Photo courtesy Yamin_P @Jenifer63009941|Twitter
Yangon/New York/Geneva: Even as the world community is palpably stunned by the killings of civilians by the military junta in Myanmar, latest tweets and videos showed today the Myanmar armed forces known as the Tatmadaw using grenades and other lethal weapons on the civilians.
In South Dagon, eyewitnesses claimed today already 20 unarmed civilians were killed, including 8 “just recently”, by the security forces who were using snipers, hand grenades and RPG towards innocent people.
Watch: Myanmar security forces use grenades and other lethal weapons to crackdown protestors fortresses built to protect from their lethal shooting in South Dagon today. Watch how sand sacks exploded and protestors scattered away.
Footage from witness
pic.twitter.com/TmA3eLbGQj— Aquariuzzz Hein (@Aquariuzzz2) March 29, 2021
A tweet from a local there stated that there were 24 people in critical conditions. “If they can’t get treatment right now, they can lose their lives. Military doesn’t allow medical team to enter and also hospitals are being seized. snipers also pointed at heads of arrested people in 56 quarter.
Local report by phone – on ground situations are very worse & they can’t give many information because of mobile data restrictions. Terrorists even Killed the kid who was begging not to kill because he can’t continue to run. Age can be younger than 10.#WhatsHappeningInMyamar
— Milk Tea Alliance Myanmar 🇲🇲 (@MilkTeaMM_MTAM) March 29, 2021
United Nations Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews today responded by reminding the UN Security Council that “it’s their job” to act against junta atrocities in Myanmar. “Members should urgently produce a resolution on Myanmar and put it to a vote. Nations who stand with the people of Myanmar can work together to stop the flow of junta revenue and weapons & hold them accountable,” he tweeted.
In New York, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore stated :“In less than two months, at least 35 children have allegedly been killed, countless others seriously injured and almost 1,000 children and young people reported arbitrarily detained by security forces across the country. Millions of children and young people have been directly or indirectly exposed to traumatizing scenes of violence, threatening their mental health and emotional wellbeing.”
Also read:
- Myanmar’s “terrorist” military keeps killing citizens on a whim
- Military junta detained around 40 scribes, and half of them are still behind bars in Myanmar
In a joint statement, two senior UN officials Alice Wairimu Nderitu, United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, and Michelle Bachelet, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, cited “multiple credible reports” to claim that last Saturday witnessed the “bloodiest day” since the demonstrations against the coup began, with security forces killing at least 107 individuals – including 7 children, “with the number of deaths expected to rise as reports are confirmed”. The officials said hundreds more were wounded and detained during these seemingly coordinated attacks in over 40 locations throughout the country.
Bachelet too called on the Security Council to take further steps, building on its statement of 10 March 2021, and for ASEAN and the wider international community to act promptly to uphold the responsibility to protect the people of Myanmar from atrocity crimes. While the State has the primary responsibility to protect its population, the international community shares that responsibility, and in cases where the State is manifestly failing, the international community “should take timely and collective action in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations to protect civilian populations that are at risk of atrocity crimes.”
A New York Times report today quoted the U.S. ambassador to Myanmar, Thomas Vajda, saying the security forces were “murdering unarmed civilians, including children”.
The UNICEF stated on March 28, 2021 that an 11-year-old boy, an 11-year-old girl, two 13-year-old boys, a 13-year-old girl, three 16-year-old boys and two seventeen-year old boys, were all reportedly shot and killed. A one-year-old baby girl gravely injured after being struck in the eye with a rubber bullet. These were the latest child casualties on the bloodiest day in Myanmar since the military takeover on 1 February.
“I am appalled by the indiscriminate killing, including of children, taking place in Myanmar and by the failure of security forces to exercise restraint and ensure children’s safety,” Henrietta Fore stated, adding that already, the delivery of critical services for children had ground to a halt: “Almost 1 million children are without access to key vaccines; almost 5 million are missing out on vitamin A supplementation; nearly 12 million risk losing another year of learning; more than 40,000 children are without treatment for severe acute malnutrition; close to 280,000 vulnerable mothers and children will lose access to cash transfers which are their lifeline and more than a quarter million children will lose access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene services.”
Nderitu and Bachelet called for an end to systemic impunity in Myanmar. “We must ensure accountability for past crimes and deter the most serious international crimes from being committed,” the two officials stated. “The failure to address the atrocity crimes the Tatmadaw has committed in the past, including against Rohingya and other minorities, has brought Myanmar to this terrible pass. There is no way forward without accountability and fundamental reform of the military.” The UN senior officials urged all parties – including defecting officials, police and military officers – to cooperate with international mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court and the Human Rights Council’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, in fighting impunity in the country.
This situation had also put at further risk the already vulnerable ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar, including the Rohingya. This population has long suffered horrific violence at the hands of the Myanmar military with impunity, as documented by the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar established by the Human Rights Council.
“We are deeply concerned about the impact that the current situation may have on these populations and are closely monitoring developments. The rights of minority groups, including the Rohingya population must be fully respected,” the two UN officials stated. They noted the diversity of the protest movement, and encouraged the newfound sense of unity across ethnic and religious divides, as well as the growing recognition of past crimes against minorities, including Rohingya.
– global bihari bureau
