By Md. Kamruzzaman
Latest Information about Purge of civilians in Myanmar
International rights defender, Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN), in a report published a list of 77 Myanmar nationals, who have been reportedly killed by the armed forces of the Buddhist majority country during the ongoing anti-coup protests, popularly known as Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM).
Killed people were youths and 58 of them had not crossed the age level of 40 years
The report has mentioned victims’ name, age and location of death in the Southeast Asian country of nearly 55 million people.
The highest 22 murders have been reported from Yangon, the largest city and the industrial and commercial center of the country while 15 protesters were killed in Mandalay, the north-central and second largest city of the country. However, in the current capital city of Naypyidaw one demonstrator was killed.
In analyzing the data, it is seen that most of the killed are youths and 58 of them have not crossed the age level of 40 years, meaning that above 75 percent of the deceased are young. Besides, 42 of the victims are under 30 years, that is to say that nearly 55 percent of the killed are very young.
Unfortunately, 11 of the murdered are children of below 18 years. It means that above 14 percent of the protesters, who have been brutally murdered by the Myanmar’s state forces during the pro-democratic and anti-coup movement, are children as per the prevailing state rule of the country.
Dark future ahead of Myanmar Army
It seems that Myanmar army is going to fall into a great crisis in near future as the youths of the country who will lead the nation in the days ahead have been the prime victims of the crackdown. There are students, teachers, engineers, human rights defenders and other professionals among the murdered.
People from all categories including fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, husbands and wives have been victims of killing. It also reminds us of the brutality of Myanmar army in August 2017 against the minority Rohingya Muslims that is still continuing.
“Throughout 2020, Myanmar security forces engaged in torture, murder, and enforced disappearances of Rohingya, killing at least 33, in violation of the International Court of Justice’s Provisional Measures Order,” Thomas H. Andrews, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar said on Thursday.
So the young generation of Myanmar, who are the future leaders of the country have had a bitter experience about their own army though the holy duty of the force is to protect the country and countrymen from external enemies.
There is no doubt that the long history of authoritarian ruling of Myanmar army must be faded out in near future. After so much bloodshed of civilians, the countrymen will never allow the army enjoying supremacy risking democracy and people’s mandate. So the future of the current authoritarian army is supposed to fall in a great dark in near future and a new Myanmar will open its door for all sorts of people including Rohingya Muslims and other depressed minorities, paving the way of an ideal multiculturalism.
Military poses a threat to Civilians
Andrews underlined the oppression the Myanmar people are currently passing through. He said: “As of last night [March 10, 2021], the total number of arbitrary arrests and detentions since 1 February had risen beyond 2,000 in 28 townships throughout the county, and the violence against protesters, including violence against people sitting peacefully in their homes, is steadily increasing”.
There is also extensive video evidence of security forces, who were viciously beating protesters, medics, and bystanders in addition to the murders and detentions. Video clips show how soldiers and police “systematically move through neighborhoods, destroying property, looting shops, arbitrarily arresting protesters and passersby, and firing indiscriminately into people’s homes”. Video of soldiers dragging the dead bodies of victims have also gone viral in mainstream and social media.
Marking the coup-after military regime in Myanmar as a “murderous and illegal” regime, the UN Special Rapporteur also pointed out: “Its [Myanmar] current leadership perpetrated the atrocity crimes that are the focus of the charge of genocide before the International Court of Justice”.
In a separate statement BHRN said: “The [Myanmar] military has engaged in a campaign of terror against the civilian population since the 1 February coup, and in recent weeks [it] has begun to target individual civilians for their party affiliation and religion”. The ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) party of Myanmar have many Muslim members, who have been “arbitrarily arrested, tortured, and murdered in Junta custody”.
International rights watchdog, Amnesty International in a new research revealed on Thursday accused the Myanmar military of using increasingly “lethal tactics and weapons” against peaceful protesters and bystanders across the country. These weapons are normally seen on the battlefield.
“By verifying more than 50 videos from the ongoing crackdown, Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab can confirm that security forces appear to be implementing planned, systematic strategies including the ramped-up use of lethal force. Many of the killings documented amount to extrajudicial executions,” said the research.
So the ground reality of Myanmar is that none irrespective of religious or ethnic affiliation is safe at the hand of the ruling military junta.
Weak role of world actors must be changed
UN Security Council in a statement issued on Wednesday expressed its ‘deep concern’ about the developments in Myanmar. The big five along with temporary ten ‘condemned’ the violence against peaceful protesters and expressed “continued support for a democratic transition”.
Myanmar Army killed nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims. More than 34,000 Rohingya were thrown into fires. As many as 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar’s Army and police
However, this so-called concern of the UN Security Council is actually a diplomatic eyewash that was seen during the brutal massacre launched by the Myanmar army against the minority Rohingya Muslims in August 2017, enforcing more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, to flee into neighboring Bangladesh. Currently, the south Asian country is hosting above 1.2 million Rohingya in the world’s largest refugee camp in the southern district of Cox’s Bazar.
During the brutal crackdown, marked by the UN as “Textbook example of ethnic cleansing”, Myanmar army killed nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims while more than 34,000 Rohingya were thrown into fires and over 114,000 others were beaten, according to a report entitled “Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience” prepared by Ontario International Development Agency. During that operation” as many as 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar’s army and police.
Now the same Myanmar army is killing its own democracy-loving people. So no more ‘meaningless concerns’, a concrete action including a unified and coordinated economic sanction against Myanmar’s killer military is a must.
Myanmar’s natural gas projects are expected to generate an estimated $1 billion in revenue this year. If there is no sanction, the illegal military junta of the country will be able to use these funds to support their criminal enterprises and their attacks on innocent people. Above 400 civil society organizations in Myanmar in a recent joint statement have also called on the international community to ensure that oil and gas revenues in Myanmar are used only for humanitarian purposes or held until the legal control of the resources of Myanmar is ensured.
