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More than 16,500 homes and buildings destroyed by Myanmar junta since coup

August 4, 2023/in News

Evicted residents, who can’t afford to buy new houses, have been forced to rent places or return to their villages. Myanmar’s military junta has evicted families and destroyed more than 16,500 homes and other buildings in large cities and towns across the Southeast Asian country, claiming that the structures “encroached on land owned by the […]

Myanmar junta makes multiple arrests in Mandalay

August 4, 2023/in News

Among those detained are two teachers accused of taking part in an online education program run by the NUG Sources in Mandalay say that a number of people, including two teachers accused of working with Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG), have been arrested in the city in recent weeks. The teachers were both detained […]

More than 16,500 homes and buildings destroyed by Myanmar junta since coup

August 4, 2023/in News

Myanmar junta makes multiple arrests in Mandalay

August 4, 2023/in News

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More than 16,500 homes and buildings destroyed by Myanmar junta since coup

August 4, 2023/in News

Evicted residents, who can’t afford to buy new houses, have been forced to rent places or return to their villages.

Myanmar’s military junta has evicted families and destroyed more than 16,500 homes and other buildings in large cities and towns across the Southeast Asian country, claiming that the structures “encroached on land owned by the state,” according to data compiled by Radio Free Asia.

The data is based on residents’ testimonies and notices from local authorities, compiled since the military seized control of the country from the elected civilian-led government in a February 2021 coup. The actual figure may be higher, however.

The junta has removed the buildings under the pretext of “encroachment,” claiming the land belongs to the railway department, the irrigation department, or the military, or that it has been zoned for municipal infrastructure.

The junta also has forcibly evicted people living in informal settlements as part of a bid to increase its land holdings, RFA reportedin February.

Families who have lost their homes say they are now facing hardship.

The remains of homes demolished by Myanmar junta forces are seen in Ward 3 of Mayangon township in Yangon region, Nov. 19, 2022. Credit: Citizen journalist

The military has leveled nearly 11,700 houses and buildings in Yangon region, home to Myanmar’s largest city and former capital, and the area with the greatest concentration of buildings.

Of that figure, the junta has demolished more than 4,100 houses and buildings in Mandalay, the second-largest city by population, while smaller cities and towns, such as Magway, Naypyidaw, Taungoo, Sittwe and Ann have seen between 75 to 200 demolitions each.

The military removed residential houses in Magway, saying they were too close to an Air Force base, demolished civilian homes and buildings in Mandalay on the grounds that the inhabitants were squatting on regional government-owned land, private land or land too close to a railway, and tore down homes in Naypyidaw, claiming they were situated too close to the Yan Aung Myin Forest Reserve.

Enter the bulldozers

A resident of Myo Thit Ward No. 4 in Mandalay who had lived in a home there for 17 years, said the junta leveled 200 homes in the ward, including his.

“There was no deadline in the notice that the authorities sent to us,” he said. “It just said that we must move out as soon as possible, so we started collecting our property and disassembling our homes.”

“But yesterday bulldozers arrived and started bulldozing our houses around noon,” said the resident who declined to be identified out of fear of retribution. “Right now, I have rented a house to live in.”

A resident who was evicted from Manadalay’s Pyigyitagun township told RFA that he could not afford to buy another dwelling because of high commodity prices.

“We had to pinch pennies with a lot of difficulty to save up and buy our house,” he said.

The location of a razed neighborhood (light brown in center of image) in Myanmar’s Mandalay region is seen on April 16, 2023. Credit: Airbus

Patheingyi township administrators under the control of the military issued notices this June to nearly 10,000 households that their homes would be removed on the grounds that they had been built on farmland without permission.

Similarly, in Yangon region, the junta demolished homes it claimed were built on lands owned by public parks, the regional government or the military.

In November 2022, soldiers knocked down about 100 houses in Yangon’s Mayangon township they claimed was on land owned by a stadium, forcing nearly 300 people into homelessness.

A resident who refused to be named for safety reasons told RFA he had to rent a house to stay on the outskirts of the city because he could not afford to buy a new one.

“No one could buy another house again after the evictions,” he said. “All of them have to live as tenants now. Some had to go back to their villages.”

Human rights violation

Rights activist Zaw Yan of the Yangon People’s Welfare Network told RFA that the junta’s demolition of civilian homes under the pretext of encroachment is a violation of human rights.

“From a human rights standpoint, it is a violation of Article 13 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” he said. “Also, they’ve violated [Myanmar’s] constitution which says that every citizen has the right to live in any region within the country according to the law.”

In a statement issued on Dec. 2, 2022, U.N. human rights officials said the junta’s act of removing houses by force was a violation of basic human rights and a war crime.

Homes demolished by Myanmar junta troops are seen in Pyigyitagon township in Mandalay region, Feb. 28, 2023. Credit: Citizen journalist

Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, spokesman for Myanmar’s State Administration Council, the official name of the regime, told RFA in March 2022 that the junta had to focus on encroachment issues because previous governments did not resolve them.

A Yangon-based attorney who knows about the demolitions told RFA that previously the removal of homes was usually suspended or postponed through negotiations with administrative officials, though that’s no longer possible under current military rule.

RFA News

Myanmar junta makes multiple arrests in Mandalay

August 4, 2023/in News

Among those detained are two teachers accused of taking part in an online education program run by the NUG

Sources in Mandalay say that a number of people, including two teachers accused of working with Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG), have been arrested in the city in recent weeks.

The teachers were both detained on July 27 during raids on their homes in in Mandalay’s Maha Aungmyay and Chanmyathazi townships, according to a person familiar with the situation.

“It’s true that they were arrested, but that’s all we know. We haven’t heard from them since they were taken into custody,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The source confirmed that the two teachers—one male and one female—were taking part in the Civil Disobedience Movement against military rule.

It’s believed that they were also suspected of teaching for an online education program under the NUG’s management, he added, noting that computers, mobile phones, and other items were confiscated during the raids.

Meanwhile, more arrests were made in Mandalay this week, including one on Tuesday involving a man who was picked up on 62nd Street and three more on Thursday at a teashop on 82nd Street.

According to sources, the military has been using the phone of the man arrested on Tuesday to try to contact others suspected of engaging in anti-regime activities.

Witnesses said that the arrests on Thursday were made by a group of police riding in civilian vehicles who used photographs to identify the suspects—two men and a woman, all in their 20s.

Residents of Mandalay say that arrests have been more frequent in the city since July 1, when a local urban guerrilla group called No More Dictatorship fired a handmade mortar at Mandalay Palace.

At least three arrests were made later the same day in connection with that incident, including one person who was just a bystander, sources told Myanmar Now.

There were also reports of arrests made at the Mya Bayet Monastery in Amarapura, just outside of Mandalay, on the same day. However, no further details were available.

The regime has not released any statement about recent arrests in Mandalay.

According to the latest data compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, there are currently 19,687 political prisoners being held in Myanmar’s detention centres.

Earlier this week, the junta released around 7,000 prisoners as part of an amnesty to mark a Buddhist holiday. However, few of those released were serving sentences for political offences.

Myanmar Now News

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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.

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