Geneva, 17 April The UN rapporteur for human rights in Burma (Myanmar), Tom Andrews, will visit Japan from 19 to 28 April with the aim of increasing the pressure of the government of this country on the Burmese military junta.
“Japan is well positioned to be a regional leader in the Burmese crisis, and I will urge the Japanese government to use its influence to isolate and diminish the power of the military junta,” the US rapporteur said in a statement.
Andrews pointed out that the situation in Burma is deteriorating, “with an intensification of attacks on civilians, more and more political prisoners and immense and growing humanitarian needs”.
During the 10-day visit, the rapporteur will meet with representatives of the Japanese government, United Nations agencies in the country, Burmese refugees and businessmen (Japan is traditionally one of the main investors in the territory Burmese).
In Kyoto, he will give a lecture at the local university, and at the end of his visit, on April 28, he will give a press conference in Tokyo.
The displacement comes just days after at least 165 people, including 19 children, were killed in a Burmese army shelling of an opposition rally in the northwestern region of Sagaing, the attack the deadliest ever recorded by the military regime since the coup. from February 1, 2021.
The UN denounced in March that more than 3,000 civilians have been killed, 1.3 million have had to flee their homes and 16,000 have become political prisoners since the coup, which ended a decade of transition democracy and plunged the country into a spiral of violence and partial freedom. -anarchy. ECE
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