Kayah anti-coup protesters released after armed group intervenes

Kayah anti-coup protesters released after armed group intervenes

 

 

Protesters surround the Demawso police station to demand the release of seven locals who were arrested for joining anti-coup demonstration on February 11. (Photo: Supplied)

Seven people arrested for taking part in an anti-coup protest in the Kayah state capital Loikaw on Thursday were freed later that day after an ethnic armed group negotiated their release. 

The group of four teachers and three youths were on their way back to Demawso township when they were stopped by police at around noon. 

They were held in Loikaw prison for the next few hours, until talks between police and the Kayan New Land Party (KNLP), an ethnic armed group active in the area, led to their release.

“Just around 6pm, we were released. The KNLP got us out,” one of the detained protesters told Myanmar Now, speaking on condition of anonymity.

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The nationwide uprising against last week’s military takeover continued to gather steam, with more civil servants joining the civil disobedience movement and monks showing their support.

The arrests provoked large protests in both Loikaw and Demawso, where thousands of people gathered to demand the release of the prisoners. It was at that point that KNLP officials stepped in on their behalf.

The incident raised concerns among protesters that the military had begun using arrests as a means of quelling the growing unrest over last week’s coup.

“The military is going to start arresting protesters one by one. What happened today was just a warning. They are telling people not to join in this protest,” said one protester in Loikaw. 

To resist this, protesters will need to return to their homes in groups and follow the guidelines of the protest committee, he added. 

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The arrests came a day after 52 police officers joined with protesters in Loikaw. Efforts to arrest them have so far failed because of support from local people.

Earlier this week, five protesters were arrested in Rakhine state’s Ann township, where the headquarters of the military’s Western Regional Command is located.

The five protesters have not been released since they were arrested on Tuesday and Wednesday.

 

 

 

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A directive reveals that the coup leader indefinitely extended his tenure as commander-in-chief days after seizing power

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Protesters hold placards depicting Senior General Min Aung Hlaing during an anti-coup demonstration in Yangon on February 13 (EPA)

Days after overthrowing Myanmar’s elected government, Senior General Min Aun Hlaing also pulled off another coup: making himself the country’s de facto military leader for life.

That was revealed in documents that have put his motives for throwing the country into turmoil into sharper focus.

On February 4, the newly installed junta issued a directive that effectively allowed Min Aung Hlaing to stay on as top general for as long as he sees fit. 

The directive, which has only recently come to light, removes an age restriction that would have required the senior general to step down later this year. 

The issue first came up five years ago, when he acknowledged that under existing rules, he would have to retire once he reached the age of 65.  

“The duty of commander-in-chief is not unlimited. There is an age limit that cannot be extended,” he told reporters in June 2016, when he was 60 years old.

Now less than two months away from his 65th birthday, Min Aung Hlaing should be making his way to the exit. Instead, he spends his days cementing his hold on power.

In a recent interview with the BBC’s Burmese-language service, Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun, the regime’s deputy information minister and military spokesperson, confirmed the move.

The new directive allows both the commander-in-chief and the deputy commander-in-chief to remain in their positions for as long as the situation requires, he said without elaborating.

“It was changed because they are performing state duties,” he added, referring to the military’s resumption of direct control over the country since ousting its elected leaders.

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Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing rides a special train to Mandalay with fellow generals and junta ministers on May 18. (Myanmar state media) 

Even before the coup, there were signs that Min Aung Hlaing was positioning himself to remain as the military’s unchallenged supremo, according to observers.  

One sign, they said, was his appointment of officers many years his junior to senior military posts, side-lining any prospective rivals from among those closer to him in age and influence.

Many of the military’s most powerful commanders are now relatively young men in their fifties or even forties, all of whom are beholden to Min Aung Hlaing for their rapid rise to the highest echelons of power.

The current air force chief is Gen Maung Maung Kyaw, who graduated from the 26th intake of the elite Defence Services Academy (DSA), seven years behind Min Aung Hlaing (DSA 19). His navy counterpart, Gen Moe Aung, is an even younger DSA alumnus from the 28th intake.

Younger still is Lt-Gen Moe Myint Tun (DSA 30), a Min Aung Hlaing favourite who now serves as army chief of staff. He is also a member of the ruling military council and, since the coup, the new chair of the Myanmar Investment Commission.

Lt-Gen Myo Zaw Thein, a DSA 28 graduate who is also closely linked to Min Aung Hlaing, was appointed adjutant general in July 2019, while DSA 35 graduate Lt-Gen Kyaw Swar Linn was named quartermaster general in May of last year, when he was just 49 years old. (He is also the youngest member of the Myanmar military ever to hold his current rank.)

Junta joint secretary Lt-Gen Ye Win Oo, who is also chief of military security affairs, and Lt-Gen Than Hlaing, the deputy home affairs minister and newly appointed police chief, are also at least 10 years younger than Min Aung Hlaing.

Maj Hein Thaw Oo, who served in the military for nearly 20 years before defecting in late March, said the senior general’s choices reflect his obsession with holding onto power.

“It’s madness. He just doesn’t want to transfer power to any of his peers. There are outstanding officers under him, but he doesn’t want anyone else to have power,” he said.

 

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A man who was collecting donations in Kalay, Sagaing Region to support internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Chin State was arrested by the military authorities on Wednesday and his funds seized, according to local sources. 

Aung Thang Phay had gathered 17 million kyat (more than US$10,000) for IDPs in Mindat while he was in Kalay. He stayed in the home of another local, Thang Marn Kee, who was also reportedly arrested on Thursday. 

“There were donors in Kalay so he went to meet the donors and accepted the donations. He was going to come back after buying all the supplies [for the IDPs], but he was arrested with all the cash. I assume he was taken after being questioned about the money,” an official from a local aid group helping the IDPs told Myanmar Now. 

He described the arrest and the confiscation of the funds as “cruel.” 

“They won’t care about displaced people. They’ve started the war. And after that, they sabotage the displaced people’s efforts to get the help and donations that they need? I’m at a loss for words,” he said. 

The source expected that formal charges would follow the arrest. 

“They’ll do whatever they want, as usual,” he said of the military council. 

People in Mindat, Chin State fled their homes in mid-May when clashes broke out between the junta’s armed forces and the local resistance movement, the Chinland Defence Force.

More than 3,000 IDPs were staying in seven camps in the area at the time of reporting.

Although exact figures are not known, the total number of IDPs from Mindat could be more than 10,000, according to Salai Pat Gyaung, a local who has been helping them. He told Myanmar Now on Wednesday that the displaced people were in desperate need of emergency support. 

 

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A 42-year-old man who was arrested while working as a volunteer night guard in Yangon two months ago died in prison on Wednesday night, according to relatives.

Thein Win was arrested on March 6 while on duty as a night guard on 10th Street in Yangon’s Lanmadaw Township. He was later charged with incitement under Section 505a of the Penal Code and held at Insein Prison.

His parents told Myanmar Now they learned about his death on Thursday, when they went to the prison to inquire about his situation. They took his body to the Yayway Cemetery to be cremated the same day. 

Thein Win was sent to the prison hospital shortly after fainting during a hearing on Tuesday. He passed away the next day after suffering from elevated blood-sugar levels, according to his mother, Win Win, citing information from prison staff.

“They should have informed us about his death,” she said, noting that her visit on Thursday was unrelated to her son’s health.  

“Prison officials only told us [about Thein Win’s death] after they accepted items we had brought to the prison for him,” she added. 

Thein Win had been hospitalised with diabetes in early 2019. The family submitted the medical records through a lawyer to request bail, but there was no response during his detention.

He was in good condition when he was arrested, she said.

However, inmates who were released in early April informed her that his health was deteriorating in detention, prompting the family to request that he be transferred to a private hospital for medical care.

“Because it wasn’t a big ‘crime’, we requested that he be hospitalised at a private hospital because prison hospitals are so poorly equipped. They have nothing. They probably only have normal medicines for coughs and cold,” she said.

“The conditions in prison are so squalid. He was quite overweight, over 200lbs. He couldn’t use a squat toilet, which is all they have in prison. So I heard that he wasn’t eating much, to avoid having to go to the toilet,” she said.

Thein Win’s father said he did not see any evidence of torture, noting that prison officials showed them a photo of their son’s body taken shortly after his death and asked them if they could see any bruises.

A Japanese journalist who was recently released from custody has spoken of torture in interrogation centres and the poor conditions inside Insein Prison. 

Overcrowding is a major problem at the prison, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), an advocacy group that monitors prison conditions in Myanmar.

Aung Myo Kyaw, an official for the group, told Myanmar Now in April 2020 that the prison was holding at least 10,000 inmates, or well over double its capacity, at the time.

Since seizing power on February 1, the military has arrested and detained thousands of civilians, including students, politicians, activists and journalists, as part of its effort to crush anti-coup protests. 

More than 4,200 are still in detention, according to the AAPP’s latest tally. 

The military council released more than 20,000 mostly non-political prisoners in a nationwide amnesty on February 12, but continues hold those deemed a threat to its hold on power.

The regime has also killed 810 civilians, including young children, in an effort to force the nation to submit to its rule.

 

Myanmar Now

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