Ma Myint Sein (untrue name) said with a tone of despair, “It’s even worse than a dictator,” with a fresh wound on her forehead.
Ma Myint Sein is a villager of Sar Htone village in Salingyi Township, Sagaing Region. Sar Htone village is located on the bank of the Chindwin River and near Salingyi Town, and it is very close to the village from Monywa town.
Once it crosses the Chindwin River by boat, it will reach A-Myint road in Monywa town in the peaceful times, but now there are many military gates that arrest, beat, and lose lives there. That’s why it is so far to reach Sar Htone village from Monywa town. If going there, it will take a long time by boat on sea, or a motorcycle on land after passing different roads.
Sar Htone village has more than 600 houses, but 161 houses of them have been burnt to ashes by the junta troops two times. Moreover, there is now a violent conflict with the Salingyi Township’s People’s Security Force (PSF) which came fully armed, in the village. It is said that three stab wounds on Ma Myint Sein’s forehead were the result of being hit with a stun gun of the People’s Security Force (PSF).
The play started on March 6. It was the arrest of 36 villagers of Sar Htone by the Salingyi Township’s People’s Security Force for the stealing of scrap irons inside the textile industry-1 near Salingyi town. The factory was where the military troops were stationed after the failed military coup. The local resistance forces frequently attacked the junta troops in the Industrial-1 courtyard, so the junta troops guarding the factory finally ran back into Salingyi town. The textile industry came under the management of Salingyi Township’s Administration in November 2023.
“We did not blame the arrest. But there was no visit to those arrested people. When we went to take those people out, the people were not allowed to be taken out. They (PSF) said it was not concerned with them. They just handed over the other person,” said Ko Tin Win (untrue name), a resident of Sar Htone village.
Therefore, more than 300 people from 5 villages reportedly protested to release the 36 people arrested by the Salingyi People’s Security Force from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm on February 8.
A member of the Salingyi People’s Security Force (PSF) said that the protesting people shouted ‘No need People’s Security Force, No need PDFs’. It would be appropriate to shout and protest who they do not need.
“People have the right to protest what is wrong with Mg Phyu if they don’t need Mg Phyu. It is the way to protest. If there is something wrong with what level, there is no need for PDF. That is what I recommend,” he said.
As a follow-up to the protest, around 20 members of the Salingyi People’s Security Force arrived in the village of Sar Htone fully armed at around 10:00 a.m. on March 9.
Ma Myint Seing, a villager of Sar Htone, was accused of being the leader of the protest, and when they entered Ma Myint Sein’s house and arrested her, the argument started a riot. It was a physical conflict between the people who were clearly against the military dictator and the members of the Salingyi Township’s People’s Security Force who were responsible for the security of the people who were against the military dictator.
After the members of the Salingyi People’s Security Force had arrived at the house of Ma Myint Sein with full weapons, they said to allow them to enter the house. Then they called her to follow them to the office. Ma Myint Sein said that the reason why she was called was the protest leader. Since Myint Sein’s house is located at the top of the village, the villagers did not immediately know that security forces had entered.
“They (PSF) asked me to follow them to the office. I asked them why I should go to the office. They replied I was the leader of the protest yesterday. I requested I would follow them, but I would wait for the people in the village. Then, 2 female comrades came forward. They would handcuff me. I told them I had not done anything, so I couldn’t be handcuffed,” Ma Myint Sein recounted the beginning of the conflict in a strong tone.
Then, Ma Myint Sein’s daughter said she would call the elderly in the village. At that time, they (PSF) threatened they would shoot and arrest all of those who called and took pictures. When a woman comrade came to control Ma Myint Sein’s daughter, a riot took place. At the time, Ma Myint Sein breastfeeding gave the baby in her hands to her sister-in-law and went to her daughter.
Ma Myint Sein continued, “When I came near my daughter, a person in front of me collided with me with his gun butt and the blood spread. When I grabbed the table and when I got up, a person threw a bottle at my daughter. I was afraid they would drag my daughter, so I covered her. When protecting my daughter, I don’t know who hit me. I was also beaten on my cheeks. My little child was also hit by a broken bottle.”
Then, the people’s security forces randomly opened fire with guns. When the villagers heard the gunshots, Ma Myint Sein’s forehead was covered in blood.
A member of the Salingyi Township’s People’s Security Force said that he opened fire because he was afraid that a group of people would respond.
“When we entered, she was breastfeeding her baby. We politely called her to follow us. I don’t know if it was her daughter who came out of the room. She threw a bottle at us. The comrade women had to avoid this. When we couldn’t control it, we prepared to arrest her, and we were beaten with sticks. Our female comrades didn’t have any weapons. They only had handcuffs,” said a member of the People’s Security Force.
He said when he checked the PSF comrades about the beat with a gun butt, it was not true. But until March 12, it was seen that the wound on Ma Myint Sein’s forehead was bandaged, her daughter aged 16 had a bruise near her left eye and could not speak well due to his cheekbone pain, and her 8-month-old child had a small scar above his waist.
When the villagers arrived at Ma Myint Sein’s house, the comrades forced their way out of the house and into the village entrance field. Seeing the blood on Ma Myint Sein’s forehead, the angry crowd cursed and surrounded the members of the People’s Security Force (PSF) from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., by saying if people were arrested because of the protest, more than 300 people who participated in the protest would have to be arrested.
“We also told them (PSF) that we didn’t even take them for drinking water. We swore at them. We didn’t take them to drink water. We didn’t even treat them with rice,” said a villager from Sar Htone.
An official from the Salingyi Township’s People’s Defense Force arrived at Sar Htone village before 4:00 p.m., and after negotiation, the PSF members currently surrounded by the villagers’ crowd were released. And 36 people arrested were also released on the night of that day.
Ma Myint Sein’s husband Ko Win Maung (untrue name) was among the 36 people who were released. Those 36 people were arrested on the way back after taking scrap irons inside Textile Industry-1 on March 6.
“They called us to their office. They promised to renegotiate the matter. We all sat and waited in the hot sun. When their groups gathered, they blindfolded our faces with a cloth and asked us to get in the car. We were taken to their PSF custody,” he said.
When we got out of the car at PSF custody, we were beaten from the back saying ‘It is not going well,’ and we were forced to dig a hole from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Ko Win Maung continued, “Being beat on the back hurts. But I don’t know what they beat us on the back with because the face was blindfolded. At around 1 p.m., we were forced to dig holes like underground caves. Both men and women had to do it all. Some dug holes. Some carried soil.”
After that, those arrested were sent from PSF custody to another custody, and there was no more beating and working only if those people arrived, he said.
“When we arrived at this other custody, 27 men were in a 10-foot room. The women were separated. We had to sit upright all night with our faces blindfolded. We didn’t sleep. We ate the rice only the next day,” he continued.
The Salingyi Township’s People’s Defense Force had already issued an announcement 3 times on 2023 January 11, November 24, and December 15: ‘not to enter in the textile industry -1, not to destroy the things, and not to take and sell the things and if not comply, they will take action according to the law’.
“Moreover, regarding this announcement, the village PDFs and village PSFs were called, the meeting was held, and the awareness was provided defining a specified time,” a member of the Salingyi Township’s PSF, said.
Ko Tin Win, a villager of Sar Htone, said that the villagers know that the announcement was issued for prohibition and that the local villagers also know that some comrades of PDF and PSF have smuggled out the materials from the factory.
Ko Tin Win continued, “As they (some PDFs and PSFs) do bad things, the public follow behind them and take things, and when the public who do like them is large, it becomes uncontrollable. They also take it.”
A member of the Salingyi Township’s Administration admitted that some of the defense forces had entered and stolen things in the textile industry-1 when there was no guard at night, even though the township’s security force (PSF) controlled the industry-1 after leaving the junta troops from it. Moreover, he also said that thefts by the defense forces were reported to the National Unity Government (NUG) with statistics.
“They don’t dare to stay near the city at night. When there are no guards at night, some defense forces enter and steal things in the industry -1,” he said.
He added that the defense forces involved in such stealing are well-armed, so if arrested by the township’s security force, they may clash with each other.
The township’s security force prohibited some of the defense forces from entering industry-1 and stealing, but those defense forces did not accept it. According to a member of Salingyi Township’s Administration, no action was taken except to report to the National Unity Government about such stealing, and some people were fined for stealing.
“They (PDFs) had done it before so that the people could learn to do that. And now, people are arrested for taking the leftovers from the industry. We, the people, supported them by buying weapons for more than 3 years. Now they arrested us for taking the leftovers that they had already taken because we were starving. I feel they are worse than the military junta,” said a local woman who was not involved in the stealing.
The villagers of Sar Htone village depend on Monywa town to work for their livings. Now the military junta was dragging porters into Monywa, so the Sar Htone villagers did not dare to go to work. Due to the difficulty of living, the villagers had to go to take things, and there were no large items left in the factory, only scraps of metals were left, and they took things only by hand, Ko Win Mg said.
“When we went to pick it up, there was no guard. The factory was open expanse. There was a fence, but the door was not closed” he said.
A member of the Salingyi Township’s People Administration said that it is not taken scrap irons, but it is taken after destroying the good looms in the factory into scrap irons.
The talks of Ko Win Maung and a member of the Salingyi People’s Administration are different, and Salingyi-based PDF Battalion – 35, Division -3, and Chindwin Dynamite (Salingyi) that were not included in such problem were contacted by phone, but they didn’t answer the phone.
Anyway, according to a member of the Salingyi People’s Administration, we do not want the image of the revolution to go down because of this problem, and everyone must work together to prevent the image of the revolution from going down.
Comrade Pei, battalion commander of Yinmabin District Battalion-10 based in Pale Township, said, “This cannot affect the revolution. In fact, there are many tangles behind it. If I have to say that it is wrong, I want to say that both sides are wrong.”
Comrade Pei also continued that if the NUG’s Ministry of Defense deals with this problem, it will be resolved with discussion.
At present, the Salingyi Township’s People’s Administration is investigating the problem, but the villagers of Sar Htone said that officials have not been able to provide a definitive solution.
Regarding whether to change the officials of Salingyi Township’s People’s Security Force, “It may be. It will be. I no longer have the right to do this according to my current position. So, this will be according to the procedure,” a member of the Salingyi Township’s People’s Security Force replied.
The villagers of Sar Htone unanimously remarked that they did not need the Salingyi Township’s People’s Security Force, and those PSFs had committed an act worse than the military junta against the villagers of Sar Htone.
“It’s good if they (PSFs) don’t have. If that doesn’t work, the PSF officials should change. I want people who are fair-minded. It’s those who have equality and justice on both sides. I can’t accept people who have no equality and are only in favor of their side,” Ma Myint Sein said in a serious voice.