Outcry mounts over deaths in custody in Myanmar’s Rakhine

YANGON: The deaths of three ethnic Rakhine men in Myanmar military custody and the secret cremation of their bodies has provoked outrage, as fears over military impunity increase in the intensifying conflict with Rakhine rebels.

The Arakan Army ( AA) is fighting for more autonomy for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists in a state already infamous for the 2017 military crackdown against its Rohingya Muslims.

Clashes between the rebels and the military escalated in January after the insurgents attacked police posts.

The armed forces responded with heavy artillery and fighter jets in violence that has displaced more than 20,000 people of various ethnicities.

Two weeks ago, Myanmar soldiers barged into the home of Maung Than Nu, 45, in Lak Ka village in Mrauk U township.

He was carted off with 22 other men, suspected of being rebels.

This week his wife, Than Khin Kyi, heard rumours on Facebook that he had died in military custody.

Officials confirmed his death Thursday after she travelled with other relatives of the detainees to the state capital Sittwe.

“He was arrested without committing any crimes,” the 45-year- old told AFP in tears by phone.

“My husband is not AA,” she said.

Maung Than Nu died on April 22 of ‘heart failure’ The Myawady newspaper – an army mouthpiece – reported.

Two other men arrested in the raid have also died in custody.

According to The Myawady, Zaw Myo Htun, 22, also died of ‘heart failure’.

The death of Thein Htun Sein, 40, was confi rmed by Sittwe officials, but how he died has not been made public.

The families had hoped to retrieve the men’s bodies in the state capital Sittwe, but were unable to.

“We were told by police they had already been cremated,” said Thein Htun Sein’s nephew Maung Nyan Thar, adding the families wanted ‘ legal action’ against anyone found responsible for the deaths. Government spokesman Zaw Htay could not be reached for comment.

The north of Rakhine state is in strict lockdown, making any independent verification difficult.

Thousands of troops have been deployed to Rakhine, one of Myanmar’s poorest states, riven with ethnic and religious divisions.

Arakan National Party (ANP) MP for Mrauk U, Oo Hla Saw, called the deaths and disposal of the bodies ‘completely unacceptable’.

Rakhine Chief Minister Nyi Pu told relatives of the remaining detainees yesterday he did not know when they would be reunited. None have been formally charged.

Campaign group Fortify Rights called for an independent investigation into the deaths, fearing they could have been from ‘ unlawful killing, ill- treatment or inadequate conditions in custody’.

The military forced some 740,000 Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh in its 2017 crackdown that UN investigators say amounted to ‘genocide’.