COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Websites/Multiple Documents
Description:
"...The Government of Bangladesh should immediately take all necessary steps to protect Rohingya refugees and nearby host communities in Cox’s Bazar District from COVID-19 infection, said Fortify Rights and 49 human rights organizations in an open letter today. The authorities should immediately lift all restrictions that prevent Rohingya refugees from freely accessing mobile communications and the internet and also halt the construction of fencing aimed to confine Rohingya refugees in camps. On March 12, the World Health Organization’s Director-General declared the outbreak of COVID-19, a disease caused by a novel coronavirus, to be a “controllable pandemic.” The disease poses a particular risk to populations who live in close proximity to each other, such as refugees in camps..."
Date of publication:
2020-04-02
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-18
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
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Sub-title:
Urgently Act to Prevent COVID-19 Outbreak in Refugee Camps
Description:
"...The Bangladesh government’s internet blackout and phone restrictions at Rohingya refugee camps are obstructing humanitarian groups from addressing the COVID-19 threat, Human Rights Watch said today. The shutdown is risking the health and lives of over a million people, including nearly 900,000 refugees in Cox’s Bazar and the Bangladeshi host community by hindering aid groups’ ability to provide emergency health services and rapidly coordinate essential preventive measures.“The Bangladesh government is in a race against the clock to contain the spread of coronavirus, including in the Rohingya refugee camps, and can’t afford to waste precious time with harmful policies,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch..."
Source/publisher:
Human Right Watch
Date of publication:
2020-03-26
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-28
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
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Description:
"...Responding to the rescue of nearly 400 Rohingya refugees from the Bay of Bengal after a two month-long failed attempt to reach Malaysia, Amnesty International’s South Asia Director, Biraj Patnaik, said..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International
Date of publication:
2020-04-16
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-19
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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PDF
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5.01 MB
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Description:
"...COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh – All around the world, the numbers are climbing. Each day registers thousands of new cases and lives lost. In Europe, now the epicenter of the pandemic, governments know that the worst is yet to come and are implementing increasingly restrictive measures to enforce social distancing and isolation.In Cox’s Bazar we have been watching the world and holding our breath for the first confirmed case of Covid-19. With reports of the first confirmed case in the local community in Cox’s Bazar, it’s just a matter of time until the virus reaches the vulnerable population living in cramped conditions in the largest refugee settlement on Earth. Thousands of people could die...."
Source/publisher:
Asia Time
Date of publication:
2020-03-25
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-28
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
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Description:
"...Be sure to share the prevention advice and audio files of COVID-19 key messages in 18 ethnic languages from different states and regions, which have been airing via Myanmar National Radio Programs..."
Source/publisher:
Myanmar Information Management Unit (The MIMU)
Date of publication:
00-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-15
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Online health resources, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
more
Description:
"...Bangladesh has begun lockdown in all 34 Rohingya refugee settlements in the country’s southern district of Cox’s Bazar as part of its effort to stem coronavirus pandemic. Authorities have asked more than one million members of the persecuted Rohingya community, who have migrated from Myanmar’s Rakhine province, to stay inside their makeshift camps until further notice.“Since this morning [Wednesday] we have started s lockdown in all Rohingya camps as per guidelines issued by the government due to the prevailing scare over coronavirus outbreak,” said Md Mahbub Alam Talukder, Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC)...."
Source/publisher:
AA.com
Date of publication:
2020-03-26
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-28
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
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Description:
"Ye Ni: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! This week, we’ll discuss the closure of factories and resultant redundancies. Chairman of the Confederation of Trade Unions in Myanmar (CTUM) U Maung Maung and U Nandar Sitt Aung, director of Our Generation Network, join me to discuss this. I’m The Irrawaddy Burmese editor Ye Ni.Dozens of factories have closed and around 10,000 jobs have been lost. How worrying is this situation? Do you think there will be redundancies on a wider scale? Around 500,000 people are employed in the garment industry. Should they be worried?..."
Source/publisher:
The Irrawaddy
Date of publication:
2020-03-21
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-21
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
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Description:
"...Dear Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,As authorities around the world struggle to cope with the spread of COVID-19, it is crucial that States act to protect the most vulnerable, including refugee populations.We, the 50 undersigned organizations, have welcomed the Bangladesh government’s efforts to host the Rohingya refugees who were forced to flee atrocities perpetrated by the Myanmar Army. We also commend the Bangladesh Government for working closely with the humanitarian community on COVID-19 preparedness and response in Cox’s Bazar District, including efforts to establish isolation and treatment facilities.Now we write to urge you to lift ongoing mobile internet restrictions and halt the construction of barbed wire fencing around the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar District. These measures threaten the safety and well-being of the refugees as well as Bangladesh host communities and aid workers, in light of the growing COVID-19 pandemic..."
Source/publisher:
Human Right Watch
Date of publication:
2020-04-01
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-04
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
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Description:
"...More than 100,000 Rohingya live in Malaysia after fleeing from Myanmar, but they are considered illegal immigrants. Their status would likely make many of them reluctant to identify themselves to get tested for the coronavirus even if they showed symptoms, other sources, in the Rohingya community, said. Malaysia’s search for the Rohingya highlights the challenge for governments trying to track the virus among communities living without official papers and wary of authorities.The religious gathering late last month at a mosque on the outskirts of the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur was attended by some 16,000 people, including the Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, one source said...."
Reuters
Source/publisher:
New Straits Times
Date of publication:
2020-03-19
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-21
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
more
Sub-title:
Maximum of one land checkpoint per border province will be allowed to remain open
Description:
"...The Interior Ministry has ordered most border provinces to leave only one international checkpoint open as the country tries to block arrivals to contain the coronavirus outbreak that has caused a sharp jump in cases this week. Key checkpoints to temporary shut are the first Thai-Mayanmar Friendship Bridge in Tak, which will be closed until further notice. The Phu Nam Ron and Three Pagodas passes linking Kanchanaburi and Myanmar will be shut from Saturday to April 3. On the eastern front, Ban Khao Din in Sa Kaeo, opposite Cambodia, which will be closed from Monday to April 5. Checkpoints with Malaysia were already closed for all intents and purposes after the Malaysian government locked down the country for two weeks from last Monday. Malaysia has reported 900 Covid-19 cases, the most in Southeast Asia....."
Bangkok Post
Source/publisher:
Bangkok Post
Date of publication:
2020-03-20
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-21
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Thailand-Burma relations
more
Description:
"...YANGON: More than a quarter of Myanmar's prison population is to be released, the president's office announced Friday, as calls grow to ease pressure on overcrowded jails with coronavirus fears gripping the country.The Southeast Asian nation grants an annual amnesty to thousands of prisoners to mark its April New Year holiday, but this is the largest ever recorded.It comes as governments around the world -- including the US, parts of Europe, and Colombia -- grapple with overcrowded prisons as fears spiral of virus outbreaks behind bars....So far Myanmar has officially confirmed 85 cases of Covid-19, including four deaths, but experts fear the real number is many times more due to the low numbers tested..."
Source/publisher:
Bangkok Post
Date of publication:
2020-04-17
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-18
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health
more
Description:
"...Myanmar, like the entire world, is facing not only an unprecedented health crisis, but an unprecedented economic crisis as well. Myanmar's economy has already been severely hit by disruptions in global trade and tourism. Thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of people - including migrant workers - are already suffering the consequences. With the spread of the coronavirus and necessary lockdowns the situation could become ten times worse.We can take strong measures to stop the spread of the virus and at the same time not only save the economy but strengthen it for the future..."
Thant Myint-U
Source/publisher:
Mizzima
Date of publication:
2020-04-03
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-04
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
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Description:
"....Responding to the failure to release prisoners of conscience and activists jailed solely for exercising their rights in Myanmar during a presidential amnesty of nearly 25,000 prisoners, Clare Algar, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy and Policy, said:....“It’s appalling that prisoners of conscience and peaceful activists were largely excluded from yesterday’s presidential amnesty. They should not be in prison in the first place and are victims of repression, harassment and arbitrary arrests by the Myanmar authorities, both the civilian-led government and the military..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International
Date of publication:
2020-04-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-19
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health
more
Description:
What will happen when COVID-19 hits refugee camps? That's what Dr. Paul Spiegel and a team of researchers have been examining. They've been looking at how the coronavirus might affect the densely populated camps outside Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh — home to 850,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. As of Monday, there are 49 cases in the country, including one person in the town of Cox's Bazar. The researchers will use the findings to make recommendations to the United Nations and global aid groups on how to deliver medical care and check the spread of the coronavirus in similar refugee settings.Spiegel, a former senior official at the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the director of Johns Hopkins University's Center for Humanitarian Health, explains why these camps are ripe for disease outbreaks — and what aid groups must do now to help. This interview has been edited for length and clarity...."
MALAKA GHARIB
Source/publisher:
npr.org
Date of publication:
2020-03-31
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-04
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
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Description:
"...KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): The UN refugee agency and Rohingya community leaders in Malaysia are stepping up efforts to get refugees who attended a gathering to come forward for Covid-19 checks, after cases linked to the event jumped across South-East Asia. More than 670 infections in the region have been linked to the gathering last month at a mosque on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. A total of 16,000 people of many nationalities attended the four-day event. Reuters reported on Thursday (March 19) that authorities were trying to track down an estimated 2,000 Rohingya who had attended the gathering. Rights groups said "several hundred" Rohingya attended and that the overall estimate included other refugees, such as ethnic Burmese Muslims.Refugees are considered illegal immigrants in Malaysia and activists say they may fear coming forward for testing..."
Source/publisher:
The Star
Date of publication:
2020-03-20
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-21
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
more
Description:
"...Thai officials reportedly sent two Myanmar migrant workers back after finding they had a high fever and temperature when they entered Ranong, Thailand after doing extension of their visas at Kawthoung border gate.A rumour circulated among local residents of Kawthoung and on social media that the two Myanmar workers were infected with the COVID-19 virus.Kawthoung hospital medical superintendent (MS) Dr. Khin Zaw told Mizzima that the news of two Myanmar workers infected with COVID-19 and sent back by Thai officials from Ranaung border gate was false and it was just a rumour..."
Source/publisher:
Mizzima
Date of publication:
2020-03-21
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-22
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
more
Description:
"...Two Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand tested positive for coronavirus, Surasak Thanaisawanyangkoon, chief of the AIDS, TB and Sexually Transmitted Infection bureau within Thailand's Ministry of Public Health, wrote on his social media page. Surasak Thanaisawanyangkoon told Mizzima one of the workers is a 34-year-old woman who worked as a waitress in the entertainment industry. She is receiving treatment in a Bangkok health centre...."
Chan Nyein
Source/publisher:
Mizzima
Date of publication:
2020-03-20
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-21
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
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Description:
"...The United Nations Myanmar office has just confirmed that one of their international staff who has just returned from Switzerland has tested positive for the coronavirus or COVID-19. According this the press release issued 28 March, the member of staff is in self quarantine as a precaution in a local hospital. The UN expressed its appreciation of the help provided by the Myanmar authorities in this case. The UN says it is fully committed to support Myanmar in its efforts to prevent the spread of this virus and strengthen national capacity to manage cases as they occur..."
Source/publisher:
Mizzima
Date of publication:
2020.03.28
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-28
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
more
Individual Documents
Sub-title:
In the country’s agricultural heartland, threats posed to villagers across the Global South have collided head-on
Description:
"Before the morning sun brings the oppressive heat of the day, village cars, once laden with the dry zone’s staple beans, sesame and peanuts, set off for the regional capital of Magway.
But today, when the trucks draw in, they are crammed with young men and women clutching bundles of paperwork. They are seeking to flee what once was Myanmar’s agricultural capital in response to a growing food, job, and security crisis.
Climate changes in the baking heartlands, Covid-19 and the military’s violent attacks on villages since its coup in 2021 have prompted an exodus of young people from the region.
Nay Moe Swe Kyaw, who runs a free meal program for residents of Magway, says since the Omicron variant hit the region six months ago, around 100 people queue outside the town’s passport office each day. While some in the trucks are destined to Japan or Singapore to finish their education, China and Thailand are preferred by those seeking work.
“[The crowd] reminds me of how it used to be at the pagoda festival,” he recalls. “Magway’s passport office is packed with crowds every single day.”
‘Only elders remain’
Migration is nothing new for those who have grown up working Magway’s parched earth; ten years ago, 72% of those migrating from one community in the region cited environmental change as the driving factor.
Yet the region is only growing hotter. Record-breaking temperatures have afflicted Myanmar’s dry zone – which includes Magway, Mandalay and Sagaing – over the past two years. Twenty-two of its cities registered record highs in 2020, the riverine market town of Chauk in central Magway recorded a staggering 47.5 C (117.5 F).
A former resident of Magway’s Thit Gyi village, Zar Chi Lwin, says her family began to experience unprecedented crop failure in 2007 after shifts in climate made it impossible even to grow the sesame that the region is famed for.
“Our farmland, which was previously 100% productive, saw output levels drop to between 60 and 40% per acre,” she said.
Unable to finance their debt, in 2010 Zar Chi Lwin’s family sold their ancestral land for half of its former value and migrated to the commercial capital of Yangon. Her parents, she says, were reduced to tears by the move.
Ten years ago, only 6% of dry zone inhabitants surveyed said they planned on migrating overseas. Today, however, villagers report that a pressing need for incomes and escape routes is driving those of working age abroad at unprecedented rates. Crop failure – along with a post-coup collapse in trade and the plummeting value of Myanmar’s currency, the kyat - has prompted the exodus of a debt-laden workforce, which includes Zar Chi Lwin herself.
She says as much as 70% of her village has moved to Thailand since she left. Those who went were predominantly 20- to 35-year-olds hoping for better economic opportunities.
“Only elders remained in the village – nobody of working age – so production may have been reduced by a half. This caused huge inflation in the price of goods and, then, a military coup made it worse. I couldn’t even afford to buy cooking oil!” Zar Chi Lwin said.
Land razed
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The people of Magway – which borders Rakhine state and Mandalay in Myanmar’s north-west – were among the first to mount a resistance to the military government. They have been specifically targeted by the military’s latest “land clearance” operations – scorched-earth campaigns that have so far entailed the wholesale arson of entire villages and the rape, murder, and arbitrary detention of thousands of civilians. Rights groups have documented tens of thousands of incidences of human rights abuses and war crimes committed by the military across Myanmar over the past 16 months.
In May, UN humanitarian agency OCHA estimated that almost 55,000 of the Magway’s near four million inhabitants have been forced from their homes and lands by the military since February 2021. In neighbouring Sagaing, that number is more than 336,000. In Magway and Sagaing – where citizens are almost entirely from Myanmar’s Bamar ethnic group - it is the first time in decades that such punishments have been meted by the country’s genocidal, and predominantly Bamar, military.
Naruemon Thabchumpon, professor of cross-border migration at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, says that while further research is needed to assess the true number of dry zone natives now in Thailand, threats to the region including the climate change and conflict have been significant factors.
“The climate crisis affects the life of the people, and in the case of those from the dry zone this is pretty clear, she says.
“When we look at the intensifying conflict, the first region that started fighting against the military is the dry zone region of Sagaing. The conflict map bears this out: there is a clear relationship between climate crisis, economic concerns, and areas experiencing recent political instability.”
Uncertain future
Those left behind say they worry about what this exodus will mean for their families.
In the northern Magway city of Yenankyaung, Hnin Si Ni’s farmland had yielded the region’s famed soybean and sesame oil for generations. By 2005, increasing temperatures had brought new problems.
“My cousins’ families had to move to the city to find new jobs,” Hnin Si Ni explained, adding that crop yields at her own family’s farm had fallen by 30% since 2005 due to increasing temperatures bringing dry soil, unpredictable weather patterns, reduced crop output, and natural disasters.
“Some of them moved to Yangon, some to Myitkyina [capital of Myanmar’s Kachin State on the Myanmar-China border], while others moved to Thailand.”
While farmers have grown accustomed to working with cracked soils, Nay Moe Swe Kyaw says he now worries about what rising crop prices and empty villages will mean for the future of his community.
“With higher commodity and fuel prices, people and small businesses are facing many difficulties, losing their financial interests,” he said.
“If this situation continues, people will certainly face incredible hardships. I can’t bear to think about it. The longer the coup lasts, the graver the situation will be for all of us – that’s for sure.”
This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center. With support from the Pulitzer Center, the Democratic Voice of Burma explores how climate, economic insecurity, and a return of the Myanmar military’s “scorched earth” campaigns are driving Myanmar’s young people overseas..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2022-07-21
Date of entry/update:
2022-07-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Climate Change - Burma/Myanmar: general
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Myanmar is currently fraught with rising humanitarian needs, and an impending economic meltdown that seems quite probable
Description:
"This piece is part of the essay series, Instability in India’s neighbourhood: A multi-perspective analysis
On 1 February 2021, the Myanmar military or Junta seized power from the second-time elected government, the National League for Democracy (NLD) citing unverified claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 polls. The State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi along with a few of the NLD leaders were arrested and the NLD party was banned by the Junta. The coup triggered mass protests to fight the autocracy: Countrywide boycotts, protests, and synchronised civil disobedience movements were launched.
The State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi along with a few of the NLD leaders were arrested and the NLD party was banned by the Junta.
The nation is currently fraught with rising humanitarian needs, and an impending economic meltdown seems more probable, triggered by pandemic-induced value-chain disruptions, diminished workforce, food insecurity, destruction of resources, and cash shortages on the domestic front. Additionally, the outflow of capital from the country coupled with fresh sanctions from western countries has put the country in a precarious external position. The interconnectedness between these economic issues in Myanmar has made the problem more complex.
Domestic economy and capital productivity
The impact of any civil unrest on the domestic economy is always brutal in a multitude of ways. The coup and successive violence have reduced the growth and productivity of the factors of production (human and physical capital) that form the backbone of the nation, thereby, reducing the return on investment on economic capital. Further, the destructive effects of the coup have invariably hiked the rate of capital depreciation in the nation. The deterioration of Myanmar’s economic capital can be explained through the following lenses.
Firstly, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and especially after the military takeover of the government, most companies and firms have experienced reductions in sales, shortages in cashflows, and difficulties in accessing banking and internet services. This has been detrimental to the workforce in the economy where the combined effects of the coup and pandemic cost Myanmar around 1.6 million jobs in 2021. Whilst the rural farmers were severely affected by armed conflict; construction, garments, tourism, and hospitality, industries suffered year-on-year employment losses of 31 percent, 27 percent, and 30 percent, respectively.
Secondly, large-scale economic losses and unemployment have induced a food crisis situation wherein a large segment of the population is deprived of nutritionally rich food. Moreover, the military takeover has not only increased the cost of fuel-petrol by 33 percent and diesel by 29 percent, but the dollar has also started to become more expensive for Myanmar since October 2021. A major fallout of these changes is the increase in the retail prices of almost all the commodities; cooking oil increased almost three times its earlier price before the coup, and the price of overall food imports increased by 20-50 percent.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and especially after the military takeover of the government, most companies and firms have experienced reductions in sales, shortages in cashflows, and difficulties in accessing banking and internet services.
The country is suffering from a food security crisis that threatens to affect 70 percent of the populace. Thirteen million people have been estimated to face moderate or severe food insecurity in 2022. Whilst incomes have declined, food and agricultural input prices have increased, pushing vulnerable people to take on debts, spend savings and sell off assets to cover their families’ subsistence needs. The practice of such adverse mechanisms, in addition to eating less or skipping meals, or not consuming food for a day, has increased from 23 percent in 2020 to 33 percent in 2022. In Rakhine State, 30 percent of households reported having no food in 2021 compared with 9 percent in 2020. In Chin State, 58 percent of households reported intaking less food compared with 21 percent in 2020.
Investment outflow and international trade
Myanmar’s economy experienced an 18 percent contraction by September 2021 and since then the growth projected till September 2022 is only around 1 percent. The stumbling economic parameters bear testimony to the fact that the ongoing political turmoil has devastated the business climate in the economy, decreasing foreign investments to a large extent. Not only are the infrastructure project funding from donor countries, such as the aid programmes from Japan on the line; many international businesses, such as the Norwegian telecom giant: Telenor, are reconsidering their investments in Myanmar. Additionally, western economies such as the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), European Union (EU), and Canada have not only placed sanctions against individuals connected to the Junta regime but also prohibited business dealings that are controlled by Myanmar’s military.
The sector witnessed decreased demands from not only the domestic side, but its global partners such as H&M, Benetton, and Primark who have also ceased business in Myanmar.
The twin crisis induced by the virus and the coup has also dampened Myanmar’s external trade, which slumped from US$ 20.36 billion in October 2020 to US$ 15.78 in April 2021. Myanmar’s garment sector used to be a significant component in the country’s international trade. The garment shipments which rose from US$ 1 billion (10 percent of total exports) to US$ 6.5 billion (30 percent of total exports) from 2011 to 2019 are struggling to operate effectively with tens of thousands of garment factory jobs lost in Myanmar. The sector witnessed decreased demands from not only the domestic side, but its global partners such as H&M, Benetton, and Primark who have also ceased business in Myanmar. Consequently, factory closures and interruptions in manufacturing, and work stoppages related to COVID-19 and coup restrictions have impacted the sector at large.
Myanmar economic recovery Plan
The Myanmar government is expected to announce the Myanmar Economic Recovery Plan (MERP) covering the 2021–2022 to 2023–2024 period as a medium-term agenda to facilitate post-COVID-19 economic recovery ahead of the next election in 2023. It is said to contain 30 goals, 165 outcomes and 430 action plans to increase job opportunities and induce value-added economic activities. It is also expected to include reforms in procedures covering taxation, banking, finance, trade, development of the digital economy, transport and supply chains, tourism development, agriculture, livestock and fisheries, and the energy sector. However, no plans or documents regarding this have been announced or forwarded to the public domain to date.
Myanmar is reeling under a critical humanitarian crisis, the worst that the country has faced in the last two decades. The number of displaced people in Myanmar including children has exceeded 1 million by May 2022. The nation seems to have reached a stalemate to advance adequate solutions in the form of economic reforms, to improve the situation of the labour markets and food security. To overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic and political issues, and promote job creation, the Myanmar government needs to implement multiple economic stimulus programmes intended by the MERP to mitigate the economic crisis which seems to be gaining strength every day..."
Source/publisher:
Observer Research Foundation
Date of publication:
2022-06-15
Date of entry/update:
2022-06-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Economy: general, analytical, statistical (various sources)
Language:
more
Description:
"Hlyan Htet, 6, keeps close to his mother these days and does not venture far. “I have friends, but my best friend is a dog from downstairs. We play every evening together,” says Hlyan Htet.
Although Hlyan Htet’s innocent charm shines through, his mother, Hnin Hnin, says the events of the past two years have taken their toll on him. “I was having problems in my marriage, then the first wave of COVID-19 came, and then the current crisis unfolded, one after the other.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted Hlyan Htet’s early education and socialization. At first, “Mommy taught me at home,” Hlyan Htet says. Fortunately, Hlyan Htet has access to the Internet and he is still excited by his lessons offered online via Zoom.
“I also love drawing,” says Hlyan Htet.
However, the distressing circumstances of last year’s events has had a huge impact on Hlyan Htet. “My son started having trouble controlling his emotions and became overly attached and clingy to me. He gets up with me, since he doesn’t want to be left alone in bed, and, even when I pray, he sits beside me,” recalls, Hnin Hnin.
Hlyan Htet is not alone in his distress and behavioural response to these compounding situations. COVID-19 has left 12 million children out of school for over a year and the current crisis is further undermining their mental health and psychosocial well-being. Many have witnessed violence and attacks, and some have been victims, leaving them mentally, if not physically, scarred.
In response, UNICEF and its partners have been expanding psychosocial services for children and young people. This includes individual counselling, peer-support groups for adolescents and young people, and a national mental health and psychosocial advice helpline for children which is available in several ethnic languages.
In July 2021, Hlyan Htet started participating in one of the virtual psychosocial activities, Little Pyit Tine Htaungs, named after one of Myanmar’s traditional brightly coloured egg-shaped toys that always stand upright when thrown.
Hnin Hnin found this service on the Facebook page of Metanoia, UNICEF partner and mental health services and resource centre in Yangon. One of Metanoia’s staff explains the process. First, virtual helpline operators register participants and explain the activities on offer. Children over the age of 7 fill in pre-assessment and post-assessment forms, or a caregiver fills in the forms on their behalf if the child is under the age of 7. The three-day sessions are adapted to three age groups: 4–12 years, 13–17 years and 18–29 years. The younger children “learn to understand emotions and empathy, respect and boundaries, and identity while doing arts and crafts activities,” says the Metanoia staff member, while the older age groups focus on “understanding reactions to crisis, practising stabilization techniques, promoting a sense of safety, maintaining hope, staying connected and strengthening efficacy to overcome crisis.”
After group sessions, participants are usually offered a counselling session. “We request parents to give them [their children] personal space during these sessions. We will then talk with parents, and sometimes we find it’s them who needs therapy, not their child,” says the Metanoia staff member.
Hnin Hnin says, “It’s really great and I’ve been recommending it to everyone.” She says that single parents, like her, are struggling with raising children during these times of crisis.
“This project definitely helped them and their children.”
Both Hlyan Htet and his mother also received individual therapy sessions from a counsellor. “He got close to the counsellor,’ says his mother. “He was even asking me about her since he dreamt of her.” After some sessions, “he has gained more control (over his emotions), except that he won’t let me disappear from his sight,” says Hnin Hnin..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations Children's Fund
Date of publication:
2022-05-10
Date of entry/update:
2022-05-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Human Rights and international relations, Children
Language:
more
Description:
"His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister PRAK Sokhonn, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia as the ASEAN Chair’s Special Envoy on Myanmar, and His Excellency Dato Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-General of ASEAN in the capacity as the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Coordinator (SG-AHAC), will co-chair the Consultative Meeting on ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance to Myanmar on 06 May 2022, in Phnom Penh and via videoconference.
The Consultative Meeting will be attended physically and virtually by the high-level representatives from all ASEAN member States, ASEAN External Partners, United Nations specialized agencies, and other relevant international organizations.
The Consultative Meeting will provide a high-level platform for ASEAN to initiate a multi-stakeholder dialogue that serves to provide guidance on how to advance ASEAN’s humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar based on humanitarian principles and without discrimination.
The Consultative Meeting aims to discuss mutually agreeable solutions on how to enhance the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Myanmar whilst leaving no one behind; how to address the operational challenges faced by the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre); and how to support the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to all communities in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia
Date of publication:
2022-05-05
Date of entry/update:
2022-05-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, The discussion on humanitarian assistance to Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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"ABSTRACT
Social behavior change communication (SBCC) interventions on gender and nutrition are now commonly implemented, but their impact on diet quality and empowerment is rarely assessed rigorously. We estimate the impact of a nutrition and gender SBCC intervention on women’s dietary diversity and empowerment in Myanmar during an especially challenging period—the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The intervention was implemented as a cluster-randomized controlled trial in 30 villages in Myanmar’s Central Dry Zone. Our analysis employs data from the baseline survey implemented in February 2020 and a phone survey implemented in February–March 2021 and focuses on women’s dietary diversity and sub-indicators of the project-level women’s empowerment in agriculture index (pro-WEAI). Two indicators of women’s empowerment―inputs to productive decisions and access to and decisions over credit―improved, indicating that SBCC interventions can contribute to changing gendered perceptions and behaviors; however, most of the empowerment indicators did not change, indicating that much of gendered norms and beliefs take time to change. Women’s dietary diversity scores were higher by half a food group out of 10 in treatment villages. More women in treatment villages consumed nuts, milk, meat or fish, and Vitamin A–rich foods daily than in control villages. We show that even in the setting of a pandemic, a SBCC intervention can be delivered through a range of tools, including household visits, phone-based coaching, and voice-based training, that are responsive to local and individual resource limitations.
Gender messaging can change some gendered perceptions; but it may take more time to change deeply ingrained gender norms. Nutrition messaging can help counter the declines in dietary quality that would be expected from negative shocks to supply chains and incomes..."
Source/publisher:
International Food Policy Research Institute
Date of publication:
2022-04-20
Date of entry/update:
2022-04-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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pdf
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1.22 MB (Original version) - 29 pages
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Sub-title:
Announcement in relation to International Aid for Health Care and Humanitarian Assistance
Description:
"1. A Public Report on COVID-19 Vaccine was published on 18th October 2021 by National Health Committee (NHC) and COVID-19 Task Force (CTF). It was stated in the report that multiple discussions and meetings took place with UN organisations and organisations such as COVAX Facility, GAVI, the diplomatic community, and international partners. CTF’s people-centred three fundamental principles: (a) People first, (b) Transparency and (c) Equal and balanced communication, were published on 16th September 2021. The public was also informed that based on these principles, CTF is not only negotiating that the immunisation can be delivered fairly but also that GAVI’s activities are being monitored together with the international community.
(https://nhcmyanmar.org/public-report-on-covid-19-vaccine.../)
2. Despite numerous discussions and meetings with COVAX Facility, GAVI in contravention of their own pledges, to date our Ethnic communities and the public have not had any equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. We have learned that on 30th March 2022, COVAX Facility, GAVI distributed 2.2 million doses of Sinovac vaccines to the terrorist military council.
3. COVAX Facility, GAVI have not distributed any vaccines towards those who are in real need, such as the Ethnic Communities in the border areas, refugees from the armed conflict, the civil servants and the public who are having to evade arbitrary detention by the terrorist military council.
4. But COVID-19 Task Force together with Ethnic Health Organisations rose to the challenges and started COVID-19 mitigation programmes and rolled out vaccination programmes in the border areas.
5. We urge the World Health Organisation, Myanmar, United Nations Organisations, COVAX Facility, GAVI and other international organisations to not only roll out COVID-19 Vaccination programmes but aid and assist in healthcare provisions and humanitarian assistance directly to Ethnic Communities by involving third party organisations that have no allegiance to the terrorist military council via cross border areas at the earliest opportunity. In doing so, we would also like to remind the said organisations to abide by the people-centred three fundamental principles mentioned above..."
Source/publisher:
National Health Committee - Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-04-05
Date of entry/update:
2022-04-05
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Sub-title:
ကျန်းမာရေးနှင့် လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထောက်မှုဆိုင်ရာ နိုင်ငံတကာအကူအညီအထောက်အပံ့များနှင့်စပ်လျဉ်း၍ အသိပေးကြေညာချက်
Description:
"၁။ အမျိုးသားကျန်းမာရေးကော်မတီ (NHC) နှင့် COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ထိန်းချုပ်ကုသရေးအဖွဲ့ (CTF) တို့သည် "COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ဆေးနှင့်စပ်လျဉ်း၍ ပြည်သူထံတင်ပြခြင်း" ထုတ်ပြန်ချက်ကို (၁၈-၁၀-၂၀၂၁) ရက်စွဲဖြင့် ထုတ်ပြန်ခဲ့ပြီး ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ အဆိုပါထုတ်ပြန်ချက်တွင် မိမိတို့ အနေဖြင့် COVAX Facility, GAVI အပါအဝင် UN အဖွဲ့အစည်းများ၊ သံတမန်အဖွဲ့များ၊ နိုင်ငံတကာ မိတ်ဖက်အဖွဲ့အစည်းများနှင့် အကြိမ်ကြိမ် တွေ့ဆုံဆက်သွယ်ညှိနှိုင်းမှုများ ဆောင်ရွက်ခဲ့ပါ ကြောင်း၊ CTF ၏ အခြေခံမူနှင့် လုပ်ငန်းစဉ်များဖြစ်သည့် (က) ပြည်သူသာ အဓိက ဖြစ်ရမည်၊ (ခ) ပွင့်လင်းမြင်သာမှုရှိရမည်၊ (ဂ) ညီမျှသော ဆက်ဆံမှု ရှိရမည် ဟူသော ပြည်သူအခြေပြု မူဝါဒ (၃) ရပ်ကို (၁၆-၉-၂၀၂၁) ရက်စွဲဖြင့် ထုတ်ပြန်ခဲ့ပါကြောင်း၊ အဆိုပါ မူဝါဒ (၃) ရပ်နှင့် အညီ တန်းတူညီမျှ ကာကွယ်ဆေး ထိုးနှံနိုင်ရေးမူဝါဒကို မျှမျှတတဖြစ်စေရန် CTF က ညှိနှိုင်း ဆွေးနွေးနေသည့်အပြင် GAVI ၏ ဆောင်ရွက်ချက်များကိုလည်း နိုင်ငံတကာနှင့်အတူ စောင့်ကြည့်လျက်ရှိပါကြောင်း ပြည်သူကို အသိပေးတင်ပြခဲ့ပြီးဖြစ်ပါသည်။
(https://nhcmyanmar.org/public-report-on-covid-19-vaccine.../)
၂။ သို့ရာတွင် ယနေ့အချိန်အထိ တိုင်းရင်းသားပြည်သူများအားလုံး တန်းတူညီမျှ ကာကွယ်ဆေး ထိုးနှံနိုင်ရေးမူဝါဒနှင့်အညီ ဆောင်ရွက်ရန် အကြိမ်ကြိမ် တွေ့ဆုံညှိနှိုင်းဆွေးနွေးချက်များကို COVAX Facility, GAVI အဖွဲ့အစည်းအနေဖြင့် အကောင်အထည်ဖော်ခဲ့ခြင်း မရှိဘဲ (၃၀-၃-၂၀၂၂) ရက်နေ့တွင် COVAX Facility, GAVI သည် Sinovac အမျိုးအစား COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ဆေး (၂.၂) သန်းကျော်ကို အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီသို့ ပေးအပ်ခဲ့ကြောင်း တွေ့ရှိရပါသည်။
၃။ COVAX Facility, GAVI အနေဖြင့် နယ်စပ်ဒေသရှိ တိုင်းရင်းသားပြည်သူများ၊ စစ်ဘေးရှောင် ပြည်သူများ၊ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ ဘေးအန္တရာယ်မှ တိမ်းရှောင်ထွက်ပြေးနေရသည့် ပြည်သူ့ဝန်ထမ်းများနှင့် ပြည်သူများအတွက် အမှန်တကယ် လိုအပ်လျက်ရှိသော COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ဆေးများကို ယနေ့အချိန်အထိ ပေးအပ်ခဲ့ခြင်း လုံးဝ မရှိပါ။
၄။ သို့သော်လည်း COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ထိန်းချုပ်ကုသရေးအဖွဲ့ (CTF) နှင့် တိုင်းရင်းသား ကျန်းမာရေးအဖွဲ့အစည်းများ လက်တွဲ၍ COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ထိန်းချုပ်ကုသရေးလုပ်ငန်း များနှင့် COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ဆေးထိုးနှံခြင်းလုပ်ငန်းများကို စိန်ခေါ်မှုများရှိသည့်တိုင် နယ်စပ် ဒေသများကို အခြေပြု၍ အကောင်အထည်ဖော် ဆောင်ရွက်လျက်ရှိပါသည်။
၅။ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအခြေစိုက် ကမ္ဘာ့ကျန်းမာရေးအဖွဲ့ (WHO Myanmar) အပါအဝင် UN အဖွဲ့ အစည်းများ၊ COVAX Facility, GAVI နှင့် အခြားနိုင်ငံတကာအဖွဲ့အစည်းများအနေဖြင့် ကာကွယ်ဆေးထိုးနှံခြင်းလုပ်ငန်းများအပြင် ကျန်းမာရေးနှင့် လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှု ဆိုင်ရာ အကူအညီအထောက်အပံ့များကို အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီနှင့် ဆက်စပ်မှု လုံးဝ မရှိသည့် Third Party အဖွဲ့အစည်းများမှတစ်ဆင့်သော်လည်းကောင်း၊ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ စွက်ဖက်မှု ကင်းမဲ့သည့် နယ်စပ်ဒေသများကို ဖြတ်ကျော်၍သော်လည်းကောင်း တိုင်းရင်းသား ပြည်သူများထံ လက်ဝယ်အရောက် ပေးပို့နိုင်ရေးအတွက် အမြန်ဆုံးအကောင်အထည်ဖော် ဆောင်ရွက်ရန် တိုက်တွန်းအပ်ပါသည်။ ထိုသို့အကောင်အထည်ဖော်ဆောင်ရွက်ရာတွင် နိုင်ငံ တကာအဖွဲ့အစည်းများသည် အထက်ဖော်ပြပါ ပြည်သူအခြေပြုမူဝါဒ (၃) ရပ်ကို မသွေဖည် စေဘဲ ဆောင်ရွက်ရန် ထပ်မံအသိပေးထုတ်ပြန်အပ်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
National Health Committee - Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-04-05
Date of entry/update:
2022-04-05
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Individual Documents
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508.6 KB
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"Yangon - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the UNOPS-managed Livelihoods and Food Security Fund (LIFT) have just launched a cash assistance programme for most vulnerable communities in conflict-affected areas as they continue coping with the impact of COVID-19 in Myanmar.
Through technical support from WFP, LIFT has recently provided one-time, 65,000 Myanmar Kyat (appr 36 USD) cash transfers to over 46,000 households, including internally displaced people and poor families in conflict-affected communities in Kachin, northern Shan, Rakhine and Chin states. The assistance targeted families whose lives and livelihoods were shattered by the coronavirus pandemic, providing them with the resources they desperately needed to meet their basic needs, including food and health care.
“Cash transfers will support families to avoid adopting negative coping mechanisms and support access to nutritious food at a time when most vulnerable households are impacted by the loss of income and amidst multiple socio-economic challenges,” said Sara Netzer, LIFT’s Fund Director.
The assistance was delivered directly to the beneficiaries through WFP’s cash transfer mechanisms already used in its operations in Myanmar.
“WFP is proud and pleased to do its part to facilitate LIFT’s cash transfers for vulnerable households in four states reeling from the impact of successive COVID waves,” remarked Stephen Anderson, WFP’s Country Director in Myanmar. “The LIFT cash transfers complement WFP efforts to scale up food and nutrition assistance for the most food insecure communities across Myanmar.”
LIFT’s previous emergency cash transfers, which were top-up payments to mothers, pregnant women, people with disabilities, migrant workers and the elderly, empowered people with choices when addressing their essential needs. The support also enhanced people’s purchasing power and stimulated local economies.
LIFT’s cash assistance is provided thanks to the financial support of the United Kingdom, the European Union, Switzerland, Australia, the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland and Norway. With donor support, LIFT has reached more than 2.9 million people in response to COVID-19 since the onset of pandemic..."
Source/publisher:
World Food Programme and United Nations Office for Project Services via United Nations Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-03-25
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
WFP (World Food Programme), UNOPS (United Nations Office for Project Services), COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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Description:
"COX’S BAZAR – The almost one million Rohingya refugees and their host community in Cox’s Bazar remain vulnerable and need continued support – almost five years since they were forced to flee their homes for safety, according to the latest Refugee Influx Emergency Vulnerability Assessment conducted by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners.
The Rohingya’s extreme vulnerabilities are further exacerbated by large-scale hazards, including fires and floods that hit the camps in 2021. Almost all 900,000 refugees – 95 percent of them - remain entirely dependent on humanitarian assistance today. In the host community, where most families rely on daily-wage jobs, a slow economic recovery after COVID-19 lockdown measures has caused their vulnerability levels to increase, with 52 percent of the families considered moderately to highly vulnerable now compared to 41 percent in 2019.
“The Ukraine crisis is a stark reminder that no one chooses to be a refugee. In this year of unprecedented humanitarian need, we hope the international community won’t lose sight of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, who are more vulnerable than ever and may be plunged further into destitution by the impact of food and fuel price hikes,” said Sheila Grudem, WFP Senior Emergency Coordinator in Cox’s Bazar.
Access to food remains a top priority for both refugees and host communities, with 82 percent and 59 percent of families, respectively, reporting so. They are also worried about the continuation of food assistance. A growing number of families in both communities fall into debt to cover their most essential needs, such as food. This is particularly worrying as their ability to withstand any new shocks and stressors will be compromised.
In 2021, WFP continued to provide monthly cash-based food assistance to almost 900,000 Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar and increased the number of fresh food corners available at its retail outlets in the camps. All refugees can now purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, live chicken and fish from the outlets using their monthly entitlements, known as “e-vouchers”. This assistance also provides substantial economic opportunities for the host community, injecting US$11 million into the local economy every month.
WFP also continued its cash assistance to host community families affected by the economic consequences of COVID-19, reaching 450,000 people in 2021. WFP directly provides economic opportunities year-round in the host community through cash-for-work programmes as well as livelihoods grants and business skills trainings.
“In 2022, we count on the continued support of all donors to help us provide vital assistance to Rohingya families as well as their host community, who has demonstrated remarkable solidarity by welcoming them almost five years ago. Any drop in funding will directly threaten the food security of refugees and make the recovery of the communities more difficult,” Grudem added..."
Source/publisher:
World Food Programme (Rome)
Date of publication:
2022-03-13
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
WFP (World Food Programme), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, The discussion on humanitarian assistance to Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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Description:
"This Situation Update describes events occurring in Ta Kreh Township, Hpa-an District from April to June 2021. This report highlights issues related to the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), the COVID-19 pandemic, and the education situation. After the military coup, many government staff joined the CDM and have been seeking temporary shelter in areas controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU). COVID-19 cases have increased, resulting in travel restrictions and an increase in the price of goods. Some villagers cannot afford to buy goods because they do not have jobs. In June 2021, one of the Karen primary schools reopened for one month but was closed again when COVID-19 cases increased. The school will reopen when the situation improves.[1]
Introduction
This situation report covers events that occurred in Ta Kreh [Paingkyon] Township, Hpa-an District, in the period from April to June 2021, following the military coup. This situation update will discuss the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)[2], COVID-19, and the education situation in Ta Kreh Township.
The Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) and travel restrictions
In May 2021, CDM participants from different towns and districts came to H--- village, Ta Kreh Township, Hpa-an District. These CDM participants are of different ethnic and religious backgrounds and had different [professional] positions.
In April 2021, there were no travel restrictions [in Hpa-an District]. An organisation [villagers were not able to identify the name of the organisation] came and provided training on issues such as healthcare, water purification, food preparation, healthcare for pregnant women and infants, sexual violence, and COVID-19 prevention. Since May 2021, however, it has become more difficult to travel because the State Administration Council (SAC)[3] has been searching for and arresting CDM participants. Therefore, it is not easy for this organisation to enter the area.
COVID-19 and its impacts
In June 2021, COVID-19 cases increased, resulting in travel restrictions and an increase in the price of goods. Some villagers struggled to get food because they did not have jobs and were unable to earn their livelihoods. Furthermore, some villagers were infected with COVID-19 at the shop where the villagers used to buy goods. The SAC military government ordered the shop to close temporarily.
Since the COVID-19 situation has grown worse, organisations, including the one noted above [that came to provide training], have been unable to come to Ta Kreh Township to organise activities.
Other Healthcare
There was a pregnant woman in the area [Ta Kreh Towship] who needed to give birth via caesarean section (C-section), so she couldn’t give birth [in the village] and needed to go to the hospital [to give birth]. She went to the public hospital, but they rejected her [because they did not have capacity to treat her]. She then had to go to the private hospital to deliver her baby. After she recovered from childbirth, she came back and stayed at her mother’s house [in Ta Kreh Township].
Education
In June 2021, the Karen [Karen Education and Culture Department (KECD)[4]] primary school in T’Koo Traw village, Noh Hkwee village tract,[5] Ta Kreh Township, Hpa-an District, reopened because students from the other villages came to attend that school. There were four teachers and over 70 students attending the Karen [KECD] primary school. [At this time] Myanmar government schools were still closed. In July 2021, however, the majority of villagers were infected with COVID-19 and the school was closed for two weeks. If the situation improves, the school will reopen. The Karen National Union (KNU)[6] also announced a temporary closure of Karen schools.
Conclusion
Though there might be many other events that occurred during this period in 2021, due to the COVID-19 situation, KHRG’s researcher was unable to travel [to collect other information] and so was not able to provide KHRG with information on other events. In 2021, there have been many challenges for the [local] community because of the military coup and the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the livelihood, education and travel situations are very different than they were before [the military coup and COVID-19].
Footnotes:
[1] The present document is based on information received in July. It was provided by a community member in Hpa-an who has been trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions on the ground. The names of the victims, their photos and the exact locations are censored for security reasons. The parts in square brackets are explanations added by KHRG.
[2] On February 2nd 2021, healthcare workers at state-run hospitals and medical facilities across Myanmar spearheaded what is being referred to as a Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) consisting of labour strikes in protest against the February 1st 2021 military coup. The movement quickly spread to include civil servants from all sectors of the government who are walking off their jobs as a way of non-recognition and non-participation in the military regime. Because of the popularity of the movement, and its seminal role in wider protests across the country, some people have begun using it as a catch-all phrase to include other protest forms like boycotts and pot-banging.
[3] The State Administration Council (SAC) is the executive governing body created in the aftermath of the February 1st 2021 military coup. It was established by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on February 2nd 2021, and is composed of eight military officers and eight civilians. The chairperson serves as the de facto head of government of Myanmar and leads the Military Cabinet of Myanmar, the executive branch of the government. Min Aung Hlaing assumed the role of SAC chairperson following the coup.
[4] The Karen Education and Culture Department is the education department of the Karen National Union. Its main goals are to provide mother tongue education services to rural Karen populations in Southeast Myanmar, as well as to preserve the Karen language, culture and history. Despite being an important education provider in the region, it is not officially recognised by the Myanmar government.
[5] A village tract is an administrative unit of between five and 20 villages in a local area, often centred on a large village.
[6] The Karen National Union (KNU) is the main Karen political organisation. It was established in 1947 and has been in conflict with the Burma/Myanmar government since 1949. The KNU wields power across large areas of Southeast Myanmar and has been calling for the creation of a democratic federal system since 1976. Although it signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement in 2015, relations with the government remain tense..."
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group
Date of publication:
2022-02-22
Date of entry/update:
2022-02-22
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"၁။ ပြီးခဲ့သည့် ရက်သတ္တပတ်အတွင်းတွင် အရှေ့တောင်အာရှနိုင်ငံများ၌ COVID-19 ရောဂါ ကူးစက်ဖြစ်ပွားမှုနှုန်းနှင့် သေဆုံးမှုနှုန်း ဆက်လက်မြင့် တက်နေသည်ကို တွေ့ရှိရသည့်အပြင် အိမ်နီးချင်းနိုင်ငံဖြစ်သည့် အိန္ဒိယနိုင်ငံ တွင်လည်း ယခုလက်ရှိအချိန်၌ COVID-19 ရောဂါ ကူးစက်ဖြစ်ပွားမှုများ အဆမတန် မြင့်မားလျက်ရှိပြီး ကမ္ဘာပေါ်တွင် COVID-19 ကူးစက်ခံရသူ ဒုတိယအများဆုံးနိုင်ငံဖြစ်ကြောင်း ကမ္ဘာ့ကျန်းမာရေးအဖွဲ့၏ ထုတ်ပြန်အသိပေး ကြေညာချက် များအရ သိရှိရပါသည်။
၂။ ၂၀၂၁ခုနှစ် ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ တစ်ရက်နေ့က စတင်ခဲ့သည့် အာဏာသိမ်း ပိုက်ခဲ့မှုကြောင့် အလုပ်သမားထု အပါအဝင် ပြည်သူအများစုသည်ကျန်းမာရေး စောင့်ရှောက်မှု အပြည့်အဝ မရသည့်အပြင် ဘက်ပေါင်းစုံ အကြပ်အတည်း များကို ရင်ဆိုင်နေရသည့် အတွက် COVID-19 ရောဂါကို အရေးမထားနိုင် သည်ကို တွေ့မြင်နေရပါသည်။ ယခုအခါ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင် COVID-19 မျိုးရိုးဗီဇအသစ် အိုမိုင်ခရွန်(Omicron) ကူးစက်ပျံ့နှံ့နေပြီး ယခင်မျိုးကွဲများနှင့် နှိုင်းယှဉ်ပါက အဆုတ်ထက်စာလျှင် အသက်ရှူလမ်းကြောင်း၏ အထက်ပိုင်း (နှာခေါင်း၊ ပါးစပ်၊ အာခေါင်၊ လည်ချောင်း၊ အသံအိုးစသည်) တွင် ပိုမိုကူးစက် မျိုးပွားနိုင်ကြောင်း၊ ဒယ်တာ(Delta) မျိုးကွဲ ကဲ့သို့ ရောဂါပြင်းထန်မှုမရှိနိုင်ဟု ဆိုသော်လည်း အိုမိုင်ခရွန် (Omicron) သည် ကူးစက်မှုနှုန်း အလွန်မြန်ဆန်ခြင်း၊ COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ဆေးထိုးလွှမ်းခြုံမှုနည်းပါးခြင်း၊ ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့် ရှောက်မှုစနစ်အားနည်းခြင်းနှင့် ရောဂါကာကွယ်ရေး နည်းလမ်းများကို လူအများလိုက်နာ ဆောင်ရွက်မှု လျော့ကျလာခြင်းတို့ကြောင့် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင် ရောဂါဖြစ်ပွားသေဆုံးမှုများ မြင့်တက်လာနိုင်ခြေရှိကြောင်း၊ ထို့ပြင် လူတဦးနှင့်တဦး ကူးစက်မှုနှုန်း အလွန်မြန်ဆန်ခြင်း ကြောင့် COVID-19 စတုတ္ထလှိုင်း ဖြစ်ပွားနိုင်ခြေ အလွန်နီးစပ်နေပြီဖြစ်ကြောင်း ကျန်းမာရေး ပညာရှင်များက သုံးသပ်ကြပါသည်။
၃။ ထို့ကြောင့် အလုပ်ရှင်၊ အလုပ်သမား၊ ပြည်သူလူထုများအနေဖြင့် အောက်ဖော်ပြပါ ရောဂါကာကွယ်ရေးနည်းလမ်းများကို မဖြစ်မနေ လိုက်နာ ကြရန် အလွန်ပင်အရေးကြီးပါသည် -
(က) Mask တပ်ခြင်း၊
(ခ) လက်ကို စနစ်တကျဆေးခြင်း၊
(ဂ) လူစုလူဝေးရှောင်ရှားခြင်း၊
(ဃ) လေဝင်လေထွက် မကောင်းသော အခန်းများကို ရှောင်ရှားခြင်း၊
(င) ၆ ပေ အကွာတွင် ခပ်ခွါခွါနေခြင်း၊
(စ) ချောင်းဆိုး၊ နှာချေတိုင်းပါးစပ်နှင့် နှာခေါင်းကို လုံခြုံစွာ ဖုံးအုပ်ခြင်း၊
(ဆ) လူနာနှင့် လူအများ မကြာခဏထိတွေ့ ကိုင်တွယ်လေ့ရှိသော အရာဝတ္ထု မျက်နှာပြင်များနှင့် နေရာများကိုပိုးသတ်သန့်စင်ခြင်း။
၄။ သို့ဖြစ်ပါ၍ လုပ်ငန်းရှင်များ၊ လုပ်ငန်းရှင်ကိုယ်စားလှယ်များနှင့် မန်နေဂျာ များ အနေဖြင့် အလုပ်သမားများအတွက် COVID-19 ကပ်ရောဂါဆိုင်ရာ ကြိုတင်ကာကွယ်ရေး အစီအမံများနှင့် အထောက်အပံ့များကို အထက်အပိုဒ် (၃) ပါ ညွှန်ကြားချက်များအတိုင်း အပြည့်အဝစီစဉ်ပေးရန်နှင့် အလုပ်သမား များအနေဖြင့်လည်း စနစ်တကျအသုံးပြုလိုက်နာ ဆောင်ရွက်ကြရန် အသိပေး ကြေညာအပ်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Labour - National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-01-03
Date of entry/update:
2022-02-03
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Sub-title:
Covid-19 and the Struggle for Peace and Justice in Myanmar
Description:
"The peoples of Myanmar are presently struggling with three grave challenges: a coup, conflict and Covid-19. This new TNI briefing analyses how these three crises have unfolded, leading to health system collapse, a new cycle of humanitarian emergency and deepening political divisions within the country. Taking a narrative approach, the report focuses on the consequences of state failure, the impact of Covid-19 and the actions taken by different military, political and civil society actors during a time of national breakdown.
Special attention is paid to community perspectives, the plight of at-risk populations, the neglect of ethnic conflict, the issues of peace and justice, political and health schisms, international dilemmas, and the attendant challenges in addressing Covid-19. Great suffering has already occurred. But the vision must be that the Covid-19 response serves as a model for equality and inclusion rather than regression and division. Health is a human right for everyone, and this primacy must not be lost sight of amidst political breakdown in the country.
Key Points
Following the assumption of power on 1 February 2021 by the military State Administrative Council, Myanmar has slid into ever-deeper crisis. Compounding the worsening situation is a new wave of Covid-19 infections that have spread to all parts of the country. Every sector of society has been affected. With the government’s health system all but collapsed, the peoples of Myanmar have been thrust into the precarious position of addressing the pandemic with little or no assistance. The three “Cs” – covid, coup and conflict – have come together in a terrible collision.
During 2020, the looming scale of the crisis indicated the need for cooperation between the key actors in national politics to combat the disease. Even before the SAC coup, Myanmar did not have a response capacity that covered the whole country. For its part, the National League for Democracy administration pledged a policy of “No One Left Behind”. This promise was not delivered by the authorities, and United Nations calls for a global “Covid ceasefire” were not acted upon.
The peoples of Myanmar are now paying a heavy price. Testing was fragmentary, the security forces disrupted non-governmental programmes in the ethnic conflict-zones, and an equitable system of vaccine rollout was not prepared. Instead, the socio-political landscape became dominated by the rivalry between the two leading actors in national politics: the NLD, which won the November 2020 general election; and the national armed forces (Tatmadaw), which seized control of government on 1 February.
A perfect storm was created, and the health crisis has exponentially worsened since the SAC takeover. In one of the poorest countries in Asia, there are huge limitations in health infrastructure, medical supplies, human resources, monitoring, personal protective equipment and emergency response to address Covid-19. Communities from every ethnic background lack access to essential health facilities and reliable information about the virus.
Adding to the emergency, the country is in the midst of one of its most volatile periods of political turbulence since independence in 1948. Covid-19 is not the only crisis facing the country. Rather, its emergence – and the inability to cope – have further exposed the political failings and long-standing need for peace, reconciliation, consequential reforms, and end to military rule..."
Source/publisher:
Transnational Institute ( Amsterdam)
Date of publication:
2021-11-25
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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"ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုလုပ်ငန်းများ၊ ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုပေးသူများနှင့် ပရဟိတသမားများ ဘေးကင်းလုံခြုံမှုရှိစေရေးအတွက် ထုတ်ပြန်ကြေညာချက်
၁။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီသည် ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ (၁) ရက်နေ့တွင် တိုင်းပြည်အာဏာကို လက်နက်အားကိုးဖြင့် မတရားသိမ်းပိုက်ခဲ့သည့်အချိန်မှစ၍ ကျန်းမာရေးအဆောက်အဦးများ ကို ဝင်ရောက်၍ တပ်စွဲသိမ်းပိုက်ဖျက်ဆီးလုယက်ခြင်း၊ ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုလုပ်ငန်း များနှင့် ပရဟိတလုပ်ငန်းများကို နှောင့်ယှက်ခြိမ်းခြောက်ဖျက်ဆီးခြင်း၊ ကျန်းမာရေး စောင့်ရှောက်မှုပေးသူများနှင့် ပရဟိတသမားများကို မတရားသဖြင့် ခြိမ်းခြောက်ဖမ်းဆီးနှိပ်စက် သတ်ဖြတ်ခြင်းနှင့် စိတ်ထင်ရာ ဥပဒေပုဒ်မများတပ်၍ မတရား ဖမ်းဝရမ်းထုတ်ခြင်းကြောင့် တိမ်းရှောင်စေရခြင်း အစရှိသည့် အဓမ္မမှုများ၊ အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများကို ယနေ့ထက်တိုင် မိစ္ဆာ စရိုက်ဆန်စွာ အစဉ်တစိုက် ပြုမူနေခဲ့ပါသည်။
၂။ (၂၆-၁၀-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့တွင် Insecurity Insight အဖွဲ့၊ Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) အဖွဲ့နှင့် the Johns Hopkins University Center for Public Health and Human Rights (CPHHR) အဖွဲ့တို့၏ ပူးတွဲထုတ်ပြန်ချက် (https://tinyurl.com/attackstohealthcare) အရ (၁-၂-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့မှ (၃၀-၉-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့အထိ စစ်အာဏာသိမ်းခဲ့သည့် (၈) လတာ ကာလ အတွင်း မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ၏ ပြည်သူ့ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုလုပ်ငန်းများအပေါ် တိုက်ခိုက်ခြိမ်း ခြောက်မှုပေါင်း (၂၉၇) ခုအထိ ရှိခဲ့ကြောင်း သိရှိရပါသည်။ အဆိုပါတိုက်ခိုက်ခြိမ်းခြောက်မှု (၂၉၇) ခုအနက် (၂၆၇) ခုကို အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ လက်နက်ကိုင်အကြမ်းဖက်သမား များက ကျူးလွန်ခဲ့ကြောင်း ခိုင်မာသော သက်သေအထောက်အထားများနှင့်တကွ တွေ့ရှိခဲ့ရ ပါသည်။
၃။ (၁-၂-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့မှ (၃၀-၉-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့အထိ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ ကျူးလွန်ခဲ့မှု များမှာ ကျန်းမာရေးလုပ်သားစုစုပေါင်း (၂၁၀) ဦးကို ဖမ်းဆီးခြင်း၊ (၄၀) ဦးကို ဒဏ်ရာရစေခြင်း နှင့် (၂၉) ဦးကို သတ်ဖြတ်ခြင်း၊ ဆေးရုံများကို အနည်းဆုံး (၈၇) ကြိမ် ဝင်ရောက်စီးနင်းခြင်းနှင့် အနည်းဆုံး (၅၆) ကြိမ် ကျူးကျော်သိမ်းပိုက်ခြင်း၊ COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ထိန်းချုပ်ကုသရေး လုပ်ငန်းများကို (၂၅) ကြိမ် နှောင့်ယှက်တိုက်ခိုက်ခြင်းတို့ ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ထို့အပြင် အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်ကောင်စီက စိတ်ထင်ရာ ဥပဒေပုဒ်မများတပ်၍ မတရားဖမ်းဝရမ်းထုတ်ခြင်းကြောင့် ကျန်းမာရေးလုပ်သား (၇၀၀) ဦးထက်မနည်းလည်း ထွက်ပြေးတိမ်းရှောင်နေရပါသည်။
၄။ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ စက်တင်ဘာလနောက်ပိုင်းတွင်လည်း ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုလုပ်ငန်းများ အပေါ် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ တိုက်ခိုက်ခြိမ်းခြောက်မှုများမှာ ရပ်တန့်ခဲ့ခြင်းမရှိဘဲ ဆက်လက်ကျူးလွန်လျက်ရှိပါသည်။ (၂၄-၁၀-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့တွင် ရန်ကုန်မြို့၌ ပင်လုံ ပုဂ္ဂလိကဆေးရုံကို ပစ်ခတ်တိုက်ခိုက်ခြင်း၊ (၁၆-၁၁-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့တွင် ကလေးမြို့နယ်၌ အရေးပေါ်ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုပေးသူ ဆေးဝန်ထမ်းအမျိုးသမီးများကို ဖမ်းဆီးသတ်ဖြတ် ခြင်းနှင့် ဖားအံမြို့နယ်၊ ဖလံတောင်တိုက်နယ်ဆေးရုံကို ကျူးကျော်ဝင်ရောက်၍ ဖျက်ဆီး လုယက်ခြင်း၊ (၂၂-၁၁-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့တွင် လွိုင်ကော်မြို့၊ ခရစ္စတူးဘုရင် ဘုရားကျောင်းရှိ ကရုဏာဆေးခန်းကို ဝင်ရောက်စီးနင်းပြီး ဆရာဝန်များ၊ သူနာပြုများ၊ ပရဟိတကျန်းမာရေး လုပ်သားများကို ဖမ်းဆီးခြင်းနှင့် လူနာများကို အတင်းအကြပ် နေရာရွှေ့ပြောင်းခြင်း၊ CDM ပြုလုပ်ထားသော အထူးကုဆရာဝန်များအပါအဝင် ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ထမ်းများနှင့် ပရဟိတ သမားများကို ထပ်မံခြိမ်းခြောက်ဖမ်းဆီးခြင်း စသည်တို့ကို အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီအနေဖြင့် ဆက်လက်ကျူးလွန်ဆောင်ရွက်နေကြောင်း တွေ့ရှိရပါသည်။
၅။ ထိုကဲ့သို့ ကျန်းမာရေးအဆောက်အဦးများ၊ ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုလုပ်ငန်းများနှင့် ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုပေးသူများ၊ ပရဟိတလုပ်ငန်းများနှင့် ပရဟိတသမားများအပေါ် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီက ရည်ရွယ်ချက်ရှိရှိ အငြိုးတကြီး ပစ်မှတ်ထား၍ ဆင်ခြင်တုံတရားမဲ့၊ အသိကင်းလွတ် အကြမ်းဖက်နေခြင်းသည် ဂျီနီဗာကွန်ဗန်းရှင်း (Geneva Conventions) နှင့် ကမ္ဘာ့ကုလသမဂ္ဂ လုံခြုံရေးကောင်စီဆုံးဖြတ်ချက် (၂၂၈၆) အပါအဝင် ပြည်တွင်းဥပဒေများ၊ လူသားချင်းစာနာ ထောက်ထားရေးနှင့် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးဆိုင်ရာ နိုင်ငံတကာဥပဒေများကို ပြောင်ပြောင်တင်းတင်း ချိုးဖောက်နေခြင်းပင် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၆။ သို့ဖြစ်ပါ၍ အမျိုးသားကျန်းမာရေးကော်မတီအနေဖြင့် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအတွင်းရှိ ကျန်းမာရေး စောင့်ရှောက်မှုလုပ်ငန်းများ၊ ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုပေးသူများနှင့် ပရဟိတသမားများ ဘေးကင်းလုံခြုံမှုရှိစေရေးအတွက် အဆိုပါအကြမ်းဖက်မှုလုပ်ရပ်များကို ရပ်တန်းကရပ်ရန် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီအား ပြင်းထန်စွာ သတိပေးတောင်းဆိုလိုက်ပြီး နိုင်ငံတကာအသိုင်း အဝိုင်းအနေဖြင့်လည်း အချိန်မီထိရောက်စွာ တားဆီးအရေးယူဆောင်ရွက်ကြပါရန် ထုတ်ပြန် ကြေညာအပ်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
National Health Committee - Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-11-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Public Health, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Anti-coup protesters
Language:
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pdf
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Title: Announcement on the safety of healthcare activities, healthcare personnel and charity workers
Description:
"1. The terrorist military council has, from the time of the illegal coup d'etat on 1st
February 2021 up till now, raided and pillaged healthcare facilities, impeded and
interfered with healthcare and charitable work, threatened, harassed and
murdered healthcare workers and charity workers, issued arrest charges on
trumped up charges on healthcare personnel and relentlessly been inflicting these
atrocious inhumane acts.
2. On 26th October 2021, a press release (https://tinvurl.com/attackstohealthcare) on
an analytical report compiled by Insecurity Insight, Physicians for Human Rights
and the Johns Hopkins University Centre for Public Health and Human Rights
(CPHR) stated that at least 297 attacks and threats against health workers,
facilities, and transports in Myanmar were perpetrated by the military from
February 1 to September 30, 2021. Within the 297 total incidents, there was hard
evidence that 267 incidents are attributed to Myanmar’s armed forces (SAC or the
Tatmadaw).
3. Within all the total incidents that took place during the first eight months of the
military’s coup and crackdown between 1st February to 30th September 2021, there
were:
- 210 health workers arrested
- 40 health workers injured
- 29 health workers killed
- Hospitals raided at least 87 times
- Hospitals occupied at least 56 times
- 25 incidents impacting COVID-19 response measures.
In addition, more than 700 healthcare workers are in hiding from warrants issued
by the terrorist military council on concocted charges.
4. The assault on healthcare activities has not ceased and continued beyond
September 2021. The following events have since taken place;
- A shooting took place at Pinion Private Hospital on 24th October 2021.
- Murder and arrests of female healthcare workers in Kalay Township and
raiding and pillaging of Hpa-lun Taung station hospital, Hpa-an Township on
16th November 2021.
- Raiding, arresting and harassing doctors, nurses, basic healthcare staff and
patients at "Karuna" clinic in Christ the King Cathedral in Nyaung Yar, Loikaw
City, Kayah State on the morning of 22nd November 2021.
In addition, the terrorist military council is continuously resorting to arbitrarily
detaining CDM healthcare workers, Specialists and charity workers.
5. Committing all these criminal acts targeting the healthcare workers, the charity
workers and their clinical facilities is in contravention of the Geneva Conventions
and United Nations Security Council’s Resolution 2286 and not in line with national
laws or international humanitarian and human rights laws.
6. The National Health Committee (NHC) hereby gives notice to the terrorist military
council to cease these barbaric acts upon the healthcare and charity workers and
to keep them free from harm. The Committee also urges the international
community for a timely intervention to prevent these atrocities from happening
again..."
Source/publisher:
National Health Committee - Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-11-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
91.97 KB
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Description:
"CCKP – cold chain key person , effective vaccine management guideline.
click here to download pdf file (28 MB) >> https://assets-moh.nugmyanmar.org/images/2021/11/CCKP-Guideline_NUGMOH_OCT21.pdf
Ministry of Health,
National Unity Government..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Health, National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-10-00
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
28.48 MB (Original version) - 145 pages
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Description:
"The 16th East Asia Summit (EAS) was held via video conference on 27 October The Summit was chaired by His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam. The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) briefed the Summit.....
We reaffirmed our commitment to the 2020 Ha Noi Declaration on the Fifteenth Anniversary of the East Asia Summit, which underscores the role of the EAS as the premier Leaders-led forum for dialogue and cooperation on broad strategic, political and economic issues of common interest and concern with the aim of promoting peace, stability and economic prosperity in East Asia..."
Source/publisher:
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Jakarta)
Date of publication:
2021-10-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
241.35 KB
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Description:
"WE, the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United States of America, met via videoconference, on 26 October 2021, under Brunei Darussalam’s 2021 ASEAN Chairmanship, on the occasion of the 9th ASEAN – U.S. Summit;
RECOGNISING the important role that smart digital development can have in creating economies that are resilient to the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and other economic shocks, ensuring that economic gains can be accessed by all sectors of the population and potentially enabling a sustainable, inclusive and resilient economic growth, especially during and in the post-pandemic era;...."
Source/publisher:
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Jakarta)
Date of publication:
2021-10-26
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
138.78 KB
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Description:
"National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met virtually today with Burmese NUG representatives Duwa Lashi La and Zin Mar Aung. Mr. Sullivan underscored continued U.S. support for the pro-democracy movement in Burma and they discussed ongoing efforts to restore Burma’s path to democracy. Mr. Sullivan expressed concern over the Burmese military’s brutal violence and noted that the U.S. will continue to promote accountability for the coup. Mr. Sullivan also expressed concern over the recent arrest of pro-democracy activist Ko Jimmy and noted the U.S. will continue to advocate for his release and the release of all those unjustly detained. They also discussed regional and international engagement, and Mr. Sullivan reiterated U.S. support for ASEAN efforts to hold the Burmese military regime to its obligations under the Five-Point Consensus. Mr. Sullivan and the NUG officials discussed the COVID-19 pandemic in Burma and ongoing U.S. efforts to provide humanitarian assistance directly to the people of Burma. Mr. Sullivan underscored that the U.S. will continue to support the people of Burma in this moment of need..."
Source/publisher:
The White House (Washington, D.C.)
Date of publication:
2021-10-25
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), ASEAN-Burma relations, USA-Burma relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
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Description:
"Introduction
Nine months since a military coup, the future of Myanmar remains uncertain. Despite a brutal crackdown, millions of people continue to resist the military junta that seized power, both through civil disobedience and armed resistance. What is certain is that a humanitarian and displacement catastrophe has engulfed the country and is likely to get worse. Myanmar's neighbors and leading donors of humanitarian aid, including the United States, cannot allow the complex domestic, regional, and geo-political dynamics preventing resolution of the ongoing violence to prevent the provision of humanitarian aid to those in need---nor refuge to those fleeing for their lives.
Since February 1, 2021, the military leaders responsible for decades of repression of minority groups and genocide against the Rohingya have expanded their abuses to target all citizens of Myanmar who oppose their power grab. The junta's actions have resulted in the killing of more than 1,100 civilians and the forcible displacement of more than 200,000 people, and have left an estimated 3 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. The junta continues its attacks on civilians, which includes the targeting of health workers and the blocking of aid---in the midst of economic failure and the COVID-19 pandemic---virtually guaranteeing a worsening crisis likely to continue to spill over to countries throughout the region.
The junta's actions have also dissolved any hopes of return for those displaced by previous violence by the military. Some 1 million Rohingya refugees remain in trying conditions in Bangladesh, living in the largest refugee settlement in the world. Hundreds of thousands of other ethnic minorities from Myanmar remain in Malaysia and Thailand, and thousands more have recently fled to India.
The nature of the atrocities committed by the military junta and the trajectory of the humanitarian and displacement crises demand regional and global attention. Yet, torn by competing interests, the UN Security Council and regional powers, led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), have failed to act decisively to address the crisis in Myanmar. Coordinated targeted sanctions, a global arms embargo, and further efforts at accountability are sorely needed. But even as the struggle continues to push actors like China, Russia, and ASEAN countries to address the roots of the crisis, more must be done immediately to mitigate the humanitarian catastrophe engulfing the country and affecting the region.
An effective response must start with Myanmar's neighbors holding up global standards of refugee protection and non-refoulement---permitting access to those fleeing for their lives and not returning them to a country where they would not be safe. With the support of global donors, Myanmar's neighbors must also immediately mobilize and facilitate the delivery of aid across borders in coordination with local organizations and ethnic groups controlling border areas. Coordinated global pressure must also be brought to bear on the military junta in Myanmar to demand an end to atrocities, including attacks on health and aid workers, and to secure unfettered access for humanitarian relief.
The United States should press ASEAN governments and the members of the UN Security Council to take a stronger stance, but not wait to do so itself. It should simultaneously coordinate increased pressure on the junta through a global coalition of like-minded states, including more forward leaning ASEAN countries. Major donor countries must also continue humanitarian support and increase responsibility sharing with countries like Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Thailand that are hosting those who fled previous persecution at the hands of Myanmar's military. This should include ensuring meaningful access to refuge and resettling refugees, while at the same time urging host countries to permit access to those fleeing violence and to change restrictive refugee policies.
The tragedy in Myanmar is far from over. While complex geo-political dynamics may prevent broader measures from being taken to address its root causes, actions to provide humanitarian aid and refuge for those fleeing for their lives need not and must not wait..."
Source/publisher:
Refugees International
Date of publication:
2021-10-21
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., Human Rights and international relations, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
604.96 KB (21 pages)
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Description:
"KEY DISPLACEMENT FIGURES
22,000 Estimated refugee movements to neighbouring countries since 1 February 2021
980,000 Refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar in neighbouring countries as of 31 December 2020
219,000 Estimated total internal displacement within Myanmar since 1 February 2021
589,000 Estimated internally displaced persons (IDPs) within Myanmar as of 18 October
HIGHLIGHTS
Of the total 589,000 internally displaced people in Myanmar, approximately 219,000 have been displaced by armed conflict and unrest since 1 February 2021, while numbers of refugees who have fled to neighboring countries remained steady at some 22,000. The majority of those displaced internally since 1 February—some 155,000 IDPs—remain displaced in South-East Myanmar and Shan State (South), including over 4,000 people newly displaced in the last two weeks by clashes between the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) or people’s defence forces (PDFs) in Thayetchaung Township, Tanintharyi Region, and between the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) in Mongkaing Township, Shan State (South). New displacement was also observed in Thantlang and Matupi townships, Chin State, as armed conflict escalated. Small-scale returns have been observed in some parts of the country, such as Yebyu Township, Tanintharyi Region, and Myaung and Kani townships in Sagaing region, following a pattern of temporary and fluid displacement in which people seek immediate refuge in nearby forests or safe locations, then return home once fighting in their villages subsides.
With fuel and other commodities becoming scarce as prices rise sharply, IDPs and other vulnerable communities—such as the Rohingya in Rakhine State—are at risk of becoming increasingly isolated due to transport challenges that impact both humanitarian access and livelihood opportunities. Electricity cuts and communications disruptions continue in much of South-East Myanmar, while prolonged internet shutdowns have been reported in Sagaing Region and Kachin State’s Hpakant Township. The COVID-19 pandemic also continues to spread among IDPs, with new cases reported in Demoso and Hpruso townships in Kayah State, despite COVID-19 positive rates declining nationally. At the same time, ongoing security concerns—ranging from increasing explosions and landmines in the South-East to vandalism and destruction of private property and religious sites in the North-West—continue to make it extremely difficult for IDPs to meet their basic needs..."
Source/publisher:
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-10-20
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNHCR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Human Rights and international relations, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
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"COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ဆေးနှင့်စပ်လျဉ်း၍ ပြည်သူ့ထံ တင်ပြခြင်း
၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ အောက်တိုဘာလ (၁၈) ရက်
၁။ ပြည်ထောင်စုလွှတ်တော် ကိုယ်စားပြုကော်မတီ (Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw - CRPH) စတင်ဖွဲ့စည်းပြီးချိန်မှစ၍ CDM ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ထမ်းများ ဦးဆောင်ကာ COVID-19 ကာကွယ်၊ ထိန်းချုပ်၊ ကုသရေးလုပ်ငန်းစဉ်များ ဆက်လက်အကောင်အထည် ဖော်နိုင်ရေးနှင့် ပြည်သူများအား COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ဆေး ဆက်လက်ထိုးနှံပေးနိုင်ရေး အတွက် ဆောင်ရွက်ခဲ့ပါသည်။ အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ အာဏာသိမ်းမှု မတိုင်ခင်ကပင် ရေးဆွဲခဲ့ပြီး အာဏာသိမ်းပြီးနောက် လိုအပ်ချက်နှင့်အညီ ပြန်လည်ပြုပြင်ရေးဆွဲထားသော အမျိုးသား COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ဆေးထိုးနှံခြင်းအစီအစဉ် (Revised National Vaccine Roll Out Plan) နှင့်စပ်လျဉ်း၍ GAVI, the vaccine alliance သို့ (၃၀-၃-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့တွင် စာပေးပို့ခဲ့ပါသည်။
၂။ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ (NUG) သည် COVID-19 ကာကွယ်၊ ထိန်းချုပ်၊ ကုသရေး အမျိုးသား အဆင့်ကော်မရှင်ကို (၇-၇-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့တွင် ဖွဲ့စည်းခဲ့ပါသည်။ COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ဆေး ထိုးနှံခြင်းနှင့် စပ်လျဉ်း၍ နိုင်ငံတော်၏ အခြေခံမူဝါဒအဖြစ်ကျင့်သုံးမည့် နည်းလမ်းများကို ကော်မရှင်ဥက္ကဌ နိုင်ငံတော်ယာယီသမ္မတက ပြည်သူများထံ ရှင်းလင်းတင်ပြခဲ့ပါသည်။ တိုင်းရင်းသားကျန်းမာရေးအဖွဲ့အစည်းများနှင့် MOH, NUG တို့ ပူးပေါင်းပါဝင်သော COVID-19 Task Force (CTF) ကိုလည်း (၂၁-၇-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့တွင် ဖွဲ့စည်း၍ COVID-19 ကာကွယ်၊ ထိန်းချုပ်၊ ကုသရေးလုပ်ငန်းစဉ်များကို ဘက်စုံ၊ ကဏ္ဍစုံက အရှိန်အဟုန်မြှင့်တင်ဆောင်ရွက်ခဲ့ ပါသည်။
၃။ COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ဆေးများ အမြန်ဆုံးရရှိနိုင်ရေးအတွက် COVAX Facility, GAVI အပါအဝင် UN အဖွဲ့အစည်းများ၊ သံတမန်အဖွဲ့များ၊ နိုင်ငံတကာမိတ်ဖက်အဖွဲ့အစည်းများနှင့် အကြိမ်ကြိမ် တွေ့ဆုံမှုများ ပြုလုပ်ခြင်း၊ အပြန်အလှန်စာပေးပို့ဆက်သွယ်ခြင်းများနှင့် နိုင်ငံတော်ယာယီ သမ္မတက စာပေးပို့၊ ဆက်သွယ်ညှိနှိုင်းခြင်းများ ပြုလုပ်ခဲ့ပါသည်။ အရေးကြီးသော တိုင်ပင် ဆွေးနွေးမှုများကို (၂၆/၂၈-၇-၂၀၂၁)၊ (၁၁/၁၃-၈-၂၀၂၁)၊ (၃/၁၅/၁၆/၂၂-၉-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့ များတွင် အသီးသီးပြုလုပ်ခဲ့ပါသည်။
၄။ ထိုသို့တွေ့ဆုံရာတွင် CTF အနေဖြင့် (က) ပြည်သူသာအဓိက ဖြစ်ရမည်၊ (ခ) ပွင့်လင်းမြင်သာမှု ရှိရမည်၊ (ဂ) ညီမျှသောဆက်ဆံမှု ရှိရမည် ဟူသော ပြည်သူအခြေပြု မူဝါဒ (၃) ရပ်ကို လက်ကိုင်ထားပါသည်။ (CTF ၏ ကာကွယ်ဆေးထိုးနှံခြင်းဆိုင်ရာ လုပ်ငန်းစဉ်မူဝါဒများကို အမျိုးသားကျန်းမာရေးကော်မတီ၏ (၁၆-၉-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့ရက်စွဲပါ ထုတ်ပြန်ကြေညာချက် ၂/၂၀၂၁ တွင် အသေးစိတ်ဖော်ပြထားပါသည်)
၅။ ဆွေးနွေးချက်များတွင် CTF အနေဖြင့် အောက်ပါအချက်များကို စဉ်ဆက်မပြတ် တောင်းဆို ခဲ့ပါသည်။
(က) ကာကွယ်ဆေး မထိုးနှံရသေးသော ပြည်သူများအားလုံး မည်ကဲ့သို့သော ခွဲခြားမှုမျိုးမှ မခံရစေဘဲ တန်းတူညီမျှ အခွင့်အရေး ရစေရန်၊
(ခ) ပြည်သူလူထုအား COVID-19 Fourth Wave အန္တရာယ်မှ ကာကွယ်နိုင်ရေးအတွက် ကာကွယ်ဆေးများ အမြန်ဆုံး ထောက်ပံ့ပေးရန်၊
(ဂ) ကာကွယ်ဆေးထိုးနှံရာတွင် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီက ပါဝင်ဆောင်ရွက်ခြင်း လုံးဝ မရှိစေရန်နှင့် Third Party အဖြစ် UN အဖွဲ့အစည်းများ၊ INGO များ၊ NGO များ၊ CBO/ CSO များ၊ EHO များနှင့် CDM ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ထမ်းများက ဆောင်ရွက်ပေးနိုင်ရန်၊
(ဃ) ကာကွယ်ဆေး လာရောက်ထိုးနှံမည့် ပြည်သူများနှင့် ကာကွယ်ဆေးထိုးနှံပေးမည့် ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ထမ်းများ၏ လုံခြုံရေးနှင့် အသက်အိုးအိမ်ကို UN အဖွဲ့အစည်းများမှ အာမခံစောင့်ရှောက်ပေးရန်၊
(င) ပြည်သူလူထု၏ ယုံကြည်မှုနှင့် ပူးပေါင်းဆောင်ရွက်မှုသည်သာ ပဓာန ဖြစ်စေရန်၊
(စ) အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီနှင့် အပေါင်းအပါများသည် အနောက်နိုင်ငံများ၏ စီးပွားရေး ပိတ်ဆို့ အရေးယူခံထားရသူများ ဖြစ်သည့်အလျောက် ၎င်းတို့နှင့် တရားဝင်ပတ်သက်ခြင်း များသည် နိုင်ငံတကာဥပဒေများနှင့် ဆန့်ကျင်ကြောင်း သိစေရန်။
၆။ (၂၀၂၁) ခုနှစ်၊ စက်တင်ဘာလတွင် ဆောင်ရွက်ခဲ့သော ဆွေးနွေးပွဲများမှ စတင်ကာ GAVI နှင့် UN အဖွဲ့အစည်းများသည် Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine များ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအတွင်းသို့ တင်သွင်းနိုင်ရေးအတွက် ကာကွယ်ဆေးထုတ်လုပ်သော ကုမ္ပဏီ၏ လိုအပ်ချက်အရ Indemnity and Liability Agreement (ကာကွယ်ဆေးဆိုင်ရာ လျော်ကြေးစာချုပ်) တွင် အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်ကောင်စီက လက်မှတ်ထိုးရန်လိုအပ်ကြောင်း ဆွေးနွေးလာပါသည်။ ထိုကိစ္စ အဆင်မပြေ ပါက Pfizer Vaccine များကို ပေးပို့နိုင်မည်မဟုတ်ကြောင်း အသိပေးလာပါသည်။ အဆိုပါ ကိစ္စနှင့် စပ်လျဉ်း၍ COVID-19 ကာကွယ်၊ ထိန်းချုပ်၊ ကုသရေး အမျိုးသားအဆင့်ကော်မရှင် နှင့် CTF တို့တွင် အသေအချာ ဆွေးနွေးသုံးသပ်ပြီး “ပြည်သူသာအဓိက” ဟူသော မူဝါဒအပေါ် အခြေခံ၍ အထက်ဖော်ပြပါ စာပိုဒ် (၅) ပါ (က) မှ (င) အထိ အချက်များကို လိုက်လျောပေးနိုင် ပါက အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီက လက်မှတ်ထိုးခြင်းကို ကော်မရှင်နှင့် CTF တို့က ကန့်ကွက်မည် မဟုတ်ကြောင်း ပြန်ကြားပေးခဲ့ပါသည်။ တွေ့ဆုံခဲ့သော နိုင်ငံတကာအဖွဲ့အစည်းများမှ ကိုယ်စား လှယ်များ၏ တောင်းဆိုချက်အရ ဖော်ပြပါကိစ္စများကို လျှို့ဝှက်ထားပေးခဲ့ပါသည်။
၇။ သို့သော် GAVI, UNICEF, WHO တို့၏ (၃၀-၉-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့ ပူးတွဲထုတ်ပြန်ချက်ပါ ဘက်မလိုက်၍ ခွဲခြားမှု မရှိသည့် တန်းတူညီမျှ သဘောတရားများကို ဆန့်ကျင်သော ထုတ်ပြန်စာ တစ်စောင်ကို အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာနအမည်ခံ Non-CDM လူတစ်စုက (၅-၁၀-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့ ရက်စွဲဖြင့် ထုတ်ပြန်လာပါသည်။ ၎င်းစာအရ GAVI က ရရှိမည့် ကာကွယ်ဆေးများကို ၎င်းတို့ စီမံခန့်ခွဲမည်ဟု ရေးသားထားပါသည်။ ထိုထုတ်ပြန်စာသည် ကာကွယ်ဆေးများ ထောက်ပံ့မည့် နိုင်ငံတကာအဖွဲ့အစည်းများ၏ ဆွေးနွေး၊ သဘောတူညီချက်များကို လေးစားမှု မရှိသည့် အပြင် COVAX Facility မှ COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ဆေးများရရှိရေးအတွက် ဆောင်ရွက်ထားရှိမှုများအပေါ် ပြည်သူများ နားလည်မှု လွဲမှားစေရန် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီက ရည်ရွယ်ချက်ရှိရှိ လုပ်ဆောင်ခြင်းသာဖြစ်ကြောင်း ပြည်သူများအား အသိပေးအပ်ပါသည်။
၈။ ပြည်သူများ သိရှိပြီးသည့်အတိုင်း အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီသည် (၂၀၂၁) ခုနှစ်၊ ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ (၁) ရက်နေ့ မတရားအာဏာသိမ်းသည့်အချိန်မှစ၍ ပြည်သူ့ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှု လုပ်ငန်းများကို နှောင့်ယှက်ဖျက်ဆီးနေသည်မှာ ယနေ့ထက်တိုင် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ (၁-၂-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့မှ (၃၀-၉-၂၀၂၁) ရက်နေ့အထိ မတရားဖမ်းဆီးချုပ်နှောင်ခံရသူ ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ထမ်း (၂၁၀) ဦး၊ မတရားနှိပ်စက်သတ်ဖြတ်ခံရသူ ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ထမ်း (၂၉) ဦး၊ ထိခိုက်ဒဏ်ရာ ရရှိသူ ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ထမ်း (၄၀) ဦး၊ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်၏ ကျူးကျော်ဝင်ရောက် ခြင်းခံရသော ကျန်းမာရေးအဆောက်အဦး (၉၂) ခု၊ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်၏ သိမ်းပိုက် ခြင်းခံရသော ကျန်းမာရေးအဆောက်အဦး (၅၇) ခု၊ ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုလုပ်ငန်းကို အကြမ်းဖက်ခံရသော ဖြစ်စဉ် (၂၉၀) ခုနှင့် လိုရာစွဲပုဒ်မများဖြင့် မတရား ဝရမ်းအထုတ်ခံရ၍ တိမ်းရှောင်နေရသူ ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ထမ်း (၇၀၆) ဦးနှင့်အထက် ရှိပါသည်။
(http://insecurityinsight.org/country-pages/myanmar)
၉။ COVAX Facility, GAVI သည် ကမ္ဘာပေါ်ရှိ နိုင်ငံများအားလုံး ဆင်းရဲချမ်းသာမရွေး COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ဆေးကို လက်လှမ်းမှီနိုင်ရန် ကတိကဝတ် ပြုထားပါသည်။ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိ တိုင်းရင်းသား ပြည်သူများအားလုံး အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ ခြိမ်းခြောက်၊ ရန်ရှာခြင်းများ မရှိဘဲ ကာကွယ်ဆေးထိုးနှံနိုင်ရန် GAVI သည်လည်း အဓိကတာဝန်ရှိသည့် အဖွဲ့အစည်းတစ်ခု ဖြစ်သည့်အလျောက် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ တောင်းဆိုသမျှ မလိုက်လျောဘဲ ဘက်မလိုက်၍ ခွဲခြားမှု မရှိသည့် တန်းတူညီမျှ သဘောတရားများကို သွေဖီမသွားစေရန် ဆောင်ရွက်ရမည် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ထိုသို့ တန်းတူညီမျှ ကာကွယ်ဆေးထိုးနှံနိုင်ရေး မူဝါဒကို မျှမျှတတ ဖြစ်စေရန် CTF က ညှိနှိုင်းဆွေးနွေးနေသည့်အပြင် GAVI ၏ ဆောင်ရွက်ချက်များကိုလည်း နိုင်ငံတကာ နှင့်အတူ စောင့်ကြည့်လျက်ရှိပါကြောင်း ပြည်သူများအား အသိပေးအပ်ပါသည်။
၁၀။ CTF အနေဖြင့် ပြည်သူများအားလုံး COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ဆေးကို အသက်အန္တရာယ် ခြိမ်းခြောက်ခံရမှု မရှိဘဲ အပြည့်အဝ ထိုးနှံနိုင်ရေးအတွက် “ပြည်သူသာ အဓိက” ဟူသော မူကို ကိုင်စွဲ၍ စွမ်းစွမ်းတမံ ဆက်လက် ဆောင်ရွက်သွားမည်ဖြစ်ပါကြောင်း ပြည်သူများအား အသိပေးအပ်ပါသည်။
- အမျိုးသားကျန်းမာရေးကော်မတီ (https://nhcmyanmar.org/)
- COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ထိန်းချုပ်ကုသရေးအဖွဲ့ (COVID-19 Task Force - CTF)
- ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာန၊ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ..."
Source/publisher:
National Health Committee - Myanmar, COVID-19 Task Force - CTF and Ministry of Health, National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-10-18
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
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Size:
1.1 MB
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Description:
"The ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC) / ASEAN Peoples’ Forum (APF) 2021 second day has been
successfully commenced under the conference’s theme
for Collective Actions to Address Rising Inequality and Shrinking Civic Space in South East Asia.’
was intended to promote solidarity with the peoples of Myanmar and to discuss the chall
solutions from the ground against the shrinking civic space in South East Asia.
After the recap of day one, day two started with a plenary session, titled
the Collective Humanity: Justice Must be Served fo
diverse backgrounds including the His Excellency U Aung Myo Min of National Unity Government (NUG), former
foreign minister of Thailand Kasit Piromya
Nneng -Kuki Woman from Women League of Burma (WLB), and Ye Wai Phyo Aung of General Strike Committee.
The panel has highlighted the root of February’s attempted coup is the military’s total impunity. And the panel
rang the alarm on the passivity, and in some cases total inaction by the international community, in particular
ASEAN, to pursue justice and accountability has further emboldened the military in their continued commission
of atrocity crimes today in Myanmar.
Kasit Piromya called for the transformation of ASEAN into a democratic space where freedom of expression
and human rights as core values. He said,
the people”.
Aung Myo Min said within Myanmar’s Spring Revolution, it is a national issue to address impunity.
Military has responded to the revolution with brutality and terrorism, it is regarded that
taking place against people of the country
culture of impunity is well established . So far,
their communities – now became IDPs and Refugees.
current atrocities. Crimes against the few are now crimes against the many.
military accountable for all the crimes committed
international accountability mechanisms.
Ye Wai Phyo Aung said the Military is the oppressor of the people
been used to keep it in power. So far,
military and political system created. Our
transitional justice and human rights must be at the core of the new Myanmar
Nga Ngai Nneng said 60 percent of all prote
to torture, sexual assault, verbal abuse and intimidation.
violence against women – including sexual violence
committed while rape is used as an instrument of war to demoralize and destroy communities.
ASEAN to ensure that the release of all pol
against female detainees, to end military violence and terror camp
atrocity crimes. She also call on international commu
embargo with monitoring mechanism, and to
– focus on ethnic peoples.
ACSC/APF 2021
Day 2 Press Release
17.10.2021
The ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC) / ASEAN Peoples’ Forum (APF) 2021 second day has been
successfully commenced under the conference’s theme ‘Authoritarianism, Militarism, and Covid
for Collective Actions to Address Rising Inequality and Shrinking Civic Space in South East Asia.’
was intended to promote solidarity with the peoples of Myanmar and to discuss the chall
solutions from the ground against the shrinking civic space in South East Asia.
After the recap of day one, day two started with a plenary session, titled “Culture of Impunity
Justice Must be Served for Peoples of Myanmar”. Panel speakers are varied from
diverse backgrounds including the His Excellency U Aung Myo Min of National Unity Government (NUG), former
ailand Kasit Piromya - the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rig
Kuki Woman from Women League of Burma (WLB), and Ye Wai Phyo Aung of General Strike Committee.
The panel has highlighted the root of February’s attempted coup is the military’s total impunity. And the panel
passivity, and in some cases total inaction by the international community, in particular
ASEAN, to pursue justice and accountability has further emboldened the military in their continued commission
ed for the transformation of ASEAN into a democratic space where freedom of expression
and human rights as core values. He said, “We cannot wait for ASEAN politicians to lead this charge, has to be
ithin Myanmar’s Spring Revolution, it is a national issue to address impunity.
on with brutality and terrorism, it is regarded that
taking place against people of the country. The culture of human rights is not respected by military
. So far, thousands of ethnic peoples including Rohingya
IDPs and Refugees. It is clear that previous atrocities laid the groundwork for
current atrocities. Crimes against the few are now crimes against the many. We will bring justice and make the
military accountable for all the crimes committed over six decades in the country by
international accountability mechanisms.
Military is the oppressor of the people – historic overview
people have not been able to enjoy any kind of democracy due to the
Our goal is a federal democratic union. He also stressed that
transitional justice and human rights must be at the core of the new Myanmar”.
60 percent of all protesters are women. Those Woman detainee
to torture, sexual assault, verbal abuse and intimidation. It is the Long history of violence of Myanmar military
including sexual violence. War crimes and crimes agains
ape is used as an instrument of war to demoralize and destroy communities.
elease of all political detainees and protesters, end the use of sexual violence by junta
to end military violence and terror campaign against the people to prevent further
international community to investigation crimes and take a role on
bargo with monitoring mechanism, and to refer situation of Myanmar to `International Criminal Court (
The ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC) / ASEAN Peoples’ Forum (APF) 2021 second day has been
Authoritarianism, Militarism, and Covid-19: Challenges
for Collective Actions to Address Rising Inequality and Shrinking Civic Space in South East Asia.’ The second day
was intended to promote solidarity with the peoples of Myanmar and to discuss the challenges and seek
“Culture of Impunity – A Threat to
. Panel speakers are varied from
diverse backgrounds including the His Excellency U Aung Myo Min of National Unity Government (NUG), former
the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), Nga Ngai
Kuki Woman from Women League of Burma (WLB), and Ye Wai Phyo Aung of General Strike Committee.
The panel has highlighted the root of February’s attempted coup is the military’s total impunity. And the panel
passivity, and in some cases total inaction by the international community, in particular
ASEAN, to pursue justice and accountability has further emboldened the military in their continued commission
ed for the transformation of ASEAN into a democratic space where freedom of expression
“We cannot wait for ASEAN politicians to lead this charge, has to be
ithin Myanmar’s Spring Revolution, it is a national issue to address impunity. Since the
on with brutality and terrorism, it is regarded that International crimes are
culture of human rights is not respected by military while the
Rohingya have had to flee
revious atrocities laid the groundwork for
will bring justice and make the
over six decades in the country by fully cooperate with
historic overview while Constitution has
eople have not been able to enjoy any kind of democracy due to the
He also stressed that “democracy,
Woman detainee are being subjected
Long history of violence of Myanmar military –
War crimes and crimes against humanity are being
ape is used as an instrument of war to demoralize and destroy communities. She also urges the
nd the use of sexual violence by junta
aign against the people to prevent further
and take a role on total arms
`International Criminal Court (ICC)
The day continued with two convergence spaces with the thematic 1) Environmental Justice, Land Rights and
Climate Change and 2) COVID-19 impact social, political, cultural, and economic issues. One workshop conducted
under convergence space 3 was discussing a food system based on environmental and social justice through
recognition, securing land rights, and ecological sustainability in Timor Leste, Myanmar and Laos. The speakers’
discussed many obstacles and a substantial number of policies for the agriculture development, food security and
social reality is concerning in the country and the region, especially, like the country of Timor Leste and Laos who
are depending on agricultural production. The workshop also emphasized the Indigenous Peoples are agents of
change in the face of climate change.
“Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and their communities are nurturing a close relationship with their natural
environment, which is intimately tied to their livelihoods. As IPs depend on biodiversity for their well-being,
they are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, says the speakers from Myanmar (Unnamed).”
Therefore, the discussion synthesizes with a few important points. In the longer run, ASEAN and its member
countries must strive to put in place resilient farming systems. They should develop sustainable food systems that
place small farmers at their very heart and are inspired, inter alia, by agro-ecology. Further food security systems
and mechanisms must also be set up. A certain emphasis should be put on the diversification of food sources
thereupon. Also, mechanisms should be put in place to monitor and evaluate the commitments of ASEAN as well
as its member countries in tackling climate change.
There are 3 workshops under the convergence space 4 on the 1) social, political, cultural, and economic of
COVID-19, 2) Striving for establishing a welfare state in ASEAN countries. One of the good practices advocacy and
campaign were stressed by the Universal Basic Income Movement in Indonesia was the relevance of the
momentum, rights-based income model for the marginalized groups, the transition where the basic income can
be floor and basic safety net for the citizen and the synergy in its implementation and it can improve welfare
policy efficiency, 3) Challenges to solidarity with migrant workers in Southeast Asia. The participants reflected on
the importance of investing in the rights and welfare of children, girls, youth, and women as an important of a
welfare state and social reforms. The workshop opportunities in solidarity building with migrants’ rights activists
and migrant leaders who have been advocating in the ASEAN region. This workshop became a platform for
various inputs from the region on human, and migrants’ rights affected by the pandemic. The workshop urged
ASEAN member states to ratify the ILO Convention 189 on Domestic Workers and ILO Convention 190 on
Violence and Harassment Convention. This includes the ratification of CEDAW and CRC.
More than 160 participants from across 11 countries in Southeast Asia together with other 15 countries from
various regions attended the plenary and the plenary has reached more than 50,000 people across ASEAN
through our media partners Myanmar Nowม Khit Thit Media and other local media channels.
The session will continue again until 17 October and to discuss the impacts of COVID-19 on human rights and
the economic projections in ASEAN rebuilding post-COVID-19 and moving forward for the recovery better, in
solidarity with hope..."
Source/publisher:
ASEAN Peoples’ Forum
Date of publication:
2021-10-17
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
151.23 KB
more
Description:
"Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) gave oxygen concentrators to Myanmar which has faced serious challenges in its fight against Covid-19.
The project allowed for the enhancement of Myanmar's capacity to fight the pandemic with the cooperation of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Turkey's Sectoral Dialogue Partner. 131 of the 500 Oxygen Concentrators Myanmar needed as a "priority" in its fight against the pandemic were procured by TİKA and handed over to Myanmar's Red Cross.
Along with the Secretary General of ASEAN, the accredited Ambassadors of the member states attended the project's online delivery ceremony. Turkish Ambassador to Naypyidaw Kerem Divanoğlu also attended the ceremony. Secretary General of ASEAN, Myanmarese officials as well as ASEAN member state representatives thanked TİKA for its humanitarian aid to Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
Government of Turkey via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-10-13
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health
Language:
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Sub-title:
ဘဝဇာတ်ကြောင်းများနှင့် လွှမ်းမိုးထားသည့် လူမှုဖွဲ့စည်းတည်ဆောက်မှုပုံစံများ
Description:
"၂၀၂၀ခုနှစ်ကို ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ကမ္ဘာ့ကပ်ရောဂါဖြစ်ပွားခဲ့သည့်ခုနှစ်အဖြစ် အမြဲတစေအမှတ်ရနေတော့မည်ဖြစ်သည်။ ထိုကမ္ဘာ့ကပ်ရောဂါကြောင့် ကြီးမားသည့် နောက်ဆက်တွဲအကျိုးသက်ရောက်မှုများစွာ ဖြစ်ပွားခဲ့ပါသည်။ ထိုအထဲမှ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ၏ နယ်စပ်ဖြတ်ကျော် ရွှေ့ပြောင်းလုပ်သားများအနေဖြင့် ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ကြောင့် အလွန်ထိခိုက်ခံစားခဲ့သူများတွင် ယခုအချိန်ထိ ပါဝင်နေဆဲဖြစ်သည်။ ကမ္ဘာ့ကပ်ရောဂါကြောင့် ၎င်းတို့ဘဝများနှင့် သက်ဆိုင်သော စီးပွားရေးဆိုင်ရာ ထုတ်လုပ်မှုဝန်းကျင် နယ်ပယ် (ဥပမာ အလုပ်အကိုင်များ၊ အလုပ်သမားဈေးကွက် စသည်) နှင့် နေ့တစ်ဓူရှင်သန်မှုဝန်းကျင် နယ်ပယ် (ဥပမာ နေ့စဉ်စားဝတ်နေရေး ဖူလုံရေး၊ ကလေးသူငယ်စောင့်ရှောက်ရေး၊ ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်ရေး၊ ပင်စင် စသည်) တို့တွင် အပြောင်းအလဲများ ဖြစ်စေခဲ့ပါသည်။ ယခုအစီရင်ခံစာသည် အလုပ်သမားများ၏ လူမှုစီးပွားရေးဆိုင်ရာအကျိုးသက်ရောက်မှုများ အထူးသဖြင့် ၎င်းတို့၏ နေသာထိုင်သာရှိမှုအခြေအနေ အပေါ်လေ့လာထားပါသည်။ ယခုအစီရင်ခံစာတွင် ရွှေ့ပြောင်းအလုပ်သမားများသည် မည်သူများဖြစ်သည်၊ အဘယ်ကြောင့် ရွှေ့ပြောင်းအလုပ်လုပ်ရသည်၊ ၎င်းတို့၏ အခြေအနေများအပေါ် မည်ကဲ့သို့ရှုမြင်ကြသည်အပေါ် သုံးသပ် ဆွေးနွေးထားပါသည်။ ၎င်းတို့တစ်ဦးချင်းစီ၏ ဘဝဇာတ်ကြောင်းများကိုလည်း မီးမှောင်းထိုးပြထားပါသည်။ ထိုကဲ့သို့ တစ်ဦးချင်းစီ၏ ဇာတ်ကြောင်းများကို အထူးတင်ပြခြင်းဖြင့် အစားအစာ၊ ခိုလှုံရာနေရာ၊ အဝတ်အစား၊ ကျန်းမာရေး၊ ပညာရေး စသည့် အခြေခံလိုအပ်ချက်များကို ၎င်းတို့မှ လက်လှမ်းမှီနိုင်မှုအပေါ် အကျိုးသက်ရောက်မှုရှိသည့် နောက်ခံ အကြောင်းရင်းများ နှင့် ထိုမှတဆင့် မည်သည့်အခြေအနေများကြောင့် လက်ရှိအလုပ်အကိုင်နေရာနှင့် အလုပ်အကိုင်အမျိုးအစား ကို ရွေးချယ်ခဲ့သည်ကို သိမြင်လာနိုင်သည်။
လူတစ်ဦးချင်းစီ၏ ဇာတ်ကြောင်းများကို ပို၍ကျယ်ပြန့်သည့်အခြေအနေနှင့် ချိတ်ဆက်နားလည်နိုင်ရန် အခြားအစီရင်ခံစာများ၊ သုတေသနများ၊ ပုံနှိပ်ထုတ်ဝေထားသည့် စာတမ်းများ အသုံးပြုထားပြီး ထို့အပြင် နယ်စပ်ဖြတ်ကျော်ရွှေ့ပြောင်းအလုပ်သမားပေါင်း ၁၃၆ ဦး၏ ဖြေဆိုခဲ့သည့် အကြောင်းအရာများကို စုပေါင်းကာ ထပ်ခါတလဲ မြင်တွေ့ရသည့် အခြေအနေများ၊ ပုံသဏ္ဍန်များကို ဖော်ထုတ်ထားပါသည်။ ကျွန်ုပ်တို့အနေဖြင့် ရွှေ့ပြောင်းလုပ်သားများကို အလွန်အရေးပါသည့် အချိန်ကာလတွင် တွေ့ဆုံခွင့်ရခဲ့သည်ဟု ဆိုနိုင်သည်။ ယခုလက်ရှိကာလသည် အတိတ်ကာလမှ အမွေဆက်ခံခဲ့ရသော လူမှုဖွဲ့စည်းတည်ဆောက်မှုပုံစံများ (social structures)အောက်တွင် ပုံဖော်ခံထားရကာ အလွန်အန္တရာယ်များသည့် ကမ္ဘာ့ကပ်ရောဂါကြောင့် လက်ရှိကာလတွင် ထပ်မံပြဋ္ဌာန်းခံနေရပြန်သည်။ ထို့အပြင် ယခုကာလကို ၎င်းတို့နှင့် ၎င်းတို့၏ မိသားစုများ၊ ရပ်ရွာလူမှုအဖွဲ့အစည်းများအတွက် ပိုကောင်းလာမည့် အနာဂတ်ဖန်တီးရန် ၎င်းတို့၏မျှော်မှန်းချက်များ အပေါ်အခြေခံပြီး သဘောပေါက် နားလည်နိုင်သည်။
စာဖတ်သူများအား ရွှေ့ပြောင်းအလုပ်သမားများ၏ ဘဝဇာတ်လမ်းများကို ဖတ်ရှုပေးရန်နှင့် ထိုဇာတ်လမ်းများကို ရပ်ရွာလူမှုအသိုက်အဝန်းတွင်းပြောဆိုဖလှယ်မှုများ တွင် ထည့်သွင်းဆွေးနွေးနိုင်ရန် တိုက်တွန်းလိုပါသည်။ လက်ရှိကြုံတွေ့နေရသော အကျပ်အတည်းကို ဖြေရှင်းနိုင်ရန်အလိုငှာ အစီရင်ခံစာမှတဆင့် သိမြင်နားလည်မှု ဖြစ်စဉ် တစ်ခုအား ရွှေ့ပြောင်းအလုပ်သမားများ နှင့်အတူ တည်ဆောက်နိုင်ဖို့ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ထိုမှတဆင့် ပြည်သူအရေးဆောင်ရွက်ရာတွင်လည်းကောင်း၊ မူဝါဒများချမှတ်ရာတွင်လည်းကောင်း အထောက်အကူပြုနိုင်၍ လူမှုတရားမျှတမှုရှိသော ကပ်ရောဂါ အလွန်ကာလအသစ် တစ်ခုတည်ဆောက်နိုင်ရန်မျှော်မှန်းပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Transnational Institute ( Amsterdam)
Date of publication:
2021-09-24
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health
Language:
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
11.56 MB (Original version), 2.69 MB (Reduce version) - 78 pages
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Description:
"Country Overview: The current situation continues to be not in favour of the most vulnerable children and families in Myanmar with the violence on the rise across the country. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned that urgent action is needed to ensure that the situation in Myanmar does not spiral out of control.
A recent report by UN Human Rights Office stated that Myanmar is facing an economy in freefall and the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as a human rights catastrophe that shows no signs of abating. The sharp depreciation of Myanmar currency (kyat) has caused the rise in commodity prices such as essential foods, medicines and fuel which is severely impacting people’s daily lives.
With the escalation in fighting between Myanmar military and EAOs or PDFs, mobile internet access and most Wi-Fi services were cut off in a total of 22 townships in Chin and Kachin states and Magway, Mandalay and Sagaing regions making it difficult for local residents to communicate and access information. Between February and September 2021, 206,000 people were displaced internally due to armed clashes and insecurity..."
Source/publisher:
World Vision (Uxbridge) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-10-07
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Human Rights and international relations, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.72 MB
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Description:
"Highlights
• The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) substantially increased to 400,000 people (43% children) during the reporting period, due to the intensifying armed clashes, increased military operations, and monsoon floods across the country.
• Although the COVID-19 transmission rate declined overall in September, there was a reported surge of COVID cases in Kachin IDP camps and in Kayah and Kayin states in August 2021.
• With UNICEF’s support, the Myanmar Health Assistant Association vaccinated 8,102 people in 10 camps in Rakhine against COVID-19.
• In August, over 125,000 people were reportedly affected by floods across the country. In Rakhine and Kayin, UNICEF reached 33,260 people affected with critical WASH supplies • Legal aid service and assistance was given to 395 children (29 per cent girls) and 587 young people (26 per cent females) who had been arbitrarily arrested and detained following the military takeover.
• Timely humanitarian responses are constrained by additional mandatory requirements for travel authorization, a limited number of humanitarian partners, restricted access to conflict areas and limited banking services..."
Source/publisher:
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) (Myanmar) via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-10-05
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
446.44 KB
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Description:
"YANGON, 30 September 2021 - Myanmar’s low levels of COVID vaccination coverage compared to other countries in the Southeast Asia Region, combined with limited capacity for testing and disease control, has resulted in a serious COVID-19 outbreak.
Since the onset of the pandemic, more than 460,000 COVID-19 cases and almost 18,000 deaths have been reported in Myanmar, with 318,249 cases and 14,422 deaths occurring since May 1st. To date, only 6.8 per cent of the population has received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine, while an additional 13.1 per cent has received at least one dose. Until broad coverage of COVID-19 vaccination is achieved, the situation is unlikely to improve.
As part of efforts by the United Nations and its partners to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination availability, the COVAX[1] facility has preliminarily allocated 6.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for Myanmar. These doses must be distributed according to WHO prioritization guidelines.
Final allocation of these vaccine supplies to Myanmar will be contingent on whether they can be delivered at the required speed and scale to all Myanmar people, in a neutral and impartial manner, irrespective of their ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status or political affiliation. It will also be contingent on the availability of appropriate cold chain infrastructure and on guarantees around the safety of health care workers being in place.
In this regard, GAVI, UNICEF and WHO are engaging in ongoing dialogue with key stakeholders to identify the modalities through which the above conditions can be achieved, allowing this humanitarian response to proceed with the ultimate aim of saving lives and as a first step towards revitalizing Myanmar’s immunization system....မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင် COVID ကာကွယ်ဆေးရရှိမှုအရှိန်အဟုန်မြှင့်ရန် ကြိုးပမ်းမှုများနှင့် စပ်လျဥ်း၍ GAVI၊ UNICEF နှင့် WHO တို့၏ ပူးတွဲကြေညာချက်
ရန်ကုန်၊ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ စက်တင်ဘာလ (၃၀) ရက် - အရှေ့တောင်အာရှဒေသရှိ အခြားနိုင်ငံများနှင့် နှိုင်းယှဉ်လျှင် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင် ရောဂါစစ်ဆေး ထိန်းချုပ်နိုင်မှု အကန့်အသတ်ရှိခြင်းနှင့်အတူ COVID ကာကွယ်ဆေးထိုးပေးနိုင်မှု နည်းပါးခြင်းသည် COVID-19 ရောဂါအပြင်းအထန်ပျံ့နှံ့ခြင်းကို ဖြစ်ပွားစေခဲ့ပါသည်။
ကူးစက်ရောဂါဖြစ်ပွားချိန်မှစ၍ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင် COVID-19 ကူးစက်ခံရမှု ဖြစ်ရပ် ၄၆၀,၀၀၀ ကျော်ရှိပြီး ၁၈,၀၀၀ ကျော်ဦးရေ သေဆုံးခဲ့သည်ဟု အစီရင်ခံမှတ်တမ်းအရသိရှိခဲ့ပြီး မေလ ၁ရက်မှစ၍ ကူးစက်ခံရမှု ဖြစ်ရပ် ၃၁၈,၂၄၉ နှင့် သေဆုံးသူ ၁၄,၄၂၂ ဦးရေ ရှိခဲ့ပါသည်။ ယနေ့အထိ လူဦးရေ၏ ၆.၈ ရာခိုင်နှုန်းသာ COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ဆေးနှစ်ကြိမ် ထိုးထားပြီး နောက်ထပ် ၁၃.၁ ရာခိုင်နှုန်းသည် အနည်းဆုံး တစ်ကြိမ်ထိုးထားပါသည်။ COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ဆေးထိုးပေးခြင်းကို ကျယ်ကျယ်ပြန့်ပြန့် လုပ်ဆောင်နိုင်ခြင်းမရှိသေးလျှင် ရောဂါကူးစက်မှုကာကွယ်နိုင်ခြင်းအခြေအနေ တိုးတက်စေမှုအားနှောင့်နှေးစေနိုင်ပါသည်။
ကုလသမဂ္ဂနှင့် ၎င်း၏ မိတ်ဖက်အဖွဲ့များ၏ COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ဆေးထိုးခြင်း အရှိန်အဟုန်မြှင့်ရန် ကြိုးပမ်းမှုတစ်ရပ်အနေဖြင့် COVAX[1] ပံ့ပိုးမှုနှင့် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအတွက် COVID-19 ကာကွယ်ဆေး ၆.၂ သန်းကို ဦးစွာပဏာမခွဲဝေပေးထားခဲ့ပါသည်။ ၄င်းကာကွယ်ဆေးများကို WHO ၏ ဦးစားပေးလမ်းညွှန်ချက်များနှင့်အညီ ဖြန့်ဝေရပါမည် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၄င်းကာကွယ်ဆေးအထောက်အပံ့များကို မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအတွက် ခွဲဝေကူညီထောက်ပံ့ရန် နောက်ဆုံး အတည်ပြုခြင်းသည် မြန်မာပြည်သူများအားလုံးထံသို့ လူမျိုး၊ ကျားမ၊ လူမှုစီးပွားအဆင့်အတန်း၊ သို့မဟုတ် နိုင်ငံရေးနှီးနွယ်မှုအရ ခွဲခြားခြင်းမပြုဘဲ ဘက်မလိုက်သောပုံစံဖြင့် လိုအပ်သောအရှိန်အဟုန်၊ အတိုင်းအတာဖြင့် ပို့ဆောင်ပေးနိုင်ခြင်းရှိမရှိ အပေါ်တွင်မူတည်ပါသည်။ ထို့အပြင် ကာကွယ်ဆေးအတွက် သင့်လျော်သော အအေးခန်းများထားရှိနိုင်မှုနှင့် တာဝန်ထမ်းဆောင်မည့် ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုလုပ်သားများ၏ လုံခြုံရေးအတွက် အာမခံချက်များအပေါ်တွင်လည်း မူတည်မည် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
အထက်ပါကိစ္စနှင့်စပ်လျဉ်း၍ GAVI, UNICEF နှင့် WHO တို့သည် လိုအပ်သောအခြေအနေများ ပြည့်မှီစေနိုင်သည့် နည်းလမ်းများအားဖော်ထုတ်ရန်အတွက် အဓိကတာဝန်ရှိသည့် သက်ဆိုင်သူများနှင့် လက်ရှိတွေ့ဆုံဆွေးနွေးမှုများ လုပ်ဆောင်နေကြပါသည်။ ၄င်းဆွေးနွေးမှုသည် လူသားချင်း စာနာမှုဆိုင်ရာအထောက်အပံ့၏ အဓိကရည်မှန်းချက်ဖြစ်သော လူ့အသက်များအားကယ်တင်ခြင်းအား ဆက်လက်လုပ်ဆောင်သွားနိုင်ရန်နှင့် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ၏ကာကွယ်ဆေးထိုးခြင်းစနစ် ပြန်လည်အသက်၀င်စေရန် အတွက် ဦးတည်သော ပထမခြေလှမ်းတစ်ခုဖြစ်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
World Health Organization (Geneva)
Date of publication:
2021-09-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), World Health Organisation (WHO), COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
more
Description:
"UNFPA establishes mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) online platform to connect those who need MHPSS services and Mental Health Professionals.
“People experience different mental health and psychosocial issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic and political crisis. The range of issues may vary from stress and anxiety at one end of the spectrum to acute depression on the other end depending upon the individual’s situation. It is important that they seek and receive professional support to exercise positive coping mechanism to overcome their emotion and stress in this difficult time. My job is to provide professional mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services to help people overcome the stressful situation and make them feel comfortable to handle their own issues in a positive manner,” said Dr Nyunt, Mental Health Professional.
COVID-19 & mental health and psychosocial issues
COVID-19 has a significant impact on the mental health and psychosocial condition of society. Individuals may experience anxiety and stress associated with fear of infection, fear of death, social distancing, quarantine, misinformation, and uncertainty of the future. In addition, frontline responders such as medical doctors, nurses, and midwives, who are involved in response efforts may also experience physical, personal, social, and emotional stress in carrying out their duties over an extended period. Therefore, mental health and psychosocial aspects of COVID-19 need to be considered as a priority.
Mental health and psychosocial issues have been reported as pivotal public health concerns in the Asia-Pacific region due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While it is difficult to access the comprehensive mental health data on Myanmar, an article published in BMC Public Health in January 2020 indicates that the prevalence of mental distress was 18.0% for men and women aged 18-49 years from Yangon region. The rate is higher for women (21.2%) compared to men (14.9%). Another article from Asian Journal of Psychiatry volume 61 published in 2021 refers to data from 2016 and indicates that the prevalence of reported depressive symptoms among adolescents in Myanmar is 27.2% and that of suicidal ideation is 9.4% -both of which are substantially higher than the regional averages. Data from the Mental Health Hospital in Yangon shows that the number of patients treated for mental illness in institutions increased by 58% between 2013 and 2017.
UNFPA’s support on MHPSS in Myanmar
In order to meet the rapidly growing demand for MHPSS in a timely manner, in May 2020, UNFPA established a roster of four national MHPSS experts. These certified counselors and psychiatrists have been engaged to train humanitarian actors on MHPSS, enabling community-based mental health care for the populations they support, including GBV survivors, elderly, people with disabilities, LGBTQI+, drug users, and other vulnerable populations, including people at the quarantine centres. The roster members also provide self-care sessions for service providers to improve their psychosocial well-being and share practical tips for managing difficult circumstances.
From May 2020 up to now, more than 2,700 participants from more than 30 different organizations, including local and international NGOs, UN agencies, Ethnic Health Organizations, and CSOs, attended MHPSS capacity building/self-care sessions organized by UNFPA. On call basis, MHPSS roster team also provides MHPSS services, including individual counseling, psychotherapy, and family support, for UN staff and family members.
MHPSS services through online portal
With the increasing needs for MHPSS and request from implementing partners and UN agencies, UNFPA has created the MHPSS online portal as a platform to connect those who need MHPSS services and Mental Health Professionals in May 2021. The platform is expected to meet people's needs for MHPSS services by making it more accessible to the people in Myanmar. Basic emotional support, psychological first aid (PFA), counseling, psychotherapy, and psychoeducation services are available through the portal. Mental health practitioners from the team are trained in various psychotherapy approaches, including IAT (Integrative ADAPT Therapy), EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing), CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy), and interpersonal therapy for children and adolescents. In collaboration with UNICEF, mental health practitioners for children and adolescents are also now on board.
“We have 10 mental health professionals with diverse backgrounds including clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and professional counselors to respond to the requests through the online portal. Four of our specialists are focused on children and adolescents. On the portal, the client can select which mental health professional he/she prefers and make the appointment confidentially. For the safety and security of our service providers, we do not mention any identification of our mental health professionals such as names or phone numbers. From the establishment of this platform in May 2021 until August 2021, 97 sessions for 70 clients across Myanmar were organized,” said Adib Asrori, UNFPA’s MHPSS Programme Specialist.
Mental health and psychosocial support must be at the center of everyone’s attention
Due to the significant impact of COVID-19 on mental health and psychosocial aspects, people are beginning to realize the importance of maintaining their emotional stability and mental wellbeing. In addition, the political crisis has exacerbated mental health and psychosocial needs due to its negative impacts on movement and personal security, access to information and communication, access to basic services, livelihoods, and food security.
Dr Nyunt said, “Normally, people treat physical injuries and illness as a priority. They tend to overlook the impact on mental health and psychosocial wellbeing until they experience its severe consequences. For instance, a person with mental health and psychosocial problems is more like someone standing on the edge. When out of control, he/she can fall off anytime. We need to hold their hands until they can control themselves. This is what we as mental health professionals are doing every day.”
He added, “Mental health and psychosocial wellbeing must be at the center of everyone’s attention.”
MHPSS online portal can be accessed through the following link. Both English and Myanmar languages are available. https://www.mentalhealthsupportmyanmar.org..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations Population Fund via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-09-29
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The Myanmar Humanitarian Fund enables national and international humanitarian organisations to provide life-saving assistance to vulnerable and displaced people
Description:
"(အောက်တွင် မြန်မာဘာသာဖြင့် ဖတ်ရှုနိုင်ပါသည်။)
The Myanmar Humanitarian Fund (MHF), a country-based pooled fund managed by the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), has allocated US$12.4million in 2021 to strengthen humanitarian response efforts to growing needs across Myanmar. This funding is enabling national and international humanitarian organisations to provide life-saving assistance and protection services to vulnerable and displaced people in Chin, Kachin, Magway, Rakhine and Shan states as well as in south-eastern parts of Myanmar, where there has been an increase in humanitarian needs due to conflict since 1 February. As part of the $12.4 million, the MHF has provided $330,000 to national humanitarian partners to top-up their ongoing projects to address the emerging humanitarian needs following escalation of hostilities in Chin, Kachin, Rakhine and Kayin states.
Since 2020, the MHF has allocated a total of $28.5 million to 32 partners, most of whom are national and local humanitarian organisations. These 56 life-saving humanitarian and COVID-19 related projects are contributing to changing the lives of almost 1.2 million people, of whom more than half (56 per cent) are women and girls, almost half (44 per cent) are children and 11 per cent are people with disabilities.
Bringing services closer to the people
“I am overjoyed to see my daughter do remedial exercises without the need to travel far,” said Khadija, a mother of a five-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, from Dar Paing Village, northwest of the capital Sittwe, in Rakhine State. Khadija is among the 345,000 people, who benefited from improved access to primary health care and nutrition services between May and August 2021. The projects have been implemented by national and international humanitarian partners and with the financial support of the MHF. “I am really thankful for the help to run an outpatient therapeutic centre, that is indispensable for families like us,” Khadija said.
Just like other displaced families living in camps or camp-like situations in Rakhine State, Khadija cannot afford to access health services by herself at the medical facility far away from where she lives. Displaced people in Rakhine and in other conflict-affected parts of the country continue to experience significant challenges in accessing basic services, including healthcare, education and livelihoods opportunities. This is where national and international humanitarian organisations are coming in to help by bringing these services closer to affected people with the support of the MHF.
Empowering national humanitarian partners
Wherever possible, the MHF strives to ensure that its funding support goes to national partners, who remain the backbone of humanitarian operations in Myanmar. At the moment, the MHF is directly supporting seven national humanitarian organisations who are delivering lifesaving assistance in Chin, Kachin, Magway, Rakhine and Shan states, as well as in south-eastern parts of the country. There are also 27 humanitarian projects by international organisations funded by MHF that are being implemented in partnership with 40 national organisations. In addition to funding support, the MHF also strives to build the capacity of national organisations in mobilising complimentary resources, including from other funding sources.
Dire humanitarian crisis
The MHF funding is critical in the current context, where around 3 million people need humanitarian assistance and protection services across various parts of Myanmar. This includes about 1 million people living in conflict-affected areas identified at the start of 2021 in the Humanitarian Response Plan. An additional 2 million people have been identified to receive humanitarian assistance and protection services as part of the Interim Emergency Response Plan. The Plan mainly focuses on people in urban and peri-urban areas in Yangon and Mandalay, as well as those displaced or otherwise affected in Chin and Kayin states since 1 February.
The Myanmar Humanitarian Fund
The MHF - one of 19 county-based pooled funds that OCHA manages across the world - brings together the contributions from donors into a single, unearmarked humanitarian fund. Since 2020, the MHF has received US$32.3 million in contributions from a total of 12 donors. The allocations by MHF aim to support projects in line with the strategic objectives of the Humanitarian Response Plan and Interim Emergency Response Plan. The MHF remains flexible in its approach, and together with its Advisory Board, strategises its contributions based on the context and adapts its approach to the changing realities on the ground. For example, in 2020, the MHF made a reserve allocation in the amount of $4 million to boost humanitarian efforts, aiming to ensure a coordinated response to COVID-19 and related support for displaced people and other vulnerable people in conflict-affected areas.
Myanmar Humanitarian Fund သည် လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုဆိုင်ရာအကူအညီနှင့် ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ရောဂါ တုံ့ပြန်ဆောင်ရွက်မှုများကို အရှိန်အဟုန်မြှင့်လုပ်ဆောင်နိုင်စေရန် ဒေသခံမိတ်ဖက်များကို ကူညီပေးလျက်ရှိသည်။
OCHA ကစီမံခန့်ခွဲနေသည့် နိုင်ငံတွင်းစုပေါင်းရံပုံငွေယန္တရားတခုဖြစ်သော Myanmar Humanitarian Fund (MHF) သည် ၂၀၂၁ခုနှစ်အတွင်း မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတဝှမ်းမှာ တိုးပွားလာသော လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုဆိုင်ရာအကူအညီများကို ထိထိရောက်ရောက်တုံ့ပြန်ဆောင်ရွက်နိုင်စေရန် အမေရိကန်ဒေါ်လာ ၁၂ .၄သန်းကို ချမှတ်ပေးခဲ့ပါသည်။ အဆိုပါရံပုံငွေသည် ဖေဖေါ်ဝါရီလ ၁ ရက်နေ့မှာ စ၍ ချင်း၊ ကချင်၊ ရခိုင်၊ ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်နှင့် မကွေးတိုင်းများသာမက မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအရှေ့တောင်ပိုင်း ဒေသများတွင်ပါ အရေးကြီးအကူအညီနှင့် အကာအကွယ်ပေးရေးလုပ်ငန်းတွေ လုပ်ဆောင်နိုင်စေရန် ပြည်တွင်းနှင့် နိုင်ငံတကာ လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုဆိုင်ရာ အဖွဲ့အစည်းများကို ကူညီပေးနိုင်ခဲ့သည်။ အဆိုပါရံပုံငွေ၏ တစိတ်တပိုင်းအဖြစ် ချင်း၊ ကချင်၊ ရခိုင်နှင့် ကရင်ပြည်နယ်အတွင်း ဖြစ်ပွားနေသော တိုက်ပွဲများကြောင့် လိုအပ်လာသည့် အကူအညီများကို ဆက်လက် ဖြည့်ဆည်းနိုင်ရန် နိုင်ငံတွင်းရှိ လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုလုပ်ငန်းဆောင်ရွက်သူများ လက်ရှိလုပ်ဆောင်နေဆဲ လုပ်ငန်းများထဲသို့ အမေရိကန်ဒေါ်လာ ၃၃၀,၀၀၀ ထပ်ဆောင်ပေးခဲ့ပါသည်။
MHF သည် အရေးကြီး လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုအကူအညီနှင့် ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ရောဂါနှီးနွှယ်လုပ်ငန်းများကို ဆောင်ရွက်နေသော မိတ်ဖက်၃၂ ဖွဲ့အား အမေရိကန်ဒေါ်လာ ၂၈.၅ သန်းကို ၂၀၂၀ ခုနှစ်ကတည်းက ပေးအပ်ခဲ့ပါသည်။ အဆိုပါအဖွဲ့များတွင် အများအားဖြင့် နိုင်ငံတွင်းနှင့် ဒေသခံမိတ်ဖက်အဖွဲ့အစည်းများ ပါဝင်ပြီး လုပ်ငန်း ၅၆ ခုကို လုပ်ကိုင်လျက်ရှိကာ လူပေါင်း ၁.၂ သန်းအတွက် ကောင်းမွန်သော အပြောင်းအလဲများ ဆောင်ကျဉ်းနိုင်အောင် ကြိုးပမ်းလျက်ရှိပါသည်။ ၎င်းလူဦးရေ ၁.၂ သန်း၏ ထက်ဝက်ကျော် (၅၆ ရာခိုင်နှုန်း)မှာ အမျိုးသမီးများ၊ ထက်ဝက်နီးပါး (၄၄ ရာခိုင်နှုန်း)မှာ ကလေးငယ်များနှင့် ၁၁ ရာခိုင်နှုန်းမှာ မသန်စွမ်းများဖြစ်ကြပါသည်။
လူထုအတွက် အကူအညီပေးနေသော ဝန်ဆောင်မှုများ
“အဝေးကြီးသွားစရာမလိုဘဲ ကိုယ်ကာယသန်စွမ်းရေးလေ့ကျင့်ခန်းတွေ လုပ်ခွင့်ရတဲ့သမီးလေးအတွက် ကျွန်မ ဝမ်းသာလိုက်တာ”
ခါဒီဂျာသည် ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်၊ အနောက်မြောက်ဘက်ရှိ ဒါးပိုင်ကျေးရွာမှ အာရုံကြောနှင့်ကြွက်သားညီညွတ်စွာလှုပ်ရှားနိုင်မှုမရှိသည့် cerebral palsy ရောဂါခံစားနေရသူ ငါးနှစ်သမီးကလေး၏ မိခင်ဖြစ်သည်။ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် မေလမှ ဩဂုတ်လအတွင်း ခါဒီဂျာအပါအဝင် လူဦးရေ ၃၄၅,၀၀၀ အတွက် အခြေခံကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုနှင့် အာဟာရပြည့်ဝရေးဝန်ဆောင်မှုလုပ်ငန်းများကို တိုးချဲ့ပေးအပ်နိုင်ခဲ့ပါသည်။ အဆိုပါလုပ်ငန်းများကို MHF မှ ကူညီပေးသောရံပုံငွေဖြင့် နိုင်ငံတွင်းနှင့် နိုင်ငံတကာ လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုလုပ်ငန်းဆောင်ရွက်သူမိတ်ဖက်များမှ ဆောင်ရွက်လျက်ရှိပါသည်။ “ပြင်ပလူနာတွေအတွက် ကုထုံးစင်တာ ဖွင့်လှစ်ပေးခဲ့တဲ့အတွက် လှိုက်လှိုက်လှဲလှဲ ကျေးဇူးတင်ရှိပါတယ်။ ဒီလိုစင်တာတွေက ကျွန်မတို့လို မိသားစုတွေအတွက် မရှိမဖြစ်ပါ“ ဟု ခါဒီဂျာက ဆိုပါသည်။
ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်အတွင်းရှိ ယာယီစခန်း သို့မဟုတ် ယာယီစခန်းကဲ့သို့သော အခြေအနေမျိုးတွင် နေထိုင်နေကြရသူ အိုးအိမ်စွန့်ခွာထွက်ပြေးလာခဲ့ရသူ အခြားမိသားစုများကဲ့သို့ပင် ခါဒီဂျာလည်း ၎င်းနေထိုင်ရာကျေးရွာပြင်ပရှိ ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုလုပ်ငန်းများကို လက်လှမ်းမီရန် ခက်ခဲလျက်ရှိပါသည်။ ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်နှင့် အခြား ပဋိပက္ခဒဏ်ခံစားရသော နေရာများတွင်လည်း အခြေခံကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှု၊ ပညာရေးနှင့် အသက်မွေးဝမ်းကျောင်းမှုလုပ်ငန်းများကို လက်လှမ်းမီရန် စိန်ခေါ်မှုများရှိနေဆဲဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ထို့ကဲ့သို့ အကူအညီလိုအပ်နေသူများအတွက် နိုင်ငံတွင်းနှင့် နိုင်ငံတကာမှ လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုလုပ်ငန်း ဆောင်ရွက်သူအဖွဲ့အစည်းများက အရေးကြီးအကူအညီများရရှိရန် MHF ၏ ရံပုံငွေဖြင့် ဆောင်ရွက်ပေးနေခြင်းဖြစ်ပါသည်။
နိုင်ငံတွင်း လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုဆောင်ရွက်သူမိတ်ဖက်များကို စွမ်းဆောင်ရည်မြှင့်တင်ပေးခြင်း
MHF သည် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိ လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုလုပ်ငန်းများ၏ကျောရိုးထောက်တိုင်ဖြစ်သော နိုင်ငံတွင်းမိတ်ဖက်အဖွဲ့အစည်းများထံသို့ ရံပုံငွေအကူအညီများ ရောက်ရှိစေရန် အစဉ်အမြဲကြိုးပမ်းဆောင်ရွက်လျက်ရှိသည်။ MHF သည် ချင်း၊ ကချင်၊ ရခိုင်၊ ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်နှင့် မကွေးတိုင်းများသာမက မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအရှေ့တောင်ပိုင်းဒေသများတွင်ပါ အရေးကြီး လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုအကူညီပေးရေးလုပ်ငန်း ဆောင်ရွက်နေသူ နိုင်ငံတွင်းအဖွဲ့အစည်း ၇ ခုသို့ အကူအညီများကို တိုက်ရိုက်ပေးအပ်လျက်ရှိပါသည်။ ရံပုံငွေထောက်ပံ့ရေးအပြင် အခြားရံပုံငွေရင်းမြစ်များအပါအဝင် ထပ်ဆောင်းရင်းမြစ်များ ပေးအပ်ရာတွင်လည်း နိုင်ငံတွင်းအဖွဲ့အစည်းများ၏ စွမ်းဆောင်ရည်မြှင့်တင်ရန် ကြိုးစားလျက်ရှိပါသည်။
ခက်ခဲလျက်ရှိသည့် လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုအကျပ်အတည်း
မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအနှံ့အပြားရှိ လူဦးရေ ၃ သန်းမှာ လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုအကူအညီနှင့် အကာအကွယ်ပေးရေးဆိုင်ရာ ဝန်ဆောင်မှုများ လိုအပ်လျက်ရှိနေပြီး အကူအညီများပေးအပ်နိုင်ရန် လက်ရှိအခြေအနေတွင် MHF၏ ရံပုံငွေသည် ပဓာနကျလျက်ရှိသည်။ အဆိုပါလူဦးရေထဲတွင် ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်အစတွင် Humanitarian Response Planအရ ပေးအပ်ရန်သတ်မှတ်ခဲ့သည့် ပဋိပက္ခဒဏ်ခံစားရသူ ၁ သန်းပါဝင်ပါသည်။ ထို့ပြင် ထပ်မံ၍ Interim Emergency Response Plan အရ လူဦးရေ ၂ သန်းကို လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုအကူအညီနှင့် အကာအကွယ်ပေးရေးဝန်ဆောင်မှုများပေးအပ်ရန် သတ်မှတ်ခဲ့ပါသည်။ ၎င်းအစီအစဉ်သည် ရန်ကုန်နှင့် မန္တလေးတိုင်းဒေသကြီးအတွင်းရှိ ဆင်ခြေဖုန်းနေရာများတွင် နေထိုင်ရသူများအပြင် ဖေဖေါ်ဝါရီလ ၁ ရက်နေ့ကတည်းက ချင်းနှင့် ကရင်ပြည်နယ်ရှိ နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာရသူများ၊ ထိခိုက်ခံစားရသူများကို ဦးစားပေးကူညီပေးရန်ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
Myanmar Humanitarian Fund
MHFသည် တကမ္ဘာလုံးတွင် OCHA က စီမံခန့်ခွဲနေသော နိုင်ငံတွင်းစုပေါင်းရံပုံငွေ ၁၉ ခုထဲမှတခုဖြစ်သည်။ အဆိုပါရံပုံငွေသည် အလှူရှင်များဆီက ရရှိသော ထည့်ဝင်ငွေများကို တစုတစည်းထဲထားရှိသည့် လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုလုပ်ငန်းဆိုင်ရာ ရံပုံငွေဖြစ်သည်။ ၂၀၂၀ ခုနှစ်တွင် အလှူရှင် ၁၂ ဖွဲ့ထံမှ ထည့်ဝင်ငွေ အမေရိကန်ဒေါ်လာ ၃၂.၃ သန်းရရှိခဲ့ပါသည်။ MHFမှ ချမှတ်ပေးမှုများသည် Humanitarian Response Plan၊ Interim Emergency Response Plan များ၏ ဗျူဟာကျရည်မှန်းချက်များနှင့်အညီ လုပ်ငန်းများကို ထောက်ပံ့ပေးရန်ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ MHF၏ ချဉ်းကပ်မှုမှာ ပြောင်းလွယ်၊ ပြင်လွယ်သောသဘောရှိသည်။ ထို့ပြင် MHFသည် အကြံပေးဘုတ်အဖွဲ့နှင့်အတူ နေရာဒေသအပေါ်မူတည်၍ ထည့်ဝင်မှုများကို ဗျူဟာကျစီမံလျက်ရှိကာ ပြောင်းလဲနေသောအခြေအနေအပေါ်မူတည်၍ ချဉ်းကပ်မှုပုံစံကို ပြောင်းလဲပေးပါသည်။
ဥပမာ ၂၀၂၀ခုနှစ်တွင် MHFသည် ပဋိပက္ခဒဏ်ခံစားရသော နေရာများရှိ နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာလာရသူများနှင့် အခြားထိခိုက်လွယ်မိသားစုများအတွက် လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုအကူအညီများ တိုးမြှင့်ပေးနိုင်ရန် အမေရိကန်ဒေါ်လာ ၄ သန်းကို အရန်ရံပုံငွေအဖြစ် သတ်မှတ်ခဲ့ပါသည်။ ထိုသို့ဆောင်ရွက်ရာတွင် ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ တုံ့ပြန်မှုနှင့် ဆက်စပ်အကူအညီများကို ညှိနှိုင်းလုပ်ဆောင်သည့် တုံပြန်မှုအဖြစ်ရည်ရွယ်ကာ ပေးအပ်ခဲ့ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-09-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Humanitarian assistance - emergencies, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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"A. SITUATION ANALYSIS
Description of the disaster
The humanitarian impact of the civil unrest in Myanmar has continued to impact on affected populations since the political crisis on 1 February 2021.
In February and March, affected populations required first aid, ambulance services and emergency medical assistance in major cities and townships across the country.
During March and April, the number of people displaced increased significantly in areas of protracted crisis, including Kayin, Northern Shan and Kachin, renewed or escalating clashes between the Myanmar Military and Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) resulted in additional levels of displacement.
In May and June, clashes between newly formed People’s Defence Forces (PDFs) generated further displacements. These have occurred in regions/states previously not experiencing this level of instability. These included Kayah, Chin State (Mindat townships), Magway Region, Shan South, Mon State and Sagaing In the period since early April, incidents of people injured during street protests substantially reduced, however, the security context was characterised by increased incidents of explosive devices, affecting in particular, locations with public administration and security forces.
Socio-economic vulnerabilities already exacerbated by COVID-19 impacts in 2020 have increased. The numbers of households with reduced/minimal coping capacity are estimated to have increased significantly. This includes people in peri-urban locations, incorporating six townships under martial law since March 2021. Affected populations include economic migrants from other states/regions who faced sudden job loss in factories following incidents in these townships between February and April 2021.
The third wave of COVID-19, impacting across Myanmar since June 2021 has significantly exacerbated the existing humanitarian crisis. Public health sector response capacity has been limited, and the new forms of COVID Variants have resulted in high levels of related morbidity and mortality. Associated regulatory measures, including extended stay -athome orders have also had additional socio-economic implications.
Between late July and Mid-August, humanitarian needs in Myanmar included the impacts of sustained flooding in 22 townships in 5 regions/states. (Details are summarised in Needs Analysis section below)
Compounding the areas of increased insecurity, population displacement and other areas of humanitarian needs detailed above, economic activity, as well as humanitarian and development interventions have been constrained by disruptions to the banking sector. These disruptions, linked to the Civil Demonstration Movement (CDM) have been ongoing in response to the events of 1st February. Humanitarian response agencies have had limited access to cash-based modalities to reach affected populations at scale. Financial sector disruptions are also impacting increasingly on the overall logistics supply chain with reduced supplier payment options.
A further consequence of the civil unrest and associated CDM response has been reduced public health sector capacity over the last six months. In a context of reduced service capacity as well as increased transport and security challenges, access to basic as well as emergency health services has become increasingly difficult. Households with limited financial resources and support networks have been particularly impacted.
All 17 States and regions are impacted by the multiple effects of the crisis, with specific townships in at least 11 of these hard-hit states/regions in need of immediate assistance. Six townships in Yangon and in Mindat township in Chin State remain under Martial Law. Many regions and townships continue to be impacted regulatory and control measures that include curfews, detentions, and property searches. In some of areas of protracted crisis, displacement numbers have increased. There has also been a corresponding decrease in access and response capacity by many humanitarian actors, as a combined result of both security and COVID related regulatory measures.
Six months since the onset of the Myanmar Civil Unrest, there is no resolution of the crisis, and the associated humanitarian impacts are both now intensified and protracted. In August 2021, the Myanmar military has announced caretaker government for the next two years..."
Source/publisher:
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-09-16
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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" ASEAN, led by its Secretary-General Dato Lim Jock Hoi, handed over USD 1.1 million worth of medical supplies and equipment ready to be distributed by the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) for immediate support to the COVID-19 response, in a handover ceremony held virtually today.
The delivery of the first batch of ASEAN’s Humanitarian Assistance in Myanmar was a follow up to the Pledging Conference held on 18 August. The items delivered in this batch were supported by the Governments of Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, and Temasek Foundation International.
In his remarks, Dato Lim Jock Hoi underscored the importance of the initiative to showcase the solidarity in the spirit of ‘One ASEAN, One Response’ to extend a helping hand to the people of Myanmar in the realisation of a people-oriented, people-centred ASEAN Community.
He thanked the four donor countries and Temasek Foundation International, and expressed his confidence that the assistance would alleviate the sufferings of the people of Myanmar in this critical time. He further called for other countries to contribute to the humanitarian efforts for Phase 1 urgently and Phase 2 at a later stage. The next batch for Phase 1 is expected to be provided by support from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Singapore and Viet Nam, along with other donor countries and organisations.
The Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar, Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof, in his recorded remarks further emphasised that COVID-19 pandemic is “the common enemy” that has exposed the vulnerabilities not only of our socio-economic structures, but the fragility of human life. In his remarks, he urged the international community to continue giving support and complement ASEAN’s efforts, further highlighting that the “provision of humanitarian assistance is a true reflection of the “ASEAN Way”, and demonstrates our commitment to help our ASEAN family when they are in need”.
The Executive Director of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre), representatives of ASEAN Member States, donor countries and other organisations attended the ceremony.
Contributing to the implementation of the “Five Point Consensus” on Myanmar agreed at the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting in April this year, the ASEAN’s Humanitarian Assistance to Myanmar aims to address the most pressing humanitarian needs of the people of Myanmar.
The AHA Centre, as the operational lead, facilitates the delivery of assistance. Meanwhile, the MRCS, as a local partner, supports ASEAN by providing last mile distribution of the medical supplies and equipment to the communities in need in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Jakarta)
Date of publication:
2021-09-17
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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"ပြည်ထောင်စု သမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ
စီမံကိန်း၊ ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှင့် ရင်းနှီးမြုပ်နှံမှု ဝန်ကြီးဌာန
ပြည်ထောင်စုဝန်ကြီးရုံး
အမိန့်ကြော်ငြာစာအမှတ် ( ၃/၂၀၂၁ )
၂၀၂၀ ပြည့်နှစ်၊ ဆောင်းရာသီ စိုက်ပျိုးစရိတ်ချေးငွေနှင့် Covid 19 ချေးငွေ နောက်ဆုံးပြန်လည် ပေးဆပ်ရမည့် ရက်ကို ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် စက်တင်ဘာလ (၁၅) ရက်နေ့အစား ၂၀၂၂ ခုနှစ် စက်တင်ဘာလ (၁၅) ရက်နေ့သို့ သက်တမ်းတိုးမြှင့် ပြင်ဆင်သတ်မှတ်ခြင်း
==================================
၁။ နိုင်ငံတော်အတွင်း လယ်ယာထုတ်ကုန်များ တိုးတက်ထုတ်လုပ်နိုင်စေရန်နှင့် စိုက်ပျိုးရေး သွင်းအားစုများ အသုံးပြုနိုင်စေရန် ရည်ရွယ်၍ မြန်မာ့လယ်ယာဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်မှ မိုးရာသီ စိုက်ပျိုးစရိတ်ချေးငွေ၊ ဆောင်းရာသီ စိုက်ပျိုးစရိတ်ချေးငွေများကို နှစ်စဉ်ထုတ်ချေးပေးလျက်ရှိပါသည်။
၂။ ၂၀၂၀ ပြည့်နှစ်တွင် Covid 19 ရိုက်ခတ်မှုကြောင့် တောင်သူလယ်သမားများ လူမှုစီးပွားရေး အဆင်ပြေစေရန် မြန်မာ့လယ်ယာဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်မှ Covid 19 ချေးငွေကိုလည်း ထုတ်ချေးပေးခဲ့ပါသည်။
၃။ စီမံကိန်း၊ ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှင့် ရင်းနှီးမြုပ်နှံမှု ဝန်ကြီးဌာနအနေဖြင့် ၂၀၂၀ ပြည့်နှစ်၊ မိုးရာသီ စိုက်ပျိုးစရိတ် ချေးငွေ နောက်ဆုံးပြန်ဆပ်ရမည့်ရက်အား ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် ဧပြီလ (၁၅) ရက်နေ့အစား ၂၀၂၂ ခုနှစ် ဧပြီလ (၁၅) ရက်နေ့သို့ အမိန့်ကြေညာစာအမှတ် (၂/၂၀၂၁) ဖြင့် သက်တမ်းတိုးမြှင့် ပြင်ဆင်ခဲ့ပြီး ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၄။ ယခုအခါ စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ အဆင်အခြင်မဲ့စွာ အာဏာသိမ်းမှုကြောင့် တောင်သူလယ်သမားများ အပါအဝင် ပြည်သူတစ်ရပ်လုံး ဘက်ပေါင်းစုံ အကြပ်အတည်းနှင့် ရင်ဆိုင်နေရသည့်အတွက် တောင်သူလယ်သမားများ သက်သာချောင်ချိရေးကို ရှေးရှု၍ ၂၀၂၀ ပြည့်နှစ်၊ ဆောင်းရာသီ စိုက်ပျိုးစရိတ်ချေးငွေနှင့် Covid 19 ချေးငွေ ပြန်ဆပ်ပေးဆပ်ရမည့် ရက်ကို ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် စက်တင်ဘာလ (၁၅) ရက်နေ့အစား ၂၀၂၂ ခုနှစ် စက်တင်ဘာလ (၁၅) ရက်နေ့သို့ တစ်နှစ်တိတိသက်တမ်းတိုးမြှင့် ပြင်ဆင်သတ်မှတ်လိုက်သည်။
၅။ ထိုကဲ့သို့ တစ်နှစ်တိတိ သက်တမ်းတိုးမြှင့် ပြင်ဆင်လိုက်သည့် ကာလအတွက် ဒဏ်တိုးပေးဆောင်ရန် မလိုအပ်သည့်အပြင် ချေးငွေအပေါ် ပုံမှန် ကောက်ခံသည့် အတိုး ၅ ရာခိုင်နှုန်းအားလည်း ကင်းလွတ်ခွင့်ပြုလိုက်သည်။
တင်ထွန်းနိုင်
ပြည်ထောင်စုဝန်ကြီး
စီမံကိန်း၊ ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှင့် ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုဝန်ကြီးဌာန..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Planning, Finance and Investment - NUG
Date of publication:
2021-09-12
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-12
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Individual Documents
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"After more than 200 days have passed since the coup, the Myanmar military group is still ignoring the will of the people, putting the country into turmoil with disproportionate actions when the people are facing the nationwide health crisis under the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nevertheless, demonstrations against the military, anti-coup movements, and pro-democracy activities are still actively and coordinately continued across the country.
Deaths and Arbitrary Arrests
As of 5 September 2021, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a total of people 7,876 have been arrested, 6,230 people have still been detained, whereas 1,984 people have been issued with warrants and 1,046 people were ruthlessly murdered by the military since 1 February 2021 when the military unleashed systematic and targeted attacks and violence against innocent civilians.
AAPP also reported that at least 110 political prisoners have died in custody since the coup d’état. Dozens of them died within 24 hours of their arrests after being tortured, whereas many others died due to lack of health care in prisons. A relative of one of the victims reportedly stressed, “We don’t want the international community just to keep sanctioning and condemning the military. We just want them hung. We need to make all the spilled worth something”.
Never- Ceasing Groundless Seizures and Arrests
On 30 August 2021, in Ingapu township in Ayeyarwady Region, it is reported that the three sons of Mr. Shwe Win (trishaw driver) were arrested at home when they did not find their father. The boys were aged only 11, 13. The 13-year- old was reportedly released the following day. However, the other two were still detained. According to a resident, Mr. Shwe Win is a supporter of the NLD party, and he had attended rallies for the party. Detaining children as a hostage is illegal under customary international laws. The Myanmar military has no regard for international laws.
On 31 August 2021, in Sintgaing township in Mandalay, hundreds of police officers and soldiers reportedly arrested 31 young men. According to the news received, the security troops went to Mon Pin, Kan Gyi, and Ywar Bo villages in 10 military trucks. In Mon Pin village, they arrested 25 people after ransacking the village for an hour. A resident reportedly said, “the troops didn’t say what they were looking for. They were here for illegal portering, and those who were detained were farmers. They didn’t involve in political activities ”.
During this week, Ms. Win Mar, the mother of Mr. Nyi Nyi Aung Htet Naing, who was shot dead while protesting against the military in late February, was reportedly arrested at home as a hostage when the security forces could not find the twin brother of the fallen hero.
Due to changing the NUG support profiles on Facebook, four youths named Mr. Dezin Htan, Mr. Htaal Twee, Mr. Htaung Pein, and Mr. San Thein, from Chan Pyan Village Matupi Township of Chin State were reportedly arrested on 20 and 22 August 2021. They were charged under Section 52(a) of the Counter-terrorism Law on August 24.
Unstoppable Brutal Killings
On 30 August 2021, Mr. Kyaw Myo Zin, a village administrator under the NLD government in Thae Phyu Wa Ywarma village in Myingyan Township of Mandalay Region, was reportedly apprehended, and his hands were tied on his back. He was later shot dead at the top of the village.
On 1 September 2021 in Paung Township of Mon State, Mr. Min Nay Lwin and his wife, Ms. Ei Thwe Moe, were reportedly shot by the military troops returning from a farm around 10 pm. Mr. Min Nay Lwin reportedly injured eyes and leg, but his wife, Ms. Ei Thwe Moe, who was five months pregnant, died on the spot. According to a local, the incident happened while the military troops were on patrol; around ten gunshots were heard, and they just left the couples at the scene after the shots.
On 1 September 2021, in Khin Thar village in Pale Township of Sagaing Region, military troops reportedly killed a local villager named Than Htay. According to the witness, knife injuries were found in the victim's stomach, chest, and neck.
On 4 September 2021, Mr. Kan Tun from Falamchai village in Taze Township of Sagaing Region was reportedly shot and killed when he ran into the soldiers to Chaung Sone Village. According to the eye witness, gunshot injuries to his leg and stomach and knife cut injuries were seen on his neck.
Destroying Religious Buildings in Chin State
It is reported that three regiments have attacked in villages around Mindat Township of Chin State since mid-August. During attacks, the military troops reportedly ransacked and destroyed a church in Chat village on 30 August 2021 and a monastery near Khwee Rein village on 24 August 2021. According to the photos from the credible report, furniture and Bibles were destroyed in the church, and the monastery was looted. The military also reportedly burned motorbikes, destroyed houses, and robbed the villagers. According to the Mindat People’s Administration spokesperson, the soldiers who committed the actions belong to the Myanmar military's 101st and 11th Light Infantry Divisions (LIDs).
Failing to Recruit New Military Officers
On 2 September 2021, the SAC announced on its controlled media that it had extended the deadline for applications to the military academies for the second time. The deadline was extended to one during August, supposedly due to the COVID-19. According to Captain Lin Htet Aung, who defected from the military, around 100 applications have been submitted to join the military academies. Most of the applicants are from military families.
Following the coup d’état in February, it is reported that more than 1,500 soldiers, including a hundred officers, had defected from the military.
Activities of the National Unity Government
On 27 August 2021, the Ministry of Human Rights of the National Unity Government issued a Statement on International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance on 30 August. In the statement, the definition of the enforced disappearance was explained. That enforced disappearance happened in many countries when dictator governments intentionally arrest or make human rights defenders, their families, and documents for human rights violations disappear. It was further stated that enforced disappearance not only affects individuals, their families, and the justice system, it also is a violation of human rights that affects the right to life, security, and development of every citizen in a country. In the statement, the Ministry has informed that the data collection and archiving is of great importance for those who suffered the human rights violations and the crimes committed by the military group and that it will work together with international organizations, civil society organizations, and people to prevent the crimes from happening again, to reveal the truth, and to remedy the grievances for each disappeared or fallen individuals.
The Ministry of Human Rights released an Announcement on the Formation of Advisory Board on the same day. According to the announcement, the Advisory Board was formed to obtain technical inputs in handling human rights issues and is comprised of several activists and experts who have been continuously engaged in the promotion of women’s and ethnic minorities’ rights, including human rights activist U Aung Kyaw Moe and peace educator and member of Muslim of Myanmar Multi-Ethnic Consultative Committee and will be expanded as necessary. The Ministry also stated in the announcement that on August 25, 2021, when Ministry officials discussed documentation and measures to bring justice for human rights violations and ensure NUG functions are in accordance with human rights norms, the
Advisory Board held their first meeting and provided recommendations.
On 30 August 2021, the Ministry of Planning, Finance, and Investment of the NUG has released the Announcement 10/2021, “Publication of a list of Illegal Investments and a Special Directive demanding their immediate and unconditional suspension.” In the announcement, the Ministry referred to the Announcement 1/2021 of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations of the Cabinet of the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) which declared all investment permits and endorsements to be suspended without exception from 1 February 2021 and Announcement 3/2021 of the Ministry of Planning, Finance and Investment of the National Unity Government dated 16 May 2021, which reaffirmed the earlier statement. The Ministry further recalled the Announcement 6/2021 of 21 July 2021. The NUG stated that new investment proposals, agreements, or approvals made by military-controlled entities on or after 1 February 2021 would neither be recognized nor honoured.
In the announcement, the Ministry informed that the indiscriminate issuance of investment permits and endorsements by the Myanmar Investment Commission controlled by the illegal military council runs counter to the tenets of federal democracy, and such actions shall not be tolerated. Together with the Announcement, the Ministry has published a list of companies undertaking illegal investments by seeking permits and endorsements from the Myanmar Investment Commission controlled by the unlawful military council. As the Ministry instructs those companies on the list to cease and suspend those illegal investment activities immediately and unconditionally, the Ministry further warns that any listed company that fails to comply shall be liable to persecution according to the existing laws.
On 5 September 2021, the National Unity Government released an Announcement (9/2021), “Announcement on Military Offensive of State Administrative Council in Ethnic Areas. The statement stressed that since the illegal military coup on 1 February 2021, they have killed, detained, and tortured innocent civilians across the country, both in major cities and in rural and ethnic areas. Furthermore, despite the verbal pledges of military leadership and SAC that they are working for peace, they have been waging offensive military operations, including both ground attacks and airstrikes in a disproportionate and indiscriminate manner with excessive forces in EAO-controlled areas causing civilians who were living there to be forced to flee their homes.
The announcement further stated that according to the UN reports, the number of IDPs has been over 300,000 due to the ground and airstrikes of the military. It was informed that those military attacks in ethnic areas could further cause a major humanitarian crisis that millions of civilian populations will be forced to leave their homes and that with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, such a situation can seriously impact the security of neighboring countries along with regional stability and security.
The NUG has vehemently opposed the foreign governments and organizations cooperating in the procurement of weapons to support those violent acts of the military council against the civilians and requested the international community to work effectively to stop the offensive military operations of the Myanmar military as soon as possible, to end suppression and torture of innocent civilians and to bring an end to the coup d’état and hold generals accountable for the crmes they have committed.
Visit of China’s Special Envoy for Asian Affairs to Myanmar
Sun Guoxiang, Special Envoy for Asian Affairs of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, paid a visit to Myanmar from 21 to 28 August 2021 upon invitation and met with the military leader Min Aung Hlaing, according to the Regular Press Conference by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin on 31 August 2021.
Regarding the Special Envoy’s visit, the Chinese side stated that the friendly policy of China towards Myanmar is for all the Myanmar People, based on the “pauk-phaw” friendship between China and Myanmar. The Press Conference by China’s Spokesperson of Foreign Ministry stated that China hopes for a proper solution through political dialogue with all parties and groups in Myanmar.
International Action and Pressure
The embassy of the United States in Yangon announced on 30 August 2021 that the United States is providing more than $50 million in critical humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar, among them over 700,000 refugees and others internally displaced in the country. The aid will support people fleeing violence and persecution in Myanmar following the military coup on 1 February.
In the Inaugural Australia-France 2+2 Ministerial Consultations held on 30 August 2021, Ministers underscored their grave concerns about the crisis in Myanmar, particularly the deteriorating COVID-19 situations and its implications for regional stability. They called on the military to immediately end the violence, cease measures to curtail freedom of expression, release those arbitrarily detained, and revert the country to its democratic path. Ministers welcomed the appointment of the ASEAN Chair's Special Envoy on Myanmar, stressed the need for a political dialogue with all relevant parties, and urged the Myanmar military to engage with ASEAN to implement the “Five Point Consensus” fully and swiftly.
On 1 September 2021, German wholesale food distribution Company Metro announced that it would cease its operation in Myanmar by October due to its volatile investment and business environment. Following the military coup, 15 Foreign companies have suspended or terminated their operations in Myanmar, and Metro is the latest international company to leave Myanmar.
On 2 September 2021, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced new Myanmar sanctions against Myanmar businessman U Tay Za and his business empire Htoo Group, the key business associate of the military. Foreign Secretary said that the military junta had shown no signs of halting its brutal attack on the people of Myanmar, and the UK will continue to restrict the junta’s access to finance. The supply of arms is used to kill innocents, including children, and target those who support the junta’s actions.
In response to the new sanctions of the UK against Myanmar, the U.S. Secretary of the State Antony Blinken remarked on 2 September 2021 that he welcomes the announcement of the UK’s new sanctions against Myanmar businessman U Tay Za and his network of companies for providing financial support and arms to the military that help enable its brutal violence against the people of Myanmar.
On September 3, 2021, the Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah commented that the situation with the planned trip of the ASEAN Special Envoy to Myanmar, Brunei's Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof, is that the visit has not yet been scheduled and that Erywan is still trying every available resource and communication channels to do so. Malaysian Foreign Minister also highlighted that “the ASEAN Special Envoy must be given access to meet as many groups as possible in line with the point number five of the consensus.” In addition, he also highlighted the difficulty of providing humanitarian assistance to Myanmar, particularly to the conflict zone, through the AHA Centre.
ASEAN Special Envoy Erywan Yusof, Second Foreign Minister of Brunei, said on 4 September 2021 that he is still negotiating with the military for his visit to Myanmar and has requested the military to get access to State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. He also added that he wants to go to Myanmar before the ASEAN summit held in October, yet no date has been finalized for his visit to Myanmar. In addition, he remarked that there is an urgent need to go to Myanmar now, and it is also required to talk to all the parties concerned.
*****
Date: 5 September 2021
Permanent Mission of Myanmar to the United Nations, New York..."
Source/publisher:
Permanent Mission of Myanmar to the United Nations (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-09-05
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, National Unity Government (NUG), Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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"On August 8, 2021, at about 9 PM., the Obo political detainees, who have been unjustly arrested,
staged a protest against the lack of COVID-19 preventive measures and treatment inside the prison as
a political movement marking the 33th anniversary of the 8888 Revolution.
The terrorist junta and those who are in charge of the prison brutally suppressed the protest with
gun-fires and the use of military force and subsequently silenced information regarding the situation.
The family of the detamees, the people all over the country partaking in anti-authoritarian movements
and the international community are all very concerned about the safety and well-being of these
political detainees who have been unjustly arrested and confined.
Regarding the protests inside Obo Prison, we make the following demands unwaveringly.
1. To unearth the truth regarding the current predicament inside Obo prison
2. To give access to COVID-19 preventive measures and treatment m all prisons in Myanmar,
including Obo prison
3. To release unjustly arrested political detainees unconditionally and unexceptionally
4. To stop immediately the murdering of political detainees by using COVID-19 as a biological
weapon.\
We urge the entire people of Myanmar, the international communities, the civil societies,
the ambassadors residing in Myanmar and the international organizations to be vigilantly
watchful of the status of access to medical care and other basic human rights inside prisons in
Myanmar and to spread out helping hands by any means possible..."
Source/publisher:
Student Union Representatives Committee - SURC
Date of publication:
2021-09-10
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Human Rights Defenders, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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Description:
"KEY DISPLACEMENT FIGURES
22,000 Estimated refugee movements to neighbouring countries since 1 February 2021
980,000 Refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar in neighbouring countries as of 31 December 2020
176,000 Estimated total internal displacement within Myanmar since 1 February 2021
370,000 Estimated internally displaced persons (IDPs) within Myanmar as of 31 December 2020
HIGHLIGHTS
Approximately 176,000 people are now displaced within Myanmar due to conflict and unrest since 1 February 2021. Total displacement declined slightly in recent weeks as some of those displaced in Kayah State and Shan State (South) temporarily returned to their areas of origin to tend to their farms or access healthcare, which was unavailable in areas of displacement. No significant displacement across Myanmar’s borders has been observed in the reporting period. In Thailand, borders remain closed as part of measures related to preventing the spread of COVID-19, though five temporary border crossing points are reportedly operational in Mae Hong Son province for the transport of goods only.
Recurrent internal displacement can be expected, however, as the security situation remains volatile inside Myanmar. Armed clashes increased in August across Southeast Myanmar, prompting new displacement in Shan State (South) and Tanintharyi Region. Intensifying conflict displaced hundreds in Waingmaw Township, Kachin State, with civilians reportedly killed and homes and livestock destroyed, while thousands of IDPs in the State were also affected by heavy rains and flooding. In Chin State, key transport routes and Mindat town remain insecure due to continued fighting, resulting in food and medicine shortages.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect IDPs in all States and Regions, with ongoing restrictions on their access to basic needs, health services, and livelihoods, as well as on humanitarian agencies’ access to IDPs. COVID-19 vaccinations are being administered to some IDPs, prioritizing individuals over 65 years old, and in Rakhine State this has included some Rohingya..."
Source/publisher:
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-09-01
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNHCR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Human Rights and international relations
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pdf
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7.37 MB
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Description:
"Description of the disaster
According to the latest update from DMH, monsoon flooding has hit the lower part of Myanmar following heavy rainfall since the third week of July. The flood has been affecting thousands of households in Shan (East), Kayin, Mon, Rakhine, Mandalay and Tanintharyi. The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DMH) Myanmar reported that the lowpressure area over the North Bay of Bengal persists and will remain until October 2021.
Since, 30 June 2021, the DMH has been issuing flood advisory warnings and warnings regarding weather systems impacting major rivers and their water level. As weather systems come closer and more information on the expected impact becomes available, public warnings on flooding and landslides are being disseminated. Myanmar’s DMH have reported heavy rain since 25 July 2021, with many areas affected by flood. Since mid-July, people and communities have been impacted by ongoing and recurring floods across Myanmar which requires local level response.
The monsoon weather system is strong and active, and on 24 August, DMH forecast predicted water levels may exceed the danger level of major rivers and river dams such as Ayeyarwady River and Sittoung River that are currently in critical situation and could have the ability to impact the most at-risk areas. As of 25 August, the Thanlwin River has exceeded the danger zone (see in Annex forecast).1 There are concerns that the weather system, fluvial floods, and flash floods could cause damage in communities across several regions, particularly in Shan (East), Kayin, Mon, Rakhine,
Tanintharyi, Magway, Mandalay, Kachin, Sagaing and Chin regions. Some of these areas have experienced previous devastation by the flood in 2015 and 2017, with response carried out via operation by IFRC EA MDRMM006. It is estimated more than 1.6 million vulnerable people2 are likely to be impacted by sessional monsoon related disasters.
In addition, Myanmar’s coastline is susceptible to severe cyclones which form in the Bay of Bengal, which has two cyclone seasons: April to May and October to November. Considering this, it is crucial to support MRCS in its capacity to respond timely and effectively to concurrent disasters.
DMH forecasts that the monsoon season will continue until October with medium to heavy rainfall and it is likely that Myanmar will experience new floods, in addition to probable increased severity impacts. In order to better prepare for the potential impacts of the ongoing monsoon season and to allow the National Society to support local authorities' preventative evacuation and initiate immediate disaster response, MRCS together with the support from IFRC CD has requested an imminent crisis DREF allocation fund amount of CHF 150,000. This DREF will help MRCS to prepare and respond to the monsoon season and the high probability disasters that will impact the Myanmar people.
This plan, funded by DREF, details the actions to be taken in view of the upcoming increased rains expected through the procurement of relief items (stocks), mobilization of assets, and personnel (staff and volunteers), preventative evacuations, rapid needs assessments, and distribution of essential household and emergency shelter items if required. This Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA) and operations budget will be revised as the situation evolves and scale of disaster changes.
Compounding Risk Factors
1.Ongoing impacts of Civil Unrest in Myanmar since 1 February 2021.
This ongoing crisis has proliferated nationwide civil unrest with significant humanitarian implications.
Basic services including transport, health and banking are affected.
Cash based relief assistance is currently not feasible due to sustained disruptions to the banking sector.
Internationally procured Disaster Preparedness (DP) stock items, require longer lead times due to limited border access and customs delays, linked primarily to the Myanmar civil unrest, but also more recently by COVID-19 pandemic.
2.Ongoing impacts of COVID-19 and a recent renewed outbreak at a national scale, resulting in reduced movement of both people and relief items.
3.Reduced response capacity at a national scale. This situation places additional pressure and expectation on MRCS as a primary responder to people affected by seasonal disaster events from small, medium to large scale scenarios..."
Source/publisher:
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-09-01
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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Sub-title:
တရားရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာန၊ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၊ ပြည်ထောင်စုဝန်ကြီး ဦးသိန်းဦး၏ နိုင်ငံရေးအကျဥ်းသားအားလုံးလွတ်မြောက်ရေးနှင့် အကျဥ်းထောင်များအတွင်းရှိ အကျဥ်းသားများအား ကိုဗစ် ၁၉ ရောဂါကူးစက်ဖြစ်ပွားမှုမှ ကာကွယ်နိုင်ရန် ဆောင်ရွက်သင့်သည်များ ဆောင်ရွက်ပေးရန် တောင်းဆိုခြင်းနှင့် ပတ်သက်၍ သတင်းထုတ်ပြန်ခြင်း (ဇူလိုင် ၁၆)
Description:
"(Yangon- 16 JULY) As the Covid-19 crisis in Myanmar has reached a critical stage, the junta has
announced the presence of Covid in Insein Jail. The 'Special Tribunals' established for the trial of
persons detained for peaceful protests have been suspended. Reporting across the country is
minimal, and the pandemic is likely to have reached all detention facilities, since our people are
reporting cases, and deaths in all areas of Myanmar.
“Holding people in detention without trial, in overcrowded facilities where Covid-19 is spreading
out of control, will be a death sentence for many whose only crime was to peacefully express
their fervent desire for democracy," said NUG Minister for Justice, U Thein Oo.
" The legal system in Myanmar is operating under de facto Martial Law. with Special Tribunals
headed by military judges in detention centres. The military must be held responsible for the
extrajudicial killings they have engaged in since this coup, and this includes any deaths that occur
in prisons due to Covid and an absence of health care."
Many of those detained have been held without trial for more than five months, in overcrowded
conditions and some have experienced interrogations techniques that amount to torture and
cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. They must be released immediately, and their families
informed of their health status before release so that appropriate treatment and isolation
measures can be taken to prevent the uncontrolled spread of the virus.
Since March 2020, Covid-19 prevention measures have led to the closure, or only partial operating
of all courts in all areas of Myanmar, except Rakhine State. This has resulted in a massive backlog
of cases, and overcrowding in all jails and prisons. All of those who on remand must be released
on bail immediately. In addition, prisoners with less than a year of their sentence to run should
also be released. These measures will help to relieve overcrowding in the jails, so that correct
procedures for controlling the spread of Covid-19 in jails can be put in place.
The Minister added: “The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer,
met with Min Aung Hlaing in Myanmar on June 3, 2021 and requested that IRCRC visits to places of detention be resumed. This visit was the first by an international organisation to meet the
State Administrative Council, and was reported by the junta as recognition of its rule. If this visit
was sincere, the IC RC must renew and maintain pressure on the junta to allow this access and
activities to support prisoner rights."..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Justice
Date of publication:
2021-07-16
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
As COVID-19 wreaks havoc in Mandalay, volunteers are doing their best to help save lives, cemeteries are overwhelmed and daring protesters continue to defy the junta with street marches.
Description:
"The sound of sirens echoes through the streets of Mandalay city, as ambulances ferry people with COVID-19 symptoms in what is often a fruitless search for a hospital that will accept them. Many with serious symptoms die before they can be admitted to hospitals despite the best efforts of charity group members and volunteers who tend to them during the journey.
“The hospitals are refusing to accept patients and patients often lose their lives while ambulances are rushing from one hospital to another,” said charity group member U Ko Thet, who also owns the Sein Sunn Nyo oxygen factory.
COVID-19 patients in Mandalay are being treated at seven hospitals, including the People’s Hospital, and a 204-bed treatment centre that opened at the site of the city’s former airport in Chanmyatharzi Township in July. Yet, the relatives of patients in hospitals say these facilities are full or near capacity, and patients are not receiving adequate care because of a shortage of healthcare personnel.
“If a patient tests positive, we have to request the help of volunteer charity groups for transportation and the groups don’t have as many ambulances as before,” said a doctor at one of Mandalay’s hospitals, who asked not to be identified. “The number of patients is out of all proportion to the number of healthcare workers, and it is the people who suffer. Health workers are also getting infected.”
The doctor said the highly-infectious Delta variant of COVID-19 has sparked fear among Mandalay residents. “People are beginning to believe that if you are hospitalised, you are likely to die. This variant is so severe, and many patients need intensive care,” the doctor said.
Personnel and oxygen shortages
The third wave of COVID-19 has hit Myanmar much harder than the first and second waves, when the National League for Democracy government’s response to the pandemic was bolstered by the support of legions of charity group volunteers, international aid, and the trust and cooperation of the public.
In addition to government healthcare workers participating in the Civil Disobedience Movement, the number of volunteers at clinics and hospitals has also dramatically decreased. With hospitals overflowing and understaff, many seriously ill COVID-19 patients have no choice but to make do at home.
“People are in dire need of everything, unlike during the time of the people’s [NLD] government,” said Ko Thet.
“During the first and second waves … everyone cooperated to help [COVID-19 patients], in a systematic and disciplined way. Now, everything is upside-down. There is a shortage of skilled doctors and nurses to provide proper treatment and people are losing their lives. We volunteers are helping not because we support the dictators, but because we are people helping people,” he said.
An official in the sanitation department of Mandalay City Development Committee said more than four tonnes of biohazard waste was being collected daily from hospitals and quarantine centres. The amount is actually less than during the first and second waves, sid the official, who asked not to be identified, but the waste was not being disposed of as safely because of the shortage of volunteers.
“It is becoming dangerous – we have to take great care not to become infected,” said the official, who asked not to be named.
As with everywhere else in the country, the high number of COVID-19 patients with breathing difficulties has sparked a frantic search in Mandalay city for oxygen with which to treat them. Volunteers from young men’s associations and charity groups have been distributing oxygen to patients in urgent need and for many this is the only option.
“At present, oxygen is the first priority,” said Ko Thet. “My plant can fill 700 40-litre cylinders a day for emergency patients in dire need.”
Even so, Ko Thet’s factory is unable to help everyone who is in need of oxygen, he said.
Some residents are pooling their money to buy oxygen for their neighbors. U Satee, a Mandalay resident, said he and two friends in a motorcyclist group have been buying oxygen to distribute to the seriously ill.
“When we see that people have survived with the help of the oxygen we donated, we are encouraged and greatly relieved,” he said.
Charity groups in Mandalay say that with hospitals and quarantine centres at capacity, the number of people dying from COVID-19 at home is rising every day.
U Tint, who heads the Parahita Mingaung group, a volunteer association, told Frontier 22 patients had died of COVID-19 at the hospital he was volunteering at on August 2 alone.
“We are taking out the bodies. More than 200 bodies a day are being cremated at two of the three cemeteries in Mandalay,” he said.
Between July 1 and August 2, the three cemeteries cremated or buried 2,761 bodies, including a record 185 on July 30.
Protests and civil disobedience continue
The State Administration Council went to great lengths to reopen schools on June 1 after a year of COVID-19 related closure, but a boycott by students as well as teachers, many of whom had joined the Civil Disobedience Movement, meant that only about 20 percent of students returned to classes at the start of term.
As COVID-19 cases began to climb again, the regime announced on July 8 that all schools would be closed until July 23, and they are yet to reopen.
As part of the campaign to contain the spread of COVID-19, Mandalay’s Zay Cho market, Mann Myanmar Plaza and other popular shopping venues were closed on September 13 last year. The military council tried to force shops at Zay Cho market to open at the beginning of June, but owners have resisted because of their opposition to the junta and concern about the worsening COVID-19 situation.
Street protests also continue, and neither harsh suppression by regime forces nor the risk of COVID-19 have stifled the determination of protest groups in Mandalay to show their contempt for the coup.
At least eight protest organisations, including those representing the Sangha Union, student groups, engineers and neighbourhoods, have continued to march in Mandalay despite the danger.
“We cannot afford to stop resisting against the dictator just because of the pandemic,” said Ko Min Bo, who leads a protest group in Mandalay. “We must stop COVID-19 and at the same time we must root out the military dictatorship. I want younger people to do whatever they can, even if they cannot participate in protest marches.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-08-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Description:
"Myanmar — one of the poorest countries in Asia — is nearing economic collapse. The country has been hit hard by a devastating cash shortage since the coup and COVID-19 pandemic.
Zaw Min (name changed to protect his identity) is a construction worker in his 30s from the Yangon suburb of Hlaing TharYar in Myanmar. He recounts how he sold his second-hand motorcycle for 150,000 kyat ($91, €77.50) in September out of financial desperation.
Min was forced to find new ways to feed his family when he couldn't find work in his profession amid Myanmar's battle with COVID-19.
"I did not have a job for quite a while. So, I had to sell my motorcycle. I had no choice," Min told DW.
The pandemic, coupled with Myanmar's military coup in February, hit the economy hard.
Min began to do any odd jobs that were available to make ends meet. He says that since the coup, it's become even more difficult to find work due to new security measures and the worsening political situation.
His regular customers have relocated for security reasons while others are no longer in contact because of COVID-19.
"I cannot find work. My customers have moved to other places. Others do not want to hire me anymore," he told DW.
Like many people in the country, Min does not have a bank account.
Economic down spiral
The World Bank has warned that Myanmar is at risk of economic turmoil. In the Myanmar Economic Monitor released on July 26, the global financial institution stated that the country's economy is expected to contract around 18% in the 2021 fiscal year, meaning Myanmar's economy will be about 30% smaller than it would have been in the absence of COVID and the coup.
A survey on business firms in Myanmar released by the World Bank at the end of August found that the impact of the military coup was more detrimental than that of COVID-19.
Myanmar's military government says it's also facing economic difficulties. Vice Senior General Soe Win, also vice-chair of the country's financial commission, urged ministries in a meeting on Tuesday to spend frugally, state news agencies reported.
The military general cited various economic losses due to COVID-19 and warned that Myanmar might continue to face income losses in the coming months.
On August 10, military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing had warned about trade and budget deficits in a governmental meeting, according to state media reports.
Businessman Aung Myaing (name changed) says Myanmar must now buy essential items such as cooking oil and gasoline "from outside."
"We cannot export much these days. That is why the dollar is in high demand and becoming sky high," he told DW, warning about the weakening Myanmar kyat currency and burgeoning trade deficit. The kyat has dropped approximately 30% in value since the coup.
"It's very difficult to run a business these days," he added.
Khin Maung Naing (name changed), a factory owner in his late 30s, tells DW that "business is slow." His small factory manufactures plastic containers for businesses.
"The exchange rate is changing every day and raw material prices change with it…Our customers are facing economic difficulties. So, we don't know how to price our products," he said, adding that cash shortage is also a problem.
Cash shortages
Since the military takeover, the Southeast Asian country has been crippled by a cash shortage. Banks have placed caps on ATM cash withdrawals and introduced token systems to restrict the number of customers making counter transactions.
The central bank restricted the withdrawal of Myanmar kyat to 20 million for companies and 2 million kyat for individuals. More amounts of cash can be withdrawn for buying COVID-related medicines and medical equipment.
Since the coup, people have been seen queuing outside bank branches. People are desperately trying to find cash through various means.
"I have no idea how we can get out of this mess," lamented factory owner Khin Maung Naing about the economic crisis..."
Source/publisher:
"DW News" (Germany)
Date of publication:
2021-08-26
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Health, right to: standards and mechanisms
Language:
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Sub-title:
Despite enjoying broad public support, the National Unity Government is still struggling to manage sharp internal differences between the NLD’s “old guard” and those fighting for more radical change.
Description:
"Since February 1, youth activist and civil society leader Naw Thaboe has supported the National Unity Government steadfastly as it abolished the 2008 Constitution and recognised the Rohingya.
These revolutionary acts convinced Thaboe that the NUG was different from the NLD administration that the Tatmadaw removed from office on February 1. Lately, though, she said the NUG’s bold reforms have seemed to come to a halt.
“In the revolution, people need revolutionary leaders,” said Thaboe, who asked that her real name not be used. “Myanmar needs drastic change, the NUG or any political leaders need to be more proactive and take more radical action against the junta.”
Thaboe echoes the feelings of a growing number in Myanmar who, despite their support for the parallel government, are feeling increasingly frustrated with its lack of progress in establishing itself as a genuine rival administration to the military regime, let alone removing the Tatmadaw from power.
The COVID-19 outbreak has only increased the pressure on the NUG. Although most blame the military regime for the tens of thousands of COVID-19 deaths in recent months, they are also looking to the NUG for leadership to mitigate the health crisis.
The NUG’s struggles stem in part from deep internal divisions between long-time members of the National League for Democracy and more progressive individuals in cabinet. While the NUG was formed in mid-April by a diverse group that included community and ethnic leaders, the parallel government nominally led by acting president Duwa Lashi La remains dominated by NLD loyalists.
The NUG has “repeatedly stated that it is a revolutionary government first and foremost and has achieved a great deal given the pressure it has been under,” but some activists on the ground increasingly feel like the NUG senior leaders are focused on releasing statements, said Mr Kim Joliffe, a researcher on Myanmar politics and conflict.
“Most revolutionary forces aimed at defeating the incumbent power don’t start off operating like a government,” he said, noting that this strategy was seen as necessary in order to gain international recognition.
“Months ago the NUG had a lot of momentum and it has managed to sustain enough pressure to deny the SAC full control or recognition globally. But it has become increasingly clear that the battle to take full control one way or another will likely be a long and drawn out war, as neither side has the capacity or resources to fully defeat the other yet.”
On August 1, the military regime formed a caretaker government and junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who appointed himself prime minister, said he expected Myanmar’s state of emergency to run until August 2023, when elections are planned.
Although the military is overwhelmingly unpopular, time might not be on the NUG’s side. If history is a guide, the parallel government faces a growing risk of sliding into irrelevance as time passes. With its iconic leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, in detention, a lack of support from neighbouring countries and historic tensions with ethnic minority groups, the NUG will likely need to regain its early momentum if it is to make any major progress.
Unity in name only
This government of “national unity” is yet to be united. Sources within the NUG and those engaged with it say the cabinet has been and remains deeply divided over critical issues ranging from the response to COVID-19, its approach to the economy and cooperation with ethnic communities.
One cabinet member who is not from the NLD told Frontier that trust was “a big challenge” between NLD and non-NLD officials.
“We are still weak in [terms of] collaboration [with] each other,” the minister said, adding that there had been only “very limited talk” among cabinet members on issues such as humanitarian aid and the economy.
The minister’s assessment was echoed by an NLD-aligned official inside the NUG.
“Decades of distrust are not easily overcome in months,” he said.
Ma Phyo, an analyst of ethnic policy who asked that her real name not be used, said there are clearly divisions within the NUG.
“Although there are people from civil society, ethnic people, and activists doing the groundwork and pushing them[NUG officials], sometimes I wonder why it is taking this much to move forward,” she said.
“From my own connections and what I’ve heard, the reality of NLD veterans calling the shots doesn’t seem to have changed within the NUG,” she said.
Ma Phyo also worries that the NUG seems to be overconfident about its ability to prevail over the Tatmadaw, and that popular support could wane if it doesn’t show concrete results.
“It is not helping that NUG ministers are being stubborn, and what’s crazy is that they are so confident that the people will [always] support them because they believe that they are on the moral high ground,” she said.
Exploiting the pandemic
While the junta has tried to exploit the pandemic to cement its control and legitimise its rule, activists and businesspeople in Yangon told Frontier they were worried the NUG was losing touch with the key issues on the ground.
With more than 10,000 officially recorded deaths since the start of June and one of the highest rates of positive tests in the world – at times last month it was above 40 percent – the COVID-19 third wave has inflicted massive suffering in Myanmar. Although the NUG established a COVID-19 Task Force with ethnic health groups on July 21 – a move welcomed by civil society – it has yet to unveil or even outline a policy on the provision of humanitarian aid. This has put international donors and aid agencies in a difficult position, because it is not yet clear what form of assistance is politically acceptable.
The task force has said it plans to focus on bringing vaccines into the country, an approach supported by civil society groups in Myanmar, such as Progressive Voice. The task force has also said ASEAN and the rest of the international community should provide aid through the task force as well as through cross-border channels, community humanitarian networks, and ethnic health service providers. It is unclear if this is advocating for bypassing the junta entirely. Frontier contacted the task force but did not receive a reply.
This policy confusion stems from a lack of agreement within the cabinet, according to a senior official. Some NUG ministers favour allowing donors and social welfare groups to work with junta-controlled local officials as long as they also engage with the parallel government and meet transparency requirements. Others have taken a more hardline attitude, insisting that no aid should go through junta officials.
An ethnic politician and human rights activist, whose name Frontier withheld for security reasons, acknowledged that the NUG was trying its best despite “limited space and opportunity”, but said it still had a lot of room for improvement.
“What people need are two things: the first is political leadership and the second is services,” she said. “The political leadership is very confusing and unclear, with ministers making statements here and there without consulting the others. As for services, they face constraints in their capacity to deliver.”
The lack of consultation is possibly illustrated by a July announcement by the Ministry of Communications, Information and Technology, which said the NUG would accept cryptocurrency donations. The cabinet apparently had not been collectively consulted over the move and concerns over financial transparency were raised, a senior official said.
Whatever the NUG’s capacity, the junta appears to feel threatened by its popularity. On May 5, its Ministry of Transport and Communications imposed a national one-hour internet blackout without warning, seemingly aimed at preventing the public from watching an NUG press conference. It has also frozen bank accounts that have been detected sending money to the NUG and other opposition groups.
Regional powers are less convinced of the parallel government’s influence. China and Russia are sceptical about the NUG’s prospects and have not actively engaged with it, and ASEAN has only engaged publicly with the junta.
A symbol of the past
Aung San Suu Kyi is another factor complicating efforts towards unity within the NUG. She remains a divisive figure among the more diverse cabinet drawn together by the resistance movement in an effort to unite the country, including its powerful but disparate ethnic armed groups, against the military.
When Aung San Suu Kyi was in power, she chastised ethnic armed groups and supported military campaigns against them, defended the Tatmadaw at the International Court of Justice against accusations that it had committed genocide against Rohingya Muslims, and supported an internet blackout that affected more than one million people in Rakhine and Chin states.
“If Daw Suu is released tomorrow and dismisses all the work the NUG has done, it could kill off the democracy movement,” said Ma Ei Ei, a CDM supporter in Yangon who asked to be identified by a pseudonym.
Although Ei Ei sympathises with Aung San Suu Kyi due to her many sacrifices in the struggle for democracy, she said the detained leader had quickly become a symbol of the past after February 1.
“Things have moved very quickly. Daw Suu would face a huge public backlash if she walks out tomorrow and calls the Tatmadaw ‘my father’s army’,” Ei Ei said.
The coup d’etat has also led to an unprecedented reckoning among the Myanmar people. In particular, the deadly force unleashed by the Tatmadaw against peaceful protesters has changed attitudes about the Tatmadaw’s “clearance operation” against the Rohingya in northern Rakhine in 2017.
In an attempt to establish military alliances with ethnic armed groups and seek support from ethnic communities, the NUG has presented itself as a more minority-friendly administration than the NLD’s cabinet and central executive committee, which were for decades dominated by older Bamar men.
Although the NUG has made overtures to minorities, such as the Rohingya policy, the NLD’s track record on minority rights means there is still scepticism from ethnic communities as to whether the NUG represents a real break with the past.
Dr Sasa, who joined the NLD relatively recently and hails from Chin State, is not one of the “old guard” who dominated the party, according to one senior diplomat in Myanmar. The source added that the more conservative, NLD-aligned elements in the NUG were not impressed by Sasa’s progressive politics. Sasa though has a unique position and leverage in the cabinet because he is seen as a part of the NLD and not an outsider, and also because he has built up a public following domestically and internationally since the coup.
Sasa said he would resist any attempt to reverse the stand taken by the NUG to recognise the Rohingya, observing that the military had used divide and rule tactics based on race and religion to create splits in society.
“Our voice matters. They [Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained leaders] cannot just push us into a corner [upon being freed],” he said. Sweeping the NUG’s progressive politics aside and returning to the policies of the past would amount to “political suicide” for any leader, he warned. “I am ready to stand up for what I believe in.”
In a dramatic reversal of Aung San Suu Kyi’s infamous defence of the Tatmadaw at the International Court of Justice in December 2019, the NUG said in late June that it was gathering evidence of Tatmadaw atrocities and was preparing to file a lawsuit for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court.
In another departure from the former civilian government’s shunning of the Rohingya, this week saw the first appointment of a member of the Rohingya ethnic group to the parallel government. U Aung Kyaw Moe, the founder and executive director of the Center for Social Integrity, is known in Myanmar for his humanitarian and peace-building work, and was appointed as an adviser to the human rights ministry, Sasa told Frontier.
Differences on policy
Policy disagreements have not been limited to ethnic rights. The NUG’s first budget has been delayed for weeks due to differences of opinion within the cabinet over how spending should be prioritised.
Although the exact nature of these debates is unclear, sources said the forthcoming budget is likely to prioritise aid over defence and spending on the response to a growing humanitarian emergency.
Minister for Planning, Finance and Investment U Tin Tun Naing said supporting the Civil Disobedience Movement would be a top spending priority. “Civil disobedience is an effective weapon that the people of Myanmar can wield in good conscience. It is also the weapon that the military junta fears the most. Equally important is humanitarian support.”
There are clearer differences of opinion within cabinet over foreign investment and how businesses should operate under the military regime.
“There are ideologues who want to take a hard line against businesses that cooperate with the military,” one NUG source said.
But part of the cabinet has a more realistic approach to companies that are in Myanmar and trying to behave responsibly. Tu Hkawng, the NUG’s environmental conservation and natural resources minister, told Nikkei Asia in May that the NUG acknowledged the dilemmas companies operating in Myanmar face if they wish to support human rights. Referring to Norwegian mobile operator Telenor, he said the NUG would not push the company “into a corner”.
Frontier understands Tin Tun Naing also wanted the NUG to take an approach that recognises the difficult position responsible foreign investors now find themselves in, a source in the finance ministry said.
In late July, the NUG finance ministry published a framework for investment in which it said it would not “recognise or honour investment agreements or approvals” made with the military regime since the coup. Those who had invested in the country over the past decade, though, would be treated differently.
“Companies such as Total Energy and Chevron generate a lot of revenue for the military and the NUG has called for steps to limit the revenue flow from them. Telenor has to pay its dues to the military but also does a lot of good for the people,” an NUG source said.
Some large foreign investors are already carefully considering their operations in Myanmar. A few have decided to leave, including Telenor, which announced in early July it was selling its Myanmar operation to Lebanese investment firm, M1 Group, for US$105 million, implying an overall value of around $500 million. The sale represented a significant loss for the Norwegian telco, which had invested more than $1 billion in Myanmar since being licensed by President U Thein Sein’s quasi-military government in 2013.
The hasty sale was widely seen as a desperate move by Telenor to leave Myanmar amid pressure from the junta to use surveillance technology that would allow the authorities to monitor users, said telecoms industry executives.
Tin Tun Naing told Frontier that the NUG regretted Telenor’s departure, but said it reflected the fact the junta had created an increasingly hostile environment for ethical businesses.
“We know that Telenor resisted the military’s pressure to install intercept and surveillance software and share users’ data, unlike the military-controlled operators MPT and Mytel. The company has tried to protect human rights in Myanmar as best it could,” he said.
The Lebanese M1 Group is a controversial buyer, given both its track record working in countries such as Sudan, Syria and Yemen and its links to the Tatmadaw through shares in Irrawaddy Green Towers, a company that builds telecom towers for military-run Mytel. Concerns over how M1 would run the business prompted 45 civil society organisations, including Justice for Myanmar, Free Expression Myanmar and Global Witness, to write to Telenor and the Norwegian government this month urging them to stop the sale.
“The NUG’s position on foreign investment is clear. There should be no new investment as long as the junta is in place. Existing investors should stay only if they are doing more good than harm,” Tin Tun Naing said.
The people strike back
The creation of the People’s Defence Force as the NUG’s armed wing in May has also sparked internal debates over the prospects for a united armed insurgency against the junta. Tin Tun Naing declined to say how much funding the NUG was allocating to the PDF, but stressed that its role was to protect civilians and safeguard communities.
“We are not raising a conventional army to wage an all-out war. Our victory will come from the fact that the people support us. Our priority therefore has to be on supporting the people. We will not buy guns if we cannot feed our people,” the finance minister said.
Another cabinet minister admitted that the goal of unifying all ethnic armed groups into a federal army would be extremely difficult. For the foreseeable future, the minister said, the priority was for the PDF to form a federal alliance with other armed groups.
Myanmar analyst Mr David Mathieson says it is too early to predict what direction the new insurgency of the NUG or PDF will take as the situation evolves. But he branded the idea of an alliance between the NUG and ethnic armed groups as a “chimera”.
“Why should they all be under unified command? That is such an NLD mania to control everything and subordinate ethnic grievances to their political agenda: that is partly why the country is in such a mess,” he said.
Not all PDFs are under the command of the NUG, either. While some local PDFs have pledged allegiance to the parallel government, they essentially operate on their own, without assistance from the NUG. Mr Mathieson warned that this could result in a “fragmented” security situation and even a “nightmare scenario” in which “many anti-SAC PDF’s through desperation … engag[e] in various acts of criminality to finance armed resistance … [and] overburden local communities and retard economic growth”.
Defence minister U Yee Mon in early August told Myanmar Now that the NUG plans to unify civilian defence forces throughout the country under one command, and again parroted the “D-Day” narrative, a term hyped up by the NUG in anticipation of an all-out offensive against the Tatmadaw at some future date.
U Kyaw Win, the pseudonym of a Yangon-based political commentator and activist, said the NUG’s constant talk and lack of action about a military offensive was creating frustration..
“The NUG needs to remember that without a controlled territory, there would not be any form of recognition from foreign governments,” he said. But despite a plethora of challenges confronting the NUG, Kyaw Win stressed the NUG is “still the hope for the people, even if we are disappointed in some of their performances”.
“As long as the revolution is not finished,” he said, “the NUG shall have to continue as the frontline political organisation of our revolution.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-08-24
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, National Unity Government (NUG), Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Human Rights and international relations
Language:
more
Description:
"KEY DISPLACEMENT FIGURES
22,000 Estimated refugee movements to neighbouring countries since 1 February 2021
980,000 Refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar in neighbouring countries as of 31 December 2020
189,000 Estimated total internal displacement within Myanmar since 1 February 2021
370,000 Estimated internally displaced persons (IDPs) within Myanmar as of 31 December 2020
HIGHLIGHTS
• Some 189,000 people remain internally displaced (IDPs) in Myanmar as of 16 August, due to armed conflict and unrest since 1 February 2021. This includes some 156,500 IDPs in Southeast Myanmar and Shan State (South).
• In Southeast Myanmar, the security situation remains tense with increasing armed clashes across the Southeast. In the reporting period, armed clashes continued in Kachin/Shan (North) states.
• In Chin State, the situation in Mindat and surrounding areas deteriorated, as fighting between the Chin Defence Forces (CDF) and Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) resumed in recent weeks.
• The situation of internally displaced people within Myanmar has been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, with close to 4,000 new cases and 400 official deaths reportedly registered each day. This makes the per capita death rate in Myanmar the highest in Southeast Asia.
• IDP camps in Kachin State have registered a surge of COVID-19 cases and more people have tested positive in Kayah and Kayin states. Hundreds of positive cases are reported across Kachin State and Shan State (North) among the IDP population, where access to health services remains very limited. Disruptions of food supplies have led to food shortages in some IDP sites in Rakhine and Kayin states.
• Seasonal floods continue to affect particularly the Southeast and thousands of people in Rakhine State. Heavy rains and flooding, combined with COVID-19 restrictions, continue to pose significant challenges for IDPs in the Southeast to access basic needs and health services.
• In Thailand, no movements have been reported towards the Myanmar-Thai border in recent weeks, in part due to closed borders and movement restrictions related to measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19..."
Source/publisher:
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-08-20
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNHCR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Human Rights and international relations
Language:
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Size:
7.48 MB
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"The National Health Committee was formed by the following representatives of the
Ministry of Health of the National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar and Ethnic
Health Organizations (EHOs) on 5 August 2021, following the National Health
Conference, which was convened by the NUG and EHOs on 2 – 5 August 2021.
1
Dr. Cynthia Maung
Consultant
2
Dr. Myint Cho
Consultant
3
Dr. Salai Par Cin
Consultant
4
Dr. Thein Win
Consultant
5
Dr. Naing Shwe Thein
Consultant
6
Dr. San Aung
Consultant
7
Dr. Nyunt Naing Thein
Consultant
8
Dr. Aung Kay Tu
Consultant
9
Dr Khin Saw Win
Consultant
10
Sai Hlian
Consultant
1
Padoh Mahn Mahn
Chair
2
Dr. Zaw Wai Soe
Vice-Chair (1)
3
Khu Plureh
Vice-Chair (2)
4
Dr. Oakar
Secretary
5
Saw Nay Htoo
Joint Secretary (1)
6
Nan Snow
Joint Secretary (2)
7
Dr. Khin Maung Lwin
Member
8
Khun Myint Tun
Member
9
Lway Katae Nyime
Member
10
Saw Thar Win
Member
11
Dr. Shwe Pone
Member
12
Naing Aye Lwin
Member
13
Naing Banyar
Member
14
Jessica
Member
15
Salai Biak Pum
Member
16
Khoon Phillip
Member
17
Moe Tae
Member
18
Rakhine Representative
Member
19
SHC Representative
Member
20
KPICT Representative
Member
21
Community Based Health Workers (3 Representatives)
Member
Notes: The Composition will be expanded as required.
2. The objectives of the National Health Committee (NHC) are:
(a) To formulate a national health policy of the future federal union;
(b) To collaborate implementation health programmes and projects of ethnic areas/states of the Union;
(c) To cooperate with the international organizations; and
(d) To prepare for possible dire situations caused by various crises, including infectious diseases and natural disasters, and respond promptly and effectively
3. Ways forward -
(a) To carry out the Health System Development based on the Federal Health Policy
(b) To Strengthen the Health Information System
(c) To build a well-coordinated communication mechanism with the International Partners
(d) To accelerate the medical trainings and develop the necessary curriculums
(e) To endorse effective strategies for control and mitigation of the COVID-19 Pandemic
National Health Committee is committed to work collaboratively with all stakeholders to implement Federal Health Policy to achieve the ultimate goal of Universal Health Coverage.
For Further Information, please contact
1. Dr. Cynthia Maung - (+66) 899615054
2. Padoh Mahn Mahn - (+66) 879438750
3. Dr. Oakar - (+95) 9456696679 (Viber, Signal)..."
Source/publisher:
National Health Committee
Date of publication:
2021-08-16
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
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Size:
100.29 KB 161.62 KB
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"As the UN Security Council prepares for a meeting today on the crisis in Burma, Burma Campaign UK is joining calls for the UN Secretary General António Guterres to personally spearhead the United Nations response.
The UN Security Council meeting is being held as Burma is in the grip of a third wave of the Covid pandemic, exacerbated by both military incompetence and by the military weaponising Covid as a tool for trying to secure its rule.
On 23rd July, 443 civil society organisations in Burma wrote to António Guterres calling on him to personally spearhead the United Nations response to the Covid-19 pandemic in Burma, including an end to military hostilities against the population.
“With the UN Security Council blocked by Russia and China from taking action, the UN Special Envoy ignored by the military, and no-one seriously believing ASEAN will be effective at achieving any significant breakthrough, the UN Secretary General taking personal leadership is the only credible option left for action,” said Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK.
It will be much harder for the military to ignore requests from the UN Secretary General to visit Burma than it is to turn down the UN Envoy. António Guterres will also be able to speak personally with world leaders to support him in his efforts.
“Burma doesn’t need the United Nations to hold more meetings and issue more statements, it needs practical action,” said Anna Roberts. “It’s time António Guterres gets on a plane, goes to Burma and starts using his office to address the humanitarian and human rights crisis in the country.”
Burma Campaign UK will be campaigning for António Guterres to take personal leadership on the crisis in Burma, in support of voices on the ground calling on him to take action..."
Source/publisher:
"Burma Campaign UK" (London)
Date of publication:
2021-08-17
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Health, right to: standards and mechanisms, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Junta Packs Jails with Opponents as Virus Thrives
Description:
"Myanmar’s Covid-19 crisis is spiraling out of control, as the coronavirus spreads among the most marginalized populations, including those in the country’s prisons.
The escalation of politically motivated arrests since the February 1 military coup has corresponded with a surge in infections in the country’s overcrowded and unsanitary prisons, where access to health care is poor.
Over 600 Covid-19 cases have been reported in Myanmar’s prisons. The Ministry of Health estimates there are almost 4000 new infections daily across the country. But due to lack of testing and little information coming forward from a military junta that claims it has the situation under control, the real figures are likely much higher.
On August 8, prisoners held a protest inside Mandalay’s Obo prison after the Covid-19 related death of a pro-democracy activist in custody. Maung Maung Nyein Tun, a 45-year-old doctor who had been detained on June 13 for participating in the Civil Disobedience Movement, was initially held in a military interrogation center, then transferred to a police station before being taken to Obo prison despite showing severe symptoms. He later died at Mandalay hospital.
On July 23, a protest erupted at Yangon’s Insein prison due to a worsening coronavirus outbreak there and the death from Covid-19 of Nyan Win, 79, a prominent National League for Democracy member. As of August 9, at least 12 inmates at Insein had died after having been infected with the virus.
According to local media reports, only 600 of the 9000 prisoners at Insein prison have received a vaccine. To quell the rapid spread, officials at Insein, Taungoo, and Myaung Mya prisons have ordered lockdowns. Inmates who show symptoms are quarantined but few are tested or receive adequate medical treatment. Released detainees have told us that few measures are taken to stop the spread of the virus, that masks are insufficient, and sanitary conditions are abysmal. Prison authorities have apparently also not taken any special measures to protect groups at higher risk such as older inmates and those with preexisting medical conditions.
At a minimum, Myanmar’s prison authorities need to carry out widespread testing of inmates, release all prisoners who pose little security risk, and make information on the prevalence of Covid-19 in prisons public. Otherwise, the virus and loss of lives among prisoners will continue unchecked..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-08-16
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Anti-coup protesters, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights Watch Reports on Burma/Myanmar
Language:
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Sub-title:
More than a third of the population of Kayah State has been displaced by clashes
Description:
"The Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) has called on local and international aid groups to provide urgent help to tens of thousands of people affected by both fighting and surging Covid-19 cases in Kayah (Karenni) State.
Junta troops have been raiding villages to break into homes and loot property, while also hampering local efforts to stop the spread of the virus in the state, the group said in a statement on Friday.
The KNPP’s armed wing, the Karenni Army, have clashed with the junta’s forces numerous times in Bawlakhe Township and elsewhere since early May. They have fought alongside the newly formed Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) on some occasions.
Some 100,000 people – more than a third of the population of the state – have fled their homes because of the violence.
The Karenni people are facing hardship in every aspect of life, the KNPP’s statement said, adding that people were in need of food, shelter, and healthcare.
Many of those displaced are living in forests without adequate shelter from this year’s monsoon rains.
“We have been helping the refugees by providing some food, shelter and medication,” said Khu Daniel, a secretary of the KNPP. “We can’t provide them with complete protection as of now, so we need donations for shelters, since it’s the rainy season, as well as food and medication.”
Locals in Hpruso and Demoso townships are also fleeing their homes as fighting intensifies in the area.
A resident of the state capital Loikaw, which is about 20km from the town of Demoso, said that around 1,000 locals from the east of Demoso fled their homes on Friday evening.
She could hear gunshots almost every night and has been preparing to flee as well in the event that the fighting comes closer to her, she added.
“Everything’s hard now considering both the pandemic and the war are here,” she said. “We are just staying in our houses.”
She added: “We have to be prepared to flee as we don’t know when the war will arrive. We’ve got some beds and food ready so we can flee anytime.”
Residents of Loikaw recently set up Covid-19 checkpoints in each neighbourhood but were ordered to stop by the junta last week, she added.
Between June 29 and August 12 there were 729 Covid-19 cases reported in Loikaw, six in Hpruso, 39 in Bawlakhe and 251 in Hpasawng, making up to a total of 1,025 cases including 47 deaths, according to a report in The Kantarawaddy Times.
Dozens of Myanmar military soldiers have been killed in fighting in Kayah in recent months, according to the KNDF, including 80 who died in a battle in early June.
This month 18 junta soldiers have been killed and 20 injured so far, the group said. It has not released full details about casualties among resistance fighters..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-08-16
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Internal displacement/forced migration of Karenni villagers, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"Myanmar, a nation whose young democracy began only a decade ago, is currently facing a threat it may not recover from. On February 1st of 2021, the military of Myanmar staged a coup d’état in the Southeast Asian country, overthrowing the democratic government and issuing a year-long state of emergency. Orchestrated under the idea that the nation’s November election was fraudulent, a claim that lacks any substantial evidence, the armed forces took control and arrested senior members of the elected National League for Democracy (NLD) party. The situation was exacerbated by the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, a pro-democracy activist and Nobel Prize winner, who led the NLD. The country’s state of emergency has been extended for another two years under the direction of Min Aung Hlaing, a leading army general who declared himself to be the nation’s prime minister at the beginning of August. Now, after months of violence and oppression, Myanmar is confronted with the same military regime that it suffered under previously.
The populace of Myanmar has expressed their outrage over the return to military rule in the form of extensive protests. The demonstrations first became lethal on February 20th, when two unarmed protestors were killed by militant forces—by the 22nd, millions of civilians were marching in the streets, and the movement has since expanded into a large civil disobedience campaign. According to Reuters, at least six separate protests recently occurred on August 8th, the anniversary of a 1988 uprising against the earlier military junta. Across all of these events, violence has only escalated. Responses from the installed government have included rubber bullets, water cannons, and live ammunition – which has had deadly consequences. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners has documented the deaths of 965 protestors since the military’s coup, along with the arrests and sentencings of over 5500. Furthermore, reports from the International Rescue Committee have detailed the disruption of social media and online communications in the country, systems that protestors rely on to organize.
The humanitarian crisis caused by the military takeover has left Myanmar crippled. The large-scale fighting has impeded civilian access to public services and basic life necessities, such as food and water. Businesses and financial institutions have closed, leaving people out of work and fleeing from cities while Myanmar’s economy collapses. On top of the thousands of refugees that the coup has created, COVID-19 continues to ravage the nation. Reuters announced that the United States alone has given Myanmar $50 million in aid for coronavirus relief. The situation is intensified by the government’s detainment of medical professionals who have spoken out against the military and participated in civil disobedience. According to the Wall Street Journal, almost 200 doctors have been imprisoned and many more are facing warrants for their arrest. Despite this, hospital workers and practitioners continue to toil in secret to help people suffering from COVID-19. The restraints imposed by the government have impaired Myanmar’s ability to respond to the virus and the destruction it brings, leaving millions at risk.
International reactions have been consistent in the condemnation of Min Aung Hlaing and his military government. Multiple actors, including the United States and the European Union, have issued sanctions on the government’s martial officers. Other countries in the region, especially those within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), have worked to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Even with these endeavors, finding an answer to end the government’s crackdown and move towards peace has been difficult. ASEAN held a summit in April at which General Min Aung Hlaing agreed to abandon the fighting and engage in communication. While this connection indicated progress, the unstable agreement lacks substance and the international denunciation of the coup has not pushed the government back towards any semblance of a democracy. The human rights abuses in Myanmar have expanded and the military government has only raised the death toll higher. As violence persists and the country’s humanitarian crisis grows, the need for progress towards a secure and peaceful state is increasingly apparent.
Amidst the disorder and dangers, Myanmar is struggling with the problem of democratic backsliding; the nation’s government has gone from the bare minimum of democracy to a military junta. The electoral system only lasted a decade, having been founded in 2011, and the country has now regressed to the same militant regime that held Myanmar for over half a century. Despite the promise of General Min Aung Hlaing to return to “a free and fair multiparty general election” in the future, the chances of this happening are slim. The deconstruction of their budding democracy has only increased the trials that the public faces, and the new regime is unlikely to promote the welfare of the populace. Myanmar’s survival as a democratic government has been limited even further. With development towards a liberal democracy halted, if not completely destroyed, the future of Myanmar stands in the balance.
In order for there to be a resolution to this crisis, the international community needs to create an environment conducive for peace and a strong electoral government. This involves promoting discourse between the military leadership, the opposing political party, and other countries in Southeast Asia. External actors need to use their power to influence the military regime and push them away from violent crackdowns and towards a conflict-free outcome. Isolating the administration and refusing to engage in dialogue will only aggravate the issue. Moreover, avoiding economic repercussions is crucial, as the citizens of Myanmar do not deserve and cannot handle the additional pressure that such actions would cause. The country’s current condition is perilous and requires the world’s attention, but beyond what has already occurred, there are few options that emphasize the protection of the public.
The consideration of these restricted possibilities highlights a fundamental aspect of the situation that must be improved upon: intensifying the level of international accountability that Myanmar’s military is facing. Authoritarians and armies cannot be allowed to continue discrediting democratic proceedings for their own gain. Questioning the integrity of voting systems and using that as an excuse for a takeover, such as what happened in Myanmar, damages the electoral institution from the inside. It threatens the reliability and stability of democracies around the globe, and when no punitive action is taken against the perpetrators, it opens up the prospect to other abusers worldwide. The increase in democratic backsliding and corrupt leadership that can be seen in the recent past demonstrates how great the need is to encourage a resolution to this crisis.
Should democracy in Myanmar be restored, returning the country to its previous state of affairs is not the most beneficial outcome. If international efforts to reestablish peace and democracy can succeed and result in the rehabilitation of the nation’s government, it cannot end with the implementation of what existed before the coup. Myanmar’s democracy was under the influence of the army before the coup. In 2017, the Myanmar government initiated a military operation against the Rohingya, a Muslim minority group. The Council of Foreign Relations approximates that 700,000 Rohingya people were forced to flee the country and become refugees. Returning to that quasi-democracy will not improve human rights or the nation’s state of affairs. World leaders need to work on building up Myanmar and giving them enough support to create a government and national order that will last. With the revival of the country’s military control, outside organizations must help in the reinforcement of democratic values and norms. Offering financial and political backing to the civilians of Myanmar throughout the myriad of crises they face is essential. While the military government will be resistant to change, combining the condemnation of democracy’s decline and the provision of aid to victims of oppression are ways in which peace and stability can at least be encouraged..."
Source/publisher:
The Organization for World Peace
Date of publication:
2021-08-14
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Anti-coup protesters, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights Defenders, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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"PRESS STATEMENT
U.S. AMBASSADOR THOMAS L. VAJDA
AUGUST 13, 2021
On behalf of the U.S. Embassy, I extend sincerest condolences for the lives of the Myanmar people who have been lost to the pandemic. The current surge of COVID-19 infections has taken a cruel toll on families and communities who have already suffered so much, including our own Embassy colleagues. The people of Myanmar, and those who seek to help meet their urgent health needs, must be able to live and work in safety.
The United States remains steadfastly committed to the people of Myanmar as they strive for a return to the path of democracy and now confront a worsening pandemic. Since the outbreak began in 2020, we have provided more than $20 million in COVID-19-related assistance to Myanmar, which has enabled millions of people to protect themselves from infection and seek the help they need. We have already supported more than 650 non-governmental primary health facilities, including health organizations operated by ethnic minority groups, serving people affected by COVID-19. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced this week more than $50 million in critical humanitarian assistance to the people of Burma, including for those forced to flee violence and persecution in the wake of the military coup. This aid will enable our international and NGO partners to provide emergency food assistance, life-saving protection, shelter, and essential health care to the people of Burma. However more can and must be done.
The United States continues to provide significant funding to international partners, including the Global Fund and Gavi, to support the people of Myanmar in overcoming this public health crisis. We are united in our efforts to expand access in Myanmar to COVID-19 testing, clinical care including oxygen, food assistance, and vaccines in a manner that directly supports the people of Myanmar and in accordance with humanitarian principles.
As President Biden said on June 10, “We value the inherent dignity of all people. In times of trouble, Americans reach out to offer help and to offer a helping hand. That’s who we are.”..."
Source/publisher:
U.S. Embassy in Burma
Date of publication:
2021-08-13
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health, USA-Burma relations
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Description:
"Highlights
• To date in 2021, 1.25 million people in Myanmar have received WFP food, cash and nutrition assistance across urban and rural areas.
• Since May, WFP has supported over 800,000 vulnerable people in its large-scale urban food response in Yangon peri-urban areas.
• Significant funding shortfalls may hamper WFP’s ability to sustain ongoing life-saving operations while scaling up to support up to 3.3 million food -insecure people in Myanmar.
Situation Update
The situation in Myanmar remains complex and volatile: The triple impact of poverty, ongoing political unrest and economic crisis, compounded by a rapidly spreading third wave of COVID-19 transmissions since June, have exacerbated food insecurity in Myanmar. Lockdown measures and the spread of COVID-19 cases among WFP’s staff, partners and contractors, as well as in internally displaced people (IDP) camps, further constrain WFP’s ability to respond to life-saving needs. Heavy floods, particularly in the southeast and Rakhine State, in late July have further complicated humanitarian efforts.
Conflict-driven displacements hit a new high:
As of 9 August, UNHCR estimates that at least 191,100 people remain internally displaced across Myanmar since the military takeover. The humanitarian situation for many IDPs, in urgent need of food and other support, remains dire during the monsoon season. However, access remains largely limited due to security reasons and bureaucratic requirements.
The economic outlook is bleak: The World Bank estimates an 18 percent contraction in Myanmar’s economy in the 2021 fiscal year. In 2022, the poverty rate is likely to more than double compared to preCOVID levels in 2019, and up to 1 million more jobs could be lost.
The vulnerable bear the brunt of price volatility:
WFP’s latest market monitoring in June showed a continued increase in the price of fuel (48 percent), cooking oil (37 percent), and rice (13 percent) compared to pre-1 February. Overall, the cost of a basic food basket has increased by 16 percent . These are likely to have significantly worsened the precarious situation faced by many poor and food-insecure households..."
Source/publisher:
World Food Programme (Rome)
Date of publication:
2021-08-13
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
WFP (World Food Programme), Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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Sub-title:
A video of Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng pleading with soldiers to stop firing on protesters went viral in March.
Description:
"A Catholic nun who stood between Myanmar security forces and peaceful protesters, pleading with troops not to open fire on the anti-junta crowd, is now helping coronavirus patients — under regime scrutiny in the wake of the fame her act of defiance won in her predominantly Buddhist country and around the world.
In early March, a month after the army overthrew the country’s elected civilian government in a coup that sent millions of protesters into the streets, Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng placed herself between junta forces and a crowd of protesters in Myitkyina, one of the country’s largest cities.
In a video that swiftly went viral on social media, the 40-year-old Kachin nun waved her hands in the air, crying and begging, and then kneeling before the soldiers and police, entreating them to shoot her instead of the protesters.
In a widely circulated video, Sister Ann Nu Tawng told the heavily armed men: “You'll have to come through me.”
Her plea fell on deaf ears and was followed by rounds of tear gas and gunfire, leaving Sister Ann Nu Tawng to retrieve the bodies of slain protesters.
Five months after that day, she told RFA’s Myanmar Service that she had to overcome a lifelong fear of Myanmar soldiers to confront the troops in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state in the multiethnic country’s far north.
“I ran to where the soldiers were, like a madman, like a mother hen protecting her chicks. I didn't even realize I could be in danger myself. I just didn’t want people to get killed,” said Sister Ann Nu Tawng.
Many lawyers, government employees, teachers and students were among those protesting against the military that day, she said.
“I was scared,” she said. “I was afraid they would be killed and beaten up. I just wanted to beg them to stop, not even worrying they might beat me up.”
Sister Ann Nu Tawng was born in Namkham in Shan state into a family that had been displaced by armed conflict and terrorized by uniformed Myanmar soldiers, serving the military regime that ran the country once known as Burma from 1962 to 2011.
“In our village, we always had to flee to safety when we saw soldiers coming,” she said. “We had to hide, or flee into the wilderness or stay in bomb shelters.”
When the soldiers left, Sister Ann Nu Tawng said she and the others in hiding returned to their village, though the troops would take away some residents and force them to work as their porters.
“I was very scared when I saw soldiers in uniforms. I’d be trembling,” she said.
More than 960 people across Myanmar have been killed by security forces since the coup that overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, according to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
‘People who stand for the truth’
Anti-junta protests in Myitkyina have tapered off because of the COVID-19 virus pandemic and the violent suppression and mass arrests of demonstrators.
Sister Ann Nu Tawng has since shifted her focus from helping displaced persons in Myitkyina to nursing sick coronavirus patients at the city’s Catholic Missionary Clinic and in remote Kachin state villages that health care workers cannot reach.
Catholics comprise about 1.4 percent, or about 750,000 people, of Myanmar’s population of 54 million.
As of Wednesday, Myanmar health officials recorded in 344,730 confirmed cases of the contagious respiratory virus, including 3,430 new ones, and 12,452 related deaths, including 215 new fatalities.
“There are people with COVID symptoms, but there are no test centers, and people have no money to take tests,” the nun said. “They also lack knowledge about how to stay away from one another. There are a lot of people who don’t know how to protect themselves.”
Sister Ann Nu Tawng said she was motivated to act when she saw families suffering and many deaths.
“I can’t live with seeing that, so I thought that I must do something, no matter what,” she said. “Even if I were to die while treating them, I would still do it. Otherwise, many more lives will be lost.”
Sister Ann Nu Tawng’s popularity as a social activist, boosted by the viral video and media attention, has brought scrutiny from Myanmar authorities, she said.
“I know people who stand for the truth and do good are hated,” the nun said. “If you are scared all the time, if you don’t dare to do things fearing criticism, you won’t be able to accomplish anything.”..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-08-12
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Human Rights Defenders
Language:
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Sub-title:
The junta’s clumsy attempts to exploit COVID-19 and strengthen its control at the grassroots level by appointing compliant local officials are being thwarted by resistance that ranges from non-cooperation to assassinations.
Description:
"Coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing marked the six-month anniversary of his putsch on August 1 by announcing the formation of a provisional government with himself as prime minister – a move seen by many as an effort to strengthen and legitimise his rule.
As the junta consolidates its power at the top, it is also moving to strengthen its administrative reach at the grassroots level, partly through policy decisions involving the fight against COVID-19, which has spread rapidly throughout the country over the past month.
In a speech on July 12, Min Aung Hlaing had warned his opponents not to exploit the shortage of oxygen needed by those with the most serious cases of COVID-19. Yet the regime has done exactly that – it has sought to take political advantage from the most recent wave of infections by granting junta-appointed local authorities powers over oxygen distribution and movement restrictions.
Min Aung Hlaing’s speech came two days after the military council introduced informal restrictions on the sale of oxygen. In Yangon, it followed that up on July 20 by further strengthening grassroots administration through the creation of township and ward-level “oxygen support committees” to issue recommendation letters to the public for buying oxygen and managing supplies. Township committees are headed by the township administrator and comprise other officials, community leaders and representatives of social welfare groups.
Since forming the committees, the junta has also introduced restrictions on private oxygen plants in Yangon Region, banning them from filling cylinders unless the customer has a recommendation letter from the local authorities.
Wishful thinking vs reality
On July 24, U Hla Soe, the chair of Yangon Region Administrative Council – appointed by the provisional government as the regional chief minister on August 1 – wrote on his social media page that the township oxygen support teams were formed in collaboration with local authorities and charity groups.
“Anyone can ask at township general administration department offices about receiving oxygen free of charge. They do not need a recommendation letter (from their ward or village tract administrator) or to pay money. They can get oxygen easily by filling in the patient’s name, address and telephone number on the request form,” Hla Soe wrote.
Authorities said the main reason for forming the committees was to reduce the number of outlets selling oxygen and ensure there was enough for patients in need.
However, a ward administrator in Yangon Region’s Mayangone Township, who asked not to be identified, said the situation described by Hla Soe bears little resemblance to reality.
The administrator said he is being overwhelmed with requests for oxygen that he can’t satisfy, because the township oxygen distribution committee is only allocating his ward one 40-litre cylinder a day. There are also some days when he receives nothing.
“How can I meet demand with a 40-litre cylinder a day?” he asked, adding that he was receiving requests to refill up to 25 cylinders daily. “I have to ask my friends and other sources if they can provide oxygen,” he said.
According to the administrator, all the requests he receives are to refill cylinders and he has yet to be asked to provide a recommendation letter to buy from a private outlet.
“If I can’t help with oxygen, I refer them to charity groups,” he said, adding that one of the most reliable sources in Yangon is a social welfare group called Seitta Arrman.
“Volunteers from this group go around Yangon to find oxygen. When they do, they share it with the needy,” he said.
A village tract official in Yangon Region’s outer northern Hmawbi Township said he has not been allocated any oxygen by the township committee and has been issuing recommendation letters to volunteers or charity groups on request.
“I am yet to be asked by a resident for a recommendation letter. They ask for oxygen, but I can’t help. So I refer them to local charity groups,” said the official, who requested anonymity.
Even before all the new restrictions, it was extremely difficult to get oxygen tanks refilled because of the high demand during this third wave of infections. Occasional attacks by the junta’s forces on people lining up at oxygen plants have also been reported.
Rather than effectively addressing the oxygen shortage, the formation of the township oxygen support teams has been criticised for making it more difficult for individuals and charity groups to acquire urgently needed medical oxygen.
Charity groups told Frontier that some factories refuse to sell oxygen without a recommendation letter from township administration committees. They are also often told by the factories that they must have a letter from a township doctor or local official to show that they have a genuine need for oxygen. On the other hand, some factories are selling oxygen to those without recommendation letters, but prioritising those with letters. The unpredictability of the situation is leading to even more resistance to working with the oxygen committees.
In Mayangone Township, Ko Aung Aung Oo and a group of friends are helping to provide oxygen to those in need and say demand is very high because of the junta’s incompetence and the limited supply being allocated to the junta-appointed township oxygen distribution committees.
However, even those with recommendation letters from local authorities still find themselves having to queue for hours to receive oxygen from a plant, Aung Aung Oo said. Even many of the charity groups that have allied with township committees have to queue to get oxygen due to the high demand. So some, like Aung Aung Oo, don’t bother with going through the process to get a recommendation letter.
“They just want to flex their power. If we can get oxygen without queuing just by showing a recommendation letter, we don’t hesitate. It’s just a piece of paper and it does not help to acquire oxygen. So, why should we waste time getting the letter,” said Aung Aung Oo.
It’s a similar situation outside of Yangon. U Kyaw Ko Ko, the leader in Mandalay Region’s southern Meiktila Township of the Myosatthit Myat Parami Social Welfare Association, which is providing treatment to COVID-19 patients, said it makes its own arrangements to acquire oxygen. “We have not received help from the local authorities. We do everything ourselves, including acquiring oxygen,” he told Frontier.
Factories under pressure
On July 28, township General Administration Departments ordered factories in Yangon Region to provide oxygen only to those with a recommendation letter from local authorities. Queues largely disappeared at oxygen plants after the order was issued. Some oxygen plants in Insein and South Okkalapa townships posted signs saying that anyone wanting to refill cylinders must have a recommendation from ward administrators.
The junta’s apparent strategy of using oxygen distribution to regain control over local administration has created difficulties for some private oxygen factories. Previously, there were no formal restrictions applied on sales of oxygen, only informal directives to stop selling to individuals.
Factories owners told Frontier that their respective township administrative councils have told them that they must prioritise requests for oxygen from those affiliated with the SAC, including oxygen support committees, state-owned hospitals and quarantine centers.
After the township oxygen distribution committees were established, they allocated quotas based on the production capacity of the factories in their township. In addition to quotas, some factory owners were told by their township administrative council that the first priority for sales were government hospitals, followed in order by COVID-19 treatment centres, and sales to social welfare groups and individuals. Factories were also prohibited from selling outside their region or state.
With factory owners feeling the pressure from the soaring demand and the junta’s rules and regulations, confusion reigns.
Some owners say there is no ban on the sale of oxygen to the public without a ward endorsement, but will require a doctor’s recommendation for emergency cases that want to jump the queue ahead of those on the SAC’s list of priorities.
“Some people say factories will not sell if they do not have a recommendation letter from a ward administrator, but that’s not true,” said an oxygen factory owner in Yangon who asked not to be named.
“We have to do it first for them [SAC’s list of priority institutions],” he said, “We have to show evidence for why we paused providing oxygen to them and refilled emergency oxygen cylinders instead. So people should bring medical documents if the situation is an emergency.”
The Mate Sate oxygen plant in Yangon’s South Dagon Industrial Zone has the capacity to produce enough to fill 700 small cylinders (between 5 litres and 20 litres capacity) and 120 40-litre cylinders a day. It is supplying nearly 500 small cylinders to the oxygen distribution committees in six Yangon Region townships. It is also filling 40-litre cylinders for hospitals and COVID-19 treatment centres.
However, the factory’s managing director, U Tin Aung Lwin, said the township distribution teams and their affiliated social welfare groups were unable to take the oxygen reserved for their use because they do not have enough cylinders to hold the oxygen.
“They are only able to refill about 350 cylinders a day, so we sell the rest to people who need it,” he told Frontier on August 3.
Tin Aung Lwin said he was in a difficult position as a factory owner because he has to coordinate with junta-appointed authorities to facilitate the demands of both the military and the public.
“Factories are operating under their administration,” he said, referring to the junta-appointed bodies. “We have to coordinate and negotiate with them for the welfare of the people. Sometimes we have to do as they say. We also sell to everyone without discrimination,” he said. “In an emergency, it’s better to have a doctor’s recommendation of medical documents.”
Although the junta is restricting the operations of private oxygen plants, it is selling oxygen from a military-owned plant in Yangon’s Mingaladon Township without buyers having to show recommendation letters. State-run media has reported that the “Mindama Air Separation Oxygen Plant” owned by the Tatmadaw’s Myanmar Economic Corporation is selling oxygen to the public.
In an interview with Tatmadaw-run Myawaddy Television on July 14, the head of the factory said anyone wanting oxygen needed to bring a cylinder but there was “no need to bring letters of recommendation”. The factory was selling oxygen for 10-litre and 20-litre cylinders between 9am to 6pm to buyers who needed to show a Citizenship Scrutiny Card. Customers said the factory was selling oxygen refills for 5-litre and 10-litre cylinders for K2,000 and was not filling up 40 litre cylinders.
“We can buy oxygen cheaply here and many people are relying on the factory,” said Ma Moe, 50, who was in a queue of about 100 people waiting to buy at the factory on August 2.
However, when asked many people do not know who owns the factory.
Restricting movement
Controlling access to oxygen is not the regime’s only strategy for strengthening the power of its appointees at the community level. COVID-19 prevention is also being used to impose restrictions on freedom of movement.
In some townships throughout the country, residents need cards issued by junta-appointed ward or village tract officials for permission to travel. In those townships, residents have to show the card to gain entry to wards or village tracts and are only allowed to leave their home for limited periods. All shops except pharmacies must close at noon, after which time residents need a recommendation letter from a junta-appointed ward or village tract official to leave the area where they live.
These restrictions do not apply throughout the country, but only in areas where the ward or village tract administrators have been appointed by the junta. One such area is Yangon’s outer northern Hmawbi Township, where the population includes a large number of military personnel. The travel card system is also reported to have been introduced in some townships in Bago and Mandalay regions, as well as Shan State. But people living in downtown Yangon say officials have not tried to introduce it there.
A junta-appointed ward administrator in Mandalay city’s Aung Myay Thar Zan Township said the card system was being used to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. He said no action has been taken against residents who do not follow the rules.
“People are critical of whatever we do,” he said. “But we are doing our best to prevent an epidemic. Oxygen is also being distributed through local social welfare groups. They get oxygen faster with my letter of recommendation.”
Distrust and even hostility towards junta-appointed local officials is affecting the COVID-19 vaccination rollout as well. Many do not want vaccines if they are provided by the junta and their officials. On top of this, residents wanting to be inoculated are required to provide their CSC and household registration list.
“We have to give them our names to be vaccinated, so I decided not to be vaccinated under the military regime, and so has my mother. We have no reason to have anything to do with people working for the military,” said a woman who owns a restaurant in Yangon’s Ahlone Township, who asked not to be identified.
Terror and resignations
The junta’s efforts to spread its tentacles of power and control over everyday people have been frustrated by the mass resignations of local administrators who fear joining a growing list of assassination victims.
One of the most significant such events occurred on July 4 in Sagaing Region’s Kawlin Township when at least 10 village tract administrators and township General Administration Department officials resigned en masse in messages posted on social media.
The latest fear-driven resignations have included those of nine village heads in Sagaing Region’s Pale Township who resigned in early August after receiving a warning from the People’s Defence Force-Pale. It warned that they would be attacked for “betraying the people” if they continued to serve the regime.
In Butalin Township, also in Sagaing Region, five village tract administrators quit on August 1, saying they had received death threats.
Regime spokesperson General Zaw Min Tun told a news conference on July 12 that 173 ward and village tract administrators, USDP members and people accused of being military informers had been killed as of the end of June.
He admitted that the regime cannot provide full security for local officials and suggested they inform the relevant authorities when they travel and not travel alone. He said unarmed security groups were being established in wards and villages to provide information and warnings ahead of the violence, and that the groups had already been established in almost half of the country.
Elected officials purged
After it seized power on February 1, the regime council terminated the appointment of about 16,800 village tract and ward administrators who had been elected by their communities under reforms spearheaded by the NLD government in 2016 and 2017.
Some of them were reappointed but most were replaced by supporters of either the Tatmadaw or its proxy party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party. The appointments were met with widespread public opposition, which resulted in many of the appointees resigning within days of being appointed. As a result, some townships do not have ward or village tract administrators.
Regime-appointed administrators now receive a monthly salary of K50,000 plus K20,000 for office costs. They are required to submit detailed reports to township GAD offices, including on suspected resistance activists in their areas.
“Underground revolutionary activists are hiding in urban areas. The military does not have the capacity to get intelligence on their activities so it relies on administrators to gather information. We have to eliminate the administrators who are working as dalan,” a member of a Yangon-based PDF told Frontier, using the Burmese term for informers.
The trust and cooperation that elected administrators had enjoyed in their communities was destroyed when they were replaced by junta appointees. This contributed to the military’s flailing response to the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: one of the reasons the response to the first and second waves was more effective was because local officials had the strong support of the public.
A plea for understanding
A ward administrator in Mayangone Township who was reappointed after the coup admitted that he could not work as effectively as he had under the NLD government. “Some people want to help me but are afraid of being criticised by others and accused of working for the military if they help us,” he said. “I am helping as much as I can. No matter what anyone says, I hope [residents] understand me.”
It is clear that despite the efforts of the regime, it has failed to secure complete control over local administration since it seized power. Many local administrators seem to be taking care not to create problems for residents of their communities out of fear for their lives. The situation means that many 100-household and 10-household community officials are having to assume the responsibilities of administrators. Meanwhile, the regime is having difficulty filling vacant administrative roles.
It is also having to provide extra security for some administrators, especially known military supporters.
A ward administrator in Mandalay’s Aung Myay Thar Zan Township who is known to enjoy good relations with the military told Frontier he is guarded at his office by 10 soldiers.
“We are doing good work, but no matter how good we are, there will always be those who want to attack us. So it is better to have security,” said the administrator, who served previous military regimes but resigned in 2016 when the NLD introduced elections for local officials. He was reappointed by the regime in mid-February.
On July 27, an official in a sub-ward under his administration was shot and injured by a man who visited his office on the pretence of needing a recommendation letter.
“I have not yet received any death threat, but I’m very worried about my security after the shooting on July 27,” said the administrator. “Anything can happen at any time.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-08-13
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
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Description:
"Background:
Both Thailand and Burma are currently experiencing severe epidemics of COVID-19, driven especially by
new variants including the highly transmissible delta variant. The current wave of the epidemic in Tak
Province, bordering Burma, began in late June with large outbreaks detected in factories in the area. With
over 4,160 patients currently in treatment for the disease, it continues to severely strain the medical
system. On Wednesday, August 12
th
, there were 192 new cases diagnosed in Tak, with 140 of those in
Mae Sot, home to the clinic, and the nearby districts of Phop Phra, Mae Ramat, and Tha Song Yang. Since
April 1st, 2021, a total of 6,748 cases have been reported in the province (Tak Provincial Public Relations
Office Page).
On June 28th, the Mae Tao Clinic became an official field hospital for the Mae Sot public health system,
providing care for between 30-70 infected individuals deemed low risk for developing complications or
severe disease. While MTC staff members are responsible for providing daily care, they work in
partnership with medical staff of the Mae Sot Hospital and other Thai public health entities, closely
monitoring patients for evidence of clinical deterioration and facilitating timely referrals if necessary. To
date, the Mae Tao Clinic has served approximately 434 COVID-19 patients who have been referred from
the Thai health system, are staff from MTC and partner organizations or are residents of the surrounding
communities.
On July 9
th, our first staff member was found to be infected with COVID-19. This prompted the clinic,
working in conjunction with local health partners, to pursue aggressive contact tracing and screen all
members of the staff, along with household contacts, nearby community members, and others with
possible exposure.
As a precaution, starting on July 15th, most clinical services at the clinic were suspended indefinitely in
order to protect the health and safety of our staff members, their families, and all the communities we
serve. This pause was also to allow us to efficiently focus our efforts on identifying and taking care of
infected members of the extended MTC family and the community..."
Source/publisher:
Mae Tao Clinic
Date of publication:
2021-08-13
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Mental health, Right to Health
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
275.64 KB
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Description:
"Yesterday in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, over 4,000 Rohingya refugees received their first COVID-19 vaccine, as part of a national vaccination drive to curb the spread of the deadly virus.
Rohingya refugees eligible for vaccination in the first cohort include some 48,000 individuals over 55 years of age. The drive will continue until 17 August.
UNHCR welcomes the commencement of the vaccination of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, in line with national authorities’ broader public health efforts. Equitable inclusion of Rohingya refugees in allocation of vaccines is critical to curbing the spread of the ongoing pandemic.
Johannes Van Der Klaauw, UNHCR’s Representative in Bangladesh emphasized, “The Rohingya refugee and host community volunteers have an essential frontline role in containing the spread of COVID-19 in the camps. The first step in fully protecting communities; however, is through the rollout of vaccination. We are grateful to the Government of Bangladesh for having included Rohingya refugees in the vaccination campaign.”
The vaccination drive for Rohingya refugees is being led by the Bangladesh authorities with technical support from the UN Refugee Agency, the World Health Organization and other humanitarian partners.
The fight against the pandemic has been led by thousands of refugee and host community volunteers, who have worked since 2020 on informing refugees about health and hygiene, monitoring any signs of illness, and connecting the refugee community with critical health services. While the threat of COVID-19 remains critical, their efforts have helped to prevent and curb outbreaks and have saved lives.
The vaccinations follow the devastating monsoon rains that hit Cox’s Bazar District over the past weeks, causing flash floods and landslides which killed eight Rohingya refugees and 15 Bangladeshis in the host communities. Almost 25,000 refugees were displaced due to landslides, flooding, wind and storms. Thousands of facilities have been damaged including primary health clinics, distribution points and latrines. Access was hindered due to damage to roads, pathways and bridges.
UNHCR’s Emergency Response Teams, and partners, refugee and host community volunteers were deployed to assess the damage, to provide support to families forced to relocate, to begin immediate repairs of shelters and other site improvements and to ensure access to essential services for all. While the weather has improved over the last few days, the monsoon season will continue for another couple of months followed by the cyclone season..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva)
Date of publication:
2021-08-11
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNHCR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
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Description:
"At least 252 attacks and threats against health workers, facilities, and transports have been perpetrated in Myanmar from February 1 to July 31, 2021, according to an analysis based on open-source reports conducted by Insecurity Insight, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), and Johns Hopkins University Center for Public Health and Human Rights (CPHHR).
The country’s armed forces and police reportedly committed the vast majority of attacks amid ongoing protests against the military coup. In addition to the military’s attacks on civilians and demonstrators, health workers have been targeted for providing medical care to injured civilians and other health workers have been attacked for their participation in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), which is protesting the military takeover. Violence against health care is increasingly derailing Myanmar’s COVID-19 response and vaccine roll-out, the research brief finds.
Within the 252 total incidents that took place across Myanmar during the first six months of the military’s coup and crackdown (February 1 to July 31, 2021), Insecurity Insight, PHR, and CPHHR highlight reports of:
190 health workers arrested
37 health workers injured
25 health workers killed
Hospitals raided at least 86 times
Hospitals occupied at least 55 times
17 incidents impacting COVID-19 response measures
The incidents referred to are based on the dataset 01 February – 31 July 2021 Violence Against Health Care in Myanmar Data, which is available on the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX).
For the purposes of this research brief, one incident can comprise multiple types of violence or threats such as those above. For example, in one reported incident in Kyauk Kone township in Yangon city on February 27, 20 health workers were arrested and four were injured. The brief does not include incidents of violence against patients.
While the vast majority of attacks and threats against health care have been perpetrated by Myanmar’s armed forces, non-state actors also reportedly committed violence against health care in May and June. Of the 252 total incidents, 234 are attributed to Myanmar’s armed forces (State Administrative Council/SAC or the Tatmadaw) and 15 to non-state actors. The increase in attacks by non-state actors was driven in part by escalating conflict between the military and local ethnic militias in recent months, particularly in the Chin and Kachin states.
The research brief highlights reports that staff from the World Health Organization , non-governmental organizations (NGO), and international non-governmental organizations have been threatened and forced to return to work by the military council. Most of them were either working from home or had stopped working due to the current security situation. There are reports that the SAC is trying to replace NGO workers believed to be close to the CDM with government appointees.
“Myanmar’s COVID-19 response is on life support – yet another consequence of the military’s unconscionable violence against health workers and facilities,” said Jennifer Leigh, an epidemiologist serving as PHR’s Myanmar researcher. “Six months into the coup, the military’s war on medics rages on. By brutalizing medical professionals during a pandemic, Myanmar’s junta is escalating its COVID-19 catastrophe and violating long-standing international principles of protection of health care, including the obligations of health professionals to care for the sick and wounded without interference.”
The research brief highlights a range of violence that has marred the country’s COVID-19 response. For example, personal protective equipment and oxygen supplies were confiscated for exclusive use by the military in Chin, Kayin, and Yangon. Throughout July, the military reportedly assaulted four civilians for transporting an oxygen tank in Mandalay, arrested three civilians retrieving oxygen and nine volunteers assisting with fills, and killed one civilian in search of oxygen. In one incident on July 13, 2021, security forces opened fire on crowds of civilians queuing in line for oxygen cylinders in Yangon.
COVID-19 centers have been raided and, at least two, closed down. A COVID-19 facility in Mandalay was raided and its medical equipment seized for alleged COVID-19 violations. Two COVID-19 treatment centers in Sagaing were destroyed by military shelling.
“Tragically, Myanmar has endured more reported attacks and threats against health care in 2021 than any country on Earth,” said Christina Wille, director of Insecurity Insight. “Myanmar’s surging COVID-19 crisis increasingly threatens other countries in the region and the global community. We call on all United Nations (UN) Member States to act to ensure the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 2286 and adopt measures to enhance the protection of and access to health care in situations of armed conflict. All people in Myanmar should benefit from unhindered delivery and distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations, medication, and supplies.”
Insecurity Insight, PHR, and CPHHR used an open-source methodology to compile incidents noted in local, national, and international news outlets, online databases, and social media reports. The incidents reported are neither a complete nor a representative list of all incidents. Most incidents have not undergone verification by Insecurity Insight, PHR, and CPHHR. Data collection is ongoing and data may change as more information is made available. However, the data offers a snapshot of how Myanmar’s military is persecuting health workers and targeting facilities amid its broader crackdown on dissent.
The research brief makes several recommendations to UN Member States, urging the international community to ensure the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2286, adopted May 2016, which strongly condemns attacks on medical personnel in conflict situations..."
Source/publisher:
Physicians for Human Rights (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-08-10
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, Human Rights Defenders, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
more
Description:
"Aug 10 (Reuters) - Myanmar's army carried out at least 252 attacks and threats against health workers since a Feb. 1 coup, killing at least 25 medics and hampering the response to a resurgent outbreak of COVID-19, a report by rights groups said on Tuesday.
More than 190 health workers have been arrested and 86 raids on hospitals carried out since the coup, said the report by Insecurity Insight, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), and Johns Hopkins University Center for Public Health and Human Rights (CPHHR).
They identified 15 incidents in which the response to the COVID-19 outbreak had been obstructed - including confiscation of personal protection equipment and oxygen supplies for the exclusive use of the army.
Some COVID-19 care centres were forced to close, it said.
"Health workers have been forced into hiding for fear of being arrested or after having arrest warrants issued against them," said the report. "In some cases, their family members were arrested instead."
Reuters was unable to reach spokespeople for the junta or health ministry for comment on the report.
Myanmar's healthcare system has largely collapsed since the army overthrew elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, with many medical workers joining a Civil Disobedience Movement in strikes to protest against junta rule.
The military authorities have appealed to doctors to return to work and have called for public cooperation to try to curb the latest outbreak of coronavirus, by far the most serious to hit the country of around 54 million people.
An average of nearly 300 people have died a day from COVID-19 over the past week, according to official figures that medics believe to be underestimates because of a lack of testing.
The outbreak was being brought under control to some extent because of the efforts of officials and the public, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing was quoted as saying by the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar.
The report by the rights groups said that while the army had been behind most of the attacks on medical workers, some had been carried out by armed groups opposing the junta - including bomb blasts near hospitals and an attack on a military convoy that was reported to be carrying medicines..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-08-11
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
more
Description:
"Authorities in Myanmar currently have no plan to include minority Rohingya Muslims living in densely-packed camps as they begin vaccinating priority groups against COVID-19 in western Rakhine State, the junta-appointed local administrator said.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled to Bangladesh during military operations in 2017 and those who remain complain of discrimination and mistreatment in a country that does not recognise them as citizens.
Local administrator Kyaw Lwin told Reuters from Sittwe township that the rollout had begun there with 10,000 vaccinations for priority groups such as the elderly, healthcare workers, government staff and Buddhist monks.
There were no current plans for vaccinating any of the Muslims living in camps in Sittwe, he said.
"We are only following orders," he said, declining to comment on whether the plan amounted to discrimination against the Rohingya, who say they can trace local roots back centuries.
"It all depends on how many vaccines we receive and the instructions we get. So far we haven't received any instructions regarding that," Kyaw Lin said.
Spokespeople for Myanmar's health ministry and the military authorities did not answer calls seeking comment on the vaccination plans.
Myanmar's coronavirus response almost collapsed after a Feb. 1 coup as many health workers stopped work in protest, but the army is now trying to step up vaccinations as Myanmar faces its worst spike in infections.
An average of nearly 300 people a day have died in recent days, according to official figures that medics believe are significant underestimates.
CAMPS AFFECTED
The densely packed shacks and muddy narrow alleys where Rohingya live behind barbed wire to separate them from the Buddhist majority in Sittwe have also been hit by the coronavirus, residents say.
From the Thet Kal Pyin camp, Nu Maung, 51, told Reuters authorities had collected names for possible vaccinations if shots become available for those who are over 60, but there was no sign of that happening.
He himself had suffered COVID symptoms, but he was unable to get to the hospital for tests, he said.
"Many people are sick. A lot. A few people died, mostly older people," he said.
Authorities have not given figures for infections in the camps.
At two other camps near Sittwe, Phwe Yar Gone and Thet Kal Pyin, residents said the authorities had not sent anyone to prepare the ground for potential vaccinations.
Fortify Rights group human rights specialist Zaw Win said it was shocking but unsurprising that Rohingya would not be a priority for vaccination.
"Rohingya have long faced extreme restrictions on their rights and in their everyday lives, including the right to health," he told Reuters.
"Rohingya we are speaking to in Northern Rakhine have expressed fear and distrust of the state medical system and what might happen to them if they try to go to hospital with COVID-19 symptoms."
An estimated 140,000 displaced Rohingya live in Rakhine state. The vast majority of them are confined to camps, with those in or around Sittwe housing more than 100,000 people.
Up to half a milllion more Rohingya remain in villages elsewhere in Rakhine. Rohingya residents of Maungdaw and Buthidaung, north of Sittwe, said some Rohingya villagers had been vaccinated, but that supplies had now run out.
At least 700,000 Rohingya fled Rakhine for Bangladesh in 2017 during operations by the army under the command of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who is now prime minister and head of Myanmar's junta.
U.N. investigators said the operations were carried out with "genocidal intent" but the army denied that and said they were aimed at countering terrorists.
Vaccinations started this week in the camps in Bangladesh that house more than one million Rohingya refugees..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-08-11
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Six months after seizing power in a coup, Myanmar’s military leaders now appear to be moving to consolidate their rule, the UN Special Envoy for the country said on Tuesday, in her latest briefing to journalists in New York.
Description:
"Christine Schraner Burgener said the situation in Myanmar “is still very worrisome”, amid a “severe” third wave of COVID-19 infections.
Last week, senior army general Min Aung Hlaing announced he was appointing himself Prime Minister, and pledged to hold elections by 2023.
Solidifying their grip
“In my view, the Commander-in-Chief appears determined to solidify his grip on power with the latest caretaker government announcement; also, with the formal annulment of the election result from last year and declaration of the Commander-in-Chief to be Prime Minister of the country,” the UN envoy said, speaking from Switzerland.
Ms. Schraner Burgener also expressed fear that the National League of Democracy (NLD), which won the November 2020 election, could also soon be forcibly disbanded. State Counsellor and party leader Aung San Suu Kyi, alongside President Win Myint, were detained in the 1 February coup.
“This is an attempt to promote legitimacy against lack of international action taken”, she said. “And I have to make (it) clear that the UN does not recognize Governments, so it’s up to the Member States.”
She underlined that “as long as Member States do not make any decision”, Myanmar’s Permanent Representative in New York, Kyaw Moe Tun, remains the country’s legitimate UN Ambassador, while Ms. Suu Kyi and President Myint are its leaders.
Recently, international media reported that a plot was uncovered to kill or injure Ambassador Tun, who denounced the coup in the General Assembly Hall in New York.
“I was really shocked to hear this, and clearly it’s now up to the investigation team to find out who is behind this attack,” said Ms.Schraner Burgener.
Violence and pandemic
The situation on the ground in Myanmar remains “very difficult”, she reported.
“There is no freedom of speech, and I have still grave concerns about attacks against the free press. And I urge always in my discussions with the army to release political prisoners, including many media workers.”
The military cracked down on pro-democracy demonstrations in the wake of the coup, and more than 960 people have been killed so far. Thousands more were arrested and detained, including foreigners and over 100 children.
Meanwhile, clashes between the army and local defense forces continue. Violence has risen, and the defense groups are increasingly using “professional weapons”.
At the same time, Myanmar is also facing a devastating battle against the coronavirus. More than 331,000 cases have been reported.
UN agencies and partners are working to resume provision of health assistance, with priority given to vaccine rollout through the global solidarity initiative, COVAX, and to revitalizing immunizations generally.
Ongoing UN engagement
Ms. Schraner Burgener continues her engagement to find a peaceful solution to the political crisis in Myanmar, although she has yet to be allowed to travel there.
The UN Special Envoy has been holding talks with the military, ethnic armed organizations, and other stakeholders, who include the National Unity Government (NUG), formed by exiled lawmakers ousted in the coup. Representatives come from the NLD, other parties and ethnic armed groups.
Over the past two months, she has been promoting the idea of an inclusive dialogue organized around four “clusters” covering pandemic response, humanitarian assistance, and issues related to the Rohingya community.
The final and biggest cluster would address root causes of the crisis, such as discussions around the federal system, the constitution, law reforms and the electoral system.
She has also proposed establishing an international observer group on Myanmar. Membership would comprise China, India, Japan, Thailand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Switzerland, in addition to the UN, the European Union and the Southeast Asian regional bloc, ASEAN.
Promoting inclusive dialogue
“The ethnic armed groups were in the majority very positive of this idea, and really want to find a peaceful solution,” she said, referring to the dialogue proposal.
“The NUG…was interested in the idea but clearly would have pre-conditions to start such a dialogue.”
Ms. Schraner Burgener held “a long conversation” with Soe Win, the army’s Deputy Commander-in-Chief, on 16 July.
Although receptive to some of her ideas, including integrating health workers in COVID-19 prevention measures, “on the dialogue, I didn’t receive an answer: not a positive, not a negative.”
She hoped that with the recent appointment of an ASEAN Special Envoy on Myanmar, an all-inclusive dialogue will take place, otherwise “it goes more and more in the direction of a civil war,” she warned..."
Source/publisher:
UN News
Date of publication:
2021-08-10
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights Reporting (global, regional and Myanmar), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
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Description:
"Today, during an official visit to Thailand, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced $5 million in COVID-19 assistance for Thailand and more than $50 million in humanitarian aid for the people of Burma. Of this funding, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing nearly $28 million.
Today’s announcement includes $5 million in additional COVID-19 assistance for Thailand that will support health workers administering vaccines and strengthen the supply chain of vaccines. This assistance will reach vulnerable populations. USAID’s long-term assistance to the Thai Red Cross Emerging Infectious Diseases Health Science Centre contributed to the rapid identification of the first traveler-imported COVID-19 cases in the country in January 2020. In addition to personal protective equipment for Thai health workers, USAID has supported national diagnostic and testing surge capacity, surveillance, contact tracing, and hygienic supplies. This assistance has helped mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on the Thai people, especially the most vulnerable, such as low-income communities, ethnic minorities, and migrant workers, who often have limited access to quality and affordable health services. This new support builds on previous USAID assistance delivered during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when USAID accelerated efforts to deliver essential health services, safe drinking water, hygiene supplies, personal protective equipment, support to health workers, and other critical aid.
This new funding also includes nearly $23 million in USAID humanitarian assistance and more than $27 million from the Department of State. These funds will support Thailand’s efforts to address humanitarian challenges resulting from the crisis in Burma, in addition to providing life-saving assistance in Burma. It comes at a critical moment of rising humanitarian needs in Burma and the surrounding region, as people continue to flee their homes in the wake of the February 2021 military coup in Burma. With this new support, USAID is providing emergency food assistance to address secondary impacts of the pandemic, safe drinking water, mobile medical clinics, essential shelter, improved sanitation and hygiene services, and protection support for 600,000 of Burma’s people..."
Source/publisher:
United States Agency for International Development (Washington, D.C.)
Date of publication:
2021-08-10
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Humanitarian assistance - emergencies, Human Rights and international relations, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Beatings of prisoners are reported though the government says no injuries were inflicted during the rare protest.
Description:
"Political prisoners in Myanmar’s second-largest city Mandalay staged a rare protest marking the anniversary of an Aug. 8, 1988 uprising against military rule, singing and shouting slogans in a demonstration that ended with reports of beatings and gunshots heard behind the walls, sources said.
The prisoners are among the more than 5,500 people arrested in the suppression of the opposition to the Feb. 1 military overthrow of the country’s elected government, a violent crackdown that has killed 962 civilians, according to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
The protest at Mandalay’s Obo Prison began at around 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, one city resident living near the prison told RFA’s Myanmar Service on Monday.
“At about 9:15 p.m. I heard chanting and shouts coming from behind the prison walls,” RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “When I came out of my house, I heard gunshots, and I heard nothing more after that,” he said.
“Then, at about 10:30, I saw three military vehicles and four passenger cars coming out of the prison. They left Aung Chanthar Ward and headed towards the GTC School,” the source said, referring to Mandalay’s Government Technical College.
“Some people said some prisoners had been beaten up,” he said.
Reached for comment, Prisons Department Deputy Director Chan Aye Kyaw said that authorities were now trying to identify the leaders of the protest.
“Last night, inmates at the Mandalay Central Prison started shouting slogans when the lights-out alarm sounded at 9:00 p.m.,” he said. “Around 30 to 40 people began chanting slogans and singing songs. We couldn’t stop them, so we informed the officer-in-charge, and he and his team arrived and the shouting stopped.”
None of the protesters was injured, and no one was put in solitary confinement, the official said.
“We are trying to find out who was involved in the shouting and singing, that’s all,” Chan Ay Kyaw said, adding that protest leaders when identified would be punished according to prison regulations.
'A lot of people got beaten up'
A member of the Mandalay University Students’ Union told RFA that despite official statements that no beatings had been inflicted, “according to reports we got, there were a lot of people who were beaten up, and some were put into solitary confinement.”
“We don’t have any details yet,” he said, adding, “It all started in Block 3 where young people and students are kept. It could have been about the 8888 anniversary, and it could have been about COVID.”
Myanmar’s 8888 uprising was launched on Aug. 8, 1988 by students in Yangon, then the country’s capital, as a protest against one-party rule by Gen. Ne Win, who had ruled the country since 1962. Protests across the country were finally suppressed by the army on Sept. 18, with about 3,000 people reported killed.
The Students’ Union issued a statement Monday calling for an end to the violent crackdown on prisoners in connection with the incident, for the release of political prisoners “unjustly detained” amid a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and for political prisoners’ full access to medical care, including COVID prevention.
“After hearing about the protest in the prison, our family was worried,” said a resident of Maha Aungmyay township, two of whose family members were arrested after authorities found a sword and a National League for Democracy (NLD) banner in their home.
“We heard that a few inmates were shot dead in the prison, and we were really worried when we heard this. We asked out lawyer about this, but he didn’t know anything,” he said.
As news of the Obo Prison protest spread on social media at around 10:00 p.m., a group of young people in Monywa city in Myanmar’s Sagaing region staged a protest near the Monywa Prison to demand the release of political prisoners and an end to the country’s military dictatorship.
At least 20 student leaders of the All Burma Students’ Union (ABSU) detained in Yangon’s Insein Prison are now being held in solitary confinement in connection with a prison protest there on July 23.
On Feb. 1, Myanmar’s military overthrew the country’s democratically elected government, claiming voter fraud had led to a landslide victory for Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD party in the country’s November 2020 election.
The junta has yet to provide evidence of its claims and has violently suppressed nationwide demonstrations calling for a return to civilian rule, killing at least 962 people over the past six months..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-08-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Around 2,000 Myanmar migrant workers have been stranded in a lockdown in the Golden Triangle SEZ in Bokeo province, Laos, without work or money for rent or food.
Description:
"Myanmar migrant workers stranded at a special economic zone (SEZ) in northern Laos catering to Chinese gamblers staged a rare protest last week in a bid to return home amid an outbreak of the coronavirus, saying they haven’t been paid in months and can no longer afford food or rent.
Up to 5,000 workers of different nationalities are employed at the Golden Triangle SEZ in Bokeo province, which lies along Laos’ shared borders with Thailand and Myanmar.
Bokeo is a hotspot for coronavirus transmission, and the SEZ’s main tourist draw—the Kings Romans Casino—has seen business plummet during the pandemic. The SEZ is now guarded by Chinese security guards assigned to prevent workers from leaving amid a lockdown aimed at preventing further spread of the disease.
Hundreds of protesting Myanmar workers on Friday demanded that Lao and SEZ authorities allow them to return home or provide them with food and financial aid enabling them to remain in Laos, workers told RFA’s Lao Service.
“Because of the lockdown, we have not been paid for months. We have been abandoned,” one protesting worker said on Monday. “We have no money of our own to pay rent or buy food, and we’ve received no financial aid.”
“In addition, we have to pay for COVID-19 testing too,” he said.
“It’s calm now,” a Lao worker in the SEZ told RFA, adding that soldiers and police officers had come to the SEZ on Friday to break the protest up. “They protested because many of them lost their jobs in construction and at restaurants in the SEZ because of the lockdown," he said.
“They want either to go home or to get some help."
“They protested because they have been jobless and confined in the Golden Triangle SEZ for months and haven’t received any aid,” another Lao worker said. “They protested even though the authorities told them not to,” he added.
Laos has recorded eight deaths from nearly 8,400 coronavirus cases.
'Business as usual'
Also speaking to RFA, the owner of a small shop outside the SEZ noted that another outbreak of COVID-19 had recently hit the SEZ, prompting the latest lockdown.
“Many Burmese workers have families including young children, and they can’t afford to live here without working. So they want to go home to Myanmar,” he said.
Reached for comment, a member of the Golden Triangle SEZ management team said that the Myanmar workers’ protest had ended, and that “it’s business as usual again.”
“The protest was initiated by some kind of misunderstanding about COVID-19 testing,” he said. “The SEZ management team negotiated with the protesters for two hours, and then the protesters agreed to go back to their dormitory and the management agreed to take care of the workers.”
Some go home
After Friday’s protest, Lao authorities informed Myanmar border officials that some of the Myanmar workers were planning to go home, “and on Monday at least half of the nearly 2,000 Burmese workers in the SEZ have been allowed to return,” the management team member said.
“As for the rest of the Burmese workers, their employers in the SEZ have promised to look after them during the current lockdown from Aug. 4 to Aug. 18,” he said.
Companies and employers in the SEZ have a duty to look after the welfare of their workers, agreed an official in the Bokeo provincial administration with responsibility for overseeing the Golden Triangle SEZ.
“And their workers can always complain to our authorities if their employers don’t keep their promises,” he said.
Lao workers in the SEZ who want to return home to their own provinces should register with the appropriate authorities, the management team member said, adding that around 150 Lao workers have already done so.
“They can go home after the lockdown ends in about two weeks. But during these first two weeks during the lockdown, no one can get out,” he said.
In May last year, approximately 6,000 Lao and foreign workers were present in the SEZ, with about half that number left in the SEZ today, the management team member said. Of that number, around 2,000 came from Myanmar, with the remaining number made up by Lao workers and Chinese..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-08-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Burmese migrant workers, Humanitarian assistance to migrant workers from Burma
Language:
more
Description:
"Today, August 9, we celebrate the indigenous people of the world who are the protectors of their land and natural environment. In many parts of Myanmar, different groups of indigenous people possess unique practices, traditions and culture. Unfortunately, indigenous groups in Myanmar face many challenges that threaten their enjoyment of their rights and identity. Decades of conflict have brought suffering on ethnic groups like the Chin, Rohingya, Shan and Karen. At the same time, Myanmar’s ethnic people have also faced other violations of their rights including threats to their distinct cultures, languages, and identities; as well as development projects by the Tatmadaw leading to land confiscations, forced displacement, and negative environmental and social impacts.
On June 11, 2021, KHRG and Karen Rivers Watch released a joint statement condemning the State Administration Council’s (SAC) announcement to push ahead with the construction of the Hatgyi hydropower mega-dam on the Salween River. KHRG reiterates that the construction of the Hatgyi dam will be severely detrimental to the ecosystems in the area, as well as to people’s livelihoods, wellbeing, and cultural identity. Further, construction of the Hatgyi dam will exacerbate the dire humanitarian crisis in Southeast Myanmar caused by the ongoing SAC military offensives.
Since the February 2021 coup, hostilities between the SAC and ethnic armed organizations have intensified across the country. In Southeast Myanmar alone, the SAC has indiscriminately bombed and shelled villages which has killed, injured, and forcibly displaced thousands of villagers. Villagers who have been forced to flee into the jungles and caves, or across the Salween River into Thailand are in desperate need of basic supplies such as food, water, shelter, and medicines. Many villagers are also afraid to return to their lands as they fear the SAC’s indiscriminate airstrikes and ground artillery attacks.
In addition to the suffering faced by indigenous people as a result of intensified conflicts in ethnic lands, the COVID-19 pandemic also adds to the suffering of the ethnic people in Myanmar. In rural areas of Southeast Myanmar alone, where healthcare services are extremely limited, many villagers have no choice but to turn to home-based care. Rather than allowing patients access to life-saving medical care through non-SAC channels such as ethnic healthcare providers, in early July the SAC prohibited the sale of medical oxygen to private clinics and individuals throughout the country. At the same time, the SAC is actively undermining the Karen National Union’s COVID-19 response policies in Karen State. Recently, the SAC has destroyed the KNU’s COVID-19 screening checkpoints and disapproved of KNU travel restrictions in Karen State because of the potential impact on the movement of SAC soldiers in the region. The SAC’s weaponization of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to many avoidable deaths.
As the COVID-19 pandemic and the SAC’s military coup have introduced new challenges to Myanmar’s indigenous people, KHRG would like to call upon the international community to not only support the country’s ethnic groups in defence of their rights, but also to celebrate their resilience in the face of adversity and persecution..."
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group
Date of publication:
2021-08-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Human Rights and international relations, Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) reports, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
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Size:
83.83 KB 93.31 KB
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Description:
"Both Thailand and Burma are currently experiencing severe epidemics of COVID-19, driven especially by
new variants including the highly transmissible delta variant. The current wave of the epidemic in Tak
Province, bordering Burma, began in late June with large outbreaks detected in factories in the area. With
over 3,000 patients currently in treatment for the disease, it continues to severely strain the medical
system. On Wednesday, August 4
th
, there were 279 new cases diagnosed in Tak, with over 180 of those in
Mae Sot, home to the clinic, and the nearby districts of Phop Phra, Mae Ramat, and Tha Song Yang. Since
April 1st, 2021, a total of 5,383 cases have been reported in the province (Tak Provincial Public Relations
Office Page).
On June 28th, the Mae Tao Clinic became an official field hospital for the Mae Sot public health system,
providing care for between 60-70 infected individuals deemed low risk for developing complications or
severe disease. While MTC staff members are responsible for providing daily care, they work in
partnership with medical staff of the Mae Sot Hospital and other Thai public health entities, closely
monitoring patients for evidence of clinical deterioration and facilitating timely referrals if necessary. To
date, the Mae Tao Clinic has served approximately 442 COVID-19 patients who have been referred from
the Thai health system, are staff from MTC and partner organizations or are residents of the surrounding
communities.
On July 9
th, our first staff member was found to be infected with COVID-19. This prompted the clinic,
working in conjunction with local health partners, to pursue aggressive contact tracing and screen all
members of the staff, along with household contacts, nearby community members, and others with
possible exposure. The results of these efforts are shown in the table below:
Total testing Total positive %
774 209 27%
* Last updated on August 4
th 2021. Please note that these figures do NOT reflect the epidemiology of COVID-19 in
the community or the clinic and its partners as testing was primarily extended to those with potential exposure and
others in higher risk situations.
As a precaution, starting on July 15th, most clinical services at the clinic were suspended indefinitely in
order to protect the health and safety of our staff members, their families, and all the communities we
serve. This pause was also to allow us to efficiently focus our efforts on identifying and taking care of
infected members of the extended MTC family and the community. As of August 4
th, there are 192 people
either in isolation or quarantine.....ဤကာလအတွင်းရောဂါကူးစက်ပြန့်ပွားမှုကိုကာကွယ်၊ ထိန်းချုပ်ပေးရန်အတွက် ဆေးကုသမှုဆိုင်ရာဝန်ဆောင်မှု အားလုံးကို ပိတ်ထားပါသည်။ ကျေးဇူးပြု၍မယ်တော်ဆေးခန်း၏ Mae Tao Clinic တွင်(မြန်မာဘာသာ/အင်္ဂလိပ်ဘာသာဖြင့်) တင်ထားသော နောက်ဆုံးရသည့် သတင်းအချက်အလက်များအထူးသဖြင့်ကြိုတင်ခန့်မှန်းရန်မပြုနိုင်သော အခြေအနေရှိသည့် ကာလ များအတွင်း တတ်နိုင်သမျှရရှိစုဆောင်းထားသည့်သတင်းအချက်အလက်များကို မကြာခဏဖတ်ရှုပေးစေလိုပါသည်။
ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ပိုးစစ်ဆေးပေးခြင်းနှင့်ကာကွယ်ဆေးထိုးပေးခြင်းများနှင့်ပတ်သက်သည့်မေးမြန်းစုံစမ်းမှုအများအပြားကိုတွေ့နေ ရပါသည်။
မယ်တော်ဆေးခန်းအနေဖြင့်လက်ရှိတွင်ယင်းဝန်ဆောင်မှုမျိုးကို မပြုလုပ်နိုင်သေးပါ။ အဘယ်ကြောင့်ဆိုသော် ထိုင်းကျန်းမာရေးဌာနမှ ယင်းတို့ကိုတာဝန်ယူကိုင်တွယ်လုပ်ဆောင်ပေးနေပါသည်။ သင့်အနေဖြင့်ရောဂါကူးစက်မှုခံနေပြီး ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ စစ်ဆေးမှုလိုအပ်နေသည်ဟုထင်ပါက မဲဆောက်ပြည်သူ့ ဆေးရုံကြီး ၏ဖုန်းနံပါတ် ၀၆၅-၄၆၁-၁၁၂၀ သို့မဟုတ် ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ဖုန်းခေါ်ဆိုမှုစင်တာ ၁၄၄၂ (သို့မဟုတ်) ၁၆၈၈ သို့ ဆက်သွယ်နိုင်ပါသည်။ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ကာကွယ်ဆေးနှင့်ပတ်သက် သောသတင်းအချက်အလက်များကိုသိရှိလိုပါက ထိုင်းအစိုးရ လူမှုဆက်ဆံရေးဌာန ၏တရားဝင် PR Thai Government စာမျက်နှာတွင် ရှာဖွေနိုင်ပါသည်။
အကယ်၍သင်သည်ကိုယ်ဝန်ဆောင်မိခင်ကျန်းမာရေး (မီးမဖွားမီ၊မီးဖွားစဉ်နှင့်မီးဖွားပြီးနောက်စောင့်ရှောက် ပေးခြင်း)နှင့် ပတ်သက်၍အကူအညီလိုအပ်ပါကမဲဆောက်ဆေးရုံကြီး (သို့မဟုတ်) အနီးစပ်ဆုံးဆေးခန်းများသို့ ဆက်သွယ်ပါ။ မကူးစက် နိုင်သော(နာတာရှည်)ရောဂါများကိုကုသပေးရန် အကူအညီလိုအပ်သည့်သူများအတွက်ဆရာမ ဆိုဖီယာလှထံ (အင်္ဂလိပ်၊ မြန်မာ၊ ကရင်ဘာသာဖြင့်) ဖုန်းနံပါတ် ၀၈၁-၀၃၇-၅၈၀၀ ဖြင့်ဆက်သွယ်နိုင်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Mae Tao Clinic
Date of publication:
2021-08-05
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
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Size:
267.06 KB 191.41 KB
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Sub-title:
The World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Friday that it is facing a 70 per cent funding shortfall in Myanmar, where millions face growing food insecurity.
Description:
"Amid the “triple impact of poverty, the current political unrest and economic crisis”, coupled with the rapidly spreading third wave of COVID-19, that is “practically like a tsunami that’s hit this country”, the people of Myanmar are “experiencing the most difficult moment in their lives”, WFP Myanmar Country Director Stephen Anderson said, from Nay Pyi Taw.
Hunger doubles
WFP needs $86 million to help fight hunger in the country over the next six months, amid turmoil since the military ousted the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi on 1 February.
In April, the UN agency estimated that the number of people facing hunger could more than double to 6.2 million in the next six months, up from 2.8 million prior to February.
Subsequent monitoring surveys carried out by WFP have shown that since February, more and more families are being pushed to the edge, struggling to put even the most basic food on the table.
“We have seen hunger spreading further and deeper in Myanmar. Nearly 90 per cent of households living in slum-like settlements around Yangon say they have to borrow money to buy food; incomes have been badly affected for many,” said Mr Anderson.
Tripling in support
In response, the WFP tripled its planned support to the country and starting in May, launched a new urban food response, targeting 2 million people in Yangon and Mandalay, Myanmar’s two biggest cities.
The majority of people to receive assistance are mothers, children, people with disabilities and the elderly. To date, 650,000 people have been assisted in urban areas.
At the same time, the WFP is “stepping up its operations” to reach newly displaced people affected by the clashes and insecurity in recent months. More than 220,000 people have fled violence since February, and are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
WFP has reached 17,500 newly displaced people and is working to assist more in August.
In total, 1.25 million people in Myanmar have received WFP food, cash and nutrition assistance in 2021 across urban and rural areas, including 360,000 food-insecure people in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states, where there have been longstanding concerns.
Access critical
However, with $86 million more required over the next six months, it is uncertain how far these operations can go.
“It is critically important for us to be able to access to all those in need and receive the funding to provide them with humanitarian assistance,” Anderson explained. “Now more than ever, the people of Myanmar need our support,” he added..."
Source/publisher:
UN News
Date of publication:
2021-08-06
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Brave activists in Myanmar are still resisting the coup -- at great cost. An international campaign to ban arms sales and target gas sales could help.
Description:
"Six months after the Myanmar military’s February 1 coup, some things are now clear. Most apparent is that there is no limit on the violence and repression the military under the commander-in-chief, Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, is willing to use to hold onto power and destroy its opponents.
This, of course, is nothing new for an institution that ran one of the world’s most brutal dictatorships for 50 years, that in 2017 committed what a United Nations-backed international fact-finding mission called genocide against the ethnic Rohingya, that carried out rampant war crimes for decades against other ethnic groups, and that has never taken responsibility for the corruption and poverty that makes Myanmar one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia.
When the junta arrested political leaders such as State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and members of parliament, it also effectively nullified the results of the November 2020 elections and implicitly acknowledged that its experiment with “managed democracy” had failed.
The military then resorted to what it knows best: the use of force.
Yet it appears to have misjudged the public response. People quickly poured onto the streets in a massive display of resistance that swiftly coalesced into what is called the “Civil Disobedience Movement.” Faced with the threat of people power, security forces have killed over 900 demonstrators and bystanders, including an estimated 75 children, and injured thousands more.
The junta has arbitrarily detained thousands of protesters, activists, journalists, lawyers, doctors and nurses. Many have been tortured, while all risk falling ill with COVID-19 in the country’s squalid and already overcrowded prisons.
The junta has shut down hospitals and targeted medical professionals, leading to a collapse of the health system as COVID-19 surges across the country. They have arrested journalists reporting on the crackdown, closed independent media, and effectively shut down the internet and phone service after almost daily images appeared showing soldiers and police firing into peaceful crowds.
What is also abundantly clear is that the Myanmar people have no plans to back down. As a friend told me from hiding:
“We have experienced dictatorships for 50 years, coups, annulling the 1990 election, massacres of student protesters, killing of Buddhist monks and nuns in the [2007] Saffron Revolution. Millions of people have marched in spite of soldiers who we know will shoot us. Civil servants have stopped working in protest. People have refused to have anything to do with the state. Many have stopped paying income and sales tax, utility bills, and fees since February 1. We are scared but we are not going to give in to these thugs and let them take away our future.”
Another thing that is very clear is that while some international organizations and governments have talked a good game, the response has gone from inadequate to dismal.
While some leaders have issued strong statements denouncing the coup and announced targeted sanctions against junta officials, they also have cynically decided to hide behind the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a club dominated by dictators whose chief principle is “non-interference in the internal affairs” of other members. True to form, when ASEAN held a special meeting on Myanmar in April it couldn’t even agree to call for the release of all political prisoners.
The main outcome was a plan to appoint a special envoy, but more than three months later none has been appointed. Knowing that there was no chance that ASEAN would come together to exert significant pressure on one of its own members, the U.S., U.K., E.U., Japan, and Australia nevertheless issued statements suggesting that ASEAN should take the lead in resolving the crisis. The reality is that ASEAN is serving as the perfect foil for the junta, trying to run the clock out in hopes the world loses interest or another crisis explodes elsewhere.
The world needs to end this diplomatic charade. While the U.K., the lead country on Myanmar issues at the UN Security Council, is concerned that China and Russia would use their veto, it should follow the lead of the General Assembly and circulate a binding resolution to ban arms sales. It should also call for the sanctioning of entities that provide the funds that keep the junta afloat. The U.K., U.S., France, and other Security Council members should make it clear that, if Beijing and Moscow do use their veto, they will submit the same resolution over and over again until they relent.
Until then, they should announce a coalition of states that will engage in “maximum, coordinated sanctions” that would block payments to the junta and state-owned enterprises from foreign-financed oil and gas projects, such as those operated by Thailand’s PTT, France’s Total, and the U.S. behemoth Chevron. Gas revenues are the military’s largest source of foreign currency income, adding up to an estimated $1 billion annually in duties, taxes, royalties, fees, tariffs, and other profits. This is the lifeblood of the junta, without which it cannot survive..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-08-04
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
more
Description:
"Rakhine State is one of the poorest states in Myanmar, with over 40 percent of its households food insecure, more than half of whom are moderately or severely food insecure. The most vulnerable communities are unable to access sufficient food or a source of livelihood. Violent clashes over the past year have increased in regularity and intensity, the geographical scope has expanded and the civilian toll has grown. This conflict combined with the health-related COVID-19 restriction measures have severely reduced access to food and livelihoods, and has reduced vulnerable households' purchasing power. Insecurity, displacement and disruption of agricultural production has led to an increase in poverty levels, especially for smallholder and landless farmers.
Through the financial support of the Myanmar Humanitarian Fund (MHF), FAO is implementing a project entitled "Farming and livelihood support to 1 200 landless and most vulnerable farmers in Maungdaw and Buthiduang Townships, Rakhine State, Myanmar". The project's overall objective is to meet the urgent food security and livelihood needs of the most vulnerable conflict- and COVID-19-affected small-scale farmers and landless seasonal workers. The project aims to ensure continued food production and support livelihoods through the provision of multipurpose cash transfers and agricultural inputs. In addition, it aims to increase the capacity of beneficiaries to use the provided inputs effectively while enhancing the communities' knowledge of nutrition. Information on best hygiene practices were also shared to mitigate the risk of transmission of COVID-19. The project has targeted extremely poor households with limited access to land and productive assets, as well as landless farmers, stateless households, and households headed by women or with malnourished children.
Through this project a total of 500 farming households (3 088 people) have already received** agricultural inputs** consisting of rice paddy seeds, vegetable seeds and fertilizers to enable them to continue their agricultural production and sustain their livelihoods during the 2021 monsoon season. These 500 households also received leaflets on Good Agricultural Practices, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, resilient crop production and improved hygiene practices. Additionally, they were provided with hygiene kits, including face masks and bars of soap, as well as information to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19. The information was shared using a social and behaviour change approach and was communicated through orientation sessions, posters and leaflets.
Beneficiary profiles
Daw Oo Than
Daw Oo Than, 38, lives with her family in Ywar Thar Yar Village, Maungdaw township and is one of the beneficiaries of the project. Her family includes her husband, U Aung San Nu, who is unemployed, their two sons and one daughter, who has disabilities and is deaf. The family owns a small plot of farmland, which is 1 acre in size.
Daw Oo Than said her family is fortunate to be included as a beneficiary of the project because they do not have any source of income, and it is challenging to acquire enough food to feed her entire family. She also shared that their economic situation worsened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic as income earning opportunities became scarcer due to the restrictions of movement for people and goods.
Through this MHF-funded project, FAO provided Than's family with paddy seed, vegetable seed, compound fertilizer and hygiene items, including bars of soap and face masks. The family is so happy and thankful to MHF and FAO for this assistance. Without this support, Than's family would have faced difficulties, which may have forced them to resort to negative coping strategies, such as borrowing money at high interest rates. The family expects to harvest enough rice to feed themselves for at least four months and enough vegetables to last the whole monsoon season.
Ze Bu Raw Man
Ze Bu Raw Man, of Let Wai Dat Ywar Thit Village, Buthidaung Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar, also benefited from the MHF-funded project. He lives with his family of six, including his wife, three sons, one daughter and his father. The family owns a small plot of farmland 1 acre in size, but Ze Bu Raw Man stated that life is difficult for his family, and that it is hard to find income-generating opportunities to support his family’s the basic needs. His wife is not employed and the family has little money and relies on subsistence farming, provided that they manage to acquire agricultural inputs.
With the inputs provided by the project, Ze Bu Raw Man and his family are expected to harvest enough rice and vegetables to cover their own food needs for the next few months. Ze Bu Raw Man highlighted that if his family had not been supported by this FAO project, it would have been very difficult to obtain inputs to farm this year and that his family would have run out of food, which would have led them to engage in negative coping strategies, such as reducing the number of meals eaten per day..."
Source/publisher:
Food and Agriculture Organization (Rome) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-08-05
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"When armed groups clashed in a small township in the eastern part of Myanmar’s Northern Shan State back in March 2021, it was not the first time that the villagers felt threatened. Ethnic armed group disputes over territory, as well as confrontations with the Myanmar Military – locally known as Tatmadaw - are deeply rooted and people here have lived in an environment influenced by conflict and instability their entire life. As a result, the area is also known to be contaminated by old landmines and other explosive remnants.
In late March 2021, fighting once more came too close and this time the villagers saw no other option than to flee to save their lives. While the current political instability in Yangon and other major urban centers of Myanmar is often what is in focus in the media, the rural ethnic armed group conflict and waves of fighting with the Tatmadaw persist but is often less known to the outside world. In this instance in Northern Shan fighting this time was between the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) and Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) alliance – all of them armed groups well known across Myanmar.
Following clashes in the area that had continued some places for over five days, a group of 447 women, children and elderly made their way to an old Buddhist monastery five to six hours walk away from their village. The men were left behind in the village to look after and protect the farmlands and houses. It was at this interim safe haven that DRC and local humanitarian partner organisations were able to meet the newly displaced who were provided with emergency kits to help them and their host community cope with the crisis.
Covid-19 compounding crises
The recent intensification of conflict affecting people throughout Myanmar is leading to daily reports of new displacement and humanitarian needs are rising to alarming levels. In addition, a new wave and rapid spread of COVID-19 in Myanmar is right now sweeping through Myanmar, with a reported 90% of the country affected. The currently circulating Delta mutation of the virus is even more infectious than previous variants, resulting in unprecedented infection and casualty rates, and health facilities nationwide struggling to meet the rapidly growing demand for testing and treatment. As the pandemic continues to exhaust all remaining capacities it creates new fear across the conflict-ridden country, and in particular so among the most vulnerable and isolated communities.
First Line Emergency Response through ECHO
The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has worked with support to conflict-affected people in Myanmar since 2009 and in Northern Shan State since 2016. With recent developments in the country, new instability and not least the pandemic, DRC was among humanitarian organisations in Myanmar selected by the Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission (ECHO) to strengthen locally led emergency response mechanisms. These new efforts through the so-called First Line Emergency Response (FLER) project are critical to ensure access to life-saving aid and enhance outreach in isolated areas of Myanmar.
Working with local partner organisations
DRC has been present in Northern Shan State since 2016, and has worked with EU Humanitarian Aid funding of emergency responses in Northern Shan State since March 2020. In March 2021, the FLER project was launched in two townships in collaboration with several local partner organisations in this north-eastern part of Myanmar surrounded by five other states and bordering China to the east. DRC works closely with other ECHO implementing partners – Danish Church Aid (DCA) and Oxfam as well as several local partners, to ensure that the townships that are most affected by conflict are covered by FLER activities.
Meikswe Myanmar – meaning ‘Friends of Myanmar’ – has worked with DRC since 2019 and is one of the partners now working with DRC to implement the First Line Emergency Response programme. As a well-known and widely trusted civil society organisation Meikswe Myanmar is anchored in local communities and has been operational since 2004. Their expertise, insight and detailed local knowledge gathered though a network of civil society organisations across Northern Shan State is crucial when navigating in environments that are highly sensitive and complex and where even practical outreach is a challenge.
Reaching people trapped in conflict
Planning of the First Line Emergency Responses in Northern Shan State is spearheaded by DRC with its partners as well as representatives of local communities and civil society organisations. They meet to discuss, design and develop the project and define the intervention in detail.
The planning process helps DRC and partners to ensure that local coordination structures are in place and that the most vulnerable and crisis-affected are identified and provided with adequate assistance. In areas where roads are often damaged or communities are isolated after years of conflict, and where communication infrastructure is weak at its best, logistics is one of the everyday challenges for people in these remote areas as well as for those who try to reach them.
‘Once we get there, providing protection, emergency aid and if needed Emergency Mine Risk Education is a very first step to assist people in need here,’ tells Martin Vane, Country Director, DRC Myanmar and explains:
‘DRC and our FLER partners are furthermore working with grassroots actors to strengthen local capacity even remotely in order to build people’s resilience to future shocks. In this sense FLER aims to be distinct from other emergency response mechanisms in that local actors are the default responders and the aim of the mechanism will be to support their capacity to provide humanitarian assistance. This includes developing preparedness measures, training, prepositioning of stocks and other supplies. When people are able to return to their villages, they might need to travel through mined areas again and then once they are back, they often have to start all over, resuming farming activities, and maybe also reconstructing their houses.’
Conflict and climate change
The First Line Emergency Response programme is now implemented by DRC through Meikswe Myanmar in two townships in Northern Shan State. Both are areas affected by a complex of decades old and new armed conflict affecting the population and creating widespread internal displacement within Northern Shan, but also spilling into Southern Shan and Eastern Shan states.
Conflict is not the only threat here. Natural hazard threats are seasonal and people are all too familiar with Myanmar’s extreme weather events such as increasing hot summers and colder winters, floods, landslides and other extreme events that continue to be seen to intensify due to effects of climate change.
Most people here are living in deep poverty and are already vulnerable to shocks from conflict and instability. Adding to this the weather events that are growing in scale and intensity, while also becoming more and more unpredictable, then the little means and weak resilience to cope is easily depleted.
The risk of being trapped in displacement
These risks altogether make entire communities prone to displacement that easily becomes a protracted situation. Many displaced individuals, families and entire communities now find themselves trapped and not able to sustain themselves in their interim safe haven, nor return home to the areas from where they fled.
‘As public services are limited or not existing and there is often no national institutions to rely on, we know from our local partners and the people we reach through the emergency responses, that every bit of aid and support makes a big difference,’ says Martin Vane, DRC Myanmar.
DRC’s current First Line Emergency Response programme funded by EU Humanitarian Aid runs until March 2022 and aims to reach nearly 30,000 men, women and children with emergency aid and lifesaving support as well as support to strengthen local resilience to cope with crises..."
Source/publisher:
Danish Refugee Council via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-08-06
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Armed conflict in Shan State - general articles, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Internal displacement/forced migration of Shan. Palaung and Wa villagers, Climate change and conflict
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"The people of Myanmar face an unparalleled national three Cs (coup, COVID and climate change) crisis today as we confront a failed military coup, catastrophic third COVID-19 wave, and natural disasters engineered by changes in the climate. As the third wave of COVID-19 spreads rampantly throughout Myanmar, it is possible that the next COVID-19 variant could arise out of Myanmar; this is a major threat to regional and global public health security, a threat that must be immediately addressed by ASEAN and Myanmar’s neighboring countries as well as the international community.
For six months, the military junta has robbed the people of Myanmar of their sense of security and dignity. The military has murdered 940 people, including over 70 children as young as 6 years old. They have arbitrarily detained over 5,400 people. Of those, 19 percent are women who have been at the forefront of leading anti-junta protests on the streets. The Ministry of Women, Youths and Children’s Affairs has reported rape and sexual violence against girls and women in detention. Along with peaceful LGBTIQ protesters, they have been sexually assaulted and harassed, made to conduct humiliating and degrading acts that amount to torture in detention.
Meanwhile, food insecurity is growing, the banking sector is in crisis, and the economy is collapsing with the World Bank forecasting Myanmar’s economy to shrink by 18 percent, and the World Food Program estimating that an additional 3.4 million people will now go hungry. This adds to the decades of military rule, and the mismanagement of essential administration, including in the health sector. Instead of funding education and health, the military focused on stealing wealth from the people of Myanmar to fund their decades-long civil war against ethnic communities, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in ethnic areas and genocide against the Rohingya with impunity. As a result, more than half a million people are now internally displaced in Myanmar. This is the reason why Myanmar requires such dire levels of international assistance today.
In the face of these challenges, the people of Myanmar, and the National Unity Government (NUG) have repeatedly called on ASEAN and the international community for rapid and expanded humanitarian aid intervention. We welcome the generous support that has been provided by the regional and international community in response to the humanitarian crisis so far, particularly in dialogue with the NUG and NUG-aligned administrative bodies, as well as civil society organizations (CSOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs), but the needs are far greater and require a more robust and coordinated intervention.
Responsibility for this human rights and humanitarian crisis rests squarely with the military junta, which, rather than tackling these issues to the benefit of the people of Myanmar, continues to weaponize COVID-19 and humanitarian aid for its own political gain.
It is vital that humanitarian assistance programs be designed and implemented in a way that ensures that they are not being used to promote or benefit the political or financial interests of the military junta.
ASEAN and the wider international community must coordinate with and empower existing governance structures that are supported by the people in all parts of Myanmar, particularly through NUG-aligned administrative bodies and CSOs/CBOs in ethnic-administered areas for localized humanitarian response to needs on the ground.
The NUG’s people-centered response to humanitarian aid prioritizes the immediate needs of the people of Myanmar. The “People First” approach places the people’s well-being and health services as our first priority, as we endeavor to work with all UN agencies and development partners to bring equitable access to healthcare and COVID-19 vaccination for all people of Myanmar in accordance with international standards, including those laid out by the WHO and UNICEF.
We urge ASEAN, and its humanitarian assistance through the AHA Center, to adhere to certain principles in provision of humanitarian aid. While the people in Myanmar are in desperate need of assistance, support must reach those most in need in a way that does not legitimize the junta, which is the cause of the people’s suffering.
While recognizing that communication with the military may be unavoidable in some instances in providing humanitarian aid, all ASEAN, UN and international partners are strongly urged to avoid communications with the military junta, which will imply or provide it with legitimacy or recognition. To this end, we strongly urge ASEAN to have regular, meaningful and inclusive dialogue with all stakeholders as set out in its five point consensus, in particular by holding dialogue with the NUG and members of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) as well as ethnic armed organizations.
By AUNG MYO MIN 5 August 2021
The people of Myanmar face an unparalleled national three Cs (coup, COVID and climate change) crisis today as we confront a failed military coup, catastrophic third COVID-19 wave, and natural disasters engineered by changes in the climate. As the third wave of COVID-19 spreads rampantly throughout Myanmar, it is possible that the next COVID-19 variant could arise out of Myanmar; this is a major threat to regional and global public health security, a threat that must be immediately addressed by ASEAN and Myanmar’s neighboring countries as well as the international community.
For six months, the military junta has robbed the people of Myanmar of their sense of security and dignity. The military has murdered 940 people, including over 70 children as young as 6 years old. They have arbitrarily detained over 5,400 people. Of those, 19 percent are women who have been at the forefront of leading anti-junta protests on the streets. The Ministry of Women, Youths and Children’s Affairs has reported rape and sexual violence against girls and women in detention. Along with peaceful LGBTIQ protesters, they have been sexually assaulted and harassed, made to conduct humiliating and degrading acts that amount to torture in detention.
Meanwhile, food insecurity is growing, the banking sector is in crisis, and the economy is collapsing with the World Bank forecasting Myanmar’s economy to shrink by 18 percent, and the World Food Program estimating that an additional 3.4 million people will now go hungry. This adds to the decades of military rule, and the mismanagement of essential administration, including in the health sector. Instead of funding education and health, the military focused on stealing wealth from the people of Myanmar to fund their decades-long civil war against ethnic communities, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in ethnic areas and genocide against the Rohingya with impunity. As a result, more than half a million people are now internally displaced in Myanmar. This is the reason why Myanmar requires such dire levels of international assistance today.
In the face of these challenges, the people of Myanmar, and the National Unity Government (NUG) have repeatedly called on ASEAN and the international community for rapid and expanded humanitarian aid intervention. We welcome the generous support that has been provided by the regional and international community in response to the humanitarian crisis so far, particularly in dialogue with the NUG and NUG-aligned administrative bodies, as well as civil society organizations (CSOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs), but the needs are far greater and require a more robust and coordinated intervention.
Responsibility for this human rights and humanitarian crisis rests squarely with the military junta, which, rather than tackling these issues to the benefit of the people of Myanmar, continues to weaponize COVID-19 and humanitarian aid for its own political gain.
It is vital that humanitarian assistance programs be designed and implemented in a way that ensures that they are not being used to promote or benefit the political or financial interests of the military junta.
ASEAN and the wider international community must coordinate with and empower existing governance structures that are supported by the people in all parts of Myanmar, particularly through NUG-aligned administrative bodies and CSOs/CBOs in ethnic-administered areas for localized humanitarian response to needs on the ground.
The NUG’s people-centered response to humanitarian aid prioritizes the immediate needs of the people of Myanmar. The “People First” approach places the people’s well-being and health services as our first priority, as we endeavor to work with all UN agencies and development partners to bring equitable access to healthcare and COVID-19 vaccination for all people of Myanmar in accordance with international standards, including those laid out by the WHO and UNICEF.
We urge ASEAN, and its humanitarian assistance through the AHA Center, to adhere to certain principles in provision of humanitarian aid. While the people in Myanmar are in desperate need of assistance, support must reach those most in need in a way that does not legitimize the junta, which is the cause of the people’s suffering.
While recognizing that communication with the military may be unavoidable in some instances in providing humanitarian aid, all ASEAN, UN and international partners are strongly urged to avoid communications with the military junta, which will imply or provide it with legitimacy or recognition. To this end, we strongly urge ASEAN to have regular, meaningful and inclusive dialogue with all stakeholders as set out in its five point consensus, in particular by holding dialogue with the NUG and members of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) as well as ethnic armed organizations.
It is crucial that resources be provided directly to local actors who can flexibly and creatively meet the needs on the ground in a way that does not legitimize or otherwise support the military junta. By resourcing CSOs, CBOs, ethnic administrations, and in some circumstances services through CDM health professionals, ASEAN and international support can meet the needs of the people without causing greater harm. This can also ensure that COVID-19 support and vaccinations are not used as a weapon against the people and those participating in the CDM.
Commitment to providing cross-border assistance is key to meeting the urgent needs of the people of Myanmar. Cross-border aid can be delivered through CSOs and CBOs with decades of experience in provision of essential services, particularly in ethnic administrations. The COVID-19 Task Force set up by the Ministry of Health, NUG and ethnic health organizations is central to such provision of assistance at this time.
Decentralized and localized aid is reflective of the emerging federal democratic union that we aspire to build and cross-border aid is currently essential in the realization of inclusive and equitable provision of aid.
These above positions of the NUG in regards to humanitarian aid are clearly laid out in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management position paper issued on June 19. On July 18, reiterating these calls, the NUG sent a letter to the UN Secretary General, requesting a robust and well-designed intervention from the international community.
Every day that passes without ASEAN and the international community’s urgent action is a day that we lose more lives. The military exists to serve its own interests and has demonstrated over the past six months that it will not act in the best interest of the people of Myanmar. Rather, it serves to perpetuate its own status quo, which will only be further emboldened by the inaction of ASEAN and the wider international community.
The attempted coup has failed. It is the people of Myanmar, despite the immense challenges and against all odds, who are keeping the future of Myanmar from falling into decades-long military rule once again. But we require immediate support.
ASEAN must act, and it must act NOW. Not only for the sake of the people of Myanmar but for the sake of ASEAN. Their continuing insistence on working through the junta is an affront to its own founding Charter, with its declaration of “adhering to the principles of democracy, the rule of law and good governance, respect for and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms”.
History is repeating itself once again. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is an aspiring dictator, a third-generation military chief who is following in the footsteps of previous dictators, appointing himself as the “caretaker” of Myanmar. This is a threat to global stability and security, and while ASEAN has an important role to play, the world must no longer wait for ASEAN to act. The current human rights, humanitarian and COVID crisis requires robust and immediate action by the UN Secretary General and the UN Security Council. Their immediate action is needed to save lives.
Aung Myo Min is Minister of Human Rights in the National Unity Government of Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-08-05
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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Description:
"While Myanmar has been experiencing massive political and economic turmoil since the February coup, a deadly third wave of COVID-19 has hit the country, bringing with it all four known coronavirus variants. Thousands of people are dying as a direct consequence of the military regime’s incompetent and negligent handling of the pandemic, and Myanmar is not close to controlling the latest outbreak of the disease.
The Irrawaddy interviewed Dr. Tin Tin Htar Myint, an epidemiologist working for Pfizer, an American pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation, about the pandemic.
The following are excerpts from her interview published on the Burmese website.
All four coronavirus variants have been found in Myanmar. What are the consequences of that?
COVID-19 cases are rising significantly in Myanmar. So are cases in neighboring countries such as India, Bangladesh and Thailand.
Looking at Myanmar, there were no cases in April. Perhaps there were no infections or there were no tests. But even with no tests, we would have known if there were infections. Cases started to rise at the end of June and beginning of July. Cases are still continuing to rise and won’t peak until around the end of August. Then, they may decline gradually. People have to be careful until mid-September.
Some countries are already facing the fourth wave of COVID-19. Do you think the third wave will overlap with the fourth wave in Myanmar?
More waves will come and we don’t know how long they will last. Bangladesh has suffered two waves continuously, the first was not serious, but the second is massive. India has suffered a massive outbreak and cases are drastically declining now.
By THE IRRAWADDY 4 August 2021
While Myanmar has been experiencing massive political and economic turmoil since the February coup, a deadly third wave of COVID-19 has hit the country, bringing with it all four known coronavirus variants. Thousands of people are dying as a direct consequence of the military regime’s incompetent and negligent handling of the pandemic, and Myanmar is not close to controlling the latest outbreak of the disease.
The Irrawaddy interviewed Dr. Tin Tin Htar Myint, an epidemiologist working for Pfizer, an American pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation, about the pandemic.
The following are excerpts from her interview published on the Burmese website.
All four coronavirus variants have been found in Myanmar. What are the consequences of that?
COVID-19 cases are rising significantly in Myanmar. So are cases in neighboring countries such as India, Bangladesh and Thailand.
Looking at Myanmar, there were no cases in April. Perhaps there were no infections or there were no tests. But even with no tests, we would have known if there were infections. Cases started to rise at the end of June and beginning of July. Cases are still continuing to rise and won’t peak until around the end of August. Then, they may decline gradually. People have to be careful until mid-September.
Some countries are already facing the fourth wave of COVID-19. Do you think the third wave will overlap with the fourth wave in Myanmar?
More waves will come and we don’t know how long they will last. Bangladesh has suffered two waves continuously, the first was not serious, but the second is massive. India has suffered a massive outbreak and cases are drastically declining now.
The problem with the pandemic is that we can’t predict when the new waves will come or which variant will suddenly become deadly. There are many variants and we can only wait and see which one will cause problems. I can’t tell you if the third wave will overlap with the fourth wave. But the third wave will continue for some time.
Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people are dying daily in Yangon. Will the crisis get worse?
Cases will continue to increase. But deaths may or may not increase even the infections increase. It depends on treatment. Hospitals are already full and there are oxygen shortages. What’s worse is that it is difficult to buy medicines, even paracetamol. So we have to expect the worst.
What should people do as they can’t get proper treatment?
Health experts have called for flattening the curve [which means slowing the spread of the epidemic so that the number of people requiring care at any one time is reduced and healthcare systems can cope] since the very first outbreaks. If cases rise rapidly, hospitals will become overstretched and there won’t be enough medicines and oxygen.
It would be easier to handle the crisis by flattening the curve. The period of the outbreak may be longer, but the number of patients will be steady and doctors will be able to provide proper treatment and there will be enough medicines. So deaths can be reduced.
What people can do is avoid contracting the virus. Elderly persons, people with underlying conditions such as obesity, heart problems, high blood pressure and diabetes are particularly at risk now. There has been a lot of discussion on Facebook and television about how to avoid contracting the virus by social distancing and wearing masks. People should follow that advice.
When will this pandemic be over?
It was initially thought that there would be herd immunity when 70 or 80 percent of the population is vaccinated. But it appears that is not correct. In France, at least 50 percent of the population has been vaccinated. It’s the same in Germany and Israel. But cases are still surfacing.
So it is very difficult to predict when it will end. Normally, a pandemic wave lasts for three to four months. From the examples of other countries, we hope cases will decline in Myanmar after three or four months. But there is no definite answer for that.
What else would you like to tell the people of Myanmar?
Myanmar is having bad luck now. The military has seized power and the country is suffering with the third wave. But there is always light at the end of the tunnel. The pandemic will not last forever. It will recede over time. Stay strong.
If there are vaccines, take them, take the full doses. Wear masks. Keep a safe distance from people. Eat well, sleep well. Consult with a doctor when you don’t feel good, rather than self-medicating. And keep calm..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-08-04
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Sub-title:
Police once again blame COVID-19, despite the bodies exhibiting signs of severe trauma.
Description:
"Two more people have died under suspicious circumstances while undergoing interrogation by security forces in Myanmar, bringing to 32 the total number of such deaths since the military seized power in a coup d’état six months ago.
In nearly all the cases, authorities have blamed the deaths on COVID-19, despite markings on the bodies of decedents that are consistent with torture. Family members have also been given limited access to view the remains of their loved ones before they are cremated or buried.
The latest to die in police custody was Htet Ko Oo, who was arrested on July 19 in connection with the bombing of the Shwe Nandaw (Golden Palace) jewelry shop in Myanmar’s largest city Yangon. The July 8 incident was the second in less than a month targeting a business owned by Thet Thet Khine, the junta’s minister for social welfare, relief and resettlement.
According to Burma VJ, a website formed by a group of citizen journalists that documents human rights abuses by Myanmar’s military, Htet Ko Oo died on July 31 after being severely beaten during an interrogation session. The website said that authorities never informed his family members of his death and that they only learned of it after seeing a report on social media.
RFA was unable to contact Htet Ko Oo’s family for comment on Tuesday.
Lan Ko Thang, a resident of Sagaing region’s Kalay township, was arrested along with a friend on July 29 while returning home from the Chinese border, where he had labored as a migrant worker for nearly a year. Police had set up a checkpoint to control the spread of the coronavirus following a surge in cases in China and claimed to have “found weapons” on him after stopping the bus he was riding on for an inspection.
Lan Ko Thang died a day after his arrest at an area interrogation center and his family was informed that the cause of death was COVID-19, even though his body exhibited signs of heavy trauma, a relative told RFA’s Myanmar Service, speaking on condition of anonymity citing fear of reprisal.
“When we asked how he died, the military said he died of COVID, but our brother had a lot of injuries all over his body,” said the relative.
“There was a big wound on his head and one of his legs and one of his arms were broken. There were beating marks on his back and leg. There were also marks on his neck, as if he had been strangled. We are furious.”
RFA was unable to verify police reports that Lan Ko Thang was armed, but a resident of Kalay called him “calm and quiet,” adding that it was “totally impossible” that he would have had any weapons on him.
Lan Ko Thang is the fifth person to die from suspected torture while in custody in Kalay since the military ousted Myanmar’s National League for Democracy (NLD) government in a Feb. 1 coup. Government troops have engaged in a major offensive in the region with members of the People’s Defense Force (PDF) militia, formed to protect the public from the military.
A resident of Kalay, who declined to be named, said the rise in arrests and deaths from torture during interrogation has made residents “very insecure.”
“These days, many houses are being raided and people are being arrested. It’s not safe even on the streets in the afternoon. People are always scared,” they said.
“I don't know where [the troops] are getting all their information. They search any house they want without a warrant. Most of those arrested were kept in detention without any reason. Troops have been stationed at the city gates for some time. People have been arrested there too.”
Veteran lawyer Kyee Myint told RFA that any death that occurs during an interrogation should be considered wrongful and families of victims are entitled to file a lawsuit seeking compensation. Family members have said they were unaware of how to file a complaint against the military and questioned what kind of justice they could expect if they did.
Seeking accountability
On Feb. 1, the military overthrew Myanmar’s democratically elected government, claiming voter fraud had led to a landslide victory for Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party in the country’s November 2020 election. The junta has yet to provide evidence of its claims and has violently suppressed nationwide demonstrations calling for a return to civilian rule, killing 946 people over the past six months.
Last month, the family members of those killed or maimed by junta soldiers urged the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute those responsible for the death or dismemberment of their loved ones. They say the military’s leadership must be held to account for its actions, which they believe fall under the court’s jurisdiction according to its founding treaty, the Rome Statute.
Under the statute, the ICC can accept cases related to four main crimes—genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression. The actions by the junta would most likely fall under crimes against humanity—which include murder, rape, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, and torture as part of a large-scale attack against any civilian population.
Aung Myo Min, human rights minister for the shadow National Unity Government (NUG), recently told RFA that torturing someone to death and not providing the actual cause of death is “a grave violation” of a person’s right to life.
He said the NUG is systematically collecting data on extrajudicial killings and plans to bring the perpetrators to justice at the ICC.
Before the ICC will investigate a case, the Office of the Prosecutor must determine whether there is sufficient evidence of crimes of sufficient gravity falling within the ICC’s jurisdiction, whether there are genuine national proceedings, and whether opening an investigation would serve the interests of justice and of the victims.
After gathering evidence and identifying a suspect, the prosecution requests that the ICC judges issue an arrest warrant or summons against a suspect and—based on summations presented by the prosecution, the Defense, and the Legal representative of victims—the judges decide if there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial.
Attempts by RFA to contact junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment went unanswered Tuesday..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-08-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Description:
"In the sixth month since its forcible and unconstitutional power grab, the junta’s oppressive acts to secure political, territorial, or economic control have escalated conflict and the deadliness of a third wave of COVID-19. COVID-19 ripped ferociously through Burma, where a weakened health system and junta restrictions on treatment measures contributed to untold deaths. As the junta brought testing closer to pre-coup levels, it saw COVID-19 positivity rates up to 40%.
During July alone, security forces killed at least 56 civilians. There were 348 violent attacks that either targeted or failed to protect civilians during 1–23 Jul, and a total 3,446 incidents 1 Feb–23 Jul..."
Source/publisher:
Altsean Burma, Burma Human Rights Network, Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, Initiatives for International Dialogue, International Federation for Human Rights, Progressive Voice, US Campaign for Burma, and Women Peace Network
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, Human Rights and international relations, National Unity Government (NUG), Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), Flooding in Burma/Myanmar, Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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If Myanmar becomes a failed state it will only be because the outside world failed to come to the country’s aid.
Description:
"Since the military coup in Myanmar in February of this year, fears have grown that the country is becoming a failed state, or even sliding into all-out anarchy. While the murderous junta has certainly tried its best to drive the country to the brink of ruin, the fact is that it has not been able to do so. Myanmar is not a failed state, but a failed coup – thanks to the resourceful and resilient people of the country.
Across Myanmar, an almost parallel state has emerged, comprised of a broad coalition of democratic forces. This network provides healthcare, safety, and other vital services in the vacuum left by the illegal junta over the past six months. With a deadly wave of COVID-19 ravaging the country, it is crucial that the international community works with the National Unity Government (NUG) and other actors who are trying to save lives.
The global attention on Myanmar since the coup has been welcome, including headlines highlighting how at least 936 people have been killed by the junta and many thousands detained arbitrarily. Myanmar is now faced with a spiraling third wave of COVID-19, which the junta has weaponized by hoarding medical supplies for itself and its cronies and denying treatment to those who do not support it.
This is where Myanmar’s brave pro-democracy movement has stepped in. This movement has blossomed from workers’ strikes, peaceful protests, and boycotts of military-owned businesses into de facto state organs serving the people where the Tatmadaw will not.
What has emerged is a decentralized web of local responders, ethnic service providers, civil society organizations, humanitarian actors and groups aligned with the NUG and Civil Disobedience Movement. This network, held together by the common thread of building a democratic, inclusive Myanmar, is fighting to ensure the provision of vital services and life-saving humanitarian aid for millions of people.
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Committed residents have formed their own local administrative committees, shutting out the junta and planting the seeds of a new democracy. These parallel civilian structures operate in many important ways: former government health workers have volunteered at mobile and underground clinics, at the risk of their lives, while ethnic administrations are enrolling new students in primary schools. They are also distributing aid to the displaced in Chin, Karenni, Kachin, Shan, and other states.
We should not underestimate the scale of the problems. Millions face food shortages and hundreds of thousands have fled the junta’s brutality, cut off from food, water and medical supplies in the mountains and jungles. Others have sought refuge across Myanmar’s borders. In this context, the third wave of COVID-19 is bringing the country to its knees.
However, despite the damage already done, it is wrong to assume that is only a matter of time before Myanmar joins the wretched list of failed states. If Myanmar becomes a failed state it will only be because the international community failed to come to its aid.
The international community has a significant role to play, not least in ensuring that Myanmar does not become a forgotten crisis. Last week the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar, of which we are the founding members, called for an urgent humanitarian intervention, mandated by the United Nations Security Council, to support the desperate battle against COVID-19.
The international community must recognize the NUG as the legitimate representatives of the people of Myanmar and work with it to get medical supplies and health professionals to the areas most in need. The Tatmadaw has hoarded medical supplies, underreported case numbers, and even seized the oxygen that the sick and vulnerable need to breathe. Their impunity must end, and they must be held to account for decades of atrocities – and certainly not allowed to lead any COVID-19 response.
The world must support the democratic movement holding the country together. The NUG and ethnic health organizations have formed a COVID-19 Task Force, with which the international community must now engage. For decades, ethnic service providers, civil society groups, and humanitarian actors have used their own well-established systems in the border states to get life-saving humanitarian aid to people who need it. Food, water, cash, medical supplies, and COVID-19 vaccines must be directed through the COVID-19 Task Force to these networks.
The cooperation of neighboring States – Bangladesh, China, India, Laos, and Thailand – will be essential to enable humanitarian supplies to cross their borders into Myanmar. That is the kind of international help that is needed, not the sale of more arms by Russia to the junta.
Another important moment will come in September, when the U.N.’s credentialing committee will decide on who will represent Myanmar at the body. The current ambassador to the U.N., Kyaw Moe Tun, has emerged as a powerful pro-democracy voice on the world stage since the coup. The U.N. must recognize the NUG as the legitimate representatives of the people of Myanmar before the U.N. General Assembly meets. Opting for a junta-appointed representative would be a betrayal to the people of Myanmar and legitimize military horror.
We strongly believe that when Myanmar’s history is written, it will be not of a failed state, but of a failed coup. The world must now do everything to make this a reality..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2021-06-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, National Unity Government (NUG), The discussion on humanitarian assistance to Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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"KHRG is concerned about the State Administration Council’s (SAC) mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic which has led to a spike in COVID-19 related deaths throughout the country, including in Karen State. Instead of facilitating access to vital medical care, the SAC is posing as the sole provider of healthcare and using the COVID-19 pandemic as a political weapon to legitimize their illegitimate authority. The decisions the SAC has made thus far about access to resources, services and information concerning COVID-19 have not only led to an escalating crisis, they have prevented other key actors from helping manage the spread of the virus and address the health needs of the people of Myanmar.
The SAC’s perverse policy of centralizing control over the COVID-19 response infrastructure despite evidence demonstrating its inability to manage a pandemic has led to many avoidable COVID-19 related deaths, particularly during this third wave. Reportedly, the SAC has only been allowing access to medical oxygen and other COVID-19 related treatment through hospitals under military control, many of which were public hospitals prior to being taken over by the military. Many of these hospitals are also now refusing to treat patients who they suspect have been involved in the pro-democracy movements.
Distrust of the SAC has also led many people to seek private medical treatment, including from healthcare professionals who have joined the Civil Disobedience Movement, as well as from ethnic healthcare providers. In rural areas, where healthcare services are already extremely limited, many villagers have no option but to turn to herbal treatments and home-based care strategies that are not sufficient to handle the more serious symptoms of COVID-19. Rather than allowing patients access to life-saving medical care through non-SAC channels, in early July the SAC prohibited the sale of medical oxygen to private clinics and individuals throughout the country. According to some reports, the SAC has also been seizing and confiscating oxygen sent by charities and NGOs destined to aid populations in ethnic areas.
Public hospitals are also unable to provide adequate healthcare to COVID-19 patients as these hospitals are understaffed since many healthcare professionals have rightly refused to work for the illegitimate SAC by joining the Civil Disobedience Movement, or have been forced to go into hiding because of threats by the SAC. Likewise, the SAC has failed to manage the spread of COVID-19 in Myanmar’s prison system which led to a protest on July 23rd at Insein prison, in which prisoners demonstrated against their lack of access to healthcare.
In Karen State, the SAC is actively undermining the Karen National Union’s (KNU) COVID-19 response policies. Our sources tell us that on July 17th, the SAC destroyed a KNU COVID-19 screening checkpoint at T’Kaw Boe village tract, Hpa-an Township, Doo Tha Htoo District. Also, after the KNU strengthened travel restrictions in Karen State in order to help contain the spread of the virus, the SAC sent a letter to the KNU disapproving because of the potential impact on the movement of SAC soldiers within the region. These actions by the SAC only serve to worsen the spread of COVID-19 in rural ethnic areas where testing kits are not easily accessible, and where COVID-19 prevention supplies and resources have long been scarce, making these populations even more vulnerable to the life-threatening impacts of COVID-19. Curbing travel restrictions to allow for the movement of troops also increases security risks for local villagers because it makes possible the ongoing attacks and violence on the part of armed forces in these areas.
The SAC’s weaponization of the COVID-19 pandemic to assert its authority over the country is clearly evidenced by the actions it has taken to disrupt COVID-19 response and prevention services provided by private clinics and ethnic healthcare providers. The humanitarian crisis that is currently unfolding must no longer be left in the hands of the SAC to resolve. Many deaths could have already been avoided, and more deaths will continue if action is not taken soon.
KHRG condemns the SAC’s disregard of article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Myanmar’s legal obligation to ensure the right to health and medical services. The SAC’s weaponization of the pandemic constitutes retrogressive measures not permitted under article 12. KHRG also condemns the SAC’s overall failure to honor the core tenets of human rights which include the right to life and the duty to protect life. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the UN has repeatedly reminded States that the right to health and access to healthcare is inherent to the right to life, and that human rights need to be put center-stage. It is imperative that those parties who are working towards these ends are allowed to act, and engage in the COVID-19 response and prevention measures that the SAC is trying to thwart..."
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-02
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Individual Documents
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COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) reports, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"Summary of major revisions made to emergency plan of action:
Revision of disaster preparedness stock (NFI) in order to meet the growing needs of the crisis affected population, and to enable MRCS to be response ready in a situation where, due to the civil unrest has disrupted the supply chain of the country. In view of this, having pre-positioned stock in country has becomes an increasing priority. Implications on the current operating context include reduced access to other means of rapid humanitarian assistance, including cash grants as well as limited scope for timely transport of items to locations affected by disaster.
Originally, these items were planned for in-country procurement and pre-positioning. Due to the current procurement challenges in local market affected by the political crisis, and restriction on both banking and commercial imports, it is now amended to mobilize the supplies through international channel with the support of the IFRC Global Humanitarian Services & Supply Chain – Asia Pacific (GHS&SCM-AP) Unit.
The revision involves increase in quantities of specific items (Tarpaulins, Mosquito Nets and Blanket), revision in budgeting based on international mobilisation including freight and logistics costs.
An approximate increase of budget by CHF 203,847 (4.53 per cent to the EA funding needs). Based on current donor response only 23 per cent of the total NFI needs could be covered, IFRC has accordingly launched a Mobilization Table in July 2021 seeking for in-kind donations from the partners. Considering the complicated importation process, and challenges in the freights (air, sea & road) context, the MRCS and IFRC team are streamlining the logistics mobilization of the goods into Myanmar. As far as feasible, IFRC GHS&SCM-AP Unit will coordinate the mobilization of the in-kind donation contributions from donors via a single consignment dispatch from IFRC regional warehouse’s stocks in Kuala Lumpur.
SITUATION ANALYSIS
Description of the disaster
Since 1 February 2021, Myanmar has been undergoing a political crisis with civil unrest precipitating a humanitarian crisis affecting populations across many parts of the country. The civil unrest has constrained the collective humanitarian response capacity currently.
Adding to the political situation, the intensified third wave of COVID-19 infections, and seasonal monsoon related natural disasters has affected thousands of families across several states and regions.
This operation update notes the significant rise in the displacement of civil unrest affected population across different hotspots since the launch of civil unrest emergency appeal, approximately 211,000 people have now been displaced internally1 . This includes 176,900 IDPs in Southeast Myanmar and Shan (South). The recent monsoon rains and floods have severely impacted several displacement and settlement sites across country with increased health risk for IDPs currently living under temporary shelters.
With disruption in public health sector there is an Increased risk for people with chronic illness outbreak of vaccine - preventable diseases. This is compounded by the third wave of the COVID–19 pandemic is spreading across Myanmar. The Ministry of Health and Sports (MoHS) reported 148,022 confirmed cases, 3,262 confirmed deaths and 133,606 recovered cases as of 20 June 2021. Alpha and Delta variants of concern (VOC) and Kappa variant of interest (VOI) were detected in Myanmar as per information from the Ministry of Health and Sports as of 15 June 2021. The MRCS, with IFRC support, is leading on a parallel coordinated COVID-19 response..."
Source/publisher:
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Health, right to: standards and mechanisms, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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Sub-title:
Joint statement from 16 aid agencies warning of a humanitarian catastrophe in Myanmar.
Description:
"Six months since the military’s seizure of power, aid agencies are warning of a spiralling humanitarian catastrophe in Myanmar triggered by skyrocketing Covid-19 cases and widespread violence in the country. Over 60 per cent of reported deaths from Covid-19 in Myanmar have occurred in the past month alone, with the number of confirmed cases doubling in the last two months.
While the country is still reeling from the shockwaves of the military takeover, communities in Kayah State and the eastern Bago region – which have witnessed mass displacement in recent months – must now contend with hundreds of Covid-19 cases a day. Healthcare facilities from Kachin to Mandalay to Yangon remain shuttered as healthcare workers face violence and threats. More than 400 doctors and 180 nurses have been given arrest warrants since the military takeover in February 2021.
“The communities we work with are desperate and dying. A third wave of Covid-19 is crashing down on Myanmar, unleashing yet another trauma for its people. The population needs safe and fair access to humanitarian aid and healthcare now,” said Laura Marshall, Country Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in Myanmar.
Lockdown measures, travel restrictions, bureaucratic impediments and insecurity are hampering humanitarian service delivery. Humanitarian workers and their families have themselves fallen gravely ill as aid agencies are forced to operate at reduced capacity.
The failure to stop the spread of this deadly disease threatens to drive millions of already at-risk families into further need. Pregnant women and other vulnerable groups face new obstacles in reaching essential care and basic services. Cases of food insecurity and indebtedness are expected to climb significantly in the coming months, especially given rising food prices, job losses and currency depreciation.
While humanitarian assistance and medical care is urgently needed to save lives today, a rapidly expanded vaccination programme is required to move the country out of this crisis. Unfortunately, only 3.6 million vaccine doses are expected to be allocated through COVAX, a drop in the ocean for the country’s population of 54.4 million.
As aid agencies operating in Myanmar, we call on political leaders to do everything possible to assist the people of Myanmar in their hour of need. Their actions should include the immediate implementation of the ASEAN five-point consensus, agreed in April, to rapidly scale up aid and vaccination for all across Myanmar. In addition, we call for an end to attacks on healthcare and for all parties to engage in dialogue which allows for urgent access to assistance to those who require it..."
Source/publisher:
Norwegian Refugee Council
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Humanitarian assistance - emergencies, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Health, right to: standards and mechanisms, Human Rights and international relations
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New restrictions on the sale and distribution of oxygen to the public have made it harder to treat COVID-19 patients at home and social welfare groups have warned the rules could result in more preventable deaths.
Description:
"When U Maung Ko’s blood oxygen levels began to drop dangerously due to COVID-19, the 42-year-old was lucky enough to secure a bed and treatment at a state hospital.
But when Maung Ko’s father, U Tun Mya, also fell ill on July 4, there was nowhere for him to go; his grandson, Mg Htet Thura Zaw, instead arranged online consultations and medicine for Tun Mya from their Thanlyin Township home.
When Tun Mya’s blood oxygen levels began to drop precipitously on July 7, Htet Thura Zaw began to search desperately for an oxygen cylinder to keep his 72-year-old grandfather alive. He managed to secure occasional oxygen deliveries for his grandfather from charity groups based in downtown Yangon, a one-hour drive away.
On July 11, Htet Thura Zaw received the devastating news his father had died in hospital.
Worse was to come. The next morning, the deliveries of oxygen for his grandfather failed to show up on time because the charity groups were facing longer wait times refill their cylinders. He watched in agony as his grandfather’s blood oxygen level dropped to between 35 and 40 percent. About 10 minutes after Tun Mya died, three oxygen cylinders arrived at the family’s home.
“In 24 hours, I lost both my beloved father and grandfather,” a distressed Htet Thura Zaw told Frontier. “I feel like my future is hopeless without them. But like us, many people in Yangon Region are suffering because of these oxygen shortages.”
Maung Ko and Tun Mya are just two among possibly tens of thousands of victims of Myanmar’s third wave of COVID-19, which has devastated the country over the past six weeks. The official COVID-19 death toll across June and July was 6,000, but many, like Tun Mya, were not counted because they died outside a government health facility.
With an inadequate number of health staff, limited testing, lack of trust in the authorities and low vaccination rate, Myanmar was always vulnerable to a renewed COVID outbreak even without a coup. But the rapid pace with which the virus has spread and the sheer number of cases has created huge demand for oxygen to administer to severely ill patients.
Supplemental oxygen is usually administered when a patient’s oxygen saturation falls below 90pc, but the high demand means that many are being turned away from hospitals until they are far below that threshold. With hospitals overwhelmed, most patients are now receiving treatment in their home, and are reliant on family members and charity groups to find oxygen cylinders and refill them regularly.
Frontier interviewed representatives from fifteen social rescue teams and funeral service groups, who all said that demand for oxygen was only continuing to rise, along with the number of people dying in their homes.
Daw Than Than Soe leads the Shin Than Kwink (Right to Live) Social Rescue and Funeral Services Group, which operates five ambulances in eastern Yangon. She said that from July 1 to 23, at least 150 suspected COVID-19 patients had died while being transferred to hospital by her group.
“As the pandemic goes from bad to worse, the number of patients with hypoxia is increasing day by day,” she said.
Accessing adequate oxygen supplies is only getting more difficult. In mid-July, the regime began restricting sales to the public. From July 28, the regime has ordered oxygen factories to only supply oxygen to those with a recommendation letter from the township “oxygen support committee”, which is run by local officials who answer to the junta.
Social rescue teams and funeral service groups have condemned the restrictions, telling Frontier that it is likely to lead to more people dying in their homes unnecessarily because the regime is not allocating enough oxygen.
Dr Khin Zar Win Pyae, a microbiologist at Nelson Labs in Salt Lake City, Utah in the United States, criticised the bureaucratic delays that prevent patients from urgently seeking care.
Lack of testing and contact tracing meant that Myanmar was likely to see more infections and deaths due to COVID-19, she said.
“People no longer believe that this health care system will protect their parents’ lives. It is a situation of helplessness. So they decide to get treatment at home,” she added.
Oxygen crisis
It took the regime weeks to wake up to the crisis.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing rejected claims of an oxygen shortage at a coordination meeting on COVID-19 prevention, control and treatment in Nay Pyi Taw on 12 July.
“Many people have criticised the oxygen supply in recent days. Actually, we have enough oxygen,” he said. “People are anxious and so they buy it … [but they] should not spread rumours.”
But Dr Zaw Wai Soe, the National Unity Government’s health minister, said the shortage was simple math.
Myanmar has confirmed an average 4,500 cases a day during July, peaking at more than 7,000 cases on July 14. But limited testing and an alarmingly high positivity rate – around 35 percent of all tests have come back positive – means the number is likely many times higher.
Zaw Wai Soe said that about one-fifth of patients are likely to become critically ill and require oxygen. A severe COVID-19 patient may need two oxygen cylinders a day over the course of 10 days to recover.
During the second wave that broke out in August 2020, Zaw Wai Soe served as vice-chair of the committee coordinating COVID-19 response in Yangon. He said officials calculated the number of oxygen cylinders required based on the number of cases, and ensured there were enough available each day.
“The man who said we have enough oxygen may not know the calculations. Probably because he was advised by some good-for-nothing doctors,” Dr Zaw Wai Soe told Myanmar Now on July 18.
Even as Min Aung Hlaing claimed there was no shortage, the junta was taking steps to control how oxygen factories distribute supplies to the public.
At a press briefing in Nay Pyi Taw on July 12, Deputy Minister of Information Major-General Zaw Min Tun admitted that the government was prioritising oxygen supplies to hospitals and clinics, which has made it harder for private individuals to get oxygen on their own. The deputy minister also said that officials had received complaints about price gouging and consumer hoarding.
“First, the reason we put these restrictions in place is because we discovered scams on the internet. Some people are committing fraud, pretending to provide services refilling oxygen supplies, and we received complaint letters,” he said.
“Second, there are many cases of unnecessary use of oxygen supplies. For those who actually need oxygen, they can obtain refills with recommendation letters from local healthcare staff,” Zaw Min Tun added.
In Yangon and other major cities, these restrictions have left people scrambling to secure oxygen supplies for sick relatives. Many are posting on social media about relatives who are in need of oxygen – tragically, these posts are often updated advising that the person in need has died.
In July, Frontier interviewed relatives of 15 suspected COVID-19 patients who were being treated at home and relying on private oxygen supplies because they were not admitted to government hospitals and COVID treatment centres. Among the 15 patients, three recovered, seven died of hypoxia and five are still on oxygen.
Shortages are common in other hard-hit cities such as Mandalay, Mawlamyine in Mon State and Kalay in Sagaing Region, according to Frontier’s interviews with social rescue teams and funeral service associations across the country.
“Oxygen shortages are still happening in Mandalay. We help and donate oxygen to on average 40 residents a day in our township out of 100 requests we receive,” said an official from the Mandalay-based Payaheta Darri charity in Chan Aye Thar Zan township, who requested anonymity citing fears of reprisal.
The restrictions have prompted international observers to accuse the regime of “weaponising” COVID-19 against the public, most of whom oppose its rule.
“With the oxygen, they have banned sales to civilians or people who are not supported by the SAC, so they’re using something that can save the people against the people,” Ms Yanghee Lee, the former United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, and a founding member of the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar, recently told AP.
Controlling the supply
Through most of July, more than 3,000 people from across Yangon gathered each day at three privately run factories in South Dagon – Naing Family, Ayar San and Matesat – that have been refilling oxygen cylinders.
When Frontier visited the Matesat factory on July 12, U Thant Zin from Thingangyun Township was lining up to refill oxygen cylinders for his grandmother.
“She needs oxygen every day, so I come here to the oxygen plants in South Dagon Industrial Zone and line up. It takes a whole day to refill two oxygen cylinders,” he said.
Although there have been confirmed reports of the authorities limiting oxygen sales to the public, the factories in South Dagon were able to continue sales through most of July.
“The junta’s security forces are not preventing us from refilling oxygen for the public at the moment. We provide refills every day, but the number of people who need oxygen increases day by day,” an official from the Matesat factory, who requested anonymity, said at the time.
However, that changed on July 28, when township General Administration Departments ordered factories in Yangon to provide oxygen only to those with a recommendation letter from local authorities. As a result, the queues at oxygen plants have largely disappeared – most plants have put up signs explaining they are no longer selling oxygen to the public.
On July 20 the regime established township and ward-level “oxygen support committees” to issue recommendations and manage the provision of oxygen. The township committees are led by the township administrator and include other officials, community leaders and representatives of social welfare groups.
Anyone who needs oxygen has to apply for a recommendation from their ward administrator by submitting a raft of documents, including the patient’s Citizenship Scrutiny Card, their household list, and photos of the patient, their oxygen level and the number of cylinders they have.
Once approved, those in need are given a regular allocation of oxygen by the ward committees.
Although it is relatively straightforward to get the recommendation for those possessing the proper documentation, both social welfare groups and individuals told Frontier they opposed the new distribution system.
Frontier interviewed residents from North Okkalapa, Thingangyun, South Dagon and Thaketa who had received recommendation letters and all said the committees were not distributing enough oxygen.
The ward committees are refilling only one 10 or 15 litre cylinder a day per person, and all five people said they were not actually filling the cylinders to full capacity.
“I need four 40L cylinders for my friend … so I have to get more from oxygen donation charity groups,” said U Toe Toe Naing from North Okkalapa Township. “Getting oxygen for patients is getting harder and harder. There are likely to be more deaths because of the shortages.”
Five social welfare and funeral service groups in Yangon confirmed to Frontier that the oxygen support committees are only providing them with enough oxygen to fill two 40-litre cylinders a day.
“Two cylinders is not even enough for us to transport patients in our ambulance,” said an official from a social welfare group in North Okkalapa Township. “These days, even social rescues and funeral services groups are struggling to get oxygen – we can’t help patients who are in need.”
Overwhelmed health care system
Under orders issued by the junta in early July, close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 patients and those with COVID-19 symptoms must inform their respective township health departments or hospitals.
If they test positive, confirmed cases must then report to their respective township, region or state health committee, and they will be sent to the relevant public hospital or COVID-19 treatment centre at the discretion of committees managing hospital admissions.
At a COVID-19 coordination meeting on July 18, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing said that 1,934 quarantine centres for about 69,800 patients have been prepared, as well as 1,114 additional locations that can accommodate nearly 46,000 patients. Care is also available at public hospitals, the senior general claimed.
The junta’s announcement also states that patients with severe COVID-19 and emergency patients can go directly to the nearest public hospital or COVID-19 treatment centre, and that it is still possible to be admitted to a state facility for treatment.
“If the patient is not severely ill, they may have to wait for a bed in the hospital. Sometimes it can take a while,” Dr Myat Thu Win, head of the medical services department in South Dagon township, told Frontier on July 18. “In severe cases, we immediately give them a referral letter … These patients can be admitted to the hospital the same day.”
But in reality, COVID-19 treatment centres and government hospitals are already well over capacity and are turning away or sending home patients with dangerously low oxygen levels, according to staff from charities and family members of COVID-19 patients in Yangon and Mandalay.
“Many hospitals lack health staff and have no empty beds,” said Than Than Soe of the Shin Than Kwink (Right to Live) Social Rescue and Funeral Services Group.
She said her teams had transferred dozens of seriously ill patients to hospitals but been forced to take them home again because no beds were available. Around one-third died in the ambulances on the way home, she said.
Thaketa township resident Daw Thidar Soe, elder sister of COVID-19 patient Daw Tin Tin Nwe, 45, told Frontier that North Okkalapa Hospital had refused to admit her sister on July 7, even though her oxygen saturation was below 60pc.
“The doctor told me to contact our township medical officer to request admission to the hospital and we would have to wait. We couldn’t know exactly how many days it would take so I decided on home treatment and found private oxygen supplies for my sister,” said Thidar Soe, adding that her sister recovered by July 12. “The healthcare system just isn’t coping with the number of COVID-19 patients.”
Microbiologist Khin Zar Win Pyae said that even if hospitals are full, the Ministry of Health and Sports should be conducting teleconsultations with patients who are receiving treatment at home. “And I would like to advise patients who use oxygen treatment at home to consult with qualified medical doctors before using it in order to avoid unnecessary side-effects.”
A divided response
The February 1 coup is a major reason that the health system is so chronically underprepared. It prompted tens of thousands of health workers to join the Civil Disobedience Movement, and significantly slowed an already limited vaccination program. Government health staff have refused to work under the military regime, and many of the volunteers who were the backbone of the National League for Democracy government’s COVID response have shunned the junta.
Although they continue to try and provide healthcare to those in need, the regime has sought to stop them from providing medical treatment and have arrested CDM leaders.
At a coordination meeting on July 23, a visibly frustrated Senior General Min Aung Hlaing urged striking doctors and nurses who joined the CDM to return to work and alleviate the staff shortages.
“This is a social issue! This is a national issue,” he said. “I appeal again! I want to urge all healthcare professionals to cooperate.”
The “appeal” has been largely ignored by health professionals who have joined the CDM.
“The junta blames CDM doctors for failing to control the COVID-19 epidemic. But the military council has arrested, killed and imprisoned health doctors and volunteers,” said one health professional supporting the CDM in Mandalay who requested anonymity for security reasons. “When they return to the barracks, the doctors will spontaneously return to the hospitals.”
Although it has been unable to address the manpower shortage, the regime has taken steps to increase supplies of oxygen, by making it easier to import liquid, medicine and medical equipment, such as oxygen concentrators. It has also been working to ensure that access to the increased supply requires interfacing with regime officials.
On July 15, the first truckloads of liquid oxygen began crossing the border from Thailand, depositing their life-saving cargo at public hospitals in Yangon.
Meanwhile, the United Nations announced on July 19 that it would step up its response to the COVID-19 outbreak and would work to alleviate the oxygen shortage by procuring oxygen concentrators and other equipment.
On July 21, the European Union expressed sympathy to all people of Myanmar who have lost their loved ones in the pandemic and committed to doubling efforts with the Global Fund, COVAX, and other partners that can support medical care, oxygen supplies, testing and vaccinations.
The regime has also issued an appeal of sorts for international support, with Min Aung Hlaing telling a “coordination meeting to beef up cooperation with the international community,” and that Myanmar should seek money from a COVID-19 response fund set up by ASEAN. Efforts were being made to work with ASEAN “and friendly countries”, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar quoted him as saying.
The National Unity Government, meanwhile, has pledged to begin rolling out a vaccination programme of its own, targeting to immunise 20 percent of the population by working with the health teams of ethnic armed groups, and possibly international organisations, but it has provided few further details about the programme.
In the meantime, local charities continue their struggle to keep patients alive.
“Even charity groups like us have now run out of oxygen. From morning until night, we wait for the chance to refill oxygen,” said Than Than Soe of Shin Than Kwink.
She said her organisation’s supplies are never enough to meet demand. “It’s devastating when people cry mournfully and ask for oxygen from us to help their family members and relatives who need it,” she said. “Of course I want to give them oxygen – but I simply can’t help.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Anti-coup protesters
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"In response to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis in Myanmar, where cases and deaths are soaring since mid-June and patients are struggling to access oxygen against a backdrop of escalating conflict, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns, Ming Yu Hah, said:
“The spread of Covid-19 in Myanmar compounds the existing humanitarian and human rights crisis in the country. It's a stark example of the Myanmar military’s ruinous mismanagement and its enormous human toll.”
“By relentlessly pursuing medical workers, threatening them and arresting them, the military authorities have driven the country’s already fragile healthcare system into the ground during a global pandemic. It’s unconscionable, and it was preventable.”
“Community volunteer groups are engaged in the morbid task of corpse removal, and crematoriums are inundated. The military's response has been to stage photo ops and release statements saying they have this under control when it is manifestly clear that they do not. To make matters worse, the available data shows that less than 3% of the population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19.”
“This is a crisis for all in the country, but we hold particular concerns for at-risk populations including prisoners. The country’s prison system now houses thousands of opponents of the military and, even under ordinary circumstances, detention in these facilities is detrimental to the right to health, as the denial of medical treatment and access to life-saving medications is commonplace.”
“For the more than half a million nationwide who’ve fled conflict or remain interned in camps, it is critical that the authorities allow sustained and unfettered humanitarian access. Neighbouring states should allow cross-border aid to provide for the minority and displaced populations inside Ethnic Armed Organization-administered and contested territories.”
“Unless there is swift, decisive and unified action taken by the international community, the situation in Myanmar can and will get much, much worse. Armed conflict worsens by the day, hundreds of thousands have fled fighting, shelling and airstrikes, millions have been tipped into poverty and unemployment, and food shortages are on the near-horizon. This is a perfect storm.”
Background
People all over Myanmar have been affected by the surge in cases of Covid-19. Amnesty International has received reports of people trying to source oxygen for their loved ones at extortionate prices, with money they simply don’t have. Moreover, media reports detail how security officials have hoarded desperately needed oxygen.
Amnesty International is also concerned at reports of Covid-19 cases among internally displaced populations, including in Kachin and Rakhine States.
On 1 February 2021, Myanmar’s military seized power from the elected civilian government by staging a coup. The move triggered pro-democracy protests nationwide, which in turn saw the nation’s newly emboldened security forces launch an ongoing and deadly crackdown on demonstrators.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners Burma (AAPPB), as of 13 July, the military has killed over 900 people and arrested more than 6,600 people since the coup. More than 5,200 people remain in detention.
The rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly have also been drastically curtailed, including via shutdowns of media outlets, the internet and social media..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-07-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-31
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Amnesty International reports on Burma/Myanmar
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Description:
"Six months since the military coup in Myanmar, the situation for families is worsening as a wave of COVID-19 rages across the country and children are unable to access medical care and education, Save the Children warns.
Save the Children said many children in Myanmar may lose caregivers as the death toll from COVID-19 is rising rapidly and the rate of positive testing, reportedly over 37%, ranks among the highest in the world - even though positive cases and deaths are severely underreported.
So far more than a million children around the world have lost a parent to COVID-19, and a total of 1.5 million have lost either a parent, a grandparent who helped care for them or some other relative responsible for their care, according to a study published in The Lancet this month.
In Myanmar, the health system has virtually collapsed since the coup began on February 1 and vaccinations remain largely unavailable in a country wracked by disease, poverty and violence.
Entire families are falling sick with COVID-19, with family members desperately struggling to access treatment, medicine, emergency oxygen and other medical supplies that are in short supply for relatives and friends, while prices have skyrocketed.
In the absence of sufficient health care options and threatened by violence, pregnant women are being forced to give birth under appalling circumstances, including while hiding in the jungle from armed soldiers.
Children killed and detained
According to the UN, 75 children have been killed since the coup began, though the actual number of fatalities is thought to be much higher. More than a third of these deaths were of children aged under 16. The youngest was an 18-month-year-old girl, who was killed when a military vehicle hit her father’s motorbike after he refused to stop while taking her to hospital.
At least 104 children, some as young as seven, remain in detention, many in Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison, where a serious outbreak of COVID-19 has been reported. Last month, a 17-year-old boy reported that he was tortured almost to death while being held in an interrogation centre. On 24 May, two boys, aged 15 and 17, were sentenced to death by the courts after they were accused of killing a pro-military informer. Their cases have since been referred to the juvenile court where they are again awaiting sentencing.
In addition to those killed or injured, Save the Children is concerned that countless more children are being deprived of essential medical care and education amid the surge in COVID-19 cases which is devastating the country. Regular vaccination campaigns for children have also stalled, and nearly 1 million children have been unable to receive essential vaccinations in Myanmar since the coup (UN).
The economic situation of many families is growing increasingly desperate. A survey by Save the Children among nearly 1,500 households across seven regions found the crisis was affecting the ability of about 75% of households to meet basic needs. About 34% of respondents reported a total loss of income in the months after the coup. The World Bank predicts an 18% drop in GDP this year, while ILO estimates that 2.2 million jobs have been lost since the start of the year.
Save the Children said:
“Soon after the coup six months ago we spoke of a ‘nightmare scenario’ unfolding. That scenario is now playing out before our eyes and it is far worse than we could have predicted. Not only have children witnessed and experienced violence and horror that no child should ever see, but they are now also losing caregivers and family members due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is rapidly plummeting the country further into chaos. The complex and by now chronic crisis is taking a heavy toll on the mental health and well-being of millions of people, including many children.
“Save the Children calls for an end to the violence in Myanmar and a strong, coordinated and decisive effort by the international community to help address the ongoing crisis, especially the COVID-19 situation. Both the UN Security Council and ASEAN have no more time to lose when it comes to Myanmar. ASEAN should urgently take action during its upcoming formal meeting on August 2. The bloc must do everything it can to make sure that violations against people in the country cease, including against children, and find a regional solution to this crisis.
“People in Myanmar are showing admirable resilience and strength, but they cannot weather this perfect storm on their own. Help is urgently needed.”..."
Source/publisher:
Save the Children (London)
Date of publication:
2021-07-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-31
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Children, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group
Language:
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Sub-title:
It’s been six months since the military coup in Myanmar where there’s grave concern over the widening impact of the deepening political, human rights and humanitarian crisis affecting the country’s people.
Description:
"Speaking to UN News, the organisation’s top aid official in Myanmar, Acting Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator Ramanathan Balakrishnan, described how people have been severely impacted across the country since the junta’s power grab on 1 February.
“The situation in the country is characterized now by instability and a deteriorating socio-economic and security situation and to add to that we have a raging third wave of COVID-19,” said Mr. Balakrishnan in an exclusive interview.
Highlighting the ongoing nature of armed resistance to State security forces “in several ethnic minority areas” including in the states of Shan, Chin and Kachin, the UN official said that more than 200,000 people had been uprooted from their homes there to date.
Displacement swelling
In Rakhine state before the coup, the UN Humanitarian Response Plan pointed to some one million people including internally displaced people in need of urgent assistance, but “this number has only swelled”, Mr. Balakrishnan insisted.
More widely, “following the coup, an additional two million were identified as those in urgent need of humanitarian aid, and those were largely in the urban areas of Yangon and Mandalay”, he said, adding that the intensification of clashes and the worsening socio-economic situation was pushing “tens of thousands of people” into a humanitarian space” every day.
Echoing concerns over rights abuses by UN Children’s Fund UNICEF and others, Mr. Balakrishnan condemned the ongoing and widespread use of lethal force by the military against civilian protesters.
Rising hunger
Looking ahead, the UN’s priorities include ensuring that millions of people do not fall further into hunger, the aid official said. “There has been an increase in the price of basic commodities for many people…this has also resulted in a reduction of the nutrition value of the food basket that people usually take as they substitute their regular food with cheaper, more readily available items.”
Turning to Myanmar’s health system, which is facing extreme pressure because of the coronavirus crisis, as well as attacks on medical personnel and facilities in Myanmar - and a civil disobedience movement by some health professionals - Mr. Balakrishnan warned that even basic services had been disrupted across the country.
Standing with Myanmar’s people
In a message of solidarity, the top aid official insisted that the UN remained committed to respecting the will of the country’s people.
This was despite limited access to parts of the country linked to security concerns and disruption to the banking system, which limited the UN’s ability to transfer funds to humanitarian partners responsible for delivering aid.
“The UN will continue to call out human rights violations and is committed to stay and deliver lifesaving humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar, in addition to sending in the COVID-19 response,” Mr. Balakrishnan said..."
Source/publisher:
UN News
Date of publication:
2021-07-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-31
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Human Rights and international relations, The UN and Burma - news and commentary
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more
Description:
"Britain's U.N. ambassador warned on Thursday that half of Myanmar's 54 million people could be infected with COVID-19 in the next two weeks as Myanmar's envoy called for U.N. monitors to ensure an effective delivery of vaccines.
Myanmar has been in chaos since the military ousted an elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, with protests and fighting between the army and newly formed militias. The United States, Britain and others have imposed sanctions on the military rulers over the coup and repression of pro-democracy protests in which hundreds have been killed.
"The coup has resulted in a near total collapse of the healthcare system, and health care workers are being attacked and arrested," British U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward told an informal Security Council discussion on Myanmar.
"The virus is spreading through the population, very fast indeed. By some estimates, in the next two weeks, half of the population of Myanmar could be infected with COVID," she said.
Myanmar state media reported on Wednesday that the military ruler is looking for greater cooperation with other countries to contain the coronavirus.
Infections in the Southeast Asian country have surged since June, with 4,980 cases and 365 deaths reported on Wednesday, according to health ministry data cited in media. Medics and funeral services put the toll much higher. read more
"In order to have smooth and effective COVID vaccination and providing humanitarian assistance, close-monitoring by the international community is essential," Myanmar's U.N. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, who speaks for the elected civilian government, told the Security Council discussion.
"As such, we would like to request the U.N. in particular the Security Council to urgently establish a U.N.-led monitoring mechanism for effective COVID vaccination and smooth delivery of humanitarian assistance," he said.
Myanmar recently received two million more Chinese vaccines, but it was believed to have only vaccinated about 3.2% of its population, according to a Reuters tracker..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-07-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports
Language:
more
Description:
"Humanitarian organization CARE is opening a 40-bed COVID isolation center in a Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh on 1 August 2021. With the country currently in the grip of its most severe COVID surge since the pandemic began, and monsoon flooding forcing many Rohingya refugees to shelter in communal facilities, the center comes at a critical time.
Ram Das, CARE Bangladesh Deputy Country Director – Humanitarian, said, “The needs are huge and the isolation center will enable us to isolate mild cases from the rest of the community in the densely populated camps.”
The isolation center will include separate well-equipped dormitories for male and female patients, and separate washrooms and bathing spaces, as well as solar electricity, around-the-clock availability of doctors and ambulance facilities, free medicines, oxygen support, and a COVID-19 sample collection facility. The center will provide three meals a day to patients. People with mild COVID-19 symptoms will be referred to the isolation center from the various health facilities in the camps. CARE will monitor suspected and mild COVID-19 cases in the isolation center twenty-four hours a day, while moderate and severe cases will be referred to advanced medical facilities for treatment.
Health volunteer Yeasmin, a Rohingya woman living in the camp, said, “The isolation centre will be good for us. In the camps, many people live together in small shelters. If any family member is infected by coronavirus, isolating is not possible. The isolation center will help people stay separately from their family. If we find an infected person, we will refer them to the center for better treatment.”
Ramesh Singh, CARE Bangladesh Country Director, said, “This isolation center will go a long way in filling a critical gap in services in the camps, given the increasing transmission of COVID.”..."
Source/publisher:
Care International (Geneva)
Date of publication:
2021-07-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Humanitarian assistance - emergencies
Language:
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Sub-title:
It's a double whammy that has left Myanmar with no room to breathe - a military coup coupled with a pandemic that has killed thousands.
Description:
"On 1 February, Myanmar's military seized power from its civilian government, leading to a series of mass protests that show no signs of stopping.
Among the protesters were thousands of healthcare workers who walked out, leading to a collapse in the healthcare system and throwing Myanmar's vaccination and testing response into chaos.
And now, a surge in coronavirus cases fuelled by the highly infectious Delta variant has dealt the country a fresh blow.
People are lining up outside of oxygen factories in the hope of buying or refilling cylinders, despite a government ban on direct oxygen sales to the public. Crematoriums are overflowing with bodies.
For some, there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
"We keep asking ourselves, are we going to die of Covid or are we going to die because of the impact of the political crisis?" said journalist Aye Mya, whose name we have changed for safety reasons.
"It's like we have to choose the best way to die," she said.
Catching Covid in jail
Myanmar has so far reported more than 280,000 cases and 8,200 deaths. But the case numbers are thought to be vast underestimates, because of limited testing. In July, Myanmar, which is home to around 54 million people, only tested between 9,000 and 17,000 people per day.
Deaths are likely undercounted too. Only those who die at medical facilities are included in the official figures.
Aye Mya believes her mother's death was not counted, because she was never tested for Covid despite displaying symptoms.
She also fears her mother may have contracted it from her.
Although she tested negative after her mother's death, Aye Mya believes she may have caught the virus while in jail - she was detained for four months after being arrested while reporting on the anti-coup protests. She developed symptoms soon after her release.
Myanmar coup: What is happening and why?
How Myanmar coup caused its healthcare to vanish
"In the prison, we had about 50 inmates in the same room and it was so crowded. I saw a few severely ill people around me," she says.
"My mum was in good health when I got out of prison, she washed my hair and we ate together. But not long after my illness, she got sick. I recovered a few days later but her condition deteriorated. She could not eat and had difficulty breathing."
"Sometimes I feel like we are being attacked with a biological weapon," she said, recounting the horror of her mother's death.
"When we got to the hospital, they said there was an oxygen shortage. We approached anyone with an oxygen cylinder and asked if there was any chance that we could rent it for a short period of time, but nothing was available. Mum died while we were hunting for oxygen around the hospital."
Oxygen has become one of Myanmar's most valuable - and most controversial - commodities. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing has denied that the country has a shortage, saying people were stocking up due to "anxiety".
The military has also restricted oxygen sales to private sellers, to prevent "hoarding".
But some allege the army has been funnelling oxygen to military hospitals.
"Our friends who are still working in government hospitals told us that security forces came and took the oxygen cylinders away," said a doctor working at an NGO, who did not want to be named.
Health system collapses
Myanmar's medical system was always fragile, but despite limited resources it managed to weather the virus last year. The coup changed that.
"We were not very well prepared [for the pandemic]. On top of that, the army chose this precise time to mount a coup. The amount of disregard it has for the lives of its own people is staggering," said Khin Zaw Win, the director of think tank Tampadipa Institute in Yangon.
"Other countries try to flatten the curve with an ultimate goal of preventing the medical system from collapsing," said Dr Phyu Phyu Thin Zaw, a public health expert at the University of Hong Kong. "But in Myanmar, the coup caused the collapse of the health system even before the third wave."
Medical workers were among the first group to go on strike against the coup. At least 72 of them, including the former head of the vaccination programme, are currently detained, and nearly 600 have warrants out for their arrest, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
Free medical services provided by doctors and nurses participating in the civil disobedience are under threat too. The military has been accused of arresting several doctors after pretending that there was a Covid patient who needed a home visit. They denied these allegations.
They say about 60% of medical personnel are still working - a number that is most likely overestimated.
The coup has also led to the disruption of the country's vaccination rollout, which was launched by the previous administration five days before the coup. The military has said six million Chinese vaccines and two million Russian vaccines will soon be delivered.
But they are coming too late, according to Khin Zaw Win, who questioned how effective the military would be in mobilising the people to take the jabs.
The impact of the situation is clearly visible outside Yangon's cemeteries, where long lines of hearses, ambulances, and private cars carry the dead every day.
Sein Win Thai, of Bo Sein Funeral Service in Yangon, said he was overwhelmed.
"My own father died three days ago. It was in the morning at about 9am. I could not get a funeral car straight away for him even though I run a funeral service," he said.
"When we [eventually] got to Yay Way cemetery, we had to wait for hours as there were many funerals ahead of him. All were Covid victims."
According to Yangon Region Administration Council chief Hla Soe, there were about 1,500 bodies recorded on 19 July - vastly higher than the official nationwide death toll of 281.
Cemeteries in Yangon, he said, were only equipped to handle 300 bodies a day.
Aye Mya's family managed to find a small oxygen cylinder in the end, though it was too late for her mother. Three other members of her family have now tested positive.
"Dad said he felt sorry whenever he saw this cylinder because he felt we could not save her life, because we did not get that in time," she said.
"Now we have to closely look after each other as we do not want to lose any more family members."..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-07-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
more
Description:
"Dear friends,
As some of you may know, both Thailand and Myanmar are currently experiencing severe epidemics of COVID-19. Tak Province of Thailand, where Mae Tao Clinic is located, is currently seeing relatively high numbers of cases daily. As a precaution, starting on July 15th, most clinical services at the clinic were suspended indefinitely in order to protect the health and safety of our staff members, their families, and all the communities we serve.
We have received inquiries from our friends, supporters, media and the community as to the current situation, including the status of our services and the safety of MTC staff, partner organizations, their family members and the community. Thank you for your concerns. We have also received countless supports from the community, partner organizations and overseas. We cannot thank you enough for the heartwarming support.
Despite the challenges, we are putting our utmost effort to mitigate the evolving situation and implement strict guidelines in areas in need to prevent further transmissions.
We would like to share with you the latest update on the current situation, our responses, challenges and our essential needs to continue carrying out public health activities.
In the document, there are key contact persons in three different categories: general inquiries and donations; media inquiries; and clinical inquiries. Please contact us should you need further information.
We will make sure that you will be kept informed on the most up-to-date information as it becomes available..."
Source/publisher:
Mae Tao Clinic
Date of publication:
2021-07-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health
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"With coronavirus deaths rising in Myanmar, allegations are growing from residents and human rights activists that the military government, which seized control in February, is using the pandemic to consolidate power and crush opposition.
In the last week, the per capita death rate in Myanmar surpassed those of Indonesia and Malaysia to become the worst in Southeast Asia. The country’s crippled health care system has rapidly become overwhelmed with new patients sick with COVID-19.
Supplies of medical oxygen are running low, and the government has restricted its private sale in many places, saying it is trying to prevent hoarding. But that has led to widespread allegations that the stocks are being directed to government supporters and military-run hospitals.
At the same time, medical workers have been targeted after spearheading a civil disobedience movement that urged professionals and civil servants not to cooperate with the government, known as the State Administrative Council.
“They have stopped distributing personal protection equipment and masks, and they will not let civilians who they suspect are supporting the democracy movement be treated in hospitals, and they’re arresting doctors who support the civil disobedience movement,” said Yanghee Lee, the U.N.’s former Myanmar human rights expert and a founding member of the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar.
“With the oxygen, they have banned sales to civilians or people who are not supported by the SAC, so they’re using something that can save the people against the people,” she said. “The military is weaponizing COVID.”
Myanmar’s Deputy Information Minister Zaw Min Tun did not respond to questions about the allegations, but with growing internal and external pressure to get the pandemic under control, the leadership has been on a public relations offensive.
MORE ON THE PANDEMIC
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– EXPLAINER: Detailing Japan's new COVID state of emergency
In the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper this week, several articles highlighted the government’s efforts, including what it called a push to resume vaccinations and increase oxygen supplies.
Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the military commander who heads the SAC, was cited as saying that efforts were also being made to seek support from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and unspecified “friendly countries.”
“Efforts must be made for ensuring better health of the State and the people,” he was quoted as saying.
Myanmar reported another 342 deaths Thursday, and 5,234 new infections. Its 7-day rolling average of deaths per 1 million people rose to 6.29 — more than double the rate of 3.04 in India at the peak of its crisis in May. The figures in Myanmar are thought to be a drastic undercount due to lack of testing and reporting.
“There is a big difference between the actual death toll from COVID-19 of the Military Council and reality,” a physician from the Mawlamyine General Hospital in Myanmar’s fourth-largest city told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of government reprisal. “There are a lot of people in the community who have died of the disease and cannot be counted.”
Videos proliferate on social media showing apparent virus victims dead in their homes for lack of treatment and long lines of people waiting for what oxygen supplies are still available. The government denies reports that cemeteries in Yangon have been overwhelmed but announced Tuesday they were building new facilities that could cremate up to 3,000 bodies per day.
“By letting COVID-19 run out of control, the military junta is failing the Burmese people as well as the wider region and world, which can be threatened by new variants fueled by unchecked spread of the disease in places like Myanmar,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch. “The problem is the junta cares more about holding on to power than stopping the pandemic.”
Myanmar is one of the region’s poorest countries and already was in a vulnerable position when the military seized power, triggering a violent political struggle.
Under the civilian former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar had weathered a coronavirus surge last year by severely restricting travel and sealing off Yangon. Vaccines were secured from India and China, but Suu Kyi’s government was ousted less than a week after the first shots were given.
As civil disobedience grew after Suu Kyi’s removal, public hospitals were basically closed as doctors and other staff refused to work under the new administration, instead running makeshift clinics for which they faced arrest, if caught.
Some have returned to public hospitals, but the Mawlamyine doctor interviewed by AP said it was too dangerous.
“I could be arrested by the junta anytime if I returned to the hospital,” added the doctor, who was part of the disobedience movement and has been treating patients with supplies he has scrounged.
According to Tom Andrews, the U.N. Human Rights Council’s independent expert on human rights in Myanmar, government forces have engaged in at least 260 attacks on medical personnel and facilities, killing 18. At least 67 health care professionals had been detained and another 600 are being sought.
Military hospitals kept operating after Suu Kyi’s ouster but were shunned by many people and the vaccination program slowed to a crawl before apparently fizzling out completely until this week. There are no solid figures on vaccinations, but it’s believed that about 3% of the population could have received two shots.
The rapid rise in COVID -19 illnesses is “extremely concerning, particularly with limited availability of health services and oxygen supplies,” said Joy Singhal, head of the Red Cross’ Myanmar delegation.
“There is an urgent need for greater testing, contact tracing and COVID-19 vaccinations to help curb the pandemic,” he told AP. “This latest surge is a bitter blow to millions of people in Myanmar already coping with worsening economic and social hardships.”
Earlier this week, Andrews urged the U.N. Security Council and member states to push for a “COVID cease-fire.”
“The United Nations cannot afford to be complacent while the junta ruthlessly attacks medical personnel as COVID-19 spreads unchecked,” he said. “They must act to end this violence so that doctors and nurses can provide lifesaving care and international organizations can help deliver vaccinations and related medical care.”
After a long lull in humanitarian aid, China recently began delivering vaccines. It sent 736,000 doses to Yangon this month, the first of 2 million being donated, and reportedly more than 10,000 to the Kachin Independence Army, which has waged a decades-long insurgency in a northern border area where the virus has spilled over into China.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian declined to comment directly earlier this week on the report of the delivery to the KIA, noting instead “the epidemic is a common enemy to all mankind.”
The Global New Light reported Myanmar received another 1 million doses purchased from China.
COVID-19 outbreaks have been reported as widespread in Myanmar’s prisons. On Wednesday, state-run MRTV television showed what it said were 610 prisoners from Yangon’s Insein Prison being vaccinated. The report was met with skepticism and derision on social media.
Lee said if the government is trying to use vaccines and other aid to its advantage by positioning itself as the solution to the pandemic, it’s too late.
“The people know now and it’s been too long,” she said. “COVID was not manmade but it got out of proportion because of complicity and deliberate blockage of services — there’s no going back.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Associated Press" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-07-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Human Rights and international relations, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
more
Description:
"• The recently launched addendum to the 2021 Myanmar Humanitarian Response Plan: Interim Emergency Response Plan for new areas estimates that an additional 2 million people need humanitarian assistance since February 2021.
• Rainfalls across the country recorded since 25 July resulted in flooding and overflow of rivers, affecting several townships in Rakhine State and certain areas of south-eastern parts of the country • Amidst the COVID-19 third wave (with test positivity over 35 per cent and mortality at ~2 per cent) and operational challenges, UNICEF is working with partners and directly with private contractors to procure and deliver additional oxygen concentrators to central medical store depots for further distribution to hospitals as needed; as well as providing personal protective equipment and risk communication and community engagement messages.
• 500 portable hand-washing stations to reach 25,000 people have been distributed and installed in communal places, temporary learning spaces (TLS) and schools through the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) response.
• A total of 4,889 individuals, including 3,981 children (1,812 girls and 2,169 boys), have benefited from psychosocial support; this includes targeted responses to Hotline distress calls and individual psychotherapy sessions..."
Source/publisher:
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-07-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), Public Health, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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" Myanmar's military ruler is looking for greater cooperation with the international community to contain the coronavirus, state media reported on Wednesday, as the Southeast Asian country struggles with a surging wave of infections.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing called in a speech for more cooperation on prevention, control and treatment of COVID-19, including with fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and "friendly countries", the Global New Light of Myanmar reported.
Myanmar has been in chaos since the military ousted an elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, with regular protests and fighting between the army and newly formed militias. Various countries including the United States and Britain have imposed sanctions on Myanmar's military rulers over the coup and the repression of pro-democracy protests in which hundreds have been killed.
The junta leader said vaccinations needed to be increased, through both donated doses and by developing domestic production, aided by Russia, the newspaper said, adding Myanmar would seek the release of funds from an ASEAN COVID-19 fund.
Myanmar recently received two million more Chinese vaccines, but it was believed to have only vaccinated about 3.2% of its population, according to a Reuters tracker. A drive to vaccinate some 40,000 inmates in densely packed prisons, which have seen major virus outbreaks recently, started on Wednesday, state-run MRTV reported.
The military has appeared wary of outside help in past disasters, forcing Myanmar's people to help each other, though a previous junta did allow in aid via ASEAN after a devastating cyclone in 2008.
There have been desperate efforts by people to find oxygen in many parts of the country. The Myanmar Now news portal, citing witnesses, reported that at least eight people died in a Yangon hospital at the weekend after a piped oxygen system failed.
A medical staff wearing a protective suit stands near an ambulance, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Yangon, Myanmar, September 27, 2020. REUTERS/Shwe Paw Mya Tin/File Photo/File Photo
Reuters could not independently confirm the report and the North Okkalapa General Hospital and a health ministry spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Infections in Myanmar have surged since June, with 4,980 cases and 365 deaths reported on Wednesday, according to health ministry data cited in media. Medics and funeral services put the toll much higher.
Last week, prisoners in Yangon staged a protest over what activists said was a major COVID-19 outbreak in the colonial-era Insein jail, where many pro-democracy protesters are being held.
Vaccinations began at Insein and a prison in the capital Naypyitaw on Wednesday and would be extended to inmates countrywide, MRTV reported, citing the prisons department.
Efforts to tackle the outbreak have been further hampered by some of the worst flooding in years in eastern Myanmar.
Despite Min Aung Hlaing agreeing to an ASEAN peace plan reached in April, the military has shown little sign of following through on it and has instead reiterated its own, entirely different plan to restore order and democracy.
The military justified its coup by accusing Suu Kyi's party of manipulating votes in a November general election to secure a landslide victory. The electoral commission at the time and outside observers rejected the complaints.
But in a further sign of the junta's tightening grip on power, the military-appointed election commission this week officially annulled the November results, saying the vote was not in line with the constitution and electoral laws, and was not "free and fair", MRTV reported..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-07-29
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, Human Rights and international relations, Humanitarian assistance - emergencies, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The alternatives are home care or private hospitals, where treatment is costly and questionable.
Description:
"The sickest COVID-19 patients in Myanmar are now being denied admittance to military junta-run public hospitals, family members and relief workers said Thursday, as the country’s healthcare system has been pushed to the brink of collapse during a poorly managed third wave of the coronavirus.
The number of COVID-19 infections rose Thursday to a total of 284,099 since Myanmar’s first recorded case in March last year. The official monthly infection rate has jumped from around two percent of those tested in April 2020 during the first wave to 23 percent earlier this month, and at least 8,210 have died.
The country’s public hospitals are operating at maximum capacity and had been turning away all but the most seriously ill, while others were forced to settle for treatment at home amid shortages of basic medical necessities, including oxygen supplies critical to mitigating hypoxia.
But sources told RFA’s Myanmar Service that as of Thursday, even the worst afflicted patients are being rejected from hospitals—including those operated by the military regime—that had pledged to accept people infected with COVID-19, often with deadly consequences.
Charity groups said that when patients are sent to hospitals, they will not be accepted without a referral letter from the township health officer. But even with a referral letter, they said, patients are generally refused admittance because of high body temperature. Other hospitals reject patients on the grounds that there are not enough doctors or beds.
Myint Aung, 66, of Yangon’s South Dagon township, died at his home on July 9 after being refused a bed at an area hospital earlier that day, according to a family member who spoke to RFA on condition of anonymity.
“A chest x-ray was taken on arrival, and nothing was found in his lungs, so he was sent home as just a ‘suspected patient,’” the family member said.
“He was told to go to Yangon General Hospital or to North Okkalapa Hospital, but we knew they wouldn’t accept him either, so we took him back home. If they had taken him into the ICU at the time, he might still be alive.”
The circumstances surrounding Myint Aung’s death are becoming increasingly common. A video recently went viral on social media in which a crying young man claims that his sister exhibited severe COVID-19 symptoms and was rushed to a public hospital but was denied treatment and died.
Soaring costs
The alternative for COVID-19 patients is to go to a private hospital, but the cost of treatment is exorbitant, and the quality of care is questionable, sources said.
“To get into a private hospital, you need to make a deposit of 100,000 kyats (U.S. $61), but even then, there is no guarantee you will get enough oxygen,” said Ma Khine Za from Yangon’s Shwepyithar township, adding that few people can afford the cost because many have lost their jobs during the pandemic.
If you can afford the deposit, “you still have to bring your own oxygen cylinder, and it seems they have no guidelines for COVID-19 treatment,” she said.
Ma Ei, who works for a charity group, said that for COVID-19 patients in Yangon that require treatment at home, the cost of nursing had risen from 80,000-100,000 kyats (U.S. $49-61) in mid-July to 120,000 kyats (U.S. $73).
“Additionally, the patient’s family has to provide PPE (personal protective equipment) and other equipment, as well as a separate bedroom for them to live in,” she said.
Meanwhile, oxygen prices have doubled in the past week, and even the cost of traditional medicines is on the rise, sources said.
In Yangon, where COVID-19 infections are rising dramatically, aid workers told RFA that patients are dying every day without access to medical care and oxygen.
There are currently five charity groups in Myanmar’s largest city that are providing oxygen to the infected because clinics are refusing to treat patients with fever and hypoxia.
Among them, the Cetanar Shin Charity Association said that every day it treats 40-60 patients who need emergency oxygen because they were turned away from hospitals and clinics.
Wai Phyo Aung, Cetanar Shin’s chairman, said that “two or three patients die each day” while receiving emergency oxygen from his group because they did not have access to proper medical treatment earlier.
Min Din, chairman of the Yangon-based Metta Thingaha Free Funeral Association, which provides medical transportation and burial services for the less fortunate, told RFA that a growing number of COVID-19 patients are dying at home.
“We are now taking on funerals only, beginning on July 10. We couldn’t transport COVID-19 patients anymore because the hospitals aren’t accepting them,” he said.
“Recently, we’ve been picking up more bodies from people’s homes. Most of the corpses have oxygen canisters by their side [indicating that they were being treated for COVID-19].”
Arrests continue
Efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 in Myanmar were dealt a serious blow when the country’s military seized power on Feb. 1, claiming that a landslide victory by the NLD in the country’s November 2020 ballot was the result of voter fraud.
The junta has provided no evidence to back up its claims and has violently responded to widespread protests, killing 936 people and arresting 5,425, according to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
Tens of thousands of people, including many healthcare professionals, have left their jobs to join a nationwide Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) in opposition to junta rule. Many have faced arrest for voicing criticism of the regime.
More than 4,600 people have died from COVID-19 over the past two months, according to the junta’s Ministry of Health and Sports, although the actual number is believed to be substantially higher, based on reports by charity groups that provide free burial services.
Dr. Than Naing Soe, a spokesman for the junta’s Ministry of Health, said the country’s hospitals are overburdened due to a shortage of health workers.
“For various reasons, only about 50 percent of the staff are working in some cases. Those who are working are exhausted, but more and more people are being infected,” he said.
“For every 100 people infected, 20 need to be hospitalized and, of them, five need to go to intensive care.”
Than Naing Soe said he was saddened by reports that patients are being turned away from hospitals due to staffing issues. He also urged people to stay home to reduce the risk of infection.
But a doctor who declined to be named dismissed attempts by the military to appease the public, saying the situation would continue to worsen for as long as authorities continue to arrest people who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), a walkout of medical and other professionals against military rule.
“Doctors and other health workers continue to be arrested and tortured during this third wave … So, naturally, the healthcare they are providing is going to get worse,” he said.
The doctor told RFA that the military has been too concerned with maintaining its grasp on power following the coup to effectively deal with the COVID-19 outbreak. Meanwhile, he said, doctors in the CDM continue working to provide public health care, despite the risks they face.
Earlier this week, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, called on the U.N. Security Council and its members to pressure the junta to immediately end the arrests of health workers at a time when the country’s death toll is rising.
On Thursday, Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward warned that half of Myanmar’s 54 million people could be infected with COVID-19 in the next two weeks as Myanmar’s envoy called for U.N. monitors to ensure an effective delivery of vaccines..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-07-29
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
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Description:
"Since seizing power in a coup on 1 February 2021, the people of Myanmar have been forced to defend themselves amid the growing instability and state chaos. The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest battle civilians are facing. In a new briefing paper, “How the Myanmar Junta is Violating Humanitarian Principles in their COVID-19 Response,” the Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma (ND-Burma) finds that the junta is failing to respond effectively to the pandemic, and have violated humanitarian principles meant to ensure effective remedies during emergencies. The military cannot be trusted to allocate funds or resources to the general public.
Rather than work to meet the needs of the thousands of COVID-19 patients who are dying in their homes and in crowded hospitals, the junta is arresting healthcare workers and denying life-saving medical supplies in urban and rural areas. The pandemic response has been complicated further by internal conflict fueled by the military junta. Ceasefires have been violated and urgently needed aid is being intercepted by junta soldiers. Their behavior is in direct violation of the humanitarian principles, which refer to healthcare as a human right. In failing to adhere to principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, the junta is failing the people.
ND-Burma calls on the junta to relinquish their illegal hold on power. Combined with a lack of will power and intention, the junta has proven they cannot be tasked with coordinating an inclusive humanitarian response. With lives quite literally on the line, there is no time to waste. The international community must act swiftly by intervening to ensure the most vulnerable are protected and that health workers can do their jobs safely, and with dignity..."
Source/publisher:
Network for Human Rights Documentation - Burma
Date of publication:
2021-07-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Humanitarian assistance - emergencies, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Description:
"နိုင်ငံရှိ စစ်တပ်၊ ရဲအစရှိသည့် လက်နက်ကိုင်တပ်ဖွဲ့များက လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများကို ပြင်းပြင်း ထန်ထန် ကျူးလွန်နေသည်။ ထို့အပြင် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအတွင်း လူအသေအပျောက် များပြားလာခြင်းဖြင့် ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ကပ်ရောဂါကလည်း ခြိမ်းခြောက်နေပြန်သည်။ ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ကပ်ရောဂါ ထိန်းချုပ်နိုင်ရေးနှင့် လူနာများကို ကုသပေးသည့် ကျန်းမာရေး လုပ်သားများအား စစ်အာဏာရှင်များက ဖိနှပ်ချုပ်ခြယ် ထိန်းချုပ်ထားသည်။ ကျန်းမာရေးလုပ်သားများ၏ ကျွမ်းကျင်မှုက ပြည်သူလူထု၏ အသက်ကယ်ဆယ်ရေးအတွက် သေ ရေးရှင်ရေးတမျှ အရေးကြီးသည်။ တိုင်းပြည်၏ သူရဲကောင်းများဖြစ်သည့် ကျန်းမာရေးနယ်ပယ်တွင် ကျွမ်း ကျင်သူများ ကို ကူညီရမည့်အစား စစ်တပ်သည် ၎င်းတို့၏ အကျိုးစီးပွားကိုသာ ရွေးချယ် ဦးထိပ်ပန်ဆင် လျှက်ရှိသည်။
ဖေဖော်ဝါရီ ၁ ရက် အာဏာသိမ်းချိန်မှစပြီး စစ်တပ်၏ တရားမဝင် ထင်ရာစိုင်း အုပ်စိုးမှုကြောင့် ပရမ်းပတာ၊ ဝရုန်းသုန်း ကားဖြစ်နေသည်။ စစ်အာဏာရှင်များသည် လူ့အသက်ပေါင်းများစွာကို တန်ဖိုးမထား လျစ်လျူရှု ပြီး လူသားမျိုး နွယ်အပေါ် ဆန့်ကျင်သည့်ပြစ်မှု (CAH) ကျူးလွန်ကြသည်။ ၎င်းတို့ အာဏာတည်မြဲရေး အတွက် လုံခြုံရေးတပ်ဖွဲ့များက စစ်အာဏာသိမ်းချိန်မှစပြီး အပြစ်မဲ့ပြည်သူ ၉၀၀ ကျော်ကို အညှာအတာ ကင်းမဲ့စွာ သတ်ဖြတ်၊ ညှဥ်းပန်းနှိပ်စက်ကြသည်။ စစ်အာဏာရှင်များက လုပ်ငန်းကျွမ်းကျင်သူ ဆရာဝန်ကြီး များကို ဖမ်းဆီး ထိန်းသိမ်းထားပြီး သတင်းလွတ်လပ်မှုနှင့် နိုင်ငံသားအခွင့်အရေးလှုပ်ရှားသူများကို ကြောက် ရွံ့စေရန် ဖန်တီးထားသည်။ ကပ်ရောဂါ၏ ခြောက်လှန့်မှုနှင့် ပြည်သူလူထုအပေါ် ဆိုးကျိုးသက်ရောက်မှု တို့က “အားအပြင်းဆုံး မုန်တိုင်းတခု” ပမာဖြစ်သည်ဟု ကုလသမဂ္ဂက ပြောဆိုသည်။ လတ်တလောတွင် ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ အတည်ပြုလူ နာ ၂၀၀,၀၀၀ ကျော်ရှိနေပြီး ကူးစက်ခံရသူ အရေအတွက်မှာ တိုးလာနေသည်။ အာဏာသိမ်း စစ်အာဏာရှင်များသည် တိုင်းပြည်၏ အချုပ်အခြာ အာဏာအလုံးစုံအား ထာဝရယူလိုသည် ကလွဲ၍ ပြည်သူလူထုအကျိုးအတွက် ဆောင်ရွက်ခြင်းမရှိသဖြင့် လူထုမှာ အောက်စီဂျင်နှင့် တကိုယ်ရေ အ ကာအကွယ်သုံး ကျန်းမာရေးပစ္စည်းများအပါအဝင် အသက်ကယ်ဆယ်ရေး အထောက်အပံ့များကို လက်လှမ်းမီ ရယူနိုင်ခြင်း မရှိပေ။
ကျန်းမာရေး အထောက်အကူပြု ပစ္စည်းများ ပိုမိုလိုအပ်လာသည့်အတွက် ဈေးမှာလည်း ထိုးတက်သွားပြီး မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ၏ ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ဆောင်မှု အခြေခံအဆောက်အအုံအပေါ် နောက်ထပ် ခြိမ်းခြောက်မှု ဖြစ်လာ သည်။ တိုင်းပြည်အနှံ့ရှိ ပြည်သူများမှာ ဆေးဆိုင်များရှေ့တွင် အကိုက်အခဲပျောက်ဆေး၊ ချောင်းဆိုးပျောက် ဆိုးနှင့် ဗစ်တာမင်စုံဆေးတို့ကို တန်းစီဝယ်သူနေကြပြီး ဆေးများမှာ အချိန်တိုအတွင်း ရောင်းကုန်သွား၍ ဈေးမှာလည်း နှစ်ဆခန့်တက်သွားသည်။ မျက်နှာဖုံးများမှာလည်း လုံလောက်မှုမရှိပဲ သာမန်ပြည်သူများ ဝယ် ယူနိုင်သည့် ဈေးထက်ကြီးမြင့်နေသည်။ သုဿာန်နှင့် မီးသဂြိုလ်စက်များတွင် ရာနှင့်ချီသည့် အလောင်းများ ကို နာရေးကူညီမှုအသင်းများက နေ့စဥ်မှတ်ပုံတင်၍ သဂြိုလ်ပေးနေရသည်။ သေဆုံးသူအများစုမှာ အောက် စီဂျင်ပြတ်လတ်၍ သေဆုံးကြခြင်းဖြစ်သည်။ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ (NUG) က စစ်အာဏာရှင်တို့ ၏ ကိုင်တွယ်ဆောင်ရွက်မှုနှင့်ပတ်သက်ပြီး “ကိုဗစ် တတိယလှိုင်းကို ရင်ဆိုင်ကြုံတွေ့နေရသည့် မြန်မာပြည် သူများ၏ ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်ပိုင်ခွင့်ကို စစ်အာဏာရှင်တို့ က ငြင်းပယ်နေသည်”ဟု ထုတ်ပြန်ခဲ့ သည်။
ND-Burma မှ ယခုစာတန်းငယ်တွင် ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုသည် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးဖြစ်သည်ဆိုသည့် လူသားချင်းစာနာ ထောက်ထားမှုဆိုင်ရာ အခြေခံမူ ၄ ချက်အပေါ်တွင် အခြေခံ၍ သုံးသပ်တင်ပြထားသည်။ မြန်မာစစ်တပ်၏ အားနည်းချက်များကို မီးမောင်းထိုးပြထားပြီး ကပ်ရောဂါအပေါ် ၄င်းတို့၏ တုန့်ပြန်ဆောင် ရွက်မှု မရှိခြင်းကြောင့် လူ့အသိုင်းအဝိုင်းအတွင်း အထိခိုက် အနစ်နာအလွယ်ဆုံးသူများကို ကျောခိုင်း ဥပက္ခောပြု ချန်လှပ်ထားသည်။ စစ်ကောင်စီသည် လူသားချင်းစာနာသည့် အကူအညီပေးရေးအဖွဲ့ မဟုတ် သော်လည်း ၎င်းတို့လက်ထဲတွင် အရေးပေါ်ကူညီ ကယ်ဆယ်နိုင်သည့် ပစ္စည်းကရိယာနှင့် အရင်းအမြစ်များ ရှိနေသည်။ ကျန်းမာရေးသည် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးဖြစ်သော်လည်း မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင်မူ ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့် ရှောက် ပိုင်ခွင့်၊ ကုသခံပိုင်ခွင့်နှင့် အန္တရာယ် တစုံတရာမရှိပဲ အရင်းအမြစ်ရရှိခွင့်တို့ကို စစ်အာဏာရှင်တို့က ထိန်းချုပ်ဖယ်ရှားနေသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Network for Human Rights Documentation - Burma
Date of publication:
2021-07-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Humanitarian assistance - emergencies
Language:
Format :
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426.39 KB
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Description:
"In addition to a vengeful campaign of human rights violations committed by state-backed forces, the COVID-19 pandemic is threatening to increase the death toll in Myanmar. Health care workers working to control the spread of the pandemic and treat patients are being locked up by the junta. Myanmar needs health care workers now more than ever. Their expertise is critical to providing life-saving solutions. Yet, the military is choosing to preserve their self-interests instead of helping the country’s heroic health professionals
Since the military junta seized power in a coup on February 1, disorder and chaos set the tone for their illegitimate rule. The junta’s disregard for life amounts to crimes against humanity. In their pursuit for power, security forces have ruthlessly killed and tortured over 900 innocent civilians since the military coup. They have arrested and detained senior health officials and created a climate of fear for press freedom and civil rights. The growing threat of the pandemic and its impacts on civilians is being described as the ‘perfect storm’ by the United Nations.1 There are currently over 200,000 cases of COVID-19 in Myanmar, and the numbers continue to rise daily. Aside from the ever-present tyranny of the state, citizens do not have access to life saving supplies, including oxygen and personal protective equipment.
The demand for health supplies has also driven the market price up, posing yet another threat to Myanmar’s overwhelmed health care infrastructure. Civilians across the country are lining up in front of pharmacies waiting to purchase painkillers, cough medicine and multivitamin pills, all of which are in short supply and have nearly doubled in price. Face masks are in low supply with prices ‘beyond the reach of everyday people.’2 Funeral services are overwhelmed as hundreds of bodies are being registered daily at cemeteries and crematoriums. The majority are dying from a lack of oxygen.3 The National Unity Government expressed concern at the junta’s approach in handling the increase in cases in a statement which stated, “Myanmar people who are now going through the third wave of the pandemic, are seeing their health entitlements being denied by the regime.”4
In this short briefing paper, the Network for Human Rights Documentation (ND-Burma) will draw upon the four humanitarian principles which refer to healthcare as a human right. In this context, the failings of the military junta will be highlighted. In their lack of response to the pandemic, they are willingly leaving behind the most vulnerable in society. While the military council is not a humanitarian agency, they’re still equipped with the tools and resources to respond with concerned urgency. Health is a human right. But in Myanmar, the junta is stripping this right to access healthcare, treatment, and resources...."
Source/publisher:
Network for Human Rights Documentation - Burma
Date of publication:
2021-07-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Humanitarian assistance - emergencies
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
266.46 KB
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Sub-title:
Special rapporteur urges security council to call for ceasefire amid fears Covid will spread across wider region
Description:
"Myanmar is at risk of becoming a super-spreader Covid state that fuels outbreaks across the region, the UN special rapporteur for the country has warned as he urged the security council to call for a ceasefire.
The south-east Asian country is facing its most severe outbreak yet, on top of a deep political and economic crisis brought about by the military coup in February. Its vaccination programme has ground to a standstill, testing has collapsed, and government hospitals are barely functioning.
Doctors, who have been at the forefront of an anti-junta strike and are refusing to work in state hospitals, have been forced to treat patients in secret because they face the constant threat of military violence or arrest.
The exact number of cases and fatalities in Myanmar was unclear, said Tom Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, in an interview with the Guardian. The targeting of journalists and doctors has made it hard to obtain accurate information about the crisis.
“We know that this is a spike upward. It’s a very rapid, an alarmingly rapid rise,” said Andrews.
According to the military-controlled ministry of health and sports, 4,629 people have died of Covid since 1 June. The figures are thought to be an underestimate. Military-controlled media announced on Tuesday that 10 new crematoriums would be built at cemeteries in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, to cope with the fatalities, the Irrawaddy news site, an independent outlet, reported.
“In Yangon, it’s common to see three types of lines,” Andrews added. “One before ATMs, one for oxygen supplies – which is very dangerous because people are literally being shot at by the Myanmar forces for standing in line for oxygen – and the third being lines at crematoriums and morgues.”
There is a severe shortage of oxygen, medical equipment and medication in cities across the country. Outside homes, people have hung yellow and white flags to signal that they need food or medicine, while social media have been flooded with pleas for help and death notices.
Myanmar: number of coronavirus deaths per day
Starting from day of first reported death
The military has been accused of seizing oxygen supplies. It has ordered suppliers not to sell to the public, claiming that people are hoarding tanks.
Andrews said international governments, including Myanmar’s neighbours, needed to act swiftly, or they would see the consequences of an uncontrolled outbreak at their borders.
“Myanmar is becoming a super-spreader of Covid-19 with these very virulent variants – Delta and other forms of the disease, [which are] extremely dangerous, extremely lethal, extremely contagious … This is very, very dangerous for all kinds of reasons,” Andrews said.
“It’s just a fact that Covid does not respect nationalities or borders or ideologies or political parties. It’s an equal opportunities killer. This is a region that is susceptible to even greater suffering as a result of Myanmar becoming a super-spreader state.”
About a third of the world’s population lives in countries neighbouring Myanmar, he added. This includes China, which, along with Russia, has blocked previous attempts by the security council to pressure the Myanmar military.
In February, the security council passed a resolution demanding ceasefires in all states experiencing conflict so that health workers could safely provide Covid vaccinations. Andrews said the resolution should now be reaffirmed in relation to the Myanmar crisis. This could help pave the way for international agencies to provide greater assistance.
On Wednesday, the military-controlled Global New Light of Myanmar reported that junta chief, Min Aung Hlaing, had addressed a meeting “to beef up cooperation with the international community, including Asean [Association of South-east Asian Nations] and friendly countries in the prevention, control and treatment of the Covid-19”. The details of the cooperation are not clear.
Junta forces have engaged in at least 260 attacks against medical personnel and facilities, killing at least 18 people, according to the Office of the United Nations high commissioner for human rights. The military is holding at least 67 healthcare workers, and has issued arrest warrants for a further 600 medics.
Last week, military officials reportedly posed as Covid patients in need of treatment to entrap medical volunteers in Yangon. Three doctors who went to help were subsequently arrested, according to a report by the independent outlet Myanmar Now.
In total, at least 5,630 people are being held in detention facilities, including Insein prison in Yangon, where the virus has spread. U Nyan Win, who previously served as Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyer, and who was a senior member in her National League for Democracy party, died of Covid after becoming infected in jail, it was confirmed last week.
At least 931 people – protesters, politicians and bystanders – have been killed by the military since February.
There is significant evidence that crimes against humanity are unfolding in Myanmar, Andrews said. “This is not an errant commander here or there doing horrible things, this is very systematic, very clear … The junta going on state television and telling people don’t go on the streets [to protest] or you’ll get shot in the head. And then suddenly all these people are shot in the head.”
Andrews said the need for international action was more urgent than ever. “The people of Myanmar are losing hope that the international community cares about what is happening in Myanmar,” he said..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-07-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, Humanitarian assistance - emergencies
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"The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar called on the United Nations Security Council and Member States to push for an emergency "COVID ceasefire" today in light of an explosion of COVID-19 infections and deaths in Myanmar even as the State Administrative Council (SAC) escalates its attacks against health care workers.
UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews stressed the urgent need for Member States to use all the tools of the UN, including passage of resolutions demanding that the SAC immediately cease all attacks, especially against health care professionals who are desperately needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to devastate Myanmar.
"Too many in Myanmar have needlessly perished and too many more will die without action by the United Nations," Andrews warned. "The UN must act immediately to halt the military junta's attacks, harassment, and detentions in the midst of a COVID-19 crisis.
"Member States of the United Nations cannot afford to be complacent while the junta ruthlessly attacks medical personnel as COVID-19 spreads unchecked. They must act to end this violence so that doctors and nurses can provide life-saving care and international organisations can help deliver vaccinations and related medical care," Andrews said.
"Member States with influence on Myanmar's State Administrative Council must follow passage of a UN resolution by urging an immediate cessation of attacks."
The junta has murdered at least 931 people and is holding at least 5,630 in arbitrary detention where they are in danger of being infected with the virus. Another 255 people have been sentenced for trumped up crimes, with 26 of them - two of whom are minors - sentenced to death. According to the UNHCR, there are 570,320 internally displaced persons currently living in Rakhine, Chin, Kachin, Shan, Kayin, Mon, and Bago states.
Junta forces have engaged in at least 260 attacks against medical personnel and facilities, claiming the lives of at least 18 people. Over 600 health care professionals are currently eluding outstanding arrest warrants and at least 67 are being held by junta forces.
In February, the UN Security Council passed a strong resolution demanding ceasefires in all States experiencing conflict. Resolution 2565 demanded "all parties to armed conflicts engage immediately in a durable, extensive, and sustained humanitarian pause to facilitate the equitable, safe and unhindered delivery and distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations in areas of armed conflict". The Council further called for "full, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access, without delay, for humanitarian personnel and medical personnel, their equipment, transport and supplies, in order to facilitate, inter alia, COVID-19 vaccinations, as appropriate". It also demanded the "protection, safety, and security of such humanitarian and medical personnel…"
"This resolution represented a principled framework to address the outbreak of COVID-19 in States experiencing unrestrained violence. Given this escalating crisis, these demands must now be focused specifically on Myanmar. Doing so will save untold numbers of lives."
Andrews concluded: "Of course the best outcome would be for the junta to stand down so that a legitimate civilian government can lead a coordinated response to the COVID-19 crisis. But in the immediate term, the junta's relentless attacks and detentions must end. For this to be possible, the people of Myanmar need the UN and its Member States to step up with strong, principled action."..."
Source/publisher:
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Geneva)
Date of publication:
2021-07-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
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"The Singapore Government will contribute 200 10-litre oxygen concentrators to support the people of Myanmar in this COVID-19 pandemic. The oxygen concentrators will be channelled through the Singapore Red Cross (SRC), which has launched a public appeal to deliver humanitarian assistance for communities in Southeast Asia and South Asia through the “COVID-19 International Response Fund”. The SRC will work with the Myanmar Red Cross Society to distribute the oxygen concentrators to affected communities in Myanmar. This will supplement the Singapore Government’s earlier contributions of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines, diagnostic tests, surgical masks, hand sanitisers, and other medical supplies to support Myanmar’s efforts to combat COVID-19.
Singapore stands in solidarity with the people of Myanmar in their fight against COVID-19. These contributions, as well as donations organised by private entities and the Myanmar community in Singapore, attest to the strong mutual support between the peoples of Singapore and Myanmar in overcoming the shared challenges of COVID-19..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore
Date of publication:
2021-07-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-28
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Individual Documents
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"This report covers the period January to December 2020 and outlines TBC’s progress based on the
organisation’s Strategic Directions for Thailand and Myanmar 2020–2022. TBC’s programmes reached
more than 140,000 men, women, and children—about 80,000 in nine refugee camps in Thailand, and
over 60,000 in 14 townships in south eastern Myanmar.
In Myanmar the role of ethnic service providers in combatting COVID-19 was considerable, manning
screening checkpoints and enforcing community based quarantines. Through quick adjustment with
local partners and a transition to online meetings and trainings, programmes managed to stay broadly on
track. In elections held on 8 November the National League for Democracy won over 82% of the total vote.
2020 saw continued militarisation and conflict throughout ethnic areas of the country and COVID-19 saw
a large return of roughly 100,000 Thailand based migrant workers
In Thailand, COVID-19 saw the government declare a state of emergency. The enforcement of restrictions
on refugees being allowed in and out of camp negatively impacted their ability to generate income outside
of camps. In 2020 one case of COVID-19 was detected in Umpiem Mai, brought into the camp from a
migrant worker visiting relatives. UNHCR facilitated voluntary repatriation scheduled for February was
postponed with no-one returning to Myanmar through the formal process during the year. Restrictions in
camp access saw TBC pivot to remote communications with camp based staff.
At the end of December, 79,463 people remained in nine camps in Thailand 5
, 982 people had departed
for third country resettlement, and 1,362 people left the camps to seek alternatives in Thailand 6. There
were 1,594 children born in the camps over the year.
Expenses for 2020 totalled THB 567M (USD 18M) against the adjusted budget of THB 586M (USD 18.6M)
in income. The operational budget for 2021 is THB 544M (USD17.2M). With a constant population during
2020 due to COVID-19 and the added potential for increased needs on the border given the February 2021
Military coup in Myanmar, TBC plans to maintain current reserves..."
Source/publisher:
The Border Consortium (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-07-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
TBC, TBBC, : Annual reports and 6-monthly Programme Reports, TBC/TBBC documents on internal displacement, Humanitarian assistance - emergencies, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health
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14.72 MB
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"၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် ဖေဖော်ဝါရီ ၁ရက် စစ်အာဏာသိမ်းပြီးချိန်မှစပြီး တိုင်းပြည် မတည်ငြိမ်မှုနှင့် ပရမ်းပ တာ ဖြစ်နေချိန်တွင် ပြည်သူလူထုသည် မိမိတို့ဘာသာ မိမိတို့ ကာကွယ်နေရသည်။ ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ကပ် ရောဂါသည် ပြည်သူများ နောက်ဆုံးတိုက်ပွဲဝင်နေရသည့် ရောဂါဖြစ်သည်။ “ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ကပ်ရောဂါ အား တုန့်ပြန်ရာတွင် စစ်အာဏာရှင်များက လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထား မှုဆိုင်ရာ အခြေခံမူများ ကို မည်သို့ ချိုးဖောက်နေကြောင်း” အသစ်ထုတ်ပြန်သည့် စာတန်းငယ်တွင် စစ်အာဏာရှင်တို့သည် ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ အား ထိရောက်စွာ တုန့်ပြန်မှု မရှိကြောင်းနှင့် အရေးပေါ်ကာလအတွင်း ထိရောက်စွာကု သပေးရန် ကျိန်းသေစေမည့် လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှုဆိုင်ရာ အခြေခံမူများကို မည်သို့ချိုး ဖောက်နေကြောင်းကို ND-Burma မှ တင်ပြထားသည်။ စစ်အာဏာရှင်များအနေဖြင့် ပြည်သူလူ ထုအား ကျန်းမာရေးအတွက် အရင်းအမြစ်နှင့် ငွေကြေးခွဲဝေပေးမည်မှာ ယုံကြည်စရာ မဟုတ်ပေ။
နေအိမ်များနှင့် လူနာများပြွတ်ကြပ်နေသည့် ဆေးရုံများတွင် သေလုမြောပါး ခံစားနေရသော ထောင်နှင့်ချီသည့် ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ လူနာများ၏ လိုအပ်ချက်နှင့်အညီ ကုသပေးရမည့်အစား စစ်အာဏာ ရှင်များသည် ဆရာဝန်နှင့် ကျန်းမာရေးလုပ်သားများအား ဖမ်းဆီးထိန်းသိမ်းနေပြီး မြို့ပြနှင့် ကျေး လက်များသို့ အသက်ကယ်ပစ္စည်းများ ပေးဝေရန် ငြင်းပယ်နေသည်။ အပစ်အခတ်ရပ်စဲရေး မှာလည်း ချိုးဖောက်ခံနေရပြီး အရေးပေါ်အကူအညီများမှာလည်း စစ်အာဏာရှင် တပ်များ၏ ကြားဖြတ် လုယူခံနေရသည်။ ကျန်းမာရေးစောင့်ရှောက်မှုသည် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးဖြစ်သည်ဆိုသည့် လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှု အခြေခံမူများကို စစ်အာဏာရှင်များ၏ အပြုအမူတို့က တိုက်ရိုက် ချိုးဖောက်နေသည်။ လူသားခြင်း စာနာထောက်ထားခြင်း၊ခွဲခြားမှု မရှိခြင်း၊ ကြားနေခြင်း၊ လွတ်လပ်ခြင်း စသည့် လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားသည့် အခြေခံမူများကို လိုက်နာစောင့်ထိန်းရန် ပျက်ကွက်ခြင်းဖြင့် လူထုအပေါ် ပျက်ကွက်နေသည်။
စစ်အာဏာရှင်များအနေဖြင့် တရားမဝင် အာဏာရရယူထားမှုကို စွန့်လွှတ်ရန် ND-Burma မှ တောင်းဆိုသည်။ ရည်ရွယ်ချက်ရှိရှိ လုပ်ဆောင်ခြင်းနှင့် လူထုအတွက် ဆောင်ရွက်ပေးလိုစိတ် မရှိခြင်းတို့ ပေါင်းစပ်ထားခြင်းဖြင့် စစ်အာဏာရှင်တို့သည် ပြည့်စုံကုံလုံသည့် လူသားချင်းစာနာမှု ဆိုင်ရာ တုန့်ပြန်ဆောင်ရွက်နိုင်စွမ်းမရှိသည်ကို ပြသနေသည်။
လူ့အသက်များ ကယ်ဆယ်ရေးမှာ သေရေးရှင်ရေးတမျှ အရေးကြီးနေပေရာ ထိခိုက်နစ်နာ အလွယ်ဆုံးသူများအား ကာကွယ်စောင့်ရှောက်ပေးရန်နှင့် ကျန်းမာရေးလုပ်သားများ ကုသရေးလုပ်ငန်းများကို လုံခြုံဘေးကင်းပြီး ဂုဏ်သိက္ခာရှိရှိ ဆောင်ရွက်နိုင်ရန် နိုင်ငံတကာ အသိုင်းအဝိုင်းမှ အလျင်အမြန် ကြားဝင်ဆောင်ရွက်ရမည် ဖြစ်သည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Network for Human Rights Documentation - Burma
Date of publication:
2021-07-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Humanitarian assistance - emergencies, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"The State Administrative Council (SAC), the governing body of the military regime, has imposed a news blackout on COVID-19 deaths in the military, despite widespread infections.
The infected junior personnel and their families do not receive treatment at military hospitals until their conditions are serious. Until then they are ordered to isolate in their accommodation, said military personnel.
“Four cases have been found in my unit and many more are sick. [The commanders] do nothing for them. They were transferred to [military hospitals] only when they had difficulty breathing,” said a soldier from a battalion in Meiktila, Mandalay Region.
“But they received no treatment at hospitals. [Doctors] only tell them to stay strong. They had to buy medicine. They were tested after two weeks and discharged if they test negative,” he said.
Widespread coronavirus infections have been reported among battalions in Yangon.
Personnel and their families who have fever and no sense of smell are ordered to isolate in their quarters, said a soldier assigned to help patients in a military hospital in Yangon.
“There have been many infections in my unit. I am still clear but I haven’t returned to my family for more than three weeks because I am concerned about infecting them. We are sliding into chaos and I don’t want to work any longer,” he said.
COVID-19 infections have also been reported among senior military leaders. Deputy Home Affairs Minister and Police Chief Lieutenant-General Than Hlaing and his wife and the wife and son of Adjutant General Lt-Gen Myo Zaw Thein are reportedly receiving treatment at military hospitals for COVID-19.
Some units in Yangon, including the Yangon Command Headquarters, have reportedly been placed under lockdown.
More than 300 military personnel at an ordnance factory on the banks of the Pyay in Bago Region were infected with coronavirus and nine died last week. But the military regime only registered two deaths as COVID-19 fatalities, the independent media outlet Democratic Voice of Burma was told by “People’s Soldier”, a Facebook page run by striking military personnel.
Despite infections, personnel were forced to continue working at the factory, said the People’s Soldier.
Soldiers are seeking help from striking officers as the regime is unable to provide proper treatment for them, said Captain Nyi Thuta, who is on strike.
“Soldiers can do nothing. They are at the hands of the regime. Ordinary people can still look for oxygen but soldiers can’t go out and are helpless. They told me that they can do nothing but are waiting to be infected,” he said.
Though Myanmar’s military initially revealed the infections and deaths of its personnel and their families, it is now hiding the COVID-19 death toll.
In early July, coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said there was enough oxygen in Myanmar. Since then, cemeteries in Yangon have been overflowing with bodies from coronavirus deaths with most fatalities blamed on a lack of oxygen.
At least 10 military personnel and their relatives have been dying per day at a military hospital in Mandalay due to a shortage of oxygen and doctors, Myanmar Now reported on Sunday, quoting a military medic at the hospital.
Another military medic, Major Min Maung Maung, said: “Though they had made preparations, they can’t handle it when the pandemic broke out. I want to question what they are doing. They can neither control the virus in the military nor provide proper treatment for the people. They keep saying that they are addressing but it is untrue.”
There have also been widespread infections among police amid independent media reports of around 10,000 police officers infected with coronavirus nationwide.
Around 100 trainees caught COVID-19 at the training school of the Criminal Investigation Department in Yangon’s Insein Township in early July.
“The military leaders have no goodwill not only to the people or lower ranks. The other ranks are becoming more aware of that. It has become more obvious during the COVID-19 outbreak that they are being ignored. It has become clearer that not only the people but also the soldiers are suffering from the bad legacy of the dictators,” said Capt. Nyi Thuta..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-07-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma
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more
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"In response to the ongoing rapid increase of COVID-19 cases in Myanmar, the European Commission has mobilised €2 million in emergency assistance to actions helping to fight the pandemic in the country.
Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: “The EU stands in solidarity with the people of Myanmar in this difficult time. With this funding, given the challenges of a fragile health system in the country, the EU will be helping in providing treatment to COVID-19 cases. The people of Myanmar continue to suffer from the rampant violence since the takeover by the military junta and it is of great concern that the medical sector is increasingly being targeted. The EU strongly condemns these attacks and calls for the protection of medical workers in respect of International Humanitarian Law. Medical workers are putting their life on the line to save people - they should be able to carry out their work in safety and the humanitarian access to medical facilities should be guaranteed.”
The funding, allocated to trusted and independent humanitarian organisations, will help to support:
the procurement and use of medicines for COVID-19 treatment, oxygen and related equipment, personal protective equipment and provide technical medical support
emergency healthcare, first aid and water, sanitation and hygiene related activities in response to the latest COVID-19 wave
home-based clinical management and stabilisation through tele-medicine and care corners.
The EU continues to support vulnerable people in Myanmar. In addition to the funding announced today, in 2021, the European Union allocated €20.5 million in humanitarian aid to address the immediate needs of displaced and conflict-affected communities in Myanmar.
Background
Myanmar is currently reporting its largest number of coronavirus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic. The majority of public hospitals and testing centres in the country are not functioning at full capacity, leaving the country with limited capacity to detect and respond to a new wave of COVID-19.
The COVID-19 situation is exacerbating a dire humanitarian situation that has arisen since the military coup d’état of February 2021, which has resulted in the killing of 931 people by the junta, and the displacement of 206,400 people.
The European Commission has been active in Myanmar since 1994. It has funded emergency relief programmes to assist victims of both conflict and natural hazards, with total funding of over €287 million.
Since 2013, we have provided €8.65 million for emergency education to conflict-affected children, including €2 million in 2021.
All EU humanitarian funding is provided in line with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, and is channeled directly through NGOs, UN Agencies, and the Red Cross..."
Source/publisher:
European Commission (Brussels)
Date of publication:
2021-07-26
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"Myanmar’s ongoing political turmoil and a rapidly-rising third wave of COVID-19 cases are severely impacting an economy that had already been weakened by the pandemic in 2020. The economy is expected to contract around 18 percent in Myanmar’s 2021 Fiscal Year (Oct 2020-Sep 2021), with damaging implications for lives, livelihoods, poverty and future growth, according to the World Bank’s Myanmar Economic Monitor, released today.
An 18 percent contraction, coming on top of weak growth in FY2020, would mean that the country’s economy is around 30 percent smaller than it would have been in the absence of COVID-19 and the military takeover of February 2021. Around 1 million jobs could be lost, and many other workers will experience a decline in their incomes due to reduced hours or wages. The share of Myanmar’s population living in poverty is likely to more than double by the beginning of 2022, compared to 2019 levels.
“The loss of jobs and income and heightened health and food security risks are compounding the welfare challenges faced by the poorest and most vulnerable, including those that were already hit hardest by the pandemic last year,” said Mariam Sherman, World Bank Country Director for Myanmar, Cambodia and Lao PDR.
Economic activity has been hit by reduced mobility and incomes, protests and labor shortages, as well as the ongoing disruption of critical business services, including logistics and telecommunications, and public services such as health and education. Despite bank branch re-openings and several interventions from the Central Bank of Myanmar, physical currency continues to be in short supply and access to banking and payment services remains limited. As of mid-July, the Myanmar kyat had depreciated by around 23 percent against the US dollar since late January, which combined with trade disruptions has led to rapid price increases for some imported products, including fuel. Farmers have been affected by lower wholesale prices for some crops, higher input prices, and limited access to credit.
Taken together, these shocks have weakened consumption, investment, and trade, and disrupted businesses’ operations and the supply of labor and inputs.
“While there were initial signs of stabilization in some areas in May and June, with mobility improving and logistics disruptions easing, overall economic activity remained very weak and a further contraction is likely from July onwards due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases,” said Kim Alan Edwards, World Bank Senior Economist for Myanmar.
The current third wave of COVID-19 is posing an immediate threat to lives, livelihoods, and the economy, especially given the lack of capacity in the public health system to adequately respond. While testing rates remain limited, extremely high positivity rates among those who have been tested indicate widespread community transmission. Combined with the impact of containment measures and precautionary behavior, this will amplify Myanmar’s economic challenges.
Over the longer term, recent events have the potential to jeopardize much of the development progress that has been made over the past decade. Significant impacts on investment, human capital accumulation, and the environment for doing business are likely to impair prospects for economic growth over the longer term..."
Source/publisher:
The World Bank (Washington, D.C.)
Date of publication:
2021-07-23
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
World Bank Group - Burma/Myanmar, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"Myanmar Economy Expected to Contract by 18 Percent in FY2021: Report..."
Source/publisher:
The World Bank (Washington, D.C.)
Date of publication:
2021-07-26
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
World Bank Group - Burma/Myanmar, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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About 100 people staying at a monastery need masks, hand sanitizer and medicine
Description:
"Dozens of elderly people who are staying in temporary shelters at monasteries in southern Shan State after fighting between two local armed groups broke out in early June are at risk of a Covid-19 outbreak, two aid workers have said.
The displaced people were among about 900 who fled from the Mong Khun village tract for safety in Wan Hway Long village when the armed wings of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP) began fighting.
The clashes have now stopped and the younger adult villagers have returned home, but about 100 elderly people and young children stayed behind because it would be difficult for them to flee again if there was more fighting.
Those left behind need personal protective equipment including masks and hand sanitizer to prevent an outbreak of the virus, said an aid worker on condition of anonymity.
“We need to do awareness raising about Covid-19 prevention and we need medicines and protective equipment,” the aid worker said. “There will be a huge problem if there is an outbreak at such a place because the camps have many elderly people.”
Some of the displaced people aged between 60 and 70 have survived strokes, the aid worker added.
Twelve people tested positive for Covid-19 this month in the town of Mong Kung, about 20 miles from the monasteries, and individual donors from the town have been barred from entering the shelters, according to another aid worker.
The junta’s ministry of health said there were 537 positive cases and 12 fatalities in Shan State on Thursday, but the official tally is widely distrusted and locals estimate that the actual number is much higher.
The RCSS and SSPP are fighting because of a territorial dispute over the Loi Hun mountain range in Mong Kung Township.
While the clashes have stopped in southern Shan State, the two groups fought near Nawng An village in Hsipaw Township in the north on Thursday.
The SSPP says it plans to inoculate 500,000 people against Covid-19 in its territory using vaccines from China..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-07-24
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health, Internal displacement/forced migration of Shan. Palaung and Wa villagers, Armed conflict in Burma - Impact on village life, including health and education
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Description:
"The deeply disturbing situation in Insein Prison once again shows the brutality and cruelty of the genocidal military junta’s regime in Myanmar. While the whole world is fighting to protect humanity from Covid-19, which has no respect for international borders, political affiliations, colour nor culture, race nor religion, yet instead the military junta in Myanmar, led by failed coup leader Min Aung Hlaing, are doing just the opposite. Before it becomes too late to stop the spreading across international borders, and onto the whole world, the International Community must come together and unite to fight this uncontrolled third wave of the Covid-19 Delta Variant which is surging across the prisons - the concentration camps run by the military junta in Myanmar - and across the Nation.....အင်းစိန်ဗဟိုအကျဉ်းထောင်မှ လွန်စွာစိုးရိမ်ထိတ်လန့်ဖွယ်ရာကောင်းသော အခြေအနေများသည်၊ လူမျိုးတုံးသတ်ဖြတ်နေသည့် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိစစ်အာဏာရှင်၏အကြင်နာမဲ့ ရက်စက်မှုများကို တဖန်ပြန်လည် ပြသနေခြင်းဖြစ်သည်။
ကမ္ဘာတဝှမ်းလုံးသည် လူသားမျိုးနွယ်အား၊ နိုင်ငံတကာ နယ်နိမိတ် စည်းများအပေါ် လေးစားမှုမရှိသော၊ နိုင်ငံရေးနှင့်ပတ်သက် ဆက်နွယ်မှုလည်းမရှိသော၊ အသားအရောင်၊ ဓလေ့ထုံးစံ၊ လူမျိုးရေး၊ဘာသာရေး စသည်တို့ကို သိရှိနားလည်ခြင်းနှင့် လေးစားမှု အလျင်းမရှိသည့် Covid-19 ရောဂါမှ ကာကွယ်နိုင်ရန်အတွက် အပြင်းအထန်တိုက်ခိုက် နေရချိန်တွင်၊ ရှုံးနိမ့်နေပြီဖြစ်သော အာဏာသိမ်းစစ်ခေါင်းဆောင် မင်းအောင်လှိုင် ဦးဆောင်သည့် အာဏာသိမ်း စစ်တပ်သည် ကမ္ဘာတဝှမ်းလုံး၏ ဆောင်ရွက်ချက်များနှင့် ဆန့်ကျင်စွာပြုမူ လျက်ရှိသည်။
အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာ နယ်နိမိတ် များမှတဆင့်၊ ကမ္ဘာတဝှမ်းသို့ ရောဂါကူးစက်ပြန့်နှံ့ မှုများမဖြစ်ပွားမီ ဆောလျင်စွာ အချိန်မလင့်နောက်မကျခင် တားဆီးထိန်းချုပ်ရန်လိုအပ်ပါသည်။ အာဏာသိမ်းစစ်တပ်၏ အုပ်ချုပ်မှုအောက် ကျရောက်နေသော မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိ နိုင်ငံရေး အကျဉ်းသား များထားရာ အကျဉ်းထောင်များတွင် ကူးစက်မှုနှုန်းမြင့်တက်လျက်ရှိပြီး ကမ္ဘာတဝှမ်းလုံး အရှိန်အဟုန်နှင့် ကူးစက်ပြန့်ပွားနေသော မထိန်းချုပ်နိုင်သေးသည့် Covid-19 Delta မျိုးကွဲ တတိယလှိုင်းကို အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာ အသိုင်းအဝိုင်းများ အနေဖြင့် အတူတကွပူးပေါင်း၍ ညီညီညွတ်ညွတ် တိုက်ထုတ်ကြရမည်ဖြစ်သည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-07-24
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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297.27 KB
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"The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is closely following information that has been released
recently, on the current situation at various prisons in Myanmar. We are deeply concerned about the
increasing impact of COVID-19 in Myanmar, including in detention centers.
The ICRC is continuing its dialogue with prison authorities to resume its purely humanitarian visits and
activities in places of detention, including Insein Prison, which have been on hold since the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic. We reiterate our offer to support to address Covid-19 and health care in general in
places of detention.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization
whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and
other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance. The ICRC also endeavours to prevent
suffering by promoting and strengthening international humanitarian law (IHL) and universal humanitarian
principles..."
Source/publisher:
International Committee of the Red Cross (Geneva)
Date of publication:
2021-07-24
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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15.5 KB 167.33 KB
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