Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians

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Title: Myanmar rebel group says shoots down military helicopter
Description: "The Kachin Independence Army (KIA), one of Myanmar's most powerful rebel groups, said on Monday it had shot down a helicopter after returning fire following air strikes by the military, an official at the group said. The United Nations estimates that tens of thousands of civilians have fled their homes as a result of the fighting between the military and ethnic minority insurgents in remote northern and eastern frontier regions. The conflict intensified after Myanmar's generals seized power on Feb.1, ousting the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. The KIA's information department head, Naw Bu, said the helicopter was shot down around 10:20 a.m. at a village near the town of Moemauk in Kachin province. "The military council launched air strikes in that area since around 8 or 9 this morning ... using jet fighters and also fired shots using a helicopter so we shot back at them," he said by telephone. He declined to say what weapons were used. News portals MizzimaDaily and Kachinwaves also reported the downing of the helicopter next to photographs showing a plume of smoke coming from the ground. A resident in the area, who declined to be named, said by telephone that four people had died in hospital after artillery shells hit a monastery in the village. Reuters could not independently verify the reports and a military spokesman did not answer a phone call seeking comment. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the coup, with protests almost daily against military rule across the country. On Sunday, Myanmar security forces opened fire on some of the biggest protests in days, killing eight people, media reported. The protests, after a spell of dwindling crowds and what appeared to be more restraint by the security forces, were coordinated with demonstrations in Myanmar communities around the world to mark what organisers called "the global Myanmar spring revolution". The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners advocacy group says security forces have killed at least 765 protesters since the coup. Reuters is unable to confirm the toll. The military said it had to seize power because its complaints of fraud in a November election won by Suu Kyi's party were not addressed by an election commission that deemed the vote fair. Suu Kyi, 75, has been detained since the coup along with many other members of her party..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-05-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-03
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Title: Myanmar's media under pressure from all sides
Description: "The Burmese military regime has routinely arrested journalists and banned independent media. But reporters continue to work underground — under pressure from the ruling junta, but also from the opposition. Myanmar's military government, which overthrew the elected government on February 1, continues to violently crack down on protesters and the opposition movement. At the same time, it has also been trying to gain control over information. Step by step, authorities have restricted access to social media and the internet. On February 4, Facebook, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp were blocked, followed the day after by Twitter and Instagram. Blocking Facebook was a crucial move: about half of the country's residents used the social media giant as their main news source. The military has also imposed nationwide internet blockades since February 15, which have regularly lasted from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. Mobile internet has been shut down since March 15, with only broadband connections providing access to the internet. For a few days now, the nightly shutdown has no longer applied to these connections. But the move worked: large parts of the population now receive their news almost exclusively from sources permitted by the military. State media holds a monopoly In addition to cutting off online communication, the state television station MRTV has been brought into line. The broadcaster now regularly shows photos of activists and demonstrators, naming them as alleged enemies of the state. Military broadcaster Myawaddy TV recently announced that for the first time in 30 years, 19 people had been sentenced to death for killing a soldier. And the state-owned newspaper The Global New Light of Myanmar has reported in detail the military's legal and moral obligations for ousting the elected government. Meanwhile, independent or private media outlets such as Mizzima, Democratic Voice of Burma, Khit Thit Media, Myanmar Now, 7Day News and others have been banned. Most have retreated to parts of the country controlled by ethnic minorities and their troops, such as Karen state on the border with Thailand. From there, they continue to publish their views against the military government. Journalists are in hiding According to Human Rights Watch, some 48 journalists are currently in detention; 23 others were detained but have since been released. Most have been accused of violating a new section of the penal code which criminalizes the dissemination of "statements, rumors or reports" that can lead to fear among the population and may incite people to "attack the state and public order" or to lead to "attacks between different classes and communities." DW spoke with several journalists, who cannot be named for security reasons. They have not slept in their homes for weeks, and fear being arrested during nightly searches by the military — as was the case with Kaung Myat Hlaing of the Democratic Voice of Burma. The journalist from the southern coastal town of Myeik livestreamed police shooting near his apartment as they detained him in a crackdown on March 1. He remains in custody. "I'm doing well, so far," one journalist told DW, who has moved from place to place living with other reporters. "But the nights have their terrors." As soon as the barking of stray dogs or the banging of pots by neighbors announce that the military is moving into the neighborhood, they instantly turn off their computers and lights in the hope staying hidden. "We talk a lot about work. It's easier to bear the situation in a group," one said. "But many journalist friends have left the military-controlled areas and taken off to support the underground or exile media." Underground media forced self-censor But it's not just the military putting pressure on the media. Most local media reporting from the underground cannot afford to take a neutral position on the situation without incurring the wrath of the protesters. For example: Instead of using the military government's self-imposed name, "State Administrative Council," they write "State Terrorist Council." People are not "arrested" by the security forces, but "kidnapped." "It's no longer possible to write a report or analysis without making a clear commitment to the revolution or the military," one journalist told DW. The problem, he said, is that now many journalists no longer write what is happening, but what people want to hear. Basically, he said, almost all local media outlets have an agenda: instead of journalism, it's about activism. "I have decided to stop writing anything for the time being, because every statement is misinterpreted," he said. As a result of this polarization, only supporters of the military or supporters of the revolution get a chance to speak. But there are also people in Myanmar who, while not friends of the military, also don't want a revolution. They fear the complete collapse of the state and years of chaos. One university official told DW that he hoped the situation would soon stabilize, and that banks would reopen and it would finally be possible to go back to work. Even if that stabilization meant stopping the protests against the military..."
Source/publisher: "DW News" (Germany)
Date of publication: 2021-05-02
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-03
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Title: Myanmar’s Karen State Remains Defiant Amid Military Attacks
Description: "With Myanmar’s military coup now three months old, there are few corners of the Southeast Asian country that haven’t been affected by its aftermath. Hundreds of thousands have revolted against the military’s action nationwide, but the armed forces have responded forcefully by detaining thousands and leaving more than 750 dead, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners Burma. But in recent weeks, with mass street demonstrations waning, the uprising has entered a new phase in old territory, throughout Myanmar’s ethnic minority-held states. In Myanmar’s Karen state, officially Kayin state, conflict isn’t new. Like others, the country’s third-largest ethnic group has endured severe conflict for more than seven decades, largely over ethnically based hostilities. Additionally, fighting against Myanmar’s Tatmadaw armed forces has also been a long battle, but today a resurgent military is forcing the Karen to further defend their territory. A month ago on March 31, according to a report by Singapore broadcaster CNA, the junta, officially the State Administration Council, announced a one-month cease-fire across Myanmar. But according to Dave Eubank, the director of the humanitarian service group Free Burma Rangers, which operates in Myanmar, that promise hasn’t been kept, as attacks from the military have continued. “The Burma army said there’s a cease-fire. There is no cease-fire there,” he told VOA this month. Decades of animosity: The Karen National Union (KNU) is a political organization that says it represents the Karen people, who have their own unique languages, customs and administrative system. Myanmar, then called Burma, gained independence from Britain in 1948. Since then, the Karen have been in conflict with the central government over calls for independence and for a federal system to be implemented. Decades of animosity have endured between various ethnic groups, including the Karen, and the Bamar people, also called Burmans, the dominant ethnic group in Myanmar. But with the coup sparking huge anger throughout the country, there are signs that the military could eventually face a united opposition. The head of Foreign Affairs Department for the KNU, Padoh Saw Taw Nee, said it’s been a “dream” for all ethnic states within Myanmar to align, despite their differences, but he acknowledged it’s a complicated situation. “That is the future we dream for several years, but for it to come true, it’s very difficult,” he said. But for now, the spokesperson acknowledged that fighting back against the advancing military was a necessity. “According to our experience, there will be a way to support pressure to the government, the military way, and the political and social … all kinds of ways, with a need to push against the military," he said. "We need to push the military regime to the table for dialogue.” Padoh Saw Taw Nee said there had been more than “200 casualties” among the Karen as a result of “shelling with heavy weapons” from the military. “If you couldn’t tackle this issue very carefully, there will be kind of a civil war. ... There will be a lot of consequences to our country,” he added. Ground attacks within the Karen have been happening since the end of 2020, according to local reports.....Population fearful: Airstrikes and reconnaissance flights are instilling terror into the locals on the ground, inside sources have told VOA. Lieutenant Colonel Saw Kyi Kyaw of the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army Peace Council told VOA that the organization’s mission was to “make peace” but that it would fight back if necessary. “We will not attack anyone, but if Tatmadaw starts attacking us, we will fight back to defend ourselves,” he said. In recent days, the Karen took control of a military outpost near the Thai-Myanmar border, according to a Reuters report. But when VOA spoke earlier this month to Saw Thuebee of the Karen Peace Support Network, a civil society group supporting vulnerable communities in the region, he said the Karen already were facing a humanitarian crisis because of the thousands of internally displaced people. Saw Thuebee called on Myanmar’s neighbor to help those in need. “We are hoping and requesting [that] the Thailand government launch the materials across the border so that we can continue to provide humanitarian assistance" to internally displaced people, he said.....Widespread hunger: The United Nations said last week that “millions” faced hunger in the country amid the violence. Myanmar was under military rule for most of its modern history until 2011. In last November’s general elections, the military claimed unsubstantiated electoral fraud. On February 1, the military removed the National League for Democracy government. Leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint were detained and have since been additionally charged. The armed forces have been deployed to suppress street protests, while martial law has been imposed across the country. The junta has implemented daily internet shutdowns for the sake of the country’s “stability.”
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Source/publisher: "VOA" (Washington, D.C)
Date of publication: 2021-05-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-03
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Title: They are hunted and in hiding but Myanmar's journalists continue to report the truth
Description: "Journalist Ye Wint Thu was already on the run when his name and photo appeared on a wanted list broadcast by Myanmar's military junta. For weeks, he had been documenting protests in Yangon against the military coup. But in early March, after a colleague was violently arrested in the south of the country, and the junta revoked the licenses of five prominent media organizations, his included, he got word that he should go into hiding. "I got a call from my source saying I should run right now because they are going to arrest you tonight," said Ye Wint Thu, who is in his late 30s. He stuffed what he could into bags — his laptops, work projects and important documents — and fled with his wife. Since then, they have stayed with friends, family and colleagues, moving each night to evade the security forces who regularly conduct nighttime raids of suspected safe houses. Ye Wint Thu's story is not a one-off. Journalists across Myanmar are being attacked by the military junta merely for doing their jobs. More than 80 journalists have been arrested since the coup on February 1, with more than half of those still in detention, according to a statement from Western embassies in Myanmar. Offices of newspapers and online media have been raided. A nightly news bulletin on state TV broadcasts the names and images of those sought by the junta. Many of them, like Ye Wint Thu, are journalists. Some have been hauled off to secretive military interrogation centers and charged with crimes under section 505a — a law amended by the military that makes it a crime punishable by up to three years in prison for publishing or circulating comments that "cause fear" or spread "false news." Braving bullets and potential torture if they are captured, Myanmar's reporters are continuing to expose alleged atrocities by the junta against its own people. And alongside the muzzled media, citizen journalists are taking great risks to gather information, while activists secretly publish and distribute revolutionary newsletters and pamphlets. "What's happening in Myanmar is a humanitarian crisis of the press," said Shawn Crispin, senior Southeast Asia representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists. "As global condemnation of the coup rose, it's becoming clear that the [military junta] want to suppress the news and to suppress coverage on what they're doing to the pro democracy demonstrators. And so they're going after the press." 'I could die on the street': Before the coup on February 1, Ye Wint Thu traveled around Myanmar producing and anchoring a current affairs TV program for independent media outlet Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). Now, he said, most journalists and editors he knows have gone underground as it's too dangerous to be on the streets......"I could die on the street.: Someone could shoot at me or I could get arrested. On the streets, there's a lot of informants and a lot of people who I don't know, so I might get killed," he said. During one crackdown in Yangon's Hledan, a district which had become a flashpoint for protests, Ye Wint Thu described running from security forces who were shooting at protesters. He sought shelter in a migrant hostel. "I had to hide in a small bedroom because the soldiers and police were shooting and were trying to catch people on the streets," he said. Despite knowing that he's wanted by the junta, Ye Wint Thu said he won't stop working. "Most of the journalists are on the run, like me. They can't do their jobs freely," he said. "All I can do now is conduct interviews here and make phone calls ... We can't stop, it's really important for the people of Burma," he said, using another name for Myanmar. In downtown Yangon, DVB's office has been sealed shut. The staff managed to recover essential broadcast equipment but the once buzzing newsroom, like most media offices in the city, remains empty. Police regularly check the premises to make sure they aren't broadcasting. The morning of the coup, DVB was taken off the air along with all other independent TV channels. The news organization switched to broadcasting via satellite but the junta issued an order for citizens to remove the PSI satellite dishes that carried their channel. Now, while they look for another satellite to broadcast from, DVB is relying on getting information out via its website and YouTube pages, as well through Facebook where it has 14 million followers. "We never stopped, not even for a single day," said Toe Zaw Latt, DVB's operations director who recently fled the city......A network of safe houses: Upon seizing power, the military cut all access to mobile data and wireless broadband, and until last week completely shut down the internet each night. Toe Zaw Latt said the junta's attempt to control all media and communication has created an "information vacuum" in the country, which it attempts to fill with military propaganda. Journalists move carefully through a network of safe houses, plotting their routes before they go out to avoid military checkpoints. If they're stopped, security forces search their phones and cameras — any images of protests or the ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi can be cause for arrest. "Every day, once you decide to leave, you know that you may never make it back to your room or your safe house. But it is your decision," Toe Zaw Latt said. Toe Zaw Latt tells his reporters: "Don't stay long on the ground, get the story, get out. Shoot and run. Cover your identity. Don't risk your life. There will be stories all the time. If it is too risky, don't take that risk." They operate in small networks for their safety, and there are no bylines on news articles. Even uploading footage is dangerous, as the journalists often have to find someone willing to allow them to use their network. "You have to make the file size very small, you have to upload to a particular network to get it out of Myanmar. Then people outside will access the cloud and upload," Toe Zaw Latt said. "I had to take risk on a daily basis to get internet access. You have to share [network connection] and you cannot let them know you are uploading files, as it is very scary." Toe Zaw Latt is part of an old guard of exiled Myanmar media workers. For half a century, Myanmar was ruled by successive military dictators until economic and political reforms began in 2011. For years, DVB relied on a clandestine network of video journalists who would bravely sneak footage out of the country so independent news could be broadcast into Myanmar. Following the abolishment of pre-publication censorship in 2012, exiled media organizations that operated in Thailand or Europe began slowly moving back. Once blacklisted, journalists could now interview government ministers and report openly in the country. In 2013, daily independent newspapers were allowed to publish for the first time since military rule. From 2015, under Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian National League for Democracy government, TV news channels like DVB were granted licenses, but journalists were still targeted with colonial era laws and defamation. Press freedom was not great, journalists said, but it was better. And there was hope it would continue to improve. Myanmar ranks 140 out of 180 in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index, dropping one place from the year before. Now, they have been forced to go back underground. Toe Zaw Latt said four DVB journalists have been arrested since the coup. The former exiled journalists pass down their knowledge and experience to the younger generation who have suddenly found themselves the public enemy of a murderous regime intent on wiping out the truth and replacing it with its own. As it's too dangerous for many to be out on the streets, media workers both inside and outside the country are relying on the bravery of citizen journalists. These are normal people filming or photographing, posting on social media and sending information to reporters. Their videos, often shot from behind windows or walls, provide evidence of the military's shootings, beatings and other human rights abuses and counter the official narrative that security forces are using "minimum force" or independent media is "fake news." "Lots of citizen journalists know that these kind of records are really important," said Toe Zaw Latt. "The [junta has been] accused of crimes against humanity. The more remote, the more abuses because no one is watching," he said. He described one instance where a man walked for 24 hours to reach a place with network connectivity so he could send a few photos about a conflict in this home state. "They want to take a risk to tell the stories," he said.....Sacrificing freedom to report: For some that mental and emotional toll is great. Journalists say they wrestle with guilt and grief at leaving family and partners behind, or being the reason they have to flee, potentially putting them in danger. "The painful part is, I said I'm sorry a thousand times to my partner. If not because of me, he didn't need to go [into hiding]," said Tin, a journalist for independent online news outlet Myanmar Now, who is using a pseudonym for her safety. "When I go to sleep I just wish I could see a different morning, another day," said Tin. "The coup happened around 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. We woke up to the coup and woke up to the news. So whenever I go to sleep I wish that tomorrow morning I can see something different." Tin said she feels guilty thinking about her hardships when others are going through so much worse. She draws strength when she thinks of the 760 people killed by the military since the coup. "I keep reminding myself these are not just numbers, these are lives and families behind those numbers," she said. Known for its investigations and hard-hitting features, Myanmar Now has been a loud and critical voice publishing in Burmese and English. International media, including CNN, often rely on its reporting, which has included reports on military's finances and business dealings with cronies and foreign ventures. That has drawn the ire of the military. In mid-March, Myanmar Now's office was raided by security forces. Along with DVB, Myanmar Now was one of five to have their publishing license revoked. But Tin said they have adapted to the challenging environment in ways they never thought they'd have to. "A lot of time phone calls don't work. Or in areas where security forces are shooting, you can hear loud bangs or running or shooting. It has been difficult to get information so we keep calling around midnight or 11 p.m. when we think there should no longer be shooting," she said. Tin said journalists are now faced with two choices: "If you want to keep reporting, you have to be exiled or in a place where they can't find you," she said. "You have to sacrifice freedom to report.".....Military courts: That lack of freedom is something Brang Mai struggles with daily. Brang Mai founded Myitkyina News Journal, an independent weekly, in 2012 with 30 employees covering the northern state of Kachin. On April 29, the military revoked the journal's publishing license. "Everything is online. It's very dangerous to print, and we cannot find a place to work," he said. Since the coup, three of his journalists have been arrested, and it has been a struggle to find out where they are, Brang Mai said. Once charged, trials are held, not in civilian courts, but within the prison walls, in secretive, military-run hearings. The CPJ's Crispin said Myanmar's jails and prisons are like a "black box." "Many just disappear inside prison, they're not given access to their families, they're not given access to lawyers, the news organizations are not allowed to contact them, so it's becoming a real black box as to what's happening to many journalists that are that are in jail," he said. Brang Mai spends his days frantically organizing lawyers for his detained reporters, arranging security for their families and his other staff, hiring trustworthy drivers, and seeking out safe houses. He moved back to his home town of Myitkyina to report on the country's opening up, but now fears being forced back into exile. "We never thought that this would happen again. What we facing here is unbelievable," Brang Mai said. "All of a sudden everything vanished within a day or two. If we move out to another country, maybe we get asylum, we just have to restart from basics again.".....Rise of alternative media: While some face the prospect of going into exile, others are creating new forms of media. Subverting the junta's internet cuts and suppression of information, Myanmar's young people are printing underground newsletters and pamphlets and secretly distributing them in the streets. Some have revolutionary names like Molotov. Others, thrown from bridges or stuck to lampposts, feature news of the coup, arrests, military abuses, and even poems. Activists have now launched a short wave radio station to reach the public and each other. Federal FM, formed in April by a group of activist volunteers, broadcasts news and updates on the political situation. "Radio is one of most important things for public information because we know military is cutting internet and phones and news agencies their satellite has been taken away. So I know radio is the only way to inform the public about what's going on," said Nway Oo, presenter for Federal FM who uses a pseudonym for safety. Federal FM is broadcast on 90.2 MHz on Thursdays and Sundays in Yangon and Mandalay, and aims to expand all over the country. Set up by members of the ethnic protest group General Strike Committee of Nationalities, their mission is to educate listeners about federalism — and hold the newly formed National Unity Government to account. "From radio we are able to criticize and express our aims or goals for a federal union," Nway Oo said. Their purpose, she said is to "support the revolution by giving people the news and the peoples' voice.".....Myanmar's journalists say they won't abandon the people: DVB's Toe Zaw Latt last month made the difficult decision to leave Yangon. The security situation there was untenable, he said. The military had re-imposed household registrations, a hangover from military rule where all house guests have to be registered so the military can keep tabs on who is staying where. "They make it harder to hide. They know student leaders and celebrities are on the run, so it's to chase them down," he said. Toe Zaw Latt, an Australian citizen, managed to make it to the airport and fly out last month. He is now in Australian quarantine. "This is not over. There is a coup, there is a huge army with guns, but we are not going to give up. For journalists, of course, there is danger, we are facing huge difficulties, but we are not going to give up," he said. For Ye Wint Thu, what's happening to his country is not new. He was four years old when his father was imprisoned for 10 years for being a democracy activist following the 1988 failed uprising against the then-military regime. This time, he believes the younger generation will not give up. "They will keep protesting. Generation Z, they are the hope of the country of Burma," he said. Like many journalists in Myanmar, Ye Wint Thu is determined to keep reporting. "I can't plan at all because things are changing every day," he said. "[But] I'll stick as long as I can inside Burma, and do my job as best as I can."..."
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Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-05-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Burma 2019 Human Rights Report
Description: "Burma has a quasi-parliamentary system of government in which the national parliament selects the president and constitutional provisions grant one-quarter of parliamentary seats to active-duty military appointees. The military also has the authority to appoint the ministers of defense, home affairs, and border affairs and one of two vice presidents, as well as to assume power over all branches of the government should the president declare a national state of emergency. In 2015 the country held nationwide parliamentary elections that the public widely accepted as a credible reflection of the will of the people. The National League for Democracy (NLD) party leader Aung San Suu Kyi was the civilian government’s de facto leader and, due to constitutional provisions preventing her from becoming president, remained in the position of state counsellor. The Myanmar Police Force (MPF), under the Ministry of Home Affairs (led by an active-duty general), is responsible for internal security. The Border Guard Police is administratively part of the MPF but operationally distinct. The armed forces under the Ministry of Defense are responsible for external security but are also engaged extensively in internal security, including combat against ethnic armed groups. Under the constitution civilian authorities have no authority over the security forces; the armed forces commander in chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, maintained effective control over the security forces. Extreme repression of and discrimination against the minority Rohingya population, who are predominantly Muslim, continued in Rakhine State. Intense fighting between the military and the ethnic-Rakhine Arakan Army (AA) that escalated in January displaced thousands more civilians, further disrupted humanitarian access to vulnerable populations, and resulted in serious abuses of civilian populations. Fighting between the military and ethnic armed groups in northern Shan State, as well as fighting there among ethnic armed groups, temporarily displaced thousands of persons and resulted in abuses, including reports of civilian deaths and forced recruitment by the ethnic armed groups. Significant human rights issues included: reports of extrajudicial and arbitrary killings by security forces; enforced disappearance by security forces; torture and rape and other forms of sexual violence by security forces; arbitrary detention by the government; harsh and sometimes life-threatening prison conditions; political prisoners; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; significant problems with the independence of the judiciary; severe restrictions on free expression including arbitrary arrest and prosecution of journalists, and criminal libel laws; substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, including arrests of peaceful protesters and restrictions on civil society activity; severe restrictions on religious freedom; significant restrictions on freedom of movement, in particular for Rohingya; significant acts of corruption by some officials; some unlawful recruitment and use of child soldiers; trafficking in persons; crimes involving violence or threats targeting members of national, ethnic, and religious minorities; laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults, although those laws were rarely enforced; and the use of forced and child labor..."
Source/publisher: [US] Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
Date of publication: 2019-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup
Description: "As of 2 May, (765) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) compiled and documented (6) fallen heroes today. (2) from Hsipaw Town and Nawngcho Town in Shan State, (1) from Hpakant Town in Kachin State and (2) from Wetlet Town in Sagaing Region died on 2 May. (1) from Kutkai Town in Shan State was killed yesterday and documented today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when. As of May 2, a total of (3555) people are currently under detention; of them (82) are sentenced. 1396 have been issued arrest warrants; of them 20 were sentenced to death and 14 to three years imprisonment with hard labour, who are evading arrest. We are verifying the recently released detainees and continuing to document. On 2 May, across the world and inside Burma, people powerfully protested the coup regime on the Global Myanmar Spring Revolution Day. Since the ASEAN leaders meeting, junta forces continue to perpetrate violence, today was the bloodiest day since the ASEAN meeting, at least five civilians were killed in one day. This is alongside increasing arrests. Two people were killed, and three others injured during a violent crackdown at an anti-dictatorship protest today in Hsipaw Town and Naungcho Town, Shan State. The Hpakant strike was repressed with live ammunition, mines, and hand grenades. One protester was shot dead in Hpakant, Kachin State. More than 20 people were injured and chased forcing the protestors to hide. There is great concern for these injured protesters’ access to medical treatment. Terrorists also arrested more than 10 civilians by breaking and destroying house doors in Hpakant. The junta also opened fire whilst people were gathering to begin a protest in Wetlet Town, Sagaing Region. Two men were shot dead, and eight others injured. The terrorist troops are now wearing plain clothes, carrying combat weapons, and arresting protestors so it is less easy to be recognized by civilians. Junta forces are also hiding to ambush and shoot. Two civilians were killed and at least five others were arrested today by this way in Mandalay City. AAPP is consolidating further information to verify this. Junta forces went to the Eain Phyu Taw spare auto parts store to allegedly buy car tires in Kutkai Town, Shan State on 1 May. The victim’s mother said the store was closed and they had stopped selling because of the ending of the fasting period. The victim’s mother was dragged into a car by the junta forces and an argument between the son and the terrorists broke out, he was then shot twice in the chest and died. Aside from all this, today the terrorist group crackdown on protests and arrested civilians in Mogaung Town, Kachin State, Mawlamyine City, Mon State, Mandalay and Pyugyidagun Townships, Mandalay Region, Monywa City, Sagaing Region, and Hlaing, Insein, and North Okkalapa Townships, Yangon Region. Some civilians across the country were injured. Arrests are made in plain clothes and the terrorist group has consistently used private vehicles, military trucks, and motorbikes to oppress civilians. Today, strikes were attacked using military trucks and private vehicles in Naungcho Town, Shan State, Shwebo Town, Sagaing Region and Eaindu Town, Karen State. More than 50 motorbikes were confiscated from youth protesters during the Eaindu protest. The junta stormed a school for the blind based in the Khawel Chan, Yangon Region last April and raided a girl orphanage house on Byaing Yay Oe Zin Street on 1 May nighttime in Tamwe Township, Yangon Region. During the raid, the door of the shelter was stormed and destroyed, the young women living in the shelter were taken out one by one. As of now, it has not been confirmed regarding arrests. Although Myanmar ratified to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), these rights have been dismantled by the dictatorship, women are suffering from both mental and physical insecurity. AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heroes in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: “Our uprising must succeed” Email : [email protected] Facebook : https://web.facebook.com/burmapoliticalprisoners/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/aapp_burma In Solidarity, AAPP..."
Source/publisher: Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication: 2021-04-02
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar Coup Highlights in 90 Days
Description: "Myanmar has now been under military rule for three months. Here is a timeline of the major events since Feb 1. Feb 1: Myanmar’s military seizes power in a coup claiming the 2020 November general election that brought a landslide victory to the National League for Democracy (NLD) was marred by fraud. It arrests the leaders of the democratically elected government, including President U Win Myint, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and region and state ministers. The military announces a yearlong state of emergency and says a new election will be held and power transferred to the winner. Feb 2: Myanmar’s people bang pots and pans to protest against the coup. This form of protest has been taking place at 8 pm daily across the country ever since. Myanmar’s military forms the State Administrative Council (SAC) with military officers and selected civilians replacing NLD ministers. Feb 3: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is charged under the Export and Import Law and Natural Disaster Management Law and remanded in custody. Additional charges are later filed against her under the Telecommunications Law, sedition law and Natural Disaster Management Law in Naypyitaw. She also faces a charge under the Official Secrets Act in Yangon Eastern District. She faces a total of six charges and has not been allowed to meet her lawyers in person. The military blocks access to Facebook, the primary means of access to the internet for the overwhelming majority in Myanmar. It is later followed by overnight internet shutdowns, which have since been lifted. Feb 4: Led by 32-year-old Dr. Tayzar San, around 20 people took to the streets against the military regime in Mandalay. The street protests from Mandalay then spread across the country. Feb 5: The Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), a body representing the elected NLD lawmakers from the 2020 November election, is formed. Feb 6: Anti-regime protests begin in Yangon and other cities, followed by a total internet blackout which is lifted the following day. Feb 8: Many civil servants come out on strike and join the civil disobedience movement (CDM). Mass protests with hundreds of thousands of protesters take place in Yangon, Mandalay, Naypyitaw and other cities. Some private banks have to close as their employees join the CDM. Myanmar’s military imposes a ban on gatherings of more than five people in Yangon and other areas. Feb 9: Ma Mya Thwe Thwe Khine, 19, is shot in the head as police open fire on anti-regime protesters in Naypyitaw. She later dies of brain injuries. Feb 11: People, including celebrities, stage a protest outside the Chinese Embassy in Yangon in response to alleged Chinese support for Myanmar’s military. Protests continue daily outside the embassy until Feb 20. Feb 13: People protest outside the offices of United Nations agencies and the US Embassy in Yangon, calling on the international community to take action against the SAC. Feb 15: In an interview with Myanmar’s media, Chinese ambassador Chen Hai says the political situation in Myanmar is “absolutely not what China wants to see” and dismisses social media rumors of Chinese involvement in the Feb. 1 coup as “complete nonsense”. Feb 19: Ma Mya Thwe Thwe Khine, who was shot in the head in the first shooting of junta forces, dies at a 1,000-bed public hospital in Naypyitaw, becoming the first victim to be shot dead since the coup. The SAC says she was shot by fellow protesters. Feb 22: In what the biggest day so far of defiance since the coup, large crowds of protesters joined a general strike against the junta, closing businesses and flooding on to streets across the country. The protests are referred to as the “five twos revolution”, a reference to the date 22.2.2021. Feb 24: Facebook and Instagram ban Myanmar’s military and military-controlled state media, citing “exceptionally severe human rights abuses and the clear risk of future military-initiated violence in Myanmar”. Feb 26: The military-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) meets political parties in Naypyitaw during which UCE chairman U Thein Soe says the results of the 2020 general election are invalid. Leaders of some political parties that did not win a single seat in the November poll ask the UEC to abolish the NLD. Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations, U Kyaw Moe Tun, in his speech to the General Assembly’s informal meeting on Myanmar, called on the international community to “use any means necessary” to reverse the coup and protect the country’s people. He flashes a three-finger salute, a sign of protest, while addressing the meeting. Feb 27: The junta announces the dismissal of U Kyaw Moe Tun, saying the envoy “betrayed the country and had spoken for an unofficial organization which doesn’t represent the country and had abused the power and responsibilities of an ambassador”. U Kyaw Moe Tun later sends a letter to the president of the UN General Assembly to say that he still holds the post. March 3: More than 30 are killed in at least four cities in one of the bloodiest days since the coup as soldiers and police fire live rounds into crowds of protesters. March 6: Junta forces detain ward-level NLD chairman U Khin Maung Latt in Yangon’s Pabedan Township. His dead body is returned the following day. Dozens of similar cases follow as activists and protest leaders die overnight in military custody. March 8: The SAC revoked the licenses of five media outlets, Mizzima, DVB, 7 Days, Myanmar Now and Khit Thit Media. Junta forces abduct U Zaw Myat Lin, manager of a vocational institute run by the NLD in Yangon’s Shwepyithar Township. His dead body is returned the following day. March 11: Myanmar’s military regime sues The Irrawaddy for its Feb. 20 video showing the police asking for 13 million kyats (US$9,200) from relatives to release striking doctors detained at an anti-regime protest. March 14: In another of the deadliest days since the coup, more than 50 people die in Yangon’s Hlaingtharyar Township as the security forces carry out a murderous crackdown on anti-regime protesters. Some Chinese-owned factories were set on fire in Hlaing Tharyar and Shwepyithar. The Chinese Embassy urges Myanmar’s authorities to take measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens, projects and businesses. The military council declares martial law in Hlaing Tharyar and Shwepyithar. March 15: Martial law is declared in North Dagon, South Dagon, Dagon Seikkan and North Okkalapa townships in Yangon and five townships in Mandalay. The junta blocks mobile internet access, the primary source of internet for the majority in Myanmar. Mobile internet access remains unavailable until May 1. March 21: The Home Affairs Ministry declares the CRPH and its related organizations to be unlawful associations. March 27: The military regime holds Armed Forces Day in Naypyitaw. More than 100 protesters are killed across the country on the bloodiest day of the protests to date as people fill the streets, defying a military warning that they could be shot “in the head and back”. The UN human rights high commissioner’s office said it had received reports of “scores killed”, adding that “this violence is compounding the illegitimacy of the coup and the culpability of its leaders”. March 31: The CRPH says it will abolish the military-drafted 2008 Constitution. April 1: A striking policeman leads civilians to attack a police outpost in Tamu, Sagaing Region. The policeman dies in the attack that sees the four junta police officers killed. The military regime blocks wireless internet access, making fiber internet the only means to get online in the country. April 4: The European Union announces the suspension of all the development projects in Myanmar. Apr 8: Eleven people die and dozens are injured as junta forces impose a violent crackdown in Taze, Sagaing Region, where anti-regime protests are gaining momentum. April 9: At least 82 people are killed as junta security forces raid a protest camp in Bago where anti-regime protesters have rallied each day against the coup for 68 consecutive days. Many people are detained during the raid that forces more than 1,000 people from their homes. April 10: At least eight police officers are killed as the tripartite Brotherhood Alliance of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Ta’ang National Liberation Army and Arakan Army attacks a police outpost in Lashio, northern Shan State. April 15: Prominent protest leader Ko Wai Moe Naing in Monywa is detained after his motorbike is rammed by junta forces in a private car. The 26-year-old activist faces 10 charges, including high treason. April 16: The CRPH forms the National Unity Government (NUG), with President U Win Myint and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi taking their original positions, and ethnic leaders and activists appointed as ministers. The Home Affairs Ministry later declares the NUG to be an unlawful association. The junta also says it will blacklist striking doctors which it has sued for incitement. April 24: In his first foreign trip since the coup, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing attends the ASEAN summit on Myanmar in Jakarta. A five-point consensus is reached on ending violence, facilitating a constructive dialogue between all parties, a special ASEAN envoy to facilitate the dialogue, acceptance of aid and a visit by an envoy to Myanmar. Myanmar’s people express their disappointment as the leaders fail to mention the release of political prisoners. ​ April 26: Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing says he will carefully consider ASEAN leaders’ recommended steps for solving the crisis after the situation stabilizes. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman says: “China will maintain close communication with ASEAN and support its mediation efforts while reaching out to all parties in Myanmar in its own way, so as to secure an early ‘soft landing’ for the situation in Myanmar.” April 29: Airbases in Magwe and Meiktila are attacked with rockets. April 30: The Assistance Association of Political Prisoners said 759 people have been killed, 3,485 are in detention out of 4,537 detained while 1,316 warrants have been issued by the regime since the February coup..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication: 2021-05-01
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar protesters march three months after coup; U.N. warns of ‘standstill’
Description: "Protesters against military rule marched in Myanmar on Saturday three months after a coup ended a democratic transition, with several small blasts compounding a sense of crisis that a U.N. envoy warned could bring state administration to a halt. The military has tried to end dissent and impose its authority on a people largely opposed to the return of rule by the generals after 10 years of democratic reforms that included a government led by democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi. Despite a relentless crackdown in which at least 759 protesters have been killed, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) advocacy group, crowds come out day after day to reject the junta. "Our cause, democracy, our cause, a federal union. Free arrested leaders," protesters chanted at one of two rallies in the main city of Yangon. Suu Kyi, 75, has been detained since the coup the along with many other members of her party. The AAPP says more than 3,400 people have been detained for opposing the military. People also rallied in the second city of Mandalay and the southern town of Dawei, media reported. There were no immediate reports of violence. Media reported several small blasts in different places including Yangon late on Friday and on Saturday. There were no immediate reports of casualties and no claims of responsibility. A spokesman for the junta did not answer calls seeking comment. The military has accused pro-democracy activists of planting bombs. The U.N. special envoy on Myanmar told the Security Council on Friday that in the absence of a collective international response to the coup, violence was worsening and the running of the state risked coming to a standstill, according to diplomats who attended the private meeting. read more Christine Schraner Burgener briefed the 15-member council from Thailand, where she has been meeting regional leaders. She hopes to travel to Myanmar but the military has yet to approve a visit. "The general administration of the state could risk coming to a standstill as the pro-democracy movement continues in spite of the ongoing use of lethal force, arbitrary arrests and torture as part of the military's repression," Schraner Burgener said, according to diplomats. She told diplomats that reports of a continuing crackdown risked undermining momentum toward ending the crisis following a meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on April 25 with the junta leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. Schraner Burgener, expressing concern about rising violence, cited reports of bomb attacks and of civilians, mostly students from the urban areas, getting weapons training from ethnic minority insurgents. U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said Min Aung Hlaing had used the summit as a "propaganda ploy". "Indeed, he tried to appear to be what he is not - a legitimate leader," Andrews said in a post on Twitter. "The good news: Those who ARE legitimate are ready to engage: the National Unity Government." Ousted members of parliament from Suu Kyi's party, politicians representing ethnic minorities and democracy activists set up the unity government but it has yet to win the international recognition it says it is due. The U.N. Security Council reiterated its “deep concern” at the situation and its support for Myanmar’s democratic transition. The council has issued several statements since the coup but diplomats say Russia and China are likely to prevent any stronger council action against Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-05-01
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: A wider war coming to Myanmar
Sub-title: Unclaimed attacks on military airbases signal a possible spread of civil war from remote frontier areas to urban centers
Description: "No group has yet claimed responsibility for several, almost simultaneous attacks on military targets in central Myanmar, including air bases recently used to target ethnic armed groups in the nation’s frontier areas. Security analysts, however, believe the shadowy attacks are likely the work of an alliance between ethnic rebels and urban-based pro-democracy dissidents, with the former providing the explosives and the latter knowledge of local conditions in the Myanmar heartland. If that assessment is accurate and the hits were not isolated incidents, it could mean that Myanmar’s long-running, low-intensity civil wars are spreading from ethnic minority areas in the nation’s periphery to major cities and towns. Three months after top generals seized power from a popularly elected government and despite the fact that military and police have gunned down over 750 and arrested well over 4,000 protesters, people are still bravely taking to the streets to vent their anger with the coup. The ongoing popular resistance underscores what is by now widely seen as perhaps the most unsuccessful coup in modern Asian history. That could yet spell ill for coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who has stuck stubbornly to his guns amid rising international condemnation that is deeply isolating the country. There are certain indications provided confidentially to Asia Times by military insiders that veterans of previous ruling juntas, namely the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) and State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), are growing wary of Min Aung Hlaing’s perceived as ineffective and polarizing actions and tactics. Recent developments, including the attacks on military airbases, have opened a Pandora’s box of possibilities and scenarios that were largely unforeseen when the tanks rolled into the main city of Yangon three months ago and scores of elected MPs and other politicians were arrested and detained in the capital Naypyitaw. Those include a wider civil war in the nation’s central region heartland, including near the generals’ bunker-like capital at Naypyidaw. On April 29, unidentified militants fired rockets at air force bases in Magwe and Meiktila in central Myanmar. Another explosion detonated at a Myanmar Army weapons storage facility near Bago city, about 70 kilometers north of Yangon. Those attacks came after intense fighting between the Myanmar military, known as Tatmadaw, and ethnic rebels from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) on the border with Thailand. The shadowy unclaimed attacks on airbases also coincided with intensified battles with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in the country’s far north, where many pro-democracy activists have sought refuge after bloody crackdowns in urban areas. The Tatmadaw’s attacks have been marked by airstrikes on rebel targets which have included civilian villages. That’s caused the recent displacement of more than 25,000 villagers in Kayin state and at least 5,000 in Kachin state. That adds to the tens of thousands who fled their homes amid earlier fighting in the areas. Long-time observers of Myanmar’s politics have privately drawn parallels between current events and what happened after an even bloodier coup in 1988, when thousands of dissidents also took to the hills and jungles after the Tatmadaw crushed another nationwide, pro-democracy uprising. But, they note, there are fundamental differences between the events of 1988 and current developments. In 1988, young urban dissidents formed the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), donned uniforms and fought alongside ethnic rebels in the frontier areas. At that time, it was much easier to acquire weapons from grey Thai arms markets and dissident groups had ready sanctuaries — and even offices — in neighboring Thailand. However, improved relations between the Thai and Myanmar militaries coupled with severe entry restrictions into Thailand caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have at least so far kept the dissidents on the Myanmar side of the border. The old ABSDF exists now only in name as most of its cadres have either surrendered or been resettled in third countries. The ABSDF’s ultimately failed uprising could explain why the new ethnic-urban alliance has taken on a different and potentially more explosive form. Indeed, recent developments seem to signal the beginning of hitherto unseen urban warfare, which the Tatmadaw is ill-equipped to handle. Apart from the obvious alliances between informal groups of pro-democracy activists and ethnic rebels, local resistance forces have already emerged in Sagaing Region and Chin state. Reports indicate similar forces are coalescing in Mon state and Mandalay Region. Social media posts show those local partisans are equipped with hunting rifles and homemade explosives but have nonetheless been able to inflict significant casualties on the police and military, including in Kalay in Sagaing Region. In nearby Chin state, a new force called the Chinland Defense Force reportedly killed 15 junta troops in their area. Shadowy bomb and Molotov cocktail attacks have been reported against police stations in Yangon, Mandalay and Monywa. At the same time, the Tatmadaw must contend with battle-hardened ethnic armies. In the country’s far north, there have been over 50 clashes since Kachin rebels overran and captured a Tatmadaw outpost on the strategic Alawbum mountain near the Chinese border on March 25. Airstrikes have failed to dislodge the KIA, which has carried out subsequent attacks near the Hpakant jade mines in western Kachin state and north of Sumprabum in the state’s north. In Kayin State, the Free Burma Rangers nongovernmental organization reports daily fights between the Tatmadaw and KNLA, despite the fact the two sides entered a ceasefire agreement in October 2015. That agreement, which included the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and eight smaller, rather insignificant groups, was termed a “Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement” (NCA), although it was neither nationwide nor led to even a semblance of peace in frontier areas. Although the KNLA and the KIA have sided openly with Myanmar’s until now peaceful Civil Disobedience Movement, other ethnic groups have been less supportive. In a March 27 interview with Reuters, RCSS chairman Yawd Serk said his group would not stand by idly if the junta’s forces continue to kill protesters but his vow hasn’t been followed up with any clear action. On the contrary, the RCSS has been fighting a rival Shan group, the Shan State Army of the Shan State Progress Party and its ethnic Palaung allies in the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) for control of areas in northern Shan state. Myanmar’s most powerful ethnic army, the 20,000-30,000 strong United Wa State Army (UWSA), has remained conspicuously silent since the coup. Not all Wa agree with the stance: Ten Wa civil society organizations signed on March 25 a written, urgent plea to the UWSA and its political wing the United Wa State Party to say something. That hasn’t happened though, probably because the UWSA is so closely allied with China’s security services, which do not want to get involved with Myanmar’s anti-coup movement. Protesters have targeted Beijing’s perceived support of the regime at the United Nations. Several Chinese factories were torched in Yangon in one spasm of violence. The 7,000-strong Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine state, one of Myanmar’s most powerful rebel armies, which has killed hundreds of Tatmadaw soldiers in recent fighting, has taken a more surprising stance. It entered into ceasefire talks with the Tatmadaw in November last year and was taken off its list of “terrorist” organizations soon after the February 1 coup. Its leader, Twan Mrat Naing, said on April 16 at the UWSA’s Panghsang headquarters that the ousted National League for Democracy government claimed that it would create a federal union with equal rights for all nationalities but failed to deliver on the promise. With that view, it’s doubtful the AA will join any grand alliance between urban dissidents and ethnic armies. Even without a unified ethnic resistance, there is still a chance that the Tatmadaw’s old guard could move to break the stalemate by pressuring or even trying to overthrow Min Aung Hlaing and his top deputies before the situation deteriorates further. The SLORC and SPDC were likewise brutal outfits and no friends of democracy, but former junta chief and commander-in-chief Senior General Than Shwe did initiate liberal reforms that led to a more open society and vastly improved relations with the West and wider world before stepping aside in 2010. Than Shwe is now in his late 80s and political analysts in Myanmar believe that the current chaos is hardly the kind of legacy he would want to leave behind. Whether the aging general has the wherewithal, influence or inclination to try to rein in Min Aung Hlaing is unknown, but the anarchy unleashed by his coup is clearly not in the military establishment’s short or long-term interests..."
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Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication: 2021-05-01
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: ASEAN meeting outcomes ignores assault on rights and civil society
Description: "Global civil society alliance CIVICUS is disappointed that the outcomes of the regional ASEAN summit held in Jakarta fell short of what is necessary to address Myanmar’s human rights crisis, including by failing to call for the immediate release of human rights activists, journalists and others arbitrarily detained. This failure undermines any chance of ensuring a genuine dialogue and transition back to democratic civilian rule. A statement released after the summit said the leaders and foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had reached a consensus on five points. They included asking for an immediate stop to the violence and opening a dialogue between the military and civilian leaders, with that process overseen by a special ASEAN envoy who would also visit with a delegation. The group also offered humanitarian assistance. The statement offered no timeline for these actions to be taken or an implementing mechanism. No mention was made of the nearly 4,000 people who have been arbitrarily detained by the military, including activists, peaceful protesters, and journalists, some in unknown locations and denied access to lawyers or family members. Many are facing serious and baseless charges, including treason. “Millions of people in Myanmar were hoping that ASEAN would, for once, uphold the principles enshrined in the ASEAN Charter including the rule of law and respect for and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and were once again tremendously disappointed. ASEAN has failed the thousands of political prisoners including activists and journalists by not calling for their immediate and unconditional release, which should be an integral part of any successful efforts to restore democracy,” said David Kode, CIVICUS’s Advocacy and Campaigns Lead. The summit also failed to acknowledge the National Unity Government (NUG) that was formed on 16 April 2021 representing elected members of the Union Parliament. It also ignored the serious violations that have occurred in Myanmar since the coup which left around 750 dead, including children and thousands injured due to the use of lethal force by the security forces to crack down on protests, the ill-treatment by the security forces during night-time raids and the internet shutdowns. No mention was made of UN resolutions on the crisis adopted by consensus at the Human Rights Council since the coup. Nor was there any acknowledgment of or offering of support to the UN mechanisms mandated to monitor and report on human rights violations relating to the coup. “The failure to acknowledge and engage with the legitimately elected representatives of the people of Myanmar shows that ASEAN leaders’ talk of democracy is only lip service. We call for ASEAN to put their words into action by demanding an end to the state of emergency and for the elected civilian government to be restored,” said David Kode. Since the meeting, the junta already seem to be backtracking from their already minimal promises. Myanmar military junta leader Min Aung Hlaing said he will consider proposals by ASEAN to solve the ongoing crisis in Myanmar only after peace and stability are restored in his country. CIVICUS reiterates calls for an immediate end to the escalating violence by the military, the immediate and unconditional release of all those arbitrarily detained, and for steps to be taken by the international community, including ASEAN, to hold those responsible for the serious human rights violations to account..."
Source/publisher: Civicus (Johannesburg)
Date of publication: 2021-04-28
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: Civil servants face junta pressure to return to work
Description: "Workers associated with the civil disobedience movement have been thrown out of public housing and issued legal notices. Meanwhile, many banks are also grappling with a lack of working employees. As the civil disobedience movement (CDM) grows in popularity in Myanmar, the military has started ramping up pressure on government employees to return to work, while businesses struggle under the weight of missing employees and internet blackouts. Civil servants started refusing to carry out their duties, just days after the February 1, 2021, coup, when the country's military seized power. The movement has been expanding since then, with widespread support from both in and outside the country, and a 2022 Nobel Peace Prize nomination. However, the junta has been pushing government workers participating in the movement to go back to work, using forceful tactics. In one case, government hospitals in cities began issuing letters to medical workers to come back to work. In another instance, a CDM-affiliated railway worker was forced to leave his government apartment. Doctors pressured to return to hospitals One doctor working at a government hospital said the junta is afraid of the CDM's power. "The CDM is one of the most important things to stop the government mechanism," a 25-year-old assistant surgeon, who asked for his name not to be published, told DW. "That's why they try to push CDM participants back to work in various ways, like forcing railway staff to leave their government apartment if they don't come back to work." A military spokesperson last week accused CDM-affiliated medical workers of being responsible for the deaths of people in hospitals, who could not receive proper treatment. The surgeon, who is working at Myanmar's largest hospital — the Yangon General Hospital — disagrees with that accusation. "They want to open public hospitals again as soon as possible, and mislead people into thinking that the country is stable, and that they can get back to their normal lives. That's why they are still pushing healthcare workers to return to their jobs, by accusing them of committing genocides in the newspaper." On Tuesday, the junta issued arrest warrants for 20 doctors who had joined the CDM against the military dictatorship, charging them with defamation. The surgeon told DW that doctors are preparing for the worst. "I am not afraid of them. It doesn't matter, even if they revoke my medical license. I will be a part of the CDM until the end of the junta," he said. Cash flow comes to a halt "Businesses were hurting because of the pandemic, even before the coup. Any business would be lucky to break even, and many have closed," said political analyst Dr Khin Zaw Win, who runs an independent think-tank in Myanmar called the Tampadipa Institute. "The movement aims to disrupt the government machinery and does not force essential services to stop operating," he told DW. Cash flow within the country has also come to a halt, since banks have not been opening due to a shortage in staff. Many people are lining up at ATMs, mainly in the big cities like Yangon and Mandalay. "Banks are a good example — many staff have joined the CDM, and the junta is affected. But some banks are providing services to customers with a skeleton staff," said Khin Zaw Win. However, the Central Bank of Myanmar last week said that the private bank sector is still strong, and that customers can trust them. "All of our work has stopped because customers don't want to spend on extra things. We can't receive payments from our customers because the banks are closed," said 36-year old businessman Hla Win, who declined to use his real name, and who runs a mobile accessories company in Myanmar. The internet has been shut down in the country by the military in order to control the growing anti-coup movement, and mobile data has been inaccessible since March. "No banks are open and there is no internet for people living in small cities who want to use internet banking," he told DW. "We were still able to run virtual sales before, but this coup stopped everything." A solemn New Year According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), at least 737 people have been killed by the junta as of April 19. As the people of Myanmar mourn the civilian deaths, many decided not to celebrate the New Year festival, also known as the Thingyan Water Festival, which took place from April 13-17. However, social media videos showed junta members celebrating with joy, and spraying water in the capital Naypyitaw on April 14. Elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested on February 1, triggering a wave of anti-coup protests. She is facing six charges set by the military. In addition to several deaths, over 3,200 people have been arrested, charged or sentenced for their role in the protests..."
Source/publisher: "DW News" (Germany)
Date of publication: 2021-04-19
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rare footage shows gun battle at Myanmar-Thailand border
Description: "Fighting between Myanmar's military and armed ethnic groups is moving so close to the border it can be seen from Thailand. While a leader from the Karen National Liberation Army says their small victories against the junta can help the country-wide push for democracy, it comes at a cost to people living near the border..."
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Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-05-01
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Survivors of Bago’s devastating crackdown vow to retake their city
Sub-title: Despite suffering the worst single-day death toll since the coup, Bago’s defenders say they are not ready to give up yet
Description: "Nyein Maung, a native of Yangon who didn’t move to Bago until late February of this year, was still not very familiar with the city when he became a protest leader at its main defence site. As a sailor who had spent many years at sea, he had finally decided to settle down in his wife’s hometown with her and their four-year-old son. By the time he arrived, however, Bago was already experiencing its first wave of brutal crackdowns. It was not long before he saw for himself what the junta that had seized power on February 1 was prepared to do to crush resistance to its rule.....Nyein Maung, a native of Yangon who didn’t move to Bago until late February of this year, was still not very familiar with the city when he became a protest leader at its main defence site. As a sailor who had spent many years at sea, he had finally decided to settle down in his wife’s hometown with her and their four-year-old son. By the time he arrived, however, Bago was already experiencing its first wave of brutal crackdowns. It was not long before he saw for himself what the junta that had seized power on February 1 was prepared to do to crush resistance to its rule. On February 28, just days after he moved to Bago, he watched in horror as a young man who had been shot in the stomach by regime forces was viciously beaten by five armed policemen. After they left him for dead, Nyein Maung went to see if might have survived the attack. When he found that the man was still breathing, he put him into his car to take him to the hospital. At that point, the police started shooting at him. Nyein Maung managed to escape with just a bullet hole in his car, but decided then and there that he had to do something to protect protesters from the junta’s relentless violence, even if it meant putting his own life on the line. “I left my family that day and started staying somewhere else. My friends and I built a stronghold. We didn’t really have a system, but we were determined to defend ourselves with anything we had,” he said. The 31-year-old former sailor let his wife and father know that he had joined the revolution and then left home with just 100,000 kyat in his pocket. “I told them, ‘If a federal army is formed, I will be a part of it. If I die, just sell the car and our other possessions so you can continue living.’ Our group is made up entirely of people who aren’t afraid of losing their lives,” he said. But it wasn’t just his life that Nyein Maung was prepared to lose. He told his father, who serves in the navy, that he had to take a clear stance on the protests. “I said, ‘If you’re going to kill people and be involved in the crackdowns, we’re finished.’ But he told me he had nothing to do with that,” he said, adding that his father has since joined the Civil Disobedience Movement.....The main barricade: The protests in Bago started near the famed Shwemawdaw pagoda in the city centre, but spread to other areas as the military moved in to violently suppress large gatherings. Around 140 young protesters, including Nyein Maung, formed a security team in early March. Using sandbags, they built barricades at major protest sites, such as the ones in Bago’s Ma Ga Dit, Hmor Kan and Socialist wards, where Nyein Maung was a frontline defence team leader. The main stronghold was at Ma Ga Dit, where protests were held daily from 9am. All three of these sites were targeted for major offensives by the military. The defence team manned the barricades in shifts. As a team leader, Nyein Maung was serious about maintaining discipline, instructing team members to refrain from consuming alcohol while on duty. “This is no time to be joking around. One mistake and you lose your life. I told them they need to be able to make clear decisions,” he explained. Meetings were held every day at 4pm to divide the team into groups and assign them to different wards. They also discussed the security situation as it evolved from day to day. On March 14, team members defending the Ma Ga Dit barricade with air guns, Molotov cocktails and handmade weapons killed two police officers, marking a turning point in the conflict between Bago’s residents and the regime’s forces. The stronghold was subsequently destroyed several times in the ensuing weeks, but was rebuilt each time. To ensure that it was never left undefended, the security team set up a camp so they could stay there around the clock. By early April, when troops from Light Infantry Division 77, stationed nearby, started shouting threats at them, it became clear that they were heading for decisive clash that would likely end badly for them. “They always gave us warnings at night, telling us that they would come down harder on us than they did on Hlaing Tharyar,” said Nyein Maung, referring to the massive assault on Yangon’s industrial outskirts in late March. “They warned us to drop our weapons, and were listing charges we’d be given and all that,” he added. But at this stage, they had no intention of giving up. Armed with improvised explosives, fireworks, and Molotov cocktails, as well as non-lethal gas-powered guns, they dug in and braced for what was to come. “We told the people who had been feeding us that we would protect them and hold on for as long as we can,” said Nyein Maung, recalling the tense days before the final onslaught.....‘Driven by cruelty’: By this time, there were actually four barricades set up in Ma Ga Dit ward, each one numbered according to the lane off of the main road where it was located. On the morning of April 9, when the military finally launched its attack, barricades 1, 4, 7, and 13 were all surrounded by heavily armed troops. Barricade 1 was the first to come under fire. In an effort to hold off the forces storming barricade 1, Nyein Maung and about 30 others started firing gas guns and fireworks from barricade 4. They also lobbed explosives, which proved to be their most powerful weapon. “We had two homemade explosives. It got four of them. I can confirm that because I threw them myself. I think we held on for about ten minutes,” Nyein Maung recalled. But they soon found that they were no match for soldiers with weapons of war. “At 5:10am, the military threw a grenade, and then opened fire with RPGs. That’s when stronghold 1 fell. We led another defence attack and they used two more RPGs. One fell next to me, and a lot of us were killed,” said Nyein Maung. When they tried to retreat to barricade 4, they found that it had also been destroyed. Still coming under heavy fire from artillery, grenades, and machine guns, they fled to barricade 7 and then to 13. “We retreated to stronghold 7. By the time we got to 13, we had to give up. Only 24 of us made it out alive,” he said. At least 82 civilians were confirmed dead after the April 9 crackdown, although the actual number was likely much higher, as many of the wounded did not receive medical treatment, according to local residents. “The injured and the dead were put in the compound of the Zeyar Muni pagoda. A monk there asked the military to return the bodies to their families, but they wouldn’t hand them over,” said Thurein, a local volunteer. Those who survived escaped to the countryside, where they were pursued by troops who continued shooting in villages that were not part of the protests. For the next two days, the regime carried out intense clearance operations in Bago and the surrounding area, rounding up anyone suspected of involvement in the resistance movement. Now in a safe place with several other members of his team, Nyein Maung denounced the junta’s ruthless use of military might against a far smaller defensive force. “Their rate of killing isn’t normal. They wouldn’t even kill this many in a battle. They are just driven by cruelty,” he said. Despite this defeat, however, he remained convinced that he would be able to avenge his fallen comrades and repay those who supported their efforts. “We apologize to the families from Ma Ga Dit and Socialist wards that fed us. We didn’t back down. We will reclaim our city of Bago,” he said..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2021-05-01
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup
Description: "As of 30 April, (759) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has not yet confirmed any fallen heroes today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when. As of April 30, a total of (3485) people are currently under detention; of them (80) are sentenced. 1316 have been issued arrest warrants; of them 20 were sentenced to death and 14 to three years imprisonment with hard labour, who are evading arrest. We are verifying the recently released detainees and continuing to document. Today, people across the country, including Yangon, took to the streets to protest dictatorship, a dawn protest was suppressed by the terrorists in Kale Town, Sagaing Region. However, the protesters were able to get away and no one was arrested. This morning, the terrorist group used a Mark-2 car to crash into a protest and beat and arrest 4 civilians in South Dagon Township, Yangon Region. Ethnic media outlets are now being targeted as the junta focuses its oppression on arresting, prosecuting, and revoking publishing rights in main cities across the country. Family members of journalists are also being taken as hostages. Terrorists went searching for the editor-in-chief of the Hakha based Chinland Post media in his house last night in Chin State but could not find him. So instead, his brother in law was taken as a hostage. This is now a policy of the junta. Up until April 29, at least 49 people have been taken as hostages at one point since the coup. Hostage-taking is a serious human rights violation and is a proven method of terrorism. According to the Chapter (3) of Media Law; Article (4-c) states that News Media workers shall have the right to reveal issues relating to rights and privileges lost by the citizen” and Article (7-a) declared that “he/she shall be exempt from being detained by a certain security related authority”. Yet in Burma the rule of law is disregarded by the terrorists. The junta forces use the law as they unjustly please. Conflict between junta coup forces and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) are intensifying in the ethnic states. Conflict has been raging in Momauk Township, Kachin State since April 10. A man was killed and a woman seriously injured in a military plane attack on April 29. In addition to this, clashes in Kachin State have forced around 10,000 villagers to flee their homes. As a consequence of a three-day bombing campaign by coup forces, more than 2,000 locals fled from Papun District to Thailand on April 28. These locals are now reportedly living in the forest without shelter. They are being granted temporary residential permission by Thai authorities. Over ten thousand people have been displaced by airstrikes in Karen State. Burma was developing peace and national reconciliation to bring an end to the over-70 year civil war. It is ethnic people who suffer most from the atrocities, happening now again because of this military coup. AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heroes in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: “Our uprising must succeed” Email : [email protected] Facebook : https://web.facebook.com/burmapoliticalprisoners/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/aapp_burma In Solidarity, AAPP..."
Source/publisher: Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication: 2021-04-30
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup
Description: "As of 29 April, (759) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) compiled and documented (3) fallen heroes today. (1) from Pyapon Township in Ayeyarwady Region died on 29 April. (2) from Mandalay and Kani Township in Sagaing Region were killed previous days and documented today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when. As of April 29, a total of (3461) people are currently under detention; of them (80) are sentenced. 1276 have been issued arrest warrants; of them 20 were sentenced to death and 14 to three years imprisonment with hard labour, who are evading arrest. We are verifying the recently released detainees and continuing to document. Today people across Burma continued to protest in different ways against the military coup despite the brutal crackdowns and repressions. This morning, plain clothes junta forces in private cars armed with guns in ShweBo Town, Sagaing Region, crashed into the main protest group. Junta forces threatened, swearing, at the protesters. Thereafter, one woman from the strike was arrested. Arrests are being made in private cars, not military trucks or police cars. This is because the terrorists are attempting to cover up their acts of violence, and make it more difficult for civilians to report on the junta’s actions because they are using private vehicles. Last night, a night protest was cracked down on and one civilian got shot on his thigh in Pyigyidagun Township, Mandalay Region. Terrorists are committing unlawful shootings and killings day after day. Last night, a young man was shot in the abdomen and died on the spot near Zegyo Clock Tower on 84 road, Mandalay City. He was trying to run away after the military stopped him for a motorcycle check. A local man was shot and wounded in the abdomen and arm by the terrorists in Auk Kwin Village, Pyapone Township, Ayeyarwady Region last night and died this morning. In addition to this, two civilians were arrested and detained last night, one of whom died. The junta forces are becoming more violent each day. Civilians are being treated like enemies. The junta forces were using slingshots and throwing stones at an apartment because they did not turn the lights off after 10 pm, destroying the windows in Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township, Yangon Region. Daily lives of the civilians are being threatened by the junta through these relentless actions. A group of 50 junta troops in plain clothes and police uniform stormed the house of Ko Zin Maung Phyo’s yesterday in Thayet Chaung Township, Dawei District. The Dawei District Students Union member is evading a Penal Code 505(a) warrant. They broke into the house at night, smashing the doors and destroying everything in the house. The junta troops also seized the farm and land registration papers and all the other documents. The junta are also targeting arrestees and brutally torturing civilians into confession. Two villagers from a village in Kani township, Sagaing Region, were arrested on April 27. One of them was told to pick up the dead body next day. The body of the fallen villager was found with wounds consistent with torture. As long as the dictatorship does not end, the security and dignity of civilians will continue to deteriorate. Protest leaders, politicians, and activists are being prosecuted by the junta forces under several laws. Wai Moe Naing, the leader of the Monywa strike, has been charged under seven sections, including the Penal Code Section 505-a, and three more sections, including Penal Code Section 124. The junta has tried to imprison dissidents for as long as possible under various sections of the law. This is the practice of successive dictatorships. AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heroes in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: “Our uprising must succeed” Email : [email protected] Facebook : https://web.facebook.com/burmapoliticalprisoners/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/aapp_burma In Solidarity, AAPP..."
Source/publisher: Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication: 2021-04-29
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Despite ASEAN consensus, military abuses continue around the country
Sub-title: Myanmar’s junta has effectively ignored the terms of a five-point agreement reached in Jakarta last weekend
Description: "Nearly a week after Myanmar’s chief coup maker met with leaders of the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) last Saturday to discuss the crisis in the country, reports of abuses by the military continue. The ASEAN meeting, held in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, reached a five-point consensus that aimed to end the ongoing violence, which has already claimed more than 750 civilian lives in less than three months. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who made his first trip outside of Myanmar since seizing power on February 1 to attend the emergency summit, appears to have backed away from the terms of the agreement since returning to the country. The day after the meeting, coverage of the summit in state-run newspaper The Mirror made no mention of the five points, which included plans to allow representatives of the regional grouping into the country to observe the situation on the ground. On Tuesday, however, the regime announced that it would only move forward with this and other points in the agreement once the country had become “stable”. Meanwhile, it continues its efforts to restore stability through brute force, killing at least seven people during and in the days immediately after the Jakarta summit, in direct violation of its commitment to end violence against civilians.....Ongoing abuses: The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which has documented the regime’s arrests and killings of protesters and other civilians, said that the ASEAN meeting had failed to achieve the desired results. “On the night after the meeting, the junta’s armed forces continued to commit atrocities against civilians, including women, in plain sight,” it noted in a statement released earlier this week. On the day of the summit, a young man was shot dead by plainclothes policemen in Mandalay, while a woman arrested in Myaung Mya, a town in Sagaing Region, died shortly after being taken into custody on the same day, according to AAPP. There was also one other civilian death reported in Yezagyo, Magway Region, on Saturday, followed by two more the next day—one in Kawthaung, in Tanintharyi Region, and another in Yangon’s Insein Township, AAPP records show. Since then, there have been at least two more fatal shootings of civilians, including one of a fried-rice vendor in Mandalay on Monday and another in Kayah State’s Demoso Township on Tuesday. In another attack, a woman in Kayin State’s Phaya Thone Su Township sustained serious injuries last Saturday after she was shot by the military and hit with a car while she was taking part in an anti-coup motorbike rally. Besides using lethal force, soldiers and police have kept up a steady campaign of harassment against civilians in an effort to break their resistance to military rule. Residents of Yangon report that regime forces come into their neighbourhoods every night after curfew to prevent people from banging pots in protest against the coup. “They came onto our street last night and started threatening anyone who dared to bang a pot. They used very vulgar language and fired at people’s houses with slingshots. It happens every night now,” said one Yangon resident who asked not to be identified. On Sunday, a group of women in Yangon’s Mayangone Township were forced to bang their pots and dance in the street while soldiers watched and laughed. If they stopped dancing, the soldiers hurled insults at them and threw stones at their houses, AAPP said in a statement that recounted a number of similar incidents involving attempts to humiliate civilians. “Forcing women to hurt their dignity in public, and treating civilians as if they were enemies, are cruel acts that the military continues to lawlessly commit,” the group said in its statement. In another incident that took place in Yangon’s Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township last Saturday, a transgender woman was forced to wear a man’s longyi and mocked by regime forces. Many remain undeterred by this behaviour, however, as ordinary citizens continue to register their rejection of the military’s overthrow of the elected civilian government. A resident of Yangon’s Tamwe Township who complained about the junta’s persistent efforts to disrupt the lives of civilians said that he and most of his neighbours refused to be intimidated. “They curse at passersby, interrogate them for a while, and then let them go. When they came to my door, I closed it and they threw stones. But we will continue to demonstrate against them. We won’t be ruled by these people,” he told Myanmar Now.....Intensifying pressure: While ordinary citizens do their best to cope with the heavy military presence, those taking part in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) are coming under growing pressure to end their efforts to deny the regime control of the state. Among those most under threat from the junta are healthcare workers, who spearheaded the CDM in the early days after the coup. In the months since, the movement has been joined by many other public employees and emerged as a major stumbling block to Min Aung Hlaing’s ambitions. Frustrated by its inability to break the CDM, the junta has in recent weeks stepped up its efforts to arrest the movement’s leaders and put them behind bars on trumped-up charges. Since April 13, military-controlled television has broadcast the names of at least 20 health professionals who have been charged with incitement and issued with arrest warrants. At least 300 medical workers are now on the regime’s wanted list. On Tuesday, a failed attempt to apprehend a doctor in Yangon’s South Okkalapa Township resulted in the arrest of her father and younger sister, according to a relative. The doctor, Yu Sandar Moe, has since gone into hiding, the relative told Myanmar Now. According to a statement released by the University of Medicine (1) Students Union on Saturday, a total of 46 medical workers and students, including 29 striking doctors, have been arrested since the coup. The junta has also threatened to revoke doctors’ passports and medical licenses if they join the CDM. Private hospitals and charity clinics that accept CDM doctors will also have their licenses taken away, the junta said. Other prominent figures in the anti-coup movement have also been targeted for arrest. On Saturday, regime forces carried out a raid on a monastery in Sagaing Region’s Yinmabin Township in an attempt to arrest a monk who has led protests in the area. It was the second time this month that the junta had failed to catch the monk. On April 2, soldiers surrounded the village of Thabyay Aye to arrest him, but locals fought back with homemade rifles. Four villagers were killed in that clash, which also reportedly resulted in military casualties. At least six people were killed earlier this week during clashes elsewhere in Yinmabin. The recent efforts to crack down on protests have also forced tens of thousands of people from 30 villages to flee as soldiers set up camp in the area. Meanwhile, civilians armed with hunting rifles in southern Chin State’s Mindat Township claim to have killed 30 regime soldiers during four days of fierce clashes that began last Saturday. Amid concerns that the situation in Myanmar still threatens to spin out of control, Mann Win Khaing Than, the chief union minister of the recently formed National Unity Government, called on ASEAN to ensure that the regime abides by its agreement to deescalate its use of violence..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2021-04-30
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Frontline doctors risk persecution, careers – and their lives
Sub-title: A frontline medic describes the dangers of trying to save lives at a time when the regime regards many health workers as criminals for serving at protests and participating in the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Description: "On the evening of April 9, reports began emerging that security forces had killed scores of people in Bago, after they unleashed heavy weapons and grenades to disperse protesters manning barricades. Before launching the operation in the city about 80 kilometres northeast of Yangon, the armed forces had blocked roads in Bago. This prevented ambulances from collecting the wounded, many of whom were eventually dumped in a monastery compound. At least 80 people were killed in Bago that day, but a final death toll will probably never be known. Something else we’ll likely never know is how many of the wounded died because they did not receive treatment. I arrived in Bago three days later to help treat the wounded. It was a difficult task –many of them were in hiding, for fear they would be arrested if they sought treatment. Witnesses also said volunteer medical workers had been detained by the security forces, following a pattern reported elsewhere in the country. As a frontline medical volunteer, I’ve regularly witnessed the brutality of the junta’s dispersal tactics. The first time was during a protest near Thanlyin Technological University in southeastern Yangon Region on March 9. Troops had occupied the campus, and students were protesting peacefully to demand that they leave. The soldiers suddenly opened fire with live rounds, leaving several people injured. We began treating some of the injured in a safe house not far from the site of the protest, but we had to quickly evacuate the patients when soldiers arrived nearby. Thankfully, we managed to get them to another safe house and continue treating them. Compounding the suffering Not every injured protester manages to escape. Some are seized by the police and army and denied first aid, often dying as a result of loss of blood. Even when the injured manage to evade security forces, they are far from safe. As the Bago example illustrates, accessing healthcare and medical assistance is itself a dangerous challenge for protesters, and for the medical volunteers who come to their assistance. The best-case scenario for an injured protester is to be quickly evacuated from the scene by frontline medical volunteers and treated. But there is always a risk that the armed forces will stop the ambulance in which they travel or raid the clinic they are taken to. As a result, they are often forced to wait hours for proper treatment, or denied it altogether. Because the regime has made state hospitals unsafe places for injured protesters, medical volunteers refer them to private hospitals or clinics run by charities. The military is notified about all admissions to government hospitals and patients can be arrested before they are discharged. Patients wanted by the authorities are also often shackled to their beds. My team encountered one man who had suffered facial injuries after being hit with shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade. The man had been hiding at home for three days without seeking treatment because he feared arrest if spotted by soldiers. We were eventually able to take him to a safe private medical facility for treatment. He is recovering, but has suffered damage to one of his eyes. The World Health Organization has said that from February 1 to April 30, there were at least 158 attacks on healthcare facilities, vehicles, staff and supplies, as well as patients in Myanmar, resulting in 11 deaths and 51 injuries. Because of these incidents, volunteer teams are often forced to park ambulances some distance from protest sites to avoid attracting the attention of soldiers and police. Equally disturbing are raids on medical treatment centres and charity rescue service offices. Raids were conducted on the intensive care unit at Yangon’s privately run Grand Hantha International Hospital on March 14, on a clinic in Mandalay on March 27 that resulted in the arrest of 26 people, including doctors and volunteers, and on a clinic at Kalay on April 7, as well as on a medical facility in Yangon’s Sanchaung Township on April 5, during which nine people were detained, including doctors and volunteers. Medics need protection It is a distressing time to be a medical professional in Myanmar. Last year, we were honoured as national heroes for our role in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. But since the February 1 coup, the military has turned on government health workers due to their role in instigating the Civil Disobedience Movement. The regime now regards us as criminals rather than heroes – all doctors who are providing care to anti-coup protesters are at risk of arrest for incitement under section 505A of the Penal Code, for which the maximum penalty is three years’ imprisonment. Tatmadaw spokesperson Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun has even accused government doctors who’ve left state hospitals to join the CDM of committing murder. In reality, CDM doctors are helping the public in many ways, including by providing free treatment at private hospitals and charity clinics, making home visits, and providing telephone counselling. Doctors and other healthcare professionals at state hospitals are accustomed to high workloads and low pay, but prior to February 1 they had not gone on strike to demand better working conditions. By refusing government work in solidarity with the people of Myanmar, they have sacrificed their lives, positions and prospects of a bright future. In a cruel move, the military council said on April 20 that doctors supporting the CDM would be blacklisted and their passports cancelled. Even private and charity-run clinics have been ordered not to accept the services of CDM doctors or admit wounded protesters for treatment. Clinic owners that violate the order risk being jailed. The cumulative effect of all this has been to deny timely and effective care to those who need it. These are dark days for medical workers and their patients. The international community must condemn the reprehensible actions of the military regime, including its targeting of medical workers and its efforts to deny life-saving treatment to injured protesters..."
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Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2021-04-30
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Glaring glimpse into Myanmar military’s self-delusion
Sub-title: Junta report presented to ASEAN on Myanmar's political situation revealed a tortured relationship with the bloody truth
Description: "Myanmar’s junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing arrived at the recent Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Jakarta with justifications for his February 1 coup compiled in a neat document entitled “The Current Political Situation in Myanmar.” Written in a first-person account redolent of a court case defense summation, the 118-page paper outlines the alleged fraud and corruption at last November’s elections that motivated the coup and subsequent responses by the military, or Tatmadaw. The military’s electoral fraud allegations had been mounting for months since the nationwide polls, and its insistence that 10.4 million votes were fraudulent is as implausible as when the accusation was aired by military officials days before the coup, which acted to form the State Administration Council (SAC) and topple the National League for Democracy (NLD) government. The document absurdly uses screen grabs of statements from the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, United States Secretary of State and international media to demonstrate “the election as not free and fair due to ballot rigging”, when the related statements predominantly criticized constitutional provisions preserving Tatmadaw power and the disenfranchisement of Rohingya Muslims. It also manages to heap blame solely on the NLD for the pre-election cancellations that deprived some 1.4 million people the vote. But it is the document’s self-deluded description of the nationwide protests that erupted in response to the coup and suspension of democracy that is most glaring. It outlines five stages of progressively severe protest to justify the military clampdown. First, as the junta sees it, there were peaceful protests led by the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). The narrative in this section almost commends protestors for their ingenuity and spontaneity, with several pages of photos of colorful demonstrations. The second stage, however, is characterized as “riots”, the third stage “anarchistic mobs” and the fourth stage “insurrection”, with alleged provocateurs summarized as “NLD radicalist (sic), destructionists, bad guys…Federal Army idealists.” The fifth stage slugs the protests as “terrorism…the worst stage ever.” The report outlines the alleged destruction of property with protesters “utilizing immature children as human shield.” It shrilly says “on the pretext of democracy they (NLD and demonstrators) are exercising mobocracy and tyranny of the majority.” In a picture diagram of the supposed five stages, the document bids to justify the junta’s arrests and use of force to counter “protester actions”, but utterly and blindly fails to document its violent assault on the country and its people over the last three months. According to the report, the list of casualties includes six dead Tatmadaw with 45 injured and five dead Myanmar Police Force (MPF) with 12 inexplicably “Fall” and 253 wounded. From February 1 to April 15, it says 64 police stations, the majority in Mandalay, were destroyed by fire. It also claims 62 war or village administration offices, 52 offices, 16 roads, 13 banks, and 105 other buildings were destroyed. Security forces also claim to have seized 3,118 shields, 694 slingshots, 14,183 pellets, 1,114 improvised explosive devices (IEDs), 16 guns, and 4,630 “firebombs.” Now compare this with the more credible summary of state repression compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which lists 755 protestors killed, 4,496 arrested with 3,448 still detained and an unknown number of casualties nationwide as of April 27. This contrast in assessments has obviously irked the SAC, with the Ministry of Home Affairs this week threatening AAPP with “severe action” for its contradictory reporting. By any measure, though, contrasting the AAPP’s data with Min Aung Hlaing’s ASEAN-friendly account is an exercise in cognitive dissonance and revelation of the SAC’s inability to generate remotely credible fake news. The military document also summarizes an ASEAN-appeasing five-part future work plan, which like the previous military regime’s “Seven Step Road Map to Discipline Flourishing Democracy” that preceded it its military-crafted 2008 Constitution, includes a “work in progress” approach that will allow the Tatmadaw to set the tempo and timetables of supposed state-building. The five stages will include reconstituting the Union Election Commission and establishing correct voter lists; prevention of Covid-19 and a vaccination drive; the recovering of businesses affected by the pandemic; “Restoring Eternal Peace with NCA”, without acknowledging the 2015 ceasefire agreement is already dead; and finally, free and fair multi-party elections. This section, like a lot of Tatmadaw plans, has a “Waiting for Godot” aspect. In summary, the briefing booklet evokes the metaphor of a student “passed who cheated on his exams” to decry alleged NLD meddling and corruption in the elections. SAC propaganda also recently referenced the “Harry Tan” incident of 1956, where a seventh-grade student involved in protests was famously shot dead by police, the first student killing of the post-independence era, to perversely besmirch the NLD and its “cheating on democracy.” Clearly, the SAC is more comfortable in a bygone era than the future as it asserts the current takeover of state power is more like the 1958 military “caretaker government” and therefore not a real coup, a word it has barred harassed local media from using. It has called on the regional bloc for “understanding the root causes and the reality of current situations, and hopes for ASEAN cooperation.” In sum, the booklet is even more crude, shrill and unnerving than the usual lame efforts that pass for propaganda from the Tatmadaw’s True News Information Team. Rather, it is a slapdash scrapbook with all the hallmarks of a late minute submission than a serious authority seeking regional and global understanding. Hysterical headlines and highly suspect figures of destroyed property and alleged crimes is an insight not into obtuse authoritarian bluster but sheer self-deception. The SAC issued a statement on Monday suggesting ASEAN “review the information booklet circulated at the meeting before comments are made relating to the current political situation.” Tatmadaw propaganda has always revealed a tortured relationship with truth, but the report’s justifications for the coup and the one-sided narrative of grievance and violence is a pathological projection of a severe conscience: guilt pours over its crude pages. The Tatmadaw leadership is likely aware most of their “news” is sheer bunk and largely designed to convince themselves and their rank and file rather than the general population and wider world. It’s also unclear if the coup confessional is a SAC initiative or the efforts of the US$2 million funded shill Ari Ben-Menashe and his Dickens and Madson public relations firm hired by the junta to launder its global reputation. The booklet has the legacy blend of previous military regimes’ propaganda in the early 1990s, with an obsession with “evidence” and an assembly of grievances to justify seizing state power from untrustworthy civilian politicians and unruly subjects — all designed to downplay their own extreme violence. The booklet is useful evidence for the case against ASEAN interventions in Myanmar: it’s akin to submitting inane scribbles and scraps for a final semester assignment at university and expecting the indolent yet corruptible faculty to pass you regardless of the quality. Clearly, the SAC realizes with cynical acuity that with ASEAN it doesn’t need to make much of an effort; mere attendance makes the grade. The Tatmadaw also knows the game plan ahead. Indeed, they have confronted these ritualized, regional admonishments before without repercussion. ASEAN will embark on yet another limp, ineffectual engagement strategy, promising dialogue and assistance. The West and United Nations will sigh relief that their support for ASEAN’s efforts absolves them of anything other than issuing strong statements, imposing a smattering of sanctions and be assuaged that a prolonged dialogue “process” is underway. Urgently needed humanitarian assistance for millions of people affected by state violence then becomes hostage to these elite maneuvers. For those in the West who actually do care about the future of Myanmar, this booklet should spark distress that the Tatmadaw is determined to drag the country back into a stone-age dictatorship, with ASEAN as its usher. That is the real danger of the junta’s disinformation screed. By engaging with the SAC’s justifications for extreme violence, international interlocutors are inculcating the generals’ delusions. ASEAN is, as ever, the preferred prophylactic for Western inaction on Myanmar and is tantamount to selling the nation’s democratic resistance down the river. David Scott Mathieson is an independent analyst working on conflict, peace and human rights issues on Myanmar..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication: 2021-04-29
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: The Myanmar Junta’s Assault on the Truth
Topic: Press Freedom
Sub-title: Crackdown on Media Aimed at Hiding Security Force Abuses
Topic: Press Freedom
Description: "Myanmar security forces have launched a full-scale attack on the country’s media, targeting journalists for arrest, raiding the offices of newspapers and online media, and banning five outspoken media outlets. At least 71 journalists, including a Japanese freelancer, have been arrested, of whom 48 remain in detention. In the latest escalation, the junta is including journalists in the nightly broadcast of individuals “wanted” by the authorities. Every day brings new reports of additional journalists being detained. The authorities have charged many of those detained with violating a new provision in the penal code, adopted by the junta after the February 1 coup, that makes it a crime to publish or circulate comments that “cause fear” or spread “false news.” Those convicted face up to three years in prison. It is clear that in today’s Myanmar, “false news” is any news the junta doesn’t want the public – or the world at large – to hear. The crackdown on journalists is part of the junta’s larger effort to suppress coverage and deny the reality of serious rights abuses the military is committing across the country. Facing international outrage over the killing of more than 750 people by security forces, authorities have accused the media, which it says “does not want peace and stability in the country,” of “plotting to mislead the international community and the public.” The junta has also threatened “severe action” against a local group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, that has been tracking arrests and deaths, accusing the group of releasing “incorrect data” and harming “state stability.” The authorities have imposed severe restrictions on the internet, making it very difficult for people to access or to share information. Mobile internet data and wireless broadband have been turned off for more than six weeks, and Facebook and other social media platforms popular in Myanmar have been blocked since the coup. Despite the challenges and risks, Myanmar’s journalists and ordinary citizens continue to document atrocities and share information with the world. For daring to share what is happening in Myanmar, they are in the military’s crosshairs. They urgently need and deserve the international community’s attention and support..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-04-29
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rural migrants return to Hlaing Tharyar – and an uncertain future
Sub-title: A brutal crackdown in Yangon’s Hlaing Tharyar Township in mid-March triggered an exodus of migrant workers. As protests subside, many are heading back to the big city but are finding that work is scarce.
Description: "On April 18, the second day of the traditional Myanmar year, Yangon Region’s outer western Hlaing Tharyar Township was busier than it had been in a month. With the Thingyan holiday over, large numbers of people were entering the heavily industrialised township on motorbikes, in taxis and aboard light trucks loaded with their belongings. They were returning to the scene of a massacre. Pitched battles on March 14 between well-armed security forces and protesters wielding home-made weapons left at least 58 protesters dead, according to a local network of volunteer medical groups, and several factories were burned down. That same day, the junta declared martial law in the township and in neighbouring Shwepyithar – a draconian new security regime, where civilians can be hauled directly before military tribunals and handed death sentences, that was later extended to four other outlying, industrialised townships in Yangon. Fearing a wider crackdown, and with many having already lost their factory jobs amid the near-collapse of the garment sector, tens – possibly hundreds – of thousands of migrant workers fled to their home towns and villages. Hlaing Tharyar, whose population had swelled to close to a million thanks to a decade of steady migration from the countryside, suddenly resembled a ghost town. But after more than a month away, and with protests in decline because of brutal suppression by soldiers and police, many of those who fled have begun making their way back to the commercial capital. They were largely driven to return by a lack of jobs in the countryside, but with increased factory closures and reduced output, and a steep decline in the wider economy, many are struggling to find new work and to meet the expenses of living in the city, raising the prospect of hunger and further waves of displacement. Ma Nwet Yi Win, a former workplace union leader at a shoe factory in Hlaing Tharyar, joined the mid-March exodus and left for her home village in Ayeyarwady Region’s Ngapudaw Township, but is now back in Yangon. Returning to the city to find work was the only way for the migrant workers to survive because there are no jobs for them in the villages, she told Frontier. “If Yangon is stable and it’s safe to live there, the people will return. They have to return if they want a job or the opportunity of going abroad to work,” said Nwet Yi Win, who lost her job at the shoe factory after it closed permanently on March 24. Nwet Yi Win said ultimatums from factory managers to resume work or be fired had prompted some workers to return to their jobs in early April. She said many had been afraid of returning to Yangon because of the military’s “inhumane oppression”, including regular raids on homes to arrest political opponents, but were worried about losing their jobs. However, according to Hlaing Tharyar residents, even those who still had jobs in the township’s dwindling number of operational factories largely chose not to return until after the mid-April Thingyan holiday. Ko Aung Ye Min, who works at a noodle factory in the township, had ignored a less severe order from his bosses for employees to resume their jobs on April 1 or forfeit their Thingyan holiday pay. “I don’t care about the money – I have to take care of my life and if I had returned to work on April 1, I might have been risking death,” he said, referring to the threat of Tatmadaw crackdowns. Aung Ye Min said that, like him, most of the factory’s employees did not return to work until April 20, by which time a sense of stability seemed to be returning to Hlaing Tharyar. Ko Min Min Soe, a taxi driver in Hlaing Tharyar, said migrant workers who returned to their rural homes after the violence in mid-March had to rely on motorbikes because taxis were unavailable. Taxi drivers did not want to risk their vehicles being damaged in a fresh bout of unrest, he said. However, the reduction in protests and return of migrant workers since Thingyan is keeping him and other taxi drivers busy. “I already have three orders for trips to bring back migrant workers from Kyaiklat [Township, Ayeyarwady Region], Ahpyauk [town in Yangon Region’s Taikkyi Township] and Kawhmu [Township, Yangon Region],” he said. “Each trip is worth about K50,000. Three or four workers are pooling their money and hiring my car together,” he said. But even if some of the township’s bustle has returned, the landlords of dormitory blocks – where much of the migrant workforce is housed – say Hlaing Tharyar’s population is still well below pre-coup levels. U Aung Hlaing Win, 55, who owns four hostels in Shan Kyaung ward in eastern Hlaing Tharyar, said about half his rooms were vacant. “Before Thingyan, some of my hostels had no tenants. I have begun receiving tenants since April 18, but the situation is totally different to before the coup. My hostels used to be full and I had to turn people away,” he told Frontier. Aung Hlaing Win added that the ward was still quiet with many shops closed because their owners were yet to return to Yangon. “Most of the migrant workers in our ward are from Rakhine State and Ayeyarwady Region. They come here to work in factories or run small businesses like shops. It seems that some are still wary about returning to Yangon because they think it is not safe yet, but they might return by the end of April,” he said. Labour activist Nwet Yi Win also expects many more workers to return to the township because they will need jobs to support themselves and their families. But most will likely be disappointed, she believes, and will find themselves no better off than in their rural homes. “After the military coup, many [garment] factories closed permanently because of a lack of orders from abroad, so I don’t know how those people will find another job,” she said. “Because of the COVID-19 situation, we also cannot go to neighbouring countries to find work.” Despite losing her job at the shoe factory, Nwet Yi Win still makes some money from reporting labour issues to non-government organisations, but she mainly relies on financial support from her family. Jobs are harder to find because even factories that have continued operations have downsized their staff, as orders and income have plummeted. Ma Su Myat Nwe has been looking for work since she was laid off from a Hlaing Tharyar garment factory in February. After more than two months, she is thinking of giving up the search and leaving Yangon for good. “I might go to Lashio where my parents work at a restaurant,” she said. “Although I don’t have to pay for accommodation because I’m staying at my brother’s home [in Hlaing Tharyar], it’s not going to work in the long term.” Those lucky enough to keep factory jobs have meanwhile seen their earnings reduced thanks to the 7pm curfew imposed under martial law. Although only an hour earlier than a nationwide curfew that has been in place since February, it deprives factory workers of the opportunity to earn overtime pay in the evenings. This supplementary income enabled them to not only meet the expenses of living in Yangon but also send money to their families and maybe save some for the future. “If we don’t work overtime, we will receive only K150,000 a month, but if we work overtime our salaries rise to about K220,000. Every factory worker wants to find a job that includes overtime,” said garment factory worker Ma Thida. Her workplace now closes at 4:30pm each day, she said, to ensure workers have time to return home before curfew. However, labour activist Nwet Yi Win said that, even without a curfew, there would likely be few opportunities to work overtime. Orders have plummeted because the garment sector, which dominates Hlaing Tharyar’s industrial zones and was already severely weakened by the economic fallout from the pandemic, relies heavily on demand from European countries that have strongly condemned the coup, she explained. Some companies, such as H&M and Benetton, have already stopped sourcing from Myanmar. Factory worker Ma Thida said she was relieved to still have a job, despite not being able to earn overtime, but was no longer able to support her family in her home village. She had been sending her family K100,000 a month before the coup, she said. Meanwhile, creeping inflation is making it harder to even support herself. “My income is lower than before, but the prices for basic commodities have risen. It’s harder to make ends meet,” she said. “I don’t expect the situation to be good, but I hope it won’t get worse.”..."
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2021-04-29
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar coup: Unity government tells ASEAN no talks until prisoners freed
Description: "The pro democracy unity government in Myanmar which includes members of Aung San #Su​ Kyi's party, says it will not enter talks until the junta releases all political prisoners. Souteast Asias regional bloc has been holding talks with the leaders of the miltiary who seized power on February 1st. Since then massive protests have been held against the coup, hundreds of civilians have been killed and many more arrested. Wai Hnin Pwint Thon campaigns officer at #Burma​ Campaign UK, and the daughter of a man currently serving a 65-year jail sentence in Myanmar for his part in the 2007 protests gave us her talke on the current situation. She says negotiations will have to happen but that talking with the #Myanmar​ military is futile..."
Source/publisher: "France24" ( Paris)
Date of publication: 2021-04-28
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar’s war displaces new generation on remote river frontier
Description: "Myanmar’s coup has brought war back to a remote Southeast Asian frontier after 25 years, sending a new generation of villagers in both Myanmar and Thailand running for their lives from bullets and bombs. Ethnic Karen insurgents and the Myanmar army have engaged in heavy clashes near the Thai border in the weeks since the Feb. 1 coup, when Myanmar’s generals ousted an elected government led by democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi. The Karen and other autonomy-seeking ethnic minority forces based in frontier regions have supported the largely urban-based pro-democracy opponents of the junta, offering refuge to some, and tension with the military has boiled up into new fighting. Before dawn on Tuesday, Karen fighters attacked the Myanmar army's Thaw Leh Ta outpost on the west bank of the Salween River, which forms the border with Thailand as it cuts through steep, forested slopes on is way to the Bay of Bengal. "I've never heard gunfire like this, I've never seen people needing to flee like this," said Supart Nunongpan, 44, chief of the Thai village of Mae Sam Laep, a small river port of wooden houses and shops strung out along the Thai side of the Salween. The Myanmar army had held Thaw Leh Ta since 1995, the last time there was major fighting in the area when, after years of dry-season offensives, the Myanmar army captured the headquarters of the Karen National Union (KNU) guerrilla group, not far to the south. Divided and driven from most of its enclaves in eastern Myanmar, the KNU agreed to a ceasefire in 2012, ending an insurgency that began soon after Myanmar gained independence in 1948. Now war has resumed and the Myanmar military, equipped with more effective aircraft than it had 25 years ago, has launched repeated air strikes against KNU positions, sending some 15,000 villagers fleeing into the forest, with several thousand briefly seeking refuge on the Thai side of the border. Myanmar launched air strikes on Tuesday and again on Wednesday, with fighter jets and helicopters, Thai authorities on the border said. There was no word on casualties. About 100 villagers from Myanmar, most of them elderly, pregnant women or children, crossed to the Thai side on Wednesday to escape the air strikes, the Free Burma Rangers aid group said.....'STILL DANGEROUS': Hundreds of Thai villagers living too close to the border for comfort have also abandoned their homes and fled inland. One woman on the Thai side was wounded by a stray bullet on Tuesday, Thai authorities said. Thai villagers are sheltering in a school and a church in the settlement of Huay Kong Kad, a safe distance from the border. They think the fighting is far from over and it is only a matter of time before Myanmar's powerful military tries to take back the lost outposts. "I don't feel safe, it's still dangerous. I'm afraid of the air strikes," Amin, 40, another villager from Mae Sam Laep who goes by only one name, told Reuters. The Myanmar junta has not commented on the latest clashes but the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper blamed a rogue KNU brigade for the attacks, saying most of the KNU still backed the 2012 ceasefire. The head of foreign affairs for the KNU, Saw Taw Nee, rejected that as "nonsense", saying state media was trying to "divide and conquer". Thailand, which played host to more than 100,000 Karen refugees for decades, has said it wants to stay out of the latest surge of fighting but will provide humanitarian help if needed. For now, displaced Thai villagers wait. Several said they only dared slip back into Mae Sam Laep during the day to check on their homes, fearing more fighting at any time. “I’m afraid because we live on the border. The villagers are also afraid,” village head Supart said..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-04-29
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Violence continues to erupt in Myanmar
Description: "Just under six months ago, the people of Myanmar delivered a landslide victory to Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy Party. It was the 75-year old's second election win, and it made the military so furious that it seized power in a coup on the first day the new parliament was due to sit. Since then hundreds of people opposing the military regime have been shot dead and thousands have been arrested. South-East Asia correspondent Mazoe Ford reports, and a warning, her story contains some distressing images..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: ABC News (Australia)
Date of publication: 2021-04-29
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: ‘We wanted to scare them’: the brothers who fought back against Myanmar’s army
Description: "Three months after the coup, four brothers tell how they joined protesters fighting the junta before fleeing for the border. The young men only had a moment to study the river before rushing into the waist-deep water. The brothers – ranging in age from 15 to 21 – were unfamiliar with the border area and afraid of being seen. On the run from Myanmar’s military, they pushed on into the Thaunggin River. After just a few minutes of wading, they stumbled into no man’s land. Moments after crossing the river, three smugglers dressed in military fatigues met them. After handing over 6,000 Thai baht (US$200) and exchanging a few words, the smugglers led them deeper into the woods and then to safety in Thailand. Three months after the military coup on 1 February, four Burmese brothers have told the Guardian of how they were inspired to join the fight against the military – and how their involvement in protests in Yangon that turned violent eventually forced them to flee at the end of March. Safely outside the country, the brothers have given an account of brutal military repression and their decision to take the fight to the military in a bid to prevent further violence. Their journey would take them from peaceful protest in Yangon to petrol bombing police stations and running for their lives. Lin*, 21,the eldest of the four brothers, said he had watched the coup unfold from his home in western Thailand, close to the border. Seeing the death toll mount amid growing military brutality he felt compelled to join the resistance movement, and soon his three younger brothers and two cousins from different parts of Myanmar followed him to Yangon. At 15, Za* is the youngest of the brothers. He said he took part in the resistance because he wanted to stop the violence on the streets. “Look at how many people they have killed in the past two months. If we don’t do anything and just let it happen so many more innocent people will die,” Za said. Joining the protests: The men met up in Yangon and for the first few days joined the peaceful protests. Soon, they became part of a nightwatch team protecting residential neighbourhoods from night-time raids by security forces. Armed with sticks and swords they say they helped women, children and the elderly move around safely. As they continued to demonstrate, some teams of frontline protesters began discussing the possibility of hitting back, Lin says. “People started saying we need to fight back. But they didn’t know how, and they were scared.” Lin says he was concerned it was just what Myanmar’s military, also known as the Tatmadaw, was hoping for. They told how they joined a small minority of protesters on the frontlines squaring off against security forces, using molotov cocktails and slingshots in what they said they believed was a legitimate form of self-defence against the military’s automatic weapons. But it was not without cost. During one attack on a police station, Lin says one of the team died after being hit in the head by a rubber bullet. He was in his 50s. “I don’t want my children to grow up in the situation that my generation and the older generations did,” says Moe*, 18, another of the brothers. The first attack: It was about 11pm when the group carried out its first attack on a police station. Lin describes how they moved towards the building, with more people joining the group as they got closer. Some were carrying molotov cocktails, others were armed with slingshots and swords, he says. But when the men edged near to the police station, the group hesitated. Lin says: “At that time I was aggressive, I was mad, no one was willing to throw the cocktail bomb. “I came back [to Yangon] thinking I was going to be a peaceful protester … but if I needed to be another thing, then I will be that, too,” Lin said. “So I took the molotov and went up to the [overpass] bridge.” The bottle landed right on top of a pile of rubbish leaning against the building. Flames started to shoot upwards towards the roof, Lin says. “We wanted to scare them,” he says of the Tatmadaw. “You make us feel unsafe, then we want you to feel unsafe too.” Lin says a truck full of Tatmadaw soldiers arrived, and the group started retreating. Footage seen by the Guardian shows teargas rounds whizzing past them as they fled. The group could hear the sound of people celebrating in their homes as they sprinted past. “It was like we were coming back from war.” Over the next few days, the brothers, along with a handful of other teams, targeted multiple police stations. Lin says he doesn’t believe they injured anyone in the attacks. They were unsuccessful in burning down the buildings. He says the attacks were psychological warfare and the men felt they had to show some degree of force to counter the military.....‘We had to run’:The campaign continued until the day Lin says they heard one of their friends had been abducted by security forces. “They contacted us and said he died. They tortured and killed him,” he recalls. “We all had to run at that point. They said, ‘One of our guys is gone. We are on the run now. You should too.’” They agreed it was time to leave. The brothers woke up early to begin their trip east to Hpa-An, the capital city in Karen state, close to the border with Thailand. The day after they left their apartment in Yangon, a neighbour told them police had searched it. After laying low in Hpa-An for a few days, they finally got the call to leave. They would have to make the cross near Myawaddy, a town known for its casinos and entertainment venues. After just a few minutes of wading through the river, they stumbled into no man’s land. Moments after crossing the river, three smugglers dressed in military fatigues met them. The smugglers demanded their payment upfront before they moved the brothers to a secret location. After paying the troops, the group hiked for another 20 minutes in the dark to a bunker where they were told to wait. “We were afraid of them because they were strangers with guns and we were in their place,” says Htet*, 18, another of the four brothers. “If they wanted to do something they could’ve and we didn’t have anything to stop that.” At around 3pm they were told it was finally time to go. They walked along a dirt path that would lead to a paved road, their guide told them. After more trekking on their own, they found their way out of the woods. They had made it. The group crossed the border at a time when Myanmar’s military had killed more than 550 people and detained nearly 3,000, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. “It was a hard decision to make to come here. Even though we are safe and comfortable, we want to be back there. But it was just too dangerous,” Lin says. “But the good thing was I had my brothers. I wouldn’t have been able to handle it alone.” *Names have been changed to protect identities..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-04-29
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Attacks by an Ethnic Militia Kill Some 15 Junta Troops in Myanmar’s Chin State
Description: "As many as 15 Myanmar soldiers were killed in western Chin state Monday by a newly formed ethnic militia, one of whose fighters vowed to “inflict damage” on the junta that ousted the country’s elected government, witnesses and a local rights group said. Monday’s ambush by the Chinland Defense Force in Chin state, a mountainous, impoverished area near the border with India and Bangladesh, came amid sporadic protests across Myanmar that were met by violent repression by security forces, and heavy-handed efforts to halt citizens’ donations to the anti-junta movement. “As many as 15 Burmese soldiers have reportedly been killed in a firefight with local civil militia in Mindat, southern Chin state,” the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) said on its Facebook page. A truck was also seen burning in the town, the group said. The CHRO said about 10 of the slain soldiers were in a convoy of three trucks sent as reinforcements from the army’s Tactical Operations Command headquarters in nearby Matupi town, while five other troops were reported killed in Mindat, a town of 10,000 people. “Sources further said the army is sending more reinforcements in another convoy of five army trucks from Pakokku,” the social media post said. Pakkoku is a city of 400,000 people in central Magwe region. A member of the Chinland Defense Force, formed on April 4 by anti-coup protesters, said that the group aims to end the military dictatorship, abolish a constitution imposed by the army to entrench its power, and establish a federal union. “We cannot say right now what the strategy will be, but we plan to inflict damage on them,” he told RFA. “If the threats and violence do not end, we, the CDF, will use all available weapons and other means. We have tumee rifles and other weapons to confront them,” said the Chin fighter, referring to homemade hunting rifles that people in western Myanmar have used to fight off junta troops. “Currently, we have no casualties on our side,” he told RFA Monday night. “Casualties are only on their side.”.....Three other soldiers dead: At least three soldiers died in a similar battle in Mindat on Sunday night, the CHRO said on Facebook. Another member of the CDF from Mindat said more people from Chin state will join the militia to fight Myanmar forces. “In the long run, other townships will join us to fight them, to protect the Civil Disobedience Movement [CDM], and to protect their own people,” he said. “There might be fear and concern among the people, but we need to end the military dictatorship.” RFA could not reach junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment on the clashes in Chin state. Kyaw Saw Han, a national security researcher, said militias across the country, including the Chin forces, could form a collective national force and use guerrilla tactics to defend their areas. “I don’t think these groups are formed to directly confront the military,” he said. “Their strategy is not clear, but it can be assumed that they will strive to defend their region,” he said. “They could launch attacks on military bases and other state-owned structures like police stations.” Twelve weeks after troops overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi and her elected civilian government, sporadic anti-junta protests continued to erupt across the country of 54 million people, resulting in violent crackdowns and clashes between security forces and protesters. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a Thailand-based rights group, said that as of Monday, 753 people had been killed in the violence since Feb. 1, while 4,484 others had been arrested. HOME | NEWS | MYANMAR Attacks by an Ethnic Militia Kill Some 15 Junta Troops in Myanmar’s Chin State 2021-04-26 Email storyComment on this storySharePrint story PrintShareCommentEmail Attacks by an Ethnic Militia Kill Some 15 Junta Troops in Myanmar’s Chin State Myanmar protesters flash a three-finger salute of defiance while holding a banner during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon, April 26, 2021. RFA As many as 15 Myanmar soldiers were killed in western Chin state Monday by a newly formed ethnic militia, one of whose fighters vowed to “inflict damage” on the junta that ousted the country’s elected government, witnesses and a local rights group said. Monday’s ambush by the Chinland Defense Force in Chin state, a mountainous, impoverished area near the border with India and Bangladesh, came amid sporadic protests across Myanmar that were met by violent repression by security forces, and heavy-handed efforts to halt citizens’ donations to the anti-junta movement. “As many as 15 Burmese soldiers have reportedly been killed in a firefight with local civil militia in Mindat, southern Chin state,” the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) said on its Facebook page. A truck was also seen burning in the town, the group said. The CHRO said about 10 of the slain soldiers were in a convoy of three trucks sent as reinforcements from the army’s Tactical Operations Command headquarters in nearby Matupi town, while five other troops were reported killed in Mindat, a town of 10,000 people. “Sources further said the army is sending more reinforcements in another convoy of five army trucks from Pakokku,” the social media post said. Pakkoku is a city of 400,000 people in central Magwe region. A member of the Chinland Defense Force, formed on April 4 by anti-coup protesters, said that the group aims to end the military dictatorship, abolish a constitution imposed by the army to entrench its power, and establish a federal union. “We cannot say right now what the strategy will be, but we plan to inflict damage on them,” he told RFA. “If the threats and violence do not end, we, the CDF, will use all available weapons and other means. We have tumee rifles and other weapons to confront them,” said the Chin fighter, referring to homemade hunting rifles that people in western Myanmar have used to fight off junta troops. “Currently, we have no casualties on our side,” he told RFA Monday night. “Casualties are only on their side.” myanmar-protesters-defiance-salute-yangon-apr26-2021.jpg Myanmar protesters flash a three-finger salute of defiance while holding a banner that reads "Yangon strike will defeat all enemies" during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon, April 26, 2021. Credit: RFA Three other soldiers dead At least three soldiers died in a similar battle in Mindat on Sunday night, the CHRO said on Facebook. Another member of the CDF from Mindat said more people from Chin state will join the militia to fight Myanmar forces. “In the long run, other townships will join us to fight them, to protect the Civil Disobedience Movement [CDM], and to protect their own people,” he said. “There might be fear and concern among the people, but we need to end the military dictatorship.” RFA could not reach junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment on the clashes in Chin state. Kyaw Saw Han, a national security researcher, said militias across the country, including the Chin forces, could form a collective national force and use guerrilla tactics to defend their areas. “I don’t think these groups are formed to directly confront the military,” he said. “Their strategy is not clear, but it can be assumed that they will strive to defend their region,” he said. “They could launch attacks on military bases and other state-owned structures like police stations.” Twelve weeks after troops overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi and her elected civilian government, sporadic anti-junta protests continued to erupt across the country of 54 million people, resulting in violent crackdowns and clashes between security forces and protesters. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a Thailand-based rights group, said that as of Monday, 753 people had been killed in the violence since Feb. 1, while 4,484 others had been arrested. Restrictions on cash flows: In a new tactic to derive the CDM of funds to oppose the junta and support a fledgling parallel government launched in mid-April, security forces are stopping and searching people in the streets and warning them against carrying large sums of money. “The junta has made restrictions on cash flows because they fear a normal cash flow will help support dissident groups and civil servants who had joined the CDM movement,” said a member of the parallel government in exile representing a group of lawmakers ousted in the coup. A woman from Sagaing region, told RFA that she was stopped by security forces on her way to town to go shopping carrying 1.8 million kyats (U.S. $1,270). “I used to go to town with a lot of cash like that because there were no inspections before, [but] the other day when I went to town, they stopped me on the way and asked what I had in my handbag,” she said, adding that security forces told her to carry no more than 50,000 kyats (U.S. $35) in public. With nearly all banks closed since shortly after the coup when their employees left their jobs and joined the anti-coup movement, and the internet shut down by the junta, the cash restrictions are hurting businesses that already have been struggling after a year of coronavirus closures and political turmoil. “Some of the companies we were dealing with use online mobile money transfers,” said a businessman in Monywa, Sagaing region. “They deposit money through the online payments, and then we send it to the merchants. Now, the companies in Yangon are not accepting mobile transfers—only cash — so we are stuck.” Hundreds of people continued protesting on Monday in the regions of Yangon, Mandalay, Bago, and Magwe region, as well as in Shan and Kachin states. A small bomb exploded near a Yadanabon Bank office in Myanmar’s second-largest city Mandalay, and a local resident said there was clash between the junta’s forces and local protest defenders who demanded the release of six detainees grabbed by military forces on Sunday.....Aung San Suu Kyi’s latest court hearing: Deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest in the capital Naypyidaw, attended a virtual court session Monday on a charge against her for allegedly violating the Official Secrets Act in Yangon, Khin Maung Zaw, the leader of her defense team told RFA, adding “the reason is still unknown.” The lawyers on Monday submitted an application for the transfer of power of attorney required for the defense for the most recently added charge against Aung San Suu Kyi, but the prosecutors said the police are waiting for further instructions from higher authorities, said defense attorney Min Min Soe. “Mother Suu said it has been so long already, and more and more charges have been added since the first case,” Min Min Soe said. “She said it is imperative that the client meet her defense lawyers.” The 75-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi faces other charges for alleged incitement and sedition, violating the telecommunication law, possession of unlicensed walkie-talkie radios, and violating the Natural Disaster Management Law for breaching COVID-19 pandemic restrictions during the 2020 election campaign. Detained President Win Myint and Naypyidaw Council Chairman Myo Aung also attended video-conference hearings on Monday. The next hearing date for all three is May 10. Reported by RFA’s Myanmar Service. Translated by Kyaw Min Htun and Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin..."
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Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-04-26
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup
Description: "As of 28 April, (756) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) compiled and documented (1) fallen heroes today. This (1) fallen hero from Tedim Township in Chin State was killed last night and documented today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when. As of April 28, a total of (3449) people are currently under detention; of them (79) are sentenced. 1237 have been issued arrest warrants; of them 20 were sentenced to death and 14 to three years imprisonment with hard labour, who are evading arrest. We are verifying the recently released detainees and continuing to document. Since the ASEAN leaders meeting on 24 April at least 6 people have been killed by the junta. The junta’s pledge to “refrain from violence” should never have been believed by ASEAN. There is only “one party” exercising violence in Burma. Despite the junta’s ongoing violence on a daily basis, the Spring Revolution intensified across the country, including in Yangon and Mandalay. On April 28, the Yadanarbon and Mandalay University student strikes were attacked by military vehicle and people arrested in Mandalay City, Mandalay Region. Six civilians were arrested, and ordered to raise their hands under the hot sun. The numbers of injured have not been confirmed yet. Since the terrorists arrested Wai Moe Naing, the protest leader of the Monywa strike, by crashing his motorbike, junta forces have continued to crackdown on protests using vehicles and motorbikes. Arrests have continued both day and night using private cars. A 20-year-old young man was shot dead around 10pm last night in Tedim Township, Chin State and his body has not yet been returned to his family from the hospital. The terrorist group is using different forms of repression to put pressure on public servants involved in the CDM movement. If they can not arrest CDM staff, they take family members as hostage; force them to move from the government housing; firing; or charging and issuing warrants under various laws. Teachers from universities, colleges and management level have been forced to come back to work on 3 May at the latest. Families of Budalin Hospital CDM staff members were forced to move from staff housing in Sagaing Region. CDM participation by the civil servant is having a significant impact on the day-to-day running of the administration mechanism of junta. This is why CDM staff are being targeted. The junta coup lifted the FTTH fiber-optic 1 am to 9 am blackout enforced for 72 continuous nights, on 27 April. However, all other internet services are still cut off and the information flow remains restricted. Some social media and news are still banned, for 83 days now. The terrorist group is restricting the flow of information because of the fear civilians will get accurate information and opposition even stronger. The junta is also using Myawaddy TV (MWD) and Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) broadcasts to spread its propaganda. The violation to freedom of press is emblematic of the diminishing human rights in the country. AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heroes in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: “Our uprising must succeed” Email : [email protected] Facebook : https://web.facebook.com/burmapoliticalprisoners/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/aapp_burma In Solidarity, AAPP..."
Source/publisher: Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication: 2021-04-28
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup
Description: "As of 27 April, (755) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) compiled and documented (2) fallen heroes today. (1) from Demoso Township in Kayah State died on 27 April. (1) from Mandalay was killed yesterday and documented today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when. As of April 27, a total of (3448) people are currently under detention; of them (79) are sentenced. 1200 have been issued arrest warrants; of them 20 were sentenced to death and 14 to three years imprisonment with hard labour, who are evading arrest. We are verifying the recently released detainees and continuing to document. On April 27, people across the country remained on the streets to protest the dictatorship despite atrocities of shooting and torturing by the terrorists. Today, anti-military protests and repression escalated in Yangon. Although the coup leader agreed to end violence at the ASEAN leaders meetings days ago. In reality, junta forces have been violating human rights abuses on a daily basis. Today a man was killed and at least four civilians injured in Demoso Township, Kayah State during a crackdown on the people-made barricades, the terrorist group used live ammunition on civilians like in a conflict. Also, a man was killed and two others injured in an unprovoked shooting in Mandalay last night. Recently, the terrorist group has been cracking down on media and trying hard to cover up the news. This morning, the Mandalay based editor-in-chief of Voice of Myanmar (VOM) and a journalist were arrested. On the night of April 25, a former journalist of the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) was arrested and taken to an interrogation center. According to UDHR Article 19, everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. The terrorist group has cut off information flow between the media and public in order to delay access to accurate information. At the same time, the junta are trying to cover up their violence and crimes to both international and domestic audiences. It is for those reasons that journalists are being persecuted. At present, the terrorist group is not only openly looting but also kidnapping civilians. Some arrested villagers from Win Kone village, Yinmabin Township, Sagaing Region were released on April 24 only after locals paid junta forces an amount they demanded. Today, terrorists raided the house of a protest leader in Mogok, Mandalay Region and looted items in the house. Last night, a fisherman was beaten and interrogated by the junta forces in a village that is located in Kangyidaunt Township, Ayeyarwady Region. His old watch and 1000 kyats were confiscated. On the morning of April 25, the junta forces raided someone’s house who is working for the funeral service society in Myingyan Town, Mandalay Region. They destroyed his house and looted his antiquity collections, money and crafts. The terrorist regime commits various forms of violence leaving people insecure and fearful mentally and physically. The civilians are facing daily threats and their basic human rights are being violated. The only way to achieve democracy, human rights, and internal peace is not through negotiations but to eradicate dictatorship in Burma. AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heroes in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: “Our uprising must succeed” Email : [email protected] Facebook : https://web.facebook.com/burmapoliticalprisoners/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/aapp_burma In Solidarity, AAPP..."
Source/publisher: Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication: 2021-04-27
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-28
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Title: 'I thought I would die.' Myanmar protesters describe torture they suffered in detention
Description: "The 19-year-old's eyes are so swollen he cannot open them properly. His face is marked with big purple welts and bruises. Etched into his shoulders and back are long, dark lacerations that have yet to heal over -- wounds, he said, that were inflicted when Myanmar military officers who had detained him whipped him repeatedly with cable wires. "I thought I would die," the teenager, who did not want to be named for safety reasons, said of his three-day stint in a military detention camp, while showing a photo of his wounds. He is one of more than 4,400 people detained by Myanmar's security forces since the military seized power in a coup on February 1, according to advocacy group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. The round-up, part of a systematic and bloody crackdown on any perceived opposition to the takeover, has ensnared politicians, protesters, journalists, striking workers, celebrities, and even children and bystanders. Many people have been taken in terrifying nighttime raids or abducted off the streets and held in secretive facilities out of contact from their families. Little is known about the conditions they are kept in. But the accounts of those who have been released, as well as from defectors from the military and family members, detail brutal acts of violence and torture. The teen was traveling back to Yangon from Bago on his moped when he said he was stopped at a military checkpoint on April 9. It was a long drive, and it was already getting late. That day had seen one of the deadliest crackdowns on protesters, with more than 80 killed by security forces in the town, according to AAPP. Searching his bag and phone, soldiers found images of him with a shield at protests. The 19-year-old said he was taken to a military compound, where his hands were tied and he was repeatedly beaten by the guards, who used cables, the butts of guns, and glass bottles. "The commander tied my hands from the back and used small scissors to cut my ears, the tip of my nose, my neck and my throat. (He) hit my head with a glass bottle, beat me up, pointed at me with guns but the bullets did not come out. He used the gun to threaten me as soon as I got to their station. Then he let his fellow soldiers beat me up that night," he said. The soldiers accused him of giving money to the Civil Disobedience Movement, in which doctors, workers and civil servants have gone on strike to cripple the economy and bring down the junta, led by Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. "They beat me with a cable wire, they used a big cable wire and they braid it with two cable wires to make it bigger. They forced us to be on our knees, with our backs straight, and punched and kicked us. When we fell on the ground they hit us with the cable wire. It hurt so much. I even told them to kill me instead of torturing me it was that painful," the teenager said. Three weeks after his ordeal, he remains in hiding. His wounds are healing, he said, but he still has difficulty walking and can't properly fasten his buttons. During the beatings, one thing kept him going. "I thought I was about to die but I have to stay strong, I couldn't eat what they gave to me but I forced myself to eat to stay alive, we have to be released and when we get released we can participate (in the protests) again," the 19-year-old said. His scars, both physical and mental, are a constant reminder of the military's grotesque cruelty and lack of regard for the civilians they claim to rule over. The 19-year-old said he was detained after soldiers found images on his phone of him at protests. More than 750 people, including large numbers of children and young people, have been killed by security forces since the military junta seized power, AAPP has documented. A growing number of those killed are injured protesters who were detained by the military and denied medical attention. Others, including ousted members of the democratically elected National League for Democracy, have died in custody, their bodies bearing the marks of torture. "People arrested by the security forces are more likely to be subjected to torture or ill treatment in detention," said Zaw Win, human rights specialist with rights group Fortify Rights. "Our team has documented cases of arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and beatings since February 1. The military tactics of arrest and ill treatment are creating an environment of terror and anxiety among the public. Yet, protesters are still going to the streets to call for an end to military rule." Torture was widespread and well documented during the previous military regime, which began transferring power to a quasi-civilian government in 2011. Despite the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy being in power since 2014, the United Nations Convention Against Torture was never signed. The AAPP said torture in Myanmar is still commonplace during interrogation and imprisonment to extract confessions or further degrade and humiliate detainees. CNN has reached out to Myanmar's military for comment. In state media, the junta has said it is acting with restraint in handling what it has described as demonstrations by "riotous protesters" whom it accuses of attacking police and harming national security and stability.....Barely recognizable: Despite claims of restraint, the military junta has shown no shame in its acts of cruelty -- if anything, it's made efforts to publicize those acts as a warning to anyone who dares to speak out. Every night at 8 p.m. local time, neatly coiffed news anchors announce a list of people wanted for arrest on junta-controlled TV. The broadcasts have included actors, musicians, journalists and doctors who have gone on strike to protest the coup -- their photographs and social media profiles beamed across the country. On April 18, the military aired the images of six people it had arrested and accused of being in possession of homemade bombs following a series of deadly blasts in the Yangon suburb of Yankin on April 17. The faces of the four men and two women bore severe signs of abuse. One of the women, 31-year-old dance teacher Khin Nyein Thu, was barely recognizable, her mother said. Her face was swollen and bloody. Her mother, who did not want to be named for security reasons, said Khin Nyein Thu was picked up in a nighttime raid and she is concerned about her welfare in an interrogation center, where she is now believed to be held. An undated photo of dance teacher Khin Nyein Thu. Her mother managed to catch a glimpse of her daughter when she was first taken to the police station. "She was clearly in pain, she was walking unsteadily and when I called her she turned around to look at me. It was at this point I could tell that her face was very swollen," she said. "I was told by someone who was released that she has been hit in the face, I understand she has cuts on her face and lips, and bruised eyes, and lost a tooth." She described Khin Nyein Thu, her only child, as a creative, artistic person who loved to dance, paint, kickbox, and share what she knows with others. Though detained on April 17, Khin Nyein Thu has not been charged or taken to prison, her mother said. Instead, she believes she has been transferred to another interrogation camp. "I could not sleep all night and I had a choking feeling of fear. The worst was thinking I could not follow her," the mother said of the night her daughter was taken. Desperate to hear from her daughter, she added, "I want to see her. I want her to get medical treatment as soon as possible." 'They will kill anyone they want':Even among the lower ranks of the military, there are soldiers disgusted with the violence they are being ordered to carry out against their fellow countrymen and women. From the safety of neighboring India, a 23-year-old former army cadet said he defected from the military, haunted by his experiences on nighttime raids. CNN has agreed not to name him for his safety. He described a culture of intimidation and brainwashing within the military, known as the Tatmadaw, where from day one new recruits are told the country can only be at peace if the army is in charge. Freshly graduated from military training in March, the 23-year-old was posted to Yangon's Mingaladon township, where he was ordered to join the nightly raids and arrest suspected protesters or opponents of the coup. He said every night they would deploy with two rounds of ammunition, assault rifles, detailed maps of neighborhoods and names of protest leaders from their informants. "They order us to shoot when the person we want to arrest is escaping from the house," the former cadet said. "At one point we went to arrest two leaders, one got arrested and one was trying to escape and we shot him on the spot." He said the person who was shot managed to escape, so they arrested his daughter who was also in the house. "The orders depend on the commanders of the group, if they told us shoot then we have to shoot right away," he added. A former army cadet from Myanmar's military who defected across the border to India after being ordered to take part in raids and beatings of protesters. The former cadet claims he intentionally broke his rifle that night so it wouldn't fire, but he couldn't avoid participating in the beatings. His account gives a harrowing insight into the military's operations, as reported by countless protesters and family members of those detained. "They were crying when we raid their houses and beating them. The neighbors knew too but on one dares to come out at night. If someone looks at us through their windows, we asked them to come out and beat them too. The military will find fault at every house they raid and will beat them," he said. The culture of fear within the ranks means he cannot complain. "I cannot say anything even if I do not like what they are doing," he said. Anyone found outside after curfew at 8 p.m. local time is interrogated and beaten. If they run, military orders are ordered to shoot them, the former cadet said. No one is spared this treatment, including women and children. "The youngest one I saw was around 10 or 11 years old, a boy," he said. "If someone talks back to us, we will hit them with the back of the gun -- and some bleed. I feel sad every night as I have to watch when they are beating people in the house, including children, and I couldn't say anything to them. I feel sad every night." The former cadet also described what many family members and activists have reported -- that injured protesters are being denied medical care while in custody. Some pass away in detention from their wounds, left to die with no aid to ease their suffering. "When people got shot and got arrested they didn't get any treatment. Some were still alive when they got shot but because they didn't get any treatment, they died in the morning because they lost too much blood. Then the military gave the dead body back to the family," he said. The former cadet said that at the military barracks, soldiers are not allowed to leave the base and are only allowed to watch the military TV channel. "They brainwash us by telling us that it's only because of the Tatmadaw's existence the country is peaceful. They told us the ethnic armed groups are smuggling drugs and trafficking people and that is why the Tatmadaw has to fight them. If the Tatmadaw do not exit, the civilians will not be able to live peacefully anymore," he said. Previous atrocities perpetuated by the military have shown the indoctrination to be nationwide and decades old. Human rights abuses by the military, including beatings, torture, extrajudicial killings, forced labor and sexual violence, have been long documented by the UN and rights groups in ethnic areas such as Kachin and Karen states. In 2017, the military's campaign of killing and arson against the Rohingya community in Rakhine state forced more than 740,000 people to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. A genocide case against the military and coup leader Min Aung Hlaing is ongoing at the International Court of Justice. Now, the military has brought its ruthless war tactics from the jungles and borderlands to the towns and cities. Soldiers, like the young former cadet, are turning their guns on people who could be their neighbors. The former cadet said it was the cruelty to the families of the protesters that finally broke him, so he decided to escape and made the long journey from Yangon to the Indian border. "I have to go out every night and I don't want to do this anymore, I cannot keep seeing people got beaten every night," he said. "They will kill anyone they want kill, that's what I know of them."..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-04-28
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-28
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Title: Junta responds with airstrikes after KNU seizes military base on Thai-Myanmar border
Sub-title: The military’s Thaw Le Hta outpost is across the Salween River from Mae Sam Laep, a strategic port on the Thai border that has been used to send aid to IDPs
Description: "The Karen National Union (KNU) announced on Tuesday morning that they had taken over a base belonging to the Myanmar military on the Thai border; hours later, the regime’s forces launched airstrikes against Karen villages in the area. Early on Tuesday morning, Brigade 5 of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)– the armed wing of the KNU– seized and then destroyed the regime base in the Thaw Le Hta area of Karen State’s Mutraw District, known in Burmese as Hpapun. The base is located on the Salween River, opposite the Thai village of Mae Sam Laep in Mae Hong Son province. Around seven Myanmar soldiers were seen fleeing during the raid by Karen forces, the Karen Information Center reported. By around 1pm, the Myanmar army had launched airstrikes in near Dagwe village (Dagwin in Burmese), some 10 miles north of Thaw Le Hta, according to Padoh Mahn Mahn, the KNLA’s Brigade 5 spokesperson. “Bombing the area near villages is very concerning for the residents living there,” Padoh Mahn Mahn told Myanmar Now. There are also reports of Myanmar military airstrikes on the village of Bwa Der, also in Brigade 5. Further details about the air attacks, including those regarding casualties and the numeber of people displaced, were not available at the time of reporting. Mae Sam Laep is a strategic point along the Thai-Myanmar border regarding transportation and humanitarian aid delivery, with a river port from which supplies have been sent to internally displaced people (IDPs) in KNU-controlled areas. In response to the fighting at Thaw Le Hta on Tuesday, Thai authorities evacuated hundreds of Thai villagers from Mae Sam Laep and closed the port. Prior to the fighting on Tuesday, this stretch of the Thai-Myanmar border area along the Salween River had seen heightened military tension/ On April 23, Myanmar troops stationed across the river from another Thai village– Tha Hta Fung– fired “warning shots” above a civilian boat carrying Thai border patrol officers, the Bangkok Post reported. A Thai government official later described the incident as a “misunderstanding.” However, another KNLA Brigade 5 spokesperson, Saw Kler Doh, told the Karen Information Center that Tuesday’s attacks on Thaw Le Hta were carried out in response to regime troops shooting at boats along the Salween River. The offensive against the Thaw Le Hta military outpost marks the second time since the February 1 coup that the KNLA’s Brigade 5 has seized a junta base. On March 27, they took over the army’s stronghold at Thee Mu Hta, killing at least five soldiers and taking at last eight prisoners. The junta responded by launching airstrikes at the end of March at Karen villages in Mutraw District (Brigade 5) and in Brigade 3– in Hteepado, Nyaunglebin District, and Maetamat, Shwegyin Township, located in Bago Region. These air attacks killed an estimated 20 civilians, wounded more than 40, and displaced tens of thousands, according to the Free Burma Rangers (FBR), a local relief organisation. Fighting between the KNU’s Brigade 1 and the regime’s armed forces also broke out in Thaton on the morning of April 23. One junta officer was reportedly killed in the fighting, but the number of total casualties could not be confirmed at the time of reporting. FBR estimated that there were 24,000 IDPs in the territories controlled by the KNU’s Brigades 1, 3, and 5 in mid-April. In and near the KNU’s Brigade 6 area– Dooplaya District, in Karen State– locals have reported that the junta’s troops have increased interrogation of and extortion of money from civilians on the roads. Regime soldiers in Dooplaya also violently cracked down on a motorcycle protest on April 24 at Three Pagodas Pass, near the Thai border..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2021-04-27
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Man killed in Myanmar two days after regional deal, local media say
Description: "Myanmar security forces shot dead a man in the second city of Mandalay on Monday, national media reported, two days after Southeast Asian leaders said they had reached consensus with the junta on ending violence. Activists opposed to military rule called on people to stop paying electricity bills and agricultural loans and to keep their children away from school, adding to doubts about a regional bloc's push to end Myanmar's post-coup crisis. The man was shot dead at a fried rice shop in Mandalay late on Monday and some other people were wounded, three Myanmar media reported. Mizzima news service also said a woman had been shot dead on a motorcycle in the southern town of Dawei. A junta spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. With most internet access cut and journalists' movements restricted, Reuters could not confirm the incidents independently. An activist monitoring group says more than 750 people have been killed by security forces as the generals unleashed lethal force in the face of sustained protests against their Feb. 1 coup. There were more protests on Monday, but there were no immediate reports of violence at them. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing reached an agreement at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Indonesia at the weekend on steps to bring peace. But the junta chief did not submit to calls for the release of political prisoners, including the leader of the ousted civilian government Aung San Suu Kyi, and the ASEAN accord lacked any timeline for ending the crisis. Activists criticised the agreement that came out of the ASEAN meeting, a so-called five-point consensus that included an end to violence, starting dialogue among all parties, accepting aid, and appointing a special ASEAN envoy who would visit Myanmar. "We deplore the fact that the consensus was reached without any legitimate representation of the people of Myanmar," said a statement in the name of more than 400 Myanmar civil society groups, who said ASEAN should push the junta to hand over to a rival civilian unity government formed by its opponents. The military has not officially commented on the outcome of the meeting but the state broadcaster, citing the ruling military council in its main bulletin, said: "Some of the facts from ASEAN are a good contribution so we will consider that." MORE ACTION Pro-democracy activists have called for an intensification of efforts against the military from Monday by refusing to pay electricity bills and agricultural loans, and keeping children from going to school. "We don't participate in their systems, we don't cooperate with them," activist Khant Wai Phyo told a protest meeting on Monday. The ASEAN agreement did not mention political prisoners although the statement said the meeting heard calls for their release. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners advocacy group says 3,431 people have been detained for opposing the coup. The most prominent is Suu Kyi, 75, who has been charged with various offences including violating a colonial-era official secrets act that could see her jailed for 14 years. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 and has led Myanmar’s struggle against military rule for decades. Her party won a second term in November. The election commission said the vote was fair but the military said fraud at the polls had forced it to seize power. Suu Kyi appeared via video link for a hearing in her case on Monday and again asked the court for permission to meet her lawyers in person, a member of her legal team said. She has only been allowed to speak to them by video link in the presence of security officials so far. Police told the court they had referred her request to higher authorities and were "working on it step by step", lawyer Min Min Soe told Reuters. Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said Suu Kyi had not been allowed direct contact with the lawyers because it could be an avenue for illegal communication with protest leaders and because of the COVID-19 epidemic, according to an interview with Russia's RIA news agency last week. Her lawyers have said the charges against her were trumped up. The next hearing is on May 10..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-04-26
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: What We Fight for When We Stand Against the Coup
Description: "The coup is not the answer (Khine, from the field): On the 1st February 2021, my aunt woke me at 6am. She told me, “Min Aung Hlaing is conducting another military coup.” I woke up immediately, confused. “Is this a nightmare or is it really happening?”, I thought to myself, shocked by the news. I have been facing down Myanmar’s military junta since I was in my mother’s womb in 1988. Born in 1989, I am now 32 years old, the same age as my parents during the 1988 uprising. But our battle for democracy and human rights goes on. My first response to the emergency was to go out and buy essentials: rice, oil, a torch, a radio, candles, and batteries. From past experience, we knew exactly what we would face under military rule. When I finished, I felt blank. I struggled hard to focus on staying calm and coming to terms with the situation. I knew that if I could achieve this fundamental step, I would be equipped to focus on what to do next. The voice of the people is a fundamental element within a democratic political system. As an independent researcher in spatial design and participatory place-making, I believe in listening to people’s voices. I understand that compassionate listening is a priority in every project; it is the best way to find comprehensive solutions for a better living environment. Inspired by this approach, I decided to express my voice as an individual citizen through writing. On the 3rd day of the coup, I decided to write, to make my voice heard as a citizen. On the 28th day of the coup, I finished this draft and handed it over to my co-authors overseas. I felt relieved and satisfied with what I had accomplished. I saw it as the first strike in a long battle. However, later the same day, my optimism disintegrated. News reached me that my father had been detained due to his involvement in the uprising. I felt as though the sky had fallen on me. He has now been detained in prison for more than a month without charge, in violation of his human rights. At his first trial, on 8 April, they did nothing but postpone the trial for another date. My involvement in the uprising against the military coup began when I was just a fetus in 1988. Now, at 32, I am the same age as my parents during the 1988 uprising. Now, father and daughter fight side by side. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), as of 23rd April 2021, there are already 745 people killed (more than 40 are underage), 3371 people detained (like my father, thousands are still awaiting trial, and are being abused in the meantime) and more than 1118 arrest warrants (under 505-a) for speaking out against the coup. The figures are still increasing, and there are ongoing deadly attacks and arrests against unarmed civilians. Those events are obvious proof of how our battle for democracy and human rights remains unfinished. Like us, many other fathers and daughters, mothers and sons are now working to resist the military’s deadly crimes against humanity. As Ermonela Jaho, the Albanian-born soprano, said in her interview for Global Woman Diva Program, “live every day to the fullest and you have already made the future a reality.” We are struggling for our right to live every day to the fullest. Under a dictatorship, there is no room for people to create their own destiny. I owe it to myself to design my life and live fully. For that reason, I cannot accept living in a dictatorship. This time, I believe we will win because we must.....How We Have been Suffering: Perpetrating an unjust military coup in the middle of global pandemic clearly demonstrates that the power-starved military in Myanmar has no empathy for civilians. We have been suffering a combined health, economic and social crisis resulting from Covid-19 for over a year. We are awaiting the arrival of the vaccines and preparing for Myanmar’s recovery. Even so, with whatever strength we have left, the people are non-violently resisting the coup-makers in spite of our fear of Covid-19 and the deadly attacks against us. Myanmar society has suffered the trauma of living of under an oppressive regime for more than 50 years. We are all tired of being attacked by those who act against morality and humanity. The putschists will never stop on their own! Now, it is the civilians’ duty to stop them. Though we know we will win this battle, Myanmar still risks facing further political, economic, and social crises. With each subsequent crisis, recovery becomes harder than ever. The following are the major political and socio-cultural issues impacted by this selfish and egotistical act on the part of the military in Myanmar. (1) Changing the Constitution This coup poses a major threat to the reform of the 2008 Constitution. To accelerate the peace process and ensure federal democracy in Myanmar, the 2008 Constitution has to change. This constitution was drafted by the dictators and designed to safeguard the interests of the former authoritarian regime. To allow room for justice, fairness, inclusion and respect, the values of diverse civilians from all ethnic groups should be reflected in the constitution of Myanmar. But, in reality, the views of civilians were ignored and the 2008 Constitution does not represent the will of the civilians. Under the dictatorship governance, the citizens’ voices will be silenced even further. Recently, on 31 March, the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) declared the abolition of the 2008 Constitution. This is the first step towards federal democratic state-building. Despite the challenges facing us, this is a ray of hope among the ruins.....(2) Freedom of Expression and Democratic Knowledge:Our experience clearly reminds us that there is no room for democracy in a land governed by a dictatorial regime. We grew up without being educated about how to claim our rights. We were not taught tactics to identify what we really want as a society, what we want to change and how to make changes as a collective. Military rule has failed to provide us with tools for (a) developing self-awareness, the ability to question and search for one’s true self; (b) knowing and valuing one’s own existence, and knowing how to respect others; (c) building self-confidence; (d) developing critical thinking skills that account for different perspectives; (e) building understanding and trust; (f) knowing how to conduct constructive arguments and knowing how to share, communicate, collaborate and commit to engaging with one another, in order to transform our thoughts into actions. Without these key tools for self-searching, expression, communication and collaboration, we could not fully develop our self-awareness, self-esteem, and self-management. We became weak and were easily manipulated and brainwashed. The dictators conditioned us to have a “fear of expression” rather than “freedom of expression”. We learned that the right way to live in Myanmar is to follow and obey our parents, our teachers, our elders, our religious leaders, and our government. Asking questions, arguing, or refusing to do as we are told is considered rude, even evil. The elders used to say, “We are older than you, we have lived longer than you and so we know you better than you know yourself. It is better that we manage your life than you manage your own.” The prevalence of this type of thinking shows how the junta has shaped our psychology, since our elder’s time. Military rule has transformed our independence so much that conservative behaviors became the norm. What started with the junta using fear to oppress, nowadays operates as a kind of conservatism that claims to protect ‘culture.’ In reality, this ‘culture’ controls even our slightest social freedoms. During the last five years, our dreams started to come true: we acquired much greater freedom of expression and the opportunity to put our thoughts and desires into action. However, rather than reconstructing the country, our time was wasted fixing problems caused by failures of understanding, communication and collaboration. Without the key tools mentioned above, we failed to see things from different perspectives, and we tended to express prejudices in a very subjective way. Ego also plays too much of a role in the way that our people act and overwhelms our ability to communicate and collaborate. We believe that this egocentrism, a lack of openness to understanding, and an unwillingness to build trust are the root of the conflicts happening in Myanmar. Expressions from egocentric points of views provoke unconstructive hate speech and inhibit the potential to develop just and balanced solutions, such as can be seen in the Rohingya crisis and any other conflicts amongst the different ethnic groups in Myanmar. Our ingrained “fear of expression” caused us to underestimate the value of diversity. We understand that five years is not enough to build a seamless democratic country, but ceasing conflict and instead making efforts to collaborate would greatly increase the speed at which we can see a difference. To acquire true democracy in Myanmar, we cannot rely solely on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; we should look to ourselves too. If we do not have the societal and interpersonal habits required for a constructive dialogue, we will never see the beneficial outcomes brought about by democracy. Participatory democratic practices must be performed with urgency in reconstructing a Myanmar adapted to our personal and societal needs of today’s world. To make this a reality, Myanmar needs to cultivate democratic knowledge and practices. Our battle for freedom and democracy is not yet won. We are only just beginning to realise the problems we have to tackle. But, again, today, the democratic transformation of Myanmar is being undermined by the unthoughtful, unjust, and disloyal act of the military coup.....(3) The Right to a Better Living Environment: Jane Jacobs writes that “cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”1 Indeed, it is only through people’s participation that we are able to develop better places for people, that respond to the problems and needs of each neighborhood. No outsider knows better than the local community. Are government officers, mayors, and general administrators ready to set up the democratic governance necessary to manage cities, districts and townships with a participatory approach, working with the inhabitants and place-makers as stakeholders? Myanmar is not yet in a position to give a satisfactory answer for this question. Even under the civilian democratic regime, Myanmar still needed to cultivate democratic knowledge and practices to ensure the participatory governance. However, the Myanmar Sustainable Development Goals include achieving the right to a safe and better living environment. Myanmar was figuring out the most comprehensive methods to bring more people into the process of creating people-led urban governance and development strategies. The right to the city can be fulfilled only by means of democratic city governance that gives more space to people to participate. The dictators do not believe in participatory democratic governance. Thus, under the dictatorship, our dream for safe and better living environments for the well-being of the people will remain out of reach.....How We Fight for our Freedom: “Sing loud. You shall hear other ears hearing. Look high. You shall see other eyes looking. Beat loud. You shall know that other blood is pulsing.” –Rafael Alberti (Spanish Poet)2 We are making our voices heard through our uprising. We hold hands firmly and are working together to end the dictatorship and fulfill our own destiny. We create a battle symphony with the sound of pots and pans! We raise our three-fingered salute! We march! We stage creative uprisings through various forms of collaborative performance! We help each other and show global solidarity! We support the Civil Disobedience Movement! Driven by our strong determination, we remain resilient against the deadly attacks. There is a hidden gem in this battlefield that we can take advantage of to turn everything around. It will help us not only to defeat the military, but also achieve the federal democracy we dream of. It will determine the end result – who will pay and who will gain. This key is the “synergy” born out of trust and cooperation between our diverse civilians across the country, pro-democratic political parties and activists, the CRPH (The Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw), the EAOs (The Ethnic Armed Organizations) and pro-democratic supporters across the world. The coup-makers underestimate the power, resilience, and intelligence of the people. In addition, the coup shows who our real friends, enemies and frenemies are. Because of this coup, we have begun to question the presence of China in Myanmar. Discussions about China’s purported support for the military makes us mistrust the country. In order to achieve our collective dream for a functioning federal democracy, we first need to defeat the current military coup, then end ongoing attempts to reestablish a dictatorship. In the place of the existing military, we demand a trustworthy, faithful and responsible federal defense force in Myanmar. Victory in this battle means a lot for civilians; not only the failure of the coup and the end of the dictatorship regime, but to end, once and for all, attempts to interrupt the process of building a federal democratic state. We have only one another – our solidarity is our only weapon. We will never give up our rights to live freely and fully. (Featured image courtesy of Phyo) Khine (pseudonym) is a designer living in Yangon. She is passionate about exploring artistic ways of expressions and communications. Her focus is to take part in projects developing intercultural understanding and communication through design and artistic creations. Nway Oo (pseudonym) is a researcher in Language Sciences based in Europe. Peter (pseudonym) is an architect and film maker. He has led research, academic and curation activities in Alger, Addis Ababa, Istanbul, Yangon and Paris..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Tea Circle" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2021-04-27
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup
Description: "As of 26 April, (753) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) compiled and documented (2) fallen heroes today. These (2) fallen heroes from Kawthaung Town in Tanintharyi Region and Insein Township in Yangon Region were killed on previous days and documented today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when. As of April 26, a total of (3441) people are currently under detention; of them (79) are sentenced. 1179 have been issued arrest warrants; of them 20 were sentenced to death and 14 to three years imprisonment with hard labour, who are evading arrest. We are verifying the recently released detainees and continuing to document. Today marked 85 days since the attempted coup and over 700 civilians, including women and children, have been killed, and many injured. The number of detentions similarly escalates, it is equally worrying that the accurate condition of detainees is unknown. Protests in defence of democracy continued to erupt across the country. On April 25, six civilians were beaten and arrested in Mindat Town, Chin State. In response to this, there was a clash between junta forces and civilians, some were killed and injured. Terrorists have been brutally repressing women and now reportedly oppressing the LGBTIQ communities. On the night of April 24, Yangon Region, in Mingalar Taungnyunt Township, a transgender women was reportedly beaten during her arrest. They were forcing her to wear a Longyi (male dress) whilst mocking her at the same time, AAPP is awaiting confirmation on further details. One’s sexual orientation is their personal choice. Rights and everyone’s existence must be respected. We are worried that LGBTIQ will not only be discriminated but also treated worse compared to others during their arrests because of the barbarity committed by this terrorist group during the coup. We can expect further torture and repression. The terrorist group has been viciously cracking down on local villages defending themselves, then forcing residents to flee their homes. Thousands of people from around 20 villages in Kani and Yinmabin Township, Sagaing Region have fled their homes due to the terrorist groups’ actions. Such as arbitrary arrests, detentions, and violent repression. Junta forces were also stationed at monasteries, schools, and villages. Villagers were forced to flee their homes and villages because the military entered the local villages and started arresting, beating, and killing. Some of the villagers who were already sick died while running away from the military. Burma will be in an even more critical situation if effective action is not taken to combat the crisis. The terrorist group has oppressed people across the country in order to maintain its power. Peace will remain elusive without democracy. There must be a focus on defeating dictatorship in Burma. AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heroes in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: “Our uprising must succeed” Email : [email protected] Facebook : https://web.facebook.com/burmapoliticalprisoners/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/aapp_burma In Solidarity, AAPP..."
Source/publisher: Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication: 2021-04-26
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf pdf
Size: 3.35 MB 891.62 KB 926.96 KB
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Title: Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup
Description: "As of 25 April, (751) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) compiled and documented (3) fallen heroes today. These (3) fallen heroes from Mandalay City in Mandalay Region, Yesagyo Town in Magwe Region and Myaung Township in Sagaing Region were killed on previous days and documented today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when. As of April 25, a total of (3431) people are currently under detention; of them (79) are sentenced. 1159 have been issued arrest warrants; of them 20 were sentenced to death and 14 to three years imprisonment with hard labour, who are evading arrest. We are verifying the recently released detainees and continuing to document. Today, people across Burma continue to protest against the dictatorship in different ways despite intense repression. The ASEAN leaders meeting vaguely asked for an “immediate end to the violence” – it was an unclear and general statement. During the meeting there were discussions and requests, some stern, but the statement does not include what the civilians are asking for – respect for their basic human rights, democracy and peace , neglected in the statement. People in Burma are not asking for humanitarian aid, but for the international community to stand for the truth. The statement does not deter terrorist atrocities against unarmed civilians on a daily basis with both combat zone weaponry. Yesterday after the ASEAN leaders meeting finished, even on that same day, the terrorist group violated the dignity of civilians including women. Human rights abuses committed openly in public. The statement did not stop the violence against innocents. Last night in Mayangone Township, Yangon, people ‘banging pots and pans were arrested. They were made to play drums on the streets and the women forced to dance whilst the junta forces openly mocked them. If they stopped playing or dancing they were beaten. The junta troops also threw stones at houses who protested by making noise with pots and metal boxes. After this, young men were detained and tortured on the road. Assaulting women with weapons who expressed outrage over the immodesty of the public ridicule – the junta treats people like enemies, committing crimes without any restraint. Yesterday in Karen State, at Three Pagoda town, a junta car crashed into motorcycle protesters and they were shot at 6 times. Five protesters were later arrested in a car crash and one woman was seriously injured. In Thapyay Aye village, Yinmarbin Township, Sagaing Region the junta came to crackdown the monastery and arrest the head monk. After this they destroyed one building and they seized 20 laptops from the monastery. The terrorist group troops openly loot, but it is being resisted. In order to stay in power, the junta is creating internal unrest. On the evening of April 24, Sagaing Region, in Myaung Township, a woman was arrested and died minutes later from illness, yet it is the detention of innocent civilians which is having these consequences. Civilians are already suffering on a daily basis through the atrocities of this junta. Compromise or negotiation with the terrorists will not be possible. Compromise will be used to prolong junta rule. Action which does not allow the terrorist to continue committing atrocities must be sought so that innocent civilians suffer no more. AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heroes in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: “Our uprising must succeed” Email : [email protected] Facebook : https://web.facebook.com/burmapoliticalprisoners/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/aapp_burma In Solidarity, AAPP..."
Source/publisher: Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication: 2021-04-25
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf pdf
Size: 916.54 KB 3.31 MB 924.28 KB
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Title: ‘Neither war nor peace’: failed ceasefires and dispossession in Myanmar’s ethnic borderlands
Topic: Myanmar, ethnic conflict, civil war, ceasefires, landgrabbing
Topic: Myanmar, ethnic conflict, civil war, ceasefires, landgrabbing
Description: "ABSTRACT: A reform process initiated in 2011 in Myanmar brought hope to end decades of civil war and ethnic conflict. But new ceasefires have not moved into real political dialogue, the ‘peace process’ has stalled, and fighting continues in parts of the country. Economic reforms have favoured foreign investment and local elites, and have had detrimental impacts on communities in ethnic borderlands. The new ceasefires facilitated this, and coupled with economic reforms brought loss of land and related natural resources, and strengthened the central government and the military’s political and economic control over ethnic borderlands. This article argues that this is a continuation of the ‘neither war nor peace’ policy of a previous round of ceasefires in the 1990s, but by different means. In the past this focused on coercion and military pressure, but now these military tactics have been complemented with the use of the new legal framework.....Introduction: Myanmar has suffered from ethnic conflict and civil war since independence in 1948, and the national armed forces (known as the Tatmadaw) have played a dominant role in national politics since it staged a coup d’etat in 1962. In 2011, a reform process started that brought hope at home and abroad that finally a political solution could be found at the negotiation table to more than sixty years of armed conflict. Almost a decade later, newly agreed ceasefires have not moved into real political dialogue, the so-called ‘peace process’ has all but stalled, and fighting continues in many parts of the country, causing new displacement of the civilian population. Meanwhile, economic reforms initiated in the same period favouring foreign investment and local elites have had detrimental impacts on rural communities in ethnic borderlands.1 The new ceasefires have played a large role in facilitating these negative consequences. Rather than bringing peace and inclusive development that respects and promotes social justice and local customs, the ceasefires and economic reforms have brought loss of land and related natural resources and the destruction of local cultures. Legal reforms have further paved the way for these negative developments. This article analyses why the new ceasefires have not transformed into a lasting political settlement, by comparing them with previous ceasefire attempts and by placing them into the larger conflict dynamics in Myanmar. It will explain the impact of these failed ceasefires on the right to land for rural communities in the ethnic borderlands. It will show how the ceasefires and the economic reforms strengthened the central government and Tatmadaw’s military, political and economic control over ethnic borderlands. It is argued that what is being experienced currently is a continuation of the ‘neither war nor peace’ policy of the first round of ceasefires in the 1990s (Kramer 2009a), but by different means. While in the previous round of ceasefires this involved mostly coercion and military pressure, in the present times these military tactics have been complemented with the use of the country’s new legal framework..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: The Journal of Peasant Studies via Routledge (London)
Date of publication: 2020-12-09
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 1.68 MB
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Title: Intensifying widespread, systematic slaughter by Myanmar military must be halted – Bachelet
Topic: Protection and Human Rights
Topic: Protection and Human Rights
Description: "UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday urged States to take immediate, decisive and impactful measures to push Myanmar's military leadership into halting its campaign of repression and slaughter of its people. "We have witnessed yet another weekend of coordinated bloodshed in many parts of the country, including the reported mass killing of at least 82 people in Bago between Friday and Saturday. The military seems intent on intensifying its pitiless policy of violence against the people of Myanmar, using military-grade and indiscriminate weaponry," Bachelet said. "There are clear echoes of Syria in 2011. There too, we saw peaceful protests met with unnecessary and clearly disproportionate force. The State's brutal, persistent repression of its own people led to some individuals taking up arms, followed by a downward and rapidly expanding spiral of violence all across the country. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at the time warned in 2011 that the failure of the international community to respond with united resolve could be disastrous for Syria and beyond. The past ten years have shown just how horrific the consequences have been for millions of civilians." "I fear the situation in Myanmar is heading towards a full-blown conflict. States must not allow the deadly mistakes of the past in Syria and elsewhere to be repeated." Over the weekend, credible reports indicate that Tatmadaw forces opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades, fragmentation grenades and mortar fire in Bago in the south of the country. Security forces also reportedly prevented medical personnel from helping the wounded, as well as charging relatives a "fine" of roughly USD 90 to claim the bodies of those who were killed. Some individuals are also now resorting to the use of makeshift or primitive weapons in self-defence. Clashes between the military and ethnic armed groups have also intensified in several locations in Kachin, Shan and Kayin states, where the military have been employingairstrikes that have killed and displaced civilians. As arrests continue, with at least 3,080 people currently detained, there are reports that 23 people have been sentenced to death following secret trials -- including four protesters and 19 others who were accused of political and criminal offences. The mass arrests have forced hundreds of people to go into hiding, and reports suggest that many journalists, civil society activists, celebrities and other public figures are being sought, many simply because of the dissent they have been expressing on-line. Wireless broadband and mobile data services were cut indefinitely on 2 April, leaving the vast majority of people without access to vital sources of information and communication. Meanwhile, the country's economy, education and health infrastructure have been brought to the brink of collapse, leaving millions of Myanmar people without livelihood, basic services and, increasingly, food security. Thousands of internal migrants have left urban centres for their home communities -- which once relied on their income. COVID-19 measures have effectively been brought to a standstill. The High Commissioner called on the Myanmar military and neighbouring States to facilitate humanitarian access to populations in need. She urged neighbouring States to give temporary protection to people fleeing the violence, and to refrain from returning people fleeing Myanmar at this time, in accordance with the principle of non-refoulement. "Statements of condemnation, and limited targeted sanctions, are clearly not enough. States with influence need to urgently apply concerted pressure on the military in Myanmar to halt the commission of grave human rights violations and possible crimes against humanity against the people," Bachelet said. The High Commissioner made particular reference to the report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, which contains clear recommendations for impactful action in relation to the military.* Bachelet stressed the need to cut off the supply of arms and finances to the military leadership that aid its commission of serious human rights violations..."
Source/publisher: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication: 2021-04-13
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 73.24 KB
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Title: Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup
Description: "As of 22 April, (739) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has not yet confirmed any fallen heroes today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when. As of April 22, a total of (3370) people are currently under detention; of them (76) are sentenced. 1099 have been issued arrest warrants; of them 20 were sentenced to death and 14 to three years imprisonment with hard labour, who are evading arrest. We are verifying the recently released detainees and continuing to document. Today, people across Burma continued to protest the dictatorship. In Myingyan, Mandalay Region on April 22, the main strike was fired upon by the junta forces. The terrorists then detained protestors in Myingyan Town. Last night in Chanmyathazi Township, Mandalay Region a 14 year-old girl and a man were shot and injured in the neighborhood for no reason. Reports of the junta reportedly calming down on crackdowns. Is nothing of the sort. The junta has continued to repressively try to shut down the internet across the country, and in rural areas where information is now especially difficult to ascertain and document, the junta’s violence is continuing at its normal brutality. This is most likely because of the upcoming ASEAN summit on 24 April, it wants to avoid condemnation and accountability and so is moderating its violence and terror in the more easy to document urban areas. Terrorist groups continue to arrest political party members, student activists, striking CDM workers, and youth protesters. Warrants are increasing, the junta is putting any and everyone who is against this junta on this list. In Magwe Region, over 100 CDM oil workers were threatened by the junta into returning back to work. If they did not return to work on April 22 they will be charged under 505(a) of the Penal Code. 2 private hospitals (Sein Thitsar and Sawn Metta) in Bhamo City, Kachin State were threatened by the junta if the 4 doctors involved in CDM give medical treatment there, then the hospital’s license would be revoked. Through the propaganda media MRTV, the junta said doctors will be prosecuted. On April 20 evening two CDM teachers from Hpa-An Township were detained in a village they were hiding in. The junta is changing tactics, the terrorists are threatening civilians and civil servants because they realise they cannot govern the country. Civil servants from many and various departments are now being detained, just as the junta is also increasingly issuing arrest warrants. Just like in the 2007 Saffron Revolution, the terrorists are violently arresting monks to maintain power. In Mandalay Region, Mogok, Sayadaw U Yewata (former chairman of ABSFU, formerly called Ye Yint Paing) from Yepu Monastery was beaten and detained last night. Journalists are now being charged under different sections of the law. In Ayeyarwady Region, a freelance journalist from Myaungmya was arrested last night. In addition, from yesterday the Monywa Gazette announced on their website they will stop operating. The terrorist group is trying to shut down the internet to hide the evidence of their atrocities, again. Information is being suppressed, and yet the media continues to work hard and document the truth to inform Burma’s people. Last night in Monywa Township, no.3 light infantry battalion chased 3 petrol trucks who passed them by, one driver was shot dead. After 6pm in Mon State, Billin and Thaton Township, the so-called police and military were shooting at anyone who passed by their camps. Civilians are too frequently injured and killed in Burma nowadays, after nearly 3 months the people continue to endure atrocities. If this dictatorship gets stronger, democracy will disappear. We must end the history of dictatorships in Burma to ensure democracy and human rights for all. For this movement to succeed we must have internal strength but also more substantial international support. AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heroes in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: “Our uprising must succeed” Email : [email protected] Facebook : https://web.facebook.com/burmapoliticalprisoners/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/aapp_burma In Solidarity, AAPP..."
Source/publisher: Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication: 2021-04-22
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf pdf pdf
Size: 884.59 KB 1.11 MB 3.25 MB 912.84 KB
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Title: Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup
Description: "As of 21 April, (739) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) compiled and documented (1) fallen hero today. This (1) hero from Myaung Township in Sagaing Region was killed the previous day and documented today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when. As of April 21, a total of (3331) people are currently under detention; of them (76) are sentenced. 1059 have been issued arrest warrants; of them 20 were sentenced to death and 14 to three years imprisonment with hard labour, who are evading arrest. We are verifying the recently released detainees and continuing to document. On April 21, “Blue Shirt Day 2021”, in honour of the seventh anniversary of the death of prominent journalist U Win Tin, protesters in Burma and many and all people inside and outside of the country, wore a blue shirt to stand with all political prisoners still detained in Burma. Political prisoners, those disappeared and in-hiding continue to increase. The situation for those detainees, their access to court – medical treatment – and fair trial is deprived. On this Blue Shirt Campaign Day, AAPP urges the international community including ASEAN to take action to ensure immediate release of all the political prisoners in Burma again. Today, sound grenades and live ammunition was used against the Dawei Strike in Tanintharyi Region. Five people including a 16-years old student were beaten and arrested. Among the arrested five, one youth was reportedly injured by a bullet shot, emergency treatment for him is clearly needed. The junta makes people who peacefully oppose them into enemies. They don’t even give medical treatment, increasingly civilians are dying from this. A main strike in Launglon town, Tanintharyi Region was also crackdown on. Two motorbikes were reportedly stolen by the junta forces, but no confirmed arrests yet. Yesterday, 200 terrorist troops took a military base between Thee Kone village in Yinmar Pin Town and Kapine village in Sagaing Region. Local residents opposed to this troop base waged a defence clash in which five villagers were killed as initially reported, further confirmation is being investigated. The junta reportedly used drones to scout the villages before using heavy artillery. The terrorists raid houses and take people as hostages. On April 19, two NLD members of Kyaukse Township, Mandalay Region, were searched for in their homes. The two were evading arrest. So, the junta detained both of their eldery fathers (one of whom is visually impaired). A CDM teacher charged with Section 505(a) and evading arrest in Thanbyuzayat town in Mon State was searched for on April 19, three family members were found and taken as hostages. Such hostage taking is a serious crime committed by the junta to indoctrinate a climate of fear. The terrorists oppress in many ways, unarmed civilians defy this oppression in peaceful protests/CDM – to destroy the dictator’s governance. Several innocents have sacrificed their lives. The international community must take whatever action is necessary. AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heros in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: “Our uprising must succeed” Email : [email protected] Facebook : https://web.facebook.com/burmapoliticalprisoners/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/aapp_burma In Solidarity, AAPP..."
Source/publisher: Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication: 2021-04-21
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf pdf
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Title: Military coup clouds control over jade, gems in Myanmar
Sub-title: Opposition to the military’s coup has boosted ethnic armed groups, creating a new challenge to its lucrative jade and gems business
Description: "Life in Myanmar’s jade-producing regions was always difficult and precarious but since the military seized power from the civilian government on February 1, it has become even more dangerous. In Kachin State’s Hpakant township, which has the world’s largest and most lucrative jade mines, there are more soldiers and police, access to mining sites has become more difficult and local markets have stopped operating. “Many places are dangerous to dig jade now. There are only a few places where we can dig by hand or small machine,” said Sut Naw, a local miner who preferred to use a pseudonym for security reasons. Police and soldiers are now guarding company compounds, he added, patrolling roads day and night. They also stop people on the streets or in their vehicles, checking for jade and other valuables and searching through people’s phones for evidence of resistance to the coup. “I have seen many zombie movies, but never realised that I would be living in a similar environment,” he said. “People don’t go out at all unless they have to.” The military has long dominated Myanmar’s jade industry and continues to rake in immense profits. Myanmar’s annual jade and gems emporium, held from April 1 to 10, brought in $6.5m on the sixth day alone, according to state media.....Lucrative resource: In 2015, the environmental watchdog Global Witness valued Myanmar’s jade industry at $31bn and described it as possibly the “biggest natural resource heist in modern history.” Identifying the Tatmadaw and armed elites as the industry’s biggest profiteers, the exploitation of jade was “an appalling crime that poses a serious threat to democracy and peace in Myanmar,” it said. Keel Dietz, a Myanmar policy adviser with Global Witness, told Al Jazeera that with the Tatmadaw now in total control over the formal governance of natural resources, they were likely to step up that exploitation. “There is a huge risk that the military, in their desperate efforts to maintain control, will look to the country’s natural resource wealth to sustain their rule, to buy weapons, and enrich themselves,” he said. Escalating clashes between the Kachin Independence Army, the armed wing of an ethnic armed group in the resource-rich northern state and the military, known as the Tatmadaw, have raised questions over the control over the jade mines. Before a 1994 ceasefire, the Kachin Independence Organization, which has been fighting for federal rights to self-determination since 1961, controlled most of the mines and local people were able to enjoy a share of the wealth through small-scale mining activities. The KIA is its armed wing. The ceasefire saw most of the jade-mining region nationalised under a military government known for exploiting resources without regard for the social and environmental consequences. The state-owned Myanmar Gems Enterprise took control over the regulation of mining activity and issuing licences, which it signed over to itself and to companies that benefitted its interests, including proxy companies, companies run by military cronies and those connected to armed actors including the United Wa State Army, which runs its own special administrative region on the China border and has a history of links to drug trafficking. These companies levelled mountains, dug enormous trenches and dumped waste with impunity. Hundreds of thousands of migrants flocked to the area, dreaming of digging their way to prosperity but found themselves scavenging through company waste heaps; if they found a big stone, it was confiscated by soldiers. The natural environment was destroyed, landslides and mining accidents claimed hundreds of lives, and drug abuse skyrocketed – all while the Tatmadaw pocketed handsome profits. Shortly after winning elections in 2015, the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi pledged to reform the industry and in August 2016, suspended the renewal of mining licences and the issuance of new ones. But companies bypassed the suspensions with impunity, and the NLD government was widely criticised by rights groups for failing to bring meaningful changes to the jade industry. In July 2020, more than 170 people were buried in a landslide in a Hpakant jade mine. “The government and military have never respected natural resources,” said Ah Shawng,* a land and Indigenous rights activist in Hpakant. “They extract resources as they wish and only for themselves. .. Our natural resources are all disappearing and being destroyed.” But since the coup, resistance to centralised policies and the exploitation of ethnic people and the land and resources in their states appears to be rising.....Shifting allegiances: The 2008 military-drafted constitution, which centralised land and resource management at the union level and entrenched Tatmadaw power, was abolished on March 31 by officials forced out by the military. In its place, they put forward an interim Federal Democracy Charter. Mainstream support for armed resistance to military rule has also increased, as the Tatmadaw arrests thousands and indiscriminately shoots civilians. Some 739 people have been killed, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which is tracking the violence. With ethnic armed groups, including the KIO, in a position to offer protection and help fight back against the generals, ethnic minorities’ struggles for self-determination under a federal system, which were once largely ignored by the majority Bamar public, are now increasingly popular. Pro-KIA demonstrations have been held across Kachin State and even in central Myanmar, while the number of recruits is rising. Although the KIA and Tatmadaw have been at war since the ceasefire collapsed in 2011, fighting had slowed since 2018. But since the coup conflict has escalated. Clashes have been taking place nearly every day. The KIA, so far, appears to have the upper hand – it has taken several Tatmadaw bases and claims to have obliterated entire battalions, killing hundreds of soldiers. Some of the most intense fighting has occurred in and around Hpakant, where Ah Shawng, the local rights activist who also prefers to use a pseudonym for her security, says most locals support the KIA. “Now, when [junta] forces harm people, the KIA protects and stands with us,” she said, adding that the KIA had been successful in driving out some security forces from the area. On March 28, the KIA killed about 30 policemen who had raided a jade mining site operated by the Taut Pa Kyal mining company, according to Kachin State-based media reports. The company, according to a BBC Burmese article, is backed by the Kyaw Naing company, which has 64 licenced mining sites and failed to disclose a military crony among its beneficial owners in 2020. Days later, a photo circulated on social media of a police station, allegedly at another company jade mining site in Hpakant, bearing a white flag of surrender to the KIA. Al Jazeera contacted the KIO to verify the incidents but they declined to comment on matters related to Hpakant. The KIA may be fighting to gain control of other areas as well – including some areas beyond Kachin State. Local news agency Myanmar Now reported on April 15 that the KIA and Tatmadaw had clashed in Mogok, a city in Mandalay region hundreds of miles from Kachin State. Mogok’s mines possess the world’s most valuable rubies, as well as other lucrative gemstones. On April 16, a group of youth in Mogok staged a pro-KIA march and drew a large “Welcome KIA” banner on the street. The next day, the military forces gunned down at least two people in the city.....Sanctions, import bans: The United States has already imposed sanctions on Myanmar Gems Enterprise, as well as on two military holding companies, Myanmar Economic Holdings Public Company Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation Limited (MEC). This week, the European Union also added MEHL and MEC to its sanctions list. Dietz of Global Witness told Al Jazeera that while the sanctions were “hugely important,” they were likely to have only a limited effect on the jade sector without the support of China, which serves as the primary market for Myanmar’s jade, a highly prized luminous green stone. “Global Witness encourages the international community to place import bans on all jade and coloured gemstones coming from Myanmar,” he said. He also expressed concern that as the Tatmadaw finds itself squeezed of funds, it might try sell off resource concessions in exchange for fast cash. “The international community should make it clear to commodity trading firms and other investors in natural resources that now is not the time to be making large new resource deals in Myanmar – the military regime is not a legitimate government, and should not be allowed to sell away Myanmar’s remaining mineral wealth to sustain itself,” he said. Tu Hkawng the Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation under the newly-formed interim National Unity Government running in parallel to the generals’ administration, told Al Jazeera that it was time to bring natural resource management back into the hands of the local people. Appointed on April 16, he has already begun engaging with local stakeholders to reform natural resource management policy through the lens of Indigenous rights. “We are trying to build a collective leadership … to engage more with the grassroots-level community and solve the problems together,” he said. “This is a bottom-up approach. In order to achieve it, we have to build a network with every stakeholder and collaborate.” He hopes that by addressing natural resource governance, the civil wars that have plagued the country for the past 70 years can finally be brought to an end. “Every ethnic group has the right to manage and benefit from the natural resources on its own land. Right now we don’t have that,” he said. “If everyone gets to govern their own land, we won’t have to fight any more.”..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2021-04-22
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup
Description: "As of 20 April, (738) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has not yet confirmed any fallen heroes today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when. As of April 20, a total of (3300) people are currently under detention; of them (76) are sentenced. 1020 have been issued arrest warrants; of them 20 were sentenced to death and 14 to three years imprisonment with hard labour, who are evading arrest. We are verifying the recently released detainees and continuing to document. Today, protests across the country continued in resistance to the dictatorship. A seeming calm in crackdowns is actually not the case. This morning in Narnat Taw Ward, Loikaw City, Kayah State, a demonstration was attacked by junta forces, the area was then stormed and houses destroyed. This kind of violence is happening everywhere, as did many arbitrary arrests in several areas today. Yesterday early morning in Myingyan City, Mandalay Region, one protester was shot in the thigh and detained. By the evening, the junta told his family to collect his dead body. Across Burma, wounded people are being detained, mistreated and not given adequate medical care. In international conflicts people have a right to medical care when injured. The junta is treating anyone they see like an enemy. Injured protestors can not get treatment they desperately need. You have less chance of getting treated in junta crackdowns than in warzones seen outside our country. On the early morning of 19 April, in Chanmyathazi Township, Mandalay City, junta forces in a white unmarked car and military truck dropped a dead body by the trash in the Mya Nandar housing complex with his head wide open, wounds on his back, face bruised and his body burnt. There is a complete lack of human rights, the junta does not inform the family or place them in a hospital, there is no human dignity given. In Chanayethazan Township, Mandalay Region, the No.6 Police Station deputy was brutally arrested because of his involvement in CDM. The deputy has pre-existing kidney problems, he is reportedly not allowed medical care for his kidney problems. His family are worried if he can not get medical treatment, his health will further decline. The family have not been allowed to visit him, they are requesting he receive the medical treatment he urgently needs. It is a worry scenario when those being detained need medical treatment, in detention the situation is very insecure, there is no human rights given. This is worryingly happening every day across Burma now. But this is a systematic pattern of the junta behaviour. Detainees are entitled to human rights. The junta are targeting urban and rural areas with violence in crackdowns. In Sagaing Region, Ta Yaw Gyin village and Tha Byay Aye village in Yin Mar Bin Township; and Moe Gaung village, Chaung Ma village, Yar Gyi village, Lar Po village, and Sae Ywar village in Kani Township, locals were forced to flee because of the junta. Terrorist troops arrived and the villagers were forced to hide in paddy fields. The junta then based itself at the village, and destroyed and looted the villagers’ possessions. Last night, in Mee Laung Phya village, Nyaung Oo Township, Mandalay Region, the junta searched people’s homes, looting gold and jewelry. 30 villagers were detained and most of the rest were forced to flee. Yesterday evening, in Letwe-Myinni village, Nwathogyi Township, Mandalay Region, the junta set fire to defensive barricades. Terrorist troops also beat some of the villagers, searching one house and looting a satellite and other goods. All people feel unsafe because of the junta’s actions. The terrorist’s violence will only deteriorate. People will continue to have even less peace and security. ASEAN must not act like this is Burma’s internal affair, instability threatens the entire region’s economic and political interests. ASEAN must take a stronger response than at present. AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heros in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: “Our uprising must succeed” Email : [email protected] Facebook : https://web.facebook.com/burmapoliticalprisoners/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/aapp_burma In Solidarity, AAPP..."
Source/publisher: Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication: 2021-04-21
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf pdf
Size: 867.23 KB 3.16 MB 918.83 KB
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Title: Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup
Description: "As of 19 April, (738) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) compiled and documented (1) fallen hero today. This (1) hero from Htone Bo Town in Pandaung Township, Bago Region was killed the previous day and documented today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when. As of April 19, a total of (3261) people are currently under detention; of them (75) are sentenced. 970 have been issued arrest warrants; of them 20 were sentenced to death and 14 to three years imprisonment with hard labour, who are evading arrest. We are verifying the recently released detainees and continuing to document. Today at 8pm YGN time, junta propaganda MWD said the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners was spreading fake news. AAPP is giving an accurate, verified, representation of the brutality of this illegal junta. Despite the inhumanity of torture, the junta in Burma has done it every single day since the attempted coup. Verified photos of six youths who were tortured after being arbitrarily accused and arrested for a bombing in Yankin township, Yangon Region went viral on social media. Such overt displays by the junta’s propaganda media reveal the inhumanity and notorious persecution in clear violation of international human rights laws and conventions, but in particular it is supposed to threaten people protesting for democracy of similar fates. Medical treatment is urgently needed for these respected youths. The consequences of these interrogations by the junta is extremely worrying. Terrorist troops passed by in front of a hotel with sailors returning to Burma, junta forces entered hotel rooms after allegedly hearing the banging of pots and pans, two sailors were assaulted, one had broken ribs, the other is reported to have gashed his eyebrows. The terrorists also robbed $1,500 from a sailors wages. AAPP strongly denounces such brutality, and we urge the UN, international community, including ASEAN, to take effective action as quickly as possible. Today, people across Burma continued to protest against the dictatorship with various marches. At the General Dawn Strike in Mandalay City, a frontliner was attacked by a car and the General Dawn Strike shot with rubber bullets, tear gas and live ammunition. 11 people were beaten and arrested and a victim was reported to have been injured in a car attack. This morning, two motorcycle strikes in Mandalay were rammed by a vehicle, one girl was crushed, another was injured by a bullet and more than 10 people were beaten and arrested. It is a serious situation when a terrorist group has repeatedly over the last few days been crashing into, to detain protestors in unmarked vehicles. Today, in Mohnyin town, Kachin State a strike was repressed, and two people, including a female university student, were arrested. People-made barricades were burned down in Nanataw Ward in Loikaw Township, Kayah State and the junta opened fire with live ammunition, and two young men were arrested. In Myin Gyan Town, Mandalay Region, the most tenacious fort in Ward 6 was brutally crackdown, the junta made it like a conflict zone with surface to air missiles and heavy artillery since April 18 evening. Six people, including a 13-year-old child, were reported to have been arrested, although some local residents who resisted were not wounded. The No.6 Ward barricade, demolished yesterday, was rebuilt by locals but then stormed again by large numbers of terrorists this morning. Two local residents were injured, one is reportedly in serious condition. The junta troops also went door-to-door searching for people; thousands of residents from No.6 Ward have fled to nearby villages. Homes and neighborhoods in Ward 3 and 4 were also violently raided, motorcycles were burnt down in No.4 Ward. In Kani township, Sagaing Region, more than seven villages fled due to the terrorist operation by the junta. Yesterday afternoon, large numbers entered Chung ma village, in Kani township, where junta troops searched door-to-door and stole food. Military vehicles arrived last night and shot randomly, forcing children and adults to flee. As a result of the junta’s forces’ arbitrary raids and shooting, residents are no longer safe even in their communities and face danger everywhere at any time. This morning, the junta troops opened and destroyed tombs at the Sin Phyu Kwin Cemetery, which had cremated fallen heroes from the Spring Revolution in Bago City. Bodies were removed and laid outside. A new tomb has not yet been created, terrorists have no respect for the dignity of those fallen with these disgusting acts. Burma’s transition to democracy, supposed to promote peace, national reconciliation and democracy, was destroyed by the coup. Abolishing the junta is the only solution to building a fully democratic society for the people. AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heros in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: “Our uprising must succeed” Email : [email protected] Facebook : https://web.facebook.com/burmapoliticalprisoners/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/aapp_burma In Solidarity, AAPP..."
Source/publisher: Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication: 2021-04-20
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf pdf
Size: 863.02 KB 3.09 MB 904.16 KB
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Title: Myanmar: “I’m scared, but will not surrender…”
Sub-title: Journalists in Myanmar have put their lives at risk to tell the stories of protestors, doctors, nurses and citizens impacted by the military coup, writes Phil Thornton.
Description: "As a freelance photojournalist, Ng Maung has worked the frontlines of the protests since Myanmar’s military coup began on 1st February. Keeping low, behind flimsy barricades of wood, corrugated tin, tyres and bamboo, he photographed the hurts police and army inflicted on pro-democracy activists. Ng Maung told IFJ of the danger protestors and journalists are facing from heavily armed police and soldiers. “We were warned snipers were on roofs near where we were. I could hear and sense the bullets as they passed. These kids had no protection against bullets.” Ng Maung explained his view was restricted when focusing through a camera lens at soldiers down the street. “You see what is directly in front, not to your immediate side. Bullets were getting closer. I saw a young guy on the ground with a head shot…a lot of blood. People took him on a motorbike to an ambulance, but it was too late, he was already dead.” Ng Maung said soldiers and police are armed to kill and dressed for battle, unlike the unarmed protestors. “They’re targets are young men and women, mostly peaceful protestors, opposing the torture and jailing of elected politicians, workers, doctors, students and journalists. The only protection they have are hiding behind these barricades and running.” In an earlier interview with IFJ in February, Ng Maung, voiced his fears about unseen army snipers when he said they made the streets dangerous to work. “If I can see them I’m not scared, but knowing they could be concealed on rooftops, water towers, behind windows…anywhere…is terrifying.” Ng Maung’s fears became a reality on 23 March when a bullet tore through his hand as he focused his lens. “I could hear shooting. Near me three kids were using phones to take photos. I warned them to move away…take cover, as soldiers were firing.” Ng Maung felt the force of the bullet as it tore into his left hand, pulping bones, tissue and tendon. “I was confused, my hand was burning, at first it was relief the boys were not hit. Then I was worried my hand was destroyed. It looked bad. It took about three hours to get to a clinic.” Ng Maung is full of praise for volunteer doctors and nurses working the protests. “I’ve seen them put themselves at risk of being shot or wounded to care for the injured. I owe them a lot…they work for free…I am forever in their debt.” Ng Maung’s smashed hand has to be rebuilt. He has had a number of operations to try to reconstruct his hand – wire implants, bone repair and skin grafts. Despite the pain and the graphic nature of the wound, Ng Maung managed to photograph the surgical procedures. Ng Maung kept in regular contact with IFJ during the protests and after his wounding spoke of his determination to keep working as a photojournalist despite the dangers. “Everyone is in danger - the military shows no mercy - protestors, doctors, students, workers, children, citizens or journalists – we are all targets just to be shot...silenced. I feel they are no longer human and they don’t see us as human. I'm scared, really scared. As a journalist, I have no protection. I have to be very careful and secretive in getting information. It is so bad I dare not go home to sleep at night. It's very dangerous now. To report we risk our lives. I’m a photojournalist because I want people to know the truth from the pictures I take. I want to expose the brutality of the military and the brave resistance of our people to the world…I hope for international action to end the oppression.” The revolution will not be televised… To silence journalists, like Ng Maung, the military coup leaders ordered telecommunication companies and internet services to block social media platforms and shut down their networks to stop access to information and news. Journalists have been arrested and charged under 505a of the penal code, which carries a sentence of three years in prison. The licenses of Myanmar Now, Mizzima Media, Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), 7 Day News and Khit Thit Media were revoked on 8 March. The Ministry of Information shut-down the five independent media outlets and banned them “from publishing or broadcasting” or using any kind of media or technology platforms reporting “news that affects the rule of law and security of the people and supports those who commit high treason…in accordance with Article 419 and 420 of the Constitution.” To make sure the five banned media organisations and their respective journalists got the message, soldiers and police broke into their offices, ransacked, thrashed and stole equipment. Ng Maung told IFJ “journalists are now being hunted – we’ve been put on wanted lists and they have arrested at least 42 journalists.” The police and army have been given unfettered authority by the coup appointed State Administration Council to raid homes to search and arrest without warrants. So called ‘suspects’ can be detained for 24-hours without court permission. Other sections of the Penal Code list a range of fines and jail sentences - twenty years, ten years, seven years and three years for alleged breaches. Faced with the danger of lethal force, nighttime raids on their homes or arrest, many journalists and media workers have been either forced into deep hiding or have left cities for remote ethnic areas in the jungle along the China, India, Bangladesh or Thailand borders. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) confirmed as of Sunday 16 April, 737 people have been killed and 3,229 arrested; 42 of those are journalists. Ko Bo Kyi is a founder and secretary of AAPP-Burma and was first jailed in 1989 for his political beliefs by the then military regime. He explained to IFJ how the military has deliberately created and are using divisions between soldiers and civilians to maintain its reign of terror. “This military is isolated from society. Soldiers are given a different history to what is really happening in the country or outside world. The internet cuts and mobile phone data blockages are not just to prevent protestors from organising, but to stop soldiers getting real information – their news intake is restricted to media controlled by the military - radio, websites, newspapers and television channels.” Ko Bo Kyi said despite fear of arrest, torture and jail, journalists and citizen journalists are still managing to report. “Everyday, underground reporters and civilian journalists are going out and bravely documenting human rights abuses. They’re finding ways to get verifiable and credible reports out to people inside and outside the country.” They’ve destroyed our industry… Zaw Myint, a senior editor, told IFJ he has been forced by soldiers and police making night raids near his home to leave his family and go into hiding, constantly changing his location. “I’m not the only journalist, many of us are now in deep hiding. It’s dangerous on the ground now. We can’t use our name on our stories. It’s getting difficult to survive as we aren’t being paid. Most of us are struggling and our families are suffering...the pressure is massive.” Zaw Myint said finding a means to communicate is getting more difficult. “Mobile data has been cut, it’s difficult to get ADSL connected, getting caught with a pocket Wi-Fi will get you arrested. I try to hook into established Wi-Fi at hotels owned by the military’s cronies.” With the forced closure of the independent media outlets most journalists fear their severance pay will soon be gone, Zaw Myint explains most journalist earn between US$300 and US$700 a month. “Most of us are struggling. The army has killed our industry. They’ve taken down our platforms to publish, they’ve robbed us of our salaries. They done this to silence us. It’s sad to see our industry ripped apart. There’s now no justice, only their law of the gun.” Zaw Myint made the decision to stay in the city despite the constant fear of arrest. “There are still some of us prepared to take risks to tell what’s going on. I hope our colleagues who get to safety in other places will keep working. We’ll print on pamphlets, photocopy them and get them to the people. We’ll send our stories and footage to exiled colleagues for publishing, we’re hurting now, but we will find a way to keep reporting and broadcasting.”..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "International Federation of Journalists" (Brussels)
Date of publication: 2021-04-20
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Local uprisings emerge to challenge Myanmar’s army
Description: "Sleeping by their makeshift barricades, knots of young men at Tahan in the western Myanmar town of Kale had not expected an attack in the pre-dawn darkness. Armed with a few hunting guns made by village blacksmiths, catapults, some airguns and Molotov cocktails, they were no match for forces hardened by decades of conflict and equipped with combat weapons. The first barrage of shots and rocket propelled grenades from Myanmar's army, known as the Tatmadaw, came around 5 a.m. on April 7, the protesters and residents of Kale said. By evening, the one-sided battle was over, the sandbag barricades had been cleared and 13 people were dead, three people involved in the armed group told Reuters. Soldiers deployed on street corners and remain until now. "So many people on our side were wounded that we couldn’t do anything and had to retreat," Aung Myat Thu, one 20-year-old protester in Kale, told Reuters from there by messaging app. Although the resistance in Kale was quickly crushed, it points to a new phase of bloodshed in Myanmar after the Feb. 1 coup, with some protesters now seeking to take up arms against the junta's forces. The junta did not respond to requests for comment. The junta-controlled Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said 18 rioters were arrested in Kale after attacking security forces with homemade weapons. "Some of the members of the security forces were seriously injured," it said Despite the early setbacks, disparate groups are trying to source better weapons, sharpen tactics, share intelligence and get training from some of the two dozen or so existing ethnic armed groups in Myanmar, several opposition politicians said. "Some small defence units have been formed across the country, in the community, villages or wards," said Moe Saw Oo, a spokesman for the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), a body representing ousted lawmakers that has set up a rival national unity government. "At the same time, we are in coordination with ethnic armed organisations about the establishment of a proper defence force," he said. Over 700 people have been killed and more than 3,000 have been detained by security forces cracking down on the nationwide protests that have raged since the military deposed the civilian government led by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1. Even as the fighters in Kale retreated, other groups have sprung up elsewhere. Acts of sabotage, such as the burning of administrative buildings and attacks on businesses linked to the army have broken out the in the main city of Yangon and the second city of Mandalay. "It is a sign of the determination and the extreme violence the military has been using against protesters rather than a strategic assessment they can take on the might of the military," said analyst Richard Horsey, who recently briefed the U.N. Security Council on the threat of national collapse. Among the new groups, the Ayeyarwaddy Federal Army announced its arrival last week in the heartland of the Bamar majority, which forms the core of the armed forces as well as Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy. "Armed revolution is the only way to return the people's power," spokesman Mratt Thu Aung told Reuters via messaging app. He did not disclose the group's location or the size of its force and Reuters was unable to do so independently.....'IF WE DON'T FIGHT...'.....Pressure to organise an armed group in Kale began in mid-March as the army stepped up violence against protests sweeping the largely Buddhist country of 53 million. On March 17, police opened fire on an anti-coup rally - killing four people - after chasing protesters to Myohla on Kale's outskirts, said a 36-year-old activist who was there. "From that point, the people, especially the youth, felt that we needed to do something to defend ourselves," he said, declining to give his name for reprisals against his family. By late March, at least three barricades were set-up around the main market in Tahan, hundreds of people joining to pile up sandbags. Young people in the town banded together to form the Tahan Civil Defence Group, local activists said. The group then raised funds and sought out weapons - mainly rudimentary hunting guns made by local blacksmiths, they said. "At first we had seven guns, which then increased to 15 within a short time," the 36-year-old activist said. The group went for target practice session in a nearby forest on March 26. Two days later, the Tahan Civil Defence Group held off an assault by junta forces. Shortly after, it combined with other local groups to form the Kalay (Kale) Civil Army. Such groups were getting help from the CRPH across the country, an official of the group said. Several thousand young people had been given basic training in arms and fighting by at least four ethnic armed organisations, mostly in Myanmar's border areas, he said. "More are coming," he said, declining to be named. "If we don't fight, the future of Myanmar is gone."......'DON’T UNDERSTAND THE TATMADAW'...In Kale, the little-trained fighters were emboldened by early success. The 19-year-old fighter said he was sleeping between barricades on the main road through Tahan when gunfire woke him. "I grabbed my hunting gun and two soldiers started shooting at me," he said. "I had one chance to shoot back, but my gun didn't work." He sheltered behind a wall, then fled during a lull. The Tatmadaw advanced systematically, blocking off escape routes, one resistance member in Tahan said. "We don't understand the Tatmadaw mindset," the 43-year-old said from a safe house. "That's our mistake." Several young fighters were among the 13 dead at the end of a day of fighting, activists said. Survivors had now gone underground, they said. "We were not safe in Kale anymore," the 19-year-old fighter said by phone from northeastern India, whose border is just over 100 km (60 miles away). Indian authorities declined to comment. A local NLD lawmaker involved in forming the Kalay Civil Army said fighters had been asked to lay low for now, while equipment and training were improved across Myanmar. “Maybe the time will come to fight with the Tatmadaw,” the lawmaker said, “For that, we will need good training.”..."
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Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-04-19
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-19
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Title: Myingan ‘like a war zone’ as regime troops destroy protest stronghold, locals say
Sub-title: Hundreds of soldiers and police crush an anti-coup defence area in the Mandalay Region town, shooting indiscriminately and arresting locals, including one child
Description: "The regime’s armed forces crushed an anti-coup stronghold in the Mandalay Region town of Myingyan on Sunday in an afternoon attack. The Lanmadaw protest base in the town’s sixth ward was a primary defence area from which civilians had been using homemade guns, such as hunting rifles, to resist attacks by regime troops. Some 200 members of the armed forces assaulted the stronghold from late afternoon until 10pm, according to locals. An estimated six people, including a 13-year-old boy, were arrested after the attacks, a resident said. Local sources said that there were casualties on the side of the armed forces, but that no civilians had died in the assault. Myanmar Now was unable to confirm these details at the time of reporting. A Myingan local told Myanmar Now that troops were “shooting at every person they saw… like in a war zone.” Residents rebuilt the Lanmadaw stronghold before dawn on Monday, but it was destroyed by the troops again at around 10am. Prior to the attack on Lanmadaw on Sunday, soldiers and police also indiscriminately shot at people near Myingan’s municipal market. At least one man was injured and in critical condition after being shot in the head, according to local sources. He was a worker in a rice shop, and was shot by troops as he tried to close the shop’s doors as they passed by the area. At around 4pm on Sunday, there was an explosion in front of the KBZ Bank branch in the town but no one was reported as injured. The cause of the blast is unknown. According to local relief organisations, at least 23 people have been killed in Myingyan by the military and police in crackdowns on demonstrations since the February 1 coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an advocacy group that has been monitoring the regime’s violence, reported that more than 730 people have been killed nationwide during the same period..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2021-04-19
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-19
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Title: The Tatmadaw is keeping families in the dark about their loved ones’ remains
Sub-title: As junta forces increasingly refuse to return the bodies of those they’ve slain, the pain of grieving families is being exacerbated by uncertainty.
Description: "The morning of March 11 was surprisingly cold in Mandalay, at least by the normal standards of Myanmar’s second-largest city. U Zaw Lin and his 19-year-old son, Ko Lin Htet, kept warm by huddling under a blanket. Lin Htet, a second-year geology student at Mandalay’s Yadanabon University, was recounting his experiences on the front lines of Mandalay’s anti-military protests when their conversation was interrupted by a phone call. “I have to go, dad,” Lin Htet said after hanging up. He leapt from the bed, disappearing into another room to get dressed. When he returned, he was wearing his father’s white sport shoes. “Look, your trainers fit me. Can I wear them?” Zaw Lin, 47, recalls his son asking. Lin Htet wanted to wear the shoes because he planned to join the Mya Taung protest group, which has been marching twice-daily through Mandalay since shortly after the February 1 coup. Sensing his son’s excitement, Zaw Lin gave his assent. Then they went their separate ways: Lin Htet to the protests, Zaw Lwin to his job at a car spraying workshop on Mandalay’s 16th street in Maha Aung Myay Township. He was at home eating lunch when he got the phone call. “A friend said that news was being shared on Facebook that Lin Htet had been shot,” Zaw Lin recalled, his voice trembling. “I was shocked – I couldn’t believe it at all.” As soon as Zaw Lin saw the photos, he knew it was his son. Lin Htet was tall, standing at six foot one (about 185 centimetres), with long black hair and the blue plaid shirt he’d left home in. What stood out in the photos, though, were Zaw Lin’s white shoes. “When I saw the photos on Facebook, I knew it was my beloved son, but I had trouble believing it – I couldn’t breathe, I was in shock,” Zaw Lin said. He rushed to the spot where his son had been shot, on 89th Street in Chan Aye Thar San Township, but the body was already gone. All that remained was the facemask his son had worn. Witnesses told him they had seen soldiers drag Lin Htet’s body into an unmarked black Toyota Alphard and drive away. Zaw Lin and his wife, Daw Htay Htay Myint, went to several police stations, army camps and hospitals around the city hoping to find their son’s body, but to no avail. Two days later, Police Chief U Toe Toe from the Maha Aung Myay’s No 6 police station told them that their son had been cremated the day he died. “I asked, ‘Why weren’t we informed?’ When I asked how they could do that without telling family members, he said they had to do it because it was their duty,” Zaw Lin said. He was furious at the police, both for their failure to help and their lack of remorse. “If they were unarmed, I would have fought them one by one,” he told Frontier on April 6. “But at the time, I even had to apologise to them just so I could try to get back my son’s remains for burial. Still, they shouted at us and claimed they had no responsibility to help.” More than a month later, Zaw Lin still does not know where his son’s remains are. Myanmar’s security forces have responded with growing brutality to the anti-coup demonstrations that have swept the country in recent months, a movement dubbed by some as the “Spring Revolution” and largely led by youthful “Generation Z” protesters like Lin Htet. Like Zaw Lin, scores of relatives who have lost loved ones face the added pain of not knowing the fate of their remains, and not having the chance to properly farewell them. The uncertainty magnifies their grief. On March 17, six days after Zaw Lin lost his only son, Ma Yee Mon Theint’s husband was killed in Hlaing Tharyar, an industrial suburb in Yangon’s west. Ko Thura Oo, a 25-year-old trishaw driver, was shot and killed by soldiers and police during an afternoon demonstration on Tharaphi Street in the Shwe Lin Ban Industrial Zone. Yee Mon Theint received the devastating news that evening, shortly after returning home from her job selling fish in a local market. “I was told by a friend who ran from the spot where my husband was shot. I tried to go to him, but because of the continuous shooting I couldn’t leave [my home] immediately. When I got there, my husband’s body was gone,” she said, crying. A witness told Frontier they saw Thura Oo shot in the head and back, before soldiers removed his shirt and hat and dragged his body into a nearby car. Yee Mon Theint said that when she arrived at the blood-stained spot where her husband had fallen, all that remained were his shirt and hat. Desperate to find her husband’s body, she went to Hlaing Tharyar Hospital, but they had no record of him. Later, ahe heard a rumour that his body had been dumped in a creek in the industrial zone, but her searches turned up nothing. Despite not finding his body, Yee Mon Theint accepted her husband’s death and held a small funeral ceremony three days later, but she still hopes that his remains will one day be returned. “Although my husband is already dead, I really want his body back. I want to bury him in a peaceful place,” she said, wiping away tears. “I have no idea where they took him.” Estimates on the number of people killed in Hlaing Tharyar range from 70 to more than 100. The leader of a relief organisation that works in the township told Frontier that the remains of at least 12 people who have been confirmed dead have not been returned. “Some family members are missing dead bodies although they heard information from witnesses, or [had seen evidence] that their sons and husbands had been shot during the protests,” said the leader, who asked not to be named. In other cases, he said, his organization has retrieved the bodies of protesters who have been killed, but has been unable to locate any family members, or even identify them. A relief worker in Mandalay, where at least 118 people have so far died, told Frontier that the bodies of three people – Lin Htet, another man and a woman named Daw Pyone – were unaccounted for in Maha Aung Myay Township alone. Relief groups are often asked to help families try to locate missing family members, the official said. “If the person’s body is not with the relief group, the family members then go to a police station or hospital to try and confirm if the person is alive,” he said. While the Mandalay official said he couldn’t understand why security forces were not returning the bodies of those killed in the crackdown, the leader of the Hlaing Tharyar relief group said he believed the military was trying to cover up evidence of its brutality. “I think it’s simply that the military wants to destroy the evidence of what they are doing,” he said. “They don’t want to hand back bodies that clearly show evidence of being shot.” The military regime has disputed death toll figures from independent monitoring groups, such as the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. On April 9, the military regime claimed that just 248 protesters had died, less than half of the AAPP total. That same day, junta forces reportedly massacred at least 82 people in the town of Bago, and AAPP says as of April 18, 730 people had been killed since February 1. Zaw Lin can still barely believe his son is gone. The father and son had enjoyed a close relationship, and Zaw Lin said he missed their animated conversations. “We have been distraught since my son left. I only had one son; he was a very talented child, and I miss him so much,” Zaw Lin said, crying. He described his son as intelligent, with a cool and calm demeanor, but said he had become angry after the February 1 coup. Lin Htet read news obsessively on social media; some days, he would sit alone and talk to himself, his father said, an indication of the profound impact the political situation was having on his son’s mental wellbeing. But Lin Htet had also been heavily involved in the youth-led protest movement since shortly after the coup. He would join rallies and marches, and note down significant dates – such as when protests started in Yangon and Mandalay, and when the United Nations held a meeting to discuss the situation in Myanmar – on a calendar at home. When Lin Htet’s parents tried to explain how anxious they were about him joining demonstrations, he would respond passionately, explaining why it was important for him to take part. “I didn’t think he would be so interested in politics,” Zaw Lin said. “When I suggested that politics is not a simple topic and he should spend some time learning more about it, he responded that the time had come for the younger generation to take the lead, and that he needed to be involved.” Zaw Lin accepts that his sone is gone – but his wife, Htay Htay Myint, believes that her son is still alive and in hiding. She prays and performs good deeds each day, hoping this will speed his return. “Every day I have to live with anxiety and grief,” she said. “I still expect to get a call from my son, and wonder if someone with good spirits is protecting him. Until I find his body, I cannot accept that my son is dead.”..."
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2021-04-19
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Two killed in separate incidents, as hundreds flee amid military build-up
Sub-title: One casualty was reported in Kyaukme, in northern Shan state, while the other was in Sagaing region’s Kani township
Description: "Two anti-coup protesters were killed in northern Myanmar over the weekend as the military continued its push to crush resistance to its rule. One person was reported dead in the northern Shan State town of Kyaukme on Saturday, while another died during a shootout in Sagaing Region’s Kani Township on Sunday. Aung Ko Ko Phyo, a 25-year-old government employee who had joined the Civil Disobedience Movement, was shot in the head as he was leaving the monastery where he had temporarily ordained as a monk during the Thingyan holidays. According to local sources, Aung Ko Ko Phyo, who worked for the Department of Electrical Power, was shot near Kyaukme’s Wailuwun monastery at around 9pm on Saturday. “He was on his way to his teacher’s home. He had just left the monkhood because it was the end of Thingyan,” a Kyaukme resident told Myanmar Now. There were numerous witnesses to the incident, the source added, noting that it occurred in the centre of town. A doctor who treated him said he died from a bullet wound and would be cremated on Monday. The troops who killed him removed his body from the scene soon after the shooting. Family members were told they could collect it on Sunday. However, according to a local news agency, his mother was forced to sign a release before she was allowed to claim his body stating that her son had been stabbed to death and that the military was not involved in his killing. Residents of Kyaukme, a trading town located about 175km northeast of Mandalay, have held regular protests against the military since it seized power in a coup on February 1. On Sunday, another man died after the arrest of a local man led to a five-hour confrontation between regime forces and civilians in Sagaing region. The shootout, which occurred on the Monywa-Kalaywa-Yargyi road between Mingin and Kani townships, began at around 1pm, a resident of the area told Myanmar Now. “[Soldiers] fired a shot and came into the village. They arrested a local and that’s when the fighting began,” said a resident of Sal Yar Chaung, the village where the arrest was made. At least 100 soldiers were involved in the clash, according to another villager. No further details were available about the man who died. Residents said that some of the military forces may have been injured by homemade hunting rifles and air guns used by members of a village defence team. Residents say that hundreds of people have fled the area since Sunday, as more army troops pour in and conduct door-to-door raids targeting local civilians. “They came into the village in the morning. There were a lot of them. They were searching every house, so we had to run. It looks like they’re setting up base,” said a resident of Chaung Ma Kyway, one of the affected villages. The shootout on Sunday came days after a similar incident on April 15 left six civilians dead and at least 20 others missing. Many parts of Sagaing region have been tense since late last month amid efforts by the regime to crack down on strongholds of the anti-coup movement. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 730 civilians have been killed by the junta nationwide as of April 17..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2021-04-19
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-19
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Title: Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup
Description: "As of 18 April, (737) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) compiled and documented (7) fallen heroes today. These (7) heroes from Kani Township in Sagaing Region and Kyaukme Town in Shan State were killed the previous days and documented today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when. As of April 18, a total of (3229) people are currently under detention; of them (75) are sentenced. 930 have been issued arrest warrants; of them 20 were sentenced to death and 14 to three years imprisonment with hard labour, who are evading arrest. We are verifying the recently released detainees and continuing to document. All across the country today, various protests against junta were carried out. On 18 April, junta crackdowns may have appeared calmer but in Myingyan City, Mandalay Region, the junta fired at young protestors, a man inside a house and shot and seriously injured. On April 17 nighttime, in Larpo village, Kani Township, Sagaing Region, protestors defending themselves from junta forces attacks were shot at, 2 protestors were shot dead. Last night at around 9pm in Kyaukme Town, Shan State, 3 young boys riding a motorbike were fired at by the junta, one was shot dead in the head, the 2 others detained. In Yangon, Yankin and other townships, explosions were set off yesterday. After the explosions, from last midnight up until noon today the junta raided Yankin Township, and arbitrarily assaulted and detained 30 women and youths. In most of the wards in Myeik City, Tanintharyi Region, the junta has been randomly throwing sound grenades throughout the night, attempting to continue its climate of fear. On 16 April, the junta searched for an MP, his sister, Daw Nwel Nwel Aung (a lecturer in Botany at West Yangon University), was taken as a hostage from her home in South Okkalapa Township, because junta forces could not find her brother. The junta has continued its policy of hostage taking, just as new tactics of these terrorists emerge. People are not safe, even at home, they can be abducted any time, facing terror every single day. This month has also seen an increase in pressure on journalists. In Kachin State, 3 journalists from the Myitkyina News Journal outlet are detained in interrogation centers. At these interrogation centers, detainees are forced to sign and confess under duress or through harsher torture. These places witness unimaginable suffering, they should not exist – but the dictatorship in Burma continues to perpetrate crimes against humanity here. Now journalists are being targeted in these interrogation centers. The junta in Burma is killing, shooting, harassing, looting, assaulting. The generals in Burma only look out for themselves. Innocent civilians are losing their rights to security and dignity, their property is under attack. There is no rule of law, every single corner of the country is repressed. For the uprising to fully succeed, we must ensure accountability for these crimes. AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heros in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: “Our uprising must succeed” Email : [email protected] Facebook : https://web.facebook.com/burmapoliticalprisoners/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/aapp_burma In Solidarity, AAPP..."
Source/publisher: Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication: 2021-04-18
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-18
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Title: Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup
Description: "As of 17 April, (730) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) compiled and documented (2) fallen heroes today. These (2) heroes from Mogok in Mandalay Region were killed today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when. As of April 17, a total of (3152) people are currently under detention; of them (75) are sentenced. 871 have been issued arrest warrants; of them 20 were sentenced to death and 14 to three years imprisonment with hard labour, who are evading arrest. We are verifying the recently released detainees and continuing to document. On the Burmese New Year, the junta released 23407 released prisoners. This however, did not include any of the political prisoners detained since the attempted coup. 9 political prisoners sentenced before the 1 February were released. They were released from Insein and Obo Prison, including 3 students from the Peacock Generation, and 6 from the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU). However, the ABSFU students were due to be released this year anyway. The junta has released mass general prisoners only at New Years, normally they only include political prisoners who have nearly finished their sentences. There are two concerns from this amnesty. One is that the junta is doing this to clear prisons for more democracy supporters, striking workers and anyone else they arbitrarily want. The other worry is that they are trying to create instability. Also, on February 12, the junta released a similar number of prisoners, soon after there was instability on the streets, fire rings thrown into neighborhoods, fear quickly spread. The junta is trying to show the international community they are not a terrorist group. The fact the junta is releasing such large numbers demonstrates serious concern for the near-future. On Burmese New Year, across the country, protests endured. At a motorbike protest today in Inn Zauk Village, Launglon Township in Tanintharyi Region, plainclothes junta troops’ in a private vehicle crashed into the protestor at the back of the procession and detained him. Today, in Mandalay Region, Mogok City, the junta attacked and destroyed the barricades, 2 civilians were killed, 4 wounded. The junta commander shouted at the soldiers, caught on video saying “I only want the dead bodies”. Further demonstrating crimes against innocents, all civilians are in danger anywhere, anytime. Everyday the junta’s violence deteriorates, it is a systematic pattern of crimes against humanity. All people under this junta are being terrorized with heavy weapons and physical assaults, threats. No-one is safe, there is no security, we are living under a climate of fear again. In ethnic areas civilians are continually targeted, including children. On April 12 early morning, a 3-year old and 14-year old were killed in Wah Thoe Kho village, Hpapun District, Karen State. The decades long civil war always has impacted locals most severely, they are made into victims in this conflict by the junta, once again enduring abuse. ASEAN and the international community must take an impactful stand against these crimes against humanity. AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heros in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: “Our uprising must succeed” Email : [email protected] Facebook : https://web.facebook.com/burmapoliticalprisoners/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/aapp_burma In Solidarity, AAPP..."
Source/publisher: Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication: 2021-04-17
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-18
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Title: Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup
Description: "As of 16 April, (728) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) compiled and documented (2) fallen heroes today. These (2) heroes were killed yesterday and documented today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when. As of April 16, a total of (3141) people are currently under detention; of them (75) are sentenced. 58 people including UEC members were released today, and so removed from the under detention list. 832 have been issued arrest warrants; of them 20 were sentenced to death and 14 to three years imprisonment with hard labour, who are evading arrest. We are verifying the recently released detainees and continuing to document. Today, pictures on social media showed protest leader Ko Wai Moe Naing evidently beaten in detention. His human rights are being violated, he has been tortured, his face beaten and swollen – evidently since arrest. Peaceful protests are attacked, rammed by unmarked cars and detained. There is no rule of law in Burma. Executive Member of Chin National League for Democracy (CNLD), Salai Duh Hu Thang, is being tortured at a military barrack detention center in Haka, Chin State. AAPP utterly condemns the junta’s actions. International human rights organization, democratic parties, and global governments must take action and condem these human rights violations On 16 April, around midday in Bago City, the junta crashed into motorbike protesters using private vehicles, going on to steal the motorbikes. Among this protest group, one man and one woman are missing and cannot be contacted. In Tanintharyi Region, Kan Pauk in Yebyu Township, as a protest march came to an end, the military fired weapons at the fading demonstrations on three occasions. Yesterday in the evening and at night, the junta brutally cracked down in Myingyan Township, Mandalay Region, and Kani Township, Sagaing Region. In Myingyan, last night around 10.30pm until 2am, at a barricade by Ward 6, the junta fired their conflict zone weapons, two died, some injured and detained, AAPP is confirming and verifying the number. At milestone 12 close by to Kani Township, the junta entered and crushed the village community security, 6 locals were killed, at least 20 locals are also missing, AAPP is confirming and verifying the number. In Kachin State, Shwegu Township, junta battalion #602 arbitrarily shot at 2 youths passing-by driving one motorbike. In Mandalay Region, the junta is also targeting religious areas. Storming two well-known monasteries, one called Masoeyein Monastery, at least 20 youths living there were detained in the crackdowns The junta is targeting NLD members, as well as taking family members as hostage. Yesterday, late evening, Salin Township, Magway Region, the junta went into the homes of NLD township executive committee member and treasurer, stealing two motorbikes and money and gasoline canisters. The junta is looting anything of value. The junta is committing these acts all the time and it is deteriorating day by day. Yesterday at around midday, a woman was stopped on a public road and robbed of 1 million kyat in North Okkalapa Township, Yangon. Around noon yesterday in Theelone village, Shwebo Township, Sagaing Region, the junta attacked the homes of villagers involved in strikes, detaining 5 people. On April 14, Magway Region, Taungdwingyi Township, Pyin Chaung Village, the junta raided and destroyed homes of alleged demonstrators, stealing snacks from shops, anything they saw, trying to find protestors from the day’s demonstrations. These acts, raiding religious property, committing violence – systematically taking family members hostage, destroying, looting homes and stealing from shops. These actions are serious crimes. We should be rightly concerned about the junta’s continued use of human shields in conflict. In Putao Township, Kachin State, the junta is using local villagers as human shields on the front-line, telling them to bring the dead bodies of junta soldiers, around 50 soldiers forced local villagers to travel with them from Myitkyina to Putao. This is forced labor, the junta in Burma is using innocent civilians to attempt to get an advantage in conflict. This is a severe violation of international law, and yet another war crime. If action is not taken, these violations will most certainly continue. Human rights are continuously disrespected by this junta, if these criminal acts are not punished it will only foster impunity for yet even further more violations. AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heros in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: “Our uprising must succeed” Email : [email protected] Facebook : https://web.facebook.com/burmapoliticalprisoners/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/aapp_burma In Solidarity, AAPP..."
Source/publisher: Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication: 2021-04-16
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup
Description: "As of 15 April, (726) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) compiled and documented (11) fallen heroes today. (1) from Mandalay died on 15 April. (10) were killed on previous days and documented today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when. As of April 15, a total of (3151) people are currently under detention; of them (75) are sentenced. 813 have been issued arrest warrants; of them 20 were sentenced to death and 14 to three years imprisonment with hard labour, who are evading arrest. We are verifying the recently released detainees and continuing to document. A new technique of the regime of the junta is now using unregistered vehicles with fake licence plates to smash into and arrest peaceful demonstrators. Today in Saigaing Region, Monywa, Wai Moe Naing was crashed into, beaten and detained, AAPP is concerned for his access to adequate medical treatment from the crash. Across Monywa youth demonstrators were detained today. In all dictatorships in Burma, this junta has tortured and mistreated. The junta has form for using torture in interrogation centers, we are also therefore worried the lives and dignity of detainees will be violated. In Mandalay City, in a demonstration march led by healthcare workers and families, 6 were detained. At least 20 other local civilians were also detained. Junta forces also fired guns at Sule Mosque in Maha Aung Myay Township, Mandalay City and killed one person, 2 were critically injured, 1 of those critically injured was disabled. According to Myanmar Now 5 people sleeping inside the mosque were arrested, including children aged between 11 and 16. These religious compounds and places of worship are supposed to be protected, but this junta targets these areas, looting and openly destroying property. The junta continued with its brutal arbitrary repression in complete disrespect of the Ramadan religious festival. In conflicts across the globe killing may stop, but the terrorists in Burma continue murdering and torturing no matter any holy days. Yesterday afternoon in other cities and towns in Mandalay Region there were also shootings and killings. In Mandalay City, three civilians were injured. Yesterday in Myitnge, Mandalay, one person was shot dead, and another was shot and reportedly tortured to death, drowned in a puddle of mud by the junta. Yesterday in Myingyan whilst riding a motorbike, one person was shot and injured, he was tied up dragged along to death, his body has not been seen since. One other woman was shot in the arm and died. The junta is also attacking ambulances. Last night in Mandalay, a team of medics transporting injured protestors was stopped, and a woman grabbed by the hair and dragged out, three others of the medical team were detained. The junta is publicly terrorizing and violating anyone and everyone’s human rights. This evening in Yangon. The junta crashed into a taxi, and detained and assaulted the taxi driver and 3 passengers and threatened the neighbourhood with similar action. The previous night in Thamine ward, Insein Township, Yangon one civilian beating pots and pans was assaulted and arrested by junta troops, who then threatened the rest of the neighborhood with similar action. The junta wants to create a climate of fear. Everyday celebrities are issued arrest warrants on the TV propaganda mouthpiece. Today, famous Zin Wine and Singer Po Po (who had warrant issued for arrest) were detained In Kachin State, Momauk Township the terrorist military and KIA are engaged in heavy fighting. The junta is using artillery against civilians, who hide in bunkers, increasingly displaced and killed since the military use of airstrikes. The international community must implement a no-fly zone to stop these war crimes. AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heros in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: “Our uprising must succeed” Email : [email protected] Facebook : https://web.facebook.com/burmapoliticalprisoners/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/aapp_burma In Solidarity, AAPP..."
Source/publisher: Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication: 2021-04-15
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Size: 832.95 KB 3.03 MB 822.36 KB
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Title: Junta troops kill two protesters in Mogok at National Unity Government rally
Sub-title: A video filmed at the scene depicts a member of the armed forces saying, ‘I want them dead. Do you hear me? Five of them’
Description: "Two protesters were shot and killed by regime troops during a demonstration on Saturday to welcome the anti-junta National Unity Government (NUG) in the Mandalay Region town of Mogok, according to local sources. Around 100 soldiers and police arrived at the scene in Aung Chanthar ward and opened fire on the civilians present, eyewitnesses said. “One [of the protesters] was shot in the head. Another was shot in the abdomen,” a local who was also at the demonstration told Myanmar Now. The two casualties were believed to be in their 20s, locals said. Police officers transported the bodies in a cart to an area near Chanthargyi pagoda, where the troops had set up a base. They then put the bodies in an ambulance which eyewitnesses said was headed toward the Mogok Public Hospital. “They shot at people who attempted to pick up the bodies,” the protester at the scene said of the armed forces. “We weren’t able to get them,” he added. Two other protesters were injured after being shot in the leg and thigh, and were also apprehended and put in the ambulance by the troops, another local said. Around 1,000 Mogok residents showed up to the rally at 11am to welcome the NUG government– the cabinet of which was announced by the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw on Friday. The violent crackdown began 45 minutes later. In a video seen by Myanmar Now filmed by a local resident, a member of the armed forces is heard saying, ‘I want them dead. Do you hear me? Five of them.’ Another voice responded, ‘yes.’ The military’s information center had not released any information regarding the shootings in Mogok at the time of reporting, and had not responded to media inquiries. At least 10 protesters have been killed in Mogok by the regime’s armed forces for participating in anti-dictatorship protests since the February 1 coup, yet demonstrations have continued daily. Fighting between the military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has also recently broken out in Mogok, with the KIA launching an offensive against the junta’s troops. After news of the KIA attack, local youth expressed support for the Kachin army on social media..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2021-04-17
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 214.16 KB
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Title: Military and civilians clash in Kani, Sagaing Region, leaving six locals dead
Sub-title: A security team comprised of locals armed with hunting rifles was attempting to intercept trucks transporting detained protesters when the armed forces opened fire on them on April 15
Description: "Six locals were killed during a shootout between the military and a civilian-led security team in Kani Township, Sagaing Region, on Thursday evening. The security team– made up of locals armed with hunting rifles– was standing watch after hearing news that detained protesters were being relocated from their area, and wanted to intercept the trucks in which they were being transported. A member of the security team told Myanmar Now that they had set up checkpoints on the Monywa-Kani road and were planning to stop the prisoner transport vehicles. “We heard news that they were relocating about 70 protesters including protest leaders who were captured here,” he said. One military truck drove through the checkpoint without stopping. Soon after, some 12 trucks arrived at the scene and opened fire on the locals at around 4pm. The shootout continued until around 8pm. The six men killed were Kyaw Hlaing Win, Zin Ko, Ko Naing, Aung Naing Moe, Tin Ohn and Win Ko. They were from Thaminset, Lal Shae and Bant Bwe Myauk villages. A monk from Thaminset village was also arrested, and around 20 people went missing during the shootout. The military may have suffered casualties in the clash, as locals used hunting rifles to fight back against the junta’s troops, but Myanmar Now was unable to confirm further details at the time of reporting. Since Friday, soldiers have been stopping and interrogating passerbys in areas along the Kani-Monywa road, claiming they are doing so for security purposes. Anti-regime protests in Kani stopped after two protesters were killed in a military crackdown in early April. However, locals in the area have said that they are ready to defend themselves against the junta’s armed forces with any weapons available to them, including hunting rifles commonly used in the area. In Tamu and Kalay, in western Sagaing, locals have been using the same weaponry to oppose the coup regime’s suppression of their movement. According to monitoring group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, some 728 people have been killed by the junta’s armed forces since the February 1 military coup in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2021-04-17
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 220.31 KB
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Title: Myanmar releases prisoners for New Year, though likely not dissidents
Description: "Authorities in Myanmar will release 23,184 prisoners from jails across the country on Saturday under a New Year amnesty, a Prisons Department spokesman said. But few, if any, democracy activists arrested since the February 1 coup are expected to be among them. Saturday is the first day of the traditional New Year in Myanmar and the last day of a five-day holiday usually celebrated with visits to Buddhist temples and rowdy water throwing and partying in the streets. Pro-democracy activists called for the cancellation of the festivities this year and instead for people to focus on a campaign to restore democracy after the military ousted the elected civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Suu Kyi is among 3,141 people arrested in connection with the coup, according to a tally by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) activist group. "These detainees are mostly from before February 1 but there are also some who were imprisoned after," Prisons Department spokesman Kyaw Tun Oo told Reuters by telephone. Asked if any of those being freed might have been detained in connection with the protests against military rule, he said he did not have details of the amnesties. While the military was freeing the thousands of prisoners, it was also seeking 832 people on warrants in connection with the protests, the AAPP said. Among them are 200 people -- including several internet celebrities, actors and singers who have spoken out against the coup -- wanted on a charge of encouraging dissent in the armed forces. Two of them, the married couple of film director Christina Kyi and actor Zenn Kyi, were detained at the airport in the main city of Yangon on Saturday as they tried to leave the country, several media outlets reported. A spokesman for the junta did not answer calls seeking comment. Myanmar has been in crisis since the coup, which the military defended with accusations of fraud in a November election won by Suu Kyi's party, though the election commission dismissed the objections. The ousted government had held power for the first five years of civilian rule since nearly half a century of army rule ended. Political leaders, including ousted members of parliament, announced the formation of a National Unity Government (NUG) on Friday including Suu Kyi and leaders of the anti-coup protests and ethnic minorities. Special Envoy to the United Nations, Dr. Sasa, who represents Myanmar's now ousted and disbanded parliament, told a press conference Friday that the NUG will attempt to amalgamate Myanmar's ethnic armed organizations to form a "federal army." Dr. Sasa referred to coup leader Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Defense Services, as "the murderer in chief." More than 700 anti-coup protesters have been killed by security forces since Min Aung Hlaing seized power on February 1.The new army will embrace defectors from Myanmar's security forces and encourage them to bring their own weapons, Dr. Sasa said. The NUG says it is the legitimate political authority and has called for international recognition. The junta has yet to comment on the unity government but has said it will hold a new election within two years and hand power to the winner. Two senior diplomats from the U.S. State Department have agreed with Myanmar's newly-formed shadow civilian government on "the importance of restoring Burma's path to democracy," according to a tweet posted by US Asia Pacific Media Hub Friday.n the post, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Atul Keshap and Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Scott Busby are tagged and photographed as being in agreement with the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), which announced the formation of the NUG Friday. The hugely popular Suu Kyi faces various changes, including violating an official secrets act that could see her jailed for 14 years. Her lawyers dismiss the charges. Her supporters suspect the military will use the charges to exclude Suu Kyi and perhaps her political party from any future election..."
Source/publisher: Reuters via Bex Wright via Jaide Garcia via CNN
Date of publication: 2021-04-17
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 173.09 KB
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Title: Burma charges doctors over civil disobedience protests
Description: "Burma's ruling junta has charged at least 19 medical doctors for participating in civil disobedience protests against the military's Feb. 1 coup, a state-run newspaper reported Wednesday. Doctors, nurses and medical students have marched and joined strikes to show their opposition to the military takeover that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's democratically elected government and put a halt to the progress Burma had made toward greater democratization after five decades of military rule. The doctors charged are accused of supporting and participating in the civil disobedience movement "with the aim of deteriorating the state administrative machinery," the Global New Light of Burma newspaper wrote. THOUSANDS FLEE BURMA AIRSTRIKES, COMPLICATING CRISIS The military government has already issued arrest warrants for 100 people active in the fields of literature, film, theater arts, music and journalism on charges of spreading information that undermines the stability of the country and the rule of law. This isn't the first time doctors have been targeted. Earlier this month in Mandalay, the country’s second-biggest city, security forces used stun grenades and fired guns to break up a march by medical workers protesting the army’s takeover. The online news site The Irrawaddy reported that four doctors were arrested. Protests continued Wednesday across Burma even as people boycotted the official celebration of Thingyan, the country's traditional New Year, usually a time for family reunions and merry-making. In leaflets and social media posts last week, people were asked not to hold any Thingyan celebrations, saying it would be disrespectful to "fallen martyrs" to enjoy the festival. The government's violent response to anti-coup demonstrations has seen 714 people killed by security officials, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners..."
Source/publisher: "Associated Press" (New York) via "Fox News" (New York)
Date of publication: 2021-04-15
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 181.24 KB
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Title: Australia should target Myanmar ‘gang leader’ for sanctions, UN expert says
Sub-title: Exclusive: special rapporteur Tom Andrews says crimes against humanity are happening ‘before our very eyes’ and calls for urgent action against military junta
Description: "A top United Nations expert is in direct talks with the Australian government about how to expand sanctions against Myanmar’s military regime, and warned that crimes against humanity are being “committed before our very eyes”. Tom Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, told Guardian Australia the government should target the commander-in-chief, whom he described as “the gang leader” responsible for mass atrocities, and should link additional sanctions with those imposed by other countries. On Wednesday the Australian government attempted to reassure more than 3,300 Myanmar nationals in Australia that it was not planning to send them home when their visas expired, amid concerns about the dangers they might face in the wake of the 1 February coup. The Australian government has condemned the coup and the killing of more than 700 civilians, but has not announced any sanctions beyond those applying to five military figures who have been on the list since 2018. Human rights groups have criticised Australia for appearing to act slower than some of its key allies and partners..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-04-14
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 169.4 KB
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Title: Myanmar coup: What is happening and why?
Sub-title: Mass protests have been taking place across Myanmar since the military seized control on 1 February.
Description: "Elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party are among those detained. Hundreds of people, including children, have been killed. Where is Myanmar? Myanmar, also known as Burma, is in South East Asia. It neighbours Thailand, Laos, Bangladesh, China and India. It has a population of about 54 million, most of whom are Burmese speakers, although other languages are also spoken. The biggest city is Yangon (Rangoon), but the capital is Nay Pyi Taw. The main religion is Buddhism. There are many ethnic groups in the country, including Rohingya Muslims. The country gained independence from Britain in 1948. It was ruled by the armed forces from 1962 until 2011, when a new government began ushering in a return to civilian rule. Why is Myanmar also known as Burma? The ruling military changed the country's name from Burma to Myanmar in 1989. The two words mean the same thing but Myanmar is the more formal version. Some countries, including the UK, initially refused to use the name as a way of denying the regime's legitimacy. But use of "Myanmar" has become increasingly common, and in 2016 Ms Suu Kyi said it did not matter which name was used. What has happened now, and why? The military is now back in charge and has declared a year-long state of emergency. It seized control on 1 February following a general election which Ms Suu Kyi's NLD party won by a landslide. The armed forces had backed the opposition, who were demanding a rerun of the vote, claiming widespread fraud. The election commission said there was no evidence to support these claims. The coup took place as a new session of parliament was set to open. Ms Suu Kyi has been held at an unknown location since the coup. She is facing various charges, including violating the country's official secrets act, possessing illegal walkie-talkies and publishing information that may "cause fear or alarm". NLD MPs who managed to escape arrest formed a new group in hiding. Their leader has urged protesters to defend themselves against the crackdown. Who is in charge now? Military commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing has taken power. He has long wielded significant political influence, successfully maintaining the power of the Tatmadaw - Myanmar's military - even as the country moved towards democracy..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "BBC News" (London)
Date of publication: 2021-04-01
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 347.15 KB
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Title: Regime’s forces kill two, loot donations from mosque from during attack on small town in Mandalay Region
Sub-title: ‘The situation is not good at all here,’ a rescue worker from Myitnge said
Description: "The coup regime’s forces shot dead two civilians and injured six others in the town of Myitnge, Mandalay Region, on Tuesday, according to residents. The two men who died were from the town’s Yankin ward and their bodies were cremated at the Myitnge Myoma Cemetery at 9am on Wednesday. The shooting began when regime forces tried to detain a civil servant who had gone on strike and joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), a local said. “They came to arrest a civil servant doing CDM,” she said. “The residents came out to protest and they started shooting at them.” “They have been shooting all day today too. So we cannot go outside,” she told Myanmar Now on Wednesday. At around 2pm on Wednesday, soldiers destroyed barricades set up by locals and shot at houses in Thazin ward, she added. A donation box at a local mosque was also destroyed and the money inside was taken by the soldiers, a resident said. “We still don’t know how much money they took. They’re still blocking the area so we cannot go outside,” they added. The military’s spokesperson could not be reached for comment regarding the killing of the two men and the looting. Soldiers also began shooting in the nearby village of Hpa Paung on Wednesday evening, according to locals, though they were unable to give further details at the time of reporting. A relief worker from Myitnge said volunteers to help treat injured people and collect dead bodies have become scarce because of the dangers of doing such work. He added that a man was shot dead on Tuesday in the town of Sintgaing, about 16km from Myitnge. “We cremated his body immediately on the same day. I can’t tell you the details. The situation is not good at all here,” he said. More than 100 people have been protesting daily in Myitnge, residents there said. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a group that has been monitoring violence and arrests since the February 1 coup, the new regime has now killed at least 715 people, including more than 40 children..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2021-04-15
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 194.72 KB
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Title: Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup
Description: "As of 14 April, (715) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) compiled and documented (1) fallen heroes today. This (1) hero was killed on a previous day but documented today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when. As of April 14, a total of (3070) people are currently under detention; of them (66) are sentenced. 756 have been issued arrest warrants; of them 17 were sentenced to death and currently evading arrest. We are verifying the recently released detainees and continuing to document. Today was the second day of Thingyan in Burma but instead people protested and strike across the country. Including a “blood strike” across the county symbolizing streets where the junta killed innocents as still stained. The inhumanity of the dictatorship is revealed because the blood has not gone away. Protestors wroten slogans on roads, like “stop killing people” and “Save Myanmar” using this red paint. Since this afternoon, Myitnge Town, in Mandalay Region was reportedly under siege by the junta, yesterday evening in Myitnge Town, at least five people were injured and many others arrested in shootings by the junta forces. In Bahan Township, Yangon, a man was shot dead in the chest while he was waiting for the bus near Min Street Bus Stop. Last night, in Kale Town in Sagaing Region, a man was shot in the stomach and injured when he was returning home from giving an oxygen tank to someone in an emergency. Last night, Myanmar Radio and Television (MRT) broadcasted that 26 civilians were sentenced – to death, 7 years imprisonment with labour, or 3 years imprisonment with labour. Some of these civilians are currently evading arrest. The junta’s own actions of death sentences and long sentences are criminally arbitrary. The junta is abusing the right of everyone to peace and security, people are facing threats to their lives on a daily basis. The junta robs the people like bandits. Yesterday, in Chin State, Hakha City, a military vehicle collided with a civilian car, destroying the man’s car. The man was detained for one night, 1.3 million Kyat in the vehicle was also stolen. A house in South Okkalapa Township, Yangon Region which stored rations and distributed donations was raided and 300 pounds of oil were stolen. The junta commits these crimes without regard for the law like terrorists. At the Yangon Education Center for the Blind in Mayangon Township, Khawe Chan. At around 7.30pm 12 April, approximately 70 junta Battalion No.77 jumped over the compound gate and set up base in two of the buildings. Inside were around 50 blind students (age between 5 and 30) and 30 family and blind staff in the wider compound, reportedly all still there. Staff movements are restricted. The junta troops initially said they would keep the base for 5-7 days, but on 13 April, they instead said it would be 1-2 weeks. Occupying a school of disabled students is not only morally abhorrent, but also violates universal international law. The UNSC must uphold its commitment to give these vulnerable students their protection and dignity which has been directly threatened by this junta terrorism and coup attempt. AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heros in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: “Our uprising must succeed” Email : [email protected] Facebook : https://web.facebook.com/burmapoliticalprisoners/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/aapp_burma In Solidarity, AAPP..."
Source/publisher: Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication: 2021-04-14
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf pdf
Size: 827.23 KB 2.92 MB 812.55 KB
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Title: Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup
Description: "As of 13 April, (714) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) compiled and documented (4) fallen heroes today. (2) from Tamu Town in Sagaing Region died on 13 April. (2) were killed on previous days and documented today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when. As of April 13, a total of (3054) people are currently under detention; of them (66) are sentenced. As 79 people including UEC members were released, we removed them from today’s detainee list. 717 have been issued arrest warrants; of them 17 were sentenced to death and currently evading arrest. We are verifying the recently released detainees and continuing to document. Today on the eve of the Thingyan, people from all over Burma protested against the military dictatorship by chanting “Ye Ye Ni Sway Atar Oh Revolution” (The Red Welcome Flowerpot to Spirit Revolution), without having fun in water. Today, junta troops stormed Tamu, Sagaing Region. Since this morning, some wards in Tamu have been being raided, barricades and people’s homes nearby were shot at unprovoked. Today, a man and a woman were shot dead while delivering milk in Tamu. Five youths were reportedly beaten, hooded, and taken away. Persecution is practiced as routine for decades by dictatorships, now targeting civilians. Yesterday, in Insein Township, Yangon Region, a night watchman went missing on his way home after his duty. His family inquired of his whereabouts and found his dead body with wounds consistent with torture in another township, Hlaing Tharyar Hospital. The military attempts to create religious conflict as its policy. At a mosque in Tamwe Township, Yangon Region, a man, who called Muslims to prayer was found dead by hanging, his entire body and hands on back tied. Police and mosque officials have issued a statement condemning the alleged suicide, even though experts say suicide was not possible. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. It is a fundamental human right. In Burma it is a tragedy everyone is threatened and are concerned for their safety every day. This morning, arrests were made in Myingyan Township, Mandalay Region. Nine people were arrested in a raid on Lel Thit village in the eastern part of Myingyan. Last night, Mayangone Township, Yangon, a raid on Mudita’s Housing led to the arrest of at least 10 people. Yesterday in Taungdwingyi Township, Magway Region, thousands of locals were forced to flee their homes due to a military terrorist group opening fire on three villages of Pat Lal Gyi Village Tract, destroying homes and property. In order to retain power, the terrorist regime commits crimes against humanity on a daily basis. Yesterday’s news that the kyat has dropped 14% against the US dollar provides further warnings of Burma’s likely descent into a failed state. Burma already hosts fragile industries, which now face complete collapse. The economic effects will be felt internationally, particularly damaging its top investor Singapore and thereafter the entire ASEAN. Soaring food and gas prices come alongside yesterday’s scenes of long queues at ATMs in Yangon, as people panic to withdraw cash from crumbling bank systems. With junta terror prevailing in Tamu in particular today, economic chaos will engulf the entire country. AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heros in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: If you need legal assistance, contact Aung Gyi on 09 451 529 000 from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) and lawyer Khin Thida Lai Lai Htun on 09 774 081 585. “Our uprising must succeed” Email : [email protected] Facebook : https://web.facebook.com/burmapoliticalprisoners/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/aapp_burma In Solidarity, AAPP..."
Source/publisher: Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication: 2021-04-13
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf pdf
Size: 817.7 KB 2.91 MB 811.17 KB
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Title: Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup
Description: "As of 12 April, (710) people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) compiled and documented (4) fallen heroes today. These (4) heroes were killed on previous days and documented today. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher. We will continue adding as and when. As of April 12, a total of (3080) people are currently under detention; of them (64) are sentenced. 697 have been issued arrest warrants; of them 17 were sentenced to death and currently evading arrest. We are verifying the recently released detainees and continuing to document. Last night, across the country civilians held a “flashlight strike”, lighting the sky in a powerful symbol of unity against unlawful military rule. Aerial images captured the extent of the people’s resistance. Junta forces responded to even these peaceful acts of solidarity with brutal violence. In one case in Aungmyethazan, Mandalay, CCTV footage shows the junta abducting civilians who simply turned on flashlights in their own homes. Nationally civilians also took part in a watermelon strike encouraging a boycott of Chinese products and fruits. This was in solidarity with farmers and in opposition to a China refusing to directly criticize the terrorists in Burma. Today people across Burma again continued in their protests against dictatorship, a coalition strike in Mandalay City was suppressed with gunfire. In Kyaukme, Shan State, the terrorists used tear gas and sound grenades in the afternoon. However, no one was injured or arrested. Junta forces removed barricades made by people in Narnattaw Ward, Loikaw Township, Kayah State and arrested seven individuals. Four of the seven were released soon afterwards. Although crackdowns appeas apear to be on the decline there are in fact ongoing shooting, killing, torture and arrests. Beginning early this morning, so-called police and military terrorists used excessive force to attack Tamu Township, Sagaing Region. Junta troops advanced through Tamu and destroyed people-made barricades, all civilians found were tied up. The terrorists opened fire and raided houses, suspects were arrested and taken away. The junta group raided and looted Grace Hospital in Tamu and beat the nurses. They also stormed the Methodist church compound and stole mobile phones, gold and jewelry and money which belonged to the abbot and civilians in the compound. The ward administrator house was also raided and property destroyed. During the raid, a seven-year-old boy was shot and wounded. Some people were forced to flee their homes. The terrorist group stormed the entire city with their weapons, and launched a fierce offensive in order to finally destroy a city united in defense regardless of the bombardment from heavy artillery. If they do not find people to arrest, the junta takes relatives and friends as hostage, it is a routine tactic of this terrorist regime. It is an attempt to threaten through kidnaping anyone close to them. In Tedim Township, Chin State; parents were taken hostage because the son of the Cooperative Department involved in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) was not found and arrested. According to AAPP documentation 32 hostages have been taken so far. Deaths by torture during detention and inhumane beatings are being perpetrated to create public fear. In Monywa, Sagaing Region, a villager was arrested and beaten last night for banging pots and pans. Today, a delivery man in Yangon was beaten for wearing a black mask and suffered bruises all over his face. Only by overthrowing the dictatorship can the persecution end, in addition to looting and robbing carried out openly by the terrorists. On April 10, in North Okkalapa Township, Yangon, the military terrorists broke into a man’s house on No. 13 Nwe Ni Road, took 180,000,00 Kyats and other valuables, beat him without reason and took him away. On April 10, in North Dagon Township, Yangon, a car driven by a dentist was allegedly stopped and searched and the dentist fined 120,000 Kyats and his wallet stolen for just giving free medical treatment. In the ethnic states, in Moe Mauk Township, Kachin State, fighting between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the terrorist group intensified. A woman and a man were killed when artillery shells fired by the junta exploded in villages last night, another villager was injured in the leg. In Alaw Bum, the headquarter of Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) area has been blasted with a series of fighter jets since this morning. AAPP will continue to keep you informed of verified daily arrests, charges, sentences and fatalities in relation to the attempted coup, and update our lists to the details of these alleged offences. If you receive any information about detentions of, or charges against CSO leaders, activists, journalists, CDM workers, other civilians and fallen heros in relation to the military and police crackdown on dissent. Please submit to the following addresses: If you need legal assistance, contact Aung Gyi on 09 451 529 000 from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) and lawyer Khin Thida Lai Lai Htun on 09 774 081 585. “Our uprising must succeed” Email : [email protected] Facebook : https://web.facebook.com/burmapoliticalprisoners/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/aapp_burma In Solidarity, AAPP..."
Source/publisher: Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
Date of publication: 2021-04-12
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: The Military Coup Destroyed Independent Media in Myanmar, but in Rakhine State, It Wasn’t There to Begin With
Description: "Since the February 1 military coup, independent media has faced a crisis in Myanmar. Yet, even before the coup, journalists and rights advocates had decried a diminishing space for independent media, especially media reporting on armed conflict and humanitarian crises in Rakhine State. In early January, we interviewed seven journalists and editors about the risks and challenges they faced when reporting on conflict between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Tatmadaw. Some quotes have been anonymized due to the repressive and unstable situation under the military regime. Those interviewed shared numerous barriers the government created with regard to the media’s coverage of the conflict, which began escalating in late 2018. Some of these barriers were an extension of those already in place since October 2016, when the Tatmadaw began committing “clearance operations” against Rohingya people in the state’s northern townships. At that time, the government refused independent media access to the area. By April 2017, journalists needed permission to visit anywhere in the state. The Ministry of Information organized reporting tours beginning that July but required that participants were accompanied by government “minders” and followed fixed itineraries. One journalist we interviewed in January reflected on a time when they traveled to northern Rakhine without authorization, shortly after the Tatmadaw conducted its second and more sweeping wave of atrocities in August 2017, for which it is now facing genocide charges at the International Court of Justice. The journalist was detained by soldiers and forced to sign an agreement not to post or publish anything from their trip. Radio Free Asia also reported that journalists visiting northern Rakhine without authorization during the 2017 crisis faced threats, harassment, and confiscation of their cameras and laptops. In January 2018, the Committee to Protect Journalists named Aung San Suu Kyi the world’s biggest backslider in press freedoms, but the situation only worsened. That September, Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo received seven-year sentences for the possession of classified documents during their investigation of the massacre of ten Rohingya. Despite a police officer’s confession that he was ordered to entrap the journalists, they spent more than 500 days in prison before being released by presidential pardon. The AA began escalating its fight for autonomy in late 2018, and the Tatmadaw cracked down with a brutal counterinsurgency campaign. Violence—including indiscriminate airstrikes, gunfire, arson, and enforced disappearances—claimed around 300 lives, while the Rakhine Ethnics Congress, a local civil society group, estimated approximately 230,000 people were displaced. In April 2020, U.N. human rights expert Yanghee Lee documented the Tatmadaw’s targeting of civilians and called for an investigation into allegations of ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Rakhine and neighboring Chin State. As the conflict worsened, journalists faced increasing obstacles to reporting safely, accurately, and freely on human rights abuses that occurred. The journalists we interviewed described numerous ways authorities limited access to information and sources and left them vulnerable to arrest. In June 2019, the government ordered telecoms operators to shut down the internet in nine townships, impacting more than one million people. Although the restrictions were at times partially lifted, the internet remained effectively inaccessible across eight townships until, a day after the coup, the new military regime restored full access as it scrambled to earn the favor of marginalized ethnic groups. “For media workers to access facts and information has been difficult since the internet was blocked,” Myint Kyaw, former Secretary of the Myanmar Press Council, told us during a phone interview in early January, when the internet restrictions were still in place. Before the coup, the Myanmar Press Council had served as a semi-independent media adjudication body whose members were appointed by the National League for Democracy government, media associations, and civil society; now, most of its members have resigned due to military directives since the coup. “Media are just using photos of signboards with village names for news coming from Rakhine; the photo quality really decreased. Also, villagers cannot post things on social media, so they cannot share what is happening,” said Myint Kyaw in early January. Internet restrictions impacted the ability to cross-check information as well. “When someone from an internet-restricted area tells me something, it’s very difficult to verify,” said a reporter with the Rakhine State-based Development Media Group (DMG) in a phone interview in early January. “I try to verify it by calling four or five people, but sometimes updates happen in the meantime. I also have to consider each person’s background and whether what they say is likely to be accurate.” Without internet access, journalists were also unable to use encrypted messaging applications or send or receive emails from internet-restricted areas, leading them to transport files by car and use phone calls and text messages to communicate with each other and with sources. “These challenges lead not only to delayed communication but also a massive risk for journalists, as they can be under surveillance,” said a local media expert in an email on January 9. We have withheld their name due to security concerns since the coup,. On March 23 of 2020, the government ordered telecoms operators to block 230 websites, including 67 websites it categorized as “fake news.” Among the “fake news” sites were DMG and Narinjara, the only two Rakhine State-based media reporting in English. The local media expert said the block had both affected advertising revenue and hindered information access. “Blocking the websites of these media takes away the rights of people to know the situation of conflicts and human rights violations in conflict regions,” she said. Also on March 23, the government designated the AA a terrorist organization. In the ensuing weeks, authorities raided three media outlets and their journalists’ homes and charged their Editors-in-Chief under the Counter-Terrorism Law for publishing interviews with the AA’s spokesperson. Charges against Nay Myo Lin of the Mandalay-based Voice of Myanmar were later withdrawn, while cases against the Editors-in-Chief of Narinjara and Yangon-based Khit Thit Media remained ongoing as of the coup. They are among 67 legal cases filed against the media during the first four years of the National League for Democracy’s term, of which the government filed 31, the military filed 11, and the rest were filed by religious institutions, political parties, armed groups, private claimants and others, according to a May 2020 report by the Yangon-based freedom of expression organization Athan. “If we write true news, we can get arrested anytime,” said Thar Loon Zaung Htet, Khit Thit’s founder and Editor-in-Chief, in a phone interview in early January. “We can’t make balanced news about the conflict because we can’t interview the AA according to the law … It’s also difficult to follow media ethics if we don’t know the ground situation and can only get news from phone calls. It’s like the situation in Rakhine is in the dark. “ Two female journalists we interviewed in early January said they never went alone to conduct interviews in the field. “When I report on politics or human rights issues, I feel unsafe physically and psychologically,” said one local reporter in a phone interview. “I don’t feel safe being a woman journalist,” said another. “I try to encourage myself not to fear because I’m working for the truth.” DMG, which has seventeen journalists focusing on each of the state’s townships and was often among the first to break the news on the conflict between the AA and Tatmadaw, was a particular target of harassment. In April 2019, DMG received an email from an unknown sender that threatened its journalists’ lives if they did not support the Tatmadaw in their reporting. DMG applied to renew its media license in March 2019, but the Ministry of Information never responded to the application. Nonetheless, DMG pushed forward in its reporting: a search for “IDP” [internally displaced person] on its website revealed 152 articles published from May 2019 to February 2021, while a search for “human rights” revealed 109 results. As DMG continued to cover the conflict, however, it also came under increasing scrutiny. In May 2019, police charged Editor-in-Chief Aung Marm Oo with unspecified violations under the colonial-era Unlawful Associations Act, for which he faced up to five years in prison; the case was ongoing as of the coup. During the NLD’s administration, the Unlawful Associations Act had been repeatedly used to charge people who allegedly had contact with ethnic armed organizations, including for journalistic purposes. In the days following the charges, police raided Aung Marm Oo’s office and house, questioning his family and two DMG staff. He went into hiding and, as of an interview in early January, had since been unable to see his wife or three-year-old son or receive medical care for a liver condition. He said that, fearing for his safety, he wouldn’t return home until police withdrew the case. On January 22 of this year, the Tatmadaw charged one DMG editor and one reporter with defamation under the Telecommunications Law, which outlaws defamation over a telecommunications network, in relation to an article that alleged Tatmadaw personnel had looted rice and forced locals to mill it. Neither the Tatmadaw nor the government had responded to DMG’s requests for comment. A local media expert emphasized to us the importance of local ethnic media in documenting armed conflict and promoting accountability for human rights violations.. “Local ethnic media can be a bridge that conveys the news from isolated conflict regions to the whole country and the world. It can eventually lead to a demand to end human rights violations in those areas,” she said. DMG’s deputy editor told us three weeks before the coup that Rakhine State-based media were facing increasing difficulties to survive and that some of DMG’s editors and reporters had resigned due to low salary and security concerns. “Local media are gradually becoming weaker in technology, funding, and human resources,” he said. The people we interviewed were disappointed in the NLD government’s stance toward media freedoms. While the party pledged to support independent media in its 2015 election manifesto, this pledge was absent in 2020. “Related to the law, things really got worse during the NLD administration…The NLD weakened independent media,” said Myint Kyaw, former Myanmar Press Council Secretary. When we called him on February 2, the day after the coup, he told us that the space for media freedoms would “narrow drastically” under the new junta. His prediction was accurate. On April 11, the junta submitted a letter to the Myanmar Press Council warning journalists and media organizations not to refer to it as a “coup government,” saying it violated media ethics. The junta has also ordered telecommunications operators to block all mobile data as of March 15 and wifi broadband networks as of April 1. A nightly internet blackout has been imposed since February 15. On March 9, the junta revoked the press licenses of five local media outlets, including Khit Thit, which had been covering breaking news in the coup’s aftermath, including livestream videos of protests. Editor-in-Chief Thar Loon Zaung Htet told Radio Free Asia on the day its license was revoked that all of Khit Thit’s journalists had already resigned, but he would continue alone to produce news via social media channels. The deputy editor of DMG told us that security concerns had dramatically increased for DMG staff since the coup. The entire team has gone into hiding, making it difficult for the media to collect information for its reports. According to an April 1 article in the New York Times, at least 56 journalists had been arrested with half remaining in detention. Fifteen face charges under Penal Code Article 505(a), which criminalizes disseminating information that might cause members of the military to mutiny, disregard, or fail in their duties with up to two years in prison. Junta forces have beaten journalists on multiple occasions, and a least three have been shot and wounded. When we started our reporting in January, the government’s restrictions on journalists covering Rakhine State significantly hindered reporting on the human rights situation there. The military coup caused a further downfall, while similar restrictions — including internet and website blocks, denial of licenses, and threats of arrest — now affect media coverage across the entire country, and physical insecurity has become pervasive as well. These changes are among many ways the junta has expanded oppressive tactics once practiced predominantly in ethnic states to encompass all of Myanmar, to the detriment of all..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Tea Circle (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2021-04-13
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar coup: The people shot dead since the protests began
Sub-title: More than 700 people have been killed by security forces since Myanmar's military grabbed power in a coup on 1 February, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma). The BBC has spoken to loved ones of three people who have died.
Description: "As Myanmar's coup violence continues to spiral, so has the number of its victims as a crackdown on protesters intensifies. Some of those who died had taken part in anti-coup protests, while others - including children - were simply sitting in their homes when they were killed. Here, three families share their stories. The teen who sang pro-democracy songs on TikTok Fourteen-year-old Pan Ei Phyu was an ardent supporter of the pro-democracy movement, and had made several TikTok videos of herself singing pro-democracy songs. Fearing for her safety, her mother Thida San didn't let her join the street protests. But that wasn't enough to save her. Pan Ei Phyu was shot inside her house as she wanted to open the door to protesters fleeing a military crackdown on 27 March. It was also the deadliest day since the coup began - at least 114 people, including 11 children, were killed. "She suddenly fell down and I thought she had slipped. But then I saw the blood on her back and realised she had been shot," Thida San told the BBC, breaking into tears. In Burmese, "pan" means flower, "ei" means soft, and "phyu" means white. "My daughter was a beautiful girl when she was born, just like a soft little flower. That's why I gave her the name." She recounted how helpful her daughter was around the house, and how she dreamed about opening an orphanage when she got older. "I feel like my life is not worth living without my child. I want to die instead of her." Pan Ei Phyu's death has also deeply affected her younger brother, 10-year-old Mg Sai Sai. He did not sleep at all on the night his sister died, and kept watching her TikTok videos instead, Thida San said. The family have since moved house because Thida San is worried something bad will happen to them again..."
Source/publisher: "BBC News" (London)
Date of publication: 2021-04-13
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar's military is charging families $85 to retrieve bodies of relatives killed in crackdown
Description: "Myanmar's military is charging families $85 to retrieve the bodies of relatives killed by security forces in a bloody crackdown on Friday, according to activists. At least 82 people were killed Friday in Bago, 90 kilometers (56 miles) northeast of Yangon, after the city was "raided" by the military's security forces, said advocacy group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). More than 700 people have died since the military overthrew Myanmar's elected government in a February 1 coup, according to AAPP. Since then, junta security forces made up of police, soldiers and elite counter-insurgency troops have embarked on a systematic crackdown against unarmed and peaceful protesters, detaining around 3,000 people and forcing activists into hiding. Myanmar's military fired on anti-coup protesters in Bago city Friday, using assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), and hand grenades, AAPP said. An eyewitness who lives in Bago city, who cannot be named for security purposes, told CNN Sunday that many residents have fled to nearby villages since Friday's raid. The internet has been cut off in the area since Friday, the eyewitness said, and security forces are searching the neighborhoods. "I was living on the main road. The security forces come and station often," the eyewitness told CNN, adding that bodies have piled up at the mortuary following the shootings. "Due to the threat, we had to move into the house in the lane nearby," The military is now charging families 120,000 Myanmar kyat ($85) to retrieve the bodies of relatives who died Friday, according to a Facebook post from the Bago University Students' Union. Radio Free Asia's Burmese service matched the reporting from the Bago University Students' Union. CNN has not independently verified the report and has reached out to the military for comment. A police vehicle is parked at a road in South Okkalapa township to block anti-coup protesters' gathering in Yangon, Myanmar, Friday, April 9, 2021..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-04-12
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: UN sees Syria echoes in Myanmar conflict
Sub-title: Activists call for a week of protests against military coup over Myanmar’s traditional New Year holiday.
Description: "The United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday it fears the military clampdown on protests in Myanmar risks escalating a civil conflict into that seen in Syria and appealed for a halt to the “slaughter”. UN High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet said in a statement 3,080 had been detained and there are reports that 23 people have been sentenced to death following secret trials. “I fear the situation in Myanmar is heading towards a full-blown conflict. States must not allow the deadly mistakes of the past in Syria and elsewhere to be repeated,” Bachelet said. The statement came as pro-democracy activists in Myanmar called for a week of anti-coup protests during the traditional New Year holidays, as the death toll from the military’s crackdown on protesters surged past 700 and security forces raided a hospital in the Sagaing region. The five-day New Year holidays, known as Thingyan, began on Tuesday and activists urged people to stage symbolic protests through the week, including by painting the three-finger salute used by demonstrators on traditional pots filled with flowers, which are typically displayed during the festive period. “The military council doesn’t own Thingyan,” Ei Thinzar Maung, a leader of the General Strike Collaboration Committee protest group, wrote on Facebook. “The power of people is in the hands of people.” Ei Thinzar Maung said other planned holiday protests against the military government included the splattering of red paint on pavements and the blasting of car horns. Thingyan is the country’s most important holiday and is usually celebrated with prayers, ritual cleaning of Buddha images in temples, and high-spirited water fights on the streets. But many social media users in Myanmar said they would not celebrate this year. One Twitter user identified as Shwe Ei said, “We do not celebrate Myanmar Thingyan this year since over 700 of our innocent brave souls are killed by inhumane junta forces unlawfully. We believe we will win this revolution.” In the central town of Taungoo, protesters placed Thingyan pots bearing flowers and anti-coup messages on the roads early on Tuesday, the Irrawaddy website reported..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2021-04-13
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: More Bloodshed in Myanmar as Crackdown on Coup Protests Continues
Sub-title: The death toll has passed 700, with more than 80 killed on Friday in one city alone, a rights group said.
Description: "The Myanmar military’s bloody crackdown on the nationwide resistance to its rule showed no sign of easing on Sunday, with a human rights group reporting that the death toll across the country had passed 700. The security forces killed 82 people in a single city on Friday, according to the group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which has been documenting the bloodshed since the military’s Feb. 1 coup. Soldiers used machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades to attack an organized group of protesters who had set up barricades to defend part of that city, Bago. The military appears to be targeting centers of resistance around the country, using overwhelming power against largely untrained, poorly armed protesters. In Tamu, a town near the border with India, members of a local defense group similar to the one in Bago claimed to have killed some members of the security forces on Saturday after coming under attack. The security forces’ assault in Bago, about 40 miles northeast of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, was one of their most lethal yet. A reputable news outlet, Myanmar Now, also put the death toll in Bago at 82. On Friday, a spokesman for the junta, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, suggested that the military had been exercising restraint since the coup, telling reporters that it could be killing many more people if it wished. “If we were to actually shoot the protesters with an automatic rifle, the 500 people you are talking about would have died within hours,” he said after being asked about the nationwide toll..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The New York Times" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-04-11
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Size: 272.13 KB
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Title: Developing Peace in Karenni State - EBO Background Paper No. 5/2018 - November 2018
Sub-title: The Role of the KNPP in the Union Peace Process
Description: "Despite the fact that thus far ten groups have signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement1 the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) still maintains a number of reservations in relation to the signing of the agreement. While a number of other groups, primarily situated in Shan State and along the border with China have also held out,2 the fact that the KNPP, one of the remaining members of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) has not yet signed is somewhat surprising.3 Given its geographical location between Karen State and Shan State, it had been expected given the signing of the NCA by KNPP allies and UNFC members the New Mon State Party (NMSP) and Lahu Democratic Union (LDU) that the KNPP would also sign. However, the KNPP is still concerned about signing the agreement and attending the Union Peace Conferences that the government initiated to further the peace process. Although a number of doubts remained, the KNPP met with the Government’s Peace Commission for two days on April 26-27, 2018 in Loikaw and agreed on the implementation of bilateral terms through regular discussions at the state level.4 According to a joint statement issued after the meeting, The Karenni National Progressive PartyKNPP has committed to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement-NCA and has agreed to follow the following points in the short term before signing the NCA. (a) Issues concerning holding negotiations at the state level for Local Monitoring Team & JMC issue, movement of troops of both sides and communications to hold regular negotiations between Kayah State Government and the KNPP as agreed by both sides (b) To reassign liaison officers at the state level and Union level to carry it out through the agreed communication channels agreed by both sides at the state level and Union level (c) Progress was achieved in the military sector, and both sides are to proceed with the work as agreed. 3. As the above points were agreed at the Peace Talks, the Karenni National Progressive Party-KNPP hereby announced that it had agreed at the talks to keep on its efforts for signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement-NCA.5 The KNPPs Gen Bee Htoo said that while the two sides have not yet been able to reach an understanding on signing the NCA, “It is important to keep peace in Karenni State.”6 One of the main issues of concern for the KNPP was the killing of three of its soldiers and one civilian who was allegedly murdered by Tatmadaw troops at the regional operation command based in Loikaw in December 2017. Although, the Tatmadaw has said it is conducting an inquiry into the incident no further progress has been made. The incident has further weakened trust in relation to the Myanmar military and its presence in Karenni State. Shwe Myo Thant, Secretary of KNPP Central Committee, was quoted as saying The KNPP maintained the bilateral agreement with the government since 2012 but we need to watch the condition of the relationship between us and Tatmadaw,7 To further negotiations, a meeting between the Peace Commission had been planned in May but the Commission cancelled the meeting after the KNPP had asked for further clarification in relation to the subjects to be discussed.8..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Euro Burma Office
Date of publication: 2018-11-00
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Size: 174.97 KB
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Title: Finding an Endgame in Kachin State - EBO Background Paper No. 3/2018 - September 2018
Description: "Since 9 June 2011, Kachin State has seen open conflict between the Kachin Independence Army and the Tatmadaw (Myanmar military). The Kachin Independence Organisation had signed a ceasefire agreement with the regime in 1994 and since then had lived in relative peace until the ceasefire was broken by the Tatmadaw in June 2011. The increased territorial infractions by the Tatmadaw combined with economic exploitation by China in Kachin territory, especially the construction of the Myitsone Hydropower Dam, left the Kachin Independence Organisation with very little alternative but to return to armed resistance to prevent further abuses of its people and their territory’s natural resources. Despite this, however, the political situation since the beginning of hostilities has changed significantly. Although a number of groups agreed to a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement in October 2015, with the continuing conflict in Kachin State, the KIO has sought a number of different methodologies to realise their political aims and secure its people’s legacy. Strategy One – The UNFC Alliance The origins of the UNFC began in May 2010 when three 1990s ceasefire groups, the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), the New Mon State Party (NMSP), the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) and three non-ceasefire groups, the Karen National Union (KNU), the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and the Chin National Front (CNF), formally announced the creation of the Committee for the Emergence of a Federal Union (CEFU). The Committee’s purpose was to consolidate a political front at a time when the ceasefire groups faced perceived imminent attacks by the Tatmadaw. However, in November 2010 shortly after the Myanmar elections, the political grouping was transformed into a military united front. At a conference held from the 12-16 February 2011, CEFU declared its dissolution and the formation of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC). The UNFC, which was at that time comprised of 12 ethnic organisations1 , stated that: The goal of the UNFC is to establish the future Federal Union (of Myanmar) and the Federal Union Army is formed for giving protection to the people of the country. Shortly after, wide-scale conflict occurred throughout areas controlled by the SSPP and a number of their bases were lost to the Tatmadaw. Then, in June 2011, the KIO ceasefire broke down, resulting in the current conflict in Kachin State. The formation of the UNFC had occurred at a time of increasing uncertainty in relation to how the new Myanmar Government would settle the 1990s ceasefire groups issue. It could be argued that the Tatmadaw’s insistence that the ceasefire groups become Border Guard Forces precipitated the fighting, or that the creation of a military alliance consisting of both ceasefire and non-ceasefire groups precipitated the fighting..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Euro Burma Office
Date of publication: 2018-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Flouting the Ceasefire - EBO Background Paper No. 2/2018 - April 2018
Description: "The Karen National Union (KNU), alongside the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), were instrumental in encouraging a number of Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) to sign Myanmar’s Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement on 15 October 2015. It was the actions of these two groups and the positions they have held within the armed ethnic resistance movement that allowed for the peace process, no matter how flawed it may be, to move forward. That said, however, despite their support for the process and the current government’s efforts, through the Union Peace Conference, to secure a more permanent peace, both groups have found themselves attacked by the Myanmar military, the Tatmadaw. While such skirmishes were expected initially due to little official demarcation of territory and a lack of conflict solving mechanisms,1 one and a half years later it would appear the Myanmar military is selectively applying the NCA in areas where it operates. Most recently the Tatmadaw has attempted to exert its influence further into the KNU controlled 5th Brigade area of Mutraw (Papun) resulting in human rights abuses, displacement and the unlawful killing of a local environmental activist. The main reason given for the incursion was the reconstruction of an all-weather road, the Bu Hsa Kee Road, connecting the Myanmar military camps at Ler Mu Plaw and Kay Pu. The original road had been built during the Tatmadaw's offensives in 2006 and 2007, Tatmadaw soldiers had the north-south road built to connect their camps, and many small security outposts were built at intervals along the side of the road. According to Free Burma Rangers, roads built by the Myanmar Army served three purposes in the projection and expansion of Myanmar army power and control in Karen State, namely, 1. To resupply and connect camps 2. To more rapidly launch offensives and patrols and 3. To compartmentalise and isolate ethnic communities to better be able to control them within a network of roads and camps..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Euro Burma Office
Date of publication: 2018-04-00
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Size: 156.81 KB
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Title: Negotiation and Attrition- EBO Background Paper No. 1/2018 - April 2018
Description: "The date for the next Union Peace Conference (UPC) is scheduled for May, but their remains some doubts in regards to the likely achievements to be made. At the beginning of the year, two Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) members showed they were displeased with the process. The Karen National Union (KNU) called for its postponement while the Restoration Council of Shan State suggested it would not attend due to constant obstruction by the Myanmar military of state-level dialogue. Although two more groups, the New Mon State Party (NMSP) and Lahu Democratic Union (LDU) signed the agreement on 13 February a number of other groups are still not prepared to move forward. While such delays and indecision have been indicative of the entire peace process, what needs to be considered, however, is who is likely to gain by yet further delays in the process. There is little doubt that the process has significant flaws, the problems that have plagued it since it was taken over by the NLD-led Government are many. While it is essential that ethnic armed organisation try to ensure they get the best deal possible it must also be noted that the only stakeholder likely to gain through postponement of the process is the Myanmar military, the Tatmadaw, which will see its position strengthened for every delay made..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Euro Burma Office
Date of publication: 2018-04-00
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Size: 475.3 KB
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Title: 38 people killed in Myanmar's deadliest day of protest, says UN envoy
Description: "At least 38 people were killed after Myanmar's security forces opened fire on peaceful protesters in towns and cities across the country Wednesday, in scenes that have been described as "a war zone." Thousands of protesters across the Southeast Asian nation have taken to the streets over the past four weeks against a military coup on February 1. Security forces have intensified their response in recent days, opening live fire into crowds, and using tear gas, flash bangs and stun grenades on demonstrators. The United Nations said the total death toll since the coup was now 50, though activists put that total as higher. "Today was the bloodiest day since the coup happened," Special Envoy Christine Schraner Burgener told a briefing Wednesday. Around 1,200 people have been detained, while many relatives are unsure where they are being held, she said. "Every tool available is needed now to stop this situation," Burgener said. "We need a unity of the international community, so it's up to the member states to take the right measures." CNN reached out to the ruling military regime via email but has not yet received a response. Protesters run from police firing tear gas during a pro-democracy demonstration in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Wednesday. Protesters have for weeks been demanding the release of democratically elected officials, including the country's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who are currently in detention. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy Party (NLD) won a landslide victory in November elections; military leaders allege voter fraud but have provided no proof for their claim. Burgener said that in discussions with the military, she had warned that the UN Security Council and members states were likely to take strong measures. "The answer was: 'We are used to sanctions, and we survived those sanctions in the past'," she said. "When I also warned they will go in an isolation, the answer was: 'We have to learn to walk with only few friends'." Security forces -- which include members of the military's Light Infantry Divisions long documented to be engaged in human rights abuses in conflict zones throughout the country -- escalated their deadly crackdown on peaceful demonstrators this week. "Today, the country is like the Tiananmen Square in most of its major cities," the Archbishop of Yangon, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, said on Twitter. In one brutal instance, Myanmar security forces were caught on camera beating emergency services with the butts of their guns, batons and kicking them in the head, according to activist group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). The AAPP released the video on Wednesday and said in a statement that the leaked video was from North Okkalapa, in Yangon. The video provides a glimpse into the brutal methods deployed the security forces..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-03-04
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: AA attacks civilian vehicle in Maungtaw Tsp
Description: "...The AA group attacked a civilian vehicle with an explosive mine and small firearms in Maungtaw Township, Rakhine State, on 5 April. An aquatic product merchant from Aung Mingalar village, Maungtaw Township, transported a cargo of crabs towards Sittway and was on his was back when an explosive device exploded near Kyeekanpyin (South) village bridge around 8 pm. The vehicle he was on tumbled into a nearby creek...."
Source/publisher: The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of publication: 2020-04-08
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : PDF
Size: 352.68 KB
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Title: ARSA explosive kills two in Maungtaw
Description: "...TWO MEN were killed and three injured by an explosive triggered by ARSA in Maungtaw Township, Rakhine State, yesterday morning. At 8:55 am on 30 March 2020, a man identified as U San Aung Phyu, 50, and 11 Dainet residents from Mingalar Nyunt Village were on their motorbikes to go check on some bird traps. They parked their bikes near Kamaungseik Village and Aungzu Village and went into the woods on foot..."
Source/publisher: The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of publication: 2020-03-31
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : PDF
Size: 157.15 KB
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Title: A Chinese development scheme complicates Myanmar’s ethnic conflicts
Sub-title: The China-Myanmar Economic Corridor is as likely to fuel fighting as quell it
Description: "Two years ago ethnic cleansing by the army forced 700,000 Muslim Rohingyas to flee Rakhine state, in western Myanmar, and seek sanctuary across the border in Bangladesh. On August 22nd, outside dismal refugee camps near Cox’s Bazar, buses and lorries lined up for the first of many envisaged repatriations taking Rohingyas back home. But there was a hitch: not a single Rohingya came forward. Nor will many change their minds soon. Predominantly Buddhist Myanmar denies citizenship to the persecuted Rohingyas. The word means people from Rakhine, yet the government claims they are not Burmese but “Bengali” impostors. Having been refused formal id cards, it is impossible for many Rohingyas to prove that they used to live in Myanmar, one of the government’s conditions for repatriation. Besides, what is there to go back to? Their former villages have been razed. Rohingyas who remain in Rakhine now live in camps, too..."
Source/publisher: "The Economist" (London)
Date of publication: 2019-08-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-12-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Three Pagodas border closed, clash in Myanmar eases
Description: "Soldiers were guarding the border in Sangkhla Buri district on Friday to prevent any incursion into Thailand but allowing migrant workers to enter, as Myanmar troops and Mon fighters settled into an uneasy truce. Units from the Surasi Task Force were posted to the frontier around Three Pagodas pass after Myanmar government forces and Mon soldiers clashed close to the border on Wednesday. The border pass remained closed to Thai travellers, and local shops and tourist stalls were shut. Tourists were advised to stay away to facilitate security operations. Soldiers allowed Myanmar nationals to cross the border for work through a single channel, but the regular passage for border trade and vehicles on Soi Kaset 1 remained closed. Troops also sealed the border opposite the Mon villages of Ban Bor Yeepun and Ban Rai Oi in Myanmar..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of publication: 2019-11-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Myanmar military continues committing atrocities against ethnic minorities, says Amnesty
Description: "The Myanmar military is continuing to wage fresh atrocities against ethnic minorities in the conflict-riven north of the country, according to a new report by human rights group Amnesty International. The report details harrowing accounts of ethnic Kachin, Lisu, Shan and Ta’ang civilians being arbitrarily arrested, detained and tortured by the armed forces. It also sheds a light on abusive tactics used by ethnic armed groups as they confront the military and fight among themselves to exert control over Shan State, a region rich in mineral resources and also part of the Golden Triangle where much of the world’s opium and heroin is illegally produced. “The Myanmar military is as relentless and ruthless as ever, committing war crimes against civilians in northern Shan State with absolute impunity,” alleged Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southeast Asia..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Telegraph" (UK)
Date of publication: 2019-10-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: “First they grabbed our land with guns; now they are using the law"
Sub-title: A Commentary by TNI on the Right to Land of People Displaced by War and Militarization
Description: "Displaced people in Myanmar have been suffering layer upon layer of injustice over the past decades. Today the situation is as bad as ever. “In Myanmar, people are suffering from the fighting, while the government is also trying to manipulate and divide the displaced people. Some people go back, some remain in the IDP camps. It’s like a hell in the country.” (Internally Displaced Person (IDP) meeting, 13 August 2019, Myitkyina) This is how one IDP, displaced since 2011, recently described the current situation in the north of the country. In both the north and the east of Myanmar, displaced people have been suffering layer upon layer of injustice over the past decades. Today the situation is as bad as ever. Ongoing conflict, militarization and business-oriented mega-projects continue to drive fresh displacements, while keeping those displaced previously from returning to their homes, farms, forests and villages. Since 2010, a raft of national laws and policies has been enacted regarding land, forests, conservation and investment. They do not, however, reflect the needs or the rights of people who have been displaced. There is currently no law that properly addresses the terrible situation confronting displaced people by recognising the right of IDPs and refugees to restitution based on their right to land. Instead, current government policy seems to be encouraging re-allocation of the lands of IDPs and refugees to business interests. Key areas include agriculture, mining, industry, infrastructure and even ecotourism, whether in the pristine islands in the far south or the majestic mountains in the far north......၂၀၁၆ ခုနှစ်မှစ၍ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ အနယ်နယ်အရပ်ရပ်မှ ပြည်တွင်းနေရပ်စွန့်ခွာ စစ်ဘေးတိမ်းရှောင်ခဲ့သူများနှင့် စစ်ဘေးဒုက္ခသည်များအပြင်၎င်းတို့ကိုအနီးကပ်ပံ့ပိုးကူညီပေးလျက်ရှိသည့်နယ်ခံအဖွဲ့အစည်းများ အတူတကွ စုစည်း၍ ၎င်းတို့၏ နေရပ်ပြန်ရေးနှင့် မူလရပိုင်ခွင့်ပြန်လည်ရရှိရေးဆိုင်ရာ မြေယာကိစ္စရပ်များကို အတူတကွ ဆွေးနွေးအဖြေရာ၍ စည်းရုံးရေးဆိုမည့်လုပ်ငန်းစဉ်တစ်ရပ်ကိုဝိုင်းဝန်ဖော်ဆောင်လာခဲ့ကြပါသည်။ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံသည် ဆယ်စုနှစ်ပေါင်းများစွာ စစ်ပွဲဒဏ်သင့်လာခဲ့သည့် နိုင်ငံတစ်ခု၏ ရလဒ်အနေဖြင့် တိုင်းရင်း သားရပ်ရွာအသိုက်အဝန်းပေါင်းများစွာ မူရင်းရပ်ရွာဒေသများကို စွန့်ခွာထွက်ပြေးခဲ့ကြရပြီး မိမိတို့၏ မြေယာ ပိုင်ဆိုင်ခွင့်အပါအဝင် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးအားလုံးနီးပါး ထိခိုက်နစ်နာခဲ့ရသည်။ မြေယာပိုင်ဆိုင်ခွင့်အခွင့်အရေးကို အနှစ်သာရရှိရှိဖြင့် အပြည့်အဝအသိအမှတ်ပြုမှုအပါအဝင်IDPs နှင့် Refugees များအတွက်တရားမျှတမှုရှာ ဖွေရာ၌ စိန်ခေါ်မှုအခက်အခဲများစွာ ကြုံတွေ့ရလျက်ရှိသည်။ ဤကဲ့သို့သော စိန်ခေါ်မှုအခက်အခဲများကြောင့် ကချင်၊ ကရင်နီ၊ ကရင်၊ မွန်နှင့် ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်(၅)ခုမှ ပြည်တွင်းနေရပ်စွန့်ခွာ စစ်ဘေးတိမ်းရှောင်သူများနှင့် စစ်ဘေးဒုက္ခသည်များအပါအဝင်၎င်းတို့ကို ကူညီထောက်ပံ့ပေးလျက်ရှိသည့် ပြည်တွင်းအရပ်ဖက်အဖွဲ့အစည်း များမှ ကိုယ်စားလှယ်များသည်အထူးသဖြင့်IDPs နှင့် Refugees များ၏ မြေယာရပိုင်ခွင့်အခွင့်အရေးနှင့် ပတ် သက်၍ ကြုံတွေ့ရလျက်ရှိသည့် စိန်ခေါ်မှုအခက်အခဲများနှင့် အတွေ့အကြုံများကို အစဉ်တစိုက်ဆွေးနွေးအဖြေ ရှာလာခဲ့ကြပြီး လာမည့်အနာဂတ်၌ မဟာဗျူဟာကျကျ တုန့်ပြန်ဆောင်ရွက်နိုင်မည့် နည်းလမ်းများကို ဆွေးနွေး ဖော်ထုတ်၍ ၂၀၁၉ ခုနှစ် သြဂုန်လ ၂၁ ရက်နေ့၌ ဤသဘောထားကြောညာစာတမ်းကိုထုတ်ပြန်လိုက်ခြင်း ဖြစ်ပါသည်။..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "TNI"
Date of publication: 2019-08-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 172.8 KB 299.19 KB
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Title: Interview with Sa Loe Par: တၢ်ထံၣ်လိာ်သံကွၢ်ဒီး ပဒိၣ်မါရှၣ် အဖိခွါသဒါ စလိၣ်ဖါ
Description: "လါဖ့ၤဘြူၤအါရံၤ ၁၄သီအနံၤအံၤ မ့ၢ်၀ဲဒၣ် ခ့ၣ်အဲၣ်ယူၣ်-ကညီဒီကလုာ်စၢဖှိၣ်ကရၢ အခိၣ်နၢ်ဒိၣ်ထီမံၤဟူသၣ်ဖျါတဂၤလၢအမ့ၢ် ပဒိၣ်မါရှၣ်လါဖါဘၣ်တၢ်ကူၣ်သံအီၤၦဲၤထီၣ် ၁၁လံန့ၣ်လီၤႉ လၢတၢ်သ့ၣ်နီၣ်ထီၣ်က့ၤ ပဒိၣ်မါရှၣ်လါဖါအံၤအဖီခိၣ်န့ၣ် ကညီတၢ်ကစီၣ်ထံၣ်လိာ်သံကွၢ်၀ဲ အဖိခွါသဒါ စလိၣ်ဖါ..."
Creator/author: karen user
Source/publisher: KIC (Karen Information Center)
Date of publication: 2019-03-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-04-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Sgaw Karen
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Title: Myanmar: "All the civilians suffer": Conflict, displacement, and abuse in Northern Myanmar
Description: "Over the last seven months, fighting has intensified between the Myanmar Army and ethnic armed groups in Kachin and northern Shan States, areas with long-running conflicts as ethnic minorities have sought greater autonomy and respect for their rights. This report documents war crimes and other human rights violations by the Myanmar Army, including extrajudicial executions, torture, forced labour, and indiscriminate shelling. Most victims are civilians from ethnic minorities in the region, continuing a legacy of abuse that has rarely led to accountability for the soldiers or commanders responsible.".....TOPICS: Myanmar... Asia and The Pacific... Armed Conflict... Armed Groups... Child Soldiers... Impunity... Disappearances... Unlawful Killings... Internally Displaced People... Torture and other ill-treatment... Racial Discrimination... War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity... Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Source/publisher: Amnesty International (ASA 16/6429/2017)
Date of publication: 2017-06-14
Date of entry/update: 2017-06-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (full report); Burmese & Chinese - executive summary
Format : pdf pdf pdf
Size: 1.8 MB 395.37 KB 707.27 KB
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Title: Papun Interview: Saw Kr---, October 2010
Description: "This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during October 2010 in Lu Thaw Township, Papun District by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed Saw Kr---, a 23-year-old hill farmer from L--- village, Pla Koh village tract, who described an incident where he was injured after stepping on a landmine while on Home Guard duty in Kaw Mu Day, which resulted in him losing his left leg. Saw Kr--- describes how the Tatmadaw deliberately laid landmines on a public pathway, knowing that villagers were likely to tread on the devices. He also mentions that local villagers are active in defending themselves against Tatmadaw troops in Lu Thaw Township, Papun District. This incident is also described in the report Uncertain Ground: Landmines in eastern Burma, published by KHRG on May 21, 2012."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication: 2012-07-18
Date of entry/update: 2012-08-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 282.43 KB
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Title: Tatmadaw soldiers fire at four villagers carrying rice, order forced labour in Toungoo District
Description: "During June 2012, Tatmadaw LID #66 re-supplied troops situated in front-line camps in Toungoo District. On the same day that supplies were sent, and local villagers were ordered to transport them, LIB #1 soldiers based at Th?Ay Hta fired at four villagers carrying rice to their village after purchasing it in the larger town of Klay Soh Kee. In the days directly after this incident, a community member described increased military activity in the area, including a Tatmadaw helicopter patrol and skirmishing between KNLA and Tatmadaw troops."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication: 2012-07-19
Date of entry/update: 2012-08-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 128.15 KB
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Title: Ongoing Impunity: Continued Burma Army Atrocities Against the Kachin People
Description: Summary: "This report provides an update of atrocities committed by the Burma Army against civilians since it broke its 17-year ceasefire with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) one year ago. It highlights the particular suffering of women during the conflict, who have been forced to be porters, used as sex slaves, gang-raped and killed. Since the start of the conflict, there has been a huge deployment of Burmese troops into Kachin State and northern Shan State. Currently about 150 battalions are being used to crush the KIA, tripling the number of Burmese troops in the area. These troops have deliberately targeted civilians for abuse, causing villagers to flee in terror, leaving large swathes of countryside depopulated. There is strong evidence that Burmese troops have used rape systematically as a weapon of war. In the past year, KWAT has documented the rape or sexual assault of at least 43 women and girls, of whom 21 were killed. The rapes have been widespread, occurred in thirteen townships, by ten different battalions. Women have been openly kept as sex slaves by military officers, and gang-raped in church. There has been complete impunity for these crimes. When the husband of a Kachin woman abducted by the Burmese military tried to press charges, the Naypyidaw Supreme Court dismissed the case without even hearing his evidence. The continued abuse against civilians has swelled the numbers of internally displaced persons in Kachin State to over 75,000, most of whom are sheltering in makeshift camps along the China border, where little international aid has reached them. KWAT is calling on the international community to denounce the ongoing human rights abuses, and maintain pressure on the Burmese government to immediately implement a nationwide ceasefire, pull back Burma Army troops from ethnic areas and start dialogue with the United Nationalities Federal Council towards a process of genuine political reform."
Source/publisher: Kachin Women?s Association Thailand (KWAT)
Date of publication: 2012-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2012-06-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.45 MB
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Title: Burma Army Continues Attacks in Kachin State as of 14 December 2011
Description: KEY DEVELOPMENTS: * The Burma Army continued attacks against the Kachin people and every day there is shelling from attacking Burma Army units. There has been no ceasefire by the Burma Army troops in this area. * There are over 30,000 displaced Kachin villagers now in hiding.
Source/publisher: Free Burma Rangers (FBR)
Date of publication: 2011-12-16
Date of entry/update: 2012-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Burma Army Kills Villager and Burns Homes While 3000 Flee Ongoing Attacks in Kachin State
Description: "The Burma Army has killed a villager and over 20 villages have fled attacks and mortar fire in Momauk Township, Kachin State. Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 73 under Division 88 has been attacking villages, with troops from Divisions 33, 44, 66 also entering the area. At least 400 Burma Army soldiers have been involved in the attacks, using 120mm and 60mm mortars and machine guns. Fighting in the area has increased and the Burma Army is building at least four new camps, using forced labor. Over 3,000 people have been displaced."
Source/publisher: Free Burma Rangers (FBR)
Date of publication: 2011-11-30
Date of entry/update: 2012-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Burma Army Kills Woman and Continues Attacks in Ba Maw District, Kachin State
Description: The Burma Army continues to attack people in three townships of Ba Maw District, Kachin State: Mun Si Township, Shwegu Township and Ba Maw Township. On 16 December 2011, Burma Army soldiers killed a woman from Prang Kawng Village. The woman, 30-year-old Lamung Kaw Seng, suffered from a mental disability. As Burma Army troops approached the village, all the villagers fled except for Lamung Kaw Seng. When the soldiers found her, they killed her and threw her into a toilet pit.
Source/publisher: Free Burma Rangers (FBR)
Date of publication: 2011-12-27
Date of entry/update: 2012-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Kachin State- Burma Army Burns and Loots Homes in Wai Maw District
Description: Fighting between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Burma Army broke out on 9 June 2011, ending a 17-year cease-fire agreement between the two groups. As many as 20,000 people have been displaced by the fighting in Kachin State, according to local networks helping IDPs in Laiza. KIA sources have said that the number of standing Burma Army battalions before the conflict began was 93. Currently there are 113 battalions in Kachin State with more troops on the way, according to KIA sources. Divisions 33, 88, and 99 are currently operating in Kachin State.
Source/publisher: Free Burma Rangers (FBR)
Date of publication: 2011-11-15
Date of entry/update: 2012-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Troops raze Kachin villages, locals flee
Description: "Burmese troops burned down around 50 homes in a village in eastern Kachin state two days ago as they prepare for an offensive against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), despite assertions from fleeing residents that no rebels inhabit the village. In response, the KIA has told locals living in areas close to the town of Waingmaw to leave, prompting some 3,000 people to join those who fled the razed Aungja village as they make for the border with China. A DVB reporter in Kachin state said that Burmese army battalions were closing in on the KIA?s Brigade 3 in Sanpai, which was being fiercely defended by the rebels..."
Source/publisher: Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB)
Date of publication: 2011-11-11
Date of entry/update: 2012-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Two women and one man killed, 70-year-old woman wounded, and four men tortured as Burma Army attacks villages in Kachin State
Description: KEY DEVELOPMENTS: Burma Army Infantry Battalion (IB) 105, commanded by Major Moe Kyaw, stabbed and shot three villagers to death, shot a 70-year-old woman and tortured four villagers in Mun Si Township, Kachin State
Source/publisher: Free Burma Rangers (FBR)
Date of publication: 2012-01-17
Date of entry/update: 2012-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Dooplaya Interview: Saw L---, June 2011
Description: "This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during June 2011 in T--- village, Kya In Township, Dooplaya District by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed 17-year-old T--- villager, Saw N---, who described an incident in which the Tatmadaw Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #--- fired mortar rounds towards T--- village, in response to an attack by Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) #107 on their camp near H--- village. Saw N--- and two other T--- villagers were injured by two shells, with one villager, Kyaw M---, later dying as a result of his injuries. Saw N--- highlighted other issues that arose as a consequence of the attack, particularly concerning the cost of healthcare as his relatives had to borrow money to ensure that he received hospital treatment for his injuries. Demands for food from the Tatmadaw were also cited, as well as arbitrary taxation demands levied by armed groups, and taxes on houses and land. Villagers also have to pay the schoolteachers? salaries which comprise 40 baskets of rice paddy shared between the villagers and 4,000 baht (US $133.33) per household each year..."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication: 2012-05-01
Date of entry/update: 2012-05-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Toungoo Situation Update: August to October 2011
Description: "This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in November 2011 by a villager describing events occurring in Toungoo District between August and October 2011. It contains information concerning military activity in the district, specifically demands for forced labour by Tatmadaw Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #375. Villagers from D--- and A--- were reportedly forced to clear vegetation surrounding their camp and some A--- villagers were also used to sweep for landmines. Villagers in the A--- area faced demands for bamboo poles and some villagers from P--- were ordered to undertake messenger and portering duties for the Tatmadaw. The situation update provides information on two incidents that occurred on September 21st 2011, in which several villagers from Y--- were shot, and four other Y--- villagers were arrested by Tatmadaw Infantry Battalion (IB) #73 and detained until the Y--- village head paid 300,000 kyat (US $366.75) to secure their release. It also provides details of the arrest of five villagers from D--- village by LIB #375 in August 2011, who remained in detention as of November 2011. It documents the killing of two villagers from E--- village by Military Operations Command (MOC) #9, and the shooting of 54-year-old A--- villager, Saw O---, by LIB #375 for violating movement restrictions. Information was also given concerning a mortar attack on W--- village by LIB #603 and IB #92, which was previously reported in the KHRG News Bulletin "Tatmadaw soldiers shell village, attack church and civilian property in Toungoo District, November 2011", in which shells hit the village church and destroyed five villagers? houses. Tatmadaw soldiers also shot the statue of Mother Mary in W--- village and damaged pictures on the church walls; stole villagers? belongings, including money and staple foods; and destroyed villagers? household supplies, livestock, and food."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication: 2012-04-17
Date of entry/update: 2012-04-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Toungoo Situation Update: Received in November 2011
Description: "This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in November 2011 by a villager describing events occurring in Toungoo District prior to October 2011. It frames present village conditions within the context and consequences of the 2005 ? 2008 Northern Offensive by Tatmadaw forces and details the following human rights abuses: forced relocation of villages; movement restrictions; forced labour by adult and child villagers; arbitrary taxation and demands; beating and torture of villagers, especially of village leaders; and attacks on and killing of villagers. This situation update also documents a number of villagers? concerns related to village leadership systems, livelihood challenges, the provision of education for children and food shortages. Moreover, this report describes ways by which villagers have sought to mitigate aspects of the abuses and concerns noted above, namely villagers bribing soldiers in order to allow them to transport more supplies than permitted to their village and establishing a rotating village governance system."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication: 2012-04-19
Date of entry/update: 2012-04-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Papun Interview: Maung R---, August 2011
Description: "This report contains the full transcript of an interview submitted to KHRG in August 2011 by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions in Bu Tho Township, Papun District. The villager interviewed Maung R---, a 31-year-old village head, who described extensive demands for forced labour, specifically for villagers to porter military rations, produce thatch shingles and bamboo poles, and tend to plantations owned by Border Guard soldiers. He also detailed demands for money including mandatory payments in lieu of recruitment for portering duties and arbitrary taxation. Threats against villagers were used to ensure compliance with these demands. Past instances of forced recruitment into the Border Guard were mentioned, as well as cases of direct violence, including an attack against villagers with three reported deaths. Other concerns expressed include the absence of basic medical care, and the poor quality of farmland which contributes to food insecurity and can force villagers to seek daily wage work in order to meet their basic food requirements. To mitigate this insecurity villagers employ a range of tactics including the sharing of food, as described by Maung R--- below."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication: 2012-02-29
Date of entry/update: 2012-03-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Acute food shortages threatening 8,885 villagers in 118 villages across northern Papun District
Description: "At least 8,885 villagers in 118 villages in Lu Thaw Township, Papun District have either exhausted their current food supplies or are expecting to do so prior to the October 2011 harvest. The 118 villages are located in nine village tracts, where attacks on civilians by Burma?s state army, the Tatmadaw, have triggered wide scale and repeated displacement since 1997. As tens of thousands of civilians in northern Karen State have been displaced, over-population in hiding areas where civilians can more effectively avoid attacks has created shortages of arable land, depleted soil fertility and reduced potential crop yields. Civilians forced to cultivate land or live near Tatmadaw camps, meanwhile, have faced recent attacks, including indiscriminate shelling and attacks on food supplies, buildings and livelihoods. These existing obstacles to food security were compounded by an unusually dry rainy season in 2010, coupled with other environmental factors, causing the 2010 harvest to fail. The impact of acute food shortages on the civilian population is magnified by budgetary constraints of local relief organisations, which can access the affected area but are currently unable to provide emergency assistance to many of those facing food shortages. This regional report is based on research conducted by KHRG researchers in Lu Thaw Township in February and March 2011, including 41 interviews with villagers and village and village tract leaders in the affected areas. This research was augmented by interviews with members of local relief organisations in February, March and April 2011."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication: 2011-05-11
Date of entry/update: 2012-02-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.31 MB
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Title: Pa?an interviews: Conditions for villagers returned from temporary refuge sites in Tha Song Yang
Description: "This report contains the full transcripts of seven interviews conducted between June 1st and June 18th 2010 in Dta Greh Township, Pa?an District by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed seven villagers from two villages in Wah Mee Gklah village tract, after they had returned to Burma following initial displacement into Thailand during May and June 2009. The interviewees report that they did not wish to return to Burma, but felt they had to do so as the result of pressure and harassment by Thai authorities. The interviewees described the following abuses since their return, including: the firing of mortars and small arms at villagers; demands for villagers to porter military supplies, and for the payment of money in lieu of the provision of porters; theft and looting of villagers? houses and possessions; and threats from unexploded ordnance and the use of landmines, including consequences for livelihoods and injuries to civilians. All seven interviewees also raised specific concerns regarding the food security of villagers returned to Burma following their displacement into Thailand."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication: 2011-05-06
Date of entry/update: 2012-02-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Tatmadaw attacks destroy civilian property and displace villages in northern Papun District
Description: "Tatmadaw forces continue to deliberately target civilians, civilian settlements and food supplies in northern Papun District. On February 25th 2011 shelling directed at communities in Saw Muh Bplaw, Ler Muh Bplaw and Plah Koh village tracts in Lu Thaw Township displaced residents of 14 villages as they sought temporary refuge at hiding sites in the forest. After villagers fled, Tatmadaw troops looted civilians? possessions, burned parts of settlement areas and destroyed buildings and food stores in Dteh Neh village. No civilian deaths or injuries were reported to result from this shelling; local village heads confirmed that all villagers affected managed to flee to safe locations during the shelling, many because of warnings received through a locally-developed system to alert community members of attacks. This report is informed by KHRG photo documentation, as well as interviews with and written testimony from a total of nine village heads, village tract leaders and village officials from communities located or hiding in the affected area. An additional 41 interviews conducted during February and March 2011 in Lu Thaw Township were also drawn upon."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication: 2011-04-08
Date of entry/update: 2012-02-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.4 MB
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Title: Three villagers killed, eight injured during fighting in Kyaikdon area
Description: "Research submitted by a KHRG field researcher indicates that fighting between DKBA and Tatmadaw troops between April 22nd and April 30th 2011 in Kya In Township has left at least three civilians dead and eight injured. The indiscriminate firing of mortars and small arms in civilian areas by armed groups involved in the conflict, and conflict related abuse including an explicit threat by Tatmadaw forces to burn civilians? homes, caused at least 143 villagers from Gkyaw Hta, Khoh Htoh, T?Aye Shay and Mae Naw Ah villages to seek refuge in the Ra--- area of Thailand between April 22nd and 30th 2011. As of May 13th 2011, KHRG confirmed that the firing of mortars and small arms was ongoing in the areas of K?Lay Kee and Noh Taw Plah, and that some villagers continued to seek refuge at discreet locations in Thailand."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication: 2011-05-17
Date of entry/update: 2012-02-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 503.17 KB
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Title: Human rights abuses and obstacles to protection: Conditions for civilians amidst ongoing conflict in Dooplaya and Pa?an districts
Description: "Amidst ongoing conflict between the Tatmadaw and armed groups in eastern Dooplaya and Pa?an districts, civilians, aid workers and soldiers from state and non-state armies continue to report a variety of human rights abuses and security concerns for civilians in areas adjacent to Thailand?s Tak Province, including: functionally indiscriminate mortar and small arms fire; landmines; arbitrary arrest and detention; sexual violence; and forced portering. Conflict and these conflict-related abuses have displaced thousands of civilians, more than 8,000 of whom are currently taking refuge in discreet hiding places in Thailand. This has interrupted education for thousands of children across eastern Dooplaya and Pa?an districts. The agricultural cycle for farmers has also been severely disrupted; many villagers have been prevented from completing their harvests of beans, corn and paddy crops, portending long-term threats to food security. Due to concerns about food security and disruption to children?s education, as well as villagers? continuing need to protect themselves and their families from conflict and conflict-related abuse, temporary but consistent access to refuge in Thailand remains vital until villagers feel safe to return home. Even after return, food support will likely be necessary until disrupted agricultural activities can be resumed and civilians can again support themselves."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication: 2011-01-21
Date of entry/update: 2012-02-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: KHRG Photo Gallery 2010-B
Description: Forced relocation and displacement... Life under military control... Convict porters... Children in armed conflict... Soldiers, army camps and weapons... Land and livelihoods... Map Room ..... "The second installment of KHRG?s Photo Gallery 2010 includes 95 still photographs selected from images taken by KHRG field researchers since December 2009. Of these photos, 50 were taken between December 2009 and March 2010, and 45 were taken between April and July 2010. Photos were taken in Papun, Nyaunglebin, Toungoo, Mergui/Tavoy, Pa?an and Dooplaya districts of locally-defined Karen State, as well as at sites on the Thai side of the Thailand ? Burma border. This edition of the gallery has been divided into six subsections: Establishment of Border Guard Forces and strategic displacement; Involuntary repatriation of refugees in Tha Song Yang District; Surviving with dignity beyond military control; Life under military control; Livelihoods under strain; Landmines; and Children in armed conflict. KHRG is committed to documenting not just the way that villagers are victims of human rights abuses, but also the myriad protection strategies they employ to resist abuse as well as maintain cultural practices and continuity in their lives. Consequently, all sections of this report include a wide variety of photo selections, not just photos of villagers as victims. Since the last photo gallery was released, KHRG has continued to document patterns of abuse consistent with those presented in earlier editions. Villagers already under government control continue to report abuses related to attempts by the Tatmadaw, Burma?s state army, and non-state armed groups (NSAGs) holding ceasefire agreements with the Tatmadaw such as the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) to consolidate control and support ongoing militarization of the countryside. Elsewhere, Tatmadaw forces continue efforts to expand control of territory and civilian populations, particularly in upland areas in northern Karen State. Though the Northern Karen State Offensive ended in 2008, military attacks on villagers in hiding, and their means of survival, nonetheless continue.[2] According to the most recent figures, more than 70,000 villagers remain displaced and in hiding in northern Karen areas, of whom more than 28,000 have been displaced or re-displaced within the past year;[3] between August 2009 and July 2010, at least 95 more villages were destroyed, relocated or abandoned.[4] In 2010, disagreements between the Tatmadaw and some sections of the DKBA over the latter?s absorption into the Tatmadaw as Border Guard battalions also increased insecurity for villagers in Pa?an and Dooplaya districts in central Karen State, as civilians worried that open conflict would return to the region.[5] Despite the many challenges to civilian security and livelihoods, however, villagers in eastern Burma continue to show bravery and resilience, employing a range of strategies to protect their families and communities from abuse and the effects of abuse. Photos included in the Photo Gallery are identified with alphanumeric characters shown below each image. To view the first instalment of KHRG?s Photo Gallery 2010, click here."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication: 2011-02-24
Date of entry/update: 2012-02-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Mother of newborn shot and killed in Papun District
Description: "On October 13th 2010, a 24-year-old woman was shot and killed less than 45 minutes after she had given birth, when Tatmadaw troops opened fire on her house during an attack on her village in Dweh Loh Township. This news bulletin is based on an interview conducted with the woman?s husband, who has been staying with his newborn son and another one of his sons at a refuge site outside Papun district since December 10th 2010."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication: 2011-01-26
Date of entry/update: 2012-02-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Dooplaya Interview: U Sa---, July 2011
Description: "This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted by a KHRG researcher in July 2011 with a villager from Kawkareik Township, Dooplaya District. The researcher interviewed U Sa---, who described how his family and other residents of Pa--- village faced threats and abuses from Tatmadaw soldiers after local DKBA forces captured a Tatmadaw soldier at his home on June 15th 2011. U Sa--- described the following abuses: threats to burn or shell civilian areas; shelling of civilian areas; indiscriminate use of small arms in civilian areas; the taking of civilians as hostages; threats to kill civilians; and the imposition of movement restrictions, including threats to shoot villagers violating restrictions on sight. U Sa--- explained that he and his family fled Pa--- on June 16th to avoid these threats; as of July 3rd, they did not yet feel safe to return to their home. This interview was conducted by a KHRG researcher in July 2011; other details on the situation in Pa--- village after June 15th, including a general situation update, one incident report, and three photographs were submitted by a different KHRG researcher in June and July 2011."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication: 2011-07-22
Date of entry/update: 2012-02-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 464.96 KB
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Title: Nyaunglebin Interview: Naw P---, May 2011
Description: "This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted by a KHRG researcher in May 2011 with a villager from Ler Doh Township, Nyaunglebin District. The researcher interviewed Naw P---, a 40-year-old farmer who described her experiences living in a Tatmadaw-controlled relocation site, and in her original village in a mixed-administration area under effective Tatmadaw control. Naw P--- described the following human rights abuses: rape and sexual violence; indiscriminate firing on villagers by Tatmadaw soldiers; forced relocation; arrest and detention; movement restrictions; theft and looting; and forced labour, including use of villagers as military sentries and porters. Naw P--- also raised concerns regarding the cost of health care and about children?s education, specifically Tatmadaw restrictions on children?s movement during perceived military instability and the prohibition of Karen-language education. In order to address these concerns, Naw P--- told KHRG that some villagers pay bribes to avoid forced labour and to secure the release of detained family members; lie to Tatmadaw commanders about the whereabouts of villagers working on farms in violation of movement restrictions; and organise covert Karen-language education for their children."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication: 2011-07-26
Date of entry/update: 2012-02-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 157.42 KB
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Title: Toungoo Interviews: March and April 2011
Description: "This report contains the full transcripts of three interviews conducted during March and April 2011 in Tantabin Township, Toungoo District by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The three female interviewees described the following abuses: attacks on villages, villagers and livelihoods; killing of villagers; theft and looting; taxation and demands; forced displacement; and forced labour, including the production and supply of building materials and forced portering. They also raised concerns regarding food shortage, the provision of education for children during displacement caused by Tatmadaw attacks, and access to healthcare. One of the women explained that villagers communicate with non-state armed groups and other villagers to share information about Tatmadaw movements, prepare secret caches of food in the forest outside their village in case of a Tatmadaw attack, and hold school classes outside of their village in agricultural areas during displacement caused by Tatmadaw attack. These interviews were received along with other information from Toungoo District, including a general update on the situation in Toungoo District, ten incident reports, seven other interviews and 350 photographs.Toungoo Interviews: March and April 2011
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication: 2011-07-20
Date of entry/update: 2012-02-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 139.44 KB
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