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Myanmar military still bombing towns despite earthquake crisis, rebels say

March 31, 2025/in News

An armed resistance movement against Myanmar’s military-run government criticised the junta on Sunday for conducting airstrikes on villages even as the country reels from an earthquake that has killed around 1,700 people. The Karen National Union, one of Myanmar’s oldest ethnic armies, said in a statement the junta “continues to carry out airstrikes targeting civilian areas, even […]

PRESS STATEMENT: CIVIL SOCIETY CALLS FOR DISASTER RELIEF FOR EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS AND AFFECTED COMMUNITIES IN MYANMAR

March 30, 2025/in Member statements, Press Releases and Statements

30 March 2025 Press Statement: Civil society calls for disaster relief for earthquake survivors and affected communities in Myanmar Aid agencies must ensure relief is not exploited by the military junta We—the undersigned 265 Myanmar, regional, and international civil society organizations—express our deepest sorrow for communities across Myanmar and Thailand devastated by the earthquake on […]

Myanmar military still bombing towns despite earthquake crisis, rebels say

March 31, 2025/in News

PRESS STATEMENT: CIVIL SOCIETY CALLS FOR DISASTER RELIEF FOR EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS AND AFFECTED COMMUNITIES IN MYANMAR

March 30, 2025/in Member statements, Press Releases and Statements

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Myanmar military still bombing towns despite earthquake crisis, rebels say

March 31, 2025/in News

The Karen National Union, one of Myanmar’s oldest ethnic armies, said in a statement the junta “continues to carry out airstrikes targeting civilian areas, even as the population suffers tremendously from the earthquake”.

The group said that under normal circumstances, the military would be prioritising relief efforts, but instead is focused on “deploying forces to attack its people”.

A spokesman for the junta did not reply to queries from Reuters about the criticism.

Myanmar has been locked in civil war with multiple armed opposition groups since a 2021 coup when the military seized power from the elected government of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Shortly after Friday’s devastating earthquake, military jets launched airstrikes and drone attacks in Karen state, near the KNU headquarters, according to the Free Burma Rangers, a relief organisation. Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan called for an immediate ceasefire to help aid distribution, following a virtual meeting with his ASEAN counterparts on the disaster.

“(Balakrishnan) called for an immediate and effective ceasefire in Myanmar which would facilitate the efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance and longer term national reconciliation, peace and reconstruction,” Singapore’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

The epicentre of the 7.7-magnitude quake was in an area held by junta forces, but the devastation was widespread and also affected some territory held by armed resistance movements.

On Sunday, the opposition National Unity Government, which includes remnants of the government ousted in 2021, said anti-junta militias under its command would pause all offensive military action for two weeks.

China, Japan and South Korea held the first trade talks in five years on Sunday, amid concerns over US President Donald Trump’s import tariffs.

Richard Horsey, the senior Myanmar adviser at Crisis Group, said some anti-junta forces have halted their offensives, but fighting continues elsewhere.

“The regime also continues to launch airstrikes, including in affected areas. That needs to stop,” he said.

The regime was not providing much visible support in quake-hit areas, he added.

“Local fire brigades, ambulance crews, and community organisations have mobilised, but the military – who would normally be mobilised to support in such a crisis – are nowhere to be seen,” Horsey said.

Reuters

Nationthailna

PRESS STATEMENT: CIVIL SOCIETY CALLS FOR DISASTER RELIEF FOR EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS AND AFFECTED COMMUNITIES IN MYANMAR

March 30, 2025/in Member statements, Press Releases and Statements

30 March 2025

Press Statement: Civil society calls for disaster relief for earthquake survivors and affected communities in Myanmar

Aid agencies must ensure relief is not exploited by the military junta

We—the undersigned 265 Myanmar, regional, and international civil society organizations—express our deepest sorrow for communities across Myanmar and Thailand devastated by the earthquake on 28 March 2025. As Myanmar faces yet another humanitarian crisis amidst the military junta’s intensifying campaign of terror against the Myanmar people, it is imperative that the international community immediately mobilize resources and direct disaster emergency relief to survivors and affected communities of the earthquake. This must be channeled through local community groups and frontline responders in collaboration with the National Unity Government (NUG), Ethnic Resistance Organizations (EROs), and civil society. We emphasize that these disaster relief efforts, through any implementing partners, must not be exploited, manipulated, or weaponized by the military junta for its political and military gain.

The earthquake on Friday—a severe 7.7 magnitude and the region’s most devastating in nearly seven decades—has caused over 2,500 confirmed deaths [1] and left communities across Myanmar shattered, homes and religious infrastructure destroyed, and tens of thousands of lives in peril. With hospitals overwhelmed, roads and bridges collapsed, and aftershocks threatening further destruction, immediate and unimpeded humanitarian assistance is crucial. Areas hit by the earthquake include Sagaing, Mandalay, Magwe, and Bago Regions, eastern and southern Shan State, and Naypyidaw. Most of these areas are under the effective control and administration of the NUG, EROs, and People’s Defense Forces. In affected areas under its control as well as under the resistance’s control, the junta will attempt to weaponize aid to attack and leverage gains over the resistance movement. Myanmar’s history provides stark warnings about the dangers of channeling aid through the military junta.

During Cyclone Nargis in 2008, the then military regime cynically weaponized disaster relief efforts to manipulate results of its sham referendum. International aid was obstructed from entering the country and withheld from desperate survivors to coerce their favorable vote for the military-drafted constitution in exchange for aid—all measures employed to secure its control and meddling in politics. Many local volunteers from the democratic movement were arrested and imprisoned by the regime for attempting to deliver assistance. This heavily delayed critical assistance and caused masses of civilian casualties. Once aid was finally allowed into Myanmar, the military regime and their officials diverted and misused it for personal and political gain, including benefiting constituencies with ties to the regime. This is but one example of the Myanmar military’s grotesque manipulation of human suffering for consolidation of political power and personal profit.

The military’s pattern of aid exploitation persists today, as evidenced by the junta’s obstruction and manipulation of relief efforts in response to recent natural disasters, namely Cyclone Mocha in 2023 and Typhoon Yagi in 2024, and its relentless commission of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity against civilians across the country. Even after the earthquake on Friday, the military junta repeatedly bombed civilian areas in Chaung U Township in Sagaing Region, Phyu Township in Bago Region, and Naung Cho Township in northern Shan State—areas under its illegitimate declaration of state of emergency for natural disaster management. Earlier this month, the junta had already shut down seven private hospitals in Mandalay following an accusation of their employment of healthcare professionals from the Civil Disobedience Movement, severely limiting healthcare capacity in Mandalay, now torn by the earthquake. Against this backdrop, the junta has systematically imposed years-long internet and phone line shutdowns, coupled with an aggressive crackdown on VPN usage, significantly restricting the flow of information about the devastation inside Myanmar and hindering emergency response efforts. The junta’s callous contempt for human life, even in the face of widespread earthquake devastation, underscores its unsuitability to oversee aid—and more importantly, its willingness to manipulate any humanitarian response.

At this critical time, we welcome the NUG’s announcement of a two-week pause in its offensive military operations in earthquake-affected areas, effective today. However, the military junta has continued dropping bombs in earthquake-affected Pauk Township, Magwe Region, as recently as this morning. We look to the United Nations’ and ASEAN’s facilitation to ensure the junta ceases all military offensives, especially the immediate halt of ongoing airstrikes.

As communities across Myanmar mobilize to support one another amidst the devastation, we call on UN agencies, the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre), neighboring countries, international organizations, and the wider international community to collaborate directly with Myanmar’s legitimate stakeholders—namely the NUG and EROs—and civil society to ensure aid is not obstructed, manipulated, or weaponized by the junta. Aid can and must reach earthquake survivors and affected communities without delay through border-based channels which have proven the most effective. The NUG’s swift activation of the Emergency Operation Coordination Committees following the earthquake exemplifies its readiness and capacity to lead relief efforts in collaboration with ethnic and community partners. We commend the prompt and impactful responses to this disaster, particularly through crowd-funding efforts, including by the NUG and Myanmar Earthquake Response Coordination Unitcomprised of Myanmar civil society organizations, which have already provided essential support to affected communities.

We once again remind the international community, particularly aid agencies, that humanitarian assistance must be guided by the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, do no harm, and operational independence. The UN Country Team must fully embody these principles in their action, remembering the hard lessons learned from past engagements on aid with the military junta and past military regimes. Disaster response to this latest catastrophe must prioritize collaboration with stakeholders who demonstrably value the lives, safety and well-being of the Myanmar people—the NUG, EROs, and civil society—while actively preventing the junta from obstructing or exploiting aid delivery. Failure to do so will deepen the already dire humanitarian crisis and guarantee further abuses by an illegal body notorious for its active destruction of human lives.

We urge the UN, neighboring countries, and the wider international community to remember Myanmar’s painful history of the military’s manipulation of aid in times of natural disasters, and act resolutely to protect affected and vulnerable communities from exploitation and further suffering. The people of Myanmar deserve aid that alleviates suffering—not aid weaponized against them.

For more information, please contact:

Naing Thit, Emergency Management Committee – Mandalay; mdy2023@gmail.com
Lwan Thu, Sagaing Strike Forces; sgg@gmail.com
May, Justice & Equality Focus; legal@jefmyanmar.org
Khun Hein, Progressive Muslim Youth Association; muslimyouth@gmail.com
Kyi Nyein, Queers of Burma Alternative; queersburma@proton.me
Khin Ohmar, Progressive Voice; info@progressive-voice.org

Signed by 265 civil society organizations, including seven organizations that have chosen not to disclose their name.

#MilkTeaAlliance Calendar Team
#MilkTeaAlliance Friends of Myanmar
5/ of Zaya State Strike
8888 Generation (New Zealand)
A-Yar-Taw People Strike
Action Committee of Basic Education Students (ACBES)
Ah Nah Podcast – Conversations with Myanmar
All Aung Myay Thar San Schools Strike Force
All Burma Democratic Front in New Zealand
All Burma Federation of Student Unions (Monywa District)
Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI)
Alliance of Students’ Union – Yangon (ASU-Yangon)
ALTSEAN-Burma
Anti-Junta Alliance Yangon-AJAY
Anti-junta Forces Coordination Committee (AFCC -Mandalay)
Arakan Rohingya National Union (ARNU)
ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN People’s Forum Philippines Process
Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR)
Asia Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC)
Asian Cultural Forum on Development (ACFOD)
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Association of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters (HRDP)
Association of Spring Rainbow (ASR)
Association Suisse-Birmanie
Athan – Freedom of Expression Activist Organization
Auckland Kachin Community NZ
Auckland Zomi Community
Aung San Suu Kyi Park Norway
Basic Education General Strike Committee (BEGSC)
Basic Education Worker Unions – Steering Committee (BEWU-SC)
Blood Money Campaign (BMC)
Burma Affairs and Conflict Study (BACS)
Burma Action Ireland
Burma Campaign UK (BCUK)
Burma Canadian Network
Burmese Community Group (Manawatu, NZ)
Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK)
Burmese Rohingya Welfare Organisation New Zealand
Burmese Women’s Union (BWU)
Campaign for a New Myanmar
Campaign for Popular Democracy
CDM Medical Network (CDMMN)
Chanmyatharzi Township People’s Strike
Chaung Oo Township Youth Strike Committee
Chin Community in Norway
Chin Community of Auckland
Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO)
Chindwin (West) Villages Women Strike
Civil Information Network (CIN)
Civil Rights Defenders (CRD)
Civil Society Organizations Coordination Committee (Monywa)
Co-operative University Mandalay Students’ Strike
Coalition Strike Committee – Dawei
Community Resource Centre
Creative Home (CH)
CRPH & NUG Supporters Ireland
CRPH Funding Ireland
CRPH Support Group, Norway and members organizations
Daung Sitthe Strike
Dawei (Ashaetaw) Women Strike
Dawei Youths Revolutionary Movement Strike Committee
Defend Myanmar Democracy (DMD)
Democracy for Ethnic Minorities Organization (DEMO)
Democratic Party for a New Society, Norway
Depayin Township Revolution Steering Committee
Depayin Women Strike
Doh Atu – Ensemble pour le Myanmar
Educational Initiatives Prague
Emergency Management Committee – Mandalay
Equality Myanmar (EQMM)
Ethnic Youth General Strike Committee (Mandalay)
ETOs Watch Coalition
Federal Myanmar Benevolence Group (NZ)
Former Political Prisoners and New Generation Group – Monywa
Free Burma Campaign (South Africa) (FBC (SA))
Free Rohingya Coalition (FRC)
Friends Against Dictatorship (FAD)
From Singapore to Myanmar (FS2M)
Gangaw Women Strike
Gender Equality Network (GEN)
General Strike Collaboration Committee (GSCC)
General Strike Committee of Basic and Higher Education (GSCBHE)
General Strike Coordination Body (GSCB)
Generation Wave (GW)
Generations’ Solidarity Coalition of Nationalities (GSCN)
Global Myanmar Spring Revolution (GMSR)
Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF)
Human Rights Educators Network (HREN)
Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM)
Human Rights Working Group
India for Myanmar
Industries Strike
Info Birmanie
Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID)
Inter Pares
International Association, Myanmar-Switzerland (IAMS)
International Campaign for the Rohingya
International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net)
International Peace Bureau
Italia-Birmania
Jubilee Campaign
Justice & Equality Focus (JEF)
Justice For Myanmar (JFM)
Justice Movement for Community-Innlay
K’cho Ethnic Association (Europe)
Kachin Association Norway
Kachin Legal Aid Group (KLAG)
Kachin State Civilian Movement
Kachin Student Union
Kachin Women Association Thailand (KWAT)
Kalay Township Strike Force
Kalay Women Strike
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN)
Karenni National Women’s Organization (KNWO)
Karenni Society New Zealand Overseas Mon Association. New Zealand
Keng Tung Youth
Kontras
Kyae Lak Myay
Kyain Seikgyi Spring Revolution Leading Committee
Kyauktada Strike Committee (KSC)
La Communauté Birmane de France
Latpadaung Region Strike Committee
LGBT Alliance
LGBT Alliance Myanmar (Kalay Region)
LGBT Alliance Myanmar (Kyaukse Region)
LGBT Community Yangon
LGBT Union – Mandalay
Magway People’s Revolution Committee
Magway Region Human Rights Network
Maharaungmyay Township People’s Strike
Mandalar University Students’ Strike
Mandalay Alliance Coalition Strike
Mandalay Medical Family (MFM)
Mandalay Regional Youth Association – Revolution Core Group
Mandalay Strike Force (MSF)
Mandalay Women Strike
Mandalay Youth Strike
Mandalay-based People’s Strike
Mandalay-Based University Students’ Unions (MDY_SUs)
MayMyo Strike Force
Mekong Watch
Milk Tea Alliance Thailand
Minority Affairs Institute
Monywa LGBT Strike
Monywa People’s Strike Steering Committee
Monywa Women Strike
Monywa-Amyint Road Strike Leading Committee
Monywa-Amyint Road Women Strike
Movement for Alternatives and Solidarity in Southeast Asia
Multi-Religions Strike
Muslim Youth Network
Mya Taung Strike
Myanmar Accountability Project (MAP)
Myanmar Action Group Denmark
Myanmar anti-military coup movement in New Zealand
Myanmar Campaign Network (Australia)
Myanmar Catholic Community In Norway
Myanmar Community Group Christchurch New Zealand
Myanmar Community Group Dunedin New Zealand
Myanmar Community in Italy
Myanmar Community in Norway
Myanmar Emergency Fund – Canada
Myanmar Engineers – New Zealand
Myanmar Global Support Foundation
Myanmar Gonye (New Zealand)
Myanmar Hindu Union
Myanmar Institute of Information Technology Students’ Strike
Myanmar Labor Alliance (MLA)
Myanmar Labour News
Myanmar People Alliance (Shan State)
Myanmar Students’ Union in New Zealand
Myaung Youth Network
MyaYar Knowledge Tree
Myingyan Civilian Movement Committee
Nelson Myanmar Community Group New Zealand
Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma (ND-Burma)
Network of University Student Unions – Monywa
New Myanmar Foundation (NMF)
New Zealand Campaign for Myanmar
New Zealand Doctors for NUG
New Zealand Karen Association
New Zealand Zo Community Inc.
NLD Organization Committee (International) Norway
No Business With Genocide
12 Basic Education Branch High School (Maharaungmyay) Students’ Union
North Dagon & East Dagon News
Norway Matu Community
Norway Rvwang Community
Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica
OCTOPUS (Youth Organization)
Pa-O Women’s Union (PWU)
Pale Township People’s Strike Steering Committee
Politics for Women Myanmar
Progressive Muslim Youth Association (PMYA)
Progressive Voice (PV)
Pyi Gyi Tagon Strike Force
Pyithu Gonye (New Zealand)
Queers of Burma Alternative (QBA)
Rainbows Talk
Representative Committee of University Teacher Associations (RC of UTAs)
Rohingya Community in Norway
Rohingya Maìyafuìnor Collaborative Network (RMCN)
Rvwang Community Association New Zealand
Samgha Sammaga-Mandalay
Save Myanmar Fundraising Group (New Zealand)
Save the Natural Resource (SaNaR)
Seinpann Strike
Shan Community (New Zealand)
Shan MATA
Shwe Pan Kone People`s Strike Steering Committee
Sisters 2 Sisters
Sitt Nyein Pann Foundation
Solidarity for People’s Education and Lifelong Learning
Southern Initiative
Southern Youth Development Organization
Stop the War Coalition Philippines
Sujata Sisters Group (NZ)
Support Group for Democracy in Myanmar (NL)
Swedish Burma Committee
Ta’ang Women’s Organization (TWO)
Taze Strike Committee
Taze Women Strike
Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma (TACDB)
Thakhin Kodaw Mhine Peace Network (Monywa)
Thayat Chaung Women Strike
The 88 Generation Peace and Open Society (Monywa)
The Ladies Organization
The Mekong Butterfly
Think Centre, Singapore
Twitter Team for Revolution (TTFR)
S. Campaign for Burma
Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
University Students’ Unions Alumni Force
Volunteers in Myanmar
Wetlet Revolution Leading Committee
Wetlet Township Women Strike
White Coat Society Yangon (WCSY)
Women Advocacy Coalition – Myanmar (WAC-M)
Women Alliance Burma (WAB)
Women for Justice
Women Lead Resource Center (WLRC)
Women Peace Network (WPN)
Women’s Organization Of Political Prisoners (WOPP)
Women’s Peace Network (WPN)
Yadanabon University Students’ Union (YDNBUSU)
Yangon Deaf Group
Yangon Women Strike
Yasakyo Township People`s Strike Steering Committee
Yinmarpin and Salingyi All Villages Strike Committee
Youth Empowerment
Youth for Democratization of Myanmar (UDM)
Zomi Christian Fellowship of Norway
Zomi Community Norway
စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်းဒေသ သပိတ်အင်အားစု
ယိမ်းနွဲ့ပါး
သမိုင်းသယ်ဆောင်သူများ

Download the press statement.

Spring Revolution

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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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