Police raid Kachin Baptist church in Lashio; 10 arrested, including ministers

Police raid Kachin Baptist church in Lashio; 10 arrested, including ministers

Witnesses said police beat and then arrested several bystanders after forcing their way into the church in pursuit of protesters


 

Myanmar Now
Published on Mar 2, 2021
The door of the Kachin Baptist church in Lashio that was raided by police on March 1. (Supplied)
The door of the Kachin Baptist church in Lashio that was raided by police on March 1. (Supplied)

Four Kachin Baptist ministers were among 10 people arrested at a church in Lashio on Monday after police forced their way in to apprehend fleeing protesters.

Church officials said that around 30 police officers raided the church in Lashio’s Ward 1 after crashing through the front gate in a police vehicle at around 12:30pm.

“A total of 10 people were taken away. They beat up non-protesters as well as protesters after they crashed through our gate with their car. They destroyed the doors as well,” said Sin Wah Aung, an official at the church in the northern Shan state town.

Requests to meet with the detainees, who are currently being held at a local police station, have been denied, he said, adding that they have reportedly been subjected to further beatings since being taken into custody.

 

 

The four arrested ministers were identified as KD Naw Mai, Hkawng Lwam, Zaw Dwe Aung and Saira Aung. They and two other prisoners, including a disabled man named Zay Hkawng, were not involved in the protest, according to Sin Wah Aung.

The protesters, who fled after police started using tear gas to break up a large crowd calling for the end of military rule, had had been granted sanctuary in the church, he said.

 

 

img_5268.jpg

Security forces attacked protesters with stun grenades and tear gas on Bargayar Road in Sanchaung township in Yangon on March 1. (Myanmar Now) 

After police broke down the door of the church, they started assaulting everyone inside, witnesses said. Three gunshots were fired during the incident, they added.

Myanmar Now reached out to Lashio’s No. 1 police station for comment, but did not receive a response.

The police are believed to be filing charges against all 10 who were arrested. Protests against Myanmar’s ruling military council, which seized power in a coup on February 1, have been taking place around the country every day for more than three weeks.

Sunday was the deadliest day for protesters so far, with at least 18 confirmed dead and scores more injured and arrested.

According to reports by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, at least 1,132 people had been arrested by the authorities as of February 28.

 

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.
Continue Reading
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.
Continue Reading
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.
Continue Reading