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More than 40,000 war displaced flood across border into Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady region

August 29, 2024/in News

Two-thirds of the population of Rakhine’s Gwa township have fled fighting between the military and ethnic rebels. As the fight between the military and ethnic rebels for the southernmost township in Myanmar’s Rakhine state escalates, more than 40,000 civilians have streamed across the border into neighboring Ayeyarwady region, residents said Thursday. The push to the […]

Trials ordered in 20-year-old Thailand military, police ‘massacre’

August 26, 2024/in News

Bangkok — A court in Buddhist-majority Thailand decided Friday to try seven former military and police officials for their roles in the deaths of 85 Muslim men at a protest that took place 20 years ago. The seven are charged with murder, attempted murder and unlawful detention. The statute of limitations on the charges expires […]

More than 40,000 war displaced flood across border into Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady region

August 29, 2024/in News

Trials ordered in 20-year-old Thailand military, police ‘massacre’

August 26, 2024/in News

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More than 40,000 war displaced flood across border into Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady region

August 29, 2024/in News

Two-thirds of the population of Rakhine’s Gwa township have fled fighting between the military and ethnic rebels.

As the fight between the military and ethnic rebels for the southernmost township in Myanmar’s Rakhine state escalates, more than 40,000 civilians have streamed across the border into neighboring Ayeyarwady region, residents said Thursday.

The push to the southern border with Ayeyarwady region is the latest advance for the Arakan Army, or AA, which ended a truce with the military in November and has gone on to control nine townships and three sub-townships in Rakhine state, as well as Paletwa township in neighboring Chin state to the north.

The AA’s advance south into areas traditionally on the edge of its influence could signal that the army wants to establish a foothold in central Myanmar and take on a more central role in any post-conflict national reconciliation process, rather than staying on the sidelines as a marginal ethnic armed group.

People displaced by fighting in Rakhine state’s Gwa township are seen in Nga Thai Chaung township of Ayeyarwady region on Aug. 12, 2024. (Eternal Loving-kindness Free Funeral Services Society – Gwa)

Speaking to RFA Burmese on Thursday, residents of Ayeyarwady region’s Thabaung township said that the fighting in Rakhine state’s Gwa township is now centered on Kyeintali town, and that 42,434 civilians – or two-thirds of Gwa’s population – had crossed into Ayeyarwady seeking shelter over the past two weeks.

“War-displaced persons have arrived in Thar Paung township via jungle routes, as they were prohibited from entering at junta checkpoints on the roads,” said one resident of Thabaung who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. “They had nothing to eat for about seven days during their journey.”

The resident said that many of the displaced lack travel documents and residence permits from their local officials, and that authorities in Ayeyarwady are allowing them to stay on the outskirts of their towns.

Most of the displaced have taken refuge in the Ayeyarwady townships of Thabaung, Yegyi, Kyonpyaw, Kyangin, Myanaung, Kwin Kauk and Nga Thai Chaung, he added.

Prices are high

Residents of Ayeyarwady told RFA that with the influx of displaced people from Gwa township, home rental prices have risen three-fold from about 200,000 kyats (US$95) to 600,000 kyats (US$285) per month.

A resident of Gwa township who fled to Nga Thai Chaung township in Ayeyarwady said that the financial situation facing the displaced is dire.

“Around two-thirds of residents from Gwa township are now displaced persons, while the remaining one-third is still trapped in Gwa,” he said. “All the commodity prices, except rice, are high here [in Ayeyarwady]. We all are facing various challenges.”

RFA News

Trials ordered in 20-year-old Thailand military, police ‘massacre’

August 26, 2024/in News

Bangkok —

A court in Buddhist-majority Thailand decided Friday to try seven former military and police officials for their roles in the deaths of 85 Muslim men at a protest that took place 20 years ago.

The seven are charged with murder, attempted murder and unlawful detention. The statute of limitations on the charges expires in late October, exactly two decades after the events of the so-called Tak Bai Massacre.

“I feel relieved that the duty of the lawyers and the duty of the plaintiffs is accomplished,” Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, a human rights activist and lawyer representing one of the plaintiffs in the case, told VOA after the court announced its decision.

“We [were] hugging each other … and I think they are very happy,” she said of the other plaintiffs as well.

Lawyers for the accused could not be reached for comment.

The case concerns the events of October 25, 2004, in Tak Bai district, Narathiwat province, in Thailand’s predominantly Muslim and ethnic Malay deep south.

FILE - A Thai soldier walks by hundreds of men arrested after they clashed with police outside the Tak Bai police station in Thailand's Narathiwat province, some 1,150 km south of Bangkok, Oct. 25, 2004. — FILE – A Thai soldier walks by hundreds of men arrested after they clashed with police outside the Tak Bai police station in Thailand’s Narathiwat province, some 1,150 km south of Bangkok, Oct. 25, 2004.

Soldiers and police shot and killed seven people while responding to a protest demanding the release of suspected Islamic militants. Human rights groups say the officers forced many more protesters into police trucks destined for a military camp some 140 kilometers away, leaving them packed inside and forced to lie on top of one another for hours. Seventy-eight of them died.

A state inquest later determined that they had suffocated. It also concluded that security forces used inappropriate measures to disperse the protesters and that commanding officers failed to adequately supervise the movement of the detainees. But authorities did not pursue charges and police claimed force majeure, a legal term referring to events beyond their control.

No one was ever previously charged over the deaths or injuries.

Hoping to change that, 48 survivors and relatives of the dead filed a lawsuit with the Narathiwat provincial court in April against nine officers, all since retired, involved in the security forces’ response to the protest.

Pornpen said the court on Friday decided against taking two of the nine to trial on the grounds they were not responsible for use of force.

Even so, she said the court’s decision to put the other seven on trial was a welcome surprise in a country where senior police, military and government officials are widely seen to act with impunity.

“We had so many times in history that the call for democracy, call for change, anything like [a] protest always ends up with violence and no one is [held] responsible,” she said. “So, to bring the perpetrator to justice according to Thai law is not easy, and I think we did it.”

In a statement, Amnesty International called Friday’s decision an overdue but “crucial first step towards justice” for those who suffered what it called the “excessive use of force” at the 2004 protest.

“The victims and their loved ones have spent almost two decades waiting for justice and accountability for the heinous crimes committed,” the rights group said. “Thai authorities must immediately enforce the court decision and take necessary measures to ensure the case’s statute of limitations does not expire.”

FILE - Thai-Muslim students hold a candlelight vigil for victims of the Tak Bai shooting on its third anniversary, outside the United Nations building in Bangkok, Oct. 25, 2007. — FILE – Thai-Muslim students hold a candlelight vigil for victims of the Tak Bai shooting on its third anniversary, outside the United Nations building in Bangkok, Oct. 25, 2007.

Amnesty International said at least one of the defendants must be brought to court to hear the charges by October 25 for the case to proceed to trial.

Pornpen confirmed that the defendants must still appear in court before the statute of limitations runs out for the trial to proceed.

She said the court would issue subpoenas ordering the accused to appear on September 12, but was concerned they may try to stall and avoid an appearance until the statute of limitations runs out.

Anchana Heemmina, director of the Duay Jai Group, a non-profit that monitors human rights abuses in Thailand’s deep south, said she also worried the accused may yet avoid a trial.

But she welcomed Friday’s decision nonetheless and said it could begin to restore some faith in the courts among southern Thailand’s Muslims.

“They feel like the Thai government, or the military don’t want to protect Malay Muslims who are civilians in the country and feel like we are the second class,” said Anchana.

“Now, for today, for the Tak Bai case, it’s a little bit first step that makes the people believe or trust the justice system,” she added.

Once the seat of a Muslim sultanate, the southern provinces of modern-day Thailand were deeded by the British to the then-kingdom of Siam in 1909. Rejecting the transfer, several armed ethnic Malay Muslim groups have waged a long-running guerrilla war against the Thai state in hopes of winning independence for the provinces.

More than 7,000 people have died in related violence since fighting intensified in 2004.

While bombings, assassinations and shootouts across the south continue to occur alongside police raids and arrests, the pace of the violence has waned over the years, and the government is in talks with some of the rebel groups over terms of a possible cease-fire.

VOA News

Other Human Rights Reports

Human rights situation in Myanmar plummets to new low amid unrelenting violations and unregulated exploitation of natural resources – UN reportAugust 26, 2026 - 8:34 am
GENEVA – The human rights situation in Myanmar, in particular that of minority communities, has plummeted to a new low, from the ever-worsening brutal abuse of the Rohingya population to the devastating impact of illicit economies, notably illegal mining for rare earths, a new UN Human Rights report has found. The report details how unrelenting violence and a […]

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 […]

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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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More than 40,000 war displaced flood across border into Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady region

Trials ordered in 20-year-old Thailand military, police ‘massacre’

More than 40,000 war displaced flood across border into Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady region

Trials ordered in 20-year-old Thailand military, police ‘massacre’

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More than 40,000 war displaced flood across border into Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady region

Trials ordered in 20-year-old Thailand military, police ‘massacre’

ND Burma

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