AAPP Launches its New Report on Justice, the Judiciary and the Weaponization of Law to Repress Civilians in Burma

Today, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners launches its new report, highlighting the inherently repressive colonial legislation that has been amended, enacted and weaponized by the junta to systematically commit a campaign of terror and ongoing human rights violations against the people of Burma.

“The military junta is weaponizing its unjust law, using its interrogation camps, and prisons as the epicenter of its campaign of fear.  This brutal strategy seeks to crush any resistance, while systematically employing torture to silence those who dare oppose them.  We must strive to ensure that such atrocities never happen again within Burma’s territory. We believe that the NUG and ethnic groups who govern in their areas of control will not use existing laws, law enforcement agencies, and penal institutions to oppress the people.” (Ko Bo Kyi – Joint Secretary of AAPP)

The success of the Spring Revolution has been undeniable. As resistance groups take control of large swathes of territory across the country, it is imperative that the laws used in these areas take on a people-centred and human rights based approach, crucial to ensuring that these laws protect the fundamental freedoms of the people.

AAPP encourages all resistance groups, including Ethnic Resistance Organizations (EROs), to use this report as a foundation to review laws currently in use in their areas of control. It draws comparison between Burma’s domestic laws and the conditions within international human rights standards and other comparative domestic laws, to make suggestions for future legal and judicial reform.

Meanwhile, the situation on the ground makes it increasingly clear that junta rule can no longer continue. United Nations, ASEAN, and global leaders must place increased pressure on the junta to release all political prisoners who were detained under these repressive laws, including President U Win Myint and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Only then will the country be on a path to a federal democratic state, where human rights are fostered and enjoyed by all.

Assistance Association for Political Prisoners

AAPP: info@aappb.org

File Download: law report.eng.ebook