ND Burma
ND-Burma formed in 2004 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 13 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to advocate for justice for victims. ND-Burma trains local organizations in human rights documentation; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, a secure open-source software; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns.
Recent Posts
- Myanmar military regime enters year 5 in terminal decline
- Myanmar junta bombs Rohingya Muslim village killing 41, rescuers say
- Myanmar’s junta cuts filmmaker’s life sentence to 15 years as part of wider amnesty
- Close The Sky
- International condemnation of the escalating humanitarian crisis and rights violations in Myanmar
New Briefer from the Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma Condemns Ongoing Attacks Against Innocent Civilians in Myanmar
/in Press Releases and StatementsNew Briefer from the Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma Condemns Ongoing Attacks Against Innocent Civilians in Myanmar
For Immediate Release
DATE: 24 November 2021
Civilians in Myanmar have unjustly been subjected to systematic human rights violations perpetrated by the military junta for decades. A new briefing paper by the Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma (ND-Burma), “Democracy Derailed in Myanmar,” details how the junta has curtailed attempts for democratic reform in Myanmar.
A failed attempt at seizing control of the country by the Myanmar military on 1 February 2021 has left the country in desperate need of humanitarian assistance alongside worsening economic and social crises. With over 3 million civilians lacking critical life-saving materials including food, water and shelter in the midst of raging internal conflict, the Myanmar Generals have effectively left the most vulnerable in oblivion. Villages under martial-law, amid sweeping restrictions on movement and access to information, has made basic survival a daily challenge.
Among ND-Burma’s findings, ongoing conflict in urban and rural areas, as well as the suppression of fundamental freedoms, including that of the press, and the mishandled COVID-19 response has led to the conclusion that the junta is on a war-path which includes the destruction and annihilation of anyone or anything that stands in their way. Using evidence collected by ND-Burma members including the Chin Human Rights Organization and the Human Rights Foundation of Monland, and desk-research, it is abundantly clear that long held impunity is emboldening the junta to commit state-wide atrocities.
Any government which uses violence to suppress basic rights and freedoms must be condemned in the harshest possible terms. It is unacceptable that civilians are fearing for their lives in the midst of a brutal, militarized civil war. Longstanding calls for their protection must be heard, and freedom of expression must not be used to derail civilian rights.
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Media Contact
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ND-Burma is a network that consists of 13-member organisations who represent a range of ethnic nationalities, women and former political prisoners. ND-Burma member organisations have been documenting human rights abuses and fighting for justice for victims since 2004. The network consists of nine Full Members and four Affiliate Members as follows:
Full Members:
Affiliate Members:
Weekly Update on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar: Post-Coup (November 15- 21)2021
/in HR SituationAfter nearly six months in detention, detained US journalist Danny Fenster was released by the military junta through the help of negotiations between former US Diplomat, Bill Richardson under terms which remain undisclosed. Days before, on 12 November the same authorities who deported him, also sentenced Danny to 11 years in prison on violations of immigration and unlawful associations laws. The severity of the sentencing was called ‘baseless,’ ‘unjust,’ and ‘the harshest possible under the law,’ by Danny’s employer, Frontier Myanmar. His release comes after months of trials within the prison and endless calls for all journalists and political prisoners to be freed – none of whom should have ever been imprisoned to begin with.
Danny was taken away by security forces on 24 May while waiting to board a flight home when he was arrested based on false allegations that was working for Myanmar media outlet, Myanmar Now. His detainment and subsequent release highlights the injustices that the military junta has taken to suppress free speech and press freedom. Since his release, Danny has said he is committed to highlighting the plight of the dozens of remaining journalists behind bars and pledged to advocate for their freedom. They too are facing outlandish charges and face the possibility of long jail sentences.
While news of his release was overwhelmingly welcomed, it is nonetheless critical that Burmese press, human rights activists and civilians who have been unjustly imprisoned are also granted amnesties and negotiations on their behalf to ensure their freedom is granted.
The junta has taken significant steps to have a stronghold on media outlets across Myanmar as it attempts to eliminate an environment of the free press altogether. Since February, the media has been warned to not call the attempted coup as such. Journalists were arrested while documenting peaceful protests, which forced dozens into hiding. Many still remain on the wanted lists of the junta, and their families are targeted by being taken hostage. The worrying situation and declining media landscape has been compared globally as among the worst in the world.
It is with the utmost urgency that the stronghold on the press in Myanmar is relinquished and that all efforts are made to ensure the freedom of journalists unjustly behind bars. As a hallmark to any democratic society, free press is a guiding principle which the junta has outright discouraged and actively disbanded. The path the junta has taken is on a dangerous course which must be reversed, or further risk a deterioration of media values and even more dangerous space for journalists. It is therefore imperative that the country be under civilian control to restore the dignity and integrity of muted professions by the Myanmar military.
CHIN STATE
The military junta has been accused of raping two women in Chin State while raiding a village in Tedim township. A 27-year old victim was raped in front of her husband who was held at gunpoint, according to residents. She had only recently had a baby. Later that night, the woman’s pregnant sister in law was also raped. Thin Yu Mon, the director of the Chin Human Rights Organization, called the incident “disgusting and extremely inhumane.”
Offensives by the military junta and increased presence of soldiers are dangerous for civilians. Yanghee Lee of the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar and former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar stated: “Junta forces in Chin State have plundered rice stocks, destroyed farms and killed livestock in an attempt to starve the local population. Across northwest Myanmar people are in urgent need of food and medical aid.”
KAREN STATE
An escalation in fighting in Karen State has local civilians worried for their safety. According to the Karen National Union (KNU), since the beginning of November, 32 Myanmar junta soldiers were killed, and 56 wounded in clashes. The KNU has stated that the increase in fighting is due to the ongoing expanding military operations of the military junta who are taking advantage of the coming dry season to transport their supply of food and ammunition.
According to a KNU news release, five armed clashes took place on 11th November between local KNLA soldiers and Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion 406, under the Military Operations Command 8, stationed in the Ma Htaw Village tract, Dwe Lo Township, Mutraw District.
KAYAH STATE
The military junta set fire to more than three dozen homes in a village in Pekon Township, southern Shan State. Officers from the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force noted that many homes were torched intentionally by the regime. Following the destruction of properties, local villagers fled once the regime set up their base in the area. In addition to homes, a church was also damaged by shelling.
A new flash report, “Access Denied,” released by Fortify Rights analyzed the atrocities being committed against innocent civilians by the junta in Kayah State, including the blocking of life-saving aid. According to accounts in the report, human rights violations have been escalating including torture, raids and scorching of villages. Aid workers had also been targeted as arbitrary arrests continued.
Military seizes body of Mogok youth killed by sniper
/in NewsThe victim was shot in the Mandalay Region town during a clash between the military and local resistance forces
The body of a young man who was shot dead by the military in Mogok last Thursday was taken away by his killers before his family could claim it, according to local sources.
Wai Yan Aung, 19, was hit by a sniper bullet during a clash between regime soldiers and the Padamya Myay People’s Defence Force (PDF) in Mogok’s Mintada ward, a resident of the town in Mandalay Region told Myanmar Now.
“He was just hanging out with some other kids. He heard some gunshots, and as he was running away, a sniper shot him in the chest,” said the Mogok local, who did not want to be named.
“He died on the way to the hospital and the military came to collect his body. His family didn’t even get to bury him,” the man added.
The incident occurred near the Singtaung Kyaung Pagoda Hill, in Mogok’s Mintada ward, at around 7pm on Thursday, the Padamya Myay PDF said in a statement released the next day.
The group said that it carried out a series of attacks around Mogok that night, killing an unspecified number of regime forces.
According to a member of the Padamya Myay PDF, Wai Yan Aung was killed during a clash at Mogok’s Electric Power Corporation (EPC) office.
“There were at least four casualties on the junta’s side during the attack on the EPC office in Mintada,” he added.
Also targeted were the town’s central police station, a jail in South Kachin ward, a police outpost in Kyauk Phar ward, and a military outpost in the Ngayantinn area.
“There were also a great number of casualties during the attack in Ngayantinn,” said the PDF member.
Almost all of the shops in Mogok were closed in the wake of the attacks, and security was tightened at all exits and entrances to the town, local residents told Myanmar Now.
According to the Padamya Myay PDF, a clash at the Ngayantinn outpost on November 14 left five junta soldiers dead. Another mine attack near the village of Nannwet in Mogok Township killed at least 15, the group said.
The military council has not released any statement regarding the situation in Mogok.
Myanmar Now News
Reporters from Rakhine-based Western News forced into hiding by junta
/in NewsThe outlet’s editor-in-chief has vowed to continue publishing stories despite an attempt by soldiers to raid its offices last week
Several journalists from Western News, a media outlet based in the Rakhine State capital of Sittwe, have gone into hiding after soldiers and police tried to locate their office for a raid last week, the publication’s chief editor has said.
Wunna Khwar Nyo told Myanmar Now that junta personnel travelled around Sittwe in five police and military vehicles on Friday evening looking for the location of the Western News office.
“They questioned people in the neighbourhood regarding our location so that they could raid us. All of the people from our office have been forced into hiding now,” said Wunna Khwar Nyo. The junta forces have so far been unable to locate the office, he added.
At least ten of the outlet’s journalists are now in hiding. It is unclear if authorities have filed any charges against them.
Friday marked the seventh anniversary of a Myanmar military attack on a rebel base in Laiza, Kachin State, that killed 23 cadets including eight members of the Arakan Army (AA).
Wunna Khwar Nyo suggested a Western News report about an event in Sittwe to mark the anniversary is the reason the outlet was targeted. The outlet has been subjected to intimidation by junta authorities before, he added.
In June the news team was summoned by the ministry of border affairs and security and told the junta did not like to be referred to as the military council and disliked the outlet’s coverage of rights abuses in Rakhine, he said.
“We didn’t stop writing news after the warning. I think they were holding a grudge against us for that,” Wunna Khwar Nyo said. The outlet will continue to publish stories even though its journalists are in hiding, he added.
Earlier this year the junta filed charges against the editor-in-charge and a reporter from the Rakhine-based Development Media Group. The outlet’s editor-in-chief, Aung Min Oo, is facing charges from 2019 but like his colleagues has so far evaded arrest.
The military council has revoked the publishing licenses of nine media outlets, including Myanmar Now, since seizing power in the February 1 coup.
More than 50 journalists remain in junta custody, according to Detained Journalists Information Myanmar.
Myanmar Now News
CALL ON INTERPOL TO BAN THE ILLEGAL JUNTA FROM REPRESENTING MYANMAR AT ITS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
/in Member statements, Press Releases and Statements22 November 2021
To: Kim Jong Yang, INTERPOL President; Jürgen Stock, INTERPOL General Secretary; the INTERPOL Executive Committee and INTERPOL Member Countries
Subject: Call on INTERPOL to ban the illegal junta from representing Myanmar at its General Assembly
Dear INTERPOL President Kim Jong Yang
INTERPOL Vice Presidents Benyamina Abbad and Šárka Havránková
INTERPOL General Secretary Jürgen Stock
INTERPOL Executive Committee Delegates
Khaled Jameel Al Materyeen
Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi
Jean-Jacques Colombi
Rogerio Galloro
Robert Guirao Bailén
Destino Pedro
Olushola Kamar Subair
Jannine Van den Berg
and Member Countries
We, the undersigned 259 organizations, call on INTERPOL to immediately ban the Myanmar military junta from representing Myanmar as a member of INTERPOL. We demand you ensure that the military junta is excluded from the upcoming 89th INTERPOL General Assembly and all benefits and future cooperation that membership entails.
According to media reports, the Myanmar military junta’s police force is currently representing Myanmar in INTERPOL and its members, led by the Head of Police and Deputy Home Affairs Minister Lieutenant-General Than Hlaing, will act as delegates for the Myanmar government at the INTERPOL General Assembly. This is a matter of grave concern to us and raises serious credibility issues for INTERPOL itself for the following reasons:
INTERPOL’s vision is to connect police for a “safer world” and to support security for the world’s citizens. The people of Myanmar are in dire need of safety and security. The single biggest threat to their security is the Myanmar military junta, who is attempting to represent Myanmar in INTERPOL and use the General Assembly as a platform for political gain and international legitimacy. This will embolden the Myanmar military to continue to commit international crimes with blanket impunity.
We note that countering the threat of terrorism is the first of INTERPOL’s seven Global Policing Goals, and INTERPOL has a responsibility to counter and disrupt terrorism wherever it occurs, including in Myanmar.
We draw your attention to condemnation by the UN Security Council regarding the junta following the February 2021 coup, including a November 2021 statement by the Council’s President Juan Ramón de la Fuente Ramírez citing “deep concern at further recent violence across Myanmar”.
We note that upholding human rights is central to INTERPOL’s mandate. We implore you to meet the commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stated in Article 2 of the Constitution of the ICPO-INTERPOL. Recognizing the Myanmar military junta, responsible for systemic and grave human rights violations would be a clear violation of this article.
We appeal to you to adhere to INTERPOL’s commitment to political neutrality stated in Article 3 of the INTERPOL Constitution. Awarding an unlawful military junta that lacks domestic and international recognition with legitimacy would violate this article, and amount to a partisan intervention that would embolden the military to continue to commit international crimes with total impunity.
Instead of legitimizing the military junta through INTERPOL membership, we appeal to you to uphold international law by supporting the ongoing investigation at the International Criminal Court concerning crimes of genocide against the Rohingya, and future investigations, to bring all perpetrators of Myanmar atrocities to account. The Myanmar military must be recognized as a terrorist organization, not recognized as representatives of the Myanmar people who are the very victims of the junta’s daily barrage of violence that INTERPOL aims to protect.
We therefore call on INTERPOL to:
At this fragile and crucial time in Myanmar, INTERPOL and their member countries must act in the interests of the safety and security of Myanmar people, victims and survivors of crime and in accordance with international law and norms.
—–
For more information, please contact:
Signed by:
Download PDF.
Death Toll at Hands of Myanmar Junta Reaches 1,281
/in NewsThe bodies of a 23-year-old female medic and two male members of the Kale People’s Defense Force (PDF) were found at a camp which was raided by junta troops last Tuesday in Kale Township, Sagaing Region.
The civilian resistance group said victims were Biak Rem Chin, Cher Thang Puia and Ram Mawia.
Biak Rem Chin, also known as Chin Chin, was providing medical training at the camp. She had been shot in the forehead while Cher Thang Puia and Ram Mawia showed signs of torture on their faces.
During the raid, the junta captured nine female medics at the base and their condition remains unknown.
The three deaths mean the numbers killed by the military regime is at least 1,281, reported the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which records killings and arrests by the junta. The group estimated that the actual number of victims is much higher.
According to the AAPP’s latest report, junta forces have killed around 50 civilians so far this month, including five teenagers, bystanders, villagers, a striking teacher and a hostage.
High-school teacher U Zaw Min Aung, 40, who joined the civil disobedience movement by refusing to work under the regime, was tortured to death in interrogation hours after being detained in Myin Thar village, Thabeikkyin Township, Mandalay Region.
He was seized with another civilian on the night of Nov. 17 and accused of having links to PDFs.
Ko Ye Aung, who was seized as a hostage in Kyauktada village in Mandalay Region was tortured to death during interrogation, the AAPP said.
On Nov. 12, Ko Myint Naing and Ko Ye Aung, the father and uncle of a young activist who faced an arrest warrant for incitement, were detained. The next day, Ko Ye Aung’s family was told to retrieve his body, which was apparently covered in torture injuries.
Junta forces have detained more than 10,000 people, while nearly 2,000 people face arrest warrants.
Numerous relatives of wanted activists have been taken hostage by the junta.
The AAPP said the 13-year-old son of National League for Democracy member U Htay Aung was seized when junta forces could not find him.
On Nov. 13 morning, the junta seized the wife of U Thein Naing Tun and a young philanthropist named Ko Thein Zaw as hostages in Taung Tha Township, Mandalay Region, when troops failed to find former village administrator U Thein Naing Tun and two other wanted people.
Irrawaddy News