• ijrepjournalism@gmail.com
  • contact@ij-reportika.com
Ij reportika Logo

Category: ASEAN

Myanmar junta’s new banknote causes gold prices, currency value to fluctuate

Editor07 mins

The introduction of a new banknote by Myanmar’s ruling junta has pushed up the price of gold and affected the value of the country’s currency, with shadow government officials saying the move is meant to alleviate some of the regime’s financial difficulties. The State Administration Council, the official name of the junta regime that has ruled Myanmar since seizing power in a February 2021 coup, said on Sunday that it will issue a limited number of 20,000-kyat banknotes, roughly equivalent to a US$10 bill, on the last day of this month.  The junta said the new banknote was designed to commemorate the completion of a Buddha statue. The bills, which feature the image of a white elephant, will be limited to a maximum of three per person when they are exchanged with old unusable banknotes of the same value.  After the military-owned Myawaddy news agency announced that the junta-controlled central bank would issue the new banknotes, the shadow National Unity Government, or NUG, said the regime came up with the high-denomination notes because of the financial crisis plaguing the country. Myanmar’s economy went into a tailspin following the coup, as professionals walked off their jobs to join a civil disobedience movement opposed to the regime.  The junta’s financial mismanagement – and economic sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom – have curtailed some revenue streams. NUG officials also said the junta had no right to issue new banknotes because it is not an official government.  Min Zayar Oo, the shadow government’s deputy minister of planning, finance and investment, said the junta is issuing the banknotes because international sanctions have blocked  its foreign income. “When the junta faced financial difficulties due to sanctions, it started printing money,” he said. “Although they initially said that they would circulate only a limited number of the denomination, it is just the introductory step for their larger purpose which is to solve their financial difficulties.” NUG spokesman Nay Phone Latt agreed that the junta is printing new currency because of its dire financial circumstances and said the value of the kyat would likely depreciate. “We consider this currency to be printed by a terrorist organization,” he said. RFA could not reach junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment. Forex havoc The move comes just after the NUG began a trial run of an online bank that uses cryptocurrency in an effort to disrupt the flow of foreign currency to banks run by the junta, including the country’s central bank.  The new crypto bank was developed to prevent the junta from violating bank regulations by blocking user accounts, seizing deposits, and providing personal account data to the authorities. In the meantime, the junta’s latest move has led to unstable foreign currency exchange rates and fluctuations in the price of gold.  Following the announcement about the new banknote, the exchange rate for one U.S. dollar rose to 3,400 kyats from 3,100, landing on Tuesday at 3,300 kyats. The exchange rate for Thai baht rose to 96 kyats from about 90 kyats, while the exchange rate for Chinese yuan increased to 460 kyats from 430 kyats. Forex instability has prompted Burmese businesses that import goods from abroad to temporarily suspend transactions.  A Burmese national who recently bought gold jewelry told Radio Free Asia that one tical, a unit of weight that is approximately 16.3 grams, of 23-karat gold was worth about 3.1 million kyats on July 23, but rose on Tuesday to more than 3.5 million kyats. Another Burmese citizen who visited gold shops said establishments in Yangon, the commercial capital, closed on Monday due to the instability of the price of gold, though some reopened on Tuesday. Now, 24-karat bars of gold cannot be purchased at all as a safe investment, he said. The Yangon Region Gold Entrepreneurs Association has set the price of one tical of 24-karat gold at over 2.3 million kyats – more than 1 million kyats less than the actual market price. The trade group issued a statement on Monday asking merchants to refrain from business transactions that would destabilize the price of gold because of news about the new banknote. Translated by Myo Min Aung for RFA Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Matt Reed.

Read More

INTERVIEW: ‘He was completely devoted to the revolution’

Editor015 mins

On July 23, 2022, Myanmar’s military junta executed three activists and a former lawmaker for continuing to fight for democracy after the military ousted the country’s democratically elected government in the Feb. 1, 2021 coup. Among them was veteran democracy activist Kyaw Min Yu, a writer and translator better known as Ko Jimmy,  who was a prominent leader of the pro-democracy 88 Generation Students Group who fought military rule three decades ago. He was arrested in October 2021 after spending eight months in hiding and was convicted in a closed-door trial by a military tribunal in January under the Counter-Terrorism Law. Ko Jimmy was accused of contacting the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, National Unity Government (NUG), and People’s Defense Forces (PDF) an opposition coalition and militia network formed by politicians ousted in the coup. The junta also said he advised local militia groups in Yangon and ordered PDF groups to attack police, military targets, and government offices, and asking the NUG to buy a 3D printer to produce weapons for local militias. The executions of Ko Jimmy, Phyo Zeya Thaw, Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw were decried by UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, as “depraved acts,” while U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the executions “reprehensible acts of violence.”  One year after the execution, Radio Free Asia’s Burmese Service interviewed Ko Jimmy’s widow Nilar Thein. She discussed the sacrifices her husband made for the country. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Jimmy [second from left] and other former student leaders of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising attend a ceremony to mark the 59th Anniversary of Independence Day at the National League for Democracy party headquarters in Yangon, Myanmar, Jan. 3, 2007. Credit: Aung Hla Tun/Reuters RFA: It’s been a year since Jimmy and the other three political activists were executed by the junta. How has the past year without him affected you? Nilar Thein: Since the time he was executed, we have suffered, grieved and are in great pain. But I have turned those feelings into strength to continue his fight. I believe that I have one new responsibility: to live his dream and work even harder. RFA: What have you been doing these days? Nilar Thein: I am shouldering as much responsibility for the revolution as I can. I am working on tasks that are suitable for my age and situation with a determination that whatever I do, regardless of where I am, must strengthen the revolution.  RFA: Reports from Myanmar say that the junta forces continue acts of violence and violate human rights in prisons and all over the country. What’s your opinion on that? Nilar Thein: In my opinion, I can say one thing that this is the junta’s last moment. Their brutality and cowardice have become worse. The revolutionary forces are in control of more areas of the country these days, so in response the junta’s actions have become even more brutal and cowardly. We continue to witness their serious violations of human rights. Jimmy met fellow 88 Generation student Nilar Thein when they were both in prison. They married after being released. Credit: Nilar Thein RFA: What is your view towards young people opposed to the junta? Nilar Thein: A generation was born during the spring revolution. This generation sacrificed their hopes, dreams, future and even their lives and took part in the revolution in any way they can to try to bring an end to this military dictatorship. Their involvement in the revolution, their ideas, opinions and their performance were recognized, applauded and idolized globally.  RFA: I’d like to ask a little about Jimmy. Did he not know how much danger he could be in by continuing to stay in Yangon? And if he did, why did he remain in Yangon? Nilar Thein: Since Jimmy left home on the morning of the military coup until he was arrested, he only stayed in Yangon. After seeing younger activists and children being slaughtered by the junta, he said that when younger people who were as young as his own children were sacrificing their lives, old men like him who can live or die at their age have to participate. He was so eager to work together, networking with urban guerrilla groups, young people from student unions and other organizations. He was completely devoted to the revolution. That’s not because he did not know the danger he could be in. I knew what trouble he would be in. But he worked his best for the revolution while he still could.  Jimmy, his wife, Nilar Thein, and their daughter are seen in this undated photo. “When I first learned that we were having the baby, I thought we have to apologize to our child in advance,” he said. Credit: RFA RFA: What kind of impact do you think the sacrifice that Jimmy and other activists made has had on the fight for democracy? Nilar Thein: When we heard that Jimmy, Phyo Zayar Thaw, Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw were executed by the junta, it was not just a threat to their families alone. It was not just a threat to our country alone. But it was a threat to the whole world. As a result, all our people have become more strenuous in their revolutionary acts with a resolution that they will not give in to the junta’s execution of their leaders. They worked harder and took up responsibilities where they could. Those who could not participate on the front lines provided even a handful of rice or a cup of water, whatever they could support the revolution. Those who can provide supplies for the revolution have worked harder for the cause. Although the junta has tried to threaten the people with these executions, we have become more fearless and more rebellious against the military.  The Myanmar junta released this photo of Jimmy after his arrest. MRTV/Handout via Reuters RFA: We’ve heard…

Read More

Myanmar court sentences student union member to another 5 years in prison

Editor03 mins

A junta-controlled court in Yangon region has sentenced a student to a further five years in prison for alleged terrorism, a Myanmar-based student union told RFA Monday. Nyan Win Htet, in his twenties, was a student at the University of East Yangon until his arrest on June 30, 2022. He was sentenced by Eastern Yangon District Court last Tuesday. “The fascist army is fully responsible for the arbitrary and violent arrests, imprisonments and brutal killings of students from ABFSU, students and people across the country,” said the information officer of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, who didn’t want to be named for fear of reprisals. “Arresting revolutionaries, imprisoning and killing them will not stop the revolution. We will continue to fight until the end.” Nyan Win Htet had already been sentenced to 15 years in prison under two sections of  the Counter-Terrorism Law which cover the possession of explosives and helping terrorists evade arrest. He is in good health in prison and has been in contact with his family, said the union information officer. The officer added that more than 50 of the union’s members have been arrested for their anti-dictatorship activities since the coup, and 32 are being held in prison. Among them, three were sentenced to a maximum of life imprisonment, and one was sentenced to death, according to the union. Nearly 24,000 people, including pro-democracy campaigners, have been arrested nationwide since the February 2021 coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma). Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.

Read More

Polls close in Cambodia as Hun Sen’s ruling party expected to roll to victory

Editor09 mins

Cambodians have finished voting in a one-sided parliamentary election that’s expected to be an easy victory for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party as Prime Minister Hun Sen prepares to hand over power to his eldest son in the coming weeks. Preliminary results show the CPP winning 120 seats in the National Assembly, with the royalist Funcinpec party securing five seats, according to a message posted by the prime minister on Telegram. Hun Sen’s CPP has neutralized the political opposition over the last six months by either threatening or co-opting activists.  In May, the National Election Committee banned the main opposition Candlelight Party from running in the election, citing inadequate paperwork. Opposition activists have said the decision was politically motivated. The ban meant that the CPP didn’t have any major challengers on the ballot. Funcinpec, which formed a coalition government with the CPP for several years in the 1990s, and 16 other parties qualified for the election but weren’t expected to be serious challengers. An election observer in Koh Kong province near the Thai border told Radio Free Asia that there were no independent observers at his polling station.  “In previous elections, people stayed and watched the election process after they cast their votes,” he said. “But this time, people knew the outcome – that the ruling party will win the election. So there’s no point for them to monitor.”  Both the NEC and Hun Sen said that 84 percent of eligible voters had cast their ballot on Sunday. Official election results were expected to be announced between Aug. 9 and Sept. 4. An election official counts ballots at a polling station in Phnom Penh on July 23, 2023, during the general elections. Cambodians voted on July 23 in an election that longtime leader Hun Sen is all but guaranteed to win as he looks to secure his legacy by handing the reins to his eldest son. (AFP) Worries about democracy The prime minister said in a voice message Sunday evening that exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy’s plan to sabotage the election – by urging people to destroy their ballot – had failed.  Earlier this month, the National Assembly approved an amendment to the election law that prohibited those who didn‘t cast a vote in Sunday’s election from running for office in future elections.  At least three opposition party members who were accused of destroying their ballot were arrested on Sunday, authorities said. Another 40 opposition activists were being sought by police for allegedly being involved with plans to destroy ballots.  The NEC said in June that those who “urge voters not to go to vote, recreate mistrust in the election and disturb the electoral process” could face fines of between 5 million-20 million riels (US$1,200-4,800) and prison terms. It did not specify the possible length of prison term.  Photos of dozens of spoiled ballots were posted on Sam Rainsy’s Facebook page on Sunday.  CPP spokesman Sok Ey San estimated that the number of spoiled ballots across the country was between 200,000 and 300,000. Several voters interviewed by RFA on Sunday showed off the black ink on their fingers used to mark their ballots. They said they felt pressured to vote.  One voter in Kandal province, who asked not be named, told RFA that many people at her polling station were unhappy about the coercion.“I am worried and think that democracy will not be reinstated,” she said. “Everything from social morals to human rights have declined.” Dozens of members of the Candlelight Party – the only party that could have mounted a serious challenge to the CPP – were arrested in several provinces in recent months.  Some detained activists received pardons, were released from prison and given government positions after they publicly switched their allegiance to the CPP.  Prime Minister Hun Sen casts his vote at a polling station in Kandal province on July 23, 2023. (Photo by TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP) ‘The main opposition party is absent’ More than 23,000 polling stations opened nationwide at 7 a.m. Hun Sen and his wife, Bun Rany, drove a black Mercedes to the polls near his home in Kandal province, just outside of Phnom Penh. Hun Sen did not say anything to reporters. The prime minister’s eldest son, Hun Manet, voted at a primary school in Phnom Penh. He told journalists that he came to cast his vote to fulfill his obligations as a citizen. Hun Sen, who has held power since 1985, told a Chinese television station last week that the 45-year-old Hun Manet could become prime minister as soon as three weeks after the election. Ros Sotha, the executive director of the Cambodian Human Rights Action Coalition, said he and his group traveled from Phnom Penh to Kandal and Kampong Chhnang provinces to monitor polling stations.  Wat Dambok Khpos in Phnom Penh was crowded in the morning, but near empty by afternoon. At other polling stations, there were almost no voters after 12 p.m. – just election officials and observers, he said.  “The unhappy reaction of the people seems to be due to the fact that the main opposition party is absent from the election,” he said.  Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Edited by Matt Reed.

Read More

Who are the 18 parties running in Cambodia’s election?

Editor015 mins

Eighteen political parties will compete in Cambodia’s parliamentary election on July 23 – the country’s seventh national vote since the United Nations organized and ran the 1993 election two years after the Paris Peace Agreements. The National Election Committee in May ruled that two parties – the main opposition Candlelight Party and the Khmer United Great Nation Party – could not appear on the ballot, citing inadequate paperwork. The Candlelight Party is widely believed to be the only party that could have mounted a serious challenge to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party, but its exclusion means the ruling CPP is expected to win the large majority – and possibly all – of the National Assembly’s 125 seats. Even if it doesn’t, most of the other parties are deferential to the CPP and Hun Sen. Many officials from the smaller parties have been appointed to the Supreme Consultative Council, an advisory body created by Hun Sen following the 2018 election to bolster his power with the appearance of multi-party support. Here’s a look at every party on the ballot. _ Beehive Social Democratic Party: Radio station owner Mam Sonando founded the party in 2016. He had been a vocal critic of Hun Sen’s government, and his independent Beehive Radio station was once described by Human Rights Watch as “a key platform for promotion of human rights and democracy.” But after the 2018 election, the prime minister appointed Mam Sonando to the Supreme Consultative Council. Since then, the Beehive Party has repeatedly come out in support of the government. _ Cambodia Indigenous Peoples Democracy Party: The party was formed in early 2017 and is headquartered in Mondulkiri province. The president is Blang Sin, an ethnic Pnong who has participated in the Supreme Consultative Council. The party has not had an active campaign presence. _ Cambodian Nationality Party: Chaired by Seng Sokheng and first registered as a party with the Ministry of Interior in 2011, the party supports Hun Sen’s leadership and attacks opposition activists. It also participates in the Supreme Consultative Council, a body Hun Sen created. _ Cambodian People’s Party: Originally known as the Kampuchean People’s Revolutionary Party, it was formed in 1951 as part of Ho Chi Minh’s Indochina Communist Party.  Hun Sen is its president and has been in power in government since 1985. The party has listed his eldest son, Hun Manet, as a National Assembly candidate in Phnom Penh. Hun Sen has said that he wants Hun Manet to eventually succeed him as prime minister – a transition that could happen soon after the election.  _ Cambodian Youth Party: The party was founded in 2015 by Pich Sros, a former garment worker. Along with Funcinpec, it filed a complaint in 2017 against the Cambodia National Rescue Party – then the country’s main opposition party – that led to that party’s dissolution. After the 2018 general election, Pich Sros was promoted to the rank of senior minister when he agreed to participate in the Supreme Consultative Council. He has been active in criticizing the opposition. _ Democracy Power Party: Formed in 2020 by Un Visethkun, the former vice president of the Cambodian Youth Party. The party praised and supported Hun Sen’s policies. In February, the party issued a statement supporting the government’s decision to revoke the license of independent media outlet Voice of Democracy.  _ Dharmacracy Party: Formed in 1998, party officials did not take any action until 2017. After the CNRP was dissolved, the party participated in the 2018 general election. Its president, Por Tey Savathy, and her husband, vice president Tan Chanphal, have been appointed to the Supreme Consultative Council. The party follows Hun Sen’s political line. _ Ekpheap Cheat Khmer Party: The party announced in 2022 that it had expelled its vice president, Un Chim – a former Buddhist monk from California – following accusations that he faked a voice message from Hun Sen. The acting president of the party at the time, Lak Sopheap, told reporters in January 2022 that the fake message was sent to party members in Cambodia and the U.S. as a way of attacking her and other party leaders. The contents of the message have not been revealed to reporters. The Ministry of Interior later recognized Un Chim as the party’s new president. In February 2022, Un Chim expelled Lak Sopheap and another top official. _ Farmer’s Party: Established in 1988. The president is Meas Bo Pov, a former CPP member who has been connected to a number of public land disputes. The party follows Hun Sen’s political line. In May, it published a statement supporting the NEC’s decision to disallow the Candlelight Party from the election.  _ Funcinpec: Formed in March 1981 as a resistance movement to the Vietnam-backed regime of the 1980s. It signed the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements and formed a coalition government with the CPP after the 1993 election.  Internal conflicts and Hun Sen’s separatist strategy have weakened the party over the years. Nhek Bun Chhay of the Khmer National United Party was the party’s secretary-general from 2006-2015. The current president is Prince Norodom Chakravuth, the grandson of the late King Norodom Sihanouk and the eldest son of the late Prince Norodom Ranariddh, who served as co-prime minister from 1993-1997. Most voters no longer associate Funcinpec with the country’s royalist past, especially after Ranariddh’s decisions at various times over the years to align with the CPP. _ Grassroots Democratic Party: Formed in 2015 by a group of senior intellectuals, leaders and members of civil society. It’s led by Yeng Virak, former president of the Community Legal Education Center, a Phnom Penh NGO that works on land issues.  While some senior party officials have recently left to join the government, the party continues to criticize alleged violations of law and human rights committed by Hun Sen’s government, including the recent passage of an election law amendment that prohibits those who don’t vote in this month’s elections from running for office in the future.  _ Khmer Anti-Poverty…

Read More

Myanmar military dumps bodies of 4 civilians in river, lake

Editor03 mins

Junta troops in Myanmar’s Mandalay region tortured and killed four carpenters before dumping their bodies in a river and a lake, residents told RFA Friday. Locals found the remains of 28-year-old Ye Naung Soe and 46-year-old Kyaw Myo from Madaya township, and 30-year-old Aye Soe Kyi from Singu township in a tributary of the Ayeyarwady River on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they found the body of the unknown man, believed to be in his thirties, in a lake near Madaya’s Sa Kyin village.  The men had been arrested by a column of around 50 troops who raided Nyaung Oke village in Madaya township on July 14. Ye Naung Soe was tortured by the troops in front of villagers, according to a resident who didn’t want to be named for security reasons. “He was dragged along by a rope tied around his neck. He was also beaten with wooden sticks,” said the local.  “Two of them were tortured to death on the day of their arrest. The other two were arrested and taken to the monastery in Nat Gyi Sin village, Madaya township, where the junta troops stopped. “On July 15, they were tortured to death and thrown into the river. When we found the bodies, there were many injuries.” Another local said a fisherman who tried to retrieve the bodies was beaten by the troops. Villagers had to wait until the column had left before retrieving the badly decomposed bodies. They were cremated on Wednesday. RFA’s calls to the Mandalay region junta spokesperson, Thein Htay, went unanswered Friday. Nyaung Oke village has more than 300 homes and more than 1,000 residents. Locals told RFA there has been no fighting recently and they didn’t know why the four men were arrested and killed. More than 3,800 pro-democracy activists and civilians have been killed since the February 2021 coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

Read More

Destructive blasts in towns across Myanmar, but no one claims responsibility

Editor06 mins

Myanmar is experiencing a rising number of explosions in cities and towns across the country, but no group is claiming responsibility. This month, the blasts, which appear to be mostly homemade bombs, have injured more than 20 civilians and killed one.data compiled by Radio Free Asia shows. They have gone off in Yangon, Mandalay, in the northern Sagaing region as well as in Shan state. They come amid intensifying fighting between the junta, which took over the country in a 2021 coup, and armed rebel groups. On July 15, a homemade bomb exploded in front of the Zwe Htet jewelry store in Lashio, Shan state killing a man in his twenties and injuring at least 10 others. The survivors were treated as emergency patients at Lashio General Hospital, residents told RFA’s Burmese Service. “No one can say whether it was done by the junta, the PDF, or an armed organization,” said a Lashio resident on condition of anonymity. PDFs, or public defense forces, are small citizen militias that emerged after the military took over the country in a coup in February 2021.  “What I want to say as a citizen is that we don’t want this to happen again. Bombs exploded in front of a hotel and a jewelry store in Lashio where people were passing. We don’t want things like that,” the resident said. The city of Lashio is a hotbed of covert activities for both local armed groups and junta troops, and bomb explosions have become more frequent after the military coup, he said. One day after the Lashio blast, eight people, including a monk, were injured when a bomb exploded in Shwebo Myoma market in the Sagaing region. It is reported that a seriously injured woman in her twenties has been sent to Mandalay General Hospital. Residents blamed this particular blast ons junta troops stationed at U Aung Zeya Palace, west of Shwebo market. But the military council’s propaganda channels have accused the PDFs of attacking the area with drones. ‘Scared to go out’ A Shwebo resident told RFA that there were no such incidents before the military took over and people now are no longer safe. “It’s not easy to make a living here,” the Shwebo resident said. “Although livelihood is difficult, we dare not go to work safely. I am too scared to go out as there is no sense of security for us.” A Shwebo PDF official said that the organization does not harm the public. “The main reason why we are rebelling is because we cannot accept dictatorial rule,” he said. “We want to gain independence and a true federal democracy for the people. We are fighting because we love the people, and we only focus on the interests of the people.” RFA called the junta’s spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment on the explosions but his phone rang unanswered. Armed organizations should avoid injuring civilians who are not military targets, said Ye Tun, a political analyst. “Civilians who are not military targets cannot avoid this kind of accidental injury,” he said. “Such things often happen. However, deliberate targeting of these innocent civilians is a war crime. I think both sides of the revolution should abstain from doing so.” Harming innocent civilians is a war crime, no matter which side is responsible, said Kyaw Win, director of Burma Human Rights Network. “If the tension has reached the level of an armed revolution, it can be said that this is the worst situation in a country, ” he said.  Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

Read More

Myanmar military kills villagers, burns houses in Sagaing region

Editor03 mins

Junta troops killed eight civilians and burned down more than 600 homes in Myanmar’s Sagaing region in 11 days of raids, locals told RFA Wednesday. Residents of Myinmu township said four people were arrested and killed by troops between July 6 and July 17. “A father and son from Na Be Kyu village, one from Ma Gyi Kan village, and one from Nyaung Myit village, were killed in Ma Gyi Kan village,” said a local, who didn’t want to be named for fear of reprisals.  “The one from Nyaung Myit village is a People’s Defense Force member.” He identified the PDF member as 20-year-old Aung Zaw Htet. Locals said troops also captured and shot two people from Nyaung Pin Kan village and two more from Khwet Khwin village. The army also burned homes in Mu Mandalay, Gon Hnyin Seik and three other villages. “There are nearly 300 houses in the village. I think there may have been around 100 homes destroyed,” said a Mu Mandalay resident, who also requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.  “The junta column is not far away. So, we had to put out the fire and come back out.” RFA called the junta’s Sagaing region spokesperson, Saw Naing, but nobody answered. On June 6, junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun told RFA that junta troops do not set fire to civilians’ homes, blaming People’s Defense Forces for the arson attacks. Locals said the raid on Mu Mandalay and nearby villages forced around 2000 residents to flee their homes. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

Read More

After jailbreak in Myanmar, prison guards sentenced to 3-6 months

Editor07 mins

A Myanmar junta court handed down sentences of three to six months to seven prison employees, including a warden, after a jailbreak in May in which 10 prisoners overpowered guards, seized their guns and escaped, said three sources with knowledge of the situation.  Ten inmates, including nine fighters with the anti-junta People’s Defense Force, escaped from Taungoo Prison in central Myanmar’s Bago region on May 18 as they were being taken from their cells to a small prison courtroom for their trials. Among them was a woman and two inmates sentenced to death.  The warden, Kyi Oo, officially the deputy director of the town’s prison department, was on Monday given three months in jail, while Than Tun and Tun Tun Oo, the two prison chiefs, Lt. Than Zin Win, Lt. Oo Toe, and staffers Khant Si Thu and Pho Kauk received sentences of six months each, said the sources close to Taungoo Prison.  In addition to being sentenced to jail, they were expected to be fired, said the sources, who declined to be named so they could speak freely. The move comes as the military, which overthrew the democratically elected civilian government in a February 2021 coup d’etat, cracks down on prison staff to ensure they do not help or let political prisoners escape. Nyo Tun, a former political prisoner who was recently released, said the ruling military junta is taking more stringent action against correctional employees to suppress lower-ranking officials. “In the past, I have only seen actions taken against the prison authorities, such as removing them from duty or demoting them in positions,” he told Radio Free Asia. “It’s not like that now [because] they are even being imprisoned.” “By doing so, the junta hopes that the prison authorities and staff in other prisons will be pressured to continue to oppress our political prisoners with stricter rules and stricter methods,” he said. The prison staffers’ trial was held at the Taungoo township courthouse, said one source, though he did not know the specific charges for each. Afterwards, they were taken back to the prison. A person close to the family members of political prisoners serving time in Taungoo Prison also told RFA about the staffers’ sentences. “The warden was accused of having connections to the PDF, and they said they had a lot of proof,” the person said.  “They were also going to be removed from their official positions along with their prison terms,” the source added. Security boosted Since the escape, security at the prison has been tightened, with the installation of new closed-circuit video cameras, watchtowers and outdoor bunkers, the source said, as well as an increase in military forces there. RFA could not reach Naing Win, deputy director general and spokesman of the Prisons Department, for comment. Similar action has been taken against prison staff elsewhere in the country. At Daik-U Prison, also in Bago region, eight prison employees, including Yan Naing Tun, the deputy director, were arrested and have been under investigation since late June on charges of helping political inmates communicate with PDFs, sources close to the detention center said. On July 4, Sgt. Nay Myo Thein and a deputy sergeant who worked at Myingyan Prison in central Myanmar’s Mandalay region were fired and each sentenced to six months in jail for allegedly helping inmates, according to people close to the detention facility. Following the Taungoo jailbreak, authorities interrogated and beat some political prisoners in jails in Myingyan, Daik-U and Tharyarwaddy, killing some and putting others in life-threatening situations, prisoner relatives and sources close to the prisons told RFA in an earlier report. More than 60 such inmates were sentenced to three additional years in prison each on July 6 for their alleged involvement in a riot that took place in Pathein Prison in Ayeyarwady region. In May and June, 15 inmates died of torture during interrogation or for other reasons, including shootings for trying to escape during jail transfer, according to an RFA tally.  The military junta has detained more than 19,500 people, of whom roughly 6,850 have served prison terms, since the February 2021 coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights group based in Thailand. Translated by Myo Min Aung for RFA Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

Read More

Conflict in Myanmar’s Kayah state traps hundreds in town

Editor03 mins

A three-week battle has left six people dead and around 600 civilians trapped in Kayah state’s Ywathit township, local aid groups told RFA Tuesday. Banyar, director of the Karenni Human Rights Organization, told RFA that junta troops detained some villagers in a monastery and wouldn’t let them leave. “According to the list we received, there are more than 1,200 people in Ywathit town,” said Banyar, who goes by one name.  “Because of the battle, more than 600 people were able to flee. “There are still roughly 600 people. No one is allowed to leave the town. Six people were shot dead,” said Banyar, adding that the killings happened on June 27. He said Ywathit had been under junta control since June 27 and the town’s exit roads had been closed.  A member of the aid group told RFA that the victims were killed after being turned back at the Thai border. “A woman was killed. The rest were men from … Hpasaung township and Ywathit township who escaped to the Thai border during the fighting,” said the aid worker, who didn’t want to be named for security reasons. “However, the Thai side rejected them.  Many of them were detained and killed while they were returning. Some people are also missing.” Junta media have not mentioned the three-week battle and Kayah state’s  junta spokesperson Aung Win Oo didn’t return RFA’s calls. The combined Karenni National People’s Liberation Front and Karenni People’s Defense Forces said on June 13 they captured a junta outpost on the Thai border. However, the junta announced on June 27 that the military base had been taken back. According to Banyar, there are about 2,000 people seeking shelter near the border and another 9,000 people who have fled to Thailand as a result of the ongoing conflict. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

Read More

Investigative Journalism Reportika © March 2022 by Ij-Reportika is licensed under CC BY 4.0