Featured Image: Rakhine Artist, Nyi Khine Twee
As the global pandemic rages, the people of Burma continue to suffer from armed conflict, killings, forced displacement, and infringement of their basic rights.
On March 24, 2020, the Burmese government officially designated the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed group in Rakhine State, as a terrorist organization. The announcement comes after more than a year’s worth of fighting between the AA and Burma Army, which saw the Burma Army initiating violent and forceful campaigns that caused the AA to retaliate. The AA is one of many ethnic armed groups that have been fighting for self-determination in Burma, and although the designation did not come as a surprise, it will bring consequences. All contact with the AA is now criminalized and AA affiliate groups are considered unlawful.
Before the AA’s designation as a terrorist organization, the group had been in long term clashes with the Burma Army, causing over 140,000 people to be forcibly displaced since 2019. Human Rights Watch estimates that throughout February, at least 18 civilians were killed and 71 injured due to fighting initiated by the Burma Army throughout Rakhine State. In central Rakhine State, where over 100,000 Rohingya Muslims have been confined to detention camps, daily essentials are critically inadequate. There is no foreseeable protection and prevention for them.
The Karen National Union (KNU) and Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) have also been in conflict with the Burma Army and recently urged the government to declare a nationwide ceasefire in light of the spread of COVID-19. In addition to the KNU and KNPP, there were more calls for a nationwide ceasefire by 52 civil society organizations and 15 ethnic political parties. As COVID-19 grew into a global pandemic, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and 18 ambassadors supported and called for nations in conflict to participate in a global ceasefire in order to focus on “protecting the most vulnerable communities from the devastating impacts of COVID-19.” The requests from the ethnic armed groups, Burma-based organizations, and the international community were flatly rejected by the Burma Army, stating that the proposal was “unrealistic” and that ethnic armed groups would “just have to follow our law of surrender.”
In Shan and Kachin states, over 9,000 ethnic Shan and 97,800 ethnic Kachin are living in 171 internally displaced peoples (IDP) camps that are constantly overcrowded and under-resourced. While there is little to no information about the Karenni and Mon states, it does not mean there are no human rights violations. Massive land confiscations bar local people from their farms and, unfortunately, they become IDPs. Farmers are often arrested for trespassing by the Burma Army when they try to return to their farmlands. In addition to threats of arrest, the Burma Army also plants landmines around the stolen farmland. The local people lose their homes, their livelihoods, and ultimately, their lives.
In addition to systemic and widespread violence and displacement, on February 4, the Burmese government reinstated an internet ban in four townships in Rakhine State and Paletwa township in Chin State. In conjunction with this announcement, the government also blocked 221 ethnic media websites after claiming that they publish “fake news” and are contributing to the country’s instability. Blatant human rights abuses are constantly being taken out against the ethnic groups and civilians of Burma, stifling people’s livelihoods, forcing villages and homes to be destroyed, and now most recently cutting off individuals’ access to media and journalists’ freedom of speech.
With all of Burma’s armed conflicts, abuses perpetrated by the Burma Army, and restricted media sharing at this crucial time, it is imperative that the Burmese government urgently cooperate with the people, civil society, and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), as well as the United Nations, by declaring a nationwide ceasefire. Following this, the government needs to escalate efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the country – issuing a directive indicating the dedication of all available resources to halting and treating the pandemic. It is important to note that Burma holds several minority communities that are made extremely vulnerable in places such as IDP camps and conflict-ridden villages, where people are tightly packed in unsanitary conditions. This could encourage the spread of the disease, especially if civilians are unable to access accurate information on COVID-19 prevention with the internet shut down.
Additionally, their rejection of the growing calls for a ceasefire essentially demonstrates a lack of political will by the government and the military to protect people’s basic rights not only to security and healthcare during the COVID-19 outbreak, but also to information, freedom of expression, and democratic space. Anything less than a commitment to ending this war, as demanded by EAOs and civil society, is an abuse of power and a death sentence for many of the country’s most vulnerable and must be treated as such by the international community.
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