ND-Burma Situation Update 12-18 April

Protests 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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
17 APRIL 2021
CHRO WELCOMES FORMATION OF NATIONAL UNITY GOVERNMENT (NUG) OF BURMA/MYANMAR
The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) today welcomes the formation of the National Unity Government (NUG) by the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) – a representative body made up of parliamentarians duly elected from the 2020 elections. The formation of NUG represents a historic milestone in the struggle for freedom, human rights, equality and democracy for all the peoples of Burma/Myanmar.
CHRO wishes to take this opportunity to congratulate all the duly elected members of the NUG and send our best wishes as they strive to provide new direction of leadership for a wounded nation that still finds itself in the midst of chaos, bloodshed and immense grief. All the peoples of Burma/Myanmar regardless of ethnicity, religion or political affiliations, should now stand united firmly behind the NUG and boldly move together to confront the junta leaders to deny them the legitimacy and capability they need to gain effective control of the rein of government through illegal and violent means.
The peoples of Burma/Myanmar have never come closer to realizing their aspirations for federalism and democracy in nearly the last three quarters of a century than this momentous time. And the formation of the NUG at this particularly significant time provides vitally important impetus towards political self-determination, peace, prosperity and democracy. The NUG must now seize this historic opportunity to learn from past mistakes of successive governments, civilian or military, to focus on addressing the root causes of structural injustices in order to forge a truly united front that can chart a new course towards ethnic political equality under a federal political framework.
“With the NUG having now emerged to provide a credible and brighter alternative to the ever darker and destabilizing prospects presented by the junta, the international community has a unique opportunity and obligation to collectively recognize the NUG as the only legitimate government of Burma/Myanmar,” says Salai Bawi Lian Mang, Executive Director of CHRO.
Burma/Myanmar’s future now hangs in the balance. The country’s peaceful democratic future is woven into the need to promote and strengthen the ideals of federalism, civilian supremacy, the rule of law and respect for human rights and the rights of minorities It is high time to reject in its totality the Tatmadaw’s unrelenting quest for eternal domination over Burmese/Myanmar politics and to seek a new beginning with a new and rebuilt military as a truly respected and professional institution whose sole mission is to defend and protect all the peoples of Burma/Myanmar. Towards this end, it is high time for those in the military and members of the uniform services to break ranks and shift their allegiance to a more hopeful future provided by the NUG than that promised by leaders of the junta, whose sole interests lies in entrenching their oligarchy and enriching their immediate family members.#
For more information please contact:
Email: info@chinhumanrights.org,
Tel: +91 9362 297958

Husband and wife shot dead on motorbike by junta’s armed forces in Tamu

The 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

‘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 man who was injured by soldiers on Tuesday in Myitnge, Mandalay Region (Supplied)A man who was injured by soldiers on Tuesday in Myitnge, Mandalay Region (Supplied)

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

China 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

Two more dead in junta attacks on protesters in Pinlebu as government buildings burn

The protesters have been defending themselves against well-armed police and soldiers with rudimentary hunting guns

Two more people were killed overnight on Monday in the town of Pinlebu, Sagaing Region, as the coup regime’s forces attacked protesting local residents who defended themselves with single-shot hunting rifles.

The deceased were two middle aged men, a protester told Myanmar Now on condition of anonymity. Earlier on Monday a protester named Aung Naing Win was killed when a bullet hit his ribs and passed through his body.

The violence began that morning when the coup regime’s forces attacked protesters with tear gas and guns outside a high school and arrested two people. When the demonstrators began demanding the release of their comrades, the junta’s force started shooting again.

Locals then fired back with traditional Tumi hunting rifles, which are loaded at the muzzle with gunpowder and are far less sophisticated or powerful than those used by police and soldiers.

“We have to prepare the gunpowder for each shot,” said the protester. “There is of course a big difference.”

Two other protesters were injured in the clash earlier on Monday. They were a woman who was shot in the left arm and a man who was shot below his armpit.

The violence continued throughout the night and by morning three government buildings had been burned down: a courthouse, the building of the local branch of the General Administration Department (GAD), and the former office of the auditor-general.

“The courthouse and the GAD offices were built with wood a long time ago,” a local resident told Myanmar Now. “But the police station is not easy  to burn down,” another local said, adding the station was newly built with cement.

The regime’s forces had the advantage both in terms of location and weaponry, the resident said. It is unclear if any police or soldiers were injured.

The military sent two trucks full of soldiers from Kawlin, a town about 60km southeast of Pinlebu, to support its attack on the protesters, locals reported. But residents in between the two towns blocked the roads by chopping down trees, they said.

Thousands have been protesting in Pinlebu against the military junta on a daily basis since the first week of February. Monday was the first time the regime’s forces have shot anyone in the town.

Myanmar Now