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UN rights chief says Myanmar’s junta committing crimes against humanity

Tuesday, 13 April 2021 5:55 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 13 April 2021 6:41 PM ]

Protesters react after tear gas is fired by police during a demonstration against the military coup, in the northwestern town of Kale, Myanmar, on March 2, 2021. (Photo by AFP)

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has accused Myanmar’s military junta of committing crimes against humanity, warning that the situation in the country seems to be heading toward a “full-blown” conflict in the wake of a February coup.

Bachelet raised the alarm in a statement on Tuesday and said expressing condemnations and imposing punitive measures would not be sufficient to counter the military junta’s human rights violations.

“Statements of condemnation, and limited targeted sanctions, are clearly not enough. States with influence need to urgently apply concerted pressure on the military in Myanmar to halt the commission of grave human rights violations and possible crimes against humanity,” the UN rights chief said.

“The military seems intent on intensifying its pitiless policy of violence against the people of Myanmar, using military-grade and indiscriminate weaponry,” she added.

Bachelet also highlighted the need to cut off the supply of arms and finances to the junta leaders in Myanmar, calling on countries to take immediate action to force the Myanmarese junta to stop its “campaign of repression and slaughter of its people.”

Deaths from post-coup crackdown in Myanmar surpass 700

More than 700 people have so far been killed in the ongoing brutal crackdown by Myanmar

Bachelet warned that Myanmar’s economy, education, and health infrastructure had been brought to the brink of collapse, leaving millions without livelihood and basic services.

The UN high commissioner for human rights called on Myanmar’s military and neighbors to facilitate humanitarian access to populations in need.

The Myanmarese military staged a coup on February 1, ousting the government of Aung San Suu Kyi and imprisoning her and other political leaders.

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi hit with additional criminal charges

Myanmar

Since then, waves of protests have been staged in Myanmar, demanding the release of the country’s de facto leader and other detained figures, and return of power to the ousted government.

The military coup has ignited international outrage and pleas for restraint, as the junta continues a violent crackdown on protesters.

More than 700 civilians have been killed in the space of just 70 days since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group.

The human rights group says more than 3,000 people have been arrested in that period.

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