The Military Council has convicted three local members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in relation to the Kawt Bein village police station in Kawkareik Township, Kawkareik Township, was burnt down on January 16 th .

A local told KIC. “They arrested villagers who had nothing to do with the attack on the Kawt Bein police station. Civilians such as Tin Maung Win, who is a schoolteacher, Ma Wah Wah Lin and Min Thein Oo were arrested on January 16th and 17th. Now they have been sentenced to 3

years in prison under Section 505(A) and are still in the detention center. Ma Yamin Nway has not yet been sentenced.”

The Kawt Bein police station was attacked and set on fire by resistance joint forces on January 16th. In the aftermath of the attack, a total of 4 NLD party members and supporters living in Kawt Bein village were arrested by the Military Council, locals said.

On February 10th, 3 of those arrested were sentenced to 3 years in prison each under Section 505(A) of defaming the state. One woman has not yet been sentenced, but is still being detained without specific reasons, according to villagers.

Currently, the Military Council troops are deployed around the Kawt Bein Hospital and the ruins of the Kawt Bein Police Station monitoring the entrances and exits of the village. The Junta soldiers have also established checkpoints in cooperation with the Border Guard Forces (BGF) on routes connecting villages in Kyondoe province.

The Military Council is chasing and arresting those who participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), NLD party members, and those who helped the NLD's campaign in the 2020 election, with the help of informers, which has caused residents and CDM employees to flee.

“People from Karen villages, Mon villages and Pa'O villages who participated in the election campaign are all fleeing. They are afraid of the informants helping the Military Council, so they don’t dare to stay in these villages anymore. NLD supporters flee to Thailand or the border regions, because they are afraid that the Military Council will accuse them of giving information to the revolutionary forces and arrest them whenever there is a fight”, a Kawt Tar villager said.

Kawt Bein-Kawt Pauk village is located in the area bordering Kawkareik District and Mon State. Most of the people living in the villages in the region are Mon people, and it is also the main area of activity for the New Mon State Party (NMSP), which signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).