Page 6 - aruba-today-20230315

A6 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 15 March 2023
Activists urge UN Security Council to refer Myanmar to court

By EDITH M. LEDERER damental freedoms and
Associated Press the rule of law.”
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Hu- The activists called for an
man rights activists urged arms embargo, for the U.N.
the U.N. Security Council special envoy to have pub-
on Monday to refer Myan- lic engagements with pro-
mar’s military rulers to the democracy actors, and for
International Criminal Court accountability for crimes
and urged neighboring perpetrated by the military.
Southeast Asian countries Phyu, who left Myanmar
to support the opposition after the takeover and is
pro-democracy move- now based in the United
ment. States, asked the Security
The leaders of two women’s Council to pressure Myan-
rights organizations spoke mar’s neighbors not to sup-
to reporters ahead of a port the government but
closed council meeting on to publicly support demo-
Myanmar. Members heard cratic forces, including
briefings by U.N. special en- the National Unity Govern-
voy for Myanmar Noeleen ment, which she said has
Heyzer and Indonesia’s the support of the people
Foreign Minister Retno Mar- of Myanmar.
sudi, whose country chairs May Sabe Phyu, prominent human rights activist and wife of Patrick Kum Ja Lee, speaks to And she criticized U.N. en-
journalists after Patrick was convicted in Yangon, Myanmar, Jan. 22, 2016.
the 10-member Association Associated Press voy Heyzer for meeting
of Southeast Asian Nations. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hla-
May Sabe Phyu, director of International Criminal Court In 2021, the military ousted lution on Myanmar in ing but not meeting pub-
the Gender Equality Net- for prosecution. Myanmar’s elected civilian December, demanding licly with pro-democracy
work, a coalition of orga- Myanmar’s military has government, then moved an immediate end to vio- groups including the Na-
nizations promoting wom- long been accused of hu- to violently suppress public lence, urging its military rul- tional Unity Government,
en’s rights in Myanmar, ac- man rights violations, most opposition to the takeover. ers to release all “arbitrarily which operates under-
cused Myanmar’s military notably during a brutal Some experts now consider detained” prisoners includ- ground and calls itself the
of conducting “a terror 2017 counterinsurgency the situation in Myanmar to ing ousted leader Aung country’s legitimate gov-
campaign” and commit- campaign against Rohing- be a civil war in which the San Suu Kyi and to restore ernment.
ting “heinous acts” that ya Muslims in the western army has conducting ma- democratic institutions. Naw Hser Hser, head of the
constituted crimes against state of Rakhine. Interna- jor offensives against wide- It also reiterated a call for Women’s League of Burma,
humanity. She said the Se- tional courts are consider- spread armed resistance. dialogue and reconcilia- said supporters of democ-
curity Council should refer ing whether that crack- The Security Council ap- tion and urged all sides “to racy feel forgotten by the
the junta’s actions to the down was genocide. proved its first-ever reso- respect human rights, fun- international community.q

Hundreds dead as Cyclone Freddy wrecks Malawi, Mozambique

By VITUS-GREGORY GOND- fall has killed at least 219 President Lazarus Chak- the coastal Zambezia prov- infrastructure,” saidTigere
WE and WANJOHI KABU- people in Malawi and Mo- wera declared a “state of ince. Tens of thousands of Chagutah, Amnesty Inter-
KURU zambique since Saturday disaster” in the country’s people are still holed up in national’s east and south-
Associated Press night, with the death toll southern region and the storm shelters and accom- ern Africa director. “The af-
BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) — expected to rise. now-ravaged commercial modation centers. fected countries must also
The devastating Tropical Heavy rains that triggered capital, Blantyre. Some Freddy will continue to be compensated for loss
Cyclone Freddy which has floods and mudslides have 19,000 people in the south thump central Mozam- and damage caused by
ripped through southern Af- killed 199 people in Malawi, of the nation have been bique and southern Malawi the cyclone.”
rica in a rare second land- authorities said Tuesday. displaced, according to with extreme rainfall before In November last year, na-
Malawi’s disaster manage- it exits back to the sea late tions agreed to compen-
ment directorate. Wednesday afternoon, the sate countries affected by
“Power and communica- U.N.’s meteorological cen- extreme weather exacer-
tions are down in many af- ter on the island of Réunion bated by human-caused
fected areas, hindering aid projected. Human rights climate change. Cyclones
operations,” said Stephane group Amnesty Internation- are wetter, more frequent
Dujarric, the U.N. Secretary al has called on the inter- and more intense as the
General’s spokesperson at national community to mo- planet heats up, scien-
a press briefing Tuesday af- bilize resources and boost tists say. “Mozambique
ternoon. The most affected aid and rescue efforts in the and Malawi are among
regions remain inacces- two countries. Relief efforts the countries least respon-
sible so the full extent of the in the nations are strained sible for climate change,
damage is so far unknown. and were already battling yet they are facing the full
Reports from Mozam- a cholera outbreak when force of storms that are in-
bique’s disaster institute on Freddy struck. tensifying due to global
Tuesday confirmed that 20 “It is clear that the official warming driven mostly by
A man passes houses that are submerged in flood waters in people have died in the death toll will rise in both carbon emissions from the
Blantyre, Malawi Tuesday, March 14, 2023. country and 1,900 homes Malawi and Mozambique, world’s richest nations,”
Associated Press have been destroyed in as will reports of wrecked Chagutah added.q