There are calls for the relevant authorities to to swiftly investigate the 4 November 2024 murder of an education board officer and his family in Tapone Village, Kani Township, Sagaing Region.
U Win Htay, who had been appointed by the NUG as the education board officer for Tapone Village was brutally murdered along with his wife and three-month-old daughter at their home in Tapone Village, on 4 November. The crime has yet to be solved.
Kani Town and Kani Township are currently under the control of the National Unity Government (NUG).
U Win Htay was a member of the Kani Township Education Board whose members are appointed by the NUG’s Kani People’s Administration to oversee the NUG's basic education schools, teachers and other educational activities in the township.
Another Kani Township Education board member said that educational professionals in Kani Township who participated in the anti-coup Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) are concerned and worried that the murders remain unsolved.
He said: “In addition to this case, there have been similar incidents where we have been unable to fully investigate or effectively address the issues, or have faced delays. This has caused insecurity among those working on the ground in the education sector during this interim period.”
The Basic Education General Strike Committee (BEGSC) has also urged the relevant authorities to investigate the murder. The BEGSC is an organisation set up by teachers participating in the CDM movement to assist others taking part in the CDM and victims of the junta. It does this by giving them a voice through activities such as organising demonstrations.
On 3 December, nearly a month after the murders, U Kyaw Ye Lwin, a member of the BEGSC, also called for the authorities to properly investigate the murders as soon as possible.
He said to NMG: “It is crucial to prevent similar crimes from occurring again in resistance-controlled areas. Equally important is uncovering the truth behind the murders in Tapone Village.”
He also condemned the killings, saying: “We strongly condemn these inhuman and unjust killings in resistance-controlled areas. I reiterate, we condemn them. We also issued statements of condemnation on this case back in November.”
To mark one month since the unsolved killings of U Win Htay and his family BEGSC announced that it was launching online and on the ground campaigns to demand justice for the young murdered family.
In July 2024, 16-year-old student Ko Myint Myat Oo, a member of the Students’ Union, was murdered in the resistance-controlled village of Saingnainggyi, in Wetlet Township, Sagaing Region. According to locals the murder remains unsolved to this day.
