Eight activists are in custody following a
violent clash with residents in Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township on the night of
May 9, while several others – including prominent monks – remain at large.
By MRATT KYAW THU & HTUN KHAING | FRONTIER
May 16, 2017
A WEEK of high tension between Buddhist extremists, the
authorities and Yangon residents has ended with the arrest of several
nationalist leaders and other key figures on the run.
Warrants were issued for seven people on May 11 under
section 505(b) of the Penal Code in relation to a confrontation between police,
Buddhist nationalist activists and residents of Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township.
Four had been detained as of May 15, with two handing
themselves in that afternoon. Police are still searching for the remaining three:
prominent monks U Thu Seitta and U Pyin Nyar Wuntha, who are both members of
the hardline Patriotic Myanmar Monks Union, and a civilian, U Myat Phone Moh.
Section 505(b) relates to making, publishing or
circulating any statement, rumour or report “with intent to cause, or which is
likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public or to any section of the public
whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the state or
against public tranquility”. It carries a potential two-year prison term.
Thu Seitta and Pyin Nyar Wuntha are also among a separate
group of seven that is facing charges under 505(b) and section 19 of the
peaceful protest law, in relation to a demonstration outside the US embassy in
April 2016.
They had been granted bail at the first hearing in
Kamaryut Township Court on April 28. But at the second hearing on May 12 the
judge refused an application from four defendants – including Myanmar National
Network chairman U Win Ko Ko Latt – to extend their bail and they were remanded
in custody.
The three remaining defendants – Thu Seitta, Pyin Nyar
Wuntha and another prominent monk, U Parmaukha – were not in court on May 12,
but have been ordered to appear at the next hearing, scheduled for May 26.
Should they appear they are expected to also be remanded in custody.
The arrests and denial of bail constitute the strongest
response yet from the authorities to the provocations of the nationalist
movement, which many argue is simply a front for anti-Muslim activities.
Following the arrests, the nationalist group Ma Ba Tha –
known in English as the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion –
issued a statement on its Facebook insisting it had not been involved in the
unrest.
It also announced that it would hold a press conference
at its headquarters in Yangon’s Insein Township on May 16.
Shots fired after face-off
The violence in Mingalar Taung Nyunt was sparked by a
raid on an apartment on May 9 that was apparently aimed at finding “illegal”
residents from Rakhine State.
Police even took the unusual step of firing into the air
to disperse angry residents in the early hours of May 10.
The incident erupted after immigration and police
officers, together with monks and nationalist activists, entered an apartment
on Naung Yoe Street, between 122nd and 123rd streets, at about 10pm.
Their aim, they said, was to find stateless “Bengali”
Muslims from Rakhine State in the apartment. They said the owner was giving
sanctuary to the Muslims, who identify as Rohingya and are not allowed to leave
Rakhine State without official permission.
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| Police stand guard as tensions flare in Mingalar Taung Nyunt. (Teza Hlaing | Frontier) |
However, the search did not turn up any illegal
residents. After checking the identity documents of those living in the
apartment, they returned to the street, where a melee soon broke out.
It was the second incident involving extremist Buddhist
nationalists in 11 days. On April 28, they pressured authorities in Anawmar 1
Ward, Thaketa Township, to shutter four Islamic schools on the grounds that
they were also serving as places of worship.
There is a link between the two incidents. On both days,
nationalist leaders appeared in court facing charges under section 505(b). On
both days, the incidents occurred after the court appearances had concluded.
The Thaketa crisis
On April 28, the Kamaryut Township Court began hearing
the case against U Nyarna Dhamma, chair of the Patriotic Myanmar Monks Union; U
Thu Saitta, PMMU secretary; U Parmaukkha, the head monk of Magway Monastery;
and nationalist activists Ko Win Ko Ko Latt, Ko Naing Win Tun, Ko Thet Myo Oo
and Ko Nay Win Aung.
The charges stemmed from a protest outside the United
States embassy a year earlier.
U Wirathu and dozens of extreme nationalists attended the
court on April 28. When the hearing ended at about 3pm, their supporters
travelled together across town to Tharketa.
They demanded to shut four Islamic schools that they said
were also being used as a place to worship. Eventually the authorities acceded
to their demand and closed the madrasas.
Thaketa Mark II
On May 9, Win Ko Ko Latt and two other nationalist
leaders, Ko Phoe Thar and Ko Naungtaw Lay, appeared in Bahan Township Court,
where they are also facing a charge under section 505(b). Like the previous
incident, their supporters attended court, this time wearing T-shirts reading
“No 505(b)”. The judge confirmed bail and fixed the next court date for the
last week of May.
Prior to the court appearance, members of nationalist
groups spread messages on social media saying that “a bigger movement than
Thaketa is coming”.
After the court hearing, they set their sights on
Mingalar Taung Nyunt.
At 10pm, about 50 people including monks arrived in five
light trucks in front of the building at 105-107 Naung Yoe Street. Four
policemen, some immigration officers and about five nationalists entered an
apartment on the eighth floor.
The apartment is owned by Daw Win, 47, a real estate
broker. “They said nothing – just shouted at us to get out of our rooms and
show our ID cards,” she told Frontier. “My nephew searched our lockers but
couldn’t find them. Then I found our ID cards and household list and showed
them. Then they left.”
Daw Win said she recognised two of the civilians who
entered her apartment, one of whom she had recently argued with over a broker
fee. The man had demanded K1 million from her, she said.
“He threatened me many times. Then we negotiated for me
to pay him K300,000, which I did in front of the ward administrators. But he
was not satisfied and then tonight they [nationalists] came to my apartment,”
she said.
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| Ko Latt and wife Ma Aung Aung Myint are escorted from Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township Court on May 12 after being remanded in custody. (Theint Mon Soe aka J | Frontier) |
When the group entered the building, about 20 people
waited at the rear of the building, ward administrator U Soe Myint told
Frontier, possibly to stop any illegal residents from slipping away.
After the search ended without success, monks, activists,
policemen and immigration officers gathered under the portico of the building,
where residents had gathered to watch. They shouted, “Go away, stay away,”
according to witnesses.
Fighting soon erupted between the nationalists and the
residents. One resident, Ko Zarni Maung, was beaten seriously in front of the
policemen, who did nothing to intervene. A taxi driver took him to Yangon
General Hospital for treatment, witnesses said.
When the nationalists and policeman left the scene,
residents threw stones, empty bottles and sticks at them, before both groups
ran away from the area.
Then the nationalists gathered in front of Mingalar Taung
Nyunt Police Station. Police Colonel Myo Swe from the Yangon Region Police
Force’s information unit – who had also been present at Thaketa on April 28 –
met the leaders of the group and asked them to return to their monasteries and
homes.
However, one light truck drove around the area, its
passengers calling out insults. At about 1am, the residents of the area around
122nd Street gathered again and threw empty bottles and stones at a police car,
prompting officers to fire two shots into the air. At about 2am the situation
had returned to normal.
Nationalist demands
Before news of the arrest warrants became public, Thu
Seitta and Pyin Nyar Wuntha were among a group of Buddhist nationalists who
pledged to stop acting as vigilantes – but only if government staff agreed to
begin enforcing the law.
Prominent Buddhist nationalist leader U Parmaukha and
several other supporters of the nationalist cause made the promise at a press
conference on Thursday, called to discuss the events in Mingalar Taung Nyunt.
Parmaukha claimed that monks and nationalist activists
had been forced to undertake law enforcement because the police were “working
together with the gangsters”.
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| Ko Latt speaks at Thursday's press conference. (Steve Tickner | Frontier) |
From the stage at City Star Hotel in downtown Yangon,
Parmaukha asked his supporters in the audience: “If the police, legal
officials, judges and immigration officers promise that they will work
according to the law and avoid corruption, we will promise not go to police
stations and courts in the future. Won’t we?”
His supporters, mostly members of the Patriotic Myanmar
Monks Union, responded twice: “We dare to promise.”
Many had been involved in the confrontation with Muslim
residents in both Mingalar Taung Nyunt and Thaketa.
PMMU secretary U Thu Seitta said the organisation
received “at least” one complaint a day because the police and legal system
“are not reliable”.
Regarding the raid in Mingalar Taung Nyunt, activists
said at the press conference that they had received “exact” information that
“Bengali” Muslims – most of whom identify as Rohingya – had been living
illegally in the area. They said that the confrontation occurred because the
police “did not take sufficient action”.