Tyrants never sleep

After committing a series of mass atrocity crimes (genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity), Myanmar’s junta intends to hold elections in August 2023.

In preparation for the election, the junta has been conducting raids on households and asking them to show their household registration, requesting a personal appearance by family members.

Many young people migrated to neighbouring countries for work and study prior to the coup.

The junta, however, has accused those missing young people of joining the people’s defence force (PDF) and has threatened their family members.

Further, if the civilian has fled or relocated to avoid the household registration check, troops raid the house and delete the household registration from the immigration office, which can affect the holder’s citizenship.

So, many young people from Myanmar are migrating to neighbouring countries through irregular channels with the backing of human smugglers.

Most, however, are detained in different countries, and some have been deported despite the life of danger that awaits. Governments of Asean countries must place a high priority on protecting these Myanmar civilians.

The deportation of Myanmar refugees or asylum seekers back to Myanmar would amount to sentencing them to death.

Asean member governments must reject the military’s election in Myanmar. Myanmar’s people elected a civilian government on Nov 8, 2020; one of the most transparent elections in Myanmar’s recent history.

The military alleged voter fraud and staged the coup without any evidence of vote fraud, even by a military-appointed Union Election Committee.

Asean countries and the rest of the world must immediately revoke the visas of the military-appointed diplomats in their respective countries and engage with the National Unity Government to halt the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar.

It is essential the UN, the world community, and Asean countries recognise the voice of the Myanmar people, rather than displaying emotional regret and offering sympathy.

TUAL SAWN KHAI

PhD candidate in Sociology and Social Policy, School of Graduate Studies, Lingnan University, Hong Kong