Families unable to meet three detained men from Ponnagyun and Kyauktaw

By DMG 28 Jul 2022

DMG Newsroom
28 July 2022, Ponnagyun 

Family members say they have not been in contact with three men in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun and Kyauktaw townships since their arrests by the Myanmar military more than a week ago. 

U Moe Thee Khaing, 50, and U Maung Hsan, 40, were taken from their homes by about 20 junta soldiers on July 19, and their families have not been able to contact the detainees, a relative of U Moe Thee Khaing told DMG. 

“The pair haven’t been seen or heard from since their arrest and are reportedly held in military custody at the Myanmar military’s Light Infantry Battalion No. 550. I don’t know the reason why they were arrested and family members are not allowed to meet the detainees. We are concerned for their safety,” the family member added. 

U Moe Thee Khaing is a philanthropist and a respected elder in his community, and U Maung Hsan earns a living as a restaurant owner, according to family members. 

Meanwhile, a man from the Kavi Yadana camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Kyauktaw, Arakan State, went missing on July 19 and has not been heard from since, according to family members. U Kyaw Hein, a 39-year-old traditional medicine practitioner, went missing while returning to Kavi Yadana displacement camp after providing medical treatment to a patient from neighbouring Kangyishin IDP camp on the night of July 19.  

Eyewitnesses told DMG that he was detained by junta soldiers while travelling between the two villages. 

Family members are worried about the safety of U Kyaw Hein because they have not been in contact with him since his arrest, said Daw Ma Aye Than, the wife of the detainee. 

“He is reportedly being held at a military regiment in Kyauktaw. I am worried about his safety and want to know the details of his whereabouts,” she added. 

In addition to his work as a traditional medicine practitioner, U Kyaw Hein earns a living as a motorbike taxi driver. 

DMG attempted to contact Arakan State Minister for Security and Border Affairs Colonel Kyaw Thura for comment on the matter, but he could not be reached. 

The junta arrested residents of both Ponnagyun and Kyauktaw townships last month as well. 

Captain Kyi Hlaing from the Myanmar military’s Light Infantry Battalion No. 550 filed a lawsuit against six residents of Ponnagyun who were arrested on June 16 and charged with incitement under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code. 

The military also detained Ko Zaw Win aka Ludu Zaw Win, U Kyaw Than Maung, and Ko Zaw Moe Htet from Kyauktaw on June 21, subsequently charging the trio under the Penal Code’s Section 505(a). 

The Myanmar military and Arakan Army have largely observed an unofficial ceasefire since November 2020, but there have been recent clashes in Arakan State amid rising tensions between the two sides.