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More than 160 homes burn down in junta shelling of Chin State town

October 30, 2021/in News

Two of Thantlang’s churches also caught fire, and some 20 children are feared to be trapped in an orphanage in the besieged town Amid an escalation of both armed resistance to military rule and reprisals from the junta forces, Myanmar army troops shelled the largely deserted western Chin State town of Thantlang on Friday, causing […]

Weekly Update on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar: Post-Coup (October 18-24) 2021

October 25, 2021/in HR Situation

More than 160 homes burn down in junta shelling of Chin State town

October 30, 2021/in News

Weekly Update on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar: Post-Coup (October 18-24) 2021

October 25, 2021/in HR Situation

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More than 160 homes burn down in junta shelling of Chin State town

October 30, 2021/in News

Two of Thantlang’s churches also caught fire, and some 20 children are feared to be trapped in an orphanage in the besieged town

Amid an escalation of both armed resistance to military rule and reprisals from the junta forces, Myanmar army troops shelled the largely deserted western Chin State town of Thantlang on Friday, causing fires that destroyed more than 160 of the town’s 2,000 homes.

The attack came after a junta soldier was shot dead at 9:30am by the Chinland Defence Force (CDF)—which has been monitoring the situation in Thantlang—after members of the local resistance group said they saw him looting a shop.

In retaliation for the killing, the junta’s armed forces occupying the area shot at least 10 rounds of artillery into the town, which started fires upon exploding. Within an hour, several troops had arrived at the location at which the soldier was killed and also began torching houses “for no reason,” a CDF spokesperson said.

“They walked into the town at around 10:30am and torched the houses at random,” the spokesperson from the CDF’s Thantlang chapter told Myanmar Now.

By 5pm, at least 40 houses had burnt down, with the fires continuing to burn throughout the night, he said.

Caption- Smoke is seen rising after the military’s artillery shells were fired at and exploded in Thantlang on Friday afternoon (The Chinland Post)

A man who lives near Thantlang told Myanmar Now that there was “still smoke coming out” of the town on Friday evening.

By 9am Saturday morning, the fire had died down but homes were still smoldering, according to the Zalen news outlet.

The Thantlang CDF took note of the estimated 160 houses that were destroyed and at the time of reporting were still notifying the homeowners, the group’s spokesperson said.

The Church on the Rock, the Presbyterian church, and a building attached to the Thantlang Baptist Church—the town’s largest congregation—also caught fire in the shelling, the Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO) said in a statement on Friday night.

International non-profit organisation Save the Children also reported that their local office in Thantlang was destroyed in the fire.

Nearly all of Thantlang’s 8,000 residents fled following military assaults that destroyed 18 homes and a government building in September. This too was seen as a retaliation against the public and the resistance after an attack by the CDF and the Chin National Army on a junta base reportedly killed some 30 soldiers.

Thousands of the civilians displaced from Thantlang have been taking shelter in villages along the India-Myanmar border, with others crossing into India’s Mizoram State.

At least three people, including two elderly women, were known to have stayed behind in Thantlang after others had fled. Myanmar Now was unable to contact them on Friday after the military shelling.

Caption- Smoke is seen rising after the military’s artillery shells were fired at and exploded in Thantlang on Friday afternoon (The Chinland Post)

In their Friday statement, CHRO reported that more than 20 children and their teachers had stayed behind in an orphanage located at the entrance to Thantlang and remained trapped.

“The extensive destruction of civilian property, carried out wantonly and not justified by any military necessity, represent war crimes and grave breaches of international humanitarian law,” CHRO’s Salai Za Uk Ling said in the statement. .

Salai Issac Khen, a former municipal minister of Chin State under the National League for Democracy administration ousted in Myanmar’s February 1 coup, condemned the shelling on Friday in a Facebook post blaming the military for the destruction after rumours circulated that the residents of Thantlang were somehow responsible for the blaze.

“It is not easy to build a house in the Chin hills. The Chin people do not have any reason to torch their own homes,” he wrote.

On Sunday, junta mouthpiece the Global New Light of Myanmar accused the PDF burning the homes in Thantlang and committing “terrorist acts.” Military council spokesperson Gen Zaw Min Tun also said in a statement on Sunday that the local PDF—encouraged by the shadow National Unity Government and living “under the cover of [the] people”—had started the fire and that the military was unable to extinguish it.

In September 2017, following a scorched earth military campaign against the Rohingya population of Rakhine State—south of Chin State—the Myanmar army and government infamously accused the fleeing Rohingya of burning down their own homes. The claim was widely dismissed by the refugees themselves, human rights groups and the international community, and later submitted to a UN court as evidence of genocide.

“The military council will go down in history as responsible for this fire in Thantlang today,” Salai Issac Khen wrote, and urged all ethnic Chin members of the military council to “immediately resign.”

Around 200 troops from the military’s Light Infantry Division 11 and Light Infantry Battalion 269 based in the Chin State capital of Hakha have been stationed on a hill overlooking Thantlang, according to the CDF.

“We will take our town back,” the Thantlang CDF spokesperson said.

Caption- Smoke is seen rising after the military’s artillery shells were fired at and exploded in Thantlang on Friday afternoon (The Chinland Post)

The Myanmar military deployed thousands of troops to northwestern Myanmar, including Chin State and Sagaing and Magway regions, earlier this month. The move appears to be preparation for a concerted push to crush the resistance movement that has inflicted heavy casualties on the junta’s army.

Myanmar’s Permanent Representative to the UN Kyaw Moe Tun said on Friday in an address to the Plenary Meeting of the UN General Assembly’s 76th session that “decisive timely action” by the UN on the country’s situation was “well overdue,” and highlighted the most recent military assault on Thantlang as evidence of the deteriorating conditions in Myanmar.

“All people, I repeat all people in Myanmar, are suffering every day, every hour, every minute from atrocities, crimes against humanity committed by the military and some even brutally killed,” Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun said.

“Your serious attention to basic rights of all people and your action to prevent all people from such atrocities is seriously needed,” he said.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated on October 31 to include reference to the junta’s report and their spokesperson’s statement on the fire.

Myanmar Now News

Weekly Update on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar: Post-Coup (October 18-24) 2021

October 25, 2021/in HR Situation

On October 18th and 19th, the Myanmar military junta announced they would release over 5000 political prisoners who had been detained since the attempted coup. The decision to do so was highly politicized as it came during the traditional Thadingyut festival in Myanmar, and by no coincidence, shortly after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) declined to extend an invitation to the military junta to upcoming summits later this month. The junta has completely and utterly failed in their responsibility to protect the civilian population. Despite the ‘Five-Point Consensus’ which the junta had agreed to fulfill, in fact, none of their commitments have been followed through. As stated by the United Nations Special Rapporteur, Tom Andrews, the junta is seeking funds, weapons and legitimacy from the international community. Their inability to overwhelmingly secure their demands speaks to their lack of credibility, which the Myanmar Generals so desperately crave.

In what proved to be further evidence of the junta turning its back on their promises, shortly after political prisoners were released, reports emerged that dozens were rearrested. According to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (AAPP), 110 political prisoners were re-arrested soon after release since the 18 October announcement. Just a few months ago in June, the regime claimed they released over 2000 prisoners, when in reality, less than 400 were verified by AAPP. The military has also not provided any lists of those who were freed. It is imperative that governments around the world do not take the junta’s amnesty as a sign that they have changed their tactics. Quite the contrary, these are the same patterns the regime has deployed for decades. It is crucial that the international community not be fooled and continue to put pressure on the regime to return power to the democratically elected government.

The attempted coup has not brought the ease and comfort of transitioning into authoritarianism that the Generals anticipated. Instead, the people have largely refused to be silent and are continuing to protest as well as amplify calls to the international community for targeted sanctions, and a global arms embargo. Burma Campaign – UK called on the UN Security Council to urgently hold a meeting as the human rights situation looks to worsen due to the junta’s increasing military operations in Chin State, Sagaing Region and Magwe, North-Western Burma. The National Unity Government has said that foreign non-state armed groups have been ‘settling’ into the state and are being supported by the junta to try and dismantle, and weaken civilian-led defense forces.

CHIN STATE

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, over 20 000 civilians have been forcibly displaced in Chin State alone, due to ongoing clashes between the junta and armed civilian defense groups. Attempts to deliver aid have been challenging as local and international groups have experienced brutal push-backs from the regime, hampering their attempts. Travel and security concerns are discouraging locals from making the effort. Several displaced populations who attempted to return to retrieve food and materials from their villages in recent weeks have been targeted by the regime. Some have been killed, or just barely managed to escape.

Worries have grown that the civilian impact of the offensives will worsen as the Tatmadaw’s highly equipped artillery threatens the safety of residents.

KACHIN STATE

Several Myitkyina based journalists were released from prison where they were unjustly being detained by the junta. They were arrested for covering the peaceful protests by civilians earlier this year. According to Kachin News, Myitkyina News Journal reporters Aje and Christopher, were arrested on 13 April, and Myo Myat Pan, who was arrested on 14 April. Chan Bu of The 74 Media and La Raw of Kachin Waves, were both arrested on 29 March. The junta is still actively engaging in brutal warfare in Kachin State, including artillery shelling and indiscriminate firing.

KAYAH STATE

COVID-19 is continuing to spread quickly and have devastating impacts on the population. In Hpruso Township, 100 people have tested positive for the disease. The pandemic has crippled the livelihoods of those already struggling to survive amid increased fighting between the junta and civilian defense forces. In Hpurso Township alone, over 4000 people have been displaced. Throughout the State, over 85 000 are internally displaced. Doctors from the Medics from Karenni Nationalities Defence Force are attempting to treat displaced, sick villagers in the region.

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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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