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UNSC Must Meet Regarding North-Western Burma Crisis | Burma Campaign UK

Burma Campaign UK today called on the UN Security Council to urgently convene a meeting on the escalating military attacks and troop build-up in Chin State, Sagaing Region and Magwe, North-Western Burma.

As penholder on Burma at the UN Security Council, the main responsibility for convening a meeting falls to the British government.

“The situation in North-Western Burma today has some echoes of the situation in Rakhine State in 2017 before the military offensive against the Rohingya,” said Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK. “We are seeing significant deployment of troops and military equipment, and escalating indiscriminate attacks against the civilian population. There is a real danger of a much more significant military offensive targeting civilians in Chin State and neighbouring areas.”

Chin State has seen some of the strongest resistance to the military following the coup on 1st February. In recent months the military has stepped up attacks in the region, with jets bombing towns and villages as well as heavy artillery being used against civilian targets. Hundreds of people have been arrested, dozens killed and thousands of people forced to flee their homes.

On Friday 15th October the Chin Human Rights Organisation released a report, Reign of Terror, documenting numerous violations of international law by the military, including arbitrary detentions and killings, indiscriminate targeting of civilians, targeted destruction of religious buildings, forced displacement and restrictions on humanitarian access. The report is available here.

On 8th October a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a statement concerned about the escalating military attacks and increased military deployment, stating:

“Alarming reports indicate that there has been substantial deployment of heavy weapons and troops by the Myanmar military, the Tatmadaw, over the past few weeks in Kanpetlet and Hakha townships in Chin State; Kani and Monywa townships in the central Sagaing region; and Gangaw township in Magway. Two high-level commanders have also been deployed to the area and the internet has been shut down.”

They also called for international action, stating:

“We urge the international community to speak with one voice, to prevent the commission of further serious human rights violations against the people of Myanmar.”

The statement is available here.

The UN Security Council has completely failed to take any effective action in response to decades of violations of international law by the military, including genocide, or to take any effective action since the military coup. The possible prospect of another large scale military offensive against civilians must now be the catalyst for action. It will be impossible to know for sure that a large scale military offensive is planned until it begins. Waiting until an offensive begins is too late, the UN Security Council must act now to prevent the risk of an even bigger human rights and humanitarian disaster unfolding in North-Western Burma.

“The UN Security Council must not repeat the mistakes of 2017 when it ignored calls to meet and to send a strong message to the military that attacks against the Rohingya would not be tolerated,” said Anna Roberts. “Now is not the time to wait and see what happens, now is the time for the UN Security Council to act, to send a clear warning to the military that they will not get away with any large scale offensive.”

Burma Campaign UK is asking supporters to email Liz Truss MP, Foreign Secretary, calling on her to convene an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

Reign of Terror

This document details human rights violations committed by SAC actors during August and September, 2021. Attacks on the civilian population and civilian infrastructure initiated by the State Administration Council (SAC) junta have become increasingly relentless in western Burma/Myanmar since August 2021. Junta soldiers operating in Chin State and parts of Sagaing and Magwe Regions, under the Northwestern Regional Military Command based in Monywa, have conducted a campaign of unlawful killings, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and deliberate targeting of civilian and religious infrastructure.

Reign of Terror

Human Rights Briefing August September

Please download PDF here

Reign of Terror ReportCHRO

BRIEFING : THE NEED FOR URGENT CROSS-BORDER HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE ON THE WESTERN FRONT

September 12, 2021: A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Myanmar/Burma’s poorest state following an escalation of fighting in Thantlang and Hakha Townships, Chin State. This adds to a state-wide health crisis following the new wave of COVID-19 infections and an existing humanitarian crisis in Chin State’s southern townships, where fighting between the Tatmadaw and Chinland Defense Force (CDF) has been ongoing since May 2021.

Briefer_Humanitarian_CHRO

8 August 2021: A church and adjacent houses in a residential neighborhood were damaged in what appears to be a targeted attack by Burmese troops on Friday night, 6 August in Kanpeltet Town, southern Chin State. Junta soldiers fired mortar rounds and sprayed automatic gunsfire on a local Baptist church and nearby residential houses starting at around 8 pm and lasted till 11 pm, in what community leaders described was a warning and punishment for them ‘not being able to control the youths’ who are accused by the soldiers of engaging in armed resistance against the junta. The local chapter of the Chinland Defense Force (CDF-Kanpetlet) said its members were not involved in a firefight on the night in question, suggesting that the junta soldiers were deliberately attacking civilian neighborhoods as a warning to the youths.

A local youth who informed CHRO of the Friday night incident said, “We had to hide ourselves in a wardrobe the whole time our surroundings were being shelled. The houses that were attacked have been used as shelters when attacks like that happened in our town.” The attacks damaged the church and several other houses nearby.

The Protection and Humanitarian Affairs Division has been created within CHRO to lead the organization’s efforts to respond to unfolding humanitarian crisis in Chin State, which is now literally a disaster in waiting.

The Division aims to address the emerging humanitarian and protection needs of the already vulnerable population of western Myanmar, particularly, Chin State, where new armed conflicts and worsening COVID-19 spread have brought new levels of humanitarian crisis and human insecurity to the region since the February 1 coup in Myanmar. The new Division seeks to bridge the widening gaps in the humanitarian response measures towards the rapidly deteriorating conflict situation and the fast-spreading deadly Coronavirus in the region, by working together with new and existing local partners to try and coordinate intervention strategies and provide synergy to the work of various humanitarian actors operating in the region. The Division also aims to assist with protection issues arising from the ongoing political crackdown, as well as those confronting internally displaced population and refugees, including special protection for women in armed conflict situation. Under the purview of the new Division will be advocacy work associated with protection issues faced by refugee communities in India and Malaysia.

Programmatically, this new division will operate under the management and supervision of the Peace, Development and Democratization Program (PDDP) of CHRO. The Division oversees two operation units, tasked with specific mandates and functions: Protection Unit and Humanitarian Affairs Unit.

Human Rights by Numbers 

The six month report card is out. Life under the junta since the February 2021 has been nothing short of hellish for the Chin people like the rest of the country. The Burma Army has been more brutal than ever and has perpetrated serious violations amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity with complete impunity over the past six months. In Chin State alone, CHRO has documented a total of 466 arbitrary arrests of which 163 people are still being detained on various charges or without trial, 52 deaths, including children, and 25 outstanding warrant issued against peaceful dissidents.###

For Immediate Release
12 May 2021

Two Civilians Tortured to Death, Bodies “Cremated” to Destroy Evidence

The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) is deeply troubled and strongly condemns the torture and death of two Chin civilians by Tatmadaw soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 266 operating under the Tactical Operations Command based in Hakha, Chin State. CHRO is calling for a thorough and independent investigation into the deaths of the two individuals while in custody, as well as all allegations of systematic torture practices currently being used against civilian detainees at the LIB 266 military base detention centre located on Mount Rung.

Tler Ling, a 54-year-old local farmer was arrested by Tatmadaw soldiers on Sunday, 9 May having been accused of harboring members of the Chinland Defense Force (CDF) and for alleged possession of a traditional hunting rifle at his farmhouse on the outskirts of Hakha Town. A second victim, 27-year-old, Kham Bawi who had just arrived from his village and was staying with relatives in Hakha, was arrested separately on the same day. Both were taken to the Tactical Operations Command Center on Mount Rung where they were tortured and later died.

Initially the Tactical Operations Commander, Colonel Saw Tun told community and religious leaders that the two had succumbed to injuries sustained during their interrogations while on the way to Kalay Myo (approx. 200 kilometres away from Hakha) having been transported there for urgent medical treatment. This differed from accounts provided within the Monday edition of the state-run daily newspaper Myanmar Alin, which stated that the two had succumbed to heart disease. When community leaders pressed for the bodies to be returned to the families for proper burial according to Chin customary traditions, Colonel Saw Tun informed community members that the bodies had been cremated as 54-year-old, Tler Ling was discovered to have contracted COVID-19.

CHRO has raised grave concerns regarding the treatment of detainees and allegations of torture practices used by the Tatmadaw during interrogations and has documented serious bodily and psychological injuries inflicted on civilian detainees suspected of being involved in anti-junta activities since the February 1 coup d’etat:

“Accountability for such heinous crimes must go to the top of the chain of command. As the two highest-ranking army officials in Chin State, we hold Tactical Operations Commander Colonel Saw Tun, and Brigadier-General Myo Htut Hlaing, Deputy Commander of the Northwestern Regional Command as culpable for the deaths of Tler Ling and Khamh Bawi,” said Salai Za Uk Ling, Deputy Executive Director of CHRO.

For more information please contact:
[email protected]
Tel: +91 873 104 6827

For Immediate Release
1 May 2021

Burma/Myanmar Junta: Cease Systematic Use of Torture Practices in Military Interrogation Centers

The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) is deeply horrified and gravely concerned by allegations of systematic and widespread use of torture at military interrogation centers against activists and civilians arrested and detained by the military junta in Chin State.

Surviving victims of torture and eyewitnesses have described the practice of torture as almost ‘automatic’ once detainees are taken to the military interrogation and detention center at the headquarters of Tactical Operations Command No.1 under the Tatmadaw’s Northwestern Regional Command at Mount Rung in Hakha, Chin State.
Systematic torture practices are used by Burmese soldiers to extract information or forced confessions from people arrested for exercising their right to peaceful protest or other anti-junta activities, including for participation with the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM):

“Once inside the interrogation center, we are made to kneel down, hands tied behind our backs, blindfolded and forced to lie on our belly on the ground. That’s when the interrogation and beatings begin. Depending on how quickly the soldiers obtain the information they want, detainees are caned with up to 40 lashes, some detainees are made to dig holes in the ground to make them think that they are about to be killed and they are digging their own grave,” testified one former detainee who requested anonymity.

Torture is a prohibited act under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Moreover, under Article 7 (1) (f) of the Rome Statute, torture can be considered a crime against humanity “when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack, with knowledge thereof, directed against any civilian population.”

As of May 1, more than 200 Chin civilians have been arrested by the junta, of which over 80 remain detained. The vast majority of those who have been released after their initial period of detention at the Tatmadaw base allege severe torture and other forms of degrading and inhuman treatment by the soldiers.

“The systematic use of torture was common practice under the previous military regime and well documented by CHRO. We condemn the use of torture against Chin civilians and call on the junta to stop the practice immediately,” said Salai Za Uk Ling, Deputy Executive Director of CHRO.

For more information please contact:

[email protected]
Tel: +91 873 104 6827

 

For Immediate Release
29 April 2021

CHRO Demands Accountability for Killing of Youth

The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) condemns the shooting and death of Felix Thang Muan Lian by the Tatmadaw and demands accountability for the soldiers responsible for the death of the 22-year-old university student from Tedim Township.

On 27 April at approx. 10 p.m. Felix was riding his motorbike on his way to a local gas station where he worked as an attendant when Burmese soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 269 based in Teddim, opened fire without warning:

“This is a shameful act of cowardice by the soldiers involved, committed with the full knowledge and confidence that they can act with impunity. There was no standing order such as a curfew prohibiting the public to be travelling at the time in question, which would have explained but not condoned the actions of the soldiers in question. This shows a clear and premeditated intent to kill and we demand full accountability,” said Salai Za Uk Ling, Deputy Executive Director of CHRO.

Since the February 1 coup d’etat,  there has been at least 28 Chin civilians killed by Tatmadaw soldiers.

For more information please contact:
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +91 873 104 6827

Download PDF available here: PR_29April2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
17 APRIL 2021

CHRO WELCOMES FORMATION OF NATIONAL UNITY GOVERNMENT (NUG) OF BURMA/MYANMAR

The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) today welcomes the formation of the National Unity Government (NUG) by the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) – a representative body made up of parliamentarians duly elected from the 2020 elections. The formation of NUG represents a historic milestone in the struggle for freedom, human rights, equality and democracy for all the peoples of Burma/Myanmar.

CHRO wishes to take this opportunity to congratulate all the duly elected members of the NUG and send our best wishes as they strive to provide new direction of leadership for a wounded nation that still finds itself in the midst of chaos, bloodshed and immense grief. All the peoples of Burma/Myanmar regardless of ethnicity, religion or political affiliations, should now stand united firmly behind the NUG and boldly move together to confront the junta leaders to deny them the legitimacy and capability they need to gain effective control of the rein of government through illegal and violent means.

The peoples of Burma/Myanmar have never come closer to realizing their aspirations for federalism and democracy in nearly the last three quarters of a century than this momentous time. And the formation of the NUG at this particularly significant time provides vitally important impetus towards political self-determination, peace, prosperity and democracy. The NUG must now seize this historic opportunity to learn from past mistakes of successive governments, civilian or military, to focus on addressing the root causes of structural injustices in order to forge a truly united front that can chart a new course towards ethnic political equality under a federal political framework.

“With the NUG having now emerged to provide a credible and brighter alternative to the ever darker and destabilizing prospects presented by the junta, the international community has a unique opportunity and obligation to collectively recognize the NUG as the only legitimate government of Burma/Myanmar,” says Salai Bawi Lian Mang, Executive Director of CHRO.

Burma/Myanmar’s future now hangs in the balance. The country’s peaceful democratic future is woven into the need to promote and strengthen the ideals of federalism, civilian supremacy, the rule of law and respect for human rights and the rights of minorities It is high time to reject in its totality the Tatmadaw’s unrelenting quest for eternal domination over Burmese/Myanmar politics and to seek a new beginning with a new and rebuilt military as a truly respected and professional institution whose sole mission is to defend and protect all the peoples of Burma/Myanmar. Towards this end, it is high time for those in the military and members of the uniform services to break ranks and shift their allegiance to a more hopeful future provided by the NUG than that promised by leaders of the junta, whose sole interests lies in entrenching their oligarchy and enriching their immediate family members.#

For more information please contact:

Email: [email protected],
Tel: +91 9362 297958

PDF Download Available here: For Immediate Release_17 April_2021

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