MYANMAR CSOS CALL FOR THE FULL RESTORATION OF ROHINGYA’S RIGHTS AND AN END TO IMPUNITY OF THE MYANMAR MILITARY

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[25 August, 2021] 43 Myanmar civil society organizations (CSOs) have publicly pledged to seek justice for the Rohingya and to heal the wounds of long-running ethnic and religious persecution in Myanmar. The statement is being issued in remembrance of the Rohingya genocide and crimes against humanity that took place four years ago on 25 August, 2017.

“We stand in solidarity with the Rohingya and their immense struggles against oppression and discrimination, and call to fully restore their rights in Myanmar, for justice and accountability, and to end the impunity of the Myanmar military,” the groups said.

“Four years on, justice for the Rohingya remains shamefully elusive. Not a single individual who committed the heinous crimes against the Rohingya have been held to account,” said Khin Ohmar of Progressive Voice. “The same criminals who committed genocide are now carrying out a nationwide campaign of terror with total impunity. They must be stopped. We must face the grave injustices against the Rohingya head on and work to build an inclusive Myanmar that draws its strength from its diversity and solidarity for humanity rather than holding on to the status quo.”

This wave of genocidal violence in 2017 forcibly displaced over 800,000 Rohingya in Bangladesh that now host over 1.1 million refugees. The recent attempted coup has cast a dark shadow in their prospects for return. Conditions in Bangladesh continue to deteriorate as Rohingya refugees live in crowded, underfunded camps facing fires, flooding, the COVID-19 pandemic and relocation to the unsafe and unsuitable island of Bhashan Char.

“The last few months of the spring revolution have shown that women are at the forefront of ending patriarchy and the struggle for human rights and federal democracy,” said Naw Hser Hser of Women’s League of Burma. “It is vital that women of all parts of society, including Rohingya, are part of building a vibrant federal democratic union that celebrates its diversity and is free from misogynistic military rule. For this, Rohingya women must be represented in political processes.”

The joint statement calls on the NUG and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) to use their power to repeal racist and xenophobic laws such as the 1982 Citizenship Law and the four “Race and Religion Protection Laws”. The four race and religion laws have also perpetuated gendered discrimination and violence, while subscribing to the misogynistic and patriarchal system fostered by decades of military rule.

“For decades, the most severe human rights violations and atrocity crimes committed by the Myanmar military have been documented by local and international human rights organizations,” said Ko Han Gyi of ND-Burma. “The genocide committed against the Rohingya four years ago is consistent with the systemic and brutal violence that is a hallmark of the Myanmar military. The international community must pursue all avenues possible to ensure justice and accountability for the countless victims and survivors of grave crimes and end their impunity.”

At the root of February’s attempted coup is the military’s total impunity. “The passivity, and in some cases total inaction by the international community, in particular ASEAN, to pursue justice and accountability has further emboldened the military in their continued use of atrocity crimes that they commit today. The military and the impunity they enjoy must be stopped,” said the groups.

The statement calls on the international community to immediately pursue justice and accountability for the grave crimes committed against the Rohingya, including by supporting the case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice, the case before the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the court in Argentina that was filed on the basis of universal jurisdiction. It also urges the international community to pursue other avenues of accountability, including the possibility of establishing an ad-hoc tribunal or a UN Security Council referral of the situation in Myanmar to the ICC. In addition, it also urged the NUG to immediately ratify the Rome Statute of the ICC to ensure accountability for the crime of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Note to Editors:

  • See the statement by 43 civil society organizations on full restoration of Rohingya’s rights and ending impunity of the Myanmar military here.

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See the CSOs’ statement in English I Burmese.

Military arrests two more local journalists

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Sithu Aung Myint (left) and his colleague Htet Htet Khine were arrested on 15 August, 2021. Photos: RSF/Twitter

Myanmar’s military government has arrested two more local journalists, army-owned television reported on Saturday, Reuters reported.

Sithu Aung Myint, a columnist for Frontier Myanmar and commentator with Voice of America radio, and Htet Htet Khine, a freelance producer for BBC Media Action, were arrested on Aug. 15, Myawaddy TV reported.

Sithu Aung Myint was charged with sedition and spreading false information that Myawaddy said was critical of the junta and had urged people to join strikes and back outlawed opposition groups.

Htet Htet Khine was accused of harbouring Sithu Aung Myint, a criminal suspect, and working for and supporting the National Unity Government.

Mizzima News

Weekly Update on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar Post-Coup (August 16-22)2021

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Over one thousand civilians have been killed by the Myanmar junta since their illegitimate seizure of power in a coup d’etat on 1 February. ND-Burma member, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners told the press: “As long as the military is in power, they will continue to kill youths, professionals like doctors and teachers, men, women and children.” Evidence of the junta’s crimes against humanity are mounting amid a pandemic which is claiming the lives of dozens every day. In an incident which put the ruthlessness of the regime on full display, drunk junta soldiers in Sagaing region indiscriminately fired at civilians, including shooting a young man at point-blank range in the head who died immediately.

Sagaing region has been targeted in a series of attacks by the Myanmar junta amid the steady rise in opposition forces seeking to undermine and dismantle the military. A joint briefer released by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, ND-Burma and Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica showed the extent of the junta’s brutal campaign against innocent civilians in late July in Kani township, Sagaing. The overview was inclusive of photographic evidence and produced in Burmese and English.  The crimes documented are all in serious violation of international law. The findings, combined with those of many other civil society organizations before and after the coup, speak to the reality that despite claims which the Tatmadaw hinges their legitimacy on as the protector of the state – they are quite the contrary.

The junta is also doing everything they possibly can to target the democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD). Nearly 100 NLD members have been arrested, while others have died from COVID-19 and related diseases in detention. The targeting of the opposition by the junta is literally taking lives.

Myanmar junta soldiers in the midst of the chaos and disregard for human life, are also defecting. According to reporting from Myanmar Now, approximately 1500 recruits have defected since the coup, with one captain stating: “If anyone who wanted to, could desert right now, there would only be the commander-in-chief and the flagpole left in the barracks.” Defected soldiers have expressed similar sentiments in the past as they urge soldiers to stand on the right side of history and align themselves with the people and pro-democracy movements. An additional 40 soldiers abandoned their posts with weapons in Tanintharyi and Magwe regions.

CHIN STATE
In Chin State, the Myanmar junta indiscriminately shot and fired at civilians. A woman outside her village was killed in the attack. According to the Chin National Organization, on the same day, soldiers shot a pregnant woman in her thigh. An elderly woman was also shot, and several other civilians were arbitrarily arrested.

KAYAH STATE
The Karenni Army and Karenni Nationalities Defense Force are clashing regularly with the junta forces in Hpruso Township, and Pekon Township in southern Shan. Most of those displaced are women and children – including one month old babies and pregnant women.

In the latest update by the Karenni Civil Society Network, 82 people in Kayah and Pekon Township (Shan) have been killed since the coup, 150 arrested and 106 injured. With COVID-19 cases increasing, including in IDP camps, humanitarian aid is urgently needed. According to a tally from Radio Free Asia, over 170 000 people have been displaced by fighting in Kayah State alone in the last six months.

SHAN STATE
Conflict in Shan State continues to displace civilians. Several internally displaced persons were injured after stepping on a landmine in a tea plantation where rival Shan ethnic armed organizations have been fighting. COVID-19 lockdowns limited access to hospitals as routes were closed. Civilians have made multiple requests to armed groups in the areas to stop laying landmines in civilian areas.

The fighting between the Restoration Council of Shan State, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the Shan State Progress Party has been largely fuelled over territory and claims that the various groups were targeting civilians in their respective areas. Hundreds of residents have been forced from their homes in a fearful retreat.

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Massacres in Kani Township, Yinmabin District, Sagaing Region

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In over (70) years of civil war in Burma, ethnic nationalities have suffered torture, extrajudicial killings, massacres, rape, villages burned to the ground, and residents forced to flee their homes in indiscriminate junta military so-called ‘Military Clearance Policy’. Human rights and civil society organizations across Burma have repeatedly called for action to end this military’s impunity. The UN formed a fact-finding mission in 2018 to investigate the repeated human rights violations. And yet, the junta has continued to perpetrate human rights abuses, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

The military junta seized power and arbitrary arrested the country’s elected leaders on February 1, 2021. People across the regions and states have been resisting the junta in various ways. Kani Township, Yinmabin District, Sagaing Region is known as a prominent area of opposition to the coup. The juntas’ response has been to target and destroy areas in Kani Township, and surrounding villages and forests with shootings, arrests, and raids in military incursions. Thousands of residents have fled to nearby villages and forests. The junta has also entered these villages and killed buffaloes, cows, and looted property from the villages.

44th and 99th Light Infantry Division, including battalion 228th based in Kale Township, have attacked almost every village in Kani Township, using some thousand troops in three different strategic divisions. Many locals have endured inhumane atrocities by the junta. Arbitrary arrest, torture, and sometimes being killed through torture. It has also been reported that internal displaced persons are suffering from food and medical shortages. The terrorist (junta) group has been collecting money through extortion, as well as assaulting, intimidating, and beating locals like with rifle stocks when they travel to Monywa Township to purchase necessities.

Ooredoo and Telenor tele-com operators’ internet and phone lines were suspended on July 9, and MPT was cut off on August 2 in some villages in Kani Township. According to locals, only the military owned Mytel internet and phone line are currently available in some villages. The junta has been uses its four cuts doctrine to indiscriminately target civilians. In July alone, the junta committed 4 massacres in Kani Township villages. At least 43 people have been discovered killed in this way.

First massacre (4 fatalities)

Four men were arrested, tortured, and shot in the head on July 1, between 4 – 6 pm in Shitkoetat Forest between Mone O Village and Ywar Thar Village, Kani Township, Yinmabin District, Sagaing Region. According to locals, the (4) corpses were found headless from shootings on July 3. Some (25) motorcycles were found burned in a nearby fire. The (4) men were each from Sein Kone Village, Phan Khar Kone Village, Sule Kone Village, and Inn Chaung Village.

Second massacre (16 fatalities)

The junta stormed Yin Village and Kone Thar Village, located on the eastern bank of Chindwin River. They entered the village, forcing residents to flee to Kyauk Hle Ka Village on July 9 and 10. Missing were twenty-six villagers. When locals went searching for them, (15) dead bodies were discovered in the valley on Khin Tan Shay Hill, east of Yin Village, Kani Township, Sagaing Region, and (1) dead body was found in another nearby village. According to locals from Yin Village, the dead bodies were found on July 11 and 12 on the hill east of Yin Village.

The (16) murdered persons were from Yin Village (13), Kone Thar Village (1), Paluzawa Village (1), and from Htauk Kyan Kone Village (1). Most of the victims were men, aged between (30) and (50), one of the victims was a male in his 60’s. All the corpses were found with signs of severe torture, some with cuts and bruises on faces and necks.

Third massacre (12 fatalities)

A clash between the military junta and People Defense Force (PDF) happened near Zee Pin Dwin Village, Kani Township, Sagaing Region, on the evening of July 26. Some villagers and PDF went missing. Five dead bodies were found in the first search, by the paddle field behind Zee Pin Dwin Village, and another seven dead bodies were found in a second search. Total of (12) corpses were discovered on July 27.

During the second search, the villagers dug a pit and found (4) victims, (1) hanging from a tree, and (2) lying on the ground. Of these (7) fatalities found in the second search, (2) were elderly over the age of 60, (1) was disabled, and (4) others were aged between 18 – 30.

The (12) fatalities from this third massacre were from Zee Pin Dwin Village (2), Chin Phone Village (1), Thamin Zat Village (1), Tha Lauk Village (1), and Monywa Township (7). According to locals all the victims were found with wounds and injuries from beatings and torture.

Fourth massacre (11 fatalities)

Junta troops raided a small village near Htoo Village, Taungpauk Village Tract, Kani Township. A local People Defense Force (PDF) from Kani Township resisted the attack and a clash unfolded on July 26 and 27. On the morning of July 28, the junta raided Ko Aung Kyaw Myint’s house, a farmer from Thayat Taw Village, who was working in Kyat Chaung Taw Tike. (11) men, including Ko Aung Kyaw Myint, were detained, and his house burned down by the terrorist group. According to one of the victims’ wives, she heard (10) gunshots around 10 am close by to Ko Myint Thein’s farm, a local in Thayat Taw Village.

On July 31, the villagers went on a search and found (11) men massacred in Ko Myint Thein’s farm, in Thayat Taw Village. (2) motorbikes had also been set on fire at the intersection of Kyauktaga and Kyat Creeks, Taungpauk Village Tract, Kani Township.

The (11) victims were all men and from Kho Dwin Village (1), Thayat Taw Village (6), Kani Township (3), and Nyaung Thu Village (1). The (3) from Kani Township were brothers working as farmers in coal manufacturing in their relatives’ village. Among the dead, (3) had bruises on their faces and all over their bodies, they had been shot in the head and chest, with burns on their faces from gasoline. All the bodies were rotting by the time they were found.

In the aftermath of the incident, U Maung Myint, a resident from Kho Dwin Village, Kintaung Village Tract, Kani Township, was mentally distressed by the massacre and drove his motorcycle to a high school in Kani Township where junta troops were based on the evening of August 1. U Maung Myint shouted “civilians died because of you”. He went close to the school’s wall unarmed, the junta then shot. According to his family, junta troops disappeared the body over the night.

Atrocities committed by this terrorist group are happening across Burma daily. The massacres in Kani Township are but incidents which have emerged with concrete evidence. These events testify that the junta is committing crimes against humanity. It is the junta which is responsible for these crimes threatening the lives and property of civilians all over Burma.

The massacres in Kani Township are an act of extermination under the international law. The (1949) Geneva Convention and its June 8, (1977) additional protocols established international humanitarian law norms such as protection of the civilian population, objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian, cultural objects and places of worship due to international or non-international armed conflicts.

According to article (32) of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Geneva Convention related to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, taking any measure of such a character as to cause the physical suffering or extermination of protected persons in their hands is prohibited. This applies not only to murder, torture, corporal punishment, mutilation and medical or scientific experiments not necessitated by the medical treatment of a protected person, but also to any other measures of brutality whether applied by civilian or military agents.

The Kani Township massacres and targeting of civilians is a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions. The junta’s torture and murder of civilians in Kani Township must be condemned by the international community as crimes against humanity and litigated accordingly. Similar incidents to Kani Township occurred in Depayin Township and other townships. These incidents will consequently be examined by civil society organizations.

(2) persons over the age of 60, and (1) disabled person were killed in the second massacre. This junta has repeatedly committed torture towards the most vulnerable members of society, such as children and the disabled. Groups which the international community has made specific pledges to protect.

Article (15) of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by (182) countries, including Burma, states that “States Parties shall protect persons with disabilities from being subjected to torture”. The international community must adhere to its vital responsibility to ensure these groups are protected.

It is therefore necessary for the international community to act against this terrorist group and reject a murderous junta and illegitimate coup at the United Nations General Assembly. At the same time, the National Unity Government, with legitimacy granted by Burma’s people, must be recognized and given appropriate credentials by the international community as the legitimate government in Burma.

Upon ratifying the Rome Statue, the NUG must refer the junta to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and represent Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

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Junta’s election commission orders political parties to prepare for financial audit

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Some fear the audit will be used as a pretext to disband certain parties

The junta’s Union Election Commission (UEC) has announced plans to audit the financial records of Myanmar’s political parties, a move that has been met with fierce criticism.

The UEC, which officially annulled the results of last year’s election in July, has ordered parties to prepare their financial records for inspection, in what some suspect will be used as a pretext by the junta to disband certain parties.

The commission has not yet set a date for the audit.

Sai Leik, general secretary of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, questioned why the UEC would audit finances after officially annulling the election. “Asking for a list of election expenses for each candidate is a pointless act,” he said.

Tha Tun Hla, chairperson of the Arakan National Party (ANP), said that some would find the UEC’s directive difficult to follow because of travel restrictions imposed amid surging Covid-19 cases.

“The political parties that prepared well have no problem,” he said. “But the parties that are not ready to prepare the documents will have to travel.”

He added: “The junta may intend to use the powers enshrined in the Political Parties Act, such as the right to dissolve political parties if they cannot submit their financial statements.”

Parties that fail to comply with certain sections of the Political Parties Registration Law can be suspended for 30 years or permanently dissolved.

Win Maung, the Mandalay Region chairperson of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), said his party had not yet been issued any instructions to prepare for an audit.

Ko Ko Gyi, chairperson of the People’s Party, said he did not yet know what the junta’s intentions were.

“It is still unclear whether the military council has made it mandatory for political parties to deal with its UEC, or if it will really take concrete action regarding the financial matters of the parties,” he said.

Tun Myint, an ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker, said the party would not follow the UEC’s directive because the junta it serves is illegitimate.

“We do not recognise the UEC formed by the violent military council. There is no reason to react to their instructions,” said Tun Myint, who is also secretary of the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, which was formed in the wake of the coup by ousted MPs.

Thein Soe, who led the UEC during the rigged 2010 election that brought the USDP to power, was re-appointed as chairperson of the commission after February’s coup.

In May he announced plans to dissolve the NLD, citing unfounded claims by the military that the party had won its landslide victory in last year’s election through voter fraud.

The party’s detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi responded to the announcement via her lawyers by saying the NLD would continue to exist regardless of what the junta did.

The junta has vowed to hold fresh elections and allow the winner to take power, but few have taken this promise seriously, while many in the anti-coup movement say the NLD has already won a legitimate election and should be immediately returned to power.

Myanmar Now News

More Than 40 Junta Troops Killed Across Myanmar

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More than 40 junta soldiers were reportedly killed and many others wounded by civilian resistance fighters in Sagaing Region and Chin and Shan states during the weekend.

On Sunday morning, about 150 junta soldiers on the Mindat-Matupi highway used explosives on a Mindat Chinland Defense Force (CDF) camp about 25km west of the Chin State mountaintop town of Mindat.

A fierce shootout followed between the military and resistance fighters, a Mindat People’s Administration statement said.

Resistance fighters abandoned their camp amid junta artillery attacks.

An estimated 20 junta soldiers were killed and several wounded with no resistance causalities, the statement said.

Junta soldiers burned civilian homes along the highway.

Another military unit raided villages, including those sheltering displaced civilians from Mindat town, in the north of the township, according to residents and the people’s administration.

Ko Lawrence of the Mindat Township displacement camp management committee told The Irrawaddy on Monday that more than 1,000 people from at least 20 villages fled into forests due to junta raids and firefights.

Resistance attacks on the junta started in Mindat in mid-April.

Clash in Shan State

At least 10 junta soldiers were reportedly killed by civilian resistance fighters from the Southern Shan State Generation (SSSG) during a raid on a regime camp in Nansang Township on Sunday morning.

A civilian fighter was injured in a firefight with military reinforcements, according to the SSSG.

The Irrawaddy was unable to independently confirm the details.

Landmine triggered in Sagaing Region

On Monday morning, numerous junta troops were reportedly killed by landmines planted by the Taze People’s Comrades in Taze Township, Sagaing Region.

Two civilian vehicles carrying troops triggered landmines near Doukgyi village, the group said on Facebook.

It claimed the military suffered many deaths.   

Firefight in Shan State

At least 11 junta troops were killed in Shan State during a fierce firefight with resistance fighters from across Kayah State and a Shan State township on Saturday.

The People Defense Force (PDF) in Pekon said in a statement that resistance fighters along with counterparts from Demoso and Moe Bye townships and forces from the Karenni Nationalities Force (KNDF) and Karenni Army, the armed wing of the Karenni National Progressive Party, attacked the junta and the Pa-O National Organization (PNO) ahead of an attempted raid on the PDF in Pekon.

During 11 hours of fighting, five junta soldiers and at least six PNO troops were killed while two civilian fighters were injured, the KNDF said in a statement.

The military regime is attacking Karenni forces in Loikaw, Demoso, Hpruso, Bawlakhe and Hpasawng townships.

Irrawaddy News