ND Burma
ND-Burma formed in 2004 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 13 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to advocate for justice for victims. ND-Burma trains local organizations in human rights documentation; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, a secure open-source software; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns.
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Massacres in Kani Township, Yinmabin District, Sagaing Region
/in ND-Burma Members' Reports, ND-Burma's Reports, Torture and Ill-treatmentIn over (70) years of civil war in Burma, ethnic nationalities have suffered torture, extrajudicial killings, massacres, rape, villages burned to the ground, and residents forced to flee their homes in indiscriminate junta military so-called ‘Military Clearance Policy’. Human rights and civil society organizations across Burma have repeatedly called for action to end this military’s impunity. The UN formed a fact-finding mission in 2018 to investigate the repeated human rights violations. And yet, the junta has continued to perpetrate human rights abuses, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
The military junta seized power and arbitrary arrested the country’s elected leaders on February 1, 2021. People across the regions and states have been resisting the junta in various ways. Kani Township, Yinmabin District, Sagaing Region is known as a prominent area of opposition to the coup. The juntas’ response has been to target and destroy areas in Kani Township, and surrounding villages and forests with shootings, arrests, and raids in military incursions. Thousands of residents have fled to nearby villages and forests. The junta has also entered these villages and killed buffaloes, cows, and looted property from the villages.
44th and 99th Light Infantry Division, including battalion 228th based in Kale Township, have attacked almost every village in Kani Township, using some thousand troops in three different strategic divisions. Many locals have endured inhumane atrocities by the junta. Arbitrary arrest, torture, and sometimes being killed through torture. It has also been reported that internal displaced persons are suffering from food and medical shortages. The terrorist (junta) group has been collecting money through extortion, as well as assaulting, intimidating, and beating locals like with rifle stocks when they travel to Monywa Township to purchase necessities.
Ooredoo and Telenor tele-com operators’ internet and phone lines were suspended on July 9, and MPT was cut off on August 2 in some villages in Kani Township. According to locals, only the military owned Mytel internet and phone line are currently available in some villages. The junta has been uses its four cuts doctrine to indiscriminately target civilians. In July alone, the junta committed 4 massacres in Kani Township villages. At least 43 people have been discovered killed in this way.
First massacre (4 fatalities)
Four men were arrested, tortured, and shot in the head on July 1, between 4 – 6 pm in Shitkoetat Forest between Mone O Village and Ywar Thar Village, Kani Township, Yinmabin District, Sagaing Region. According to locals, the (4) corpses were found headless from shootings on July 3. Some (25) motorcycles were found burned in a nearby fire. The (4) men were each from Sein Kone Village, Phan Khar Kone Village, Sule Kone Village, and Inn Chaung Village.
Second massacre (16 fatalities)
The junta stormed Yin Village and Kone Thar Village, located on the eastern bank of Chindwin River. They entered the village, forcing residents to flee to Kyauk Hle Ka Village on July 9 and 10. Missing were twenty-six villagers. When locals went searching for them, (15) dead bodies were discovered in the valley on Khin Tan Shay Hill, east of Yin Village, Kani Township, Sagaing Region, and (1) dead body was found in another nearby village. According to locals from Yin Village, the dead bodies were found on July 11 and 12 on the hill east of Yin Village.
The (16) murdered persons were from Yin Village (13), Kone Thar Village (1), Paluzawa Village (1), and from Htauk Kyan Kone Village (1). Most of the victims were men, aged between (30) and (50), one of the victims was a male in his 60’s. All the corpses were found with signs of severe torture, some with cuts and bruises on faces and necks.
Third massacre (12 fatalities)
A clash between the military junta and People Defense Force (PDF) happened near Zee Pin Dwin Village, Kani Township, Sagaing Region, on the evening of July 26. Some villagers and PDF went missing. Five dead bodies were found in the first search, by the paddle field behind Zee Pin Dwin Village, and another seven dead bodies were found in a second search. Total of (12) corpses were discovered on July 27.
During the second search, the villagers dug a pit and found (4) victims, (1) hanging from a tree, and (2) lying on the ground. Of these (7) fatalities found in the second search, (2) were elderly over the age of 60, (1) was disabled, and (4) others were aged between 18 – 30.
The (12) fatalities from this third massacre were from Zee Pin Dwin Village (2), Chin Phone Village (1), Thamin Zat Village (1), Tha Lauk Village (1), and Monywa Township (7). According to locals all the victims were found with wounds and injuries from beatings and torture.
Fourth massacre (11 fatalities)
Junta troops raided a small village near Htoo Village, Taungpauk Village Tract, Kani Township. A local People Defense Force (PDF) from Kani Township resisted the attack and a clash unfolded on July 26 and 27. On the morning of July 28, the junta raided Ko Aung Kyaw Myint’s house, a farmer from Thayat Taw Village, who was working in Kyat Chaung Taw Tike. (11) men, including Ko Aung Kyaw Myint, were detained, and his house burned down by the terrorist group. According to one of the victims’ wives, she heard (10) gunshots around 10 am close by to Ko Myint Thein’s farm, a local in Thayat Taw Village.
On July 31, the villagers went on a search and found (11) men massacred in Ko Myint Thein’s farm, in Thayat Taw Village. (2) motorbikes had also been set on fire at the intersection of Kyauktaga and Kyat Creeks, Taungpauk Village Tract, Kani Township.
The (11) victims were all men and from Kho Dwin Village (1), Thayat Taw Village (6), Kani Township (3), and Nyaung Thu Village (1). The (3) from Kani Township were brothers working as farmers in coal manufacturing in their relatives’ village. Among the dead, (3) had bruises on their faces and all over their bodies, they had been shot in the head and chest, with burns on their faces from gasoline. All the bodies were rotting by the time they were found.
In the aftermath of the incident, U Maung Myint, a resident from Kho Dwin Village, Kintaung Village Tract, Kani Township, was mentally distressed by the massacre and drove his motorcycle to a high school in Kani Township where junta troops were based on the evening of August 1. U Maung Myint shouted “civilians died because of you”. He went close to the school’s wall unarmed, the junta then shot. According to his family, junta troops disappeared the body over the night.
Atrocities committed by this terrorist group are happening across Burma daily. The massacres in Kani Township are but incidents which have emerged with concrete evidence. These events testify that the junta is committing crimes against humanity. It is the junta which is responsible for these crimes threatening the lives and property of civilians all over Burma.
The massacres in Kani Township are an act of extermination under the international law. The (1949) Geneva Convention and its June 8, (1977) additional protocols established international humanitarian law norms such as protection of the civilian population, objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian, cultural objects and places of worship due to international or non-international armed conflicts.
According to article (32) of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Geneva Convention related to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, taking any measure of such a character as to cause the physical suffering or extermination of protected persons in their hands is prohibited. This applies not only to murder, torture, corporal punishment, mutilation and medical or scientific experiments not necessitated by the medical treatment of a protected person, but also to any other measures of brutality whether applied by civilian or military agents.
The Kani Township massacres and targeting of civilians is a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions. The junta’s torture and murder of civilians in Kani Township must be condemned by the international community as crimes against humanity and litigated accordingly. Similar incidents to Kani Township occurred in Depayin Township and other townships. These incidents will consequently be examined by civil society organizations.
(2) persons over the age of 60, and (1) disabled person were killed in the second massacre. This junta has repeatedly committed torture towards the most vulnerable members of society, such as children and the disabled. Groups which the international community has made specific pledges to protect.
Article (15) of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by (182) countries, including Burma, states that “States Parties shall protect persons with disabilities from being subjected to torture”. The international community must adhere to its vital responsibility to ensure these groups are protected.
It is therefore necessary for the international community to act against this terrorist group and reject a murderous junta and illegitimate coup at the United Nations General Assembly. At the same time, the National Unity Government, with legitimacy granted by Burma’s people, must be recognized and given appropriate credentials by the international community as the legitimate government in Burma.
Upon ratifying the Rome Statue, the NUG must refer the junta to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and represent Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
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Junta’s election commission orders political parties to prepare for financial audit
/in NewsSome fear the audit will be used as a pretext to disband certain parties
The junta’s Union Election Commission (UEC) has announced plans to audit the financial records of Myanmar’s political parties, a move that has been met with fierce criticism.
The UEC, which officially annulled the results of last year’s election in July, has ordered parties to prepare their financial records for inspection, in what some suspect will be used as a pretext by the junta to disband certain parties.
The commission has not yet set a date for the audit.
Sai Leik, general secretary of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, questioned why the UEC would audit finances after officially annulling the election. “Asking for a list of election expenses for each candidate is a pointless act,” he said.
Tha Tun Hla, chairperson of the Arakan National Party (ANP), said that some would find the UEC’s directive difficult to follow because of travel restrictions imposed amid surging Covid-19 cases.
“The political parties that prepared well have no problem,” he said. “But the parties that are not ready to prepare the documents will have to travel.”
He added: “The junta may intend to use the powers enshrined in the Political Parties Act, such as the right to dissolve political parties if they cannot submit their financial statements.”
Parties that fail to comply with certain sections of the Political Parties Registration Law can be suspended for 30 years or permanently dissolved.
Win Maung, the Mandalay Region chairperson of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), said his party had not yet been issued any instructions to prepare for an audit.
Ko Ko Gyi, chairperson of the People’s Party, said he did not yet know what the junta’s intentions were.
“It is still unclear whether the military council has made it mandatory for political parties to deal with its UEC, or if it will really take concrete action regarding the financial matters of the parties,” he said.
Tun Myint, an ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker, said the party would not follow the UEC’s directive because the junta it serves is illegitimate.
“We do not recognise the UEC formed by the violent military council. There is no reason to react to their instructions,” said Tun Myint, who is also secretary of the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, which was formed in the wake of the coup by ousted MPs.
Thein Soe, who led the UEC during the rigged 2010 election that brought the USDP to power, was re-appointed as chairperson of the commission after February’s coup.
In May he announced plans to dissolve the NLD, citing unfounded claims by the military that the party had won its landslide victory in last year’s election through voter fraud.
The party’s detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi responded to the announcement via her lawyers by saying the NLD would continue to exist regardless of what the junta did.
The junta has vowed to hold fresh elections and allow the winner to take power, but few have taken this promise seriously, while many in the anti-coup movement say the NLD has already won a legitimate election and should be immediately returned to power.
Myanmar Now News
More Than 40 Junta Troops Killed Across Myanmar
/in NewsMore than 40 junta soldiers were reportedly killed and many others wounded by civilian resistance fighters in Sagaing Region and Chin and Shan states during the weekend.
On Sunday morning, about 150 junta soldiers on the Mindat-Matupi highway used explosives on a Mindat Chinland Defense Force (CDF) camp about 25km west of the Chin State mountaintop town of Mindat.
A fierce shootout followed between the military and resistance fighters, a Mindat People’s Administration statement said.
Resistance fighters abandoned their camp amid junta artillery attacks.
An estimated 20 junta soldiers were killed and several wounded with no resistance causalities, the statement said.
Junta soldiers burned civilian homes along the highway.
Another military unit raided villages, including those sheltering displaced civilians from Mindat town, in the north of the township, according to residents and the people’s administration.
Ko Lawrence of the Mindat Township displacement camp management committee told The Irrawaddy on Monday that more than 1,000 people from at least 20 villages fled into forests due to junta raids and firefights.
Resistance attacks on the junta started in Mindat in mid-April.
Clash in Shan State
At least 10 junta soldiers were reportedly killed by civilian resistance fighters from the Southern Shan State Generation (SSSG) during a raid on a regime camp in Nansang Township on Sunday morning.
A civilian fighter was injured in a firefight with military reinforcements, according to the SSSG.
The Irrawaddy was unable to independently confirm the details.
Landmine triggered in Sagaing Region
On Monday morning, numerous junta troops were reportedly killed by landmines planted by the Taze People’s Comrades in Taze Township, Sagaing Region.
Two civilian vehicles carrying troops triggered landmines near Doukgyi village, the group said on Facebook.
It claimed the military suffered many deaths.
Firefight in Shan State
At least 11 junta troops were killed in Shan State during a fierce firefight with resistance fighters from across Kayah State and a Shan State township on Saturday.
The People Defense Force (PDF) in Pekon said in a statement that resistance fighters along with counterparts from Demoso and Moe Bye townships and forces from the Karenni Nationalities Force (KNDF) and Karenni Army, the armed wing of the Karenni National Progressive Party, attacked the junta and the Pa-O National Organization (PNO) ahead of an attempted raid on the PDF in Pekon.
During 11 hours of fighting, five junta soldiers and at least six PNO troops were killed while two civilian fighters were injured, the KNDF said in a statement.
The military regime is attacking Karenni forces in Loikaw, Demoso, Hpruso, Bawlakhe and Hpasawng townships.
Irrawaddy News
Spring Revolution Daily News for 16th August 2021
/in NewsU Win Thaw, the vice-chair of Central Bank, said that they would not make any other banks go bankrupt or close them. It was just a rumour that 5000 Kyats notes and 10000 Kyats notes would be withdrawn.
He also said that the online banking system and cash withdrawal from ATMs would go normally during the extended period of public holidays.
The junta newspaper on Sunday announced the list of selected members for the junta media council.
The military junta announced that priority had been given to the imports of medicines and other items related to prevention, treatment and control of COVID-19 every day.
The military junta said that they and other well-wishers had been donating oxygen cylinders, PPEs and nutritious food to public hospitals, military hospitals, health centres, COVID centres and social organizations in states and regions.
According to the junta media, Sinovac vaccination had been carried out for 345 workers from the industrial zones in Dagon Seikkam and Hlaing Thaya townships.
In Kyonepyaw of Ayeyarwady Region, junta police and soldiers have been collecting fines up to 50000 Kyats from those who go out without permit cards. According to residents, those who cannot pay it have been arrested and detained.
The military junta announced that they had been blocking off townships and conducting investigations to catch those who had opened gunfire on the city train in Yangon.
Mandalay Regional Monks Organization agreed to the discussion of the military council to keep monks at the junta check-points in Mandalay.
According to affiliates, the chief military officer of Winemaw-based Army (58) and some other officers were faced with the investigation at an army court.
The official Facebook page of Spring Lottery Raising the Flag of Victory announced that the time to start selling their NUG lottery had been changed to 4:00 pm Sunday.
Ministry for the Affairs of Federal Union released Federal Journal Issue (2) containing extensive explanation about characteristics of the Federal Union Constitution.
Ministry of Human Rights and Ministry for Women, Youth and Children- NUG released a joint statement that they had concerns about universal human rights, including health and other rights, of the prisoners who had been detained for their freedom of expression and anti-junta movements.
According to the social media post of lottery sales, the allotted number of Spring lottery was sold out within hours. Therefore, they would have to stop for the day and continue their sales the next day.
At about 5:00 pm Saturday, 6 policemen were shot by unknown gunmen on the city train from Yangon Station to Insein. Reportedly, 4 of them died in the incident.
On Sunday morning, there were bomb explosions in Sanchaung and Kyimyindine townships of Yangon Region.
According to residents, bomb explosions happened consecutively at administration offices of 5 wards in Kyimyindine Township.
In Ward (20) of western Hlaingthaya Township, the watchmen from the junta administration office beat a young man aged 30 to death.
In Lasho of Shan North, junta police raided a house in Ward (11) and took away 100 lakhs.
In Chin State, there was fighting between CDF and the junta armed forces at milepost (16) on Mindat-Matupi road on Sunday. According to CDF Mindat, the military junta lost many soldiers.
In Kanpetlet Township of Chin State, the junta armed forces opened fire wildly for no apparent reason at about 11:30 am Sunday. Reportedly, two people, father and son, were seriously injured.
On Saturday night, Mandalay Monks’ Union recited Parittas for the public as usual and protested against the military dictatorship.
On Sunday, Mandalay Monks’ Union made an anti-junta movement, reciting Parittas.
On Sunday, a rally of Chan/Zi in Unity marched against the military dictatorship.
In Madaya Township of Mandalay Region, U Win Naing, junta-appointed administrator of Thabyechaung village, was killed on Saturday afternoon. At night, the junta armed forces came there and arrested 3 villagers.
On Sunday, Myataung rally expressed their desire for the downfall of the military dictatorship, chanting anti-junta slogans.
On Sunday evening, a rally of Mandala University Students expressed their desire for the end of the military dictatorship.
As 188-day protest, there was an anti-junta march amidst violent crackdowns and arrests in Mandalay.
In Pha-Ang of Kayin State, young people led a protest against the military watchdog on Sunday, “Only NUG is our government”.
In Tantsi Township, a rally of youth, in cooperation with farmers, made a farming strike against the military dictatorship on Sunday.
In Monywa of Sagaing Region, there was a bomb explosion near the downtown clock tower, where the junta armed forces had been taking security, at about 8:22 am Sunday.
As 185-day protest, a rally comprising various villages from Salingyi North and Yinmabin East expressed their objection to the military dictatorship on Sunday morning.
In Salingyi Township of Sagaing Region, Latbadaung Taung General Strike protested against the military dictatorship.
In Monywa, a rally of youth and students expressed their disapproval of the military dictatorship, even amidst tight security measures by the junta armed forces.
At about 3:30 pm Saturday, a convoy of military trucks with about 50 junta soldiers was attacked by Yinmabin PDF with 3 mines near Myephwetaung in Yinmabin Township. Reportedly, no less than 3 junta soldiers died and no less than 10 others were injured.
On Sunday, Kalay people managed to conduct their anti-junta movement.
On Sunday afternoon, Dawei General Strike, in cooperation with a rally of youth/students expressed their desire against the military dictatorship, “Only NUG is our government”.
On Sunday evening, Longlone township youth marched against the military dictatorship in the rural community, chanting “Only NUG is our government”.
On Sunday afternoon, there was a guerrilla protest against the military dictatorship in Lower Yebyu village amidst the rain.
On the night of 11th August, Ko Aung Yu was arrested by the junta armed forces in Daungngu Ward. According to his wife, he died in the investigation after 3 days of arrest.
In Pha-Kant Township of Kachin State, residents of Lonekhine village marched in the rain on Sunday morning and expressed their desire against the military dictatorship.
On Sunday morning, there was an anti-junta movement in Pakkoku Township of Magwe Region.
In Gantgaw Township of Magwe Region, the junta armed forces came to Myaukkinyan village on 9th August and arrested a member of NLD with COVID-19 infection.
In Seik Phyu Township of Magwe Region, the junta armed forces conducted arrests on the exit of Seik Phyu and Pathein-Monywa road. Consequently, there was a lack of food in Shala village group and nearby villages.
In Chauk Township of Magwe Region, U Aung Myint Sein, junta-appointed administrator of Pwint-Lin village, was killed. Regarding the murder, junta police had been investigating suspects at the station. Therefore, residents were worried.
On Sunday afternoon, the public in Magwe Township protested against the military dictatorship, “We all are PDFs looking forward to D-Day”.
In Shan South, there was a battle between the junta armed forces and a combined force of Karenni Army between Pinlong and Phekone townships for 11 hours from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm Saturday.
According to Phekone PDF, the military junta lost a lot of soldiers and they had to ask for help from the army in Aung Pan.
At about 7:00 am Sunday, the battle resumed between the junta armed forces and Karenni PDFs between Pinlong and Phekone townships. Reportedly, 13 military trucks left Loikaw to help the junta army.
On Saturday night, INDF called for the cooperation of Inle people for the downfall of the military dictatorship.
In Ngaputaw Township of Ayeyarwady Region, arrangements had been made to build an oxygen plant with the funding of the public. The military junta said that they would lead it. Consequently, some funding had to be asked back.
In Tantalan Township the headquarters of Chin National Army, COVID-19 vaccinations began at Camp Victoria.
General Tun Myat Naing, Chief of AA, said in an interview with Arakan media on Sunday that arrangements had been made for the involvement of Muslims in Rakhine State for the positions of administration and police procedures of ULA/AA.
In Shan South, there was heavy fighting between a combined force of the junta army-PNO and a combined force of KA-KNDF near Lwehwe village from 8:45 am to 6:30 pm Saturday. Free Burma Ranger Karenni announced that they had to take women and children from the village to a safe place.
Summary on 16th August
Mizzima News
Karennis hit by war and pandemic in urgent need of aid, says rebel group
/in NewsThe man and his son were both inside their home when soldiers opened fire nearby
A man was seriously injured after he and his 4-year-year son were shot by regime troops in a village in Chin State’s Kanpetlet Township on Sunday.
The incident occurred at around 11am, when soldiers patrolling Kant Thar Yon, a village about a mile outside the town of Kanpetlet, opened fired near the man’s house.
Thirty-year-old Thang Htong and his son Naing Thang were both inside their home when they were hit by stray bullets, according to a member of the Kanpetlet Township Public Administration Committee, a civilian management group set up by opponents of Myanmar’s military junta.
Thang Htong was hit in the arm, thigh and abdomen and was taken to a public hospital in the city of Magway, about 250km away, with serious injuries. The child was not badly hurt, locals told Myanmar Now.
Residents of the village said the shooting was unprovoked.
“The soldiers said they were shooting at a suspicious-looking man on a motorcycle, but it seems more like they were just firing shots at random,” said one Kanpetlet resident who spoke to villagers who arrived on the scene shortly after the incident.
There have been tensions in the area since clashes broke out between junta troops and the Chinland Defence Force-Kanpetlet (CDF-Kanpetlet) in the village of Kha Nan on July 27.
Although there has been no fighting since then, the regime has maintained a heavy military presence in Kanpetlet and surrounding villages, according to the local management group.
“They’re fully armed and patrolling the town. Some are in plain clothes, hiding and ready for ambushes,” said a spokesperson for the group.
“There is also a checkpoint in front of a high school in the centre of town,” the spokesperson added, noting that at least five young people have been arrested since August 6 after their phones were inspected while passing the checkpoint.
Kanpetlet was the scene of fierce clashes in late May, when local CDF fighters carried out a series of attacks on junta reinforcements sent to crush the local anti-coup resistance movement.
Myanmar Now News
Weekly Update on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar Post-Coup (August 9-15)2021
/in HR SituationChoosing the truth over terror, five youth jumped to their deaths from an apartment building in Yangon while fleeing a chase by the Myanmar junta security forces. The junta has cremated the bodies of those who died – despite this going against the wishes of family members. Families were also reportedly not allowed to take their loved ones’ ashes. This heartbreaking incident devastated proponents of democracy and peace in Myanmar as uplifting drawings and various art forms commemorated their passing. The incident spoke volumes to the type of legacy the junta is leaving impressioned upon the younger generations who are willing to do anything for their freedom. May they rest in power.
The United Nations Special Envoy, Christine Schraner Burgener, expressed further concern for the situation in Myanmar, especially amid rising COVID-19 cases stating: “is still very worrisome.” Her concerns are rooted in Min Aung Hlaing’s declaration of a ‘caretaker government’ and concerted attempts to completely dismantle the National League for Democracy. Adding another layer of concern is the appointment by ASEAN’s decision to appoint Brunei’s Foreign Affairs Minister II Erywan Yusof as its special envoy to Myanmar. Civil society has expressed disdain and rejection of this appointment, which is rooted in the fact that ASEAN has failed to do any meaningful dialogue with the National Unity Government. Growing sentiment and distrust of Erywan Yusof has only intensified following news of Brunei’s business ties with the junta.
However, the resistance and growing momentum of the people in Myanmar has not been silenced. Even in the prisons where the junta thinks they have silenced dissidents, their voices are being heard. On the anniversary of the 1988 democracy uprisings, nationwide protests reinforced calls for democracy. In Mandalay’s Obo Prison, prisoners in block three who include mainly young people and students, began chanting pro-democracy cheers. The junta responded with more violence as several were reportedly beaten.
Clashes in ethnic areas are increasing risks faced by the most vulnerable, where for example, according to the Karen Peace Support Network, there are at least 70,000 IDPs in Karen State taking shelter and are afraid to return home. UN figures put displacement at over 200 000 since the military coup.