Myanmar Security Forces: Stop Violent Attacks on Peaceful Demonstrators

Killings of Unarmed Civilians Demand Urgent Investigation & Accountability

Mighty Earth calls on Myanmar security forces to immediately cease violent attacks on peaceful protesters that have resulted in multiple deaths and injuries of unarmed civilians in the past 72 hours in cities across the country. We are dismayed by reports from multiple credible sources – including the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights – that “ police and military forces have confronted peaceful demonstrations, using lethal force and less-than-lethal force that…has left at least 18 people dead and over 30 wounded.”

We stand with the people of Myanmar in asserting that they should not be subjected to lethal force merely for peacefully exercising their universal human rights of freedom of expression and freedom of association. We urge Myanmar’s military leadership to work with the country’s democratically elected officials and civil society to establish a clear and rapid return to civilian rule. Myanmar’s forests and the rights of its people depend on a legitimate government.

“The peaceful exercise of the universal human rights of freedom of expression, assembly and association anywhere in the world, but particularly Myanmar at this moment, requires respect and protection, not extrajudicial executions by security forces who fail in their obligation to honor such basic freedoms,” said Glenn Hurowitz, Chief Executive Officer at Mighty Earth. “The Myanmar military leadership must respect the rights and legitimate democratic aspirations of the Myanmar people, or face global pariah status for choosing unlawful violence over peaceful engagement.”