Brutality spreads to detention centres
Soldiers ordered the 45 shirtless men to kneel in a room at a Myanmar airbase. Then they began beating their backs with wooden sticks, batons, chains and even the belts from their trousers.
‘‘They made us shout what we shout at protests,’’ said Kyaw Thein, a teacher in his 30s whose name has been changed to protect his identity. ‘‘They made us hold up three fingers’’ – the protesters’ symbol of resistance – ‘‘and beat us brutally.’’
One of the men had a tattoo on his chest of Aung San Suu Kyi, the civilian leader deposed by the junta. He was beaten harder than the others, and was then taken to another location for further punishment, said Kyaw Thein.
For weeks the world has watched horrified at footage of citizens going into the streets to protest against the Feb 1 coup, and the tear gas, beatings and bullets the authorities are using to break their resolve. Now accounts are emerging of what happens away from the cameras, once they are detained.
Captives say they have been beaten and tortured, kicked in the face and shot with rubber bullets at close range.
In the past three weeks, 10 people are known to have died in custody – three were members of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party.
‘‘Torture is this military’s policy,’’ said Bo Kyi, a former political prisoner in Myanmar. ‘‘Physically and mentally, the junta will try to break their will. They’ll be viciously beaten, berated, starved, sleep deprived and threatened with unimaginable pain. It’s a crime against humanity.’’
More than 200 people have died as security forces used live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas.
As many as 94 were killed on Monday and Tuesday alone, said the Thailand-based human rights group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
The life of a 16-year-old girl hung in the balance yesterday after she was caught in the crossfire of protests in Mandalay. She was on her way to market when a rubber bullet hit her. Her parents had to risk arrest in a frantic bid to get her to hospital.
Kyaw Thein’s ordeal started early on March 9, when he and others gathered in an area of Myeik city, on Myanmar’s southern coast, ahead of a protest.
At 9am, with police and soldiers already cracking down to prevent demonstrations, the teacher and 20 protesters hid inside a house.
But the security forces broke down the door and stormed in, and began arresting them. ‘‘One girl got hit with a rubber bullet to her neck,’’ he said.
Kyaw Thein was among those taken to the air force base in Myeik, where they were separated – men and boys, women and girls.
He doesn’t know what happened to the females, but the men were ordered into an empty room.
‘‘They ordered us to take off our shirts and kneel,’’ Kyaw Thein recalls. ‘‘No one could fight back because they wanted us to put our hands on our backs and look down at the floor.
‘‘Then four or five soldiers beat us, one after the other. I was beaten by each one of them. They were beating us for two or three hours.’’ As they beat the men, the soldiers insulted Suu Kyi and told them: ‘‘Your mother Suu can’t do anything for you now’’, Kyaw Thein said. Suu Kyi herself hasn’t been seen since the military detained her on the morning of the coup.
‘‘They seem to hate the NLD and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi so much,’’ said Kyaw Thein. ‘‘But we are not fighting for one person or one party. We are fighting for our country’s democracy.’’
The teacher said before he was released later that day, he had to sign a paper stating he would not protest again – ‘‘but I will keep protesting until the regime steps down’’.
‘‘Torture is this military’s policy. Physi cally and mentally, the junta will try to break their will.’’
Bo Kyi Former political prisoner