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.
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- Myanmar National Organizing Committee for ACSC/APF ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN People’s Forum 2024
- Human Rights Situation weekly update (September 1 to 7, 2024)
- Red Cross chief calls for greater aid access after visit to Myanmar
Weekly Update on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar: Post-Coup (27 September to -3 October 2021)
/in HR SituationEight months have now passed since the attempted coup in Myanmar. Every day, the country plunges deeper and deeper to a point of no-return. The value of the local currency is at an all-time low and internet shutdowns in 25 townships have stifled the already deteriorating human rights situation. Against the backdrop of darkness, the junta is more emboldened to commit grave violations. The junta has cut off internet access in several townships in northwestern Myanmar including Gangaw, Htilin and Myaing in Magway Region, and Falam, Kanpetlet, Matupi, Mindat, Paletwa, Tedim, Thantlang and Tonzang in Chin State.
Chin State, Kayah State and Sagaing region have been primary targets for the Tatmadaw as emerging civilian defense forces show no signs of abating. In several cases documented by ND-Burma affiliate member the Chin Human Rights Organization, two senior civilians were killed by the junta when their car came under attack by the regime while trying to retrieve their possessions after fleeing. Another was found dead, with a bullet wound to his head.
The National Unity Government (NUG) has called for a ‘defensive war’ against the illegal junta. The NUG made the announcement earlier in September following months of a brutal onslaught of violence perpetrated by the regime in an attempt to squander dissent. A devastating projection by the UN Food Program says Myanmar is on-track for ‘extreme deprivation’ with 1.2 million jobs lost since the coup.
An ongoing displacement crisis in Myanmar is a contributing factor to the grave sense of loss civilians are reeling from. Over 200 000 people fled their homes in the first six months of 2021. Since February, an estimated 2 million have been impacted by the crisis and are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance including food, shelter and medicine. The surge in COVID-19 cases and a deepening distrust has done little to curb fears and anxieties.
If one thing is abundantly clear in the time that has passed, it is that the junta has failed in their unjust attempt to seek legitimacy. Citizens reject the powers of the regime who only know how to rule through force. The international community and United Nations has a responsibility and moral obligation to declare the junta what it is – an unlawful, terrorist organization.
The ongoing violence in Chin State has forced thousands to neighbouring borders to seek safety. Those who remain face the prospects of arrest, torture and death if confronted by the junta. After fighting broke out in Thantlang following an ambush by the Chinland Defence Forces, casualties had not been confirmed. Civilians in the region said gunfire could be heard for approximately 30 minutes. After the ambush, the junta responded by open firing on the town where 18 homes were destroyed. A pastor was killed and nearly all the residents fled.
The bodies of several civilians found in Kanpetlet of Chin State were discovered with bullet wounds. Two of the bodies were burned and thrown into a ditch. The Internet shutdown in much of the State has made it more plausible for the junta to evade responsibility for their crimes.
KAYAH STATE
The junta is also continuing to violate civilian rights by laying landmines in civilian areas of Kayah State. As a result, innocent villagers are being severely injured and killed while traveling in town. The Karenni Nationalities Defense Force has defused approximately 30 junta-planted landmines and unexploded artillery shells.
Intensified fighting in Kayah State led to two civilians being killed during clashes in Demawso Township. Soldiers have been setting fire to villager homes and ransacking their belongings. Around 200 soldiers continue to occupy the area.
SHAN STATE
Global Charity Warns Thousands of Displaced Myanmar Children Facing Starvation
/in NewsBy THE IRRAWADDY 4 October 2021
A large proportion of more than 76,000 children in Myanmar who have been forced to flee their homes since the February coup could go hungry as their families share a single meal per day, Save the Children has warned.
Citing the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, the charity said on Monday that around 206,000 people have been displaced by violence since the coup.
Of them, 76,000 are children and many are sheltering in forests during torrential rain under tarpaulins without enough food, it reported.
“While the world’s attention has moved on, a hunger crisis is unfolding in Myanmar,” Save the Children said. “Children are already going hungry and very soon they will start to succumb to disease and malnutrition.”
Myanmar is seeing growing popular resistance to military rule in response to attacks on peaceful protests.
The junta has retaliated with brutal raids on villages suspected of harboring resistance fighters while torching houses and making arbitrary arrests, particularly in Sagaing and Magwe regions, Chin and Kayah states.
While the displaced people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and food, delivery of aid is often blocked or restricted by the junta.
A volunteer at a displacement camp in Kayah State said hunger was a huge concern for displaced families.
“In the beginning, they received public donations or from charities that were helping people in the camps. But now donations are limited because people are being prevented from going to the camps. Some rice bags were donated and every family got just five cups. That’s not much for a family of seven people to live off,” the volunteer told Save the Children.
In Kayah State, around 22,000 people fled their homes in September alone, according to the UN, which said more than 79,000 people, including around 29,000 children, are displaced in the state.
Earlier this year, the World Food Programme estimated that the number of children in the country going hungry could more than double to 6.2 million this year, up from 2.8 million in February.
Irrawaddy News
Htei Hlaw residents return to find torched houses and burned body
/in NewsThe Magway Region village, which was occupied over the weekend, has been a target of army attacks since last month
Residents of Htei Hlaw, a village in Magway Region’s Gangaw Township that was occupied by junta troops over the weekend, said they returned to their homes on Monday to find burned houses and the charred remains of an unidentified body.
According to residents, soldiers raided the village late last Friday and stayed there until around 5pm on Sunday. Villagers who returned the following day discovered the body in one of nine houses that had been burned down.
“They left it in one of the torched houses. All the flesh had been burned off, leaving only bones,” said a Htei Hlaw villager who spoke to Myanmar Now on Monday.
Another villager said that in addition to destroying two brick houses and seven others made of wood, the troops also stole two vehicles parked at the village monastery.
Many houses were also looted, and several pigs left behind by the fleeing villagers were slaughtered and eaten by the occupying soldiers, he added.
According to both residents, young men who returned to the village on Saturday to put out fires set by the soldiers were forced to retreat after they came under fire.
They added, however, that the young villagers succeeded in extinguishing a number of blazes before retreating.
The Htei Hlaw residents said that the troops also shelled positions where fleeing villagers had taken shelter.
“They would start shelling early in the morning. They fired 5-10 shells at a time. But it was only in the morning,” said one of the villagers who spoke to Myanmar Now.
Htei Hlaw, located in the strategically important Yaw region of northern Magway, has come under repeated attacks by the military since last month.
On September 12, regime forces raided the village of roughly 1,000 inhabitants, torching 27 homes and killing a villager and a member of a local resistance group.
The conflict has displaced thousands of civilians in the area, which borders Sagaing Region and Chin State, where the military has also faced fierce resistance since seizing power in February.
Myanmar Now News
Junta troops shoot and kill five civilians, including young girl, during raid on village in Sagaing
/in NewsLocals said that the child’s father is a Myanmar military soldier
Junta troops shot and killed a six-year-old girl and four other people during a raid on a village in Sagaing Region last week, locals told Myanmar Now.
Around 100 soldiers arrived at Pyin Htaung village, Khin-U Township at 4am on Friday and began shooting. Myo Thandar Hlaing lived in the village with her aunt and was shot trying to escape the raid.
Locals said her father was a soldier serving under the junta and was stationed in Kanbalu, though they did not know his rank. Her mother lives in military housing, they added.
The girl was buried on Saturday and her father did not attend the funeral, they said.
Thirty-year-old Tun Si was also shot dead in the village, while Aung Tun Oo, 38, Ma Pu, 35, and Than Htike, 30, were shot dead in nearby paddy fields. A sixth person who suffered from health problems died of shock during the attack, locals said.
Around 400 people live in Pyin Htaung. When the raid began most fled in panic as soldiers fired their guns, said one of the villagers.
“They started firing shots randomly as soon as they entered the village,” he said. “Those who ran into the soldiers ended up getting shot.”
After the shootings, the soldiers burned down two houses, one of which they suspected had been used as a training site for People’s Defence Force (PDF) fighters. They also ransacked and damaged a house with a National League for Democracy banner hanging outside.
Junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun did not answer calls seeking comment.
A PDF leader from Khin-U said the underground National Unity Government (NUG) was not doing enough to help resistance fighters defend civilians from junta attacks.
“We need money to be prepared to go to war,” he said. “I think the NUG has not been very productive. It’s not just the PDFs, even the regular civilians are suffering great losses. We would like to urge them to provide more weapons for us.”
At least 1,158 civilians have been killed and more than 7,000 are imprisoned by the coup regime, according to data released by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) on Monday.
The junta has declared the AAPP an illegal organisation and rejected their data as exaggerated.
Myanmar Now News
Almost 100 Civilians Killed By Myanmar Junta Forces in September
/in NewsBy THE IRRAWADDY 1 October 2021
At least 99 more people, including a toddler and four senior citizens in their seventies, were killed by Myanmar junta forces in September. Their deaths push the number of people who have died at the hands of the military regime to 1,146 over the past eight months, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Myanmar has been in political and social turmoil since the junta’s February 1 coup, as the merciless military regime continues with brutal and lethal crackdowns in its efforts to suppress the nationwide rebellion against the junta.
In September, the Myanmar military massacred civilians, including children, torched entire villages, fired randomly into homes and shelled residential areas in Kayah and Chin states and Magwe, Sagaing and Mandalay regions. The junta claims those areas were harboring People’s Defense Forces: bands of civilian resistance fighters opposing the regime.
Among those killed in September were nine children, the youngest of whom was one and half-years-old, detainees who were tortured to death, members and supporters of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and three medics, according to the latest report from the AAPP, an activist group which monitors killings and arrests by the junta.
On September 20, regime troops raided Shaw Phyu Village in Natogyi Township, Mandalay Region. During the raid, junta forces shot at the home of NLD supporters, killing five family members.
Four of five were shot dead on the spot. A one and half-year-old child survived initially but died from injuries after arriving at Mandalay General Hospital, AAPP stated in their report.
In northern Shan State’s Monekoe Township, nine-year-old Mah Bon suffered serious head injuries after a junta artillery shell hit his home on September 27. The boy died the following day. His mother was also injured in the artillery strike.
Around a dozen detainees were tortured to death in September. Among them was Mandalay-based political activist and philanthropist Ko Than Htun Oo, aka Ko Min Ko Thein, a member of the NLD’s Mandalay branch. He died in police custody just a few hours after being arrested on September 25.
The 48-year-old, affectionately known as ‘Ko Fatty’ among his friends, was arrested at his home in Aungmyaythazan Township, Mandalay Region for alleged possession of weapons.
During the raid on his house, junta forces told him to get on his knees. When he said that he couldn’t kneel due to his weight, he was reportedly shot in the knee. He was arrested despite no weapons being found during the search. In the evening of the following day, his family was notified of his death. Ko Than Htun Oo’s body was not returned to the family, with regime officials claiming that they had organized funeral rites for him.
Ko Zaw Linn Htet, 30, from Pyay, Bago Region also died during an interrogation after just a few hours in junta custody. He was detained with his younger brother on the afternoon of September 6, allegedly in connection with the arrest of student union members a week before. His family was also informed of his death at night.
September also saw a surge in killings of youth activists and villagers from anti-regime strongholds where civilian resistance groups have inflicted heavy casualties on junta forces.
In Yangon, four young people were shot dead at midnight on September 25 after regime forces raided their hideout in Sanchaung Township. Two of the four activists were identified as Dr. Zin Lynn and nurse Ma Khin Khin Kywel. The following day, the wife of Dr. Zin Lynn, who is also a medical doctor, was arrested at her home. The couple have a seven-month-old baby.
On Thursday, junta spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun said at a press conference that the youths had opened fire on junta soldiers when they surrounded the hideout, killing and injuring a few of them. He claimed that the four activists were killed in a subsequent shootout with regime forces.
However, local residents and video footage uploaded by Khit Thit Media revealed that the young people were dragged from the apartment and beaten and kicked several times, before the junta forces fired shots. Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun made no mention of this at the press conference.
Region. / CJ
Teenagers were also rounded up and massacred in Myin Thar Village in Yaw in Magwe Region on September 9. In all, 18 people died in the village, including elderly citizens, and some 20 houses were burned down by junta forces.
The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar – an independent group of prominent former United Nations human rights experts – urged the United Nations Security Council in its latest statement to declare the junta a “terrorist organization” for its atrocities against its own people including public torture, executions and the taking of hostages, including children.
Irrawaddy New
Weekly Update on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar: Post-Coup (20-26 September 2021)
/in HR SituationIncreasing attacks on civilians have devastated communities across Myanmar. The International Day of Peace which was marked on 21 September included sentiments calling for an end to war from various human rights groups. The Karen Women’s Organization wrote on their Facebook page: “Peace is when everyone including women, men and children can live happily. It means having access to opportunities to improve themselves and their communities without facing threats to their safety and security.” The Karen Human Rights Group noted the violence being used against civilians in Karen State which include “airstrikes and ground attacks that are indiscriminate in nature.” Every day since the coup, violence has continued to force destruction upon innocent civilians. Buildings of worship have been burned to the ground. Buddhist monks supporting the pro-democracy movement have been killed in their temples. Families have been torn apart and forced to flee at a moment’s notice.
Relief workers are putting their lives on the line as they risk their safety delivering aid to vulnerable populations in need. The junta opened fire on a vehicle carrying food and medicine for IDPs in Demawso, Kayah State. Raids are also ongoing, as informers leak information on the status of civilian’s whereabouts. In Yangon, warrantless raids remain frequent, where at least 35 people were arrested and one killed by junta security forces over the course of a week. The regime is responding to the growing guerilla attacks across urban and rural areas, and attempting to violently crack down on dissent.
The disregard for human life is growing stronger each day, and yet the international community remains too slow to act. The junta has proven that they are ill equipped to protect the people of Myanmar and safeguard their rights and freedoms.In an address to the Human Rights Council, Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said “accountability remains crucial to any solution going forward.” Last week, the Myanmar kyat fell to a record low, marking yet another sign of how life under the junta is disrupting the social and economic fabric of the country. In addition, freedom of expression continues to dwindle under the junta’s unjust seizure of power where according to Freedom on the Net 2021 – Myanmar fell by 14 points on internet freedom. This is the steepest decline in one year. And when help from the United Nations was offered for greater humanitarian access in the country, specifically to expand the response to COVID-19, the junta appointed health minister rejected assistance. Civilians refuse to allow the coup succeed, including by boycotting bills to the junta. According to the National Unity Government, over 97 per cent of customers in Yangon and Mandalay have not made their payments. Nationwide, 80% of citizens are doing the same. Their refusal to be governed by a notoriously brutal regime once again highlights the spirit and resistance of Myanmar people.
Chin State remains embroiled in a deadly conflict, forcefully waged upon them by the illegal junta. In the State capital city, Hakha, civilians say there has been ‘shooting and bombings’ every day since the beginning of the month. The junta has been scorching villages and indiscriminately firing. Over one thousand Thantlang residents have fled to the Myanmar-India border to seek shelter as they fear violent confrontation from the junta.
A Christian pastor was among those shot and killed during intensified clashes of Chin defense forces against the Myanmar Army in Thantlang. He was killed while trying to put out fires that the junta had intentionally sent ablaze. The junta also cut off his finger to steal his wedding ring, and looted his belongings. The Internet has also been shut off by the junta in major areas of Chin State.
KACHIN STATE
Civilians are fearful of the growing presence of the Myanmar junta in their areas as over 200 soldiers and more than 40 military vehicles arrived in Mongkoe, Kachin State. Villagers in the State are among the over 3 million in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.
Junta commander in Chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing was met with protests by dozens of youth when he traveled to Myitkyina, Kachin State who were against a visit by a dictator with no regard for Kachin civilians or their environment. Parts of Kachin State are among the five states and 22 townships of the country where the Internet is not accessible.
KAYAH STATE