On July 25, 2022, Myanmar’s military authorities carried out the execution of four political prisoners, namely Phyo Zeya Thaw, a former hip-hop star turned National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker, Kyaw Min Yu, known as “Ko Jimmy”, a veteran of the 88 Generation Students Group – a Burmese pro-democracy movement known for their activism against the military junta in the 1988 student uprising, and two other pro-democracy activists, Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw. The political prisoners were sentenced to death in January 2022 in a close-door trial for aiding “terror acts” by a civilian resistance movement.
The executions are the first in Myanmar in more than three decades.
The executions, which have been unanimously condemned by the United Nations (UN) Security Council, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the international community, mark the atrocious escalation in state repression and a further regression in the human rights situation in Myanmar since the military coup in 2021.
The Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism is deeply appalled and strongly condemns the executions conducted, the depraved acts of violence, and the blatant disregard of human rights. We urge the Myanmar military to cease all violence against civilians, including the arbitrary executions and arrests and for the immediate and unconditional release of all persons arbitrarily detained. We further call on the Myanmar military authorities to uphold the respect for the rule of law, human rights, and the restoration of the democratically elected Government.
The act of serious human rights abuses committed by the Myanmar junta suggests a complete disregard of the five (5) points’ consensus [1] agreed at the Jakarta Summit on 24 April 2021 between the ASEAN leaders and Myanmar junta chief, Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing since the human rights situation in Myanmar has worsened with the brutal nationwide crackdown at suppressing the opposition to military rule.
As the violence in Myanmar continues, we call on the ASEAN member-states to act decisively and hold the Myanmar military authorities accountable for its failure to take concrete actions to effectively and fully implement the Five Point Consensus (5PC) reached at the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting. We also call for the ASEAN Human Rights bodies to initiate investigation into ongoing human rights violations since the coup d’etat in February 2021.
The ASEAN’s aspirations for lasting peace and stability will remain hollow words unless it demonstrates collective effort in chartering the genuine “justice for the people of Myanmar” and the resolution of the human rights and humanitarian crisis through forwarding strong measures to deter atrocities, extending protection and humanitarian assistance to the refugees, internally-displaced persons (IDPs), and migrants, and preventing the loss of life and the suffering of the people of Myanmar.
[1] Five (5) points: an immediate end to violence in the country; dialogue among all parties; the appointment of a special envoy; humanitarian assistance by ASEAN; and the special envoy’s visit to Myanmar to meet with all parties.