Myanmar military dumps bodies of 4 civilians in river, lake

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Locals say the men were working as carpenters in a Mandalay region village.

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.

RFA News

Junta kills nearly a dozen in Sagaing Region over span of 11 days

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On a rampage through more than ten villages in Ayadaw and Myinmu townships, a column of soldiers torched houses as well as executing unarmed civilians and a captive resistance fighter

Maung Shwe WahJuly 19, 2023

Ten civilians and a resistance member were killed during raids and arson attacks by the army in Sagaing Region’s Myinmu and Ayadaw townships this month, according to resistance forces active in the area. 

Starting on July 6, according to the Myinmu Township People’s Defence Force (PDF), a column of around 300 soldiers assaulted more than 10 villages on the border between the two townships over the course of less than two weeks, while detaining and executing villagers and members of the PDF. The names and ages of some of the victims are still unconfirmed. 

Junta troops also torched five villages in Myinmu Township and one in Ayadaw Township, resulting in the destruction of as many as 1,000 houses, Myinmu Township PDF spokesperson Khin Thaung said. The junta attacks on the villages occurred from July 6 to July 17.

“That column advanced into the villages. They burned only the villages that they already knew about by reputation,” he said, referring to the military’s suspicion that villagers are connected to or  supporting PDF forces. 

“Last night, they set fire to Mu Mandalay village and then went into Ayadaw. By noon, the military column had completely vanished. We couldn’t find it, even using a drone. Then they reappeared in the evening and started setting fires again,” he said. 

Junta troops had initiated their assaults on the morning of July 6, at the village of Na Be Kyu, about nine miles east of Myinmu. While they were ransacking houses in the village, several local defence groups including the Myinmu PDF attacked them using long-range weapons.

The junta troops returned fire, then captured one of the defence group members, who had been hit by a bullet in the leg.

The next day, the junta column raided and set fire to the villages of Ma Gyi Kan and Gon Hnyin Seik, located in Myinmu Township north of Na Be Kyu. 

According to Khin Thaung, while junta troops were setting fires in Gon Hnyin Seik, a village of around 400 houses, local residents discovered the bodies of three Na Be Kyu villagers and the defence group member who had been shot in the leg and captured during the Na Be Kyu raid. 

The slain resistance fighter was 24 years old, and the three civilian men had ranged between 20 and 60, Khin Thaung said. 

On July 9, the column raided the villages of Htein Kan, Ngar Kin (North), Ngar Kin (South), and Ngar Kin Ywar Ma. 

Soldiers torched Ngar Kin (North), which contained some 800 households, and Ngar Kin Ywar Ma, according to Khin Thaung. Around two-thirds of the houses in the two villages were destroyed in the arson attack, he added. 

Two days later, soldiers shot and killed a civilian they found heading west from Ngar Kin (North).  The man, who was around 30 according to Khin Thaung, had been fleeing to a forest outside the village of Kan Thone Sint, where he lived.

The column then raided and torched Ayadaw Township’s Nyaung Pin and Ma Le Thar villages, destroying at least 100 houses. The bodies of a woman about 60 years old and two men aged about 50 and 80 were discovered while the junta troops conducted area clearing operations in the villages, the PDF spokesperson said. 

On July 13, the column crossed back into Myinmu Township and raided villages near the Ayadaw-Myinmu Road, killing three civilian men in the village of Khwet Khwin, according to Khin Thaung. The victims were three men, one estimated to be about 30 and the others to be in their 40s.

“The identities of only two of them could be confirmed. One dead body has not been claimed. They also disfigured the face, cut off the ears and put them in a raincoat. We can’t confirm who it is yet,” he said. 

The column continued raiding in the days afterwards, according to Khin Thaung, entering the village of Sat Pyar Kyin about three miles north of Khwet Khwin, and stationing there for three days before advancing into villages near Myinmu and Sagaing. 

The junta forces carried out their arson attack on Mu Mandalay, a village of around 400 houses, on Monday evening, but further details about the damage are unavailable. 

Rumours that arrests occurred in Mu Mandalay have not yet been confirmed, and the military council has not released any statements about area clearing or other operations in Myinmu Township.

About 70,000 homes have been burned throughout the country since the February 2021 military coup, according to estimates available as of Friday, and 3,805 people had been killed as of July 18 according to figures maintained by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. 

On July 13, military regime leader Min Aung Hlaing expressly called on his subordinates to step up offensives against resistance forces in Sagaing Region and in Chin and Karenni states. 

Myanmar Now News

Urgent Statement: More Extrajudicial Killings from Daik-U Prison

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Date: July 19, 2023

On June 27, 2023, 37 political prisoners from Daik-U (Kyaiksakaw) Prison went missing. Thereafter, on July 7 and 8, a Daik-U Prison Officer sent letters to the families of Khant Linn Naing (aka Ko Khant, aka Let Wel) and Pyae Phyo Hein (aka Ko Pyae) to inform them they had died on June 27. In response to these letters, our organization, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), released a statement on July 10.

AAPP has increasingly been documenting letters being sent to the families of these missing political prisoners informing them of their deaths. This is not only an act of extrajudicial murder upon political prisoners, but severe psychological torture against family members of the political prisoners in question.

Of all the political prisoners who went missing on June 27, 2023, AAPP has been able to confirm the deaths of the following prisoners, along with Khant Linn Naing, son of Than Soe Naing, and Pyae Phyo Hein, son of Kyaw Oo, as of today:

  1. Yar Lay (aka Zin Myint Tun), son of Myint Thein
  2. Jar Gyi (aka Wai Yan Lwin), son of Aye Lwin
  3. Zin Win Htut (aka Ba La Gyi, aka Ta Yote Gyi), son of Pyant Maw
  4. Aung Myo Thu, son of Maung Sein
  5. Bo Bo Win (aka Htan Taw Gyi)
  6. Nay Aye (aka Arkar Htet Paing Myo), son of Myo Linn

Moreover, the number of people who have lately been killed from torture during interrogation following arbitrary arrest, being burned alive due to military attacks into towns and villages, and other deaths inside prisons, is rapidly increasing.

The killings by the junta of people in flagrant disregard of human life is an act that should challenge the domestic and international pillars of justice.

In regards to the deaths that occurred within prison and interrogation, AAPP Secretary U Tate Naing has said, “In the recent days, we have been hearing quite frequently about the deaths taking place inside prisons. Two political prisoners in Daik-U Prison, Aung Soe Moe (aka Mae Lone) and Hluttaw Representative of Waw Township, Bago Region, Maung Dee, died on July 16 and 17 respectively. Similarly, the family of Middleweight Lethwei Fighter Tue Tue (aka Naga Marn) was informed about his death on July 13 when they were called to Magway Police Station. However, Tue Tue (aka Naga Marn) had already been tortured to death in interrogation on April 26. Moreover, last month, on June 26, labor activist Thet Hnin Aung, was re-arrested while returning home upon release from Thaton Prison after having served his sentence. Thet Hnin Aung has been missing since. These events make clear, the junta is killing and disposing of the bodies of the political activists”.

Regarding current events, AAPP strongly requests governments and international institutions around the world, including the United Nations and accountability mechanisms, to carry out emergency investigations. In addition, we strongly request to take immediate and effective action against the military junta of Burma which has been carrying extrajudicial killings among other atrocities.

Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)

Contact – info@aappb.org

Download link for English_Follow up statement on Daik-U prison case (19-Jul-2023)

Human Rights Situation weekly update (July 8 to 14, 2023)

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Human Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from July 8 to 14, 2023

Military Junta troops launched an airstrike and dropped bombs in Sagaing Region, Chin State, Kayah State, and Kayin State from July 8th to 14th. They also burnt and killed 3 civilians from Sagaing Region. 4 underage children died and 7 underage children were injured by the Military’s heavy and light attacks within a week. The civilians from Magway Region and Tanintharyi Region were also arrested as human shields.

Military Junta said the political prisoners around Myanmar will be relocated to another prison but the Junta troops killed them. Among them, after 5 political prisoners had been killed, the Military Junta informed their families. 2 youths who were accused as the murderers of Li Li Kyaw Naing, were shot and killed under interrogation by the Military Junta in Yangon.

US again touts importance of Myanmar peace plan despite divisions within ASEAN

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Statement by top diplomats said many members viewed Thai meeting with junta foreign minister as a positive step.

Washington on Friday again urged countries to push Myanmar on a peace plan that has failed so far, although the regional bloc is divided over how to handle the Burmese crisis.

Countries must persuade the Burmese military to follow through on the five-point plan, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as he met with his counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other countries in Jakarta on Friday.

“In Myanmar, we must press the military regime to stop the violence, to implement ASEAN’s five-point consensus, to support a return to democratic governance,” Blinken said in a speech during a meeting with ASEAN ministers. 

The bloc, of which Myanmar is a member, has sought to mediate a resolution to the situation in that country, where the military toppled an elected government in February 2021 and threw civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in prison. Nearly 3,800 people have been killed in post-coup violence, mostly by junta security forces.  

On Thursday, ASEAN issued a joint statement of its foreign ministers, but that was delayed by a day following a meeting of the region’s top diplomats Tuesday and Wednesday. Reports said the delay arose because they could not agree on what their joint statement would say about Myanmar.

The statement reflected the dissonance. 

Thailand had last month held another meeting with Myanmar’s junta-appointed foreign minister, representatives of ASEAN members Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines, and India and China. The Burmese and Thai militaries are said to be close, and the outgoing Thai PM is a former army chief.

ASEAN 2023 chair Indonesia did not take kindly to that meeting, which it skipped along with Singapore and Malaysia.

And yet, the joint statement acknowledged that meeting, noting that “a number of ASEAN member states” viewed it “as a positive development.”

The statement went on to note, however, that efforts to solve the Myanmar crisis must support the five-point consensus and efforts by ASEAN chair Indonesia.

Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai defended the meeting, saying it was in line with an earlier ASEAN document that called for exploring other approaches for resolving the crisis.

In another shocker for the rest of ASEAN, and indeed, everyone else, the Thai foreign minister announced on Wednesday that he had met secretly over the weekend with Myanmar’s imprisoned civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. The Thai foreign ministry said that she and the junta had approved the meeting with Don.

And not everyone is on board with the five-point consensus either, although they present a unified front, reports say.

The previous foreign minister of Malaysia, Saifuddin Abdullah, was an exception. He had said last July that it was time to junk the peace plan and devise a new one on a deadline that included enforcement mechanisms. 

ASEAN operates by consensus, which means any action it takes has to be approved by every member state. Divisions within the bloc have meant that not every member has approved of tougher action against Myanmar.

Therefore, other than shutting out the Burmese junta from all high-level ASEAN meetings for reneging on the consensus, little else has happened since February 2021.

Hunter Marston, a Southeast Asia researcher at the Australian National University, said the ASEAN top diplomats’ joint statement was largely in line with his expectations.

He would have liked to see “ASEAN invite the NUG as a way of imposing costs on the junta, but that won’t receive consensus,” Marston told BenarNews, referring to the National Unity Government, which is the shadow civilian administration.

He would have also liked to see “see a clearer acknowledgement of ASEAN’s frustration with the military junta.”

And the statement “still left room for Thailand’s rogue … diplomacy,” Marston said. 

Another analyst, Muhammad Waffaa Kharisma, from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta, said he had expected a little better from the joint statement.

“[N]ow I only hope that ASEAN does not accept back the junta without accountability,” he told BenarNews.

RFA News

Divided ASEAN condemns Myanmar violence again, supports five-point plan

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RECASTS WITH JOINT COMMUNIQUE

ASEAN foreign ministers on Thursday condemned violence in Myanmar again and repeated support for a peace plan ignored by its junta rulers, as the divided bloc struggled to find unity over the protracted crisis.

Myanmar has been ravaged by deadly violence since a military coup ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in February 2021, unleashing a bloody crackdown on dissent.

A joint communique finally arrived late Thursday, more than a day after a two-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations ministerial meeting ended as the fractured group wrangled over its content and wording.

It said a five-point plan agreed with Myanmar’s junta two years ago — which they have failed to implement — remained the bloc’s best hope of solving the crisis, despite Thailand launching a separate track to ASEAN efforts in recent months.

“We… reaffirmed our united position that the five-point consensus remains our main reference to address the political crisis in Myanmar,” it said.

“We strongly condemned acts of violence, including air strikes, artillery shelling, and destruction of public facilities and urged all parties involved to take concrete action to immediately halt indiscriminate violence (and) denounce any escalation.”

It asked all sides of the Myanmar conflict to “create a conducive environment for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and inclusive national dialogue.”

ASEAN chair Indonesia had on Wednesday urged a political solution to the crisis at two-day foreign minister talks.

But more than two years after the coup, the divided 10-member bloc’s peace efforts remain fruitless, as the junta ignores international criticism and refuses to engage with its opponents.

A Southeast Asian diplomat attending the meetings told AFP on condition of anonymity the delay was because they were “working on the language on Myanmar”.

An early draft seen by AFP on Tuesday had left a section on Myanmar blank.

The diplomat said some countries wanted outright re-engagement with the junta, while others said the five-point plan that aims to end the violence and renew talks must remain the basis for re-engagement.

This confirmed the “deep divisions within ASEAN on the Myanmar issue”, the diplomat added.

– Thai dialogue track –

Thailand has made its own initiative to speak directly with the Myanmar junta and other actors in the conflict.

Last month, Bangkok hosted the junta’s foreign minister for controversial “informal talks” that further split the bloc.

Then on Wednesday, on the second day of ASEAN talks, Thailand’s top diplomat announced that he met last week with Suu Kyi — who has been detained since the coup, and jailed by a junta court for a total of 33 years.

Don Pramudwinai said he met the Nobel laureate on Sunday in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw and that she was in “good health” and “encouraged dialogue”.

Don “freely discussed what he wanted” with Suu Kyi, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said in an audio statement posted by the military’s information team Thursday, adding that her health was “good”.

On Thursday, Don told reporters: “It has been two years now, (and) not much improvement. So there must be re-engagement with Myanmar.”

– ‘Safe, stable, prosperous’ –

Indonesia has said any other efforts must support ASEAN’s existing five-point peace plan.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir told reporters that all members were working towards the “same issue”, which was ensuring that Southeast Asia was “a region that is safe, stable and prosperous”.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Jakarta had engaged in “quiet diplomacy” with all sides of the conflict, and in its seven months as chair had held more than 110 engagements concerning Myanmar.

But analysts said Thailand was taking the lead on the crisis, undercutting ASEAN efforts and shifting the centre of negotiation to Bangkok.

A Thai foreign ministry official declined to comment on Indonesia’s work as ASEAN chair.

Myanmar Now News