Intended for healthcare professionals

News

Myanmar: Medical organisations unite to condemn attacks on healthcare workers

BMJ 2021; 373 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1097 (Published 27 April 2021) Cite this as: BMJ 2021;373:n1097

Linked Opinion

Myanmar’s doctors are risking their lives in the civil disobedience movement 

  1. Elisabeth Mahase
  1. The BMJ

The BMA, The BMJ, royal medical colleges, and several other doctors’ groups have condemned human rights abuses in Myanmar and the targeting of medical professionals by the armed forces during the ongoing military coup.1

In a statement released by the BMA and signed by 17 other organisations, the groups said they stand in solidarity with medical professionals in Myanmar, including those “engaging in their human right to protest against the illegal military coup.”

The coup began on 1 February and has severely disrupted the country’s healthcare system. The Myanmar military—known as the Tatmadaw and widely criticised over its attacks on Rohingya Muslims—has used increasingly lethal tactics against peaceful protesters and bystanders across the country. Thousands of people have been arrested, including many medical staff and students.2

“Myanmar security forces have shot at health workers without provocation, arbitrarily arrested many, assaulted some, and forced others to flee their homes. In Yangon alone, at least a hundred medical students have been arrested,” the statement signed by BMA Council chair Chaand Nagpaul said.

The groups are calling on the country’s armed forces to “release all those they have arbitrarily arrested, to respect the right to protest freely, and to respect the principle of medical neutrality: allowing medical professionals to provide healthcare unimpeded.”

They have also urged telecommunications companies to extend coverage throughout Myanmar, as the Tatmadaw has cut off internet access for large sectors of the country, and called on the international community to coordinate a response to the human rights abuses.

References