Attacks and Sabotages against National Education Sector by NUG and PDF Groups Breaching the International Law
I’d now like to present a sorrowful news report spreading on social media that inspired me to write this article after I stopped writing awhile. I reckon most of Facebook users might have already known the report.
It was about the PDF terrorists’ brutal killing of Daw Lai Lai, headmistress of the Basic Education sub-High School of Tamakaut Village, Seikphyu Township of Magway Region. I’m grievously sorrowful for the conscientious teacher who was killed on the pretext of teaching the children without joining CDM and closing the school. Following a week after PDF sent a threatening letter to the headmistress warning her to stop going to school, she was brutally slain without any grudge on her way back from school together with her father. Although the headmistress and her father were begging for sparing their lives, PDF terrorists tied up her father and cruelly killed the headmistress slicing her throat. Such brutal crime committed by PDFs is the heinous and obnoxious act of terrorism which are not totally acceptable to any society.
It is grievous to see the losses of innocent good civil servants like Daw Lai Lai at the hands of so-called PDF terrorists who are believing in blindfold and following the incitements of political extremists based on the dogma of ‘everyone who differs from my attitude is my enemy’ on the course of utter devastation and the uneven view –‘nobody can rule the country except the party we support’.
The NUG/ PDF terrorists are destroying the education sector, the future of the country to achieve their political aim. There are plenty of undeniable evidence showing that they have made various kinds of obstruction not to open the schools, and threats against children not to go to school and teachers and education staff to join CDM.
From 1 February 2021 to 28 February 2022, regarding the attacks against the national education sector by NUG/PDFs and NLD political extremists, they committed 123 arson attacks and 367 bombing attacks to schools, shootings in the vicinity of the schools for 12 times and 49 threats not to open schools.
Moreover, on the pretext for not joining CDM, the terrorists brutally abducted and killed the teachers and education staff claiming the lives of 17 teachers and six education staff and leaving 23 teachers and five education staff severely injured totaling 23 deaths and 28 injured. Apart from releasing statement of incidents in details from the Staterun media, I have seen that the incidents aroused widespread condemnation from difference perspectives on social media.
I literally want to ask the following questions to the perpetrators:
Is it rational to kill teachers on the pretext for not joining CDM, for opening schools and teaching the children?
Are the acts of devilish people killing a civilian without bearing any grudge just or unjust?
Could you all put yourself in the shoes of the friends and family members of the victims for their bereavements?
We all possess the unforgettable memories of school lives because the schools resemble the havens and gardens that teach and train the youths who will carve the future as well as where we expand the boundaries of our knowledge.
I feel as though my heart is punctured by thousands of arrows to hear and see the ugly incidents in which the gardens are burnt down and the gardeners are being killed. Teachers are one of the ‘Five Infinite Venerables’ sacred to people in Myanmar culture as well as the ones who make the flowers of new generation in full bloom.
There might be diverse political perceptions in any country and society.
However, destroying the future of the country by themselves after being infected with the extremism evolved from political emotions is unduly dreadful.
They are not just killing the teachers and setting fire to the school buildings, and they are even using the schools as their fortified bases and training grounds. It was witnessed in the Marathein school in Tigyaing Township.
Through the lens of norms of international law, the acts of terrorizing the schools and teachers are totally unacceptable. Two additional protocols to Geneva Conventions in 1977 prescribes that ‘The two Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions outline further protections for children, schools and education, including recognizing that receiving an education is a fundamental
guarantee for children, even in situations of non-international armed conflict.’ In this regard, in 2009, United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child-OHCHR also made an exhortation to protect schools from attacks and raids for the rights of children to education.
Moreover, there are is an inter-agency coalition of organizations called Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack-CGPA that includes the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other organizations. The interagency coalition has released ‘Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use During Armed Conflict’ to address the problem of targeted attacks on education infrastructures, students and teachers as well as using the schools and universities for military purposes during armed conflict.
According to the guidelines, the buildings relating to education cannot be used for military purposes and moreover, any attempt to threaten the education staff to leave the schools and persuade them with incentives is not even allowed.
Resolution 2427 adopted by the United Nation Security Council in 2008 strongly condemns the attacks as well as threats against schools and/or hospitals and reiterates its deep concern at the closure of schools and hospitals in situations of armed conflict as a result of attacks and threats of attacks. Moreover, the resolution urges all parties to armed conflict to refrain from actions that impede children’s access to education and health services. Furthermore, it also urges parties to armed conflict to refrain from military use of schools and the governments of member States to prevent the armed groups from using the schools for military purposes and disturbing the children’s rights to education.
Today, nefarious actions of NUG/ PDF terrorists are absolutely against the international norms and values and also totally unacceptable from the perspective of Myanmar national laws and culture. The Chapter 3 of Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) that was inked among the State Government, the Tatmadaw and Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) in 2015 includes specific terms and conditions: to avoid using any schools as military outposts or encampments; to avoid restrictions on the right to education in accordance with the law; and destruction of schools and educational buildings.
NUG/PDF terrorists and some EAOs that do not follow the provisions of the NCA are attacking schools, threatening and killing teachers. Such callous actions of NUG/PDF terrorist groups killing innocent teachers are the reckless and imprudent behaviours that destroy the country and the future of the children and also the acts of terrorism which cannotbe tolerant or accepted by Myanmar society as well as any other societies and countries around the world.
Accordingly, international communities should not encourage the terrorist acts of CRPH, NUG, PDF and NLD extremists and also require to condemn and prevent such attacks against education sector that intentionally destroy the future of a State. Information of their actions with concrete evidence have reportedly been informed to UNCTED, INTER POL, Counter-Terrorism of ASE -ANPOL, neighbouring countries, foreign embassies based in Myanmar, international organizations and international authorized bodies which signed MoU on cooperation in counter-terrorism with Myanmar. The information informed are not only about the attacks of NUG/PDF groups against national education sector, but also include about their terrorist acts in various forms shaped up across the country on the course of utter devastation such as brutal killings of innocent civilians, making explosions, and destruction of Stateowned and private-owned buildings by setting fire and planting mines.
It apparently leads to a conclusion that some countries and international organizations pretending as if they know nothing about the reports on the violent acts of CRPH, NUG and PDF with the accounts of witnesses, strong evidence and video records are accepting and supporting the terrorism.
Particularly, some Western countries, with an intent to mount pressure on the Tatmadaw which is now assuming the State’s responsibilities in accord with law in a state of emergency, showing their attitude of supporting the NUG and PDFs behave as though they support terrorism and clearly do not contribute to the peace and stability of Myanmar.
Some great powers that purport to value democracy and human rights bury their heads in the sand about the undeniable acts of terrorism committed by NUG and PDFs and even shape up them as democracy activists. I reckon such phenomena is totally prejudiced and unjust for the innocent slain victims like headmistress Daw Lai Lai.
The political extremists have chosen to take up arms in order to regain their power turning a blind eye to the State’s development and public peace and stability. Hence, scarifying many lives of youths who are the future of State is the great loss for the country. It is actually the grave tragedy to witness the plights of many families following the deterioration of community peace and stability on their course of utter devastation. We witness, hear and know needless to question who are doing such obnoxious acts and who are manipulators.
Abundance of concrete evidence and records have been accumulated and also already sent to relevant bodies.
To draw a conclusion, if we all actually want Myanmar to be peaceful and stable, I hereby urge the international communities to rationally review the current incidents of violent killings and oppose against the external and internal terrorists who are on the course of violent means to achieve their political aims.
Min Khant
References
• THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS OF 12 AUGUST 1949
• UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), General comment No. 12 (2009): The right of the child to be heard, 20 July 2009, CRC/C/GC/12 • Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use During Armed Conflict, GCPEA, 2014.
• UN Security Council Resolution 2427 (Children and Armed Conflict), 9 July 2018.