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Summary of
Monthly Situation Update for March 2023
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1 Info-graphs of
BHRN's Report
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2 Editor's Note
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3 Rohingya Issue
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4 Violations of
Freedom of Religion and Belief
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5 Hate Speech
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5.1 Social Media
Monitoring
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5.2 Print Media
Monitoring
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6 Human Rights
Violations
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6.1 Rape asWar
Crime (Committed by Junta Troops)
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6.2 Oppression of the Political Prisoners
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6.3 Violation of Freedom of Expression
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6.3.1 Arrest of Journalists
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6.3.2 Arrest of
CDMs
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6.4 Extra-Judicial
Punishment
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6.4.1 Arbitrary
Arrests
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6.5
Extra-Judicial-Killing and Enforced Disappearance
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6.6 Violence
Attacks by Pro-junta Thugs
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Every month BHRN provides a summary of
situation update for the previous month’s important event in Burma.
More detailed information for each paragraph contained in the update
is available in more details upon request.
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Methodology
Information in this
document has been gathered by the BHRN team by primary and secondary
research method. We employed local researchers and local
informers across Burma including in Rakhine State, Thai-Burma border
and the Bangladesh border monitoring, investigating and documenting
incidents of human rights violations. Any information we receive is
carefully checked for credibility and authenticity by experienced
senior research officers in the organisation. Once the information is
approved the editorial team prepares the final document.
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1.Info-graphs of BHRN’s Report
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Key highlights
·
Military junta plan repatriation of up to 1000
Rohingya refugees in a pilot project. The junta said it is working
with the Bangladeshi government on the plan. However, its opponents
are saying that the move is to win international support as the junta
moved to organize the elections. Local activists and human rights
groups warned that the conditions are not conducive to the return of
the refugees. The junta’s move to repatriate Rohingya refugees is
also linked to the genocide case it is facing at the International
Court of Justice (ICJ). The junta needs to report back to the court
on its treatment of the Rohingya people and the deadline for the
submission of the report is 24 April 2023.
·
The international community imposed additional
sanctions on the regime’s supporters, including the companies
supplying fuel for the aircraft, as the junta head Min Aung Hlaing
vowed to increase attacks on the people’s defense forces.
·
With heavy casualties of junta troops in fights
against the people’s defense forces and the ethnic armed
organizations, the National Unity Government (NUG) renewed its call
to the Myanmar military personnel to desert the junta.
·
China, meanwhile, is maneuvering to increase its role
in brokering peace talks between the Ethnic Armed Organisations
(EAOs) and the military regime mainly with the aim to maintain peace
along the Sino-Myanmar border and to protect its business interest inside
Myanmar. China failed to condemn the junta’s move to deregister the
National League for Democracy (NLD) and other 39 political parties as
did by the United States and other western countries.
·
As the political crisis deepens in Myanmar, an
economic downturn is inevitable, and international financial
institutions predict sluggish GDP growth and further inflations in
Myanmar. The livelihood of tens of thousands of Myanmar people was
affected as the government imposed a ban on people leaving the country
in search of jobs in neighboring countries.
Descriptions
A team of regime officials
led by its international development affairs minister, Ko Ko Hlaing,
brought a team of diplomats from the member states of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as Chin and Bangladesh to
the reception camps set up for the Rohingya refugees on 8 March. The
visit comes as Myanmar is preparing the reparation of up to 1000
Rohingya refugees in mid-April.
Also, a Myanmar delegation
visited Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh in mid-March to verify a
few hundred potential returnees for a pilot repatriation project,
though a Bangladeshi official said it was unclear when they would be
going home.
Bangladesh's Refugee
Relief and Repatriation Commissioner in Cox's Bazar, Mohammed Mizanur
Rahman, told Reuters there was a list of 1140
Rohingya who is to be repatriated through the pilot project, of which
711 have had their cases cleared.
The United Nations refugee
agency, UNHCR, is reportedly participating in a controversial pilot
project, despite stating publicly that the conditions are not
currently safe enough for their return, Reuters reported.
The regional politicians
in Rakhine State as well as the human rights experts said the
conditions in Rakhine state are not conducive for the return of
Rohingya refugees.
U Maung Ohn, a former
representative of the Rakhine State Parliament from Maungtaw
Township, told Narinjara news agency that the
junta’s approach lacked transparency. “The people of Rakhine State
have no information about the process. Even the local people are
unaware of the nature of the programs and acceptance process that
will be carried out,” he said.
U Maung Ohn said the
repatriation plan is not likely to succeed, because the Myanmar
government is incapable of fulfilling the requirements of refugees
coming from across the border. “Until the plans are put into action,
it’s unlikely that many people will return. This is due to the
Myanmar government’s inability to address the needs of refugees
coming from across the border" he stated.
The Human Rights Watch
said it received feedback from the refugees that they were “lied to,
deceived, or otherwise coerced by Bangladesh administrators” into a
meeting with a recent delegation of Myanmar junta officials.
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“Bangladesh
authorities should stop deceiving these refugees to get them to
engage with junta officials when it’s clear that Rohingya will only
be able to return safely when the rights-respecting rule is
established.”
- HRW
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“Voluntary, safe, and
dignified returns of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar are not possible
while the military junta is carrying out massacres around the country
and apartheid in Rakhine State,” Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia
director at Human Rights Watch was quoted as saying in a statement
issued by HRW on 31 March.
The regional conflict in
Rakhine State between the junta and a rebel group the Arakan Army
(AA) makes the situation in Rakhine state more complex.
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Some areas in Rakhine
State are partly under the control of AA and the regime troops, so
the safety of Rohingya could be more precarious than it was in 2017
when they were pushed out of the country by the same Min Aung
Hlaing-led Myanmar military.
The junta is currently
using the same brutal war tactics against its opponents across the
country as used against the Rohingya Muslims back in 2017. However,
the junta troops are unable to tackle conflicts on multiple fronts.
In response to the heavy casualties it faces in fighting against the
people's defense forces and the ethnic armed organisations, the junta
used airpower in its attacks against these groups. Such attacks led
to indiscriminate killings and of death of many civilians including
children.
In response, several Western countries have recently
tightened their targetted sanction against the regime. that include
punitive measures against the companies selling jet fuel to the
junta.
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The business entities and an individual affected by
the latest sanctions are
- ASIA
SUN GROUP is a Myanmar company and a key operator in the jet fuel
supply chain supporting brutal military regime. It is also sanctioned
by Canada and the European Union.
- ASIA
SUN TRADING CO. LTD. A Myanmar company that has purchased jet fuel on
behalf of Burma’s air force and imported it through the Thilawa Port.
It was designated by the United Kingdom earlier this year.
- CARGO
LINK PETROLEUM LOGISITICS CO. LTD. is a Burma-based company that is
the transport contractor that has used tanker trucks to distribute
jet fuel to military bases across Burma. It was designated by the
United Kingdom earlier this year.
- TUN
MIN LATT is a Burmese national and close associate of U.S.-designated
military regime leader Min Aung Hlaing and is the son of a former
military official.
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In the latest sanction
move against the regime, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office
of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated two individuals and six
entities "that are connected to the regime and that have enabled
the military regime’s continuing atrocities, including through the
importation, storage, and distribution of jet fuel to Burma’s
military".
The National Unity
Government (UNG) has increased its interactions with the western
powers, especially with the US in the past few months and it believes
the sanctions by the international community and the heavy casualties
the junta is facing in its fights agent the people defense forces and
the ethnic army would dent the morale among Myanmar soldiers.
NUG’s Prime Minister Mahn
Winn Khaing Thann has recently renewed a call on regime military
personnel and the members of the police force to defect and join the
resistance against the junta.
“I address the military
personnel who are protecting the terrorist generals. Would you die
protecting Min Aung Hlaing or go to the international tribunal? Or
else stand with the people and confidently live in the future? Choose
quickly,” he said in a video speech that appeared on social media on
30 March.
He claimed that nearly 30
000 junta troops were killed and about 14000 members of the military
and police force have deserted since the military coup in 2021. Mahn
Winn Khaing Thann promised the troops who deserted the regime to be
provided with assistance to them and their families.
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An interesting fact in
Mahn Winn Khaing Thann’s speech was his point about Tatmadaw will
no longer be a part of the future federal union it envisages. Such a
comment rule out ruling out any possibility for a negotiated solution
that ASEAN and China mainly are calling for.
China recently has changed
its approach to the Myanmar situation to be more aligned with its
security and business interest.
China distanced itself
from Myanmar’s military regime following the coup in February 2021,
but bilateral relations have improved significantly since Beijing
appointed a new special envoy to Myanmar last December.
Special envoy Deng Xijun
has been holding talks between the junta and ethnic armed
organizations along the border, including a powerful United Wa State
Army. The envoy is encouraging these groups to engage in peace talks
with the military regime.
China seeking to resume
its projects in Myanmar and make new investments even as the
international community imposes tighter sanctions.
A recent report by
UK-based research group the Chatham House has indicated a possible
involvement of China in the development of Myanmar’s Coco Islands in
the Bay of Bengal. This could benefit China both in terms of
espionage and granting sea routes to its landlocked Yunnan
province.
A research paper by
Chatham House titled “Is Myanmar building a spy base on Great Coco
Island?” published on 31 March this year said, “The photos from
January 2023 by Maxar Technologies, which specializes in satellite
imagery, show renewed levels of construction activity on Great Coco.
Visible are two new hangars, a new causeway, and what appears to be
an accommodation bloc, all of which are visible in proximity to a
freshly lengthened 2,300-metre runway and radar station”.
“Visible as of late March
on the southern tip of Great Coco, just beyond the causeway
connecting the islands, is evidence of land clearing efforts
indicating construction work to come,” the paper said.
“The militarization of the
Coco Islands by the Tatmadaw, combined with the wider Chinese
developments occurring inland, could pose a significant security
challenge to India and its navy. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands
provide India’s Eastern Fleet strategic depth in the Bay of Bengal
and command approaches to the Strait of Malacca," the research
paper added.
As Myanmar faces
international condemnation this approach could be the latest ploy to
keep India and China onboard as its supporters. With China and Russia
having recently become diplomatically closer, it could make it easier
for three major powers on the junta's side, while the Western power
condemns the junta for its rights abuse.
China and India kept mum
on the recent decision by the junta to deregister the National League
for Democracy (NLD). The junta delisted NLD and other 39 political
parties as registered political parties that can contest an election
the junta said it is going to organise later this year.
Meanwhile, Myanmar’s
economy going in a downward spiral making it the least developed
economy in East Asia. A recently released economic monitor on Myanmar
by the World Bank said the main factor for the economic downturn is
due to the political instability and the COVID-19
pandemic.
"The GDP forecast of
3 percent growth in the year ending September 2023 implies that per
capita GDP will still be around 13 percent lower than in 2019,
indicative of the persistent impacts of recent shocks on both supply
and demand".
“The failure to return to
pre-pandemic levels of activity contrasts with the situation in most
of the East Asia and Pacific region. In the absence of further
shocks, the economy is likely to continue to expand slowly beyond
2023, though at rates well below those observed before the
pandemic," the World Bank report said.
Analysis
- With
the 2008 Constitution more or less dead, the junta is unlikely to get
any legitimacy to its rule through the elections. However, it
will do everything it could to cling to power. China and India are
likely to lend their support to the junta to prolong its rule.
- Even
though the anti-junta forces currently gaining upper hand both politically
and militarily, however, it is unlikely that they can deliver a
knock-out blow to the junta anytime soon. Under these circumstances,
the most possible scenario would be a stalemate to continue for a few
more years, with the military regime continuing at the helm.
- And
such a situation is most likely to put further strain on the
country’s economy and those who are to suffer most would be the
people of Myanmar, especially those who belong to the middle and
lower middle classes.
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1 March- The
junta chief, Min Aung Hlaing, said the governance and education
systems in Rakhine State have deteriorated the Mujahid rebellion in
the state. He said the rebellion has negatively impacted regional
development. He was speaking in an address to troops at the Western
Command headquarters based in Rakhine State. Min Aung Hlaing said the
government and the people of the state do have not so much
interaction due to a lack of regional development and road
transportation. Ref: DVB
10 March- The
junta is forcing displaced Muslims living in a camp in Kyaukphyu
Township in Rakhine State to relocate next month. A local source said
the displaced people in Kyauktalone camp are asked to move out
without a grantee of land ownership. The source said the displaced
people need forms no-105 and 106 to claim their ownership of the land
and also the regime refused to provide land for the construction of a
mosque in the area where they are to be relocated. He said the IDPs
in Kyauktalone camp wanted to explain their difficulties to a
delegation of diplomats who visited the camp recently together with a
junta-appointed minister of International Development Cooperation U
Ko Ko Hlaing. He said the IDPs also need form no 11 so that they can
pass on the inheritance rights of the land to their children. The
IDPs in Kyauktalone camp are those who were displaced during the 2012
sectarian violence in Rakhine State. Ref: DVB
15 March- The
police in the Rakhine State capital Sittwe are taking bribes from the
tricycle taxi drivers and they are targeting Rohingya and Hindu
drivers, a local source said. He said the move is discriminatory
against minority people. A 23-year-old Rohingya taxi driver in Sittwe
said he had to pay a bribe to traffic police as he could not show his
licence. Rohingya Muslims are denied the right to citizenship and
without citizenship registration, the authorities do not issue the
licence. He said some of his passengers who are either Muslims or
Hindus were also asked to pay a bribe to traffic police. The
authorities allowed Rohingya Muslims to move out of their camps only
in 2020. The Rohingya Muslims across the Rakhine State were locked in
the camps for displaced people since they were forced to flee their
homes in 2012 sectarian violence in Rakhine State. Ref: Myanmar Now
16 March- The immigration
authorities in Rakhine State said they are issuing the National
Verification Card NVC to displaced Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State
capital Sittwe. The authorities say by having NVC Rohingya Muslims,
who have been denied citizenship rights for the past many decades,
will be able to apply for full citizenship. The move comes after the
regime organized a trip by some Yangon-based diplomats to Sittwe in
early March to meet Rohingya refugees. The immigration officials
appointed by the regime immigration officials are issuing NVCs to 30
people a day in two camps in Sittwe, That Kay Pyin and Baw Du Da,
starting in mid-March. Ref: Myanmar Now
16 March-
The Rohingya Muslim refugees have made three points call to the
Myanmar military regime as a condition for their return to Myanmar, a
refugee source said. The demands, which include granting Myanmar
citizenship when they return to the country, were made during a visit
of a Myanmar delegation to Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazaar
district in Bangladesh. The source said the refugees told the
delegation that they will not return to Myanmar unless their demands
are met. The Myanmar team visited to verify whether the refugees have
previously lived in Myanmar and the team plan to take those who wish
to return to Myanmar together with them. Ref: DVB
21 March-
A joint letter signed by more than 200 civil society organisations
was sent to the United Nations Secretary-General calling him to
intervene in stopping the repatriation of the Rohingya Muslims
refugees to Myanmar. The letter issued on 20 March called on the UN
head to stop genocide survivors to be sent back to the killing field.
The letter said the Rohingya Muslims have been facing oppression by
the regime for many decades also they are denied citizenship rights
and facing segregation in their home country. The Rohingya refugees
have made a three-point demand to the Myanmar regime as a condition
for their return to the country. The demand was made during a visit
by a Myanmar team to the refugee camps in Bangladesh. The team
visited to persuade Rohingya refugees to return to Myanmar. Ref: DVB
26 March-
The junta said only 100 Rohingya Muslim refugees have agreed to
repatriate to Myanmar, a member of a Myanmar delegation that recently
visited Bangladesh to persuade the refugees to return to the country
said. The official said even though more than 1000 refugees from 70
households have registered to return, however, only 100 have
confirmed when the regime’s team met the refugees in Cox’s Bazaar,
during its visit from 15 to 21 March. The regime’s communication team
said it has spent Kyat 5 billion to prepare for the return of
Rohingya refugees under a pilot project, under which it expects to
accept more than 1500 Rohingya refugees. However, the move draws
criticisms from civil society actors. A group of more than 200 CSOs
in a letter sent to the UN Secretary-General said the repatriation
would put the lives of refugees at risk. They said the repatriation
is like sending the genocide survivors back to the killing
field. Ref: DVB
31 March-
The junta arrested at least 253 Rohingya Muslims across Myanmar in
March, statistics compiled by the Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN)
said. It said they were arrested on immigration charges. Among those
arrested include two children and 72 women. BHRN said most of the
arrests were made in Rakhine and Mon states as well as in Bago
Region. Mon State recorded the largest number of arrests, BHRN said.
Those who were arrested in Rakhine State are the returnees from
Bangladesh. - BHRN
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Rohingya in Bangladesh
Camp
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4 March- A
fire broke out at a refugee camp for Rohingya Muslims in Cox’s Bazar
District in Bangladesh in which 12000 people lost their shelter. A
refugee from No 11 Balukhali refugee camp told the Burma Human Rights
Network (BHRN) that they are in need of food and other assistance.
They are currently living in temporary shelters and facing a food
shortage, he said. More than 2000 homes and some religious buildings
in the camp were burned down. 200 people are still missing after the
fire, he said. Source: BHRN
5 March- A
massive fire in the Balukhali camp destroyed 2,800 shelters and left
15,000 people homeless. Based on several previous fires in the
past years, residents in the camps believe the fire was arson rather
than an accident. Bangladesh officials later said that the fire was
an intentional attack by an unnamed militant group.
Source: BHRN, BBC
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64935831
6 March - A
Rohingya man named Dr. Noor Kalim was shot to death in block C of
Camp 9. Locals have blamed the Rohingya Solidarity Organization for
his murder.
Source: BHRN
7 March - A
Rohingya man named Mohammad Hussein was shot and killed in block B2
of camp 2W. An unsuccessful attempt on his life happened previously
in April of 2022.
Source: BHRN
8 March- A
Rohingya Muslim leader was shot dead in Kutupalong refugee camp in
Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazaar district on 8 March. A source told Burma
Human Rights Network (BHRN) that 50-year-old Muhammad Hussein (a.k.a)
Khallr Bawdah was shot dead while he was sitting in a coffee shop.
Mr. Huseein is from Thawun Chaung village in the southern part of
Maungtaw Township in Rakhine State. He fled to Bangladesh along with
hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims in the aftermath of the
attack by the Burmese military on Rohingya villages in 2017. Source:
BHRN
10 March- A
Bangladeshi journalist named Mabhu Rahman was beaten by an
unidentified person in Camp 11. There was no clear motivation for the
attack.
Source: BHRN
11 March-
Two children were caught attempting to set fires in camp-7 and taken
by the police for interrogation. Because of the unusual
circumstances, locals believe someone coaxed or gave the children
food in exchange for starting fires, but it is unclear if that is the
case.
Source: BHRN
15 March- A
delegation of officials from the Burmese Junta’s immigration and
population ministries began interviewing Rohingya refugees in the
Bangladesh camps. The group arrived on 15 March and left on the 22nd.
The purpose of the delegation was to begin the process of returning
refugees to Burma, although the junta has made no changes to ensure
the Rohingya’s safety or taken any steps to give them full human
rights. The move has widely been condemned, and Bangladesh has been
urged not to cooperate with the Burmese military on this process.
Source: BHRN, Irrawaddy
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/asia/hrw-urges-bangladesh-to-halt-rohingya-returns.html
15 March - A
group of 45 Rohingya refugees left Bangladesh by boat for Malaysia
four months ago. The group consisted of 35 women and 20 men. The
women were unmarried, and it is believed they were going to Malaysia
for marriage and to avoid the dowry system practiced in the camps.
Their family members have lost contact with them and informed BHRN of
their concerns.
Source: BHRN
23 March - A
boy named Muhamed Nur in Camp 9 was kidnapped by a local man after
trying to convince his parents to let him take the boy for labor.
After the parents refused, the boy was later kidnapped.
Source BHRN
25 March - A
Rohingya man named Mujibu Rahman was shot after leaving Taraweeh
prayer in block B of camp 1W. He was rushed to the hospital and
survived. The attackers and their motivations are not known at this
time.
Source: BHRN
31 March- A
58-year-old man named Solim Ullah was kidnapped from Camp 9 by an
unknown group. His kidnapping followed several others who were later
released for ransom.
Source: BHRN
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4.Violations of Freedom of Rligious and Belief
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11 March- The
junta’s troops have ransacked a monastery which housed displaced
people in Pinglong Township in Shan State, a spokesperson of a local
militia group, Inlay People Defence Force and a fellow group Karenni
Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) said. The groups said more than 50
homes were destroyed in the attack on the monastery in Nangnein
village in Pinglong Township. The spokesperson said the move was
aimed at destroying the Buddhist religion and creating
misunderstanding among Pa O and Karenni people living in the
region. Ref: Khit Thit News
12 March- The
junta troops arrested a senior monk in Mandalay with the accusation
of supporting the people's defence forces, a local source said. He
said U Sakkana (a.k.a Waw Sayartaw) was taken away from his monastery
in Mandalay’s Pyigyi Dagon Township. The monk was first defrocked
before being taken away by troops. The source said the troops also
looted Kyat 5 million from the monastery, the money was for
organizing exams for monks. The troops also took away two cars from
the monastery. The source said the monk was taken away to an
interrogation camp inside Mandalay’s old place. Ref: Khit Thit News
24 March-
A monk was arrested in a village in Kanbalu Township in Sagaing
Region on 23 March, a local political activist said. The monk from
Nyaung Zin Gyi village was arrested by a group of 150 combined troops
of the junta and Pyu Saw Htee militia group, the source said. The
reason for the arrest of the monk is still unknown. The source said a
20-year-old mentally retard person was burned to death during the
same raid by the junta troops on Nyung Zin Gyi village. BHRN
31 March-
The junta arrested a monk and his assistant who are providing
humanitarian support to displaced people in a village Saw Township in
Magwe Region on 29 March. A local source said it was not known why
the monk from San Kyayywa village was arrested. He was involved in
providing humanitarian assistance to more than 500 internally
displaced people. He said the regime troops destroyed the camp after
the arrest of the monk. The camp provides shelter to the people
displaced due to conflict in Mindat Township in Chin State.
Ref: RFA
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● Social
Media Monitoring
The Burma Human Rights
Network (BHRN) conducted a monitoring of social media in March 2023.
It was found that at least 27 posts that include derogatory comments
against Islam and Christianity, which are minority religions in
Myanmar, were recorded. They are being viewed widely by social media
users in Myanmar and shared with a wider audience. these activities
are done on social media without notice of the companies which own
these platforms.
It was found that social
media users in Myanmar, earned notoriety internationally, for their
exploitation of social media by posting reckless and baseless
information to create religious violence and other conflicts in the
country. They constantly attack Christianity and Islam, which has the
largest number of followers in the world.
The words that were
used in social media posts to describe Muslims are alarmingly
derogatory and unfit to be posted on the social media site. These
posts mostly come from so-called nationalists, who have no
international exposure and who have the slightest sense of what the
world’s great religions are. The social media post referred to
Muslims using derogatory such as "Kular" and "those
who do not eat pork", referring to the religious teaching in
Islam not to eat pork. Most of these posts come from half-educated
Burmese Buddhist nationalists, who blindly back the military
junta.
Some of the posts shared
on social media made no sense at all, but these posts are widely
circulated among the Burmese who read them on an everyday basis to
rekindle their long-held xenophobia views.
One post posted in March
said “Fake monks are wearing robes and they are planning to put all
monasteries in Myanmar a risk. They are to engage
in Jihad in return for a payment in US dollars from their
masters. Please take action against them immediately to prevent such
a thing from happening”. The other one said, “These non-pork eaters
are vigorously trying to take over the land of Myanmar even if they
can get one or two inches".
Another post said, “Why
you are unable to touch those who are eating handouts from Kulars.
They were the ones who declared that pagodas are closed on the
significant events for Buddhists”. It is a veiled reference to the
National Unity Government (NUG), a key critic of the military
junta.
Most of those who indulge
in acts of religious vandalism on social media are supporters of the
military, operating on the junta’s instruction. They aim to create
division among the members of different religions who are fighting
the regime’s unlawful takeover of power. They intend to create
religious violence which the junta used as an excuse to prolong its
barbaric rule on Myanmar. These posts are not only insulting to the
members of minority religions in Myanmar but also they are supporting
the entire country to remain under military boots forever.
The posts on social media
attack the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the National Unity
Government (NUG) by making baseless claims.
These military-backed
thugs used social media to defame the political opposition including
the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the National Unity
Government (NUG) and portraying them as entities supporting Muslims.
One post said the NLD government which ruled Myanmar for five years
from 2016 has worked to dismantle an ultra-nationalist organization
the Association for Protection of Race and Religion (Ma Ba Tha in
Burmese acronym) and to ban the sermons being organized by Ma Ba Tha.
It said NLD has worked mainly in the interest of Muslims during the
time it was in the office”.
The post also accused the
NLD leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi of following the lead of Muslims.
While the NUG was accused of arming Bengali Muslims to launch
terrorist attacks on Myanmar. These posts are aimed at creating
division and tension among the members of Buddhist and Muslim
communities in Myanmar.
o Attacks on
Christians
Several social media posts
include attacks against Christians, another minority religion in
Myanmar, and religion followed by many of Myanmar’s ethnic
groups.
Among the posts seen on
social media during March 2023 include the one which said, “Three
monks in a village in Panglong Township in Shan State were killed in
a shelling on a monastery by Kayanni militia group KNDF, which is led
by Christians”.
Another one said “The Pope
has written an objection letter on the conversion of Christians into
Buddhists, in a country where the majority of people are Buddhists.
It is very dangerous that everyone wants to attack Buddhists”.
These posts are also
critical of the People Defense Forces (PDF) which are fighting
against the military coup. It said, “More than 70 percent of the
members of PDF are Christians. Christians have declared their
supremacy during the reign of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi”.
These are baseless
accusations against the members of minority religions, which social
media organisations could not prevent exposing to tens of thousands
of people.
o Allegations
against the mosques of Muslims
Some social media posts
include baseless accusations against the place of worship for Muslims
which they revered. Such posts are from ultra-nationalists and
pro-junta monks.
A post by a monk Thusita,
who is a member of Ma Ba Tha, called on the authorities to conduct a
raid on Eid prayer grounds in Yangon's Ahlone Township. A similar
post by a military-backed social media account said Muslims have dug
underground tunnels beneath the mosques to use as storage for
weapons. These are baseless accusations made against Muslims.
o Baseless
accusations against the Pan-Islamic organization OiC on social media
posted by the usés in Myanmar
In a continuing attempt to
create division and mistrust among Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar
some of the social media posts used the Pan Islamic Organisation
(OiC) in their attempt to defame Muslims.
One post accused the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) of using stronger
measures against Myanmar with the support of the US, which it said
interfered in the internal affairs of developing countries, and
Turkey which is a key member of OiC. ASEAN. of which Myanmar is a
member has denied the junta leaders from joining the meetings of the
grouping”s leaders and called on the regime to end the military
dictatorship.
Another post that reported
on an arrest of a Myanmar film director Steel said he was arrested
due to his link to OiC. Steel is a member of the Hindu faith. The
post said he was arrested as he was receiving funding support from
OiC. "He was arrested as he received a lot of US dollars and he
is a stooge of OiC.
These are incorrect
accusations spread against the members of the minority religions in
Myanmar.
In its monitoring of
social media the Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN), found at least 26
posts that attacked the members of the minority religions based on
fake or incorrect information were seen on social media. These posts
were mostly seen on the social media site Facebook where
5874 users liked these posts and shared them among more than 2000
other users of social media. Similar posts were also seen on the
social media site Telegram which were viewed by more than
2700 users of the site.
● Printed
Media Monitoring
In its monitoring of the
print media the Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN) has found that two
publications carried articles with anti-Muslim hate messages. They
are the Guardian, a Journal whose publisher is an
ultra-nationalist and a former member of the Association for the
Protection of Race and Religion ( Ma Ba Tha in Burmese acronym ), and
other being the Bullet Journal, whose
publisher Bullet Hla Swe, also an anti-Muslim and a former
military general. These two publications carried five articles that
include anti-Muslim hate messages in March.
The key issues covered in
these articles which are fraught with hate messages are
o Spread of
propaganda against the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the
National Unity Government (NUG) linking them with pro-Muslim lobby
An article published by
the Bullet Journal in its March 2023 edition accused the National
Unity Government (NUG) of working to hand over the western Rakhine
State to Muslims.
NUG was established as an
exiled Myanmar government to oppose the military coup. The article by
columnist Sun Ye said NUG is supported by the Western powers and the
Organization of Islamic State to favour Muslims in the Rakhine
crisis. The article is seen as an attempt to create division among
the Muslims and Buddhists who are opposing the military coup.
The same article attacked
the National League for Democracy (NLD) saying the party has fielded
non-Buddhists as its candidates in the 2020 general elections. The
article is designed to trigger racial and religious hatred among the
people of Myanmar who are collectively opposing the military coup.
o Anti-
Islam propaganda
The Guardian Journal,
which has been publishing articles with anti-Muslim rhetoric
continued to publish such articles in its March 2023 edition.
An article by an
ultra-nationalist Win Ko Ko Latt published in the Guardian in the
March 2023 edition said a Muslim who wears a long dress and a hat and
goes to the mosque for prayers swears at Buddhists. The Guardian also
published an article by Maung Kalu in March which criticized a Muslim
country Malaysia for advocating the Association of Southeast Nations
(ASEN) to adopt stronger policies against the junta.” Muslim
countries in ASEAN have led the effort Myanmar to be side-lined also
to criticize Myanmar on Bengali ( Rohingya) issue ” Maung Kalu
wrote.
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6.Human Rights Violations
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Rape as War Crime
(committed by junta troops)
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2 March- The
junta troops sexually abused and killed three women in Tarting
village in Sagaing Region on 1 March, a source in a local militia
group said. He said the soldiers inserted onions in the sexual organs
of women after committing the crime. The incident took place after
the junta troops raided the village. They also abducted 17 civilians
to be used as human shields when they left the village the next day.
They were later shot dead, and their bodies were thrown on the road
in the village. Among those killed include a senior leader of the
People's defence force Ko Kyaw Zaw. The source said he was brutally
killed with his head, legs and arms severed and his abdomen slit. - BHRN
7 March- The
women political prisoners in Mandalay’s Ohbo prison are facing sexual
abuse and they are denied the right to take legal actions against the
perpetrators, a source said. He said their lawyers who complained
about the abuse also faced threats from the prison authorities. A
lawyer said women political prisoners were frequently body searched
by male prison staff and in some cases, the prison authority
inappropriately touched breasts, and they were stripped and searched.
In another incident of abuse against women prisoners in Ohbo prison,
a group of women prisoners was pushed into a room and beaten by 150
male staff. Ref: Khit Thit News
9 March- The
National Unity Government (NUG) said more than 100 women were
sexually abused by the junta since the military coup in February
2021. NUG said in a statement issued on International Women’s Day on
8 March that more than 483 women were killed by the junta since the
coup and out of which 122 were sexually abused before being killed.
The statement was issued jointly by the NUG’s Women, Youth and
Children Affairs Ministry and its Gender Coordinating Committee. Ref:
Irrawaddy Burmese
11 March- The
body of a 26-year-old woman was found in Karpaung village in Sagaing
Region’s Tanze Township on 11 March, after she was arrested by the
junta troops a week earlier, a local newspaper Tzae News reported.
The woman was arrested at a tip-off by a mistress of a pro-junta monk
U Wathawa, the report said. He said the deceased woman was taken
along as a human shield by soldiers of the Light Infantry Division
361 during their military operation in the region. BHRN
16 March-
The Yangon Khit Thit news agency reported that a mentally retard
21-year-old daughter of retired military personnel was rapped by a
soldier of the No. 1 light infantry division based in Min Hla
Township in Bago Region. The incident took place at the home of the
victim, while her parents were away in Ayetyarwaddy Region, the
source said. He said 55-year-old soldier Tun Naing raped the victim
three times. He was later arrested as a neighbour reported the
incident to the police. Tun Naing is currently held in military
prison, and the officers of the No 1 Light Infantry Division are
putting pressure on the victim’s family to withdraw the complaint.
Ref: Khit Thit News
25 March –
Two women factory workers committed suicide after they were sexually
assaulted by the junta troops and members of its affiliate Pyu Saw
Htee group in Pakhuhku Township in Magwe Region on 23 March. The
incident was reported by a local news Pakhukhu media, the two victims
worked in a textile factory in the town. They were first arrested by
the troops with the accusation that they were carrying scissors and
they were later rapped by their captors, the source said. BHRN
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Oppression of the
political prisoners
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6 March- The
prison guards in Kyaukmaraw Central Prison have threatened to kill
the political prisoners who complained about the prison conditions to
the prison authorities. A source said the political prisoners who
made the complaint were dragged out of their cells and asked to sit
on their feet. A source in the prison said the guards told the
prisoners that they will be given punishment every night if they
continue to make complaints to the authorities. The prisoners are
complaining about the hygiene conditions in the prison which led to
the spread of scabies among the prisoners. Also, the political
prisoners who are placed on monitoring duty were verbally abused by
the guards. Also, they looted the food and other items from the
prisoners sent by their families. Ref: Khit Thit News
27 March-
The Mizzima newspaper reported that two political prisoners held in
the Thayarwaddy prison in Bago Region were beaten up and sent to
solitary confinement. The newspaper quoting a source close to the two
prisoners said the incident took place on 13 March, after the two
refused an order by the prison guards to sit on their feet. The
source said one of the victims sustained injuries on her face due to
the assault. However, they were denied the right to take medical
treatment, the source said. Ref: Mizzima
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Violation of Freedom
of expression
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12 March- The
junta imposed a new charge against a detained senior journalist
of Narinjara news agency U Khaing Myat Kyaw. A
source said a new charge under the Telecommunication Law was imposed
on him on 12 March. He was arrested under the criminal defamation
charge after U Khaing Myat Kyaw who is the Editor in Chief of
the Narinjara news agency reported news of officials
taking bribes from motorists in Rakhine State. BHRN
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2 March-
The Ministry of Health of the National Unity Government (NUG) said
the junta has killed two nurses who joined the Civil Disobedience
Movement (CDM) on 2 March, bringing the number of CDM health workers
killed by the junta to 70. The statement released by the NUG’s Health
Ministry said in the latest incident Daw May Zon Moe, a nurse from
Okpo hospital in Bago Region was arrested and she was rapped and
killed also Daw The The Win, a nurse from Pha Lam Township in Chin
State was also killed. The NUG statement said the junta has destroyed
160 hospitals and clinics and killed 70 health workers, since the
military coup in February 2021. The junta also arrested 900 health
workers and 780 others were injured due to the attack by junta
troops. Ref: Khit Thit News
30 March-
A high school teacher, who previously joined the Civil Disobedience
Movement (CDM), was arrested in Paungdae in Bago Region on 27 March.
A letter from the police sent to the Township Education Department a
day after the arrest said the victim Daw New Ni Aung was arrested and
charged with a criminal defamation offence. BHRN.
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Extra Judicial
Punishment
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1 March- A
military court in Inndaw Township in Sagaing Region has sentenced a
civilian Ko Min Min Oo (a) Ko La Min to life imprisonment on 2
February on the accusation of being a member of the People Defence
Force. The 26-year-old Ko Min Min Oo has denied the charge. He is a
worker at a charcoal factory to support his parents. BHRN
7 March- The
junta troops arrested 10 civilians in Tanintharyi Township in
Tanintharya Region on 26 February. They include three women, who were
charged under the Counter Terrorism Law on 7 March, a local news
source said. He said the fate of other people is still unknown. The
source said other 30 people were also arrested in the same way last
month- BHRN
19 March- The junta
arrested 15 Muslims in Chauk Township in Magwe Region on 18 March.
They were from other parts of the country and were in Chauk to attend
a graduation ceremony at a local Islamic school. The official said
they were arrested for not reporting to the local authorities, a
source told Radio Free Asia. The source who declined to be named in
the report due to risk to his safety said, two captives among them
were released and it is still not known where the rest are being
held. An Islamic Scholar U San Aung said he condemned the arrest if
it was done to target Muslims. Ref: RFA
22 March-
The junta has imposed life imprisonment on a student leader in Yangon
under the state emergency act, a source said. He said Ko Kaung Set
Paing who is just 20 years old and a member of the North Okkalapa
branch of the All Myanmar Student Union (Ba Ka Tha) was sentenced by
a special tribunal inside the Insein Prison on 22 March. He was
arrested last year on the Prevention of the emergency act and
criminal defamation. The source said the student leader maintains
good health under detention. Ref: Khit Thit News
27 March-
The regime troops abducted two 13 year boys in North Okkalapa Township
in Yangon Region on 23 March, a local source said. He said two
unnamed boys are likely to be abducted to conscript them into the
military. They were arrested while they were signing on the road.
Their families said they received a communication from the two
children on 26 March which said they are being conscripted and
currently based in a barrack in Sagaing Region. The military junta
which is facing a shortage of troops in recent years has issued
police chiefs across Myanmar to conscript youths. Ref: Khit Thit News
30 March-
A 13-year-old boy was abducted by the junta troops in Kanbalu
Township in Sagaing Region on 29 March, a local activist group told
Yangon Khit Thit media. He said the unnamed boy was abducted to be
used as a human shield by troops from Light Infantry Division no 137.
The source said the troops left the area the next day and took away
the boy. Ref: Khit Thit News
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Extra Judicial
Killings and Enforced Disappearances
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2 March- A
pro-junta group Pyu Saw Htee has forced civilians in Myeik District
in Tanintharyi Region, to pay money with the excuse of providing
security to communities, a local source said. The source said each
household in Myeik, Pulaw, Kyun Su and Tanintharyi townships was
forced to pay from Kyat 5000 to Kyat 10000 per household every month.
A local source said Pyu Saw Htee used the funds for
their personal use, including buying alcoholic drinks to consume
while they are on sentry duty. The junta has provided arms and
ammunition to Pyu Saw Htee and civilians are scared of the group, he
said. BHRN
9 March- The
junta troops and its affiliate the Pyu Saw Htee group killed two
toddy palm farmers in Yinmarbin Township in Sagaing Region on 8
March. The reason for the attack was unknown. The junta troops killed
six civilians in Yinmarbin Township alone in March. BHRN
19 March-
Two civilians were shot dead in Tharkayta Township in Yangon Region
on 19 March. A local source said they were shot dead by the members
of the ultra-nationalist Ma Ba Tha group and Pyu Saw Htee a militant
group loyal to the junta . The source said he believed the two were
killed as they had a brawl in the past with a member of Pyu Saw Htee,
Ye Sin. He said they have not been involved in any political
activities. The due also faced assault in the past by Pyu Saw Htee
after the brawl with Ye Sein and eventually they were shot dead, he
said. Ref: Khit Thit News
25 March- A
group of Pyu Saw Htee troops ransacked a village in Moneywa Township
in Sagaing Region on 25 March, a local source said. A local resistance
group said seven shops and a home were destroyed in the attack. The
source said Pyu Saw Htee committed arson by looting the properties of
the civilian. BHRN.
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Background on the Burma
Human Rights Network (BHRN)
Burma Human Rights
Network (BHRN) is based in London, operates across Burma/Myanmar and
works for human rights, minority rights and religious freedom in
Burma. BHRN has played a crucial role in advocating for human rights
and religious freedom with politicians and world leaders.
Media Enquiries
Please contact:
Kyaw Win, Executive
Director
Burma Human Rights
Network (BHRN)
E: kyawwin@bhrn.org.uk
T:
+44(0) 740 345 2378
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