Soldiers Speak: War Crimes in Myanmar

Recent atrocities and war crimes have been reported by military soldiers in Myanmar as the civil war rages on. 

Human rights protest for Burma in France. Totaloutnow. BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Myanmar has a dirty, bloody history attached to the political and military conflicts that have furiously swept through their country. The civil war that rages on adds to this history, and the war crimes and atrocities that are currently occuring illuminate the fragility and deep rooted struggles between the Burmese government and its citizens.

The civil war started in February of 2021 after Myanmar’s military powers – known as the Tatmadwa – seized the government from the elected officials of the National League for Democracy (NDL), the leading civilian party in Myanmar. The NDL had won the election in 2021 by 83%, the New York Times reports, but the military ignored these results, an action said to be linked to the government's dislike for Aung San Suu Kyi. She was the leader of the NDL who would have become the elected official of the Burmese government. 

The military coup that overthrew the government in 2021 was the event that turned the tide of the political state of the country, and now battles between military soldiers in the Tatmadaw and pro-democracy armed civil militias have erupted and raged now for almost two years. 

The military powers in charge currently – referred to as the junta: a “group of military leaders” as BBC explains – are led by General Ming Aung Hlaing. He was given power from military leaders after the coup in 2021. General Ming is responsible for the imprisonment of countless NDL members, as well as multiple ‘campaigns against ethnic minority groups’ including the Rohingya Muslim Genocide that has been taking place in Myanmar for years.

Rohingya refugees. Austcare-World Humanitarian Aid. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

As the war continues to rage on, Tatmadaw soldiers have started to come forward with stories of the atrocious war crimes that they were ordered to commit onto the civilians of Myanmar. BBC has reported that soldiers have admitted to “killing, torturing and raping civilians”. Large scale human rights violations have continued to occur as well, including the imprisonment of protesters, the treatment and killing of political prisoners and the treatment of civilians during wartime conflicts has sparked dialogue from the United Nations (UN). The UN reports that military powers have “directly targeted civilians” with airstrikes and attacks, and have already killed “at least 1,600 people”.

Six anonymous soldiers agreed to an interview with BBC, where they told the story of crimes against humanity, one of the few crimes that can be prosecuted at the Internationcal Criminal Court, being committed at the hands of the unstable Tatmadaw military regime. One reported that they had been told to “shoot anything they saw; another was ordered to burn down a house with civilians locked inside it. Other soldiers admitted to witnessing women being raped at gun point after soldiers believed the victims to be supporters of the People’s Defence Force (PDF) – an armed civilian militia organization. These six soldiers also discussed the energy of other members of the regime, stating that some soldiers would ‘boast’ about their crimes and actions.

Villages have burned to the ground, civilians have been abused, killed and looted. This is the current fate of the Burmese people, but the civilian militias continue to fight back and continue to push for democracy. In a country so often torn between citizens and the military state, the fate of the people of Myanmar has remained undecided. The UN states in their report that “despite spiraling violence… ‘the will of the people has clearly not been broken.’” Determined to return to a time of democratic rule, the civilian population of Myanmar continues to fight against the horrors of the military regime wishing to dominate them.

TO GET INVOLVED

The Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw is, as Insider states, “the country’s democratically elected legislature,” the very same that was overthrown in the coup in 2021. They have a GoFundMe, which is run by the Citizen of Burma Award Organization, that uses the money to support pro-democracy protests and encourages civil disobedience against the junta military regime. To donate to the protestors, click here .

The Civil Disobedience Movement also collects donations which are sent directly to people in Myanmar to fund and support civil disobedience and protests against the government. To donate, click here.

Additional ways to GET INVOLVED can be found in Insider’s “5 Ways to Help Anti-Coup Protests on the Ground in Myanmar Right Now”. This article discusses multiple ways to donate, to educate oneself and to create constructive and far reaching conversations about the injustices befalling the Burmese people. To read more, click here.

Ava Mamary

Ava is an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois, double majoring in English and Communications. At school, she Web Writes about music for a student-run radio station. She is also an avid backpacker, which is where her passion for travel and the outdoors comes from. She is very passionate about social justice issues, specifically those involving women’s rights, and is excited to write content about social action across the globe. 

Deforestation in Myanmar Amid Political Unrest

While deforestation has been a major issue in Myanmar for decades, recent data shows a surge in deforestation that could be linked  to the nation’s recent coup and ongoing internal conflict. 

Environment and Food Security in Myanmar. United Nations Development Programme. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

On February 1, a coup took place in Myanmar. The Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s military, overthrew many democratically elected members of the National League for Democracy , the ruling party in Myanmar following the November 2020 general elections. After  the coup, the Tatmadaw enforced a year-long state of emergency, transferring power from the elected democratic authorities to the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Min Aung Hlaing. The military assumed control of the nation and invalidated the November vote on the premise that the elections were fraudulent; however, many question the legitimacy of this premise. Some believe that this reasoning was a cover for the Tatmadaw to step in because many members of its party lost in the election. 

Interestingly, the coup took place the day before the Parliament of Myanmar swore in the newly elected members from the November 2020 election, preventing the election. Unsurprisingly, residents did not welcome the control of the Tatmadaw with open arms—many protested the coup and experienced grave, and sometimes deadly, consequences. Citizens who spoke out against the Tatmadaw authorities were punished, as freedom of speech and the press are not guaranteed by law in Myanmar. Since the conflict began, over 900 civilians have been killed by military or police forces and at least 5,000 people have been arrested, charged or sentenced. Additionally, three prominent members of the NLD have died while under police custody in March.

 While this political situation in Myanmar is new, its environmental situation is not. When the nation achieved its independence from the British in 1948, Myanmar, previously known as Burma, had a landscape that was  70 percent forest. In 2014, there was around 48 percent forest cover, as the nation lost around 19 percent of its forests between 1990 and 2010. Although Myanmar’s deforestation rate is less than some of its neighbors, including Indonesia and Vietnam, deforestation is still a major concern in the region. Deforestation in Myanmar is often attributed to three major factors: unsustainable and illegal logging, unresolved land disputes and agricultural development. Despite deforestation, Myanmar has the largest tropical forest in mainland Southeast Asia that is home to more than 80 endemic species. Despite the size of Myanmar’s forests, only around six percent of its land is protected by law while the rest is susceptible to deforestation. 

 Myanmar’s Tanintharyi region exemplifies the consequences deforestation can have on Myanmar’s wildlife. Satellite data from the University of Maryland shows that deforestation is increasing in the nation, especially in the Mergui and Kawthoung districts of the Tanintharyi. According to UMD, Mergui and Kawthoung lost around 15 percent of their tree cover between 2001 and 2019, and recent data from UMD’s Global Analysis and Discovery lab suggest that this number may be higher in 2020 and beyond. 

Gurney’s pittas, small birds with a stubby tail, live in the area between Mergui and Kawthoung in the Tanintharyi. These birds were thought to be extinct until they were rediscovered in the 80s. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Gurney’s pitta is a critically endangered species with only between 1,000 and 2,500 remaining in 2019, a drastic decline from the 10,300 to 17,000 that were alive 15 years earlier. Habitat loss is the reason behind this decline. 

 Gurney pitta. darwin_initiative. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Beyond threatening extinction for wildlife that has been around for decades, deforestation in Myanmar is also threatening the advancement of science in studying biodiversity. New species have recently been discovered in the Tanintharyi region. In 2015 and 2016, researchers discovered two species of geckos, genus Cyrtodactylus, that are known for their bent toes. In 2019, another group of researchers discovered an Asian rock gecko known as Cnemaspis tanintharyi. Some scientists are worried that continued deforestation in the Tanintharyi region could mean the extinction of undiscovered and recently discovered species, in addition to well-known species.

 Myanmar’s political climate has implications for its environmental situation. With Myanmar’s 70-year-long and ongoing internal conflict as well as the recent coup, displaced individuals have turned to its forests for support. Many have taken up farming in the Tanintharyi to make a living and others have sought refuge in surrounding forests—both of which have contributed to increased deforestation in the Tanintharyi region and the decline of unique, local species.

In addition to the environmental consequences of displacement, experts speculate that the coup has opened the nation to increased illegal deforestation as international oversight and trade partnerships deteriorate. With other nations increasing sanctions against Myanmar and refusing to cooperate with the country because of the coup, Myanmar is more susceptible to illegal deforestation and the selling of illegally obtained wood to foreign partners who neglect to question its legitimacy. Satellite data by Planet Labs, Google Earth and Global Forest Watch show that large patches of forest have been removed between January and April of this year. Despite this incriminating data, there is no clear evidence that directly links the recent deforestation to illegal activities conducted by the Tatmadaw.

Mia Khatib 

Mia is a rising senior at Boston University majoring in journalism and minoring in international relations. As a Palestinian-American, Mia is passionate about amplifying the voices of marginalized communities and is interested in investigative and data-driven journalism. She hopes to start out as a breaking news reporter and one day earn a position as editor of a major publication.

Anti-Coup Protesters Launch Garbage Strike in Myanmar

Over 500 civilians have been killed since Myanmar’s Feb. 1 military coup. Protests and civil disobedience campaigns launched by pro-democracy activists are ongoing. 

On March 30, pro-democracy activists in Myanmar launched a civil disobedience campaign of throwing garbage into the streets at key intersections in protest of the country’s military rule and the frequent killing of civilians by security forces. At least 512 civilians have been killed since Myanmar’s Feb. 1 military coup. 

The military seized control of Myanmar two months ago, ousting democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi of the National League for Democracy (NLD). After Suu Kyi’s landslide victory, the opposition began claiming widespread election fraud and demanded a recount of the votes. The military backed the opposing party’s claims of fraud, despite the election commission’s statement that there was no evidence to suggest the election had been tampered with. On Feb. 1, Parliament was scheduled for its first meeting since the Nov. 8 election, where it was expected to endorse the election results and approve the next government. The military detained Suu Kyi and the leaders of the NLD, arrested a number of writers and activists, and declared a yearlong state of emergency. 

The coup returned Myanmar to full military rule after the country’s decadelong quasi-democracy. Myanmar was under full military rule from 1962 to 2011, when the military implemented a parliamentary election system. Since the coup, Suu Kyi has been held in an undisclosed location and faces several charges, including violating the country’s official secrets act. 

Protests against the coup began immediately, and are some of the largest and most widespread protests in Myanmar since 2007, when thousands of monks spoke out against the military. A number of civil disobedience campaigns, like the current garbage strike, have been ongoing as well, paralyzing various sectors of the economy. The military’s response to protests escalated quickly, from imposing curfews and limits on gatherings to the use of rubber bullets and live ammunition. Hundreds of civilians have been killed by security forces. March 27 was Myanmar’s Armed Forces Day, and the deadliest day of the coup thus far, with 141 deaths resulting from the military’s attempt to stop protests. 

The current garbage strike reportedly began after loudspeaker announcements in some areas of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, urged residents to dispose of their garbage properly. Word of the protest circulated on social media alongside the message that anyone could join in protest against the military. Once the protest had started, photos of garbage piling up in the streets began to circulate. 

Also on March 30, a joint letter from the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, the Arakan Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army called for the government to stop killing protesters and to resolve political issues. 

Rachel Lynch

Rachel is a student at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY currently taking a semester off. She plans to study Writing and Child Development. Rachel loves to travel and is inspired by the places she’s been and everywhere she wants to go. She hopes to educate people on social justice issues and the history and culture of travel destinations through her writing.

Uncertainty Reigns in Myanmar Amid Military Coup

Soldiers in Myanmar’s military. Stephen Brookes. CC2.0

On Feb. 1, the military opposition in Myanmar staged a coup detaining State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi due to election results in favor of her challenging National League for Democracy (NLD) party. Since then, the military in Myanmar has detained hundreds of political officials and declared a state of emergency for up to one year. An active restructuring of power continues, with 24 government officials already having been replaced.

As of Monday evening, Suu Kyi was released from detention but placed under house arrest. Charges by the military accuse Suu Kyi of illegally importing walkie-talkies. President U Win Myint also faces charges for disobeying coronavirus restrictions. Although these accusations are most likely illegitimate, a criminal offense on the record in Myanmar can prevent politicians from running for reelection. In this way, the military continues to threaten the rise of democracy in Myanmar, placing the country’s political future in jeopardy. 

Introducing Myanmar’s Fraught Political Situation

Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. Utenriksdepartementet UD. CC2.0

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is a country located in Southeast Asia known for its myriad of cultural and ethnic groups. Though the country achieved independence from Britain in 1948, an oppressive military regime came to power in 1962 that ruled for almost the next five decades. Military rule plunged the country deep into poverty and resulted in severe crackdowns on journalists, artists and activists. The country's government began to liberalize after the military started to loosen its grip in 2011. 

Activist and political leader Aung San Suu Kyi is well known for her nonviolent movements toward democracy in Myanmar. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 while being held under house arrest from 1989 to 2010. Suu Kyi founded the National League for Democracy (NLD), which led the first civilian government in the country’s history after winning a landslide election in 2015. Since then, Suu Kyi has remained the head of Myanmar’s government. 

However, Suu Kyi’s record remains tarnished. Her government has received international condemnation for human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in Myanmar. In 2017, the military forced a crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim population in Rakhine state, causing over 700,000 refugees to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. Myanmar claims the Rohingya are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and refuses to offer them citizenship and basic human rights. Suu Kyi appeared before the International Court of Justice in 2019, where she denied that the crimes committed against the Rohingya counted as genocide. 

In November 2020, national elections predicted a landslide win for Suu Kyi’s NLD. The military government claims election fraud, although this has been disproven by Myanmar’s election committee. Dissatisfied with the election results, the military seized power on Feb. 1 as parliament was about to open. Executive power has been granted to long-standing military leader Min Aung Hlaing. International flights, the internet and social media were all shut down amid the coup. Even a few days later, Wi-Fi access remains spotty in parts of the country. 

International Reaction and Opposition

Street in Yangon, Myanmar. Loeff. CC2.0

The coup has received harsh international condemnation, with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling the military’s actions a "serious blow to democratic reforms." The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting after the coup but took no action as China and Russia refused to denounce it. Other Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines, claim that the coup is an “internal matter” and do not want to meddle in Myanmar’s political affairs. 

Resistance to the coup in picked up on Feb. 7, as tens of thousands of protesters crowded the streets of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city. Many people have banged pots and pans denouncing the coup, while medical workers have walked out and posted photos standing together in solidarity wearing ribbons. 

Recent events in Myanmar and around the world reveal the fragility of democracy. Only time will reveal the resounding effects of the coup on Myanmar’s political story. 

Megan Gürer

Megan is a Turkish-American student at Wellesley College in Massachusetts studying Biological Sciences. Passionate about environmental issues and learning about other cultures, she dreams of exploring the globe. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, singing, and composing music.

Myanmar Government Blocks Website Exposing Military Corruption 

The website for Justice for Myanmar, which is dedicated to exposing military corruption, was blocked by the country’s government for spreading fake news. Over 200 websites have been blocked in the past year.

Screenshot of the Justice for Myanmar homepage.

On Aug. 27, all mobile operators and service providers in Myanmar received a directive from the government to block the Justice for Myanmar website for purportedly spreading fake news. Justice for Myanmar was launched on April 28 by an anonymous group of activists aiming to expose military corruption and advocate for federal democracy and peace. Campaigning for Myanmar’s Nov. 8 general elections began a week after the shutdown, raising concerns that the government was attempting to silence scrutiny and criticism of the elections. 

In May, Justice for Myanmar exposed that two top government officials were also directors of Myanmar Economic Holdings Company Limited, a military-owned company, leading to both officials’ resignations from its board. More recently, Justice for Myanmar revealed that a construction company under contract for the government has ties to Lt. Gen. Soe Htut. The site also published allegations that a medical company offering Food and Drug Administration approvals is owned by the family of Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. 

The military controlled Myanmar for decades, until it was replaced by a civilian government in 2011. The current government is headed by Aung San Suu Kyi of the National League for Democracy (NLD), who serves as State Counsellor. She led the NLD to victory in 2015 during Myanmar’s first openly contested election in 25 years. Despite having a democratic ruler, Myanmar is not free from military rule. A 2008 constitutional provision still guarantees the military seats in parliament. One-quarter of parliamentary seats are held by the military, which also controls the country’s defense, border affairs and home affairs ministries.

Aung San Suu Kyi, once regarded as a prime example of a democratic leader, has been the target of international criticism in recent years for her handling of the Rohingya crisis and her persecution of media and activist groups. 

In the past year, Aung San Suu Kyi’s government has blocked over 200 websites for allegedly spreading fake news, using Section 77 of the Telecommunications Law. The section allows action to stop the spread of misinformation. Myanmar’s government received criticism earlier this year for limiting press freedom and the flow of information during the pandemic by blocking news sites. The government also imposed an internet blackout in nine townships in the Rakhine and Chin states and in April 2020 ordered a mass blocking of the websites of ethnic media organizations. These actions, as well as the shutdown of the Justice for Myanmar website just a week before campaigning for the general elections began, have been causes for concern from the media, community organizations and rights groups. 

Yadanar Maung, a Justice for Myanmar spokesperson, said in a recent press release that the group condemns “the Myanmar government’s attack on our right to freedom of expression and the people of Myanmar's right to information.” Telenor Myanmar, one of the service providers that received the directive to block the Justice for Myanmar site, has opened communication with the government to protest the blocking. A statement on Telenor Myanmar’s website urges the government “to increase transparency for the public” and asserts that the government’s directive does not respect the rights to freedom of expression or access to information. 

Many groups and individuals, including James Rodehaver of the U.N. Human Rights Office, have called for reform of the Telecommunications Law.

Rachel Lynch

is a student at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY currently taking a semester off. She plans to study Writing and Child Development. Rachel loves to travel and is inspired by the places she’s been and everywhere she wants to go. She hopes to educate people on social justice issues and the history and culture of travel destinations through her writing.

Rohingya Muslims Trapped At Sea For Months While Fleeing Myanmar 

Since February, Rohingya Muslims have been stuck at sea while fleeing persecution in Myanmar due to COVID-19.

Rohingya Muslims refugee boats. United to End Genocide. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Since the mid-1820s Myanmar has looked down on the Rohingya Muslims, who were once laborers under the area’s British colonization. Following independence in 1948, the Buddhist-majority government began to deny citizenship to Rohingya who had come to live in the country. They could hold identification cards yet this severely diminished job prospects and even places where they could live. Eventually, they would settle within the Rakhine state.

It led to crackdowns in the 1970s to get the Rohingya out of Myanmar. It began with rapes, murders and arsons by government security forces. As a result, the Rohingya began fleeing into Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia.

Refugee camp in Bangladesh. UN Women Asia & The Pacific. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The most notable and deadliest crackdown occurred in August 2017 when Myanmar began to conduct an ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya. It began when Rohingya militants attacked 30 Myanmar police posts. The Rohingya as a whole were labeled as terrorists and the ethnic cleansing began. According to Doctors Without Borders, approximately 6,700 Rohingya were killed, along with the rape and abuse of many more Rohingya women and girls. Since 2017, Myanmar’s government has refused to take responsibility for the ethnic cleansing, including de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi who was once seen as a human rights advocate. They have even gone to the extent of highlighting the Rakhine state as a stable tourist location.

In 2018, the U.N. accused Myanmar’s military of conducting genocide and rapes. With failure to acknowledge the claims, the court ordered Myanmar to take measures to protect the Rohingya from being persecuted. Yet, the conflict is still ongoing which has led to more people fleeing.

In February 2020, Rohingya were boarding boats in Southeast Asia to head out of Myanmar. This has been a trend for years with most voyages occurring from November to April when the seas are calm. Around 730,000 Rohingya make the trip every year out of Rakhine state since 2017, hoping to reach Malaysia, Thailand or Indonesia. Bangladeshi refugee camps have become less popular due to overcrowding, with nearly a million refugees living there. However, due to COVID-19, many Rohingya have been stranded offshore due to borders closing to try to contain the virus. The location of many of these boats is not even known since they were not able to dock right away.

Traffickers have begun to demand money from the families of those on board in order to get them off. Essentially, these traffickers have turned these boats into their own camps where those on board are held hostage until payment. The cost for one person is 12,000 ringgit ( $2,800). Those on the boats have been rationing food and water since April with many people still dying. Unfortunately, many are unsure if there is a guarantee to get their families off the boats.

There is also the harsh reality that those who end up off the boats could be sent back to Myanmar. Currently, Malaysia is currently considering sending Rohingya back to sea due to COVID-19 concerns after 269 ended up on its shores. It has asked Bangladesh to take back refugees who have traveled, but Bangladesh has refused. The boats were damaged on the journey but once repaired, could be forced to go back out to sea with their boats resupplied.

Human Rights Watch, however, has called on Malaysia and Thailand to allow the Rohingya refugees on land. HRW has acknowledged that the one most responsible is Myanmar, but it is the duty of neighboring countries to take in and protect refugees who are seeking asylum.

Eva Ashbaugh

is a Political Science and Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies double major at the University of Pittsburgh. As a political science major concentrating on International Relations, she is passionate about human rights, foreign policy, and fighting for equality. She hopes to one day travel and help educate people to make the world a better place.