Aung San Suu Kyi’s son Kim Aris on her 79th birthday
Kim Aris, the youngest son of Aung San Suu Kyi, was in Italy to accept honorary citizenship awarded to his mother by the town of Abbiategrasso, near Milan. He spoke about not knowing where Aung San Suu Kyi is being held in Burma on her 79th birthday, which is today.
“I spoke to her not long before the [2021 military] coup, so just over three and a half years ago,” Kim Aris told AsiaNews. “Since then, I have only had one communication from her, one letter.”
State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested on Feb. 1, 2021 during the military coup, along with President Win Myint. Since then, she’s been held incommunicado by the regime in Naypyidaw, where she is serving a 27-year prison sentence handed down by a military court in the capital.
Hunger strike by prisoners from Burma in India
Three Burma nationals, who staged a hunger strike inside Imphal Central Jail in Manipur State of India, were injured after the guards allegedly used violence against them and 96 others on Monday. Rubber bullets and sound bombs were reportedly used.
“The number of prisoners on hunger strike has reached 99. [Prison guards] violently cracked down. I request all [people in India] and overseas stand together with those imprisoned refugees,” said Salai Dokhar, the founder of India for Myanmar – a New Delhi-based group advocating for democracy in Burma.
A total of 28 Burma nationals jailed at Imphal Central Jail in India’s Manipur State started a hunger strike on Sunday as the Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s government has tried to deport refugees from Burma held inside the prison. The prisoners claimed that they had been serving their sentences without any previous violations.
NUG announces healthcare given to over one million citizens
The National Unity Government (NUG) stated that its Ministry of Health has provided healthcare for more than 1.1 million people at 704 clinics and hospitals inside the country since April 16, 2021.
It has documented medical care given to a total of 1,158,377 patients. A total of 48,627 mothers delivered their children and more than 23,000 pregnant women received medicare care at the 704 NUG-run clinics and hospitals.
The NUG Ministry of Health employs 5,250 Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) healthcare personnel, who have refused to work under the military regime since the 2021 coup, in Karenni, Karen, Chin and northern Shan states, as well as Tanintharyi, Sagaing and Magway regions.
News by Region
BAGO—A People’s Defense Forces (PDF) launched an attack in a village of Thanatpin Township on June 16. “A gambling operation was located by the riverbank in the middle of the village. Locals have lodged complaints about it three times. The military and its allied [militias] were providing security. It will take us four days to completely dismantle [it],” a Thanatpin PDF spokesperson told DVB.
CHINLAND—More than 90 percent of the residents of Matupi Township have been forced to flee their homes due to fighting between Chin resistance forces, known as the Chin Brotherhood, and the Burma Army. “Most of them are fleeing to India’s Mizoram for temporary refuge and some are fleeing to safe places,” said a Chinland Defense Force Matupi (CDF Matupi) spokesperson.
CDF Matupi told residents to evacuate the town from May 20 to June 5. More than 100 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Matupi are sheltering at a CDF Matupi battalion. They are in need of food aid and shelter. The Chin Brotherhood launched its attack on Matupi June 9.
MANDALAY—Approximately 70 political prisoners were relocated from Mandalay’s Obo Prison to Myingyan and Magwe prisons on June 15, according to the Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM). “The main reason provided for the move was overcrowding,” said Thaik Tun Oo, the PPNM spokesperson. He added that the prisoners transferred were those who had participated in prison strikes.
MON—Sixty political prisoners at Kyaikmaraw Prison, including at least 40 women, were moved to Daik-U Prison in Bago Region. “It seems the military’s actions are aimed not just at oppressing political prisoners but also at inflicting trauma and psychological torture by distancing them from their families and relatives,” a spokesperson from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) told DVB.
A splinter group of the New Mon State Party (NMSP) called the NMSP-Anti-Dictatorship (NMSP-AD) stated on Sunday that it had organized a graduation ceremony for its second military training of 100 new recruits. “All trainees vow to protect the people and fight against the dictatorship,” said Naing Banyar Mon, the NMSP-AD spokesperson. It announced its split from the NMSP on Feb. 14 and vowed to fight military dictatorship and cooperate with other resistance forces. Its first batch of new recruits completed training on April 26.
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