At least 16 people were detained in Mandalay from August 9 to 15 after pro-Myanmar-junta Telegram channels shared their photos and addresses.
Among those detained were doctors and teachers who joined the civil disobedience movement (CDM), philanthropists, business owners and a betel nut vendor.
Ko Zin Min Aung, a store owner in Chanayethazan Township, was detained on August 15 for Facebook posts in 2021 and 2022. A female doctor who has joined the CDM was seized in the same township.
On August 14, a young man from Maha Aung Myay Township was abducted for allegedly having undergone resistance training. A CDM teacher, Ko Nan Zeyar Oo, was detained in Chanayethazan Township for allegedly criticizing the regime and its leader Min Aung Hlaing on TikTok.
A betel nut vendor in Chanmyathazi Township was arrested on August 13 for allegedly complaining on TikTok about inflation under the regime. Junta troops raided a stationery shop in Chanayethazan Township the same day, detaining the store owner, her two daughters and a relative, sealing off their house and shop.
The arrest came after the “Han Nyein Oo” Telegram channel called for the arrest of store owner Daw Myint Myint Than, alleging that she had criticized the regime online.
A Mandalay resident said: “She was apparently arrested for commenting on a news agency story. There is no freedom left.”
A woman from Chanmyathazi Township was detained on August 12 after a Telegram channel called for her arrest, saying she had criticized the junta leader on TikTok.
Junta troops raided a tea shop in Aungmyaythazan Township and a pub in Chanmyathazi Township on August 9 and 10 respectively, detaining six men. Junta troops put bags on their heads and beat them during the arrests, according to residents.
A Mandalay-based gem merchant: “The regime has been forced to rely on airstrikes after it was hit hard in ground fighting. It makes arrests in broad daylight to boost the morale of its supporters and to instill fear in residents.”
Ma Shwe Mahar Nwe, also known as Ma Nwe New Win, who leads the Shwe Mahar Nwe blood donors association and Mandalay’s branch of the Myanmar Rescue Federation, was arrested on August 9 after the “Han Nyein Oo” Telegram channel called for her arrest, alleging she marked the 35th anniversary of the pro-democracy 8888 uprising. The channel posted a photo of Ma Shwe Mahar Nwe blindfolded inside a private vehicle.
A member of the Shwe Mahar Nwe charity said: “The Han Nyein Oo account shared a photo of a woman with a blurred face. It was not our chair. We heard about the arrest from the Han Nyein Oo account. Another person was arrested without verifying the photo.”
Ma Shwe Mahar Nwe was arrested in November 2021 as her association sought donations of clothes for displacement camps and orphanages. After she posted on Facebook that people could also donate camouflage clothing, troops seized her.
She was then charged with sedition and handed three years in jail. After nearly two years she was released conditionally on May 3 in the Kasone Full Moon amnesty. She was re-arrested two months later. Her whereabouts are unknown.
A Mandalay-based journalist said: “We have seen an increase in such arrests triggered by Telegram channels. Victims are normally arrested hours after the Han Nyein Oo account calls for their arrest. Recently, masked junta troops raided a tea shop and pub. This is worse than previous military dictatorships.”
RO Telegram Monitoring, a group monitoring pro-junta Telegram channels, said they endanger civilians and lead to arrests and the seizure of property.
Around 19 prominent pro-junta Telegram channels share information about dissidents and approximately 50 other channels spread their information, according to RO Telegram.
U Nay Phone Latt, a spokesman for the civilian National Unity Government, said: “Those Telegram channels are not run by individuals. They are part of a network linked with military intelligence. We have been trying to reveal the entire network.”
The channels share information about people who criticize military rule on social media, mark pro-democracy events and participate in anti-junta activities including protests and strikes.
In an interview with The Irrawaddy in February, Ma Wai Phyo Myint, the head of Access Now in Myanmar, an advocacy group for digital rights around the world, said Telegram has ignored requests from civil society organizations to stop the abuse of the platform in Myanmar.
