Blog Elements – Page 299

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Sagaing residents say they face discrimination under Myanmar junta

July 7, 2022/in News

The northwestern region is where the fiercest armed resistance to the military regime is. Burmese citizens with national registration cards indicating they reside in northwestern Myanmar’s Sagaing region face travel restrictions and other forms of discrimination under Myanmar’s ruling military regime because they hail from the part of the country with the greatest armed resistance […]

At least six burned bodies found in Myanmar’s Magway region village

July 7, 2022/in News

More locals, junta troops and PDF members are believed to have been killed in fighting around Myaing Township. Two days of fighting between junta troops and People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) in central Myanmar’s Magway region ended with the grisly discovery of charred bodies scattered across a village. Locals told RFA that at least six burned […]

Sagaing residents say they face discrimination under Myanmar junta

July 7, 2022/in News

At least six burned bodies found in Myanmar’s Magway region village

July 7, 2022/in News

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Sagaing residents say they face discrimination under Myanmar junta

July 7, 2022/in News

The northwestern region is where the fiercest armed resistance to the military regime is.

Burmese citizens with national registration cards indicating they reside in northwestern Myanmar’s Sagaing region face travel restrictions and other forms of discrimination under Myanmar’s ruling military regime because they hail from the part of the country with the greatest armed resistance to the junta, locals said Friday.

The junta which seized power from the elected government in February 2021 has faced the fiercest armed resistance in Sagaing region. Most of the region’s 34 townships and more than 5,900 villages have been affected by fighting between military forces and members of the anti-junta People’s Defense Forces (PDF). The hostilities and the burnings of villages have displaced thousands of residents in the region.

The junta announced in late March that authorities could check the national registration cards, also known as citizenship verification cards, of people in the region anywhere on demand.

Residents of the region told RFA that people holding national registration cards that identify them as being from the area are limited in where they can travel and cut off from employment opportunities.

A Myaung township resident, who requested anonymity for safety reasons, said registration card holders have been subjected to stricter checks than are those registered in other regions and states since the junta made its announcement.

“There’s nothing we can do about transportation or communications or getting jobs,” he said. “You cannot lie to them as every detail is on the registration card.”

Though no one wants to accept people who have cards beginning with the numerical prefix that identifies them as Sagaing residents, locals are proud that they hold such ID documents, he said.

“But we face a lot of difficulties in travelling and finding jobs,” he said, adding that he was dismayed that employers in other areas of Myanmar discriminated against migrant workers from Sagaing.

A company worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity for the same reason, said authorities question him now when he travels more than they do others.

“It’s just a normal trip, [and] there are many checkpoints along the way,” he said. “There’s a lot of questioning at some checkpoints. They gave you suspicious looks. You will be asked many questions even though it’s a normal business trip, just because you are holding a card with the prefix 5/ and you live in a township where there are concerning situations.’

“I’m always worried they might not accept my answers and turn me back,” the worker added.

‘Public security’ work

A hotel owner in central Myanmar’s Mandalay region, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said regime authorities had not instructed hotels to conduct strict checks of Sagaing region citizens, though they had been told to maintain a list of guests and their phone numbers.

“There are no specific orders to strictly check guests from what township or region they come from,” he said, adding that he did not record the townships from which his guests came.

“But we have been told to keep records of names and phone numbers of guests who stay here because of the current situation in the country and we have to send guest lists to [authorities] regularly,” he said. “They will take action against us if we don’t follow the orders.”

In the past, guests were allowed to stay at guesthouses without presenting their national registration cards if they could produce other identification documents.

Sagaing residents also told RFA that people from the region who want to go abroad for work have been subjected to strict censorship, and some have been refused passports.

Military spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun said there were no special restrictions as such, however.

“Even in places like [the capital] Naypyidaw, you can find people fleeing from the people’s Defense Forces violence in Sagaing region,” he said.

“Of course, there may be security checks in some places,” he said. “This is not done for these registration card owners. They’re just doing their work for public security.”

Nazin Latt, a National League for Democracy lawmaker for Sagaing’s Kanbalu township, described the discrimination as “psychological warfare.”

“It’s a violation of human rights to oppress people in areas with strong opposition, for jobs or travel whether it be for security reasons or not,” he told RFA. “On the one hand, it is seen as a systematic psychological warfare — being refused jobs or being refused to put up at guest houses, finding it difficult to get jobs in Yangon and Mandalay, all these issues. It also depends a lot on the employers.”

A recent job announcement in Mandalay’s Pyin Oo Lwin township, said that people holding cards with the Sagaing numerical prefix on their ID cards could not apply.

RFA could not reach the recruiter by phone for comment.

In the past, during the height of armed conflict between national forces and the ethnic rebel Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine state, the military and military-controlled local administrative authorities imposed similar restrictions on citizens with the numerical code for the western state on their national registration cards.

The residents were prevented from traveling in other areas of the country, especially in northern Shan state, on suspicion that they might be heading there to participate in military training offered by AA near the border with China.

Translated by Khin Maung Nyane for RFA Burmese. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

RFA News

At least six burned bodies found in Myanmar’s Magway region village

July 7, 2022/in News

More locals, junta troops and PDF members are believed to have been killed in fighting around Myaing Township.

Two days of fighting between junta troops and People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) in central Myanmar’s Magway region ended with the grisly discovery of charred bodies scattered across a village.

Locals told RFA that at least six burned corpses were found in the remains of Sue Win village in Myaing township on Friday. They said they believed there were more victims as the body parts had been scattered. The corpses were so badly burned they could not be identified.

“There were more than six bodies,” said a local, who declined to be named for safety reasons. “They were not burned in one place. There were many bodies. They were found in four places.”

Battles between junta forces and local militia groups began on Friday and continued the next day. Locals told RFA they believed the military council had burned the bodies along with four houses and they think the dead are a mixture of locals and PDF members. However, since the bodies have not yet been identified, it is not yet known if junta forces were among the dead. Some of the bodies were wearing bulletproof vests and army boots, with scarves tied around their necks in the military style indicating the military was trying to cover up its own casualties. Local junta Capt. Soe Win is believed to be among the dead.

“The bodies were brought here in a vehicle,” said a local PDF member. “There were more than seven or eight bodies including those killed in the fighting on the way to our village.”

The military council has not released any information on the discovery of the bodies and calls to a spokesman by RFA on Monday went unanswered.

Ongoing battles between junta troops and the PDFs have left thousands homeless in Myanmar’s second largest region. On June 15 troops torched more than 3,000 houses in one township.

Locals in Myaing township say residents of more than ten villages in the area have fled from the military council’s scorched-earth operations.Figures from Data for Myanmar show that 22 people had been killed in Magway between February last year and the end of April 2022 but more up to date figures are not available. D4M also reported last month that troops had torched more than 3,000 houses in Magway in the first 16 months following the coup.

RFA 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 […]

Multimedia

GenocideSeptember 2, 2025 - 9:42 am
Crimes Against HumanityJune 16, 2025 - 7:55 am
International Humanitarian Law Cartoon AnimatonApril 29, 2025 - 8:37 am
အတိတ်မှ ဆိုးရွားသည့် အကြီးအကျယ် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများ ထပ်မံမဖြစ်ပွားစေရေးအ တွက် အာမခံခြင်း (Guarantees of non-recurrence)February 10, 2025 - 9:58 am

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.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

ND Burma

Recent Posts