Latest news with #AssistanceAssociationforPoliticalPrisoners
Gulf Today
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
Malaysia calls for extension of Myanmar quake truce
Malaysia called on Sunday for the extension and expansion of a post-earthquake ceasefire in Myanmar, as it ramped up calls for the long-awaited implementation of a five-point peace plan. The ruling military junta initially declared a truce in the many-sided civil war after a huge quake in late March killed nearly 3,800 and left tens of thousands homeless. That agreement, which has been extended before, is due to expire at the end of May -- though conflict monitors say fighting and junta airstrikes have continued throughout. At a meeting of regional foreign ministers on Sunday, Malaysia's Mohamad Hasan 'proposed the extension and expansion of ceasefires beyond the currently affected zones', a statement said. 'We call on the stakeholders in Myanmar to cease hostilities, and to extend and expand the ceasefire, to facilitate the long and difficult path towards recovery, and ease the suffering of the people of Myanmar,' Mohamad said in his opening remarks. The United Nations and independent conflict monitors say the junta has continued its campaign of aerial bombardment despite the ceasefire. Numerous anti-coup and ethnic armed groups have made their own pledges to pause hostilities. However some residents in eastern Myanmar said they have been displaced as anti-coup forces besieged junta-held towns. More than 6,600 people have been killed since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, and millions displaced. Malaysia currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with leaders due to meet at a summit in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. The bloc has led so far fruitless diplomatic efforts to end Myanmar's conflict since the junta staged a coup deposing civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. ASEAN has struggled to implement the five-point peace plan agreed by all bloc leaders in April 2021. As a result junta officials have been barred from ASEAN summits over lack of progress on the deal. 'One thing for sure that we agreed is that Myanmar's government must comply with the five points consensus which they themselves agreed on as one of the signatories,' Mohamad said later on Sunday. He stressed two of the most important points were an immediate halt to hostilities, and the appointment of a special envoy to visit Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met Myanmar's junta leader Min Aung Hlaing in Bangkok in April and urged him to respect the truce. That followed an earlier visit by Mohamad and Thai counterpart Maris Sangiampongsa to Naypyidaw as part of ASEAN's efforts to assess humanitarian needs and aid delivery to those affected by the earthquake. Mohamad told reporters Sunday he would visit Naypyidaw in an ASEAN capacity in June. 'We have to explore (the issue) with patience because the warring sections have been against each other for decades,' Mohamad said. Myanmar's junta has announced plans to hold an election around the end of the year. But the opposition has urged the public and political parties to boycott any poll organised by the military government. Mohamad said Sunday there was 'no point' in having an election if there was only partial participation by the people. Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency said on Friday it fears that 427 Rohingya fleeing Myanmar and a refugee camp in Bangladesh may have died at sea this month. UNHCR said it has collected reports from family members and others of two separate boat tragedies off the coast of Myanmar in May. It acknowledged that details remained unclear but that enough information has been collected and verified to bring the incidents to light publicly. A first boat that left from a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, and traveled to Rakhine State in neighboring Myanmar to pick up more people sank on May 9, with only 66 survivors among a total of 267 people on board, UNHCR said. Agencies
Kuwait Times
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Malaysia calls for Myanmar truce extension
KUALA LAMPUR: Malaysia called Sunday for the extension and expansion of a post-earthquake ceasefire in Myanmar, as it ramped up calls for the long-awaited implementation of a five-point peace plan. The ruling military junta initially declared a truce in the many-sided civil war after a huge quake in late March killed nearly 3,800 and left tens of thousands homeless. That agreement, which has been extended before, is due to expire at the end of May — though conflict monitors say fighting and junta airstrikes have continued throughout. At a meeting of regional foreign ministers on Sunday, Malaysia's Mohamad Hasan "proposed the extension and expansion of ceasefires beyond the currently affected zones", a statement said. "We call on the stakeholders in Myanmar to cease hostilities, and to extend and expand the ceasefire, to facilitate the long and difficult path towards recovery, and ease the suffering of the people of Myanmar," Mohamad said in his opening remarks. The United Nations and independent conflict monitors say the junta has continued its campaign of aerial bombardment despite the ceasefire. Numerous anti-coup and ethnic armed groups have made their own pledges to pause hostilities. However some residents in eastern Myanmar said they have been displaced as anti-coup forces besieged junta-held towns. More than 6,600 people have been killed since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, and millions displaced. 'Myanmar must comply' Malaysia currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with leaders due to meet at a summit in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. The bloc has led so far fruitless diplomatic efforts to end Myanmar's conflict since the junta staged a coup deposing civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. ASEAN has struggled to implement the five-point peace plan agreed by all bloc leaders in April 2021. As a result junta officials have been barred from ASEAN summits over lack of progress on the deal. "One thing for sure that we agreed is that Myanmar's government... must comply with the five points consensus which they themselves agreed on as one of the signatories," Mohamad said later on Sunday. He stressed two of the most important points were an immediate halt to hostilities, and the appointment of a special envoy to visit Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met Myanmar's junta leader Min Aung Hlaing in Bangkok in April and urged him to respect the truce. That followed an earlier visit by Mohamad and Thai counterpart Maris Sangiampongsa to Naypyidaw as part of ASEAN's efforts to assess humanitarian needs and aid delivery to those affected by the earthquake. Mohamad told reporters Sunday he would visit Naypyidaw in an ASEAN capacity in June. "We have to explore (the issue) with patience because the warring sections have been against each other for decades," Mohamad said. Myanmar's junta has announced plans to hold an election around the end of the year. But the opposition has urged the public and political parties to boycott any poll organized by the military government. Mohamad said Sunday there was "no point" in having an election if there was only partial participation by the people. — AFP
Al-Ahram Weekly
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Malaysia calls for Myanmar truce extension, pushes for peace deal - International
Malaysia called Sunday for the extension and expansion of a post-earthquake ceasefire in Myanmar, as it ramped up calls for the long-awaited implementation of a five-point peace plan. The ruling military junta initially declared a truce in the many-sided civil war after a huge quake in late March killed nearly 3,800 and left tens of thousands homeless. That agreement, which has been extended before, is due to expire at the end of May, though conflict monitors say fighting and junta airstrikes have continued throughout. At a meeting of regional foreign ministers on Sunday, Malaysia's Mohamad Hasan "proposed the extension and expansion of ceasefires beyond the currently affected zones", a statement said. "We call on the stakeholders in Myanmar to cease hostilities, and to extend and expand the ceasefire, to facilitate the long and difficult path towards recovery, and ease the suffering of the people of Myanmar," Mohamad said in his opening remarks. The United Nations and independent conflict monitors say the junta has continued its campaign of aerial bombardment despite the ceasefire. Numerous anti-coup and ethnic armed groups have made their own pledges to pause hostilities. However some residents in eastern Myanmar said they have been displaced as anti-coup forces besieged junta-held towns. More than 6,600 people have been killed since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, and millions displaced. 'Myanmar must comply' Malaysia currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with leaders due to meet at a summit in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. The bloc has led so far fruitless diplomatic efforts to end Myanmar's conflict since the junta staged a coup deposing civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. ASEAN has struggled to implement the five-point peace plan agreed by all bloc leaders in April 2021. As a result junta officials have been barred from ASEAN summits over lack of progress on the deal. "One thing for sure that we agreed is that Myanmar's government... must comply with the five points consensus which they themselves agreed on as one of the signatories," Mohamad said later on Sunday. He stressed two of the most important points were an immediate halt to hostilities, and the appointment of a special envoy to visit Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met Myanmar's junta leader Min Aung Hlaing in Bangkok in April and urged him to respect the truce. That followed an earlier visit by Mohamad and Thai counterpart Maris Sangiampongsa to Naypyidaw as part of ASEAN's efforts to assess humanitarian needs and aid delivery to those affected by the earthquake. Mohamad told reporters Sunday he would visit Naypyidaw in an ASEAN capacity in June. "We have to explore (the issue) with patience because the warring sections have been against each other for decades," Mohamad said. Myanmar's junta has announced plans to hold an election around the end of the year. But the opposition has urged the public and political parties to boycott any poll organised by the military government. Mohamad said Sunday there was "no point" in having an election if there was only partial participation by the people. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Arab Times
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab Times
Myanmar frees around 4,900 prisoners to mark traditional new year
BANGKOK, April 17, (AP): The head of Myanmar's military government granted amnesty to around 4,900 prisoners to mark the country's traditional new year, state-run media reported Thursday, but it wasn't immediately clear how many were political detainees locked up for opposing army rule. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the ruling military council, pardoned 4,893 prisoners, MRTV reported. Thirteen foreigners will also be released and deported from Myanmar, it said in a separate statement. Other prisoners received reduced sentences, except for those convicted of serious charges such as murder and rape, or those jailed on charges under various other security acts. If the freed detainees violate the law again they will have to serve the remainder of their original sentences in addition to any new sentence, according to the terms of their release. Mass amnesties on the holiday are not unusual in Myanmar. The releases will occur at prisons nationwide. Dozens of relatives and friends of prisoners waited early Thursday outside the main gate of Insein Prison, on the northern outskirts of Yangon, the country's largest city. No details were available about the number of prisoners released from Insein as part of the amnesty. Myanmar has been under military rule since Feb 1, 2021, when its army ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government. The takeover was met with massive nonviolent resistance, which has since become a widespread armed struggle. The country is now in civil war. Some 22,197 political detainees, including Suu Kyi, were in detention as of last Friday, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent organization that keeps detailed tallies of arrests and casualties linked to the nation's political conflicts. Many political detainees had been held on a charge of incitement, a catch-all offense widely used to arrest critics of the government or military, and punishable by up to three years in prison. This year's celebrations of Thingyan, the New Year's holiday, were more reserved than usual due to a nationwide grieving period following a devastating earthquake last month. The country is struggling to recover from the 7.7 magnitude quake on March 28 that hit its central heartland, killing about 3,725 people and leveling structures from new condos to ancient pagodas.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Myanmar frees nearly 4,900 prisoners to mark traditional new year
The head of Myanmar's military government has granted amnesty to around 4,900 prisoners to mark the country's traditional new year, state-run media reported on Thursday. It was not immediately clear how many of those were locked up for opposing army rule. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the ruling military council, pardoned 4,893 prisoners, as per state-run media network MRTV. Thirteen foreigners will also be released and deported from Myanmar, it said in a separate statement. Other prisoners received reduced sentences, except for those convicted of serious charges such as murder and rape, or those jailed on charges under various other security acts. If the detainees violate the law again, once freed, they will have to serve the remainder of their original sentences in addition to any new sentence, according to the terms of their release. Mass amnesties on the holiday are not unusual in Myanmar, with releases occurring nationwide. Dozens of relatives and friends waited early on Thursday at the gate of Insein Prison, on the outskirts of Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, in the hope of collecting a freed loved one. No details were available about the number of prisoners released from Insein as part of the amnesty. Myanmar has been under military rule since February 2021, when its army ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government. The takeover was met with nonviolent resistance, which has since become a widespread armed struggle. The country is now in civil war. Some 22,197 political detainees, including Ms Suu Kyi, were still in detention as of last Friday, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent organisation which tallies arrests and casualties linked to the nation's political conflicts. Many political detainees had been held on a charge of incitement, a catch-all offence widely used to arrest critics of the government or military. The offence is punishable by up to three years in prison. This year's celebrations of Thingyan, the new year's holiday, were more reserved than usual due to a nationwide grieving period following a devastating earthquake last month. The country is struggling to recover from the 7.7 magnitude quake in March, which hit the nation's central heartland. The highly destructive earthquake left about 3,725 people dead and levelled structures across the region. In a speech broadcast on Thursday, Min Aung Hlaing said his government will carry out reconstruction and rehabilitation measures in those quake-affected areas as quickly as possible. He also reaffirmed plans to hold a general election by the end of the year and called on opposition groups fighting the army to resolve conflicts via political means instead. During the holiday, the violent struggle between the army and pro-democracy forces continued with armed clashes in the countryside. The number of casualties remains unclear.
