A Yangon township reels from an assault on young lives and human decency

A Yangon township reels from an assault on young lives and human decency

Eight protesters were confirmed dead after Wednesday’s crackdowns in North Okkalapa, with dozens more injured and many others still unaccounted for

Relatives mourn at a memorial to honour a protester who has fallen in North Okkalapa. (Myanmar Now)

Win Khant Maung did not move. He had bruises all over his body. You only knew he was alive from the low moans he made as he lay there in agony.

The 18-year-old was arrested at around 10am on Wednesday for taking part in an anti-junta protest near Kantharyar park in Yangon’s North Okkalapa township.

After he was apprehended, Win Khant Maung was forced to spend the entire day in the back of a prison truck. At around 5pm, he was finally transferred to Insein prison, where police and military personnel brutally assaulted him, inflicting his near-fatal injuries.

Later that night, he and a number of others ended up at the Shwe Pauk Kan police station. The police informed a volunteer group, who then contacted ward officials. This is how the families of the detainees learned what had happened to them.

 

 

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Soldiers and police start burning tires used by protesters to form a barricade. (Myanmar Now)

 

 

Many were distraught when they saw how their loved ones had been treated.

“He was covered in bruises—at least 30 of them. You can’t even touch his head. They hit him in the groin as well, and his legs, his arms, his knees. Everywhere!” Win Khant Maung’s mother said, sobbing.

“He didn’t have a weapon. There was no need for this level of abuse,” she added with anguish in her voice.

Currently, doctors involved in the Civil Disobedience Movement are tending to his injuries. Because he can’t be sent to a hospital, he is being cared for in a religious hall in his ward.

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Anti-coup protester Win Khant Maung receives medical treatment after being tortured in custody. (Myanmar Now)

‘Kill them all!’

March 3 was a day of escalation in the ruling junta’s war on unarmed protesters opposed to its February 1 takeover. Using live ammunition, it killed dozens of people around the country and wounded many more. There were casualties reported in Mandalay, Monywa, Myingyan, Salay and Mawlamyine.

But North Okkalapa, in the northern outskirts of Yangon, is where security forces unleashed the worst violence that day.

It started early, as thousands of people approached the North Okkalapa roundabout to begin another day of protests first thing in the morning. A combined force of soldiers and police blocked their way at the roundabout and the bridge leading into the township.

The protesters slowly backed away rather than face a direct confrontation, but then the crackdown began without warning.

“We were stepping back slowly because we thought we could reason with them. Then, all of a sudden, the soldiers and police got off their trucks. Five minutes later, they started firing rubber bullets and throwing smoke bombs,” a protest leader told Myanmar Now.

Even after five smoke bombs were used against them, the protesters held their ground. That’s when the soldiers started lobbing tear gas canisters. Soon, they moved on to live ammunition.

At this point, the protesters were forced to flee into side streets to escape, their pursuers close behind them.

“They even hit people who let us into their homes. When some of us ran into houses on Nweni 6 lane, they came right inside the houses, swearing and hitting. Hitting people with guns! And kicking them with their military boots,” the protest leader recounted.

Hiding inside, the protesters could clearly hear conversations between the soldiers and police.

“We heard them saying, ‘Can’t you shoot? What are you afraid of? Shoot them all! Kill them all!’” the protest leader said.

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Protesters carry an injured protester. (Myanmar Now)

Mid-day massacre

Three of the protesters were captured sometime before noon, but this didn’t stop the others from regrouping. Using car tires, they set up a barricade near the bridge.

Then, at around 1pm, the soldiers and police started cracking down again, setting the tires on fire and shooting at the protesters, this time to kill.

Htet Aung, a 19-year-old protester, was one of the first casualties. He died of a gunshot wound to the chest, according to a doctor who attempted to save his life.

Min Oo, 20, who was also among the first to fall, was shot in the pelvic region and died at the hospital that evening.

Another unidentified protester was shot in the back after he was caught trying to flee. A video of the incident shows him being kicked after he falls to the ground and later dragged away, possibly dead.

Many near the bridge attempted to escape this killing spree, but were soon captured. More than 100 young protesters were rounded up, and as they were being herded into three military trucks, local residents started shouting, demanding their release.

This was met with another violent—and this time even more deadly—outburst from the security forces.

“When we yelled, ‘Give us the students back,’ they started firing. First they used rubber bullets, then stun grenades. When the crowd dispersed, they started firing with machine guns. We saw these kids in the front drop one by one,” said Ye Kyaw Thu, an emergency volunteer who witnessed the scene.

The soldiers took their positions after getting off the trucks and fired non-stop with semi-automatic weapons, he recalled.

Although they were facing unarmed civilians, the soldiers kept shooting at them like they were enemies on the battlefield, he added.

“Before we could tell everyone to get down, those at the front started to drop. The soldiers used tear gas and machine guns against the crowd for like five minutes. After they threw a few more stun grenades and tear gas canisters, the trucks left,” said Ye Kyaw Thu, who helped get eight victims of this brutal attack to the nearest emergency clinic.

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A policeman shooting at the protesters in Yangon on March 4. (Myanmar Now) 


 

A night of terror and torture

The brutality did not end there. Emergency rescue workers were also targeted, including three who were seen being viciously beaten in CCTV footage that later went viral.

As the three kneeled on the ground near their ambulance, police took turns kicking them and landing heavy blows to their heads and bodies with batons and rifle butts.

Later that night, security forces continued to terrorize the residents of North Okkalapa. At about 11pm, around 20 military trucks entered the township and started firing indiscriminately, according to witnesses.

Most of these vehicles then proceeded to North Dagon township for a raid on the office of the Free Funeral Service Society (FFSS), one of Myanmar’s most respected charities.

In addition to damaging office equipment, soldiers and police also physically assaulted 10 members of the FFSS staff.

A few of the trucks, however, took a detour to the Shwe Pauk Kan police station, where they dropped off eight seriously injured protesters, including Win Khant Maung.

“The military trucks were shooting to clear a path, warning people to stay off the street. Then they dumped the eight injured people in front of the police station,” said a social worker who helped the injured protesters get medical attention.

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Soliders approaching a protest site in North Okkapla township in Yangon on March 4. (Myanmar Now) 

A doctor who attended to Win Khant Maung said his injuries were likely caused by rubber bullets shot at close range.

“These aren’t injuries he received during the crackdown. This was deliberate torture after his arrest. They shot him with rubber bullets. That’s why he has this many injuries,” the doctor told Myanmar Now.

Eight people were confirmed dead from the various crackdowns in North Okkalapa on Wednesday, while another 73 sustained serious injuries, some of them life-threatening.

More worrying, said doctors, is that there have been multiple reports of people unaccounted for. At least some of the missing persons are presumed dead.

According to a UN official, there were at least 38 deaths nationwide on March 3, making it the deadliest day so far in the now month-long struggle to force Myanmar’s junta to restore civilian rule.

 

 

 

Myanmar becomes a nation without newspapers

The closure of Myanmar’s last independent newspaper marks a new milestone in the country’s political descent 

Myanmar Now
Published on Mar 18, 2021
Staring March 17, the country no longer has a single independent newspaper in publication.

Years from now, March 17, 2021, will be remembered as the day that Myanmar’s brief era of press freedom—however partial and imperfect it was—well and truly died.

As of this day, the country no longer has a single independent newspaper in publication. On Wednesday, The Standard Time (San Taw Chain) joined The Myanmar Times, The Voice, 7Day News and Eleven in suspending operations in the wake of last month’s military coup.

It was less than a decade ago that the quasi-civilian administration of former President Thein Sein began slowly lifting restrictions on Myanmar’s long-suppressed press.

As overt censorship became a thing of the past and new licenses were issued, the number of news outlets proliferated, in the surest sign of confidence in ongoing political and economic reforms.  

Now only online news media remain as the last lifeline for millions of citizens desperate for reliable sources of information amid the military-induced freefall.

With this in mind, the new regime is acting to sever this last connection as it moves to plunge the country into darkness.

“The situation for press freedom is only going to get worse as they cut off the internet,” says political analyst Sithu Aung Myint, before adding: “The country no longer has democracy or an ounce of freedom.”

Piling pressure on news media

It took 10 days for the regime’s Ministry of Information to start making Orwellian demands. On February 11, it issued new instructions to the Myanmar Press Council, “urging” news media to “practice ethics” and stop referring to the “State Administration Council” as a junta.   

Citing provisions in Myanmar’s military-drafted constitution, the junta’s arbiters of truth claimed that the regime came to power by legitimate means because a state of emergency had been duly declared.

Newspapers, journals, and websites that persisted in using language that suggested otherwise were not merely wrong, but were also violating media ethics and inciting unrest, the ministry insisted.

Eleven days later, on February22, the coup maker himself, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, warned the media that their publishing licenses would be revoked if they continued to use words that didn’t meet with his approval.

But on February 25, in a show of defiance, some 50 news outlets declared their intention to keep reporting on the situation as it unfolded, and to describe the regime and its actions as they saw fit.

The arrests begin

Two days later, the junta began targeting the most vulnerable and essential participants in the whole news-making process: reporters.

On February 27, five journalists covering the junta’s crackdowns on anti-dictatorship activities were arrested and later charged with incitement under section 505a of the Penal Code.

Myanmar Now’s multimedia reporter Kay Zon Nway was one of those arrested that day. She was doing her job of documenting the brutal assault on protesters in Yangon’s Sanchaung township when she was apprehended while fleeing the regime’s forces as they lashed out at everyone in sight. 

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Police arrest Myanmar Now journalist Kay Zon Nwe covering protests in Yangon on February 27, 2021. Credit: YE AUNG THU / AFP

The four others—Aung Ye Ko from 7Days News, Ye Myo Khant from Myanmar Pressphoto Agency, Thein Zaw from AP, and Hein Pyae Zaw from ZeeKwat Media—were reporting near Hledan when they were taken into custody. 

All five are now in Yangon’s notorious Insein prison awaiting trial on charges based on the ludicrous notion that they were somehow responsible for the mayhem that they were merely there to witness, at great risk to their own lives.

Under recent amendments to section 505a, they now face up to three years in prison for the crime of sharing what they saw with their fellow citizens.

According to data compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners and last updated on March 8, as many as 33 journalists have been arrested or targeted for arrest since the February 1 coup.

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A policeman chasing a journalist holding a camera in Yangon on February 26, 2021. 

Taking action against news organizations

The regime hasn’t just put individual journalists in its sights; as its efforts to end resistance to its rule continue to escalate, it has also moved to neutralize entire new organizations.  

On March 8, the Ministry of Information announced that it had revoked the publishing licenses of Myanmar Now and four other outlets—7Day News, Mizzima, DVB and Khit Thit media.

7Days News stopped printing the following day, and a day later, Eleven announced that it would also be suspending its operations, at least until April 18.

By that time, two other well-known local publications, The Myanmar Times and The Voice, had already shut down shop for various reasons.

That left only The Standard Time, which for the past week has been the only print newspaper in the country not controlled by the regime. And now it, too, is gone.

All of this is just another chapter in Myanmar’s long and often troubled news media history.

After Myanmar gained independence in 1948, private daily newspapers flourished in the country. Published in Myanmar, English, Chinese and Hindi, these publications were part of a vibrant culture that cherished the free exchange of ideas and information.

But that came to an abrupt end in 1962, when the former dictator General Ne Win seized power and put most daily newspapers under government control. After his 1973 constitution was ratified, privately owned dailies were effectively banned.

It wasn’t until nearly 40 years later, in late 2012, that the state-owned media’s monopoly on daily news ended under the Thein Sein government.

Now this fleeting moment of relative freedom is past, and Myanmar has returned to the dark days of an uprising that was brutally crushed, ushering in an even darker era of absolute military rule.   

“I wasn’t a journalist in ‘88, but in my 12 years in this profession, this current situation is the worst. It’s not just a matter of being afraid to go out to report; now you can be arrested just for being a person in media,” one female reporter who asked to remain anonymous remarked.

As trying as these times are, however, they have more than proven the true value of press freedom as a weapon in the fight against oppression.

“Help the news media so that the local and international community know the people’s bravery, sacrifices, and the atrocities that the dictators have committed,” Sithu Aung Myint, the political analyst, wrote on social media recently. 

“Take record of incidents yourself,” he added, reminding his readers that in this age of citizen journalists, we all have a responsibility to act as witnesses.

But even with so much courage and commitment on full display, it’s difficult not to see this day as a chilling sign of things to come.

Reflecting on what the loss of Myanmar’s last news publication means for the country, Sithu Aung Myint concluded: “As a nation without newspapers, we are now in the dark ages.”

Myanmar Now

Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.
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Regime’s forces threaten to shoot into people’s homes unless residents remove roadblocks 

Some have complied with the order but others say they are leaving the barricades up 

Myanmar Now
Published on Mar 17, 2021
The junta’s armed forces approach a protest column in Tamwe, Yangon on February 27 (Myanmar Now) 

Police and soldiers patrolled neighbourhoods in Yangon and Mandalay on Wednesday and threatened to shoot into people’s houses unless locals removed defensive roadblocks they had set up amid spiralling one-sided violence.

A video of the coup regime’s forces making the threats through a loudspeaker circulated on social media and residents from several different neighbourhoods later told Myanmar Now they had received similar threats. 

“The next time we see barricades on roads, we will turn this entire residential quarter upside down and shoot,” a voice said in the video. 

The regime’s forces came to Khaymarthi Road and Nweni Road in Yangon’s North Okkalapa township in the afternoon to demand the removal of barricades, residents there told Myanmar Now. 

“We did not remove the barricades, so they are still on the roads,” one resident said. “We only set up the barricades in our quarter. If they didn’t not shoot, we wouldn’t need barricades. But now they’re shooting, so it is more appropriate for the people to block the roads.” 

A woman living in Hlaing Tharyar township, which this week witnessed the biggest massacre so far by regime forces since the February 1 coup, said locals removed the barricades from major roads after soldiers threatened to shoot into people’s homes. 

She then saw military trucks driving around the township, she added. 

On Wednesday morning the regime’s forces detained people and forced them to clear sandbags and other barricades on major roads elsewhere in Yangon, according to social media posts by people who said they were detained.

The junta’s security forces made similar threats in South Okkalapa, Thingangyun and Tamwe townships in Yangon and Manawramman Quarter in Mandalay, residents said. 

Myanmar Now

Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.
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More than 300 students detained in Tamwe in early March hit with 505a charge

Families and lawyers are still being kept in the dark about the status of court proceedings against them

Myanmar Now
Published on Mar 17, 2021
University students and young people have been playing a leading role in the nationwide protests against the military coup on Februrary 1. (Myanmar Now)

The regime has charged more than 300 students who were detained at a protest in Tamwe on March 3 after keeping their families in the dark about their status for two weeks. 

They were detained as police and soldiers used tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition to attack a march organised by the University of Yangon Students’ Union and the All Burma Federation of Student Unions.

At least five were injured by rubber bullets during the attack. Police initially detained 389 people but last week released 50 who are under the age of 18.

The students have been charged under section 505a of the Penal Code, which the junta recently amended to give prison sentences of up to three years for causing fear, spreading fake news or agitating against government employees.

Lawyers say they have been unable to obtain an exact list of names of those being held and that police have been evasive regarding the case. 

“The person in charge of the case was not present. We were told that he went to the court,” one of the lawyers said. “We can’t reach him via phone, so we followed him to Tamwe court, but there was no one at the court except security.” 

Parents have been informed about the charges but not the details of the court proceedings, the lawyer said. 

Because the military junta has shut down mobile internet, court proceedings have been adjourned as video conferencing is not available. In-person hearings were stopped last year in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“We, the Students’ Union, do not believe in their judicial process and therefore we do not recognize these court proceedings as legitimate,” a student activist said, requesting anonymity. “The Students’ Union will continue to fight to topple the military regime.” 

Among those detained on March 3 was Wai Yan Phyo Moe, Vice President of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions.

Three members of the central executive committee of the Yangon University Students’ Union were also arrested. They are Phone Htet Naung, Aung Phone Maw, and Lay Pyay Soe Moe.

The majority of those detained are from various universities in Yangon, with 176 being students of Yangon University. A few are from universities in rural areas of Myanmar. 

Hundreds of other students have also been arrested at protests in Mandalay and Magway, on February 28 and March 7. Only 19 of them have been released.

 

Myanmar Now

Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.
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