Why the fight against climate change is also a battle against slavery

FEBRUARY 16, 2021 BY STRIFE STAFF

By Rebecca Brown

 

Image: Thompson Reuters

*Note: modern slavery here is used as an umbrella term that encompasses exploitation, human trafficking and forced labour.

As a child growing up in Devon, there was never any shortage of leafy woodland walks filled with snuffling hedgehogs and deer. I grew up with a genuine curiosity and appreciation of nature, spending my summers picking strawberries on farms as a treat, and my evenings watching animal documentaries with my father, or reading about strange birds and fish in distant lands. In school, I learned in horror about deforestation in a far away place called the Amazon, and how harmful farming chemicals were bringing animals like the Peregrine Falcon to extinction in the UK. Such facts affected me profoundly, but the ‘damage chain’ of climate destruction and my place within it were never really explained to me. 

As a young adult, I discovered and fell in love with fashion. I was a typical teenager, spending hours in High Street stores browsing for whatever would make me look more like Shirley Manson or Siouxsie Sioux. There’s a distant memory of the term ‘sweatshop’ being on the news at some point in the late 90s. For those too young to remember, the scandal involved the discovery of factories in Indonesia manufacturing clothes for Adidas, with children and adults barely paid and suffering from regular physical and sexual abuse. I don’t think I particularly understood the controversy or my role in its being enough to pay it heed. 

Then in 2010, I discovered ‘new abolitionist’ Kevin Bales, and learned a life-altering new term: modern slavery. Suddenly, the world brought new curiosity: were the foundations of London architecture made by children working over kilns in Pakistan? Were women dying in cramped, unsafe Bangladeshi factories so that I could look like the rock stars I so idolised? There are an estimated 40.3 million men, women, and children survivors of modern slavery. Was not slavery abolished in the 19th century? In Bales’ latest book, ‘Blood and Earth’, he reveals the horrific nexus between modern slavery and climate change, both inextricably linked, increased and exacerbated by our overconsumption and exploitation of human and natural resources. For the first time, my place in that ‘damage chain’ became clear, and as recently pointed out by KCL PhD student, Elias Yassin, it is communities of black, indigenous, and other people of colour (BIPOC), who are largely paying the price – again.

Deforestation is a high-risk driver of modern slavery, and enslaved people are not only regularly used to deforest for timber, but also for the construction of new farms and natural resource extraction operations. NGO Repórter Brasil, estimates that from 1995-2019, over 54,000 people in the Amazon were rescued from farms dealing in animal produce, vegetables and cotton. In 2017, following a 48-hour journey through the rainforest, a police raid managed to rescue seven enslaved men who had been enslaved into farming work under highly unsafe and unsanitary conditions, and who testified to having been beaten and threatened with murder. Slavery is common practice amongst ranchers in the area and raids of this kind are not unheard of, but rarely result in punitive measures. The rescued men were all illiterate and, whilst the report does not mention their current condition, it is likely that without prospects and an adequate support network, that they remain in a precarious situation. In March 2020, another investigation by Repórter Brasil linked the world’s biggest meat companies, JBS and Marfrig, to a farm where nine men were found dead in the Amazon, in what was described as one of the most brutal Amazonian massacres in recent history – their bodies showing signs of torture and of having been stabbed or shot.

These same Ranchers forgo traditional indigenous forest-burning tactics for an August burning season, where the dry weather is used to haphazardly prepare land for crops and pasture, resulting in major fires which devastate indigenous homes and natural habitats. Indigenous activists have been fighting back, with leaders such as Nemonte Nenquimo recently honoured with the 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize for her success in protecting 500,000 acres of rainforest from oil extraction. But the fight for climate preservation against exploitative organisations has come at a huge cost of life, with a record number of environmental activists murdered in the Amazon in 2019 alone by illegal logging gangs, which Human Rights Watch has described as “only getting worse under President Bolsonaro.” 

In 2015, following decades of discussions, the UK finally enacted the Modern Slavery Act in an effort to prevent, prosecute and protect individuals caught up in serious exploitation and the associated abuses. There are many issues with the Act, in particular an overreliance and focus on law enforcement, immigration and deportation, but it has nevertheless been hailed as ground-breaking, and last year alone led to the referral of 10,627 potential survivors. There is still a long way to go before it is survivor-focused, but the UK Modern Slavery Act is not all-talk: It is being implemented. 26% of the individuals referred claimed they had been exploited overseas, with the majority of cases in both adults and children covering labour trafficking. In an ideal world, every country would have a well-implemented modern slavery act, and the UK ‘s influence cannot be denied. The Act has achieved international influence, imprinting itself in legislation such as that of the 2017 “Corporate duty of vigilance law” in France and the Modern Slavery Act (2018) in Australia, with Canada now looking to follow suit. But there is still much to be done.

The nexus between modern slavery and climate change is still barely discussed or explored, particularly in terms of gaining policy-related acknowledgement. There have been high-level discussions on climate change and disaster displacement, and in early 2020 a United Nations human rights committee ruled it unlawful for governments to return ‘climate refugees’ to countries where their lives might be threatened by the climate crisis. UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi recently shared that the world needs to prepare for millions of people being driven from their homes by climate change. But without adequate legislature and a sufficiently financed support-infrastructure, who or what will ensure these individuals do not fall prey to climate slavery and into exploitative practices which compound climate change itself? 

Modern slavery and climate change are transnational issues which desperately require improved cross-border cooperation. The issues have for too long been addressed separately, but if individuals and governments are serious about preventing either, it is time we acknowledged and fixed the fragmented dialogue surrounding them. 

 

Rebecca is the Events Officer at Policy Institute and Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London. Prior to this, she worked in PhD Registry Services at King’s whilst also undertaking events management consultancy work. Previously, she worked for various think tanks, organising events in Europe, North America and Africa, mainly focusing on human rights, security and defence, international development and healthcare policy. She is a self-confessed “modern-slavery geek” and is setting up an educational not-for-profit, the “Universities Against Modern Slavery Alliance (UAMSA)’, which focuses on education and movement building within our Universities to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking. Rebecca has a Master’s degree in International Relations and the European Union (with Mandarin Chinese) from Aston University, and a BA in Spanish and Italian from the University of Bangor, Wales. Rebecca dreams of one day undertaking a PhD and getting a job as a researcher specialising in human trafficking and modern slavery.

Myanmar police file new charge against Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar's deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi was hit with another charge, after the military imposed a second straight overnight internet shutdown in an attempt to grind down an anti-coup uprising

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Demonstrators hold placards with the image of Aung San Suu Kyi during a protest against the military coup, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, February 15, 2021. (Reuters)

Police in Myanmar have filed a new charge against ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her lawyer said, which may allow her to be held indefinitely without trial.

Lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told reporters after meeting with a judge in the capital, Naypyitaw, that Suu Kyi has been charged with violating Article 25 of the Natural Disaster Management Law, which has been used to prosecute people who have broken coronavirus restrictions.

Suu Kyi, who was ousted in a military coup on February 1, has already been charged with possessing six walkie-talkie sets that were allegedly imported without being registered.

The maximum punishment for the Covid-19 violation is three years’ imprisonment.

However, the new charge may allow her to be held indefinitely without trial because a change in the Penal Code instituted by the junta last week permits detention without court permission.

UN warns Myanmar against harsh response

The United Nations special envoy has warned Myanmar's army of "severe consequences" for any harsh response to protesters demonstrating against this month's coup in a call with the military leadership.

UN Special Envoy Christine Schraner Burgener spoke on Monday to the deputy head of the junta in what has become a rare channel of communication between Myanmar's army and the outside world.

"Ms Schraner Burgener has reinforced that the right of peaceful assembly must fully be respected and that demonstrators are not subjected to reprisals," UN spokesman Farhan Haq said at the United Nations.

"She has conveyed to the Myanmar military that the world is watching closely, and any form of heavy-handed response is likely to have severe consequences."

In an account of the meeting, Myanmar's army said junta Number Two, Soe Win, had discussed the administration's plans and information on "the true situation of what's happening in Myanmar".

Myanmar's junta has deployed extra troops around the country and choked the internet for the second night in a row as it intensified a crackdown on anti-coup protests, but defiant demonstrators again took to the streets.

The military has steadily escalated efforts to quell an uprising against their seizure of power two weeks ago, which saw civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi detained along with hundreds of others, including members of her democratically elected government.

READ MORE: Aung Suu Kyi’s detention extended as protests flare in Myanmar

"Patrolling with armoured vehicles means they are threatening people," said 46-year-old Nyein Moe, among the more than 1,000 gathered Monday in front of the Central Bank, staring down armoured vehicles parked there.

"We can't stop now."

By afternoon, news of a strong police presence at the city's headquarters of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party drew thousands to the scene.

They chanted "End military dictatorship" as the officers stood guard.

"About seven police officers searched for about 30 minutes (for two MPs)," NLD member Soe Win told AFP after the security forces left without finding them. "Now everything is settled."

Suu Kyi and President Win Myint are expected to be questioned by a court "via video conferencing" in the country's capital of Naypyidaw this week, said lawyer Khin Maung Zaw, adding that he had not been able to make contact with either client.

Neither has been seen in public since they were detained in dawn raids on February 1, the day of the coup.

Internet blackout

On Tuesday, another internet blackout blanketed Myanmar, dropping connectivity to 15 percent of ordinary levels, according to UK-based monitoring group NetBlocks.





The shutdown comes after a day of protesters taking to the streets in defiance of heavy troop presence around Yangon – although turnout was smaller than in recent days.

The United Nations denounced the choking of the internet.

Burgener warned the deputy commander of the Myanmar army, Soe Win, that "network blackouts undermine core democratic principles," according to Haq.Myanmar's military, officially known as the Tatmadaw, declared a state of emergency on Feb. 1, hours after detaining President Win Myint, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, and other senior members of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party. (AA)

The envoy noted that such shutdowns "hurt key sectors, including banking, and heighten domestic tensions. And, so, we've made our concerns about this very clear," said Haq

PARKING PATROL

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An armoured vehicle rides on a street during a protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar, February 14, 2021. (Reuters)

Across the country, people continued to take to the streets Monday to call for the release of Suu Kyi – with some incidents of violence.

A demonstration led by student groups in Naypyidaw was met with force after the gathering had retreated. Police also arrested dozens of the young protesters, though some were later released.

Mandalay, the country's second largest city, saw a clash which left at least six injured after police used slingshots against protesters and fired rubber bullets into the crowd.

Demonstrators retaliated by throwing bricks, said a rescue team member who assisted with the injured.

"One of them needed oxygen because he was hit with a rubber bullet in his rib," rescue team head Khin Maung Tin told AFP.

Journalists on the scene also said police had beaten them in the melee.

READ MORE: Mass protests against army coup hit Myanmar for second day

'State-ordered information blackout'

NetBlocks reported Monday that a "state-ordered information blackout" had taken Myanmar almost entirely offline for around eight hours, before connectivity was restored at the start of the working day.

Tuesday's internet blackout would be the fourth since February 1, when the military staged a putsch and detained Suu Kyi, ending a decade-old fledgling democracy after generations of junta rule.

But cutting out internet connectivity, and a step up in arrests, has done little to quell resistance that has seen huge crowds throng big urban centres and isolated frontier villages alike.

The anti-coup movement has continued apace despite intensifying fears of a harsher crackdown, like on Sunday night when troops in the northern city of Myitkyina fired tear gas and then shot into a crowd of protesters.

So far, more than 420 people, including striking workers, have been detained since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group.

READ MORE: Myanmar charges Suu Kyi for illegal walkie-talkies amid opposition

Declaration of war

A joint statement from the US, British and European Union ambassadors urged security forces not to harm civilians.

By late Monday night, the UK embassy in Myanmar took a harsher line, admonishing the regime for its attack on journalists and for imposing another internet blackout.

"The assault on freedom of expression must stop," it tweeted.

UN special rapporteur Tom Andrews told AFP Monday that he does expect Suu Kyi's court hearing to be fair.

"There's nothing fair about the junta. This is theater. It's just theater. And of course, nobody believes them," Andrews said.

"In a kind of an ironic way, the generals have proven their capacity to unify the country in ways that I have never seen," he added.

"They’re a unifier. But unfortunately for them, everyone is unified in opposition to them, and opposition to the idea of once again being under a brutal, military, authoritarian regime," Andrews said.

READ MORE: Hundreds of Myanmar lawmakers remain under house arrest after coup

Myanmar junta cuts internet again to grind down anti-coup rallies

Issued on: 16/02/2021 - 

In the two weeks since troops ousted Aung San Suu Kyi and took the civilian leader into custody, big urban centres and isolated village communities alike have been in open revolt STR AFP

Yangon (AFP)

Myanmar's generals imposed a second straight overnight internet shutdown into Tuesday, ignoring international condemnation as they worked to grind down a popular uprising against their coup.

In the two weeks since troops ousted Aung San Suu Kyi and took the civilian leader into custody, big urban centres and isolated village communities alike have been in open revolt.

Security forces have used increasing force to quell huge nationwide street protests and a disobedience campaign encouraging civil servants to strike.

Troops have fanned out around the country in recent days and fired rubber bullets to disperse one rally in Mandalay, hours before authorities again cut internet gateways.

"They shut down the internet because they want to do bad things," said 44-year-old Win Tun, a resident of commercial capital Yangon.

"We didn't sleep the whole night so we could see what would happen."

The shutdown came after another day of protests in Yangon, in defiance of armoured vehicles and troop convoys stationed around key sections of the city -- although turnout was smaller than in recent days.

Mandalay, the country's second largest city, saw a clash that left at least six injured after police used slingshots against protesters and fired rubber bullets into the crowd.

Demonstrators retaliated by throwing bricks, according to a medic at the scene, while journalists said police had beaten them in the melee.

Crowds returned to the streets in parts of the country on Tuesday morning.

A group of engineers in hard hats stood on the steps of a pagoda in the capital Naypyidaw and held signs demanding the release of Suu Kyi from detention, a livestream from local media outlet Myanmar Now showed.

- 'Nobody believes them' -

The international community has unleashed a torrent of condemnation against the leaders of Myanmar's new army administration, which insists it took power lawfully.

UN envoy Christine Schraner Burgener, spoke to junta number two Soe Win on Monday and warned him that the regime's network blackouts "undermine core democratic principles," according to a spokesman.

More than 420 people have been arrested since the coup, according to a list of confirmed detentions from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group.

There are numerous unconfirmed reports of other arrests.

Suu Kyi and her top political ally, Win Myint, have not been seen in public since they were detained in dawn raids on February 1, the day a new parliament was due to convene.

Both are expected to appear in court by videolink in Naypyidaw this week.

The Nobel laureate, who spent years under house arrest for opposing an earlier dictatorship, has been charged under an obscure import law for possessing unregistered walkie-talkies at her home.

UN special rapporteur Tom Andrews told AFP Monday that he does not expect Suu Kyi's court hearing to be fair.

"There's nothing fair about the junta. This is theatre. It's just theatre. And of course, nobody believes them," Andrews said.

UPDATE

Video shows a protester being fatally shot in Myanmar

15/02/2021 - 

Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing shortly after being shot on February 9, 2021

 in Naypyidaw. © Facebook

Text by: Liselotte Mas


A video filmed by an eyewitness shows a young woman being shot in the head during a police crackdown on a protest on February 9 against the military coup in Myanmar in the capital city of Naypyidaw. The woman, who was taken to intensive care, died there three days later.

On February 8, thousands of people took to the streets in more than 300 different locations to protest the recent military coup that overturned the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. In response, the military, which took power just over a week before, imposed a curfew and banned people from gathering. Despite the ban, daily protests have continued ever since. 

Videos filmed by a drone and broadcast by a media outlet called Frontier Myanmar show a group made up of several hundred people gathering around a roundabout. You can’t tell which figures represent the dozens of riot police at the scene but you can see their water canons. © Frontier Myanmar

On the morning of February 9, protesters gathered at the Thapyaygone roundabout in Naypyidaw to protest the military coup.

In a video posted the same day on Facebook, you can see a woman in a red T-shirt standing on the side of the road and watching the police as they advance. Police start to fire a water cannon at the protesters and the woman joins a group of people taking shelter behind a bus station.


You can hear at least two gunshots being fired before the young woman collapses and lies on the ground, motionless.

Several people attempt to move the woman while the police continue to advance and fire the water cannon in their direction. One group tries to get her up again, but aren’t successful. They end up carrying her away from the police.

The young woman remains motionless.

The image on the left is a screengrab of the video filmed by a drone. 

The image on the right shows the area around the

 Thapyaygone roundabount (coordinates: 19.746822, 96.117287). 

© Facebook/Google Earth

The young woman’s name is Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing and she was shot in the head, according to the BBC and Human Rights Watch, who both investigated the incident. The young woman survived for several more days in the hospital, but was considered brain dead. Local press reported that she was confirmed dead on February 12.

A police officer raises his weapon as if to fire in Naypyidaw 

on February 9, 2021, around 1pm. AFP - STR

A number of social media users circulated a photo, which was initially posted by French press agency AFP, showing a police officer at the protest carrying a Myanmar-made BA-94 or BA-93 Uzi clone, a submachine gun.

The image shows the officer aiming his weapon at the height of a human, though it is impossible to tell if he was targeting protesters when the image was taken. According to this image’s metadata, the photo was taken at 1:02pm.

This image stands in stark contrast to the information provided by the Army’s press wing, the “True News” information unit, which claimed that the police had only used non-lethal weapons during protests, according to Amnesty International.


"I heard guns being fired by the police”

Doctor Khemar M. lives and works in Naypyidaw. He joined the protest movement after the coup and regularly works in medical centres set up to care for protestors. On February 9, he joined in with the protest.

The protesters were calm and peaceful. In fact, a large number of them were just sitting down in front of the police. Around noon, the police asked the protesters to disperse, which they refused to do. So the police started firing water cannons at the protesters. One protester got angry and threw an empty water bottle towards one of the water cannons.
1/7

Photo prise par notre Observateur lors de la manifestation du 9 février à Naypyidaw. © © Khemar M. (pseudonyme)/France 24


That’s when the situation spiralled out of control. The police charged at the protesters and started using the water cannons on a larger scale. Some of the protesters responded by throwing food wrappers or empty bottles that had been handed out earlier.

At that moment, I heard bursts of fire from the police, without really knowing if they were firing rubber bullets or real ones.

I was really close to the place where Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing was shot. In the moment, I didn’t really understand what was happening but I do remember seeing a crowd there. When I think back on it, I’m really disturbed. She was trying to hide, as I was at that point. She wasn’t any kind of threat, she wasn’t preventing the police from advancing. But they still aimed at her and fired at her.

I spoke with my colleagues who were at the medical centre that day. They saw 12 protesters with serious wounds from bullets— some rubber, but at least two of them were hit with real bullets. There were 50 other people with other injuries, some of them from the water cannons. They confirmed to me that the bullet that was lodged in Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing’s head was the kind that would have been in the BA-94 guns that several police officers were carrying that day. 

These images show, according to social media users, X-rays of Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing’s head and the bullet that was lodged there. Our Observer confirmed the authenticity of the scans

We haven’t had any news of the other person with a gunshot wound, except that they were transferred to the hospital. We believe that the junta is closely monitoring all of the information about it, considering the scandal already caused by what happened to Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing.

The United Nations condemned what it called a “disproportionate” and “unacceptable” use of force by the army.

“A number of protesters were injured, some seriously,” said Ola Almgren, the UN resident coordinator in Myanmar, who received reports from several different cities across the country.

The coup on February 1 ended the country’s brief period of democratic rule, which started in 2010.

 

DW NEWS

Myanmar footballers threaten national team boycott

Myanmar is seeing the biggest pro-democracy demonstrations in more than a decade. Now the country's footballers are lending their voices to the protests that have brought hundreds of thousands of people out on the streets.

 

Crackdown on Myanmar protesters intensifies

 cbc.ca 

Duration: 02:11 1 day ago

Night has become a time of fear in Myanmar with the ruling military cracking down on protesters and shutting off the internet to cover up arrests and violence.

Myanmar military guarantees new election; protesters block train services
  

Protesters blocked train services between Yangon and the southern city of Mawlamyine.

PHOTO: REUTERS


YANGON (REUTERS) - Myanmar's military on Tuesday (Feb 16) guaranteed that it would hold an election and hand power to the winner, denying that its ouster of an elected government was a coup and denouncing protesters for inciting violence and intimidating civil servants.

The military's justification of its Feb 1 seizure of power and arrest of government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others came as protesters again took to the streets and after a UN envoy warned the army of "severe consequences" for any harsh response to the demonstrations.

"Our objective is to hold an election and hand power to the winning party," Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, spokesman for the ruling council, told the military's first news conference since it seized power.

The military has not given a date for a new election but it has imposed a state of emergency for one year. Zaw Min Tun said the military would not hold power for long.

"We guarantee ... that the election will be held," he told the news conference which the military broadcast live over Facebook, a platform the military has banned.

Asked about the detention of Nobel prize winner Suu Kyi and the president, he said the military would abide by the constitution.

Despite the deployment of armoured vehicles and soldiers in some major cities on the weekend, protesters have kept up their campaign to oppose military rule demand Suu Kyi's release.

As well as the demonstrations in towns and cities across the ethnically diverse country, a civil disobedience movement has brought strikes that are crippling many functions of government.

Protesters blocked train services between Yangon and the southern city of Mawlamyine, milling on to a sun-baked stretch of railway track waving placards in support of the disobedience movement, live images broadcast by media showed.

"Release our leaders immediately," and "People's power, give it back," the crowd chanted.

Crowds also gathered in two places in the main city of Yangon - at a traditional protest site near the main university campus and at the central bank, where protesters hoped to press staff to join the civil disobedience movement.

About 30 Buddhist monks protested against the coup with prayers in Yangon, while hundreds of protesters marched through the west coast town of Thandwe.

'World is watching'

The unrest has revived memories of bloody outbreaks of opposition to almost half a century of direct army rule that ended in 2011 when the military began a process of withdrawing from civilian politics.

But violence has been limited this time though police have opened fire several times, mostly with rubber bullets, to disperse protesters.

One woman who was shot in the head in the capital Naypyitaw last week is not expected to survive. Zaw Min Tun said one policeman had died of injuries sustained in a protest.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Myanmar junta cuts Internet as troops fire to break up protest

UN warns Myanmar against harsh response to protesters

He said the protests were harming stability and spreading fear and the campaign of civil disobedience amounted to the illegal intimidation of civil servants.

The army took power alleging fraud in a Nov 8 general election in which Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party had won a landslide.

The electoral commission had dismissed the army's complaints but the military spokesman reiterated them on Tuesday.

Suu Kyi, 75, spent nearly 15 years under house arrest for her efforts to end military rule and is again being kept under guard at her home in Naypyitaw.

She faces charges of illegally importing six walkie-talkie radios and is being held on remand until Wednesday. Her lawyer said on Tuesday police had filed a second charge of violating the country's Natural Disaster Management Law.

The coup has prompted an angry response from Western countries and the United States has already set some sanctions against the ruling generals.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Myanmar anti-coup protesters march again as US sanctions generals

Thousands protest Myanmar coup after night of fear, security patrols

UN Special Envoy Christine Schraner Burgener spoke on Monday to the deputy head of the junta in what has become a rare channel of communication between the army and the outside world, urging restraint and the restoration of communications.

"Ms Schraner Burgener has reinforced that the right of peaceful assembly must fully be respected and that demonstrators are not subjected to reprisals," UN spokesman Farhan Haq said at the United Nations.

"She has conveyed to the Myanmar military that the world is watching closely, and any form of heavy-handed response is likely to have severe consequences."

Fear that China will secure junta rule feeds rumors of conspiracy in Myanmar

By Coconuts Yangon Feb 16, 2021 | 11:42am Yangon time

A flight from Kunming loaded with Chinese IT techs to seal off Myanmar’s internet. Chinese security forces masquerading as Burmese soldiers. An uncertain dictator evacuating his family.

These are the rumors swirling through Myanmar 15 days after its military staged a coup d’etat the public has refused to accept. And while the reality paints a bleak enough picture of soldiers abducting students, pro-democracy figures and civil servants in the dead of night, fear that China will bring its expertise to bear in suppressing dissent is giving ample fuel to conspiracy theories.

People yesterday were calling out the appearance of unfamiliar fair- and light-skinned soldiers blocking the Central Bank on No.  1 Industrial Road in Yangon’s Yankin Township, casting doubts about the identity of the strange soldiers.

“Are those made in #China coz myanmar military are not fair like them,” @ThetHtarSuKyi tweeted with photos of the soldiers wearing standard army uniforms.

Are those made in #China coz myanmar military are not fair like them #CrimesAgainstHumanity #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar #Feb15Coup #RejectMilitaryCoup pic.twitter.com/eGAScjs32L

— Thet Htar Su Kyi (@ThetHtarSuKyi) February 15, 2021

Yangon clamors with protests demanding military stand down (Photos)

Anger has run high against China and Russia after they vetoed a U.N. Security Council condemnation of the coup. Large crowds have gathered in front of their embassies in Myanmar to denounce their governments’ inaction.

Still, a popular uprising against military rule continued today for an 11th consecutive day, despite armored units flooding the streets of cities to suppress them. More than 30 universities and over 100,000 civil servants, including 15 ministries and medical schools, along with some members of the police force, are taking part in the growing Civil Disobedience Movement they hope will shut down the dictatorship in its infancy.

Fear the government would enlist Chinese aid in walling off the internet bubbled again last night when more flights arrived from Kunming, China. Last week, rumors spread that six late-night cargo flights were ferrying Chinese technical consultants and equipment into Yangon International Airport at a time the internet was cut off nationwide. 

Just seafood for Chinese New Year festivities, according to the China’s embassy.

All it took was a clip of a plane landing at midnight in Yangon to bolster rumors that junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, uncertain of his grip on power, had evacuated his family abroad Sunday night.

The night raids and arrests haven’t deterred the public, which has turned out in the tens of thousands to loudly object to the coup and demand the release of detained civilian leadership including Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint.

The army has reportedly used live ammunition against protesters in at least one incident, though there have been no known fatalities as of yet.

An 8pm to 4am curfew has been in effect nationwide since February 7, and armored vehicles have recently begun roaming the streets of Yangon in the evening. Tanks have been spotted in other cities since the curfew.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who hasn’t been seen publicly since she was taken into custody, was expected to appear in court today at a hearing. Her lawyer announced that it was postponed until Wednesday, adding that he had not been allowed to see her since she was arrested.

Demonstrations resume in Myanmar despite crackdown on protests
Groups of demonstrators turned out early in Yangon and other cities to protest against the February 1 coup and demand that the nation’s elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi

Demonstrators display pictures of detained Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Picture: AP

TUE, 16 FEB, 2021 - 08:30
ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTER

Peaceful demonstrations against Myanmar’s military takeover resumed, following violence against protesters a day earlier by security forces and after internet access was blocked for a second straight night.

Groups of demonstrators turned out early in Yangon and other cities to protest against the February 1 coup and demand that the nation’s elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and members of her ousted government be freed from detention.

In Yangon, police blocked off the street in front of the Central Bank, which protesters have targeted amid speculation online that the military is seeking to seize money from them.

Buddhist monks demonstrated outside the UN’s local office.

Buddhist monks display pictures of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi (AP)

The protests are taking place in defiance of an order banning gatherings of five or more people.

Around 3,000 demonstrators, mainly students, returned to the streets in Mandalay, the country’s second biggest city, carrying posters of Ms Suu Kyi and shouting for the return of democracy.

Security presence was low-key around the march, with most police guarding key buildings in the city, such as state banks branches.

On Monday in Mandalay, soldiers and police violently broke up a gathering of more than 1,000 protesters in front of the Myanmar Economic Bank.

They attacked the protesters with slingshots and sticks, and police could be seen aiming long guns into the air amid sounds that resembled gunfire.

Local media reported rubber bullets were fired into the crowd and that a few people were injured.

No reason has been announced for why the government ordered internet access blocked on Sunday and Monday nights.

It has in the past few weeks imposed selective and ineffective blocks on social media platforms and prepared a draft internet law that would criminalise many online activities.

There is also widespread speculation that the government is installing a firewall system that can monitor or block most or all online activity.

A demonstrator displays an upside-down begging-bowl, a form of protest symbolising the refusal to receive any kind of alms from the military government (AP)

State media were acknowledging the protest movement with indirect references.

The Global New Light Of Myanmar newspaper reported about a meeting of the State Administration Council, the new top governing body, and quoted its chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, saying the authorities “are handling the ongoing problems with care”.

It said the council discussed taking legal action against protesters, providing “true information” to the media, and resuming public transport, an apparent reference to strikes and slowdowns by hauliers and state railway workers.

The newspaper also said the council members discussed acting against a “parallel government” established by some elected politicians of Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, who were prevented from taking their seats when the military stopped Parliament from opening its session February 1

The self-styled Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw has 15 members who met online and said they have enough support to convene Parliament.

It stakes a claim to being the sole legitimate government institution and has appealed to foreign powers and the UN and other multilateral institutions for recognition, with no known positive responses.

Soldiers stand next to a military lorry (AP)

Committee members believe warrants have been issued for their arrests.

Ms Suu Kyi is under house arrest on a minor charge of possessing unregistered imported walkie-talkies.

It is likely that she will appear in court by videoconference on Wednesday, according to Khin Maung Zaw, a lawyer asked by Ms Suu Kyi’s party to represent her.

The military contends there was fraud in last year’s election, which Ms Suu Kyi’s party won in a landslide, and says it will hold power for a year before holding new elections.

The state election commission found no evidence to support the claims of fraud.

The military says its takeover is legitimate under a 2008 constitution that was drafted under military rule and ensures the army maintains ultimate control over the country.

The UN, US and other governments have urged it to return power to the elected government and release Ms Suu Kyi and other detainees.

Myanmar security forces crack down on anti-coup protesters

A policeman aims a catapult towards an unknown target during a crackdown on anti-coup protesters holding a rally in front of the Myanmar Economic Bank in Mandalay (AP)

MON, 15 FEB, 2021 - 12:24

ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTER

Security forces in Myanmar have intensified their crackdown against anti-coup protesters.

They are seeking to quell the large-scale demonstrations calling for the military junta that seized power earlier this month to reinstate the elected government.

More than 1,000 protesters were rallying in front of the Myanmar Economic Bank in Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, when at least 10 trucks full of soldiers and police arrived.

They started firing catapults towards the protesters before they even got out of the trucks, according to a photographer who witnessed the events.

A soldier holds a long firearm during a crackdown on anti-coup protesters holding a rally in front of the Myanmar Economic Bank in Mandalay (AP)

The soldiers and police then attacked the protesters with sticks and catapults, and police could be seen aiming long guns into the air amid sounds that resembled gunfire.

Local media reported that rubber bullets were also fired into the crowd, and that a few people were injured.

Police were also seen pointing guns towards the protesters.

In the capital, Naypyitaw, protesters gathered outside a police station demanding the release of a group of high school students who were detained while joining in anti-coup activities.

One student who managed to escape told reporters that the pupils – thought to range in age from 13 to 16 – were demonstrating peacefully when a line of riot police suddenly arrived and began arresting them.

It was not clear exactly how many students were rounded up, but estimates put the figure at between 20 and 40.

Earlier on Monday, Myanmar’s military leaders extended their detention of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose remand was set to expire and whose freedom is a key demand of the crowds of people continuing to protest against the February 1 coup.

Engineers hold posters with an image of deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi as they hold an anti-coup protest march in Mandalay (AP)

Ms Suu Kyi will now be remanded until February 17, when she is likely to appear in court by video conference, according to Khin Maung Zaw, a lawyer asked by Ms Suu Kyi’s party to represent her.

The Nobel laureate remains under house arrest on a minor charge of possessing unregistered imported walkie-talkies.

Ms Suu Kyi’s extended detention is likely to further inflame tensions between the military and the protesters who have taken to the streets of cities across the South East Asian nation seeking the return of the government they elected.

Protesters continued to gather across Myanmar on Monday, following a night in which authorities cut the country’s internet access and increased the security presence in major cities seeking to curtail demonstrations.

Thousands of engineers marched on the streets of Mandalay chanting and holding signs that read: “Free our leader,” “Who stands with justice?” and “Stop arresting people illegally at midnight.”

In Yangon, the country’s most populous city, fewer protesters gathered on Monday due to the loss of the internet and reports of military vehicles on the streets.

Soldiers cross the road near the headquarters of the National League for Democracy party in Yangon (AP)

Nevertheless, more than 1,000 anti-coup demonstrators were outside the Central Bank of Myanmar building, where there were also military trucks full of soldiers, riot police, water cannon trucks and armoured personnel carriers.

Demonstrators carried placards that read “#SupportCDM #SaveMyanmar.”

CDM refers to the civil disobedience movement that has seen doctors, engineers and others in Myanmar refuse to work until the military releases elected political leaders and returns the country to civilian rule.

Some protesters posed for photographs in front of military vehicles while holding red signs that read “Join in CDM.”

When the military seized power, it detained Ms Suu Kyi and members of her government and prevented recently elected legislators from opening a new session of parliament.

Protesters and soldiers outside the Central Bank of Myanmar building in Yangon (AP)

The junta, led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, said it stepped in because the government failed to properly investigate allegations of fraud in last year’s election, which Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won in a landslide.

The state election commission rejected that contention, saying there is no evidence to support it.

The military justified its move by citing a clause in the 2008 constitution, implemented during military rule, that says in cases of national emergency, the government’s executive, legislative and judicial powers can be handed to the military commander-in-chief.

It is just one of many parts of the charter that ensured the military could maintain ultimate control over the country it ruled for 50 years following a 1962 coup.

The military is allowed to appoint its members to 25% of seats in parliament and it controls several key ministries involved in security and defence.

An order on Sunday that appeared to be from the Ministry of Transport and Communications told mobile phone service providers to shut down internet connections from 1am to 9am on Monday.

Government employees from the Mandalay City Development Committee during an anti-coup rally in front of Mandalay railway station (AP)

It circulated widely on social media, as did a notice said to be from service provider Oredoo Myanmar containing the same details.

On Sunday, ambassadors from the United States and Canada and 12 European nations called on Myanmar’s security forces to refrain from violence against those “protesting the overthrow of their legitimate government”.

They condemned the arrests of political leaders and activists as well as the military’s interference with communications.

“We support the people of Myanmar in their quest for democracy, freedom, peace, and prosperity,” they said in a joint statement issued late on Sunday night.

“The world is watching.”