'As I look at Myanmar today, I weep'

THE TABLET
Benedict Rogers
28 MARCH 2021,

Yesterday, the Myanmar military attacked protesters with rubber bullets, live ammunition, tear gas and sound bombs.Theint Mon Soe/Sopa

Eight years ago today, on Palm Sunday 2013, I was received into the Catholic Church in St Mary’s Cathedral, Yangon, Myanmar, by the city’s Archbishop – who two years later became his country’s first Cardinal – Charles Bo.

At the time, it was a scene of serenity. Surrounded by friends from Myanmar’s different ethnic and religious groups – Buddhists, Muslims, Protestants as well as Catholics – as well as several foreign friends of no particular practicing religion, including a couple of lapsed Catholics who had not set foot in a church for decades, I felt a deep peace as Cardinal Bo poured the waters of baptism over my head and the cathedral bells rang out in welcome at my spiritual homecoming.

The secret network helping hundreds of Myanmar police flee to India

WHBL

Sheboygan, WI, USA / 1330 & 101.5 WHBL
By Devjyot Ghoshal
Syndicated Content
Mar 25, 2021

AIZAWL, India (Reuters) - Strung across remote mountain settlements, a secret network of activists and volunteers is helping spirit hundreds of defecting Myanmar policemen away from the military’s brutal crackdown on dissent and into relative safety in a small northeastern Indian state.

Their escape - by car, motorcycle and on foot through densely forested terrain - is often guided by volunteer-led groups on both sides of the border, according to accounts from at least 10 people who are involved in the loose-knit network or have used it to cross the border. Once in India, local activists and residents provide food and shelter in safe houses, the people said.

Those Rohingya Women in the Jammu Camps

The WIRE
Neha Dixit

26 March 2021

After recent arrests, hundreds of Rohingya refugees have started fleeing relief camps in Jammu. Here are the stories of three women who lived in these camps.

On March 7 this year, close to 160 Rohingya refugees living in Jammu were detained in a sub-jail. According to officials, they were sent to a “holding centre” under the Foreigners Act and did not hold valid travel documents.

India does not have any legislation recognising refugees, but the country adheres to the principle of non-refoulement (not sending refugees to a place where they face danger) as part of the customary international law. Some of them have cards issued by the UN High Commission for Refugees acknowledging their status as refugees.

We must support the young people who can save democracy in Burma

THE HILL

BY MICHAEL BAILEY,
OPINION CONTRIBUTOR
03/25/21

© Getty Images

The streets of Burma, also called Myanmar, look very different today than they did only a month ago. Countless protesters now fill them in defiance of the recent military coup and human rights violations. Military control is certainly not new for Burma, but it is up against a stronger force this time, with a new generation of young people who want democracy, respect for human rights, and a more inclusive future for the country.

“A social cohesion is being propelled throughout the country faster than ever before,” says Aung Kyaw Moe, the founder and executive director of the Center for Social Integrity, a nonprofit dedicated to building diversity and inclusion in Burma. “Young people are calling in democracy and are resolved to do so through unity, dignity, and nonviolence.”

Myanmar and the Oppressive Side of the Digital Revolution

the Globalist
By Andrés Ortega, March 23, 2021

Surveillance technology devices from the West and the East have become essential tools for seeing through a coup d’état in the digital age.

A new chapter is being added to the history of political revolutions. There was a time when anyone plotting a coup against a government had to capture the main telephone exchange and the radio transmitter stations. Later it became TV towers and television studios.

But, if you think that this is a story about the enabling, democratizing power of the Internet to organize protests against an oppressive military regime, you might want to think again.

Generals weaponizing the Internet

True, the street protests were, in part, organized in this fashion. But unfortunately, the side that is using the power of the Internet to greatest effect in the deadly political cat and mouse games that are playing out in Myanmar since the February 1, 2021 coup d’état are the country’s generals.

Myanmar military and its love for power

WION

Edited By: Gravitas desk WION
Naypyitaw Published: Mar 23, 2021,

Myanmar junta Photograph:( Reuters )

For 60 years, Myanmar has been ruled by the military. Six decades marked by crackdowns and suppression of dissent, the military has been responsible for Myanmar's woes in the past.

Take the Rohingya crisis, for instance, the United Nations has described them as the world's most persecuted minority. More Than 740,000 Rohingya have fled the country since 2017. Their persecutors were the military, the same military that has now grabbed power in Myanmar.

The allegations against them are serious. The Myanmar military burned down villages, massacred thousands and raped hundreds of Rohingya women.

nited States: Biden Administration Imposes Sanctions On Burma Following Military Coup

JONES DAY

24 March 2021
by Sean T. Boyce , Michael Gurdak , Lindsey Nelson , Schuyler J. Schouten and D. Grayson Yeargin, Jones Day

As part of the U.S. government response, the Department of the Treasury imposes sanctions on certain Burmese persons, and the Department of Commerce heightens export restrictions relating to Burma.

In response to the military coup in Burma (Myanmar), President Biden issued Executive Order 14041, "Blocking Property with Respect to the Situation in Burma," authorizing sanctions against, among others, foreign persons determined to be a leader or official of the military or security forces of Burma, or a leader or official of the Government of Burma on or after February 2, 2021.

ASEAN on Myanmar’s Coup: Revisiting Cold War Diplomacy on Cambodia

new mandala

DEEPAK NAIR - 

22 MAR, 2021

A battle for international recognition between Myanmar’s junta and Aung San Suu Kyi’s deposed civilian government is underway. The opposition in the incarnation of the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) has urged the international community not to recognize the junta, while the junta has charged the CRPH as “illegal” and guilty of “high treason.”

The battle lines have been drawn with the extraordinary address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) by Myanmar’s Permanent Representative U Kyaw Moe Tun. In his speech, Kyaw Moe Tun broke ranks with the junta and delivered a message from the CRPH that urged international condemnation of the coup and denial of recognition for the junta-led State Administration Council regime.

US and allies sanction Myanmar's military for violent repression of protesters

CNN
By Nicole Gaouette, 
March 22, 2021

Washington (CNN)US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced new sanctions against members of Myanmar's military on Monday for the ongoing crackdown on pro-democracy protests since the military seized power in a February 1 coup.

The penalties were the second set that the US announced in coordination with allies on Monday. Earlier in the day, the US and European Union announced human rights sanctions against China for its ongoing repression in Xinjiang province, including of Uyghur Muslims.

Why Myanmar Matters

NEWS CLICK

Nandita Haksar
22 Mar 2021

As the military coup in Myanmar strengthens authoritarian forces in the region, Indian and Burmese peoples must fight together for real democracy.

Image Courtesy: Reuters

“Forget that my net worth / Is hardly worth mentioning, / Forget the President’s name, / Forget Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.”

“Forget politics. / Yes, yes, I’ve already forgotten. / Forgotten everything! / Have I got democracy now?” Khin Aung Aye (b. 1956)

On 1 February, the Myanmar military staged a coup and did not allow the newly-elected members of Parliament to form a government, placed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest, and shut down five media houses.

The Myanmar crisis and our options

E-PAO

Lt General L. Nishikanta (LN) Singh

Tuesday, Mar 23, 2021

The coup in Myanmar on 01 February did not come to me as a surprise. It was quite expected I was surprised that it took so long. When NLD won the November 2020 elections with a thumping majority, perhaps they got carried away. There was an abrupt denial of space or rather authority of the military, which have tested blood for nearly six decades and relevancy reduced. The Army chief Min AungHlaing was retiring and he was scared that he could be put on trial.

In this article, I have synthesized the background, the likely future events, and options for us.

On 4th January 1948, Myanmar became independent. U Nu was the prime minister. ‘U’ meaning ‘Mr’ in Myanmarese. In 1958 there was a political pandemonium. The army was ready to intervene and compelled U Nu to ‘invite’ Army Chief of Staff, General Ne Win, to take over the country as a ‘caretaker government’. This was the first coup and the military-ruled the country for two years. The military was certainly more organized and efficient than the bureaucracy and successfully brought pandemonium under control. There was a general election in 1960. U Nu returned with a large majority.

ED: Doing right by the Rohingya

Dhaka Tribune 

Tribune Editorial
March 21st, 2021

Photo: MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

We require allies and partners who will support Bangladesh in holding Myanmar accountable

When it comes to addressing the Rohingya crisis, particularly with respect to their repatriation, it is unfortunate that the situation remains mostly stagnant, with little to no progress.

To that end, Bangladesh’s persistence to find solutions must be admired, and the fact that recently, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen discussed repatriating the Rohingya when he met Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is proof that Bangladesh continues to do what is the right thing to do -- search for allies and eventually provide justice for the Rohingya and help them get back home safely.

Of moral illiteracy

The Tribune
Ira Pande
Mar 21, 2021

Photo for representation only. - File photo

IT’s been a long time since I gave up being a university teacher but my interest in and respect for academia remains. These days I feel concerned at what is happening on campuses across India and wonder where state interference and a cynical dismantling of academic autonomy will lead us. We all seem to have forgotten that university campuses have always buzzed with student activity and radical thinking: in some cases, such movements are based on genuine local demands (more seats for economically challenged students or more hostels for girls), while in others they are a show of solidarity with universal issues. These can range from political events in another country (Vietnam in the ’60s), human rights violations (the Rohingya in Myanmar), religious fundamentalism (Yemen and sub-Saharan African theocratic states) or a positive movement for universal peace and harmony (the anti-nuke rallies of the ’80s). Right through our own university days, we were enthusiastic participants in all such stirs. We attended student rallies and lustily raised slogans against injustice without fear of being punished for voicing such concerns.

Myanmar’s Crisis Is Starting to Spill Beyond its Borders

THE I DIPLOMAT
By Sebastian Strangio
March 19, 2021

The country’s political crisis is well on the way to becoming a crisis for the region as a whole.

The effects of Myanmar’s escalating political crisis are beginning to be felt in neighboring countries, with reports emerging from both Thailand and India of people fleeing across borders in search of sanctuary.

On March 12, Indian media reported that the country’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had written to the Chief Secretaries of the states of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh, in the country’s hilly east, to “take appropriate action as per law to check illegal influx from Myanmar into India.”

Up close: Applause for Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi turned to criticism

USA TODAY

George Petras, USA TODAY
Mar. 20, 2021

Under arrest since Feb. 1, "The Lady" is Myanmar's most popular leader

Aung San Suu Kyi, at the center of the Myanmar military coup, is a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and human rights champion who has fallen from favor with the international community.

Suu Kyi, 75, is the de facto civilian leader of Myanmar who has spent years under government house arrest. She's often been compared to Nelson Mandela, the South African leader who ended apartheid in the early 1990s after being imprisoned for 27 years.

Inside Myanmar, calls for UN intervention grow louder

The World
Patrick Winn

March 18, 2021 

A brutal military coup has some protesters calling for armed intervention — but is this a real possibility?

People walk along a deserted road blocked with improvised barricades build by anti-coup protesters to secure a neighborhood in Yangon, Myanmar, March 18, 2021.

Credit:AP

Myanmar is in the grips of a sickening cycle.

Nearly every day, unarmed protesters are gunned down by soldiers or riot cops. Social media inside the country is a churn of violent images: maimed bodies and young lives cut short.

Six weeks have passed since the military seized total power and instantly sparked a mass uprising — one powered by huge rallies and a general strike, which is grinding the economy to a crawl.

For Rohingya Survivors, Art Bears Witness

The New York Times

By Patricia Leigh Brown
March 19, 2021

They escaped traumatic circumstances in Myanmar and now live in harsh conditions. But refugees are creating murals drawn from their flourishing cultural traditions, reborn in Bangladesh camps.

The Artolution art center at the Balukhali camp in Bangladesh, where Rohingya refugees, trauma survivors, use the power of the paintbrush to create murals about Covid-19, the dangers of domestic violence and other public health concerns.Credit...Bengal Creative Media, via Artolution

 

Before he fled Myanmar in 2017, a witness to unspeakable horrors in his Rohingya village, Mohammed Nur would produce art in hiding, drawing on napkins and trash with bits of charcoal. Art, poetry readings and a university education were among many aspects of life that were not allowed for Rohingya Muslims like himself.

Myanmar’s Ethnic Chinese Deny Allegiance to Beijing as They Risk Lives Against Junta

THE IRRAWADDY 

18 March 2021

Kyal Sin (left), Khant Nyar Hein (middle), and Kyaw Win Ko (right)

“Please don’t hate Chinese in Myanmar. We were born here,” a mournful mother of an ethnic Chinese teenager appealed to the people of Myanmar shortly after her son was shot dead by police in Yangon.

An ethnic Chinese, Khant Nyar Hein or Lin Yaozong, 18, was shot down on the street by the military regime’s security forces on Sunday in Tamwe Township while he was taking part in a protest. He became one of more than 200 civilians killed by police and soldiers in a flurry of lethal force unleashed on peaceful protesters following the Feb. 1 coup.

Those who learned of the fate of the first-year medical student were saddened and sympathetic to his mother, who has lost her only son.

Islamist forces eye on Rohingya community

BLITZ
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
Published on March 19, 2021

According to statistics, there are over one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh who were driven out from Myanmar by its military regime. Ever-since genocide on Rohingyas began, members of this community had not only entered Bangladesh, thousands of them have illegally moved into a number of countries in Asian, Australian, African and European continent. One of the key points about the Rohingyas is – majority of them are radicalized Muslims. They have extreme hatred towards secular nations and governments.

Myanmar Buddhist Association Signals Possible Break with Military Junta

THE I DIPLOMAT

By Sebastian Strangio
March 18, 2021

The opposition of the country’s main Buddhist authority would undermine the military government’s already shaky legitimacy.

Myanmar’s influential Buddhist monks’ association has urged the country’s military junta to end violence against protesters, accusing an “armed minority” of responsibility for the killing of unarmed civilians protesting the February 1 coup.

According to a report in the local news outlet Myanmar now, the 47-member State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, a government-appointed body of Buddhist abbots, decided Tuesday to suspend its activities, calling for an immediate end to the junta’s violent attacks on anti-coup protesters