Myanmar Military Junta Suspends Laws Protecting Citizens’ Privacy to Crack Down on Opposition
YANGON — Amid late-night arrests of anti-coup protesters across Myanmar, the military regime has suspended laws to allow the authorities to arrest citizens and search private properties without a warrant.
The move puts the country back under complete military rule and spreads fears that anyone can be detained for more than 24 hours without a court’s approval.
On Wednesday, the regime suspended the articles from the Privacy Law enacted by the National League for Democracy administration to prevent citizens targeting each other with lawsuits and to protect privacy and security.
The authorities are now allowed to enter into private properties to search, seize evidence and arrest without a warrant.
Private messages can be intercepted and the authorities can demand personal telephonic and electronic communications data from telecoms providers. The military regime also suspended the requirement for a court to approve the seizure and destruction of possessions and property.
The authorities can now open, search, seize or destroy private correspondence, which was previously prevented by the Privacy Law.
The regime has also reinstated provisions (only some provisions) from the 2012 Ward or Village Tract Administration Law which requires citizens to report overnight guests to the authorities.
The legislation was amended in September 2016 despite opposition from military-appointed lawmakers who said it provided key data on people’s location.
Human rights activist U Aung Myo Min told The Irrawaddy that the suspension of the Privacy Law and the return of guest registration targeted anti-coup protesters. He said the regime had authorized itself to arrest anyone at any time.
He added that arrests and house searches without the presence of ward administers or a warrant would lead to human rights abuses.
“Lack of witnesses could lead to beatings and arbitrary confiscation of property at the time of arrest. Moreover, mandatory guest registration harms freedom of movement. The authorities can confiscate and seize citizen’s private property at any time,” he added.
“Human rights abuses will increase,” he said.
Since last week, the security forces have stepped up late-night arrests of civil servants, doctors, activists and politicians who are participating in anti-coup protests. Residents have been reacting with defiance as the authorities try to arrest their neighbors. Pots and pans are used to alert residents and police vehicles have been surrounded to prevent arrests. Citizens have asked to see arrest warrants.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said on Feb. 12 that 384 people, including State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and prominent activists, have been arrested since the Feb. 1 coup.
On Saturday, the military also issued arrest warrants for seven people, including veteran democratic activists and leaders of the 1988 uprising, U Min Ko Naing and Kyaw Min Yu, also known as Ko Jimmy, accusing them of undermining peace and order.
Despite a ban on gatherings and threats of a crackdown, a ninth day of anti-coup protests are being held across the country.
The Irrawaddy
• The Irrawaddy 14 February 2021:
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-military-junta-suspends-laws-protecting-citizens-privacy-crack-opposition.html
Veteran Student Leaders, Rocker, Social Influencers on Myanmar Military’s Arrest Warrant
Arrest warrants have been issued for seven people — including veteran student leaders as well as social influencers — accusing them of incitement against Myanmar’s military regime. The warrants were announced Saturday evening by Myanmar’s military.
Those facing arrest are U Min Ko Naing and Kyaw Min Yu (a.k.a. Ko Jimmy) who are the veteran democracy activists and leaders of the 1988 uprising; singer Linn Linn, who is a former bodyguard of detained leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; Insein Aung Soe; Myo Yan Naung Thein, the director of Bayda Institute for a Just Society; presenter Maung Maung Aye and Facebook cele Ei Pencilo. They are charged with incitement, under Article 505 [b] of the Penal Code.
The military is alleging that the accused made and circulated a statement on social media intending to undermine the peace and order of the state.
The charge has been widely used to stifle political dissent under previous military regimes. If found guilty, the accused face up to two years in prison.
Since the pre-dawn coup on Feb. 1, the military has detained more than 300 people. Veteran leaders went into hiding but put out messages online daily to anti-coup protesters. Their social media messages also called for civil servants to take part in the civil disobedience movement (CDM).
Since last week, U Min Ko Naing also urged the public to boycott the businesses run by the military.
The accused actively support the CDM and are organizing to financially support those government staff, who take part in the CDM. Started by healthcare workers, the CDM movement is gaining momentum with some police, teachers, engineers, railways staff, as well as news announcers from the ministry of information boycotting the coup.
The military attempted to arrest the cele Ei Pencilo during the coup day, but have been unsuccessful.
The Irrawaddy
• The Irrawaddy 13 February 2021:
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/veteran-student-leaders-rocker-social-influencers-myanmar-militarys-arrest-warrant.html
Myanmar Military Bans Use of ‘Regime’, ‘Junta’ by Media
YANGON—Nearly two weeks after seizing power, Myanmar’s military regime has started to put pressure on the country’s media, dictating that journalists not call it a “regime.”
The move was the junta’s first interference in the Southeast Asian country’s private and independent media, which has been regarded as relatively freer and more vibrant than those in neighboring countries.
The military staged a coup on Feb. 1, claiming that the general election in November was stolen. Since then they have arrested the country’s democratically elected leaders, President U Win Myint and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
Following the coup, hundreds of thousands of people, including civil servants, across the country have taken to the streets to oppose the takeover and called for the release of their leaders.
On Saturday, the military-run Ministry of Information (MOI)’s directives to the country’s Press Council, a media adjudication body which investigates and settles press disputes, went viral online. They urge the media to report “ethically” and “avoid instigating public unrest.”
The ministry stated that some newspapers, weeklies and online media “wrongly” use “regime” for the junta’s governing body, the State Administrative Council (SAC), “which was constitutionally formed by the military.”
“So, journalists and media are informed not to use ‘regime or Junta’ for the SAC, which is acting according to the State of Emergency provisions; and not to instigate public unrest while following media ethics on reporting,” it says.
U Myint Kyaw, secretary of the council, confirmed to The Irrawaddy that the MOI statement that went viral online was authentic, adding that the council members will have a meeting about the directives tomorrow.
When asked about the order not to use “regime”, the secretary said “It is their right to freedom of expression” for news outlets when it comes to the choice of word to describe the military government.
He said the order may be the first step in increased restrictions against the media.
“I am very much concerned, as it’s likely that many restrictions are in the pipeline. It is worrisome to what extent there will be space for independent media in the country,” he said.
As of Saturday afternoon, The Irrawaddy had yet to receive the directives.
The Irrawaddy
• The Irrawaddy 13 February 2021:
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-military-bans-use-regime-junta-media.html
Myanmar’s Military Arrests Doctors for Joining and Supporting Civil Disobedience Movement
Yangon General Hospital staff protest against the military coup outside the emergency department on Feb. 3. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy
Yangon – Myanmar’s military regime is looking to arrest doctors from government hospitals who last week launched the nationwide civil disobedience movement against the coup.
Hundreds of doctors and nurses from government hospitals in Yangon, Mandalay and other cities started the movement on Feb. 3.
The movement has gained momentum with several thousand staff from government ministries and key businesses, including banks and military-owned enterprises, joining the movement.
Early on Friday, Mandalay police without a warrant raided the home of Professor Khin Maung Lwin, the rector of the Mandalay University of Medicine, for supporting the movement.
In a Facebook live stream, the rector’s daughters showed the police trying to arrest their father but retreating after residents appeared in the street, banging pots and pans.
On Thursday night, the police also tried to arrest the medical superintendent at Aunglan Hospital in Magwe Region for supporting the hospital’s disobedience movement.
However, Aunglan residents managed to protect the superintendent from arrest.
Dr. Lynn Letyar, a surgeon from Lashio Hospital in northern Shan State, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that two men in plainclothes tried to find him at his house at 10pm on Thursday while he was out.
He said: “As a citizen, we have rights. They can’t arrest anyone without reason. It is breaking the law. The police are intruding into someone’s house. Trespassing is a shameful, criminal act.”
He said operations at Lashio’s government hospitals have halted as there are almost no staff at work and that the strike will continue until the elected government returns.
On Thursday, CCTV showed a doctor from the hospital in Ayeyarwady Region’s Ingapu Township being seized by police while he was treating patients at a private clinic that is providing free treatment while the government hospitals are closed.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said 241 political prisoners, including government officials, national leaders, election commissioners, political activists, monks, writers and peaceful demonstrators, have been arrested since the Feb. 1 coup.
Hundreds of thousands of people take to streets in major cities daily and residents clap, honk car horns and bang pots and pans at 8pm every night to protest against the military coup.
Zaw Zaw Htwe
• The Irrawaddy 12 February 2021:
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmars-military-arrests-doctors-joining-supporting-civil-disobedience-movement.html
Doctors in Civil Disobedience Movement Put Pressure on Myanmar Military Regime
YANGON—One hundred and seventy-two years after Henry David Thoreau said people should not let their government overrule their conscience and must refuse to allow their government to turn them into agents of injustice, a military coup leader in Myanmar has begun to feel the heat.
Since early last week, in the wake of a military takeover of the country’s democratically elected government, medical staff members at Myanmar hospitals have followed what Thoreau spelled out in his 1849 essay popularly known as “Civil Disobedience” after ousted leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi urged people to resist the coup.
They insisted that they will not return to work until the military regime has released their leaders, President U Win Myint and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
They rejected the rule of men in uniform.
Out in the streets across the country, hundreds of thousands of people from every walk of life have joined anti-coup protests.
Inspired by their counterparts in the country’s health sector, government staff from other ministries left their desks to join the “Civil Disobedience Movement” (CDM) by refusing to work for the regime. Major private banks have found it hard to operate as their staff joined the movement.
Among them so far, the CDM by medical staff was a serious blow to the junta, especially because it mostly came from doctors at government-run hospitals that played a major role in public health care. Since the ousted National League for Democracy government came to power in 2016, those hospitals have provided a lifeline for ill people especially at the grassroots level.
More importantly, the expertise of medical staff is still essential during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in the country. The coronavirus has killed more than 3,000 people in Myanmar so far.
Coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who has been tightlipped about the protests since their onset, broke his silence on Thursday. During his second public speech since the coup, he specifically told medical staff “to go back to work.”
“I want to urge (government) medics to carry out public healthcare at your hospitals as soon as possible,” he said.
He was right to be concerned because most of the public hospitals across the country have barely been functioning since last week.
In Ayeyarwady Region in the country delta, the regional Pathein General Hospital has been virtually shut down since last week as the majority of the hospital’s 300-strong staff has been on strike, a senior doctor on duty told The Irrawaddy on Friday.
“We no longer accept new admissions as we are now under manned. We have referred new cases to military hospitals,” the senior doctor said, adding that the 500-bed hospital is now deserted.
“We are only able to give treatment to 11 existing COVID-19 patients, three kidney dialysis patients and some cancer patients. All are in serious condition,” he continued.
Hospitals in the region’s other areas like Phyapon and Myaung Mya have also halted their operations due to the CDM, the doctor said. The same reportedly goes for hospitals in other regions as well.
Shortly after the CDM was launched by the medics, the military opened its hospitals’ doors to the public.
However, the senior general’s recent request that civilian doctors to go back to work suggests the medics in uniform may not be able to cope with the overwhelming need for public healthcare, probably due to their limited facilities
Ironically, while the military is urging doctors to return, it has also been hunting down the medics who joined and supported the CDM across the country. Hours before his request to the doctors was aired, warnings were published in state-run newspapers that those “who put pressure on other dutiful civil servants” to join the CDM will be “seriously punished legally.”
Dr Win Ko Ko Thein, a deputy director from Ministry of Health who has been a part of the CDM since last week, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that the arrests and the coup leader’s request simply showed how effective the movement was.
The deputy director, who has been under police surveillance and is now in hiding, said the civilian medical staff on the strike didn’t seem to turning back. He pointed out the march of medical staff from government hospitals in Naypyitaw on Friday despite the recent crackdowns on their fellow doctors.
“If they (the regime) put more pressure on them, people will be more responsive,” he said.
The Irrawaddy
• The Irrawaddy 12 February 2021:
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/doctors-civil-disobedience-movement-put-pressure-myanmar-military-regime.html
Myanmar Military Regime Detains More Members of Ousted Govt in Late Night Raids
(Photo: Top row from left) Detained Mon Chief Minister Dr. Aye Zan; Minister for the Office of the State Counselor U Kyaw Tint Swe; Rakhine Chief Minister U Nyi Pu; (bottom row from left) CEC member U Htun Htun Hein; CEC member Dr. Myo Aung; and NLD legal adviser U Kyaw Ho.
YANGON—At least six senior figures from the ousted government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD), including a close aide to State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, were detained by the military regime in a series of raids late Wednesday night, following the armed forces’ takeover of the country.
The latest wave of arrests came after top NLD leaders publicly showed support for anti-coup protesters across the country and denounced the military coup. Nationwide mass protests against the military regime continue in every state and region, despite moves by the Myanmar police to begin cracking down on the demonstrations on Tuesday, using water cannons and opening fire on protesters in some places.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi aide U Kyaw Tint Swe, minister for the Office of the State Counselor under the ousted NLD government, was among those detained Wednesday night.
Dr. Myo Aung, a member of the NLD’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) who served as chairman of the Naypyitaw Development Committee, was taken by military personnel from his residence, where he was already under house arrest, the NLD said.
The NLD Central Information Committee confirmed that the chief minister of Rakhine State, U Nyi Pu, was also detained by the military at 11.00 p.m. on Wednesday after the party uploaded a video message in which he condemned the coup and urged the public to keep fighting for democracy.
The list of those detained includes the chief minister of Mon State, Dr. Aye Zan; CEC member U Htun Htun Hein; and U Kyaw Ho, a legal adviser to the party, the NLD said.
Information committee member U Kyi Toe said that following the latest wave of arrests, the NLD’s entire senior leadership, including all CEC members, are now in military detention.
This week, the military regime also rearrested the chief ministers of Yangon, Mandalay and Sagaing regions and Karen State, moving them from the government residences where they had been under house arrest. In Kachin State, all of the NLD’s state government ministers including the chief minister were arrested by the military last week.
The Irrawaddy
• The Irrawaddy 11 February 2021:
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-military-regime-detains-members-ousted-govt-late-night-raids.html