Myanmar Spring Chronicle – October 31 Scenes
MoeMaKa, November 01 2022
Increasing crime & safety of people
In today’s news, we read a news article about the murder of a retired teacher and his wife on Mandalay Street in Yangon’s Mingala Taungnyunt Township and their identities were known a few days after the incident. The news of people being killed to get properties and assets is increasing these months and I read in the news that these cases are happening in one place or another almost every day. The people who were murdered are a retired physics teacher, U Myint Wai and his wife. U Myint Wai is a translator of books on physics, and he published the translation under the pen name ‘Tatkatho Kyal Pwint’. He also translated Einstein’s theory and Einstein’s universe books. While the retired education staff and his wife were living in an apartment, it was reported in the news that both were killed and their valuables taken.
This incident shows not only the loss of a translator but also an example that proves people’s lives are no longer safe nowadays. It has been heard that robbers and killers not only killed for a gold chain or hundreds of thousands of money, but in recent cases, they even killed for tens of thousands of dollars. News such as the killing of the delivery man to rob money and the killing of the vendor to rob the jewelry she wore and tens of thousands of money are frequently heard in Yangon. Events like those also happened in some towns during these months.
The inability to prevent and identify the killings that have been committed is what incites the robbers to continue. The police are no longer working to enforce the law after losing the public’s trust in the law enforcement organization and they are targeted and killed, and the police stations are attacked by PDF and urban guerrilla forces for the reason of helping in the military junta’s acts since last year. It is becoming a situation where the public will have to avoid the danger on their own.
The current state of the country is not the same as the situation when World War II broke out and the colony government retreated and before the entry of Japan, the administration was broken and there was no one to govern. According to what I have heard recounted by the elders who lived at that time, the police of the British administration followed them when they retreated, and as the administration was no longer there, the bad guys from the community robbed people with knives or broke into the houses of those who had left their homes and fled to the city. The current situation has not yet reached such a point, but the incidents of robbing and killing people such as families of elderly people who are unable to fight back and those who work to earn a living in places where there are no people at night, are gradually increasing.
In this incident, both the retired husband and wife were killed and their belongings taken. Some incidents do not happen at night, but even in the middle of the day when there are no people around.
The situation of no more rule of law and the inability to protect people’s lives and property makes them feel insecure both physically and psychologically. If this situation continues for a long time, there is a danger that the people will become frustrated with the current unstable situation and may lose faith and support for the revolution.
There may be a complaint that the situation of the people in villages where armed conflict is taking place is worse than the situation described here. I accept that the situation of the people in the conflict area is the worst. I don’t think anything can be compared to a life where people are losing their lives and their houses are being burned down. On the other hand, it is true that it is needed to find out the solution of how to protect unarmed people in cities and civilians from the danger of their lives. I want to urge that we find a way, system, spirit and cooperation to effectively protect and reach a situation where it is safe to hold a gun in our hands.
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