Weekly Overview: Human Rights Situation in Mon State, Karen State and Tanintharyi Region

July 22, 2024

Increased Surveillance and Privacy Rights are Under Attack

Last week, the junta banned the well-known messaging application Signal. Signal has strong end-to-end encryption that keeps communication completely private. Activists, organizations, and human rights defenders in Burma commonly use it to carry out their activities safely. The Burma Army has tried to censor the flow of information many times in the past to prevent witnesses to the horrors they are committing and, therefore, attempt to shield themselves from consequences.

Promptly after the attempted coup, the Burma Army moved to ensure access to Facebook was no longer accessible to stop organizing efforts. The terrorist regime has continued to block social networks also to hide the crimes they are violently committing against innocent people.

Information censorship directly undermines fundamental rights and freedoms. In the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) target areas, including Mon State, Karen State, and the Tanintharyi region, fieldworkers have long observed the deterioration of access to life-saving media tools and resources, including messaging applications. Despite this, the people of Burma have shown remarkable resilience in the face of the junta’s ongoing suppression.

The undermining of freedom of movement by the junta includes increasing surveillance and checkpoints across the country. Nationwide privacy has been under attack for years, but the spirit of the people remains unbroken.

For example, junta troops enforce stricter inspections in Ye Township, Mon State. The urgency of the situation is evident in the increased vehicle checks within the township and villages and the notably stringent inspections of vehicles entering and exiting the city.

“All entrances and exits are full of soldiers,” a local told HURFOM.

Additionally, the junta has been conducting daily checks of phones and homes for weapons and ammunition, utilizing police-trained dogs. Recently, frequent guest list checks have been carried out, resulting in arrests if the guest lists were not reported.

“People were arrested. They asked for money and released them. Locals are worried,” said a Ye resident.

For security and area clearance reasons, the junta has increased patrols and inspections around Ye City’s Public Hospital, Ta Pa Lin Hnit Su Road, the Aung Thone Aung neighbourhood intersection, near the train tracks in Ye, and in villages including Chaung Taung, Mokkanin, Arr Yu Taung, Old Kyone Long, Ah Sin, Kwin Shay, Kyaung Ywar, Sone Natar, and Paw Thaw.

The attempt to silence and eliminate channels that circulate evidence of the junta’s violence is part of a coordinated effort by the regime to shield themselves against the dissemination of videos and photos that will be used against them in international accountability systems

According to data collected by HURFOM, from the start of June to the first week of July 2024, three civilians were killed, and fifteen others, including children, were injured by the junta’s relentless and reckless artillery attacks.

As noted in a joint statement released this week, HURFOM and 239 organizations called for coordinated sanctions on the Myanma Economic Bank and Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise. Global actors, including ASEAN, the UN, and member states, must immediately act.