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
- Junta targeting rebel-held areas in northern Myanmar with airstrikes and artillery
- Human Rights Situation weekly update (September 8 to 14, 2024)
- Myanmar National Organizing Committee for ACSC/APF ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN People’s Forum 2024
- Human Rights Situation weekly update (September 1 to 7, 2024)
- Red Cross chief calls for greater aid access after visit to Myanmar
Tun Tun Hein, deputy speaker of the Lower House under the NLD, is convicted of treason, in addition to two previous counts of incitement
/in NewsA court controlled by the military council sentenced the former deputy speaker of Myanmar’s Lower House to 20 years in prison on Tuesday for alleged treason.
Seventy-three-year-old Tun Tun Hein is also a central executive member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, whose elected administration was ousted in the 2021 military coup. At the time of his conviction, he had been detained at the main prison in Lashio, northern Shan State, for nearly 22 months.
A judge serving under the coup regime convicted the parliamentary official of high treason under Section 122 of the Penal Code bringing his total prison term to 24 years. He had previously been convicted of two incitement charges last December, for which he was sentenced to four years.
Tun Tun Hein is awaiting trial for another charge related to alleged electoral fraud, according to a source close to his family.
The military initially placed him under house arrest in the administrative capital of Naypyitaw as the coup unfolded on February 1 last year. After one week, he was sent to his hometown of Nawnghkio in northern Shan State, but was again detained by the military on February 10 and imprisoned in Lashio.
The junta subsequently charged Tun Tun Hein with incitement, treason and electoral fraud—the statutes also used against other ousted NLD leaders including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and several chief ministers.
Tun Tun Hein reportedly suffered two strokes—in 2017 and 2018—and has been suffering from multiple cerebrovascular conditions, according to an interview with his daughter May Thingyan Hein published in Radio Free Asia’s Burmese service in April 2021.
She said that her father had only been allowed by prison authorities to be seen by a general practitioner, rather than a medical specialist. She also explained that he had been denied bail, which was requested by his attorney on the basis of his medical needs.
Lower House speaker T Khun Myat was among the parliamentary leaders who, like Tun Tun Hein, were removed from their roles during last year’s coup. However, the ex-MP for the military proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party was subsequently reappointedto his post by the junta.
Mahn Win Khaing Than, Upper House speaker until the military takeover, managed to escape arrest. He is currently Prime Minister of the publicly mandated National Unity Government.
Henry Van Thio, the second vice-president under the NLD, has not been heard from since the coup and his whereabouts remain unknown.
According to an NLD statement on November 8, the second anniversary of the stolen 2020 election, nearly 1,200 members of the party had been arrested by the military council, 67 of whom were killed in junta custody.
Myanmar Now News
Myanmar junta hands 100-year prison terms to men convicted of joining armed resistance
/in NewsAmong the recent convicts is a former National League for Democracy MP, accused of involvement in attacks on military personnel that occurred while he was in regime custody
The Myanmar military regime has sentenced four individuals to at least 95 years in prison in recent months after junta-controlled courts determined that they were involved in the armed resistance movement, according to sources familiar with their cases.
Among them was an ex-parliamentarian from the National League for Democracy (NLD), whose elected government was ousted in the February 2021 coup. Fifty-two-year-old Win Myint Hlaing previously represented Taungdwingyi Township in the local legislature of Magway Region, now a resistance stronghold.
The three other individuals had reportedly been members of local guerrilla groups. Aung Khant Oo, 29, also from Magway, was in the Beikthano People’s Defence Army, and Kyaw Thet, 30, and Hnin Maung, 36, were active in a resistance group based in Mandalay Region’s Wundwin Township.
All were convicted of several counts of violating the Counterterrorism Law this month as well as in October, and handed prison terms ranging from 95 to 225 years—the longest sentences delivered by the junta since the coup.
Lawmaker Win Myint Hlaing was sentenced to a total of 148 years for 14 separate convictions in the Magway District Court on October 30. While the details surrounding the cases remain unclear, the four sections of the counterterrorism statute under which he was charged—50a, 52a, 51c and 54—are related to attacks on “state-owned facilities,” the “recruitment” of resistance fighters, or the use of bombs.
He had already been handed 25 years in prison for five other convictions in April, including incitement under Section 505a of the Penal Code. His total sentence was 173 years at the time of reporting.Nov_25_.Jpeg
Former NLD MP Win Myint Hlaing (Facebook)
Win Myint Hlaing participated in anti-dictatorship demonstrations in the wake of the coup and went into hiding after the military authorities issued a warrant for his arrest in late February. He was apprehended in November last year in Yatsauk (Lawksawk), southern Shan State, along with his brother, Zaw Zaw.
He was subsequently interrogated at a military facility in the Shan State capital of Taunggyi for around two weeks before being transferred to Magway Region’s central prison where he is currently detained.
A source close to Win Myint Hlaing’s family told Myanmar Now on the condition of anonymity that most of the terror charges filed against him were related to incidents that happened while he was already in junta custody.
“He was accused of involvement in incidents, such as the killing of regime informants and policemen, which happened after his arrest. He was charged along with those arrested after him,” the family friend said.
Citing court sources, she explained that the judge at the Magway District Court who heard his cases was reportedly “surprised” when Win Myint Hlaing’s defence lawyer emphasised that his client was already in detention when the attacks occurred.
The military also accused him of leading the Beikthano People’s Defence Army, according to a junta statement released after his arrest.
Two months after the military captured Win Myint Hlaing, Aung Khant Oo—who was a member of the resistance group—was arrested by junta soldiers.
Aung Khant Oo was later charged with the illegal use of explosives, in addition to several anti-terrorism and incitement charges. After nearly 10 months in detention awaiting trial, he was sentenced to a total of 203 years on November 15 by the same regime-controlled Magway District Court.
Nov_25_.3.Jpeg
Aung Khant Oo, member of the Beikthano People’s Defence Army (Facebook)
A friend and fellow member of the Beikthano resistance group, told Myanmar Now that Aung Khant Oo was also accused of involvement in attacks on junta targets which occurred after his arrest.
“Included in his cases were incidents that happened in February [2022] and later. That’s why his sentences became so long. There were more than 10 cases,” Aung Khant Oo’s friend said.
Myanmar Now is unable to verify his claims independently.
Meanwhile, Kyaw Thet and Hnin Maung, from Wundwin, were reportedly arrested in January this year and were both handed exhaustive prison terms as well as death sentences for their involvement in the Mandalay guerrilla group.
While details surrounding their cases remain unclear, Kyaw Thet has been ordered to serve 225 years and Hnin Maung 95 years, in addition to being sentenced to death, according to Kyar Ye, a fellow resistance fighter.
Both were initially held in Meiktila Prison, but transferred to a larger facility in Myingyan where inmates facing terms of more than a decade are frequently incarcerated.
A veteran defence attorney told Myanmar Now that judges are prohibited from handing down separate sentences for violations of the same terrorism charges for acts allegedly committed within the same year.
“It is instilling fear into the people. But the people are not afraid. Those [judges] who have handed down these sentences will end up with a bad reputation,” said the veteran lawyer.
Sources close to Win Myint Hlaing and Aung Khant Oo said that their family members were able to meet with them before they were sentenced, but have not seen them since the convictions.
The family friend of the former MP said that he was in good health even though he required regular medication for high blood pressure.
“I am hoping to reunite with him soon as I believe our revolution will win,” she said.
The friend of Aung Khant Oo told Myanmar Now that he had encouraged his fellow resistance fighters to continue their struggle.
“He said that he was ‘hanging in there’ and urged us to keep fighting.”
According to data collected by the monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, nearly 13,000 people in Myanmar were behind bars at the time of reporting, with some awaiting trial and others already convicted. Eighty-six have reportedly been sentenced to death.
Additional reporting by Aung Naing
Myanmar Now News
CDM teacher in Tamu gets 10-year sentence on terror charges
/in NewsThe teacher was accused of distributing money from the National Unity Government to teachers taking part in the Civil Disobedience Movement
A primary school teacher from Sagaing Region’s Tamu Township has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for financing “terrorist” activities, according to a source close to her family.
Honey Su Kyi Zaw, 30, was arrested at her home in Tamu’s Saw Bwar 6 Ward on November 23 last year and accused of financially supporting the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) against military rule.
The Tamu District Court sentenced her on Monday, two days before the anniversary of her arrest, the family source told Myanmar Now.
She was prosecuted under Section 50j of Myanmar’s Counter-Terrorism Law for distributing funds provided by the shadow National Unity Government (NUG) for CDM teachers, the source said.
The military junta that seized power in February 2021 designated the NUG a terrorist organisation in May last year.
“She was collecting donations for teachers who had tested positive for Covid-19. It wasn’t as they alleged,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The source added that the evidence against Honey Su Kyi Zaw was provided by KBZ Bank, which submitted account information that allegedly showed transactions involving other accounts linked to the NUG.
“They didn’t find any evidence on her phone. She was unjustly accused and prosecuted,” the source said.
Honey Su Kyi Zaw was a teacher at Primary School No. 8 in Chauk Natgyi, a village in Tamu Township. Residents there say that she was likely targeted because she was a member of the ousted ruling party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).
“She didn’t like the military coup, so she joined protests and the CDM. She was an NLD member, but she also spoke out against party members if she thought they were acting dishonestly,” said one local resident.
“After joining the CDM, she made handicrafts and sold them online to support herself. She was an honest and peaceful teacher,” he added.
Honey Su Kyi Zaw has been held at the police station in Tamu since her arrest. She remains there for the time being due to the poor security situation on the road from Tamu to Kalay, where she will later be transferred to prison, sources said.
Since last year’s coup, the junta has prosecuted hundreds of people under Section 50j of the Counter-Terrorism Law without concrete evidence. Conviction carries a sentence of 10 years to life imprisonment.
Myanmar Now News
Village in Sagaing Region resistance stronghold ‘reduced to ashes’ by Myanmar military
/in NewsSome 95 of the 130 homes in Kha War Thei village in Kyunhla Township are destroyed in an all-day arson attack by junta troops
Some 200 junta soldiers set fire to nearly the entire village of Kha War Thei in southern Kyunhla Township on Monday, according to local sources.
The troops arrived at the site, located 20 miles south of Kyunhla town in Sagaing Region, at around 10am after having previously been stationed at the Thaphan Seik Dam.
Just 35 houses out of Kha War Thei’s 130 residences survived the fire, according to a member of the village’s anti-junta defence team. He added that there were believed to be no civilian casualties in the attack as residents had fled.
“[The soldiers] torched the village even though there were no battles in the area. They didn’t stop until the evening and almost the entire village was destroyed,” he said, adding that his own home was among those lost.
Some of the soldiers involved in the assault stayed overnight in Kha War Thei before departing, while others left for neighbouring Taze Township on Monday evening.
Displaced residents—who at the time of reporting were sheltering in the nearby forests—have been reluctant to return to what is left of the village, fearing that the military might return.
“The military appears to be conducting ‘clearance’ operations in the area,” the village defence team member told Myanmar Now. “We are barely able to recognise our village now, as it was basically reduced to ashes.”
The leader of the defence team said that anti-junta forces in the resistance stronghold of Kyunhla would not be deterred by recent attacks.
“I have not lost my faith in the revolution. We are going to keep going,” he said.
The next day, more junta soldiers raided and torched homes in Kyauk Taing village, Kanbalu Township, located next to Kyunhla, local sources said.
Last week, some 500 homes in Khin-U Township were also reported to have been burned down by Myanmar army troops.
The military council has not commented on its operations in Sagaing Region, and frequently denies responsibility for such attacks.
Myanmar Now News
Detailed Analysis on War Crimes of Military Council at A Nang Pa
/in Briefing Papers, ND-Burma's ReportsOn October 23, 2022 at Burmese standard time on 8:40 pm, around 80 people were killed and more than 50 were injured, including many civilians, during the air strike by bombing of fighter jets from military while people were celebrating 62nd anniversary of forming the Kachin Independence Organization at A Nang Pa in KIA 9th brigade area which was more than 2 miles from Kansee village in Hpakant town. Among dead and injured were famous Kachin singers, invited business owners, civilians and officers and ordinary soldiers from KIA 9th brigade including brigade commander, mentioned in the local news. For the worse, the terrorist military blocked the injured people to be sent for treatment to Hpakant town, obviously ignoring human rights and blocking humanitarian assistance.
Moreover, Hpakant residents told Federal Journal, that military even threatened those who escaped from life threatening situation and came to Hpakant hospital and clinic, that they would be charged by illegal association act 17/1. “The act of military council targeting not only the ethnic Kachin people but also the civilian population, is systematically committing war crimes, the crimes against humanity and especially the case of mass murder, and it is not forgivable according to international law and also from the human rights point of view.” pointed out Moon Nay Li, the spokesperson from Kachin Women Association- Thailand, a member organization of Women’s League of Burma, mentioned in the Federal Journal.
On the attack at A Nang Pa area, Vice Chairman of Kachin Independence Council, Lt. General Gunmaw mentioned on his social media page, ““A Nang Pa is not a KIA camp. It’s just a small camp of shop-line where travelers take a break. The KIO Central Committee even did not consider those who had helped and supported successive Burmese governments as enemies. However, now the military council treated the people who came to A Nang Pa as enemies. Though young people are told at every opportunity not to make irreparable mistakes in life, it is the adults who make these mistakes. I am sending prayers for all those who lost their lives in A Nang Pa to get to heaven. I also send prayers to the injured. My condolences to all the family. The sorrow and tears of all will become priceless investments.” Similarly, in the last point of 7 points statement of KIO said, “such a tragic event will be accelerated into a revolutionary force that will push against the dictatorial military council”.
A friend of Ko King who played keyboard and was killed on the night of the attack said, “It’s really sad that a very close childhood innocent friend died. He was a very friendly person, an active participant in youth camp courses in his youth, and a happy person. Now, he has lost his life because of this devilish terrorist army,” revealed his feeling.
A Myitkyina resident Ko (Sumdu), whose name was changed, also said, “This terrorist army has no humane mind. They mark as enemy to whoever they see and kill. They can’t differentiate enemy they need to fight or ordinary people. They are shooting to kill everyone they see. For Myanmar to get peace, there should not be such kind of army,” revealed his point of view.
World Kachin Congress (WKC) also issued a statement condemning this brutal attack by terrorist military council. Similarly, ethnic armed northern brotherhood organizations; Arakan Army (AA), Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and Ta-ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) have expressed sorrow and condemnation. And, National Unity Government (NUG) and Committee Representing People’s Hluttaw (CRPH) issued statement urging international community for immediate action. The embassies of United State and European Countries also issued joint statement expressing sorrow and condemnation on A Nang Pa incident. Neighboring countries China and India keep silent.
After the attack at A Nang Pa, at the meeting the Third Committee, which is part of the General Assembly held at the United Nations headquarters in New York, U Kyaw Moe Tun, the current Myanmar Ambassador to UN, and Mr. Thomas Andrews, the UN Special Envoy for Human Rights in Myanmar, presented the incident of the Hpakant music festival, which was a massacre by the military council’s air strike. However, the international response seems to be even slower than the speed of a turtle. An international treaty, the Rome Statute of 1998 stipulates that intentional targeting of civilians, purposeful attack knowing that civilians will die or injured; attacking, bombing or shelling towns, villages, house and building without resistance is a war crime. Even though with this stipulation, the international response and action on Burma is obviously nothing.
Myanmar junta looks to placate ASEAN with prisoner releases
/in NewsThe military’s amnesty is a calculated move to win bloc’s backing for elections next year.
The Myanmar junta’s announcement that it is releasing several high-profile prisoners including a former UK ambassador and an Australian economist, is an attempt to stave off pressure from ASEAN as the military looks to win legitimacy for national elections slated for next year.
On Thursday, the junta, formally called the State Administrative Council, said it was releasing Australian Sean Turnell, Briton Vicky Bowman, Japanese journalist Toru Kubota, U.S.-Burmese national Kyaw Htay Oo and several senior opposition figures. It was part of a prisoner amnesty of 5,774 prisoners, including 712 political prisoners, to mark a national holiday.
Turnell, an academic, was a close economic advisor to deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is now in prison herself – convicted and sentenced on multiple charges for a total of 26 years. Turnell was arrested days after the 1 Feb. 2021 coup, and sentenced to three years. Former ambassador Bowman, who ran an NGO which advocated corporate responsibility, was arrested with her husband Htein Lin, in September 2022. They were each sentenced to one year each on immigration charges. Lin was also released. Toru Kubota was arrested in July 2022 and sentenced to seven years.
The trumped-up charges against Bowman, Turnell, and Kubota indicate that they were effectively used as hostages to prevent their respective governments from endorsing tougher economic sanctions against the junta.
Why Now?
The releases came just days after Indonesian President Joko Widodo assumed the rotating presidency of ASEAN. His predecessor as ASEAN chair, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, had largely advocated an engagement policy with the junta, though he was pressured by ASEAN members to disinvite their political leadership to the summits.
In reality, Cambodia’s “leadership” was a gift to the junta. But a sympathetic chair is no longer a given.
Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, announced his dissatisfaction with the grouping’s failure to get the junta to abide by the terms of the Five Point Consensus, reached between the junta and ASEAN in April 2021. It was intended to foster a political settlement and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.
A Nov. 13 statement from ASEAN after its leaders met for a summit in Cambodia, called for “concrete, practical and measurable indicators” of progress in implementing the consensus, and the junta has reason to believe that Indonesia will be more forceful in its approach. Jokowi stated that “Indonesia is deeply disappointed the situation in Myanmar is worsening,” and worried that the organization’s dithering was “defining” the Southeast Asian bloc.
While one might be skeptical that Indonesia may take a substantially harder line on the junta, would the generals in Naypyidaw be willing to take the risk? Foreign policy has never been a high priority for the Indonesian president, but having successfully hosted what could have been a very contentious G-20 summit and now assuming the presidency of ASEAN, Jokowi may be looking towards his legacy. His time in office will end in 2024.
But it was more than the ASEAN meeting that accounts for the timing.
On Nov. 14, Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah announced that said that Malaysia would not support the junta’s planned elections in 2023, as it would be “biased” and rejected by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League of Democracy, which won overwhelmingly in the November 2020 polls, the shadow National Unity Government or other stakeholders.
“The pro-democracy group that won the previous election won big but before they could convene Parliament, the junta took over power,” Saifuddin said. “Therefore, it is completely illogical for Malaysia and ASEAN to support the election.”
The junta has every reason to fear that Indonesia may follow suit, paving the way for other ASEAN states, such as the Philippines and Singapore, to share that position.
The proposed election in Myanmar in 2023 will be shambolic, for a host of reasons. The junta has established a proportional representationsystem it believes that will be in its favor, arrested hundreds of NLD members of parliament and activists, gerrymandered districts, moved to ban parties, and controlled the media. It is also moving to establish a national identity card system that would be required for voting, but likely unavailable to much of the electorate. The junta also controls the Union Election Commission and the judiciary.
Various ethnic resistance organizations have already stated that no electoral activities will be allowed in their territory. The shadow government that emerged after the coup, the NUG, will probably lead a nationwide boycott of the elections, further diminishing the credibility of the vote.
Yet, while the junta is confident that they can rig a vote in their favor, they are much less confident that the international community will accept it. Coup leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing really believes that elections would allow him, Thai style, to cling to power and legitimize his regime.
While he can count on China, Russia and India, along with Japan and South Korea, to endorse any elections, giving the regime a fig leaf of legitimacy and allowing business as usual to resume, the key to international acceptance will be the stance of ASEAN.
The U.S. and the West have always said that ASEAN has to be the lead to any political resolution to the crisis in Myanmar. So it’s essential for the junta to try to preempt the bloc from rejecting the election’s results, before they’ve even happened.
The junta’s theory of victory
Despite considerable battlefield losses against Ethnic Resistance Organizations and People’s Defense Forces that have taken up arms since the coup, and a multi-front civil war, the junta has a theory of victory. The NUG’s center of gravity is their alliances and working relationships with the various ethnic armed organizations who also provide the NUG’s network of militias with arms and training. So they continue to dangle autonomy agreements and revenue sharing with any ethnic resistance organization that will show up in Naypyidaw.
The SAC also knows that time is on their side. Despite their gross economic mismanagement, they still have more resources than the NUG, they have access to weapons and arms, and can borrow money from abroad.
The junta simply has to hang on, and not lose any more territory before the elections slated for next August. Indeed, they are poised to begin their dry season offensive, trying to retake as much territory as possible and use their air power to bomb the ethnic resistance forces in the hopes that they quit the NUG and enter into peace talks.
And that’s why the release of Turnell, Bowman and others is so important. It will be interpreted by many in ASEAN and the international community as a goodwill gesture by the junta that will allow states that were starting to call for greater isolation of the junta to accept continued engagement.
For the junta, it all comes down to next year’s elections. It worked for the Thai junta that seized power in 2014, and was able within a few years to go from pariah to a normalized state, all while politically emasculating the opposition.
For Min Aung Hlaing, Bowman, Turnell, Kubota, and others are tokens to be exchanged for international endorsement. And they have many more to play, including the Lady herself — as Aung San Suu Kyi is known in Myanmar — as they maneuver to hold onto power. This is no humanitarian gesture, but a cynical and calculated ploy for international legitimacy.
RFA News