According to Ko Tin Htoo Aung, from the Mon State Students’ Union, plain clothes police officers are putting great pressure on the students as they keep a close eye on their activities.
“With them watching us closely, we are not able to do anything. To speak frankly, whenever we hang out at coffee shops, a minute later, there come policemen and men from intelligence groups taking up all the seats in the shop. They are in plain clothes. At schools, the police are watching the students all throughout the day,” said Ko Tin Htoo Aung.
Under the constant eye of authorities, Mon State students face difficulties in organizing the movement against the educational law, as well as difficulties in focusing on their studies.
Protesting student Ko Kyaw Min Naung from Mawlamyine University remarked that some of those police and intelligence officers watching the students look like thugs, not police, causing concern for the students’ safety.
“Most of the members of the group keeping eyes on us are people who are hired, and only some of them are real police. They always follow us, wherever we go. So, they can do anything to us when there are no other people but us on the street. For us, there is no security at all. We are now just preparing for exams. We do not have any plans yet. If we have plans, they [the authorities] will get informed about them right away. They do not need to keep such close eyes on us,” said Ko Kyaw Min Naung.
Many students who participated in February protests have found moved into safe [places], due to increased security concerns.
On March 5th, local residents and students held a protest in front of Rangoon’s city hall, calling for non-violence and support of the students who are speaking out in opposition to the national education bill. During the protest, a group of thugs known as Swan Ah Shin (Masters of Force), dressed in plain-clothes and bearing arm-bands with “Duty” written on them in Burmese, along with policemen, arrived to break up the protest and arrest a number of protesters.
