Myanmar’s Brutal Military Was Once a Force for Freedom – but it’s been Waging Civil War for Decades

INTERNATIONAL POLICY DIGEST

Tharaphi Than

APRIL 5, 2021

With great fanfare – but few guests – Myanmar’s armed forces recently celebrated their 76th anniversary in the nation’s capital of Naypyitaw.

Only Russia, China, Thailand, and a handful of other Asian countries sent representatives to attend the March 27th parade showing off Myanmar’s modern war machines – mostly imported from Russia and China over the past decade, to the tune of $2.4 billion.

The Myanmar military has been terrorizing civilians since a coup two months earlier. On the day of the parade, soldiers killed over 90 people for protesting military rule, including a 5-year-old boy and three teenagers. An estimated 564 people have been killed in Myanmar since the Feb. 1 coup.

Alarmed by inaction, lawmakers push Japan to embrace rights diplomacy

the japan times

BY SATOSHI SUGIYAMA
STAFF WRITER
Apr 6, 2021



Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi go to meet Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, and Lloyd Austin, U.S. Secretary of Defense, at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on March 16. | POOL / VIA AFP-JIJI

As Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga gears up for his trip to Washington late next week, one potential discussion topic could throw a wet blanket over his excitement: Japan’s role in advocating for human rights through diplomacy.

As much as Tokyo is elated over having the first foreign leader to meet U.S. President Joe Biden in person since his inauguration and reaffirmation of Washington’s commitment to national security cooperation, there are worries that the meeting could be used by Biden to compel Suga to augment the Japanese government’s contributions to defending human rights in Asia.

Myanmar crisis: Asean's next moves

Bangkok Post

PUBLISHED : 6 APR 2021

Myanmar's Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin takes part in a virtual meeting of Asean foreign ministers in Nay Pyi Taw last Friday. AFP

The recent call by Indonesian President Joko Widodo for a meeting with his colleagues on the Myanmar crisis is gaining traction. It is now possible to say that the proposed leaders' meeting could take place at the end of this month, after the Songkran break and the Muslim Ramadan festival.

Senior Asean officials will have to decide tomorrow whether to have the physical meeting either in Bandar Seri Begawan or the Asean Secretariat and the preferred date. Both places have their own merits in discussing the Myanmar crisis. Therefore, the right timing is imperative for a face-to-face rendezvous. Asean has learned to its cost that a teleconference on the Myanmar crisis could cause harm and bitterness due to the lack of clarifications and personal rapport in virtual meetings. This time, the Asean chair wants to ensure that all Asean leaders, including Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing, join the meeting.

Thousands of Rohingya Refugees in Northwest India Live in Fear of Deportation

VOA

VOA News

06 April 2021

 Thousands of Rohingya refugees live in temporary camps in India’s northwestern Jammu and Kashmir region, where they fear deportation back to Myanmar. VOA Urdu Service’s Zubair Dar visited a camp of people in Bathindi Narval who said they fled abuses and do not want to go back. Roshan Noorzai narrates the story. VOA Khmer's Leakhena Sreng narrates the story in Khmer. 

Link : Here

Protests In Burma

The Hitavada

By Gwynne Dyer

Date :06-Apr-2021

‘Non-violent struggle’ is rarely non-violent on both sides, but the oppressors find it hard to use unlimited force when the other side is using none at all. Especially when the whole world is watching. That is why non-violent movements succeed so often. If the protesters turn into just another Army, then all limitations on the use of force by the big, professional, well-equipped Army are lifted, and the bad guys win.

Thailand unlikely to join ASEAN in pressuring Myanmar junta to stop bloodshed

Thaiger

Ann Carter

Monday, April 5, 2021

Thailand’s government is unlikely to join other members of ASEAN in calling for Myanmar’s junta to stop the bloodshed. Fears over receiving a flood of refugees across the Burmese border and damages to its military ties may be of more importance to the Kingdom, despite the government’s recent claims that it is “gravely concerned” over the situation in Myanmar.

If Thailand refuses to join increasing calls for Myanmar’s junta to step down, it could, however, place it in a unique position as a mediator. Political scientist, Panitan Wattanayagorn, at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, told Reuters that Thailand may be in a unique position to act as a mediator if it doesn’t join sides with the ASEAN community.

Total Must Maintain Myanmar Output to Protect Workers, CEO Says

Bloomberg

James Regan
4 April 2021, 

Skip to content

CEO says Total employees at risk of forced labor or prison

French oil major is halting Myanmar gas well drilling campaign


Anti-coup protesters shout slogans towards approaching security forces as smoke rises from burning car tires in Yangon, Myanmar on March 28. Source: Getty Images

French oil major Total SE must continue to produce gas in Myanmar and pay taxes to the military junta to protect staff from forced labor and maintain electricity supplies, Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said in an op-ed in Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper.

Amid calls not to provide funds to the military, which ousted Myanmar’s parliament on Feb. 1, Total is scrapping plans to develop gas off the west coast and halting its gas well drilling campaign, Pouyanne said. He added that Total would donate the equivalent of the taxes owed to human rights associations.

ASEAN leaders to meet over Myanmar, chair Brunei says

REUTERS
Reuters Staff

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Brunei, the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, on Monday threw its support behind a regional leaders’ meeting to discuss developments in Myanmar and said it has asked officials to prepare for a meeting in Jakarta.

FILE PHOTO: Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah attends the opening session of the 31st ASEAN Summit in Manila, Philippines, November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Myanmar has been in crisis since a Feb. 1 military coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Activists say at least 557 people have since been killed in a crackdown by security forces on protests and strikes across the country, where the junta has restricted internet access.

Indonesia has led efforts by members of ASEAN, of which Myanmar is a member, to encourage a negotiated solution, despite a longstanding policy of not commenting on each other’s domestic problems.

Why Myanmar’s massacres shame the world

ZAWYA

SECURITY|
By Yossi Mekelberg, Arab News
03 APRIL, 2021

To a large extent we have arrived at this point due to the past failures of the international community to hold Myanmar’s military accountable for their crimes

Members of the armed forces stand guard during a protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar March 27, 2021.REUTERS/Stringer

When representatives of all UN member states met in 2005 for the World Summit, billed at the time as the “largest gathering of world leaders in history,” and passed a resolution that set out the parameters for the Responsibility to Protect populations (R2P) from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing, there was an air of togetherness and optimism that the journey toward eradicating these horrific phenomena had begun.

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.

Desperate Burmese refugees flee to Thailand and India to escape crisis

The Guardian

Amrit Dhillon in New Delhi and Emma Graham-Harrison
Sat 3 Apr 2021 

Tensions rise on borders as thousands seek safe haven from military crackdown

Karen villagers being carried by refugees and Thai paramilitaries after crossing border at a Thai-Myanmar border in Mae Hong Son province. Photograph: Royal Thai Army Handout/EPA

Myanmar’s escalating crisis is spilling across its borders, as thousands of refugees seek safe haven in India and Thailand in the wake of the military coup and bloody crackdowns on anti-coup protesters.

Authorities in both countries have tried to block new arrivals, fearing that a steady flow may become a flood, if unrest spreading through Myanmar worsens. A top UN official warned last week that the country is “on the verge of spiralling into a failed state” if action is not taken soon to stem the bloodshed.

The catastrophic human costs of the regime’s brutal policies is visible in crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees are living. Most fled after a military campaign that began in 2017, and have lived in limbo ever since.

U.N. Warns: A Bloodbath In Myanmar Is Imminent

Forbes

Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab
Contributor Policy

On March 31, 2021, U.N. Special Envoy on Myanmar, Ms. Schraner Burgener, called upon the U.N. Security Council to “consider all available tools to take collective action and do what is right, what the people of Myanmar deserve and prevent a multi-dimensional catastrophe in the heart of Asia.” She stressed that “the ground situation will only worsen,” meaning “a bloodbath is imminent.”

This screengrab provided via AFPTV video footage taken on April 1, 2021, shows protesters, wearing ... [+] AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

This highly concerning warning is supported by data. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), total number of people killed stands at 550 since February 1, 2021, with at least 46 children. The youngest victims is a seven year-old girl, Khin Myo Chit. In addition, more than 2,750 people have been detained, including 38 sentenced. The AAPP further reports attacks and looting in villages and central Gant Gaw town in Magwe Region. “The perpetrators looted kitchen knives, money, mobile phones and jewelry. Over ten thousand residents hence fled into the forest. Number of villagers fleeing homes across Burma is rapidly increasing.” They further warn that on April 1, 2021, “junta forces ordered internet providers to shut down all wireless broadband services until further notice. Alongside the 47 nightly internet cut and 18 days of a mobile data shutdown. As a result, only a small percentage of individuals can access the internet in Burma. These oppressive measures intend to even further disrupt internal communication and silence the voice of the people.” The timing of the internet shutdown should not be seen as a coincidence. The atrocities are likely to continue when Myanmar is in the “dark.”

Why Myanmar’s massacres shame the world

ARAB NEWS

YOSSI MEKELBERG
April 03, 2021

Anti-coup protesters aim to defend themselves with homemade air rifles during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, Saturday, April 3, 2021. (AP)

When representatives of all UN member states met in 2005 for the World Summit, billed at the time as the “largest gathering of world leaders in history,” and passed a resolution that set out the parameters for the Responsibility to Protect populations (R2P) from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing, there was an air of togetherness and optimism that the journey toward eradicating these horrific phenomena had begun.

In the intervening years, this hope has been dented time and time again when such atrocities have been committed by some of the very countries that supported this resolution, while others have remained silent, or reacted to them with no real conviction. Recent events in Myanmar are a tragic reminder that R2P is still far from a universal commitment in the face of brutal regimes in the mould of the military one in Yangon, led by Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who staged a coup against the elected government in February this year.

Myanmar’s Bloodshed Reveals a World That Has Changed, and Hasn't

The New York Times

Published April 2, 2021Family mourners at the funeral of Ma Khine Zar Thwe, 25, a bank employee, who was shot and killed on Sunday amid a protest crackdown in Yangon, Myanmar.Credit...The New York Times

Myanmar’s rulers this week crossed a threshold few governments breach anymore: They have killed, by most estimates, more than 500 unarmed citizens of their own country.

Such massacres by government forces have, even in a time of rising nationalism and authoritarianism, been declining worldwide. This is the seventh in the past decade, compared with 23 in the 1990s, according to data from Uppsala University in Sweden.

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.

Myanmar's military junta has reportedly killed at least 43 children since coup

abc News

Morgan Winsor
2 April 2021,


"This is a nightmare scenario unfolding."

LONDON -- At least 43 children have been reportedly killed by armed forces in Myanmar in the two months since the military junta seized power, according to international humanitarian group Save the Children, which described the situation as "a nightmare scenario unfolding."

"We are shocked that children continue to be among the targets of these fatal attacks, despite repeated calls to protect children from harm," Save the Children said in a statement Wednesday. "It is clear that Myanmar is no longer a safe place for children."

Overall, at least 543 people -- adults and children -- have been killed by authorities since the Feb. 1 coup, though the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a human rights organization based in Myanmar's largest city, Yangon.

MORE: US orders some diplomats to evacuate Myanmar amid deadly crackdown on protesters

PETRONAS' Upstream Operations in Myanmar Declares Force Majeure On Its Yetagun Field

2 · Apr · 2021

Media

PRESS RELEASE

Yangon, Myanmar, 2 April 2021 – PC Myanmar (Hong Kong) Limited (PCML), a subsidiary of PETRONAS, has declared Force Majeure (FM) on its Yetagun field on 1 April 2021 due to depletion of gas production at the field, located in the Andaman Sea, offshore Myanmar, in Blocks M12, M13 and M14.

The decision was made following challenges in the wells deliverability that resulted in the production rate dropping below the technical threshold of the offshore gas processing plant. PCML has temporarily ceased production at the Yetagun field until further notice.

PCML Country Head, Liau Min Hoe said: “Prior to the cessation of production, Yetagun field was producing well below the technical turndown rate of its facilities. There has been a drastic decline in production level due to subsurface challenges in the field since January 2021 and it has further deteriorated recently.

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.

U.N. Officials Warn Of Civil War In Myanmar

NRP

MICHAEL SULLIVAN
Heard on All Things Considered

April 2, 2021

U.N. officials warn of civil war in Myanmar as militias run by the country's numerous ethnic minorities weigh an offer to create a federal state with the deposed government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

TRANSCRIPT

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Two months after the coup in Myanmar, protesters are still defying the military. Meanwhile, ethnic minority militias who've been fighting the military for decades have renewed their attacks as well. The military has responded to both threats with more violence against a population it has repressed for decades. Michael Sullivan reports.