Activists in Yangon mark four years since 2021 military coup
Members of the General Strike Committee (GSC) held a protest on Saturday to mark the fourth anniversary of the military coup in Burma. Two unfurled a banner stating: “All Power to the People” off of a pedestrian bridge in downtown Yangon. Anti-coup protests and support rallies for a return to democracy in Burma were held around the world.
On Friday, the regime extended its state of emergency for another six months. And inside Insein Prison, four members of the University Students’ Unions Alumni Force were sentenced to three years each by a military court for alleged incitement by spreading false news under Section 505 (A) of the Penal Code.
The four pro-democracy activists were arrested last September in Yangon. The University Students’ Unions Alumni Force stated that it will continue to defy the regime’s orders. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has documented that 6,239 people have been killed, while 28,444 have been arrested with 21,722 still in detention, since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021.
UN calls on Myanmar to return to civilian rule
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres released a statement on Thursday calling on the regime in Naypyidaw, which seized power after the 2021 military coup, to allow a return to civilian rule through an inclusive democratic transition rather than a regime-planned election that would not allow for a “free or fair” poll in Burma.
“Secretary-General António Guterres condemns all forms of violence and calls on all parties to the conflict to exercise maximum restraint, uphold human rights and international humanitarian law, and prevent further incitement of violence and intercommunal tensions,” Stéphane Dujarric, the U.N. Secretary-General spokesperson, said in a statement on Jan. 30.
Secretary-General Guterres reiterated his call for the regime to release Burma’s detained civilian leaders, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, ahead of the fourth coup anniversary on Jan. 30. He added that cooperation was needed to bring an end to hostilities and help the people of Burma forge a path towards an inclusive democratic transition.
David Mathieson on 4 years since the military coup
David Mathieson, an independent analyst on human rights and conflict in Myanmar, was in the DVB Newsroom to discuss the situation in Burma four years after the 2021 military coup on Jan. 16. This interview took place before China brokered a ceasefire agreement between the regime in Naypyidaw and the Brotherhood Alliance’s Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) on Jan. 18.
“The regime and Min Aung Hlaing are not serious about peace, they want to hold on to power. And I think that the [Ethnic Armed Organizations] going to China, and even the Chinese know this very well, that it’s really not about securing a peace [deal]. It’s about manipulating each other,” Mathieson told DVB.
Watch DVB Newsroom season 2 episode 7 featuring David Mathieson on four years since the 2021 military coup (Part 1) on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts. Stay tuned for Part 2 of the newsroom interview coming in February.
News by Region
SAGAING—Kalay Township residents told DVB that at least nine civilians were killed, including four children, and over 30 were injured by airstrikes carried out by the military on a health clinic and school inside a camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Tinthar village, 111 miles (180 km) west of the Sagaing Region capital Monywa, on Friday.
“Two fighter jets conducted two bombings. They also fired machine guns. We’ve confirmed nine dead, but there could be more casualties since we haven’t been able to verify everyone yet,” a Kalay resident told DVB, adding that there was no fighting near the IDP camp between the military and resistance forces. Read more.
MAGWAY—The People’s Defense Force (PDF) in Minbu told DVB that seven healthcare personnel, including doctors, were arrested by the military in Shadaw village of Pyintphyu Township on Thursday. Fighting between the military and resistance forces began last week in Pyintphyu, Ngape and Salin townships. Pyintphyu is located 30 miles (49 km) south of the regional capital Magway.
“There is no connection between the ongoing fighting and the arrest but I think they took them as hostages, or to help injured soldiers,” a PDF spokesperson told DVB. The PDF urged residents not to travel along the Mone creek, or fields along the Saedaw-Sanpya Road in Pyintphyu due to ongoing military operations in the area.
MON—A source near the frontline in Maepali village of Bilin Township told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the military carried out retaliatory airstrikes against the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) as it, and allied resistance forces, seized control of an outpost on Saturday. Bilin is located 69 miles (111 km) north of the Mon State capital Mawlamyine.
“More than 30 prisoners of war were arrested. Many ammunition and weapons were confiscated. The KNLA is clearing the outpost,” the source added. The number of casualties has not been shared by either side. More than 3,000 residents from Maepali, and two other village tracts, have been displaced from their homes by airstrikes and artillery shelling since the first week of January.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,550 MMK)
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