By Onyebuchi Ezigbo
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned the continued military rule in Myanmar, describing it as an aberration of the international democratic order.
In a statement issued Tuesday by the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, the labour movement said that the military government in Myanmar has continued to perpetuate a climate of rights violations in the country.
“Since the military coup in Myanmar, more than 900 people have been killed, 5,000 civilians arrested and 300,000 workers dismissed for joining the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). Over 175,000 persons have been displaced.
“The coup and the third wave of Covid-19 have halved the income of 83 per cent of the families, and more than 25 million people in Myanmar are now living in absolute poverty.
“We call on the Nigerian government to take urgent action against the military coup to end the human rights catastrophe in Myanmar. Organized Labour in Nigeria fully supports the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) and the trade union movement in Myanmar to end the military rule and restore the civilian government elected in November 2020,” it said.
NLC said that as an international trade union movement, which is a global democratic force, ITU was the first to call on the international community to formally recognise the NUG of the Republic of Myanmar established on 16th April, 2021 by the democratic parliamentarians elected in the 8th November 2020 elections.
On February 1, 2021, General Min Aung Hlaing led the Myanmar military to stage a coup against the democratically elected government of Myanmar.
The coup attracted global outrage and umbrage. NLC lamented that more than eight months after the coup, the military government in Myanmar has continued to entrench itself and perpetuate a climate of rights violations in the country.
