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
CALL ON INTERPOL TO BAN THE ILLEGAL JUNTA FROM REPRESENTING MYANMAR AT ITS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
/in Member statements, Press Releases and Statements22 November 2021
To: Kim Jong Yang, INTERPOL President; Jürgen Stock, INTERPOL General Secretary; the INTERPOL Executive Committee and INTERPOL Member Countries
Subject: Call on INTERPOL to ban the illegal junta from representing Myanmar at its General Assembly
Dear INTERPOL President Kim Jong Yang
INTERPOL Vice Presidents Benyamina Abbad and Šárka Havránková
INTERPOL General Secretary Jürgen Stock
INTERPOL Executive Committee Delegates
Khaled Jameel Al Materyeen
Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi
Jean-Jacques Colombi
Rogerio Galloro
Robert Guirao Bailén
Destino Pedro
Olushola Kamar Subair
Jannine Van den Berg
and Member Countries
We, the undersigned 259 organizations, call on INTERPOL to immediately ban the Myanmar military junta from representing Myanmar as a member of INTERPOL. We demand you ensure that the military junta is excluded from the upcoming 89th INTERPOL General Assembly and all benefits and future cooperation that membership entails.
According to media reports, the Myanmar military junta’s police force is currently representing Myanmar in INTERPOL and its members, led by the Head of Police and Deputy Home Affairs Minister Lieutenant-General Than Hlaing, will act as delegates for the Myanmar government at the INTERPOL General Assembly. This is a matter of grave concern to us and raises serious credibility issues for INTERPOL itself for the following reasons:
INTERPOL’s vision is to connect police for a “safer world” and to support security for the world’s citizens. The people of Myanmar are in dire need of safety and security. The single biggest threat to their security is the Myanmar military junta, who is attempting to represent Myanmar in INTERPOL and use the General Assembly as a platform for political gain and international legitimacy. This will embolden the Myanmar military to continue to commit international crimes with blanket impunity.
We note that countering the threat of terrorism is the first of INTERPOL’s seven Global Policing Goals, and INTERPOL has a responsibility to counter and disrupt terrorism wherever it occurs, including in Myanmar.
We draw your attention to condemnation by the UN Security Council regarding the junta following the February 2021 coup, including a November 2021 statement by the Council’s President Juan Ramón de la Fuente Ramírez citing “deep concern at further recent violence across Myanmar”.
We note that upholding human rights is central to INTERPOL’s mandate. We implore you to meet the commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stated in Article 2 of the Constitution of the ICPO-INTERPOL. Recognizing the Myanmar military junta, responsible for systemic and grave human rights violations would be a clear violation of this article.
We appeal to you to adhere to INTERPOL’s commitment to political neutrality stated in Article 3 of the INTERPOL Constitution. Awarding an unlawful military junta that lacks domestic and international recognition with legitimacy would violate this article, and amount to a partisan intervention that would embolden the military to continue to commit international crimes with total impunity.
Instead of legitimizing the military junta through INTERPOL membership, we appeal to you to uphold international law by supporting the ongoing investigation at the International Criminal Court concerning crimes of genocide against the Rohingya, and future investigations, to bring all perpetrators of Myanmar atrocities to account. The Myanmar military must be recognized as a terrorist organization, not recognized as representatives of the Myanmar people who are the very victims of the junta’s daily barrage of violence that INTERPOL aims to protect.
We therefore call on INTERPOL to:
At this fragile and crucial time in Myanmar, INTERPOL and their member countries must act in the interests of the safety and security of Myanmar people, victims and survivors of crime and in accordance with international law and norms.
—–
For more information, please contact:
Signed by:
Download PDF.
Death Toll at Hands of Myanmar Junta Reaches 1,281
/in NewsThe bodies of a 23-year-old female medic and two male members of the Kale People’s Defense Force (PDF) were found at a camp which was raided by junta troops last Tuesday in Kale Township, Sagaing Region.
The civilian resistance group said victims were Biak Rem Chin, Cher Thang Puia and Ram Mawia.
Biak Rem Chin, also known as Chin Chin, was providing medical training at the camp. She had been shot in the forehead while Cher Thang Puia and Ram Mawia showed signs of torture on their faces.
During the raid, the junta captured nine female medics at the base and their condition remains unknown.
The three deaths mean the numbers killed by the military regime is at least 1,281, reported the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which records killings and arrests by the junta. The group estimated that the actual number of victims is much higher.
According to the AAPP’s latest report, junta forces have killed around 50 civilians so far this month, including five teenagers, bystanders, villagers, a striking teacher and a hostage.
High-school teacher U Zaw Min Aung, 40, who joined the civil disobedience movement by refusing to work under the regime, was tortured to death in interrogation hours after being detained in Myin Thar village, Thabeikkyin Township, Mandalay Region.
He was seized with another civilian on the night of Nov. 17 and accused of having links to PDFs.
Ko Ye Aung, who was seized as a hostage in Kyauktada village in Mandalay Region was tortured to death during interrogation, the AAPP said.
On Nov. 12, Ko Myint Naing and Ko Ye Aung, the father and uncle of a young activist who faced an arrest warrant for incitement, were detained. The next day, Ko Ye Aung’s family was told to retrieve his body, which was apparently covered in torture injuries.
Junta forces have detained more than 10,000 people, while nearly 2,000 people face arrest warrants.
Numerous relatives of wanted activists have been taken hostage by the junta.
The AAPP said the 13-year-old son of National League for Democracy member U Htay Aung was seized when junta forces could not find him.
On Nov. 13 morning, the junta seized the wife of U Thein Naing Tun and a young philanthropist named Ko Thein Zaw as hostages in Taung Tha Township, Mandalay Region, when troops failed to find former village administrator U Thein Naing Tun and two other wanted people.
Irrawaddy News
Myanmar Military Launches Crackdown on Urban Guerrilla Forces
/in NewsYANGON, MYANMAR —
Myanmar security forces are deploying large numbers of forces to crack down on dissident groups in various townships in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, as anti-coup forces continue to intensify attacks against military assets and affiliates.
A key member of the National League for Democracy, the party of ousted de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and former member of the parliament, Phyo Zeyar Thaw, was arrested in Dagon Seikkan township Thursday (November 18).
The next day, the ruling junta released news of the arrest, with photos of Phyo Zeyar Thaw, handcuffed and with bruises on his face, amid guns and ammunition. It also released photos of 40 young men and seven women arrested between November 12 and 17, allegedly for carrying out terrorist attacks in Yangon under Phyo Zeyar Thaw’s direction.
The junta has accused Phyo Zeyar Thaw of recruiting youths at the behest of what it considers terrorist groups, such as the opposition shadow government, the National Unity Government, and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, consisting of elected MPs from last year’s 2020 general election.
A spokesman for the National Unity Government’s Military Command and Control Unit of Yangon Division said of the 47 detainees arrested by the military, 20 are members of the National Unity Government unit. Since the announcement of the National Unity Government’s “People’s Defensive War” on September 7, opposition forces have launched an “Operation Swallow” in Yangon and two neighboring regions of Bago and Ayeyarwaddy.
The National Unity Government military unit has claimed responsibility for shootings in several parts of Yangon and said there had been 443 attacks in Yangon between September 7 and November 6.
Aung Kyi Nyunt, chairman of the MPs group, expressed serious concern about the arrest of many young people, including Phyo Zeyar Thaw.
“They would be tortured under interrogation. They lives are at risk,” Aung Kyi Nyunt told VOA Saturday (November 20).
Four people were arrested Friday (November 19) in connection with the November 4 shooting death of Thein Aung, a high-ranking official of Mytel, a military-owned telecom company. Seven other men were arrested with weapons and ammunition, including two M16 rifles, for firing on a township administration office November 7.
The junta accused the opposition government and parliamentarians’ group of connection to the shootings, attacks and assassinations in Yangon, and the groups also have been accused of providing arms to young people involved in these attacks. Aung Kyi Nyunt would not comment on the military’s allegations.
The military has increased security in many townships and is conducting raids at night.
“After 8:00 at night, we do not dare to go out in our neighborhood. Soldiers are on the road, and [people] can be interrogated and arrested for no reason,” said a North Okkalapa township resident.
A total of 198 people were killed in terrorist attacks between February 1 and November 16, the junta announced on November 18. The junta reaffirmed it will crack down on those who create instability.
The junta also has warned that those who rent houses or apartments for members of the opposition military forces will be prosecuted under existing law and their property will be confiscated.
Opposition military forces say that despite the arrests, they will increase their efforts, and the command unit said it will be speeding up its operations in Yangon.
Kyaw Oo, a member of the opposition People’s Defense Force, who has been carrying out guerrilla attacks since April, told VOA his group received information in October that the junta would launch an operation in Yangon within three months.
“Since then, the military has put more security forces on Yangon than ever before. As a result, prominent people were targeted and arrested on missions. Later arrests may become more severe. So, now all the groups in Yangon are paying special attention to security. Otherwise, we will be arrested,” Kyaw Oo said.
VOA News
Tortured teashop owner loses hearing after more than four months in detention
/in NewsThe man and his wife have both been held in Mandalay’s Obo Prison since their arrest in early July
The owner of a teashop in Mandalay Region’s Sintgaing Township has lost his hearing and some of his eyesight due to torture at the hands of his interrogators, according to a source close to his family.
Min Thu Tun, 32, was arrested at his teashop in the village of Ohn Pin Chan on July 6 on suspicion of involvement with anti-regime forces active in the area.
He is currently being held in Mandalay’s Obo Prison, where he faces charges of incitement under Section 505a of the Penal Code and illegal possession of weapons under Sections 5 and 6 of the Weapons Act.
His condition has greatly deteriorated since he was arrested together with his wife and five others, including his 12-year-old son and employees of his teashop, according to the family contact.
“He has gone deaf and his eyes have also been badly injured. They said his eyesight is not very good. He got all those injuries from being tortured,” the source said, citing someone who saw Min Thu Tun at an in-prison court hearing in October.
The family was taken into custody following a clash between junta forces and local resistance fighters near Mandalay International Airport in the nearby town of Tada-U. One soldier was killed in the shootout and one member of the Sintgaing People’s Defence Force (PDF) was arrested.
During a raid carried out after the clash, regime forces reportedly discovered explosives in a hut near Min Thu Tun’s Shwe Kyal Zin teashop.
Min Thu Tun, his wife Tin Nwe Hlaing, and three other suspects are still being held by the junta, but the couple’s son, Aung Swan Pyae, and one other boy have since been released after initially being charged with possessing explosives.
Tin Nwe Hlaing, 32, is also suffering from health problems, according to the family contact.
“She has a stomach disease. The rice they serve in prison is of poor quality, causing her to have frequent stomach pains. It’s really worrying,” he said.
“Their child is being looked after by their relatives. It’s so sad to see a family being torn apart,” he added.
No details were available about the condition of the three other detainees, Sai, Htet Wai Yan, and Min Min Soe.
The next court hearing is expected to be held at a special court inside Obo Prison on November 19.
Myanmar Now attempted to contact the regime’s information officer and Sintgaing’s central police station for information regarding the cases against the detainees and their condition in custody, but did not receive a response.
Neither Min Thu Tun nor Tin Nwe Hlaing have received adequate treatment for their health issues, according to the source close to the family.
“They’re not guilty in the first place. I just want to request the military council to release them as soon as possible,” he said.
Myanmar Now News
Weekly update on the situation of Human Rights in Myanmar: Post-Coup (November 8-14) 2021
/in HR SituationDetained veteran student activist, U Kyaw Min Yu (Ko Jimmy), a member of the 88 Generation Students Group was arrested at the end of October where he later suffered a violent interrogation in military custody. He was then charged with high treason and terrorism. The five charges he faces could see him face 30 years in prison if convicted, with the possibility of the death penalty.
Former NLD Chief Minister, Nang Khin Htwe Mying, 67 was found guilty on five separate charges in a military court. She was handed a maximum of 15 years for each case – which brought the total to 77 years in prison.
U Win Htein, who has been sentenced to two decades in prison for sedition by the junta, is an 80 year old patron of the NLD in declining health who was transferred from a Naypyitaw detention centre to Obo Prison in Mandalay.
As more charges are laid, ousted politicians are still being detained and family members taken hostage in their place. Win Myint Hlaing, 51, who represented Taungdwingyi Township in Magway’s regional legislature was taken away with his brother on 8 November and has not been heard from since.
Meanwhile, since the attempted coup, the junta has continued to crackdown on former government officials who have rejected the regime and remained loyal to the NLD. Over the last 90 days, the military has seized approximately 70 properties of NLD lawmakers and other party members who have joined the National Unity Government or People’s Defense Forces.
Despite all the efforts to weaken the resistance movement and Spring Revolution, efforts to dismantle the junta have not wavered. The arrests and targeted assaults on the people’s freedoms are only signifying the fragility of the junta and their desperate attempts to eliminate competition to appear stronger. People continue to overwhelmingly reject everything that the military stands for.
CHIN STATE
Satellite imagery showed the devastation and destruction perpetrated by the military junta in Chin State where homes and churches were burnt to the ground. The regime continues to deny their involvement but photos and testimonies from survivors speak the truth.
As resistance forces continued to fight to defend their territory, the Chinland Defense Force (CDF) in Mindat township stated that over a week and a half, a Myanmar military convoy was repeatedly attacked and nearly 60 soldiers were killed.
The wave of atrocity crimes in Chin State has led to challenges documenting evidence of the war-path left behind by the Myanmar junta. An ongoing internet shutdown has made it even harder. Organizations are taking huge risks to attempt to collect critical documentation.
KACHIN STATE
Communities in Kachin State are reeling from the aftermath of targeted airstrikes by the military junta. Livelihoods have been forcibly put on hold as the regime’s presence evokes fear and uncertainty. Since March, multiple airstrikes have displaced thousands. Many displaced villagers have left the IDP camps and returned home, fearing that they would contract the COVID-19 virus in close quarters. Yet many of their needs remain unmet as conflict and the pandemic, as well as inflation, has put basic items out of financial reach for local people.
SHAN STATE
Shan State is among the many areas which continues to be faced with the brutality of the junta as ongoing offensives threaten their survival. In the last two days, scorched earth tactics forced nearly 40 000 residents in Shan State and Sagaing region. In Pekon township, southern Shan State there were 10 000 people from 20 villages seeking refuge.
Villagers also reported the rape of a local elderly woman in northern Shan State after soldiers stole food from her home. The 62-year old was in her home with another woman when three soldiers approached her home. After one left to feed the livestock, the soldiers returned and raped the woman.
Myanmar Junta Troops Rape Chin Mother: Media
/in NewsMyanmar’s junta soldiers gang-raped the mother of a baby in front of her husband in Tedim Township, Chin State, on Thursday night, according to the Chin media.
The alleged incident in Akllui village on the Kale-Tedim highway involved the 27-year-old mother and three soldiers while her husband, 34, was forced to crouch in the toilet, the Chinland Defense Force (CDF) for Kalay, Kabaw and Gangaw reported. The group said it received a victim’s report and was investigating the case.
The husband was injured in the head after being hit with rifle butts and plates.
Two of the soldiers returned to the house and raped the victim again later that night, the CDF said.
The three soldiers took a phone, power bank, 18,000 kyats (US$10) and golden earrings, according to the Zalen news outlet, quoting a relative. The couple and their three children have been evacuated to a safe location, according to the CDF.
On Thursday night, at least five houses were raided and looted by regime forces stationed in the village, according to the media. The junta forces left the village on Saturday.
The CDF condemned the attack on the ethnic Chin woman, saying it insulted the whole community.
The civilian resistance group has vowed to take revenge on the regime forces for its sexual abuse of women.
Sisters 2 Sisters, a group raising awareness on excessive force and sexual violence by regime forces, condemned the rape.
The group, which promotes solidarity in fighting systemic oppression, said all sexual violence during conflict is a war crime and a crime against humanity, breaching international humanitarian law.
It said the soldiers responsible must be punished.
On Nov. 7, a junta soldier raped a 62-year-old woman after asking the victim for vegetables at a village in Kutkai Township, Shan State. Myanmar’s junta confirmed the rape case on Nov. 11.
Irrawaddy News