The country is accused of ‘watching’ while Myanmar goes to war | War Stories

One year after the Myanmar military coup, the call for international action has intensified, especially since the National Unity Government (NUG), made up of elected politicians who were ousted from power by the government.

“The world is doing nothing but just watching,” NUG Foreign Minister Zin Mar Aung told Al Jazeera.

“In the last year, we have seen more violence and violence. We have also seen the determination of young people, a new generation that says they do not accept authority. ”

Attacks on civilians, demonstrators and politicians have intensified in recent months.

What started out as tears and beatings has now changed air raids, arson, and shootings the whole world.

A military victim, Zin Mar Aung in 1998, was sentenced to 28 years in prison for engaging in political activities. He spent nine years in solitary confinement and was released after 11 years.

But Zin Mar Aung says violence today is far more serious than the dark years of the 1980’s and 1990’s military regimes.

“It is worse than we have ever seen. Many people died in prisons and tortures, ”he said. “The violence did not diminish. Now more and more – they used to do behind closed doors, but now they do it in public. Without wise and effective intervention from other countries, this will continue. ”

More than 1,500 people have been killed since the attack, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which has been monitoring violence since its inception.

Human Rights Watch says the military action is similar to human rights abuses and includes the public shooting of 65 protesters and bystanders near the Yangon town of Hlaing Tharyar, a deliberate attack by protesters in a car on Yangon, as well as the killing of protesters. A Christmas attack on civilians in eastern Myanmar which left many dead, including women and children as well as two staff members of the non-profit organization Save the Children.

The plots of the villagers continue tribal areas, on the rise of the wars that have been raging for decades and culminated in the Rohingya violence in 2017 which is now the subject of a global murder trial.

To avoid prolonged criticism, observers say the military believes they will continue to do so.

Recently, Human Rights Watch researcher Manny Maung wrote: “Years of inhumane treatment have led many to believe that the military can do this without fear.

Cruel Witnesses

But violence is increasingly being documented – due to the proliferation of mobile phones.

The Myanmar Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses is a nonprofit organization that aims to gather such information in prisons and brothels.

The team uses a variety of verification methods – such as the use of Google Earth satellite imagery, weather reports and online image search – to verify the authenticity of images received from witnesses and advocates.

After using digital technologies to document violence in Syria and elsewhere, Chief Investigator Ben Strick says protected and anonymous platforms such as Myanmar Witnesses are crucial in preserving human rights record.

“It’s dangerous right now because people are not talking out of fear,” he told Al Jazeera.

“As a result, we can use more digital methods to get more news than is heard in Myanmar.”

Despite efforts to ensure digital security for witnesses, Strick worries about the potential dangers for those on the ground.

“We can take a picture and know where it was taken. But other people can do the same, “Strick told Al Jazeera.

Since the February 1 uprising, the Myanmar Witness has collected more than 4,000 items, 740 of which have been verified.

The group hopes that the combined evidence will be used by other countries to bring the perpetrators to justice.

“I think there is a huge amount of digital media that the international community can do and do, but there is still a lot that can be done to address the marble that is a matter of human rights in Myanmar,” Strick said.

While evidence is mounting, it is unclear whether the countries have a political agenda, or mechanism, to intervene in Myanmar.

On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the genocide, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. defendant the global response as “unhelpful” to say that there was no “urgency equal to the magnitude of the problem”.

Bachelet said it was time for him to respond forcefully.

“The time has come for us to urgently redouble our efforts to restore human rights and democracy in Myanmar and to ensure that human rights abusers and abusers are brought to justice,” he said.

UNICEF executive director Debora Comini said the agency was “deeply concerned” over the ongoing conflict and criticized the so-called eagles and powerful weapons in civilian areas, especially child attacks by NGOs such as Save the Children .

“We are outraged by the child abuse that has taken place at a time when the war is raging across the country.”

The need to act in harmony

Forify Rights, which has been operating in Myanmar since 2013, has called on the UN Security Council to suspend weapons.

But Ismail Wolff, the group’s regional director, said there was no sign of action in line with veto members in China and Russia who were reluctant to take action.

Wolff told Al Jazeera that even member states of the UN, such as the US, UK, European Union, and Australia, “were not enough to persuade Myanmar’s military to change their minds.

“The UK may issue a ruling, but in the meantime we have seen China and Russia in particular – other permanent members of the Security Council – oppose any decision to ban global arms embargoes, which are necessary to end human rights abuses. The people of Myanmar are a vicious government.”

Hun Sen of Cambodia received a red carpet cover in January when he became the first foreign leader to travel to Myanmar since a terrorist attack. [Myanmar Military Information Team via AFP]

Without any action by UN, the ambassador has fallen to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which Myanmar joined in 1997 under the former military regime.

Leader move Min Aung Hlaing so far they have not shown any commitment to implementing the violence prevention plan agreed with ASEAN in April last year.

“Everyone has to be clear about what ASEAN can do,” Wolff said. “It works in harmony [and as such] you will not see the strong, stable elections that are taking place in Myanmar that could significantly affect Tatmadaw – Myanmar’s dictatorial regime – to change.

Without UN intervention, other foreign investors, including oil companies Total, Chevron and Woodside Petroleum has shut down Myanmar business, cuts off a long-running military fund many business networks.

For a Witness in Myanmar, Ben Strick suggested that such a move might be more immediate. His organization recently developed weapons from Russia.

“Fortify Rights” Wolff acknowledges the need for evidence and adds that NUG is submitting a request to the UN Security Council for approval of a Rome Statute that would give the International Court of Justice a fair trial. authority in Myanmar. The United Nations has continued to recognize Kyaw Moe Tun as UN ambassador to Myanmar despite protests by the military in support of the anti-terrorist group.

There are also international governing bodies – where the government can suspend a person on criminal charges regardless of where the offenses took place – and also the choice, as is the case here in Syria.

“There are choices,” Wolff said. “What is important here is the documentation and the evidence of the case. Because at the end of the day it has to be confirmed. [The Myanmar military] will one day answer these questions. ”

Amidst globalization, things are getting worse for Myanmar.

Strick explains: “When we set up the Witnesses in Myanmar, we made a list of our protests. “Soon now and we are seeing more of what looks like a civil war,” he said.

In addition to the national armed forces, the NUG has established a People’s Defense Force for those who want to take direct action – even sometimes with old-fashioned weapons and armor. Officials have described the gunmen as “terrorists”.

“People have a right to self-defense,” said NUG Foreign Minister Zin Mar Aung.

“We are not going to kill the soldiers, but when they attack us we will protect ourselves, our lives, our families and our property. We know the UN is not coming. We appreciate these words, but they alone do not prevent the bullets from exploding. ”