The United Nations (UN) has condemned the killing of 70 people only this year since the country’s military regained control.
Thomas Andrews, UN’s special rapporteur for Myanmar, cited growing evidence of crimes against humanity, saying the country was “being controlled by a murderous, illegal regime.”
“There is extensive video evidence of security forces viciously beating protesters, medics, and bystanders. There is a video of soldiers and police systematically moving through neighborhoods, destroying property, looting shops, arbitrarily arresting protesters and passers-by, and firing indiscriminately into people’s homes,” he was quoted as saying in a report by Al Jazeera.
“It should come as little surprise that there is growing evidence that this same Myanmar military, led by the same senior leadership, is now engaging in crimes against humanity,” he added.
Andrews has called for multilateral sanctions to be imposed versus Myanmar’s military leaders and on the country’s major source of revenues such as military-controlled enterprises and Myanmar’s oil and gas enterprises.
It can be learned that since the military grabbed control of Myanmar earlier this year, some 70 activists, mostly aged 25 and below, have been killed, while over 2,000 people were unlawfully detained.
Myanmar underwent military control since February after de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, along with President Win Myint, was detained over claims of voter fraud following a landslide win by Suu Kyi’s party.
On the same day, the military announced on its own television channel that power had been handed over to commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, was ruled by the armed forces until 2011 when democratic reforms spearheaded by Suu Kyi ended military rule.
The detained leader spent nearly 15 years in detention—between 1989 and 2010. She was recognized as a beacon of democracy and received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
