June 15th, 2022
Since the coup till date, police and soldiers have been conducting frequent checks on the hotels, motels and guest houses in downtown Hpa-An Township of Karen State, citing security, according to the sources from the hotels.
“The security forces check the list of overnight guests at least one time in a month. The group includes ten soldiers and sometimes around four soldiers. Soldiers wait outside the hotels when the list of overnight guests is being checked. Only police members enter the rooms to check the guests. There may be a problem when they come to the hotel. The hotel receives only a few guests. Foreign guests don’t come to our hotel,” a hotel staff member who declined to be named told the KIC.
Fighting between the military council and the resistance forces is reported mostly in Karen State, compared with other regions and states. Currently, the number of visitors to the Karen State has gone down. Hoteliers suffer losses due to the military council’s tight checks on the travellers.
The military council conducts more checks on the hotels which see more entry and exits of the guests.
“The military council regularly conducts surprise checks on the hotels at around 11 pm. Sometimes, the police members are accompanied by soldiers. This month, they have not conducted checks as the situation is stable in Hpa-An. They check the list of overnight guests when bomb blasts occur, and the People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) enter the town. Hotels have to report the lists of guests to the police three times a day,”a hotel staff member who declined to be named told the KIC.
In the wake of the coup, the military council troops are frequently committing the violations of human rights such as checks on mobile phones and extortions, in Hpa-An, according to locals.
The military council is carrying out the unjust arrests, killings and sentencing of those who defy the coup under the pretext of the counter-terrorism. Hundreds of youths in downtown Hpa-An, are charged. The detainees also face the violation of human rights in prisons and physical insults, according to the news sources which are helping the detained youths.
Sent by the KIC