Day: July 8, 2022

Myanmar’s military is guilty of war crimes for its alleged practice of laying landmines in populated areas where they have killed civilians, including children, two ethnic rights organizations told RFA.

Landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Myanmar have maimed or killed at least 115 children since the military junta seized power last year, UNICEF Myanmar reported on June 24. The report said that one-third of all landmine and UXO casualties it tracked from the February 2021 coup to April 2022 were children.

“In times of conflict, children are the most vulnerable, including from landmines and UXO. Since children are smaller than adults, they are more likely to take the full impact of the blast and are therefore more likely to suffer death or serious injury,” the report said.

On June 19, two seven-year-old boys were killed when they played with an unexploded artillery shell near Kan Ywar village in Gangaw township in central Myanmar’s Magway region.

Pyae Sone Aung and Min Htut Zaw found a 40mm shell and began throwing it to each other, Yu Ko, a resident of the village, told RFA.

“Afterwards, as they were hitting it with a rock, the shell exploded and the blast killed both of them,” said Yu Ko. “I heard there were three or four similar incidents elsewhere of unexploded ordnance going off once it got into children’s hands.”

Chin state, in the country’s west, was one of the first regions in Myanmar to form militias to fight the military following the coup.

The military has shelled populated villages in response. It has also laid landmines that appear to target civilians, Hre Lian, a spokesperson for the Chin Human Rights Group, told RFA.

“The soldiers plant landmines, and people step on them and get killed and injured,” he said.

“They are planted purposely. The death toll from civilian casualties has risen sharply. Additionally, children are killed while playing with unexploded ordnance. Tragedies like these occurred last August when four children were killed and three were injured in Thantlang township.”

He said Thantlang, Matupi and Mindat townships were the most affected by landmines and unexploded ordnance in the state.

The junta forces are guilty of war crimes for planting landmines in villages and settlements in Kayah state, Ko Banya, spokesperson for Karenni Human Rights Watch, told RFA.

“We need to put pressure on the junta. They planted mines in areas where they cannot move as freely as in the past. They often planted landmines not only in villages but also inside buildings,” he said.

“We can say that it is a war crime because they planted these mines intentionally to kill or injure civilians. War crimes are committed with an intent to kill. We hope the perpetrators of these actions will be punished at some point.”

Around 20 civilians stepped on mines in Demoso and Hpruso townships and in the state capital Loikaw this year, two of whom have died, Ko Banya said.

RFA repeatedly attempted to contact Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, a junta spokesman, for comment, without success.

He previously told RFA that the military uses landmines only for security purposes and around military camps.

A lack of mine awareness, as a result of the breakdown of government since the coup, is also to blame for civilian deaths, Aung Thu Nyein, executive director of the Myanmar Strategic and Policy Study Group, told RFA.

“I think landmine awareness programs almost stopped soon after the coup. And then, there were fewer civil society organizations and mediating groups in the peace process,” he said.

“On the other hand, conflicts are escalating day by day. When educational talks and demining programs are lacking, the number of mine accidents naturally rises. So I think the number of victims will keep on increasing,” Aung Thu Nyein said.

In its report, UNICEF Myanmar said that the agency and its partners provided Explosive Ordnance Risk Education to 20,000 children across the country in the first five months of 2022.

“UNICEF calls on all parties to facilitate access for assistance to victims; to stop laying mines and to clear existing mines and UXO,” the report said.

Radio Free Asia –Copyright © 1998-2016, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036Radio Free Europe–Copyright (c) 2015. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

KUCHING, July 8 (Bernama) — Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) urges individuals or entities, especially plantation owners and contractors, to notify the company before proceeding with any works near its electrical transmission towers.

SEB, in a statement here, said that improper and unplanned earthworks or clearing works near its transmission towers may affect the stability of slopes surrounding the foundation of these towers.

“When unchecked, and in the worst-case scenario, the entire electrical tower may collapse, leading to a major electricity supply interruption,” it said.

Its utility arm, Syarikat SESCO Berhad chief executive officer, Lau Kim Swee, in the same statement, said that the company has seen an increased number of such incidents in recent years, and has spent millions to repair, rectify and protect the affected slopes.

“Notifying us will allow us to prepare contingency measures and carry out the necessary works to protect the towers and nearby slopes.

“We are grateful to those who have approached and worked with us before they start clearing their land, helping us to avoid unwanted incidents. At the end of the day, we want to provide a safe, affordable and reliable electricity supply for all Sarawakians,” he said.

Under Section 33(9) of the Electricity Ordinance, those found guilty of wilfully or negligently causing the fall of or damage to any electricity supply line will be penalised with a fine of up to RM50,000, or imprisonment for up to five years, or both.

Business or land owners and contractors are welcome to contact Sarawak Energy’s 24-hour Customer Care Centre at 1300-88-3111, or email customercare@sarawakenergy.com before commencing land clearing works.

Individuals reporting suspicious activities near Sarawak Energy’s electrical facilities may also do so through these channels.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

Burmese citizens with national registration cards indicating they reside in northwestern Myanmar’s Sagaing region face travel restrictions and other forms of discrimination under Myanmar’s ruling military regime because they hail from the part of the country with the greatest armed resistance to the junta, locals said Friday.

The junta which seized power from the elected government in February 2021 has faced the fiercest armed resistance in Sagaing region. Most of the region’s 34 townships and more than 5,900 villages have been affected by fighting between military forces and members of the anti-junta People’s Defense Forces (PDF). The hostilities and the burnings of villages have displaced thousands of residents in the region.

The junta announced in late March that authorities could check the national registration cards, also known as citizenship verification cards, of people in the region anywhere on demand.

Residents of the region told RFA that people holding national registration cards that identify them as being from the area are limited in where they can travel and cut off from employment opportunities.

A Myaung township resident, who requested anonymity for safety reasons, said registration card holders have been subjected to stricter checks than are those registered in other regions and states since the junta made its announcement.

“There’s nothing we can do about transportation or communications or getting jobs,” he said. “You cannot lie to them as every detail is on the registration card.”

Though no one wants to accept people who have cards beginning with the numerical prefix that identifies them as Sagaing residents, locals are proud that they hold such ID documents, he said.

“But we face a lot of difficulties in travelling and finding jobs,” he said, adding that he was dismayed that employers in other areas of Myanmar discriminated against migrant workers from Sagaing.

A company worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity for the same reason, said authorities question him now when he travels more than they do others.

“It’s just a normal trip, [and] there are many checkpoints along the way,” he said. “There’s a lot of questioning at some checkpoints. They gave you suspicious looks. You will be asked many questions even though it’s a normal business trip, just because you are holding a card with the prefix 5/ and you live in a township where there are concerning situations.’

“I’m always worried they might not accept my answers and turn me back,” the worker added.

‘Public security’ work

A hotel owner in central Myanmar’s Mandalay region, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said regime authorities had not instructed hotels to conduct strict checks of Sagaing region citizens, though they had been told to maintain a list of guests and their phone numbers.

“There are no specific orders to strictly check guests from what township or region they come from,” he said, adding that he did not record the townships from which his guests came.

“But we have been told to keep records of names and phone numbers of guests who stay here because of the current situation in the country and we have to send guest lists to [authorities] regularly,” he said. “They will take action against us if we don’t follow the orders.”

In the past, guests were allowed to stay at guesthouses without presenting their national registration cards if they could produce other identification documents.

Sagaing residents also told RFA that people from the region who want to go abroad for work have been subjected to strict censorship, and some have been refused passports.

Military spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun said there were no special restrictions as such, however.

“Even in places like [the capital] Naypyidaw, you can find people fleeing from the people’s Defense Forces violence in Sagaing region,” he said.

“Of course, there may be security checks in some places,” he said. “This is not done for these registration card owners. They’re just doing their work for public security.”

Nazin Latt, a National League for Democracy lawmaker for Sagaing’s Kanbalu township, described the discrimination as “psychological warfare.”

“It’s a violation of human rights to oppress people in areas with strong opposition, for jobs or travel whether it be for security reasons or not,” he told RFA. “On the one hand, it is seen as a systematic psychological warfare — being refused jobs or being refused to put up at guest houses, finding it difficult to get jobs in Yangon and Mandalay, all these issues. It also depends a lot on the employers.”

A recent job announcement in Mandalay’s Pyin Oo Lwin township, said that people holding cards with the Sagaing numerical prefix on their ID cards could not apply.

RFA could not reach the recruiter by phone for comment.

In the past, during the height of armed conflict between national forces and the ethnic rebel Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine state, the military and military-controlled local administrative authorities imposed similar restrictions on citizens with the numerical code for the western state on their national registration cards.

The residents were prevented from traveling in other areas of the country, especially in northern Shan state, on suspicion that they might be heading there to participate in military training offered by AA near the border with China.

Radio Free Asia –Copyright © 1998-2016, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036Radio Free Europe–Copyright (c) 2015. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.