As armored military vehicles roll onto Myanmar’s streets, protesters return for 10th day

/in

By Helen Regan and Chandler Thornton, CNN

Updated 2216 GMT (0616 HKT) February 15, 2021

Myanmar military arrests opposition leaders at night amid daily protests 02:35

(CNN)Armored vehicles on the streets of major Myanmar cities, an internet blackout and nighttime raids on prominent critics on Sunday, did not stop protesters taking to the streets for a tenth consecutive day on Monday to oppose the recent military coup.

In some instances, authorities appeared to respond with force. A protester from the city of Mandalay told CNN he saw uniformed security forces firing rubber bullets and using slingshots in the direction of a crowd of peaceful protesters, causing them to flee.
He also said some of the people firing at protesters were not in uniform. CNN is attempting to reach out to military in Myanmar for response.
“More than anything I was angry that they are shooting at people who are not armed. I am more angry than scared,” said the protester, whom CNN agreed not to name due to his fear of reprisal.
The military had escalated its crackdown on dissent over the weekend, with security forces in the country’s northern Kachin state also firing on protesters at a power plant Sunday. A crowd had gathered there believing the military would cut off the electricity, according to social media video and local reports.
In the confrontation, broadcast live on Facebook, soldiers and police in the state capital Myitkyina fired shots to disperse protesters, though it is unclear whether live rounds were used. Video shows security forces using water cannon and then protesters fleeing as several rounds of fire can be heard. Five journalists were reportedly arrested while covering the incident.
A witness at the scene said that the situation was “stable” until around 11 p.m. local time when the security forces used water cannon against protesters, who had built a barricade of tires and oil drums. Protesters started throwing stones, to which the security forces responded by firing rubber bullets, he said.
“It was very loud and people got really scared. It was quite horrifying to see because people were running with fear and screaming at the same time,” said the eyewitness, who didn’t want to be named for fear of retaliation.
The weekend’s events marked an escalation in the military’s continued crackdown on demonstrators and opposition leaders, since it seized power in a coup on February 1, ousting democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, detaining key government officials and forming a new ruling junta.
A child runs alongside a military armored vehicle moving along a street on February 14, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar.

A child runs alongside a military armored vehicle moving along a street on February 14, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar.
Suu Kyi’s detention, due to expire Monday, will be extended until a court hearing Wednesday, her lawyer said. Khin Maung Zaw said he has still not been able to see Suu Kyi but has discussed the issue of representing her with the judge.
Western diplomats on Sunday warned Myanmar’s junta that “the world is watching” and advised the military not to use violence against protesters.
“We call on security forces to refrain from violence against demonstrators and civilians, who are protesting the overthrow of their legitimate government,” read a joint statement signed by the US, Canada, and the European Union that was published on the official Facebook pages of their embassies.
Since the takeover, hundreds of thousands of people have joined protests and civil disobedience campaigns. People could be seen on the streets in Yangon, Dawei and Myitkyina holding “Civil Disobedience Movement” signs and “Free our leader” banners, showing pictures of detained leader Suu Kyi. People also marched holding signs saying: “Stop arresting people illegally at midnight.”
The protests have swelled to include people from all sections of society, including a strike by government workers as part of a mass civil disobedience movement.
While there have not yet been many reports of injuries, police have been recorded using water cannon against protesters on previous days and have also faced allegations that they have deployed live rounds.
A young woman named Mya Thweh Thweh Khine remains in critical condition at a hospital in the capital Naypyidaw with a gunshot wound in the head, a source with direct information about the victim told CNN Friday. Video of the incident circulated online showing a young woman suddenly falling to the ground while taking cover from a water cannon at a protest. Her image has been held up at protests as a symbol for those resisting the coup.
In response to the protests, the military has sought to limit access to the internet and news services, as well as floating a potential new cyber security law that observers fear could further limit the flow of information.
Internet and mobile services were disrupted overnight Sunday into Monday, and Monitoring NGO NetBlocks said network connectivity across the country had dropped to only 14% nationwide since 1 a.m. local time. Mobile services from all carriers were also disrupted, according to residents. By 9.30 a.m. local time Monday, some areas reported internet has since been restored.
Protesters hold placards and shout slogans near the City Hall on February 13, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar.

Protesters hold placards and shout slogans near the City Hall on February 13, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar.

Fear when the sun goes down

Residents have reported a palpable fear for their safety after dark, with many scared they will be dragged out of their houses by police in nighttime raids, or are terrified of reports of arson and crime following the release of thousands of prisoners in an amnesty on Friday.
Reuters reported that residents in some neighborhoods have banded together to form patrols and provide some security for their streets at night.
“All the streets near me are also making groups to defend themselves from these troublemakers,” Myo Thein, a resident of the South Okkalapa township, told Reuters.
Hundreds of people have been arrested since the coup, and most held without charge, according to the United Nations human rights office. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners Burma (AAPPB) said at least 400 people have been detained in relation to the coup and other reports suggested some activists and journalists had gone into hiding following news of their potential arrest.
One journalist in Yangon, who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of arrest, said rights defenders and reporters are struggling to let the people know what is actually going on.
“Journalists are in remote working and in hiding as they are scared of night arrests and their homes going to be raided. They can be arrested anytime for what they are reporting although (it’s the) truth,” the reporter said.
On Saturday, the military announced the arrest warrants for seven high-profile activists for using “their popularity on social media … to undermine the peace and order of the country,” according to the military’s information page on Facebook.
Among those named is leading democracy activist Min Ko Naing, an organizer for the “Civil Disobedience Movement” Facebook page, which has more than 200,000 followers. Min Ko Naing spent more than 20 years in prison following the 1988 student uprising in Yangon that was brutally suppressed by the military.
In a Facebook post Sunday, Min Ko Naing called on people to continue their civil disobedience campaigns, saying the military was inciting anger to stir unrest.
“Last night, we had to face the horrifying events across the country. They are doing it with all they are capable of. They provoke our anger, and use people including police,” he said. “This week is the most important week, this week will decide for us.”
Over the weekend, the military suspended three laws that were aimed at constraining security forces from detaining suspects or searching private property without a court approval.
Residents and protesters face riot police as they question them about recent arrests made in Mandalay, Myanmar, February 13, 2021.

Residents and protesters face riot police as they question them about recent arrests made in Mandalay, Myanmar, February 13, 2021.
Reuters reported that among the three suspended sections is the law that mandates a court order to detain any prisoner beyond 24 hours and limits security forces’ ability to enter private property to search it or make arrests.
The suspensions also free up spying on communications, according to the Reuters report.
In addition, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing on Sunday announced several penal code amendments that appear to target protesters, journalists and critics of the coup.
The changes impose a maximum 20-year prison term for anyone who attempts to or incites hatred of the government or military “by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise.” Anyone who is found to “sabotage or hinder the performance” of military personnel or law enforcement agencies can also face up to 20 years in jail. Those who hinder or disrupt the military and government employees can be imprisoned for up to seven years under the updated laws.
The AAPPB said the suspensions were ways to instill “fear of police raids into the general public during the night” as it means that the Myanmar authorities can search houses “without the presence of the ward administrative officers and unlawful acts during inspection can be committed.”
The human rights organization said these amendments display how the military “violates inalienable human rights and intensifies the suppressive apparatus towards the general public.”
UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews warned in a tweet that the military would be held accountable for its actions.
“It’s as if the generals have declared war on the people of Myanmar: late night raids; mounting arrests; more rights stripped away; another Internet shutdown; military convoys entering communities. These are signs of desperation. Attention generals: You WILL be held accountable,” Andrews said.

Reporting and writing contributed by CNN’s Bex Wright and Sandi Sidhu in Hong Kong, Sharif Paget and Philip Wang in Atlanta, Elizabeth Joseph in New York, and CNN contributors in Myanmar.

CNN 

Civil Society Statement on the so-called “Cyber Security Bill”

/in

10 February 2021
We, the undersigned civil society organizations, reject the so-called “Cyber Security Bill” drafted by the current military regime, which has not been entrusted by the people with legislative power.
1. On 9 February 2021, the Ministry of Transport and Communications issued a directive enclosing the so-called “Cyber Security Bill” – which violates the principles of digital rights, privacy and other human rights – and circulated these documents to mobile operators and telecommunications license holders for comments.
2. Firstly, as this “bill” is not issued by an institution that has been entrusted with legislative power by the public to act accordingly, we do not accept this as a legitimate bill.
3. Secondly, the “bill” includes clauses which violate human rights including the rights to freedom of expression, data protection and privacy, and other democratic principles and human rights in the online space. As the “bill” is drafted by the current military regime to oppress those who are against its rule, and to restrict the mobilization and momentum of online resistance, we strongly condemn this action by the current military regime in accordance with our democratic principles.
4. The issuance of the “bill” is evidence that the military has not only attempted a coup d’état, but is also exercising undue legislative power unlawfully to oppress the public.
5. If this unlawful action by the current military regime is not denounced strongly in time, military oppression over the country will be long lived and we, the undersigned civil society organizations, strongly condemn this action by the current military regime and issue the following statements –
1. We do not accept and we strongly condemn the military coup d’état and demand the current military regime to return the power to the public immediately without any exceptions.
2. We do not accept, acknowledge or comply with this “bill” and directive as well as any other future “bills” that may be drafted by the current military regime in an attempt to oppress the people.
3. We strongly demand the current military regime to halt any undemocratic practices.

#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar

လက်မှတ်ရေးထိုးသည့် အဖွဲ့အစည်းများ
Action Committee for Democratic Development (ACDD)
Action Group for Farmers Affair (AGFA – Mandalay)
Action Group for Farmers Affair (AGFA – Ayeyarwady)
Action Group for Farmers Affair (AGFA – Bago)
Action Group for Farmers Affair (AGFA – Magway)
Action Group for Farmers Affair (AGFA – Sagaing)
Ananda Data
Arakan CSO Network
Athan – Freedom of Expression Activist Organisation
Ayeyawady West Development Organization- AWDO (Magway Region)
Bandugavlar Civil Call (BCC)
Bee House
Chin Agency
Citizen Action for Transparency (ပွင့်လင်းမြင်သာလူထုလှုပ်ရှားမှုအဖွဲ့)
Civic Engagement Development Network
Civic Engagement Network for M2
COMREG Community Response Group
Digital Rights Collective
Diversity and Public Truth
Empower Youth Enlightenment (EYE)
Equality Myanmar
Farmers Network-ဝမ်းတွင်း
Farmers and Land Rights Action Group
Farmers Development and Environmental Watch Group
လွတ်လပ်သော ထုတ်ဖော်ပြောဆိုခြင်း မြန်မာ
Freedom and Labor Action Group
FREELAND Organization Lashio
Future Star (မတ္တရာ)
Gender Equality Network
Genuine People’s Servants – GPS
GOAL Organization
Golden Heart Organization
Green Justice Institute (GJI)
ကူညီသောလက်များ(ဒေသဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးအဖွဲ့)
Hkumzup Development Committee
Htoi Gender and Development Foundation
Human Rights Defenders & Promoters (HRDP)
Human Rights Educators Network
Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HRFOM)
Justice For All (လူ့အခွင့်အရေး ကာကွယ်စောင့်ရှောက်ခြင်းနှင့် တရားမျှတမှု့)
Justice Movement for Community Inlay
Kayah Earthrights Action Network – KEAN
Kachin State Women Network
Kachin Women Union
Kachin Women’s Association of Thailand (KWAT)
ကနောင်အင်စတီကျု
Kanpetlet Land Development Organization
Karen Peace Support Network
Keng Tung Youth
KESAN Karen Environment and Social Action Network
Kyaukse Youth Network
Lamyan Farmers Network
Legal Knowledge Sharing Group
Let’s Help Each Other
LAIN Technical Support Group
Mandalay Affairs Team
မန္တလေးလူထုနေရာ
Mandalay Regional Youth Association (MRYA)
Mandalay Regional Youth Network
Mandalay Women Political Federation (MWPF)
Mann Thingaha (Gender GBV Team)
Maramagri Youth Network
MATA(Sagaing)
Matupi Women Association
Meiktila Youth Network
Minhla Youth Center
ဖွံ့ဖြိုးမှုအတွက် မြန် အိုင်စီတီအဖွဲ့ (MIDO)
Myanmar Cultural Research Society (MCRS)
Myanmar Deaf Society
Myanmar Fifth Estate
Myanmar Independent Living Initiative
Myanmar Muslim Youth Association (Kachin State)
Myanmar People Alliance (Shan State)
National Network for Education Reform
သဘာဝစိမ်း သဘာဝပါတ်ဝန်းကျင်ထိန်းသိမ်းရေး မိတ်ဖက် အင်အားစု
Never End Tomorrow(NeT)
Ninggawn Institute (NI)
Northern Spectrum Youth Association
Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica
Open Development Foundation
Our Home
P.D.C.E (Peace, Development & Civic Engagement)
ပေါင်းကူး
Peace & Development Center (Meikhtila)
Peace Development Committee (မိတ္ထီလာ)
Pluralistic Society
ရှေ့ပြေးအသံ
ပွင်ဖြူဖွံ့ဖြိုးတိုးတက်ရေးအဖွဲ့ (PDO)
ပြည်ကြီးခင်
Second Tap Root (ဒုတိယရေသောက်မြစ်)
Shan MATA
Shan State Ethnic Youth Federation
သျှမ်းပြည်နယ်ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးအလုပ်အဖွဲ့
Shan Women Development Network
Shan Youth Yangon
Shwechinthae Social Service Group (Shwebo)
Socio- Economic & Gender Resource Institute
Southern Youth Development Organisation
SPACE
Spectrum Organization
Summer Shelter Library
Ta’ang Women’s Organisation
Tai Youth Organization – TYO
TEN, Taunggyi Education Network
Thazi Youth Network
The Seagull: Human Rights, Peace & Development
TRI STAR
တြိအမျိုးသမီးအဖွဲ့
TRY Organization
Uakthon Local Social Development Organization
Unity Arch Bridge Organization
Waingmaw CSO Network
White Marker Group
Win Peace
Women & Youth’s Development Organization (WYDO)
Yi Ywal Yar Community Development
Youth Champion Network
လူငယ်/၂၉ ဖွံဖြိုးမှုနေရာ
၈၈ငြိမ်းပွင့် စဉ့်ကူး
၈၈ငြိမ်းပွင့် မြစ်သား
၈၈ငြိမ်းပွင့် မိထ္တီလာ
၈၈ငြိမ်းပွင့် သပိတ်ကျင်း
၈၈ငြိမ်းပွင့် သာစည်
ကျောက်ပန်းတောင်း လူငယ်ကွန်ယက်
စိမ်းရောင်စို (တံတားဦး)
စိမ်းရောင်စို Activities
တမာရိပ်
တောင်သမန်ကွန်ယက်
ဒို့တိုးတက်ရာ အစည်းအရုံး
ဒို့တောင်သူလယ်သမားအဖွဲ့
ဒို့မြေကွန်ရက်
ပျော်ဘွယ် လူငယ်ကွန်ယက်
ပွင့်ဖြူလယ်ယာမြေကွန်ရက် (မကွေးတိုင်း)
မကွေးတိုင်းဒေသကြီးအရပ်ဘက်လူမှုအဖွဲ့အစည်းများ မဟာမိတ်အဖွဲ့
မဇ္စျိမမေတ္တာ ရေလှူအသင်း (မိတ္ထီလာ)
မင်းလတောင်သူအစုအဖွဲ့
မတ္တရာ လူငယ်ကွန်ယက်
မန္တလေးတိုင်းဒေသကြီး လူငယ်ရေးရာကော်မတီ ကိုယ်စားလှယ်များ
မြင်းခြံ နိုင်ကျဉ်းအဖွဲ့
မြင့်မြတ်ဧရာဝတီ လူငယ်လူမှု့ကွန်ယက်
မြေလတ်မျိုးဆက်အင်စတီကျု
မေမြို့ တောင်သူကွန်ယက်
ယုံကြည်ရာ အသိပညာပြန့်ပွားရေးအသင့်
ရွှေခြင်္သေ့တောင်သူကွန်ရက်(ရွှေဘိုခရိုင်)
ရွှေခြံအားမာန်အဖွဲ့ မြင်းခြံ
ရွှေမင်းသားဖောင်ဒေးရှင်း
ရွှေမင်းသား မသန်စွမ်း ဖောင်ဒေးရှင်း ( မြန်မာ )
ရှစ်လေးလုံးသွေးသစ် (မိုးညှင်း)
လက်လှမ်းမှီရေးအဖွဲ့
လွတ်လပ်သောအရှိုချင်အမျိုးသားများအင်အားစု
ဝိုင်းမော်မြို့နယ်လုံးဆိုင်ရာ သျှမ်းလူငယ်များစည်းလုံးညီညွတ်ရေးအဖွဲ့
ဝါးစိမ်းတောင်ကာကွယ်စောင့်ကြည့်ရေးကော်မတီ (WPWC)
သင့်မြတ်လိုသူများအဖွဲ့
သုခမိန်အင်စတီကျု
သုခုမခရီးသည်အဖွဲ့
အမျိုးသမီးနိုင်ငံရေး အင်အားစု
အိမ်ယာမဲ့ပြည်သူများ အစည်းအရုံး
အောင်သာစည်အဖွဲ့

Open Letter from Civil Society Organizations calling on the Council’s immediate action to ensure the protection of demonstrators

/in
A diverse groups of Civil Society Organizations calls on the Human Rights Council (HRC) to pass a swift and stong resolution at the 29th Special Session on Myanmar condemning the military coup and to take steps to ensure the protection of protesters, monitor the situation on the ground, and enable long-term federal democratic and human rights change in the country. The CSOs call for an urgent enhanced monitoring of the fast-unfolding human rights crisis in Myanmar, including by immediately sending a delegation to Myanmar to monitor the situation on the ground and report back to the Council and other relevant bodies.
“We are deeply concerned that the military is planning to retaliate using violence, unlawful arrest, and intimidation”
“We further call on UN Member States to consider imposition of strategic and targeted sanctions against the Myanmar military as an institution, including military-owned and controlled companies and their substantial business associates in accordance with the recommendations of the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar.”
They call on the HRC to urge the Myanmar military regime to:
✅Refrain from using violence, and arbitrary arrests against protesters and respect people’s right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly
✅Immediately and unconditionally release all those who have been arbitrarily detained;
✅ Allow unfettered Internet access, including on all mobile phone networks and lift all restrictions on access to media sites, social media platforms, VPN and refrain from imposing any further restrictions against use of Internet;
✅Immediately allow all humanitarian aid and health support to resume their work unimpeded;
✅End all violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in ethnic and ceasefire areas, and that all civilians are protected, including by lifting all barriers to humanitarian assistance and ensuring the non-interference of aid to ethnic areas.

Statement by Chin Human Rights Organization on the Myanmar Tatmadaw’s Coup d’etat in Burma/Myanmar

/in
3 FEBRUARY 2021
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) unequivocally condemns the actions of the Tatmadaw which staged a coup d’etat on the 1 February 2021. This action sets the country on a dangerous course of backsliding from the path towards democratization.
This especially imperils the prospect of national reconciliation and peace in the country. The actions of the Tatmadaw are a reckless endangerment to the lives of millions of Burma/Myanmar citizens at a time when all public resources and attention must be focused on the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
CHRO calls on the military authorities to immediately release all those detained in the coup, including members of the civilian leadership, journalists, writers and civil society activists. We urge the authorities to refrain from further politically motivated arrests and detention.
We appeal to the international community, the United Nations and all countries with the influence, to exert all diplomatic and economic pressures on the Tatmadaw to reverse its actions and to put Burma/Myanmar back on the path of democratic transition.
CHRO stands firmly with the widespread condemnation of the actions of the military and aligns in solidarity with all Burma/Myanmar citizens in fighting against all injustice toward building a peaceful, just and equitable democratic future.
https://www.chinhumanrights.org/statement-by-chin-human…/

The Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma Condemns Military Detainment of Government Officials and Human Rights Defenders

/in

1 February 2021: The Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma (ND-Burma) strongly condemns the actions of the Myanmar Tatmadaw which led to the arrest and detainment of Government officials, including State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President, U Win Myint. The arrests were made early in the morning as those in Burma awoke to Internet outages and communication blackouts. This coordinated attack on democracy constituted that of a coup under the leadership of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. We are concerned for the safety of those detained currently and for the future security of those in the country. Further, ND-Burma calls for their immediate and unconditional release and for the Myanmar Tatmadaw to respect the 2020 General Election results, in which the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government secured a second term victory. The international community must put pressure on the military to adhere to democratic norms and principles, including abolishing the 2008 constitution and re-writing one in its place that does not allow for an abuse of power.

After the military affiliated party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, lost in the 2020 General Election, the military began questioning the integrity of the results. Despite not having any evidence of alleged election fraud they have repeatedly asserted, they continued to push back on claims they were undermining democracy. Now, they are citing section 417 of the Constitution to justify their coup over the Union Election Commission’s management of the election and election results.

A state of emergency has been declared by the Myanmar Tatmadaw. By way of the Constitution, they have also taken over all three powers of the State including the legislature, executive and judiciary for one year. Their actions today are evident that the Myanmar Tatmadaw is truly not interested in committing to a peaceful transfer of power, nor are they interested in abiding by the country’s existing laws. This week an emergency meeting at the United Nations Security Council must be called, and members must address the current situation in Myanmar with greater force and effectiveness than they have in the past. This must include the UN Security Council to convene an emergency meeting to respond to the situation, including sending a delegation to Myanmar. Calls from civil society organizations must not be ignored.

ND-Burma lends our solidarity to long-time human rights defenders of Burma, who have stood tall in the face of resistance against the forces of the Myanmar Tatmadaw. We align our efforts for justice and respect for the rule of law with the civilians who have lived through history repeating itself too many times. We therefore reinforce our calls for the release of the political leaders and stakeholders immediately. Thus, ASEAN countries must unify in condemnation against the actions of the Myanmar Tatmadaw and assist in the return to civilian government and protection of human rights. The international community at large has a responsibility to not only condemn these actions but to hold the actors within the country accountable for the military’s crimes against democracy and its people.

Media Contact

U Aung Zaw Oo
Association of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters, Communications and Advocacy Director
+95 942 103 9493 (Burmese)

—

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:

  1. All Arakan Students’ and Youths’ Congress 
    2.     Assistance Association for Political Prisoners
    3.     Association Human Rights Defenders and Promoters 
    4.     Future Light Center 
    5.     Human Rights Foundation of Monland
    6.     Kachin Women’s Association – Thailand
    7.     Ta’ang Women’s Organization
    8.     Ta’ang Students and Youth Union
    9.     Tavoyan Women’s Union 

 Affiliate Members:

  1. Chin Human Rights Organization
    2.     East Bago – Former Political Prisoners Network
    3.     Pa-O Youth Organization
    4.     Progressive Voice

Statement of Opinion on Current Situation

/in

February 1, 2021

  1. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) can not believe in this military coup, Burma’s democracy must be upheld.
  2. The current political conditions in Burma do not require a state of emergency.
  3. According to the basic principle of democracy, that refers to the power of the state derived from the people, the election result on November 8, 2020 must be recognized as the true will of the people.
  4. The detentions of members of the civilian government and elected representatives is not in line with any existing law and tarnishes Myanmar’s image among the international community.
  5. We therefore urge the immediate release of all these political detainees.

 

For more information:

Info@aappb.org