In the Tanintharyi Region, clashes between the military council forces and resistance groups have intensified, leading to an increasing number of civilians fleeing for safety each month. The military has launched incursions into heavily contested areas, resulting in the arrest and killing of local residents, as well as the ongoing destruction of homes through arson and looting. As a consequence of this situation, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) has risen; IMNA interviewed Ko Yaw Na Than, the ground coordinator for the Tanintharyi IDP support group, about the conditions and challenges these displaced individuals face.
Question: What challenges and concerns do IDPs face due to the military situation within the Tanintharyi Region?
Answer: The military operation has been advancing into villages across several townships in the Tanintharyi region, but it’s particularly severe here in Palaw Township. Currently, Palaw is one of the areas most affected by these military incursions, forcing a significant number of residents to flee. In fact, within Tanintharyi, Palaw Township has the highest number of both long-term and temporary displaced persons. The military situation remains tense, with ongoing clashes occurring daily, preventing people from returning to their homes.
Because of the military’s incursions, people in the villages have been forced to relocate. Our people, who have had to flee, are currently unable to return home. This situation brings significant concerns, as their means of livelihood and essential needs remain back in their villages. Most of their resources were left behind at their homes since they had to escape suddenly with only what they could carry.
As time in displacement stretches on, they increasingly worry about their daily survival, struggling to secure even basic food and resources. For some, the challenges are particularly harsh—they’ve had to seek shelter in remote, hard-to-reach areas where it’s difficult to transport food and medicine. In these isolated areas, people face even greater hardship. Day by day, even finding rice to eat requires significant effort, leaving them in a state of intense worry and difficulty.
Question: What are the needs in the IDP camps?
Answer: In our main IDP camps, the most critical needs are medicine and food supplies. Regarding medicine, prices have increased recently, making it even harder to access. Transporting medicine has always been challenging, and now there are even stricter restrictions, leading to shortages. Some medicines are simply unaffordable due to high prices.
Food is another essential need that IDPs require daily. As they consume these supplies regularly, the demand is continuous, and shortages are a constant concern. Therefore, medicine and food are the most urgently needed items in the camps.
Question: What challenges are encountered in transporting supplies for IDPs?
Answer: In Palaw and Tanintharyi Townships, where martial law has been declared for some time, the transportation of supplies is even more restricted than in other areas. Although other regions might not be under martial law, there are still military checkpoints that impose limitations on the transportation of goods. For instance, there’s a rule that limits transporting more than five sacks of rice per vehicle. If we try to transport more than that, we face various forms of pressure, including demands for bribes or other restrictions imposed by authorities. These challenges make it very difficult to deliver essential supplies to those in need.
Question: What restrictions are imposed by the military council regarding the transportation of goods within the Tanintharyi Region?
Answer: The restrictions on transporting goods are varied and depend on the specific military checkpoints. Even if one checkpoint grants permission to transport goods, reaching another checkpoint often results in those goods being confiscated or denied permission for transport. This means that to get supplies to IDP areas, we have to navigate multiple checkpoints, where there’s always the risk of confiscation.
At each checkpoint, goods can be completely barred from transport, leading to significant anxiety during the delivery process. Only when the supplies actually arrive do we feel some relief. This uncertainty and the potential for restrictions at any point make the entire process quite stressful for us.
