2nd-3rd June, 2021 #day122 #day123

 

There has been a heated debate over sending children to public schools under the military regime. All the primary and high schools across the country reopened on June 1. Anti-coup protesters are urging parents to boycott public education operated under the junta and support CDM activity, but those close to the junta have accused them as Taliban-like groups for inciting violence and denying access to education. According to RFA, only less than 20 percent of the country's more than 9 million students went to schools on June 1. However, more than 350,000 students attended schools in the country’s westernmost Rakhine state as there is no more armed clashes or protests. According to NUG, 60% of the more than 450,000 teachers have joined CDM as of today.

A series of bomb blasts near schools across the country has also sparked controversy on social media. On 2 June, a bomb exploded at the home of a non-CDM teacher in Mogok, Mandalay Region, locals told DVB. No one was injured, but the house was destroyed. UNICEF said on 2 June that violence in schools was unacceptable. According to its statement, there were at least 54 attacks on schools and education staffs in four months, and more than 140 attacks in areas where the junta troops were deployed. Nine Yangon-based underground groups have issued a joint statement saying they did not carry out bombings in public places and schools. 

A possible Covid outbreak once again pose a great threat to Myanmar’s people. According to RFA, more than 180 Covid new cases have been reported in Chin, Mon, Shan, Yangon, and Sagaing in the past three days, leaving six dead. 134 cases have been reported in Chin State’s border town Cikha alone, the Irrawaddy reported. 86 people have died from Covid-19 in the last four months. There were 143,751 confirmed cases and 3,217 deaths in Myanmar since 23 March 2020. Many said the actual number of Covid patients and deaths tolls are more likely to be higher than the numbers reported as the country’s entire health system has collapsed since the coup.

The NUG announced a policy on Rohingya community on 3 June. The policy paper said the NUG would repeal other oppressive laws, including the 1982 Citizenship Law, which barred them from becoming citizens and would work with the International Criminal Court (ICJ) and international community to address human rights abuses towards Rohingya Muslims in northern Rakhine State. It also said that all relevant stakeholders will be consulted for the repatriation program.

Coup leader Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing has visited a number of Buddhist monks from the Mabatha, according to Myanmar Now. On 31 May, he met with a leading Mabatha abbot during his visit to Karen State. Many People's Defense Forces (PDF) are being formed independently across the country to take up arms against the junta. But a KIA spokesman, Colonel Naw Bu, told the Irrawaddy that every PDF in Kachin State will have to operate under the KIO/KIA command.