ND Burma
ND-Burma formed in 2004 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 13 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to advocate for justice for victims. ND-Burma trains local organizations in human rights documentation; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, a secure open-source software; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns.
Recent Posts
- Myanmar junta bombs Rohingya Muslim village killing 41, rescuers say
- Myanmar’s junta cuts filmmaker’s life sentence to 15 years as part of wider amnesty
- Close The Sky
- International condemnation of the escalating humanitarian crisis and rights violations in Myanmar
- Women in Karenni State face increasing levels of violence
Human Rights Situation weekly update (September 15 to 21, 2024)
/in HR Situation, NewsHuman Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Sep 15 to 21, 2024
Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in Sagaing Region, Mandalay Region, Shan State, Chin State, Rakhine State, and Kachin State from September 15th to 21st. The Military Junta committed arresting, occupying the properties, threatening by using power, and attacking with heavy artillery the civil volunteer societies that helped the people who were affected by the floods in Bago Region and Mandalay Region. Military Junta arrested over 1000 civilians as human shields from Indaw Township, Sagaing Region.
About 30 civilians died, and over 20 were injured by the Military’s heavy and light artillery attacks within a week. Over 30 civilians were arrested by the Military Junta within a week.
Infogram
Human Rights Situation weekly update (September 8 to 14, 2024)
Myanmar civil society calls for ASEAN to move beyond the Five-Point Consensus and end all engagements with the illegal military junta
/in Press Releases and StatementsAhead of the 44th and 45th Summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Vientiane, Laos, the Myanmar National Organizing Committee (Myanmar NOC) for ACSC/APF, comprising 15 civil society organizations, as well as partner organizations and network, participated in the ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN People’s Forum (ACSC/APF) 2024 held on 19 – 21 September 2024 in Dili, Timor-Leste. This year, the delegation of Myanmar NOC and partner organizations and network was more inclusive than ever before, with the participation of Rohingya and LGBTQIA+ representatives.
The conference, hosted by the Timor-Leste National Organizing Committee for ACSC/APF and Forum ONG Timor-Leste (FONGTIL), was attended by over 500 delegates and participants from civil society and people’s movements from across Southeast Asia. Four plenary sessions, 24 convergence space workshops and 11 side events were held.
On 19 September, during the opening session, the Myanmar NOC reported to the conference the dire human rights and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar caused and exacerbated by the military junta, as well as the people’s resolute resistance against the military and building of a new federal democratic Myanmar from the bottom up, despite the junta’s widespread and systematic attacks.
Myanmar in the Plenaries
On 19 September, Yasmin Ullah, Executive Director of Rohingya Maìyafuìnor Collaborative Network (RMCN), a member organization of the Myanmar NOC, spoke on Plenary II: Critical Overview for ASEAN Mechanism. She discussed the failure of ASEAN, especially to protect vulnerable minority communities including the Rohingya, and ASEAN’s ongoing red-carpet treatment of the Myanmar military junta. She further highlighted ASEAN’s failure to coordinate sanctions against the supply chain of aviation fuel, which has continued to embolden the military junta to conduct frequent targeted airstrikes and massacring of civilians.
On 20 September, Zue Padonmar, Secretary 1 of the Interim Executive Council of Karenni State (IEC), and Nurhayati Ali, Director of Health and Human Services at RMCN, spoke on Plenary IV: People and Planet First: Toward a Liberating Southeast Asia. Zue Padonmar discussed the building of bottom-up federal democracy in Karenni State, including the establishment of the people-led Karenni Interim Government, its provision of public services, and its ongoing efforts to encourage public participation in its governance structures. Nurhayati Ali discussed the struggle of the Rohingya, emphasizing that “there will be no liberation in Southeast Asia without the liberation of Rohingya.” She also described the efforts of the Rohingya to reclaim their belonging in their ancestral homeland of Myanmar and in ASEAN, including by reengaging with Rohingya culture and sharing their traditions with the international community.
Myanmar in the Convergence Spaces
On 19 September, Myanmar NOC representatives from Women’s League of Burma (WLB) and Women Advocacy Coalition – Myanmar (WAC-M) convened a workshop entitled An Arduous but Yearning Endeavor: Access to Justice for the Survivors of Conflict-Related Gender-Based Crimes. This workshop was co-organized with Initiatives for International Dialogue and the People’s Empowerment Foundation. Panelists included a representative of WLB and Owen of WAC-M. During the workshop, the Myanmar NOC representatives emphasized that the Myanmar military is the main root cause of conflict-related gender-based crimes in Myanmar, and that the existing regional and international Women, Peace, and Security frameworks are insufficient to address the ongoing sexual and gender-based violence in Myanmar.
Also on 19 September, Khin Ohmar, Chairperson of the Myanmar NOC member Progressive Voice, joined the Grassroots Democracy and People’s Vision for Alternative Regionalism workshop as a panelist. She highlighted the Myanmar people’s tireless efforts and sacrifices to build new, inclusive, democratic governance structures, sharply contrasting the people’s incredible successes with ASEAN’s complete failure to address Myanmar’s multi-faceted crisis.
On 20 September, the Myanmar NOC convened the Triumph over Military Tyranny: ASEAN’s Role in Rebuilding Myanmar workshop under the theme of State Violence, Militarism, National Liberation, and Democracy. This workshop was co-organized with International Peace Bureau – Philippines, Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma, ALTSEAN-Burma, and the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA).
During the workshop, representatives of the Myanmar NOC discussed the ongoing progress of the Myanmar people’s revolution, ASEAN’s role in fueling the military junta’s false legitimacy, and the regional bloc’s need to recognize the people’s revolution and their efforts to build a new Myanmar. The democratic principles driving the Spring Revolution, particularly inclusion and equality—as well as the invaluable role of the Civil Disobedience Movement, students, youth, women, the LGBTQIA+ community at the revolution’s forefront—were highlighted. The workshop also highlighted the Rohingya people’s historical involvement in and contributions to Myanmar’s democratic movements, including the 8888 nationwide pro-democracy uprising and the present Spring Revolution.
The workshop emphasized that the Myanmar military junta has shown blatant disregard for ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus (5PC), only escalating its violence against civilians countrywide. ASEAN’s disjointed approach to Myanmar’s crisis has not only completely failed, but has also lent false legitimacy to the illegal, illegitimate junta and further emboldened it to intensify atrocity crimes.
Also on 20 September, Myanmar NOC members Blood Money Campaign (BMC), Generations’ Solidarity Coalition of Nationalities, Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma, and Equality Myanmar convened a workshop entitled People to People for Justice: Challenging the Norms of Human Security, Peace, Gender Equality, and Accountability in ASEAN. This workshop was co-organized with Stop the War Coalition Philippines and the Asian Cultural Forum on Development Foundation.
The workshop included Mulan, a human rights defender from BMC; Ma Aye Saung, Adviser at WAC-M; and a representative of Justice and Equality Focus (JEF). They emphasized the Myanmar military’s decades-long impunity and ASEAN’s complete lack of political will to address the Myanmar crisis. The workshop, with a panelist from Indonesia, also highlighted the importance of people-to-people solidarity across ASEAN in ensuring human security and peace.
Also on 20 September, Yasmin Ullah of RMCN spoke as a panelist during a workshop entitled When Hate Speech Leads to Genocide: The Rohingya Case and What We Must Do to Resist. She highlighted how misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech against the Rohingya are tools to further divide the ASEAN region to become oblivious to the plight of Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine State as well as to foster a culture of impunity where victims are blamed. She underlined the urgent need to hold the Myanmar military and other actors complicit in the hate speech against Rohingya accountable including those in the ASEAN region.
Separately, on 19 September, the Alliance Against CRSV–Myanmar co-organized a workshop entitled Strategies to Address CRSV in the Region. Moderated by Zin of WAC-M, a member of the Myanmar NOC, the workshop included Yasmin Ullah of RMCN and two members of the Alliance who highlighted the severity of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) against women and girls from different ethnic communities as well as the LGBTQIA+ community.
Myanmar Side Events
Throughout the ACSC/APF, the Myanmar NOC hosted the Burma/Myanmar Revolution Corner – a side event with photo exhibitions and film screening about the situation of internally displaced persons and airstrikes, and handicrafts by the Spring Revolution. RMCN also hosted an artwork and history exhibition to share Rohingya stories and culture. The Alliance Against CRSV–Myanmar further organized an exhibition and photo booth in support of CRSV survivors of Myanmar, where solidarity photos were collected for the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign later this year. All side events received tremendous support and solidarity from the ACSC/APF participants.
Reflections and aspirations of the Myanmar NOC and partners
The Myanmar NOC and partner organizations and network would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to the people and the Government of Timor-Leste for their wholehearted and overwhelming support for and solidarity with Myanmar people and our revolution. The liberation, freedom, and democracy that the people of Timor-Leste have as an independent sovereign nation is something Myanmar people are longing for, are fighting for, and are determined to achieve soon.
The Myanmar NOC and partner organizations and network would also like to sincerely thank the ACSC/APF 2024, the Timor-Leste National Organizing Committee for ACSC/APF, regional solidarity networks, and all participants for their steadfast support of the Myanmar people’s revolution and aspirations for inclusive federal democracy and human rights for all.
The Myanmar NOC, with our platform of convening independent civil society organizations and networks, stand firm on non-discrimination and other human rights and democratic principles. As such, the Myanmar NOC will continue to do our part to ensure the ACSC/APF remains a people’s space protected based on these principles.
Recommendations to ASEAN
Once again, ASEAN’s complete silence on the Myanmar military junta’s latest airstrikes over the past week in northern Shan State proves its utter failure to address the dire human rights and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. It is clear that ASEAN’s approach, including the failed 5PC, is not working in any capacity, Thus, ASEAN must change course immediately.
We demand ASEAN to respond to and take concrete actions in accordance with the following recommendations at the upcoming ASEAN Summits:
For more information, please contact:
Members of the Myanmar NOC:
Partner Organizations and Network:
Download press statement
Myanmar junta plans to execute 5 anti-military activists: sources
/in NewsRights group denounces use of capital punishment as a tool against dissent.
Myanmar’s military junta is planning to execute by Tuesday five political prisoners for the 2021 murder of a police officer, activists and other sources said, raising concern among rights groups about the conduct of their trial and the prospect of the military using capital punishment to suppress dissent.
Authorities in Insein prison, in the main city of Yangon, have been making preparations for the execution of the inmates, one of them a woman, including taking their measurements, said a source close to the prison who declined to be identified.
“We can confirm that the gallows have been prepared but we don’t know when, or if, the executions will take place. I’ve also learned that they have been allowed to meet with their families,” said the source.
The five, Kaung Pyae Sone Oo, Kyaw Win Soe, San Min Aung, Zayyar Phyo and Myat Phyo Pwint, were sentenced to death by a special prison court for the shooting and killing of a police officer at Ahlone Station in Yangon on Aug. 14, 2021.
Radio Free Asia tried to telephone the junta’s main spokesman, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, to ask about the situation but he did not answer the calls. He told the BBC Burmese service several days ago that he had heard nothing about any planned executions. RFA also tried to contact the deputy director general of the Prison Department but he did not respond.
RFA was also unable to reach any relatives of the five.
The junta that seized power in an early 2021 coup carried out the first executions in Myanmar for several decades with the 2022 execution of four democracy activists accused of “terror acts”, triggering a wave of condemnation, including from the United Nations, European Union and the United States.
The rights group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners – Burma reports that as of March, 164 people had been sentenced to death since the 2021 coup, which triggered a wave of opposition to military rule and an armed uprising.
The group ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, or APHR, urged the military council to halt any plan to carry out the executions saying it was “alarmed by the use of the death penalty and how these trials were conducted.”
“These actions represent a grievous infringement of human rights and a blatant disregard for international legal standards,” the group said.
“The use of capital punishment as a tool to suppress dissent is unacceptable and must be condemned in the strongest terms,” said APHR board member Wong Chen, who is a Malaysian member of parliament.
‘On alert
Thaik Tun Oo, an official from the Political Prisoners Network – Myanmar, said the rumors of impending executions in the absence of any official word was akin to a “psychological operation” by the military to spread fear.
“Families are worried, and it seems this is being done deliberately. This isn’t official news from the prison side, nor does such news typically reach outside,” said Thaik Tun Oo. “I sense that a psychological operation is taking place.”
A senior member of Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government, or NUG, set up by pro-democracy politicians after the 2021 coup, said an investigation into the rumors of impending executions had revealed that health checks, typically conducted before executions, were being carried out not only in Insein but in other prisons as well.
“We are deeply concerned. The international community is on alert, with some considering statements expressing their concern and urging that these executions not be carried out,” he said.
An attorney told RFA that the families of condemned prisoners had to be notified 24 hours before an execution is carried out.
“If the death sentence is confirmed and the execution is carried out, the law stipulates that the prisoner must be informed 24 hours in advance, followed by notification to their family,” said the lawyer, who declined to be identified for security reasons.
“During that 24-hour period, there is no limit to the number of family members who can visit. So have they actually been allowed to meet with their families? Have any conversations taken place? Have they been notified? These questions are crucial.”
RFA News
Junta targeting rebel-held areas in northern Myanmar with airstrikes and artillery
/in NewsThe military is regularly attacking rebel-held Nawnghkio and Hsipaw townships.
Myanmar’s junta is conducting regular airstrikes and artillery attacks on towns in northern Shan state that are firmly under rebel control in a resurgence of violence in the area, residents said Thursday.
On Monday, the ethnic Ta’ang National Liberation Army, or TNLA, said that the air force dropped more than 50 bombs on Hsipaw with Y-12 aircraft, and that aerial attacks were being carried out every day on Nawnghkio. Both towns are under TNLA control.
The attacks are the latest spasm of violence in Myanmar’s three-year civil war, in which rebels appear to have the upper hand, prompting the military to lash out at towns under their control.
While armed clashes are taking place in Nawnghkio township’s Tawng Hkam village, the junta has repeatedly targeted the township seat with airstrikes and artillery attacks,
a resident of Nawnghkio who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, told RFA Burmese.
“They are also carrying out airstrikes on places where there is no fighting,” he said. “They have been firing heavy weapons from [the nearby township of] Pyin Oo Lwin for four or five days. Yesterday, their attacks hit houses. No [rebel] forces are stationed there.”
The TNLA captured key junta artillery battalions in Nawnghkio on Aug. 28 and fighting around the township’s remaining military outposts has continued since then.
Another Nawnghkio resident, who also declined to be named, told RFA that the junta is carrying out “continuous airstrikes” in this area.
“Around 2-3 a.m., the junta dropped about five bombs, possibly using Y12 aircraft,” he said, adding that no one was hit in the attacks.
Recent casualties
On Sept. 13 and 14, at least 10 bombs were dropped by aircraft on Nawnghkio town, residents said, while on Sept. 17, junta artillery shells killed three members of the same family – Cho Myint, 40, and two boys aged 3 and 17.
A recent junta airstrike on Hsipwaw town injured a 60-year-old woman and a 14-year-old girl, while also destroying several houses, the TNLA reported on Wednesday.
A resident of Hsipaw told RFA that fighting had intensified in the township beginning last week, and the junta has been carrying out aerial attacks since then.
“TNLA totally controls the town, except for the military’s No. 23 Light Battalion,” he said. “Junta troops are trying to retake this camp. Airstrikes were used in the fighting, hitting residents and killing some people.”
RFA was unable to independently confirm the exact number of casualties.
Fighting began in Hsipaw in the last week of June, when the second round of a major ethnic offensive known as 1027 Operation began. On Aug. 10, the TNLA took control of all parts of Hsipaw after junta troops withdrew from Hsipaw Bridge and the town center.
Attempts by RFA to contact Khun Thein Maung, the junta’s economic minister and Shan state spokesman, for comment on the use of airstrikes in the area went unanswered Thursday, as did efforts to reach TNLA spokeswoman Lway Yae Oo.
According to the health ministry under Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government, or NUG, on Sept. 7, the junta carried out 11 airstrikes in Shan, Kayah and Chin states, as well as Sagaing, Magway, Mandalay and Bago regions, killing more than 40 people.
During the second round of Operation 1027, the opposition forces under the NUG seized Mandalay region’s Mogoke, Singu, Thabeik Kyin and Tha Gaung townships, as well as several townships and the towns of Moemeik, Naunghkio, Hsipaw and Lashio in northern Shan state.
End of cooperation with NUG?
Meanwhile, a ethnic army that helped launch Operation 1027 with the TNLA said it will cease fighting and end its cooperation with the NUG militarily or politically.
The rebel Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA – which, along with the TNLA and the Arakan Army, or AA, form the ethnic Three Brotherhood Alliance – said in a statement on Wednesday that it will not align with any group that opposes neighboring China and said it will work with Beijing to bring an end to Myanmar’s conflict.
Also known as the Kokang Army, the MNDAA said that despite taking control of much of northern Shan state, including the largest city Lashio, it has no plans to seize the state capital Taunggyi or Myanmar’s second-largest city Mandalay.
However, the group did not go as far as announcing an end to hostilities with the military and said it would defend its territory and pursue autonomy if necessary.
The ethnic army had posted a similar statement to Facebook on Sept. 4, after China warned rebel groups to end fighting with the junta along its southern border, but later took it down.
The NUG has provided no response to the MNDAA statement.
Observers suggested that the MNDAA statement was the result of intense pressure from China, which has shut down key trade routes along the border amid fighting there.
Media outlet Myanmar Now cited political commentator Than Soe Naing as saying that the MNDAA was “simply announcing the direction laid out for them by China.”
The junta has accused Beijing – one of its few remaining international supporters – of backing the TNLA and MNDAA, with junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing saying in early August that the military lost Lashio because of China’s involvement.
Later that month, Min Aung Hlaing met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Naypyidaw, after which the Chinese embassy issued a statement suggesting that external forces were attempting to damage China-Myanmar relations.
RFA News
Human Rights Situation weekly update (September 8 to 14, 2024)
/in HR Situation, NewsHuman Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Sep 8 to 14, 2024
Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in the Magway Region, Shan State, Kachin State, and Rakhine State from September 8th to 14th. Military Junta arrested the civilians as human shields from Mindon Township, Magway Region, and Salingyi Township, Sagaing Region. Military Junta also committed a massacre by killing over 30 civilians in Hpakant Township, Kachin State. The Military Junta arrested the civilians from Ayeyarwady Region and Bago Region for the Military Service.
Over 30 civilians died, and over 10 were injured by the Military’s heavy and light artillery attacks within a week. Over 50 civilians were arrested by the Military Junta within a week.
Infogram
Myanmar National Organizing Committee for ACSC/APF ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN People’s Forum 2024
/in Press Releases and StatementsThe Myanmar National Organizing Committee (Myanmar NOC) for ACSC/APF, comprised of 15 Myanmar civil society organizations, will be participating in the ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN People’s Forum (ACSC/APF) 2024, which will be held in Dili, Timor-Leste, from 19 to 21 September. ACSC/APF is an annual conference where civil society organizations and peoples of ASEAN gather to discuss and address various issues across national, regional, and global boundaries. This year, the Conference’s theme is “Toward a People-Led Democracy and Sovereignty in Southeast Asia”.
During this three-day gathering, the Myanmar NOC will report on the country’s situation at the opening of the Conference and will host workshops and side events throughout the Conference.
On 20 September, the Myanmar NOC, together with International Peace Bureau – Philippines, Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma, ALTSEAN-Burma, and Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), will host a workshop under the theme of State Violence, Militarism, National Liberation, and Democracy, entitled “Triumph over Military Tyranny: ASEAN’s Role in Rebuilding Myanmar”. This workshop aims to provide updates to stakeholders in the region on the ground realities of the Myanmar people’s revolution; to provide analysis of and assess ASEAN’s approach to the crisis in Myanmar, including recommendations for ASEAN’s approach to successfully address Myanmar’s crisis and implement its pledge for a Myanmar people-owned and -led process of liberation and federal democracy building.
In addition to the workshop, the Myanmar NOC will also host a side event with photo exhibition, film screening, and solidarity corner for the Spring Revolution in Myanmar. On 19 September, a representative from one of the Myanmar NOC’s member organizations, Rohingya Maìyafuìnor Collaborative Network, will speak on Plenary 2: Critical Overview for ASEAN Mechanism. On 20 September, a representative from the Interim Executive Council of Karenni State will speak on Plenary 4: People and Planet First: Toward a Liberating Southeast Asia.
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Background
Since the Myanmar military’s illegal coup attempt in February 2021, Myanmar has stood at a pivotal juncture in its history. The bottom-up people’s revolution, driven by the aspiration to liberate Myanmar’s communities from decades-long military tyranny and establish a federal democracy, has persistently advanced on the ground despite the military’s unprecedented nationwide terror campaign against the people.
Over the past three years, the military junta has perpetrated a multitude of grave human rights violations and mass atrocity crimes across the nation, including massacres, torching and pillaging of entire towns, and lethal airstrikes against civilian communities and places where they take refuge. There have been over 2,400 airstrikes by the military over the past three and a half years. The junta’s violence has displaced more than 3 million people—a number that has been rising steadily and is likely a gross underestimation of the true magnitude of displacement. Displacement is widespread both within Myanmar and across its borders, with about 30,000 new Rohingya refugees having arrived in Bangladesh after 5 August.
Most recently, across six days in early September, the military junta had launched several airstrikes targeting civilians in different areas of the country. It was reported that at least 40 people were killed by those junta airstrikes, including a dozen children. In the face of these attacks and violence by the junta, the people’s revolution has worked tirelessly towards establishing a new, peaceful, inclusive, and sustainable Myanmar that is free from the military tyranny. The people’s revolution is winning on the ground, and the Myanmar military junta does not have effective control of the country. Townships covering 86% of the country’s territory and including 67% of the national population are not under stable junta control.
Myanmar is moving forward. Now is time for ASEAN and the wider international and regional community to seize this most critical opportunity and take immediate and decisive action to support the Myanmar people’s revolution for federal democracy.
Members of the Myanmar NOC:
For media inquiries, please contact:
Myanmar National Organizing Committee, ACSCAPF@proton.me