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Tin Myo Win tried repeatedly to talk his 16-year-old son out of joining the resistance movement against Myanmar’s military junta. In the end, however, the resident of Myin Thar, a village in Magway’s Gangaw Township, agreed to let him go.
After making this decision, he took his son, Naing Myo Tun, to a camp on the bank of the Myittha River where other young revolutionaries had gathered to prepare for the coming fight. Then he returned to his home to take his wife and daughter to a safe place at the base of a mountain west of the village.
Before he and his son parted ways, Tin Myo Win pointed out a few spots where Naing Myo Tun and his comrades could hide if necessary. He also told his son to change his shirt so he would be harder to see.
“He was wearing a red shirt, so I made him put on a black one,” he said, recalling his concern for his son’s safety.
Just hours later, however, his fears grew as he heard the sound of artillery pounding the area around the group’s camp. Eventually, he returned to the site to find that the situation there was far worse than he could ever have imagined.
What he found was that his son was not just injured by the shelling, but had also been shot in the head execution-style. Apparently, a leg wound prevented him from escaping, and the troops that overran the camp decided to murder him instead of taking him prisoner.
Naing Myo Tun was one of 18 people—12 of them boys in their teens—who were killed on September 9. More than 30 houses were also torched by the soldiers who unleashed hell on the village of Myin Thar that day.
According to a resident of the village, eight of the victims had been shot at close range. One, a man in his eighties, was covered with bruises and had his hands tied behind his back. Another was tied to a chair.
“I think the soldiers hunted down the survivors of the shelling and shot them one by one,” said the villager, who asked not to be named.
‘Gateway to the revolution’
The assault on Myin Thar was just one of a series of massacres that have been carried out by regime forces throughout the Yaw region since September 3.
The region, which is home to the Yaw people, an ethnic Bamar subgroup that has historically had little contact with related groups living in Myanmar’s central lowlands, encompasses three townships in Magway Region—Gangaw, Htilin and Saw. It borders Sagaing Region and Chin State, and is situated between the Pon Taung Pone Nyar mountain range and the Chin Hills.
Despite its isolation, the region occupies a strategically important position in the struggle between the military junta and resistance fighters based throughout the remote, mountainous reaches of northern Myanmar. This is why villages along the road between Gangaw and Kalay in Sagaing Region to the north have been subjected to violent raids since the beginning of the month.
“Our region is like a gateway to the revolution. That’s why they’re focusing their attacks on us,” said Yaw Lay, a member of the Yaw Defence Force, one of several resistance groups operating in the Yaw region.
“They have been trying to tear us down for a while now. They have even started killing people in groups and burning down villages, because they can’t get control over our region,” he added.
One of the first villages to come under attack was Doenwe, which was raided on September 7, soon after the shadow National Unity Government (NUG) announced that it was calling for all-out resistance against the regime that had seized power in February.
Three villagers were killed by the invading junta troops, who also torched four houses, according to residents. All three victims showed signs of having been tortured, they added.
The next day, the military column that carried out these atrocities proceeded to attack other villages on the Kalay-Gangaw road. Along the way, however, two military vehicles were hit by landmines between the villages of Tharyargone and Htauk Kyant. More than 10 soldiers were reportedly killed.
A member of the Gangaw People’s Defence Force said that the attack was a reprisal for the killing of civilians.
“The more they terrorize the civilians, the more motivated our young people are to overthrow the dictatorship. Even the ones who used to stand by and watch are now starting to join the fight,” he said, adding that the NUG should be doing more to support the local resistance movement.
Burning hatred
It was a day after the landmine attack that the military column let loose with its worst assault. After burning down a house in Thar Linn, a village on the eastern bank of the Myittha River about a mile from the Kalay-Gangaw road, it moved on to Myin Thar, which bore the brunt of the army’s ire.
The rampage continued for nearly a week, as village after village—most of them abandoned by their inhabitants by the time the soldiers arrived—was targeted. By September 13, around 100 houses had been torched in the area, while many more were looted.
Many who were unable to flee were tortured and put to death. In Hmwae Lal and Yae Shin, for instance, returning residents discovered five badly bruised bodies. One victim, a mentally disabled man, had his throat slit and his genitals cut off.
At least 35 civilians had been murdered by the middle of the month. But even when there was no one left to kill, the military kept returning to burn down more buildings as a warning to PDF forces who continued to resist.
Hnan Khar, a village that has been subjected to repeated raids, was still coming under attack in late September. Htei Hlaw, another frequent target, was raided on October 1 and occupied for three days. Residents said they found the charred remains of an unidentified body in one of nine buildings that had been torched by the occupying soldiers.
Local civilians say these brutal tactics only serve to strengthen their hatred for the regime and the resolve of those actively fighting against it.
Zin Zin, a 30-year-old resident of Myin Thar, said that her 17-year-old cousin was one of the dozen boys from her village who died on September 9. He and the others who were killed—not in battle, but in cold-blooded murder—had grown up before her eyes.
“I can never forgive them for what they did,” she said. “I will curse them every night for the rest of my life. No matter how much they try to terrify us, we will never give up.”
For Tin Myo Win, who lost his son that day, the feeling runs even deeper.
“I will never forgive Min Aung Hlaing until the end of my days,” he said, referring to the leader of the coup that has thrown the country into chaos.
“If a brother dies, the remaining brother will continue the fight. If a son dies, the father will continue the fight in his name. I will continue the fight for my son,” he vowed.
www.myanmar-now.org
Local People’s Defence Force (PDF) fighters in Mandalay Region have said they bombed a military supply train that was heading to Yangon on Tuesday, badly damaging part of the vehicle.
A member of the PDF in Myittha Township said the attack took place around 6pm as the train passed over the Samar bridge on the Yangon-Mandalay highway, some 70km south of Mandalay.
“The back part of the train was badly damaged as the bomb was made with four-inch-diameter pipes,” he told Myanmar Now.
“There were no casualties. It was definitely a junta train as it was transporting supplies for the military,” he said, adding that some soldiers were aboard the train.
Locals told Myanmar Now the train was carrying food supplies.
One man who lives near the site of the attack just south of Myittha said he heard the bomb go off.
“We heard a loud bang. We didn’t hear anything about anyone dying but the train was badly damaged,” he said.
The PDF member said the attack required a large amount of preparation, but did not elaborate.
“We will continue to target the pillars supporting the dictatorship,” he said. Junta forces stopped and questioned civilians in the area around Myittha after the blast, he added, but he said did not know further details.
The junta has not commented on the attack.
The Myittha PDF has also claimed responsibility for an explosion at a military intelligence office in the township’s Shwe Thahtay ward on October 3.
Last month PDF fighters in Kyaukse said they bombed a military supply train travelling from Mandalay to Naypyitaw.
www.myanmar-now.org
After making this decision, he took his son, Naing Myo Tun, to a camp on the bank of the Myittha River where other young revolutionaries had gathered to prepare for the coming fight. Then he returned to his home to take his wife and daughter to a safe place at the base of a mountain west of the village.
Before he and his son parted ways, Tin Myo Win pointed out a few spots where Naing Myo Tun and his comrades could hide if necessary. He also told his son to change his shirt so he would be harder to see.
“He was wearing a red shirt, so I made him put on a black one,” he said, recalling his concern for his son’s safety.
Just hours later, however, his fears grew as he heard the sound of artillery pounding the area around the group’s camp. Eventually, he returned to the site to find that the situation there was far worse than he could ever have imagined.
What he found was that his son was not just injured by the shelling, but had also been shot in the head execution-style. Apparently, a leg wound prevented him from escaping, and the troops that overran the camp decided to murder him instead of taking him prisoner.
Naing Myo Tun was one of 18 people—12 of them boys in their teens—who were killed on September 9. More than 30 houses were also torched by the soldiers who unleashed hell on the village of Myin Thar that day.
According to a resident of the village, eight of the victims had been shot at close range. One, a man in his eighties, was covered with bruises and had his hands tied behind his back. Another was tied to a chair.
“I think the soldiers hunted down the survivors of the shelling and shot them one by one,” said the villager, who asked not to be named.
‘Gateway to the revolution’
The assault on Myin Thar was just one of a series of massacres that have been carried out by regime forces throughout the Yaw region since September 3.
The region, which is home to the Yaw people, an ethnic Bamar subgroup that has historically had little contact with related groups living in Myanmar’s central lowlands, encompasses three townships in Magway Region—Gangaw, Htilin and Saw. It borders Sagaing Region and Chin State, and is situated between the Pon Taung Pone Nyar mountain range and the Chin Hills.
Despite its isolation, the region occupies a strategically important position in the struggle between the military junta and resistance fighters based throughout the remote, mountainous reaches of northern Myanmar. This is why villages along the road between Gangaw and Kalay in Sagaing Region to the north have been subjected to violent raids since the beginning of the month.
“Our region is like a gateway to the revolution. That’s why they’re focusing their attacks on us,” said Yaw Lay, a member of the Yaw Defence Force, one of several resistance groups operating in the Yaw region.
“They have been trying to tear us down for a while now. They have even started killing people in groups and burning down villages, because they can’t get control over our region,” he added.
One of the first villages to come under attack was Doenwe, which was raided on September 7, soon after the shadow National Unity Government (NUG) announced that it was calling for all-out resistance against the regime that had seized power in February.
Three villagers were killed by the invading junta troops, who also torched four houses, according to residents. All three victims showed signs of having been tortured, they added.
The next day, the military column that carried out these atrocities proceeded to attack other villages on the Kalay-Gangaw road. Along the way, however, two military vehicles were hit by landmines between the villages of Tharyargone and Htauk Kyant. More than 10 soldiers were reportedly killed.
A member of the Gangaw People’s Defence Force said that the attack was a reprisal for the killing of civilians.
“The more they terrorize the civilians, the more motivated our young people are to overthrow the dictatorship. Even the ones who used to stand by and watch are now starting to join the fight,” he said, adding that the NUG should be doing more to support the local resistance movement.
Burning hatred
It was a day after the landmine attack that the military column let loose with its worst assault. After burning down a house in Thar Linn, a village on the eastern bank of the Myittha River about a mile from the Kalay-Gangaw road, it moved on to Myin Thar, which bore the brunt of the army’s ire.
The rampage continued for nearly a week, as village after village—most of them abandoned by their inhabitants by the time the soldiers arrived—was targeted. By September 13, around 100 houses had been torched in the area, while many more were looted.
Many who were unable to flee were tortured and put to death. In Hmwae Lal and Yae Shin, for instance, returning residents discovered five badly bruised bodies. One victim, a mentally disabled man, had his throat slit and his genitals cut off.
At least 35 civilians had been murdered by the middle of the month. But even when there was no one left to kill, the military kept returning to burn down more buildings as a warning to PDF forces who continued to resist.
Hnan Khar, a village that has been subjected to repeated raids, was still coming under attack in late September. Htei Hlaw, another frequent target, was raided on October 1 and occupied for three days. Residents said they found the charred remains of an unidentified body in one of nine buildings that had been torched by the occupying soldiers.
Local civilians say these brutal tactics only serve to strengthen their hatred for the regime and the resolve of those actively fighting against it.
Zin Zin, a 30-year-old resident of Myin Thar, said that her 17-year-old cousin was one of the dozen boys from her village who died on September 9. He and the others who were killed—not in battle, but in cold-blooded murder—had grown up before her eyes.
“I can never forgive them for what they did,” she said. “I will curse them every night for the rest of my life. No matter how much they try to terrify us, we will never give up.”
For Tin Myo Win, who lost his son that day, the feeling runs even deeper.
“I will never forgive Min Aung Hlaing until the end of my days,” he said, referring to the leader of the coup that has thrown the country into chaos.
“If a brother dies, the remaining brother will continue the fight. If a son dies, the father will continue the fight in his name. I will continue the fight for my son,” he vowed.
As pressure grows in a key region, Yaw people vow to continue the fight
After a month of attacks, the people of northern Magway’s Yaw region say they are more determined than ever to defeat the junta
www.myanmar-now.org
Local People’s Defence Force (PDF) fighters in Mandalay Region have said they bombed a military supply train that was heading to Yangon on Tuesday, badly damaging part of the vehicle.
A member of the PDF in Myittha Township said the attack took place around 6pm as the train passed over the Samar bridge on the Yangon-Mandalay highway, some 70km south of Mandalay.
“The back part of the train was badly damaged as the bomb was made with four-inch-diameter pipes,” he told Myanmar Now.
“There were no casualties. It was definitely a junta train as it was transporting supplies for the military,” he said, adding that some soldiers were aboard the train.
Locals told Myanmar Now the train was carrying food supplies.
One man who lives near the site of the attack just south of Myittha said he heard the bomb go off.
“We heard a loud bang. We didn’t hear anything about anyone dying but the train was badly damaged,” he said.
The PDF member said the attack required a large amount of preparation, but did not elaborate.
“We will continue to target the pillars supporting the dictatorship,” he said. Junta forces stopped and questioned civilians in the area around Myittha after the blast, he added, but he said did not know further details.
The junta has not commented on the attack.
The Myittha PDF has also claimed responsibility for an explosion at a military intelligence office in the township’s Shwe Thahtay ward on October 3.
Last month PDF fighters in Kyaukse said they bombed a military supply train travelling from Mandalay to Naypyitaw.
PDF bombs military supply train travelling to Yangon from Mandalay
There were no reports of casualties but resistance fighters said some soldiers were aboard the train
www.myanmar-now.org
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Karen National Liberation Army Brigade attacked Burmese convoys
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The European Parliament has voted to support Myanmar’s shadow government and its parliamentary committee as the legitimate representatives of Myanmar, becoming the first international legislative body to officially endorse the organizations behind the fight against military rule in the Southeast Asian country.
The country has been mired in crisis since the military ousted the Daw Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD) government in February, sparking mass protests and a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators. After more than eight months, sporadic armed attacks on regime targets and reprisals by junta forces continue.
In a resolution adopted on Thursday, the European Parliament said it “supports the CRPH and the NUG as the only legitimate representatives of the democratic wishes of the people of Myanmar,” referring to the parallel National Unity Government (NUG) and its parliamentary Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CPRH), both of which were formed by ousted elected NLD lawmakers and their ethnic allies in the wake of the Feb. 1 takeover.
The motion was passed with 647 votes in favor, two against and 31 abstentions.
The EU Parliament’s show of support on Thursday comes as a major embarrassment to the Myanmar military regime, which seeks international recognition as the country’s rightful caretaker government and is struggling against a competing claim by the NUG.
Neither the NUG nor the CRPH were immediately available for comment on Friday.
Since its formation in April, the NUG has enjoyed popular support at home and abroad. It is supporting striking civil servants and resistance forces against the regime inside the country while lobbying for international acceptance as Myanmar’s legitimate government. Despite some unofficial engagements, however, it has yet to receive diplomatic recognition from foreign countries. Early last month, the shadow government called a nationwide revolt against the regime after deciding that diplomatic pressure was no longer strong enough to topple the junta.
The regime has branded the NUG and CRPH as terrorist organizations.
Early this week, the French Senate voted unanimously to recognize the NUG. If the French Parliament’s lower house approves the vote, France will become the first country to officially recognize Myanmar’s shadow government. The support from the EU parliament could be
In its resolution, the European Parliament also condemned the Myanmar military’s violent response to protesters, as well as its human rights violations against the people following the coup, saying “these ongoing abuses and actions amount to crimes against humanity”. As of Thursday, 1,159 people had been killed by the regime while ethnic and religious minorities have also suffered abuses, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and displacements due to the junta’s clearance operations in anti-regime strongholds.
The resolution calls for the immediate and unconditional release of President U Win Myint, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all others arrested by the military on unfounded accusations during and after the coup.
As ASEAN is playing a mediator role in an effort to resolve the Myanmar crisis, the European Parliament called on the regional bloc and its special envoy to Myanmar to engage with all parties involved, notably with the NUG and representatives of civil society. So far, the regime still hasn’t allowed the envoy to visit the country and the regional bloc has voiced disappointment with the junta’s lack of cooperation.
Internationally, the Parliament called on the regime’s allies China and Russia to live up to their responsibility as permanent members of the UN Security Council and said it expects them to play a constructive role when scrutinizing the situation in Myanmar. Both countries have long supported the regime at the council by vetoing critical resolutions by the US, the UK and France.
Finally, it urged EU countries to continue imposing targeted and robust sanctions to cut off the economic lifelines of the junta, as well as demanding member states push ahead with targeted restrictive measures against those responsible for the coup.
www.irrawaddy.com
The country has been mired in crisis since the military ousted the Daw Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD) government in February, sparking mass protests and a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators. After more than eight months, sporadic armed attacks on regime targets and reprisals by junta forces continue.
In a resolution adopted on Thursday, the European Parliament said it “supports the CRPH and the NUG as the only legitimate representatives of the democratic wishes of the people of Myanmar,” referring to the parallel National Unity Government (NUG) and its parliamentary Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CPRH), both of which were formed by ousted elected NLD lawmakers and their ethnic allies in the wake of the Feb. 1 takeover.
The motion was passed with 647 votes in favor, two against and 31 abstentions.
The EU Parliament’s show of support on Thursday comes as a major embarrassment to the Myanmar military regime, which seeks international recognition as the country’s rightful caretaker government and is struggling against a competing claim by the NUG.
Neither the NUG nor the CRPH were immediately available for comment on Friday.
Since its formation in April, the NUG has enjoyed popular support at home and abroad. It is supporting striking civil servants and resistance forces against the regime inside the country while lobbying for international acceptance as Myanmar’s legitimate government. Despite some unofficial engagements, however, it has yet to receive diplomatic recognition from foreign countries. Early last month, the shadow government called a nationwide revolt against the regime after deciding that diplomatic pressure was no longer strong enough to topple the junta.
The regime has branded the NUG and CRPH as terrorist organizations.
Early this week, the French Senate voted unanimously to recognize the NUG. If the French Parliament’s lower house approves the vote, France will become the first country to officially recognize Myanmar’s shadow government. The support from the EU parliament could be
In its resolution, the European Parliament also condemned the Myanmar military’s violent response to protesters, as well as its human rights violations against the people following the coup, saying “these ongoing abuses and actions amount to crimes against humanity”. As of Thursday, 1,159 people had been killed by the regime while ethnic and religious minorities have also suffered abuses, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and displacements due to the junta’s clearance operations in anti-regime strongholds.
The resolution calls for the immediate and unconditional release of President U Win Myint, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all others arrested by the military on unfounded accusations during and after the coup.
As ASEAN is playing a mediator role in an effort to resolve the Myanmar crisis, the European Parliament called on the regional bloc and its special envoy to Myanmar to engage with all parties involved, notably with the NUG and representatives of civil society. So far, the regime still hasn’t allowed the envoy to visit the country and the regional bloc has voiced disappointment with the junta’s lack of cooperation.
Internationally, the Parliament called on the regime’s allies China and Russia to live up to their responsibility as permanent members of the UN Security Council and said it expects them to play a constructive role when scrutinizing the situation in Myanmar. Both countries have long supported the regime at the council by vetoing critical resolutions by the US, the UK and France.
Finally, it urged EU countries to continue imposing targeted and robust sanctions to cut off the economic lifelines of the junta, as well as demanding member states push ahead with targeted restrictive measures against those responsible for the coup.
European Parliament Throws Support Behind Myanmar’s Shadow Government
The body adopted a resolution backing the National Unity Government and CRPH as the ‘legitimate representatives of the people of Myanmar’.
www.irrawaddy.com
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Yangon embarrassed Myanmar’s junta leader with at least a dozen explosions and casualties over the weekend, mocking the military chief, who was in town at the time to urge authorities to implement serious security measures.
A naval base, police stations, a court and other regime targets were attacked with remote-controlled bombs and other explosives in at least eight townships in Myanmar’s former capital.
A few hours before his push, two explosions rattled a naval base in Thaketa Township on Sunday morning. A bomb was spotted in front of the base and went off before it could be deactivated. Another one exploded a few minutes later, injuring some soldiers, who were rushed to hospital in an ambulance.
The Burma Final Revolution Armed Forces guerrilla group claimed responsibility and said at least three junta troops were severely wounded.
Blasts also targeted a ward administrator’s office in Dawbon and police stations in Thingangyun and Dala. Other blasts were reported in Bahan, North Dagon Township, and at a courthouse in Thanlyin Township on the same day.
The explosions came when regime leader Min Aung Hlaing was in Yangon. On Sunday, he told cabinet members of the Yangon Regional Government that they should find ways to implement preventive measures against attacks so as “not to cause further similar cases of loss of life.”
He added, “Officials need to supervise the security forces so they do not carry out their duties carelessly,” he said.
Explosions were also reported in at least two locations in Yangon on Saturday. The weekend attacks were deliberately timed to coincide with the junta leader’s presence in Yangon; the National Special Task Force, a guerrilla-style civilian resistance force active in the former capital, warned city residents not to go out on Sunday if not necessary.
Yangon has been an anti-regime hotspot since late March, having seen a series of attacks—sometimes fatal—on regime targets. The attacks have included hurling explosives into military convoys and spraying bullets at soldiers standing guard, and shooting regime-appointed officials dead at pointblank range.
www.irrawaddy.com
Around 90 junta soldiers were reportedly killed during intense clashes with civilian resistance fighters in Sagaing and Magwe regions and Kayah State on the weekend.
Around six junta soldiers were killed in Pale Township, Sagaing Region on Sunday when the Pale People’s Defense Force (PPDF) ambushed junta troops who were traveling on motorbikes and an express bus. The express bus carrying junta troops overturned after being hit in a mine blast, the PPDF said.
Another 12 junta police were reportedly killed when PPDF members attacked a police vehicle in the township.
Early Saturday morning, a combined force comprising members of 10 local civilian armed resistance groups attacked a police station in Kyauk Yit Village in Sagaing Region’s Myaung Township where junta troops are deployed, according to a statement from the Civilian Defense and Security Organization of Myaung (CDSOM).
The civilian resistance forces used rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) to attack the police station. There were around 15 military casualties, the group said.
Using landmines, other members of the combined force attacked two military vehicles carrying reinforcements from Chaung-U to Myaung Township to help the junta forces at the besieged Kyauk Yit Police Station.
At least 35 junta soldiers were killed and the two military vehicles were damaged in the attack, the CDSOM claimed.
In the morning, a military convoy carrying about 100 junta troops was hit by four landmine blasts between Kyauktan Village and Thiri Zayar Village in the township.
A military vehicle traveling separately was also attacked with a landmine on the Kyauk Yit-Myaung Highway that morning. However, the number of military casualties sustained in the two attacks is still unknown.
Additionally, another military vehicle carrying provisions was damaged in a landmine attack carried out by the People’s Defense Force-Yesagyo while traveling to Myaung Township, Sagaing Region from Yesagyo Township, Magwe Region. The number of military casualties remains unknown.
At 5 a.m. on Saturday, around 150 junta soldiers traveling on the Saw-Kyaukhtu Highway in Magwe Region were attacked by civilian fighters of the Yaw Defense Force (YDF) using more than 40 mines and firing seven heavy explosive rounds.
During a prolonged 11-hour firefight, at least 20 junta soldiers and a civilian resistance fighter were killed and many military regime troops were injured, the YDF said.
On Sunday morning, the Taze People Comrades-(TPC) used mines to ambush a group of junta forces traveling on motorbikes in Taze Township, Sagaing Region. There were two military casualties, the TPC said.
After suffering more than 1,500 military casualties in the last four months alone, Myanmar’s junta has deployed at least four battalions of reinforcements—around 3,000 soldiers—to conduct clearance operations against civilian resistance forces in Sagaing and Magwe regions and neighboring Chin State.
Due to the mass deployment of heavy weapons and junta troops in the areas, the UN’s human rights office said last Friday it is concerned that a serious attack against the civilian population is imminent.
Myanmar junta forces have used heavy explosives, jet fighters and helicopters in recent clashes with civilian resistance fighters, who are mostly armed with old-fashioned homemade hunting guns and homemade mines, in Sagaing, Magwe regions and Chin State.
On Saturday evening, two firefights broke out between junta troops and Karenni civilian resistance forces in Hpruso Township, Kayah State, according to the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF).
The military sustained casualties in the firefights, the KNDF said.
On Sunday morning, a firefight between junta troops and members of the KNDF broke out at 6 Mile village in Demoso Township, Kayah State after junta troops arrested and gunned down two displaced civilians who had returned home to fetch food.
After being arrested, one of the two civilians was shot dead and the other, with a gunshot wound to the head, was saved by Karenni fighters from the hands of the junta soldiers, according to Karenni armed forces.
The group said junta troops deployed near the Ngwe Saung Dam in Demoso Township randomly fired on a nearby village with heavy explosives.
With the exception of Rakhine State, civilian resistance fighters from People Defense Force groups across the country have stepped up operations against junta troops since Sept. 7, when the parallel National Unity Government (NUG) declared a people’s defensive war against the junta.
www.irrawaddy.com
A naval base, police stations, a court and other regime targets were attacked with remote-controlled bombs and other explosives in at least eight townships in Myanmar’s former capital.
A few hours before his push, two explosions rattled a naval base in Thaketa Township on Sunday morning. A bomb was spotted in front of the base and went off before it could be deactivated. Another one exploded a few minutes later, injuring some soldiers, who were rushed to hospital in an ambulance.
The Burma Final Revolution Armed Forces guerrilla group claimed responsibility and said at least three junta troops were severely wounded.
Blasts also targeted a ward administrator’s office in Dawbon and police stations in Thingangyun and Dala. Other blasts were reported in Bahan, North Dagon Township, and at a courthouse in Thanlyin Township on the same day.
The explosions came when regime leader Min Aung Hlaing was in Yangon. On Sunday, he told cabinet members of the Yangon Regional Government that they should find ways to implement preventive measures against attacks so as “not to cause further similar cases of loss of life.”
He added, “Officials need to supervise the security forces so they do not carry out their duties carelessly,” he said.
Explosions were also reported in at least two locations in Yangon on Saturday. The weekend attacks were deliberately timed to coincide with the junta leader’s presence in Yangon; the National Special Task Force, a guerrilla-style civilian resistance force active in the former capital, warned city residents not to go out on Sunday if not necessary.
Yangon has been an anti-regime hotspot since late March, having seen a series of attacks—sometimes fatal—on regime targets. The attacks have included hurling explosives into military convoys and spraying bullets at soldiers standing guard, and shooting regime-appointed officials dead at pointblank range.
Yangon Rocked by Multiple Blasts as Myanmar Junta Chief Visits to Bolster Security Efforts
A naval base, police stations and a court building were among the regime targets attacked with remote-controlled bombs and other explosives as Min Aung Hlaing visited.
www.irrawaddy.com
Around 90 junta soldiers were reportedly killed during intense clashes with civilian resistance fighters in Sagaing and Magwe regions and Kayah State on the weekend.
Around six junta soldiers were killed in Pale Township, Sagaing Region on Sunday when the Pale People’s Defense Force (PPDF) ambushed junta troops who were traveling on motorbikes and an express bus. The express bus carrying junta troops overturned after being hit in a mine blast, the PPDF said.
Another 12 junta police were reportedly killed when PPDF members attacked a police vehicle in the township.
Early Saturday morning, a combined force comprising members of 10 local civilian armed resistance groups attacked a police station in Kyauk Yit Village in Sagaing Region’s Myaung Township where junta troops are deployed, according to a statement from the Civilian Defense and Security Organization of Myaung (CDSOM).
The civilian resistance forces used rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) to attack the police station. There were around 15 military casualties, the group said.
Using landmines, other members of the combined force attacked two military vehicles carrying reinforcements from Chaung-U to Myaung Township to help the junta forces at the besieged Kyauk Yit Police Station.
At least 35 junta soldiers were killed and the two military vehicles were damaged in the attack, the CDSOM claimed.
In the morning, a military convoy carrying about 100 junta troops was hit by four landmine blasts between Kyauktan Village and Thiri Zayar Village in the township.
A military vehicle traveling separately was also attacked with a landmine on the Kyauk Yit-Myaung Highway that morning. However, the number of military casualties sustained in the two attacks is still unknown.
Additionally, another military vehicle carrying provisions was damaged in a landmine attack carried out by the People’s Defense Force-Yesagyo while traveling to Myaung Township, Sagaing Region from Yesagyo Township, Magwe Region. The number of military casualties remains unknown.
At 5 a.m. on Saturday, around 150 junta soldiers traveling on the Saw-Kyaukhtu Highway in Magwe Region were attacked by civilian fighters of the Yaw Defense Force (YDF) using more than 40 mines and firing seven heavy explosive rounds.
During a prolonged 11-hour firefight, at least 20 junta soldiers and a civilian resistance fighter were killed and many military regime troops were injured, the YDF said.
On Sunday morning, the Taze People Comrades-(TPC) used mines to ambush a group of junta forces traveling on motorbikes in Taze Township, Sagaing Region. There were two military casualties, the TPC said.
After suffering more than 1,500 military casualties in the last four months alone, Myanmar’s junta has deployed at least four battalions of reinforcements—around 3,000 soldiers—to conduct clearance operations against civilian resistance forces in Sagaing and Magwe regions and neighboring Chin State.
Due to the mass deployment of heavy weapons and junta troops in the areas, the UN’s human rights office said last Friday it is concerned that a serious attack against the civilian population is imminent.
Myanmar junta forces have used heavy explosives, jet fighters and helicopters in recent clashes with civilian resistance fighters, who are mostly armed with old-fashioned homemade hunting guns and homemade mines, in Sagaing, Magwe regions and Chin State.
On Saturday evening, two firefights broke out between junta troops and Karenni civilian resistance forces in Hpruso Township, Kayah State, according to the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF).
The military sustained casualties in the firefights, the KNDF said.
On Sunday morning, a firefight between junta troops and members of the KNDF broke out at 6 Mile village in Demoso Township, Kayah State after junta troops arrested and gunned down two displaced civilians who had returned home to fetch food.
After being arrested, one of the two civilians was shot dead and the other, with a gunshot wound to the head, was saved by Karenni fighters from the hands of the junta soldiers, according to Karenni armed forces.
The group said junta troops deployed near the Ngwe Saung Dam in Demoso Township randomly fired on a nearby village with heavy explosives.
With the exception of Rakhine State, civilian resistance fighters from People Defense Force groups across the country have stepped up operations against junta troops since Sept. 7, when the parallel National Unity Government (NUG) declared a people’s defensive war against the junta.
Some 90 Myanmar Junta Soldiers Killed During Intense Weekend Fighting
Civilian resistance fighters attacked junta troops and police in ambushes and raids in Sagaing, Magwe and Kayah; atrocities against unarmed villagers reported in Kayah.
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The Myanmar military has deployed thousands of troops to upper Myanmar in recent weeks in what appears to be preparation for a concerted push to crush an anti-coup uprising that has inflicted heavy casualties on the junta army, according to locals and sources within the armed resistance movement.
Chin State and Sagaing and Magway regions have seen a heavy build-up of military forces since the beginning of the month, the sources said. This comes after months of fierce clashes between junta troops and local resistance groups operating as part of the People’s Defence Force (PDF) formed by the shadow National Unity Government (NUG).
According to figures released by the NUG, the army suffered at least 1,500 casualties in more than 700 armed conflicts between June and September in the areas that are now coming under the most intense pressure.
In retaliation for these losses, the regime has raided scores of villages, forcing tens of thousands of civilians to flee. It has also shut down internet access in 25 townships, in what was seen by many as further evidence of the regime’s plans to carry out massive military operations that will likely lead to a dramatic increase in civilian casualties.
Resistance sources also point to reports that Lt-Gen Than Hlaing, the junta’s deputy minister of home affairs and chief of the Myanmar Police Force, has taken over as commander of the military’s Northwestern Regional Command, which oversees operations in Chin State and Sagaing and Magway regions, as an indication of the regime’s focus on upper Myanmar as key to its efforts to consolidate control over the country.
Meanwhile, several local news outlets have reported that the previous commander, Brig-Gen Phyo Thant, has been detained for allegedly planning to defect to resistance forces and take refuge in an area controlled by an ethnic armed group.
According to military and resistance sources cited in a report published by The Irrawaddy last Friday, the junta has sent at least four battalions, or around 3,000 soldiers, to northwestern Myanmar to take part in “clearance operations” against anti-regime forces.
Although Myanmar Now has been unable to confirm these figures, local residents and resistance sources say they have seen hundreds of military trucks traveling across the region in recent weeks.
A deputy commander of the Chinland Defence Force (CDF) in Chin State’s Kapetlet Township said his brigade had learned that a convoy of three armoured vehicles and at least 86 military trucks loaded with soldiers had left Pakokku in Magway Region early Tuesday and were heading towards Kanpetlet.
“We heard they passed Pauk this morning,” he said on Tuesday, referring to a town in Magway about 110km northeast of Kanpetlet.
By late afternoon, the convoy had reached the airport in Kyaukhtu, a town on the border between Chin State and Magway Region and less than 60km from Kanpetlet, according to the Chin-based media outlet Zalen News.
Four days earlier, about 40 military trucks and two armoured vehicles left Gangaw in Magway and arrived at Kalay in Sagaing, according to locals. They said the two armoured vehicles and 14 of the military trucks left for Tedim in northern Chin State the next day. They added that the remaining vehicles left for an unknown destination in northern Chin State on Monday.
On Sunday, around 30 family members of high-ranking army personnel based in Kalay were evacuated in a military aircraft, according to a resident of the town who spoke on condition of anonymity. The move has raised fears that the military is planning to launch offensives in the region soon, he added.
“There have been a lot of military planes landing and taking off recently, as well as military reinforcements and tanks. People are saying there will be serious clashes soon. So it’s possible that’s why the families of army personnel left,” he said.
The military is not only sending reinforcements to Sagaing and Chin, but has also to the Yaw region of Magway, according to a spokesperson for the main local resistance group, the Yaw Defence Force. Yaw region connects Magway to Chin in the west and Sagaing in the north.
The spokesperson said that his group and its allies are ready for the junta’s offensives, but need more support from the NUG to face an enemy that has more advanced weapons and no scruples about using excessive force.
“We are still in the position of defensive warfare,” he said, noting that resistance forces have relied mainly on ambushes and other guerrilla tactics to slow down the army’s advance.
In Sagaing Region’s Pale Township, a local PDF leader said that fighting has intensified and is likely to continue to get worse until one side or the other prevails.
“The military has been launching offensives every three or four days in our area, deploying more and more troops. The tension between resistance groups and the military has been high. Until one side has lost decisively, there will be more severe clashes,” said the leader, who identified himself as Naga.
The goal of the military is to break the resistance “into pieces,” according to Zin Yaw, a former army captain who has defected to the anti-regime resistance.
“Even if the resistance forces stop their attacks on army troops, the military will try to break them into pieces,” he said, noting that this is the military's usual strategy when facing strong opposition.
As “alarming” reports of the military’s actions continue to pour out of the country, the United Nations human rights agency OHCHR has called on the international community to join forces to address the ongoing crisis in Myanmar.
“There has been an established pattern of attacks by the Tatmadaw [military] against unarmed individuals using lethal force, destruction of residential properties, mass arbitrary detention and deaths in military custody,” OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told reporters on Friday.
“We urge the international community to speak with one voice, to prevent the commission of further serious human rights violations against the people of Myanmar,” she added.
However, resistance forces in targeted regions appear to be placing their hopes more on coordinated action within Myanmar.
“It will be best if armed resistance fighters can launch offensives in areas where the military is weak,” said a CDF official who asked not to be named.
Junta prepares for major offensives in upper Myanmar
The military is setting the stage for a final showdown in Chin State and Sagaing and Magway regions, say local resistance groups
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Two Chin resistance groups attacked junta troops who were leaving the Chin State capital of Hakha on Wednesday morning, killing five soldiers, according to a spokesperson from one of the groups.
The forces involved in the ambush were the Chin National Army (CNA) and the Chinland Defence Force (CDF), according to Salai Htet Ni, spokesperson for the CNA’s political wing, the Chin National Front (CNF).
He said the clash occurred between 10 and 11am on the outskirts of Hakha Township.
“The latest intel we received was that five junta soldiers died in that clash. There were no casualties on the CNA and CDF side,” Salai Htet Ni told Myanmar Now.
He added that several gunshots were also heard on Wednesday morning near Lungpi village in Falam Township, 40 miles from Hakha, but further information about what may have happened there was not confirmed at the time of reporting.
A displaced resident from Taal in Falam said that locals from his village and four others—Taal, Thlanrawn, Rialti and Lungpi—fled their homes when the shots were fired.
“The military still has not arrived in our village but we started hearing gunshots and explosions this morning,” the Taal resident said. “Everyone has fled. There wasn’t much rain today. We’re staying in the forests now.”
The Chin Human Rights Organisation reported on Thursday that Myanmar army soldiers had set multiple homes on fire in two Falam Township villages, torching all 13 houses and a church in Rialti and at least 10 homes in Thlanrawn. According to a Twitter post by the group, both villages are located along the Falam-Hakha road, where fighting between the military and the Chin resistance has escalated.
The Chin National Organisation, which formed in April, released a statement on Wednesday warning locals not to travel along the roads from Falam to Hakha and Rih, alleging that the military had been using locals as human shields in those areas.
Troop reinforcements have been sent to both northern and southern Chin State recently, suggesting that the junta has been preparing for intensified fighting, Salai Htet Ni said.
A military column of 40 trucks and some armoured vehicles had recently arrived in Falam from Kalay in Sagaing Region. On Wednesday morning, another column with 80 trucks and two armoured vehicles arrived in Mindat from Pakokku in Magway Region.
“I heard that this time, they are planning to eliminate us, so I think there are going to be some casualties. It’s very likely that a very serious battle is going to happen,” the CNF spokesperson said. “They’ve been preparing for it for a while now. I would like to tell civilians to be very cautious during their travels.”
There has been a junta-imposed internet blackout in all Chin State townships except Hakha since September 23, making it difficult to obtain timely updates from the region.
Chin armed groups continue ambushes, anticipate ‘serious battle’ with Myanmar army
As dozens of military trucks arrive in both northern and southern Chin State, the spokesperson for a resistance group worries that the junta is ‘planning to eliminate’ them
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British American Tobacco (BAT), the London-based multinational that manufactured and sold London and Lucky Strike cigarettes in Myanmar, has ceased operations, becoming the latest international company to leave since the February coup.
In its letter to merchants and partners, BAT Myanmar Co said it has ceased production, sale and distribution without giving a reason. It said it will fully withdraw by the end of the year.
“It is a shame that BAT is leaving Myanmar. Large firms that have demonstrated corporate responsibility and accountability are leaving Myanmar. Myanmar’s economic downturn has severely affected poorer and middle-class citizens,” said a businessman who asked for anonymity.
The sustainable agriculture development program supported by BAT for farmers in Kayah State will also cease, said the businessman.
International companies are finding it difficult to sustain operations in the chaos caused by the military takeover, said traders.
“After eight months, international companies find the business environment no longer matches their ethics and regulations. They are considering the long-term commercial viability of their operations in Myanmar,” said an economist in Myanmar.
BAT set up in Myanmar in 1999 in partnership with military-owned Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) to manufacture and sell cigarettes. It was forced to leave Myanmar in 2003 by campaigners and an “exceptional” request from the British government to abandon its operation in Myanmar.
It returned in 2013 as the country opened up and initiated reforms.
According to the Institute for Strategy and Policy in Myanmar, businesses from Australia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the US, Germany, Hong Kong, Norway and Taiwan have ceased operations. These include Woodside, KOI Bubble Tea Shop, Auntie Anne’s, Bridgestone, Metro and Petronas. AEON, Amata Corporation, EDF (Electricite de France), Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels, Sembcorp and Toyota have suspended operations.
Norwegian telecoms company Telenor and Australia’s Myanmar Metals have sold their operations in Myanmar and Japan’s Kirin Holdings Co and Singapore’s Virginia Tobacco Co Ltd have terminated partnerships with MEHL.
www.irrawaddy.com
Myanmar’s military regime is facing mounting regional and international pressure to cooperate with ASEAN to resolve the country’s political crisis, as calls grow for the regime to be excluded from the bloc’s summit scheduled for later this month if it fails to do so.
For all his promises to follow the five-point consensus agreed by ASEAN at its summit in April to tackle the political turmoil that has gripped the country since the military coup in February—including an immediate cessation of violence and a visit by a special envoy—regime leader Min Aung Hlaing has largely failed to implement it.
Plans for a visit to the country by the regional bloc’s special envoy Erywan Yusof are still in limbo, as his request to meet all stakeholders including the country’s detained leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been refused by the regime.
On Wednesday, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR); the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN), an NGO working to promote human rights and democracy in Myanmar; and more than 50 local rights groups urged the bloc’s leaders not to invite the regime leader to the upcoming ASEAN Summit. They reasoned that the junta had failed to respect the five-point consensus and pointed to its continued refusal to cooperate with the regional bloc on its implementation.
Excluding Min Aung Hlaing from the summit would be a huge blow to the junta, which has desperately been seeking official recognition from other countries, especially those in ASEAN, as Myanmar’s rightful government.
On the same day, the European Union called on the Myanmar regime to engage with the ASEAN special envoy to fully implement the consensus, while stressing the need for the military to facilitate regular visits by Erywan and allow him to “engage freely with all [those] he wishes to meet.”
In its statement, the EU also called for the immediate and unconditional release of President U Win Myint, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all those detained in connection with the coup, the establishment of a genuine political dialogue and a peaceful return to the country’s democratic path.
“The European Union underlines that a meaningful political dialogue must include all relevant stakeholders, including the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), the National Unity Government (NUG), ethnic groups, political parties and other pro-democracy forces committed to working towards a peaceful resolution of the current crisis,” it said. The CRPH was formed by ousted elected lawmakers from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). The NUG was organized by the NLD parliamentarians and their ethnic allies in the wake of the coup as the “legitimate government of Myanmar.”
The European Parliament last week also agreed to support the CRPH and NUG.
Zaw Min Tun, the military’s spokesman, recently said that dialogue between the ASEAN special envoy and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the NUG and People’s Defense Forces could not take place because the State Counselor has been charged with a number of crimes, while the two organizations have been declared illegal by the junta
The regime’s refusal to allow the special envoy to enter the country has drawn the ire of some ASEAN member countries including Malaysia. Its Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing could be excluded from the regional summit over the junta’s failure to cooperate with ASEAN’s efforts. He also said his country is ready to hold talks with Myanmar’s shadow government if the junta continues to fail the bloc.
Following the tussle, Erywan said last week that the bloc was “deep in discussions” about not inviting the junta leader to the summit after the issue was raised by the Malaysian foreign minister and others.
“Up until today there has been no progress on the implementation of the five-point consensus, and this has raised a concern,” he said, according to Reuters.
www.irrawaddy.com
Local People’s Defence Force (PDF) fighters in Mandalay Region have said they bombed a military supply train that was heading to Yangon on Tuesday, badly damaging part of the vehicle.
A member of the PDF in Myittha Township said the attack took place around 6pm as the train passed over the Samar bridge on the Yangon-Mandalay highway, some 70km south of Mandalay.
“The back part of the train was badly damaged as the bomb was made with four-inch-diameter pipes,” he told Myanmar Now.
“There were no casualties. It was definitely a junta train as it was transporting supplies for the military,” he said, adding that some soldiers were aboard the train.
Locals told Myanmar Now the train was carrying food supplies.
One man who lives near the site of the attack just south of Myittha said he heard the bomb go off.
“We heard a loud bang. We didn’t hear anything about anyone dying but the train was badly damaged,” he said.
The PDF member said the attack required a large amount of preparation, but did not elaborate.
“We will continue to target the pillars supporting the dictatorship,” he said. Junta forces stopped and questioned civilians in the area around Myittha after the blast, he added, but he said did not know further details.
The junta has not commented on the attack.
The Myittha PDF has also claimed responsibility for an explosion at a military intelligence office in the township’s Shwe Thahtay ward on October 3.
Last month PDF fighters in Kyaukse said they bombed a military supply train travelling from Mandalay to Naypyitaw.
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'
In its letter to merchants and partners, BAT Myanmar Co said it has ceased production, sale and distribution without giving a reason. It said it will fully withdraw by the end of the year.
“It is a shame that BAT is leaving Myanmar. Large firms that have demonstrated corporate responsibility and accountability are leaving Myanmar. Myanmar’s economic downturn has severely affected poorer and middle-class citizens,” said a businessman who asked for anonymity.
The sustainable agriculture development program supported by BAT for farmers in Kayah State will also cease, said the businessman.
International companies are finding it difficult to sustain operations in the chaos caused by the military takeover, said traders.
“After eight months, international companies find the business environment no longer matches their ethics and regulations. They are considering the long-term commercial viability of their operations in Myanmar,” said an economist in Myanmar.
BAT set up in Myanmar in 1999 in partnership with military-owned Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) to manufacture and sell cigarettes. It was forced to leave Myanmar in 2003 by campaigners and an “exceptional” request from the British government to abandon its operation in Myanmar.
It returned in 2013 as the country opened up and initiated reforms.
According to the Institute for Strategy and Policy in Myanmar, businesses from Australia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the US, Germany, Hong Kong, Norway and Taiwan have ceased operations. These include Woodside, KOI Bubble Tea Shop, Auntie Anne’s, Bridgestone, Metro and Petronas. AEON, Amata Corporation, EDF (Electricite de France), Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels, Sembcorp and Toyota have suspended operations.
Norwegian telecoms company Telenor and Australia’s Myanmar Metals have sold their operations in Myanmar and Japan’s Kirin Holdings Co and Singapore’s Virginia Tobacco Co Ltd have terminated partnerships with MEHL.
International Cigarette Firm Ditches Military-Ruled Myanmar
British American Tobacco is the latest multinational to abandon its operations in Myanmar since the February coup.
www.irrawaddy.com
Myanmar’s military regime is facing mounting regional and international pressure to cooperate with ASEAN to resolve the country’s political crisis, as calls grow for the regime to be excluded from the bloc’s summit scheduled for later this month if it fails to do so.
For all his promises to follow the five-point consensus agreed by ASEAN at its summit in April to tackle the political turmoil that has gripped the country since the military coup in February—including an immediate cessation of violence and a visit by a special envoy—regime leader Min Aung Hlaing has largely failed to implement it.
Plans for a visit to the country by the regional bloc’s special envoy Erywan Yusof are still in limbo, as his request to meet all stakeholders including the country’s detained leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been refused by the regime.
On Wednesday, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR); the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN), an NGO working to promote human rights and democracy in Myanmar; and more than 50 local rights groups urged the bloc’s leaders not to invite the regime leader to the upcoming ASEAN Summit. They reasoned that the junta had failed to respect the five-point consensus and pointed to its continued refusal to cooperate with the regional bloc on its implementation.
Excluding Min Aung Hlaing from the summit would be a huge blow to the junta, which has desperately been seeking official recognition from other countries, especially those in ASEAN, as Myanmar’s rightful government.
On the same day, the European Union called on the Myanmar regime to engage with the ASEAN special envoy to fully implement the consensus, while stressing the need for the military to facilitate regular visits by Erywan and allow him to “engage freely with all [those] he wishes to meet.”
In its statement, the EU also called for the immediate and unconditional release of President U Win Myint, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all those detained in connection with the coup, the establishment of a genuine political dialogue and a peaceful return to the country’s democratic path.
“The European Union underlines that a meaningful political dialogue must include all relevant stakeholders, including the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), the National Unity Government (NUG), ethnic groups, political parties and other pro-democracy forces committed to working towards a peaceful resolution of the current crisis,” it said. The CRPH was formed by ousted elected lawmakers from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). The NUG was organized by the NLD parliamentarians and their ethnic allies in the wake of the coup as the “legitimate government of Myanmar.”
The European Parliament last week also agreed to support the CRPH and NUG.
Zaw Min Tun, the military’s spokesman, recently said that dialogue between the ASEAN special envoy and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the NUG and People’s Defense Forces could not take place because the State Counselor has been charged with a number of crimes, while the two organizations have been declared illegal by the junta
The regime’s refusal to allow the special envoy to enter the country has drawn the ire of some ASEAN member countries including Malaysia. Its Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing could be excluded from the regional summit over the junta’s failure to cooperate with ASEAN’s efforts. He also said his country is ready to hold talks with Myanmar’s shadow government if the junta continues to fail the bloc.
Following the tussle, Erywan said last week that the bloc was “deep in discussions” about not inviting the junta leader to the summit after the issue was raised by the Malaysian foreign minister and others.
“Up until today there has been no progress on the implementation of the five-point consensus, and this has raised a concern,” he said, according to Reuters.
International Pressure Grows on Myanmar Junta to Cooperate With ASEAN
ASEAN lawmakers and prominent NGOs have joined calls for the regime’s leader to be shunned at the regional bloc’s summit if it continues to stonewall.
www.irrawaddy.com
Local People’s Defence Force (PDF) fighters in Mandalay Region have said they bombed a military supply train that was heading to Yangon on Tuesday, badly damaging part of the vehicle.
A member of the PDF in Myittha Township said the attack took place around 6pm as the train passed over the Samar bridge on the Yangon-Mandalay highway, some 70km south of Mandalay.
“The back part of the train was badly damaged as the bomb was made with four-inch-diameter pipes,” he told Myanmar Now.
“There were no casualties. It was definitely a junta train as it was transporting supplies for the military,” he said, adding that some soldiers were aboard the train.
Locals told Myanmar Now the train was carrying food supplies.
One man who lives near the site of the attack just south of Myittha said he heard the bomb go off.
“We heard a loud bang. We didn’t hear anything about anyone dying but the train was badly damaged,” he said.
The PDF member said the attack required a large amount of preparation, but did not elaborate.
“We will continue to target the pillars supporting the dictatorship,” he said. Junta forces stopped and questioned civilians in the area around Myittha after the blast, he added, but he said did not know further details.
The junta has not commented on the attack.
The Myittha PDF has also claimed responsibility for an explosion at a military intelligence office in the township’s Shwe Thahtay ward on October 3.
Last month PDF fighters in Kyaukse said they bombed a military supply train travelling from Mandalay to Naypyitaw.
PDF bombs military supply train travelling to Yangon from Mandalay
There were no reports of casualties but resistance fighters said some soldiers were aboard the train
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Resistance forces in upper Myanmar say they used landmines to inflict heavy casualties against junta soldiers in recent days.
The attacks against columns of soldiers in Mandalay, Sagaing and Magway regions caused scores of injuries, local armed groups said, though they were unsure of the exact number of deaths.
A chapter of the People’s Defence Force (PDF) in Mandalay Region’s Thabeikkyin Township attacked a military convoy last Wednesday night at Three Mile village, just outside of the town of Takaung and near the border with Sagaing.
Thabeikkyin locals said the attack injured at least 30 junta soldiers. The convoy was apparently heading towards Htigyaing Township in Sagaing from Thabeikkyin, one of the locals said.
“Three Mile village is right next to the town of Takaung. We heard the sound of the explosion and a military vehicle was caught in the fire,” said the local.
There was also a small clash near the cemetery in the nearby village of Taung Ta Lone at the same time as the landmine attack, he added. “We could hear the exchange of gunshots but heard no one was injured in that battle.”
The PDF in Thabeikkyin said the next day that it attacked the convoy in collaboration with resistance fighters from Htigyaing. A military truck was destroyed and several junta soldiers were injured, its statement said, without specifying if anyone died.
Htigyaing has been the target of a junta crackdown aimed at crushing the armed resistance after civilians-turned-guerrillas burned down police outposts there last week.
Before its landmine attack in Takaung, the Thabeikkyin PDF’s missions consisted of assassinating suspected military informants and pro-junta local administrators, as well as destroying phone towers owned by Mytel, which is part-owned by the military.
In Sagaing’s Taze Township on Friday afternoon, guerrilla fighters used landmines to attack about 20 junta soldiers who were returning on foot after patrolling the village of Nabetgyi.
The Taze People’s Comrades (TPC) set the mines near a bridge that connects Nabetgyi with Thetkeitan village in the north of Taze. After one of the mines exploded there was a clash between the two groups.
The TPC said several junta soldiers died while a local said at least 18 soldiers were killed. Myanmar Now is unable to independently verify the figures.
“We could see them marching on foot,” said the local, who is close to the TPC. “They all fell down when the landmine exploded. Two then stood up and started shooting at everything and everyone they saw for about 30 minutes.”
Although only one mine exploded, the soldiers were grouped together on the bridge and many were therefore caught in the blast, the local said.
Resistance groups in upper Myanmar are outgunned by the junta’s forces and depend largely on homemade weapons, as well as whatever they can seize from defeated soldiers.
The Taze resident said guerrilla fighters find landmines highly effective compared to traditional muskets but are struggling to raise enough money to buy the necessary components to make the explosives.
“Every resistance force is having this problem now, but we’re all selling whatever we own to make more weapons. It’d be a lot better if the NUG could provide us with more weapons,” he said, referring to the underground National Unity Government.
The NUG has declared war on the junta and said it will unite Myanmar’s numerous resistance forces under one banner and establish a chain of command.
Many of those who have taken up arms, however, say they have still received little or no help from the NUG.
A mechanic was shot and killed in Taze on Friday morning for reasons that are unclear.
Kyaw Win, 48, who owned the Htoo Tawwin mechanic shop, was shot four times by two unknown attackers in civilian clothes at around 6am, according to a local.
“He was shot twice in the stomach and once in the leg. He was serving as an officer for a social service group helping civilians get oxygen supplies,” said the local, referring to efforts to assist people suffering from Covid-19.
“We still don’t know who perpetrated the attack. Two armed assailants on a motorbike shot him,” he added.
Since the killing, soldiers have conducted searches in the town and tightened security.
Residents in some villages in Taze have continued to hold daily protests against the junta despite deadly crackdowns against unarmed demonstrators.
Also on Friday, PDF fighters from Magway’s Saw Township used landmines to attack a column of around 100 junta soldiers as they walked alongside five military trucks.
At least five mines exploded in the ambush, which happened six miles outside of the township as the soldiers headed towards the town of Kyaukhtu.
“Given the type of landmines we used, there was no way for them to escape,” said a member of Saw PDF who identified himself as a battalion commander. “However, we have yet to confirm the exact number of casualties on the military’s side.”
He added that the junta soldiers also fired around 40 shots using both light and heavy weapons during their departure from Saw.
“They have been using this new strategy where the vehicles only carry the drivers and the rest of the troops just march on foot beside the vehicles,” he said, adding that the military column retreated to Saw after the attack.
The Saw PDF on Wednesday issued a statement warning civilians not to use the road connecting Saw and Kyaukhtu as there may be clashes.
Last month the Saw PDF said it attacked junta forces with landmines on a road that connects Saw with a town 20 miles north called Kan Gyi, injuring at least 10 soldiers.
The townships of Saw and Kyaukhtu are connected to Kanpetlet and Mindat in Chin State, where armed resistance against the junta has been tenacious.
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A joint force of armed resistance groups attacked a police station in northern Pauk Township in Magway Region on Tuesday night, reportedly killing seven police officers, according to representatives of one of the groups involved.
Two members of the People’s Defence Force (PDF) in neighbouring Myaing Township told Myanmar Now that, accompanied by the Underground Revolution Force of Pauk Township (URF-Pauk), they attacked the police station in Zee Pyar village at 9pm.
They said that 20 policemen immediately fled the station and based themselves on a nearby hill when the battle started, and retaliated with fire from both heavy and light weapons, forcing the resistance coalition to retreat after 30 minutes of fighting.
“We didn’t manage to torch the station. There were only police officers present and no soldiers. We initially planned to occupy the station but they started employing heavy weapons, so we had to retreat,” a Myaing PDF member explained.
The PDF did not disclose how many troops they employed in the attack, but two of its members were reportedly injured in the clash.
A resident of Zee Pyar village said they heard the police firing their guns all night but that no civilians were harmed. The following morning, several villagers fled their homes after plainclothes junta soldiers arrived at Zee Pyar police station on 15 motorbikes.
“This has never happened before in our village. This was the first time,” the villager said of the shootout.
He explained that located just 12 miles south of Zee Pyar is the military’s No. 24 factory, which was once rumoured to produce chemical weapons, a claim which the army has denied. The chief executive officer and four reporters from the Unity Journal, which published a 2014 report outlining the allegations against the factory, were sued by the military that year and imprisoned for violating the Official Secrets Act.
Myanmar Now was unable to verify the state of the factory’s current operations or what it is producing.
The villager said that residents of Zee Pyar fled because they were scared that the junta’s armed forces would use the alleged weapons from the factory to terrorise the community, as troops have been raiding other villages in Pauk and surrounding townships.
Myanmar Now was unable to make contact with the junta to obtain comment regarding the resistance forces’ attack on the police station in Pauk.
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People’s Defence Force (PDF) chapters in Magway and Sagaing regions ambushed the junta’s armed forces on Sunday and Monday in neighbouring Yesagyo and Chaung-U townships, respectively.
The Chaung-U PDF planted landmines in the township to target a military column traveling from Monywa on the Chaung-U-Pakkoku road just past Mahn Cho village at around 4pm on Monday, a leader of the anti-junta resistance group told Myanmar Now.
Two military vehicles were reportedly destroyed in the blasts, but the number of soldiers killed in the incident was unconfirmed at the time of reporting.
“They came to carry the bodies of their people back and then blocked the road so that we wouldn’t see how many of them died,” a leader within the Chaung-U PDF said. He added that the army vehicles crashed into one another due to the explosion, likely causing what he described as “many casualties.”
The junta’s roadblock went up to the Sin Phyu Shin bridge crossing the Chindwin River to Magway’s Yesagyo Township.
The Yesagyo PDF released a statement on Monday claiming responsibility for an attack on the military’s LIB 257 in Hpu Lon village in the township the night before. The group reportedly fired three rocket launchers at the troops’ location.
“We fired the rocket launchers into their base and they hit the building. We didn’t manage to find out the exact number of casualties as it happened within a military base and we’re using guerilla warfare,” a Yesagyo PDF leader explained. “We have to take every opportunity we get to attack them where their security is weak,” he said.
He added that the junta troops began shooting indiscriminately around the base after the attack but no PDF members were hit.
Myanmar Now was unable to independently verify the information provided by the PDF leaders at the time of reporting. The military council has not released any statements confirming the attacks on their troops.
Ten PDF chapters based in Yesagyo, Sagaing, Shwebo, Monywa, Chaung-U, Myaung, Ayadaw, Mawlaik, Myingyan and Myinmu townships agreed on August 31 to form an alliance to fight the Myanmar army, which has been terrorising villages in northwestern Myanmar in an attempt to crush support for the resistance movement.
www.myanmar-now.org
The attacks against columns of soldiers in Mandalay, Sagaing and Magway regions caused scores of injuries, local armed groups said, though they were unsure of the exact number of deaths.
A chapter of the People’s Defence Force (PDF) in Mandalay Region’s Thabeikkyin Township attacked a military convoy last Wednesday night at Three Mile village, just outside of the town of Takaung and near the border with Sagaing.
Thabeikkyin locals said the attack injured at least 30 junta soldiers. The convoy was apparently heading towards Htigyaing Township in Sagaing from Thabeikkyin, one of the locals said.
“Three Mile village is right next to the town of Takaung. We heard the sound of the explosion and a military vehicle was caught in the fire,” said the local.
There was also a small clash near the cemetery in the nearby village of Taung Ta Lone at the same time as the landmine attack, he added. “We could hear the exchange of gunshots but heard no one was injured in that battle.”
The PDF in Thabeikkyin said the next day that it attacked the convoy in collaboration with resistance fighters from Htigyaing. A military truck was destroyed and several junta soldiers were injured, its statement said, without specifying if anyone died.
Htigyaing has been the target of a junta crackdown aimed at crushing the armed resistance after civilians-turned-guerrillas burned down police outposts there last week.
Before its landmine attack in Takaung, the Thabeikkyin PDF’s missions consisted of assassinating suspected military informants and pro-junta local administrators, as well as destroying phone towers owned by Mytel, which is part-owned by the military.
In Sagaing’s Taze Township on Friday afternoon, guerrilla fighters used landmines to attack about 20 junta soldiers who were returning on foot after patrolling the village of Nabetgyi.
The Taze People’s Comrades (TPC) set the mines near a bridge that connects Nabetgyi with Thetkeitan village in the north of Taze. After one of the mines exploded there was a clash between the two groups.
The TPC said several junta soldiers died while a local said at least 18 soldiers were killed. Myanmar Now is unable to independently verify the figures.
“We could see them marching on foot,” said the local, who is close to the TPC. “They all fell down when the landmine exploded. Two then stood up and started shooting at everything and everyone they saw for about 30 minutes.”
Although only one mine exploded, the soldiers were grouped together on the bridge and many were therefore caught in the blast, the local said.
Resistance groups in upper Myanmar are outgunned by the junta’s forces and depend largely on homemade weapons, as well as whatever they can seize from defeated soldiers.
The Taze resident said guerrilla fighters find landmines highly effective compared to traditional muskets but are struggling to raise enough money to buy the necessary components to make the explosives.
“Every resistance force is having this problem now, but we’re all selling whatever we own to make more weapons. It’d be a lot better if the NUG could provide us with more weapons,” he said, referring to the underground National Unity Government.
The NUG has declared war on the junta and said it will unite Myanmar’s numerous resistance forces under one banner and establish a chain of command.
Many of those who have taken up arms, however, say they have still received little or no help from the NUG.
A mechanic was shot and killed in Taze on Friday morning for reasons that are unclear.
Kyaw Win, 48, who owned the Htoo Tawwin mechanic shop, was shot four times by two unknown attackers in civilian clothes at around 6am, according to a local.
“He was shot twice in the stomach and once in the leg. He was serving as an officer for a social service group helping civilians get oxygen supplies,” said the local, referring to efforts to assist people suffering from Covid-19.
“We still don’t know who perpetrated the attack. Two armed assailants on a motorbike shot him,” he added.
Since the killing, soldiers have conducted searches in the town and tightened security.
Residents in some villages in Taze have continued to hold daily protests against the junta despite deadly crackdowns against unarmed demonstrators.
Also on Friday, PDF fighters from Magway’s Saw Township used landmines to attack a column of around 100 junta soldiers as they walked alongside five military trucks.
At least five mines exploded in the ambush, which happened six miles outside of the township as the soldiers headed towards the town of Kyaukhtu.
“Given the type of landmines we used, there was no way for them to escape,” said a member of Saw PDF who identified himself as a battalion commander. “However, we have yet to confirm the exact number of casualties on the military’s side.”
He added that the junta soldiers also fired around 40 shots using both light and heavy weapons during their departure from Saw.
“They have been using this new strategy where the vehicles only carry the drivers and the rest of the troops just march on foot beside the vehicles,” he said, adding that the military column retreated to Saw after the attack.
The Saw PDF on Wednesday issued a statement warning civilians not to use the road connecting Saw and Kyaukhtu as there may be clashes.
Last month the Saw PDF said it attacked junta forces with landmines on a road that connects Saw with a town 20 miles north called Kan Gyi, injuring at least 10 soldiers.
The townships of Saw and Kyaukhtu are connected to Kanpetlet and Mindat in Chin State, where armed resistance against the junta has been tenacious.
Resistance fighters in upper Myanmar inflict heavy casualties on junta forces using landmines
Scores were injured in several ambushes across upper Myanmar but the number of deaths is unclear
www.myanmar-now.org
A joint force of armed resistance groups attacked a police station in northern Pauk Township in Magway Region on Tuesday night, reportedly killing seven police officers, according to representatives of one of the groups involved.
Two members of the People’s Defence Force (PDF) in neighbouring Myaing Township told Myanmar Now that, accompanied by the Underground Revolution Force of Pauk Township (URF-Pauk), they attacked the police station in Zee Pyar village at 9pm.
They said that 20 policemen immediately fled the station and based themselves on a nearby hill when the battle started, and retaliated with fire from both heavy and light weapons, forcing the resistance coalition to retreat after 30 minutes of fighting.
“We didn’t manage to torch the station. There were only police officers present and no soldiers. We initially planned to occupy the station but they started employing heavy weapons, so we had to retreat,” a Myaing PDF member explained.
The PDF did not disclose how many troops they employed in the attack, but two of its members were reportedly injured in the clash.
A resident of Zee Pyar village said they heard the police firing their guns all night but that no civilians were harmed. The following morning, several villagers fled their homes after plainclothes junta soldiers arrived at Zee Pyar police station on 15 motorbikes.
“This has never happened before in our village. This was the first time,” the villager said of the shootout.
He explained that located just 12 miles south of Zee Pyar is the military’s No. 24 factory, which was once rumoured to produce chemical weapons, a claim which the army has denied. The chief executive officer and four reporters from the Unity Journal, which published a 2014 report outlining the allegations against the factory, were sued by the military that year and imprisoned for violating the Official Secrets Act.
Myanmar Now was unable to verify the state of the factory’s current operations or what it is producing.
The villager said that residents of Zee Pyar fled because they were scared that the junta’s armed forces would use the alleged weapons from the factory to terrorise the community, as troops have been raiding other villages in Pauk and surrounding townships.
Myanmar Now was unable to make contact with the junta to obtain comment regarding the resistance forces’ attack on the police station in Pauk.
Resistance coalition forced to retreat after launching fatal attack on police station in Pauk Township
Residents of Zee Pyar flee after plainclothes Myanmar army soldiers arrive in the village the day after the shootout—the first in the community, a local says
www.myanmar-now.org
People’s Defence Force (PDF) chapters in Magway and Sagaing regions ambushed the junta’s armed forces on Sunday and Monday in neighbouring Yesagyo and Chaung-U townships, respectively.
The Chaung-U PDF planted landmines in the township to target a military column traveling from Monywa on the Chaung-U-Pakkoku road just past Mahn Cho village at around 4pm on Monday, a leader of the anti-junta resistance group told Myanmar Now.
Two military vehicles were reportedly destroyed in the blasts, but the number of soldiers killed in the incident was unconfirmed at the time of reporting.
“They came to carry the bodies of their people back and then blocked the road so that we wouldn’t see how many of them died,” a leader within the Chaung-U PDF said. He added that the army vehicles crashed into one another due to the explosion, likely causing what he described as “many casualties.”
The junta’s roadblock went up to the Sin Phyu Shin bridge crossing the Chindwin River to Magway’s Yesagyo Township.
The Yesagyo PDF released a statement on Monday claiming responsibility for an attack on the military’s LIB 257 in Hpu Lon village in the township the night before. The group reportedly fired three rocket launchers at the troops’ location.
“We fired the rocket launchers into their base and they hit the building. We didn’t manage to find out the exact number of casualties as it happened within a military base and we’re using guerilla warfare,” a Yesagyo PDF leader explained. “We have to take every opportunity we get to attack them where their security is weak,” he said.
He added that the junta troops began shooting indiscriminately around the base after the attack but no PDF members were hit.
Myanmar Now was unable to independently verify the information provided by the PDF leaders at the time of reporting. The military council has not released any statements confirming the attacks on their troops.
Ten PDF chapters based in Yesagyo, Sagaing, Shwebo, Monywa, Chaung-U, Myaung, Ayadaw, Mawlaik, Myingyan and Myinmu townships agreed on August 31 to form an alliance to fight the Myanmar army, which has been terrorising villages in northwestern Myanmar in an attempt to crush support for the resistance movement.
Sagaing and Magway PDFs launch guerrilla attacks on military columns
The groups use landmines and rocket launchers in their ambushes on junta troops on the road and in a military base
www.myanmar-now.org
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It's quite amazing what the PDF is able to do. It seems they're only using guerilla tactics. Normally revolution of any kind would have found a weapon supplier one way or another. But I guess the PDF don't have enough capital backing to get there yet.
@Isa Khan do you think there are influx of arms to PDF from Bangladesh or any of the neighboring countries ?
@Isa Khan do you think there are influx of arms to PDF from Bangladesh or any of the neighboring countries ?
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Ok, i think this is probably the second time people asked about BD's involvement in Burmese civil war. Just to clarify, BD is not involved in the civil war. NUG urged the Rohingyas to join the fight but they showed no interest. AFAIK the weapons are coming from China, Thailand and black market.
Police in the northern Thai border town of Mae Sai have seized thousands of rounds of ammunition and over 100 grenades thought to be headed for Tachileik, the Myanmar town opposite Mae Sai.
On March 28, police and Thai military found 6,000 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition for M16 assault rifles and 52 K75 anti-personnel grenades, according to the Thai newspaper Matichon.
It was reported that the Mae Sai police were alerted by a courier company after their Mae Sai shop received four suspicious boxes from Thailand’s Chon Buri Province. Workers at the shop questioned why the boxes were so heavy and called the police to investigate them.
The following day the police were also alerted to check four more boxes intended for delivery to Myanmar. Police found another 15 K-75 grenades in each box, 60 in total.
Thai newspapers reported that the total seizure amounted to 6,000 rounds of ammunition for M16 and M4- series assault rifles and 112 K75 anti-personnel grenades.
Security officials in Thailand presume that all were bound for Tachileik in Myanmar.
The grenades were made in South Korea, according to Thai army sources in Chiang Rai. All the ammunition and grenades are thought to have been imported from abroad.
Several Thai people, including the driver of the van that transported the boxes to Mae Sai, are now under investigation.
Ammunition and Grenades Destined for Myanmar Seized on Thai Border
Thai police confiscate thousands of live rounds and over a hundred grenades believed to be bound for Myanmar town of Tachileik.
www.irrawaddy.com
Thai security agencies have been instructed to step up vigilance along the border with Myanmar, The Bangkok Post reported. But this time the Thai army is looking to prevent weapons smuggling from Thailand into conflict-ridden Myanmar.
Thai Defense Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Kongcheep Tantrawanich said on Tuesday the instruction came from Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon and followed recent reports of arms dealers smuggling military-grade weapons to Myanmar, where fighting between the ruling junta and rebels has intensified.
Lt-Gen Kongcheep said Prawit had instructed that security intelligence agencies concentrate on obtaining information on the sources of weapons, transport routes and financial transaction channels used by the smugglers, the Post reported.
In late March, Thai Police in the northern Thai border town of Mae Sai seized thousands of rounds of ammunition and over 100 grenades thought to be headed for Tachileik, the Myanmar town opposite Mae Sai.
Thai newspapers reported that the total seizure amounted to 6,000 rounds of ammunition for M16 and M4 series assault rifles and 112 K75 anti-personnel grenades.
In June last year, a joint task force, including the Thai military and police, seized a large cache of Chinese-made weapons, which were believed to be destined for Myanmar.
AK47 assault rifles, machine guns, anti-tank mines, grenades and ammunition were among the items seized in a joint raid on a house in Mae Tao in Mae Sot District on the Thai side of the border.
This time Thai security forces are concerned about a recent increase in fighting in Kayah State opposite Mae Hong Song province in northern Thailand and in areas controlled by Karen insurgents to the south. Moreover, loosely formed People’s Defense Forces in Myanmar have been engaged in battles against the military junta, which staged a coup on Feb. 1.
Two weeks ago, Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government declared a defensive war on the junta. Fighting has intensified, with bombings and killings taking place in Myanmar almost daily.
Ethnic insurgents along the border with Thailand have purchased arms and ammunition from overseas black markets and in Thailand.
Lt-Gen Kongcheep quoted Prawit as saying that Thailand does not support the use of violence in any form in Myanmar.
Thai Security Forces on Alert for Myanmar Border Arms Smuggling
Deputy PM tells border security personnel to be extra vigilant amid reports that arms dealers are trafficking weapons to groups fighting Myanmar junta.
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Oct 14 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian foreign ministers will discuss excluding Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing from an upcoming summit at a meeting on Friday, sources told Reuters, as pressure builds on the ruling military to comply with an agreed peace roadmap.
The meeting comes as the junta ruled out allowing a regional envoy, Brunei's second foreign affairs minister, Erywan Yusof, to meet deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is on trial on multiple charges since her elected government was overthrown in a Feb. 1 coup.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed on a five-point consensus with Min Aung Hlaing in April, but several members of the bloc have criticised the junta's failure to implement the plan, which includes dialogue among all parties, humanitarian access and an end to hostilities.
Friday's previously unscheduled virtual meeting will be hosted by ASEAN chair Brunei, according to multiple sources based in ASEAN member countries, including diplomats and government officials.
Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia had indicated that they were in favour of excluding Min Aung Hlaing from the Oct. 26-28 virtual summit, but were pushing for a consensus among nine ASEAN states, three of the sources said. Myanmar is the 10th ASEAN member.
A spokesman for Thailand's foreign ministry confirmed a meeting would be held on Friday.
Philippine Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin on Thursday voiced support for excluding Min Aung Hlaing from future summits, adding that ASEAN could no longer afford to take a neutral stance on Myanmar.
"We can continue keeping them (Myanmar) at a distance but... if we relent in any way, our credibility as a real regional organisation disappears," Locsin said in an interview with Australian think-tank Lowy Institute.
"What's that? We're a bunch of guys who always agree with each other on the worthless things, things that don't count in the world."
The U.S. State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed Myanmar, also known as Burma, with Erywan on Wednesday.
It said the two "expressed concern over the violence and deteriorating crisis in Burma and emphasized the urgency for the Burmese military regime to cease the violence, release all those unjustly detained, and restore multi-party democracy and Burma’s democratic transition."
It said they also reaffirmed the need to hold the Myanmar government accountable to the five-point consensus and facilitate a meaningful visit by Erywan "to include engagements with all stakeholders."
A long-planned visit by Erywan to Myanmar has been delayed in recent weeks.
In a statement late Thursday, the junta's foreign ministry said the envoy had proposed a visit this week but requested to meet "some specific individuals", a request the military rejected.
Zaw Min Tin, the junta spokesman, previously said the envoy would not be allowed to meet deposed civilian government leader Aung San Suu Kyi because she is charged with crimes. read more
Myanmar was willing to allow the envoy to meet people "from legally existing political parties" and "the special envoy should prioritize in this the very first trip to meet with these relevant parties and build trust and confidence between the special envoy and the country concerned," the foreign ministry said.
Erywan last week confirmed that some ASEAN members had been "deep in discussions" about not inviting Min Aung Hlaing. Earlier this week, he said he was in consultations with parties in Myanmar, did not take sides or political positions and looked forward to a visit.
Brunei's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Myanmar, with a long history of military dictatorship and international sanctions over systematic human rights abuses, has been ASEAN's trickiest issue since the group was formed in 1967, testing the limits of its unity and policy of non-interference in each others' affairs.
More than 1,100 people have been killed since Myanmar's coup, according to the United Nations, many during a crackdown by security forces on pro-democracy strikes and protests, during which thousands have been arrested.
www.reuters.com
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Malaysia does not want Myanmar's junta chief to attend an upcoming Southeast Asian leaders' summit if he fails to honour his commitment to a peace plan, its foreign minister said on Friday, ahead of a meeting to decide on a regional response.
The minister, Saifuddin Abdullah, said he was informed Erywan Yusof, a special envoy for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), planned to visit Myanmar next week, and the bloc's foreign ministers would hold a virtual meeting on Friday to assess the junta's commitment to the peace process.
Myanmar's military seized power in a Feb. 1 coup led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, which ended a decade of tentative democracy and triggered a backlash that has plunged the country into chaos.
"This evening we will be looking at the details of the proposed visit," he told a news conference.
"If there is no real progress then Malaysia's stand would remain that we do not want the general to be attending the summit. No compromise on that."
Myanmar has been one of ASEAN's most divisive issues since it joined the bloc in 1997 as a military dictatorship lambasted by the West for its iron-fisted rule, testing ASEAN's unity and denting its international credibility.
The exclusion of Min Aung Hlaing, though not formally recognised as an ASEAN leader, would be a big step for the bloc, which has a policy of non-interference in each other's affairs and has long favoured engagement over punitive measures.
Min Aung Hlaing in April agreed to a five-point ASEAN plan that the group called a "consensus" on a way out of the deadly turmoil in Myanmar since the military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi, alleging fraud in an election her party won in a landslide.
The commitment includes dialogue with all parties, humanitarian access and a cessation of all hostilities.
LOSING PATIENCE
Several ASEAN members have expressed exasperation with the junta's failure to follow the plan, which the United Nations, China and United States initially supported.
Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia have indicated they were in favour of excluding Min Aung Hlaing from the Oct. 26-28 virtual summit, but were pushing for an ASEAN consensus, three sources with knowledge of the issue told Reuters this week. read more
Saifuddin on Friday said without a consensus, there was no protocol for excluding an ASEAN member. However, he believed there would be a solution.
"We do not have a system where you downgrade a particular member's representation to the summit. So there are probably other ways of doing this," he said.
Zaw Min Tun, the Myanmar junta spokesman, this week said ASEAN envoy Erywan would not be allowed to meet Suu Kyi because she is charged with crimes.
Myanmar's foreign ministry late on Thursday issued a lengthy statement saying it was committed to the ASEAN plan and receiving the envoy.
It suggested that Erywan should prioritise ways to "build trust and confidence" on his first trip.
Thailand's foreign ministry took a conciliatory tone, saying it viewed Myanmar as a member of the ASEAN family and saw Erywan's visit as "an important first step in the process of confidence-building with a goal of encouraging dialogue".
"We also believe in the collective wisdom of all ASEAN member states, including Myanmar, to overcome all challenges together," it said.
www.reuters.com
UN chief Antonio Guterres asked to postpone a virtual meeting with Southeast Asian ministers at the last minute to avoid signalling any recognition of Myanmar’s military government by being in the same online room as the military’s envoy, United Nations diplomats have said.
The meeting between the UN secretary-general and foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – including Wunna Maung Lwin, the foreign minister appointed by the military – had been due to take place last Friday.
But the day before, Guterres asked ASEAN to postpone the meeting “until a time when it can be held in a mutually agreeable format, in view of the ongoing urgent international and regional issues”, according to an October 8 note from ASEAN chair Brunei – seen by the Reuters news agency – notifying members of the delay.
UN diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Guterres did not want to get ahead of a decision by UN member states on who will sit in Myanmar’s seat at the world body after rival claims were made by the military and Kyaw Moe Tun, the current UN ambassador who was appointed by the elected government.
The generals seized power on February 1, detaining Aung San Suu Kyi and other elected government leaders on the day the new parliament was due to convene. United Nations credentials give weight to a government.
News of Guterres’s reluctance to be seen at the same meeting as a military envoy comes as ASEAN foreign ministers are due to hold a special meeting on Friday to discuss excluding coup leader and military chief Min Aung Hlaing from an upcoming summit, amid mounting frustration over the ruling military’s failure to comply with a road map for peace that was drawn up six months ago.
ASEAN agreed on a five-point consensus with Min Aung Hlaing in April, but the generals have made no progress in its implementation and have also ruled out allowing a regional envoy, Brunei’s second foreign affairs minister, Erywan Yusof, to meet Aung San Suu Kyi.
It also continues to crack down on those opposed to its rule, with at least 1,171 people killed since the power grab and more than 7,000 people arrested, according to local monitoring group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. The army has also been accused of attacks in ethnic minority areas in the country’s border regions that have forced thousands to flee, as well as targetting churches and Christian clergy.
The meeting is due to start online at 11:00 GMT and the military’s foreign minister is expected to attend.
Some of ASEAN’s 10 members, including the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, have said Min Aung Hlaing should be barred from the summit, which is scheduled to start on October 26, given the military’s failure to make progress on the peace plan.
The group, which admitted Myanmar as a member in 1997 during a previous military dictatorship, usually makes decisions on the basis of consensus.
In an open letter released on Wednesday, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, a group of regional lawmakers, urged ASEAN not to invite the regime to the summit because of its “blatant disregard” for the five-point consensus.
“A lack of decisiveness and consequences for the military’s total contempt for the ASEAN leaders’ agreement risks undermining the bloc’s legitimacy as a key regional player that can bring peace and stability,” said the letter, which was also signed by dozens of other civil society groups and activists.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the continuing turmoil in Myanmar with Erywan in a call on Thursday.
The two “expressed concern over the violence and deteriorating crisis” in the country and the need for the military to end violence, release those unjustly imprisoned and restore the country’s transition to democracy.
“They also reaffirmed the need to hold the Burmese regime accountable to the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus and facilitate a meaningful visit by Erywan to Burma to include engagements with all stakeholders,” the State Department said in a statement released after the call.
Friday’s previously unscheduled virtual meeting will be hosted by Brunei, the current ASEAN chair, multiple sources based in ASEAN member countries, including diplomats and government officials, told Reuters.
A UN committee, which includes Russia, China and the United States, is due to meet next month to consider Myanmar’s competing credential applications.
The military has put forward Aung Thurein as its candidate for Myanmar’s UN seat.
www.aljazeera.com
WASHINGTON —
Facebook was used to spread disinformation about the Rohingya, the Muslim ethnic minority in Myanmar, and in 2018 the company began to delete posts, accounts and other content it determined were part of a campaign to incite violence.
That deleted but stored data is at issue in a case in the United States over whether Facebook should release the information as part of a claim in international court.
Facebook this week objected to part of a U.S. magistrate judge’s order that could have an impact on how much data internet companies must turn over to investigators examining the role social media played in a variety of international incidents, from the 2017 Rohingya genocide in Myanmar to the 2021 Capitol riot in Washington.
The judge ruled last month that Facebook had to give information about these deleted accounts to Gambia, the West African nation, which is pursuing a case in the International Court of Justice against Myanmar, seeking to hold the Asian nation responsible for the crime of genocide against the Rohingya.
But in its filing Wednesday, Facebook said the judge’s order “creates grave human rights concerns of its own, leaving internet users’ private content unprotected and thereby susceptible to disclosure — at a provider’s whim — to private litigants, foreign governments, law enforcement, or anyone else.”
The company said it was not challenging the order when it comes to public information from the accounts, groups and pages it has preserved. It objects to providing “non-public information.” If the order is allowed to stand, it would “impair critical privacy and freedom of expression rights for internet users — not just Facebook users — worldwide, including Americans,” the company said.
Facebook has argued that providing the deleted posts is in violation of U.S. privacy, citing the Stored Communications Act, the 35-year-old law that established privacy protections in electronic communication.
Deleted content protected?
In his September decision, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui said that once content is deleted from an online service, it is no longer protected.
Paul Reichler, a lawyer for Gambia, told VOA that Facebook’s concern about privacy is misplaced.
“Would Hitler have privacy rights that should be protected?” Reichler said in an interview with VOA. “The generals in Myanmar ordered the destruction of a race of people. Should Facebook's business interests in holding itself out as protecting the privacy rights of these Hitlers prevail over the pursuit of justice?”
But Orin Kerr, a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley, said on Twitter that the judge’s ruling erred and that the implication of the ruling is that “if a provider moderates contents, all private messages and emails deleted can be freely disclosed and are no longer private.”
The 2017 military crackdown on the Rohingya resulted in more than 700,000 people fleeing their homes to escape mass killings and rapes, a crisis that the United States has called “ethnic cleansing.”
‘Coordinated inauthentic behavior’
Human rights advocates say Facebook had been used for years by Myanmar officials to set the stage for the crimes against the Rohingya.
Frances Haugen, the former Facebook employee who testified about the company in Congress last week, said Facebook’s focus on keeping users engaged on its site contributed to “literally fanning ethnic violence” in countries.
In 2018, Facebook deleted and banned accounts of key individuals, including the commander in chief of Myanmar’s armed forces and the military’s television network, as well as 438 pages, 17 groups and 160 Facebook and Instagram accounts — what the company called “coordinated inauthentic behavior.” The company estimated 12 million people in Myanmar, a nation of 54 million, followed these accounts.
Facebook commissioned an independent human rights study of its role that concluded that prior to 2018, it indeed failed to prevent its service “from being used to foment division and incite offline violence.”
Facebook kept the data on what it deleted for its own forensic analysis, the company told the court.
The case comes at a time when law enforcement and governments worldwide increasingly seek information from technology companies about the vast amount of data they collect on users.
Companies have long cited privacy concerns to protect themselves, said Ari Waldman, a professor of law and computer science at Northeastern University. What’s new is the vast quantity of data that companies now collect, a treasure trove for investigators, law enforcement and government.
“Private companies have untold amounts of data based on the commodification of what we do,” Waldman said.
Privacy rights should always be balanced with other laws and concerns, such as the pursuit of justice, he added.
Facebook working with the IIMM
In August 2020, Facebook confirmed that it was working with the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), a United Nations-backed group that is investigating Myanmar. The U.N. Human Rights Council established the IIMM, or "Myanmar Mechanism," in September 2018 to collect evidence of the country's most serious international crimes.
Recently, IIMM told VOA it has been meeting regularly with Facebook employees to gain access to information on the social media network related to its ongoing investigations in the country.
A spokesperson for IIMM told VOA's Burmese Service that Facebook "has agreed to voluntarily provide some, but not all, of the material the Mechanism has requested."
IIMM head Nicholas Koumjian wrote to VOA that the group is seeking material from Facebook "that we believe is relevant to proving criminal responsibility for serious international crimes committed in Myanmar that fall within our mandate."
Facebook told VOA in an email it is cooperating with the U.N. Myanmar investigators.
“We’ve committed to disclose relevant information to authorities, and over the past year we’ve made voluntary, lawful disclosures to the IIMM and will continue to do so as the case against Myanmar proceeds,” the spokesperson wrote. The company has made what it calls “12 lawful data disclosures” to the IIMM but didn’t provide details.
Human rights activists are frustrated that Facebook is not doing more to crack down on bad actors who are spreading hate and disinformation on the site.
"Look, I think there are many people at Facebook who want to do the right thing here, and they are working pretty hard," said Phil Robertson, who covers Asia for Human Rights Watch. "But the reality is, they still need to escalate their efforts. I think that Facebook is more aware of the problems, but it's also in part because so many people are telling them that they need to do better."
Matthew Smith of the human rights organization Fortify Rights, which closely tracked the ethnic cleansing campaign in Myanmar, said the company’s business success indicates it could do a better job of identifying harmful content.
"Given the company's own business model of having this massive capacity to deal with massive amounts of data in a coherent and productive way, it stands to reason that the company would absolutely be able to understand and sift through the data points that could be actionable," Smith said.
Gambia has until later this month to respond to Facebook’s objections.
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The meeting comes as the junta ruled out allowing a regional envoy, Brunei's second foreign affairs minister, Erywan Yusof, to meet deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is on trial on multiple charges since her elected government was overthrown in a Feb. 1 coup.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed on a five-point consensus with Min Aung Hlaing in April, but several members of the bloc have criticised the junta's failure to implement the plan, which includes dialogue among all parties, humanitarian access and an end to hostilities.
Friday's previously unscheduled virtual meeting will be hosted by ASEAN chair Brunei, according to multiple sources based in ASEAN member countries, including diplomats and government officials.
Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia had indicated that they were in favour of excluding Min Aung Hlaing from the Oct. 26-28 virtual summit, but were pushing for a consensus among nine ASEAN states, three of the sources said. Myanmar is the 10th ASEAN member.
A spokesman for Thailand's foreign ministry confirmed a meeting would be held on Friday.
Philippine Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin on Thursday voiced support for excluding Min Aung Hlaing from future summits, adding that ASEAN could no longer afford to take a neutral stance on Myanmar.
"We can continue keeping them (Myanmar) at a distance but... if we relent in any way, our credibility as a real regional organisation disappears," Locsin said in an interview with Australian think-tank Lowy Institute.
"What's that? We're a bunch of guys who always agree with each other on the worthless things, things that don't count in the world."
The U.S. State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed Myanmar, also known as Burma, with Erywan on Wednesday.
It said the two "expressed concern over the violence and deteriorating crisis in Burma and emphasized the urgency for the Burmese military regime to cease the violence, release all those unjustly detained, and restore multi-party democracy and Burma’s democratic transition."
It said they also reaffirmed the need to hold the Myanmar government accountable to the five-point consensus and facilitate a meaningful visit by Erywan "to include engagements with all stakeholders."
A long-planned visit by Erywan to Myanmar has been delayed in recent weeks.
In a statement late Thursday, the junta's foreign ministry said the envoy had proposed a visit this week but requested to meet "some specific individuals", a request the military rejected.
Zaw Min Tin, the junta spokesman, previously said the envoy would not be allowed to meet deposed civilian government leader Aung San Suu Kyi because she is charged with crimes. read more
Myanmar was willing to allow the envoy to meet people "from legally existing political parties" and "the special envoy should prioritize in this the very first trip to meet with these relevant parties and build trust and confidence between the special envoy and the country concerned," the foreign ministry said.
Erywan last week confirmed that some ASEAN members had been "deep in discussions" about not inviting Min Aung Hlaing. Earlier this week, he said he was in consultations with parties in Myanmar, did not take sides or political positions and looked forward to a visit.
Brunei's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Myanmar, with a long history of military dictatorship and international sanctions over systematic human rights abuses, has been ASEAN's trickiest issue since the group was formed in 1967, testing the limits of its unity and policy of non-interference in each others' affairs.
More than 1,100 people have been killed since Myanmar's coup, according to the United Nations, many during a crackdown by security forces on pro-democracy strikes and protests, during which thousands have been arrested.
ASEAN to discuss excluding Myanmar army leader from summit -sources
Southeast Asian foreign ministers will discuss excluding Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing from an upcoming summit at a meeting on Friday, sources told Reuters, as pressure builds on the ruling military to comply with an agreed peace roadmap.
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Malaysia does not want Myanmar's junta chief to attend an upcoming Southeast Asian leaders' summit if he fails to honour his commitment to a peace plan, its foreign minister said on Friday, ahead of a meeting to decide on a regional response.
The minister, Saifuddin Abdullah, said he was informed Erywan Yusof, a special envoy for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), planned to visit Myanmar next week, and the bloc's foreign ministers would hold a virtual meeting on Friday to assess the junta's commitment to the peace process.
Myanmar's military seized power in a Feb. 1 coup led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, which ended a decade of tentative democracy and triggered a backlash that has plunged the country into chaos.
"This evening we will be looking at the details of the proposed visit," he told a news conference.
"If there is no real progress then Malaysia's stand would remain that we do not want the general to be attending the summit. No compromise on that."
Myanmar has been one of ASEAN's most divisive issues since it joined the bloc in 1997 as a military dictatorship lambasted by the West for its iron-fisted rule, testing ASEAN's unity and denting its international credibility.
The exclusion of Min Aung Hlaing, though not formally recognised as an ASEAN leader, would be a big step for the bloc, which has a policy of non-interference in each other's affairs and has long favoured engagement over punitive measures.
Min Aung Hlaing in April agreed to a five-point ASEAN plan that the group called a "consensus" on a way out of the deadly turmoil in Myanmar since the military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi, alleging fraud in an election her party won in a landslide.
The commitment includes dialogue with all parties, humanitarian access and a cessation of all hostilities.
LOSING PATIENCE
Several ASEAN members have expressed exasperation with the junta's failure to follow the plan, which the United Nations, China and United States initially supported.
Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia have indicated they were in favour of excluding Min Aung Hlaing from the Oct. 26-28 virtual summit, but were pushing for an ASEAN consensus, three sources with knowledge of the issue told Reuters this week. read more
Saifuddin on Friday said without a consensus, there was no protocol for excluding an ASEAN member. However, he believed there would be a solution.
"We do not have a system where you downgrade a particular member's representation to the summit. So there are probably other ways of doing this," he said.
Zaw Min Tun, the Myanmar junta spokesman, this week said ASEAN envoy Erywan would not be allowed to meet Suu Kyi because she is charged with crimes.
Myanmar's foreign ministry late on Thursday issued a lengthy statement saying it was committed to the ASEAN plan and receiving the envoy.
It suggested that Erywan should prioritise ways to "build trust and confidence" on his first trip.
Thailand's foreign ministry took a conciliatory tone, saying it viewed Myanmar as a member of the ASEAN family and saw Erywan's visit as "an important first step in the process of confidence-building with a goal of encouraging dialogue".
"We also believe in the collective wisdom of all ASEAN member states, including Myanmar, to overcome all challenges together," it said.
ASEAN to exclude Myanmar junta chief from leaders' summit - sources
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed on Friday to sideline Myanmar's military ruler from a leaders' summit this month, sources said, a rare tough stand by a bloc known for its policy of engagement and non-interference.
UN chief Antonio Guterres asked to postpone a virtual meeting with Southeast Asian ministers at the last minute to avoid signalling any recognition of Myanmar’s military government by being in the same online room as the military’s envoy, United Nations diplomats have said.
The meeting between the UN secretary-general and foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – including Wunna Maung Lwin, the foreign minister appointed by the military – had been due to take place last Friday.
But the day before, Guterres asked ASEAN to postpone the meeting “until a time when it can be held in a mutually agreeable format, in view of the ongoing urgent international and regional issues”, according to an October 8 note from ASEAN chair Brunei – seen by the Reuters news agency – notifying members of the delay.
UN diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Guterres did not want to get ahead of a decision by UN member states on who will sit in Myanmar’s seat at the world body after rival claims were made by the military and Kyaw Moe Tun, the current UN ambassador who was appointed by the elected government.
The generals seized power on February 1, detaining Aung San Suu Kyi and other elected government leaders on the day the new parliament was due to convene. United Nations credentials give weight to a government.
News of Guterres’s reluctance to be seen at the same meeting as a military envoy comes as ASEAN foreign ministers are due to hold a special meeting on Friday to discuss excluding coup leader and military chief Min Aung Hlaing from an upcoming summit, amid mounting frustration over the ruling military’s failure to comply with a road map for peace that was drawn up six months ago.
ASEAN agreed on a five-point consensus with Min Aung Hlaing in April, but the generals have made no progress in its implementation and have also ruled out allowing a regional envoy, Brunei’s second foreign affairs minister, Erywan Yusof, to meet Aung San Suu Kyi.
It also continues to crack down on those opposed to its rule, with at least 1,171 people killed since the power grab and more than 7,000 people arrested, according to local monitoring group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. The army has also been accused of attacks in ethnic minority areas in the country’s border regions that have forced thousands to flee, as well as targetting churches and Christian clergy.
The meeting is due to start online at 11:00 GMT and the military’s foreign minister is expected to attend.
Some of ASEAN’s 10 members, including the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, have said Min Aung Hlaing should be barred from the summit, which is scheduled to start on October 26, given the military’s failure to make progress on the peace plan.
The group, which admitted Myanmar as a member in 1997 during a previous military dictatorship, usually makes decisions on the basis of consensus.
In an open letter released on Wednesday, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, a group of regional lawmakers, urged ASEAN not to invite the regime to the summit because of its “blatant disregard” for the five-point consensus.
“A lack of decisiveness and consequences for the military’s total contempt for the ASEAN leaders’ agreement risks undermining the bloc’s legitimacy as a key regional player that can bring peace and stability,” said the letter, which was also signed by dozens of other civil society groups and activists.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the continuing turmoil in Myanmar with Erywan in a call on Thursday.
The two “expressed concern over the violence and deteriorating crisis” in the country and the need for the military to end violence, release those unjustly imprisoned and restore the country’s transition to democracy.
“They also reaffirmed the need to hold the Burmese regime accountable to the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus and facilitate a meaningful visit by Erywan to Burma to include engagements with all stakeholders,” the State Department said in a statement released after the call.
Friday’s previously unscheduled virtual meeting will be hosted by Brunei, the current ASEAN chair, multiple sources based in ASEAN member countries, including diplomats and government officials, told Reuters.
A UN committee, which includes Russia, China and the United States, is due to meet next month to consider Myanmar’s competing credential applications.
The military has put forward Aung Thurein as its candidate for Myanmar’s UN seat.
UN chief delayed ASEAN meeting to avoid Myanmar army envoy
Revelation comes as ASEAN prepares to hold emergency meeting amid frustration at military’s lack of cooperation.
WASHINGTON —
Facebook was used to spread disinformation about the Rohingya, the Muslim ethnic minority in Myanmar, and in 2018 the company began to delete posts, accounts and other content it determined were part of a campaign to incite violence.
That deleted but stored data is at issue in a case in the United States over whether Facebook should release the information as part of a claim in international court.
Facebook this week objected to part of a U.S. magistrate judge’s order that could have an impact on how much data internet companies must turn over to investigators examining the role social media played in a variety of international incidents, from the 2017 Rohingya genocide in Myanmar to the 2021 Capitol riot in Washington.
The judge ruled last month that Facebook had to give information about these deleted accounts to Gambia, the West African nation, which is pursuing a case in the International Court of Justice against Myanmar, seeking to hold the Asian nation responsible for the crime of genocide against the Rohingya.
But in its filing Wednesday, Facebook said the judge’s order “creates grave human rights concerns of its own, leaving internet users’ private content unprotected and thereby susceptible to disclosure — at a provider’s whim — to private litigants, foreign governments, law enforcement, or anyone else.”
The company said it was not challenging the order when it comes to public information from the accounts, groups and pages it has preserved. It objects to providing “non-public information.” If the order is allowed to stand, it would “impair critical privacy and freedom of expression rights for internet users — not just Facebook users — worldwide, including Americans,” the company said.
Facebook has argued that providing the deleted posts is in violation of U.S. privacy, citing the Stored Communications Act, the 35-year-old law that established privacy protections in electronic communication.
Deleted content protected?
In his September decision, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui said that once content is deleted from an online service, it is no longer protected.
Paul Reichler, a lawyer for Gambia, told VOA that Facebook’s concern about privacy is misplaced.
“Would Hitler have privacy rights that should be protected?” Reichler said in an interview with VOA. “The generals in Myanmar ordered the destruction of a race of people. Should Facebook's business interests in holding itself out as protecting the privacy rights of these Hitlers prevail over the pursuit of justice?”
But Orin Kerr, a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley, said on Twitter that the judge’s ruling erred and that the implication of the ruling is that “if a provider moderates contents, all private messages and emails deleted can be freely disclosed and are no longer private.”
The 2017 military crackdown on the Rohingya resulted in more than 700,000 people fleeing their homes to escape mass killings and rapes, a crisis that the United States has called “ethnic cleansing.”
‘Coordinated inauthentic behavior’
Human rights advocates say Facebook had been used for years by Myanmar officials to set the stage for the crimes against the Rohingya.
Frances Haugen, the former Facebook employee who testified about the company in Congress last week, said Facebook’s focus on keeping users engaged on its site contributed to “literally fanning ethnic violence” in countries.
In 2018, Facebook deleted and banned accounts of key individuals, including the commander in chief of Myanmar’s armed forces and the military’s television network, as well as 438 pages, 17 groups and 160 Facebook and Instagram accounts — what the company called “coordinated inauthentic behavior.” The company estimated 12 million people in Myanmar, a nation of 54 million, followed these accounts.
Facebook commissioned an independent human rights study of its role that concluded that prior to 2018, it indeed failed to prevent its service “from being used to foment division and incite offline violence.”
Facebook kept the data on what it deleted for its own forensic analysis, the company told the court.
The case comes at a time when law enforcement and governments worldwide increasingly seek information from technology companies about the vast amount of data they collect on users.
Companies have long cited privacy concerns to protect themselves, said Ari Waldman, a professor of law and computer science at Northeastern University. What’s new is the vast quantity of data that companies now collect, a treasure trove for investigators, law enforcement and government.
“Private companies have untold amounts of data based on the commodification of what we do,” Waldman said.
Privacy rights should always be balanced with other laws and concerns, such as the pursuit of justice, he added.
Facebook working with the IIMM
In August 2020, Facebook confirmed that it was working with the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), a United Nations-backed group that is investigating Myanmar. The U.N. Human Rights Council established the IIMM, or "Myanmar Mechanism," in September 2018 to collect evidence of the country's most serious international crimes.
Recently, IIMM told VOA it has been meeting regularly with Facebook employees to gain access to information on the social media network related to its ongoing investigations in the country.
A spokesperson for IIMM told VOA's Burmese Service that Facebook "has agreed to voluntarily provide some, but not all, of the material the Mechanism has requested."
IIMM head Nicholas Koumjian wrote to VOA that the group is seeking material from Facebook "that we believe is relevant to proving criminal responsibility for serious international crimes committed in Myanmar that fall within our mandate."
Facebook told VOA in an email it is cooperating with the U.N. Myanmar investigators.
“We’ve committed to disclose relevant information to authorities, and over the past year we’ve made voluntary, lawful disclosures to the IIMM and will continue to do so as the case against Myanmar proceeds,” the spokesperson wrote. The company has made what it calls “12 lawful data disclosures” to the IIMM but didn’t provide details.
Human rights activists are frustrated that Facebook is not doing more to crack down on bad actors who are spreading hate and disinformation on the site.
"Look, I think there are many people at Facebook who want to do the right thing here, and they are working pretty hard," said Phil Robertson, who covers Asia for Human Rights Watch. "But the reality is, they still need to escalate their efforts. I think that Facebook is more aware of the problems, but it's also in part because so many people are telling them that they need to do better."
Matthew Smith of the human rights organization Fortify Rights, which closely tracked the ethnic cleansing campaign in Myanmar, said the company’s business success indicates it could do a better job of identifying harmful content.
"Given the company's own business model of having this massive capacity to deal with massive amounts of data in a coherent and productive way, it stands to reason that the company would absolutely be able to understand and sift through the data points that could be actionable," Smith said.
Gambia has until later this month to respond to Facebook’s objections.
Facebook Objects to Releasing Private Posts About Myanmar’s Rohingya Campaign
A US magistrate judge said Facebook must turn over deleted accounts, pages and groups, including ‘non-public information,’ used to incite violence against the Rohingya
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They made signs, now they're making explosives. Myanmar's resistance movement on the rise | CNN
CNN's Ivan Watson speaks to two men who turned against Myanmar's military regime amid a wave of popular outrage following the military coup that ousted the elected government eight months ago.
