MNHRC says Arakan rights complaints could not be probed due to pandemic restrictions

By Hnin Nwe 28 Dec 2020

Hnin Nwe | DMG 
28 December 2020, Sittwe 

Field investigations into complaints of human rights abuses by locals in Arakan State could not be carried out amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to U Hla Myint, chairman of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC).

Lawmakers and human rights advocates submitted 19 complaints to the Ministry of Defence on December 11 regarding alleged human rights violations in Kyauktaw Township from 2019 to February 2020, in some cases resulting in unwarranted arrests and deaths due to heavy weapons and small arms fire, said the MNHRC.     

In response to the complaints, the Ministry of Defence told the MNHRC on September 8 that the Tatmadaw had not committed any infraction in connection with the cases filed by the legislators and human right activists in Kyauktaw Township.  

Despite the discrepancies between the accounts of locals and the Tatmadaw, there were disagreements at the moment on conducting field investigations to uncover the truth, U Hla Myint told DMG. 

“By law, if you know where a human rights violation occurs, we can go and investigate immediately without having to go to anyone. But we cannot go to the places where the lawmakers and human rights defenders complain about human right abuses due to the COVID-19 epidemic,” he said. “So I have to ask the Tatmadaw, which is currently the main force involved. We will be able to investigate the complaints only if we can go there.” 

U Hla Myint added that the MNHRC has sent back the Ministry of Defence’s responses to the victims and sent further complaints to the relevant ministries. 

“We are constantly monitoring social media to find out what is going on, not just when human rights abuses come to us. When we hear of something in Arakan State, we phone our office in Sittwe and immediately ask them to investigate what happened. If police don’t file a case, we give suggestions to the complainants to consult with legal consultants,” he said. 

Since the end of 2018, human rights abuses during fighting in Arakan State between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army have been reported to the MNHRC, but negligible investigative work has been carried out, according to MPs and the Arakan Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Association.  

U Tun Win, the Lower House parliamentarian for Kyauktaw Township, said the MNHRC should take the lives and property of local people into consideration if the commission wants to address human rights effectively.  

“Only they will know why [regarding] the human rights abuses that took place in Arakan State before the coronavirus outbreak. There are levels of administration in states, districts and townships. This means that if the MNHRC actually makes inquiries related to the [allegations], it can do so,” he added. 

Ma Mya Win Kyi, the sister of one of 18 Tinma villagers who went missing after being arrested by the Tatmadaw in March, said a more accurate picture would be painted if the MNHRC came to investigate the incident there in Kyauktaw Township. 

“I think it would be more effective for the MNHRC to come and check on us than to talk,” she said. “Family members said the victims were arrested, but the Tatmadaw denied it. We hope the MNHRC can address these issues.” 

From January 2019 to September of this year, 48 people were killed and 208 were injured by small arms and heavy weapons fire, and 105 people were arrested on suspicion of ties to the Arakan Army in Kyauktaw Township, according to data compiled by the Center for Rural Research and Development.