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Myanmar Junta’s Prisoner Amnesty: No Political Dissidents Released

February 14, 2022/in News

The Myanmar junta’s Union Day prisoner amnesty has seen only convicted criminals released from jail rather than political dissidents. The regime released 814 criminals on Saturday on the condition that if they are convicted of another offense in the future, they will have to serve the remainder of their previous sentence in addition to any […]

Human Rights Situation in Myanmar: Post- Coup (February 7-13)2022

February 14, 2022/in HR Situation

In July 2021, one of Myanmar’s major telecom operators and second largest telecom businesses, Telenor Group, announced they were leaving Myanmar. The decision came approximately six months after the junta had launched their failed coup. In addition to leaving Myanmar, Telenor sold the entire company to M1 Group, a Lebanese investment group. The military junta […]

Myanmar Junta’s Prisoner Amnesty: No Political Dissidents Released

February 14, 2022/in News

Human Rights Situation in Myanmar: Post- Coup (February 7-13)2022

February 14, 2022/in HR Situation

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Myanmar Junta’s Prisoner Amnesty: No Political Dissidents Released

February 14, 2022/in News

The Myanmar junta’s Union Day prisoner amnesty has seen only convicted criminals released from jail rather than political dissidents.

The regime released 814 criminals on Saturday on the condition that if they are convicted of another offense in the future, they will have to serve the remainder of their previous sentence in addition to any new one. Seven Sri Lanka nationals were also released and deported under the amnesty.

“It is sad that prisoners of conscience were not released. The regime still holds them because it dare not release them,” said one former political prisoner from Mandalay.

Up to February 11 this year, 9,087 people have been detained for anti-regime activities since last year’s coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). 703 of those have been convicted and imprisoned, with 45 of them, including two teenagers, given the death sentence.

*Prisoners released from Yangon’s Insein Prison on February 12. / Nay Myo*

The AAPP said the actual number of people detained or arbitrarily killed by the regime could be higher.

A lawyer acting for anti-coup activists detained in Yangon’s Insein Prison said that the regime wants to give the international community the false impression that it has released dissidents. “But at the same time, it [the amnesty] sends an explicit message to the opposition forces inside the country that the junta won’t release political prisoners,” he added.

On Saturday, 96 prisoners from Insein Prison, 40 prisoners including a Chinese national from Mandalay’s Obo Prison, 13 from Bago’s Pyay Prison, 70 from prisons and labor camps in Mon State and 21 from Rakhine State were released.

Ousted Karen State chief minister Daw Nan Khin Htwe Myint had her jail sentence commuted by half by the junta. The 67-year-old was detained after the coup and sentenced to 80 years in prison in December for corruption, sedition and violation of the military-drafted 2008 constitution.

The regime also closed the cases of 46 individuals detained for having alleged ties to the Rakhine ethnic armed organization the Arakan Army, which was once labelled a terrorist group by the Myanmar military.

Among those released were 23 villagers from Lekka Village in Rakhine State’s Mrauk-U who had been detained since April 2019 under the Counter-Terrorism Law. Twenty-seven people from Lekka Village were originally detained, with three of them dying during interrogations. It is unclear if the remaining detainee from Lekka is still being held.

The military regime has detained elected lawmakers since the coup, including State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint. Over 1,500 people have been killed by the junta since the military’s takeover.

The regime spent at least 9 billion kyats (around US$5 million) on a grand military review in the Myanmar capital Naypyitaw on Saturday to mark the 75^th anniversary of Union Day, according to sources in the capital. The All Burma Federation of Student Unions staged a protest against the event on Saturday in Yangon, calling on the people to root out the sham Union system.

The civilian National Unity Government (NUG) also held a virtual event to mark Union Day and the signing of the Panglong Agreement on February 12, 1947 between the then Aung San-led Burmese government and some of the country’s ethnic minorities.

Kachin Independence Army chief of staff General Gam Shawng Gunhtang delivered an address to the NUG’s virtual event, urging the NUG to take a leadership role in realizing the commitments made in the Panglong Agreement and calling on ethnic minority groups to cooperate.

Irrawaddy News

Human Rights Situation in Myanmar: Post- Coup (February 7-13)2022

February 14, 2022/in HR Situation

In the months that have passed since, mounting fears have arisen over the safety and security of Telenor’s 18 million customers. Telenor’s departure could put thousands in danger with the threat of data getting in the hands of the junta. A petition was widely circulated which called for Telenor Group and the Norwegian Government to immediately halt the sale of the company. Additional concerns included the proceeds earned which will only support the regime and embolden them to continue their assaults on the civilian population.

The failure of Telenor Group to comply in line with basic human rights standards led to the Norwegian Forum for Development and Environment submitting a complaint against the leadership of Telenor to the police. A top judge is among those who have suggested that Telenor board members and Norwegian authorities may be ‘aiding and abetting crimes against humanity.’ Data must be safeguarded!

The junta’s voice does not represent the people of Myanmar. And yet, the International Institute of Communications, a group with a reputation for laundering for the Myanmar junta, invited the military’s telecom regulator to speak on a panel regarding citizen protection. Journalists were barred from the event in further evidence of a lack of transparency.

After over one year, the voices of the people in Myanmar are louder and more clear than ever. They are not to be represented by any member of the unlawful, terrorist junta.

KAREN STATE

Displaced villagers in Karen State are fearful for their futures which remain uncertain against the backdrop of unrelenting conflict. Internally displaced people (IDPs) are being forced to seek refuge and live along the banks of the Moei river along the Thai-Myanmar border. Local organizations have estimated that the attacks by the military junta have led to 10 000 villagers from Lay Kaw Kaw and nearby villagers (as many as 4000) being forced to flee.

Thailand’s assistance to those seeking safety a sbeen limited. At the end of January 2022, the government closed Mae Kon Ken village, a temporary village. Since then, the needs of those displaced have been exacerbated exponentially.

Fearing return, villages are forced to make unimaginable decisions. With landmines littering their homelands and an ever increasing presence of the junta, options are limited for safety and refuse. The military’s insincerity and refusal to leave civilian areas in Karen State ast the request of the Karen National Union (KNU) led to the armed group refusing the junta’s invitation to ‘preliminary peace talks’ at Union Day held on 12 February.

KAYAH (KARENNI)

Over 170 000 people have been displaced in Karenni (Kayah) State, with the military junta controlling less than 10 percent of the State as a result of sharp resistance by opposition forces. At least 120 000 are seeking shelter in buildings and forests throughout Karenni (Kayah) State. In a joint briefing paper released by the Karenni Human Rights Group and ND-Burma, The World Must Know, it was concluded that despite repeated calls by civil society organizations and international bodies to the military junta to immediately cease their assaults on civilian lives, the atrocities are incessant.

Yet another Karenni (Kayah) IDP camp was struck by artillery firing by the military junta in Demawso Township. The attack led to one civilian injury, and several buildings being destroyed. Now, once again, the IDPs have been forced to flee amid mounting stress over the safety of designated camps. This comes as Internet and phone blackouts have been worsening in Karenni (Kayah) State. Communication blackouts have been intentionally imposed by the military junta to make it more difficult for civilians to access information on the situation and where to seek safety.

In January 2022 alone, at least 45 people were killed by indiscriminate firing by the military junta.

SAGAING REGION

Approximately forty civilians were killed in less than two weeks by the junta in the conflict-torn Sagaing region. Those killed include women and children in four townships. Between January 28 and February 6 alone, over 38 villagers were killed during military raids. Amid an ongoing scorched earth campaign, 5000 more residents were forced to flee on 10 February following homes raided and burned down in four villages in Mingin and Taze townships. During the raid, almost all of the homes in Moktha Village (178 out of 200) were burned down.

On 4 February, bodies of elevan civilians were found after the junta deployed an airstrike on a PDF base during a graduation ceremony. The attack killed nearly two dozen civilians. The harsh conditions of the weather and unsettling fears of attacks has left civilians traumatized and have particularly made for additional hardships for the most vulnerable, including the elderly.

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Spring Revolution

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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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