Myanmar: New UN report an ‘incitement to violence’

Myanmar’s junta claimed a recent report from the United Nations warning of a human rights crisis in the country was an “incitement to violence” meant to interfere with its internal affairs. 

The U.N.’s Special Rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said the current movement of troops and heavy weaponry was “ominously reminiscent” of tactics used ahead of a crackdown on the Rohingya minority in 2016 and 2017, AFP reported.

“We should all be prepared, as the people in this part of Myanmar are prepared, for even more mass atrocity crimes,” he told the U.N. General Assembly. 

The junta said that the UN’s report was “a political tool to intervene in the internal affairs of Myanmar,” according to Agence France-Presse.

The junta’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement the report would “lead to further division among (the) nation and incitement to internal violence,” according to AFP.

The U.N. blames the junta for killing almost 1,200 people since it staged a coup against the elected government in February. And the opposition has become increasingly militarized as peaceful protests prove futile. 

Over 70 military personnel and 93 police officers have been killed since February, according to the junta’s reports which AFP said are allegedly downplayed at times. 

Last week, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) snubbed the junta by choosing a non-political representative from Myanmar to represent the country at a summit of the bloc’s ten countries. Soon after, the junta released more than 100 political prisoners. 

“ASEAN’s announcement that the junta will not be welcome at its upcoming summit strikes at the heart of the junta’s third need — legitimacy,” Andrews told the U.N. “Without pressure, without denying the junta that which it needs from the international community, none of the detainees would have been released.”

Andrews urged U.N. members to place sanctions on Myanmar to withhold weapons, money and legitimacy. 

“I come before this venerated body today conveying a simple plea from the people of Myanmar: care about this unfolding catastrophe and then translate that care into meaningful action,” he said.  

Last month, the U.N. also announced that Myanmar would not have a representative speak at its General Assembly. This move came amid the junta’s efforts to replace its current U.N. representative, who is an appointee from the country’s ousted government.