A striking civil servant who joined the civil disobedience movement (CDM) in protest at the military regime has died of injuries sustained from torture and brutal beatings by soldiers and police while being detained in Sagaing Region’s Monywa.

Ko Tun Htet Aung, a 24-year-old forestry worker, was the youngest member of his family and was affectionately called “Phoe Nge” (little boy). He was arrested at around 11 AM on March 15 after he left home to join an anti-coup protest.

He died from internal bleeding in his head at 3:10 AM on Thursday at a Mandalay hospital, less than twelve hours after he was released from detention.

Before Ko Tun Htet Aung was released, security forces had kept him at Monywa General Hospital where he had not received proper medical treatment, according to his family. His family was also not allowed to visit or communicate with him.

His brother told The Irrawaddy that they were only allowed to send clothes and some food which was returned to them the next day without having been touched or eaten.

“Our mom begged them at least to allow us to talk with him over the phone to know his real condition. But we were not allowed to speak with him and were told that his condition was not bad and that he had only minor bruises,” the brother said.

But when the family received him back after they had signed a confession saying that he would return to his work after recovering, Ko Tun Htet Aung was unable to walk, his eyes were a bluey-purple color and he was conscious only for short periods before he passed away. The family transferred him to a Mandalay hospital for treatment.

When he was conscious in his hospital bed, Ko Tun Htet Aung spoke of the need to continue the fight against the junta, which has killed almost 220 people and detained over 2,100 since their Feb.1 coup.

“He told me, his big brother, that we have to have guns to battle against them. He said please allow me to fight back against them. I must fight them. They are so violent. They kneed me in the face and head.”

Ko Tun Htet Aung is the first CDM member to be killed by the military regime in Monywa, where ten people were previously shot dead in crackdowns on anti-coup protests.

“It hurts me so much to think that my young brother was brutally beaten and had to suffer in pain for two and a half days without treatment,” his brother said.

“We have lost hundreds in this revolution. I don’t want to see anyone else get killed, I only want to achieve our goal as we have enough martyrs already in this revolution.”

Two National League for Democracy members in Yangon have also died after being arrested and tortured by the security forces. Their families were only informed the following day when they were told to pick up their bodies for the funerals.

A number of other people have reportedly died after being tortured while detained, or have not received medical treatment after being shot and dragged away by soldiers and police.

The Irrawaddy

• The Irrawaddy 18 March 2021
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/civil-servant-strike-dies-torture-myanmar-security-forces.html

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 Six More Shot Dead in Myanmar by Junta’s Security Forces

At least six more people were shot dead by the military regime’s soldiers and police on Tuesday night and Wednesday. Meanwhile several arrests made in different cities across Myanmar.

A 28-year-old father of three, a 25-year-old man and a 20-year-old man were shot dead in Kale Township of Sagaing region at noon on Wednesday when soldiers and police fired shots at anti-coup protesters and local residents. The 28-year-old was shot in the head and the 25-year-old died after being shot in the abdomen. The number of causalities from the confrontation could go higher because about 10 others were hit by gunfire.

Security forces burned down the roadblocks placed to prevent their access to residence in Yangon ‘s Hlaing Township on Wednesday. (The Irrawaddy)

In Yangon’s Hlaing Township, a protester was shot in the head and died during a crackdown on an anti-coup protest. Soldiers and police also detained some male residents, forcing them to remove roadblocks.

Eleven workers from Shwe Kaung Kywel tea shop, most of them in their 20s, were also arrested at the shop in the evening. The whereabouts of the workers is still unknown.

Eleven workers from Shwe Kaung Kywel tea shop, most of them in their 20s, were also arrested at the shop in the evening. (Photo: CJ)

The junta’s armed forces also threatened residents in Yangon and Mandalay, saying they will shoot into every house if residents do not remove roadblocks which have been put in place to prevent access by security forces.

Tuesday night, a 28-year-old man was shot in the chest near his residence in Yangon’s Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township during a crackdown by soldiers and police on a nighttime protest. He died about 4 a.m. Wednesday.

In Chaung-U of Monywa in Sagaing region, a 42-year-old was also shot and killed on Tuesday night.

As of Wednesday, at least 216 people have been killed by Myanmar’s military regime since the Feb. 1 coup.

A doctor in Hlaing Tharyar Township confirmed that the hospital had received a total of 56 bodies of those killed on Sunday and Monday. Two gunshot patients were admitted to hospital on Tuesday, and one person shot by rubber bullet was admitted on Wednesday in Hlaing Tharyar Township.

The Irrawaddy

• The Irrawaddy 17 March 2021
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/civil-servant-strike-dies-torture-myanmar-security-forces.html

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 Yangon Bank Customers Detained by Myanmar’s Military Regime

A screengrab from MRTV shows the four accused of incitement for the CDM before their arrest.

Family members of four people detained for allegedly inciting people to join the civil disobedience movement (CDM) at a private bank say they have had no contact with them since their arrest.

Military and state-run television channels announced on Tuesday evening that U Thant Zin, Daw Su Thet Mon, Daw Myint Thu and Daw Khin Khin Si were detained at a branch of the KBZ bank in Yangon’s Kamayut Township on March 16. Media for the military regime said that they were arrested after they “forcibly enter” the bank on Pyi Road around 11:30 AM “to condemn the bank’s resumption of operations.”

KBZ said in a statement on Thursday that the bank didn’t call the security forces but that they had arrived unexpectedly and detained four bank customers.

“We will do our best to provide the necessary information to show the four individuals are indeed customers of the bank,” KBZ said in the statement.

The majority of private banks in Myanmar have been closed since the military’s Feb.1 coup because many of their staff have joined the CDM and are refusing to work under the junta’s rule.

With financial flows across the country paralyzed, the regime forced some private banks to open this week. On Tuesday, a handful of private bank branches in Yangon struggled to resume operations.

“They cursed the bank staff for not being part of the CDM, frightening others customers in the bank,” said the newscaster, adding that the four were arrested by security forces who arrived at the bank as soon as they learned about the incident.

But videos filmed by other customers at the bank show that people had come to the branch to withdraw money and were complaining that the bank staff were not handling the customers’ demands properly and not letting them in to the bank before the door was closed.

“We are not staging a protest. We are here to withdraw our money as you said your bank is open,” a woman customer shouted.

The families of the four people detained have been unable to contact them since their arrest.

Daw Cho Zin Lin, the sister of detainees Daw Su Thet Mon and U Thant Zin, said she has no idea of their whereabouts.

“We are still trying to figure out where they are,” she said.

An immediate family member of one of the detained women dismissed the regime’s accusation that she had been inciting people to join the CDM.

“She just went there to withdraw the money we have saved. It was nothing to do with the CDM,” he said, adding that he has lost contact with her now.

“When we reached out to the township police station, they said they don’t know where she is,” he said.

Daw Cho Zin Lin also said her that her sister and brother were not there as part of the CDM but just to withdraw their money.

“They are the bank’s customers and the bank has a responsibility for their safety and release,” she said.

The Irrawaddy

Notice: The story was updated on Thursday 6:17 p.m. to include the bank’s response.

• The Irrawaddy 17 March 2021
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/yangon-bank-customers-detained-myanmars-military-regime.html

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 Myanmar Junta Suspends 212 Central Bank Staff on Strike

Civil servants protest in Naypyitaw. / The Irrawaddy

More than 200 employees from the Central Bank of Myanmar have been suspended for taking part in the civil disobedience movement (CDM) against the military regime.

Last Friday’s order suspended 212 staff, ranging from assistant directors to cleaners, for failing to perform their duties.

Legal action against civil servants on strike comes as the military government has been paralyzed by the CDM for over a month. The junta has stepped up detentions, dismissals or suspensions and evictions of civil servants from government housing.

A suspended member of the banking staff told The Irrawaddy that with hundreds of bankers joining the CDM in Yangon, Naypyitaw and Mandalay, stifling financial operations across the country.

A few staff in Naypyitaw were forced to return to work, she added. Many banking staff have left their accommodation to avoid possible raids and detentions, she said.

“I don’t dare withdraw my salary as they told us to come to the office to receive our pay,” she said. “I have prepared [to continue striking after being suspended],” she said. Some of her colleagues are pregnant or the only wage earners in their families and are now facing financial difficulties.

The Irrawaddy

• The Irrawaddy 17 March 2021
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-junta-suspends-212-central-bank-staff-strike.html

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