Clear evidence of the power of the Spring Revolution can be seen in the momentum of ongoing protest and campaigning efforts. Another nationwide protest named the ‘Six Twos Revolution’ was organized to mark the anniversary of the 2021 ‘Five-Twos Revolution,’ held last year as part of a nationwide general strike. Protesters proudly held posters and signage reiterating calls for an end to the Myanmar junta’s crimes against humanity. Three finger salutes were seen as another act of defiance while individuals donned flowers in their hair and the traditional thanaka on their faces. The banging of pots and pans to draw out evil spirits, a popular non-violent form of protest adopted over the last year, was also encouraged.  Political prisoners detained in various jails across Myanmar also found ways to participate by observing five minutes of silence. People also distributed anti-junta fliers and hung banners.

The peaceful demonstration was one where all involved demonstrated their rights to protest. And yet – the military junta unjustly violently cracked down. Peaceful protesters were arrested, including dozens in Tanintharyi and Sagaing regions.

Security forces, wearing riot gear, ruthlessly ambushed 34 young people celebrating a birthday party who they alleged were involved in the protest. ND-Burma member, the Human Rights Foundation of Monland, reported on the case and indicated that no arrest warrants were shown in conjunction with the arrests. They were detained at Laung Lone Township police station.

In Monya, Sagaing region, two women on a motorcycle handing out anti-junta materials were rammed by a car causing them both to fall. One of them was two months pregnant and miscarried as a result.

These injustices against innocent civilians once again speak to the cruelty which the Myanmar junta has never hid behind. Accountability for these crimes and more is long overdue, as is the protection for internationally recognized rights and freedoms.

Airstrikes were once again deployed by the Myanmar junta in Karenni (Kayah) State in the town of Moebye following intensified clashes between People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) and the regime. On 16 February, Myanmar Army forces entered several villages near Moebye and air and ground strikes followed on a daily basis. Karenni based PDFs have been reporting that they’ve killed more than two dozen junta soldiers during the clashes. Civilians caught in the crossfire of the shelling have said the impacts of the blasts ‘shake the walls’ of their homes. Thousands have fled for safety but have faced challenges as they try to escape including multiple checkpoints and extortion by the soldiers.

The onslaught of fighting has left the Karenni people fearful for their futures. Since the beginning of the year, IDP camps have been struck by air attacks and forced thousands to flee. Traumatized survivors have lost loved ones and witnessed the harrowing impacts and brutality of civil war up close.

More airstrikes targeting local people by the Myanmar junta led to three civilians killed, and five injured one the evening of 23 February.

SAGAING REGION

Sagaing region remains one of the most hard-hit areas by the junta’s violence. According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, the terrorist acts committed by the Myanmar junta are worsening in their scope, particularly in areas like Sagaing region where the resistance to the junta has been successful.  The impacts of clashes are continuing to have devastating impacts on civilians.

Worsening hostilities prompted a man overwhelmed with grief at the loss of his wife, son and daughter killed during a raid on his village in Sagaing region, to run towards the soldiers responsible, calling on them to shoot him, to which they did. More and more harrowing accounts are emerging and are continuing to expose the relentlessness of the junta. No civilian is safe, no life spared.

In addition, over a dozen homes were scorched by the junta in Ai Taung West village, Kani township, forcing more villagers to flee. Burning homes has become a common tactic deployed by the regime. In Chaung-U village, the military also set fire to the majority of the 400 households. Alongside the raids, possessions of civilians have been stolen, including cash, valuables and livestock.

It is no surprise to the people of Myanmar that the junta cannot be trusted. Decades of violence against civilians, perpetrated with impunity has denied many justice. Rights, freedoms and basic protections under the regime have entirely disappeared. While trying to pursue legitimacy nonetheless, the leaders of the attempted coup have failed tremendously. And yet, the international community and other stakeholders including regional actors have seemingly been complicit in their war path which has deprived civilians their right to life.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial meeting, which took place last week, did not include a representative from Myanmar after the junta was barred from attending. A ‘five-point consensus’ proposed to the junta last year, has failed to make even the slightest bit of progress. A peace process has not been facilitated, nor has any end of the fighting been alluded to. Thousands remain in military custody under the harshest of conditions, where in addition to falsified charges, they have been deprived of their basic human rights.

Talks at the ASEAN meeting included a discussion on how to resolve the worsening human rights crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN is divided on how to deal with the junta. Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia have been critical of the junta. Whereas, Thailand and Cambodia have failed to draw a hard line with the regime amid a series of excuses and citing the crisis as ‘an internal issue.’

ASEAN cannot be relied upon as a mediator in the crisis when the junta has so obviously proven that their lies are interwoven into excuses which are evident of a lack of accountability and regard for critics. They have no moral compass and cannot be trusted.

In Mingin Township, Sagaing region, the bodies of four civilians were found deceased with evidence of serious trauma to their bodies. One of the bodies was discovered badly burned and reduced to ashes. The discovery of the villagers came after the regime had set hundreds of homes on fire in Mote Thar and Mauk Tet. Only a few homes have been left standing as the numbers of displacement continue to rise.

According to Myanmar Now, those killed were Naing Soe Lin, a 21-year-old vegetable seller, and three volunteer village guards named Kaung Min San, 18, Than Min Soe, 24, and Naing Zaw, 28. The victims had families and were denied not only protection and their rights, but also a proper burial. The wife of Naing Soe Lin is also missing.

The increase of force and airstrikes comes as the junta is losing their offensives across the country. In January 2022, nearly forty civilians were forced to guide junta soldiers as human shields, including women and children.

SHAN STATE

The latest documentation by the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) found harrowing evidence of further crimes against humanity perpetrated against innocent civilians. A 44 year old farmer, who had been displaced, was tortured to death in Kyaukme township, northern Shan State. Military intelligence officers arrived at his home and violently forced their way into his home where they searched for drugs. When their search failed to render the results they were after, the farmer, Sai Tun Win, was beaten on his body and head. His family members were also assaulted by the soldiers and robbed of their possessions, including 30 000 Myanmar Kyat.

Sai Tun Win was forced to accompany the soldiers where he was found at a hospital with wounds to his head and mouth, and a remaining handcuff on his left hand. The regime called the whole thing a ‘misunderstanding’ and refused to pay the devastated family any compensation. Just one week before, SHRF reported on the case of a villager who was killed in a violent hit and run by the junta in Mong Hsu, southern township and no compensation was provided, nor justice for the family was granted in further incidents of human rights violations perpetrated against innocent civilians.

Villagers in northern Shan State were also forced to flee airstrikes perpetrated by the military junta. The majority of those who fled were women and children.

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