There are more than 50 victims, but the number is set to increase because the army has prevented access to ambulances. Industries in Rangoon were recently asked to submit information about their bank accounts. The crackdown also continues on the digital front.
Yangon ( / Agencies) – The Burmese coup junta has prevented the victims of an airstrike from going to hospital for medical care. On October 23, three bombers attacked the city of Hpakant, in Kachin state, where a concert was being held to celebrate the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). More than 50 people died, including some well-known singers.
People in the area consider it likely that the death toll will continue to rise, as the junta forces have prevented the wounded from being transferred to hospitals in neighboring Hpakant and Myitkyina, and have not allowed ambulances to reach the site of the shelling. . Colonel Naw Bu, a KIO spokesman, confirmed to The Irrawaddy yesterday that the military had set up checkpoints to prevent the wounded from passing through.
The armed wing of the KIO, the Kachin Independence Army, is one of the ethnic militias that have been fighting the Burmese army since the coup on February 1, 2021. Before the coup, they were already opposed to the government and demanded greater autonomy.
Meanwhile, the military has asked industries in Rangoon to send information about their bank accounts, but it is not yet clear why. According to some observers, the information would allow the board to control financial flows, because the banks facilitate the commercial transactions of the factories. But, with the civil war, withdrawing money has become increasingly difficult and many wonder what the data requested by the coup authorities can be used for.
In recent months, the Central Bank of Myanmar has frozen online bank accounts belonging to people suspected of opposing the regime or financing the resistance. The control of the digital space in the country is increasingly strict. According to some studies, since last year’s coup, Internet repression in Myanmar has reached Chinese levels.
In the field of conventional telecommunications, after the withdrawal of the Norwegian operator Telenor, the army already has the capacity to monitor the sending of calls and messages. In recent months there has been an increase in attempts to seize data from citizens and to build a “digital wall” following the model that works in China thanks to Russian and Chinese surveillance teams. However, there are still large regions that are not under the control of the army, especially those along the country’s borders, where resistance from ethnic militias is strongest.
