Military prosecutes Kyauktaw Twsp villager for alleged AA ties

By Hnin Nwe 09 Oct 2020

Hnin Nwe | DMG
9 October, Sittwe 

The Tatmadaw has opened a case against a resident of Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township after allegedly finding explosive devices at his home.  

A Myanmar military column conducted a sweep of Kyaukgusu village on September 27 and interrogated two men at the village monastery on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army (AA) ethnic armed group. 

One of the two men was subsequently released, but not before military personnel searched their homes and reportedly found landmines at a granary owned by Ko Maung Pein Aung, the other man. The military handed Ko Maung Pein Aung over to police and opened a case against him under Section 50(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law, according to his family.  

Ma May Htwee Chay, the wife of the detainee, said: “Our rice fields are dying as my husband was detained and there has been no one to take care of the farm.” 

On September 28, the military’s Tatmadaw True News Information Team said that as military troops visited Kyaukgusu village for security reasons, they found evidence of Ko Maung Pein Aung’s connection to the AA on his cellphone. 

The troops thus searched his house and the surrounding vicinity, and found an improvised explosive device — 5 inches in height and 3 inches in diameter — along with a detonator and an anti-personnel pressure mine, the military’s statement added. 

The detainee’s family members maintain that he was set up by the military. According to his wife, Ko Maung Pein Aung was tortured during interrogation, and had not received any medical treatment for head wounds and chest pain he sustained while in custody. 

“His head wounds need to be stitched. He said his chest also hurt and he could not eat. So, I asked the police officials to hospitalise him. But they didn’t allow it, and we could only buy medicines and leave them for him,” said Ma May Htwee Chay. 

The Kyauktaw Township police station declined to comment when asked by DMG about her claims. 

According to the Center for Rural Research and Development, 105 civilians were arrested in Kyauktaw Township for alleged ties to the AA between January 2019 and September 2020.