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
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- Press Statement: Argentine Court’s arrest warrants are welcome progress towards justice
- OPEN LETTER: UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL MUST TAKE CONCRETE ACTION TO SUPPORT THE MYANMAR PEOPLE’S EFFORTS TO BUILD A RIGHTS-PROTECTING FUTURE
Myanmar Mother Prays for Tortured Daughter
/in NewsMyanmar’s regime has been killing and detaining those who oppose military rule. On April 17, as Myanmar marked its new year, junta forces detained six people from No. 4 Ward in Yankin Township, Yangon.
The military-run media reported that arms, including homemade bombs, were seized with the six detainees. It broadcast photos suggesting they had been badly beaten.
The Irrawaddy interviewed Daw Hla Hla Soe, the mother of one of the detainees, Ma Khin Nyein Thu, 31.
How was Ma Khin Nyein Thu held?
I don’t live with my daughter so I only know what her neighbors told me. Police and soldiers arrived on Saturday night and searched homes in their neighborhood. My daughter and five others were detained.
What is Ma Khin Nyein Thu’s stance?
It is like many other people. She is demanding democracy.
We heard Ma Khin Nyein Thu studied abroad. When did she arrive back in Myanmar?
She studied in the UK for around five years, specializing in performance art. She arrived back nearly seven years ago.
The Myawaddy and MRTV channels suggested they had been severely beaten. What do you want to say about it as a mother?
I didn’t watch the broadcasts. But I can feel what she is going through now. I am a Christian and I believe in God. I am praying for her. I don’t expect much but I want her to live. I am praying for all of them to be saved by God.
What do you want to say about the torture?
It is unacceptable. I heard that they were sent from Yankin police station to the Shwepyithar detention center, which is a tough place. They may suffer there. After interrogation, I heard they will probably be sent to Insein Prison. I wish they will be released and receive medical treatment.
I wish God hears my prayers. My thoughts are with the suffering hearts of other parents.
If you didn’t see the broadcast, have you seen your daughter’s face?
I saw her at the police station on April 18. One of her friends informed me about her abduction. I couldn’t go out that night due to the curfew. So the following day, I waited outside Yankin police station. I saw her coming out with two police officers.
I shouted to her and as she turned around and I saw her face. I felt her pain. She could not walk well. I heard the torture is tougher in Shwepyithar and I fear she is suffering now. I don’t want to see the photos. My daughter’s home is close to the police station so I rushed there whenever I heard she was being transferred [to Shwepyithar].
Had Ma Khin Nyein Thu already been tortured at the police station?
Her face was quite swollen that morning. I could only see her from a distance. She could only walk slowly and her face was swollen.
They were transferred on Sunday afternoon. She called me from the police station, saying they would be transferred to Insein. But I heard they were sent to Shwepyithar. I went to Insein Prison on Monday and was told they weren’t there.
Irrawaddy News
ND-Burma Situation Update 12-18 April
/in HR SituationProtests continued across #Myanmar as the people resist the military coup through #flashstrikes
& more. A National Unity Government was announced as pressure has been put on #ASEAN to not recognize the junta SAC-government. More in our weekly update
CHRO WELCOMES FORMATION OF NATIONAL UNITY GOVERNMENT (NUG) OF BURMA/MYANMAR
/in Member statementsHusband and wife shot dead on motorbike by junta’s armed forces in Tamu
/in NewsThe bodies of the couple, who were parents to three children, were found in a ditch, locals say
A couple was shot and killed by regime troops in the Indian-Sagaing border town of Tamu on Tuesday morning, and their bodies later discovered in a roadside ditch, residents told Myanmar Now.
Kishan Goutam and Harimaya Goutam were on their motorbike when they were shot on the Pahe Bridge, locals said.
The husband and wife belonged to the Myanmar Gurkha community and raised cows for a living. At the time they were killed, they were carrying containers of milk, which it is believed they were going to sell.
“The Gurkha couple had milk and a motorbike, and they were dumped in a ditch,” a resident told Myanmar Now on the condition of anonymity.
Their bodies were picked up by a local relief group and sent to a hospital morgue. The couple were parents, and left behind one daughter and two sons.
Fearing that troops would seize the bodies, the Goutams’ family members held a funeral for the slain couple on Tuesday afternoon in accordance with Nepali Gurkha tradition.
Myanmar Now could not confirm their exact ages at the time of reporting, but Kishan Goutam is believed to have been in his late 40s, and Harimaya Goutam was in her 30s.
On Tuesday afternoon, one woman and three men in Tamu were also arrested by the junta’s armed forces. On Wednesday morning, police and soldiers carried out searches in two wards of the town, according to residents.
“There was no shooting so far this morning. They searched the houses of those who were suspected of joining [anti-coup] protests and activities,” a resident said on Wednesday.
Prior to the murder of the Goutams, five people had been killed by the armed forces in the border town since the February 1 coup.
On April 1, one week after the first casualty in the town was reported, an anti-coup group killed five policemen during an attack on a police outpost. The leader of the group, a local policeman who had defected to the civil disobedience movement, was also killed.
On Saturday, locals ambushed a convoy of junta troops as they were entering the town to suppress protests. Using homemade hunting rifles, they killed at least three soldiers. Two civilians also died in the clash.
One day later, a sniper shot and killed a motorcyclist who was driving past a district police station in the town.
Many Tamu residents have fled to India following the murders, raids and arrests perpetrated by the regime’s troops.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, regime forces have killed more than 700 civilians nationwide since the military seized power.
Myanmar Now
Regime’s forces kill two, loot donations from mosque from during attack on small town in Mandalay Region
/in News‘The situation is not good at all here,’ a rescue worker from Myitnge said
The coup regime’s forces shot dead two civilians and injured six others in the town of Myitnge, Mandalay Region, on Tuesday, according to residents.
The two men who died were from the town’s Yankin ward and their bodies were cremated at the Myitnge Myoma Cemetery at 9am on Wednesday.
The shooting began when regime forces tried to detain a civil servant who had gone on strike and joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), a local said.
“They came to arrest a civil servant doing CDM,” she said. “The residents came out to protest and they started shooting at them.”
“They have been shooting all day today too. So we cannot go outside,” she told Myanmar Now on Wednesday.
At around 2pm on Wednesday, soldiers destroyed barricades set up by locals and shot at houses in Thazin ward, she added.
A donation box at a local mosque was also destroyed and the money inside was taken by the soldiers, a resident said.
“We still don’t know how much money they took. They’re still blocking the area so we cannot go outside,” they added.
The military’s spokesperson could not be reached for comment regarding the killing of the two men and the looting.
Soldiers also began shooting in the nearby village of Hpa Paung on Wednesday evening, according to locals, though they were unable to give further details at the time of reporting.
A relief worker from Myitnge said volunteers to help treat injured people and collect dead bodies have become scarce because of the dangers of doing such work.
He added that a man was shot dead on Tuesday in the town of Sintgaing, about 16km from Myitnge. “We cremated his body immediately on the same day. I can’t tell you the details. The situation is not good at all here,” he said.
More than 100 people have been protesting daily in Myitnge, residents there said.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a group that has been monitoring violence and arrests since the February 1 coup, the new regime has now killed at least 715 people, including more than 40 children.
Myanmar Now
ND-Burma Situation Update 5-11 April
/in HR SituationChina and Russia continue to block meaningful steps for intervention and accountability in Myanmar. Amid more death, destruction and those arrested rising daily, the people remain creative & determined. More in our weekly update