JAKARTA - The United Nations Human Rights Office on Tuesday said violence, repression and intimidation were increasing in Myanmar ahead of the December 28 election controlled by the military.
The international agency said civilians in Myanmar were threatened by authorities and armed groups opposed to military rule.
The UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk, issued a statement urging an immediate halt to coercive practices related to the vote.
"The military authorities in Myanmar must stop using brutal violence to force people to choose, and stop arresting people who express different views," he said, quoted by ANTARA from Anadolu, Tuesday, December 23.
According to the office, dozens of people have been detained under the "election protection law" for exercising freedom of expression. Some have received heavy sentences, including three young men in Hlaingthaya Township in Yangon Region who were jailed for between 42 and 49 years for hanging anti-election posters.
In addition, prominent figures were also arrested, the office said, including film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing, who were each sentenced to seven years in prison for undermining public trust after criticizing a pro-election propaganda film.
The office said it had received reports from internal refugees in several areas of the country, including Mandalay, that they would be attacked or their homes would be confiscated if they did not return to vote.
One source said: "They told the internally displaced people: 'You go back to the city (to vote). If you don't go back, we will keep bombing you.'"
"Forcing refugees to return to unsafe and involuntary repatriation is a human rights violation," Turk said.
Armed groups opposed to the military have also issued threats. Previously in November, teachers were kidnapped and an election office in Yangon was bombed, injuring several election staff, he said.
"This election is clearly taking place in an environment of violence and oppression," Turk said.
"There are no conditions for exercising the right to freedom of expression, association, or peaceful assembly that allow for free and meaningful public participation," he continued.
The Myanmar military junta ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.
Source: Anadolu
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