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On February 1st, we mark three years of continuing violent military rule in Myanmar and commend the ever-growing resistance of the Burmese peoples against the fascist and tyrannical onslaught brought about by the Tatmadaw dictatorship.
Since the coup in 2021, military abuses and human rights violations of various degrees have plagued the peoples of Myanmar. On the other side of the war, are the persisting forces of resistance of the people, massive protests in the streets on one hand and armed resistance on the other. Ethnic nationalities form a large percentage of the resistance against the Tatmadaw, mostly engaging in armed struggle in the countryside of Myanmar.
In Karen state, cases of village burnings enforced disappearances, and just last year, during a military operation in Dooplaya District locals were used as human shields by the state military.
In Chin territories, according to a report by the CHRO (Chin Human Rights Organization) 1 in every 5 people in Chin State are displaced, with the numbers going up as high as 120,000 people. Thousands of arrests were made, and establishments like churches were destroyed, one of the few places wherein Indigenous Peoples could seek refuge to safeguard themselves from the wrath of the Tatmadaw.
Just last quarter, in October during a concert organized by the Kachin Independence Organization to celebrate their anniversary, and reaffirm commitment to their struggle, the military launched airstrikes that led to the death of at least 80 people and left hundreds injured. Following this, the government blocked all efforts for medical assistance to the victims of the attacks. The same day, an airstrike in an IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp killed at least four people, two of whom were children.
Amidst the offensives carried out by the Tatmadaw to wipe out the Indigenous resistance in Myanmar, Indigenous Peoples are fighting back. Revolutionary forces and liberation fighters have taken to the countryside in resistance to the military dictatorship. Ethnic armed groups have opened up their ranks to welcome activists from the city centers who were pushed to the countryside, to fight tooth and nail against the state military. Groups fighting for freedom have forged greater solidarity with each other, and continue to carry out coordinated campaigns against the common enemy of the peoples of Myanmar.
On the other hand, imperialist powers like the United States try to project that they oppose the military dictatorship and fool the people into thinking that they are on the side of human rights. In reality, the United States, and European powers like France and Germany, have been supporting the Tatmadaw with military equipment, ammo, and software used to carry out the bloody crackdown against the peoples of Myanmar. As exposed by a former UN Special Rapporteur, the military strength of the dictatorship largely comes from the support funneled in by the military firms who seek to profit off the Tatmadaw’s war against the people.
The ILPS Commission 10 extends its strongest support to the anti-fascist resistance movement in Myanmar and commends our Indigenous brothers and sisters for uniting against the dictatorship and waging struggles that serve the genuine interest of the people. We strongly condemn the Tatmadaw and the foreign powers that back this bloody regime, for the grave human rights abuses, the widespread killings, and war crimes that continue to raze Myanmar to the ground.
We call on our network and allies to rally their support behind the peoples of Myanmar, mobilize towards contributing towards weakening the Tatmadaw dictatorship, and help in realizing a free Myanmar.
As a multiplicity of resistance movements breaks out in different parts of the country, and the growing international solidarity from different people’s movements, the peoples of Myanmar move one step closer to ending the vicious reign of terror of the Tatmadaw, and the genocidal war against Indigenous Peoples.
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