The circumstances of more than 1,000 killings by the forces could possibly be classified as “crimes against humanity” or “war crimes,” said the chief investigator of the Independent Investigation Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), Nicholas Koumjian, on Tuesday. There are credible allegations of arbitrary arrests, torture and sexual violence against the military. Civilians were also believed to have been murdered in custody.
According to Koumjian, the IIMM is trying to verify and document the allegations so that those responsible can one day be held accountable. “International justice has a long memory,” he warned. According to the prisoner aid organization AAPP, more than 1,500 people have been killed and almost 12,000 arrested since the coup.
Nobel Peace Prize winner sentenced to several years in prison
The generals in the Southeast Asian country staged a coup against Aung San Suu Kyi’s government on February 1, 2021. They justified the overthrow with alleged electoral fraud in the November 2020 parliamentary elections, which Suu Kyi had clearly won – they did not present any evidence of this. The former Burma has since descended into chaos and violence. The military junta put the Nobel Peace Prize winner under house arrest and ruled with an iron fist. Numerous lawsuits are pending against the 76-year-old, and she has now been sentenced to several years in prison. Human rights activists speak of a show trial to silence the politician.
New sanctions against the military junta
The United States imposed new sanctions on members of the judiciary and supporters of the military leadership on the anniversary of the coup. Seven people and two institutions were affected, the Treasury Department said on Monday in Washington. Among them are two high-ranking members of the judicial system who have pushed ahead with the prosecution of Suu Kyi and others. Any assets of those affected in the US will be frozen, and US citizens are prohibited from doing business with them.
Biden calls for the release of those imprisoned
US President Joe Biden spoke of “unspeakable violence against the civilian population, including children”. He called for the release of all those unjustly imprisoned. The British government, which claims to have coordinated with the United States and Canada, also announced new sanctions against three members of the military leadership for the anniversary. In addition to freezing possible assets, this also includes travel bans.
The European Union reported in a statement of “poverty, food shortages, displacement and violence” in the wake of the coup. Since the seizure of power, 400,000 people have been displaced in their own country and almost a million have fled to neighboring countries. However, the EU did not announce new sanctions.