Citizenship Stripping in Myanmar as Lawfare
The SAC responded with the suspension, revision and introduction of laws,14
crackdowns,15 charges of disruption of public service16 and sedition,17 arrests,18
mass incarceration, 19 imprisonment, 20 extrajudicial killings, 21 the suspension,
dismissal and removal of members of CDM (‘CDM-ers’)22 and the replacement
of CDM-ers’ positions.23 They also froze assets and bank accounts of (alleged)
funders and financiers of the Spring Revolution, 24 branded the revolution as
terrorism and revolutionaries as terrorists 25 and commenced deadly ‘clearance’
operations against places that were (allegedly) hosting freedom fighters.26
The legal package of repression or lawfare is particularly relevant here. The
term lawfare is defined as the use or misuse of law in waging international or
14
15
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19
20
21
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24
25
26
‘Myanmar: Post-Coup Legal Changes Erode Human Rights’, Human Rights Watch (online, 2
March 2021) <https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/03/02/myanmar-post-coup-legal-changeserode-human-rights>, archived at <https://perma.cc/RG5G-ND4Y>; see also ‘Myanmar:
Post-Coup Legal Changes Erode Human Rights’, International Commission of Jurists (online,
2 March 2021) <https://www.icj.org/myanmar-post-coup-legal-changes-erode-humanrights/>, archived at <https://perma.cc/5CD3-M8WE>.
See, eg, ‘“Day of Shame”: Dozens of Anti-Coup Protesters Killed in Myanmar’, Al Jazeera
(online, 27 March 2021) <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/27/myanmar-coupleaders-put-on-show-of-force>, archived at <https://perma.cc/AS8T-2NSQ>.
‘More than 80 Protesters at Mandalay Sit-In Charged with Violating 505a’, Myanmar
Now (online, 9 March 2021) <https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/more-than-80protesters-at-mandalay-sit-in-charged-with-violating-505a>, archived at <https://perma.cc/
YF8W-K5NB>.
‘Win Htein Indicted on Sedition Charge’, Myanmar Now (online, 16 July 2021)
<https://www.myanmar-now.org/en/news/win-htein-indicted-on-sedition-charge>, archived
at <https://perma.cc/PY5J-58VD>.
‘Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup’, Assistance Association for Political
Prisoners (online, 5 August 2022) <https://aappb.org/?p=22658>, archived at
<https://perma.cc/2YTM-Z5UC>.
ibid.
ibid.
ibid.
See, eg, ‘Junta’s Investment Ministry Fires More Than 80 Staff over CDM Participation’,
Myanmar Now (online, 11 April 2021) <https://myanmar-now.net/en/news/juntasinvestment-ministry-fires-more-than-80-staff-over-cdm-participation>,
archived
at
<https://perma.cc/9H9B-SSG2>; Naw Say Phaw Waa, ‘Junta Suspends Thousands of
Academics, University Staff’, University World News (online, 14 May 2021)
<https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210514110259910>, archived at
<https://perma.cc/RAT8-47BM>.
See, eg, ‘Military Council Tries to Replace Striking Internal Revenue Staff with Relatives of
Junta Personnel’, Myanmar Now (online, 20 August 2021) <https://www.myanmarnow.org/en/news/military-council-tries-to-replace-striking-internal-revenue-staff-withrelatives-of-junta>, archived at <https://perma.cc/577Y-JPJS>.
‘Myanmar Bank Faces Boycott After Freezing Accounts to Block Donations to
Anti-Coup
Forces’,
Coconuts
Yangon
(online,
10
August
2021)
<https://coconuts.co/yangon/news/myanmar-bank-faces-boycott-after-freezing-accounts-toblock-donations-to-anti-coup-forces/>, archived at <https://perma.cc/YP4A-3C6Z>.
‘Myanmar Junta Declares National Unity Government, CRPH, Defense Forces as
“Terrorist” Groups’, Irrawaddy (online, 10 May 2021) <https://www.irrawaddy.com/
news/burma/myanmar-junta-declares-national-unity-government-crph-defense-forces-asterrorist-groups.html>, archived at <https://perma.cc/98AT-4FS8>.
‘Myanmar Junta Intensifies Arson Attacks in Resistance Strongholds’, Irrawaddy (online, 27
May 2022) <https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-junta-intensifies-arsonattacks-in-resistance-strongholds.html>, archived at <https://perma.cc/E999-Y4D8>.
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