ELLIS HEASLEY, of UK-based religious freedom advocacy CSW, says a far more co-ordinated and comprehensive response is needed on Myanmar, one which includes a full global arms embargo against the military, and co-ordinated, targeted sanctions against its enterprises…
London, UK
On 25th July, the Myanmar army executed four people. These executions were the first of their kind in the country since 1990.
Phyo Zeya Thaw, Hla Myo Aung, Aung Thura Zaw and Kyaw Min Yu, also known as Ko Jimmy, were killed after they were accused of helping to carry out “terror acts”. In reality, they were targeted because of their efforts calling for democracy in the country.
A protest in Myanmar. PICTURE: Unsplash/Saw Wunna
The international community quite rightly responded with outrage; the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) called the implementation of the death sentences “highly reprehensible”, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews wrote that these “depraved acts must be a turning point for the international community”, and others including Australia, the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States all swiftly expressed similar condemnation.
These words are welcome, and necessary, but the question that must be answered is, ‘what did you expect?’.
“The executions did not come out of the blue…For over 18 months now, Myanmar has been held in a vice grip by the military, who notoriously seized power in a coup in February, 2021. Violence and human rights violations have been widespread, with reports indicating that thousands have been killed, and thousands more arrested and held in detention.”
The four men received their sentences in January and April this year. The details of their trials were somewhat obscured, but the sentences themselves were no secret. In June, over a month before the executions took place, CSW called on the international community to “do far more to ensure the urgent restoration of democracy in Myanmar, and to bring an end to the Tatmadaw’s reign of terror” after Thaw and Yu had their death sentences upheld. We were not alone either, Human Rights Watch and others made similar calls. And yet nothing was done to save these innocent lives.
The executions did not come out of the blue either. For over 18 months now, Myanmar has been held in a vice grip by the military, who notoriously seized power in a coup in February, 2021. Violence and human rights violations have been widespread, with reports indicating that thousands have been killed, and thousands more arrested and held in detention.
Of course, even before they seized power, the Tatmadaw already stood accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, namely targeting the Rohingya people in Rakhine state, as well as members of the majority Christian Kachin and Chin ethnic groups in Kachin and northern Shan states.
It should come as no surprise then that after the Tatmadaw’s coup, executions and other human rights violations were likely to follow, and the past 18 months have been a sad testament to this.
Churches have been targeted with bombings and raids, civilians have been shot dead in their villages, and on Christmas Eve last year horrific reports emerged of an atrocity in which at least 35 civilians were burned alive by the Myanmar army. This is just a snapshot of the dire situation in Myanmar, and yet the international community’s response continues to be limited to statements of outrage and a few sanctions by just a few countries.
We rely on our readers to fund Sight's work - become a financial supporter today!
For more information, head to our Subscriber's page.
Clearly, this is not enough. What is needed is a far more co-ordinated and comprehensive response, one which includes a full global arms embargo against the military, and co-ordinated, targeted sanctions against its enterprises.
This is what CSW has been calling for since the coup first took place, and every day that passes makes its need ever clearer, but there is no satisfaction in being proven right. Every day that passes, more families will lose their loved ones, and there is every likelihood that the Myanmar army will execute more of the over 11,000 people currently believed to be detained in the country.
Likewise, we refuse to lose heart, even as it seems our calls can fall on deaf ears. We remember the years of advocacy we undertook before the United Nations launched a Commission of Inquiry on North Korea, or the decades we prayed for peace in Colombia before an agreement was signed in 2016.
Our prayers and advocacy are effective, and while we may have been calling for action on Myanmar for 18 months now, and indeed years and years before that, we will not stop until we see change.
Ellis Heasley is public affairs officer at UK-based religious freedom advocacy CSW.
