Myanmar Spring Chronicle – December 04 Scenes
MoeMaKa, December 05 2022
Reopening some of the blocked waterways and roads in Rakhine State; Tamu’s incident will be investigated by NUG
According to news reports, some of the roads and waterways that were blocked have been reopened after the fierce battles between the Rakhine Army AA and the military council forces that started in August ended with a ceasefire at the end of November. Among the communication routes connecting Maungdaw and Sittwe, the Maungdaw-A Ngu Maw road has been reopened, as well as the Sittwe-Punna Kywun road and the Sittwe-Kyauktaw-Paletwa waterway with some restrictions. Local news outlets also reported that the Punna Kywun-Rathedaung highway and the Yangon-Ann-Sittwe highway have not yet reopened.
During the intense armed conflict that lasted for 4 months, the military council blocked the entire armed conflict area of Rakhine state from rice, oil, fuel, medicines and tourist travel. It was partially reopened after a ceasefire agreement was reached recently.
This event, in which the military council cut off the food, medicine, and fuel needed for transportation not only to the armed forces fighting but also to the local people living in the entire area, is a huge violation of human rights by the military council. They blocked the area to prevent the armed forces from getting food, causing trouble for both the armed forces and the local residents. It also means that the local people are supporting the armed forces, and it can be concluded that the military council did it with the intention of punishing the local people.
The AA said that the reason for the ceasefire in the armed conflict was that it was decided from a humanitarian point of view that the local people are facing food and medicine problems and also cannot harvest the cultivated rice.
It should be said that the decision was not made from a political and military point of view, but because of humanitarian needs.
As for the geographical areas related to transportation in northern Rakhine State, according to the situation, not being able to communicate with neighboring countries and transport food and medicine is one factor that encourages the military council to conduct 4-cuts. Ethnic armed forces in border regions like Thailand have an advantage over those in Rakhine State, so the military council may not be successful in conducting 4-cuts in Karenni State and Karen State like this. Different geographical regions make it difficult for military armed organizations.
The next piece of news for today is that the NUG government will take investigative measures after the story of the killing of a school teacher accused of being a spy in the city of Tamu went viral on social media. In an age where events are recorded on phones and social media is common, most information is difficult to hide. Even if it is not immediately disclosed, there is a possibility that it will be leaked to the public in the near future. Few months back, Anti-junta side obtained a cell phone recording of the killings of dozens of villagers committed by junta soldiers in Montaingpin Village, Sagaing Division, and presented it to the public through the media as evidence of how the military council troops are committing murders. Now, the Tamu incident, where a civilian accused of being a junta informer was being tortured and shot, came to social media after it happened about 6 months ago.
The NUG government needs to implement a system that can immediately detect and take action if such killings and serious human rights violations occur. There is an urgent need to develop a self-monitoring and recording system, contacts for complaints, and systems to investigate and take action quickly if complaints are made. In this way, human rights violations can be prevented. If not, the armed personnel would think that their weapons are the power, order, decision, and judgment that determine, and the damage caused by the power may be increased.
There are some opinions that it is more important for the armed forces to have a great discipline during this revolution and to follow the standards and values of human rights set by the international community while fighting in battles. Some argue that If the armed forces commit a crime, it is considered that they should not be severely punished. Rather, it is considered to focus mainly on defeating the enemy, the military council. In other words, it also means that cases of killings who are considered to be the informers, dalans and pillars of the military council should not be taken into account and should not examined in accordance with human rights standards.
Although it is true that it is important to win the war, the principle is that there is always a need to consider military objectives balancing with political goals, democracy, justice, human rights, and human equality. It should be seriously aware that using force cannot bring the objectives of Spring Revolution.
It is true that if they are changing the authorian system, not just replacing the ruling dictators and rulers, then there is a need to have standards and ethics that match the values and goals of the system that they want to change ie federal democratic system.