According to the UN Human Rights Office, civilians in Myanmar are being threatened by both military authorities and armed opposition groups ahead of Sunday’s orchestrated elections. People who express a dissenting opinion are also arrested, writes Volker Türk, the United Nations human rights chief. He calls on the parties to stop using “brute force”.
Army boss Min Aung Hlaing seized power in Myanmar in February 2021, due to “suspicions of fraud” in the elections a few months earlier. Government leader Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, dozens of politicians, activists and other critics of the military were subsequently detained. The armed forces announced that they would organize elections after a year, but did not keep that promise.
The junta controls only a quarter of Myanmar’s territory, but is supported by China and Russia. Large parts of the country are in the hands of resistance groups. For this reason, China also supports Myanmar rebel groups in border areas.
Human rights chief Türk further writes that some citizens were imposed “extremely severe punishments”. As an example, he mentions three activist young people from the Yangon region. They criticized the holding of elections using posters and were therefore given prison sentences of 42 to 49 years, the UN agency said.
The arrests of film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing are also cited. They were arrested at the end of October according to the Myanmar newspaper The Irrawaddywhich is forced to operate from Thailand. All three were sentenced to seven years in prison. They are said to have undermined “public confidence” in the elections by mocking a junta propaganda film.
The armed groups are also to blame, Türk said. Militants reportedly kidnapped nine teachers on November 16, who were due to receive training on the elections. The women were later released. A few days later, the “Yangon Army” bombed government offices, injuring election preparation workers.
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