Myanmar Spring Chronicle – January 16 Scenes
MoeMaKa, January 17, 2022
The action of the military council, which has been arresting CDMs consecutively; A more than 100-year-old Catholic Church was torched
In recent months, we have heard news that the military council has been monitoring CDM doctors and other CDM government staff in some major cities to prevent them from pursuing professional careers. They are also pressuring, searching and arresting business entrepreneurs.
At the end of last month in Mandalay, there were reports of an incident where a specialist doctor was arrested by junta soldiers disguised as patients while he was treating patients at a private hospital. That private hospital was also ordered to be closed, as were some other private hospitals.
This is not only happening in Mandalay. According to health workers, there are also cases in cities such as Northern Shan State, Yangon, and Southern Shan State where CDM health workers are being monitored by police in mufti to see if they are working in private hospitals and are arrested without knowing it. In some townships, some doctors are called to ask if they are CDM doctors or not.
The CDM movement is no longer the deciding factor of the anti-coup movement, but keep cracking down on CDMers is considered an attempt by the military council to strengthen its governing power in the cities, and may also be an attempt to intimidate the urban population into fear. Arresting health care CDMers may also be a reason that the military council has not yet been able to properly operate the government hospitals due to the CDM movement, which can be said to have been started by the health workers. But the main point is that they wanted to show that they were able to regain control in the cities and spread their power well.
Among the CDM employees, doctors and nurses are able to make a living with their expertise and skills. It is not easy for education staff, such as teachers, to get the same skills and jobs as health workers. The CDM movement is no longer a major decision-making movement in the cities at present, but it can be said that it is important as a sign of struggle and not surrendering to the military council.
Another piece of news for today is the news that military council troops burned down an ancient Catholic church in Chanthar Village, Ye-U Township, Sagaing Division.
Some of the villages where Portuguese descendants from the time of the Burmese kings lived are located in Ye-U and Taze Townships in Sagaing Division. The churches and buildings in these villages are also valuable buildings in terms of historical heritage and also as an example of people living together peacefully, even though they have different religions. Locals along with churches were also burned and killed, not being an exception to the suppression of groups opposing the military council in Sagaing.
Monhla Village, the native village of Catholic Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, was destroyed by military council troops at the end of last year, and villagers were killed. These events are no longer just political and military events, but will be seen by the international community as actions by the military council to suppress religion.