Issue 102 May 30th 2024

Introduction & Analysis

The following collection of open-source English-language news articles published during the past week covers significant events and issues related to Myanmar.

Conflict

Foreign fighters in Myanmar: Implications for the region

Al-Jazeera came out with a piece of news on May 17, titled "Western volunteers join the battle against Myanmar's military regime." The news otherwise heralds a new dimension to the three-year-old civil conflict in Myanmar.

The case of foreign fighters operating in Myanmar is more problematic because the members would require access through one of the five neighbouring countries, namely Bangladesh, China, India, Laos and Thailand, unless, of course, the fighters venture through the life-risking paths of the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

Is Myanmar Teetering On The Verge Of Another Disaster? – OpEd

Myanmar's military junta is confronting its most formidable challenge since seizing power three years ago.

With Myanmar's junta weakening, Srettha's government has been rightly advocating for pragmatic approaches to mitigate the humanitarian crisis gradually and engage with the Junta as well as all the stakeholders in Myanmar.

Myanmar junta copper convoy hit by landmines

The Wanbao-Myanmar Copper Project, where the copper on the trucks came from, is a collaboration between the Chinese Wanbao Company and the junta-owned Myanma Economic Holdings Ltd. According to a local source Chinese employees and Myanmar employees who are not taking part in the Civil Disobedience Movement have returned to work at the Wanbao-Myanmar Copper Project in Salingyi Township.

To protect the Wanbao-Myanmar Copper facility in Salingyi and to ensure copper production is uninterrupted, the junta has deployed extra troops in the area.

Junta targeting aid groups, social workers in Myanmar’s Sagaing region

Myanmar's junta is targeting welfare groups assisting people displaced by conflict and social volunteer workers in the country's northern Sagaing region, where armed clashes between the military and rebel groups are intensifying, aid workers said.

Amid the humanitarian crisis, six social workers from Sagaing region were arrested in early May and have not been reachable for more than two weeks, aid workers told RFA Burmese on Wednesday.

Junta officials bulldoze 200 homes in Myanmar neighborhood

Junta administrators destroyed 200 homes in a neighborhood in Myanmar's Yangon Division on charges of trespassing, residents told Radio Free Asia, the latest in a series of evictions to clear squatter communities in urban centers.

On April 26, junta forces and municipal officials ordered district authorities to remove 600 houses in Yangon's Mayangone township, residents said.

Armed Clash Events in Two Weeks (May 8 – 21, 2024)

The post Armed Clash Events in Two Weeks (May 8 – 21, 2024) appeared first on Myanmar Peace Monitor.

Junta Reinforcements for Myawaddy Still Fail to Recapture KNLA’s Control over Road Access from Kawkareik

Since its initiation on April 4, ‘Operation Aung Zay Ya’ has extended beyond 40 days, yet the Junta’s two columns remain unable to breach KNLA’s defensive positions along both the traditional mountain route and the new Asia Road, encountering continued setbacks Vice Senior General Soe Win, deputy head of the Junta, who supervises ‘Operation Aung …

The post Junta Reinforcements for Myawaddy Still Fail to Recapture KNLA’s Control over Road Access from Kawkareik appeared first on Karen News.

Military Council Attacks Hundreds of Buildings in Momauk and Mansi

Over 200 buildings have been damaged in Momauk and Mansi as the regime deliberately targets civilian homes in the towns in Bhamo District after the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and its allied forces have nearly liberated them from Burma army troops after 10 days of intensive clashes. A Mansi man suspects that at least 20 …

Myanmar Junta Soldiers Surrender In Thailand After Border Clash

Karen forces have been attacking the Po Chi Mu camp, opposite Thailand's Umphang district, since Sunday and junta airstrikes in the area have forced hundreds to flee into Thailand, media reported.

Junta forces fled into Thailand during fighting in April with Karen forces over control of the main border town of Myawaddy.

Karen Forces Clash With Myanmar Military Along Strategic Highway to Myawaddy

Junta troops clashed with the Karen National Liberation Army and People's Defense Force allies along the Asian Highway linking Kawkareik with the border trade hub of Myawaddy in Karen State on Sunday.

A Myawaddy resident with ties to the KNLA said regime forces on Sunday night shelled Mel Kanel and Atwin Kwin Kalay villages in Myawaddy Township where they thought the KNLA and allies were based

Crime & Narcotics

East, Southeast Asia Meth Seizures Hit Record in 2023: UN

A record quantity of methamphetamine was seized in East and Southeast Asia in 2023 as organized crime groups boosted production, the United Nations said Tuesday.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime said a record 190 tonnes of methamphetamine were seized in East and Southeast Asia last year.

Chinese Telecom Scammers Expand Operations to Three Pagoda Pass

Three Pagoda Pass town, located on the Thailand-Myanmar border inside Karen State, has seen many Chinese working in telecom scamming businesses cross the border from Thailand, according to locals at a time when illegal gambling and trafficking activities are expanding in the region.

A local resident who wished to remain anonymous, reported a significant surge in new gambling establishments in Three Pagoda Pass, following the arrival of the major influx of new Chinese residents.

From Dawood Ibrahim To Bashar-al-Assad – Meet Myanmar’s Notorious Group Behind Cyber-Scam & Narco Racket: OPED

Yatai New City is a mega development with illegal casinos, cyber scam and illegal online gambling operations and is a joint venture between the Karen BGF/KNA and Yatai International Holding Group.

By distributing shares between family members, San Myint's family controls six Karen BGF/KNA businesses and has a minority stake in two notorious cyber scam parks: Apollo Park and Yulong Bay Park.

Myanmar Female Political Prisoners Sexually Abused: Rights Group

Kyaikmayaw political prisoners in Mon State were sexually abused by trans-male guards this month, according to the Myanmar Political Prisoners Network.

The number of female political prisoners is at a peak since the 2021 coup of at least 5,513, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

BGF Requests Telecom Scammers to Leave But More Chinese Arrive At Mae Sot Airport Heading to Shwe Kokko

BNI has already reported that BGF has issued a warning to all foreigners engaged in telecom scamming businesses along the Thailand-Myanmar border, encompassing Shwe Kokko, to leave between May 1 and October 31. However, a witness proficient in Chinese language overheard conversations among Chinese nationals arriving at Mae Sot airport discussing their intent to proceed …

The post BGF Requests Telecom Scammers to Leave But More Chinese Arrive At Mae Sot Airport Heading to Shwe Kokko appeared first on Karen News.

Myanmar’s Cyber Scam Hub is Just a ‘Small Business,’ Karen Major Says

The Karen Border Guard Force has been dubbed the ‘Mafia on the Moei River’ for its alleged passion for cyber scams. A senior officer in the force, however, says the controversial army was unaware it was in business with triads.

Asian Synthetic Drug Production Continued to Grow in 2023, UN Says

While Shan remained the epicenter of synthetic drug production in 2023, the UNODC report noted, "The illicit manufacture of synthetic drugs is expanding to neighboring countries." The UNODC report also highlighted the increasing sophistication, creativity, and flexibility of organized crime groups operating in the region, which have not rested on their laurels amid the rapid expansion of the Asian drug trade.

Economy

Money without value

Yangon’s scorching May sun shows no mercy to day labourers like Zin Thu*, who works long shifts as a bicycle delivery driver to make just a few dollars a day to feed his family. “Money is continuously losing its value,” Zin Thu said.

Cross-Border Trade Plunges 48% in Myanmar as Ethnic Armies Seize Control

Myanmar's 6.8 percent drop in total trade during the first one and a half months of this fiscal year was likely caused by plummeting trade at official border posts, which handled 48 percent less trade during the period than they did in the same period last year, figures released on Friday by the junta's commerce ministry show.

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, an alliance member, reopened Chin Saw Haw trade post in March, but there was no trade from either side of the border.

Fierce Fighting Dims Myanmar Junta’s Hope of Russian Investment in Dawei Port-SEZ

Intense fighting in the area is increasing doubts about the Myanmar junta's ability to secure Russian investment to resume the stalled deep seaport and special economic zone project in Dawei, Tanintharyi Region.

The Dawei port project and Special Economic Zone are currently the focus of frequent clashes between junta troops and resistance groups, according to locals.

China awaits junta approval to resume border trade with Myanmar’s Shan state

thnic rebels in eastern Myanmar's Shan state have reopened checkpoints on the border with China that were shuttered at the start of an offensive six months ago, but official trade has yet to resume as Beijing is awaiting approval from the military regime, rebel officials and residents said Friday.

A political commentator and former Myanmar military official, who declined to be named due to fear of reprisal, said official border trade cannot resume until the junta and the rebel groups make agreements on territorial designation and tax distribution.

Fuelling the future, poisoning the present: Myanmar’s Rare Earth Boom

In Kachin Special Region 1, in areas controlled by militias aligned with Myanmar’s brutal military rulers, the number of mining sites has increased by more than 40%.Mine workers and local community members have reported and documented numerous health issues - including two deaths attributed to chemicals used in rare earth mining. Global Witness also accuses the Kachin resistance of funding their anti-Junta movement with the “dirty money” derived from deals made with Chinese mining companies to operate inside KIA-controlled territory near Mansi township.The report admits the KIA area of mining has far smaller than the Junta- aligned militia.

Myanmar Junta Fires Key Economics Minister From Its Cabinet

The junta has fired Union Minister Aung Naing Oo, a former military officer, from its Cabinet.

The 62-year-old confirmed to local broadcaster BETV that he was also sacked from his first secretary position at the Central Committee for Myanmar Special Economic Zones as well as his chairmanship of the Myanmar SEZ Central Working Committee.

Ethnic Issues

Tensions between TNLA and SSPP Flare up Again in Shan State

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), a Palaung ethnic armed organization, seized weapons from Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) troops deployed in Namkham Township in southern Shan State, and transported them to Muse Township in northern Shan State by a convoy of cars. Starting at 9:00 am on May 27, TNLA forces encircled […]

The post Tensions between TNLA and SSPP Flare up Again in Shan State appeared first on Shan Herald Agency for News.

For Rohingya, anti-junta gains in Myanmar bring fear as well as hope

Rohingya sources say 8,000 homes in the central area of the village were torched by AA fighters who had told the Rohingya residents to evacuate their homes despite there being no junta forces in the area.

The AA claims it only targets Rohingya villages when it hears reports that they are harbouring fighters belonging to the the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, a Rohingya armed group that it has accused of collaborating with the junta.

General News

Is Myanmar’s Junta About to Revive a Controversial Dam Project?

The AP report cited a notice from the military administration's Information Ministry, published online on Tuesday, which announced the formation of a new leadership team for the Myitsone project, suggesting that the junta is seeking to restart the project.

The project has rarely been mentioned since the coup, either by Myanmar junta or Chinese officials, though Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing hinted at restarting a number of stalled hydropower projects, including the Myitsone dam, two weeks after the military takeover.

Myanmar court lowers bid price on democracy icon Suu Kyi’s home

Jailed democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi's brother on Thursday won an appeal to lower the bidding price for their family's historic home in Myanmar's Yangon region, after a court-ordered auction in March concluded with no one willing to pay 315 billion kyats, or about US$90 million, for the property.

Ownership of the historic property has long been disputed by Suu Kyi and her elder brother Aung San Oo. The legal case to liquidate the property began in 2000, with Aung San Oo auctioning off everything in No. 54 and dividing the proceeds with Suu Kyi.

Military

Myanmar Junta Appoints Training Chief as Deputy Defense Minister

Myanmar's regime promoted Major General Ko Lay to deputy defense minister on Wednesday after sacking his predecessor over northern Shan State's online scams.

Aung Lin Tun became deputy defense minister in May 2021 during the regime's crackdown on peaceful protesters.

Politics

Myanmar resistance groups drive home message to kick military out of politics

Myanmar resistance groups conveyed an important message for governments and international bodies that may still be laboring under the delusion that the Myanmar military is still an important player to deal with.

At the press conference, the NUG's Zaw Wai Soe reiterated the demand that the Myanmar military, which ousted the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, must agree not to be involved in national politics in future.