FROM DVB NEWSROOM

Hundreds of garment workers fired in Yangon

More than 300 workers at YFA garment factory in Yangon’s Shwe Pyi Thar Township were fired on Nov. 29, according to the Solidarity of Trade Union Myanmar (STUM). “The workers were forced to resign as if it was their decision. If they refuse to do so, the authorities said the workers won’t get paid for this month,” an STUM spokesperson told DVB. Negotiations are ongoing between factory workers and management on a one-month severance pay. “We negotiated today but have not received an answer yet,” a worker said. Other factories located in Shwe Pyi Thar Township, including Myanmar Forjs Apparel and Yi Cai, have recently shut down operations without severance pay for their workers.

NLD Central Committee member receives long prison sentence

A Lashio Prison Court handed an additional 20 year prison sentence to National League for Democracy (NLD) Central Committee Member Tun Tun Hein on Nov. 30. He was convicted of treason under Section 122 of the Penal Code, reported MeKong News. Tun Tun Hein has been held at Lashio Prison after being sentenced to four years in prison last December under Section 505(A) and (B) of the Penal Code. His total sentence is 24 years. Tun Tun Hein was arrested for participating in pro-democracy protests in 1988, during the 8888 Uprising. In 1990, he was elected as an MP for the NLD in Nawnghkio Township. But he was not allowed to take his seat in parliament until the NLD won a landslide in the 2015 elections. Tun Tun Hein served as an MP until the 2021 coup. 

Road accident kills and injures Burmese migrants in Thailand

Three people died and 44 were injured in a road accident in the Thai-Burma border province of Tak on Nov. 29. The vehicle was carrying 49 Burmese migrant workers from Mae Sot to Tak, according to a local rescue team. It crashed into a concrete divider, separating the two lanes of the highway. The driver and two Burma nationals died. One is in critical condition at Taksin Maharat Hospital. The Chairperson of the Mae Sot-based Joint Action Committee for Burma Affairs (JACBA), Moe Kyo, said the workers involved in the accident had just arrived in Thailand under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) program. “The deceased workers’ families will receive 20,000 Thai baht as compensation from the insurance company in accordance with the law,” he told DVB.

German embassy pledges humanitarian assistance to Burma

The German Embassy Yangon announced via Facebook that it will contribute EUR 3.3 million in humanitarian assistance to Burma. The funding will be provided through the World Food Program. 

News by Region

MON—An electrical engineer was killed by unidentified gunmen in Kyaikhto town on Nov. 29. Security forces set up roadblocks in the township. Local resistance forces claimed they orchestrated three bombings at the township EPC office as a warning not to cut electricity to homes that do not pay bills. Pro-democracy activists began boycotting the payment of electricity bills to deprive the regime of funds shortly after the coup.

Two children were injured by a Burma Army artillery shelling in Kyaikto township’s Theinzayat town on Nov. 26, according to a representative of the Karen National Union’s (KNU) Thaton District. One of them is said to be seriously wounded. “They always shoot indiscriminately,” a KNU official in Thaton District told DVB.

SAGAING—A Kalay Town Court sentenced two university students to ten years in prison each under Section 50(J) of the Counter-Terrorism Law on Nov. 29. The Kalay University Students Union stated that the two were convicted for participating in anti-coup protests. The students were arrested in 2021. “It’s like the saying goes – ‘When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty’. We are continuing to fight against the dictatorship in various ways,” said Ko Baik Pu, a member of the Kalay University Students Union. 

TANINTHARYI—A Burma Army major was killed by resistance forces on Nov. 26. People’s Defence Force (PDF) Federal Column claimed to have detained Major Win Htay Naing and killed him during interrogation. “We got intelligence that the major was taking the bus. We are proud that we were able to attack one of our main targets, but we will not be satisfied with that as we are trying our best to liberate the entire public,” a member of the PDF Federal Column told DVB. 

YANGON—The Burma Army arrested four young men in Botahtaung Township on Nov. 30. “They said they were investigating them but they pulled their shirts and punched them in the face. Then one of the young men told them to stop it, but he was beaten too. So, they were agitated and they shot at the young men. One of the youths was hit in the head,” a resident told DVB. The wounded man was later carried away in an ambulance while the rest were handcuffed and transported in a military truck. Botahtaung Police Station did not respond to DVB’s request for comment about the arrests. Regime media claimed that the detained young men were “terrorists” and were arrested with homemade explosives.

DVB PICKS—Bertil Lintner speaks about his new book “The Wa of Myanmar and China’s Quest for Global Dominance” on DVB Reads, a digital storytelling project and podcast giving voice to authors about their books on Burma. Listen on-demand: https://link.chtbl.com/dvbenglish

FROM THE DVB NEWSROOM

NLD parliamentarians receive long prison sentences

Two ousted National League of Democracy (NLD) parliamentarians from Ayeyarwaddy Region were sentenced to 26 years in prison. The Myawaddy District Court convicted the two under the Counter Terrorism Act on Nov. 28.  They were arrested in December 2021 during a Burma Army raid on Lay Kay Kaw, located in Myawaddy Township of Karen State, where they had been hiding. “We could not get any information about the pair for over a year. It is a long prison term, but it shouldn’t be the case. They were not caught with weapons, but they were jailed under the Counter Terrorism Act,” a source who knows the jailed MPs told DVB. 

Former Tanintharyi minister handed additional prison sentence

The ousted Tanintharyi Chief Minister U Myint Maung has been handed an additional charge of violating election laws under Section 130(a) of the Penal Code, according to Dawei Political Prisoners Network (DPPN). The ousted official held in Dawei prison had previously been sentenced to 11 years. “The final judgment against U Myint Maung was finished on Nov. 11. He had no more charges to face. However, he has now been charged again,” a source who assists political prisoners in Dawei told DVB.

Major Burmese private bank set to go public

Ayeyarwady Bank (AYA) submitted a request to the Registrar of Companies to allow it to go public, according to the Myanmar Gazette. AYA Bank is the second largest private bank in Burma. It is owned by businessman Zaw Zaw. AYA Bank has over 3.2 million customers with 260 branches in the country, according to its website.

News by Region

MAGWAY—A total of 56 houses were damaged by arson in Aung Si Tha village of Pauk Township on Nov. 27, locals said. On Nov. 26, a police station, where Pyu Saw Htee members were being trained, was attacked. Locals believe the arson was in retaliation. “They torched the village. All our livestock died in the fire,” a local said. Around 700 houses were damaged by arson in Pauk Township from Nov.19 to 27 causing locals to flee their homes.

RAKHINE—The United League of Arakan/ Arakan Army (ULA/AA) stated that at least 26 civilians were killed and 111 seriously wounded between Sep. 20 and Nov. 27. Khaing Thu Kha, the AA spokesperson, said at least three massacres occurred in Rakhine State since fighting resumed earlier this year. The AA agreed to a “humanitarian ceasefire” with the Burma Army on Nov. 26. 

During the AA press conference, Khaing Thu Kha claimed the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) made posts on social media to mislead the public into believing that it had fought and captured Burma Army camps instead of the AA. He said that the AA had seized between 20 to 30 outposts located near the Burma-Bangladesh border. The RSO posted that four of these captured Burma Army outposts were occupied by its troops.

SAGAING—Monywa Township People’s Security Force has arrested two men on allegations of rapes, murder, and theft in Monywa town. “After investigating, we discovered that a military backed group was giving them orders. The military asked them to act as military informants and told them to spread false news that these crimes were done by local PDFs without acting against them. We will expose all these connections and hold them accountable,” a spokesperson for the resistance group said.

A Kalay Township Prison court sentenced nine women paramedics working with the Kalay People’s Defense Force (PDF) to 12 years in prison each. They were charged under Section 505(A) of the Penal Code and the Counter Terrorism Law, reported Than Lwin Khet News. The nine paramedics were arrested on Nov. 16, 2021, after a Burma Army raid. The National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) announced on Nov. 27 that 3,434 of the 16,432 women have been arrested since last year’s coup. 

Fighting between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Burma Army has escalated in Htigyaing Township since Nov. 27. “Two fighter jets dropped bombs. The bombs hit near Lay Thar village. Five fighter jets launched five airstrikes on Nov. 27. Fighting intensified on the same day and continued into Nov. 28. They torched villages along the way during their offensive,” a resident in Htigyaing Township said. “I haven’t heard of any civilian fatalities yet. But over 10,000 people abandoned their villages to flee to monasteries and other safe places,” the resident added. The Shwebo-Mandalay Highway was closed from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and roads near Htigyaing Township were blocked. Internet services are unavailable.