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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- Myanmar junta troops massacre 11 villagers, most too old to flee, residents say
Residents of Town in Myanmar’s Chin State Flee Junta Artillery Barrage
/in NewsThe entire population of the mountaintop town of Thantlang in Chin State has fled after being bombarded by Myanmar junta forces during an intense clash with civilian resistance forces on the weekend.
Virtually the entire population of around 8,000 residents have already left the town, with just a few dozen people including pastors and senior citizens remaining, according to Thantlang Placement Affair Committee-IDPs Help (TPAC-IDPs), which is assisting the fleeing residents.
On Saturday, more than 30 junta troops were killed during a shootout with a combined force of the Chinland Defense Force-Thantlang (CDF-T) and Chin National Army (CNA), according to the CDF-T.
After sustaining a large number of casualties, junta forces randomly opened fire on the residential area of the town using heavy weapons and explosives. As a result of the attack, 19 houses burned down.
Christian pastor Cung Biak Hum was also shot dead and his wedding ring looted by Myanmar junta soldiers, who cut off the pastor’s finger.
The pastor was shot dead by junta soldiers when he went outside to help put out the fires caused by the military’s artillery barrage. Junta forces also stole a watch and mobile phone belonging to the pastor.
The next day, the junta’s soldiers roamed the town, arbitrarily opening fire on houses without reason.
The junta’s bombardment and random shootings prompted the whole population to flee the town, an official of TPAC-IDPs told The Irrawaddy on Monday.
He added that emergency assistance was needed for the fleeing residents of Thantlang.
After the parallel National Unity Government’s declaration of a People’s Defensive War against the junta on Sept. 7, urban warfare between the CDF-T and junta forces erupted in Thantlang on Sept. 9.
After that clash, four civilians were injured when junta forces randomly opened fire with heavy explosives and a house was also burned down by the soldiers.
On Sept. 10, a combined force of CDF-T and CAN seized and burned down a military outpost in Lungler Village near the Indian border west of Thantlang.
Irrawaddy News
Junta soldiers kill pastor and cut off his finger as houses burn in Chin town
/in NewsCum Biak Hum was killed while trying to put out fires caused by junta artillery shells in Thantlang
Soldiers shot and killed a Baptist pastor then cut off his finger, apparently to steal his wedding ring, amid clashes between anti-junta fighters and the military in the Chin State town of Thantlang on Saturday.
Pastor Cung Biak Hum, 31, was among a group of residents who came outside to put out fires that started when junta troops shot artillery shells at the town.
He was shot twice in the chest and his body was found an hour later with his left ring finger missing, said Reverend Dr Lal Uk, the chair of the Thantlang Association of Baptist Churches.
“We believe they cut off the finger to get his ring but we are not exactly sure of it,” the reverend said. “I think it is his wedding ring. The finger was cut off from near the base. Otherwise the ring couldn’t be taken easily.”
Cung Biak Hum’s funeral was held on Sunday morning. He is survived by his wife and two young sons.
The fires he was trying to put out destroyed at least 18 homes and a government building, residents said.
The killing happened on the same day that the Thantlang branch of the Chinland Defence Force (CDF), along with forces from the Chin National Army (CNA) clashed with junta soldiers.
The CDF said in a statement that it killed 30 soldiers and suffered no casualties on its side. Myanmar Now was unable to verify this with residents.
Junta forces have been attacking civilian targets since September 11, when a joint force of the CNA and the CDF overran a military outpost in the village of Lungler in Thantlang Township, a Thantlang local told Myanmar Now.
“The soldiers from the army base in the town have been firing like they’re in a battle,” he said. “There is a hill near Thantlang and they have been firing from there. There is a police post in the town as well and they opened fire from there too.”
“They’re the real terrorists. They don’t hesitate to kill the civilians. We, the Chin people, can’t surrender anymore,” he added.
Later on Saturday night, another hour-long clash between the military and the CDF was reported in the state capital of Hakha, 35 kilometers from Thantlang. At least three people were injured and a house was set ablaze by artillery fire from the junta’s side, according to Chin State-based media.
The Falam-based Chin Baptist Convention on Sunday condemned the junta’s “barbarous” attacks on religious buildings and property in the state, saying soldiers had occupied churches and ransacked churches.
“We condemn the actions of the Myanmar Tatmadaw, which could create religious and racial conflicts that are far worse and more complicated than current political conflicts,” the convention said in a statement.
Tom Andrews, the UN human rights envoy for Myanmar, called for foreign powers to pay closer attention to the situation in the country.
“The murder of a Baptist minister and bombing of homes in Thantlang, Chin State are the latest examples of the living hell being delivered daily by junta forces against the people of Myanmar. The world needs to pay closer attention,” he tweeted. “More importantly, the world needs to act.”
Myanmar Now News
Myanmar Junta Kills At Least 12 Civilians Over Weekend
/in NewsAt least a dozen civilians were killed by junta forces in Magwe, Sagaing and Yangon regions during the weekend.
On Sunday, junta forces killed two brothers in Taungdwingyi Township, Magwe Region, after a telecom mast belonging to the military-owned Mytel, one of four telecom operators in Myanmar, was destroyed.
Resistance fighters said in a statement that the troops tortured villagers as they interrogated them over the incident and two were killed. Four other villagers were detained, it added.
Telecom towers owned by Myanmar’s military are being targeted by resistance fighters following the shadow National Unity Government’s declaration of war against the junta on September 7.
The junta troops also burned several houses during raids on Hnan Khar and Htet Hlaw villages on Gangaw Township in the region, a resistance stronghold, over the weekend.
According to residents, a villager and resistance fighter were shot dead by junta troops in Htet Hlaw on Sunday morning during a raid. Around 30 houses were also burned down during the raid, forcing villagers to flee.
Villagers said they found the two bodies when they returned to put out the fires.
On Monday morning, junta troops torched Hnan Khar, burning at least 10 houses. Nearly 40 houses have been partially or completely destroyed in the village since Friday.
In Myaung Township, Sagaing Region, seven villagers, who were trapped in their village during clashes between junta forces and resistance fighters, were reportedly shot dead by regime soldiers.
In Yangon Region, 36-year-old Ko Aung Ko was shot dead after he reportedly failed to stop his car at a checkpoint on Saturday night. His wife, who was a passenger, was shot and is in a critical condition.
Since the February coup, junta forces have killed at least 1,080 people, including teenagers, children, student activists, protesters, politicians, bystanders and pedestrians. More than 8,000 people have been detained of whom 6,398 remain in custody, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
Irrawaddy News
What Has Happened to Myanmar’s Tatmadaw?
/in NewsBy BERTIL LINTNER 13 September 2021
The decision by Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) to declare a “defensive people’s war” against the military junta that usurped power in Naypyitaw on Feb. 1 has not been met with much sympathy from the international community. The British ambassador designate to Myanmar, Pete Vowles, tweeted on Sept. 7 that his country “supports peaceful efforts to restore democracy in Myanmar. We strongly condemn the coup’s coup and brutality, we call on all parties to engage in dialogue.”
Two days later, The Irrawaddy quoted the US Embassy in Yangon as stating that they encourage “all sides to be peaceful and to avoid an escalation of violence.” Chris Sidoti, a member of the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar, an independent group of international experts, told Reuters on Sept. 8 that “Violence is the cause of the suffering of the people of Myanmar, it is not the solution…We empathize with the NUG, but we fear for what will happen as a result of this decision.”
ASEAN has proposed a four-month ceasefire to enable the delivery of humanitarian aid and is also encouraging a dialogue between the junta, the State Administration Council (SAC), and its opponents. The Australian government, which before the coup had a bilateral Defense Cooperation Program with the Tatmadaw (Myanmar’s military), has repeatedly urged the SAC to engage in a dialogue and somehow believes that ASEAN can play a constructive role in solving the crisis in Myanmar.
No one in his or her right mind would be against a dialogue leading to a peaceful solution to Myanmar’s escalating civil wars between the Tatmadaw and the ethnic armed organizations and now also a host of new resistance armies which are active not in border areas but in the country’s heartland. But it is recklessly naïve to believe that the Tatmadaw, with or without foreign encouragement, would be even remotely interested in engaging in such a dialogue. Exchanging views and reaching compromises have never been on the generals’ agenda. They have always believed in military might and demanded surrender from their opponents. But if a peaceful solution to Myanmar’s many conflicts is not possible, what’s the alternative? Does the NUG and its armed wing, the loosely organized People’s Defense Force (PDF), and its ethnic allies have any chance of defeating the mighty Tatmadaw?
As all the readers of The Irrawaddy are aware, I’ve been writing about Myanmar’s civil war for more than four decades. During that time, I have also on numerous occasions seen the Tatmadaw in action and also been in the middle of two major battles in the frontier areas. The first was in the Naga Hills in December 1985 when the Tatmadaw launched an early morning attack on the headquarters of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland in northwestern Sagaing Region (then Division). It is quite possible that my presence there was a major reason why the Tatmadaw decided to move troops across those remote and rugged hills and attack. The battle was fierce because troops from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) were there, and that made a difference from fighting the poorly armed Naga. But, in the end, the Tatmadaw captured the camp. I and other survivors had to flee and hide in the jungle for days before it was possible to move to more secure locations.
The second time was at the battle of Hsi-Hsinwan in northern Shan State in November 1986. I was in a trench together with commanders of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) when their “people’s army” attacked a Tatmadaw position on the top of the mountain. Hundreds of CPB soldiers had been mobilized for the fight, which began at dawn. I have never seen such an arsenal anywhere in Myanmar’s war-torn areas. The CPB’s troops were equipped with 120mm mortars, 75mm recoilless rifles, grenade launchers, machine-guns and automatic rifles.
The Tatmadaw camp was blown to pieces and casualties were severe, but the few surviving troops refused to surrender. I did, though, meet a wounded soldier who had been captured by the CPB. I had witnessed the fight from the CPB’s side, but, as I wrote about the encounter in my book Land of Jade: “I was disappointed at not being able to interview him. I would at least have liked to tell him that I had been impressed by the fighting spirit of his unit.”
In those days, the Tatmadaw was also an extremely brutal force committing numerous and often unspeakable atrocities on the civilian population in the frontier areas. I had learned that from many interviews with villagers and other victims of Tatmadaw cruelty. At the same time, it was actually quite poorly armed — but, despite all that, a battle-hardened and largely effective light infantry force. Soldiers were constantly on the move and there were fights against the CPB, the Karen on the Thai border, the Kachin in the far north and other pockets of resistance in ethnic minority areas.
All that changed after the 1988 pro-democracy uprising. The main fear within the Tatmadaw leadership was that disgruntled soldiers might join the pro-democracy activists and that, in turn, would be the beginning of the end of military-dominated rule in Myanmar. Consequently, in order to prevent a crack in the ranks, everything was done to keep at least the officer corps satisfied. Beginning in 1989, the Tatmadaw spent more than a billion dollars on procuring new, more sophisticated military equipment. It came primarily from China but also from Singapore, Pakistan and Israel. Most of it, however, was materiel that Myanmar did not actually need, such as missile systems that would be of little use in counter-insurgency operations, huge tanks, armored vehicles, naval patrol boats and various kinds of radar equipment. It was simply toys for the boys and the troops also got new, smart uniforms. Before long, Myanmar’s own defense industries began producing new infantry rifles to replace the old, heavy G-3 which was based on German designs.
Equally important was a decision to scrap the previous, unpopular system of constant rotations of regional commanders, which had been done in order to make sure that no such officer built up his own power base in a certain part of the country. And then came a series of ceasefire agreements between the Tatmadaw and a number of ethnic rebel armies. The Wa, the Kachin, Khun Sa’s drug army, the Mon and Pa-O and others made peace with the Tatmadaw. Those agreements, initiated by intelligence chief Gen. Khin Nyunt, were struck in order to prevent a link-up between the urban dissidents and the ethnic rebels, which could have proven disastrous for the junta that took over power on Sept. 18, 1988. It worked. Only a few pro-democracy activists remained with the Karen National Union, the only sizable ethnic army that refused to enter into a truce with the Tatmadaw.
But, to be on the safe side, the size of the Tatmadaw was increased dramatically. The three services — the army, the air force and the navy — amounted to no more than 195,000 men before 1988. Nearly all of them belonged to the army; the air force as well as the navy were very small and, many would argue, almost insignificant. According to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies and other international think-tanks, the army has now 507,000 men, the air force 23,000 and the navy 19,000, so altogether 549,000 in total. Those think-tanks may have grossly overestimated the strength of the Tatmadaw because most units are undermanned and many troops may exist only in official reports from the field.
Be that as it may, it is undeniable that the strength of the Tatmadaw in terms of manpower and equipment is way above that of the 1980s. But, because of the old ceasefire agreements, which lasted for nearly two decades, that also means that a generation of troops have very limited fighting experience. They are, as a source said, better at parades showing off their new uniforms and guns than at combat. And then, the embrace of the market economy that followed the 1988 uprising gave the officers ample opportunities to earn vast amounts of money. As one Myanmar source wrote on social media: “the army officers are only interested in taking bribes and making business deals with the cronies, they don’t want to fight battles anymore, they joined the army to get rich quickly.” Or, as a retired Tatmadaw officer once told me: “luxury when I was in the army consisted of a badminton set and a bottle of army rum, and I was a colonel. Now even captains and lieutenants have more than one car, several sets of golf clubs, and at least two mistresses. And they don’t have to fight.”
That changed again when, in June 2011, the ceasefire with the KIA broke down. For the first time in more than a decade, major battles raged in an ethnic minority area. I was at the KIA headquarters in Laiza in December 2012 and I was astonished to observe the poor performance of the Tatmadaw. In the beginning, they sent in the infantry, which was poorly trained and had zero fighting experience. Casualties were extremely heavy as the advancing Tatmadaw troops were mowed down by KIA guerrillas. It became so bad that the Tatmadaw had to withdraw its infantry and rely instead on its Russian-supplied helicopter gunships, attack aircraft and heavy artillery fired from bases far from the KIA’s positions. According to credible reports from Yangon at the time, some officers paid bribes to avoid being sent to Kachin State to fight. This was not the Tatmadaw I saw in the 1980s.
Then came another fierce war in Rakhine State as a new rebel force, the Arakan Army (AA), rose up in arms. Tatmadaw dead and wounded numbered in the thousands, including some senior officers. And, again, the infantry’s poor performance prompted the Tatmadaw to resort to air power, firing indiscriminately into villages where they thought the AA would be present — but to no avail. Today, the AA and its civilian wing run a de facto parallel government in Rakhine State. The AA is closely allied with the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, a Palaung force, and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, which is made up of fighters from Kokang, an area in northeastern Shan State dominated by ethnic Chinese. Judging from independent reports, those three armies, called the Brotherhood Alliance, have fought what appear to be numerous successful battles with the Tatmadaw. According to a November 2020 paper published by the United States Institute of Peace, “Myanmar has not experienced this intensity of fighting in decades.” Nor has it suffered such heavy casualties.
The big question now is: What’s next? Today, the Burmese-dominated Tatmadaw is sent out to gun down people not only from the ethnic minorities but also their own kin in parts of the country where there has been no insurgency since the years immediately after independence in 1948. That, and the casualties they are evidently suffering even there, must have a devastating effect on the morale of the troops. For the first time in decades, there are now speculations about possible rifts within the Tatmadaw. If NUG sources are to be believed, more than 2,000 security personnel, most of them policemen but also soldiers, have defected to the pro-democracy movement.
None of those reports can be independently verified, but it is clear that something that has never happened before is brewing within the Tatmadaw. It remains to be seen whether the NUG’s “defensive people’s war” will accelerate that process — or have the opposite effect, namely to make the Tatmadaw close ranks even more firmly than before. A main problem is that many officers and even private soldiers must be acutely aware of what they have done when it comes to corrupt practices and atrocities they have committed. They may fear that a change could mean that they would be held accountable for all that — and the brutality that the Tatmadaw now has unleashed in towns and villages all over the country is almost unprecedented.
What began as carnival-style protests immediately after the coup became something entirely different when the police and the Tatmadaw began killing peaceful protesters. Such brutality breeds resistance, and that is what we are seeing in Myanmar today. In any case and whatever the future will be, forget about “dialogues” and futile attempts at urging the two sides to refrain from violence.
Irrawaddy News
Myanmar’s Shadow Government Prepares Evidence of Junta War Crimes
/in NewsMyanmar’s junta has committed massacres and war crimes in Sagaing Region by murdering about 112 people within three months, according to the Human Rights Ministry of the civilian National Unity Government (NUG).
Evidence of junta massacres and war crimes will be submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council this month, U Aung Myo Min, the NUG’s human rights minister, posted on Facebook.
Myanmar’s junta killed at least 216 people in the region between March and August, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which is compiling deaths and arrests.
The rights ministry said in July alone the regime committed a series of massacres and war crimes, killing 103 people in Kani, Depayin and Mingin townships in Sagaing Region.
In Kani Township, around 43 people, including a child, were killed in junta massacres during military operations.
The rights ministry said four civilians were tortured and killed in Shinoretat village in Kani Township on July 1.
Another 16 villagers were killed by junta forces in Yin village on July 11 to 12 and more than 23 villagers and civilian resistance fighters, including a disabled person, were tortured and killed at Zee Pin Twin and Htoo villages on July 26 and 27.
The NUG has already reported the junta massacres in Kani to the UN Security Council in August.
U Aung Myo Min told The Irrawaddy last month that willful killing, torture of unarmed civilians and the intentional, excessive use of force constitute war crimes.
Nineteen people, including resistance fighters, were murdered by junta forces in Mingin Township in July.
Eleven out of 57 detained members of the People’s Defense Forces (PDF) were reportedly killed by junta forces in detention, according to the rights ministry.
A junta massacre, leaving more than 40 civilians dead, including several children, was reported in Depayin Township in early July.
During the raids on villages, junta forces used artillery against civilian targets and reportedly opened fire on villagers fleeing for the forests.
In the massacre, six wounded resistance fighters, left behind by retreating civilian combatants, were shot in the head by the soldiers.
Villagers were also shot dead by junta troops the next day when they returned to look for the dead and wounded.
At the time a villager told The Irrawaddy that looting civilian property and shooting at fleeing civilians were human rights violations.
After the declaration of the people’s war against the junta by the NUG on September 7, junta forces have escalated inspections and arrests but also violence and raids, including burning down villages across the country, especially in Sagaing and Magwe regions and Kayah State.
Meanwhile, the PDFs across the country have stepped up operations targeting junta forces and junta-owned telecom masts.
By Saturday, 1,080 people had been killed by junta forces across the country, the AAPP said.
Almost 8,050 people, including elected government leaders, have been detained by the junta or face arrest warrants.
Irrawaddy News
Weekly Update on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar : Post-Coup (September 6-12) 2021
/in HR SituationDespite seven months of harrowing violence and state-sponsored atrocities perpetrated with impunity against innocent civilians, the people have not lost sight of their unwavering commitment to dismantle the junta. On Tuesday, 7 September the acting President of the National Unity Government (NUG), Duwa Lashi Li, declared war against the Myanmar armed forces. ‘D-Day’ has been well received by civilians who have been suffering under the military’s rule for months. Even with the anticipated increase in violence and further risks civilians face, it seems the majority agree that “there is nothing worse than life under military rule.” The NUG encouraged people to stock up on food, medicine and to only travel if necessary – in anticipation of increased check points by the military.
In response, Zaw Min Tun, the junta spokesperson accused the NUG of appealing to the international community in anticipation of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly on 14 September. Countries in attendance must decide which authority is the representative of Myanmar in the meetings to come.
The decision by the NUG is significant as it shows defiance not only against the junta, but also to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other international bodies who have failed in their obligations in relation to the human rights situation in Myanmar. Prior to D-Day, the ASEAN Special Envoy had called for a four-month ceasefire to allow for the flow of humanitarian aid – which the junta hastily agreed to. The NUG questioned the ceasefire agreement which was seemingly brokered between the junta – without any consultation of the NUG or the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH). The Myanmar Army has a history of regularly violating ceasefire agreements.
Fighting has already intensified in urban and rural areas against the junta’s military forces. In Yangon, as pharmacies and shops flooded with customers ‘panic buying’ military jets flew over the city and soldiers took defensive positions in several shopping malls.
Several ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) and People’s Defence Forces (PDF) expressed their commitment to the nationwide offensive against the junta including the Chin Defense Forces, the Kachin Independence Army and the Karen National Union. The Mandalay Student Union also expressed enthusiastic support of the uprising by vowing to be at the forefront of the fight against the junta.
The Myanmar junta has killed over 100 civilians in Chin State since the coup including 14 children and seven women. The regime has also refused to return the bodies of at least seven to grieving families. The Chin National Organization has been documenting human rights and has called on the UN to take action for crimes against humanity. Religious buildings continue to be destroyed by the junta across the country. Junta troops looted and destroyed a church and a Buddhist monastery in Mindat Township.
Since the NUG declared war on the junta, Chin defense forces have warned their communities against the onslaught of increasing violence.
KAYAH STATE
Karenni State has been plagued by mounting state-wide violence. According to the Progressive Karenni People Force (PKPF), there have been sixty-clashes between the junta and Karenni resistance groups since the coup. This has resulted in 83 civilian casualties which includes members of the People’s Defense Forces, and IDPs. PKPF adds that 120 others have been abducted and over 120 000 internally displaced.
Four junta soldiers were killed in an ambush by the Karenni Army (KA) and Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) in Demawso Township on 7 September. Reports are once again circulating of an increase in violence anticipated since D-Day was declared.
SHAN STATE
In Pekon Township, southern Shan State, a couple was forced by the junta to walk in front of the regime and guide them. They were used as human shields to protect themselves in any ambush by People’s Defense Forces. This is becoming a more common occurrence as civilians are trapped in the crossfire and left without any choice but to obey the soldiers commands.
On 1 September, the Myanmar junta launched an offensive against the Pekon People’s Defence Force and the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force.