• Burmese
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
25 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Children Among Hundreds Detained in Arakan State

Reuters by Reuters
March 17, 2017
in Burma
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
A view outside the prison in Arakan State capital Sittwe. / Wa lone / Reuters

A view outside the prison in Arakan State capital Sittwe. / Wa lone / Reuters

4.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

SITTWE, Arakan State & COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh—Children as young as 10 years old are among hundreds of Rohingya Muslims detained on charges of consorting with insurgents, according to a police document seen by Reuters that sheds new light on a security campaign in Arakan State.

Thirteen juveniles are among more than 400 people arrested since Oct. 9, when insurgents attacked three police border posts in northern Arakan State, also known as Rakhine State, near the frontier with Bangladesh, the March 7 dated document shows.

Police said some of the children had confessed to working with insurgents and that they were being detained away from adult suspects.

RelatedPosts

China Defends Myanmar Junta on Human Rights at UN

China Defends Myanmar Junta on Human Rights at UN

June 12, 2025
1.3k
Myanmar Rights Commission Silent as Junta Media Lists Child Among Assassination Suspects

Myanmar Rights Commission Silent as Junta Media Lists Child Among Assassination Suspects

June 9, 2025
731
Bangladesh Recalls Ambassador to Myanmar

Bangladesh Recalls Ambassador to Myanmar

May 29, 2025
2.5k

A government spokesman confirmed children were detained in the operation, but said authorities had followed the law. He said he knew of only five juveniles currently being held.

Burma’s leader and Nobel laureate DawAung San Suu Kyi, who took power almost a year ago, is under international pressure over alleged abuses including killings, gang rapes, and mass detentions against the stateless Rohingya, about 1.1 million of whom are prevented from travelling freely and accessing basic services in Burma.

The government has released few details about the hundreds detained in the Arakan operation or the charges they face.

The document seen by Reuters lists 423 people held under the colonial-era Unlawful Associations Act. All appear from their names to be male. Their average age is 34, but the youngest is 10 and the oldest 75. One has been crossed out and marked “dead.”

Two police captains in Maungdaw, the district at the center of the violence, confirmed the veracity of the 11-page document.

“We police have to arrest those related with the attackers, children or not, but the court will decide if they are guilty, we cannot decide,” said Police Captain Than Shwe.

Controversial Law

Burma has ratified international conventions that require additional protections for children accused of crimes.

Reuters was unable to establish whether all those provisions, such as whether they have been able to communicate with their families or have legal representation, were being followed.

All 13 juveniles below the age of 18 were sent to be detained outside of prison at a Border Guard Police (BGP) facility in the town of Buthidaung, and were not shackled, said the second police captain, who did not want to be identified.

“Some of the children already confessed that they are involved with the attackers group during interrogation,” the police captain said. They were not beaten during questioning, he said.

Domestic law says children aged between seven and 12 are only criminally responsible if mature enough to understand the consequences of their actions. Two listed detainees are under 12, while two more are 13.

U Zaw Htay, director general of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s office, told Reuters he was only aware of five children currently detained at the Buthidaung BGP camp.

Authorities were under strict orders not to violate detainees’ rights, U Zaw Htay said, adding: “We will not forgive anyone who does.”

Cases had been opened against all 423 people on the list under the Unlawful Associations Act, said the second police captain. Many on the list, which is not a complete record of all those detained in the operation, were also charged with additional crimes, including murder, he said.

“We suspect that these people joined the attackers’ training or supported them with funding, or they cooperated during the attacks or were involved in the attacks,” he said.

Rights groups such as Amnesty International say the Unlawful Associations Act has long been used to arbitrarily arrest and detain ethnic and religious minorities in Burma.

Special Courts

In a statement to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Burma said 526 people were “under interrogation” relating to the conflict. Eight detainees had died in custody, the government said.

The government has set up two “special courts” in Buthidaung, said Arakan’s senior state judicial official, advocate general Kyaw Hla Tun. The government would not block the accused from accessing lawyers, he added.

“We want to process them quickly. There are security concerns with the prison being over capacity,” he said.

UN human rights envoy Yanghee Lee visited Buthidaung prison, where most detainees are being held, in January. Most did not have lawyers, were not informed of the charges against them and had not been able to contact their families, she said.

Reuters also spoke to people who had been released from detention and later fled across the border to Bangladesh, a journey made by about 75,000 refugees since the conflict began.

Di Dar, 22, said he spent 10 days in a military camp after his village was burned in mid-November. The 300 or so people detained with him were constantly handcuffed and beaten during interrogations, and he witnessed two men killed, he said.

Reuters was unable to corroborate his account, or similar accounts from three other former detainees.

“The soldiers would come three times a day and would beat us for about an hour at a time,” Di Dar said. “They asked, ‘Did you fight us?’ ‘Were you involved in the insurgency?’”

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Arakan StateHuman RightsRohingya
Reuters

Reuters

...

Similar Picks:

Myanmar Junta Rejects Bangladeshi Call for Rohingya State
Burma

Myanmar Junta Rejects Bangladeshi Call for Rohingya State

by Maung Kavi
May 2, 2025
10.4k

A political party in Bangladesh says a Rohingya-majority area of Rakhine State should become an independent state for returning refugees.

Read moreDetails
Singapore Called On to Stop Feeding Myanmar Junta’s War Machine
Myanmar’s Crisis & the World

Singapore Called On to Stop Feeding Myanmar Junta’s War Machine

by The Irrawaddy
August 24, 2023
10.2k

Over 200 civil society organizations demand that city-state block regime’s access to arms, dual-use goods, technology and funds.

Read moreDetails
The Uncertain Future of Myanmar’s Rakhine State
Guest Column

The Uncertain Future of Myanmar’s Rakhine State

by David Scott Mathieson
March 19, 2025
9.6k

The Arakan Army must now consolidate its unprecedented territorial gains in Rakhine State and contend with humanitarian, intercommunal and international...

Read moreDetails
Once Upon a Time in… Myanmar
Books

Once Upon a Time in… Myanmar

by David Scott Mathieson
October 14, 2024
9.4k

American photojournalist Greg Constantine’s ‘Ek Khaale’ project assembles old photos and documents to reclaim the Rohingya community’s identity.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta’s Yangon Economics Minister was Friends with Assassin Conspirator 
Burma

Myanmar Junta’s Yangon Economics Minister was Friends with Assassin Conspirator 

by The Irrawaddy
September 28, 2022
18.4k

Lieutenant Colonel Myo Myint Aung has been appointed to run Yangon’s economy, despite having a military background.

Read moreDetails
Around 100 Myanmar Junta Personnel Flee to Bangladesh: Dhaka
Myanmar’s Crisis & the World

Around 100 Myanmar Junta Personnel Flee to Bangladesh: Dhaka

by Muktadir Rashid  
July 12, 2024
6.6k

Bangladeshi government sources say around 100 more junta border guards and soldiers have crossed the border from northern Rakhine State...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
A boy walks at a refugee camp in Sitwe in Arakan State on March 2. / Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

EU Seeks UN Probe into Crimes in Arakan State

The Arakan National Party (ANP) head office in Sittwe, September 3, 2015. / Reuters

Rakhine Politics: A Great Success or another Great Rift Ahead?

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Is TNLA, Under Chinese Pressure, Conceding Northern Shan Gateway to the Regime?

Is TNLA, Under Chinese Pressure, Conceding Northern Shan Gateway to the Regime?

5 days ago
1.3k
China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

2 days ago
1.3k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Attacks to Reclaim KIA’s Jade and Rare Earth Strongholds

    Myanmar Junta Attacks to Reclaim KIA’s Jade and Rare Earth Strongholds

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Updated Timeline: Key Events in the Life of Myanmar’s Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Defusing the Thai-Cambodian Border Row

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.