The Myanmar military is using innocent civilians as political tools in order to make themselves appear more legitimate. Over the last week, a series of high-profile National League for Democracy (NLD) leaders have either been arrested, or sentenced to long sentences in an attempt to weaken party morale.

Detained veteran student activist, U Kyaw Min Yu (Ko Jimmy), a member of the 88 Generation Students Group was arrested at the end of October where he later suffered a violent interrogation in military custody. He was then charged with high treason and terrorism. The five charges he faces could see him face 30 years in prison if convicted, with the possibility of the death penalty.

Former NLD Chief Minister, Nang Khin Htwe Mying, 67 was found guilty on five separate charges in a military court. She was handed a maximum of 15 years for each case – which brought the total to 77 years in prison.

U Win Htein, who has been sentenced to two decades in prison for sedition by the junta, is an 80 year old patron of the NLD in declining health who was transferred  from a Naypyitaw detention centre to Obo Prison in Mandalay.

As more charges are laid, ousted politicians are still being detained and family members taken hostage in their place. Win Myint Hlaing, 51, who represented Taungdwingyi Township in Magway’s regional legislature was taken away with his brother on 8 November and has not been heard from since.

Meanwhile, since the attempted coup, the junta has continued to crackdown on former government officials who have rejected the regime and remained loyal to the NLD. Over the last 90 days, the military has seized approximately 70 properties of NLD lawmakers and other party members who have joined the National Unity Government or People’s Defense Forces.

Despite all the efforts to weaken the resistance movement and Spring Revolution, efforts to dismantle the junta have not wavered. The arrests and targeted assaults on the people’s freedoms are only signifying the fragility of the junta and their desperate attempts to eliminate competition to appear stronger. People continue to overwhelmingly reject everything that the military stands for.

CHIN STATE

Satellite imagery showed the devastation and destruction perpetrated by the military junta in Chin State where homes and churches were burnt to the ground. The regime continues to deny their involvement but photos and testimonies from survivors speak the truth.

As resistance forces continued to fight to defend their territory, the Chinland Defense Force (CDF) in Mindat township stated that over a week and a half, a Myanmar military convoy was repeatedly attacked and nearly 60 soldiers were killed.

The wave of atrocity crimes in Chin State has led to challenges documenting evidence of the war-path left behind by the Myanmar junta. An ongoing internet shutdown has made it even harder. Organizations are taking huge risks to attempt to collect critical documentation.

KACHIN STATE

Communities in Kachin State are reeling from the aftermath of targeted airstrikes by the military junta. Livelihoods have been forcibly put on hold as the regime’s presence evokes fear and uncertainty. Since March, multiple airstrikes have displaced thousands. Many displaced villagers have left the IDP camps and returned home, fearing that they would contract the COVID-19 virus in close quarters. Yet many of their needs remain unmet as conflict and the pandemic, as well as inflation, has put basic items out of financial reach for local people.

SHAN STATE 

Shan State is among the many areas which continues to be faced with the brutality of the  junta as ongoing offensives threaten their survival. In the last two days, scorched earth tactics forced nearly 40 000 residents in Shan State and Sagaing region. In Pekon township, southern Shan State there were 10 000 people from 20 villages seeking refuge.

Villagers also reported the rape of a local elderly woman in northern Shan State after soldiers stole food from her home. The 62-year old was in her home with another woman when three soldiers approached her home. After one left to feed the livestock, the soldiers returned and raped the woman.

Worsening military offensives in conflict-torn Chin State has left thousands without homes and enough food to survive. The increased presence of military junta soldiers is depriving civilians of their rights to live safely. Places of worship, including predominantly churches in the Christian minority state, have been burned to the ground with local religious leaders targeted. On 4 November, over 500 civil society organizations, including ND-Burma, called on the United Nations Security Council to impose a global arms embargo on Myanmar, given the gravity of the situation and likelihood of war crimes being perpetrated by the junta.

In the wake of the brutality, Chin armed defences forces have stood their ground. They have bravely fought back to protect their people, and their State’s territory. Even amid casualties, Chin soldiers have not been deterred as they face the onslaught of the junta’s violence and their highly advanced weaponry. ND-Burma affiliate member, the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), has continued to report tirelessly on the human rights violations being committed. Civilians of all ages have been killed and endlessly tortured with many succumbing to their wounds or barely surviving. Among those murdered by the junta, a 70 year old retired teacher was fatally struck by artillery rounds which were intentionally fired in Mindat township on the afternoon of November 3rd. Three other civilians were injured in the explosion.

In the harrowing nine months which have now passed since the coup, thousands have been displaced. Arbitrary arrests are ongoing, and testimonies of the junta’s brutal interrogation tactics – of which few live to speak of their experience – exhibit the lawlessness that is the institution of the Tatmadaw. Pursuing violent acts is the only way that the junta has ever known to control civilians. Nonetheless, appeals to the international community are ongoing for action. The junta is neither credible nor capable of protecting the many who are displaced and increasingly vulnerable. It is with the utmost urgency that calls from civil society organizations, human rights defenders and civilians themselves on the ground be listened to.

Rights groups are continuing to publish reports with evidence of large scale abuses taking place. Overwhelming evidence pushes for the regime to be held accountable for the crimes that they have committed.  Among the many lessons in the months since February 1, the most severe has been that the international community has acted too slowly. The economic and humanitarian crisis demands a response that protects the people and holds the junta accountable.

CHIN STATE

Abductions in Chin State are widespread. The numbers of those killed in custody of the junta are growing, and pose yet another threat to civilian safety and security. CHRO reported that of seven detainees taken on 1 November, one person has been killed. Two had been killed previously while taken hostage by the regime in Hakha township in May.

The burning of over 200 homes in Thantlang due to artillery shelling by the Myanmar junta was denied by the regime who claimed it was villagers who set their homes on fire. It is clear that the attacks on Thantlang were pre-meditated and coordinated in an attempt to weaken the bases of Chin defense forces and further demoralize innocent civilians.

Amid the ongoing violence, several embassies have voiced their concern to the atrocities taking place, including the United States and Sweden. It is important that their words also be met with action.

KAYAH STATE

The junta’s use of human shields is forbidden by Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions and yet the terrorist regime continues to target civilians by forcing them to lead in combat and through unfamiliar territory. In Kayah State, locals have been used as human shields at least four times. Civilians abducted from their villages are rarely heard from or seen again as families are left without any information about their whereabouts or condition.

The Karenni National Defense Force said that the junta divisions of the 66ht, 77th and 88th battalions are conducting operations against Karenni armed groups. A soldier from one of the civilian defense groups witnessed 19 detainees being forced to lead soldiers as human shields, which forced them to abandon their attack. The National Unity Government has called for people’s defence forces to make sure their every single act of revolt is directed toward justice.

SHAN STATE 

Clashes in southern Shan are fueling displacement as the junta burns down homes in local villages, which has recently forced approximately 300 people to flee. Three hour clashes between Kayah State based People’s Defence Forces, ethnic armed organizations and the military junta sent many seeking shelter in temples, churches nearby.