Political role of the Tatmadaw

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Title: Internet access Internet access restored as Myanmar coup protests grow
Description: " As enthusiastic crowds of tens of thousands marched through the streets of Myanmar’s biggest city on Sunday to protest last week’s coup ousting Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, their spirits were lifted by the return of internet services that had been blocked a day earlier. Separate protests that began in various parts of Yangon converged at Sule Pagoda, situated in the center of a roundabout in the city’s downtown area. Protesters chanted “Long live Mother Suu” and “Down with military dictatorship.” Protesters in other parts of the country echoed their calls. Authorities had cut access to the internet as the protests grew Saturday, fanning fears of a complete information blackout. On Sunday afternoon, however, internet users in Yangon reported that data access on their mobile phones had suddenly been restored. RELATED COVERAGE – UN chief: UN will seek to unite world, reverse Myanmar coup – Military coup yet another blow for Myanmar's sagging economy – Myanmar's Suu Kyi detained again — without her old support The demonstrators are seeking to roll back last Monday’s seizure of power by the military and demanding the release from detention of Suu Kyi, the country’s ousted leader, and other top figures from her National League for Democracy party. The military has accused Suu Kyi’s government of failing to act on its complaints that last November’s election was marred by fraud, though the election commission said it had found no evidence to support the claims. The growing protests are a sharp reminder of the long and bloody struggle for democracy in a country that the military ruled directly for more than five decades before loosening its grip in 2012. Suu Kyi’s government, which won a landslide election in 2015, was the first led by civilians in decades, though it faced a number of curbs to its power under a military-drafted constitution..."
Source/publisher: "Associated Press" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
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Title: Myanmar coup: How citizens are protesting through art
Sub-title: An atmosphere of fear and anger spread across Myanmar this week as millions of people awoke to find out the military had taken control, ousting the elected government.
Description: "But how do you fight back in a country where protests have been violently supressed before? For some, it has meant putting pen to paper and taking the battle online. Clanging pots and pans One Burmese artist, known only by the pseudonym Pen Holder, says they believed it was their "duty" to protest through art. "We will continue to oppose the government until the real leader of our people is restored," they said. Their drawing depicts an entire Burmese family - from young to old - all gathering together to bang pots and pans in protest, a scene seen across the country in the evenings since the coup. The picture has since gone viral, shared thousands of times by those on social media. "Our people have no weapons - we aren't able to access this. Instead, as an artist, I fight with a pen," they told the BBC. "I am scared. But I also don't want to regret what I didn't do. I want to fight against this."...."
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Source/publisher: "BBC News" (London)
Date of publication: 2021-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
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Title: Myanmar coup: Tens of thousands join largest protests since 2007
Sub-title: Myanmar has seen its largest protests in more than a decade, as tens of thousands of people rallied against the military coup and demanded the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Description: ""We don't want military dictatorship. We want democracy," the crowds chanted in the main city, Yangon. Rallies were held in more than a dozen other cities. Internet access has now been restored after a day-long blackout. The army has not yet commented on the growing opposition to Monday's coup. The military seized power after claiming, without evidence, that the November election was fraudulent. The rulers declared a year-long state of emergency and have been hunkered down in the capital, Nay Pyi Daw. Ms Suu Kyi and senior leaders of her National League for Democracy Party (NLD), including President Win Myint, have been put under house arrest. Citizens protest through art What this means for Aung San Suu Kyi How Facebook became Myanmar's 'digital tea shop' In Yangon, people wore red shirts and held red balloons, the colour of Ms Suu Kyi's party, while cars and buses slowed to sound their horns in support. Many flashed the three-finger salute, a symbol of defiance against authoritarianism in the region. The internet shutdown imposed by the military failed to curb the protesters. "Respect our vote," read one banner, in reference to the NLD's landslide win in November. Sunday's protests in Yangon were the biggest since the so-called Saffron Revolution in 2007, when thousands of the country's monks rose up against the military regime. Crowds marched towards the Sule Pagoda in the city centre while police vehicles and officers in riot gear were stationed near Yangon University. There were no immediate reports of violence. "First, we don't want to go back to military rule. We don't want to live in fear. Secondly, we want Mother Su to be freed from being under detention unjustly," a protester told the BBC. "And third, we want to root out the system where soldiers take civilian administrative positions." Another demonstrator said that Ms Suu Kyi was "our true leader", adding: "She is our only hope for our democracy, if she died or something happened to her, what is our future? We really need her back." A third said: "This protest is not the end. We'll group... [every day] until we're free from the dictatorship." Smaller protests were also held in Nay Pyi Daw, Mawlamine and Mandalay, the country's second-largest city. In the town of Myawaddy, there were reports of shots being fired, but no immediate reports of any injuries. According to some local media outlets, police had used rubber bullets to break up a rally..."
Source/publisher: "BBC News" (London)
Date of publication: 2021-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
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Title: Myanmar: Respect right to peaceful assembly, UN human rights office says
Sub-title: The United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) on Saturday called on the security forces in Myanmar to ensure that people’s right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and that demonstrations are not subjected to reprisals.
Description: "According to media reports, many people took to the streets in Myanmar’s commercial hub, Yangon, on Saturday to protest the military’s takeover and the arrest of several elected leaders and politicians, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. “Myanmar’s military and police must ensure the right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and demonstrators are not subjected to reprisals”, OHCHR said in a Tweet on Saturday. Earlier in the week, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet raised concerns of a “violent crackdown on dissenting voices” in Myanmar and reminded the military leadership of the country’s obligations under international human rights law to ensure people’s rights are protected and to refrain from using unnecessary or excessive force. The military takeover followed escalating tensions between the military and the government after the November 2020 elections, which was won by Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD). The polls were only the second democratic elections in Myanmar since the end of nearly five decades of military rule. The first elections, in 2015, were also won by NLD. Internet and social media blocked OHCHR also called on the authorities to restore internet and communication services. “Internet and communication services must be fully restored to ensure freedom of expression and access to information”, the office said. Myanmar’s military reportedly blocked access to Facebook on Thursday, for several days. The social media platform is said to be used by around half of the country’s population, for access to information. On Friday, Twitter and Instagram platforms were added to the list of services that could not be accessed in Myanmar. Media reports also said that the mobile service provider in Myanmar was ordered to temporarily shut down data networks, effectively cutting off internet on mobile devices. Voice and SMS services are reported to be operational..."
Source/publisher: UN News
Date of publication: 2021-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
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Title: Myanmar: tens of thousands march against military coup for second day
Sub-title: Large demonstration across country despite junta blocking internet access and restricting phone lines
Description: "Demonstrators in Myanmar have vowed to continue their protests until their elected leaders are released and democracy returns as tens of thousands of people poured on to the streets of towns and cities across the country for a second day. Large crowds gathered in the main city Yangon and elsewhere, condemning the military for ousting the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup. “Today is about Myanmar’s democracy,” said protestor Myint Oo, 23. “Our hero Aung San Suu Kyi and our president U Win Myint must be freed.” “There may be soldiers tomorrow, but I am not afraid,” he said, adding that he would return to the streets. Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint have not been seen in public since they were detained in early morning raids last Monday. Their party, National League for Democracy (NLD), won a thumping election victory in November but the military has refused to accept the results of the vote. It has alleged widespread electoral fraud, a claim observers have rejected. The junta blocked internet access for about 24 hours from Saturday afternoon in an attempt to stop protests, but large crowds continued to join the biggest demonstrations in the country since the 2007 Saffron Revolution, when thousands of Buddhist monks marched against military rule. By mid-morning on Sunday, protesters had taken to the streets in Yangon, as well as in the city of Mandalay in central Myanmar and the coastal town of Mawlamyine in the south-east. Hundreds more had camped overnight outside a police station in the town of Payathonzu in Karen state, where local NLD politicians were reportedly arrested. They remained outside on Sunday morning, singing pro-democracy songs, Reuters reported..."
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Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
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Title: Myanmar’s military built a new capital as a haven for power. Other countries have tried that, too.
Description: "A country’s capital, its seat of power, is typically the center for showdowns during times of political unrest. But not in Myanmar. All was reportedly quiet Saturday in Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s purpose-built capital unveiled in 2005. Meanwhile, 225 miles to the south in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city and former capital, protesters marched in the first major street demonstrations since the military seized power Feb. 1 and jailed leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The roster of capitals-by-design dots the globe: from Canberra in Australia to Brazil’s Brasília. Even Washington was laid out for the job of governing. Yet there are other countries — including Egypt, Kazakhstan, Indonesia and Equatorial Guinea — that have joined Myanmar to build new capitals in part to shield their leadership. Naypyidaw is infamous for its eerily empty 20-lane highways and high-end hotels, golf courses and spas in a city about six times the territory of New York City in one of Southeast Asia’s poorest countries, according to the Guardian. The British paper summarized it as a “monument to hierarchy.” Naypyidaw was the brainchild of Myanmar’s former military leader, Than Shwe, who rescinded power in 2011 when the country began a transition to democracy. Shwe was never publicly challenged when he said Myanmar needed a new capital because of Yangon’s heavy traffic and population density. But analysts have described the decision as motivated by a desire to secure the military’s seat of power from any threat of protests or invasions..."
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Source/publisher: "The Washington Post" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
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Title: Why the generals really took back power in Myanmar
Description: "A strangely familiar sight dominated the front pages of Myanmar's state-owned newspaper this week: photos of men in green military uniforms sitting in seats of power. It was as if time had rewound a decade. "The Global New Light of Myanmar" has long been considered the mouthpiece for whoever is running the country, its pages dedicated to government propaganda and stiff images of officials on mundane visits to agricultural or development projects. From 1962 until 2011, successive military regimes ruled Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, with an iron fist -- asserting their absolute power over the people through fear and brutality. But six years ago, there was hope of change when Aung San Suu Kyi -- a Nobel Peace Prize winner and former political prisoner -- formed the first civilian government with her National League for Democracy Party (NLD) after winning a landslide in elections. Soldiers stand guard along a blockaded road near Myanmar's Parliament in Naypyidaw on February 2, 2021. That all changed Monday, when the military seized power in a coup, arrested 75-year-old Suu Kyi, cut internet services and took news channels off the air. A presenter on the military-owned news channel announced that the 64-year-old commander in chief Min Aung Hlaing was now running the country. "Senior General makes speech at government meeting" was Wednesday's "New Light" headline, a sign that Myanmar is now back under military rule, at least for the next 12 months. Devastated residents in the country's biggest city, Yangon, said history was repeating itself. With many still bearing the mental and physical scars of the past, they expressed fears that the intervening years were all for nothing. Myanmar has changed markedly in the years since the military last ruled, with more social freedoms, foreign investment and a growing middle class. For example, SIM cards that used to cost $1,000 a decade ago are now cheap and ubiquitous, and the population has quickly moved online with social media sites like Facebook synonymous with the internet. While deep economic and inequality issues, conflict, and ethnic strife remain, Myanmar is a different place today than it was 10 or 20 years ago, especially in the major cities. But the imperfect transition was not working for everyone..."
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Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-07
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Title: Myanmar coup: Internet shutdown as crowds protest against military
Description: "A near-total internet blackout is in effect with connectivity falling to 16% of ordinary levels, said the monitoring group NetBlocks Internet Observatory. In the main city, Yangon, crowds chanted "Military dictator, fail, fail; Democracy, win, win". Police with riot shields have blocked the main roads into the city centre. The internet shutdown happened hours after the military had blocked access to Twitter and Instagram to stop people mobilising for protests. Facebook had been banned a day earlier. Many users had evaded the restrictions on social media by using virtual private networks (VPNs) but the more general blackout severely disrupted that. How the military disrupted Myanmar's internet In pictures: Myanmar protests defy military coup What Myanmar's coup means for Aung San Suu Kyi Civil society organisations urged internet providers and mobile networks to challenge the blackout order, Reuters news agency reported. Human rights group Amnesty International called the shutdown "heinous and reckless" and warned it could put the people of Myanmar at risk of human rights violations. The military has not commented. It temporarily blocked access to the internet following the coup on 1 February..."
Source/publisher: "BBC News" (London)
Date of publication: 2021-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-06
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Title: Myanmar junta blocks internet access as coup protests expand
Description: "Myanmar’s new military authorities appeared to have cut most access to the Internet on Saturday as they faced a rising tide of protest over their coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected civilian government. Numerous internet users noted a slow disappearance of data services, especially from mobile service providers, that accelerated sharply late Saturday morning. Broadband connection also later failed, while there were mixed reports on whether landline telephone service and mobile voice connections were still working. Netblocks, a London-based service that tracks internet disruptions and shutdowns, said Saturday afternoon that “a near-total internet shutdown is now in effect” in Myanmar, with connectivity falling to just 16% of normal levels. The broad outage followed Friday’s military order to block Twitter and Instagram because some people were trying to use the platforms to spread what authorities deemed fake news. Facebook had already been blocked earlier in the week — though not completely effectively. The communication blockages are a stark reminder of the progress Myanmar is in danger of losing after Monday’s coup plunged the nation back under direct military rule after a nearly decade-long move toward greater openness and democracy. During Myanmar’s previous five decades of military rule, the country was internationally isolated and communication with the outside world strictly controlled. Suu Kyi’s five years as leader since 2015 had been Myanmar’s most democratic period despite the military retaining broad powers over the government, the continued use of repressive colonial-era laws and the persecution of minority Rohingya Muslims. The blockages are also adding greater urgency to efforts to resist the coup, with Saturday seeing some of the largest street protests against the takeover. In one of the bigger ones, about 1,000 protesters — factory workers and students prominent among them — marched down a main street in Yangon, the country’s biggest city, and were met by more than 100 police in riot gear. Members of the crowd shouted “down with dictatorship” and other slogans. They marched with their hands in the air, formed into three-fingered salutes, a symbol of defiance adopted from protesters in neighboring Thailand, who borrowed the gesture from the “Hunger Games” movie franchise. The demonstration ended peacefully with no clashes reported. It dispersed around the time communications were cut, and it was unclear if the marchers later regrouped..."
Source/publisher: "Associated Press" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-06
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Title: Myanmar: End Crackdown on Media, Communications
Description: "Myanmar’s military junta should immediately lift internet restrictions, release all persons detained since the February 1, 2021 coup, and end harassment and threatened arrests of journalists, Human Rights Watch said today. Journalists in Myanmar have reported credible threats of an imminent, broader-sweeping crackdown on media workers, and several have told Human Rights Watch that they fear for their safety. “A news and information blackout by the coup leaders can’t hide their politically motivated arrests and other abuses,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The military should immediately release those arrested, restore access to online information, and protect the right to free expression.” On February 4, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) in Myanmar said that in addition to 133 officials and lawmakers whom the military detained at the onset of the coup, 14 activists had also been detained. On the morning of February 4, the authorities arrested 4 among about 20 protesters who had gathered outside the University of Medicine in Mandalay to oppose the coup. It is not yet known if those arrested have been charged. On February 5, the authorities detained Aung San Suu Kyi’s senior aide, Win Htein, 79, in Mayangone township. He is facing charges for his comments denouncing the coup. Human Rights Watch called for the lifting of the February 3 and February 5 orders issued by the Transport and Communications Ministry, now fully under the control of the military, directing the blocking of social media services. The government said it was barring the use of the service because people were using it to “trouble the country’s stability.”..."
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Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-05
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-06
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Title: Myanmar: New internet blackout “heinous and reckless”
Description: "On 6 February, the Myanmar military reportedly ordered telecommunications companies in the country to fully shut down internet and 4G services. According to information received by Amnesty International, the effective blackout will be in operation until Monday 8 February. An earlier order, on 5 February, instructed telecommunications companies to block access to Twitter and Instagram. On 4 February, the military had already announced that they were ordering telecoms operators to block access to Facebook until 7 February. As the 1 February military coup was underway, internet and phone outages were reported in several parts of the country, including in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, the largest city, Yangon, as well as Shan and Kachin States and the Mandalay and Sagaing regions. Access was later reestablished. There have also been mobile internet restrictions in conflict-affected areas of Rakhine and Chin States in the country for more than a year. 4G internet access in those areas was reportedly restored late in the evening on 2 February 2021. Such restrictions pose a real danger to at-risk civilian populations, especially when access to information is so vital during the COVID-19 pandemic – and even more so when the situation on the ground is so tense amid the coup, and in conflict-affected areas..."
Source/publisher: "Amnesty International" (UK)
Date of publication: 2020-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-06
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Title: Myanmar: tens of thousands protest against coup despite internet blackout
Sub-title: Demonstrators in standoff with police amid demands for release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi
Description: "Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Myanmar on Saturday in the first major demonstration since the military seized power, despite a nationwide internet blackout imposed to stifle dissent. In the main city Yangon, protesters chanted “down with the military dictatorship” and carried images of the ousted leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint, whose party won a landslide election in November. The military detained both in raids early on Monday morning and they have not been seen in public since. “Tell the world what has happened here,” one of the protesters said. “The world needs to know.” The military shut down the internet across the country in an attempt to stop the protests. The NetBlocks Internet Observatory reported that connectivity had fallen to 16% of ordinary levels by early afternoon. The military had already blocked Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Myanmar’s military has shown that it believes it can “shut the world out and do whatever it wants,” said Phil Robertson, the deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division. “They’re going to pull down the shutters and intimidate, arrest and abuse everybody who is daring to speak up. The question is how long people are able to do this and whether there will be any splits in ranks within the police or the military,” he said. Throughout Saturday, the state-run broadcaster MRTV played scenes praising the military, according to Reuters. Despite the internet blackout, several thousand demonstrators gathered near Yangon University. Many wore red headbands, the colour of the National League for Democracy, and raised their hands in a three-finger salute, a gesture also used by Thai pro-democracy protesters which symbolises resistance..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-06
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Title: Protests break out in Myanmar in defiance of military coup
Description: "An Australian adviser to Myanmar's recently deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi was detained on Saturday as pro-democracy protests broke out in the country's largest city on Saturday. Thousands of people took to the streets of Yangon in the first major organized demonstration since the military seized power in a coup earlier this week. The crowd, many of whom could be seen waiving flags and holding banners, called for the military to release Suu Kyi, and other democratically-elected lawmakers, who were detained in pre-dawn raids Monday. Chants of "We demand democracy" could be heard coming from the crowd as they marched close to downtown Yangon, prompting the government to impose an internet blackout. Dozens of police, some in riot gear, had initially attempted to block the protest route, forcing the crowd to change direction. During the earlier large-scale march, passers-by could be seen giving the three-finger salute of opposition to army rule, in apparent solidarity with those demonstrating. Others were seen applauding and handing out water to both protesters and police in what one witness described as a way of defusing tension. Witnesses described the crowd as expanding in size, before appearing to disperse after several hours. But a number of smaller, scattered protests remained ongoing including one at Yangon University, where several hundred mostly young people gathered and continued to chant..."
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Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-06
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Title: UN chief backs Myanmar people's right to peaceful protest in face of military coup
Description: "United Nations chief Antonio Guterres backed the right of the Myanmar people to peacefully express their rejection of this week's military takeover that displaced the country's elected civilian government. "Coups are not acceptable in the modern world and I reject and condemn the coup," said the UN Secretary-General on Saturday (Feb 6) in an exclusive interview with CNA. "I would strongly recommend the people of Myanmar to express their grievances but to do so in a peaceful way." Mr Guterres' comments come in the wake of Monday's move during which Myanmar’s military declared a state of emergency and seized power. In an early morning raid, the army detained Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint, and a raft of parliamentarians and activists. Social media posts from Myanmar show a growing civil disobedience movement from people banging pots and pans every night, to reports of medical staff going on strike. "BASIC HUMAN RIGHT" Mr Guterres said the freedom of expression is a basic human right and urged the military "not to have any violence in relation to the people of Myanmar"..."
Source/publisher: "CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication: 2021-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Is Your Business Funding Myanmar Military Abuses?
Sub-title: Even Before Coup, Companies Should Have Cut Ties to Armed Forces
Description: "The military coup in Myanmar this week should sound alarm bells in corporate boardrooms around the world. Since Myanmar’s transition from decades of military dictatorship to a civilian government began in 2011, transnational businesses have cautiously reentered the country. But the coup highlights the question company directors should already have been asking: “Is our company directly or indirectly funding the Myanmar military?” The human rights, reputational, and legal risks of continuing to do business with Myanmar’s military are immense. The Tatmadaw, as it is known, has been accused of genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingya Muslims, and war crimes against other ethnic minorities. And now it has overthrown a civilian government that won a massive re- election, with over 80 percent of the vote, in November 2020. Companies doing business in Myanmar have long had access to credible information about the military’s grave abuses and corruption. A 2019 United Nations report found that companies with commercial ties to the Myanmar’s military and its conglomerates, Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), “are contributing to supporting the Tatmadaw’s financial capacity.” The report said these companies are at “high risk of contributing to or being linked to, violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law.” The UN team’s recommendation was clear: companies operating or investing in Myanmar should not do business with “the security forces of Myanmar, in particular the Tatmadaw, or any enterprise owned or controlled by them, including subsidiaries, or their individual members.”..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-05
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Title: Myanmar cuts Facebook access as military tightens grip following coup
Description: "Internet and news services continued to be disrupted across Myanmar on Thursday, as the country's military sought to secure their grip on power after deposing the democratically-elected government earlier this week. Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's de facto leader, along with President Win Myint and dozens of other senior figures in their National League for Democracy (NLD) were detained in pre-dawn raids Monday. Hours later, the military declared that power had been handed to commander in chief Min Aung Hlaing, in response to unfounded allegations of election fraud. A state of emergency was declared for one year. Late Wednesday, an arrest warrant was issued for Suu Kyi over unspecified "import and export" offenses, while Win Myint was remanded in custody under the country's Disaster Management Law, according to an NLD spokesman. While the dramatic overthrow of Suu Kyi's government attracted international attention, continued disruptions to internet access and communications mean that many in Myanmar may still be unclear about what is taking place. Facebook, by far the largest online platform in the country, confirmed to CNN that its services were "currently disrupted for some people" as of Thursday morning, as independent monitors recorded widespread filtering of Facebook, WhatsApp and other platforms, even as basic internet access was returning in some areas. Limited access to news and internet could affect the ability of people to get information or organize any response via social media. At one point on Monday, the only operational TV channel was the Myanmar military-owned television network Myawaddy TV. By Wednesday, some channels, such as DVB TV, were still off the air..."
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Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-04
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Biden administration designates Myanmar military takeover as a coup
Description: "The Biden administration has formally determined that the military takeover in Myanmar constitutes a coup d'état, a designation that requires the US to cut its foreign assistance to the country. "After careful review of the facts and circumstances, we have assessed that Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Burma's ruling party, and Win Myint, the duly elected head of government, were deposed in a military coup on February 1," a State Department official said Tuesday, using another name for Myanmar. "We continue to call on the Burmese military leadership to release them and all other detained civil society and political leaders immediately and unconditionally." The United States provides "very little" foreign assistance directly to Myanmar's government and "the government of Burma, including the Burmese military, is already subject to a number of foreign assistance restrictions, including statutory restrictions on military assistance, due to its human rights record." The State Department official, speaking on a call with reporters, said the administration "will undertake a broader review of our assistance programs to ensure they align with recent events." That review will begin "immediately" and will "look at any programs that indirectly benefit the military or individual low level officers." "At the same time, we will continue programs that benefit the people of Burma directly, including humanitarian assistance and democracy support programs that benefit civil society. A democratic civilian led government has always been Burma's best opportunity to address the problems the country faces," the official said..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-02
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Security Council fails to agree statement condemning Myanmar coup
Sub-title: Diplomats say discussions will continue with China and Russia asking for ‘more time’
Description: "The UN Security Council has failed to agree on a joint statement condemning Monday’s coup in Myanmar, after a two hour long emergency meeting failed to secure the support of China, a key Myanmar ally and a veto-holding permanent member of the council. The meeting, which was held virtually, followed the military’s detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and other top politicians in a series of early morning raids on Monday, after which armed forces chief Min Aung Hlaing assumed power. The 15-member council was considering a UK-drafted statement that the United Nations’ envoy on Myanmar told diplomats should “collectively send a clear signal in support of democracy” in the country. “I strongly condemn the recent steps taken by the military and urge all of you to collectively send a clear signal in support of democracy in Myanmar,” Christine Schraner Burgener told the council, according to her prepared remarks. The military has said its coup was constitutional and promised to hold new elections, claiming last November’s poll was fraudulent without evidence. A state of emergency will remain in force for one year..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2021-02-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-03
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Title: Myanmar’s military takes power in coup, detains Suu Kyi
Description: " Myanmar’s military staged a coup Monday and detained senior politicians including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi — a sharp reversal of the significant, if uneven, progress toward democracy the Southeast Asian nation has made following five decades of military rule. An announcement read on military-owned Myawaddy TV said Commander-in-Chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing would be in charge of the country for one year. It said the seizure was necessary because the government had not acted on the military’s claims of fraud in November’s elections — in which Suu Kyi’s ruling party won a majority of the parliamentary seats up for grabs — and because it allowed the election to go ahead despite the coronavirus pandemic. The takeover came the morning the country’s new parliamentary session was to begin and follows days of concern that a coup was coming. The military maintains its actions are legally justified — citing a section of the constitution it drafted that allows it to take control in times of national emergency — though Suu Kyi’s party spokesman as well as many international observers have said it amounts to a coup. It was a dramatic backslide for Myanmar, which was emerging from decades of strict military rule and international isolation that began in 1962. It was also a shocking fall from power for Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate who had lived under house arrest for years as she tried to push her country toward democracy and then became its de facto leader after her National League for Democracy won elections in 2015..."
Source/publisher: "Associated Press" (USA)
Date of publication: 2021-02-01
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar military vows to abide by constitution amid coup fears
Sub-title: Armed forces release statement saying remarks by general about political system were misinterpreted
Description: "Myanmar’s armed forces have said they will protect and abide by the country’s constitution and act according to law, amid concerns in the country that the military might attempt to seize power. In an official statement on Saturday, the military said recent remarks by its top general about abolishing the constitution were misinterpreted by media and some organisations. More than a dozen embassies, including the US and EU delegation, urged Myanmar to “adhere to democratic norms” on Friday, joining the UN in a chorus of international concern about a possible coup. The country is just a decade out of nearly 50 years of military rule, with a nascent democracy governed under a junta-authored constitution which dictates power-sharing between the civilian administration and the country’s generals. Advertisement For weeks, the powerful military has alleged widespread voter irregularities in November’s election, which Aung San Suu Kyi’s ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) won in a landslide. Its call for voter list verification ramped up this week, with an army spokesman on Tuesday refusing to rule out the possibility of a military takeover to deal with what he called a political crisis. Fears grew after army chief General Min Aung Hlaing – arguably Myanmar’s most powerful individual – appeared to echo the sentiment on Wednesday, when he said the country’s constitution could be “revoked” under certain circumstances. The newly elected MPs are expected to begin sitting in parliament on 1 February..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2021-01-30
Date of entry/update: 2021-01-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Soldiers' court-martial Myanmar's latest sham, say Rohingya groups
Sub-title: Activists, organizations denounce lack of transparency, say foolish to expect justice from Myanmar’s military
Description: "Rohingya rights groups have denounced the recent court-martial of three Myanmar army officers as “a miscarriage of justice” and another of the country’s “sham attempts” to mislead the international community. The three officers were convicted on June 29 for the 2017 massacre of Rohingya people in the Gu Dar Pyin village of Rakhine state’s Buthidaung township, where five mass graves were previously uncovered. The UK-based Arakan Rohingya National Organization (ARNO) rejected the ruling, saying the secrecy of the trial negates the essential requirement of transparency and impartiality. “No details were provided on the perpetrators, their crimes or sentences, keeping the people in the dark. This secret trial without transparency is a complete miscarriage of justice,” read a statement issued on Friday. The group reiterated its demand for “a transparent and impartial probe into the crimes against Rohingya in Myanmar by a competent international independent commission.” Referring to a similar trial in March 2018, the rights body said: “All these were sham attempts […] aimed at reducing international pressure and to divert the world’s attention away from the Rohingya genocide. We cannot expect justice from the perpetrators.” In the 2018 trial by court-martial, four Myanmar army officers and three soldiers were sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing 10 Rohingya men in the Inn Din village of Rakhine in 2017. “But the perpetrators were released in less than one year [November 2018], whereas the two Reuters journalists who exposed the massacre were detained for more than 16 months before they were pardoned, following global outcry,” the statement added..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
Date of publication: 2020-07-07
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar Armed forces chief allege "strong forces" behind terrorism in country
Sub-title: The remarks from the Myanmar Armed forces head was made while he was in Russia to attend the 75th anniversary of the country’s Victory Day. Myanmar armed forces maintain close links with Russian armed forces and purchases equipment from Russia.
Description: "Myanmar Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has called for international cooperation in fighting and claimed that terrorist groups exist because of the “strong forces that support them”. While he did not name forces but observers indicated that he referred to Chinese support for some insurgent groups in Myanmar. The remarks from the Myanmar Armed forces head was made while he was in Russia to attend the 75th anniversary of the country’s Victory Day. Myanmar armed forces maintain close links with Russian armed forces and purchases equipment from Russia. During the visit Gen Min Aung Hlaing held talks with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on how to promote ties between their countries’ armed forces, border security and counter-insurgency operations along the border. When asked by Russian state-run ZVEZDA News Agency about terrorism in Myanmar, the military chief said, “A country may be able to suppress terrorist organizations on its soil. But in cases when there are strong forces behind that terrorist organization, the country alone may not be able to handle it.” The senior general stressed the need for cooperation between partners and countries that oppose terrorism, saying that it is otherwise difficult to combat terrorist organizations. The comments made on the Russian territory were significant..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Economic Times" (India)
Date of publication: 2020-07-01
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Western Union 'cuts ties' with Myanmar military's bank
Sub-title: Rights groups have been calling on companies to cut ties with Myanmar military responsible for Rohingya atrocities
Description: "A leading global money transfer service Western Union has stopped using a military-owned bank as one of its agents in Myanmar, rights groups said. Western Union is one among the most recognizable names on the Dirty List of the international companies for doing business with military in Myanmar. The list was published by two rights campaign groups -- Burma Campaign UK and International Campaign for the Rohingya -- in December 2018. In an e-mail to Burma Campaign UK on Wednesday, Western Union said it has ended contract with Myawaddy Bank, a subsidiary of military business conglomerate Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (UMEHL), with immediate effect, said a joint statement by the advocacy groups. Western Union could not be reached for a comment, but an official at Myawaddy Bank confirmed the development to Anadolu Agency. "Western Union services are no longer available from our bank. It is Western Union’s decision to end the contract," the official told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media. The campaign groups said that Western Union has now been removed from the Dirty List. Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, said that Western Union is the biggest company so far to end a business relationship with a military-owned company..."
Source/publisher: "Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
Date of publication: 2020-01-08
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Suu Kyi and the generals drift apart in Myanmar
Topic: MYANMAR, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, MIN AUNG HLAING, TATMADAW, NLD, 2020 ELECTIONS, USDP
Sub-title: Civil-military relations are deteriorating as opposed pro-democracy and military forces gear up for 2020 elections
Topic: MYANMAR, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, MIN AUNG HLAING, TATMADAW, NLD, 2020 ELECTIONS, USDP
Description: "As a general election draws near in Myanmar, a contest that will pit pro-democracy against military forces, political parties are already preparing for the 2020 race. On September 27, the National League for Democracy (NLD) party that won the 2015 election commemorated its 31st anniversary with a spokesman’s lament that the nation’s democracy was not yet “genuine.” In a gauntlet-dropping pronouncement, NLD delegates gathered in the old capital of Yangon said that the military-drafted 2008 constitution, which grants vast powers to the men in green, must be amended to promote more democracy. At the same time, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, has recently acted more like a politician than both incumbent president Win Myint and nominal national leader State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. The military chief, who some suspect has presidential ambitions, has recently visited and donated to Muslim mosques, Christian churches and Hindu temples, in an apparent bid to raise his grass roots profile and soften his public image..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication: 2019-09-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: How Myanmar?s Military Wields Power From the Shadows
Description: "Despite Myanmar?s recent transition to civilian leadership, the military has retained significant power and is most to blame for the sectarian violence against the Rohingya...State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi has faced the brunt of international criticism for what has been described as ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, but Myanmar?s military, which has executed the crackdown in Rakhine State, is largely to blame, says Francis Wade, a journalist and author of Myanmar?s Enemy Within: Buddhist Violence and the Making of a Muslim ?Other.? The military still retains a great deal of political and economic power despite the country?s recent transition to a civilian-led government, explains Wade. Still, he says that in echoing the military?s rhetoric against the Muslim minority group, Aung San Suu Kyi and her civilian government have only fueled the sectarian violence..."
Creator/author: Interview by Eleanor Albert; Francis Wade, Interviewee
Source/publisher: [US] Council on Foreign Relations
Date of publication: 2017-10-02
Date of entry/update: 2017-10-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: The challenge of forging a new Tatmadaw
Description: "One of the greatest challenges of the peace process will be to decide what kind of Tatmadaw will be most compatible with the people?s aspirations for a future democratic federal Union..."
Creator/author: Sithu Aung Myint
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar"
Date of publication: 2017-06-18
Date of entry/update: 2017-06-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Why Myanmar?s military is not planning a coup
Description: "...The generals do not want to run Myanmar -- at least not directly. They are determined to protect the Tatmadaw and its central place in national life, and they would respond to any challenges to the country?s unity, stability and sovereignty -- the former regime?s three "national causes." However, within those bounds they want the NLD government to succeed as they share many of its goals. They have made it clear that they too want Myanmar to be strong, modern, prosperous, stable, united, independent and respected..."
Creator/author: Andrew Selth
Source/publisher: Nikkei Asian Review
Date of publication: 2017-05-08
Date of entry/update: 2017-05-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: How powerless are Myanmar?s military legislators?
Description: "...Notwithstanding the recent consolidation of the military bloc, a series of bold moves by the NLD under its leader, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, have highlighted a reality often overlooked. Despite their automatic seat allocation, military representatives cannot block ordinary legislation. While the military contingent holds a constitutional veto by virtue of the 75% "supermajority" required for any charter amendments, it does not hold a blanket legislative veto. All other bills only require a simple majority vote. In effect, with the majority gained from its resounding victory in the 2015 polls, the NLD can ram through legislation, as long as the new laws do not alter constitutional rule. Likewise, proposals drafted by military members of parliament can only be adopted with the NLD?s approval..."
Source/publisher: Nikkei Asian Review
Date of publication: 2016-06-05
Date of entry/update: 2016-06-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Expected but Permanent? : The Tatmadaw?s continued political involvement in Myanmar
Description: Abstract: "The Tatmadaw remains the most powerful political entity in Myanmar, motivated to preserve four core interests regardless of other changes to the state and society ? maintenance of complete institutional autonomy and independence; exclusive control over security portfolios; veto powers over constitutional change; and inhibiting prosecution for actions conducted during the Junta era. These interests are embedded within and supported by a praetorian ethos pillared upon a national security narrative justifying the military?s ongoing political involvement while the democratic process continues to mature, including past the upcoming parliamentary elections this November. New institutions and practices, however, have opened the political realm in unprecedented ways. Within this increasingly shifting political landscape, it is uncertain the unity and coherence of the regime ? the military and their retired brethren in charge of the executive and parliament- to maintain power, especially due to the large manipulations of the electoral and democratic processes which would be required to ensure their rule. Military intervention cannot be ruled out, but the Tatmadaw is reluctant to overtly and aggressively reintroduce themselves politically unless it feels its core interests will be irrevocably and immediately compromised by a new government. With their roles and responsibilities protected, the military may feel they can control, or at least marginalize, a parliament and/or government hostile to its interests. The 2015 elections will not, therefore, mark the end of the military?s preponderant political influence but continue to erode their control over the pathways of political power and may bring about the first truly civilian-military government in the country?s transition away from military rule; a significant milestone as those outside the old, yet still influential, military regime gain access to begrudgingly-ceded power.".....Paper delivered at the International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-­26 July 2015.
Creator/author: Adam P. MacDonald
Source/publisher: International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-­26 July 2015
Date of publication: 2015-07-26
Date of entry/update: 2015-08-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 252.09 KB
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Title: Misunderstanding Myanmar?s military
Description: "This article is written in response to Time to engage Myanmar?s military by Adam P MacDonald, published on this site on February 4."..... "It is troubling to recently hear of international assertions that the sovereign panacea for what ails Myanmar is the mere "professionalization of the Tatmadaw" - ie, the military. This is profoundly off the mark in grasping what Burman-dominated armed forces both have been and still remain: either a brutally armed enterprise or a profit-making military machine. "Educating leadership out of its dark old ways" reflects the same naivete that the world has witnessed in failed international interventions in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Internationals, seeing themselves coming to the rescue in Myanmar, are on the same track again. In order to reach viable solutions for this country with its rich geo-strategic, human and natural resource potential, there are several critical realities to be faced concerning military reform or Security Sector Reform (SSR) as it is referred to in Myanmar?s case. The context for this understanding should be based on the realization that the Tatmadaw is the core of a massive repressive governance apparatus, whose old power brokers are still in power. In simplest terms, Burman generals have provided the central direction and muscle in designing and wielding the Burman-dominated Army as the lead instrument of government in dominating ethnic minorities. This has been for the specific purpose of controlling ethnics? ancestral lands rich in most of Myanmar?s natural resources, host to the majority of its hydro-power potential, and dominating most of its borders and international trade route access. In other words, the basis for Myanmar?s economy..."
Creator/author: Tim Heinemann
Source/publisher: "Asia Times Online"
Date of publication: 2015-02-11
Date of entry/update: 2015-02-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Time to engage Myanmar?s military
Description: "Despite the widespread and rapid normalizing of relations with Myanmar over the past three years, the United States and the West in general have been reluctant to engage the country?s military - the Tatmadaw. The signing of the US National Defense Authorization Act for 2015 this past December, however, facilitates the gradual opening of military to military relations between the US and Myanmar..."
Creator/author: Adam P MacDonald
Source/publisher: "Asia Times Online"
Date of publication: 2015-02-04
Date of entry/update: 2015-02-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Return of the Myanmar Military?
Description: "...In the initial phase of liberalization, the military tended to follow Mr. Thein Sein?s reform initiatives. The generals rarely defied the political agenda of the president, himself a career army bureaucrat, except to defend their economic and tactical interests. But according to several senior aides to Mr. Thein Sein, relations between the president and the commander in chief, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, are increasingly out of sync. Several sources close to both men told me that General Min Aung Hlaing?s tougher tactics of late were reminiscent of the style of Senior Gen. Than Shwe, Myanmar?s military leader from 1992 to 2011, suggesting that General Than Shwe may still be pulling the strings behind the scenes. Lately, the military leadership has called for expanding the role of the National Defense and Security Council, a military-dominated 11-member body that holds wide-ranging powers, including the right to take over from the civilian government in a state of emergency. During the parliamentary debates last week, military representatives argued that the N.D.S.C. should be able to dissolve Parliament if one-third of the seats become vacant..."
Creator/author: Min Zin
Source/publisher: "New York Times"
Date of publication: 2014-11-17
Date of entry/update: 2014-11-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: New roles and relations for Myanmar?s military
Description: "Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their say. Please click here if you are interested in contributing. There remains widespread skepticism that reforms underway in Myanmar, despite their expediency and comprehensiveness, are simply cosmetic, civilian window dressing masking the institutionalization of military rule in its latest incarnation. Given the longevity and durability of the generals? hold on power in various regime types, this is not an unjustified perspective. Indeed, the military, or Tatmadaw, remains the most powerful actor in the political system but its role has changed significantly. The military has changed from being a hegemonic player, previously in exclusive control of all levers of state power, to being a veto player, retrenching from the day-to-day administration of the country but with the power to ensure that - regardless of other changes to the state and society - the military?s core interests remain preserved. These interests include maintaining its status as an autonomous entity beyond civilian oversight, exclusive purview over security portfolios, immunity for former and current military members for past deeds, and, most importantly, a veto via parliamentary representation over any proposed constitutional amendments. The national security narrative, entrenched in the 2008 constitution as safeguarding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state, is the major declaratory rationale of the Tatmadaw historic control over the political apparatus. In this vein, the Tatmadaw portrays itself as the only institution capable of fending off international intrusions and preventing internal collapse. Significant changes in the military?s relations with civilian opposition parties, ethnic groups and foreign actors, however, are transforming these previously demonized and persecuted entities into partners within new pathways and processes. Even though mistrust and weariness still exist, the future trajectory of these relations will be crucial in the way Myanmar?s political transition evolves..."
Creator/author: Adam P MacDonald
Source/publisher: "Asia Times Online"
Date of publication: 2014-06-06
Date of entry/update: 2014-07-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Military can still be good state-builders for Myanmar
Description: "Since 1988, worldwide public opinion has been firmly against Myanmar?s Armed Forces, the Tatmadaw. The Tatmadaw have been pressed to let civil society take control of the country?s administration. Nobody would claim that the ?Burmese Way to Socialism? was a success, not even the military officials wanted to be linked to the old government?s policies in the nineties. Likewise, most ex-military holding posts in the current quasi-civilian state don?t want to be linked to the former regime. Acknowledging these views, I argue the military might be and should be of great importance to policy making in Myanmar. Nowadays the Tatmadaw is adjusting itself to protect the country against excessive dependence, or even domination, by foreign powers? interests and agendas. This could be achieved through national reconciliation, with both civilian and military groups acknowledging each other?s role and making policies together. Also, the country needs to prepare for undesirable but possible outcomes of the liberalization, such as financial instability and lack of competitiveness. For all these challenges, the military can still be important as ?guardians? of stability in Myanmar. Attempting to avoid and alienate the Tatmadaw from government would only bring back the politicization that plagued the institution for many decades. Given the abrupt socio-economic changes that are being experienced, the political elites should stay together to repel political turmoil and religious fundamentalism (e.g. the 969 movement)..."
Creator/author: Erik H. Ribeiro
Source/publisher: "New Mandala"
Date of publication: 2013-10-15
Date of entry/update: 2014-07-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: An Assured Political Future
Description: Under the guise of national reconciliation, the Tatmadaw tightens its hold on the State... "The National Convention went into recess at a critical phase for the junta at the beginning of February, but most observers suspect they know which way the pendulum will swing once the constitution-drafting body reconvenes later this year. After 13 years of stop-start deliberation, delegates are on the brink of finalizing exactly what role the Tatmadaw (armed forces) will play in Burma?s future. Unsurprisingly, the military?s prospects look very good. One of their objectives is to have the armed forces play a leading role in politics. The National Convention Convening Committee?s Secretary-1 Lt-Gen Thein Sein—has proposed 14 principles concerning the role of the Army which look certain to be approved in the next session..."
Creator/author: Clive Parker
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 14, No3
Date of publication: 2006-03-00
Date of entry/update: 2006-05-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Burma?s Military Politics
Description: "Burma?s ruling military junta caught everyone by surprise when the ruling generals declared the SLORC dissolved and announced the formation of a new junta under the name of the SPDC. The 19-member SPDC consists of four generals who held top positions in SLORC and a host of new generals. They include the heads of the navy and air force and, most crucially, the commanders of military zones (sit taing). There was also a cabinet reshuffle and the formation of a "new" 39-member cabinet, and a 14-member Advisory Council..."
Creator/author: By Chao-Tzang Yawnghwe
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 5. No.7
Date of publication: 1997-12-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Endeavours of the Myanmar Armed Forces Government for National Reconsolidation
Description: Profiles of the main armed groups opposed to the military government...CONCLUSION: "The Armed Forces was obliged to form the State Law and Order Restoration Council and assume State Power on 18th September 1988. But from the time it assumed power the Government has made unceasing endeavors to end the internal armed conflict that had erupted together with independence, and to establish peace and stability in the country. Previously, successive governments had also made efforts to bring about peace, but to no avail. The State Law and Order Restoration Council however, laid down a National Policy comprised of Three National Tasks as well as political, economic and social objectives as guidelines for implementation. Of all the political objectives "national reconciliation" was considered a primary concern and a vital necessity for perpetuation of the Union. It therefore, invited the armed ethnic groups to return to the legal fold. It gave the groups time without limit to hold thorough discussions on the Government?s peace initiatives and with infinite patience awaited their decisions. In the meanwhile the government drew up and began to implement comprehensive development programmes and projects in the border regions where the national races well and which had lagged far behind in development. Due to the correctness of this national political policy and the sincere good will demonstrated by the Government, the armed insurrections have ended in nearly all the regions of the country..."
Creator/author: Yan Nyein Aye
Source/publisher: SPDC via Archive.org
Date of publication: 2000-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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