesses involved in trade such as port operators, transport and logistics companies, and Myanmar National Airlines provide the largest inflows of foreign currency to the military, totaling around $2.5 billion per year.....Cash in hand: IEM estimated that that military’s “access to foreign currency is significant but constrained,” saying it controls at least $4 billion, roughly two-thirds of Myanmar’s stock of foreign currency. However, it also controls about half of the inflows that remain following the collapse of several sectors that generated foreign currency, such as textiles and tourism. Additionally, around $1 billion of foreign assets are held at the US Federal Reserve and were frozen by the US government in early February. Foreign currency is important for the military since it not only pays for military equipment like tanks and guns, as well as supplies like fuel, but is also needed to service military-owned companies that rely on foreign inputs. Military-owned factories rely on foreign equipment to keep functioning, while military hospitals purchase medication from abroad. IEM said that prior to the coup, Myanmar had enough foreign reserves to maintain imports for three months. However, since then, exports have shrunk, import demand has crashed, and the military has confiscated much of the country’s foreign reserves. Myanmar imports roughly $28 billion worth of goods and services in an average year, including $3 billion in fuel, more than $500 million in medication, $1 billion in cooking oil, and $1.2 billion in meat and vegetables. Myanmar’s official exports have shrunk by more than 20 percent and imports by more than 35 percent since October 2020. Before the coup, the textile and footwear industries generated a quarter of all foreign currency inflows for the country, but almost all of their operations have dried up since the Feb. 1 military takeover. Moreover, none of the military-owned companies are known to hold significant foreign assets. The scarcity of foreign exchange is evident in the 20 percent depreciation of the kyat versus the US dollar between Feb. 1 and April 19, despite limits on kyat withdrawals and hoarding of cash, the economists said. Subsidiaries of Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) and Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL)—two military owned conglomerates—normally earn roughly $200 million annually from domestic sales. These include Dagon Beverages Company, Myawaddy Bank, Mytel, Aung Thitsa Oo Insurance and Bandoola Transportation Company. However, both MEHL and MEC are likely to suffer financially, with Myanmar Brewery, Myawaddy Bank and Mytel expected to see declines in revenue of 80 to 90 percent due to domestic consumer boycotts. The combined effect could be to reduce MEHL and MEC’s domestic revenue by between $100-150 million, the economists estimated. Many of the Myanmar state’s most valuable assets were sold off in the 1990s and 2000s, meaning the SAC regime cannot raise much capital from asset sales. Further, widespread instability and insecurity are depressing asset prices and the National Unity Government—a shadow government formed by elected lawmakers ousted by the coup—considers void any investment agreements signed between domestic or foreign companies and the SAC, IEM said. “In short, without new foreign currency inflows, the military will soon need to ration foreign currency. The SAC regime will need to choose between purchasing fuel, medication, equipment and food for itself and providing foreign exchange liquidity for the rest of the population,” it said. Even without forceful targeted sanctions in place, the military is already being forced to choose between its own priorities and providing financing to import the fuel and equipment needed to generate the electricity and food, fertilizers and medications people need to survive, IME said. The military has already starved public services and the private sector of foreign exchange, so further reductions in its access to foreign currency are likely to predominantly impact the military rather than civilians, the IME said. “Such actions, and preventing military businesses from accessing foreign inputs, could help pressure the military to compromise on its own needs,” the economists suggested.....Bankrolling crimes: Foreign currency inflows from natural resources—oil, gas, minerals, gems and forestry products—represent more than a third of Myanmar’s export earnings, according to official records. The oil and gas sector, in which many international energy giants have invested, has become a target of rights groups, which are demanding an end to foreign firms’ financing of the military’s crimes. Since the military takeover, at least 769 civilians have been killed and 4,734 people arrested by the regime. On Tuesday, Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations urged the US Congress to play a decisive leadership role in resolving the Myanmar crisis. Ambassador U Kyaw Moe Tun, a representative of elected lawmakers from the National League for Democracy (NLD), urged the US to impose “targeted, coordinated and tougher sanctions” on the Myanmar military and its businesses such as Myawaddy and Innwa banks, the state-owned Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE). “I wish to stress that Myanmar is not just witnessing another major setback to democracy, but also the crisis is threatening the regional peace and security,” U Kyaw Moe Tun said. Oil and gas revenues earned Myanmar $1.5 billion in annual income in fiscal 2019-20, with around 80 percent of that income derived from the offshore natural gas sector, according to official figures. Recently, US senators urged the Biden administration to impose sanctions on MOGE. Natural gas joint ventures involving companies such as France’s Total, the US’s Chevron, South Korea’s POSCO, Thailand’s PTT, Malaysia’s Petronas and China’s CNPC are currently the most significant sources of foreign exchange revenue for Myanmar. MOGE collects income through its joint ventures and revenue sharing agreements with international corporations. US giant Chevron has a longstanding partnership with MOGE. The two companies are joint investors in the Yadana offshore gas project, located off the southwest coast of Myanmar, which accounts for 42 percent of all oil and gas production from Myanmar’s offshore projects. Chevron paid around $50 million to Myanmar between 2014 and 2018, according to the Myanmar Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative report (MEITI). Total reported that it paid $257 million in taxes and other payments to Myanmar in 2019. Petronas’s Yetagun gas project paid $208 million to the government in 2018, while the Shwe project, run by South Korea’s POSCO, paid $194 million, according to MEITI. The Zawtika gas project, run by Thailand’s PTT, paid $41 million in 2018. International and local pro-democracy supporters have repeatedly pressured oil and gas companies to cut ties with the military or pay revenue into a trust or protected account either to be held until such time as Myanmar has a legitimate and democratically elected government or to be used for humanitarian purposes. Elected lawmakers from the NLD sent a final notice in March calling on foreign-owned oil and gas companies operating in Myanmar to suspend business ties with the military regime, warning that the money from sales of the oil and gas would be used to reinforce human rights violations in the country. However, both Total and Chevron remain reluctant to follow those demands. A New York Times report revealed that Chevron has intensively lobbied the US State Department and key congressional offices against sanctions, warning that they could disrupt its joint ventures in Myanmar. An investigation by France’s Le Monde newspaper published on Tuesday revealed that Total’s gas operation in Myanmar has been propping up the military junta by diverting funds from gas sales to offshore accounts instead of the government. According to documents accessed by the French newspaper and released after the military coup, the Yadana gas field, which supplies gas to local markets in Myanmar and Thailand, is diverting revenue to the MOGE, which is managed by army executives and retired officers. Human rights group Justice for Myanmar (JFM) said on Wednesday that Total’s CEO claimed his company is continuing to do business as usual in Myanmar for humanitarian reasons. However, their business conduct in Myanmar and deep ties to the military suggest otherwise, JFM said. “We demand Total to immediately suspend all payments to the military junta and place funds in a protected account until democracy is restored in Myanmar,” JFM said. Another foreign currency earner is the mining sector, which generates about $470 million a year. The gems sector accounts for $300 million. Legally, the state should collect approximately 10 percent in royalties and taxes on jade, but 60 to 80 percent of gemstones produced in Myanmar bypass the formal trading and export system. The forestry industry officially generated between $350 million and $1.65 billion per year in exports over the last decade. In a bid to deprive the military government of funds, the US Treasury Department in April imposed sanctions on a Myanmar state-owned gems enterprise, as well as Myanmar Timber Enterprise and Myanmar Pearl Enterprise. MEHL and MEC have also been sanctioned by the US and UK. “In terms of blocking revenue from timber and gems, the US alone is not enough. We need collective action from the international community,” a local economist said. The state also earns foreign currency through port fees, shipping and Myanmar National Airlines sales. However, each of these is controlled by an off-budget state-owned enterprise that retains 55 percent of profits and does not submit financial information to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Industry. Net foreign earnings from these entities remain unknown.....Stepped-up sanctions: Another local financial expert who asked not to be named told The Irrawaddy that Myanmar’s largest trading partners in the region including Singapore, China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Thailand should consider imposing trade sanctions. “It is a very unlikely scenario. Most of them have historically close ties with the military. But if they can do it, it would be very effective in reducing foreign currency inflows,” he said. In March, the US imposed trade sanctions against Myanmar’s ministries of Defense and Home Affairs as well as MEC and MEHL. “I would say that the steps taken against the regime by the international community are still modest. Myanmar needs more effective sanctions targeted at blocking foreign currency flows to the regime,” the local financial expert said. “They should identify, target and freeze all foreign currency revenues and foreign exchange reserves held in accounts outside of Myanmar,” he said. The independent economists from IEM said the popular Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), in which civil servants and some private sector workers are refusing to work under the regime, is unlikely on its own to convince military leaders to negotiate or give up power. “Cutting the SAC regime off from foreign credit could also be key, but would require substantial international agreement,” the economists said..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-06
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Title: Prosecutions Being Prepared for Myanmar Military: NUG Human Rights Minister
Summary: "Myanmar’s people have lost their rights and freedoms since the military coup on Feb. 1 and the numbers having their fundamental rights violated by the regime is increasing. Meanwhile, the...
Description: "Myanmar’s people have lost their rights and freedoms since the military coup on Feb. 1 and the numbers having their fundamental rights violated by the regime is increasing. Meanwhile, the National Unity Government (NUG), a shadow administration formed to rival the military junta, has set up its Human Rights Ministry and appointed prominent rights activist U Aung Myo Min as minister. U Aung Myo Min recently talked to The Irrawaddy about what action he will take to address the regime’s rights violations. What will be your first step as Myanmar’s first human rights minister? There was only the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission in the past in Myanmar. A separate ministry is meant to do more about human rights issues. As the first step, I will work with the people to record rights violations, crimes against humanity and war crimes in ethnic areas so that the truth can be established. We are already working on this. And we are seeking public cooperation because we want to assure people that they can rely on the ministry and secure justice for themselves. We will be recording the crimes to file complaints at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other courts. We must have records if are to bring the perpetrators to justice either at the ICC or other courts. Those records might look dismal and depressing now but they give solid evidence to bring the perpetrators to justice in the future. The military council is violating international law. We will take action to make sure the perpetrators are held accountable and justice is done for the victims. Though the human rights violations by the military regime have drawn attention from the international community, no punitive action has been taken. How confident are you as the human rights minister about being able to address it? Given the situation, we are not yet in a position to take punitive action. We have to fix our collapsing judicial system, reconstitute the Human Rights Commission as it is not functioning and replace those who are not working. The international community pays attention to the human rights situation in Myanmar. There are, however, not many mechanisms to establish truth and find justice for human rights violations and crimes. I will focus on bringing perpetrators into the international judicial mechanisms. The ministry is unprecedented. How will it impact the country’s politics and its foreign policy? The Human Rights Ministry will not defend the government. It represents the people and will promote and defend their rights. The military-controlled media has been harshly criticizing the NUG, saying it is capable of nothing. What do you say? We are in the revolutionary period and the NUG cannot function properly as a government. But we have transparency and we don’t just represent a party but all groups. This is our strength. Everyone in the NUG wants to fight the dictatorship with unwavering spirit and they have different expertise. Even though the NUG is not based in Naypyitaw, it will respect, defend and fulfill human rights, as a government. Records of human rights violations by the regime are widely available on social media. What evidence is the NUG collecting? We have gathered records of what has happened, especially arbitrary killings, crackdowns on peaceful protests and deaths in violent crackdowns. Another aspect is about torture during detention, interrogation and in prison. Another is airstrikes in ethnic minority areas, bombing villages and displacing civilians and their lack of access to humanitarian aid. We have also collected evidence about how rights violations affect women and children..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-05
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Title: UN Security Council: Adopt Global Arms Embargo on Myanmar
Sub-title: More Than 200 Groups Worldwide Call for a UN Sanctions Resolution
Description: "The United Nations Security Council should immediately impose a global arms embargo on Myanmar, Human Rights Watch and over 200 other nongovernmental organizations from around the world said today in a public appeal to council members. The Security Council should act swiftly to pressure the junta to stop violating the human rights of people protesting the February 1, 2021, coup and military rule. “The UN Security Council’s failure to even discuss an arms embargo against the junta is an appalling abdication of its responsibilities toward the people of Myanmar,” said Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch. “The council’s occasional statements of concern in the face of the military’s violent repression of largely peaceful protesters is the diplomatic equivalent of shrugging their shoulders and walking away.” The groups said that the United Kingdom, the council’s designated drafter of Myanmar texts, should immediately open negotiations at the Security Council on a draft resolution authorizing an arms embargo. The UK has been reluctant to do so, prioritizing consensus statements supported by all council members over a resolution with substantive measures that China, Russia, and other members might initially oppose. “No government should sell a single bullet to the junta under these circumstances,” the groups said in their appeal. “Imposing a global arms embargo on Myanmar is the minimum necessary step the Security Council should take in response to the military’s escalating violence. Arms and materiel provided to Myanmar’s security forces are likely to be used by the security forces to commit abuses in violation of international human rights and humanitarian law.” Myanmar’s military nullified the country’s November 2020 election results and imposed a manufactured “state of emergency.” State security forces have killed over 760 people since the coup and arbitrarily detained more than 3,600, including journalists, medical personnel, teachers, students, and others in violation of international human rights law. Hundreds may have been forcibly disappeared. A number of individual governments and the European Union have imposed sanctions on senior leaders of the Tatmadaw, as Myanmar’s military is known, and companies controlled by the military; but the Security Council has only issued three statements since the military takeover. Those statements have called on the military to halt the excessive use of force against protesters and release political prisoners, including former President Win Myint, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, and other officials elected in the November 8, 2020, election. The groups’ appeal for an arms embargo echoes and broadens a February 24 declaration by 137 nongovernmental organizations, which urged the Security Council to act swiftly to halt the flow of weapons to the junta. “The time for statements has passed,” the groups said. “The Security Council should take its consensus on Myanmar to a new level and agree on immediate and substantive action. An arms embargo would be the centerpiece of a global effort to protect the people of Myanmar from further atrocities and help bring an end to impunity for crimes under international law.” The organizations also said they were disappointed with the April 24 summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its failure “to take more robust action to protect Myanmar’s people.” The junta has ignored ASEAN’s call for an end to the violence. In February, UN Secretary-General António Guterres pledged to “do everything we can to mobilize all the key actors and international community to put enough pressure on Myanmar to make sure that this coup fails.” The UN special rapporteur for Myanmar, Tom Andrews, has repeatedly called for an arms embargo and sanctions. Guterres’ special envoy, Christine Schraner Burgener, has also called for targeted sanctions. The Security Council’s unwillingness to discuss a sanctions resolution represents a collective failure to heed the many calls to action from around the world. Human Rights Watch has said that the Security Council should also impose targeted sanctions, global travel bans, and asset freezes on the leadership of the junta and military-owned conglomerates. The junta leader, Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, and several other military officials have been implicated in crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the Tatmadaw in Rakhine, Kachin, Shan, and Chin States. Until the Security Council acts, individual UN member states should continue to adopt measures at the national and regional levels to block sales and other transfers of weapons and materiel to Myanmar, with the goal of creating a de facto global arms embargo, Human Rights Watch said. Governments should also demand that Security Council members that care about protecting the human rights of Myanmar’s people set aside concerns about resistance from the permanent members Russia and China, and circulate a draft resolution that council members can discuss and vote on. A Security Council resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes from the five permanent members to pass. “The Security Council has an unfortunate history of inaction on human rights in Myanmar, barely uttering a peep when the military carried out an ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya in 2017,” Charbonneau said. “The Security Council should call China and Russia’s bluff and put a sanctions resolution to a vote. If Moscow and Beijing side with a military already accused of genocide and crimes against humanity, they will have to pay for the rising political cost of their obstruction.”..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-05
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Title: ACAPS Briefing Note: Myanmar - Impact of 1 February coup (29 April 2021)
Summary: "On 1 February 2021, the Myanmar military staged a coup and ordered a year-long state of emergency under sections 417 and 418(a) of the 2008 constitution, promising that new elections would be held...
Description: "On 1 February 2021, the Myanmar military staged a coup and ordered a year-long state of emergency under sections 417 and 418(a) of the 2008 constitution, promising that new elections would be held one year after what they labelled ‘fraudulent elections’ in November 2020 (Myanmar Times 02/02/2021; Reuters 16/02/2021 and 01/02/2021). This coup transferred all legislative, executive, and judicial powers of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar to the Commander in Chief of the Defence Services (Reuters 01/02/2021). In response, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) was immediately formed as a parliament, primarily by democratically elected members of the 2020 general election. CRPH recognises itself as the only legitimate government (CRPH 20/02/2021). By mid-April, a National Unity Government was established (CRPH 16/04/2021). This move, coupled with the formation and growth of a civil disobedience movement (CDM) and associated protests, has severely constrained the military junta’s ability to consolidate power and rule of law (01/02/2021). Countrywide protests are ongoing, with the military junta using systemic and arbitrary violence against anti-coup protesters. The use of live ammunition, raids, strip searches, beatings, and detention has been reported..."
Source/publisher: Assessment Capacities Project (Geneva) via "Reuters" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-04
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Title: At G-7, US Emphasizes Desire to Uphold International Rules, Not Hold China Down
Description: "Foreign ministers representing the Group of 7 industrialized nations have a busy day of meetings Tuesday in London discussing a range of world issues, including relations with China and Russia, the coup in Myanmar, the Syrian conflict, and the situation in Afghanistan. Britain’s foreign office said in Tuesday’s sessions Foreign Secretary Dominic Rabb “will lead discussions on pressing geopolitical issues that threaten to undermine democracy, freedoms and human rights.” Raab said the talks are “an opportunity to bring together open, democratic societies and demonstrate unity at a time when it is much needed to tackle shared challenges and rising threats.” He is expected to urge G-7 members to sanction individuals and entities connected to Myanmar’s military junta, to support arms embargoes and to boost humanitarian aid to the people of Myanmar. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Raab on Monday and said regarding China the goal is not to “try to contain China or to hold China down.” “What we are trying to do is to uphold the international rules-based order that our countries have invested so much in over so many decades to the benefit, I would argue not just of our own citizens, but of people around the world including, by the way, China,” Blinken told reporters. Raab said the United States and Britain are also looking for constructive ways to work with China “in a sensible and positive manner” on issues including climate change when possible. U.S. President Joe Biden has identified competition with China as his administration's greatest foreign policy challenge. In his first speech to Congress last week, he pledged to maintain a strong U.S. military presence in the Indo-Pacific and boost U.S. technological development.  Last month, Blinken said the United States was concerned about China's aggressive actions against Taiwan and warned it would be a "serious mistake" for anyone to try to change the status quo in the western Pacific by force.  Elsewhere in the region, the United States said it is ready to engage diplomatically with North Korea to achieve the ultimate goal of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, following the completion of a months-long U.S. policy review on North Korea. “What we have now is a policy that calls for a calibrated practical approach that is open to and will explore diplomacy with North Korea, to try to make practical progress that increases the security of the United States, our allies and our deployed forces,” Blinken said Monday.  Raab said Britain and the United States “share the strategic paradigm,” and both countries will support each other’s efforts. On Friday, the Biden administration announced it completed the review of North Korean policy, expressing openness to talks with the reclusive communist nation. Biden is also expected to appoint a special envoy for North Korean human rights issues. North Korea lashed out at the United States and its allies on Sunday in a series of statements, saying recent comments from Washington are proof of a hostile policy. A statement by Kwon Jong Gun, head of the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s North America Department, warns that Pyongyang would seek “corresponding measures” and that if Washington tries to approach relations with Pyongyang through “outdated and old-school policies” from the perspective of the Cold War, it will face an increasingly unaffordable crisis in the near future. “I hope that North Korea will take the opportunity to engage diplomatically and to see if there are ways to move forward toward the objective of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. And so, we will look to see not only what North Korea says but what it actually does in the coming days and months,” the top U.S. diplomat added. Blinken’s remarks followed his separate meetings with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, where the foreign ministers pledged U.S.-Japan-ROK trilateral cooperation toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The G-7 ministerial talks are laying the foundation for a summit of leaders from those countries in June, also in Britain.   In addition to Britain and the United States, the G-7 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Australia, India, South Africa, South Korea and Brunei are also taking part in this week’s talks.      After the G-7 meetings, Blinken is scheduled to travel to Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other senior government officials.   State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement that Blinken will “reaffirm unwavering U.S. support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression.”..."
Source/publisher: "VOA" (Washington, D.C)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-04
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Title: COVID-19, Coup d'Etat and Poverty: Compounding Negative Shocks and Their Impact on Human Development in Myanmar
Summary: "Pandemic and political crisis could result in half of Myanmar’s population living in poverty by 2022, UNDP says The combined effects of the two crises could put over a decade of progress on...
Description: "Pandemic and political crisis could result in half of Myanmar’s population living in poverty by 2022, UNDP says The combined effects of the two crises could put over a decade of progress on poverty reduction in the country at risk Yangon – After more than a decade of hard-won gains in the fight against poverty, the number of poor people in Myanmar could double as a result of the combined impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing political crisis, according to new research released today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The study, entitled “COVID-19, Coup d’état and Poverty: Compounding Negative Shocks and their Impact on Human Development in Myanmar” warns that, if unchecked, the combined effect of these two crises could push up to 12 million people into poverty. That could result in as much as 25 million people - nearly half of Myanmar’s population - living below the national poverty line by early 2022, a level of impoverishment not seen in the country since 2005. The analysis indicates that, by the end of 2020, 83 per cent of households had reported that their incomes had been, on average, slashed almost in half due to the pandemic. With these unprecedented circumstances, the number of people living below the poverty line in Myanmar is estimated to have increased by 11 percentage points as a result of the socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 crisis. And according to the projections outlined in the report, the worsening security, human rights, and development situation in Myanmar since February 2021 could cause another sharp rise in the country’s poverty rate – driving it up by an additional 12 percentage points by early next year. “In the space of 12 years, from 2005 to 2017, Myanmar managed to nearly halve the number of people living in poverty. However, the challenges of the past 12 months have put all of these hard-won development gains at risk,” said UNDP Administrator, Achim Steiner. “Without functioning democratic institutions, Myanmar faces a tragic and avoidable backslide towards levels of poverty not seen in a generation.” According to the study, women and children are projected to bear the heaviest brunt, with more than half of Myanmar’s children projected to be living in poverty within a year. Urban poverty is expected to triple, and the worsening security conditions have continued to fracture supply chains and hinder the movement of people, services, and commodities including the provision of agricultural goods. Small businesses, which provide the majority of jobs and incomes for the poorer segments of the urban population, have been hit hard. The pressure on the country’s currency, the Kyat, has increased the price of imports and energy. At the same time, the country’s banking system remains paralyzed, resulting in shortages of cash and limited access to social welfare payments. It also prevents much-needed remittances from reaching hard-pressed families. “We are witnessing a compounding crisis of unprecedented severity and complexity. Myanmar had managed to halve poverty, and with its democratic transition was showing signs of firming up fragile human development gains. Now it feels like a push-back to 2005. The combined effects of COVID-19 and the political crisis have caused a systemic shock which could lead to a long-lasting disruption in Myanmar’s development trajectory, unless addressed and resolved soon,” said Kanni Wignaraja, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. As the situation in Myanmar continues to worsen, UNDP joins the United Nations Secretary-General in condemning, in the strongest terms, the killing of civilians, and in calling for a firm, unified and resolute international response to the crisis. Link to the report: https://www.asia-pacific.undp.org/content/rbap/en/home/library/democrati... About UNDP UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet..."
Source/publisher: United Nations Development Programme (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-04
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Title: Myanmar announces ban on satellite TV as security threat
Description: "Myanmar's junta-controlled media announced a ban on satellite television receivers on Tuesday, saying outside broadcasts threatened national security and threatening to jail anyone caught violating the measure. With mobile internet access largely cut off in a bid to quell anti-junta protests since the Feb. 1 coup, Myanmar has increasingly appeared headed back to the state of isolation that preceded a decade of democratic reforms. "Satellite television is no longer legal. Whoever violates the television and video law, especially people using satellite dishes, shall be punished with one year imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 kyat ($320)," MRTV state television said. "Illegal media outlets are broadcasting news that undermines national security, the rule of law and public order, and encouraging those who commit treason." In the face of widespread opposition, the junta has struggled to impose order since overthrowing elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and ending an unsteady transition to democracy. Violence has spiralled since the coup and security forces have killed more than 760 civilians, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) advocacy group says. The junta disputes the figure and says 24 police and soldiers have died in the protests. Myanmar media reported that five people were killed by at least one parcel bomb on Tuesday, including an ousted lawmaker and three police officers who had joined a civil disobedience movement opposing military rule. Meanwhile, the Chinland Defence Force, a newly formed militia in Chin state bordering India, said on its Facebook page on Tuesday that its forces had killed at least four Myanmar army soldiers and wounded 10 in a clash overnight. The Myanmar army did not comment on the claim. Villagers had found the beheaded body of a junta appointed local administrator in the northwestern Sagaing region, independent broadcaster DVB reported, a day after another local official was stabbed to death in the biggest city, Yangon. Reuters was unable to reach local police for comment. Pro-democracy supporters held protests on Tuesday in the second-biggest city of Mandalay, including one by education staff calling for a boycott of schools and universities when they reopen in June, Myanmar Now reported. The junta said it had to seize power because its complaints of fraud in a November election won by Suu Kyi's party were not addressed by an election commission that deemed the vote fair. Suu Kyi, 75, has been detained since the coup along with many other members of her party..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-04
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Title: Myanmar general's speech at UN drug policy conference draws outrage
Summary: "The staging of the 64th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) from April 12-16 was the latest annual meeting for the Vienna, Austria-based United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC...
Sub-title: The inclusion of Lt-Gen Than Hlaing in the conference rejects the advice of the UN Secretary-General's own adviser not to legitimise or recognise the military coup regime
Description: "The staging of the 64th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) from April 12-16 was the latest annual meeting for the Vienna, Austria-based United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), for which the CND serves as the governing body and provides policy guidance. It would probably have passed out without much notice, except that it served as a coming out of sorts for Myanmar's military junta. The conference appears to signify the first time that a senior figure in Myanmar’s regime—in this case, Lt-Gen Than Hlaing—has participated in a UN forum since the February 1 coup. As Myanmar's newly installed deputy minister for home affairs, a department that controls both the police and the Special Branch, Lt-Gen Than Hlaing has played a central role in the ongoing violent crackdown that has seen nearly 3,600 people arrested and more than 766 killed in the country’s blood-stained streets. In his remarks at the event, Lt-Gen Than Hlaing made no reference to the bloodshed carried out by the police under his command, preferring instead to focus on other things. “Myanmar has made various efforts to eradicate drugs as a national duty. Special anti-drug operations are being carried out annually,” he said in a speech that was delivered remotely. The fact that this year’s conference for the UNODC’s governing body was conducted online due to the Covid-19 pandemic spared the Austrian government the embarrassment of having to host a senior junta member officially blacklisted by both the European Union (EU) and the US for his role in the ongoing crackdown on anti-dictatorship protests. “[P]olice forces acting under the authority of Lieutenant General Than Hlaing have committed serious human rights violations since 1 February 2021, killing civilian and unarmed protesters, restricting freedom of assembly and of expression, arbitrary arrests and detention of opposition leaders and opponents of the coup,” the EU's sanctions announcement reads. It goes on to describe Lt-Gen Than Hlaing as “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.”.....Dissonance within the UN interagency response: Despite what the EU, the British, Canadian and US governments—who have all sanctioned the senior junta figure—may think of Lt-Gen Than Hlaing, his participation at the CND was a victory for Myanmar military chief and coup leader Min Aung Hlaing in his ongoing effort to expel Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun from his seat in New York as Myanmar's Permanent Representative to the UN. Kyaw Moe Tun has come out against the coup, much to the irritation of the junta, and refused to vacate his seat where he has continued to call on the UN and foreign governments to “consider the desire of the people.” Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun has maintained that he continues to represent Myanmar's civilian government and that “the coup must fail,” triggering a diplomatic showdown that appears destined to be played out before the UN Credentials Committee, a nine-member body currently headed by Tanzania. Myanmar dissidents are concerned that by giving a platform to Lt-Gen Than Hlaing, the UN is signaling that it has already decided to recognise the new junta and disregard Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun. Lt-Gen Than Hlaing's participation at the CND conference, which was highly publicised in Myanmar military-run media, has also been perceived by some as signifying a change in the stance of UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Although the Secretary-General had previously claimed he was “appalled” by the junta’s crackdown on the Myanmar public, he took part in the CND alongside Lt-Gen Than Hlaing. An April 29 statement released by the advocacy group Progressive Voice noted that 410 Myanmar civil society organisations and prominent activists denounced Lt-Gen Than Hlaing's inclusion at the CND. “The UN has not only failed to act as the brutal military junta commits crimes against humanity, it is now acting to legitimize and offer a platform to those who are murdering innocent people by the hundreds, including children,” read the statement. “It is disheartening to see such lack of respect for human rights displayed by the very institution that is mandated to protect and encourage respect for human rights. It is all the more shocking to see a UN institution with a mandate to prevent crime, corruption and terrorism feting an international criminal.” As the UNODC’s governing body, the CND reports to and is one of the functional commissions of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The ECOSOC is itself under the UN General Assembly, where Kyaw Moe Tun continues to sit. It remains to be seen how the struggle between Kyaw Moe Tun and the Myanmar junta will play out across other UN agencies and departments. When reached for comment for this article, Jeremy Douglas, the UNODC's regional representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, explained that the UNODC was not responsible for the inclusion of Lt-Gen Than Hlaing at the CND. “Invitations to the 2021 CND were sent to all UN MSs [Member States] sometime in 2020 by UN HQ [headquarters] as they are for all other UN commissions,” Douglas wrote in an email. According to Douglas, Lt-Gen Than Hlaing and other Myanmar participants’ names were submitted by Myanmar’s ambassador to Vienna, Min Thein, who, in addition to being accredited to Austria, serves as Myanmar's representative to the UN offices based there. While invitations to states may have been sent last year, online registration for individuals representing those states at the conference appears to have taken place from late March until early April—well after Myanmar’s coup, and Lt-Gen Than Hlaing’s February 2 appointment to his position. “The composition of Myanmar’s delegation was known to the UN in New York HQ before the CND as they received confirmation of the nominations, as was the UN Resident Coordinator and UN system in Myanmar,” Douglas said. He noted that “the participation of the delegation does not in any way indicate a change in the position of the Secretary General or the UN in Myanmar, the region or globally, including UNODC, OHCHR etc.,” Douglas added. In his correspondence, Douglas did not elaborate on what this position entailed. Apart from ignoring the advice of Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, who has maintained that the military coup council is illegitimate, Lt-Gen Than Hlaing’s inclusion at the CND also defies the recommendations of the UN Secretary-General's own Special Envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener. She has called on the international community to “not lend legitimacy or recognition to this regime.” Schraner Burgener's comments were echoed by Progressive Voice, who have demanded that the UNODC and CND to “immediately end all ties with the illegitimate military junta and recognize and work with the National Unity Government, the legitimate governing body representing the people of Myanmar.”......No acknowledgment of the coup: Public comments by UNODC staff since Myanmar’s coup have largely overlooked the violence perpetrated against the public by the police and military forces. They have instead focused on what the UNODC believes are the ramifications of the situation in Myanmar for the global drug trade. The UNODC's Douglas explained to Channel News Asia, a Singaporean broadcaster, in a February 26 interview that the UN drug agency was concerned that what he referred to as the “redeployment” of security personnel could sideline anti-drug interdiction efforts. “What we do sense is that law enforcement redeployment, which is occurring within the country because of the emergency decree, may position the police to new places, meaning that they're not able to do what they would normally do. Search for drugs, follow-up investigations, so it could be a huge distraction which traffickers can take advantage of. So we're expecting that type of behaviour, opportunistic behaviour, to take place, which is very normal for organised crime,” he said. In another interview with AFP on March 26, Douglas predicted an increase in synthetic drug production due to the economic slowdown brought about by the coup. “The best way to make big money fast is the drug trade, and the pieces are in place to scale up," Douglas explained. Similarly, a UNODC press release issued on February 11 about Myanmar also made no mention of the military’s seizure of power. It was an omission that the agency's many Myanmar critics have attributed to UNODC's partnership with the very police reinforcing the coup. These critics have also suggested that the agency’s consistently dire predictions about surges in drug production and distribution are indicative of the UNODC's own struggle for relevance and renewed funding in a region where the agency’s police partners have been accused of rights abuses, incompetence and collaboration with the very drug traffickers they are supposed to be fighting against. According to an independent evaluation of the UNODC’s Myanmar Country Programme published in May 2020, the agency’s budget during a multi-year project period beginning in 2014 was listed US$42 million. It had reportedly managed to raise just over half of this amount. The evaluation also noted that at the time the Myanmar program was designed, it was “not developed within the framework of conflict-sensitive and ‘do no harm’ programming,” pointing out that this was “not common practice for UNODC programming.” This was a requirement only added by the UN in 2018 to meet the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.....Pro-military bias and major reporting errors: In early 2020, the office of military chief Min Aung Hlaing announced that during raids in northern Myanmar, security forces had seized over 143 million methamphetamine tablets, 441 kg of crystalline methamphetamine and vast amounts of chemicals and laboratory equipment used in drug production. The UNODC heralded the raids and described the operations as the largest ever methamphetamine manufacturing bust in the Golden Triangle. “What has been unearthed through this operation is truly off the charts,” the UNODC's Douglas said at the time of the bust, which took place in northern Shan State's Kutkai Township. Despite the headlines, it has been unclear how many people have been charged with crimes in connection with the raids, or whether the figures provided by Myanmar officials concerning the seizure were accurate. Unsurprisingly, in his remarks at the April conference in Vienna, Lt-Gen Than Hlaing did not provide updates on any outcomes related to the supposedly giant drug haul in Kutkai. He instead focused on the results of the latest annual joint opium survey conducted by the UNODC and Myanmar’s Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control. The committee is a government entity that, until the coup, was headed by Myanmar’s previous police chief, Pol Lt-Gen Aung Win Oo. The UNODC’s annual reports concerning Myanmar have come under criticism for demonstrating a pro-military bias that ignored realities on the ground and appeared to reinforce the military's agenda. For example, the UNODC claimed in its 2018 Myanmar Opium Survey that, “in Kachin State, the highest density of poppy cultivation took place in areas under the control or influence of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).” This conclusion contradicted the actual data collected in the surveys, including the maps printed in the report which showed that Kachin State's opium fields were in territory controlled not by the KIA but by the Border Guard Force—units officially under the control of the Myanmar military. As the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) pointed out in a strongly worded letter to the UNODC's Douglas rebutting the report, “It can be clearly seen that the very high opium density area in Sadung lies in the government-controlled BGF area, and not in the KIA area.” “Frankly, siding with the Myanmar government to cast unsubstantiated aspersions against the KIA will only hinder, not support, peace-seeking efforts,” the KIO warned the UN drug agency. The area that the KIO was referring to has long been the fiefdom of the Myanmar military-allied militia leader Zahkung Ting Ying, who originally split with the group in 1968. The veteran warlord was described by a US counter-narcotics official in 1997 Senate testimony as “someone associated with drug trafficking.” It is a view shared by members of the Kachin State-based anti-drug movement Pat Jasan who have protested in front of the former parliamentarian’s home and dispatched vigilantes to destroy poppies in BGF territory. As the Transnational Institute (TNI), an Amsterdam-based think tank that has criticised the KIO for being too heavy handed in its drug control efforts, noted, “Our local sources […] confirm the KIO claim that there is presently no substantial opium cultivation in KIO-controlled areas.” TNI went on to say that “it is unclear how the UNODC arrives at its completely opposite claims about Kachin State, but it seems to be based on wrong assumptions about who ‘controls’ which areas.” Thanks to Lt-Gen Than Hlaing's central role in the junta’s war on Myanmar's civil society, the next time the UNODC makes such errors in its reports there may be no one on the ground in Myanmar to point them out..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-04
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Title: Myanmar military junta targets media in post-coup crackdown | DW News
Description: "In Myanmar, news is emerging that security forces have shot dead eight people - during a confrontation with opponents of the recent military coup. Local news outlet Myanmar Now says seven people were killed in the central town of Aungban. Mobile phone footage from the scene shows that people have also been wounded. One person died of their injuries after being taken to a nearby hospital. News like this is increasingly hard to get out, as Myanmar's military continues a brutal crackdown on dissent. That crackdown has affected protesters and the media itself. The UN says at least five local news outlets have had their license revoked - including Myanmar Now. In addition, more than 30 journalists have been arrested. Kay Zon Nwe is one of the local reporters and editors who were taken into custody, sometimes under threat of death. Members of the foreign press have also been targets, such as Thein Zaw — a photographer for the Associated Press. It's believed many jailed journalists are awaiting trial at Inn Sein prison, a facility that's notorious for human rights abuses. They could face three-year jail sentences on charges of spreading false information. Video shows police officers in Yangon charging after anti-military demonstrators – and a journalist taking photos of it all. Several police surround Thein Zaw as he tries to get away. One puts him in a chokehold. He’s then handcuffed and dragged off. This happened in late February. Thein Zaw's pictures were to be sent to his employer, the global news agency AP. Outlets, like DW, then buy this material. So journalists like him are critical for international media to be able to report on Myanmar. Instead, Thein Zaw is now behind bars. He and a growing number of journalists and media workers are facing up to three years in jail – under vague charges of violating a public order law. It's estimated over 200 people have been killed in a brutal crackdown on largely peaceful protests, since the military's takeover on February 1. Getting information is becoming trickier, too. The military regularly shuts the internet down, and it's blocked some social media sites. It's also withdrawn the licenses of five major media outlets. A decade after the end of the junta in Myanmar - the military is back in charge. It's a major setback for press freedom. And for journalists on the ground, it means facing censorship, threats and intimidation once again..."
Source/publisher: "DW News" (Germany)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-03
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Title: Myanmar: Future of the Country is at Stake - Briefing by UN Humanitarian Coordinator (19 March 2021)
Description: "Press Conference: Acting Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the United Nations in Myanmar, Mr. Andrew Kirkwood. UN Acting Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar Andrew Kirkwood said the “future of the country is at stake” adding that the current crisis also has “important regional implications.” Speaking at a virtual press conference from his residence in Myanmar’s capital Yangon, Kirkwood said there was a curfew being imposed by the military across most of the country, adding that people were living in fear particularly at night, when the night raids start and people are dragged from their homes. He said at least 2,400 people have been arrested for their suspected participation in protests, the vast majority held incommunicado, adding that there are increasing reports of sexual-based violence against detainees. Kirkwood said, “At least 211 have been killed in the last 7 weeks and possibly many more. And this includes at least 15 children some as young as 14. And I think it is really important to emphasize that many of these people have been killed through gunshots to the head by snipers for peaceful demonstrations.” The acting UN Resident Coordinator said the army and police have “definitely increased the violence over the last couple of weeks in an attempt to get control of the situation, but the protests and the resistance continues. It's led by doctors and nurses and teachers and truck drivers and farmers who have all coalesced under this civil disobedience movement, the CDM.” Kirkwood emphasized that the situation could get worse and spin out of control. He said some two million people are living under martial law in and around Yangon, leading tens of thousands to flee those areas. He said he was very worried about an impending humanitarian crisis as the public health systems have practically collapsed. Security forces occupied 36 hospitals around the country and some patients were evicted. This is in addition to an ongoing banking crisis causing major disruptions to supply chains, Kirkwood said. The UN official noted that, even before coup, the UN was providing urgent humanitarian assistance to over one million people, adding that the coup complicated that. He expressed concern over an increasing number of people requiring humanitarian assistance, with nearly all COVID-19 testing and treatment halted. Kirkwood said the UN was focusing on providing humanitarian assistance across the country wherever it can under the circumstances. He said the country team has had very little contact with the military, which is kept strictly to what is needed to continue humanitarian operations. The acting UN Resident Coordinator said there were huge expectation by the people of Myanmar from the UN and the entire international community. He said what is needed is collective member state action in the Security Council. He added, “I think that the Secretary-General has been clear, the Special Envoy has been clear, many others have been clear, and we've consistently clear in country in our messaging. The killing has got to stop. The arbitrary detentions really have to stop. And there has to be respect by the authorities of fundamental freedoms and human rights. That said, we are doing everything we can in the current situation and there is still frustration among the people here that the international community hasn't done more to date.”..."
Source/publisher: United Nations (New York)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-03
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Title: Myanmar’s UN envoy Kyaw Moe Tun: ‘I’m proud to have been charged with high treason’ by junta
Description: "On February 26, Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations, Kyaw Moe Tun, made a sudden and unexpected move: he declared his employer – the military junta – the illegitimate ruler of Myanmar in front of the UN assembly. In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24, the diplomat describes what went through his mind before making the fateful speech, and why targeted sanctions are needed against a junta he says is “committing crimes against humanity”..."
Source/publisher: "France24" ( Paris)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-03
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Title: They are hunted and in hiding but Myanmar's journalists continue to report the truth
Description: "Journalist Ye Wint Thu was already on the run when his name and photo appeared on a wanted list broadcast by Myanmar's military junta. For weeks, he had been documenting protests in Yangon against the military coup. But in early March, after a colleague was violently arrested in the south of the country, and the junta revoked the licenses of five prominent media organizations, his included, he got word that he should go into hiding. "I got a call from my source saying I should run right now because they are going to arrest you tonight," said Ye Wint Thu, who is in his late 30s. He stuffed what he could into bags — his laptops, work projects and important documents — and fled with his wife. Since then, they have stayed with friends, family and colleagues, moving each night to evade the security forces who regularly conduct nighttime raids of suspected safe houses. Ye Wint Thu's story is not a one-off. Journalists across Myanmar are being attacked by the military junta merely for doing their jobs. More than 80 journalists have been arrested since the coup on February 1, with more than half of those still in detention, according to a statement from Western embassies in Myanmar. Offices of newspapers and online media have been raided. A nightly news bulletin on state TV broadcasts the names and images of those sought by the junta. Many of them, like Ye Wint Thu, are journalists. Some have been hauled off to secretive military interrogation centers and charged with crimes under section 505a — a law amended by the military that makes it a crime punishable by up to three years in prison for publishing or circulating comments that "cause fear" or spread "false news." Braving bullets and potential torture if they are captured, Myanmar's reporters are continuing to expose alleged atrocities by the junta against its own people. And alongside the muzzled media, citizen journalists are taking great risks to gather information, while activists secretly publish and distribute revolutionary newsletters and pamphlets. "What's happening in Myanmar is a humanitarian crisis of the press," said Shawn Crispin, senior Southeast Asia representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists. "As global condemnation of the coup rose, it's becoming clear that the [military junta] want to suppress the news and to suppress coverage on what they're doing to the pro democracy demonstrators. And so they're going after the press." 'I could die on the street': Before the coup on February 1, Ye Wint Thu traveled around Myanmar producing and anchoring a current affairs TV program for independent media outlet Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). Now, he said, most journalists and editors he knows have gone underground as it's too dangerous to be on the streets......"I could die on the street.: Someone could shoot at me or I could get arrested. On the streets, there's a lot of informants and a lot of people who I don't know, so I might get killed," he said. During one crackdown in Yangon's Hledan, a district which had become a flashpoint for protests, Ye Wint Thu described running from security forces who were shooting at protesters. He sought shelter in a migrant hostel. "I had to hide in a small bedroom because the soldiers and police were shooting and were trying to catch people on the streets," he said. Despite knowing that he's wanted by the junta, Ye Wint Thu said he won't stop working. "Most of the journalists are on the run, like me. They can't do their jobs freely," he said. "All I can do now is conduct interviews here and make phone calls ... We can't stop, it's really important for the people of Burma," he said, using another name for Myanmar. In downtown Yangon, DVB's office has been sealed shut. The staff managed to recover essential broadcast equipment but the once buzzing newsroom, like most media offices in the city, remains empty. Police regularly check the premises to make sure they aren't broadcasting. The morning of the coup, DVB was taken off the air along with all other independent TV channels. The news organization switched to broadcasting via satellite but the junta issued an order for citizens to remove the PSI satellite dishes that carried their channel. Now, while they look for another satellite to broadcast from, DVB is relying on getting information out via its website and YouTube pages, as well through Facebook where it has 14 million followers. "We never stopped, not even for a single day," said Toe Zaw Latt, DVB's operations director who recently fled the city......A network of safe houses: Upon seizing power, the military cut all access to mobile data and wireless broadband, and until last week completely shut down the internet each night. Toe Zaw Latt said the junta's attempt to control all media and communication has created an "information vacuum" in the country, which it attempts to fill with military propaganda. Journalists move carefully through a network of safe houses, plotting their routes before they go out to avoid military checkpoints. If they're stopped, security forces search their phones and cameras — any images of protests or the ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi can be cause for arrest. "Every day, once you decide to leave, you know that you may never make it back to your room or your safe house. But it is your decision," Toe Zaw Latt said. Toe Zaw Latt tells his reporters: "Don't stay long on the ground, get the story, get out. Shoot and run. Cover your identity. Don't risk your life. There will be stories all the time. If it is too risky, don't take that risk." They operate in small networks for their safety, and there are no bylines on news articles. Even uploading footage is dangerous, as the journalists often have to find someone willing to allow them to use their network. "You have to make the file size very small, you have to upload to a particular network to get it out of Myanmar. Then people outside will access the cloud and upload," Toe Zaw Latt said. "I had to take risk on a daily basis to get internet access. You have to share [network connection] and you cannot let them know you are uploading files, as it is very scary." Toe Zaw Latt is part of an old guard of exiled Myanmar media workers. For half a century, Myanmar was ruled by successive military dictators until economic and political reforms began in 2011. For years, DVB relied on a clandestine network of video journalists who would bravely sneak footage out of the country so independent news could be broadcast into Myanmar. Following the abolishment of pre-publication censorship in 2012, exiled media organizations that operated in Thailand or Europe began slowly moving back. Once blacklisted, journalists could now interview government ministers and report openly in the country. In 2013, daily independent newspapers were allowed to publish for the first time since military rule. From 2015, under Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian National League for Democracy government, TV news channels like DVB were granted licenses, but journalists were still targeted with colonial era laws and defamation. Press freedom was not great, journalists said, but it was better. And there was hope it would continue to improve. Myanmar ranks 140 out of 180 in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index, dropping one place from the year before. Now, they have been forced to go back underground. Toe Zaw Latt said four DVB journalists have been arrested since the coup. The former exiled journalists pass down their knowledge and experience to the younger generation who have suddenly found themselves the public enemy of a murderous regime intent on wiping out the truth and replacing it with its own. As it's too dangerous for many to be out on the streets, media workers both inside and outside the country are relying on the bravery of citizen journalists. These are normal people filming or photographing, posting on social media and sending information to reporters. Their videos, often shot from behind windows or walls, provide evidence of the military's shootings, beatings and other human rights abuses and counter the official narrative that security forces are using "minimum force" or independent media is "fake news." "Lots of citizen journalists know that these kind of records are really important," said Toe Zaw Latt. "The [junta has been] accused of crimes against humanity. The more remote, the more abuses because no one is watching," he said. He described one instance where a man walked for 24 hours to reach a place with network connectivity so he could send a few photos about a conflict in this home state. "They want to take a risk to tell the stories," he said.....Sacrificing freedom to report: For some that mental and emotional toll is great. Journalists say they wrestle with guilt and grief at leaving family and partners behind, or being the reason they have to flee, potentially putting them in danger. "The painful part is, I said I'm sorry a thousand times to my partner. If not because of me, he didn't need to go [into hiding]," said Tin, a journalist for independent online news outlet Myanmar Now, who is using a pseudonym for her safety. "When I go to sleep I just wish I could see a different morning, another day," said Tin. "The coup happened around 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. We woke up to the coup and woke up to the news. So whenever I go to sleep I wish that tomorrow morning I can see something different." Tin said she feels guilty thinking about her hardships when others are going through so much worse. She draws strength when she thinks of the 760 people killed by the military since the coup. "I keep reminding myself these are not just numbers, these are lives and families behind those numbers," she said. Known for its investigations and hard-hitting features, Myanmar Now has been a loud and critical voice publishing in Burmese and English. International media, including CNN, often rely on its reporting, which has included reports on military's finances and business dealings with cronies and foreign ventures. That has drawn the ire of the military. In mid-March, Myanmar Now's office was raided by security forces. Along with DVB, Myanmar Now was one of five to have their publishing license revoked. But Tin said they have adapted to the challenging environment in ways they never thought they'd have to. "A lot of time phone calls don't work. Or in areas where security forces are shooting, you can hear loud bangs or running or shooting. It has been difficult to get information so we keep calling around midnight or 11 p.m. when we think there should no longer be shooting," she said. Tin said journalists are now faced with two choices: "If you want to keep reporting, you have to be exiled or in a place where they can't find you," she said. "You have to sacrifice freedom to report.".....Military courts: That lack of freedom is something Brang Mai struggles with daily. Brang Mai founded Myitkyina News Journal, an independent weekly, in 2012 with 30 employees covering the northern state of Kachin. On April 29, the military revoked the journal's publishing license. "Everything is online. It's very dangerous to print, and we cannot find a place to work," he said. Since the coup, three of his journalists have been arrested, and it has been a struggle to find out where they are, Brang Mai said. Once charged, trials are held, not in civilian courts, but within the prison walls, in secretive, military-run hearings. The CPJ's Crispin said Myanmar's jails and prisons are like a "black box." "Many just disappear inside prison, they're not given access to their families, they're not given access to lawyers, the news organizations are not allowed to contact them, so it's becoming a real black box as to what's happening to many journalists that are that are in jail," he said. Brang Mai spends his days frantically organizing lawyers for his detained reporters, arranging security for their families and his other staff, hiring trustworthy drivers, and seeking out safe houses. He moved back to his home town of Myitkyina to report on the country's opening up, but now fears being forced back into exile. "We never thought that this would happen again. What we facing here is unbelievable," Brang Mai said. "All of a sudden everything vanished within a day or two. If we move out to another country, maybe we get asylum, we just have to restart from basics again.".....Rise of alternative media: While some face the prospect of going into exile, others are creating new forms of media. Subverting the junta's internet cuts and suppression of information, Myanmar's young people are printing underground newsletters and pamphlets and secretly distributing them in the streets. Some have revolutionary names like Molotov. Others, thrown from bridges or stuck to lampposts, feature news of the coup, arrests, military abuses, and even poems. Activists have now launched a short wave radio station to reach the public and each other. Federal FM, formed in April by a group of activist volunteers, broadcasts news and updates on the political situation. "Radio is one of most important things for public information because we know military is cutting internet and phones and news agencies their satellite has been taken away. So I know radio is the only way to inform the public about what's going on," said Nway Oo, presenter for Federal FM who uses a pseudonym for safety. Federal FM is broadcast on 90.2 MHz on Thursdays and Sundays in Yangon and Mandalay, and aims to expand all over the country. Set up by members of the ethnic protest group General Strike Committee of Nationalities, their mission is to educate listeners about federalism — and hold the newly formed National Unity Government to account. "From radio we are able to criticize and express our aims or goals for a federal union," Nway Oo said. Their purpose, she said is to "support the revolution by giving people the news and the peoples' voice.".....Myanmar's journalists say they won't abandon the people: DVB's Toe Zaw Latt last month made the difficult decision to leave Yangon. The security situation there was untenable, he said. The military had re-imposed household registrations, a hangover from military rule where all house guests have to be registered so the military can keep tabs on who is staying where. "They make it harder to hide. They know student leaders and celebrities are on the run, so it's to chase them down," he said. Toe Zaw Latt, an Australian citizen, managed to make it to the airport and fly out last month. He is now in Australian quarantine. "This is not over. There is a coup, there is a huge army with guns, but we are not going to give up. For journalists, of course, there is danger, we are facing huge difficulties, but we are not going to give up," he said. For Ye Wint Thu, what's happening to his country is not new. He was four years old when his father was imprisoned for 10 years for being a democracy activist following the 1988 failed uprising against the then-military regime. This time, he believes the younger generation will not give up. "They will keep protesting. Generation Z, they are the hope of the country of Burma," he said. Like many journalists in Myanmar, Ye Wint Thu is determined to keep reporting. "I can't plan at all because things are changing every day," he said. "[But] I'll stick as long as I can inside Burma, and do my job as best as I can."..."
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-03
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Title: Myanmar journalists granted sanctuary in India
Sub-title: Junta forces Burmese media underground and into exile again
Description: "An Indian court has granted sanctuary to two Burmese journalists, a colleague and some relatives a month after they fled across the border from Myanmar into Manipur state. They had been lying low in Tengnoupal district. On April 20, the Manipur High Court granted the group safe passage to Imphal, the state capital, and protection from Indian authorities until further notice. They left for Imphal the following day. At first glance, the two men could easily be mistaken for locals in Moreh, a bustling trading hub on the northeastern state's border with Myanmar. The town is an ethnic melting pot with cross-border familial relations that go back centuries. India has always been a friendly neighbor in peace and an ally in crisis to these people. 'Thin,' 44, is a video journalist and 'Lau,' 38, is a webmaster. Both work for Mizzima News, a Burmese media organization that was among the first to lose its operating license after Senior General Min Aung Hlaing staged his coup on Feb. 1. Thin told Nikkei Asia that an arrest warrant had been issued against him under Article 505 (a) of Myanmar's penal code, which criminalizes the publishing or circulation of any "statement, rumor or report, with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, any officer, soldier, sailor or airman, in the army, navy or air force to mutiny or otherwise disregard or fail in his duty as such." Thin immediately hopped on a bus in Yangon along with a 22-year-old female staff member and Lau, Lau's wife and their three kids. The journey to the Indian border took two nights and three days. They slipped across and joined hundreds of other refugees who fled after the junta, the State Administration Council, embarked on a brutal crackdown on the nationwide civil disobedience movement. Thin and Lau declined to go into detail about their entry route into India. They said they were sheltered for a month by a network of civil society organizations representing local ethnic groups on both sides of the border. Before fleeing, Thin was covering the street protests in Yangon. He barely slept in February, and witnessed some terrible incidents. "I saw a military armored vehicle crush a group of protesters on bicycles," he said. With the loss of Mizzima's satellite channel and reduced access to the internet, Thin said it was becoming increasingly hard to report what was happening on the ground -- and also much more dangerous. "The military junta indiscriminately fired at protesters and jouralists," he said. "I got used to running past dead bodies lying on the ground." According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, 759 people had been killed by heavily armed troops and police and 4,537 arrested as of April 30. At least, 71 of those in detention are journalists, according to the United Nations. The porous India-Myanmar border is 1,624 km long and touches the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur. In March, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed that illegal immigrants found in these four northeastern states should be deported. The Manipur state government duly issued an order to the deputy commissioner of five border districts, including Tengnoupal, to "politely turn away" people seeking refuge. This prompted such a severe backlash that the order was retracted on March 30. Despite the restrictions and border patrols, at least five hundred refugees are believed unofficially to have crossed over into Moreh and other parts of Tengnoupal. Nikkei reached out to district authorities to confirm this, but they declined and said they were not authorized to speak. The Manipur court noted that India is not a signatory to the Geneva Refugee Convention of 1951 or the New York Protocol of 1967. It instead based its ruling on India being signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, both declared by the U.N. in 1948 and 1966, respectively. Thin told Nikkei that there has been no news about six Mizzima colleagues who were arrested, and their whereabouts are not known. On April 8, Mizzima's co-founder, journalist Thin Thin Aung, was arrested with two colleagues. Soe Myint, Mizzima's editor in chief and co-founder, is still at large. He told Nikkei by email that nothing more has been heard of his colleagues. He confirmed that three of the six Mizzima staffers have been charged under Article 505 (a). "At least one of them, we have confirmed, faced torture," Soe Myint told Nikkei. "The rest, we do not have any contact or trace of them -- we don't know whether they are being tortured or are even alive." For Thin and Lau there is a strong element of deja vu. Both took refuge in India during a shorter prodemocracy uprising in Myanmar in 2007. Lau was 24 at that time. It took him four days to get from Moreh to Delhi, where he obtained a refugee card from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Some of his brethren from Chin state made the same journey, and ended up taking asylum in the West. Lau returned to Myanmar in 2012 and joined Mizzima. "I'm not a journalist but with my background in computer studies, I took the webmaster job because I wanted to fight for democracy in my country," he said. Thin started working at Mizzima in 2008, ten years after Soe Myint and Thin Thin Aung started the news service in Delhi where they were living in exile. They shifted operations to Yangon in 2013 after the government of President Thein Sein, a retired general, allowed private news organizations to operate for the first time in 50 years. Mizzima maintained a good relationship with India throughout, and in 2018 signed a content sharing agreement with Prasar Bharati, India's public service broadcaster. Thin and Lau want to continue reporting the Myanmar crisis from Delhi, and are seeking permission to go there. News of their presence first appeared on April 15, when the All Manipur Working Journalists' Union issued a statement asking the state government to give them "safe passage" to the UNHCR. Acording to Soe Myint, 42 Mizzima journalists are in hiding but still working inside Myanmar, with another 34 in Australia, Canada, India. Norway, Singapore, Thailand and the U.S. "We will be back to where we were in 2011, working in exile, Soe Myint told Nikkei. "We need to work with offices set up in India and our units working underground inside the country." Although the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw recently announced the parallel National Unity Government, there seems to be little chance of the exiled journalists being able to go home any time soon. Thin and Lau are keeping in touch with their network of sources and citizen journalists, many of whom belong to Generation Z -- born between 1995 and 2012 -- and play vital roles reporting developments on social media platforms. "We continue to provide news and information," said Thin. "We don't know where all our colleagues are but each one of us is still working." Soe Myint said that India's support has always been crucial in the fight for democracy and human rights in Myanmar. "We are confident that we will win this battle," he said signing off. "But we need your support and solidarity."..."
Source/publisher: "Nikkei Asian Review" (Japan)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-02
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Title: Myanmar plays ASEAN as step to global legitimacy
Sub-title: Regional bloc's controversial summit with military leader could provide a template for UN agencies also to engage the killer junta
Description: "At first it appeared that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had summoned Myanmar coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to Jakarta to read him the riot act. Before the extraordinary summit, leaders of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines had condemned the lethal violence unleashed since the February 1 coup, with at least 755 protesters killed by the Myanmar police and military, and called for the release of all political prisoners, now numbering nearly 4,000 including elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. But after the military leader attended the April 24 meeting, he left with what many viewed as a mere slap on the wrist. ASEAN agreed on a five-point plan for resolving Myanmar’s crisis, which by almost any measure was bland and toothless even by the regional grouping’s policies of consensus and non-interference. In essence, the meeting put equal blame on the Myanmar military’s gunning down peaceful demonstrators, including children as young as five, and the protesters’ use of slingshots and other homemade devices to defend themselves against the security forces’ war weapons. “We tried not to accuse his [Min Aung Hlaing’s] side too much because we don’t care who’s causing it,” Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told reporters after the meeting. The Myanmar military’s mouthpiece Global New Light of Myanmar reported on April 25 that Min Aung Hlaing had emphasized the importance of close cooperation with ASEAN member countries in accord with the ASEAN Charter, and little more than that. In an April 26 statement, the coup leader said he would carefully consider ASEAN leaders’ recommended steps for solving the crisis “after the situation stabilizes”, and that would be done only if ASEAN’s plan of action facilitated the implementation of the junta’s own policies. The initial reaction from the “National Unity Government” (NUG), a coalition of elected parliamentarians, ethnic groups and other anti-military personalities, was to welcome the outcome of the Jakarta summit. In an April 24 statement, the same day as the meeting was held, NUG spokesperson Dr Sasa stated that he was “encouraged” by the consensus that ASEAN had reached. Rights groups say the danger with Dr Sasa’s statement and media reports that echo similar sentiments is that the main beneficiary of the summit would be Min Aung Hlaing’s coup-installed government. The international community may thus now believe that the time is ripe to tone down its criticism of the junta’s murderous acts in order to give the ASEAN plan a chance. The notion that the ASEAN summit was a “success” also opens the way for other international actors to engage the junta with outcomes that are unlikely to lead to the restoraration of democracy in Myanmar. But, as Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch stated in an April 25 press release: “The lack of a clear timeline for action, and ASEAN’s well-known weakness in implementing the decisions and plans that it issues, are real concerns that no one should overlook.” There is actually very little in ASEAN’s “five points of consensus” that could even be called a plan. The first point states that “all parties should exercise utmost restraint” and stop using violence. The second calls for a “constructive dialog among all parties concerned” while the third says that ASEAN shall appoint a special envoy to “facilitate the dialog process.” The fourth says ASEAN shall provide humanitarian assistance through its coordinating center for disaster management — aid that ultimately would have to be channeled through the military regime and thus unlikely to reach those most in need. The fifth and final point says that ASEAN’s “special envoy and delegation shall visit Myanmar to meet with all parties concerned.” But with the junta’s insistence on adherence to its own “roadmap”, which includes a vague vow to hold new elections perhaps within a year, those points are likely non-starters even if they were implemented — which of course would have to be done through ASEAN’s two golden principles of non-interference and consensus. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen attended the Jakarta meeting, but has stated that what’s happening in Myanmar is an “internal affair.” Other authoritarian member states like communist-ruled Vietnam and Laos will not be keen to create a bloc precedent that could draw into question their own non-democratic systems of government. Despite Dr Sasa’s positive appraisal of the summit, the reaction on Myanmar’s social media has been overwhelmingly negative and verged on outright hostility towards ASEAN, with many condemning the plan as a stab in the back. The 88 Generation group of activists, which brings together veterans of Myanmar’s long struggle for democracy, issued a statement even before the meeting took place accusing ASEAN of always siding with the military and acting “in its self-interest and has never been seen to assist nor solve any political discord within its member states.” The Irrawaddy, a website run by Myanmar journalists, said that “if ASEAN is looking to demonstrate progress, it should go further by condemning the violence and calling for the released of political prisoners and an immediate halt to torture of detainees and other abuses…Myanmar’s implosion has only further exposed ASEAN as the pathetic and irrelevant institution it is.” Meanwhile, the killings and arrests of protesters have continued unabated, even during and after the summit. Kaung Htet Naing, a 22-year-old student, was shot and killed in Mandalay on April 24. Another young protester was killed in the central town of Pyinmana and a 63-year-old woman died in custody after being abducted from her house by police in raids following the Jakarta summit. In the commercial capital Yangon, soldiers and police raided the house of Thura Saw, a former cameraman for the popular TV news channel DVB. Among those arrested since the coup are more than 70 journalists of whom 40 are still under detention while arrest warrants have been issued for another 22 media workers. A draft statement circulating before the Jakarta summit included a demand for the release of all political prisoners, but that was dropped as one of the “consensus points” after the arrival of Min Aung Hlaing. With the Jakarta summit in the bag, the Myanmar junta’s likely next step to win international legitimacy will be to woo UN agencies, whose Yangon-based officials potentially stand to lose their jobs unless agreements can be reached with the junta. That’s worked in the wake of past military massacres. In 1988, when the rest of the world shunned the murderous junta infamously known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council, or SLORC, Oscar Lazo, the head of Yangon-based UN agencies and himself representing the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), invited the SLORC-appointed minister for agriculture and forestry General Chit Swe to attend an FAO conference in Rome. That was hardly surprising considering Lazo had initiated several lucrative projects in collaboration with Aye Zaw Win, the son-in-law of then-military dictator General Ne Win. Lazo’s overture eventually opened the floodgates for the rest of the UN, which was soon back in business in Myanmar. Min Aung Hlaing’s junta has already begun to play the drug suppression card to gain international recognition. If the Global New Times of Myanmar of April 14 is to be believed, Myanmar’s Deputy Minister for Home Affairs Lieutenant General Than Hlaing attended the 64th meeting of the Narcotic Drugs Commission in Vienna from April 12-16 “via video conferencing.” The event, organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), overlooked the fact that Than Hlaing is among 25 junta leaders and other military officers who have been blacklisted and sanctioned by the European Union for what it has termed “serious human rights violations and abuses.” In a March 30 statement, the UNODC claimed that “drug lords entwined with rebel groups in Myanmar’s ungovernable border zone…the notorious Golden Triangle” are taking advantage of the situation by “pumping record amounts of methamphetamines across Southeast Asia.” The statement did not mention official or military complicity in the drug trade and the well-established fact that most of the drug trade is run by local militias that are allied with the Myanmar military. The question after the ASEAN meeting concerns which other international organizations might be willing to look away from the recent atrocities committed in Myanmar to maintain and pave their particularistic interests in the country. In an interview with the Jakarta Post on April 27, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi lauded what she apparently termed as “ASEAN’s Myanmar breakthrough.” But the question now is a breakthrough for whom, the pro-democracy movement, the democracy-suspending junta, or outside groups that see a cynical opportunity in Myanmar’s crisis?..."
Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-02
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Title: Myanmar swimmer Win Htet Oo: 'Genocidaires do not deserve to be in the Olympics'
Description: "A leading Myanmar swimmer has called for the country's Olympic committee to be expelled from the Olympic Movement, saying "genocidaires do not deserve to be in the Olympics." In a Facebook post, swimmer Win Htet Oo said by rejecting the Myanmar Olympic Committee he had foregone any chance of competing at the Tokyo Olympic Games later this year. Currently training in Melbourne, Win Htet Oo's Facebook profile says he's "a Myanmar swimmer dreaming about Tokyo 2020." The swimmer has been a vocal critic of the Myanmar in recent weeks. "I do not wish to participate in the Tokyo Games under the stewardship of a NOC [National Olympic Committee] that is tied to a regime that continues to inflict suffering on my people," said Win Htet Oo in another Facebook post on April 10. The IOC did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment, but the organization told AFP that "'to the best of our knowledge,'" Win Htet Oo had not been selected by the Myanmar team. World Swimming Magazine describes Win Htet Oo as one of Myanmar's "top swimmers," who swam for his country at the 2013 and 2019 Southeast Asian Games There is no listing for Win Htet Oo on the website of swimming's governing body (Fédération Internationale De Natation). The Myanmar Olympic Committee did not respond to CNN's request for comment. READ: Protests and demonstrations banned at 2020 Tokyo Olympics In February, Myanmar armed forces commander in chief Gen. Min Aung Hlaing seized power, overthrowing the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party and installing a military junta. The following months have seen ongoing protests against his rule and the rise of a Civil Disobedience movement in which thousands of blue- and white-collar workers including doctors, teachers, civil servants and factory workers have gone on strike with the aim of disrupting the economy and unseating the general. Security forces have brutally suppressed the protests with deadly and systematic crackdowns in which police and soldiers have shot people dead in the streets and arbitrarily detained perceived opponents. More than 750 people have been killed by security forces since the coup, and more than 4,500 arrested, according to advocacy group Assistance Association of Political Prisoners. On March 28, UN officials condemned "systematic" attacks on peaceful protesters and called on the international community to "protect the people of Myanmar from atrocity crimes." "The shameful, cowardly, brutal actions of the military and police -- who have been filmed shooting at protesters as they flee, and who have not even spared young children -- must be halted immediately," said Alice Wairimu Nderitu, United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, and Michelle Bachelet, the High Commissioner for Human Rights in a joint statement. READ: Which nation is expected to top Olympic medal table? A UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar in 2018 called for Min Aung Hlaing to be investigated and prosecuted for genocide over his military's brutal crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority in Rakhine State in 2017. In his latest Facebook post, Win Htet Oo said he'd been inspired "by the continued defiance to military rule in Myanmar by an intersectional movement that will never submit. Their bravery is undying." "The National Unity Government is the only legitimate representative of the people of Myanmar and all international organisations and governments should recognise the NUG as Myanmar's government," added Win Htet Oo, who swam for New York University between 2012 and 2015..."
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-02
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Title: Note to Correspondents: Joint Statement by UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights - on Myanmar
Summary: "The UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on Sunday issued a clear warning of a heightened risk of...
Sub-title: Myanmar: Top UN officials condemn “systematic” attacks on peaceful protesters, and flag international responsibility to protect the people from atrocity crimes
Description: "The UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on Sunday issued a clear warning of a heightened risk of atrocity crimes in Myanmar, following another day of widespread bloodshed by the Myanmar military. The two senior UN officials strongly condemned the Myanmar military’s widespread, lethal, increasingly systematic attacks against peaceful protesters, as well as other serious violations of human rights since it seized power on 1 February 2021. Thousands of people have also been arbitrarily arrested – many subjected to enforced disappearance. Saturday witnessed the bloodiest day since the demonstrations against the coup began, with security forces killing at least 107 individuals – including 7 children – according to multiple credible reports, with the number of deaths expected to rise as reports are confirmed. Hundreds more were wounded and detained during these seemingly coordinated attacks in over 40 locations throughout the country. Bachelet and Nderitu called on the military to immediately stop killing the very people it has the duty to serve and protect. “The shameful, cowardly, brutal actions of the military and police – who have been filmed shooting at protesters as they flee, and who have not even spared young children – must be halted immediately. The international community has a responsibility to protect the people of Myanmar from atrocity crimes,” Bachelet and Nderitu said. The Special Adviser and the High Commissioner called on the Security Council to take further steps, building on its statement of 10 March 2021, and for ASEAN and the wider international community to act promptly to uphold the responsibility to protect the people of Myanmar from atrocity crimes. While the State has the primary responsibility to protect its population, the international community shares that responsibility, and in cases where the State is manifestly failing, the international community “should take timely and collective action in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations to protect civilian populations that are at risk of atrocity crimes.” Nderitu and Bachelet called for an end to systemic impunity in Myanmar. “We must ensure accountability for past crimes and deter the most serious international crimes from being committed,” the two officials stated. “The failure to address the atrocity crimes the military has committed in the past, including against Rohingya and other minorities, has brought Myanmar to this terrible pass. There is no way forward without accountability and fundamental reform of the military.” The senior officials urged all parties – including defecting officials, police and military officers – to cooperate with international mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court and the Human Rights Council’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, in fighting impunity in the country. This situation has also put at further risk the already vulnerable ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar, including the Rohingya. This population has long suffered horrific violence at the hands of the Myanmar military with impunity, as documented by the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar established by the Human Rights Council. “We are deeply concerned about the impact that the current situation may have on these populations and are closely monitoring developments. The rights of minority groups, including the Rohingya population must be fully respected,” the two UN officials stated. They noted the diversity of the protest movement, and encouraged the newfound sense of unity across ethnic and religious divides, as well as the growing recognition of past crimes against minorities, including Rohingya..."
Source/publisher: United Nations Secretary-General
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-02
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Title: UN fails to agree on Myanmar statement, diplomats blame China, Russia
Description: "The UN Security Council failed to agree Friday on a joint statement on the crisis in Myanmar after a closed-door meeting, with diplomats blaming Beijing -- the junta's main backer -- and Russia for raising objections and putting forward their own competing text. The session was convened by Vietnam to present the conclusions of a recent Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Indonesia. ASEAN is to appoint an envoy to help resolve the crisis sparked by the February 1 coup by the Myanmar military. During the meeting, the UN Special Envoy to Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, who is currently touring the region, gave a report on her long meeting with Myanmar junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing, held on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting. Diplomats said the envoy, who is currently based in Bangkok, once again had her request for a visit to Myanmar denied. During the meeting, Brunei, which currently holds the presidency of ASEAN, floated the idea of a joint visit to Myanmar by the UN envoy and her future ASEAN counterpart. A draft Security Council declaration, drawn up by Britain, failed to win full endorsement as it stood. A copy obtained by AFP showed that it planned to give "full support for the central role of ASEAN" and to encourage a visit to Myanmar by Schraner Burgener "as soon as possible." It said that members of the Security Council "once again strongly condemned violence against peaceful protestors" and "reiterated their call on the military to exercise utmost restraint." But diplomats said China and Russia objected to the British draft and proposed their own short competing text, which proved unacceptable to the majority of the Security Council. Discussions were still underway for a merger of the two draft statements on Friday, diplomats said. Nearly 760 civilians have been killed by police and soldiers in the past three months, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). The junta puts the death toll at 258 dead by April 15, calling the demonstrators "rioters" who engaged in "acts of terrorism".
Source/publisher: Agence France-Presse (Paris) via "France24" ( Paris)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-01
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Title: Myanmar civil society organizations condemn UNODC’s decision to invite brutal military representative, Lt-Gen Than Hlaing, to its 64th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs
Description: "410 Myanmar civil society organizations and four individuals condemn the UN Office of Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) decision to allow Lieutenant-General Than Hlaing, who is sanctioned by Canada, US, UK and the EU, to represent Myanmar via video, at its 64th session of the Commission on Narcotics Drugs in April this year. The CSOs call for UNODC to immediately end all ties with the illegitimate military junta and recognize the National Unity Government as the legitimate governing body representing the people of Myanmar. Allowing the military to represent Myanmar at the UN conference held in Vienna, betrays the will of the people of Myanmar who continue to oppose the illegitimate and brutal military junta and further damages the confidence the people have in the UN to carry out its mandate enshrined in the UN Charter to promote and encourage “respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms”. The 64th meeting of the Narcotics Drugs Commission was held in Vienna, Austria, from 12 to 16 April, and was organized by the UNODC. The annual conference to review and analyze the global drug situation, which hosted UN Member States from around the world, opened with a speech by the UN SecretaryGeneral, António Guterres. The UN has not only failed to act as the brutal military junta commits crimes against humanity, it is now acting to legitimize and offer a platform to those who are murdering innocent people by the hundreds, including children. It is disheartening to see such lack of respect for human rights displayed by the very institution that is mandated to protect and encourage respect for human rights. It is all the more shocking to see a UN institution with a mandate to prevent crime, corruption and terrorism feting an international criminal. Worse yet, Vienna, Austria - where the conference was held - is part of the EU which sanctioned Lieutenant-General Than Hlaing as part of its restrictive measures (asset freeze and travel ban) on 22 March, 2021. He would have been prevented from entering Vienna had he not been allowed to join by video conference. This is a grave circumvention of the EU sanctions, weakening their very purpose. On 2 February, the day after the coup, Lieutenant-General Than Hlaing was appointed Chief of the Myanmar Police Force and Deputy Home Affairs Minister by the illegitimate military junta. In his position as the Chief of the Myanmar Police Force, he commanded the commission of extreme brutality and acts of violence against peaceful protesters, members of the Civil Disobedience Movement, and other innocent individuals who have been killed, detained and tortured. 756 have been killed as of 28 April 2021 including at least 51 children. 3,449 people have been detained. 1,237 arrest warrants have been issued. Yet the people of Myanmar have opposed the military junta as it continues its brutal attempt at an already failing coup. As well as the EU, the US, UK and Canada have also imposed sanctions against Than Hlaing, who the UNODC shamefully decided to allow the illegal military junta a platform to speak to the world as the representative of Myanmar at its conference. This is not the first time that the UNODC has been criticized for legitimizing the Myanmar military’s narrative. UNODC has a long and troubled history of turning a blind eye to the complicity of the Myanmar military and other state backed groups in Myanmar’s profitable drug trade. In particular, UNODC’s annual opium survey which is published jointly with the Myanmar government, has come under heavy criticism for distorting the realities on the ground in favor of the Myanmar military and government. UNODC’s Myanmar Opium Survey 2013 indicated that opium production levels in Kachin State were down by 10%, however the survey failed to include Chipwe, which was controlled by the Border Guard Force, under the command of the Myanmar military. In its Myanmar Opium Survey 2018, UNODC once again provided contentious and incorrect information in its reporting, stating that highest density of poppy cultivation had taken placed under areas controlled by the ethnic armed organizations. Such statements, which were refuted by both civil society organizations and ethnic armed organizations, lent legitimacy to the Myanmar military and government’s facade that they were enforcers of drug eradication rather than address the rampant corruption and their culpability in one of the most profitable trades in Myanmar. UNODC has long failed to heed the calls from civil society organizations to accurately reflect the situation on the ground. Its invitation of a sanctioned military official who is responsible for the violence inflicted against the people of Myanmar to its annual conference is a part of a pattern indicating a systemic failure by the United Nations to ensure that all bodies of the UN reflect the human rights values enshrined in its Charter. Therefore, we call on: • The UNODC to immediately end all ties with the illegitimate military junta and recognize and work with the National Unity Government, the legitimate governing body representing the people of Myanmar; • The UN Secretary-General, the UN OHCHR and other bodies of the UN to ensure that UNODC act in compliance with the human rights principles enshrined in the UN Charter - the UN must ensure a coordinated approach that embodies the “do no harm” and conflict sensitivity principles; • The UN bodies to stop recognizing and hosting the Myanmar military junta at events and meetings and instead invite representatives of the legitimate government, the National Unity Government, as the official representative of Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: 410 Myanmar civil society organizations and four individuals via Progressive Voice (Thailand)
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-29
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Title: Violence continues to erupt in Myanmar
Description: "Just under six months ago, the people of Myanmar delivered a landslide victory to Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy Party. It was the 75-year old's second election win, and it made the military so furious that it seized power in a coup on the first day the new parliament was due to sit. Since then hundreds of people opposing the military regime have been shot dead and thousands have been arrested. South-East Asia correspondent Mazoe Ford reports, and a warning, her story contains some distressing images..."
Source/publisher: ABC News (Australia)
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-29
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Title: Barack Obama letter to Myanmar
Description: "The world’s attention must remain on Myanmar, where I’ve been appalled by heartbreaking violence against civilians and inspired by the nationwide movement that represents the voice of the people. The military’s illegitimate and brutal effort to impose its will after a decade of greater freedoms will clearly never be accepted by the people and should not be accepted by the wider world. I support efforts by the Biden Administration and like-minded countries to impose costs on the military and support a return to a democratic path. Myanmar’s neighbors should recognize that a murderous regime rejected by the people will only bring greater instability, humanitarian crisis, and the risk of a failed state. Within Myanmar, those who seek a future rooted in democratic principles should continue to forge solidarity across ethnic and religious groups. These are dark times, but I have been moved by the unity, resilience, and commitment to democratic values demonstrated by so many Burmese, which offers hope for the kind of future Myanmar can have through leaders who respect the will of the people..."
Source/publisher: Barack Obama
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-28
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Title: Atrocity Alert No. 249: Myanmar (Burma), DR Congo and Nigeria
Description: "ASEAN MUST UPHOLD ITS RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE OF MYANMAR As anti-coup protests continue, during a 19 April interview the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said that, “according to the responsibility to protect [R2P], the international community… has a responsibility to do what it can to protect the lives of innocent people in countries that are unable or unwilling to do so, or are in fact attacking them.” He stressed that it was “definitely appropriate” for the international community to act in accordance with the R2P principle and that Myanmar was “exactly the situation” where we “have a responsibility to protect.” According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, 739 people have been killed by the security forces since 1 February and at least 3,331 people are currently detained for resisting the military coup. Two protesters were killed in the city of Mogok on 17 April, when the security forces opened fire on people gathered to show support for the National Unity Government (NUG), which was formed a day earlier by a coalition of democratic opponents to military rule. Clashes also continue between Myanmar’s military and the ethnic armed group, the Kachin Independence Army. The military is reportedly using civilians as human shields in northern Kachin State, forcing them to walk ahead of soldiers. Such acts violate international law and are a war crime. Meanwhile, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will discuss the ongoing crisis in Myanmar during a summit to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 24 April. Controversially, Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing, the coup leader, was invited to the summit, while NUG representatives were not. It is unclear whether General Min Aung Hlaing – who an earlier UN Fact-Finding Mission found was responsible for the 2017 genocide against the country’s Rohingya minority – will attend the summit virtually or in person. In an address to the UN Security Council (UNSC) on 19 April, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed, “the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign States should not be used as a pretext for inaction in the face of serious human rights abuses. ASEAN must make it clear to the Myanmar military that the current situation is so grave that it cannot be regarded only as an internal matter.” He further called on the current UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, “to engage directly with the Myanmar military” and urged the UNSC to “seriously consider” the principle of R2P, “using a range of tools at the Council’s disposal.” The UNSC and ASEAN must implement practical measures to help mediate an end to the crisis in Myanmar. Nadira Kourt, Program Manager at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, said, “the country is currently ungovernable under the military junta. The UNSC and ASEAN should immediately impose a global arms embargo, as well as internationally binding sanctions on senior military officials and affiliated businesses. Accountability is essential. The time for so-called quiet diplomacy has passed. Now is the time for bold diplomatic action.".....ETHNIC VIOLENCE, DISPLACEMENT AND HUNGER THREATEN DR CONGO: Last Friday, 16 April, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned of a resurgence of violence in the Grand Kasaï region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). According to UNHCR, clashes between fighters from the Luba and Kuba ethnic groups in the Bakwakenge locality erupted in late March. Local authorities have reported that at least 21,000 people have been displaced, 13 people killed and 190 homes burned down. Tensions between the two communities have been increasing since August 2020 when a deadly cycle of reprisal attacks resulted in 40,000 people being displaced. The risk of widespread ethnic violence is particularly acute in the Kasaïs, as the region continues to recover from atrocities perpetrated between 2016-2018 that forced more than 1.4 million people to flee. During that time the UN identified at least 80 mass graves, and more than 3,000 people were estimated to have been killed, including two members of the UN Panel of Experts who were investigating the violence. Most fighting took place between Kamuina Nsapu (a mainly Luba militia), Bana Mura (a mainly Chokwe militia), and the armed forces of the DRC. A UN Team of International Experts found evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by the militias, including extrajudicial killings, rape, torture, and recruitment of children, as well as abuses that “could amount to persecution based on ethnicity.” UNHCR spokesperson, Babar Baloch, called for “a renewed focus on restoring peace and defusing tensions in Kasaï to prevent another wave of mass displacement in the country.” There are currently an estimated 5.2 million people displaced in the DRC where recurring conflict in the eastern provinces has contributed to a massive humanitarian crisis. On 6 April the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme announced that an estimated 27.3 million people – one in three Congolese – are critically hungry, which is “the highest number of people in urgent need of food security assistance in the world.” The DRC government needs to urgently deescalate tensions in the Kasaï region, protect vulnerable civilians and ensure that the violence does not derail the ongoing truth, justice and accountability process for past atrocities. ARMED EXTREMIST GROUPS TARGET HUMANITARIAN WORKERS IN NIGERIA A series of attacks by armed extremist groups on the town of Damasak, in northeast Nigeria, have forced 65,000 people – 80 percent of the town’s population – to flee. Since the attacks began on 11 April at least eight people have been killed and dozens wounded. The armed groups looted and burned down houses, as well as offices and warehouses of international humanitarian organizations, including a health clinic and UN Refugee Agency facility. Armed fighters also conducted house-to-house searches looking for aid workers. Humanitarian operations in Damasak have largely been suspended as result of the violence, adversely affecting 8,800 internally displaced people and 76,000 people in host communities in the area. Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that these “humanitarian aid operations and facilities are the lifeline of people in northeast Nigeria who depend on our assistance to survive.” Over the past year, humanitarian organizations have become the focus of recurring attacks by armed extremist groups operating in Nigeria. On 2 March alleged fighters from the so-called Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) attacked a UN base and overran a humanitarian hub in the north-east, trapping 25 aid workers. In response to this attack, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, stressed that, “civilians and aid workers, their facilities and assets should never be a target. They must be protected and respected at all times.” While no group has claimed responsibility for the assault on Damasak, both Boko Haram and ISWA continue to conduct attacks in the north-east and have killed at least 3,000 people since January 2018. Intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, materials or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance operation is a war crime. Recurring attacks on humanitarian workers demonstrates the need for the Nigerian authorities to radically improve security in the north-east. The Nigerian government also needs to expand programs that directly address grievances that armed extremist groups exploit for recruitment, such as poverty, endemic corruption, youth unemployment and environmental degradation..."
Source/publisher: Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-26
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Title: Chairman’s Statement on the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting
Description: "Five-Point Consensus: On the situation in Myanmar, the Leaders reached consensus on the following: • First, there shall be immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar and all parties shall exercise utmost restraint. • Second, constructive dialogue among all parties concerned shall commence to seek a peaceful solution in the interests of the people. • Third, a special envoy of the ASEAN Chair shall facilitate mediation of the dialogue process, with the assistance of the SecretaryGeneral of ASEAN. • Fourth, ASEAN shall provide humanitarian assistance through the AHA Centre. • Fifth, the special envoy and delegation shall visit Myanmar to meet with all parties concerned..."
Source/publisher: Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Jakarta)
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-26
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Title: EU allocates an additional €9 million to support the most vulnerable in Myanmar following the coup d'état
Summary: "Today, the EU has stepped up its response to assist those in need in Myanmar in the context of the recent military coup, with the allocation of an additional €9 million in emergency humanitarian aid...
Description: "Today, the EU has stepped up its response to assist those in need in Myanmar in the context of the recent military coup, with the allocation of an additional €9 million in emergency humanitarian aid to support the most vulnerable. The critical reinforcement of the EU's response comes on top of a funding package of €11.5 million provided at the start of 2021, to support key humanitarian and disaster preparedness needs in the country, bringing EU humanitarian assistance in Myanmar to a total of €20.5 million in 2021 so far. Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: "The violent military junta that has overthrown the legitimate government in Myanmar has been merciless in killing innocent civilians, in egregious violations of International Humanitarian Law that exacerbates the already dire humanitarian crisis faced by displaced and conflict-affected populations. The EU condemns the despicable acts of violence by the coup d'état and meanwhile reaffirms its will to continue providing strong humanitarian support through its humanitarian partners directly to the most vulnerable population, who also face recurrent natural hazards that further increase their needs. At this crucial and pressing time, the EU is showing up for the people of Myanmar by significantly stepping up its support in humanitarian assistance.” The funding will be used to respond to urgent humanitarian needs in the sectors of emergency health support, protection, food security, and multi-sector emergency assistance. Through this additional allocation, the EU is stepping up its response capacities in the conflict areas in which it is active, and also in urban settings, where indiscriminate violence has been used by the Myanmar security forces. The additional funding will also provide humanitarian assistance to those fleeing fighting between Ethnic Armed Groups and the Myanmar Armed Forces, with funds allocated to address the growing regional implications of the crisis, including in Thailand. All EU humanitarian funding is provided in line with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, and is channelled directly through NGOs, UN Agencies, and the Red Cross. The EU does not provide any humanitarian aid funding to the illegitimate military authorities. Background Conflict in Myanmar is marred by widespread violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, resulting in substantial humanitarian needs. More than 336,000 people in Myanmar have been internally displaced, a large majority of whom are in situations of protracted displacement in Rakhine, Kachin, Kayin and Shan states, with limited access to basic services. An estimated 600,000 Rohingya people remain in Rakhine State, of whom around 126,000 are effectively confined to camps or camp-like settings that were established in 2012, and so still cannot move freely. Restricted humanitarian access to several areas hampers the ability of international aid organisations to provide crucial assistance to people in need. Recurrent natural hazards also increase the vulnerability of people living in disaster-prone areas. Since 1994, the EU has provided €287 million in humanitarian aid to Myanmar, with €19 million allocated in 2020. The EU works with trusted and independent humanitarian partners to address the protection, food, nutrition and health needs of the most vulnerable people, particularly in Rakhine, Chin, Kachin and Shan states. Following the violence in August 2017, the EU has stepped up its humanitarian assistance in the form of food, nutritional care, healthcare, water and sanitation, coordination, and protection, including mine education. Humanitarian needs are increasing as a result of the 1 February 2021 coup d'état, as security forces use indiscriminate violence against civilians and fighting increases between Ethnic Armed Groups and the Myanmar Armed Forces. The EU will closely monitor the humanitarian situation in Myanmar, in light of the recent developments, to step up the humanitarian response further, if needed..."
Source/publisher: Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (Brussels) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-26
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Title: Intensifying widespread, systematic slaughter by Myanmar military must be halted – Bachelet
Summary: "UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday urged States to take immediate, decisive and impactful measures to push Myanmar's military leadership into halting its campaign of...
Description: "UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday urged States to take immediate, decisive and impactful measures to push Myanmar's military leadership into halting its campaign of repression and slaughter of its people. "We have witnessed yet another weekend of coordinated bloodshed in many parts of the country, including the reported mass killing of at least 82 people in Bago between Friday and Saturday. The military seems intent on intensifying its pitiless policy of violence against the people of Myanmar, using military-grade and indiscriminate weaponry," Bachelet said. "There are clear echoes of Syria in 2011. There too, we saw peaceful protests met with unnecessary and clearly disproportionate force. The State's brutal, persistent repression of its own people led to some individuals taking up arms, followed by a downward and rapidly expanding spiral of violence all across the country. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at the time warned in 2011 that the failure of the international community to respond with united resolve could be disastrous for Syria and beyond. The past ten years have shown just how horrific the consequences have been for millions of civilians." "I fear the situation in Myanmar is heading towards a full-blown conflict. States must not allow the deadly mistakes of the past in Syria and elsewhere to be repeated." Over the weekend, credible reports indicate that Tatmadaw forces opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades, fragmentation grenades and mortar fire in Bago in the south of the country. Security forces also reportedly prevented medical personnel from helping the wounded, as well as charging relatives a "fine" of roughly USD 90 to claim the bodies of those who were killed. Some individuals are also now resorting to the use of makeshift or primitive weapons in self-defence. Clashes between the military and ethnic armed groups have also intensified in several locations in Kachin, Shan and Kayin states, where the military have been employingairstrikes that have killed and displaced civilians. As arrests continue, with at least 3,080 people currently detained, there are reports that 23 people have been sentenced to death following secret trials -- including four protesters and 19 others who were accused of political and criminal offences. The mass arrests have forced hundreds of people to go into hiding, and reports suggest that many journalists, civil society activists, celebrities and other public figures are being sought, many simply because of the dissent they have been expressing on-line. Wireless broadband and mobile data services were cut indefinitely on 2 April, leaving the vast majority of people without access to vital sources of information and communication. Meanwhile, the country's economy, education and health infrastructure have been brought to the brink of collapse, leaving millions of Myanmar people without livelihood, basic services and, increasingly, food security. Thousands of internal migrants have left urban centres for their home communities -- which once relied on their income. COVID-19 measures have effectively been brought to a standstill. The High Commissioner called on the Myanmar military and neighbouring States to facilitate humanitarian access to populations in need. She urged neighbouring States to give temporary protection to people fleeing the violence, and to refrain from returning people fleeing Myanmar at this time, in accordance with the principle of non-refoulement. "Statements of condemnation, and limited targeted sanctions, are clearly not enough. States with influence need to urgently apply concerted pressure on the military in Myanmar to halt the commission of grave human rights violations and possible crimes against humanity against the people," Bachelet said. The High Commissioner made particular reference to the report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, which contains clear recommendations for impactful action in relation to the military.* Bachelet stressed the need to cut off the supply of arms and finances to the military leadership that aid its commission of serious human rights violations..."
Source/publisher: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-26
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Title: Statement ahead of the ASEAN summit on Myanmar from Deepmala Mahla, CARE’s Vice President of Humanitarian Affairs
Description: "“CARE urges all ASEAN member states to use the summit in Jakarta on 24 April to push Myanmar’s military authorities to end all violations against people in Myanmar and ensure unfettered access for aid agencies. The humanitarian situation in Myanmar has deteriorated starkly since the 1 February coup, with food insecurity and conflict-related displacement on the rise. The impact on the public health system is of grave concern, particularly given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “The fallout of the coup threatens to spark a wider regional crisis with thousands of people already fleeing across international borders in search of safety. CARE implores neighbouring countries to grant refuge to those escaping violence and refrain from pushing back people in need of protection. “The pre-monsoon cyclone season, which has just started in Myanmar, threatens to exacerbate the already desperate humanitarian situation. We know that women, girls and other vulnerable groups are often disproportionately affected during emergencies. CARE and other aid agencies must be granted access to any affected communities to avert a complete humanitarian catastrophe. “ASEAN member states must work together, with other countries in the region and the international community, to find a durable and peaceful solution to this crisis. The girls, boys, women and men of Myanmar depend on it.” Founded in 1945, CARE is one of the largest and oldest humanitarian aid organisations fighting global poverty. CARE has a special focus on empowering and meeting the needs of women and girls and promoting gender equality and works in 100 countries around the world. For media enquiries contact: Suzy Sainovski (based in Melbourne, Australia) Asia Pacific Regional Communications & Media Advisor, CARE International Email: [email protected] Skype: suzy.sainovski Mobile: + 61 3 429 418 353..."
Source/publisher: Care International (Geneva) "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-26
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Title: UN chief highlights key role of Asian regional bloc in ending Myanmar crisis
Summary: Speaking during a Security Council meeting on cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organizations, he highlighted the relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (...
Sub-title: UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on Monday for leaders in Asia to bolster efforts towards finding a peaceful solution to the bloody crisis in Myanmar, sparked by the military coup in February.
Description: Speaking during a Security Council meeting on cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organizations, he highlighted the relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), underlining the bloc's important role in diplomacy, conflict prevention and peacebuilding.....Crucial role in urgent crisis: "Today, ASEAN's role is more crucial than ever as the region faces an urgent crisis in Myanmar", Mr. Guterres said. "I have repeatedly called on the international community to work, collectively and through bilateral channels, to help bring an end to the violence and the repression by the military." In this regard, UN cooperation with ASEAN is vital, the Secretary-General said, as the situation requires a robust international response grounded in a unified regional effort. "I urge regional actors to leverage their influence to prevent further deterioration and, ultimately, find a peaceful way out of this catastrophe.".....UN envoy stands ready: Mr. Guterres told ambassadors that his Special Envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, is in the region and stands ready to resume dialogue with the military and others, "and to contribute to a return of Myanmar to the democratic path, and to peace and stability." Ms. Schraner Burgener arrived in Bangkok on 9 April, according to her Twitter account. In a post last Tuesday marking the Burmese New Year, Thingyan, she wrote "Thingyan should be a celebration of joy, but unfortunately there is nothing to celebrate in Myanmar. I hope it is true that sprinkling water washes away sins. So many sins have been committed since 1st February. I hope to celebrate Thingyan with all released again in the future.".....Cooperation continues to grow: The Security Council debate, held online, focused on an issue which the Secretary-General said has been a key priority since he took office four years ago. Cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organizations has "grown exponentially" since its founding in 1945, he said, encompassing areas that include preventive diplomacy, mediation, counterterrorism, peacekeeping and promoting human rights, but also combating climate change and now the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Guterres provided examples of this partnership across several continents, showcasing how working together can support countries to manage complex political transitions and find sustainable solutions to political challenges. In Sudan, for example, the UN supported the African Union (AU) and Ethiopia in facilitating negotiations which led to the establishment of the transitional government.....Multilateralism the only way:"As we continue to support Sudan in its efforts towards democratic governance and an inclusive society, our collaboration remains essential", he said. The Secretary-General said strengthening UN partnerships with regional and sub-regional organizations is integral to his vision for "a networked multilateralism". Despite the pandemic, he convened heads of regional organizations for a virtual dialogue last November, to shore up collaboration during crises.  "I am committed to pursuing an even closer engagement to promote confidence-building and dialogue, in conflict prevention, management and resolution", he said. "We can only address our world's current and future challenges, including those exposed and heightened by COVID-19, through ambitious and coordinated multilateral action."
Source/publisher: UN News via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-26
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Title: Global Norms Are Under Attack in Post-Coup Myanmar
Sub-title: The world’s action – or inaction – will have an impact far beyond Myanmar’s own borders.
Description: "With Myanmar’s post-coup crisis dragging into its third month, security forces commanded by the coup leader Sen. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing show no sign of abating in their brutal suppression of the anti-coup protests that have erupted across the country since early February. Despite their massive numbers, protestors have been highly disciplined and peaceful. It was only after the security forces began using excessive and lethal force that a small pocket of them resorted to handmade weapons such as Molotov cocktails and outdated hunting guns to defend themselves, with many more realizing that armed resistance was their only remaining option. If the security forces have shown troublingly little respect for international norms in their treatment of civilians and activists, no less troubling has been the response from the international community in the face of what is fast becoming a “bloodbath,” in the words of Christine Schraner Burgener, the United Nations special envoy to Myanmar. In other words, although the people of Myanmar are the ones at the receiving end of all these atrocity crimes, the fact that they are ongoing and the perpetrators remain undeterred points to a collective failure on the part of the international community to uphold the norms to which it has committed itself, and sends a very dangerous message to current and would-be strongmen. As many have now warned, with the ever-more-real possibility of the country being plunged into a full-fledged civil war, the kind worse than what we have seen in the past 70 years, time is fast running out for the international community to act. The international community must wake up to the depth and extent of the reign of terror Min Aung Hlaing has unleashed in his ruthless attempt to crush opposition and assert his illegal and unconstitutional rule. His security forces have been given a free pass to kill unarmed civilians, to arrest and torture people at will, and to loot and destroy private property. According to the monitoring organization the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), as of April 21, the junta’s security forces had killed at least 739 civilians, some murdered in the most horrific manner. Among those killed are 50 children; the latest victim was a 7-year-old girl, who was shot dead at her home in Mandalay. As reported by the investigative journal Myanmar Now, there have been several documented cases in which an activist arrested overnight has turned up dead the next morning. In yet another but definitely not isolated incident, an armed police officer made a passer-by crawl on his hands and knees in a disturbingly dehumanizing manner. So far, at least 3,331 people, including State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint and other elected MPs, politicians, student leaders and human rights activists, remain under detention, some in undisclosed locations. On March 27 alone, at least 114 civilians in 44 towns across the country were killed by the junta. Junta forces have gone so far as exhuming and dragging away bodies. On March 28, they burned a man alive. Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month. Before the coup, U.N. investigators had found a genocidal intent in the crimes committed against the Rohingya people by the security forces commanded by the same general Min Aung Hlaing. During their so-called “clearance operations” in August 2017, at least 6,700 were killed, mass rapes and arson were committed, and more than 700,000 people were forced to flee to Bangladesh. Furthermore, the U.N. Fact Finding Mission reported in September 2018 that the military has likely committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Kachin, Shan, and Rakhine states, and in April 2020, the U.N. Special Rapporteur reported that “possible war crimes and crimes against humanity were ongoing in Rakhine and Chin States.” Myanmar is today facing charges of genocide for the violence at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. Due to ongoing aerial bombing and offensives targeting civilians and their facilities across the country, thousands of Karen people are fleeing to neighboring Thailand, where there has arisen an urgent humanitarian situation. All this is to say that Min Aung Hlaing and his State Administration Council (SAC) are fast turning Myanmar into a “human rights ground zero.” From mass murder to torture to arbitrary arrests to killing children to shooting at medics providing emergency care to the wounded, almost every article in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is being violated or is under threat. In the borderland areas where ethnic armies have been fighting for their right to self-determination for the past 70 years, aerial bombings by his forces are deliberately targeting civilian populations and facilities, adding to the war crimes and crimes against humanity against minority peoples, and the genocide or ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya people that the military has already committed. For those foreign states claiming that they have a policy of working with only “states” as opposed to “governments” – if they mean by any chance that the SAC is the state in question – they must get their facts right. The SAC cannot even fulfil its basic duty as a state, namely, to provide security to its people. Nor can it provide basic services like healthcare with many civil servants having joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) to protest the military’s illegal, illegitimate, and increasingly bloody coup. So far as Ming Aung Hlaing’s coup regime is recognized as Myanmar’s de facto or de jure government, it must also be recognized that it is actively committing mass atrocities against its own population. Therefore, for foreign nations to recognize the SAC as the “state” would make a mockery of their commitment to uphold human rights and international law, as the latter is showing absolutely no respect for these. On the other hand, the newly formed National Unity Government, which it is imperative for the international community to recognize as the legitimate government for no other reason than that it receives overwhelming support from the people, cannot yet protect the people. Thus, the onus is now on the international community to protect the civilian population in Myanmar before the forces of SAC commit further atrocities against them, and sink the country deeper into chaos. What is lacking for urgent international intervention, whether in the form of R2P or otherwise, is not evidence on the ground but political will at the U.N. and in the capitals of the most powerful nations on earth. As part of their “statement diplomacy,” foreign missions based in Myanmar have joined a chorus of other diplomatic voices in calling for restoration of democracy among other things in the country. With so much emphasis being put on restoration of what existed before the coup, it should be clear that what the pro-democratic forces inside Myanmar want is not a status quo ante in which the military enjoys a privileged role in politics without being accountable to the people or any elected body. Differently put, what we had pre-coup was a military dictatorship with some democratic characteristics. In the meantime, as another massacre in Bago in which junta’s forces have killed more than 80 protesters shows, Min Aung Hlaing is in no way backing down. Furthermore, letting the generals off the hook for the most atrocious crimes would make a farce of global justice, and more importantly, would utterly fail the people of Myanmar in their search for justice. Meanwhile, the pro-democracy protesters remain as determined as ever to see the end of Min Aung Hlaing’s illegal and brutal reign. Many of those we have spoken to have told us that they are prepared to fight until the end using every means at their disposal. Sanctions, with their ineffectual record from the past, imposed by the U.S., U.K., and EU on the junta’s top generals and its economic complex are failing to deter them. As Min Aung Hlaing’s forces continue to commit mass murders and carry out summary arrests at the sites of urban protest and his bombs rain down on villages in the borderlands, friends of the Myanmar people might have to prepare themselves to contemplate more coercive measures, such as arming the resistance movement, including the ethnic armed organizations that are already in the fight. As the former U.S. ambassador to Myanmar Scot Marciel wrote recently on his Twitter account, “the Tatmadaw is beyond reason. I see no value in dialogue with them until and unless they recognize they cannot win and make clear they are looking for a way out.” The people of Myanmar have shown their bravery, but will the rest of the world rise to the occasion? The clock is ticking..."
Source/publisher: "The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-25
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Title: Myanmar coup: Week from March 30 to April 17, Opponents of junta unveil Suu Kyi-led unity cabinet
Sub-title: Group seeks recognition as 'legitimate government'; ASEAN summit rumblings intensify
Description: "Myanmar's military on Feb. 1 detained State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint in the country's first coup since 1988, bringing an end to a decade of civilian rule.....The Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy had won a landslide in a general election in November. But the military has claimed the election was marred by fraud. For all our coverage, visit our Myanmar Coup page. Read our in-depth coverage: -- Myanmar junta taps Russian air power to bomb ethnic rebels -- Failed state: Myanmar collapses into chaos -- Myanmar junta efforts to restore calm 'unworkable': ex-Japan envoy -- Myanmar junta reaps millions in gem sales as economy crumbles -- Myanmar coup presses Japan to retreat from Abe-era business push -- Taiwan takes tougher line against Myanmar regime -- How Myanmar's post-coup violence is transforming a generation -- Who is Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing? 5 things to know -- Myanmar: Inside the coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi's government..."
Source/publisher: "Nikkei Asian Review" (Japan)
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-25
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Title: ‘Will the killings stop?’ Demands for Asean to ensure Myanmar honours pledge to end violence
Sub-title: Asean says consensus with junta was ‘beyond expectations’, but there is no timeline or explicit commitment to stop violence
Description: "Human Rights Watch has told south-east Asian leaders not to “pat themselves on the back” for getting Myanmar’s military rulers to agree to end deadly violence, saying a consensus reached by Asean lacks specifics and makes no mention of freeing political prisoners. Nearly 750 protesters have been killed since the military seized power in a 1 February coup. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations announced after a summit on Saturday that the head of Myanmar’s junta had agreed to stop the violence. The Malaysian prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, who attended the meeting, said the outcome was “beyond our expectation”. But Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch said: “Asean cannot paper over the fact that there is no agreement for the Myanmar junta to release the more than 3,330 political prisoners currently in detention in the country, including senior political figures who presumably would be involved in any negotiated solution to the crisis,” he said. “Not only were the representatives of the Myanmar people not invited to the Jakarta meeting but they also got left out of the consensus that Asean is now patting itself on the back for reaching.” Robertson said Asean had to ensure the agreement was honoured, and called for further sanctions against the junta leaders. “The lack of a clear timeline for action, and Asean’s well known weakness in implementing the decisions and plans that it issues, are real concerns that no one should overlook,” he said. A statement released by Asean – whose meeting marked the first concerted international effort to find a resolution to the crisis – said it was agreed there should be constructive dialogue and an immediate end to violence. The group would also provide humanitarian assistance, and a special envoy would be appointed to meet with all concerned parties. On Saturday, as Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing attended the meeting in Jakarta, soldiers and police fired on protesters near Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw, according to reports by Agence France-Presse. One 50-year-old protester was held by the police and shot dead by a soldier, an eyewitness told the news agency. Tom Andrews, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said he was anxious to work with Asean’s special envoy and monitor the results of the summit. “The result of the Asean summit will be found in Myanmar, not a document,” he said. “Will the killing stop? Will the terrorising of neighbourhoods end? Will the thousands abducted be released? Will impunity persist?” Charles Santiago, head of the Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights group, also stressed the need to ensure the commitments were implemented urgently. “How willing Asean is in responding seriously to the Myanmar crisis is dependent on them holding Min Aung Hlaing to account, ensuring he does not take them for a ride, and delivers on the agreed points. We must not see a scenario where Min Aung Hlaing endlessly delays action, or controls who they talk to and deliver aid to,” said Santiago. Asean’s decision to invite Min Aung Hlaing to its meeting in Jakarta attracted criticism from Burmese activists and rights experts, who said it risked legitimising the coup. Since seizing power on 1 February the junta has killed 748 civilians, according to an advocacy group, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in Burma. This includes dozens of children. At least 3,389 people are currently in detention or have been sentenced, including Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party won the November election in a landslide victory. “We tried not to accuse his side too much because we don’t care who’s causing it,” Muhyiddin said of the junta chief, according to reports by Reuters. “We just stressed that the violence must stop. For him, it’s the other side that’s causing the problems. But he agreed that violence must stop.” Dr Sasa, spokesman for Myanmar’s national unity government, which was set up by pro-democracy politicians and includes elected officials who have been detained, said he welcomed the agreement, adding: “We look forward to firm action by Asean to follow up its decisions and to restore our democracy and freedom for our people and for the region.” Military-controlled Myawaddy TV reported Min Aung Hlaing had attended the meeting, and said Myanmar would closely cooperate with Asean on various issues, including “the political transition in Myanmar, and the process that will be implemented in the future”. The leaders of Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and Brunei were present at the meeting, along with the foreign ministers of Laos, Thailand and the Philippines..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-25
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Title: Southeast Asian leaders to discuss Myanmar with coup leader
Description: "Southeast Asian leaders will try to forge a path to end violence and instability in Myanmar at a summit on Saturday expected to include Min Aung Hlaing, the general in charge of the military takeover in February that sparked bloodshed and economic chaos. The gathering of leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta is the first coordinated international effort to ease the crisis in Myanmar, an impoverished country that neighbours China, India and Thailand, and was ruled by the military from 1962-2011. With participants attending in person despite the pandemic, Indonesia's foreign minister Retno Marsudi said on Friday that the summit reflected the "deep concern about the situation in Myanmar and ASEAN's determination to help Myanmar get out of this delicate situation". "We hope that tomorrow's (summit) will reach an agreement regarding steps that are good for the people of Myanmar," she said. Marsudi's Singaporen counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan, who is also in Jakarta, said ASEAN's leaders "will discuss the pressing need to address the grave and deeply concerning situation in Myanmar". Diplomats and government officials who asked not to be named said many ASEAN leaders want a commitment from Min Aung Hlaing to restrain his security forces, who monitors say have killed 745 people since a mass civil disobedience movement emerged to challenge his Feb. 1 coup against Aung San Suu Kyi's government. Min Aung Hlaing, on his first foreign trip since the coup, will address the summit along with each of the participants before more informal discussions begin, said three sources familiar with procedures. Only a few officials will be present at the "intimate" meeting, one source said. PUSH FOR DIALOGUE ASEAN officials and diplomats have also worked on an initiative to send a humanitarian aid mission to Myanmar and appoint an envoy to encourage dialogue between the junta and the ousted lawmakers and ethnic groups who have formed an opposition National Unity Government (NUG). The leaders of Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and Brunei, the chair, have confirmed their attendance, along with the foreign ministers of Thailand and the Philippines. Myanmar's nightly news bulletin on state television on Friday made no mention of the ASEAN meeting. ASEAN has a policy of consensus decision-making and non-interference in the affairs of its members, which include Myanmar. While that makes it difficult to tackle contentious issues, the body is seen by the United Nations, China and the United States as best placed to deal with the junta directly. The summit, called for by Indonesia's president Joko Widodo last month, is a departure from the tightly choreographed leaders' meetings that are typical of ASEAN, said Evan Laksmana, a Jakarta-based security analyst. "There is no precedent, especially given the expressed intent to discuss the problems of one member state." A spokesman for the NUG, which is not attending the summit, told Reuters the group had "been in contact with ASEAN leaders". Dr. Sasa, an international envoy for the NUG, who goes by one name, said ASEAN should insist the military stops killing civilians, halts the bombing of villages in ethnic minority areas, releases political prisoners and hands power to the NUG..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-24
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Title: Do or die moment for ASEAN in Myanmar
Summary: "When Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders meet in Jakarta to discuss the worsening political crisis in Myanmar on April 24, it will mark the first time that the regional...
Sub-title: Bloc's extraordinary Myanmar crisis meeting on April 24 could be the last diplomatic chance to prevent a regional catastrophe
Description: "When Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders meet in Jakarta to discuss the worsening political crisis in Myanmar on April 24, it will mark the first time that the regional organization holds a highest-level meeting to address a specific situation of concern involving one of its members. Non-interference in domestic affairs has traditionally been one of ASEAN’s basic operating principles, along with decision-making by consensus. As such, Saturday’s summit is seen as a test of the grouping’s code of constraint as regional leaders find themselves under mounting pressure to engineer a workable, face-saving resolution before the crisis spirals further out of control. To be sure, the situation in Myanmar is on a knife’s edge. Its ruling military junta has intensified a brutal campaign of suppression in defiance of world condemnation. The cycle of protests and bloody crackdowns has left at least 738 people dead, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) monitoring group. Inflexible repression by the Tatmadaw, as Myanmar’s military is known, has pushed segments of the urban-based protest movement into using low-level guerrilla warfare tactics, while escalating hostilities with ethnic armed forces in the north and east threaten a wider war on multiple fronts in the country’s borderlands. The fear within ASEAN is that the worst is yet to come. As the region copes with a resurgent Covid-19 pandemic that continues to thwart broad-based economic recovery, the bloc faces the prospect of Myanmar’s civil strife escalating into a protracted Syria-like civil war and a humanitarian emergency that sends huge numbers of refugees over its borders. The threat of a failed state emerging within mainland Southeast Asia has added impetus and imperative to ASEAN’s diplomacy. Should the regional grouping fail to act meaningfully, analysts say outside powers including the United States and China could be compelled to intervene, raising the possibility of Myanmar becoming a proxy theater for great power contestation. Saturday’s meeting is expected to set the parameters for ASEAN taking on a mediating role in the crisis. “ASEAN will engage with all parties in Myanmar, but under what conditions will be made clearer at the summit this coming weekend,” said Alistair D B Cook, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. Following weeks of planning, the talks are seen as primarily aimed at seeking de-escalation and establishing conditions for dialogue between Myanmar’s military and the ousted civilian government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD), whose leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior figures remain in detention. However, it’s not clear that a negotiated settlement would be acceptable to either side at this stage, with neither camp apparently willing to accept a compromise or return to the status quo ante. The Tatmadaw has shown no willingness to talk to members of the elected government it ousted, having ratcheted up its brutality despite appeals from its neighbors to refrain from violence. At least seven ASEAN leaders are expected to attend the summit in Indonesia’s capital, with Thailand and the Philippines opting to send their foreign ministers. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, chairman of the junta’s State Administration Council (SAC) and architect of the February 1 coup d’etat, is expected to travel to Jakarta to participate in the face-to-face meeting. “The fact that there will be an ASEAN summit meeting on the crisis and that General Min Aung Hlaing will attend it is an important but only tentative step forward,” said Choi Shing Kwok, director of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore and head of its ASEAN Studies Centre. “I expect ASEAN leaders to focus first on convincing Min Aung Hlaing to take a few short-term steps, including curtailing the violence against unarmed civilian protesters and exercising restraint in its dealings with its opponents,” he said. “Without such a break in the escalation in violence, no reconciliation of the political forces within the country is possible.” Critics of the military takeover have condemned the general’s planned attendance at the summit, with some observers viewing the invitation to sit alongside other ASEAN leaders as tantamount to lending legitimacy to his regime’s democracy-suspending putsch, particularly in light of the recent establishment of a parallel authority by pro-democracy forces. “The invitation to Min Aung Hlaing must be handled with extreme caution, and ASEAN must make it abundantly clear that he is not there as a representative of the Myanmar people, who totally reject his barbaric junta,” said Charles Santiago, chairperson of advocacy group ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR). Deposed members of Parliament, leaders of anti-coup protests and ethnic minority organizations announced on April 16 a National Unity Government (NUG), which says it is the country’s legitimate interim authority and has requested international recognition and an invitation to the ASEAN meeting in place of the junta leader. Figures associated with the NUG, which previously referred to itself as the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), have said they were not consulted over the planned summit. Some regional foreign ministers and officials are known to have held back channel talks with Myanmar’s ousted lawmakers since the coup, however. “ASEAN cannot adequately discuss the situation in Myanmar without hearing from and speaking to the National Unity Government. If ASEAN’s purpose really is to strengthen democracy, as stated by its Charter, they must give them a seat at the table,” said Santiago in a statement. “After all, they are the embodiment of democracy in Myanmar.” Analysts expect ASEAN’s diplomats to continue their quiet diplomatic outreach with the NUG in the weeks ahead, but some say that the Tatmadaw’s leader may have refused to attend the regional summit if representatives of the parallel authority, which the junta regards as treasonous and unlawful, were also in attendance. “The call by the CRPH for ASEAN not to meet with MAH [Min Aung Hlaing] is an attempt to gain the diplomatic upper hand over the SAC, but acceding to it will be tantamount to an abandonment of any meaningful role by ASEAN,” said Choi, echoing the view that any practical de-escalation of the situation requires direct engagement with the military’s leader. “The formation of a NUG is still in its early stages and it remains to be seen if the other opposition forces in the country will accept it as the legitimate political authority. Should it be able to establish this in due course, ASEAN will certainly have to take its views and participation into account in any future reconciliation process,” Choi added. Proposals being considered for the summit reportedly include a humanitarian aid mission that would entail a pause in hostilities and delivery of medical supplies needed to counter Covid-19 as well as food aid. The appointment of a special envoy who would negotiate with the military junta and members of the deposed elected government is also reportedly under consideration. Naypyidaw has thus far refused to allow the United Nation’s special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, to visit the country. Burgener will reportedly be in Jakarta to engage ASEAN leaders on the sidelines of Saturday’s summit. While still regarded as the best hope for a diplomatic solution, the 10-member grouping’s record in tackling regional human rights crises has been abysmal. ASEAN states are already clearly divided on Myanmar’s crisis, with some of its members describing the junta’s bloody consolidation of power as an “internal matter.” Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and, more recently, the Philippines have censured the junta in uncharacteristically strong terms and called for the release of Suu Kyi and other political detainees, a step that the bloc itself has eschewed. Others have taken a more ambiguous position. Thailand, which shares a porous border with Myanmar and clearly fears a fresh influx of refugees, hasn’t openly criticized the coup but has tellingly said it is “gravely concerned” about escalating bloodshed and has more recently called for dialogue between the Tatmadaw and NLD. Hunter Marston, a PhD candidate at the Australian National University, said he anticipates that the summit will expose rifts within ASEAN on democratic and autocratic lines. “I do not expect a univocal response strong enough to convince Min Aung Hlaing that his regime has gone too far and will be held to account.” By ignoring the NUG’s entreaty to attend the summit, ASEAN has put itself in the awkward position of “effectively treating Min Aung Hlaing as the representative of Myanmar’s government even as certain members call for the release of elected leaders and a return to democracy in the country,” he added. Marston said some ASEAN states at least appeared reluctant to recognize the senior general as the legitimate leader of Myanmar. The Canberra-based academic said outside powers such as the United States, the European Union and others could soon opt to extend diplomatic recognition to the NUG, but aren’t ready to do so yet. The NUG aims to establish a federal democratic system, but isn’t yet materially able to support a nationwide parallel administration. Outside powers are thus “waiting to see how much of a following [the NUG] have, what resources they’re able to command, and whether they can effectively claim to govern Myanmar given the current state of chaos,” said Marston. Elina Noor, director for political-security affairs and deputy director at the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington DC, said there will be pressures on, but also an inclination by, Western liberal democracies, in particular, to recognize the NUG as Myanmar’s legitimate government, which could allow it to access country funds now punitively frozen in overseas banking systems. The US, for one, is now holding over US$1 billion worth of Myanmar state funds. “If this happens, ASEAN will be in an even more difficult position since the UN and ASEAN’s own dialogue partners have all expressed support for the grouping’s key role in this crisis. ASEAN centrality will be further questioned if a split on recognition happens in the international community,” she told Asia Times. ASEAN centrality refers to the notion that the regional grouping and its associated mechanisms should serve as the core institutional platform through which disputes are managed and wider diplomacy with outside powers is advanced. That centrality, observers argue, risks being undermined by ASEAN’s inability to manage affairs within its region. “If the violence can be stopped and some interim mechanism of dialogue can be agreed upon involving the NUG, then ASEAN can help play a constructive, bridging role in charting a more sustainable roadmap ahead for Myanmar,” Noor said. In a recent op-ed published by the Jakarta Post, Noor said that while ASEAN must deal with the military junta as the de facto party in power in order to realistically address the situation, Myanmar’s suspension from ASEAN should be a consideration, particularly if the regime remains intransigent and rebuffs regional efforts to reach a solution. While suspending Myanmar from the bloc at a time of worsening violence could seem unconstructive and cause ASEAN to lose its leverage with the junta, Noor said Southeast Asian governments could be better off continuing their engagement with the Tatmadaw outside rather than within the ASEAN framework. “The solution may be to unshackle ASEAN member states from the constraining formalities of organizational bureaucracy while still working closely behind the scenes plurilaterally, as is effectively the case now,” she said. Noor added that engagement, rather than isolation, would in any case help to affirm ASEAN centrality and stave off external interventions. “If Myanmar teeters on the brink of civil war or if there is protracted bloodshed, there is a risk external powers will feel compelled to intervene and not completely for altruistic reasons, either,” she said. “This would be a worst-case scenario, in which major powers would carve out spheres and territories of influence in Myanmar as well as in the region. “That is why it is imperative for ASEAN to set the stage this weekend by demonstrating effectiveness, even if it’s just to stop the ongoing violence so that mediation can begin. It won’t be enough for the people of Myanmar who voted in a different government, but it will be a necessary precondition for some kind of change on the ground.” Should the crisis in Myanmar escalate and ASEAN’s attempt to broker a solution falter, analysts believe it is possible that the case for external military intervention, potentially in the form of missile strikes against military targets, could be seriously considered by Washington and its allies in a bid to pressure Naypyidaw to the negotiating table. The possibility of such an escalation is still seen as remote given that Washington has so far been broadly content to leave the crisis to ASEAN. The situation in Myanmar, moreover, isn’t deemed as being of critical strategic importance to the US, and military intervention would almost certainly spark divisions among the Washington-led Quad alliance. “The appetite for and effectiveness of foreign military intervention by the major powers is very much in question today,” said ISEAS’ director Choi. “With the Tatmadaw being fiercely independent and having the option to play one major power off against another, it is highly questionable what kind of effective intervention any power could mount.” ASEAN’s approach, “whatever it may be called, therefore remains an attractive option for the international community to rally behind, though its ability to deliver is not guaranteed,” Choi added. He expects “only modest progress” at the weekend’s summit, with the main aim being to persuade Min Aung Hlaing to accept a process towards a mediated reconciliation, which could also include the involvement of other international stakeholders. “The situation in Myanmar is at a point where it could get a lot worse before it gets better,” Choi lamented. “ASEAN’s record in the past has been to continue engaging rather than to close doors when there is still hope for improvement. Having said that, the situation is so open-ended that I believe anything is possible and nothing can be ruled out.”..."
Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-23
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Title: Myanmar: Human rights must be top priority for emergency ASEAN summit
Summary: "The catastrophic aftermath of the Myanmar coup is the biggest test in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) history, said Amnesty International today, calling on the regional bloc to...
Description: "The catastrophic aftermath of the Myanmar coup is the biggest test in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) history, said Amnesty International today, calling on the regional bloc to prioritise protecting the human rights of people in Myanmar and prevent the situation deteriorating into a human rights and humanitarian crisis. The organization is also urging the Indonesian authorities and other ASEAN member states to investigate Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on credible allegations of responsibility for crimes against humanity in Myanmar. As a state party to the UN Convention Against Torture, Indonesia has a legal obligation to prosecute or extradite a suspected perpetrator on its territory. “The Myanmar crisis trigged by the military presents ASEAN with the biggest test in its history. The bloc’s usual commitment to non-interference is a non-starter: this is not an internal matter for Myanmar but a major human rights and humanitarian crisis which is impacting the entire region and beyond,” said Emerlynne Gil, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Research “The crisis initiated by a murderous and unrepentant Myanmar military has engulfed the country, and will cause severe aftershocks – humanitarian and more – for the entire region, particularly if the military can continue to commit serious violations and crimes with complete impunity. “Moreover, the Indonesian authorities are duty-bound to investigate Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and other Myanmar military officials who may join his delegation to Jakarta. “The extensively documented allegations against Myanmar’s coup leader, by the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, Amnesty International and many others, must be investigated. The Indonesian authorities and other ASEAN member states cannot ignore the fact Min Aung Hlaing is suspected of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole.”......ASEAN’s credibility on the line: In an open letter to ASEAN member states, Amnesty International highlights the fact that hundreds of people have been killed and thousands have been detained in the weeks following the 1 February military coup in Myanmar. The Myanmar military remains unmoved by the various calls from the international community and civil society organizations. Myanmar’s economy is on its knees and expected to contract by up to 20%, while food prices increase and banking system disruptions and limited cash availability hinder humanitarian operations. The World Food Programme has warned that up to 3.4 million people in Myanmar face hunger in the next several months. “The Myanmar military appears to be operating with the assumption of total impunity. The situation today is the direct result of a broader failure by the international community, including the ASEAN, to hold the Myanmar military to account for its past crimes. “If not stopped, the violations committed by the Myanmar military will result in escalating violence and conflict, worsening inequality, hunger and mass displacement, including into ASEAN Member States – all amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “Amnesty International urges the ASEAN and its Member States to work together and take immediate action to protect the people of Myanmar, prioritizing their human rights and to end impunity,” said Emerlynne Gil. The need to end impunity: On 10 March 2021, after examining over 50 clips from the ongoing crackdown, Amnesty International found that the Myanmar military is using increasingly lethal tactics and weapons normally seen on the battlefield against peaceful protesters and bystanders across the country. Many of these killings amount to extrajudicial executions. In a statement to the UN Human Rights Council on 11 March 2021, the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, noted that the repression of peaceful protests since the coup likely meets the threshold of crimes against humanity. In 2018, Amnesty International released a report containing extensive and credible evidence implicating Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and 12 other named individuals in crimes against humanity committed during the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya population in northern Rakhine State. Thousands of Rohingya women, men and children were murdered – bound and summarily executed; shot and killed while running away; or burned to death inside their homes. Rohingya women and girls were raped in their villages and as they fled to Bangladesh. Over the last few years, Amnesty International has also documented war crimes and other serious human rights violations committed by the Myanmar military against various other ethnic minorities in Rakhine, Chin, Kachin and northern Shan States. Amnesty International continues to call on all states, including ASEAN Member States, to exercise universal and other forms of jurisdiction to investigate any person who may reasonably be suspected of committing crimes against humanity, war crimes or other crimes under international law in Myanmar. ASEAN should not shield perpetrators from accountability and must put an end to the years of impunity of the Myanmar military. “There is sufficient evidence to reasonably suspect that Min Aung Hlaing is responsible for crimes under international law, including torture, and this needs highlighting at every opportunity,” said Emerlynne Gil. “The deadly operations by the military since the 1 February coup only magnify the urgency of bringing Min Aung Hlaing and other suspected perpetrators to justice. The Indonesian authorities have an obligation to investigate him and must do so.”.....Background: In its open letter to ASEAN and member states ahead of the emergency summit, Amnesty International calls on the following: To the ASEAN - Unequivocally condemn all human rights violations in Myanmar and continue to call for the release of all individuals who are arbitrarily detained, and the end of the use of lethal force against children, peaceful protesters and bystanders. Direct the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) to develop a common approach to ensure that all engagement with Myanmar takes into account and addresses human rights concerns, in accordance with the AICHR’s mandate in Section 4.11 of its Terms of Reference. This common approach shall be adopted by ASEAN and shall guide the regional body in all of its engagement in Myanmar, including in relation to the situation in Rakhine State and to repression of opposition to the military coup. Support the work of independent international mechanisms, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar to investigate human rights violations in Myanmar. Urge the United Nations Security Council to refer the situation in Myanmar as a whole to the International Criminal Court. Support the call for the UN Security Council to impose a comprehensive global arms embargo against Myanmar. Support the call for the UN Security Council to impose targeted financial sanctions against officials suspected of responsibility for crimes under international law and serious violations, including in the context of the repression of opposition to the 1 February coup. To ASEAN member states - #Refrain from returning any person to Myanmar under the current circumstances, regardless of their immigration status, and continue to halt all deportations and returns until human rights protections can be guaranteed. Returning any person under the current circumstances would constitute a breach of the principle of non-refoulement, which, as part of customary human rights law, prohibits the return of any person, irrespective of migration status, to a state where there are substantial grounds to believe they would face irreparable harm upon return due to serious human rights violations. #Ensure that any future repatriations or returns of refugees are only conducted when safe, voluntary, and dignified, with explicit human rights protections in place, including the right to citizenship. States should provide an individual assessment for each person to evaluate needs for international protection. #Exercise universal and other forms of jurisdiction to investigate Senior General Min Aung Hlaing for allegations of committing crimes against humanity, war crimes or other crimes under international law in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: "Amnesty International" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-23
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Title: Myanmar: Five-year-old among almost 100 killed by security forces
Summary: "Responding to reports that at least 91 people, including a five-year-old boy, were killed by Myanmar security forces across the country on 27 March in its ongoing brutal crackdown on protesters,...
Description: "Responding to reports that at least 91 people, including a five-year-old boy, were killed by Myanmar security forces across the country on 27 March in its ongoing brutal crackdown on protesters, Ming Yu Hah, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns, said: “This is just the latest example of the military authorities’ determination to kill their way out of nationwide resistance to the coup. These abhorrent killings again show the generals’ brazen disregard for the inadequate pressure applied so far by the international community. “This comes a day after the military announced that further protests would be met with shots to the head. “The cost of international inaction is being counted in bodies, including children shot dead in their homes. Amid the horrifying death toll is a nation of over 50 million held hostage, subjected to arbitrary arrest and sweeping surveillance, living in fear of death and torture. “The people of Myanmar continue to protest, all while they grieve more killings by the hour. The nations that participated in the military’s Armed Forces Day events today in the capital of Nay Pyi Taw, particularly China and Russia, are the same states that have shielded the Tatmadaw from accountability time and time again, supplying them with the means to carry out mass slaughter. “UN Security Council member states’ continued refusal to meaningfully act against this never-ending horror is contemptible.” Background At the time of writing, media reported that the military killed nearly 100 people in Yangon, Mandalay and other towns today, including a five-year-old boy. On 26 March, state television announced protesters were “in danger of getting shot to the head and back”. According to estimates from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) (AAPPB), the minimum death toll since the 1 February coup stood at 328 on 26 March. While a small number of protesters have armed themselves with crude homemade weaponry including molotov cocktails, slingshots and homemade air-pressure rifles, the protests have overall remained peaceful and in the incidents that Amnesty International has examined, lethal force used by the military has been unlawful and excessive. Elsewhere in the country, armed conflict is escalating between the Myanmar military and ethnic armed groups. Amnesty International has grave concerns about the potential for further mass atrocities as well as the resumption of large-scale conflict and associated mass displacement adding to the country’s existing internally displaced population of over 300,000. Amnesty is calling on the UN Security Council to impose a comprehensive global arms embargo on Myanmar, and refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court. The Security Council must also impose targeted financial sanctions against Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing (Myanmar’s military chief now in charge of the country) and other military leaders responsible for atrocity crimes against various ethnic minorities across the country, including the Rohingya. The UN Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar has previously called for Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and other senior officials to be investigated and prosecuted for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide..."
Source/publisher: "Amnesty International" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-19
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Title: Myanmar violence ‘must cease immediately’: UN agencies
Sub-title: The UN Country Team in Myanmar on Monday, reiterated its call for an end to violence against civilians, amid reports of dozens of deaths in the latest crackdown on protests against the military takeover.
Description: "More than 80 people lost their lives on Friday as security forces reportedly used heavy weapons against protesters in the town of Bago, located about 90 kilometres (56 miles) northeast of the commercial capital Yangon, according to media reports. “[We are] following events in Bago with reports of heavy artillery being used against civilians and medical treatment being denied to those injured”, the Country Team (UNCT) said in a post on Twitter. “The violence must cease immediately”, it stressed. Hundreds killed Hundreds of civilians, including at least 44 children, have been killed in the crackdown across Myanmar since the military coup on 1 February. Countless more have been seriously injured and more than 2,600 are in detention, including many held incommunicado or forcibly disappeared. There are also reports that several hundred people have fled areas hit hard by violence, including many who have sought refuge in neighbouring countries. UN agencies have also reported sharp increases in food and fuel prices in many parts of the country, on the back of supply chain and market disruptions. Humanitarians worry that if the price trends continue, they will “severely undermine” the ability of the poorest and most vulnerable to put enough food on the family table. UN Special Envoy visiting region The UN Special Envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, on a regional visit to press for efforts to resolve the crisis in Myanmar. Ms. Schraner Burgener, however, will not visit Myanmar, she said in a tweet. “I regret that Tatmadaw [Myanmar’s military] answered me yesterday that they are not ready to receive me”, the Special Envoy said. “I am ready for dialogue. Violence never leads to peaceful sustainable solution”, she added. In the Thai capital, the Special Envoy is scheduled to meet with UN regional officials as well as ambassadors accredited to Myanmar who are in Bangkok. In addition to Thailand, the Special Envoy is consulting on visits to other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries, as well as other neighbouring countries. “As she has highlighted repeatedly, a robust international response to the ongoing crisis in Myanmar requires a unified regional effort involving neighbouring countries who can leverage influence towards stability in Myanmar”, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said..."
Source/publisher: UN News
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-16
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Title: “Situation Report of the LGBTIQs after the Military Coup in Myanmar” by Ministry of Human Rights and Ministry of Women, Youths and Children Affairs, National Unity Government of Myanmar
Description: "1. Context: Approaching nearly 5 months of military coup, people of Myanmar face vastuncertainty and regressions in socio-economic sectors, with all forms of their humanrights being violated. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners(AAPP), over (881) have been killed, (6,348) have been detained and (1,965) have beenissued warrants by the military junta since the day of the coup, 1 February 2021.Undeniably, members of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer(LGBTIQ) communities are also a part of that statistics. Since the beginning of the coup, LGBTIQ people have been activelyparticipating in anti-coup protests, demonstrations and civil disobedience movement(CDM). As crackdowns, violence and tortures against pro-democracy activists andcivilians intensified within the past few months, many LGBTIQs across Myanmar facedsevere human rights violations. The drag queens who used to be proudlyphotographed with protest signs took to the streets wearing helmets, goggles andshields. As impressive as it looked, the cheap helmets and shields however offeredno safety at all against live ammunition. The situation has extremely deteriorated for the human rights defenders andactivists who led the community as well as for the wider community. Many of theactivists have gone into hiding and change places to sleep every 3-4 days. Themilitary publishes new arrest lists every day and there is a constant fear of getting onthe list. Reports from LGBTIQ civil society organizations highlight that there are 12cases of LGBTIQ fatalities; with 73 being arrested and/or charged under 505 (a); (65)still being detained and (28) either in hiding or having fled to non-SAC controlledareas.....2. LGBTIQ Deaths, Arrests and Detentions: Gathering LGBTIQ-related data during the coup is a challenge given limitedaccess to the internet and communication with those who are out of reach forsecurity reasons or who do not want to disclose their identities. However, reliablesources indicate that gay people and transgender women are predominantly at thetop of the chart of most cases of human rights abuses and violations committedagainst the LGBTIQ.From 1 February to 20 June, (12) LGBTIQ community members from Myitkyina,Myingyan, Monywa, Mawlamyine, Yangon, Kyaukpadaung, and Mandalay were shotdead while participating in non-violent and peaceful protests and defendingprotesters from military violence. (3) gay men and (1) transgender woman fromMyingyan and Bago were seriously injured by riot police/armed forces. LGBTIQ groups throughout Myanmar actively participated under rainbow flagsas front-liners at every stage of the revolution. The visibility of the community leadsto highlighting the diversity and inclusivity of the people against the coup. Nodiscriminations against the LGBTIQ community was observed but respect and unity.Hence, LGBTIQ activists were equally targeted and a lot of them are blacklisted andcharged under section 5051 (a) and (c). Majority of blacklisted individuals are in hidingand some got arrested. (73) arrests of LGBTQ individuals have been reported since 1February. Majority of them were from Yangon and Mandalay regions. Because of thevisible identity of transgender people who got arrested, they experienced differentforms of sexual harassment during arrest, in police custody and in detention placesby armed forces..."
Source/publisher: Ministry of Human Rights and Ministry of Women, Youths and Children Affairs, National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-30
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Title: Australia halts defence ties with Myanmar, redirects aid
Description: " Australia has suspended its defence cooperation programme with Myanmar, Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said, amid an intensified crackdown by the country’s military on massive protests against last month’s coup. Australia will also redirect immediate humanitarian needs to Rohingyas and other ethnic minorities, Payne said in a statement late Sunday. “We will prioritise the most pressing humanitarian and emerging needs and seek to ensure our humanitarian engagement is with and through non-government organisations, not with government or government-related entities,” Payne said. Australia bilateral defence ties with Myanmar’s military are restricted to non-combat areas such as English language training. Canberra will also continue to demand the immediate release of Sean Turnell, an economist and adviser to deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, authorities said. Turnell has been detained with limited consular access since the Feb. 1 coup that overthrew Myanmar’s elected government. Hundreds of people gathered in Australia’s largest city of Sydney over the weekend urging the Australian government to take a strong stance against the coup. The Southeast Asian country has been plunged in turmoil after the army took over control of the country and detained elected leaders, with daily protests that United Nations said had killed more than 50 people. “We continue to strongly urge the Myanmar security forces to exercise restraint and refrain from violence against civilians,” Payne said..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-08
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Title: Myanmar: Briefing by Special Envoy of UN Secretary-General
Description: "Informal meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to hear a briefing by the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on #Myanmar​, Christine Schraner Burgener. Briefing pursuant to operative paragraph 21 (c) of General Assembly resolution A/RES/75/238. [ https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/75/238​ ] The operative paragraph 21(c) of General Assembly resolution 75/238 on the situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar, “requests the Secretary-General … to provide all assistance necessary to enable the Special Envoy on Myanmar to effectively discharge her mandate and to report to Member States every six months, or as warranted by the situation on the ground”..."
Source/publisher: United Nations ( New York )
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-08
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Title: Global human rights and local politics
Summary: "“The mix within her of global human rights icon and steely Burmese politician is bound to be uneasy.” So wrote Mr William Burns, former deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration, of...
Sub-title: In countries undergoing a transition to democracy, deeply engrained social and intellectual tendencies are often at odds with idealistic international political norms.
Description: "“The mix within her of global human rights icon and steely Burmese politician is bound to be uneasy.” So wrote Mr William Burns, former deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration, of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in his contemporaneous notes on meeting her in Myanmar (The Back Channel: A Memoir of American Diplomacy and the Case for Its Renewal. NY: Random House, p. 270). This prescient conclusion captures the essence of Aung San Suu Kyi’s dilemma, and that of much of the Western world, in balancing international opinions and policies with Burmese political realities. She considers herself, as she has stated, a politician not an icon. She is, however, both. This unease has been dually fostered: in the West by Myanmar’s egregiously discriminatory and disastrous policy of ethnic cleansing (some claim genocide) against the Rohingya Muslim minority, but in Myanmar itself – where anti-Rohingya sentiment is virtually ubiquitous and repressive legislation against them enforced – by her administration’s lack of economic progress for those most in need. Among the urban and intellectual community, there is further disquiet because of the use of anti-democratic legislation, some of it dating from British colonial rule and continued under military autocracies. Although reports indicate her falling, if not failing, reputation, she remains relatively popular..."
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-01
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Title: Myanmar guards kill Bangladeshi fisherman
Description: "A Bangladeshi fisherman was shot dead and another was injured allegedly by Myanmar’s Border Guard Police on the Naf river in Cox’s Bazar’s Teknaf upazila yesterday. The incident happened when the two men went fishing in the morning, locals claimed. The dead was identified as Noor Mohammad, 38, while the injured was Abul Kalam, 32, both of East Moheshkhalia Para in Teknaf. Lieutenant Colonel Md Foisal Hasan, commanding officer of BGB-2, said a team of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) found Noor Mohammad’s body and a bullet-hit Abul Kalam near sluice gate No 5. Abul Kalam was first taken to Teknaf Upazila Health Complex and later shifted to Cox’s Bazar General Hospital. Noor’s body was sent for an autopsy. He left behind his wife, four daughters and a son. Local Union Parishad member Jahed Hossain claimed the incident took place when the two were setting up nets in the Naf river..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-01
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Title: New report: Proposed Myanmar dam could displace thousands
Sub-title: Some worry that despite financial and social costs, much of the electricity proposed dam will generate will be exported.
Description: "Myanmar government officials claim a hydroelectricity project along the Tanintharyi River could significantly benefit the Southeast Asian nation. But new research by a trio of human rights organisations offers a dark contrast to that bright picture. Almost 7,000 people could be displaced if a dam is built along the river, according to a joint report, Blocking a Bloodline, by Candle Light, Southern Youth, and the Tarkapaw Youth Group. "These approximately 7,000 people will lose everything they know, including their way of life, community and kinship, ancestral history, local use of natural resources, and their lands," Human Rights Watch's Asia Deputy Director Phil Robertson wrote in an email to Al Jazeera. "If this [project] goes forward, [the villagers] will mark the first day of their displacement as the start of the worst period of their lives, when their rights were trod on by the Myanmar government and they were shuffled off to a wholly inadequate resettlement area where quality land, water, services, and support are entirely lacking." The reports suggest the project will alter the livelihoods of the Karen, the area's indigenous people. This dam could "irreversibly alter the lives of up to 32,000 people living along it," the authors write. They predict that not only could up to 32 upstream villages be displaced, but 58,500 hectares of land would likely be destroyed..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera"
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-18
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Title: KWO LAUNCHES 16-DAY CAMPAIGN OF ACTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN-25-11-2018 တၢ်စုဆူၣ်ခီၣ်တကးလၢပိာ်မုၣ်ပိာ်မၢၤအဖီခိၣ် ကလီၤမၢ်အဂီၢ် ၁၆သီ KWO တၢ်ဟူးတၢ်ဂဲၤ ကမျၢၢ် ၅၀၀ ဃၣ်ဃၣ် ဟဲထီၣ်ပၣ်ဃုာ်
Description: "(KWO) ကညီပိာ်မုၣ်ကရၢ တီခိၣ်ရိၣ်မဲ၀ဲဒီးမၤ၀ဲ ၁၆ သီတၢ်ဟူးတၢ်ဂဲၤလၢ အမ့ၢ်တၢ်စုဆူၣ်ခီၣ်တကး လၢပိာ်မုၣ်ပိာ်မၢၤအဖီခိၣ် ကလီၤမၢ်ကွံာ်အဂီၢ် တၢ်ရဲၣ်တၢ်ကျဲၤအံၤ တၢ်မၤအီၤဖဲ (ခ့ၣ်အဲၣ်ယူၣ်)ဒူသထူၣ်ကီၢ်ရ့ၣ်၊ သုးက့(၁) တၢ်ပၢ တမိးဒီ (ကၠီၣ်တီၣ်)သ၀ီလ့ဂၢၢ်ကျၢၤတၢ်လီၢ်ဖဲနိၣ်၀့ဘၢၣ်၂၅ သီအနံၤဒီး လၢတၢ်ရဲၣ်တၢ်ကျဲၤအပူၤ တၢ်လီၢ်အါတီၤ ကညီပိာ်မုၣ်ခိၣ်နၢ်သ့ၣ် တဖၣ်ဟဲထီၣ်၀ဲဒၣ်န့ၣ်လီၤႉ..." "Under the banner of a ‘Future Generation Free from all forms of Violence’ the KWO launch its campaign with KWO district representatives and from refugee camps on the Thai Burma border. Naw Dah Mu, a social welfare coordinator and an executive member of the KWO told Karen News the groups had come together to support the campaign..."
နါ၀့ၣ်ဖၠိစၣ်
Source/publisher: KIC (Karen Information Center), KWO ( Karen Women Organization)
Date of publication: 2018-11-29
Date of entry/update: 2018-12-03
[field_licence]
Type: Individual Documents
Language: Sgaw Karen, Burmese(ျမန္မာဘာသာ), English
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Title: How to Promote Human Rights in the World?s Most Repressive States: Lessons from Myanmar
Description: Abstract: "For two decades, Myanmar sat at the top of the international human rights agenda. With recent political changes, this may now be a thing of the past, but the bad old days hold important lessons that should not be forgotten. This article draws on interviews conducted mainly inside Myanmar over a period of 15 years to evaluate, contrast and compare the impact of different international human rights policies on the ground. It is argued that while the effects of both Western ostracism and regional business as usual have been largely counterproductive and often harmful to the Myanmar people, principled engagement by the United Nations and other international organisations has shown significant potential to help promote human rights. This is a lesson which may be worth heeding in other repressive states."
Morten B. Pedersen
Source/publisher: Australian Journal of International Affairs, 67:2, 190-202
Date of entry/update: 2016-03-24
[field_licence]
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 188.6 KB
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Title: De la neutralit? ? la conditionnalit? politique des relations communautaires avec les pays en voie de d?veloppement: ... Quelles sont les effets de la politique europ?enne de sanctions ? l??gard du My
Description: La conditionnalit?, de par sa nature essentiellement politique, a souvent ?t? ?tudi?e par des politologues plut?t que par des juristes. Ce constat est attribuable ? l?absence d?une r?glementation juridique internationale relative ? la conditionnalit?, et ? sa mise en oeuvre de nature essentiellement ad hoc, et non syst?matique. Tous les Etats n?appliquent pas la conditionnalit? politique, ni ne l?appliquent-ils tous de mani?re homog?ne; et encore moins y sont-ils tous soumis ?quitablement. La conditionnalit? est toujours subordonn?e ? des exigences g?opolitiques, strat?giques, commerciales et ?conomiques.1 Beaucoup d?arguments peuvent ?tre mobilis?s contre la conditionnalit?: le principe de non ing?rence, la critique du n?ocolonialisme, le relativisme culturel, etc. Toutefois, la n?cessit? de prot?ger et de promouvoir les droits de l?homme peut suffire ? la l?gitimer, pour le moins d?un point de vue conceptuel. D?un point de vue juridique, reste encore ? prouver la l?galit? de cette pratique dans le droit international. L?argument principal ? cet effet r?side dans l?article 2.1. du Pacte International sur les Droits civils et Politiques, ratifi? par la communaut? internationale, lequel sugg?re que tous les Etats parties prennent des initiatives, notamment par l?interm?diaire de l?aide internationale et de la coop?ration, pour parvenir ? la r?alisation compl?te des droits reconnus dans le Pacte.2 La Communaut? europ?enne, au sortir de la Guerre Froide, adopte une nouvelle conception du d?veloppement et de sa mise en oeuvre ; une conception plus lib?rale, et qui engage davantage la responsabilit? des PVD dans le processus de d?veloppement. Dans ce contexte surgit la notion de conditionnalit? politique de l?aide : d?sormais, l?aide est d?livr?e ? condition que les pays r?cipiendaires s?engagent ? respecter les droits fondamentaux et les principes d?mocratiques. L?aide au d?veloppement communautaire n?a pas toujours impliqu? cette notion de m?rite ; nous le verrons dans la premi?re partie. Les bases juridiques sur lesquelles a ?t? con?ue la politique d?aide au d?veloppement communautaire jusque dans les ann?es 1990 datent du Trait? de Rome. Les relations avec les ? pays et territoires d?outre mer ? constituaient ? l??poque une partie substantielle du Trait?, de mani?re ? assurer la p?rennit? des relations entre les m?tropoles europ?ennes et leurs colonies une fois leur ind?pendance acquise. La conception des relations entre les PVD et la CEE a donc ?t? durablement marqu?e par les dispositions du Trait? de Rome. G?ographiquement, cela signifiait des relations z?l?es avec les pays ACP (regroupant, plus ou moins, les ex PTOM ), dans le cadre des Conventions successives de Lom? ; et des relations tardives et modestes avec les PVD non associ?s, selon la terminologie r?v?latrice de la r?glementation communautaire. Politiquement, les Conventions de Lom? r?glaient la coop?ration au d?veloppement communautaire avec les pays ACP sur base d?une relation neutre, sans condition politique ou ?conomique pr?alable. L??chec de cette politique appara?t de plus en plus flagrant apr?s la crise de la dette et l?incapacit? des ?conomies en d?veloppement, surtout des pays ACP, ? s?ins?rer dans le syst?me ?conomique mondial globalis?. A la m?me ?poque, la fin de la Guerre Froide voit les d?mocraties lib?rales occidentales triompher. L?Union Europ?enne est cr??e en 1992 sur base des principes lib?raux d??conomie de march?, de bonne gouvernance, de d?mocratie et de respect des droits de l?homme. D?sormais, ces principes impr?gneront la politique ext?rieure communautaire d?finie dans le cadre de la PESC. Les relations communautaires avec les PVD doivent ?tre revues dans cette optique lib?rale. La nouvelle politique des droits de l?homme va ?tre mise en oeuvre ? travers la conditionnalit? politique de l?aide au d?veloppement. D?sormais, la politique de d?veloppement ne doit plus ?tre consid?r?e de mani?re isol?e mais comme un ?l?ment de la politique ext?rieure communautaire.3 Nous l? observerons, en analysant les relations r?gionales eurasiatiques, dans la deuxi?me partie. Le partenariat avec l?ANASE a une port?e allant de la coop?ration commerciale, ?conomique et politique ? la coop?ration au d?veloppement. Le dialogue intergouvernemental au sein de l?ASEM (qui r?unit les 27 membres de l?UE et 16 pays asiatiques dont la Chine, le Japon, l?Inde, la Cor?e du Sud et les pays membres de l?ANASE ) a aussi un dessein multidimensionnel, confrontant les diff?rentes parties relativement ? leurs politiques ?trang?re, ?conomique et financi?re. Dans la quatri?me partie, nous ?tudierons le cas de la conditionnalit? politique appliqu?e ? la Birmanie, gouvern?e depuis 40 ans par une junte militaire devenue la b?te noire de la communaut? internationale. Depuis 1997, la Birmanie ne b?n?ficie plus de pr?f?rences tarifaires pour ses exportations vers l?UE. Pas plus ne dispose-t-elle aujourd?hui de l?aide communautaire au d?veloppement. Apres une pr?sentation g?n?rale du pays et son histoire contemporaine, nous tenterons d??valuer les effets de la strat?gie communautaire dans le cas birman et l?opportunit? d?appliquer la conditionnalit? politique (et les sanctions qu?elle implique) pour mener un pays ? se r?former et ? se d?velopper.
Louise Culot
Source/publisher: Universit? Libre de Bruxelles
Date of publication: 2007-08-31
Date of entry/update: 2007-10-19
[field_licence]
Type: Individual Documents
Language: Francais, French
Format : pdf
Size: 481.21 KB
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Title: La dimension des droits de l?homme dans les relations internationales : le cas de la Birmanie (Myanmar)
Description: Introduction: "L?étude politique des droits de l?homme ne peut se faire sans tenir compte du contexte politique, géographique et historique dans lequel ces derniers ont évolué. Souvent brandis comme l?étendard que des hommes et des femmes ont porté dans l?espoir de faire valoir leur individualité face à des gouvernements, ces valeurs n?en continuent pas moins d?être souvent traitées avec cynisme, ironie ou utopisme. Cela s?avère encore plus véridique lorsque nous choisissons de transposer l?étude de ces droits à la sphère des relations internationales où il existe un dilemme entre l?universalité proclamée des principes fondamentaux et le poids des états dans l?élaboration de politiques parfois nuisibles aux droits de l?homme mais justifiées par un recours systématique au principe de souveraineté étatique. Cependant, ce concept des droits de l?homme revient constamment, au travers de discours, articles, essais et discussions, alimenter la thèse selon laquelle ces droits, bien que proclamés déjà en 1789, restent à être pleinement réalisés en ce début de 21° siècle. S?ils sont déjà considérés comme acquis et immuables en occident principalement, il n?est pas inutile de rappeler que les valeurs qu?ils défendent (liberté, égalité…) sont des concepts relativement nouveaux dans l?histoire humaine et que leur application au niveau international est loin d?être évidente. Notre optique n?est pas de se livrer à une condamnation de l?application du respect des droits de l?homme que certains diront secondaires à la prise en compte de considérations économiques, politiques ou géostratégiques mais plutôt de comprendre comment la défense des droits de l?homme trouve sa place dans la justification des politiques internationales en comparant leur promotion faite en occident et leur application dans une région aussi lointaine que l?Asie. Ce mémoire analysera donc l?importance du non-respect des droits de l?homme au sein des relations internationales en analysant le cas de la Birmanie, également connue sous le nom de Myanmar.2 Nous partirons du principe que le gouvernement militaire birman ne respecte pas les droits contenus dans la Déclaration Universelle des Droits de l?Homme de l?ONU de 1948 et que cela complique ses relations avec des gouvernements étrangers ainsi qu?avec des institutions internationales qui ont un devoir de veiller à ce que leur politique extérieure avec des pays tiers tienne compte du respect des droits de l?homme. Les instances analysées sont les Etats-Unis, l?Union Européenne (UE) et l?Organisation des Nations Unies (ONU) et nous nous focaliserons sur la place que tiennent les droits de l?homme dans leurs rapports avec la Birmanie. Le choix de ces trois protagonistes permet de mettre en évidence une institution internationale (l?Organisation des Nations Unies) ainsi que deux niveaux différents d?organisations politiques au sein de ce que l?on nomme communément l?"occident" : un état (les Etats-Unis) et une institution régionale (l?Union Européenne). Le noeud de ce travail portera donc sur la question suivante : « Dans quelle mesure le non-respect des droits de l?homme influence-t-il les relations qu?entretient la Birmanie avec les Etats-Unis, l?UE et l?ONU depuis 1988 ? » L?idée n?est pas de savoir si le gouvernement birman nuit aux droits de l?homme ou pas. Ce fait est unanimement reconnu aussi bien par la communauté internationale que par le gouvernement birman lui-même. La question est plutôt de savoir jusqu?à quel point les considérations éthiques relatives au respect des droits de l?homme devancent les intérêts économiques, politiques ou géostratégiques dans la région du sud-est asiatique..."
Bryan Carter
Source/publisher: Université libre de Bruxelles, Faculté des sciences sociales, politiques et économiques -- Section de science politique
Date of publication: 2006-07-31
Date of entry/update: 2006-09-30
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Type: Individual Documents
Language: Francais, French
Format : pdf doc
Size: 508.88 KB 456.5 KB
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