The father of a 19-year-old slain in an Ayeyarwady Region shootout with the junta’s troops speaks about the informant tipoff that changed the fate of his village.
Three villagers were killed in a shootout between local resistance forces and the junta’s armed forces on Saturday in Hlay Swel village in Ayeyarwady Region’s Kyonpyaw Township. A man whose 19-year-old son was among those killed in the clash spoke with Myanmar Now about his loss, and about the violence that has enveloped his community and forced its residents into hiding.
Myanmar Now: What was the main cause of the shootout in the village?
Villager: The military raided the village at 4:00 in the morning and searched the homes one by one. Some of us fled and avoided them, and they arrested two of our villagers. Usually, when they make arrests, we have kids on watch duty who hide once they see them come in. But in the morning, after they had arrested the two villagers and then left, our group just came together for a quick chat about the situation. We were surrounded by them because the informants snitched on us. They told us to not run, but some of us ran and some of us just gave in.
This started the shootout, but we don’t really have good weapons. We only have slingshots and air guns, so we just used those. We were surrounded by six men on three bikes. Then reinforcements came to corner us and we couldn’t hold on, so we backed down and there were some casualties. They chased us and we ran. Now we’re in hiding, entire families and the entire village. Only the informants are left in the village.
MN: We have been told that the main reason the troops came into the village was because they were tipped off by an informant. Is this true?
V: We have a driver in our village who sends bananas to Yangon. An informant told the military that his truck was carrying weapons and they searched his truck. But he’s an honest man, and he is the face of our village. He has always remained neutral—there’s no red or green for him. [Editor’s note: Red is the color of the ousted National League for Democracy, and green is the color of the military and its party affiliates] He does great work for the good of our village. So when a man like that was arrested, we got angry. He was taken for no reason. Do they not have brains? Do they believe anything an informant says? They have to make sure it’s confirmed. They searched everywhere and couldn’t find anything. And they still arrested him. So yeah, we were mad. And that led to this.
MN: How many villagers were killed in the shootout?
V: A father and his son. And my son. Three villagers in total were killed. Two others were injured. They were hurt when the reinforcements came. There was also another person who was shot yesterday while he was on his bike. He was just a passerby. So a total of four then, I’d say.
MN: What is being done with the bodies?
V: All the bodies were taken to the township hospital in an ambulance. They were kept in the morgue and released this morning. We were asked to sign some documents. The bodies were cremated at the cemetery. There’s no way for us to go there, if we do, we’d get arrested. We can’t even offer alms for the sake of our children.
MN: We were told that they used excessive force when they raided the village. Can you speak on that?
V: We can’t really give an estimate on the number of reinforcements that came in later—at first it was just six. And then there could have been a lot of manpower when the reinforcements came, because it was like a shower of bullets. We don’t have any good weapons, but we took action because we had to. They were just shooting at everything they saw like it was a military operation.
MN: How is the situation with regards to villagers who fled? What is their situation like right now?
V: When it happened, all the villagers went into hiding. There are about 200 homes in the village—no one dared to go home. Other nearby villages are now housing us. But it’s monsoon season, so the accommodation [in hiding] is not going to be okay.
MN: Is the military still in the village?
V: Yes. They’ve set up camp somewhere near the village. We would like to go back but we’re currently in hiding.
MN: What would make it easier for villagers to return home?
V: Even if we asked for help, who’s going to come and help us? If only they left, we could go back to our homes. If the informants keep snitching and they keep coming, it’s just going to be a vicious cycle.
MN: Is there anything else you’d like to say?
V: We are fighting against them because we condemn the dictatorship. I would just like to say this to the informants: if you can’t make your village better, that’s fine. Just don’t ruin it.
source myanmar-now