Protesters wash away tear gas during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon on March 9
Credit: AFP via Getty
Police from Myanmar are fleeing across the border to India after refusing to follow orders to shoot protesters, officers in exile have told The Telegraph.
Two Burmese police officers told the Telegraph they fled to India after refusing to shoot people protesting against the military junta, which overthrew the country’s democratically elected government on Feb 1. They said around 200 members of the police were already in hiding in India.
Activists are warning of a potential humanitarian crisis along India and Myanmar’s 1,000-mile, jungle-clad border as increasing numbers of Myanmar citizens also flee the violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.
Thanga and Mawnga – not their real names – left their posts at the Khampat and Falam Police Stations in Myanmar’s Sagaing and Chin States on Saturday, together evading military patrols to cross into India’s north-eastern state of Mizoram.
They say they were threatened with up to 13 years imprisonment after joining Myanmar’s civil disobedience movement, which is organising nationwide strikes to prevent the military regime from effectively governing the country.
“The authorities gave us firing orders to shoot our people, saying that they cannot control them and that we have to shoot them. I told them that I cannot shoot my own people,” said Thanga.
“Then, they threatened to fire me from my job if I did not obey their firing order. I told them that I will resign, then and I came straight away that night.”
Mawnga experienced similar problems. "At first, [we were asked] to use tear gas and rubber bullets to stop the people gathering but now they started using real bullets, and snipers are also involved, shooting people in their heads,” he said.
“All of the police are being given firing orders to shoot people but they don’t want to shoot civilians.”
A medical personnel displays a rubber bullet extracted from a resident, who was shot at as security force destroyed barricades erected by protesters against the military coup
Credit: AFP via Getty
Myanmar’s military junta is staging an increasingly violent nationwide crackdown against pro-democracy protesters, who are demanding a return to civilian rule and the release of political prisoners, including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
More than 60 protesters have been killed and more than 1,800 people have been detained, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an advocacy group.
The civil disobedience movement, which was initially started by members of the medical profession, is spearheading many of the demonstrations and has also attracted small groups of police officers.
“Most of the police who left Myanmar and came to Mizoram had joined the movement, which supports the people,” said Mawnga.
“There is a standing order to catch members of the police who support it and send them to jail for 13 years. We were afraid of this and came here before we were caught.”
On Monday, the Indian home ministry asked the military to prevent any Myanmar nationals from crossing the border and to push back citizens attempting to flee.
But, many areas are remote jungle and hard to patrol. Thanga and Mawnga said they managed to hide from Indian military patrols in dense vegetation.
They told The Telegraph they believed around 200 members of the police in Myanmar had already fled to India, and were being sheltered in secret by extended family members in Mizoram.
Last week, officials in Myanmar wrote to the Indian Government to request the return of eight police officers that are believed to have crossed into Mizoram state, but New Delhi is yet to respond.
Approximately 100 Burmese citizens are also trying to cross the border daily and many more are stuck in the jungle without food, according to Yung Thang, a Community Leader at the Chin Refugee Community NGO.
Mr Thang believes the numbers attempting to cross into India will continue to increase, potentially sparking a humanitarian crisis, as the security situation continues to deteriorate in Myanmar.
Zoramthanga, the chief minister of Mizoram, expressed “sympathy” for those fleeing from Myanmar and said his state government would provide temporary food and shelter to the refugees, in defiance of New Delhi’s ruling.
A decision on repatriation would, however, be made by India’s central government, he added, with human rights groups urging New Delhi to allow fleeing members of the police to stay in India.
“These police officers from Myanmar have fled to India, they say, because they do not want to obey orders that require them to use unlawful force to crush protests against the military group,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, the South Asia Director at Human Rights Watch.
“The junta has demanded their return, and these police officers fear they will be brutally punished. India should not return anyone who will be at risk, and should instead join other countries in urging the Myanmar generals to end their abusive actions.”
Government officials in Mizoram did not respond to requests for comment
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