Senator Ngo outraged by post-coup bloodshed in Myanmar

[For immediate release]- April 6, 2021

Today, Senator Thanh Hai Ngo issued the following Statement in response to disturbing reports of the indiscriminate killing of civilians at the hands of military and police forces in Myanmar these past weeks:

March 27th – a day officially commemorated as Myanmar’s ‘Armed Forces Day’, will henceforth be remembered instead, as a day of great dishonour, betrayal and tragedy. On this ‘bloodiest day of protests’ 114 innocent Myanmarese civilians (many of them youth, women and even children) were murdered in cold blood by military junta – bringing the death toll to over 560 since the February 1st military coup.

I categorically condemn the military coup against the democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government. In addition to the collective imposition of targeted sanctions against all military officials responsible for, or complicit in, grave human rights violations – the international community must also take decisive action, as put forward by UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews – either through the UN Security Council or an international emergency summit with the aim of halting all funding, oil and gas revenues, as well as access to weapons. Additionally, to ensure greater accountability, a UN fact-finding mission and investigation into these atrocities should be initiated.

This 76th Armed Force Day, while Min Aung Hlaing, donned in bow tie and medal-embellished jacket, greeted attendees and walked the red carpet, innocent and unarmed civilians walked in pools of blood.

Have we not learned anything from the Rohingya genocide? We have a moral obligation to once and for all, put an end to the ‘atrocity crimes’ that continue to be perpetrated by Myanmarese security forces.

 

For more information, please contact:

Office of the Honourable Thanh Hai Ngo

613-943-1599

ThanhHai.Ngo@sen.parl.gc.ca

www.honourablengo.ca

@SenatorNgo

 

Additional information:

Myanmar protesters continue to defy military junta amid increased internet curbs

Salve d’applaudissements pour défier la junte au Myanmar  [EN FRANÇAIS SEULEMENT]

Anguish in Myanmar after weekend of ‘outrageous’ bloodshed

‘Words are not enough:’ UN official urges world to act after at least 114 killed in Myanmar in one day

Myanmar security forces kill over 100 protesters in ‘horrifying’ day of bloodshed

Death toll in Myanmar protests surpass 320 but ‘likely much higher,’ group says

Myanmar: Top UN officials condemn military’s ‘shameful, cowardly’ attacks on peaceful protesters 

U.S. Department of Defense – Joint Statement of Chiefs of Defense Condemning Military-Sponsored Violence in Myanmar

Death toll from Myanmar junta’s brutal crackdown on protesters surpasses 500