Preface
The purpose of publishing this information sheet is to increase the awareness of people over the Crimes Against Humanity committed by the military junta terrorists on a daily basis and to keep a record of their brutal acts for future reference and proceedings. Committed crimes are selectively stated in this information sheet due to space limitations.
Massacre in Sagaing Region
As the fights between the military’s forces and the People’s Defence Force (PDF) in Sagaing continue to intensify, locals in Kani Township found the hog-tied and severely tortured bodies of at least 15 civilians in the jungle. The Radio Free Asia obtained evidence that showed that the corpses were mainly disfigured. Villagers in the area clearly stated that these dead bodies were discovered through challenges as the junta’s forces stationed in Kani Township had intentionally and inhumanely set land mines in the surrounding area. Some of the victims are pure civilians, and some are from the people resistance force. The same thing happened to these dead bodies: they were shot in the head only after capture. This means the military was inhumanely violating both human rights laws and humanitarian laws.
Murders
Since the coup, forces of the military junta, both security forces and police officers, have continued to shoot civilians to death. According to the reports of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, Lun Maung and Tin Ohn from Magwe, San Win from Sagaing and 16-year old Sithu from Mandalay, and Myint Swe from Minkin Township and Zwe Ko Ko from Inpinhla Village were the three most recent victims shot dead by the forces of the terrorist junta under various violent circumstances.
Continued arbitrary arrests and detentions
In parallel to the persistent resistance against the military by the pro-democracy population, the inhumane military has never stopped their effort in arresting government personnel who participate in the Civil disobedience Movement (CDM). During the third week of July, teachers in Tanintharyi Region have been arrested by the forces of the military in plain clothes. Likewise, a National League for Democracy (NLD) member was arrested at her home under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code on allegation of publicly criticizing the junta on Facebook. In addition, the Chairman of Tai-Leng (Red Shan) Nationalities Development Party (TNDP), who is residing in the Sagaing Region has also been arrested on 15 July. Besides these adults, 12-year old and 15-year old minors from Mandalay Region were also arrested. If charged, these teenagers could be sentenced to prison from 5 to 14 years. Detaining teenagers for trumped-up political crime charges is a clear violation of the rights of children.
Ever since being unsuccessful in searching U Soe Htay, a local protest leader from Mogok, the cruel junta that never abided by laws and regulations, has unlawfully arrested his wife and two daughters past month. Although the younger daughter, who recently turned five, was released not long ago, his wife and the elder daughter, who is only 17 years old, are now sentenced to three years in prison for incitement. In fact, the girl has been suffering from a potentially life-threatening condition and requires regular treatment. However, U Soe Htay, the father, received internal information that his daughter has been mistreated throughout the interrogation.
Cutting off oxygen supplies during the spike of virus spread
Since the early days of July, a new variant of Coronavirus has hard hit Myanmar and its people. While it is credible that the murderous military intentionally used COVID-19 as a weapon to control the overwhelming pro-democracy people resisting against them, their actions of cutting off oxygen supplies to the general public, putting oxygen production facilities under their control, and denying permission for infected patients to be hospitalized explicitly proved their immorality. Additionally, instead of exerting strength on their inability and negligence, the inhumane military regime kept on fabricating information about the shortage of oxygen as untrue.
Currently, the third wave COVID-19 is rapidly raging across Myanmar. In Myanmar’s biggest city Yangon, dead bodies are overflowing in cemeteries. On 15th July alone, workers had to cremate over 700 dead bodies in Yangon. Yet, the number of COVID-19 cases has been underreported by the military-controlled Ministry of Health and Sport. There are thousands of Covid-19 infected patients and dead bodies piling up in every cemetery on the ground.
Raiding COVID-19 Prevention Public Welfare Office and Seizure of Philanthropists
In the morning of 19th July, forces of the terrorist military raided the COVID-19 Prevention Public Welfare Office located in North Dagon, Yangon Region, and arrested 5 Philanthropists on the scene. While the charity team commuted to the area to provide health care on a patient severely suffering from low oxygen, forces of the military trapped the doctors and arbitrarily arrested three of them. The other two philanthropists were detained while the forces raided the office because they were providing health care advice online. In addition to the seizure of Philanthropists, the inhumane forces of the military even took away the medicines, health care supplies such as PPE, oxygen tanks, and pillboxes donated by the people for COVID-19 prevention. This is one example that shows that the Myanmar military has no intention to treat its people in good faith. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights ‘Article (25) also mentioned health as part of the right to an adequate standard of living. As always, the military junta is clearly violating the International Law and regulations, which are to be abided by morally or legally.
Ref : Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
: Myanmar Now
: Radio Free Asia (RFA)
: Mizzima – News in Burmese