Two high-ranking police officers in Mandalay join CDM

Two high-ranking police officers in Mandalay join CDM

Some welcomed the news, but others were more suspicious in the wake of brutal police crackdowns on protesters in the city

Lt-Maj Tun Tun Win (left) and Capt Kyaw Kyaw Oo (right), senior police officers in Mandalay who have joined the CDM (Supplied)

Two senior police officers serving as station chiefs in Mandalay have resigned from their positions to become the latest to join the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) against military rule.

Lt-Maj Tun Tun Win, the chief of the No. 5 police station in Aungmyethazan township, quit on Sunday, while Capt Kyaw Kyaw Oo, the chief of the No. 3 police station in Chanayethazan township, joined the movement on Tuesday.

In letters to their supervising officers that they also shared on social media, both men declared that they had joined the CDM because of the unjust and unlawful actions of the new regime.

“I no longer want to serve the dictators who seized power unlawfully, and I have no strength to continue living under the shadow of an unjust regime,” Tun Tun Win wrote in his letter to his superior officer.

 

 

“I just want to be the people’s police, so I have joined the CDM to stand with the people to eradicate the dictatorship,” he said, urging his fellow officers to join the movement.

In his letter, Kyaw Kyaw Oo said he had served faithfully in the police force for more than 26 years, taking only five days leave during this entire time. He added, however, that he could no longer stand to serve under the current regime.

 

 

Myanmar Now attempted to contact the pair for comment, but has yet to receive a response.

However, Pol Lt-Maj Myo Min Latt, a police officer from Aungmyethazan township, confirmed that Tun Tun Win has not reported to work since Sunday.

“Since then, we have been unable to contact him,” he said.

Mandalay was the scene of a deadly crackdown by police and soldiers on February 20, when two people were killed by a combined force sent to break up protests at the Yadanarbon shipyard.

Police were also involved in a shooting incident at a residential compound for Myanmar Railways workers in Mandalay two days earlier and also injured at least three when they used force against protesters in downtown Mandalay on February 15.

All of this has made some wonder if the latest defections are genuine.

“They have already taken part in the brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters. For that reason, we have no special sympathy for them, even though they have joined the CDM,” said Pan Nu, a teacher from a private high school in Mandalay.

“I think it could even be a trick,” she added.

However, former MP Dr Khun Kyaw Oo said that it was never too late for government employees to do the right thing and side with the people against the junta.

“True or not, we should look at this optimistically,” he said.

“We know that other police have joined the CDM without coming out publicly, so this is something we should welcome,” he added.

A number of police officers have resigned since the military seized power on February 1, including a Special Branch major who joined the CDM on Sunday.

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 men believed to be plainclothes officers 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.”

BBC News issued a statement on Friday afternoon saying that they are "doing everything [they] can" to find Aung Thura, who they described as being taken away by unidentified men.

“We call on the authorities to help locate him and confirm that he is safe,” the statement said.

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.

Editor's note: This story was updated to include the BBC's statement, which was not available at the original time of publishing.

 

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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