Myanmar Coup: Russia Calls Sanctions 'dangerous', Says It Could Lead To Civil Conflict

R. REPUBLICWORLD

Bhavya Sukheja

7th April, 2021

Amid political tensions in Myanmar, Russia said that sanctions against authorities in Burma were dangerous and could push country towards civil conflict.

Image: AP

Amid political tensions in Myanmar, Russia on April 6 said that sanctions against authorities in Burma were futile, extremely dangerous and could ultimately push the country towards civil conflict. Since February 1 coup, Myanmar has been embroiled in protest against the military government, which has responded with increasingly totalitarian surveillance and censorship measures in addition to the violence that has left more than 500 dead and thousands arrested. The cup and the subsequent crackdown has led to Western sanctions on the military and its lucrative business.

Myanmar coup: Asean leadership offers best chance to avert a refugee crisis

South China Morning Post

Lucio Blanco Pitlo III

Opinion

7 Apr, 2021

• Many international actors are vying to play the role of peacemaker in Myanmar, but Asean – flaws and all – remains the most suited to broker talks

• The efforts of Indonesia, along with other key members, show genuine interest to stop growing instability in the country from spilling across the region

Myanmar refugees line up to receive rescue materials in a camp in Manghai, a small border town between China and Myanmar in Yunnan province, in November 2016. Continuing violence in Myanmar has neighbours China, India and Thailand worried about a fresh exodus of refugees fleeing across their border. Photo: Simon Song

A breakthrough could be in the offing as China lends support to an Asean-led initiative to de-escalate the situation in Myanmar and bring warring parties to a dialogue. Last week, foreign ministers from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines flew to Nanping in southeastern Fujian province to meetForeign Minister Wang Yi.

Myanmar coup: Indonesia tries a difficult mediation

ASIANEWS.it

Ati Nurbaiti
04/07/2021

President Jokowi calls on ASEAN to intervene to ensure the safety of the people of Myanmar whose generals are more interested in Thailand’s military coup than Indonesia’s model of democratic transition. In Indonesia there is little empathy for protesters in Myanmar.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Indonesia needs to continue efforts to open communication channels with Myanmar’s military, which carried out a coup against the civilian government of democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

To stop the crackdown against the anti-coup protest movement, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo has called for an emergency meeting of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN). Such a move, which Malaysia supports, has met with opposition by some ASEAN nations, which usually insist on non-interference in the domestic affairs of the group’s members.

At least 550 people killed by Myanmar's military since February coup, says advocacy group

CNN
By Sandi Sidhu and Salai TZ, CNN
April 4, 2021

UN envoy says a 'bloodbath is imminent' in Myanmar 04:51

(CNN)At least 550 people have been killed by Myanmar's military in the aftermath of a coup which overthrew the elected government on February 1, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), an advocacy group based in neighboring Thailand.

Security officials have responded to dissent with a brutal crackdown and detained thousands, including at least 11 people arrested in Myanmar's biggest city Yangon Friday, minutes after being interviewed by CNN journalists.

The CNN team visited the Ten Miles bazaar in Yangon's Insein township, where they interviewed a number of local residents. Among the interviewees were two women who raised the three-finger protest salute.

Revoking The Coup In Myanmar – Analysis

eurasiareview

James Emery
April 3, 2021

Members of Myanmar's Tatmadaw military. Photo Credit: Mehr News Agency

The situation in Myanmar following the Tatmadaw’s coup d’état of February 1, 2021 is at a critical point. The insular Tatmadaw, backed by China and Russia, along with supportive regional players, is unlikely to capitulate from traditional sanctions and a compromised United Nations (UN).

The first step in crafting an effective response is to identify the primary drivers and objectives of the coup. Tatmadaw Commander-in-Chief, General Min Aung Hlaing, controlled the Ministries of Defense (armed forces), Home Affairs (national police force), and Border Affairs. Myanmar soldiers, police, militias, and the courts help maintain the Tatmadaw’s totalitarian grip on power.

Stop ‘widespread violence’ against children in Myanmar, UN officials urge

UN News
Peace and Security
2 April 2021

Unsplash/Justin Min,The Sule pagoda in downtown Yangon, the commercial hub of Myanmar.

Senior United Nations officials on Thursday strongly condemned the ongoing violence by Myanmar’s security forces against civilians, including children, as the members of the Security Council expressed alarm at the rapidly deteriorating situation in the country.

Hundreds of civilians, including at least 44 children (as of 31 March) have been killed in the crackdown across the country, including a 7-year-old girl, who was shot while in her home. Countless more have been seriously injured, since the military coup on 1 February.

U.N. Official Warns Of 'Bloodbath' In Myanmar If Coup Isn't Reversed

WISCONSIN PUBLIC RADIO
Scott Neuman
Thursday, April 1, 2021,

Protesters, wearing red makeup to simulate tears of blood, making the three-finger salute during a demonstration against the military coup in Hlaing Township, Yangon, Myanmar, on Thursday in a photo taken from a screenshot from AFPTV video.

AFP via Getty Images

The United Nations special envoy on Myanmar has issued a stark warning that the country is heading for a likely "bloodbath" if the international community doesn't do more to stop violence against anti-junta protesters.

The remarks by Christine Schraner Burgener during a closed-door session of the U.N. Security Council, come as Myanmar's deposed leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, faced new, more serious charges brought by the junta to mark two months since her Feb. 1 ouster.

Burgener on Wednesday told the Security Council that if "collective action" isn't taken to reverse the coup, "a bloodbath is imminent." She warned of a "multi-dimensional catastrophe in the heart of Asia," according to testimony obtained by The Associated Press and Reuters.

Analysis: Myanmar's neighbour Thailand unlikely to toughen stance on coup

REUTERS

Kay Johnson, Panarat Thepgumpanat
APAC
APRIL 2, 2021

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand has slightly hardened its language on Myanmar by saying it is “gravely concerned” about escalating bloodshed since a Feb. 1 coup, but close military ties and fears of a flood of refugees mean it is unlikely to go further, analysts say.

FILE PHOTO: People who are fleeing the violence in Myanmar sit in a boat as they approach a Thai soldier at the border village of Mae Sam Laep, Mae Hong Son province, Thailand March 30, 2021. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun/File Photo

That leaves Thailand out of step with some members of the 10-strong Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as they seek to ramp up pressure on the junta, but could also position it as a possible mediator.

“(Thailand’s position) is difficult, but I think there is an opportunity because we’ve become an important partner,” Panitan Wattanayagorn, a political scientist at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, told Reuters.

Myanmar coup: More than 40 children killed by military, rights group says

B B C

01 April 2021Protesters held a "silent strike" in Yangon after a seven year old was shot dead in Mandalay

At least 43 children have been killed by armed forces in Myanmar since February's military coup, according to rights organisation Save the Children.

The group said the South East Asian country was in a "nightmare situation", with the youngest known victim just six years old.

A local monitoring group puts the overall death toll at 536.

Meanwhile, ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been charged with violating the country's official secrets act.

The rebels who will and won’t fight Myanmar’s coup

ASIA TIMES

DAVID SCOTT MATHIESON
MARCH 31, 2021

Karen and Kachin rebels have launched attacks but other ethnic armed groups are lying in wait or even quietly collaborating with the coup makers

A Karen fighter holds a rocket launcher while standing guard at Oo Kray Kee village in Kayin state near the Thai-Myanmar border in a file photo. Photo: AFP/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul

Myanmar’s multi-sided civil war, now more clearly than ever a war waged by the military against all segments and ethnicities of society, saw its bloodiest day on March 27’s Armed Forces Day.

Notably absent to this theater of the absurd were senior officials from Myanmar’s ethnic armed organizations (EAO), who boycotted the event and have issued stern statements of opposition to the February 1 coup and the new State Administration Council’s (SAC) murderous rule.

Many are now calling on the nation’s various EAOs to escalate their attacks against the military, or Tatmadaw, and alleviate pressure on and express solidarity with the many unarmed urban opponents of the coup.

Troops Fire at Funeral as Myanmar Mourns Bloodiest Day Since Coup

U.S.News

By Reuters, 

Wire Service Content 

March 27, 2021

Men run during a protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar March 28, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer REUTERS

(REUTERS) -MYANMAR security forces opened fire at a funeral on Sunday, witnesses said, as people across the country gathered to mourn 114 people killed the previous day in the worst crackdown on protests since last month's military coup.

Mourners fled the shooting at a service for 20-year-old student Thae Maung Maung in Bago near the commercial capital Yangon and there were no immediate reports of casualties, three people in the town told Reuters.

'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.

Special Report: Pompeo rejected U.S. effort to declare 'genocide' in Myanmar on eve of coup, officials say

REUTERS

By Simon Lewis, Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In the last days of the Trump administration, some U.S. officials urged outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to formally declare that the Myanmar military’s campaign against the Rohingya minority was a genocide.

An exhausted Rohingya refugee woman touches the shore after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border by boat through the Bay of Bengal in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, September 11, 2017. Picture taken September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo SEARCH "POY DECADE" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS POY" FOR ALL BEST OF 2019 PACKAGES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY.

Such a determination, a culmination of years of State Department investigation and legal analysis, would send a signal that the generals would not enjoy impunity for their persecution of the Muslim group since 2017, the officials hoped.

Pompeo never made that call. Less than two weeks after he left office on Jan. 20, Myanmar’s generals seized power in a coup.

Myanmar coup: Seven-year-old shot 'as she ran into father's arms'

B B C
24 March 2021,

Khin Myo Chit was shot on Tuesday afternoon, said her family

A seven-year-old girl has been shot dead in Myanmar, becoming the youngest known victim in the crackdown following last month's military coup.

Khin Myo Chit's family told the BBC she was killed by police while she ran towards her father, during a raid on their home in the city of Mandalay.

Myanmar's military has been increasing its use of force as protests continue.

Rights group Save the Children says more than 20 children are among dozens of people who have been killed.

In total, the military says 164 people have been killed in protests, while the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) activist group puts the death toll at at least 261.

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.

Myanmar Junta Expects Asian Nations to Keep Investing After Coup

Bloomberg News
22 March 2021,

Myanmar’s military junta expects investments from Asian countries to continue despite growing condemnation over its coup last month and the violent suppression of ensuing pro-democracy protests.

While the U.S. and its partners are taking actions such as sanctions against the military, and some regional companies have scaled back operations, Asian neighbors largely have refrained from turning away from the country and the current leadership sees long-term regional partners staying engaged.

US must confront the coup in Myanmar

TRIBUNE HERALD

Monday, March 22, 2021

Myanmar emerged from years of military rule to a form of democracy over the last decade.

While generals still held ultimate power, Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy Party led the civilian government and won November’s national election in a landslide. But before Myanmar’s Parliament met on Feb. 1, military rulers seized control in a coup, arresting Suu Kyi and other opposition leaders on flimsy charges as they plunged the country back into authoritarianism.

But apparently the military of Myanmar, also called Burma, didn’t anticipate the depth of citizen opposition. For weeks, throngs from all walks of society have braved security forces in peaceful protests demanding a return to democratic rule.

The regime responded with relative restraint at first but has reverted to brutality. A bloody crackdown has killed at least 126, including 51 shot (many in the head) just this last weekend. More than 2,000 have reportedly been arrested, with many enduring torture.

Burmese supporters in Taiwan denounce coup with songs

TAIPEI TIMES

By Ben Blanchard / Reuters
Mon, Mar 22, 2021

Hundreds of people from Taiwan’s Burmese community yesterday rallied in central Taipei to denounce the coup in Myanmar, singing defiant songs and holding white and red roses in mourning for those who have died protesting the military.

Taiwan is home to about 40,000 people originally from Myanmar, most of whom are ethnic Chinese. Some are descendants of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) troops trapped in Myanmar, then called Burma, at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Others have come more recently, fleeing repression and anti-Chinese sentiment.

Myanmar Coup Is Xi Jinping’s Preliminary Skirmish:Detaining 75-Year-Old Aung San Suu Kyi Is a Human Rights Issue

The Liberty Web

March 16, 2021

 Detaining 75-Year-Old Aung San Suu Kyi Is a Human Rights Issue

One month has already passed since Myanmar’s armed forces, after suffering a landslide defeat in last November’s general election, seized power from the National League for Democracy (NLD) and detained Myanmar’s 75-year-old State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi among other senior leaders of the NLD.

Inside Myanmar's bloodthirsty 'TikTok soldiers' gunning down their peers

The Telegraph
ByNicola Smith, 

ASIA CORRESPONDENT 

Nandi Theint 

YANGON and Verity Bowman

13 March 2021 

Young soldiers take to TikTok in threatening videos

The young soldiers in the video clip line the benches of their truck with machetes tucked under their arms. Some crowd over a single mobile phone, cigarette in hand. Others lean on their hoe. “We don’t hold a gun any more," a line of Burmese script reads underneath, in reference to the blunt farm tools littered on the bed of the vehicle.

The message is clear: we don't just shoot, we bury too.

In another video a young soldier reaches for a machine gun, pulls it towards his face and kisses it before fixing his gaze at his smartphone camera with a tender smile. Meanwhile, a separate clip shows a young soldier drawing his fingers across his throat menacingly for his social media followers.