Calling Myanmar's Military Regime Uses Chinese And Russian Fighter Jets, Human Rights Experts Call On UN To Stop Arms Flow

JAKARTA - The United Nations (UN) human rights expert in Myanmar on Tuesday said Russia and China provided the junta with fighter jets used against civilians, urging the UN Security Council to stop the flow of weapons that allowed the atrocities.

Thomas Andrews, a former US congressman who served in an independent post, released a report that also named Serbia as one of three countries supplying weapons to Myanmar's military since seizing power last year, with "full knowledge that they will be used to attack civilians".

"It should be undeniable that weapons used to kill civilians should no longer be transferred to Myanmar," Andrews said in a statement.

Chaos has gripped Myanmar since a coup that ended a decade of tentative democracy, sparking protests that have been suppressed by forces with lethal force.

At least 1.500 civilians have been killed, according to activists cited by the United Nations, who also say more than 300,000 have been displaced by rural conflict between the military and armed resistance groups.

The Myanmar military regime says it is fighting "terrorists", rejecting what it calls UN interference.

The Myanmar military regime and the Russian Foreign Ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.

Asked about the report at regular briefings, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, "China has always advocated that all parties and factions should advance the country's long-term interests" and "resolve contradictions through political dialogue".

Separately, in a statement the Serbian Foreign Ministry denied supplying weapons and said since the Myanmar coup, it had been examining the new situation very carefully. In March last year, they made the decision not to send weapons to Myanmar, either under a pre-agreed agreement or a new export request.

Meanwhile, human rights groups and the United Nations have accused the military regime of using disproportionate force to fight ethnic minority militias and insurgents, including artillery and airstrikes on civilian areas.

The report said Russia had supplied drones, two types of fighter jets, as well as two types of armored vehicles, one of which was equipped with an air defense system. While China transferred fighter jets, Serbia had provided rockets and artillery shells, he said.

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution last year asking its members to stop sending weapons to Myanmar's military, which Andrews said should be binding on the security council. Serbia voted in favor of the resolution, but Russia and China abstained.

While China has urged an end to hostilities in Myanmar, Russia has been the closest diplomatic ally of the Thousand Pagoda's generals amid Western efforts to isolate them.

Andrews also called for cuts to the Myanmar military's access to oil and gas revenues and foreign exchange reserves, plus an international ban on purchases of Myanmar timber, gemstones, and rare earths.

In his judgment, Myanmar's military regime is vulnerable and can be stopped with international determination, the report said.

"If the revenue needed to maintain such a military is reduced, the junta's capacity to attack and terrorize the Myanmar people will diminish," he said.

In the matter of Myanmar Coup. VOI editors continue to unify the political situation in one of the ASEAN member countries. Civilian casualties continued to fall. Readers can follow news about the Myanmar military coup by tapping this link.