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.
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Roughly 800 soldiers have fled the military since the coup, says defector
/in NewsMost defectors now want to join the People’s Defence Force and fight against the regime, a former captain says
About 800 soldiers have left the military to join the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) since the February 1 coup, a former captain who is helping people to defect has told Myanmar Now.
Lin Htet Aung, 29, defected in late March and has since teamed up with more defectors to assist others in leaving the military. He served in the 528th Infantry Battalion under the Triangle Region Command in eastern Shan state.
About three quarters of those who have defected are ready to join the People’s Defense Force (PDF) to fight against the regime, he said. The rest would like to help the revolution in other ways but do not want to fight, he added.
Around 100 of the defectors had been serving as officers with ranks including major, captain, and lieutenant.
Some have travelled to border regions controlled by ethnic armed groups and are giving crash courses in combat to people who fled cities to take up arms against the junta.
Most defectors are from the navy and air force; soldiers from infantry regiments have found it more difficult to flee due to the fear of repercussions against their families.
“The main reason they can’t defect is because they’re performing frontline operations and are separated from their families,” said Lin Htet Aung.
“They don’t have access to our statements either, so that doesn’t help,” he added, referring to public pleas by defectors for other soldiers to join CDM.
Between 40 and 50 of those who have defected left their families behind in military housing, he said. “They don’t know what to do and they have no support. There’s no way for them to reach out to their families.”
Most of the defectors are aged between 2o and 35 and no one above the rank of major has defected.
“We don’t expect anything from those in higher ranks,” Lin Htet Aung said. “The higher up they are, the more scared they are of losing their positions.”
“If they defected this fight would be over quickly,” he added.
Lieutenant Htet Nay Bala, 24, defected on March 7. He said he fled the 269th Infantry Battalion in Chin State after the regime ordered attacks against peaceful protesters across the country.
“Instead of protecting the people after taking their taxes as salaries, this institution is committing all these atrocities. So I no longer want to be a part of it,” he said.
“Everyone felt their future being taken away when the coup happened,” he added. “As a youth who loves my country, I’ll continue with the revolution. There’s no turning back.”
Myanmar Now
ND-Burma Situation Update ( 31 May – 6 June 2021)
/in HR SituationIn the now four months which have passed since the Myanmar Coup, civilians are continuing to appeal to the international community for support and much needed action. The junta must understand that their authoritarian rule will not be tolerated, and civilians must be protected. Failure to hold the military accountable runs the risk of allowing military impunity to become even more entrenched. More in our weekly update:
Open letter from 191 CSOs urging the Eight NCA-signatory EAOs to reconsider their proposal to negotiate with the Military’s SAC Council
/in Press Releases and StatementsOpen letter from 191 CSOs urging the Eight NCA-signatory EAOs to reconsider their proposal to negotiate with the Military’s SAC Council
May 30th 2021
We, the 191 Civil Society Organizations send this open letter urging a serious rethink of the proposal from eight of the NCA signatories Ethnic Armed Organizations that was sent on May 11, requesting individuals and countries that stood witness to the NCA process to intervene and negotiate with the military council. We are convinced that this proposal goes in the wrong direction and will only lead to further political devastation with no good outcomes for the country.
The 10-year saga of the “peace process” initiated by the quasi-civilian government of U Thein Sein, followed by the return to dictatorship, has proven that the Burmese military has simply been implementing a political strategy to escape international pressure while upholding its (3) nationalistic objectives of “non-disintegration of the Union”, “non-disintegration of national solidarity” and “perpetuation of (military) sovereignty” in accord with its 2008 Nargis Constitution.
Since the NCA process started, substantial international pressure was lifted from the Burmese military, giving it opportunities to expand its businesses both domestically and internationally, putting the military in a better financial position to equip itself with advanced weaponry and surveillance tools. Using enhanced military surveillance systems and heavy weaponry in their combat strategies while using the pretext of “development,” they have been expanding their areas of control into territories of both signatory and non-signatory EAO’s both throughout the NCA “peace process” and since the February coup d’état.
Throughout the NCA period the Burmese army continued to commit human rights violations in many ethnic areas, including wrongful arrests, torture, killings, looting and theft of civilians’ property. Farmlands, schools and homes of civilians’ have been damaged by deliberate semi-random artillery shelling. The Burma army continued to commit crimes of sexual violence against women and the genocide of the Rohingya. Statues of General Aung San have been forcibly built in ethnic states, disregarding wishes of local ethnic communities while their own sacred monuments have not been allowed. The NCA simply could not prevent gross human rights violations by the Burmese army, nor did it provide any remedy mechanisms for civilians whose human rights are violated. The NCA is not legally binding and thus it could not, and cannot, protect the people or prosecute perpetrators of abuses.
Since the peace process started consensus has been lacking among all the EAO’s about the NCA agreement. In fact, the NCA “peace process” has mostly served the military’s interests and has led to fragmentation and division among ethnic forces Thus, we are far from forging ahead with the federal democratic union everyone wishes for. In the end only 10 EAOs signed the NCA. The 10 year journey of the peace process that happened around the tables of air-conditioned hotel rooms has proven to be nothing more than a pretense of a temporary peace.
It is an act of blasphemy to all the comrades and allies of the revolution for the (😎 EAOs out of (10) signatories to demand from the witnesses of the NCA an intervention of negotiation with the military to solve the current political crisis which is a consequence of the military coup. The proposal of such a demand ignores not only the multi-generational oppression and abuses committed by the military, but also its recent and ongoing crimes such as arbitrary arrests, beatings and killing of demonstrators and medics, airstrikes and bombings against civilian targets including villages, schools and clinics and the countless instances of torture, sexual violence and murder. It can be read as legitimizing the criminal human rights violations of the Tatmadaw military dictators and will only ensure their impunity.
To continue to act as though the NCA process also means EAOs effectively distancing themselves from their political goals which the process has repeatedly failed to address. To solve the political problems in Myanmar it is important to remember that the armed revolutions are rooted in demands for self-determination and equal rights for the non-Burman ethnic peoples. The NCA process will indeed lead to political suicide mission. It will create more factionalism and further derailment from the path to the goals of federal democracy and unity of the country. Aside from disregarding the painful lived experiences of the civilians, adherence to the military’s NCA path will only create distrust toward the EAOs among the public and will result in their social punishment.
With loathing of the military at an all-time high across the nation, it is the best chance to work towards genuine federal democracy through elimination of the military dictatorship. We, the signatory CSOs, believe that by working together, the democratic forces and ethnic peoples can achieve our goal of mutual liberation. This is also the time for the EAOs to help facilitate understanding among the wider public about what federal democracy means, why EAOs have been fighting for decades, why they are allied to build a federal democratic system and why it is so important to work together.
Myanmar has gone through several military coups throughout its history and it is very clear that it is impossible to build a federal democracy through negotiation with military dictators. The only way to create a federal democracy is to fight against the racism and the military dictatorship together with the people’s movements. We urge all the EAO’s, including the signatories of the NCA to implement the following recommendations to uproot the common enemy and build federal democracy.
In each EAO-controlled area to accelerate each organizations own implementation of security, good governance and rule of law by pronouncing its role as the only legitimate organization in those areas.
To provide due protection to all civilians’ lives and livelihood through the formation of a federal army as there are no organizations or governance structures able to adequately protect civilians under the military dictatorship.
To provide protection and support to those in and working together with the CDM to halt the businesses and administration of the military dictatorship
To develop and implement collaboration between democratic forces, ethnic liberation movements and all ethnic people, including Burmans, to work on a federal democratic constitution that guarantees human rights standards, equality and self-determination of the ethnic peoples and to create a stable system of federal democracy in the country.
Lastly, we urge the EAO signatories of the NCA to announce that the realization of a satisfactory peace process through the Tatmadaw-dominated NCA is impossible and that the NCA is now null and void. We urge the EAOs to instead join together with all the forces fighting to uproot the military dictatorship through both political, economic and armed struggles.
Sincerely,
On behalf of the (191) CSOs
Karen Peace Support Network
Contact: kpsn14@gmail.com
Note: Due to serious security concerns, names of the civil society organizations who endorsed and signed this open letter cannot be disclosed. The signed CSOs are those working for human rights, child rights, women’s rights, LGBTQs rights, rule of law, social justice, federalism, peace, political prisoners, education, health, community based development, environmental conservation, natural resources management, land rights, forest conservation and climate crisis.
ND-Burma Situation Update (24-30 May 2021)
/in HR SituationThe situation in Myanmar has become increasingly more worrying as conflict in ethnic areas compromises civilian safety amid a pandemic and coup. Their willingness to overcome is a testament to their strength. CBOs, HRDS, WHRDs filling important gaps. More in our visual update:
ND-Burma Situation Update (17-23 May 2021)
/in HR SituationThe assault on #Chin, Minda continues while the Tatmadaw expands their operations into Loikaw, #Kayah where more civilians have been forced to flee the junta’s violence. Meanwhile, the Myanmar election chief considers dissolving Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD party. More in our weekly update
ND-Burma Situation Update (10-16 May 2021)
/in HR SituationIt has been over 100 days since the #MyanmarCoup. Authoritarian rule by the junta has led to a morally and economically defunct state of governance, where the people are continuing to prevail. Release the detainees, release the journalists. More in our weekly update