Myanmar Spring Chronicle – July 04 Scenes
MoeMaKa, July 05, 2023
A civilian beaten to death within hours by the military in Pathein; More than 30 civilians died in Mobye Township in around a month
After the military coup, the words death, killing, and assassination have been used in daily news routinely. Not only the deaths due to the attacks between the armed forces, but also the deaths of civilians due to the attacks of the armed forces, the deaths of civilians who lost their lives while being arrested and interrogated, and revenge killings and shootings with each other on the sides of armed groups are taking place in most regions of Myanmar almost every day, or almost every week.
In a news article in RFA news today, a bicyclist complained about a collision between a motorcycle and a bicycle in Pathein, saying he was not satisfied. He went to the ward administration office to complain, and the administration office handed it over to the military council soldiers stationed nearby. A few hours later, the motorcyclist reportedly died after being beaten by the military council troops.
This is not the first time such incidents have happened. Many lives had been lost due to the arrest and torture of activists in various parts of Myanmar, including those who protested against the military coup and those suspected of supporting the armed forces against the military council. According to the figures recorded by some organizations, there are already more than 1,200.
What happened in Pathein now is that the ward administration handed over the motorcycle and bicycle collision accident to the military, which has nothing to do with politics, and the military beat him to death. If you look at this incident, it is no more about who is right and who is wrong, and the incident where the accused was beaten to death by the military in such a small ordinary dispute unrelated to politics, is giving a message to the people that the military have the right to judge the lives of everyone, regardless of whether it is legal or unjust without needing to follow any rule or regulation.
In the past 2 years, hundreds to thousands of civilians and activists have been tortured to the point of losing their lives in a way that is completely illegal, and no punishment has been given for such actions. There have been thousands of cases like these in Myanmar. In a developed country that practices democracy, there will be nationwide protests, condemnations, and calls for justice for the loss of a person’s life in a case of killing an innocent person just with suspicion. However, in a country like Myanmar that is under the rule of a military dictatorship, no one can demand justice for such an incident at the moment. It is also in a situation where even the family members of the deceased person do not dare publicly say that he has been wrongfully accused. It can be concluded that the leaders of the military council are not unaware of the existence of the worst human rights violations. It is believed that the military does not control its armed forces as it prioritizes the suppression of the opposition forces and the public without hesitation rather than controlling them in accordance with the law.
Another piece of news for today is that the civilian death toll in Mobye Township, Karenni Region, is higher than any other region in Myanmar. The news that more than 30 civilians have been killed in the past month in Mobye Township, an area where the Karenni people’s defense forces and the military council forces frequently clash, highlights how dangerous it is for those in this area to live.
The reason for the deaths of more than 30 civilians in more than a month is said to be that most of them lost their lives due to artillery fire. Mobye is the town where the first fighting took place since the beginning of the armed revolution around April and May 2021, and it is also the region where many battles have taken place over the past two years. It is also written in the news that there are people who live in the houses in the town and live as guards because they are afraid that the house and the things that cannot be moved from the house will be lost and damaged. The region, which is officially named Kayah State by successive governments, and locally, Karenni State, is the region with the largest number of people fleeing war due to armed conflicts in Myanmar. It is a state with a population of just over 300,000, of which around 250,000 have fled their homes.