Myanmar Now reporter among at least eight charged for covering anti-coup protests

Kay Zon Nway is being held at Insein prison and has been denied access to her lawyer

Myanmar Now journalist Kay Zon Nway is taken by police officers on February 27 in Yangon’s Sanchaung township (EPA)

At least eight journalists including Myanmar Now’s multimedia reporter Kay Zon Nway have been charged after being detained while covering anti-coup protests, according to lawyers and media reports.

Kay Zon Nway was arrested on Saturday during a crackdown on a protest in Yangon’s Sanchaung township.

Five others were detained in Hledan the same day. They were: Aung Ye Ko from 7Day, Ye Myo Khant from the Myanmar Pressphoto Agency, Thein Zaw from the Associated Press, Hein Pyae Zaw from Zee Kwat Media, and freelancer Banyar Oo.

All six have been kept at Insein prison in Yangon since their arrests and have been remanded in custody until March 12.

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Lawyers were informed about the charges on Tuesday but Nilar Khine, who will be representing Kay Zon Nway, said there was still confusion about what law the reporters have been charged under.

It is either section 505(a) of the Penal Code or a newly added section 505A. The latter prohibits spreading “fake news” and carries a maximum sentence of up to three years in prison.

Nilar Khine said that an Insein prison official told her to come back on Wednesday to submit her application for power of attorney.

“Parents and family members are not allowed prison visits since Covid-19 began… but we will ask for permission to meet with our clients because we will be representing them. I don’t know yet if I will be allowed,” Nilar Khine said.

Kay Zon Nway was charged at the Sanchaung township court and her first hearing is scheduled for March 12, when the plaintiff and defense will submit witnesses. The five others were charged at the Kamaryut township court.

Another two journalists from Monywa in Sagaing region were arrested and charged on February 25 and released on bail the same day, according to media reports.

At least 28 journalists have been arrested since the February 1 coup and 14 of those were released either on the same day or a few days later, according to Detained Journalists Information Myanmar, a project by journalists and writers.

On Monday night, police and soldiers in Myeik raided the house of DVB reporter Aung Kyaw and arrested him, a live-stream he took of the incident showed. In the video, the reporter can be heard calling out for help amid loud bangs that sound like gunfire.

“I am hit in the head. Help me. Help me. Please bang the tin pots,” Aung Kyaw shouted in the video, which was broadcast on DVB’s Facebook page.

Family members later told local media that Aung Kyaw was dragged away by soldiers and police at around 10pm on Monday night. He had been covering deadly crackdowns on protests in the coastal town.

Myanmar Now was unable to confirm his current status or if he has been charged.

Zeyar Hlaing, an editor at Mawkun Magazine, said the military council is arresting journalists to cover up its brutality against anti-coup protesters.

“Journalists do not have a choice but to report on something if it’s news,” said Zeyar Hlaing, who recently resigned from his position on the Myanmar Press Council after the coup to protest the new regime.

“They are pointing guns at whoever they see, attacking and arresting. It is like living in a lawless country. No one is safe. This situation is the most serious threat to the jobs of journalists,” he said.

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High-ranking Buddhist abbots move to suspend activities, echoing Civil Disobedience Movement

Ma Ha Na members say it is ‘an undeniable truth’ that the people of Myanmar are suffering

Myanmar Now

Published on Mar 17, 2021

The 47-member State Saṅgha Maha Nayaka Committee, a government-appointed body of high-ranking Buddhist abbots, have announced a decision to suspend their activities amid the junta’s violent crackdown on anti-coup protesters.

The committee, locally known as Ma Ha Na, met on March 16 and called for an immediate end to attacks on protesters, a committee member told Myanmar Now on Tuesday night.

The abbot said that an official statement would be issued only after the decision had been submitted to the Union Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture on March 18.

“It is similar to the CDM,” the committee member said of Ma Ha Na’s move, referring to the ongoing Civil Disobedience Movement

“After the decision is submitted to the religious affairs minister, the statement may change. I want you to know what the original says, because it may be changed. This is the decision of the 47 abbots.”

Among the Sangha Maha Nayaka’s five demands were calls for the violent crackdown on and arrests of unarmed civilians to be halted, and as well as for the looting and destruction of people’s property to be prevented.

The committee said that the future and pride of all Myanmar citizens-- especially the younger generation-- must be taken into account. It called on the responsible authorities to refrain from acts that could tarnish the image of the nation, its races, religions and cultures.

The abbots also urged all stakeholders to find solutions to the crisis by holding on to the principle of loving kindness and engaging in dialogue.

The committee said that it would completely halt its activities until the political situation had eased, stability was achieved and the citizens could move freely.

There was no argument among the Ma Ha Na abbots about whether to ask the junta to end its violent crackdown on civilians, the committee member said. The point that did raise debate in the meeting was whether examinations for Buddhist monks could still go ahead.

The statement described it as “an undeniable truth” that the people of the country were suffering because of the current political situation.

If the people are unhappy, Buddhist monks would also be unhappy and miserable, the letter said. If rulers and politicians remain divided, all Myanmar citizens would suffer, and that was why the abbots had made the request, the statement read.

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Death toll from Monday’s violence climbs to at least 20

The number of fatalities from a day of deadly crackdowns continues to rise

Myanmar Now

Published on Mar 17, 2021

Anti-coup protesters are seen in Hlaing Tharyar township in Yangon on March 14 (Supplied)

The number of civilians killed by regime forces on Monday has now reached at least 20, according to the latest information received by Myanmar Now.

The week started with a fresh outbreak of deadly violence that came after the worst weekend so far in the junta’s efforts to crush opposition to its February 1 coup.

Killings were reported around the country, with the highest concentration occurring in Yangon, where at least 63 people died on Sunday after soldiers opened fire in several townships.

In Hlaing Tharyar, the scene of some of the deadliest violence over the weekend, six people were murdered, including a man in his 50s who was collecting trash near the Aung Zeya bridge when a soldier approached him and shot him in the head.

Two women in their 60s were also killed when they were hit by bullets fired into their homes on Da Bin Shwe Htee road.

A night of terror

Indiscriminate shooting continued well into the night, resulting in at least two more deaths in the township, according to local residents.

The night of terror began at around 4:30pm, when the military sealed off main roads between the Aung Zeya bridge and the fire station about 2km away and started shooting.

“They were on trucks and shot at anything that moved. They shot anyone they saw,” said one resident, describing the scene on Monday night.

“There were two crab sellers in the area that night. When the trucks came by, they poked their heads out for a look and got shot. Both of them died,” the resident said.

On the other side of Yangon, a crackdown on a peaceful vigil for fallen protesters in Dawbon township left two men dead and four others seriously injured on Monday, a member of a township-based aid group told Myanmar Now.

There was also another death on Monday in South Dagon, one of six townships in Yangon placed under martial law since the weekend as the regime moves to clamp down on protests.

The killing continued in South Dagon on Tuesday, with reports that a man in his 40s had been shot in the head by junta forces. No further details were available.

Shooting at ambulances

Monday’s death toll also rose outside of Yangon, as more of the injured died and earlier figures were revised to reflect the latest available information.

In Myingyan, a town in Mandalay region, six people, including three boys in their teens and a 20-year-old woman, were confirmed dead, doubling the previously reported death count.

At least 17 others were injured during the crackdown, including five who are in critical condition, according to a member of a team that is caring for the wounded protesters.

“We’ve had to hide the dead bodies because we’re worried [the military] might take them away,” the medical support worker said late Monday evening.

He added that soldiers shot into the houses of local people who hid the injured protesters and also at ambulances that transported the dead and wounded to a makeshift clinic.

There were also two confirmed deaths in Chanmya Tharzi, a township in downtown Mandalay, as well as at least five others in smaller centres to the north of the city.

A total of four deaths were also reported in Aunglan in Magway region, Gyobingauk in Bago region, and Monywa in Sagaing region, according to local aid groups.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, Myanmar’s military has killed at least 183 people in the six weeks since it seized power.

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A village under siege after a day of deadly violence

Chaunggyi, about 100km north of Mandalay, was tense on Tuesday, a day after coming under brutal assault by regime forces

Myanmar Now

Published on Mar 17, 2021

A resident of Chaunggyi, in Mandalay region’s Thabeikkyin township, is seen after being shot by soldiers on March 15. (Supplied)

Chaunggyi, a village in Mandalay region’s Thabeikkyin township, was in a state of fear on Tuesday as regime forces continued to pressure residents a day after inflicting a deadly crackdown.

At least five people were reported dead in the village, located about 100km north of Myanmar’s second-largest city Mandalay, following Monday’s brutal assault.

The attack began in the afternoon, when soldiers in five army trucks heading south from the town of Thabeikkyin opened fire in Chaunggyi and other villages in the area.

“They mainly hit Chaunggyi and two nearby villages as they were passing through,” a member of a local aid group told Myanmar Now.

One of the five who died instantly was a 15-year-old girl.

“The girl was shot in the chest. She was killed in her own home,” said the aid worker, adding that around 25 others suffered injuries, some of them life-threatening.

Reinforcements sent

The soldiers who carried out the initial attack were soon joined by reinforcements sent north from Singu, according to local sources.

Residents of Nweyon, a village in Singu township, attempted to block the military vehicles as they headed towards Chaunggyi, but soon came under fire themselves, the sources said.

Those who had been shot in Chaunggyi remained in the village overnight without medical care amid fears of facing further violence.

“We were afraid to send the injured to the hospital last night. We were also afraid to go to Mandalay. We didn’t send them to a hospital in the city until this morning,” a resident of Nweyon told Myanmar Now on Tuesday.

“One person who was shot in the groin was in terrible condition,” she said, adding that the victim’s family had no money to pay for hospitalization.

There were also around 14 arrests in Chaunggyi and an unknown number in neighbouring villages, local sources said.

Threats and intimidation

A day after their unprovoked attack, the soldiers returned to Chaunggyi on Tuesday to recover some lost property.

“They said they came back to search for a gun and some bullets they left behind yesterday,” said a Chaunggyi villager.

“They found the gun, but not the bullets. They told us we had five hours. If we didn’t find the bullets in that time, they said they would shoot the entire village,” he added.

They found the bullets at around 5pm on Tuesday and returned them to the soldiers, who were stationed just outside the village.

Meanwhile, the villagers said that a monk who negotiated with the soldiers for the release of those who had been detained has not returned since he was sent to collect them.

“Our monk spoke with them and they promised to release those they had arrested from the village. But the car that went to fetch them hasn't come back,” said Chaunggyi resident Cho Tuu.

Although Singu and Thabeikkyin both have military bases, voters in the two townships overwhelmingly supported the National League for Democracy in last year’s election.