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.
Recent Posts
- Junta targeting rebel-held areas in northern Myanmar with airstrikes and artillery
- Human Rights Situation weekly update (September 8 to 14, 2024)
- Myanmar National Organizing Committee for ACSC/APF ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN People’s Forum 2024
- Human Rights Situation weekly update (September 1 to 7, 2024)
- Red Cross chief calls for greater aid access after visit to Myanmar
Momeik Incinerated as Myanmar Junta Reoccupies Shan Town
/in NewsMyanmar junta troops have retaken Momeik (Mongmit) in northern Shan State after the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and allied resistance forces retreated from the town. At least eight residents were reportedly killed and houses were torched as junta soldiers reoccupied the town.
A combined force of the KIA, All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) and People’s Defense Force attacked the town on Jan. 18. They announced that they had taken control of the town on Jan. 25 after defeating junta positions including the police station. They retreated the same evening, however, and junta troops returned to torch houses in the town, said residents who had fled.
“Junta troops are now in the town and burning houses. They have arrested residents who stayed behind. They also arrested about five residents who returned to check their houses on Sunday. Those who went back to feed animals have also been arrested,” said one resident.
Regime troops are seeking to sow division in the town by forcing Muslim detainees to burn houses in Momeik, according to a volunteer helping displaced people.
“An escapee reported that junta soldiers told detainees to burn houses. They told Muslims to set fire to houses with torches, threatening to kill them if they refused. They took photographs. I believe the regime will use the photos to spread propaganda and stir religious hatred by claiming Muslims are torching houses and religious buildings,” the volunteer said.
Junta troops blockaded the town and killed some eight residents, including Muslims, said a town resident helping displaced people. Many residents had fled before the fighting. Those who stayed found themselves trapped and were either killed or arrested by junta soldiers, he said.
“We offered to transport them out of the town but they were unwilling to leave their homes. They thought the military would not harm them if they stayed indoors. After what happened, we can only feel sorry for them. We learned that around eight people, including four Muslims, were killed,” he said.
Junta newspapers claimed that the regime had retaken the town on Saturday after launching a counteroffensive against the KIA, TNLA and PDF groups.
However, that claim is disputed.
“KIA troops were not defeated but rather retreated, allowing regime soldiers to retake the town. Momeik has been battered by junta air and artillery strikes. Residents are furious that the KIA retreated from the town,” said one Momeik resident.
Junta media have accused the KIA and its allies of torching religious buildings, schools, houses and healthcare facilities while they were in Momeik.
The Irrawaddy was unable to reach the resistance groups for comment.
Some two-thirds of Momeik have been destroyed while over 40 civilians trapped in the fighting were killed, according to local community organizations that cremated their remains on a football pitch.
The major market in the town was incinerated by junta bombing raids.
Momeik is bordered by Kachin State’s Mansi Township to the north, Mandalay Region’s Mogoke Township to the south, and Thabbeikyin Township to the west. Several ethnic armed groups are active in Momeik.
Irrawaddy News
Myanmar junta sentences nearly 400 women in 3 years since coup
/in NewsOf 20,000 people arrested, more than 5,000 are women suspected of political offenses.
Updated on Jan. 30, 2024 at 10:27 a.m. ET
Nearly 400 women in Myanmar have been sentenced to prison, some for more than 20 years – or even death – for political offenses in the three years since the coup, a report by the Burmese Women’s Union said.
The report included high-profile women including ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and documentary filmmaker Shin Daewe among the 398 women sentenced by the junta, which took control of the country on Feb. 1, 2021.
The most recent high profile sentencing occurred on Jan. 10, when journalist and film director Shin Daewe, 50, got life in prison for ordering a drone online. When she went to pick up the drone on Oct. 15, junta soldiers arrested her on terrorism charges.
“She is a filmmaker, and she makes films. She bought the things she needed. I can’t understand how it was connected to terrorism,” her brother, Myint Thu, told RFA Burmese.
Being shut up in prison will keep her from family and from making more films. “It will be a loss for her, the family and the community,” he said. “I just want my sister to come back home.”
Most of the women were convicted under two laws: Section 50 (j), a counter-terrorism law, and Section 505 (a), a Burmese Woman’s Union, or BWU, official told RFA. The latter law was added to the penal code to the junta after the coup, and it can be used to punish comments or implications that the coup or the military is illegitimate, according to New York-based Human Rights Watch.
“Some were sentenced to 40 years in prison for contacting and donating to the resistance forces,” the official said, asking not to to be identified for fear of reprisal.
The junta also used Section 121 on high treason, the most popular legal provision being used to charge politicians; and section 124 on incitement to riot to charge the 398 women.
The junta also outlawed bail after taking charge and has arrested more than 20,000 people, including more than 5,000 women since, mostly for political offenses.
According to the records compiled by the BWU, of those arrested women, 39 were sentenced to life in prison and 16 face the death penalty.
Additionally, two received sentences between 45 to 65 years, seven between 30 and 45 years, 27 between 20 and 30 years, 105 between 10 and 20 years, 205 between five to 10 years, 315 between one and five years, and two under one year.
Martial law
The junta has imposed a number of martial law areas throughout the country, and most of those arrested were tried and sentenced in military courts.
According to martial law, political offenses can be given the death penalty, indefinite imprisonment with hard labor, or maximum punishment under the respective charges.
An official from the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, or AAPP, commented that the military council has purposely cracked down on women who had been participating in anti-regime peaceful protests that have been ongoing since just after the coup.
“Why are political prisoners sentenced to long-term prison terms? The main reason is hatred,” the official said. “It’s quite clear about the junta. To be frank, they want to kill the people who are against them.”
Though many of the people arrested and unfairly sentenced are men, women are participating in anti-junta movements at a very high rate, he said.
“We see women side-by-side with men and against the regime in all ways. The regime hates it very much,” the official said. “They crack down on women unjustly because they hate them so much. It seems like they are taking revenge.”
He added that the junta filed charges as they pleased, and when imposing sentences, the judges themselves were only making orders according to the instructions from the junta.
But the junta’s spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun told RFA in 2022 that only those who are guilty are punished in accordance with law.
However, he also said that a person who just donated a single kyat to any anti-junta cause could face imprisonment of at least 10 years or even the death penalty under the counter-terrorism laws.
According to Aung Myo Min, the human rights minister for the shadow National Unity Government, made up of former lawmakers ousted by the coup, the military courts deprive people of their right to defend themselves.
“Does a person get his or her legal rights during this kind of legal process, court hearings and passing judgements? I’m sure they won’t get it,” he said. “The military courts have no independence. You don’t have the right to call witnesses or the right to defend. If you look at it, if a person is unjustly arrested, his or her legal rights are denied.”
RFA News
Human Rights Situation weekly update (January 15 to 21, 2024)
/in HR Situation, NewsHuman Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Jan 15 to 21, 2024
Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in Sagaing Region, Mandalay Region, Shan State, Mon State, Rakhine State, and Chin State from January 15th to 21st. Military Junta arrested over 10 civilians and used them as human shields in Sagaing Region. They cut off phone and internet data connections in Rakhine State. A political prisoner from Kyaikmaraw Prison died because of the lack of medical treatment in Mon State.
Over30 civilians died and about 40 were injured by the Military’s heavy and light artillery attacks within a week. 3 underaged children were injured and 4 died when the Military Junta committed abuses. Civilians left their places 6 times because of the Military Junta Troop’s marching and raiding within a week.
Infogram
Battle For Myanmar’s Rakhine State Set to Escalate, Brotherhood Alliance Says
/in NewsFighting between the Arakan Army and junta troops will intensify in Rakhine State within a few days as the regime sends in a large number of reinforcements as well as weapons and ammunition, the Brotherhood Alliance said in a statement late Sunday.
The Arakan Army (AA) is one of the three powerful ethnic armies that comprise the alliance, which launched a major anti-regime offensive across northern Shan State in late October.
The Brotherhood Alliance said AA troops have been on the offensive in the western state and have seized junta bases despite heavy attacks from land, sea and air.
Most of the 400 troops who fled to India after recent clashes with AA troops in Paletwa Township in neighboring Chin State have been re-deployed to Rakhine State, the Brotherhood Alliance said, adding that Myanmar’s military is sending reinforcements and military supplies to the western state by sea.
The junta’s move to reinforce its positions in Rakhine State follows a halt in attacks by the Brotherhood Alliance against its targets in northern Shan State more than a week after a China-brokered ceasefire was signed between the alliance and the junta.
On Sunday, intense fighting continued in six townships of northern Rakhine State – Kyauktaw, Minbya, Mrauk U, Pauktaw, Ramree and Rathedaung – as AA troops attacked regime bases and attempted to seize towns from the junta, according to the Brotherhood Alliance and local media reports.
On Monday morning, AA troops attacked regime targets in Kyauktaw town. The fighting in the town follows the capture of junta Artillery Battalion 377 and Light Infantry Battalion 539 in Kyauktaw Township on Jan 14 and 16, respectively.
About 300 junta troops from Battalion 539, and their family members, surrendered to the AA, which also detained junta tactical commander Lt-Colonel Nyi Nyi Win who had sustained injuries.
AA troops also reportedly launched rocket attacks on the junta naval headquarters of Danyawaddy, one of the largest naval bases in the country. It is located in an area of Kyaukphyu Township where a China-invested project is being built. After the attack by the AA, a junta gunboat randomly shelled nearby areas, Rakhine media outlet Nainjara reported, citing residents.
The Brotherhood Alliance said the junta bombed the town of Minbya on Sunday night with a Harbin Y-12 airplane and that civilian homes were destroyed.
An estimated 800 reinforcements from the state capital Sittwe arrived in a village in Minbya Township on four military barges on Sunday, Rakhine media outlet Narinjara reported, citing residents.
The Arakan Army has taken control of Pauktaw Town near Sittwe after junta troops vacated the town following two months of attacks, local media reported.
Intense fighting resumed in northern Rakhine State on Nov. 13 last year after the AA widened the Brotherhood Alliance’s Operation 1027 to the state. It has seized Paletwa town in neighboring Chin State and over 160 junta bases, outposts and battalion headquarters across northern Rakhine and Paletwa Township.
The junta has responded to its losses on the battlefield with a wave of bombings of villages and residential areas of towns, killing dozens of civilians.
Irrawaddy News
Human Rights Situation weekly update (January 8 to 14, 2024)
/in HR Situation, NewsHuman Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Jan 8 to 14, 2024
Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in Sagaing Region, Mandalay Region, Rakhine State, Chin State, Shan State, and Kachin State from January 8th to 14th. Military people arrested, beat, and extorted the civilians who did not have NRC cards or Smart cards in Ayeyarwady Region. Military Junta killed 8 civilians from Sagaing Region and Mandalay Region.
About 20 civilians died and over 20 were injured by the Military’s heavy and light artillery attacks within a week. 2 underaged children were injured and 2 died when the Military Junta committed abuses. Civilians left their places 8 times because of the Military Junta Troop’s matching and riding.
Infogram
Myanmar Junta Forcibly Recruiting Bago Villagers as Resistance Threatens Yangon-Naypyitaw Link
/in NewsWeakened by troop shortages and a wave of defeats, Myanmar’s military regime has been forcibly recruiting civilians to form militia groups in Bago Region, according to locals and resistance groups.
Last month, the junta also released jailed soldiers from prisons across the country to serve on the frontlines.
On Friday, military-appointed local administrators told residents of some villages in Bago they had to provide 30 to 50 men for military training.
The recruitment drive has not been publicized in big towns like Taungoo, Bago and Pyay but is confined to villages across the region, multiple sources in Bago told The Irrawaddy.
Almost three years after the coup, junta boss Min Aung Hlaing’s forces are suffering rising casualties, desertions and mass surrenderers as a coordinated resistance offensive gains territory across the country.
Earlier this month almost 2,400 soldiers including six Brigadier Generals and more than 200 army officers surrendered to resistance forces, handing their weapons, headquarters and the entire Kokang region over to rebel armies in northern Shan State.
The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and allied resistance groups are now fighting to take territory in Bago Region, which lies sandwiched between the two junta power centers of Naypyitaw to the north and Yangon to the south.
Regime officials announced the recruitment scheme for males aged 16 to 50 in villages around Bago’s Taungoo on Friday. They told locals in Pyar Taung, Zee Phyu Pin, Tha Pham Pin, Kyun Gyi and Shaung Kan villages that they would be conscripted by lottery.
Households that did not provide at least one recruit would have to pay 30,000 kyats per month to regime officials.
Selected civilians could also avoid recruitment by paying 2 million kyats (about US$ 950 at the official exchange rate), a local from Taungoo told The Irrawaddy.
Junta officials didn’t say when the plan would be implemented.
Streets in Taungoo have been quiet over the past few days as residents stay inside for fear of being caught up in the recruitment drive.
Early-morning street vendors are no longer setting up at the local market while some residents have fled the area or are sleeping in fields.
“People are afraid. They won’t accept the military regime’s plan and don’t want to join the militia. They are not sleeping well now,” the Taungoo resident said.
On Saturday, administrators in villages near Hpa Do, Kyauktaga Township, summoned residents to their homes and announced they would recruit 50 people per village to form militias.
According to a source from Hpa Do, the administrators said every household would also have to pay 5,000 kyat per month to fund the militias. They warned of consequences if the residents failed to pay the money.
“I have a 16-year-old brother and I worry for him. We don’t know what to do,” said the source.
On Sunday, as news about the recruitment drive circulated, supporters of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) cruised through Bago town under police escort, playing loud music, a resident told The Irrawaddy.
Though there has been no announcement about recruitment in the town, rumors are spreading that a militia group will be formed by the end of January, she said.
People’s Defense Force (PDF) groups based in Bago Region have urged residents to refuse junta recruitment efforts and report regime officials who forcibly recruit civilians.
The junta announced the recruitment drive after reportedly losing over 600 bases in northern Shan and Rakhine states to the Brotherhood Alliance’s Operation 1027 offensive since the end of October. Around 4,000 junta soldiers, including brigadier generals, have also surrendered during the offensive, the alliance said last week.
Irrawaddy News