UPDATED at 2:25 P.M. ET on 10-10-2024
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Junta authorities in western Myanmar have transferred nearly 370 prisoners out of the town of Sittwe in anticipation of an attack by ethnic minority fighters of the Arakan Army, or AA, to free them, a politician and family of the detainees told Radio Free Asia.
The AA is one of the most powerful guerrilla forces battling the Myanmar military and it has repeatedly announced its aim to capture the coastal town of Sittwe, capital of the western-most state, and one of the last important places the military holds there.
The military is worried that the prisoners may escape or be released if the AA attacks Sittwe, said Pe Than, a former member of parliament from the state.
“Sittwe wouldn’t be controlled by the junta if the AA attacked so they don’t want to see the inmates released after being prosecuted,” said the former member of the Arakan National Party.
“That’s why, I think, those arrested in such incidents have been transferred to other prisons,” he said, referring to people imprisoned on charges of aiding or collaborating with the insurgents.
RFA tried to contact Rakhine state’s junta spokesperson, Hla Thein, for information on the Oct. 8 transfer but he did not answer calls.
The AA has captured territory some 24 kilometers (15 miles) from Sittwe but it does not appear an immediate threat to junta forces there.
However, AA fighters are advancing on the junta’s Western Command headquarters in Ann township, about 120 km (75 miles) southwest of Sittwe, capturing an important junta defensive position on a hill on the approach to Ann on Monday.
The junta's concerns of a prison release aren't unjustified.
On Aug. 6, AA forces invaded and occupied Rakhine's Thandwe township, rescuing 372 inmates from Thandwe Prison. Earlier, on May 16, 98 prisoners were freed when AA forces captured a prison in Buthidaung township.
The AA, battling for self-determination for the mostly Buddhist Rakhine people, has taken territory across Rakhine state and controls 10 of the state’s 17 townships, and one in neighboring Chin state.
It would be the first Myanmar rebel group to take over a state if it seizes, as it has vowed to do, all territory in military control there.
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'Transferred to Insein'
About 200 of the 366 people transferred from Sittwe’s prisons were detained during a bloody junta raid on Byain Phyu village, on the outskirts of Sittwe, in June for being suspected AA supporters, residents of Sittwe said.
“He said that they were about to be moved to other prisons and gave a message for the family not to worry and to take care of each other,” said a woman whose husband was among those transferred.
“He said they were being transferred to Insein and Pathein prisons,” said the woman, who declined to be identified for safety reasons.
Insein is Myanmar’s most notorious prison, in the main city of Yangon. Pathein is a town to the west of Yangon.
A family member of Htoo Zaw, a resident of Byain Phyu village who was among those transferred, told RFA that the sudden transfer caused her significant worry.
"Even while my nephew was here, his health was not good," she said. "I fear that if he falls ill after being transferred, we may never see him again. That's why we're urging international organizations to investigate their conditions, wherever they are being held, and provide assistance if they are facing difficulties or illness."
Dozens of people were killed in the sweep of Byain Phyu, human rights group said, by soldiers fearful that AA fighters would stage an attack on Sittwe from the village.
Most of the Byain Phyu villagers held in the prison were jailed for three years for unlawful association.
Aung Myo Kyaw, an official with the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, told RFA that the junta is relocating political prisoners to distant prisons to separate them from their families and create additional hardships for them.
"The prisoners ... will face challenges in every aspect, from healthcare to daily needs," he said. "The authorities are relocating the prisoners to prevent ethnic armed organizations and resistance forces from taking control of prisons and freeing them. It's obvious that this move is driven by fear of their potential release."
Rakhine-based reporter Htet Aung and an unidentified colleague from the Development Media Group news outlet, which has reported on human rights violations by junta troops, were among those transferred, family members said. The two had been jailed for five years under a counter-terrorism law.
Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan, Mike Firn and Joshua Lipes.
This story has been updated to include comments from a prisoner's family member and an official with the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, as well as background on the AA's capture of other prisons in the region.