Protest
UN condemn “systematic” attacks on peaceful protesters in Myanmar
The UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on Sunday issued a clear warning of a heightened risk of atrocity crimes in Myanmar, following another day of widespread bloodshed by the Myanmar military.
The two senior UN officials strongly condemned the Myanmar military’s widespread, lethal, increasingly systematic attacks against peaceful protesters, as well as other serious violations of human rights since it seized power on 1 February 2021.
Thousands of people have also been arbitrarily arrested – many subjected to enforced disappearance. Saturday witnessed the bloodiest day since the demonstrations against the coup began, with security forces killing at least 107 individuals – including 7 children – according to multiple credible reports, with the number of deaths expected to rise as reports are confirmed.
Hundreds more were wounded and detained during these seemingly coordinated attacks in over 40 locations throughout the country, according to the statement issued from New York and Geneva.
Bachelet and Nderitu called on the military to immediately stop killing the very people it has the duty to serve and protect.
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“The shameful, cowardly, brutal actions of the military and police – who have been filmed shooting at protesters as they flee, and who have not even spared young children – must be halted immediately. The international community has a responsibility to protect the people of Myanmar from atrocity crimes,” Bachelet and Nderitu said.
The Special Adviser and the High Commissioner called on the Security Council to take further steps, building on its statement of 10 March 2021, and for ASEAN and the wider international community to act promptly to uphold the responsibility to protect the people of Myanmar from atrocity crimes.
While the State has the primary responsibility to protect its population, the international community shares that responsibility, and in cases where the State is manifestly failing, the international community “should take timely and collective action in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations to protect civilian populations that are at risk of atrocity crimes.”
Nderitu and Bachelet called for an end to systemic impunity in Myanmar. “We must ensure accountability for past crimes and deter the most serious international crimes from being committed,” the two officials stated.
“The failure to address the atrocity crimes the Tatmadaw has committed in the past, including against Rohingya and other minorities, has brought Myanmar to this terrible pass. There is no way forward without accountability and fundamental reform of the military.”
The senior officials urged all parties – including defecting officials, police and military officers – to cooperate with international mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court and the Human Rights Council’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, in fighting impunity in the country.
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This situation has also put at further risk the already vulnerable ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar, including the Rohingya.
This population has long suffered horrific violence at the hands of the Myanmar military with impunity, as documented by the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar established by the Human Rights Council.
“We are deeply concerned about the impact that the current situation may have on these populations and are closely monitoring developments.
The rights of minority groups, including the Rohingya population must be fully respected,” the two UN officials stated.
They noted the diversity of the protest movement, and encouraged the newfound sense of unity across ethnic and religious divides, as well as the growing recognition of past crimes against minorities, including Rohingya.
Protests in Myanmar as junta chief marks Armed Forces Day
The head of Myanmar’s junta on Saturday used the occasion of the country’s Armed Forces Day to try to justify the overthrow of the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, as protesters marked the holiday by calling for even bigger demonstrations.
Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing did not directly refer to the nationwide protests that show no signs of stopping. In a nationally televised speech before thousands of soldiers at a massive parade ground at the capital Naypyitaw, he referred only to “terrorism which can be harmful to state tranquility and social security,” and called it unacceptable.
People in cities and towns around Myanmar marked the public holiday by again demonstrating against the Feb. 1 coup. In several locations, security forces sought to disperse them forcefully, as has become standard practice, Reports on social media, not immediately verified, said several demonstrators were shot dead Saturday morning.
The toll of protesters confirmed killed in Myanmar since last month’s takeover has reached 328, said the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a group that documents deaths and arrests.
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It has cautioned that its tally includes only verified cases, with the actual number of casualties “likely much higher.” It said eight people were killed Friday.
The protesters refer to the holiday by its original name, Resistance Day, which marks the beginning of a revolt against Japanese occupation in World War 2. This year’s event was seen as a flashpoint, with protesters threatening to double down on their public opposition to the coup with more and bigger demonstrations.
State television MRTV on Friday night showed an announcement urging young people — who have been at the forefront of the protests and prominent among the casualties — to learn a lesson from those killed already about the danger of being shot in the head or back.
The warning was taken as an explicit threat because a great number of the fatalities among the protesters have come from being shot in the head, suggesting they have been targeted for death. The announcement suggested that some young people were taking part in protesting as if it was a game, and urged their parents and friends to talk them out of participating.
In recent days the junta has portrayed the demonstrators as the ones perpetrating violence for their sporadic use of petrol bombs. In contrast, security forces have used live ammunition daily for weeks against overwhelmingly unarmed and peaceful crowds.
In his lengthy speech, Min Aung Hlaing accused Suu Kyi's elected government of failing to investigate irregularities in the last polls, and repeated that his government would hold “a free and fair election" and hand over power afterward. He gave no details.
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The military has claimed there were irregularities in the voting rolls for last November’s election, which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won in a landslide.
The junta detained Suu Kyi on the day it took power, and continues to hold her on minor criminal charges while investigating allegations of corruption against her that her supporters dismiss as politically motivated.
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More than 1,500 anti-war crimes campaigners in Bangladesh took to the streets to press home their demand for getting the recognition of March 25 as the international genocide day by the United Nations.
Professionals, including university teachers, journalists, lawyers, writers, doctors, engineers among others, took part in as many as 34 different protest rallies simultaneously on Thursday evening on university campuses, in front of press clubs, and at the bases of shaheed Minars across the country.
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Under the banner of One Bangladesh, a platform consisting of pro-liberation professionals, the protesters carried posters that read “UN should recognise March 25 as international genocide day”, “We demand an official apology from Pakistan”, and “Dear Pakistan, stop spreading smears against 1971 war crimes”.
Wearing masks and maintaining health protocols amid the coronavirus pandemic, the demonstrators also lit candles commemorating 3 million martyrs and hundreds of thousands of women violated by Pakistani occupation forces during the nine-month Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.
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