The European Rohingya Council (ERC) is deeply concerned about the latest Myanmar Military’s coup staged on February 1, 2021. The ERC also expresses condemnations in the strongest terms on the arrests of civilians leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi under the state of emergency declared by Senior-general Min Aung Hlaing and the military.

Having the entire Rohingya people being disenfranchised and denied participation in the General Elections for the second time in Myanmar, it is unacceptable for the military (commonly known as Tatmadaw) to seize the power and arrest elected officials on the unfounded voting fraud allegations in the elections held on November 8, 2020.

The series of morning raids on senior NLD (National League for Democracy) officers accompanied by the telecommunication disruptions and the heavy presence of soldiers on streets, are gravely concerning and bring the painful and terrifying memories of previous military Coup d’état staged in 1962 and 1988 during which Myanmar had witnessed the degradations in terms of human rights, quality of life, equality and economics.

It is deeply worrying that all legislative, executive and judicial powers now being transferred to Senior-general Min Aung Hlaing who is the architect of two campaigns of genocide against the Rohingya people and several offensive armed-clashes with ethnic armed groups that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Aung San Suu Kyi who has whitewashed the genocide and vigorously defended the military at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) severing ties with the international community particularly the Western, is currently being detained along with her party leaders and officers amidst the battling Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

We are concerned about possible mass-arrests, human rights abuses and armed clashes between the military and the ethnic armed groups, which Myanmar had witnessed during the previous military takeovers.

We also call upon the international community to condemn the military regime, to follow the development in Myanmar closely particularly vulnerable ethnic and religious minorities including the Rohingya people, and to place immediate sanctions and concert collective actions against the military and bring the perpetrator to justice.

For more information:

Dr. Ambia Perveen
Chairperson
The European Rohingya Council
[email protected]

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