Monthly Overview: Hope Persists in Burma as the People Refuse to be Silent in the Wake of Violence, Despite the Junta’s Sham Election
5 January 2026
As the year came to an end, communities reached by the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) continued to face considerable adversity amid violence, as the Junta’s ongoing attacks against civilians isolated them and pushed them to follow its violent agenda. However, the resilience demonstrated by the people has persisted since the early days of the attempted coup in 2021. Organized efforts continue in the form of protests, online campaigns, coordinated activism, and calls to action with regional and international stakeholders, alongside an unwavering belief in the promise and possibility of a federal democracy. The reality on the ground remains one of insecurity and trauma as civilians struggle to survive.
Human rights defenders, notably women-led initiatives, have been at the forefront of relief efforts providing safety and refuge to the many who have been routinely displaced. Significant gaps remain in meeting the needs of innocent people, as one consequence of the military’s mismanaged economy has been shifting funds towards weapons rather than social support. Alongside this, the regime’s deteriorating human rights record demonstrates that, contrary to any confusion among the international community and observers, the human rights situation is far from normal.
In particular, HURFOM remained deeply concerned by the recent decision of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to end temporary immigration protections for Burmese nationals at a time when their home country continues to be one of the most violent and unstable in the world. The change was announced on 24 November 2025, when DHS issued a draft notice in the Federal Register, citing the decision to terminate the program as part of a broader review ordered by the Trump administration.
HURFOM released a statement noting that the “reality inside Burma is far from what the Junta asserts. It remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world under an increasingly violent and unpredictable military regime.”
There remain many concerns inside the country. Perhaps the most urgent is the Junta’s sham election. HURFOM field sources report that across most townships in Mon State, the Junta’s Election Commission has begun going door to door, checking voter lists and pressuring people to take part in its planned general election.
Starting on 27 November, joint teams made up of officials from various junta-controlled departments, accompanied by soldiers and police, began visiting homes in wards and villages under their control. During these visits, they check household members’ names against the voter list, assign voter numbers on the spot, and insist that people vote on election day.
“One of the officials told us that four people in our house are eligible to vote. They gave us the voter list numbers with our names for all four and told us to come and vote on election day. Since both the military and police were there, we just said, ‘Yes, okay,’” said a resident of Thaton.
The Junta announced that the second round of voter lists would be publicly displayed for 14 days, from 21 November to 4 December. However, local people say almost no one checked the lists. In response, authorities shifted to house-to-house inspections to compel interaction and create a false impression of participation. Residents reported that when officials find missing names, spelling errors, or incorrect information during these home visits, they make corrections immediately and add those names to the voter list on the spot. While this is presented as “updating” the lists, people describe it as part of a campaign to pressure them into taking part in an election they do not trust.
“They’re doing house-to-house checks because no one came to look at the voter lists. People just act like they are cooperating. No one is actually interested in this election,” said a resident of Mawlamyine.
According to the Junta’s plan, the first phase of its general election will be held on 28 December in five townships of Mon State: Kyaikhto, Thaton, Mawlamyine, Chaungzon, and Kyaikmayaw. A second phase of voting is scheduled for 11 January in the townships of Bilin, Paung, Mudon, Thanbyuzayat, and Ye.
The Junta’s election commission claims that more than 250 candidates from nine political parties, along with one independent candidate, will contest seats in Mon State. On the ground, however, many residents describe an atmosphere of fear, pressure, and indifference, rather than genuine interest in a free and fair vote.
On 13 November, HURFOM released its latest research paper, “Voting under the barrel of a gun,” A Country At War, Not At the Polls, which presented findings, including interviews and case studies, clearly indicating that the sham effort is just another attempt at legitimacy. Most recently, HURFOM contributed to a report by the Special Advisory Council – Myanmar (SAC-M), ‘Myanmar’s Way Forward,’ which included targeted consultations with civil society on what the future holds in Burma, and how the sham election is at the helm of a worsening situation.
Meanwhile, the extractive practices by the military Junta continue, as junta-backed militia members providing security for Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) campaign teams have been eating and drinking at small restaurants in Thit To Kyawn Village, Bilin Township, Mon State, without paying and threatening the shop owners at gunpoint when asked for money.
On 30 November and 1 December, USDP candidates carried out campaign activities in Thit To Kyawn and nearby villages. During these visits, militia members who accompanied the campaign teams as security forces stopped at local tea shops and food stalls, ordered food and drinks, and then refused to pay.
“They came in uniform with their guns. They drank tea, ate noodles and other food at several shops. When one shop owner asked for payment, they pointed their guns and threatened him. No one dared to insist after that,” a resident told HURFOM. Locals report that militia members ate without paying at up to five shops. Each small business lost between 40,000 and 60,000 kyats, a serious amount for village restaurants that already struggle to survive in the current crisis.
The threats have left shop owners shaken and frightened. Residents say these abuses show how militia groups feel empowered to act above the law whenever they accompany Junta or USDP activities. “They are using the campaign as an excuse to abuse people. Ordinary shop owners have no way to complain; they are afraid,” another villager explained.
Those who ate without paying were identified only as militia members, not as USDP candidates or party officials. However, villagers say the candidates and authorities cannot ignore the behaviour of the security forces who accompany their campaign teams. There are nearly 300 militia personnel active in Bilin Township. In addition to accompanying campaigns, they work at checkpoints alongside Junta troops, collect money from travellers, and carry out patrols and so-called security operations. For local people, their presence is associated not with protection, but with extortion, threats and daily fear.
In Mawlamyine, junta-appointed election officials and security forces are going door to door to pressure residents to vote in the upcoming sham election. Across the city, joint teams of junta soldiers, police, Pyu Saw Htee militia members, and administrative staff have been visiting homes to distribute polling-station codes for the first phase of the planned election on 28 December. These door-to-door operations were reported in wards including Myain Tharyar, Tharyar Aye, Thiri Myain, Hlaing, and Pakhin on 3 and 4 December.
“They came right to our house to give the polling codes. They said we must vote. They pressured us, saying that if we don’t vote, action will be taken,” said a Mawlamyine resident.
Another local, who requested anonymity due to security concerns, explained that officials have been moving house to house, checking voter lists and insisting that people participate in the election. As election day approaches, threats and coercion are increasing. Although the Junta’s election commission announced a second 14-day period for public verification of voter lists from 21 November to 4 December, very few people voluntarily checked the lists. In response, authorities held an emergency meeting in several government departments and then escalated to door-to-door inspections.
“No one came to look at the voter lists on their own. Now, Junta joint groups come to each house to check them. They bring the polling-station codes and verify whether our names are on the voter list. With soldiers and ward administrators present, we have no choice but to say we will vote,” another resident explained.
Despite these efforts, most people remain uninterested in the process and do not see the election as legitimate. However, because officials are arriving at their doorsteps with soldiers and loudspeakers, many residents feel forced to say they will vote for fear of reprisals.
Currently, the election commission is using loudspeakers to call people to check the voter lists, visiting houses to notify residents, and then conducting voter list inspections directly in people’s homes. Through these repeated visits, the authorities gather detailed information about households, which is then used to further pressure and intimidate residents into voting on election day, regardless of their true wishes.
Four men in Kyaikhto Township, Mon State, were charged by the regime with allegedly damaging election campaign signs, according to a Junta statement.
The statement said that on December 12, two men reportedly cut and destroyed campaign signs for People’s Party candidates that had been installed in front of the administration office in Fat Ka Late Village, Kyaikhto Township. The following day, on December 13, two more men were accused of destroying campaign signs for candidates from the Ethnic Unity Party that were placed at the exact location.
Junta-backed authorities said the four men were charged at the Kyaikhto Town Police Station under Section 24(b) of the Election Protection Law, which they claim covers “disruption, obstruction, and destruction.” If convicted, the accused could face up to 10 years in prison under this provision.
The case comes amid a broader crackdown linked to the Junta’s planned election. On November 19, in Kwan Yeik Village, Chaungzon Township, Mon State, a 65-year-old resident, U Kyaw Myint, was sentenced to 17 years in prison by a Junta court for tearing up documents that reportedly contained a list of candidates’ names.
Residents in Thaton Township, Mon State, and across parts of Karen State, including Hpa An and Hpapun, staged peaceful protests rejecting the Junta’s election, according to HURFOM field sources.
In Thaton Township, local communities publicly voiced that they do not accept the election process being pushed by the Junta. The demonstration was led by the Karen Youth Organization (KYO) alongside local community leaders. Field reporters confirmed that more than 7,500 people participated across the three townships, marching calmly and in an organized manner to express their opposition.
Similar scenes were reported in Hpapun District, where nearly 400 residents joined a peaceful anti-election protest, stressing that they reject injustice and continue to call for genuine democracy and fundamental rights. Protesters said an election held under intimidation, violence, and restrictions cannot reflect the people’s will. During the demonstration, participants chanted messages including:
“Do not give permission to kill with your vote,” and “The military system that has oppressed the people and ethnic communities for over 70 years must end,” and “Do not legitimize the killers.”
HURFOM also received images from a protest held at one location in Hpa An Township, Karen State, where organizers said around 3,000 people took part in a public action opposing the Junta’s election.
Field sources further reported that anti-election demonstrations linked to the first phase of the Junta’s planned polling were held in at least 10 locations across areas under the control of the Karen National Union (KNU).
These peaceful protests reflect a broader public sentiment in conflict-affected areas, where communities continue to live under fear, militarization, and long-running human rights violations. Many residents view the Junta’s election plan as an attempt to manufacture legitimacy, rather than a credible democratic process grounded in freedom and safety.
Arbitrary Arrest
The unlawful detention of civilians continues to be employed as a means to silence dissent and opposition. Even religious leaders, including Buddhist monks, are not exempt. HURFOM field researchers confirmed that the military sealed off the monastery and property of Ashin Sanda Zaoti, a well-known monk from Zay Kyo Ward in Mawlamyine, after arresting him for publicly criticizing the Junta’s mountain excavation project on Taung Wine Mountain.
On the evening of 27 November, a large military force raided Zey Ta Won Monastery under the Thathana Nwe Foundation and detained the Sayadaw. Residents reported that soldiers surrounded the compound before entering to take him away. Shortly after the arrest, authorities sealed the foundation building and restricted access to the monastery grounds.
The monk was charged under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, accused of “damaging the state’s reputation” and threatening national stability through posts he made on social media. According to sources close to the Junta, the charges were filed at the Mupun Township police station after the Sayadaw was expelled from the monkhood under pressure from the authorities.
The arrest follows the monk’s recent warnings about the environmental destruction caused by ongoing land excavation on Taung Wine Mountain. In his public post—accompanied by photos—he wrote: “Save Mawlamyine, save Mawlamyine. If Taung Wine Mountain collapses, our freshwater will disappear. When the forest is destroyed and the mountain is ruined, disasters will follow. Even if you think it does not concern you now, man-made disasters will affect future generations.”
A source close to the Junta said the complaint that triggered the arrest reportedly came from business tycoon Moe Kyaw, who is closely tied to the excavation project: “He posted the truth about what is happening on the mountain. Moe Kyaw complained to Naypyitaw, and now more charges may follow,” the source said.
During the arrest, soldiers also seized five cars and three motorcycles belonging to the monastery. Junta officials are inspecting the vehicles and have threatened to take further action under the Motor Vehicle Law if any documents are “incomplete,” a tactic often used to justify confiscation.
The Junta has since justified the arrest in its propaganda newspapers, accusing the monk of inciting unrest and spreading misinformation. The case has garnered widespread public criticism, with many demanding his immediate release and condemning the Junta’s retaliation against a religious leader who spoke out for environmental protection.
Ashin Sanda Zaoti is widely respected in Mawlamyine for his leadership in efforts to preserve Taung Wine Mountain and improve the surrounding environment, including the development of the mountain viewpoint visited by many locals. Residents stated that the targeting of a monk for expressing peaceful concern reflects growing repression as the Junta attempts to silence all criticism in the lead-up to its planned sham election.
In a separate case, residents reported that a large column of Junta troops entered Shin Mote Thi Village in Dawei Township on the morning of 1 December. Briefly, it detained five young villagers before moving into residential homes. Witnesses said about 100 soldiers arrived on foot, accompanied by two military vehicles, and spread out through the village. Five teenagers, who were working as construction labourers and sitting at betel nut shops when the troops came in, were arrested and questioned.
“They arrested five young boys at the betel nut shops in Shin Mote Thi. They are only teenagers, and they work in construction. The soldiers questioned them in detail and then took them away,” a resident told HURFOM.
The youths were taken to the Shin Mote Thi Pagoda compound, where they were interrogated for several hours. They were released later in the afternoon after their parents were called to pick them up. Throughout 1 December, the soldiers remained based inside the pagoda compound, creating fear among local people who did not know what would happen next.
By 2 December, residents reported that the troops had moved out of the pagoda and taken positions inside several houses in the Hlei Kyaw Taw area of Shin Mote Thi Village. Villagers say it is still unclear why so many Junta forces have been deployed in the community, and many people are afraid to move around freely.
This is not the first recent military operation in Shin Mote Thi. On 7 November, Junta troops also entered the village, where they took photographs of residents and conducted population checks in at least one ward, reinforcing concerns that surveillance and future arrests may continue. Junta troops operating in Yebyu Township, Dawei District, also detained seven villagers from Kyauk Hta Yan, a coastal community in Zardi Village Tract.
The column entered Kyauk Hta Yan on 8 December and initially arrested seven villagers. They were released later that same day, but villagers report that the troops ordered them to return and detained them again on 9 December.
“The troops arrived, arrested them, and then released them. Later, they told everyone to come back, and now they have taken them away with the column,” a villager explained.
Those detained include U Than Than, three members of his family, and four other residents. U Than Than had already been taken by Junta forces once before, in early April 2025, when he and another villager were forced to act as guides. He was held and interrogated for more than two weeks at the Mawrawaddy Naval Base headquarters before being released.
The current military movements began when Junta troops reached Zar Dee Village on 2 December and then advanced toward Kyauk Hta Yan on 8 December. They have remained in the area through 9 December. On 5 December, resistance forces launched a drone attack on Junta troops stationed in Zar Dee. In retaliation, a naval vessel from the Mawrawaddy Navy Base fired artillery, sparking clashes between the two sides. During the fighting, at least one civilian house was burned down, adding to the fear and insecurity facing local villagers.
Five local men from the Na Bu Lae area in Yebyu Township, Dawei District, remain in detention after being taken by Junta troops during a military operation on 12 December. Community members said the troops entered Htein Gyi Village at 1 PM and later set fire to a house, adding to the fear among families already living under constant insecurity.
Residents told HURFOM that the five men were detained as the troops were withdrawing, after the men had been tending chickens and ducks outside the village. One local man said the arrests happened suddenly, leaving families with little information about where the men were being taken or why they were targeted. Another resident said the men were reportedly forced to move with the column as human shields while the troops retreated.
Local sources also reported that, following an attack on the central police station on the western bank of Yebyu town on the same day, the troops moved toward the city while keeping the detainees with them. As of the morning of 14 December, residents said the five men had not been released, and their families were still waiting for any confirmation of their condition or location. HURFOM continues to monitor the situation and urges protection of civilians and an end to arbitrary detention and the use of civilians for military purposes.
Residents said that on December 12, more than 200 Junta troops advanced into the area in two separate columns, moving through villages along the Yangon–Mawlamyine highway, including Phowa Thein, Alu Gyi, and Alu Lay villages. During the operation, the troops detained three villagers from Phowa Thein Village and two from Alu Gyi Village. The military columns reportedly withdrew from the area on December 14.
“The troops move from one village to another, and there are many of them,” a local man told HURFOM. “When they enter a village, they arrest the young people they meet. Sometimes they question people and later release older villagers.”
Families of those arrested said they are deeply worried that their sons could be sent to military training, local sources reported. The five men are believed to be in their early twenties and were reportedly taken to the headquarters of Battalion No. 44, based in Kyaikhto Township. The arrests took place amid escalating violence in the area. On the same day, December 12, Junta troops also entered Phowa Thein Village and fired artillery into the community, killing at least three residents and injuring at least three others.
Across Thaton District, including Bilin, Kyaikhto, and Thaton townships, Junta forces continue to carry out frequent military operations. During these operations, residents say civilians are often detained, questioned, and in some cases forced to serve as guides, further heightening fear and insecurity among local communities.
Announcements
19 May 2026
