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
- Rodrigo Roa Duterte makes first appearance before the ICC: confirmation of charges hearing scheduled for 23 September 2025
- Myanmar junta troops massacre 11 villagers, most too old to flee, residents say
- On International Women’s Day, the Network for Human RightsDocumentation – Burma Calls for the Recognition of Women’s Contributions to the Pro-Democracy Movement
- INTERVIEW: Why an Argentine court filed a warrant for Aung San Suu Kyi’s arrest
- Myanmar junta bombs rebel wedding, at least 10 killed
Row over who represents coup-hit Myanmar at UN
/in NewsThe junta sacked the country’s envoy after he spectacularly broke ranks by calling for the regime’s downfall on February 26, but on March 1, U Kyaw Moe Tun sent a letter to the president of the UN General Assembly saying he still holds the post.
By AFP
Myanmar’s military junta and the envoy sent by its toppled civilian government have launched contradictory claims over who represents the country at the United Nations, officials said Tuesday.
Ambassador U Kyaw Moe Tun spectacularly broke with the junta before the General Assembly on Friday in an emotional plea for help to restore ousted civilian leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
The next day the junta said the envoy had been sacked, but on Monday Kyaw Moe Tun sent a letter to the president of the UN General Assembly to say that he still holds the post.
“The perpetrators of the unlawful coup … have no authority to countermand the legitimate authority of the president of my country,” said the letter obtained by AFP, referring to Aung San Suu Kyi.
“I wish therefore to confirm to you that I remain Myanmar’s permanent representative to the United Nations,” he added.
On Tuesday, Myanmar’s foreign ministry sent a note verbale to the UN, also obtained by AFP, claiming Kyaw Moe Tun had been removed.
“The ministry of foreign affairs … has the honour to inform that the state administration council of the republic of the Union of Myanmar terminated the duties and responsibilities of ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun”, the note said.
“At present, Tin Maung Naing, deputy permanent representative ambassador, has been assigned as the charge d’affaires ad interim of the permanent mission,” the note added.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a press briefing that the body had received the two “contradictory” letters.
“We are taking a look at those letters, where they came from and what we will do,” he said.
The United States backed Kyaw Moe Tun and hailed his “bravery,” with a State Department spokesman saying “we understand that the permanent representative remains in his position.”
“We will continue to oppose the military coup and we will continue to support the restoration of Burma’s democratically elected civilian government,” the US spokesman said.
US envoy to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield also met virtually with Kyaw Moe Tun on Tuesday to express her support.
UN accreditation and protocol committees will look into the issue and then refer it to the General Assembly.
Dujarric said that the UN envoy to Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, who is currently in Switzerland, “continues her conversations with various parties regarding the current situation.”
On Friday, Burgener said that “it is important the international community does not lend legitimacy or recognition to this regime,” and called for the international community to press for a return to democracy.
Frontier Myanmar
Police and protesters resume running battles in Yangon for fourth day
/in NewsSecurity forces have deployed tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades to dislodge protesters from their home-made barricades, with only limited success.
By FRONTIER
Yangon is today again a battle zone, with police and soldiers attempting to disperse thousands of peaceful protesters from sites across the city including Sanchaung, Insein Road in Hlaing Township and near Yuzana Plaza in Tarmwe Township.
There were also reports of crackdowns elsewhere in the country, including Kalay in Sagaing Region, where medics told AFP that three protesters had been critically injured when security forces fired live rounds at anti-coup protesters.
For a fourth straight day police used tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades to dislodge protesters from their home-made barricades. Although it often sent protesters running, and led to small numbers of arrests, they were usually able to find safe haven and then regroup as soon as the security forces left the area.
In Sanchaung, police moved in shortly after 9am to disperse protesters on Padonmar Street, and at 10:45am police and soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets on nearby Kyun Taw Road. A Frontier reporter who was close to the confrontation managed to take shelter in a nearby shop. At least three people were arrested, while a soldier was seen cursing as he destroyed a National League for Democracy flag.
On Mingalar Street in Sanchaung, rumours of snipers on rooftops created a tense atmosphere this morning. Police eventually moved in to disperse protesters, deploying smoke bombs and what appeared to be tear gas. Protesters took cover in nearby apartments. During this time a police officer was seen firing directly into a ground-floor room on Mingalar Street. Once the police left and a scout had given the all-clear, the protesters emerged to resume their demonstration.
Later in the morning, security forces broke up a protest near Yuzana Plaza, with a heavy military presence seen on nearby Ma U Kone Street, a Frontier reporter said.
Insein Road has been one of the key battlegrounds again, with police employing more ruthless tactics to disrupt protests.
Yesterday protesters set up roadblocks and staged sit-ins at several points along the road north of Hledan junction, bringing traffic to a standstill. They were eventually forced to flee in the afternoon under police fire and sought shelter in nearby apartments.
In a now familiar scene, protesters wielding home-made shields had this morning erected makeshift barricades using rubbish bins near the Butaryone bus stop on Insein Road.
They were forced to disperse after 11am when police unleashed tear gas and rubber bullets. Residents told Frontier the police crackdown came sooner today than yesterday. A Frontier reporter and photographer both narrowly escaped arrest by hiding in nearby apartments.
Frontier saw five people being arrested, while police were also seen releasing another nine people who had been detained in the same area.
Police have also been breaking the windows of cars that had been stopped on Insein Road to hinder their advance.
“The crackdown today is fast,” one demonstrator told Frontier. “They have even been going into the wards to arrest people.”Police have now reportedly blocked Than Lan and Butaryone streets, and Frontier also saw police and military near the Kan Lan bus stop on Insein Road.
One person in a densely populated ward in Hlaing Township near Insein Road told Frontier it was “basically a war zone”, with community leaders setting up temporary roadblocks around the entire ward. Security forces are said to have blocked off roads in all directions, and warned that anyone who tries to leave will be shot.
Meanwhile, at the end of some streets within the ward residents have also set up temporary barricades with rebar, bamboo, or PVC tubing to stop and search any cars that try to enter, forcing all the passengers to get out of the vehicle.
In Mandalay, rallies in Maha Aung Myay Township drew thousands of protesters this morning despite previously deadly crackdowns in the city.
“No matter how they crack down on us, we will fight … We will find any way to get back on the streets,” one defiant protester told Frontier. “This is the only way to show that we don’t want dictatorship.”
There was a lighter than normal police presence, but more plain-clothes officers were spotted in the vicinity, our reporter said.
Elsewhere in Myanmar’s second-largest city, motorcyclists have been riding in convoys in protest against the junta.
Meanwhile, people across the country have been coating their streets in X-ed out photos of junta chief Min Aung Hlaing’s face, then stomping on the images or using them as betel-juice bullseyes. Today our reporter caught protesters in Chan Aye Thar Zan Township joining in the fun. In some areas they’ve also been pasting the entire street with photos of Min Aung Hlaing, in an apparent attempt to dissuade security forces from entering, because it would require them to walk on his face.
There have been no protests in Nay Pyi Taw today, but at Naung Pin Gyi stupa a ceremony was held for those killed in anti-coup demonstrations.
“We will forever respect and be proud of them … I pray they’ll never face such terror in the next life,” an event leader said.
After the ceremony, participants painted pro-democracy slogans on nearby streets.
“Let [the authorities] erase [these phrases] as much as they like,” a young participant told Frontier. “We are not afraid of their weapons – they’re afraid of our words.”
While police and army crackdowns in Myanmar’s major cities have grabbed the most attention this week, protests have been violently dispersed and activists hunted down in smaller provincial hubs.
In Lashio, northern Shan State, the Kachin Youth Solidarity Network reported that 13 people were arrested on Monday from inside the town’s Kachin Baptist Church, after a morning demonstration was broken up with water cannons and teargas. The network said protesters were pursued down side streets by plain clothes officers, with some arriving at the Baptist church.
Eyewitnesses said the church was surrounded by about 50 police officers and soldiers. At 1pm the security forces broke down the gate, questioned those inside about the presence of an “ethnic youth group”, and forced themselves into a study room where the 13 were arrested. The network said theological students were among those arrested, and that they are believed to be being held at Lashio’s No 1 police station.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said the 13 arrests in Lashio took place today.
Latest visual situation update from 23 to 28 Feb
/in Newson ramped up state sponsored violence and disregard of protester rights to peaceful assembly. “Three Cs” pose challenges ahead as the people’s movement surges forward.
Another Bloody Day in Myanmar: At Least 28 Protesters Slain by Military
/in NewsBy THE IRRAWADDY 3 March 2021
YANGON—Myanmar’s protest-related death toll reached its highest point on Wednesday as soldiers and riot police loyal to the country’s military regime killed at least 28 unarmed civilians amid their crackdown on anti-junta protesters in at least four cities.
Anti-regime mass rallies have erupted daily in Myanmar following a military takeover early last month. While denouncing the military dictatorship, protesters have also demanded the release of their democratically elected leaders, the President U Win Myint, the State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and others detained by the regime.
As recently as Sunday, the country saw more than 12 fatalities in a single day.
Since the onset of a deadly crackdown against protesters in late February, at least 49 people have been killed by security forces. That number is very likely to increase because there are many who have been seriously injured.
Following the bloody Sunday attacks on the protesters, the regime announced that security forces had been ordered not to use live bullets during crowd control.
That did not hold true.
On Wednesday, Yangon’s North Okkalapa Township suffered at least 15 deaths as soldiers and police fired live rounds into crowds of protesters.
At least six people were killed in Monywa in Sagaing Region. The town had also faced a violent crackdown as recently as Saturday.
Mandalay in central Myanmar saw yet another bloody day as a downtown sit-in was crushed by the excessive use of force. At least three protesters were shot dead in their heads and chests.
Protesters in Myin Chan in Mandalay Region, Magwe and Mawlamyine also faced deadly crackdowns. The areas reported one, two, and one deaths respectively.
On Wednesday, many were believed to be wounded, including some rescue workers. Videos show them being seriously beaten and kicked by police after being pulled out of an ambulance.
Several hundred protesters were reportedly arrested. In Yangon’s Tamwe Township alone, live streaming videos show at least 200 civilians being detained and taken away in army trucks in the afternoon.
Since the coup, the military regime in Myanmar has been condemned internationally.
The violence on Wednesday came a day after an ASEAN meeting where foreign ministers from Southeast Asian neighbors urged the generals to use restraint. Myanmar is a bloc member.
However, due to its non-interference policy, the bloc is largely regarded as toothless.
On Wednesday, ASEAN could not reach an agreement to call for the releases of the country leaders the President U Win Myint and the State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and restoration of democracy.
At Least Nine Protesters Shot Dead in Three Cities in Myanmar
/in NewsBy THE IRRAWADDY 3 March 2021
YANGON—At least nine protesters were killed and several wounded in three cities in Myanmar as police fired live rounds and rubber bullets at anti-coup protesters on Wednesday morning.
In Mandalay, a 19-year-old female protester was shot in the neck and another man was shot in the chest. Both died on the spot. Another man also died from a gunshot.
In Myingyan, Mandalay Region, a 14-year-old protester also reportedly died after being shot in the head and at least a dozen protesters were wounded by gunshots.
At least five were shot dead in a violent crackdown by riot police and soldiers on an anti-coup protest in the morning in Monywa city in Sagaing Region, locals told The Irrawaddy. Of them, 25-year-old Ma Kyawt Nandar Aung was shot in the head and died on the spot.
Her sister told The Irrawaddy that Ma Kyawt Nandar Aung together with her siblings had participated in protests against the military regime for several days on the frontline. When the incident happened, her younger sister was also at the frontline of the protest.
“She is still too young to leave,” her sister, who was crying over the phone, told The Irrawaddy. “She was so brave. I take her death as something to be proud of.”
She added that she and her remaining siblings will continue to take to the streets to fight for democracy until victory is achieved, to compensate for their sister’s death.
The military regime has ramped up the crackdown on mass protests nationwide. At least 21 protesters were reported killed in shootings by police and soldiers from Feb. 1 to March 2.
Besides the three cities, protests in Yangon, Magwe and Mandalay regions and Kachin state were also cracked down upon on Wednesday. Several people were shot and wounded, and a number detained during the crackdowns.
In Yangon’s Tamwe Township, at least 200 protesters, mostly young people, were detained on Wednesday at noon. Soldiers forced them to stand in the midday sun near the township’s police station before pushing them into army trucks.
Security forces stage deadly crackdown, leaving at least 16 people dead
/in NewsSix people were killed in Yangon’s North Okkalapa Township and at least 18 are in a critical condition after security forces opened fire with live rounds, while deaths were also reported in Mandalay, Monywa and Myingyan.
By FRONTIER
At least 16 people were killed today when security forces fired on pro-democracy protesters with live rounds as multiple rallies across the country descended into brutal violence.
Yangon endured its deadliest day yet since the February 1 coup, with doctors at North Okkalapa Hospital confirming to Frontier that at least six men had been shot dead by security forces. All were aged under 30 and three had died from shots to the head, they said.
In some areas, neighbourhoods held candlelight memorials for the victims. About 100 residents gathered on Baho Road near Shwe Laung Street and lit candles on the ground to honour the fallen protesters before singing the revolutionary anthem “Kabar Ma Kyay Bu”.
The number of gunshot victims in North Okkalapa was so high that striking medical workers decided to return to work to reopen the township hospital. When Frontier visited the hospital, at least 18 people were in a critical condition. Dozens more were injured throughout the day, some of whom sought treatment at the Free Funeral Service Society.
Two of the deaths occurred when police and members of the Tatmadaw’s 77th Light Infantry Division broke up a protest at the North Okkalapa roundabout with teargas, rubber bullets and live rounds at 10:30am.
The rest were killed in the afternoon and evening. Security forces staged a major crackdown on demonstrators around 5pm, firing live rounds. A video on social media shows two men being shot in the middle of Thudhamma Road, and the sound of an automatic weapon can be heard. In the video, fellow protesters carry the limp bodies of the men and put them into a car before building a small memorial around the large pool of blood on the road and singing a revolutionary song.
Many people were also arrested in Yangon and subject to shocking treatment at the hands of police. Frontier witnessed police beating several protesters during the morning crackdown in North Okkalapa. At one point, officers kicked and dragged the limp body of a wounded protester. “This is from military boots,” a man told our reporter, pointing to wounds he said were inflicted by seven police officers and soldiers at the North Okkalapa roundabout.
Security forces also staged deadly crackdowns on peaceful protesters in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city. A doctor who treated victims there told Frontier that three people were killed when police and military personnel cracked down on a sit-in protest at the corner of 30th and 84th Streets around 12:45pm.
Thousands had gathered at the spot in Chan Aye Thar Zan Township earlier that morning, including members of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, teachers and residents.
At around 10am, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd, but there were no reports of injuries. People gathered at the same place shortly afterwards and resumed their sit-in protest. Several hours later, security forces opened fire with live rounds. One of the victims was a 19-year-old woman who had been shot in the head.
The Sagaing Region capital of Monywa registered at least six deaths after security forces opened fire on peaceful protesters that had gathered on Union Road to protest against military rule. A 25-year-old eyewitness said they fired tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds at protesters.
Four men and two women were killed, including a schoolteacher in her 40s. At least 30 people were injured.
“They shot live rounds and many people were injured,” the man told Frontier.
However, an emergency doctor said the death toll was even higher. “What we can confirm is seven people have died,” said the doctor, who declined to provide his name to AFP.
Multiple medics also said they saw two other individuals being dragged away by security forces, though they could not get close enough to confirm if they had died.
A protest in Myingyan also turned deadly when security forces deployed tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds against protesters carrying red home-made shields emblazoned with the three-finger salute – a symbol of resistance for the anti-coup movement.
Several medics confirmed a young man was gunned down.
“Zin Ko Ko Zaw, a 20-year-old, was shot dead on the spot,” a rescue team member said, adding that his team had treated 17 people from the protest. – Additional reporting by AFP