Our daily entries since mid-April included the explosion news across the country almost every day. Started with local administrative offices, Yangon Bus Services (YBS), public areas and banks have also been targeted, later even school compounds fell victims of anonymous bombings. Several civilians have been framed as culprits but the general public is unconvinced. We do hear there is a number of young people who have taken military trainings under ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) but with the whole country under curfew, most of the reported explosions, if not all, cannot possibly be carried out by any civilians. There is a growing theory among public that junta’s forces have been blasting such explosions in order to instil constant instability in the cities for them to “guard” and thus, they will not be deployed back to outposts in war-zones. With battle news coming from either up north or south east, the theory may not be far-fetched.
Yesterday, there were two consecutive explosions near the gate of the navy force in Bothahaung, Yangon. Even in normal situation, that neighborhood is jealously guarded and not many civilians pass through it. Plus, the compound is huge so it would be extremely difficult to effectively harm anybody at all. So, again, it is highly unlikely that a civilian would target such location even if he or she has got access to explosive materials.
In the other news, yesterday’s casualties from the junta side were almost up to over two hundred during three attacks against Kachin Independence Army (KIA) near the town of Moemauk. In one incident, terrorist military’s airstrikes mistakenly took out their own armed thugs on ground, killing at least thirty of them and injuring eighty. In another incident, KIA carried out an ambush and sank a navy ship along with 30 terrorist solders on board in the Ayeyawaddy river near Shwe Ku township, Bamaw District of Kachin last night. Such news coming from war-zone made the above mentioned point only stronger that terrorist soldiers would rather stay in the cities and bully the unarmed and the innocent instead of putting up proper fights against proper armies.
Speaking of oppression against unarmed civilians, early this morning, there was an explosion in Lalthit village, Myingyan, the exact location happened to be belonged to an informer of the terrorist military. Which prompted the junta’s forces to raid the village and shot blatantly at anything that moves. Mg Htet Aung @ Phoe Chit, aged just sixteen, was shot in the head as he was trying to run away. The dead body was robbed by terrorist soldiers who also abducted five other villagers including the victim’s 67-year-old grandfather.
We reported previously that protests in Yangon have once again gained momentum. Today, junta’s forces abducted at least eight protesters who joined guerrilla strikes in Tamwe township. The arrests took place right at the end of protest when people were ungrouping. Policemen were allegedly in undercover, blended in within the group and chased the protesters on their ways back. Some protesters tried to hide in the apartments but got captured. It reminds us of situations back in February and March when protesters and local residents teamed up and escaped arrests.
Announcements made by junta government yesterday and today that they have suspended education staffs who have been on Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). Over 330 staffs from Yangon University, 137 from Maubin University, 220 from Myingyan University, 139 from Hinthada University and over 330 from Mandalay Technology University, 91 from Taunggyi Techonology University and 24 from Pakkokhu University etc have been suspended from their current positions. The total number is over 4000 that vary from professors to office clerks. According to reactions online, some of the employees from the list expressed their pride in being suspended and vowed to go CDM all the way.
Obviously, CDM staffers are the frontline warriors of this fight. While we all are grateful for their sacrifices, we understand it has not been easy being cut off of salary, not to mention the daily terror of being abducted. Thus, every one of us must contribute in the staffers’ safety and wellbeing during this fight in the best possible ways we can.
