Monk in Arakan State reportedly beaten by military personnel

By DMG Newsroom 18 Apr 2020

DMG Newsroom
18 April, Ponnagyun

A Buddhist monk who was traveling from Sittwe to Mrauk-U was reportedly beaten at a military camp outside the Arakan State capital on April 17.

Seven passengers including a driver and the monk, 81-year-old Ashin Tayza Wun Tha, were travelling by car from Sittwe to Mrauk-U when they were detained at about 9 a.m. on Friday and beaten during interrogation, said the monk.

“When returning to Mrauk-U from Sittwe, we were questioned at the Kyauktan checkpoint. After we arrived at Padalate army camp, they told us to get into the military compound and ordered us to get out of the car. They questioned where we were from and where we were going. Then they smashed my phone after I tried to call someone,” the monk told DMG.

“They beat my face and legs three or four times with the butt of a gun. So, I was [knocked] unconscious. When I woke up, there was no robe on my body anymore. One of the soldiers with three stars on his shoulder [a captain in rank] told me to put on civilian clothes and to go back,” the monk added.

Ashin Tayza Wun Tha had more than K200,000, but it was seized by the military, the monk said, adding that he did not see the driver nor the other passengers after regaining consciousness.

The injured monk hitched a ride to Myatlae village in Ponnagyun Township hours after the incident at the military camp and slept a night with a monk he knew in the village.

“He was beaten by an army camp based in Padalate in Sittwe Township and his robes were burnt. A shop from Padalate village helped him to take a bus and he arrived at Myatlae village,” said U Hla Aung, one of his devotees and a resident of Myatlae village.

DMG attempted to contact Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun from the Tatmadaw True News Information Team and Colonel Win Zaw Oo of the military’s Western Command to seek comment on the case, but they could not be reached.

The identities and condition of the other six passengers traveling with the monk were not immediately known. Ashin Tayza Wun Tha hails from the Mingalar Yarma Monastery in the ancient city of Mrauk-U and is receiving medical treatment following the incident.

U Khin Maung Latt, the Amyotha Hluttaw lawmaker for Ponnagyun Township, said: “The case occurred at 9 a.m. yesterday morning. I’ve heard that they were questioned at Padalate checkpoint. The monk got some injuries. He is now receiving medical treatment at Ponnagyun Hospital. But the driver and the passengers went missing.”