Families not yet allowed to see Chin State detainees

By DMG 29 Jun 2022

DMG Newsroom
29 June 2022, Paletwa, Chin State

Family members have not yet been allowed to see three local administrators in Chin State’s Paletwa since they were detained by the regime in late May and early June.

Myoma ward administrator U Maung Me Kyawt, 10-household administrator U Maung Win, and Abaungthar village administrator U Tha Tun Aung were detained following clashes between junta troops and the Arakan Army (AA) in late May.

U Maung Win was taken from his house on June 8 by soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion No. 289. He is currently being held at Paletwa Township police station, said his son-in-law Maung Phyu Yay.

“We are not yet allowed to see him. And the military has not opened a case against him. And they also don’t tell us why he was detained,” he told DMG.

U Maung Win’s family members have insisted that he has not violated any laws.

U Maung Me Kyawt, 57, was detained on June 4, according to his family members. The Abaungthar village administrator and two 10-household administrators were detained following hostilities between junta troops and the AA on May 26. The two 10-household administrators were later released.

Administrator U Tha Tun Aung, meanwhile, has been held incommunicado for more than a month now, a villager told DMG on condition of anonymity.

“We have not yet been in contact with him. And we don’t know where he is being detained,” said the villager.

Human rights activists said the detentions breach Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.”

“The fact that family members are not allowed to see detainees violates the Prisons Law. It is also an act of human rights violation. Family members must be allowed to see detainees,” said U Myat Tun, director of the Arakan Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Association.

DMG was unable to contact the Paletwa Township police station for comment. DMG’s calls to regime spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun also went unanswered.

Military tensions have been running high between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army in Paletwa Township, which neighbours Arakan State.