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
- Junta targeting rebel-held areas in northern Myanmar with airstrikes and artillery
- Human Rights Situation weekly update (September 8 to 14, 2024)
- 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
STATEMENT CALLING FOR THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT TO STOP ODA TO MYANMAR
/in Member statements, Press Releases and StatementsDecember 5, 2022
H.E. Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan
H.E. Yoshimasa Hayashi, Foreign Minister of Japan
Statement Calling for the Japanese Government to Stop ODA to Myanmar
ayus:Network of Buddhists Volunteers on International Cooperation
Friends of the Earth Japan
Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC)
Network Against Japan Arms Trade (NAJAT)
Mekong Watch
Since the attempted coup by the military in Myanmar on February 1, 2021, there have been numerous reports of murder, sexual violence, forced disappearance, and torture by the military as well as security forces under military command. As of November 18, 2022, at least 2,519 people have been killed by the Myanmar military. This figure includes at least 191 children. Further, among those who have protested the attempted seizure of power by the Myanmar military, more than 16,275 people have been arbitrarily detained or have had arrest warrants issued by the illegitimate junta. Across Myanmar, there are an estimated 1.44 million internally displaced people (as of November 1), about one million of whom were newly displaced after the attempted coup.
By 2020, the Japanese government provided JPY 356.51 billion in total in grant aid as well as JPY 109.94 billion in total in technical assistance to Myanmar, and promised JPY 1,378.47 billion in loan aid (figure based on loan agreements). Regarding its policy on these Official Development Assistance (ODA) after the attempted coup, on May 21, 2021, then Foreign Minister Motegi stated that “…if the situation continues in this way, it is possible that we will be compelled to review ODA and that companies may become unable to provide investment even if they want to,” and that “as a country that has provided various forms of support for the democratization of Myanmar, and as a friend, Japan believes that we must clearly convey such points to Myanmar, and we have actually done so.” However, since then, despite the worsening human rights crisis in Myanmar, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has simply repeated that it would “comprehensively consider what measures may be effective while viewing the situation of the efforts made by Japan and the international community” in response to questions in the Diet and inquiries from citizens for over a year and a half, and has not taken any concrete measures to date.
A large part of ODA to Myanmar is loan aid (yen loans) for development of a special economic zone and surrounding infrastructure, construction of roads, and repairing railroads, as well as grant aid and technical assistance in the education, health, and agriculture sectors and aid provided through NGOs. It has been made clear by the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission that in Myanmar that companies owned or controlled by the military conduct many business operations, and that revenues from those operations are a source of funds for the military, supporting their atrocities. In consideration of such findings, since the attempted coup, civil society organizations have consistently urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to investigate whether ODA projects are financing the military and to publish the findings from such an investigation. So far, a complaint by a local stakeholder has indicated that in the construction of Bago Bridge, a yen loan project, a company related to Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) is providing materials for the bridge. MEC is one of the military enterprises that the above-mentioned Fact-Finding Mission recommended to the international community not to enter into or remain in a business relationship with. However, neither the Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor JICA has publicly explained the relationship between ODA projects and military-related enterprises. Because the Japanese government has continued ODA without any explanation, at the many protests that have been organized by Myanmar people living in Japan and Japanese civil society in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, concerns have been expressed regularly about how the flow of ODA funds may benefit the military.
Even when ODA projects do not have business ties to the military, infrastructure that is built by ODA such as roads may be used in Myanmar military operations. Karen Peace Support Network has demanded that construction of a bridge in a conflict zone in the East-West Economic Corridor be suspended. Further, Human Rights Watch has pointed out that two out of three vessels provided under the 500 million yen Economic and Social Development Programme, signed on September 12, 2016 with Myanmar, was used for military purposes in Rakhine State on September 14, 2022. As long as armed clashes in the ethnic minority regions and crackdown on citizens continue, the economic ripple effect of large infrastructure projects such as those implemented by yen loans will not extend beyond a few companies, and there is little possibility that such projects will contribute to the improvement of living standards of the people in Myanmar overall. Given this, it lacks meaning to invest Japan’s public funds in infrastructure projects in Myanmar under the current circumstances.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in the Diet that as of April 2021, 34 ODA projects were being implemented, totaling JPY739.6 billion based on figures in loan agreements. This was confirmed at a meeting with NGOs. We share the concern of Myanmar citizens that by continuing so many projects worth so much money even after the attempted coup, the Japanese government is giving implicit support to the military junta.
One year and ten months have passed since the attempted coup, but the Myanmar military continues to commit grave human rights abuses that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. We express deep concern that Japan may be complicit in the human rights abuses by the military by providing ODA to the benefit of the military. We strongly demand that the Japanese government suspend all loan aid currently being implemented under the control of the Myanmar military and that it listens to the National Unity Government (NUG), Ethnic Revolutionary Organizations (EROs) and local Myanmar CSOs to effectively support the will of the people of Myanmar.
Endorsed by the following organizations:
1 Action Committee for Democracy Development (Coalition of 14 grassroots networks) Myanmar
2 Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center Japan
3 Asian Community Center 21 Japan
4 Asian Health Institute Japan
5 Association of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Myanmar
6 Burma Campaign UK United Kingdom
7 Burmese Relief Center Japan Japan
8 Burmese Women’s Union Myanmar
9 Campaign for a New Myanmar USA
10 Earth Tree Japan
11 Equality Myanmar Myanmar
12 ETOs Watch Coalition Thailand
13 Family Based Learning Network of Farmers for Agrarian Reform (FALFAR) Myanmar
14 Federation of Workers’ Union of the Burmese Citizen in Japan (FWUBC) Japan
15 Friends Against Dictatorship (FAD) Thailand
16 Future Light Center Myanmar
17 Future Thanlwin Myanmar
18 Gen-Z Myanmar Support Team Myanmar
19 Generation Wave Myanmar
20 Grass-root People Myanmar
21 Human Rights Foundation of Monland Myanmar
22 India For Myanmar Myanmar
23 International Campaign for the Rohingya USA
24 Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES) Japan
25 Japan Tropical Forest Action Network (JATAN) Japan
26 Kachin Women’s Association Thailand Myanmar
27 Karen Human Rights Group Myanmar
28 Karen Peace Support Network Myanmar
29 Karen Women’s Organization Myanmar
30 Karenni National Women’s Organization Myanmar
31 Keng Tun Youth Myanmar
32 Let’s Help Each Other Myanmar
33 Metta Campaign Mandalay Myanmar
34 Myanmar News Now!! Japan
35 Myanmar People Alliance (Shan State) Myanmar
36 Network for Human Rights Documentation Burma (ND-Burma) Myanmar
37 Network for Indonesian Democracy (NINDJA) Japan
38 No Business With Genocide USA
39 Non-for profit Organization Music Dream Creation Japan
40 Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica Myanmar
41 Pacific Asia Resoure Center Japan
42 Progressive Voice Myanmar
43 Project SEVANA South-East Asia Thailand
44 Save and Care Organization for Ethnic Women at Border Areas Myanmar
45 Second Tap Root Myanmar
46 Shan MATA Myanmar
47 SHARE(Services for the Health in Asian & African Regions) Japan
48 Sinapis Japan
49 Sisters 2 Sisters Myanmar
50 Southern Youth Development Organization Myanmar
51 Spirit in Education Movement (SEM) Thailand
52 Ta’ang Legal Aid Myanmar
53 Tanintharyi MATA Myanmar
54 The Free Burma Campaign (South Africa) (FBC(SA)) Myanmar
55 The Mekong Butterfly Thailand
56 Thint Myat Lo Thu Myar Organization Myanmar
57 U.S. Campaign for Burma United States
58 WE21 Japan Japan
59 Women’s Democratic Club, Femin Japan
Contact:
Mekong Watch
3F Aoki Bldg., Taito 1-12-11, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0016 Japan
Phone: +81-3-3832-5034
E-mail: contact@mekongwatch.org
Download PDF: Japanese | Burmese | English
UN rights chief slams Myanmar death penalty cases
/in NewsMore than 130 people have been sentenced to death in secretive military courts since the coup, UN says.
More than 130 people have been sentenced to death in secret closed-door trials held by Myanmar’s military junta since it seized power last year, a top U.N. official said Friday, calling the pattern a “political tool to crush opposition.”
The closed-door trials are a violation of people’s basic right to due process and a fair trial, U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said.
Death sentences have been handed out to 139 people since the military seized power, Türk said, with the regime carrying out its first executions in about three decades in July.
“The military continues to hold proceedings in secretive courts in violation of basic principles of fair trial and contrary to core judicial guarantees of independence and impartiality,” Türk said, calling for a suspension of the use of the death penalty.
The comments came after at least seven student activists were sentenced to death on Wednesday, with sources telling Radio Free Asia their execution was set for Dec. 7. The junta accuses them killing a retired army officer at a bank, but the trial by a military court took place behind closed doors in Insein Prison.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) says a total of 16,472 people have been arrested by the military junta since the February 2021 coup, with 13,002 still in prison.
Türk said the use of the death penalty showed the regime’s “disdain” for global efforts to end the violence in Myanmar, including the Five-Point Consensus the regime signed with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations last year.
RFA News
More civilians reported dead as Myanmar military continues terrorising Sagaing communities
/in NewsThe number of casualties from a junta campaign through Khin-U Township continues to grow as locals uncover new victims and the army targets more villages
Several more civilian deaths have been reported in Khin-U as Myanmar military troops perpetrate a series of air and ground attacks on communities in the besieged Sagaing Region township.
Three military columns began raiding villages in western Khin-U on November 15 in a campaign that has included multiple aerial assaults, reducing hundreds of homes to ashes and killing an estimated 14 residents and 10 resistance fighters, according to sources within local anti-junta defence forces.
“Some elderly people died in the burning houses, and others were killed after being arrested. Some children were shot dead while they tried to flee the raids,” said Lu Chaw, the spokesperson for the Khin-U People’s Defence Team (PDT).
Over the past week, Myanmar Now reported on the casualties of seven local resistance members and five civilians in attacks on the villages of Mone Hla and Kan Tharyar. Among the slain civilians were two boys, aged nine and 14, both shot dead by Myanmar army soldiers.
On Monday, it was learned that there were at least one dozen more fatalities during these assaults, most of whom were civilians from other nearby villages including Myin Daung and Myit Taw.
Myanmar Now was only able to gather further information about half of these victims.
Khin-U_raids.jpeg
Map indicating the routes of junta columns and subsequent raids of villages in western Khin-U Township
The deaths occurred after a joint force of two military columns entered western Khin-U from neighbouring Kanbalu Township to the north; the occupation led to an outbreak of fighting in Mone Hla on November 23 between junta soldiers and local resistance forces and involving airstrikes by the regime.
Both sides suffered casualties, including the death of at least six guerrilla fighters.
It was previously reported that 40-year-old civilian Daw Mya was killed by junta artillery fire while fleeing from Mone Hla, but another man in his 50s named Phoe Tauk from the same community was later also reported dead.
The next day—November 24—the joint Myanmar army column travelled south, and for one night occupied the village of Thar Wut Hti, more than two miles from Mone Hla. The soldiers joined a third column that had marched from Khin-U town and were linked to the shooting of the 14-year-old boy in Kan Tharyar during their advance.
The joint column from Kanbalu continued their southbound route until they arrived in Myin Daung, around four miles from Thar Wut Hti. They occupied the village for three days, until November 28, before departing towards Ye-U Township to the west.
Most of Myin Daung’s residents fled, returning only after the soldiers had left, at which time they discovered three charred bodies inside a village shop.
“I suspect that they were burned to death because the bodies were found with their arms wrapped around each other,” a Myin Daung local said.
The resident confirmed that the corpses belonged to three men who had lived in Myin Daung, identified as Nay Soe, 32; Ko Zaw, 48; and Tin Win Myint, 53.
Myin_daung.jpeg
Two burned bodies of Myin Daung locals are seen on November 28 (Supplied)
On November 25, the column from Khin-U left for the village of Myit Taw in the southeast. A 65-year-old local man, Hla Win, was reportedly shot dead by the soldiers there, according to Lu Chaw of the Khin-U Township PDT.
“The old man was walking with a cane and the soldiers shot him from behind,” the resistance group’s spokesperson told Myanmar Now.
After spending one night in Myit Taw, the troops left for Kan Thit on November 26, where 19-year-old resistance fighter Phoe Si Win was reportedly killed in a clash with the regime soldiers.
Myin_daung_health_facility.jpeg
A local health facility in Myin Daung village after a junta raid (Supplied)
Fighting has broken out in Khin-U on a daily basis in recent weeks, according to a member of the third battalion of the Shwebo District chapter of the People’s Defence Force (PDF), which is based in the township. Around 20,000 Khin-U residents have been forced by the military campaign to flee their homes.
The battle in Mone Hla was the most severe of these incidents, said the PDF member, who participated in the fight.
“The air force opened fire for nearly an hour while the ground troops made steady advances,” he told Myanmar Now. “[The resistance] doesn’t have much firepower. We really have to be careful of using our firepower if we have multiple fights happening.”
“We have the courage to shoot them, but not the bullets,” he said.
Editor’s note: PDTs, known by the Burmese acronym of Pa Ka Pha, are township-based resistance units under the direct command of the publicly mandated National Unity Government’s defence ministry.
Myanmar Now News
Seven students sentenced to death for murder of retired officer
/in NewsAt least 132 people are currently facing death for their alleged involvement in attacks on regime targets
A military tribunal sentenced seven students to death on Wednesday after finding them guilty of murdering a retired army officer earlier this year, according to a source close to the defendants.
The condemned prisoners, who were all students of Dagon University, were convicted of conspiracy to murder and sentenced under Sections 34 and 302a of the Penal Code, the source said.
They were accused of shooting Saw Moe Win, a retired lieutenant colonel, in front of the South Dagon branch of the Global Treasure Bank, which he managed, in April.
Two urban guerrilla groups—the Anti-Fascist Armed Force and the Yangon Liberation Force—claimed responsibility for the killing on April 19, a day after it was carried out.
The accused—Thura Maung Maung, Thiha Htet Zaw, Hein Htet, Khant Zin Win, Zaw Lin Naing, Thet Paing Oo, and Khant Lin Maung Maung—were arrested several days later.
Thura Maung Maung, Thiha Htet Zaw and Hein Htet are also facing charges under Section 51c of the Counter-Terrorism Law for alleged possession of weapons and explosives, according to Myanmar Now’s source.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Alliance of Students’ Unions—Yangon condemned the death sentences, saying that the junta was using its “corrupt judiciary system to murder people.”
“We object to and condemn the death sentences [handed down by] courts that are acting as pillars of the terrorist military regime,” the group said, adding that it was closely monitoring the situation.
There were also reports that four other prisoners had been sentenced to death by a special court inside Yangon’s Insein Prison on Thursday.
The prisoners, identified as Wai Zin Yan, Min Htet Thar, Thu Htoo Aung, and Phyo, were arrested in Yangon on June 10 and charged with murder under Section 302a of the Penal Code, according to information released the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
No further details were available at the time of reporting.
On March 17, another Dagon University student named Saung Lay Pyay was also sentenced to death for her alleged involvement in the murder of a high-school teacher in Yangon’s North Okkalapa Township.
Another suspect in that case named Naing Aung was handed a life sentence under Sections 50a and 50i of the Counter-Terrorism Law.
Most death penalties imposed since last year’s coup have been handed down by military tribunals operating in townships under martial law.
According to the AAPP, a total of 132 people have been sentenced to death for attacks targeting the regime that seized power in February 2021.
In July, the junta sparked outrage when it executed four political prisoners, including veteran activist Ko Jimmy and elected MP Phyo Zayar Thaw.
It was the first time in decades that the death penalty had been carried out in Myanmar.
Thematic Analysis: Women in Myanmar targeted by the military regime
/in Justice NewslettersNovember 25th is designated as “International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women”. On that day, civil society Organizations including Women’s Organizations from the International community expressed their desire to stop violence in various forms of activity. The movement against violence to stop women has been called for since 1981. Yet, according to the resolution of the 54th General Assembly of the United Nations on December 17th, 1999, November 25th was designated as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
The United Nations Charter and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) contain Articles 1-16 that define Violence against Women among the 30 Articles that member states must comply with. Myanmar signed the agreement in 1997 as one of the 189 countries that have signed an agreement to respect the laws included in CEDAW and take national measures. Myanmar’s handful of people who controlled the country’s power at that time only signed it to gain more international recognition. In reality, the discrimination against women not only in the mountainous ethnic areas but also in the mainland in Myanmar, physical and psychological violence, such as well-known incidents of arrests, rapes, detentions, and killings have not disappeared.
The situation is getting worse since the military regime coup on February 1st, 2021. Especially, women have been targeted attack after the coup. The various forms of violence against women are being perpetrated as a matter of military. On November 25th, Free Expression Myanmar (FEM) announced that the Myanmar military killed more than 300 women across the country within 21 months of the country’s seizure of power. Also, The Ministry of Women, Youth and Children’s Affairs of the National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG) said that during the 21 months of the violent military coup, more than 370 women were killed, 3,385 were arrested, and 127 were reported to have been sexually assaulted across the country.
In Shan State, a local female leader who is the founder of the Justice Movement for Community-Inlay based in the Inlay region of southern Shan State has an unlawful arrest warrant issued under Article (50) for protesting against the military coup. The women fleeing the war in the KNU-controlled areas of Karen State are often taken as hostages by the terrorist army. And the Karen Women’s Organization (KWO) said that “women were forced to carry 10-pound heavy packs”, as reported by Irrawaddy News Agency in May 2022.
On October 7th, 2022, at around 10:30 AM, Ma Tharaphu, age 22, was abducted by the joint forces of the military intelligence and pro-junta militia troops after a preliminary investigation, a local witness reported to the Human Rights Foundation of Monland. She was stopped, the troops checked her cell phone and arrested in Kyaukni Maw Village, Long Lon Township, Dawei District.In August, the terrorist army entered villages in Sagaing Region and raped 7 local women, including a woman with poor mental health, according to Burmese Women’s Union (BWU). On November 18, a woman over 80 years old did due to the burning of a village by the terrorist army. In addition, local news reported that a 50-year-old woman was hit by a weapon while fleeing the war. Therefore, the terrorist army commits brutally killing, arbitrary arrests and detentions against women. Moreover, the terrorist military perpetrated torture and sexual assault. Thus, such crimes must be repaid for justice when the democratically-elected government regains power.
Thousands flee fighting in Myanmar’s far south
/in NewsAt least 10 junta troops were killed during clashes that began in southern Tanintharyi Region late last week
Fighting between regime and resistance forces in southern Tanintharyi Region has forced thousands of civilians to flee and left casualties on both sides, according to local sources.
The clashes began last Friday in Le Thit, a village on the border between Tanintharyi and Kyunsu townships in Myeik District, and continued for the next four days, an officer of a local defence force told Myanmar Now.
By Monday, around 100 junta troops stationed in the village were forced to withdraw in order to regroup with reinforcements, after which they attempted to mount a counteroffensive the next day, said the officer.
“They retreated after three battles, but when they launched another assault, we managed to get the upper hand again,” he said, adding that 10 regime soldiers and one resistance fighter were killed in the clash on Tuesday.
“They thought we were only armed with muskets, so they just marched forward. But actually, we had rifles to fire at them,” said the officer.
The resistance fighter who died was killed by artillery fire, he added.
Le_thit.png
Two anti-regime groups based in the area—the Tanintharyi Defence Guerrilla Force and the People’s Defence Team of Myeik and Kyunsu—took part in the fighting, according to the officer.
The regime forces included troops from Light Infantry Battalions 556, 557, 558, and 561 based in Tanintharyi, as well as members of the pro-military Pyu Saw Htee militia, he added.
Le Thit is located near Tanintharyi’s Andaman Sea coast and is regarded as a stronghold of anti-regime forces in the area. It has come under attack from the military several times in the past, according to locals.
A member of another local resistance group told Myanmar Now that all 3,000 of the village’s inhabitants fled as junta troops approached ahead of the fighting that began last week.
“When we went back after they retreated, we found that they didn’t just loot and destroy people’s homes, but also killed and ate their cows, including even newborn calves,” he said.
He added that most of the regime casualties appeared to be members of the Pyu Saw Htee, whose bloodied uniforms were found in the village after the military withdrew.
Resistance forces said that the movement of junta troops towards the eastern side of Le Thit, where local defence teams are most active, could signal an intensification of fighting in the coming days.
Myanmar Now News