The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), an organization lauded for its recording and validation of incidences of crimes against humanity in Burma since the coup, has received the 2021 Seán MacBride Peace Prize from Germany-based group, the International Peace Bureau (IPB).
“The AAPP have continued to tirelessly and diligently documented each and every death caused by the Junta. Their work makes them targets of the Junta, but this is a sacrifice they willingly embrace, placing the future and wellbeing of their country before themselves. In recognition of their bravery and commitment to securing the freedom and democratic rule of Burma, the IPB decided to award AAPP the Sean MacBride Peace Prize for 2021,” the IPB said.
The National Unity Government’s (NUG) Human Rights Minister, Aung Myo Min, and the AAPP’s Joint Secretary, U Bo Kyi, attended the prize ceremony held via video conference on Wednesday. Following the announcement, the British Embassy in Burma offered its own congratulations via its Facebook page.
The AAPP was formed by a group of former Burmese political prisoners and has been based in Mae Sot, Thailand, since 2000. The organization’s statistics, cited by almost all national and international publications, are considered to represent the most accurate data available on crimes committed by the military since the coup. The group has been accused by the junta of using its work to “destabilise” Burma.
On May 24, the AAPP has verified that the military has killed 1,861 civilians and arrested 13,822 others since the coup.
