Mizzima
The General Strike Coordinating Body (GSCB), called on international governments and organisations to put pressure on the Military Council, by treating it as a terrorist organisation and prosecuting it under international laws.
The GSCB, a coalition of strike committees across Myanmar, made the call in a statement issued on 9 January that outlined the organisations stance on the Myanmar junta.
It said that as the junta continues to find itself in an ever weaker position it has increased the number of war crimes and crimes against humanity that it commits.
This is evidenced by the ongoing air force bombardments and continuous use of artillery and heavy weapons to target civilians, public buildings, and residences in towns and villages controlled by revolutionary forces.
The General Strike Coordinating Body (GSCB) highlighted that, despite the escalating war crimes and genocide in Myanmar, international governments and organizations maintain a concerning silence, prioritising their interests and nonchalantly overlooking the increasing casualties.
Regarding the junta’s crimes the GSCB Mandalay Strike leader, Dr. Tayzar San said: “The international organizations such as the United Nations and ASEAN and governments of each country are completely silent.”
The GSCB statement also gave examples of junta atrocities. These included an airstrike on Kanan Village in Tamu District, Sagaing Region that killed 17 villagers, including nine children, and injured more than 20 others, on 7 January 2024, at a time when there was no fighting in the area.
It also highlighted two other airstrikes in northern Shan State on the same day, 7 January 2024. At noon an airstrike on Myothit Village in Namhsan Township killed five civilians and injured a further six and at 9:35.p.m.an airstrike on Mineyaw Village in Lashio Township killed four women and destroyed 20 houses. There was no fighting in either area when these incidents took place.
Other junta war crimes highlighted in the document include airstrikes on schools in Letyetkone Village, Tabayin Township, Sagaing Region in November 2022 and in Pazigyi Village, Kanbalu Township, Sagaing Region, in April 2023. A massacre in Hpruso Township, Karenni State, in December 2021, an assault on Anangpa Village, in Hpakant Township, Kachin State in November 2022 and artillery attacks on a monastery
in Gyoetaung Village, in Wuntho Township, Sagaing Region in September 2023 and on an IDP camp in Monlaikhat Village, near Laiza Town, Kachin State, in October 2023.
The statement also said that the GCSB is committed to working tirelessly towards the removal of the Myanmar junta. It urged the revolutionary forces to continue in their struggles and urged civilians to embrace the revolution.
It also called on international governments and organisations to collaborate with the relevant groups to offer effective and beneficial assistance to those in Myanmar enduring hardship
