Young Buddhist monks walk on a road leading to the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar Friday, April 16, 2021. (AP Photo)
April 16 – Myanmar’s biggest annual Buddhist holiday, Thingyan, passed without fanfare. Except for holiday goers taking short trips to popular beach destinations, such as Chaung Thar and Ngwe Saung, major cities remained devoid of the usual revellers. While some boycotted the festival, as an act of defiance against the junta, many were simply wary of security forces, who have been displaying a tendency to shoot first and ask questions later.
(Daily round-up of the latest events in Myanmar by Thai PBS World correspondent David Tun.)
All the while, the state-owned TV channels, Myawaddi and MRTV, broadcast photos and videos recorded at the beaches to show that “everything is normal and peaceful”.
Crackdown, clashes, and arrests
In Mandalay, an anti-coup protest in the medical sector was stifled before it could even begin. The subsequent hunting down of protesters, by police and soldiers, led to a Muslim man being shot and killed inside a mosque, during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
In Monywa, a prominent anti-coup protest leader was arrested. In video footage, was seen as part of a motorbike protest when a civilian car rammed into his motorcycle. He got up and attempted to escape, but was surrounded, beaten and taken away. Later, a photograph of Wai Moe Naing showed that his face had become severely swollen from, what is assumed to be, torture inflicted upon him.
The Swedish and US embassies in Myanmar issued statements calling for Wai Moe Naing and all those arrested to receive their right to medical attention. Following the arrest, Tayzar San, another prominent anti-coup activist from Mandalay, urged people not to lose hope, as the movement against military dictatorship isn’t about one or two icons, but for everyone.
In Kachin State, the Kachin Independence Army launched more offensives on military-controlled outposts and bases. The KIA began their attack on the Nambyu army base in the early morning of April 15th and airstrikes from the military were also reported by local residents.
Nambyu was under the control of the KIA up until 2014, when the Tatmadaw managed to regain control.
A journalist from Kachin State was also arrested. Myo Myat Pan, a former Myitkyina News Journal correspondent, was reportedly taken by security forces on the night of April 14th. Her whereabouts are still unknown.
Myanmar Report: “They want students to be stupid”
It is now over 2 months since Myanmar’s military coup on February 1st, ousting the elected civilian government, led by State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi. Over 700 people have been killed, over 300,000 arrested and over 60 have been sentenced, with some facing the death penalty, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
Shadow government
Perhaps the biggest development in recent days is the formation of the “National Unity Government” (NUG) by the CRPH, who claims that, as per the decision from a council, assumed to be made up of the ousted NLD lawmakers and ethnic armed force representatives as well as other international representatives, the NUG was formed. The parallel government is still helmed by the still-detained President Win Myint and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, but features both new and old Union Ministers. While the majority of the people support this decision, many also criticize the CRPH’s decision to keep Win Myint and Aung San Suu Kyi at the top, instead of other prominent ethnic leaders. There is, however, a good deal of ethnic representation, especially by Kachin ethnics, as at least 2 union ministers and 1 vice-president are ethnic Kachin.
The Arakan Army’s C-in-C Twan Mrat Naing wrote on Twitter that, while the CRPH had approached him to be a part of the NUG, he had respectfully declined and that he will be taking a more neutral stance. Other details of the NUG are still unknown, except that it will be working towards a Federal Democracy Charter.
On the night of April 16th, several explosions were reported across multiple townships in Yangon during curfew hours. The one in Kamayut Township reportedly occurred in front of a private hospital, a hospital with alleged ties to the military brass. Local residents reported that soldiers were going around checking anything and everything, as well as threatening and cursing at anyone who was curious enough to take a peek from their homes.
As of Friday, April 16th, the AAPP reports that at least 726 people have been killed with over 3,100 arrested.
