MoeMaKa June 28 2022
Arrest of non-CDM teachers in Kayah State, Counter-arrests in Rakhine State, ASEAN urges to keep Daw Aung San Suu Kyi house detention
The news stated that 2 male teachers and 4 female teachers, teaching at schools in Loilin Lay Village of Kayah State sent by the military council, were arrested and interrogated by KSP(Karenni State Police), which was formed by the revolutionary forces and KNDF. The arrest happended 3 days ago.
The news also stated that the arrest of schools’ Non-CDM teachers under the military council was done by the Karenni armed group and KSP because in Kayah State, there were interim schools run by NUG and schools run by the Karenni Education Board. It is said that the teachers were kept safely and now questioned by KSP.
Some have criticized and pointed out that arresting education staff and civil servants could be tantamount to an act by the military council and it was like creating fear among every civilians.
Arrests during a conflict may be life threatening and not only to participants, suppliers and supporters of the armed movement but also non-violent opposition activists have been arrested, tortured and killed by the military council. On the other hand, the revolutionary forces should not carry out arrests of civilians, similar to those of the military council.
Arresting education staff just for teaching in the educational field, is not desirable since they are not directly involved in armed movement. The arresting party said they will not allow those who are assisting the military council to operate normally. However, it is arguable that whether to run education is regarded as supporting the military regime functioning or not.
There are those who advocate that winning the revolution is first and foremost, and there is no need for moral high ground. There are also people who assume that revolutionary forces should not act the same way as the military council and those who believe it is always necessary to respect norms and values. It is also believed that the highest standards and ethics are needed in separating Dhamma from Non-Dhamma.
NUG had already issued a statement that it does not accept bombing and attacking educational sites and assassination of education staff last month. However, it is possible that armed groups in many areas are not under the direct command of NUG, so they are operating on their own. By looking at this case, it is important for the NUG to be able to direct policy from top to bottom, as well as to be responsible for what happens at the bottom.
Another piece of news for today is that there were counter-arrests between the Arakan Army (AA) and the military council last week, and a total of 60 people have been arrested so far.
About 20 soldiers and police, including an army officer, were arrested and about 40 were arrested in retaliation by the military council on suspicion of being linked to the AA.
Mutual arrests like this can be concluded as contesting each other by avoiding armed battles and no clash has been reported between the two groups for the domain of territory. It is possible that the situation for battle has not yet been reached or both sides are avoiding it.
Due to these counter-arrests, there are almost no people seen on the streets in cities like Sittwe, Kyauktaw and Myauk-U, markets and shops are closed and clear scenes of traffic are seen on the news. It is thought to be that the military council would want to avoid armed battle in Rakhine State if possible while it faces armed battles and attacks by PDF in other areas. Another aspect is that the military council doesn’t have adequate forces, so there is an assumption that it is not ready in Rakhine for armed clashes to happen as in 2018-2019.
Another piece of news for today is about the request of Cambodian Foreign Minister and ASEAN Special Envoy for Myanmar affair, Prak Sokhun, for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was recently transferred to the Nay Pyi Taw prison from house arrest. He is urging the Junta that let her to be placed under house arrest. For now, the spokesperson for the military council rejected the request.
Although it is not known why Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is transferred to the Nay Pyi Taw Prison one year after her arrest, there is also an assumption about whether the military council may no longer hope to use Aung San Suu Kyi as a mediator in the political crisis.