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OHCHR / MYANMAR HUMAN RIGHTS
STORY: OHCHR / MYANMAR
TRT: 2:48
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 4 MARCH 2021 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Exterior shot, Palais Wilson, OHCHR Headquarters
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Following another day of deadly violence across the country, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said security forces in Myanmar must halt their vicious crackdown on peaceful protestors.”
3. Exterior shot, Palais Wilson, OHCHR Headquarters
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Myanmar’s military must stop murdering and jailing protestors. It is utterly abhorrent that security forces are firing live ammunition against peaceful protesters across the country. We are also appalled at the documented attacks against emergency medical staff and ambulances that are attempting to provide care to those who have been injured.”
5. Exterior shot, Palais Wilson, OHCHR Headquarters
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“The UN Human Rights Office has corroborated information that at least 54 people have been killed by police and military officers since the first of February coup. The actual death toll, however, could be much higher as these are the figures the Office has been able to verify. Of the 54 cases, at least 30 people were killed in Yangon, Mandalay, Sagaing, Magway and Mon by security forces on Wednesday alone. Another person was documented to have been killed on Tuesday, and 18 people on Sunday and five prior to that. It is difficult to establish how many people have suffered injuries, but credible information indicates, at a minimum that hundreds have been wounded during protests.”
7. Exterior shot, Palais Wilson, OHCHR Headquarters
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Since the first of February, over 1,700 people have been arbitrarily detained and arrested. However, the actual number of those detained is also likely to be much higher. In many instances, soldiers and police are reported to be conducting door-to-door searches and detaining people. The family of one community leader in Yangon said that he had not been heard from since he was taken by soldiers from his home in the middle of the night on the first of February. UN human rights staff have received numerous similar accounts.”
9. Exterior shot, Palais Wilson, OHCHR Headquarters
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“The High Commissioner also expressed concern at the targeting of journalists: at least 29 journalists have reportedly been arrested in recent days, at least eight of whom have been charged with crimes, including incitement to opposition, or hatred of the Government, or attending an unlawful assembly.”
11. Exterior shot, Palais Wilson, OHCHR Headquarters
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“The High Commissioner urges all those with information and influence – including Myanmar officials who are now joining the civil disobedience movement – to support international efforts to hold military leaders accountable for the serious human rights violations that have been committed both now and in the past. This is the moment to turn the tables towards justice and end the military’s stranglehold over democracy in Myanmar.”
13. Exterior shot, Palais Wilson, OHCHR Headquarters
“Following another day of deadly violence across the country, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said security forces in Myanmar must halt their vicious crackdown on peaceful protestors,” Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a video message issued on Thursday (4 Mar).
“Myanmar’s military must stop murdering and jailing protestors. It is utterly abhorrent that security forces are firing live ammunition against peaceful protesters across the country. We are also appalled at the documented attacks against emergency medical staff and ambulances that are attempting to provide care to those who have been injured,” Shamdasani said.
According to the OHCHR spokesperson, “the UN Human Rights Office has corroborated information that at least 54 people have been killed by police and military officers since the first of February coup. The actual death toll, however, could be much higher as these are the figures the Office has been able to verify. Of the 54 cases, at least 30 people were killed in Yangon, Mandalay, Sagaing, Magway and Mon by security forces on Wednesday alone. Another person was documented to have been killed on Tuesday, and 18 people on Sunday and five prior to that. It is difficult to establish how many people have suffered injuries, but credible information indicates, at a minimum that hundreds have been wounded during protests.”
She also said that “since the first of February, over 1,700 people have been arbitrarily detained and arrested. However, the actual number of those detained is also likely to be much higher. In many instances, soldiers and police are reported to be conducting door-to-door searches and detaining people. The family of one community leader in Yangon said that he had not been heard from since he was taken by soldiers from his home in the middle of the night on the first of February. UN human rights staff have received numerous similar accounts.”
The High Commissioner Bachelet “also expressed concern at the targeting of journalists: at least 29 journalists have reportedly been arrested in recent days, at least eight of whom have been charged with crimes, including incitement to opposition, or hatred of the Government, or attending an unlawful assembly,” Shamdasani said.
“The High Commissioner also urged “all those with information and influence – including Myanmar officials who are now joining the civil disobedience movement – to support international efforts to hold military leaders accountable for the serious human rights violations that have been committed both now and in the past. This is the moment to turn the tables towards justice and end the military’s stranglehold over democracy in Myanmar.”
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