MADRID Jan. 7 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The authorities of the European Union and nine other countries have warned this Monday of the worrying escalation of violence in Burma and intercommunal tension, urging the country’s military junta, whose leader faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity, and “all” the armed actors involved in the conflict to reduce violence, respect International Humanitarian Law and seek a political solution that contemplates the situation of the discriminated Rohingya community.
“We are deeply concerned about the worsening humanitarian and human rights crisis in Burma. This crisis is exacerbated by escalating violence as well as inter-communal tension. The regime’s continued violent repression against the people of Burma is unacceptable. “, the Twenty-Seven have said in a statement together with the Governments of the United States, Australia, Canada, Norway, New Zealand, South Korea, Switzerland, East Timor and the United Kingdom.
These words come after the rebels of the Arakan Army (AA) took control in mid-December of the headquarters of the military junta that has governed Burma since the 2021 coup d’état in the city of Ann, in the western state of Rakhine, as clashes between the parties progress.
The 36 governments have alluded to “credible reports” of human rights abuses that attest to “kidnapping and forced recruitment of children and members of ethnic and religious minorities, indiscriminate aerial bombardment by the Burma Army (…), sexual violence, burning of homes attacks” and even “dismemberment and incineration of civilians”.
The same information also mentions “attacks against humanitarian workers and facilities” and denounces “restrictions on humanitarian access” by all parties in a conflict that has left more than 3.5 million displaced, more than 15 million people at risk of suffering. food insecurity and the increase in outbreaks of diseases such as cholera.
The authorities of the European Union and the other nine countries have urged the Burmese Army and the Arakan rebels to “reduce violence, respect International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, protect civilians and allow full, safe and secure access to unhindered” humanitarian aid.
In addition, they have stressed the need to “address the underlying discrimination and brutal treatment suffered by the Rohingya” in “a political solution to the crisis” in the Asian country, calling for the de-escalation of tensions and the release of all prisoners. arbitrarily detained.
“We continue to support calls for authentic, constructive and inclusive dialogue to find a peaceful solution to the situation in Burma and return to the path of inclusive democracy,” they added, highlighting the work of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) “in search of a solution to the crisis”
Arakan Army attacks in Rakhine began in November 2023, and the rebels have since taken control of twelve of the area’s 17 townships, as well as Paletwa in the adjacent Chin state.
The coup d’état of February 1, 2021 was carried out by the Army to annul the results of the November 2020 general elections, in which Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won the majority parliamentarian, arguing that there had been fraud, a claim questioned by international observers.
The riot was the beginning of a harsh campaign of repression against opponents, activists and protesters. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) estimates that more than 27,000 people have been detained since the coup d’état, of which 20,715 remain imprisoned. In addition, the AAPP estimates that 5,480 have died as a result of the violent action of the military forces since the riot.
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