Attachments
Summary. This report reviews the December 2024 developments relating to human rights in Myanmar.
I. Coup, Crackdown on Protests and Civilian Resistance
On December 2, the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force released a video showing captive junta soldiers confessing to the abuse of drugs in the Myanmar military. One of the captives, Poe Htoo said that the soldiers were supplied with methamphetamines. Another captured solider, Myo Thet Min, said that the methamphetamine tablets were supplied by his superiors, and that he used them when he felt sleepy. The captured soldiers complained that they were enslaved by their officers and are desperate to escape.
On December 5, Radio Free Asia reported that officials are arresting young people and demanding ransoms from their families to spare them from forced conscription. The cost to free a family member from conscription is reportedly more than USD$3,000—and the junta official often keeps the money. Civilian Peoples Defense Forces (“PDFs”) also allege that juntaaffiliated militias are also engaged in these ransom schemes. On December 16, the Irrawaddy reported that families are unable pay a bribe to relieve their sons of forced conscription in Yangon. One resident of Yangon reported that unlike in previous conscription rounds, bribe “‘deals are no longer available. Instead, the junta forces are aggressively selecting as many healthy young men as they can from each ward.’” This aligns with MDY Revolution’s statement that in Mandalay, the junta no longer accepts bribes to free conscripts.
According to the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, on November 30, approximately 10 civilians were killed in a junta airstrike in Kyaukme Township, northern Shan State. The exact number of fatalities is not confirmed. A junta aircraft bombed a ward in Kyaukme with two 500-lb bombs. More than 20 houses were damaged.