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
- Myanmar junta bombs Rohingya Muslim village killing 41, rescuers say
- Myanmar’s junta cuts filmmaker’s life sentence to 15 years as part of wider amnesty
- Close The Sky
- International condemnation of the escalating humanitarian crisis and rights violations in Myanmar
- Women in Karenni State face increasing levels of violence
Myanmar military court jails 144 villagers detained after massacre
/in NewsJunta troops suspect the villagers were helping Arakan Army insurgents closing in on the state capital.
Myanmar’s junta jailed 144 civilians for supporting insurgents more than three months after they were detained following a massacre of nearly 80 people in their village, which residents blamed on junta troops, families of the detained told Radio Free Asia on Monday.
Relatives of the jailed residents of Byain Phyu in Rakhine state dismissed the convictions, denying they had supported Arakan Army insurgents, who have been making significant advances on the battlefield against the military.
“How can we support the AA when day to day we’re struggling ourselves and hardly making ends meet?” said a relative of one of those jailed on Friday under a law against unlawful association by a military court in the main prison in the western city of Sittwe.
“But the court didn’t accept this and convicted them anyway.”
Byain Phyu is on the outskirts of Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine state, and junta forces have been keen to ensure that AA fighters can not dig into positions there from which to attack the city.
Shortly after the May 29 killings, a junta spokesman said the military had conducted a clearance operation there and rebel forces had attacked with “drone bombs and artillery”.
At the time, the military said it found bunkers built from sandbags in houses throughout the village, which it said were positions for AA soldiers.
The military detained some 300 villagers at the time. Only four people on trail on Friday were found not guilty, residents said, adding that more than 150 more were due to be tried by the court on Monday.
The AA has made unprecedented gains in fighting in Rakhine state since late last year, leaving junta forces increasingly confined to pockets of territory, including Sittwe.
A Sittwe resident, who also declined to be identified for safety reasons, said junta forces were enraged by their setbacks and were taking out their frustration on civilians.
“Sources close to the court told us before that only 38 people would be jailed and the rest would be released, but days before the verdict, the Sittwe-based Regional Command Headquarters was attacked with heavy weapons by the Arakan Army,” he said.
“It seems as if the attack might have caused casualties, so they convicted the villagers.”
Neither the junta’s main spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, nor the Rakhine states junta spokesperson, Hla Thein, responded to attempts by RFA to contact them for information.
Byain Phyu is largely deserted now with nearly 2,000 of villagers sheltering in monasteries and schools in Sittwe, residents said, with junta troops deployed to prevent anyone returning.
In Sittwe, nervous junta soldiers are conducting many checks and detaining people, residents said.
The AA has also made gains in both the north and south of Rakhine state.
RFA News
More than 40,000 war displaced flood across border into Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady region
/in NewsTwo-thirds of the population of Rakhine’s Gwa township have fled fighting between the military and ethnic rebels.
As the fight between the military and ethnic rebels for the southernmost township in Myanmar’s Rakhine state escalates, more than 40,000 civilians have streamed across the border into neighboring Ayeyarwady region, residents said Thursday.
The push to the southern border with Ayeyarwady region is the latest advance for the Arakan Army, or AA, which ended a truce with the military in November and has gone on to control nine townships and three sub-townships in Rakhine state, as well as Paletwa township in neighboring Chin state to the north.
The AA’s advance south into areas traditionally on the edge of its influence could signal that the army wants to establish a foothold in central Myanmar and take on a more central role in any post-conflict national reconciliation process, rather than staying on the sidelines as a marginal ethnic armed group.
Speaking to RFA Burmese on Thursday, residents of Ayeyarwady region’s Thabaung township said that the fighting in Rakhine state’s Gwa township is now centered on Kyeintali town, and that 42,434 civilians – or two-thirds of Gwa’s population – had crossed into Ayeyarwady seeking shelter over the past two weeks.
“War-displaced persons have arrived in Thar Paung township via jungle routes, as they were prohibited from entering at junta checkpoints on the roads,” said one resident of Thabaung who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. “They had nothing to eat for about seven days during their journey.”
The resident said that many of the displaced lack travel documents and residence permits from their local officials, and that authorities in Ayeyarwady are allowing them to stay on the outskirts of their towns.
Most of the displaced have taken refuge in the Ayeyarwady townships of Thabaung, Yegyi, Kyonpyaw, Kyangin, Myanaung, Kwin Kauk and Nga Thai Chaung, he added.
Prices are high
Residents of Ayeyarwady told RFA that with the influx of displaced people from Gwa township, home rental prices have risen three-fold from about 200,000 kyats (US$95) to 600,000 kyats (US$285) per month.
A resident of Gwa township who fled to Nga Thai Chaung township in Ayeyarwady said that the financial situation facing the displaced is dire.
“Around two-thirds of residents from Gwa township are now displaced persons, while the remaining one-third is still trapped in Gwa,” he said. “All the commodity prices, except rice, are high here [in Ayeyarwady]. We all are facing various challenges.”
RFA News
Trials ordered in 20-year-old Thailand military, police ‘massacre’
/in NewsBangkok —
A court in Buddhist-majority Thailand decided Friday to try seven former military and police officials for their roles in the deaths of 85 Muslim men at a protest that took place 20 years ago.
The seven are charged with murder, attempted murder and unlawful detention. The statute of limitations on the charges expires in late October, exactly two decades after the events of the so-called Tak Bai Massacre.
“I feel relieved that the duty of the lawyers and the duty of the plaintiffs is accomplished,” Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, a human rights activist and lawyer representing one of the plaintiffs in the case, told VOA after the court announced its decision.
“We [were] hugging each other … and I think they are very happy,” she said of the other plaintiffs as well.
Lawyers for the accused could not be reached for comment.
The case concerns the events of October 25, 2004, in Tak Bai district, Narathiwat province, in Thailand’s predominantly Muslim and ethnic Malay deep south.
Soldiers and police shot and killed seven people while responding to a protest demanding the release of suspected Islamic militants. Human rights groups say the officers forced many more protesters into police trucks destined for a military camp some 140 kilometers away, leaving them packed inside and forced to lie on top of one another for hours. Seventy-eight of them died.
A state inquest later determined that they had suffocated. It also concluded that security forces used inappropriate measures to disperse the protesters and that commanding officers failed to adequately supervise the movement of the detainees. But authorities did not pursue charges and police claimed force majeure, a legal term referring to events beyond their control.
No one was ever previously charged over the deaths or injuries.
Hoping to change that, 48 survivors and relatives of the dead filed a lawsuit with the Narathiwat provincial court in April against nine officers, all since retired, involved in the security forces’ response to the protest.
Pornpen said the court on Friday decided against taking two of the nine to trial on the grounds they were not responsible for use of force.
Even so, she said the court’s decision to put the other seven on trial was a welcome surprise in a country where senior police, military and government officials are widely seen to act with impunity.
“We had so many times in history that the call for democracy, call for change, anything like [a] protest always ends up with violence and no one is [held] responsible,” she said. “So, to bring the perpetrator to justice according to Thai law is not easy, and I think we did it.”
In a statement, Amnesty International called Friday’s decision an overdue but “crucial first step towards justice” for those who suffered what it called the “excessive use of force” at the 2004 protest.
“The victims and their loved ones have spent almost two decades waiting for justice and accountability for the heinous crimes committed,” the rights group said. “Thai authorities must immediately enforce the court decision and take necessary measures to ensure the case’s statute of limitations does not expire.”
Amnesty International said at least one of the defendants must be brought to court to hear the charges by October 25 for the case to proceed to trial.
Pornpen confirmed that the defendants must still appear in court before the statute of limitations runs out for the trial to proceed.
She said the court would issue subpoenas ordering the accused to appear on September 12, but was concerned they may try to stall and avoid an appearance until the statute of limitations runs out.
Anchana Heemmina, director of the Duay Jai Group, a non-profit that monitors human rights abuses in Thailand’s deep south, said she also worried the accused may yet avoid a trial.
But she welcomed Friday’s decision nonetheless and said it could begin to restore some faith in the courts among southern Thailand’s Muslims.
“They feel like the Thai government, or the military don’t want to protect Malay Muslims who are civilians in the country and feel like we are the second class,” said Anchana.
“Now, for today, for the Tak Bai case, it’s a little bit first step that makes the people believe or trust the justice system,” she added.
Once the seat of a Muslim sultanate, the southern provinces of modern-day Thailand were deeded by the British to the then-kingdom of Siam in 1909. Rejecting the transfer, several armed ethnic Malay Muslim groups have waged a long-running guerrilla war against the Thai state in hopes of winning independence for the provinces.
More than 7,000 people have died in related violence since fighting intensified in 2004.
While bombings, assassinations and shootouts across the south continue to occur alongside police raids and arrests, the pace of the violence has waned over the years, and the government is in talks with some of the rebel groups over terms of a possible cease-fire.
VOA News
Human Rights Situation weekly update (Aug 15 to 21, 2024)
/in HR Situation, NewsHuman Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Aug 15 to 21, 2024
Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in Sagaing Region, Magway Region, Mandalay Region, Tanintharyi Region, Rakhine State, and Shan State from August 15th to 21st. The Military Junta arrested the civilians for military service in the Bago Region, Magway Region, and Mandalay Region. The political prisoners from Daik-U Prison and Thayawaddy Prison from Bago Region were tortured.
Over 20 civilians died, and about 40 were injured by the Military’s heavy and light artillery attacks. Over 200 civilians were arrested by the Military Junta within a week.
Infogram
The situation for political prisoners has reached a life-threatening status
/in Member statements– 23.August 2024
On August 19, 2024, an argument erupted when female political prisoners in Daik-U Prison made a complaint to a Ward Officer regarding the inappropriate nature of male prison staff frequenting the bathing area while female political prisoners were bathing. The argument resulted in female prisoners being shot with slingshots, leaving eight with life-threatening injuries, while also injuring several others. On the night of August 20, prison authorities, including male staff, reportedly entered the female ward of the prison, fully armed with guns, rubber sticks, tasers, and slingshots.
The oppression of female political prisoners by male prison authorities, coupled with armed nighttime incursions into the female ward, to this day, raises significant concerns for the safety and lives of these women.
Moreover, on June 15, 2024, more than 40 female political prisoners from Kyaikmaraw Prison were transferred to Daik-U Prison. Following their transfer, Daik-U Prison authorities allegedly found drugs and illegal items, leading to a violent crackdown where they opened fire with firearms and slingshots, hurled bricks at the female ward and carried out beatings. Female political prisoners were consequently injured yet were locked up for several days without being given medical treatment.
In another case, documentary film maker and political prisoner, Phay Maung Sein, passed away at Sakura Hospital in Yangon City on August 19 at 2 p.m. He had suffered broken ribs during interrogation and was not given adequate medical treatment. Phay Maung Sein had also contracted bone tuberculosis and was transferred to Insein Hospital, only when his condition had severely deteriorated. While receiving medical treatment at Insein Hospital, he was kept in leg shackles. He was released on August 16, just before his death, when it was too late to save him. His untimely death occurred on August 19 due to his untreatable condition.
Much like the experience of Phay Maung Sein, there have been at least (101) cases of political prisoners losing their lives due to a lack of proper medical care.
We remain committed to our efforts of documenting and identifying those responsible for the torture of political prisoners in various forms, in order to ensure they are held accountable for their crimes. We vow to do our best to seek justice for the sacrifices that political prisoners have and continue to make and the suffering they have endured.
Our revolution must prevail.
Our justice must be realized!
Joint Organizations
– Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
– Former Political Prisoners Society
– Political Prisoners Network (Myanmar)
– Women Organization for Political Prisoners (WOPP)
– ထောင်ဝင်စာပို့ကြမယ်
– နွေဦးတမာန် နိုင်/ကျဉ်းကူညီရေးအဖွဲ့
Down load file;
https://aappb.org/…/Statement_for_prison_torture…
Myanmar rebels capture last junta base in township on China border
/in NewsThe captured base is a key to the defense of a military headquarters.
One of Myanmar’s most powerful insurgent armies has taken full control of a strategically important township in Kachin state on the border with China, its information officer told Radio Free Asia.
The Kachin Independence Army, or KIA, together with People’s Defense Forces loyal to the shadow National Unity Government, defeated junta forces to capture their last remaining battalion base in Momauk township in northern Myanmar on Monday, Col. Naw Bu said.
“We were able to completely seize Infantry Battalion 437,” he said. “The military council launched airstrikes but now we can say we have taken control of the whole of Momauk township.”
There were casualties on both sides, Naw Bu said, but he declined to give details.
RFA telephoned the junta’s Kachin state spokesman and social affairs minister Moe Min Thei to ask about Momauk but he did not answer.
The KIA, fighting for self-determination against the forces of the junta that toppled a democratically elected government in 2021, launched an initial attack on Momauk on May 7, then began their final push, along with their allies, on July 24.
Momauk is about 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of the Kachin state capital of Myitkyina, and only about 14 kilometers (9 miles) east of the town of Bhamo where the junta’s Operations and Command Headquarters 21 is based, Naw Bu said.
Junta forces had withdrawn towards Bhamo, which is on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, he said.
The KIA and its allies have captured more than 20 junta camps in the township since late July and about 200 junta camps in the whole of Kachin state since the beginning of the year, he said.
RFA News