UN: Attacks on civilians in ‘crimes against humanity’

The head of the United Nations body investigating the most serious crimes in Myanmar has said that preliminary evidence collected since the military seized power on February 1 shows a widespread and systematic attack on civilians "amounting to crimes against humanity".

Nicholas Koumjian told UN reporters on Friday that the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, which he heads, has received more than 200,000 communications since the army seizure and has collected more than 1.5 million items of evidence that are being analysed "so that one day those most responsible for the serious international crimes in Myanmar will be brought to account".

In determining that the crimes against civilians appear to be widespread and systematic, he said investigators saw patterns of violence – a measured response by security forces to demonstrations in the first six weeks or so after the military takeover followed by "an uptick in violence and much more violent methods used to suppress the demonstrators".

"This was happening in different places at the same time, indicating to us it would be logical to conclude this was from a central policy," Koumjian said.

"And, also, we saw that particular groups were targeted, especially for arrests and detentions that appear to be without due process of law. And this includes, of course, journalists, medical workers and political opponents."

Since the military takeover, Myanmar has been racked by unrest, with peaceful demonstrations against the ruling generals morphing first into a low-level armed uprising in many urban areas after security forces used deadly force and then into more serious combat in rural areas, especially in border regions where ethnic minority militias have been engaging in heavy clashes with government troops.