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Beyond the Headlines: Myanmar’s detained President moved to prison, whereabouts of family unknown

January 24, 2023/in News

Myanmar Now provides an overview of underreported developments in the country over the past week, January 16-23 NLD The junta authorities moved the detained civilian President Win Myint to a prison in Taungoo, Bago Region, more than one week ago, Myanmar Now recently learned. The town is located around 60 miles south of Naypyitaw, the […]

Junta air force repeatedly bombs Sagaing Region village

January 23, 2023/in News

The Myanmar military launches days of consecutive airstrikes on Moe Tar Lay village in Katha Township Battles between resistance forces and the military followed a series of junta airstrikes launched on Friday in Katha Township, northern Sagaing Region, according to local sources. Allied guerrilla groups ambushed a Myanmar army column of more than 70 soldiers […]

Beyond the Headlines: Myanmar’s detained President moved to prison, whereabouts of family unknown

January 24, 2023/in News

Junta air force repeatedly bombs Sagaing Region village

January 23, 2023/in News

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Beyond the Headlines: Myanmar’s detained President moved to prison, whereabouts of family unknown

January 24, 2023/in News

Myanmar Now provides an overview of underreported developments in the country over the past week, January 16-23

NLD

The junta authorities moved the detained civilian President Win Myint to a prison in Taungoo, Bago Region, more than one week ago, Myanmar Now recently learned. The town is located around 60 miles south of Naypyitaw, the country’s administrative capital, where he was believed to have been kept under house arrest since the coup that deposed his elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government nearly two years ago.

On January 23, Myanmar Now confirmed with two sources familiar with the detained President’s situation that he had been sent to the prison on January 14. The regime authorities have yet to officially acknowledge the transfer, and staff at a police station in Naypyitaw accepted parcels for Win Myint on January 23 as usual, the first source said. A second source added that there is no information available on the President’s wife Cho Cho, elder sister Ma Ma Lay, daughter Phyu Phyu Thin, or a female caretaker and her mother, all of whom were kept under house arrest with Win Myint, despite having no criminal charges filed against them.

The family members have not returned to Win Myint’s native Pathein Township in Ayeyarwady Region, where he had maintained a residence, according to a Pathein local who is close to his family.
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President Win Myint (President’s Office)

The 71-year-old ousted President was sentenced to 12 years in prison after being convicted in a junta-controlled court of eight charges—five of which were related to alleged corruption—and finalised in late December.

Observers have dismissed the cases as fabricated accusations filed against civilian leaders by the military in the wake of the February 1, 2021 coup. Ousted NLD State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi was likewise sentenced to 33 years in prison after being handed 19 convictions.

With their trials completed, there had been speculation that the pair would be transferred to prison, but at the time of reporting, Suu Kyi continued to be held in separate quarters in the Naypyitaw Detention Centre.

Junta affairs

Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing met with Chalermphon Srisawasdi, chief of defence forces of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, in Thandwe, Rakhine State, on January 20 as Myanmar hosted the eighth ever high-level meeting between the two countries’ militaries. Regime mouthpieces did not disclose details regarding the private meeting between Min Aung Hlaing and Srisawasdi on that day but during the addresses delivered by the men as part of the three-day meeting, both expressed a desire to improve existing military relations and to take further steps to increase border security. Srisawasdi said he would “strive to maintain Myanmar and Thai militaries as perpetual good friends.”

Among the Myanmar military’s delegation were chief of general staff Gen Maung Maung Aye, navy commander Adm Moe Aung, air force commander Gen Tun Aung, and other officers such as chief of military security affairs Lt-Gen Ye Win Oo. The meeting was the first between the two military chiefs since Myanmar’s coup nearly two years ago.
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Chalermphon Srisawasdi, chief of defence forces of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, (left) and Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing (right) (Cincds)

***

Min Aung Hlaing and his wife Kyu Kyu Hla attended the Lunar New Year celebrations and the closing ceremony of a commemorative friendship basketball tournament organised by the Chinese embassy and the Myanmar Chinese Chamber of Commerce at Thuwunna National Indoor Stadium-1 in Yangon on January 21. Also present at the occasion was Chinese ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai, President of the Myanmar Chinese Chamber of Commerce Aik Tun, members of the military council, the regime’s Yangon Region chief minister, and other army officials. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing again expressed his support for the “One China Policy” in a speech at the event, declaring that “one must stay true to one’s own convictions, regardless of who is breaching theirs,” quoting a Burmese proverb.
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Min Aung Hlaing (left) and Chen Hai, Chinese ambassador to Myanmar (right), are seen at the Lunar New year Celebration at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium-1 on January 21 (Cincds)

Meanwhile, the Myanmar-born Chinese community in Yangon celebrated the Lunar New Year quietly and largely in their own homes over the weekend. It stood in sharp contrast to the once festive and government-sponsored displays shared prior to the military coup in Lanmadaw Township, known as the commercial hub’s Chinatown.

Traditional red decorations, but no large crowds, were seen at Chinese temples in the area. Chinese traditional dragon dance competitions and firecrackers have become increasingly rare as the community resists a return to a “new normal” under the military rule in solidarity with the majority of Myanmar’s diverse population.
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A Chinese temple in Yangon’s Chinatown in which there was no typical crowd of visitors on January 22, the Lunar New Year (Myanmar Now)

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The Myanmar coup regime accused the anti-junta People’s Defence Force (PDF) of attacking 13 election commission offices in six states and regions over the past year, in an announcement that appeared in military-run newspapers on January 23. The assaults caused more than 367.5m kyat (US$175,000) in damage, it said.

Six of the strikes were reportedly perpetrated in Chin State and Sagaing Region, both known resistance strongholds. Others were said to have occurred in Karen and Karenni states, as well as Magway and Tanintharyi regions, where the junta has also been facing significant challenges in fighting guerrilla forces and ethnic armed organisations opposed to military rule.
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Junta immigration minister Myint Kyaing and staff are seen checking on the data collection process in Thingangyun Township, Yangon, on January 14 (Military council’s information ministry)

As a pretext for the February 2021 coup, the military rejected the results of Myanmar’s 2020 election—in which the governing NLD won a majority—pointing to widely unsubstantiated claims of fraud as justification for the takeover. Since then, the junta has planned to hold new elections under its own authority.

In recent weeks, resistance forces across the country also launched multiple attacks on junta personnel collecting data from residents in preparation for the military-controlled vote scheduled for later this year. Various ethnic armed organisations, the publicly mandated National Unity Government and its affiliated PDF are among those who have declared that they will not recognise the legitimacy of a military election.

Myanmar Now News

Junta air force repeatedly bombs Sagaing Region village

January 23, 2023/in News

The Myanmar military launches days of consecutive airstrikes on Moe Tar Lay village in Katha Township

Battles between resistance forces and the military followed a series of junta airstrikes launched on Friday in Katha Township, northern Sagaing Region, according to local sources.

Allied guerrilla groups ambushed a Myanmar army column of more than 70 soldiers under Light Infantry Division 77 on January 19 near the village of Moe Tar Lay, some 20 miles from Katha town, as they advanced through the township from the occupied community of Chaung Wa.

Members of the People’s Defence Force (PDF), the People’s Defence Team and the All Burma Students Democratic Front jointly carried out the assault. The military responded by sending two fighter jets to bomb Moe Tar Lay at around 4pm, killing seven locals and injuring more than 30.

The next day, as clashes escalated, junta aircraft attacked the area three times between 10am and 2:30pm, according to a member of the Katha PDF who spoke to Myanmar Now from the frontline.

He noted that a helicopter and a jet surveyed the area until late in the afternoon.

“We are assuming that they were looking for something as they were just hovering around without firing. It appeared that they were looking for their people to rescue,” he explained.

Heavy artillery was also fired by the military in the direction of Moe Tar Lay.

Although local media reported that a Myanmar army tactical officer was killed at the site, Myanmar Now was unable to independently verify his death.

The frontline Katha PDF member said that as of last Friday, the resistance had suffered one casualty in the episode of fighting, and saw one of its members injured.

Thousands of residents from Moe Tar Lay and neighbouring Sin Gon Taing and Tut Kone fled their homes during the fighting and took refuge in Katha town.

Elsewhere in Katha, the PDF clashed with a military column near Alel Kyun on January 19, according to a man from the area, who said that the junta forces torched the village, forcing its residents and those from the nearby communities of Than Taung and Pyin Htaung Gyi to flee.

Attacks from guerrilla forces based in the Sagaing townships of Katha and Htigyaing have been increasing as the military council relies on the Ayeyarwady River—which runs through the region—to transport arms, ammunition, supplies and reinforcements north to Kachin State.

Myanmar Now News

Spring Revolution

Civil Society Position Paper on ASEAN’s Goal of a Myanmar-Owned and -Led SolutionDecember 18, 2024 - 12:11 pm
Recommendations to ASEAN and Its Member States (1) Move beyond the 5PC to achieve a Myanmar people-led and people-centered solution to the crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN’s “Myanmar-owned and -led” approach must be backed by genuine political will that aligns with and supports the collective aspirations of the people of Myanmar. (2) Cease all pressure on […]
The Airstrikes after the journey to the China of the Junta Military LeaderDecember 10, 2024 - 1:28 pm
Operation 1027 was a coordinated military attack against the junta on October 27th, 2023. It was carried out by the Northern Brotherhood, which includes the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. Several months later, the Three Brotherhood Alliance held three meetings to negotiate with China on January 11 […]
Human Rights Situation weekly update (September 15 to 21, 2024)September 27, 2024 - 8:26 am
Human Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Sep 15 to 21, 2024 Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in Sagaing Region, Mandalay Region, Shan State, Chin State, Rakhine State, and Kachin State from September 15th to 21st. The Military Junta committed arresting, occupying the properties, threatening by using power, and […]

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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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