The United Nations called for full amnesty for jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others detained since the 2021 coup as it condemned the junta’s more than 100 military strikes in the earthquake-ravaged country.
Fighting across civil war-ravaged Myanmar has continued as the military was accused of breaching the ceasefire declaration even as a catastrophic earthquake killed more than 3,600 people, with 5,018 injured and 145 missing.
The true extent of the devastation caused by the powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake on 28 March remains unknown as the continuing civil war in the country between the military and rebel ethnic groups has fractured the country, with many parts out of the junta’s control.
On Friday, the UN criticised the military government for breaching the ceasefire and obstructing humanitarian aid to survivors in rebel-held territories.
Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UNHCR, said military forces have reportedly carried out over 120 attacks, more than half of them after the truce was due to have taken effect on 2 April.
Most of these attacks have been aerial and artillery strikes, including in areas impacted by the earthquake, she said.
She called on the military to announce a full amnesty for detainees it has imprisoned since the 2021 military coup, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Ms Suu Kyi, and president U Win Myint.
“As the traditionally festive season of Thingyan and the start of a new year begins on Sunday in Myanmar, we call for common efforts to assist those in greatest need. In this spirit we call on the military to announce a full amnesty for detainees it has incarcerated since February 2021, including state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint,” she said.
In a statement, the UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, said he “calls on the military to remove any and all obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian assistance and to cease military operations”.
He called on all parties in Myanmar to allow humanitarian workers to reach those in need.
Ms Suu Kyi has been held in detention in a prison in Naypyidaw since the fall of her government in 2021, with calls demanding her release coming as concern for her health grows as she has been held in solitary confinement for the last four years.
The Independent TV documentary Cancelled: The Rise and Fall of Aung San Suu Kyi shines a light on her continued imprisonment.
Ms Suu Kyi, 79, is serving prison sentences totalling 27 years after being convicted in a series of politically tainted prosecutions.
Her situation after the earthquake remains unknown as the military government has refused to allow her to meet with any outsiders, including a special envoy from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to which Myanmar belongs.
The UN special rapporteur on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, on Thursday urged the UN Security Council to step in to stop Myanmar’s military government from continuing attacks on rebel-held territories and obstructing aid to earthquake survivors.
He said the junta has doubled down on its military operations, making things significantly worse in Myanmar since it announced a ceasefire.
“The Security Council should urgently consider a resolution that demands that all parties to the conflict in Myanmar cease offensive military operations and that the junta immediately end its human rights violations and obstruction of humanitarian relief efforts,” the special rapporteur said.
He said the military “has chosen to violate its own ceasefire, launching dozens of new attacks with devastating results”.
“Meanwhile, it continues to obstruct aid from reaching untold numbers of those in desperate need. This is making a terrible situation devastatingly worse,” he added.
The earthquake destroyed 48,834 houses, 3,094 Buddhist monasteries and nunneries, 2,045 schools, 2,171 departmental offices and buildings, 148 bridges and 5,275 pagodas, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.