It was December 2022 when junta troops under the leadership of Major Aye Chan Aung raided the homes of ousted National League for Democracy lawmaker Hla Hla Win and her son, taking valuables and writing. of his son’s property.
Four months later, he told RFA Burmese, he learned that his son’s house in the Bago region’s Shwe Kyin township had been sold, leaving the family with few resources to get it back.
“The junta forces raided my house and took furniture, including my wardrobe,” he said. “Because my important documents were in that closet, they took (the deed to) my son’s house and pawned it and then when they couldn’t get it back, they sold it for 12 million kyat ($5,700).”
Hla Hla Win said that after the sale on April 3, she contacted the seller by phone, but received no response.
The seizure is just one of nearly 1,000 carried out by the junta in private homes and buildings in the little more than two years since the February 1, 2021 coup, the NLD said Tuesday, in what observers are calling a coordinated attack. against the party.
According to the NLD’s findings, the junta has seized at least 971 buildings belonging to 849 party members, including NLD representatives and pro-democracy activists, since taking office. Most have been charged with “spreading false news” and “incitement against a board employee” under section 505(a) and (b), as well as violating anti-terrorism laws.
The buildings include places of business, restaurants, religious buildings, hospitals and clinics, schools, guest houses and hotels, the NLD said.
The party said its list was compiled based on interviews with victims of the seizures, as well as area residents and civil society organizations, and suggested the actual amount of property seized could be much higher.
Nay Zin Latt, a legislator from the Kanbalu township of the Sagaing region under the democratically elected NLD government and wanted by the junta for alleged acts of terrorism and violation of section 505(a) and (b), told RFA that the junta seized the homes of both his parents and in-laws in late 2021.
“The board sealed off my parents’ house and compound in Kanbalu’s Htan Kone village,” he said, speaking from an undisclosed location to avoid arrest. “But since they are such brutes that they commit the most inhumane crimes against the people, the act of confiscating civilian property is nothing to them.”
Targeting party affiliates
While more than half of the seized property belongs to lawmakers and NLD supporters, the rest belongs to people affiliated with the party but not politically active, said an official with the Thai (Burma) Political Prisoners Assistance Association. who declined to be identified. named, citing security concerns.
“When the board can’t arrest someone, it seizes their family members’ property,” the official said. “This is how the junta tries to punish not only the anti-junta activists, but also their families.”
Such seizures are illegal, a lawyer speaking on condition of anonymity told RFA.
“The military seals off people’s property when it wants to… (but) there are limitations that law enforcement must follow when taking such measures,” the attorney said. “The court has to issue injunctions to seal private property under certain laws.”
Properties sealed by court order may not be used by other citizens or foreigners for their personal interests, he said.
“Such properties must be kept in the custody of the court as evidence in the case against the owner” and cannot be reused or sold, the lawyer said.
The seized properties can only be transferred to state ownership once the defendant receives a final court order, he said, at which point they can be sold through the country’s Investment Commission.
Offer to dissolve NLD
Kyaw Htwe, a member of the NLD’s central working committee, said the seizures are part of an attempt by the junta to dissolve the NLD and harass its members.
“Although the junta seized power under the pretext of electoral fraud, its goal is to dissolve the party chosen by the people to lead the country, in effect ignoring the will of the people,” he said. “There are many people who have lost their homes and property, just like the members of the NLD party… We are working to secure a victory so that we can make the most of their sacrifices.”
According to Kyaw Htwe, the junta has sealed off at least 115 NLD party offices across the country since the coup.
Junta security forces have arrested hundreds of NLD members during the same period, including leader Aung San Suu Kyi and former president Win Myint.
Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Matt Reed.
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