A Mon youth group has urged authorities to release all 11 people detained since mid-April for allegedly attacking a police officer during the traditional Water Festival in Mon State.
Min Nyan Thike Raman, a member of the Mon Youth Forum, said that the authorities failed to discover the root cause of the clash. He claimed that the authorities tortured the young people during interrogations.
“The allegations and their information are false. They alleged that the young people physically attacked ‘the government employee’ [police officer], but they failed to reveal the truth,” he told Mizzima. “The problem arose because the policeman ripped up the Mon flag. But they failed to mention that. They simply said that the youngsters beat up the policeman.”
Eight of the 11 detainees are aged between 15 and 17. The other three are adults.
A statement from the Mon Youth Forum also called on authorities to take legal action against the police officer for ripping up the flag and insulting the young people.
Mon State second police chief Win Bo said, “We only interrogated the people who were involved in the incident, and we did it according to the video footage. We released the people who were not involved. The relevant organization will take legal action against the people who were involved. It is not true that the policeman ripped up the flag and started the fight. We have records.”
