China, Russia arming Myanmar junta: UN rights expert
February 22, 2022
The military junta is still receiving fighters jets and armored vehicles used against civilians since last year's coup, the UN's special rapporteur to Myanmar has said.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
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The United Nations expert on Myanmar has said that China and Russia are among those arming Myanmar's military junta.
Thomas Andrews, a former US congressman serving in the independent post, said on Tuesday that the two countries were providing the junta with fighter jets and armored vehicles.
"Despite the evidence of the military junta's atrocity crimes being committed with impunity since launching a coup last year, UN Security Council members Russia and China continue to provide the Myanmar military junta with numerous fighter jets, armored vehicles," he said in a statement.
Andrews also named Serbia among the weapons vendors.
"During this same period, Serbia has authorized rockets and artillery for export to the Myanmar military," he said.
"It should be incontrovertible that weapons used to kill civilians should no longer be transferred to Myanmar," he stressed.
He also urged that the military's access to oil and gas and foreign exchange reserves be cut and called for preventing states and the private sector from buying resources such as timber and rare earth products when funds are funneled to the junta.
General strike in Myanmar on 1 year anniversary of coup
Many workers in Myanmar have defied military orders and stayed home in a nationwide strike marking the coup one year ago. The UN has said Myanmar's military committed "murder, torture and abductions" over the past year.
Image: AP Photo/picture alliance
Yangon emptied one year after coup
Strand Road, a normally busy thoroughfare in Yangon, is deserted on Tuesday as those opposing Myanmar's military junta organized a nationwide strike marking the one-year anniversary of a military coup that toppled the Southeast Asian country's democratically elected government.
Image: AP Photo/picture alliance
Businesses defy junta orders to stay open
The plaza in front of Mandalay's train station is empty on Tuesday, in what activists are calling a "silent strike." The junta had threatened to seize businesses that participated in the strike and warned protesters that rallies or displaying anti-military "propaganda" could result in prosecution under counterterrorism laws.
Image: AP Photo/picture alliance
Some protesters still take to the streets
The threat of arrest did not deter some protesters. In Mandalay on Tuesday, protesters unfurled pro-democracy banners reading "who dares oppose the people's will." There were no reports of any violence.
Image: AP Photo/picture alliance
Military claims to have support
An image of a pro-military march in the capital Naypyidaw on Tuesday provided by a state news service. The junta does enjoy pockets of support at home, but is facing broad international resistance. On Tuesday, the UN said the junta was "committing murder, torture and abductions." On Monday, the US, Canada and the UK sanctioned junta-linked individuals to "promote accountability for violence."
Image: AP Photo/picture alliance
Suu Kyi on trial after brief period in power
Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) were ousted in the coup. Suu Kyi was arrested and faces an array of charges that could carry a sentence of over 150 years. The military claims it took power a year ago over unfounded allegations of voter fraud during the 2020 election. Critics say the military wants to ensure Suu Kyi never returns to politics.
Image: REUTERS
Continued acts of 'civil disobedience'
Over the past year, protesters have organized acts of non-violent "civil disobedience" calling for public servants, business owners and service workers to strike. The last nationwide strike was in December, and towns and cities were emptied across Myanmar, as seen here in front of Yangon's famous Shwedagon Pagoda.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
A year of deadly clashes
Since the coup, Myanmar has plunged into violence as the military has tried to quash any resistance to its rule. What began as nonviolent demonstrations, quickly turned deadly as the army began to shoot protesters in the streets. In this image from a deadly week of protests in March 2021, a man hides behind a barricade in Yangon and hurls a flaming object at security forces.
Image: AP Photo/picture alliance
First recorded death last February
Local human rights groups estimate that over 1,500 civilians have been killed resisting military rule in Myanmar. The UN on Tuesday said that it was looking into reports of civilian deaths. Seen here is the funeral of a protester who was killed on February 21, 2021, and was listed as the first confirmed death.
Image: AP Photo/picture alliance
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What is the situation in Myanmar?
Chaos has gripped Myanmar since the military coup on February 1 last year. It ended a decade of tentative democracy and triggered nationwide protests that troops suppressed with lethal force.
At least 1,500 civilians have been killed, according to activists cited by the UN, which also says more than 300,000 people have been displaced by rural conflict between the military and armed opponents.
The junta says it is fighting "terrorists" and objects to what it calls UN interference.
