Mizzima
11 April marks the one-year anniversary of the Pazigyi Village airstrike massacre but, despite international condemnation, no meaningful action has been taken.
On 11 April 2023, at approximately 7:30 am in Sagaing Region’s Kantbalu Township, junta forces bombarded the opening ceremony of the Pazigyi Village administration office – a donation event – with a jet plane. Those who survived were also chased and shot at by military planes, resulting in the deaths of nearly 40 children and over 170 civilians.
According to campaign group, the Blood Money Campaign, the situation still has not been properly addressed by the international community.
It points out that the main reason the junta can carry out daily airstrikes targeting civilians, as in the Pazigyi case, is due to the unhindered purchase of aviation fuel from the international community.
Between February 2021 and December 2023, more than 1,650 airstrikes were carried out, resulting in the deaths of nearly 950 civilians, including many children.
On 4 April 2024, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed a resolution concerning Myanmar, urging member states to abstain from exporting, selling, or transferring jet fuel to the country.
The number of deaths underscores the urgent need for truly effective measures and decisive action, according to the Blood Money Campaign. This marks the first time the UN has made such a call.
Singapore and Vietnam have allowed the use of their ports to ship jet fuel to the Myanmar junta. Though UN member states such as the USA, the UK, and the EU have the leverage to halt jet fuel access to the terrorist junta in Myanmar they have not yet taken any effective measures to halt the trade. The Blood Money Campaign says that such behaviour is irresponsible because it just supports the junta and enables them to commit war crimes.
It says that the USA, the UK, and the EU must sanction aviation fuel sales and shipment insurance and that UN member states and their companies must immediately cease all exports, sales, or transfers of aviation fuel to the Myanmar junta.
As long as international governments do not take effective action to stop the junta’s access to aviation fuel, the Blood Money Campaign says it will continue to campaign for the ban on jet fuel movement alongside and in solidarity with local and international revolutionary organisations.
Blood Money Campaign is a collective of Myanmar activists campaigning to stop revenues reaching the Myanmar military junta.
