Mandalay region minister charged with incitement for proclaiming anti-coup ‘holiday’

Mandalay region minister charged with incitement for proclaiming anti-coup ‘holiday’

The move was aimed at showing support for public employees who have staged walkouts as part of the nationwide movement to end military rule

Myanmar Now
Published on Feb 18, 2021
Mandalay region’s minister for natural resources and environmental conservation, Myo Thit, is seen on Wednesday at the Chan Aye Thar Zan township court in Mandalay.
Mandalay region’s minister for natural resources and environmental conservation, Myo Thit, is seen on Wednesday at the Chan Aye Thar Zan township court in Mandalay.

Mandalay region’s ousted minister for natural resources and environmental conservation was charged with incitement on Wednesday for proclaiming every day a holiday until the government elected last year is allowed to assume power.

Myo Thit, who like other ministers was forced out of office when the military staged a coup on February 1, was charged under section 505b of the Penal Code at Chan Aye Thar Zan township court in Mandalay, according to his lawyer, Moe Swe.

The deputy administrator from the General Administration Department of Chan Aye Thar Zan township opened the case against the minister, he added.

The first hearing in the case will be held on Thursday.

 

 

“Tomorrow, the court will be hearing from the plaintiff. [Myo Thit] will also need to have a medical check-up as part of our application for his release on bail, as he is not healthy,” the minister’s lawyer said, adding that his client suffers from a bone-related condition.

Section 505b of the Penal Code makes it illegal to issue “any statement, rumour or report” likely to induce members of the public to “commit an offence against the state”. It is punishable by up to two years in prison, a fine, or both.

 

 

Since seizing power, the newly installed military junta has issued a number of amendments to the Penal Code and other colonial-era laws, broadening the definition of crimes against the state.

The move appears to be aimed at suppressing a growing civil disobedience movement spearheaded by public employees and supported by elected officials.

number of other government ministers have also signed bills proclaiming an indefinite period of public holidays, in an effort to encourage civil servants to continue with their walkouts until the ruling junta gives up power.

On Tuesday, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Shan state’s minister for planning and finance, Soe Nyunt Lwin, who is also the spokesperson for the Shan state cabinet, under section 505b.

Warrants for incitement have also been issued against 17 lawmakers who formed the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, a parallel government that aims to deny legitimacy to the new regime.

Myanmar Now

Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.
Junta arrests two more journalists in Naypyitaw

Those arrested include a BBC reporter and a former Mizzima correspondent. 

Myanmar Now
Published on Mar 19, 2021
Photojournalists take cover near the entrance of a monastery where military supporters gathered to attack protesters and media in Yangon on February 18 (EPA-EFE/LYNN BO BO)

A BBC journalist and a former Mizzima News reporter were arrested by the junta’s armed forces in Naypyitaw on Friday afternoon, a family member confirmed.

BBC Burmese journalist Aung Thura was in front of the Dekkhina District court to report on a hearing for National League for Democracy patron Win Htein when he was arrested. Former Mizzima correspondent Than Htike Aung was with him at the time of the arrest.

No further details of the arrest or the reporters’ detention were known at the time of reporting, according to Aung Thura’s relative. 

“I saw some plainclothes officers dragging away a person in trousers into a car,” lawyer Min Min Soe, who was near the court at the time, told Myanmar Now. The man she saw is believed to be Than Htike Aung.  

“Two other officers in plainclothes were hassling another individual in a paso [traditional sarong for men] and glasses,” she said, referring to Aung Thura. “It was quite a scene so I don’t know what happened next.”

As of March 16, a total of 38 journalists had been arrested or targeted for arrest since the February 1 coup. The latest arrests of the BBC and former Mizzima journalists push this number up to 40.  

Only 22 of these reporters have been released. Ten journalists have been charged with violating Section 505(a) of the penal code, which has been used against people who are seen as causing fear, spreading fake news, or agitating government employees. Under recent amendments to the law, the charges come with a three-year prison sentence if convicted.

Online news website The Irrawaddy has also been charged by the junta as violating the same statute for showing “disregard” for the armed forces in their reporting of the ongoing anti-regime protests.

Five publications, including Myanmar Now and Mizzima had their offices raided and their publishing licenses revoked earlier this month by the regime.

 

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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KIA attacks police bases in Hpakant

The offensives come in the wake of deadly crackdowns against anti-coup protesters in Myitkyina 

Myanmar Now
Published on Mar 18, 2021
A KIA soldier watches from an outpost in Kachin state in this undated file photo (Kachinwave) 

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) launched attacks against police bases in the jade mining region of Hpakant on Thursday morning, a local resident told Myanmar Now. 

The attacks targeted police battalions where soldiers were stationed near Nam Maw village in the Seik Muu village tract.

“There are Myanmar police battalions around Nam Maw,” a resident said. At least three bases were attacked, he added. 

A 41-year-old civilian in Seik Muu village injured his left hand during the clash, the Kachin-based Myitkyina News Journal reported.

The KIA has launched several offensives against the coup regime’s forces recently. Fighting has also been reported in Mogaung and Injangyang this month. 

Some 200 people fled the Injangyang villages of Gway Htaung and Tan Baung Yan on Monday after the KIA launched an offensive against the military there. 

The offenses began in the wake of deadly crackdowns against anti-coup protesters in Myitkyina. The KIA has warned the junta not to harm anti-coup protesters. 

 

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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Four shot dead, five injured during junta attack on protesters in Kalay on Wednesday 

The coup regime’s forces took the injured people away and locals do not know their whereabouts 

Myanmar Now
Published on Mar 18, 2021
Kalay residents move the body of a man who was shot dead on Wednesday (Supplied) 

Four young men were killed and five people were injured in the town of Kalay in Sagaing region on Wednesday as protesters continued their fight to topple the regime despite daily massacres across the country aimed at terrorizing them into submission. 

The Tahan Protest Group gathered in the town at around 10am and police and soldiers began shooting. One young man was shot dead on the spot as he tried to help people who were trapped amid gunfire, residents told Myanmar Now.   

The regime’s forces also shot at and chased fleeing protesters along roads and through narrow alleys, a resident said.

“The crowd of protesters dispersed but one person was shot dead while trying to rescue those trapped in the protest site,” the resident added. 

As the crowd dispersed, a man riding a motorcycle was shot outside a branch of KBZ Bank. “He also died,” the resident said. 

Despite the murders, protesters gathered again in the afternoon around 4pm. Police and soldiers started shooting again and killed two people. 

“They were shot dead while trying to set up barricades at the protest site. They were shot while trying to obstruct the army’s way as the army troops chased and shot the trapped protestors,” the resident said. 

The two who were killed in the morning were identified as Salai Kyong Lian Kye O, who was 25, and Kyin Khant Man, who was 27 and had three children. The identities of the other two have not yet been confirmed.

Five people were also injured and then taken away. Locals said they did not know where they had been taken.   

 

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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