A new report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, released this September 26, indicates that violent acts by the military junta, such as massacres and bombings against civilians, registered a “significant increase” during the last year. Rebel groups are also involved in atrocities, but on a smaller scale compared to the military, the United Nations says. At least 4,000 people have died in the conflict since the February 2021 coup against leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains detained.
The military junta that controls Myanmar is increasingly resorting to “extremely violent” acts to fight rebel groups and stay in power. This was revealed this Tuesday, September 26, by Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
In the presentation to the Human Rights Council of a report that covers the period between April 1, 2022 and last July 31the high commissioner assured that the military is increasing “its attacks against the civilian population.”
A seemingly endless spiral of military violence is consuming every aspect of life in Myanmar
#HRC54: The people of #Myanmar are enduring horrifying attacks, flagrant human rights violations and the crumbling of their livelihoods & hopes.
New thinking on Myanmar is urgently needed for this unspeakable tragedy to end – @volker_turk
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) September 26, 2023
The United Nations high representative explained that every day “the people of Myanmar endure horrendous attacks, flagrant violations of human rights.”
Likewise, Türk, who conducted some 160 interviews in Burmese territory to prepare the report, denounced that “a seemingly endless spiral of military violence is consuming all aspects of life in Myanmar.”
Aerial bombings, massacres, burning of villages and rapes
The report exposes the reinforcement of several military war tactics used against undefended civilian populations and with the aim of sowing fear in communities, such as aerial bombardments.
“During the reporting period, the Army carried out 687 airstrikes, double the number in the 14 months that followed the coup d’état,” the high commissioner said.
The work of the United Nations agency also counts 22 massacres, in which ten or more people died. According to Volker Türk, military junta soldiers raped and executed men, women and children outside the law in villages suspected of harboring or supporting combatants.
Using atrocious methods to inflict unimaginable pain on their victims
The extreme violence of the repression was also manifested through the burning of entire villages.
The report contains satellite photographs showing numerous towns and villages burned after the military attacks. “More than 75,000 structures, including homes, food warehouses, seed banks and livestock, have been destroyed, leading to the current displacement crisis and dramatically increasing humanitarian and protection needs,” the high commissioner commented.
“They used atrocious methods to inflict unimaginable pain on their victims, including burning them alive, dismembering them, raping them, beheading them, beating them, and using kidnapped villagers to protect themselves from attacks and landmines. This is inhumanity in its most vile form,” she assured.
Abandoning the victims as a war strategy by the military junta
The high commissioner continued the presentation of his report, denouncing the arbitrary detentions of people and the trials managed by the military without any form of independence.
More than 7,300 people were convicted in ad hoc trials, most of which lasted only a few minutes and without lawyers, while almost 25,000 citizens are in the military junta’s prisons.
Türk also criticized the attitude of the military in power towards the humanitarian crisis facing the nation. He specified that “the denial of access to humanitarian aid throughout the country is having dramatic consequences on the right to food.”
To illustrate his point, the high commissioner mentioned the restriction of access to humanitarian aid following the destruction caused by Cyclone Mocha, which hit Myanmar last May and reportedly left at least 400 dead.
It is a clear example of how the military prioritizes its own political interests over the well-being of a population that desperately needs vital help.
The coup against Aung San Suu Kyi plunged the country into chaos
The February 1, 2021 coup against iconic leader Aung San Suu Kyi put an end to a 10-year democratic experience in Myanmar. Since then, the country has been experiencing a civil war, which, according to the OHCHR report, already leaves at least 4,000 victims.
The military junta, led by General Min Aung Hlaing, clashes with ethnic rebel groups in certain parts of the country, such as the Sagaing region in the center and the Karen region in the south. Certain sources claim that rebel groups control up to 50% of the territory.
Although the report points out atrocities against civilian populations by rebel groups, Volker Türk qualified this observation by saying that “its magnitude cannot be compared with the violations committed by the Army.”
For its part, the National League for Democracy (NLD), Suu Kyi’s party, reported in mid-September that the ousted leader’s health was deteriorating, because the authorities were not giving her access to the medications and care you need.
“If Aung San Suu Kyi’s health is not only harmed, but her life is threatened, the military junta is solely responsible,” the NLD said.
In parallel, diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, led by the UN and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), are not making progress.
The military junta still refuses to talk to its opponents. “We have no reason to believe that the military will change and that the cycle of impunity that has characterized its operations for decades will be interrupted,” lamented Volker Türk.
With AFP, EFE and local media
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