Political situation and the SAC military
Since the State Administration Council (SAC)[2] took power, villagers fear that fighting will happen again [like in the past]. The price of food has been rising so villagers are concerned that they won’t be able to have enough food in the future. Travel has also been restricted. The SAC military[3] are often searching for and arresting civilians who participate in the anti-coup protests. Some civilians who participate in the protests are afraid to sleep in their house at night so they have to find a safe place to sleep. Government staff [participating in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)[4]] in T’Naw Th’Ree (Tanintharyi) Township, Mergui-Tavoy District have felt and experienced this as well. These civilians are in need of a temporary safe place to protect [shelter] themselves [from arrest or violence by the SAC]. The Karen National Union (KNU)[5] leaders from T’Naw Th’Ree Township already have a plan to protect the civilians who participate in the protests (including the government staff [who join the CDM]), and to support them in fleeing to [other locations within] T’Naw Th’Ree Township.
There are over 40 SAC battalions in Mergui-Tavoy District. The SAC usually rotate their troops every two or three months. Some of the battalions based in T’Naw Th’Ree Township are: Light Infantry Battalion (LIB)[6] #561 in Nyaung Kwin A’Nauk Kan Hton Taw village, LIB #558 in Kan M’Laing village, LIB #559 and #560 in Lay Nya [village], LIB #557 in Kin village, A’Ma Ta [artillery camp] #306 in Maw Ton village, and Yay Phyu (Yebyu) operation command in Yay Phyu village. Most of those SAC troops also operate in T’Naw Th’Ree Township, including the areas near the river banks. The SAC troops increased their military movement and reinforced their army camps after the military coup. (They also did so after the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA)[7] in 2015). Since the coup, they [the SAC] have been secretly surveilling the movement and situation of Karen revolutionaries and civilians. Moreover, they have a plan to form a militia in every area [the SAC military junta would like to form a militia in every village]. Civilians in Dawei Town have also been prohibited from watching the news on television.
On March 16th 2021 at 7:45 pm, Htoh Htoh, a soldier in the SAC militia [pyithusit (People’s Militia)] based in A--- village, shot dead a student named Maung[8] B---, aged 17 years old, Grade 8, of Buddhist-Bamar ethnicity and living in A--- village, T’Naw Th’Ree Township. His father is U[9] C--- and his mother is Daw[10] D---. There are people of both Karen and Bamar ethnicity living in that village. The reason why the militia shot him [Maung B---] is because he went out at night [after curfew]. [KHRG received this information from the KNU in T’Naw Th’Ree Township.] [According to KHRG’s researcher,] we [the local villagers] do not know how the Myanmar government will take action [to resolve this case and punish the perpetrator]. The village [A--- village] is under mixed control. The militia was first established in the village before the [2015] NCA was signed. Since the NCA, there had been no more militia in that village, but after the Tatmadaw seized power, they re-formed the militia in most of the villages.
Civilians’ livelihood situation
There are 62 Karen villages in T’Naw Th’Ree Township. The Karen villagers live in three types of locations: islands, rural areas and areas close to the [Thai] border. Most of the Karen civilians who live in rural areas work in the following: plantation farming (in plains areas and hill farms), other plantation work such as on rubber plantations, casual day labour, and buying/selling livestock. The Karen villagers who live on the local islands work in fishing or make charcoal [to sell]. But their work has been disrupted by the Myanmar Military Intelligence [especially for those who work on the islands]. The Myanmar Military Intelligence required them to pay fines [fees] and they have had to buy petrol for the Myanmar Navy. The civilians who buy/sell livestock in the rural areas have also had to pay arbitrary taxes to the Myanmar Military Intelligence, Myanmar Forestry Department, Myanmar Police Force and Myanmar military troops who are based along the border of T‘Naw Th’Ree Township.
Health situation
There is one Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW)[11] clinic in E--- village, T’Naw Th’Ree Township. There are also Karen health workers in that clinic to treat the patients. The majority of illnesses that the villagers are facing are: malaria, diarrhoea, arthritis, anaemia and stroke. Villagers in some of the areas have access to Myanmar government healthcare services, such as midwives and nurses who can test for malaria. However, not all of the illnesses that the villagers are facing can be treated [at the local clinics] so they have to go to [the hospital] in Dawei Town in order to receive treatment.
Education situation
There are three Karen schools in T’Naw Th’Ree Township: Thoo Lei Plaw Middle School, Ba Hkwa Primary School, and P’Naw Thaw Primary School. All of the schools are managed by the KNU in T’Naw Th’Ree Township. The school curriculum comes directly from the Karen Education and Culture Department (KECD)[12] education system. The school teachers are of Karen ethnicity. They do not have enough support or enough food [for the students] in their school. Therefore, they are seeking more support. According to P’Doh Saw Seh Hkay, head of the KECD in T’Naw Th’Ree Township, they need support from NGOs for the three schools in order to run the school administration for the education of the next [younger] generation. Additionally, all three schools are still open and continue their teaching as planned despite the COVID-19 pandemic and military coup, which shows their strength [resilience].
Conclusion
After the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), civilians were able to travel freely and work freely for their livelihood. But since February 1st 2021, when the Tatmadaw seized power, civilians have been concerned that fighting will resume in KNU-controlled areas of Mergui-Tavoy District. Currently, the civilians flee into the jungle. The local villagers are afraid of the SAC troop rotations and there are many problems for the participants in the CDM.
Further background reading on the security situation in Mergui-Tavoy District in Southeast Myanmar can be found in the following KHRG reports: