Post-coup civilian fatalities reach 2,000: Myanmar activist group

By DMG 23 Jun 2022

DMG Newsroom
23 June 2022, Sittwe

The civilian death toll attributed to Myanmar’s military coup on February 1, 2021, has hit 2,000, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said in a statement on June 21.

An AAPP official said in an email to DMG that the actions of the military council could not be exempt from prosecution for crimes and human rights abuses.

“The junta must take full responsibility for these actions and will inevitably have to pay for the crimes committed. In Myanmar, perpetrators of perpetual human rights abuses have escaped punishment. This Spring Revolution will break the tradition of impunity for perpetrators,” the AAPP official added.

As of June 21, at least 11,151 people remained detained since last year’s coup, of which 1,168 have been sentenced to prison time and 74 sentenced to death, including two minors, according to AAPP.

Of those arrested, 21 have been released on bail, and a total of 3,041 have been released so far, according to the AAPP.

An AAPP official said the AAPP was proud of the people who had fallen in the Spring Revolution against the military dictatorship, and would work for justice for the families of those lost to the cause.

“Currently, Myanmar is being devastated by a group of dictators. The terrorist regime has committed many crimes and will have to pay for them after the revolution,” the AAPP official added.

DMG attempted to contact Major-General Zaw Min Tun, the junta’s deputy minister for information and a spokesman for the military regime, regarding the AAPP statement, but he could not be reached.

The AAPP was established on the Thai-Myanmar border in 2000, and provides statistics on political prisoners, the release of political prisoners, and — since the coup on February 1, 2021 — casualties related to the military takeover.

The State Administration Council (SAC), as Myanmar’s junta refers to itself, declared the AAPP an illegal organisation in April 2021.

Since the military coup, there has been heavy fighting between some ethnic armed groups and junta troops, as well as clashes continuing between the anti-regime groups known as “People’s Defence Forces (PDFs) and the Myanmar military in various areas.