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Myanmar: Abuses Mount Since Military Coup

January 13, 2023/in News

ASEAN Countries Should Adopt Tough Sanctions against Junta (Jakarta) – Myanmar’s junta has been responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity since the military coup in February 2021, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2023. The security forces have been implicated in mass killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, sexual violence, and attacks on civilians in conflict […]

Seven civilians killed in junta raids on central Sagaing villages

January 12, 2023/in News

The remains of most of the victims, including two elderly men in their 80s, were burned almost beyond recognition Regime forces have killed at least seven civilians since late last week in a series of raids targeting villages in central Sagaing Region, according to local sources. On January 6, a junta column of around 100 […]

Myanmar: Abuses Mount Since Military Coup

January 13, 2023/in News

Seven civilians killed in junta raids on central Sagaing villages

January 12, 2023/in News

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Myanmar: Abuses Mount Since Military Coup

January 13, 2023/in News

ASEAN Countries Should Adopt Tough Sanctions against Junta

(Jakarta) – Myanmar’s junta has been responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity since the military coup in February 2021, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2023. The security forces have been implicated in mass killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, sexual violence, and attacks on civilians in conflict areas. Amid a post-coup economic crisis, the junta has severely hindered the delivery of humanitarian aid to communities most at risk.

Member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which Indonesia will chair in 2023, should coordinate to support targeted sanctions on the Myanmar military’s major revenue streams.

“Ending the Myanmar junta’s widespread abuses needs a global commitment to impose pressure through targeted sanctions and accountability for atrocities,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Indonesia as ASEAN chair should take the lead in imposing concrete measures that will curtail the junta’s ability to violate the rights of its citizens.”

In the 712-page World Report 2023, its 33rd edition, Human Rights Watch reviews human rights practices in close to 100 countries. In her introductory essay, acting Executive Director Tirana Hassansays that in a world in which power has shifted, it is no longer possible to rely on a small group of mostly Global North governments to defend human rights. The world’s mobilization around Russia’s war in Ukraine reminds us of the extraordinary potential when governments realize their human rights obligations on a global scale. The responsibility is on individual countries, big and small, to apply a human rights framework to their policies, and then work together to protect and promote human rights.

Since the coup, Myanmar’s security forces have arbitrarily arrested more than 16,000 pro-democracy activists and supporters and killed at least 2,300, according to the nongovernmental Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. In July, the military executed four political prisoners in Myanmar’s first use of the death penalty in over three decades. The National League for Democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is serving a 33-year sentence after closed military trials for corruption, incitement, breaching the Official Secrets Act, and other politically motivated charges.

The Myanmar military has carried out indiscriminate ground and air attacks that have resulted in numerous civilian deaths. Fighting since the coup has displaced over one million people internally, with another 70,000 refugees fleeing into neighboring countries.

The junta has blocked desperately needed humanitarian aid from reaching millions of displaced people and others at risk, in violation of international humanitarian law. Across the country, security forces imposed new travel restrictions and attacked aid workers, blocked access to roads and aid convoys, destroyed non-military supplies, and shut down telecommunications services.

In Rakhine State, new restrictions on movement and aid affecting ethnic Rohingya camps and villages exacerbated water scarcity and food shortages, increasing cases of preventable diseases and severe malnutrition. Escalating hostilities between the Arakan Army armed group and the Myanmar military resulted in Rohingya and Rakhine civilian deaths, arbitrary arrests, and displacement.

Key international actors such as the European Union, United States, United Kingdom, and Canada have imposed targeted sanctions on senior military and junta officials and some junta entities. However, countries in the Asia-Pacific region, notably ASEAN member countries, Australia, and Japan have not taken meaningful actions against the junta, undermining efforts by other governments, Human Rights Watch said.

HRW

Seven civilians killed in junta raids on central Sagaing villages

January 12, 2023/in News

The remains of most of the victims, including two elderly men in their 80s, were burned almost beyond recognition

Regime forces have killed at least seven civilians since late last week in a series of raids targeting villages in central Sagaing Region, according to local sources.

On January 6, a junta column of around 100 soldiers left the town of Kanbalu and attacked Htan Pin Kone, a village located about 15km to the northeast in neighbouring Kyunhla Township, locals told Myanmar Now.

Residents of the area say that when they returned to the village after the soldiers left the next day, they found the body of Nyi Nyi, a 30-year-old man who had been shot in the head.

Three days later, on Tuesday, the body of another man, identified as Tun Hla, 58, was discovered in a nearby wooded area.

“Tun Hla’s body was burned on top of a haystack, with his hands tied behind his back,” said a villager who saw the victim’s charred remains.

“Everything was set on fire. Even tractors and motorcycles were torched,” he added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Sagaing-Depayin-Kyunhla-Kanbalu.jpeg

On the same day, three more bodies, also badly burned, were found near the Kanbalu Township village of Pinttha, according to a member of a local defence team.

“There was not much left of them, just pieces of their skulls and fragments of the longyis they were wearing. The rest was just ashes,” he said.

The victims were identified as brothers Bo Bo, 30, and San Myint Aung, 27, both residents of Pinttha, and Maung Tun, 30, from the neighbouring village of Shan Kone.

Sources in both Htan Pin Kone and Pinttha said that the soldiers didn’t just chase villagers from their homes—they also pursued them into the nearby forests as they attempted to flee.

Meanwhile, another column of around 150 regime soldiers has reportedly torched 400 houses in 11 villages in Depayin Township since January 3. Two elderly civilians were also killed in the raids.

According to local sources, an attack on the village of Satpyar Kyin on January 7 left an 84-year-old man named Phoe Tar dead, while another on the village of In Taing Lay two days later resulted in the death of 85-year-old local Wun Mya.

“They put his body inside his neighbour’s house before setting it on fire,” said a Satpyar Kyin resident who saw Phoe Tar’s body.

Myanmar Now has been unable to independently verify this information, and junta officials were unavailable for comment.

The regime routinely denies carrying out arson attacks and targeting civilians, despite numerous reports of atrocities committed by the military since it seized power in a coup nearly two years ago.

Myanmar Now News

Spring Revolution

Civil Society Position Paper on ASEAN’s Goal of a Myanmar-Owned and -Led SolutionDecember 18, 2024 - 12:11 pm
Recommendations to ASEAN and Its Member States (1) Move beyond the 5PC to achieve a Myanmar people-led and people-centered solution to the crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN’s “Myanmar-owned and -led” approach must be backed by genuine political will that aligns with and supports the collective aspirations of the people of Myanmar. (2) Cease all pressure on […]
The Airstrikes after the journey to the China of the Junta Military LeaderDecember 10, 2024 - 1:28 pm
Operation 1027 was a coordinated military attack against the junta on October 27th, 2023. It was carried out by the Northern Brotherhood, which includes the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. Several months later, the Three Brotherhood Alliance held three meetings to negotiate with China on January 11 […]
Human Rights Situation weekly update (September 15 to 21, 2024)September 27, 2024 - 8:26 am
Human 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 […]

Multimedia

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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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