Report: Myanmar Accused of Political Extrajudicial Killings

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Facts

  • A statement from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) — a group that monitors civilian deaths and arrests globally — has claimed that Myanmar has murdered dozens of political prisoners and has sometimes used the pretense of prison escape or transfer to explain their deaths.1
  • The organization has alleged that 37 political prisoners from Kyaiksakaw Prison in Daik-U have gone missing or died and families have allegedly received little to no information about the circumstances of their deaths or whereabouts.2
  • In one incident, prison officials reported that political prisoner Sein Win had died of gastrointestinal bleeding, despite reports from other inmates that Win had been taken from the prison and interrogated. His family reports that bruises were found on his body at the time of his death.2
  • Since Myanmar's 2021 military coup, over 23.8K have reportedly been arrested for opposing the government, with 20K of them remaining in custody. Dozens of political prisoners remain on death row, with the country reinstating the death penalty for the first time in decades last year.1
  • At least 3.7K have been killed by the military regime and 150 dissidents have died in prison from poor healthcare, mistreatment, and torture or interrogation.3
  • Prison conditions in Myanmar were sub-standard well before the coup with the regime allegedly moving the worst abuses into interrogation centers. Myanmar’s National Unity Government, established by deposed lawmakers, has called on the global community to do more to help the nation's political prisoners.1

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, and 3The Irrawaddy.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Human Rights Watch. A humanitarian disaster in Myanmar is unfolding in real-time, as the military regime continues to force the Southeast Asian nation into stiffer repression, even amid the ongoing Rohingya crisis. The global community should not be legitimizing a government that has essentially outlawed dissent against its regime. International organizations and the rules-based order should do everything in their power to see Myanmar return to democratic rule.
  • Narrative B, as provided by East Asia Forum. The situation in Myanmar can only ever be resolved by the citizens of the country, not through foreign intervention. Myanmar enjoys regular relations with regional partners such as China, Japan, and Thailand, making Western sanctions on the regime ineffective. The lack of global unity only highlights that change in Myanmar can only come from within, as the West lacks the leverage to exert significant influence on the situation.