Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Websites/Multiple Documents
Description:
Stopped October 2016. The Archive survives.
Source/publisher:
Various sources via "BurmaNet News"
Date of entry/update:
2015-03-08
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Parliament - general articles and reports, Legislation under consideration, adopted, amended or repealed
Language:
English
more
Description:
About 355,000 results (August 2017)
Source/publisher:
Various sources via Youtube
Date of entry/update:
2017-08-22
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
more
Source/publisher:
CIA
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Statistics, profiles, general information etc. on Burma/Myanmar, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
English
more
Description:
''The Fiscal Federalism modules include the following:
1.Fiscal Federalism Introduction
2.Decentralization, Revenue Transfers, and Social Development
3.Fiscal Federalism and Equalization
4.Fiscal Federalism and Natural Resources
5.Public Infrastructure, Public Services, and Human Capital
6.Fiscal Federalism and Myanmar’s Peace Negotiations...''
Source/publisher:
Asia Foundation
Date of publication:
2018-11-14
Date of entry/update:
2019-01-13
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Decentralisation (Decentralization) in Burma/Myanmar, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Educational resources and materials (Burma- and non-Burma-related)
Language:
English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ), Kachin, Karen, Shan
Format :
pdf pdf pdf pdf pdf
Size:
2.96 MB 4.34 MB 4.59 MB 4.74 MB 4.58 MB
more
Source/publisher:
MYLAFF
Date of entry/update:
2016-07-02
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Plans, strategies, policy, standards and guidelines, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
English
more
Individual Documents
Description:
"More than a month on from a democracy-suspending military coup in Myanmar, many see the junta’s increasingly violent crackdown on dissent as approaching a point of no return. As the United States and others press for tougher sanctions on the junta’s leaders, Southeast Asian nations are under pressure to intervene to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.
With its credibility on the line after past failures to tackle human rights crises in the region, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is still widely seen as the best hope for a diplomatic solution amid uncharacteristic outspokenness from some of its member states who are pushing to build a regional consensus on the need for Myanmar to return to democracy.
But the grouping isn’t speaking with one voice, with some of its members describing the putsch as an internal matter, consistent with the bloc’s long-held tradition of non-interference in members’ domestic affairs. Moreover, the organization’s diplomatic efforts have been met with skepticism by those protesting across Myanmar who are staunchly opposed to any engagement that would confer legitimacy onto Naypyidaw’s generals..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2021-03-04
Date of entry/update:
2021-03-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Reporting (global, regional and Myanmar), Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The 82-year-old’s lawyer asked that bail be granted due to Win Htein’s need for ongoing medical care
Description:
"National League for Democracy (NLD) patron Win Htein requested that a Naypyitaw court release him from a detention center on bail on Friday, citing his deteriorating health. He awaits a trial for sedition charges brought against him by Myanmar’s ruling military council.
At 82 years old, Win Htein uses a wheelchair and is reliant on an oxygen supply to help him breathe. He suffers from hypertension, diabetes and heart and thyroid diseases, according to his lawyer, Min Min Soe.
He is charged with violating Section 124-A of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
“We requested that the court hold the trial with him out on bail because he needs constant medical care for those health issues,” lawyer Min Min Soe told Myanmar Now.
At Win Htein’s second hearing on Friday at the Dekkhina District court in Naypyitaw, deputy judge Soe Naing said the court would make a decision regarding the bail request in the next hearing, scheduled for March 19.
Lawyer Min Min Soe also said that officials at the Naypyitaw detention center have not allowed her to meet with her client or to obtain a copy of his medical records to submit to the court. She said that the NLD’s legal team has also requested that the judge allow an open court for her client’s hearings.
The outspoken party stalwart Win Htein was arrested at his home in Yangon on the evening of February 4. He had recently returned from Naypyitaw, where he gave media interviews in which he said the coup was a result of Min Aung Hlaing’s “personal ambition.”
At his first hearing on February 19, Win Htein asked for a sentence to be handed down to him immediately, which was rejected by the judge..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-03-05
Date of entry/update:
2021-03-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar security forces dramatically escalated their crackdown on protests against last month’s coup, killing at least 33 protesters Wednesday in several cities, according to accounts on social media and local news reports compiled by a data analyst.
That is highest daily death toll since the Feb. 1 takeover, exceeding the 18 that the U.N. Human Rights Office said were killed on Sunday, and could galvanize the international community, which has responded fitfully thus far to the violence. Videos from Wednesday also showed security forces firing slingshots at demonstrators, chasing them down and even brutally beating an ambulance crew.
The toll could even be higher; the Democratic Voice of Burma, an independent television and online news service, tallied 38 deaths.
Demonstrators have regularly flooded the streets of cities across the country since the military seized power and ousted the elected government of leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Their numbers have remained high even as security forces have repeatedly fired tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds to disperse the crowds, and arrested protesters en masse. The intensifying standoff is unfortunately familiar in the country with a long history of peaceful resistance to military rule — and brutal crackdowns. The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in the Southeast Asian nation after five decades of military rule.
The Wednesday death toll was compiled by a data analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared for his safety. He also collected information where he could on the victims’ names, ages, hometowns, and where and how they were killed.
The Associated Press was unable to independently confirm most of the reported deaths, but several square with online postings. The data analyst, who is in Yangon, the country’s biggest city, said he collected the information to honor those who were killed for their heroic resistance. According to his list, the highest number of deaths were in Yangon, where the total was 18. In the central city of Monywa, which has turned out huge crowds, eight were reported. Two deaths each were reported in Salin, a town in Magwe region, and in Mandalay, the country’s second-biggest city. Mawlamyine, in the country’s southeast, and Myingyan and Kalay, both in central Myanmar, each had a single death.
As part of the crackdown, security forces have also arrested hundreds of people at protests, including journalists. On Saturday, at least eight journalists, including Thein Zaw of The Associated Press, were detained. A video shows he had moved out of the way as police charged down a street at protesters, but then was seized by police officers, who handcuffed him and held him briefly in a chokehold before marching him away..."
Source/publisher:
"Associated Press" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-03-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-03-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Security forces open fire on anti-coup protesters in Yangon, Mandalay and elsewhere
Description:
"At least 33 people have been killed after Myanmar’s security forces opened fire on peaceful anti-coup protesters in multiple towns and cities, in the worst day of violence since the military coup last month.
Police and military have increasingly used lethal violence in an attempt to crush demonstrations, killing at least 40 people since the coup on 1 February.
Crowds have continued to take to the streets daily in defiance of the military junta, with just goggles, hard hats and homemade shields for protection. Protesters are demanding that the military restore democracy and for their elected leaders to be released.
Thinzar Shunlei Yi, a human rights activist based in Yangon, described the military’s use of force against protesters as a “daily slaughter”. Among those who died on Wednesday was a 19-year-old woman shot in Mandalay. Images shared on social media showed her wearing a T-shirt that read “Everything will be OK”. A teenage boy was also killed. Local media reported that he was 14.
Security forces used deadly force in several cities including Monywa, where six people were killed and at least 30 injured, a witness told the Guardian. Hundreds of people had turned out to protest when police opened fire around 11am.
At least eight people were killed in a neighbourhood in Yangon after security forces opened sustained fire with automatic weapons in the early evening, according to Reuters.
A protester who witnessed the crackdown in North Okkalapa township told the Guardian that the firing was continuous. “I’m still going to go to the frontlines. If I get shot and die then so be it. I can’t stand it any more,” he said..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-03-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-03-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar security forces opened fire on protests against military rule on Wednesday, killing at least 18 people, a human rights group said, a day after neighbouring countries called for restraint and offered to help Myanmar resolve the crisis. The security forces resorted to live fire with little warning in several towns and cities, witnesses said, as the junta appeared more determined than ever to stamp out protests against the Feb. 1 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
“It’s horrific, it’s a massacre. No words can describe the situation and our feelings,” youth activist Thinzar Shunlei Yi told Reuters via a messaging app.
A spokesman for the ruling military council did not answer telephone calls seeking comment.
Ko Bo Kyi, joint secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners rights group, said in a post on Twitter: “As of now, so called military killed at least 18.” In the main city Yangon, witnesses said at least eight people were killed, one early in the day and seven others when security forces opened sustained fire with automatic weapons in a neighbourhood in the north of the city in the early evening.
“I heard so much continuous firing. I lay down on the ground, they shot a lot,” protester Kaung Pyae Sone Tun, 23, told Reuters.
A protest leader in the community, Htut Paing, said the hospital there had told him seven people had been killed. Hospital administrators were not immediately available for comment.
Another heavy toll was in the central town of Monywa, where six people were killed, the Monywa Gazette reported..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-03-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-03-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Using live gunfire, security forces kill a 37-year-old man and 19-year-old woman in a crackdown on anti-coup protests
Description:
"Two people were shot dead after security forces cracked down on anti-coup protesters using stun grenades and live ammunition in Mandalay on Wednesday afternoon.
The victims have been identified as 37-year-old Myo Naing, who suffered a gunshot wound to the chest, and 19-year-old Kyel Sin, who was shot in the side of the head, emergency workers and family members told Myanmar Now.
No further details about the victims were available at the time of reporting.
At least 11 people were also injured in the shootings by security forces according to reporters who were covering the incident on the ground. Of those injured, two are in critical condition, having suffered gunshots to the forehead and to the back. Emergency medical workers have said that the number of people wounded could be higher, as multiple groups were working to treat them at the scene.
The protests against the military regime started on Wednesday morning with hundreds of school teachers and members of student unions gathered at the corner of 84th and 30th streets in Mandalay.
Soldiers and police officers then used stun grenades and fired their guns into the air to disperse the crowds. The protesters fled into apartment buildings in the area, as well as down side streets.
They gathered again half an hour after the morning crackdown. At around noon, the security forces shot into the crowd with live ammunition to break up the demonstration. Mandalay has seen some of the most violent and lethal crackdowns in Myanmar in recent weeks, with at least 10 people killed in the city.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners has estimated that around 30 people in anti-coup protests have been killed by security forces, and more than 1,200 arrested.
Security forces also fired guns and detained hundreds of people in an attempt to crush similar protests in Yangon on Wednesday..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-03-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-03-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
In a virtual meeting, regional foreign ministers will call for Aung San Suu Kyi’s release and encourage talks between the civilian leader and the military.
Description:
"ASEAN foreign ministers are preparing to hold virtual talks with a representative of Myanmar’s military on Tuesday, as anti-coup protesters returned to the streets in the main city of Yangon defying fresh threats from Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan, in a televised interview late on Monday, said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will tell the military it is appalled by the violence in Myanmar and call for the release of the country’s elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and for the two sides to talk. “Instability in any corner of Southeast Asia threatens and affects the rest of us,” he said, adding that the coup will cause “grievous damage to Myanmar’s society and economy”.
The military’s February 1 power grab has plunged Myanmar into chaos, drawing hundreds of thousands of people on to the streets of cities and towns across the country as doctors, teachers and other civil servants stop work in protest against the coup.
In the bloodiest crackdown yet, security forces opened fire on protesters on Sunday, killing at least 18 and wounding dozens more.
The killings triggered widespread international condemnation, including from the United Nations and a group of ASEAN legislators who said they were “alarmed at the scale of arbitrary arrests and surge in violence in Myanmar”. ASEAN, which comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, also renewed its efforts to open a channel between Myanmar’s military and civilian leaders.
Philippine foreign minister, Teodoro Locsin, indicated on Twitter that ASEAN would be firm with Myanmar and said the regional group’s policy of non-interference in a member’s internal affairs “is not a blanket approval or tacit consent for wrong to be done there”.
He also called Aung San Suu Kyi “Burmese democracy’s only hope”. ‘Illegitimate military-led regime’
But ASEAN’s effort to engage with Myanmar’s military was met with a fierce rebuke from groups in the anti-coup movement.
Sa Sa, a representative of a committee of deposed legislators, said ASEAN should have no dealings with “this illegitimate military-led regime”, while the alumni of ASEAN youth programmes in Myanmar said the bloc should be talking to the international representatives of Aung San Suu Kyi’s administration, not to the military government.
“ASEAN must understand that the coup or the re-election promised by the military junta is utterly unacceptable to the people of Myanmar,” it said it a letter to ASEAN.
Aaron Connelly, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said ASEAN member states were in a difficult position..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2021-03-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-03-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"The United Nations has condemned the use of lethal force against peaceful protesters in Myanmar. It said at least eighteen demonstrators had been shot dead in the bloodiest day of clashes since military leaders seized power four weeks ago.
Elections in November saw the ruling party, the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi, win a comfortable victory. That threatened the military's hold on power.
On 1st February, generals seized power in a military coup. There have been huge protests leading to a violent crackdown by the security forces.
Reeta Chakrabarti presents BBC News at Ten reporting by South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head...."
Source/publisher:
"BBC News" (London)
Date of publication:
2021-03-01
Date of entry/update:
2021-03-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"Media in Myanmar are reporting that police have shot dead protestors and wounded several others in a crackdown on protests against the military junta. Tear gas, water cannons and stun grenades were fired into crowds in various locations, while scores of demonstrators were hauled away in police trucks. Authorities are trying to crush weeks of demonstrations against the February 1st military takeover which deposed the civilian government..."
Source/publisher:
"DW News" (Germany)
Date of publication:
2021-02-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-03-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"Police in Myanmar have fired tear gas, water cannon and stun grenades at pro-democracy protesters, killing at least 18 people, the UN has said.
The UN's human rights office said it has received "credible information" that the crackdown on people demonstrating against a military coup included live ammunition being fired into crowds, resulting in the deaths and dozens of injured people.
It is the highest single-day death toll among protesters, who demanded the restoration of Aung San Suu Kyi and her elected government..."
Source/publisher:
"Sky News"
Date of publication:
2021-03-01
Date of entry/update:
2021-03-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar police opened fire on Sunday (Feb 28) on protests against military rule, killing at least two people and wounding several on the second day of a crackdown on demonstrations across the country, a doctor and a politician said.
Myanmar has been in chaos since the army seized power and detained elected government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership on Feb 1, alleging fraud in a November election her party won in a landslide. The coup, which brought a halt to Myanmar's tentative steps towards democracy after nearly 50 years of military rule, has drawn hundreds of thousands onto the streets and the condemnation of Western countries.
Police opened fire in different parts of the main city of Yangon after stun grenades and tear gas failed to disperse crowds.
One man was brought to a hospital with a bullet wound in the chest and died, said a doctor at the hospital who asked not to be identified. The Mizzima media outlet also reported the death. Police also opened fire in the southern town of Dawei, killing one and wounding several, politician Kyaw Min Htike told Reuters from the town. The Dawei Watch media outlet also said at least one person was killed and more than a dozen wounded. Police and the spokesman for the ruling military council did not respond to phone calls seeking comment. Police were also cracking down on a huge protest in the second city of Mandalay and in the northeastern town of Lashio, residents there said.
Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing said last week authorities were using minimal force to deal with the protests.
Nevertheless, at least five protesters have died in the turmoil. The army said a policeman has been killed..."
Source/publisher:
"CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication:
2021-02-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Join Targeted Economic Sanctions, Global Arms Embargo; Review Aid
Description:
"The Japanese government should take urgent action to pressure the leaders of the military coup in Myanmar to restore the democratically elected government and respect human rights, Human Rights Now, Human Rights Watch, Japan International Volunteer Center, Justice For Myanmar, and Japan NGO Action Network for Civic Space said today.
In a letter to Japan Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on February 25, 2021, the organizations urged the Japanese government to take joint action with other countries, including imposing targeted economic sanctions against the Myanmar military and companies that it controls, supporting a global arms embargo, and triggering human rights-based conditionals enshrined in Japan’s Official Development Assistance programs and charter. “As a major and influential donor, the Japanese government has a responsibility to take action to promote human rights in Myanmar,” said Teppei Kasai, Asia program officer. “It should urgently review and suspend any public aid that could benefit the Myanmar military.”
The organizations also said in their letter that Japan should join other concerned governments in imposing targeted economic sanctions against the military-affiliated companies, including Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), while assisting Japanese companies with direct or indirect ties to the military to terminate their business relationships responsibly..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-02-25
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights Watch Reports on Burma/Myanmar, Japan-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Security forces came down hard on protesters on Saturday, arresting dozens as nationwide demonstrations against military rule continue
Description:
"Myanmar’s junta stepped up its campaign to end anti-military protesters in Yangon and elsewhere on Saturday, three weeks after the start of daily protests and rallies against the February 1 coup.
In Monywa, a town in central Myanmar, security forces shot a woman in the chest with live ammunition. An emergency worker told local news outlet 7Day that the woman was in critical condition and has been admitted to a hospital.
No further details were available.
Photos circulating on social media showed security forces, including those in plainclothes, slapping an arrested woman, kicking a man onto a police truck, and violently arresting journalists.
According to the Monywa Gazette, at least 50 people have been arrested in the city since the crackdown began Saturday morning. At least five journalists, including a Myanmar Now multimedia reporter and the chief executive officer of the Monywa Gazette, were among several people arrested by the police during crackdowns in different cities.
The arrested journalists also include an AP videographer, a photographer from local photo news agency MPA, and a reporter from the Chin state capital Hakha.
The whereabouts of the arrested journalists remains unknown.
It was unclear how many people had been rounded up by police on Saturday, but witnesses and journalists on the ground reported dozens of arrests at various locations throughout the day. The violence came a day after Myanmar's envoy to the United Nations, Kyaw Moe Tun, made an emotional appeal at the UN calling on the international community to use “all means necessary” to end the military takeover.
Calling the military an “existential threat for Myanmar as a polity and civilized society,” he concluded his 12-minute speech by raising a three-finger salute in solidarity with the protesters.
In Yangon, police were out in force from early in the day to break up protesting crowds at key rallying points. Using stun grenades, rubber bullets and tear gas, they repeatedly forced protesters to flee into nearby residential areas.
As the police advanced, protesters scattered into side streets, sometimes running into apartment buildings or shopping centres..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-02-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"CNA filmed the build-up of Myanmar security forces in Tamwe township, Yangon and the moment they fired warning shots to disperse protesters, prompting many to flee. More on the anti-coup protests on Saturday (Feb 27): https://cna.asia/3uBQK8P..."
Source/publisher:
"CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication:
2021-02-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Ambassador breaks with convention to call for the return of state power to the people and to restore democracy
Description:
"Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations made an impassioned plea Friday for the international community to take the “strongest possible action” to end the junta’s rule in the country.
Kyaw Moe Tun’s voice cracked with emotion as he spoke out against the military regime that ousted the elected civilian government in a coup on February 1.
It is extremely rare for a representative to break with the rulers of the country they represent during an address at the UN General Assembly.
The ambassador even flashed the three-finger salute that has been used by pro-democracy protesters during street demonstrations against the junta, after concluding his speech with a message in Burmese. “We need… the strongest possible action from the international community to immediately end the military coup, to stop oppressing the innocent people, to return the state power to the people, and to restore the democracy,” he pleaded. Kyaw Moe Tun, his voice trembling, called on all member states to issue public statements strongly condemning the coup during the special meeting on Myanmar.
He appealed for countries not to recognize the military regime or cooperate with it and asked them to demand that the junta respects last year’s democratic elections.
The envoy also urged nations to “take all stronger possible measures” to stop violent acts committed by security forces against peaceful demonstrators..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2021-02-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, The UN and Burma - news and commentary
Language:
more
Description:
"State MRTV says he had 'Betrayed the country and spoken for an unofficial organisation'.
- Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe
- Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish
- Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera
- Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/
#AlJazeeraEnglish #Myanmar #MilitaryCoup ..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2021-02-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"Riot police opened fire to disperse protesters in Myanmar's largest city Yangon. Witnesses say they used guns and stun grenades.
Protesters have been taking to the streets since the elected government was overthrown in a military coup on February 1st. The military has now officially annulled the results from last November's election. Earlier this month it replaced the election commission, which had ruled the party of Aung San Suu Kyi won a landslide victory.
The protest march was quickly gripped by panic as shots rang out in Yangon. Witnesses say police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse the crowd.
Hundreds of people had turned out once again, blocking roads in Myanmar's commercial center, their defiance openly on display.
But police soon moved in to clear them - banging a warning drum with their truncheons against their shields. And there was an even more severe crackdown in Myanmar's second-largest city, Mandalay - with several people requiring medical treatment for their injuries. There have been daily protests and strikes throughout Myanmar since the military took power on February 1st, despite the threat of a violent crackdown constantly looming.
Elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has not been seen in public since the coup. And her lawyer says he's been allowed no contact. Suu Kyi is due to appear in court on Monday, and time is running out to prepare her defense. Outside her Yangon mansion, a group of supporters gathered to offer prayers for her release..."
Source/publisher:
"DW News" (Germany)
Date of publication:
2021-02-26
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar police shot dead one protester on Sunday and wounded several others as they moved to end weeks of demonstrations against the military coup, according to a local politician and news reports.
Police opened fire in the southern town of Dawei, local politician Kyaw Min Htike said. The Dawei Watch media outlet reported that one person was killed and more than a dozen were wounded.
Police and the spokesman for the ruling military council did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.
Videos posted to social media also captured escalating confrontations between protesters and security forces in the cities of Yangon and Mandalay.
In one video from the Hledan district of Yangon, shots could be heard. Local media reported that at least five people were injured in those clashes. At least five students were arrested at protests elsewhere in downtown Yangon Sunday. Shots could also be heard in a live stream posted on social media by local media from Yangon's Tamwe township, in which crowds of protesters could be seen fleeing from police.
The military intensified its crackdown on anti-coup protesters over the weekend, with hundreds of people reportedly detained.
The clashes come a day after the ruling military junta fired the country's United Nations ambassador for making an impassioned plea at the UN General Assembly for international action to help overturn the coup.
On Saturday, state television MRTV announced UN ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun's removal, saying he had "abused the power and responsibilities of a permanent ambassador" and that he "betrays the country."
Speaking to Reuters following his firing, Kyaw Moe Tun said that he "decided to fight back as long as I can."
Myanmar has seen 22 consecutive days of protests since the country's military seized power in a coup on February 1, ousting the democratically-elected government of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained alongside other government leaders including President Win Myint..."
Source/publisher:
"CNN" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-02-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Many businesses are struggling as protests, civil disobedience campaigns and cuts to the internet hit trade
Description:
"Business operations are yet to fully resume following a coup d’etat launched by Myanmar’s powerful military three weeks ago, raising fresh concerns about an economic collapse.
Many businesses are now dealing with low sales, finding it difficult to operate and face an uncertain future as the coup staged by Myanmar’s military approached its third week.
The military regime, however, has been adamant that under its administration it will be business as usual, with Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing stating in his first televised speech on February 8 that agreements made under the previous government will be followed and adding that approaches were being made to the international community to come and invest in Myanmar.
“There will be no change in the foreign policy, government policy and economic policy of the country during the period [where] we are temporarily taking responsibility for the state. We shall continue on the same path as before,” Min Aung Hlaing said on the military-owned Myawady TV channel.
A forecast of Myanmar’s GDP growth has been lowered to 2% from 5% for the 2020/21 financial year by New York-based research group Fitch Solutions due to the coup..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2021-02-26
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Myanmar is not alone in a region where the armed forces continue to play outsized political roles
Description:
"Myanmar’s recent reversion to outright military rule has ended a brief and tentative experiment with electoral democracy and restored the country’s status quo ante as a junta-run dictatorship.
While international condemnation grows around the putsch, Myanmar is not alone in a region where the armed forces continue to play outsized political roles.
While Southeast Asia’s militaries are deeply enmeshed in politics, their political authority could soon grow as the region teeters towards a potential conflict in the South China Sea and as internal strife simmers in various locales.
Southeast Asian states spent US$34.5 billion on defense in 2019, up 4.2% from 2018, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think tank.
A report last year by SIPRI’s Siemon T. Wezeman found that military spending by the ten ASEAN states increased by 33% between 2009 and 2018, “significantly more than the global increases [in] military spending or the growth in most other regions and subregions.” Thailand has seen two military coups in the past 15 years, in 2006 and 2014, both against the democratically elected governments of the Shinawatra siblings.
Thailand is now ruled by the military-civilian hybrid government of Prayut Chan-ocha, the junta leader who took charge in 2014. He faces mounting street-level resistance among protesters who question his democratic legitimacy..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2021-02-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
As the democratically elected leader of Myanmar, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is still in detention following the military takeover that triggered country-wide protests, violence and arrests, the UN envoy for the country observed on Friday, declaring that “democratic processes have been pushed aside”.
Description:
"Speaking at an informal General Assembly meeting on the Myanmar crisis, Special Envoy Christine Schraner Burgener said, “I told you in 2019 that I would sound the alarm if necessary…This is now the case”.
‘Fragile and fluid’ situation
The situation in Myanmar is “fragile and fluid”, the UN envoy said, calling it “a people’s fight without arms”.
Ms. Schraner Burgener strongly condemned the military’s “recent steps” and urged the Ambassadors to “collectively send a clear signal” supporting democracy.
She underscored the urgency in helping to lay the foundations of a “pluralistic democracy”, balanced with the complex domestic challenges of the civilian leadership.
“I have tried again and again to explain the complex situation, namely that the army holds the real power”, the UN envoy said. “Genuine democracy requires civilian control over the military”. Reject regime
Noting that “the takeover has not stabilized”, the UN official upheld that the international community must “not lend legitimacy or recognition to this regime”.
She labeled it a “coup”, calling the military takeover and declaration of the state of emergency “a clear violation of the constitution regardless of what they claim”.
Recalling that the National League for Democracy (NLD) had won the November election with 82 per cent of the vote, Ms. Schraner Burgener emphasized: “There is no justification for the military’s actions, and we must continue to call for the reversal of this impermissible situation, exhausting all collective and bilateral channels to restore Myanmar’s path on democratic reform”..."
Source/publisher:
UN News
Date of publication:
2021-02-26
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Country needs strongest possible action from global community to end military coup, says Kyaw Moe Tun
Description:
"Myanmar’s UN ambassador, Kyaw Moe Tun, speaking for the country’s elected civilian government ousted in a military coup on 1 February, has appealed to the United Nations “to use any means necessary to take action against the Myanmar military” to restore democracy to the south-east Asian country.
He addressed the general assembly on Friday after secretary general António Guterres’ special envoy on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, warned that no country should recognise or legitimise the Myanmar junta. “We need further strongest possible action from the international community to immediately end the military coup, to stop oppressing the innocent people, to return the state power to the people and to restore the democracy,” said Kyaw Moe Tun to applause and praise from western and Islamic counterparts.
Such an address is rare. Kyaw Moe Tun appeared emotional as he read the statement on behalf of a group of elected politicians that he said represented the country’s legitimate government. He ended with a three-fingered salute used by protesters..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-02-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, The UN and Burma - news and commentary
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Calls are growing for sanctions on the military’s vast business empire after the February 1 coup.
Description:
"From SIM cards to beer, skydiving and jade mining, there are few areas of Myanmar’s economy that escape the long arm of its military, the Tatmadaw.
But after Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a coup on February 1 that scuppered a 10-year experiment with democracy, campaigners have once again set their sights on the military’s sprawling, and highly lucrative, business interests. Protests in Myanmar amid flurry of Southeast Asian diplomacy
Timeline of events in Myanmar since February 1 coup
Malaysia deports 1,086 Myanmar nationals despite court order
US sanctions two more Myanmar generals after protest crackdown
“Min Aung Hlaing led a genocide against the Rohingya and the international response has been almost nothing really,” said Anna Roberts, executive director of the Burma Campaign UK. “He’s probably calculated that there will be a small response, but that it will be a price worth paying.”
Aung San Suu Kyi, and other senior members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), which won reelection in a landslide in November’s election, have been detained for more than three weeks with the military making unsubstantiated claims of fraud to justify its power grab.
The United States has already announced financial sanctions to prevent the military from tapping into billions of dollars deposited in the US, as well as targeted moves against individual generals including Min Aung Hlaing, adding to the measures imposed after the 2017 crackdown that prompted an exodus of more than 740,000 mostly Muslim Rohingya into neighbouring Bangladesh.
On Tuesday, after security forces used force to crack down on peaceful protesters killing two people, Washington added two more generals to its sanctions list..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2021-02-26
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, The Tatmadaw's view of the world, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Junta banned from all Facebook and Instagram pages, including all commercial entities linked to the military
Description:
"The Myanmar military has been banned from Facebook and Instagram with immediate effect, as the first pro-military rally took place in Yangon.
In a blog post, Facebook said: “Events since the February 1 coup, including deadly violence, have precipitated a need for this ban,” adding: “We believe the risks of allowing the Tatmadaw (Myanmar army) on Facebook and Instagram are too great.”
The army seized power this month after alleging fraud in a 8 November election won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), and detaining her and much of the party leadership. Facebook said it would also ban all “Tadmadaw-linked commercial entities” from advertising on its platforms.
It said the decision to ban the Myanmar army was due to “exceptionally severe human rights abuses and the clear risk of future military-initiated violence in Myanmar”, as well as the army’s repeated history of violating Facebook’s rules, including since the coup.On the weekend Facebook said it had deleted a page belonging to the military’s propaganda agency, Tatmadaw True News Information Team Page, under its standards prohibiting the incitement of violence.
The military government could not immediately be reached for comment.
Facebook is widely used in Myanmar and has been one of the ways the junta has communicated with people, despite an official move to ban on the platform in the early days of the coup.
In the commercial capital, Yangon, hundreds of pro-military demonstrators marched through downtown towards the central railway station, though the crowd was a fraction of the size of anti-coup protests.
Democracy supporters met them with crossed wrists and banged pots and pans..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-02-25
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"Some armed with knives and clubs, others firing slingshot and throwing stones, supporters of Myanmar's military attacked opponents of the coup in downtown Yangon on Thursday (Feb 25), while Southeast Asian governments groped for ways to end the crisis.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army seized power on Feb 1 and detained civilian government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership after the military complained of fraud in a November election. There have been about three weeks of daily protests and strikes and students planned to come out again in the commercial hub of Yangon on Thursday.
But before many opponents of the coup gathered, about 1,000 supporters of the military turned up for a rally in central Yangon.
Some of them threatened news photographers, media workers and witnesses said, and scuffles soon escalated into more serious violence in several parts of the city centre. Some military supporters were photographed with clubs and knives. Some threw stones and fired catapults, witnesses said, and several people were beaten by groups of men.
Video footage showed several apparent supporters of the military, one wielding a knife, attacking a man outside a city-centre hotel.
Emergency workers helped the man as he lay on the pavement after his attackers moved off but his condition was not known. "Today's events show who the terrorists are. They're afraid of the people's action for democracy," activist Thin Zar Shun Lei Yi told Reuters.
"We'll continue our peaceful protests against dictatorship."
The violence will compound worries about a country largely paralysed by protests and a civil disobedience campaign of strikes against the military..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK) via "CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication:
2021-02-25
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Weapons Transfers Fuel Junta, Abuses
Description:
"The United Nations Security Council should urgently impose a global arms embargo on Myanmar in response to the military coup and to deter the junta from committing further abuses, 137 nongovernmental groups from 31 countries said today in an open letter to council members. Governments that permit arms transfers to Myanmar – including China, India, Israel, North Korea, the Philippines, Russia, and Ukraine – should immediately stop the supply of any weapons, munitions, and related equipment. Since the February 1, 2021 coup, the Myanmar military has detained civilian leaders, nullified the November 2020 election results, and installed a junta, the State Administration Council, under a manufactured “state of emergency.” In the ensuing weeks, Myanmar security forces have used excessive and at times lethal force against demonstrators; arbitrarily detained activists, students, and civil servants; and imposed rolling internet shutdowns that put lives at risk.
“Given the mass atrocities against the Rohingya, decades of war crimes, and the overthrow of the elected government, the least the UN Security Council can do is impose a global arms embargo on Myanmar,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “Supplying any equipment to the military enables further abuses and bolsters the junta’s ability to repress Myanmar’s people.” The groups’ call reinforces UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s vow to “do everything we can to mobilize all the key actors and international community to put enough pressure on Myanmar to make sure that this coup fails.” The UN special rapporteur on Myanmar has called for a global arms embargo, while he and the deputy high commissioner for human rights have voiced support for targeted UN sanctions.
Security Council members should draft a resolution that bars the direct and indirect supply, sale, or transfer to the junta of all weapons, munitions, and other military-related equipment, including dual-use goods such as vehicles and communications and surveillance equipment, as well as barring the provision of training, intelligence, and other military assistance, the groups said. This should be accompanied by a robust monitoring and enforcement mechanism, including close scrutiny of sales to third parties that may be likely to resell such items to Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-02-24
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, The UN and Burma - news and commentary, Human Rights Watch Reports on Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Given its own history of transition from military rule, Indonesia is probably the nation best placed to lead the bloc’s diplomacy on Myanmar.
Description:
"Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi is spearheading an effort to get the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to get more involved in resolving the political situation in Myanmar.
Retno flew to Brunei yesterday and is scheduled to visit Singapore today for talks aimed at building a consensus within ASEAN on unfolding political crisis inside the country.
Her visit comes just over two weeks after the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, seized power, arresting State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and abrogating her party’s landslide victory at national elections in November. The coup has been followed by an escalating nationwide civil disobedience campaign that has brought the country’s government to a standstill.
“Many countries, including Indonesia, have raised concerns,” Retno said in a statement from Brunei. “Raising concerns is one thing, but the question is: What can Indonesia and ASEAN do to help Myanmar get out of this delicate situation?” Her tour came after Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin agreed to instruct their foreign ministers to talk to Brunei, this year’s chair of ASEAN, about setting up a special meeting to address the political crisis in Myanmar.The coup looms as an important test for ASEAN, which claims to occupy a position of diplomatic centrality in Asian diplomacy, but has often been sluggish in its response to regional crises. This is because of ASEAN’s decision-making process, which is based on the principles of consensus – meaning that any ASEAN member state can veto a course of action – and an allergy to any hint of “intervention” in member states’ internal affairs..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2021-02-18
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Foreign ministers of the so-called Quad grouping of countries seen as a forum to stand up to China in Asia agreed that democracy must be restored quickly in Myanmar and to strongly oppose attempts to upset the status quo by force, Japan’s foreign minister said on Thursday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts from India, Japan and Australia met virtually for the first time under the Biden administration and discussed Myanmar, COVID-19, climate, and Indo-Pacific territorial and navigation issues, the State Department said in a statement.
“We’ve all agreed on the need to swiftly restore the democratic system (in Myanmar),” and to strongly oppose all unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters.“I stressed that, with challenges to existing international order continuing in various fields, the role we, the countries that share basic values and are deeply committed to fortifying free and open international order based on the rule of law, play is only getting bigger,” Motegi said.
The State Department said Blinken and his counterparts discussed counterterrorism, countering disinformation, maritime security and “the urgent need to restore the democratically elected government in Burma.”
They also addressed the “the priority of strengthening democratic resilience in the broader region,” it said..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-02-18
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar has warned of the potential for a sharp uptick in violence on Wednesday, as protests continue against the 1 February military takeover of the government.
Description:
"Following reports that a “secretive trial” of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint began on Tuesday, Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews said in a statement that he is “terrified” that violence could break out, as additional soldiers have been deployed in towns and cities, including the commercial hub Yangon, where demonstrations are planned.
“In the past, such troop movements preceded killings, disappearances, and detentions on a mass scale,” he said.
“I am terrified that given the confluence of these two developments – planned mass protests and troops converging – we could be on the precipice of the military committing even greater crimes against the people of Myanmar”, he added.
Mr. Andrews issued an “urgent call” on all governments, individuals and entities that may have influence on Myanmar military authorities to use that influence “to convince the junta that rallies planned for Wednesday must be allowed to proceed without detentions or violence.” ‘Repression must end immediately’
“Continued repression of the people of Myanmar's basic liberties and human rights must end immediately”, he stressed.
In the statement, Mr. Andrews also reiterated that those in the chain of command, regardless of rank, can be held liable for any atrocities committed against the people of Myanmar, and that they “must disobey orders to attack”.
Of course, we cannot rely on the Myanmar military to avoid bloodshed out of a moral or legal obligation alone, he added, underscoring : “that is why it is so imperative that all those with influence demand that the junta restrain itself from further violence and arbitrary arrests”.
International business community urged to act
The Special Rapporteur also called on the international business community to take “immediate action”.
He urged them to call their interlocutors in State Administrative Council – the body set up to govern Myanmar following the military takeover – and to “stress to them that you [the businesses] will be forced to suspend or cease business in Myanmar if they continue down this violent path".
“Specifically stress to them that under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, businesses and investors should suspend or terminate activities with the Myanmar junta when the risk of involvement in serious human rights abuses can no longer be reasonably managed”, the rights expert said.
“I, and many others, would argue we have long passed that threshold. Please implore them to use restraint. Implore them to return power to the people of Myanmar”, Mr. Andrews added..."
Source/publisher:
UN News
Date of publication:
2021-02-17
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Inspired by protesters in Hong Kong and Thailand, Myanmar’s youth aim to grab the world’s attention as they fight to remove the generals.
Description:
"In the background, mohawked and leather-jacketed punks wave red and black flags and raise three fingers, a symbol of resistance derived from popular film series, The Hunger Games, and adopted by Myanmar’s anti-coup protesters.
“We just wanted to create something that can inspire people,” Hnin told Al Jazeera about the clip. “This song is meant for this moment.”
Hnin met other members of Rebel Riot in 2015 during student strikes in Yangon. They started hanging out “and somehow I became a punk, I guess.”
Describing themselves as a community more than a band, the collective are known not only for their music but for street-level social initiatives, such as handing out food to Yangon’s homeless.
Hnin says that being a part of Rebel Riot allows her to share her voice, which she says goes against the grain of what is expected from young women in Myanmar. “One of the things is you can’t get angry. You need to be quiet, you need to be patient, you need to be polite,” she said. “But women have anger. They have things they don’t agree on. So, that’s the reason why we are doing this, why I am doing this – to show that it’s ok to be angry, it’s ok to explode and be aggressive.”
Tens of thousands have taken to the streets since the military detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and seized power on February 1 – the day the country’s new parliament was due to sit. The generals have declared a year-long state of emergency and promised new elections, but have given no timeframe.
The protests have not only featured mohawked punks, but also young people dressed as ghosts, superheroes and anime characters. Marginalised groups including the LGBTI community have also played a prominent role.
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2021-02-19
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"Since "day one" of the military coup, Burmese actress Paing Phyo Thu -- one of the country's highest-paid stars -- says she has been on the streets opposing the ruling junta.
One of Myamar's highest-paid actresses, she has been offering financial help to striking staff who have given up their jobs to take part in the growing civil disobedience movement, known as CDM.
But on Thursday, the Myanmar Academy Award winner and her director husband, Na Gyi, went into hiding after his name appeared on an arrest list, along with a number of other celebrities who have been accused of using their platform to oppose the coup. A police statement on Wednesday said Na Gyi, two other prominent directors, two actors and a singer, were wanted for "using their popularity and encouraging responsible civil servants to participate in CDM, encouraging civil servants to participate in protests."
The notice from the governing State Administration Council said information on the whereabouts of the actor Payeti Oo, Director Ko Pauk, actor Lu Min, director Wine, director Na Gyi and singer Anatga was needed by the Myanmar Police Force.
They are being sought under a section of the country's penal code that was amended this week by coup-leader Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, in an apparent effort to target protesters, journalists and critics of the takeover. Section 505a makes it a crime to "hinder, disturb, damage the motivation, discipline, health, conduct" of government employees and military personnel and "and cause their hatred, disobedience, or disloyalty" toward the government or military.
Paing Phyo Thu said that while "we know that it's very dangerous to speak out like this," she won't stop -- despite the arrest warrant and being forced into hiding. Paing Phyo Thu has gone into hiding with her husband Na Gyi after a warrant for his arrest was issued.
"We can talk about our opinions, we don't mind because since day one of the military coup, we've been talking about it on our social media platforms because we want the audience to know that we're with them and nobody likes this. It's such an unfair thing," she said..."
Source/publisher:
"CNN" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-02-18
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Protesters accuse China of backing Myanmar’s generals, but analysts say Beijing does not favour a return to military rule.
Description:
"“If this is an internal affair, why are you helping the junta?” read another.
The nearly-daily rallies at the gates of the Chinese mission forced a response from China’s ambassador to the country, Chen Hai, who said on Tuesday that “the current development in Myanmar is absolutely not what China wants to see”.
Beijing was “not informed in advance of the political change in Myanmar,” Hai said, dismissing as “ridiculous” rumours that China was helping the military consolidate its rule by flying in technical personnel and troops. Part of the speculation about Beijing’s alleged backing for the military’s power grab stems from China’s refusal to unequivocally condemn the coup, which took place just weeks after a meeting between China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar’s commander-in-chief and current head of the military government.
During the January 12 meeting in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw, the senior general – who is said to harbour presidential ambitions – repeated his claims that widespread fraud had occurred in a November election that returned civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) to power.
The coup has brought Myanmar’s experiment with democracy to a halt, only a decade after the end of nearly 50 years of strict military rule. It prompted mass protests and international condemnation, with the United States has already imposed targeted sanctions on the generals who led the coup. Other countries are expected to impose similar curbs although campaigners want to avoid a return to the punishing sanctions that were enforced following the military’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1988, as well as its refusal to honour the results of an election that the NLD won in 1990..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2021-02-18
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Demonstrators reject army claim that majority of country support military junta
Description:
"More than a hundred thousand people have poured on to the streets in Myanmar to voice their anger against the coup and reject an army claim that it has majority support.
At a demonstration in Myanmar’s main city, Yangon – the largest there since the deployment of troops on Sunday – protesters marched with red flags signalling their loyalty to the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and carried signs denouncing the military.
Major junctions were blocked by a “broken down” rally, where drivers left their cars parked across the roads, with bonnets open, and by sit-down protests.
Mass demonstrations were also held in the second-largest city of Mandalay, where students, engineers and farmers were among thousands who took to the streets, and in the capital, Naypyidaw. The demonstrations followed claims from a military spokesperson on Tuesday that protests would dwindle and that 40 million of the country’s 53 million population backed its power grab.
The military, which once ruled the country for half a century, reiterated its promise to hold fair polls during the press conference, but protesters are unconvinced and have gathered daily to demand the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other politicians from her party, the National League for Democracy. She is now in house arrest. “I want Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, my president U Win Myint and other leaders freed immediately,” said a retired teacher, who was among those protesting in Yangon. “We want our democracy back.” About 1,000 university staff and students gathered outside the Secretariat, a sprawling colonial-era building that once served as the administrative centre for British Burma, to demand the release of their leaders..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-02-17
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Junta holds first press conference and describes coup as lawful, as internet shut for second night
Description:
"Myanmar’s military regime has filed a new charge against the deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and shut down the internet for a second night as it tries to quell a popular revolt against the coup it launched at the beginning of the month.
The junta held its first press conference on Tuesday, seeking in part to limit the economic and diplomatic fallout of its takeover, which it described as lawful. It said it would hold an election soon and denounced protesters for allegedly inciting violence and intimidating civil servants.
“Our objective is to hold an election and hand power to the winning party,” Brig Gen Zaw Min Tun, spokesman for the ruling council, told the news conference which the military broadcast live on Facebook, a platform it has banned.
The military has not given a date for a new election but it has imposed a state of emergency for one year. Zaw Min Tun said the military would not hold power for long. “We guarantee … that the election will be held,” he said He denied rumours that the military was working with IT specialists from China to ringfence the country’s internet, arguing the state had the capacity to do so itself, and said commercial and diplomatic agreements struck under previous civilian-led governments would be honoured.
Some local media outlets boycotted the conference, arguing it legitimised an illegal coup, as well over concerns that tough questions might lead to repercussions from a military that is facing credible accusations of committing genocidal violence in the country’s borderlands..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-02-16
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
more
Sub-title:
An increased use of force and the reported deployment of armoured vehicles to major cities throughout Myanmar have sparked the deep concern of UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Description:
"In a statement issued on Sunday by his spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, the UN chief called on the military and police of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, to ensure that the right of peaceful assembly is “fully respected” and demonstrators are “not subjected to reprisals”.
“Reports of continued violence, intimidation and harassment by security personnel are unacceptable”, he spelled out.
The unfolding situation follows a military takeover on 1 February.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Thomas Andrews, tweeted, “it’s as if the generals have declared war on the people of Myanmar: late night raids; mounting arrests; more rights stripped away’ another Intrnet shutdown; military convoys entering communities”.
“These are signs of desperation. Attention generals: You WILL be held accountable”, he underscored. Call for respect
Ongoing arrests of political leaders, government officials, members of civil society and media representatives are “deeply concerning”, as are internet restrictions and communication restraints, according to Mr. Guterres who upheld that they “must not be disrupted" to ensure the right to freedom of expression, which includes access to information.
He reiterated his call on Member States “collectively and bilaterally” to exercise influence regarding the protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Myanmar and reaffirmed the Organization's “unwavering support” to their pursuit of “democracy, peace, human rights and the rule of law”.
“The Secretary-General calls on the military authorities urgently to allow the Special Envoy, Ms. Christine Schraner Burgener, to visit Myanmar under agreeable conditions and to assess the situation firsthand”, concluded the statement..."
Source/publisher:
UN News
Date of publication:
2021-02-14
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, The UN and Burma - news and commentary
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Armoured vehicles on streets of Yangon as people continue protests for restoration of civilian government.
Description:
"NetBlocks, which tracks Internet disruption, said on Twitter that connectivity was being restored, but that social media remained restricted for many users. The system was shut down for eight hours from 1am (18:30 GMT).
The military seized power on February 1, the day Myanmar’s parliament was due to begin a new session following elections in November, which were won by the National League for Democracy (NLD) in a landslide.
Detaining NLD founder and civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi as well as senior members of her government, the generals said they were forced into the coup because of alleged election fraud. Election officials have said there is no evidence of fraud. The United Nations and a number of western countries including the United States have condemned the coup, and on Friday the US imposed the first new sanctions on military chief Min Aung Hlaing and other senior generals.
In a statement late on Sunday, following reports of shots being fired in the northern state of Kachin and the deployment of armoured vehicles to various cities in Myanmar, United Nations’ Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply concerned” about the situation in the country. The Secretary-General reiterates his call on Member States collectively and bilaterally to exercise influence regarding the protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Myanmar, ” he said in a statement released through his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
On Monday, more than a dozen police trucks with four water cannon vehicles were deployed near the Sule Pagoda in Yangon, which has been one of the city’s main centres for protest..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2021-02-15
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"Security forces in Myanmar pointed guns toward anti-coup protesters and attacked them with sticks on Monday, seeking to quell the large-scale demonstrations calling for the military junta that seized power earlier this month to reinstate the elected government.
More than 1,000 protesters rallied in front of the Myanmar Economic Bank in Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, when at least 10 trucks full of soldiers and police arrived and immediately started firing slingshots toward the protesters, according to a photographer who witnessed the events.
The soldiers and police then attacked the protesters with sticks, and police could be seen aiming long guns into the air amid sounds that resembled gunfire. Local media reported that rubber bullets were also fired into the crowd, and that a few people were injured. Police were also seen pointing guns toward the protesters.
In the capital, Naypyitaw, protesters gathered outside a police station demanding the release of a group of high school students who were detained while joining in anti-coup activities.
One student who managed to escape told reporters that the pupils — thought to range in age from 13 to 16 — were demonstrating peacefully when a line of riot police suddenly arrived and began arresting them. It wasn’t clear exactly how many students were rounded up, but estimates put the figure at between 20 and 40.
Earlier Monday, Myanmar’s military leaders extended their detention of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose remand was set to expire and whose freedom is a key demand of the crowds of people continuing to protest the Feb. 1 coup.
Suu Kyi will now be remanded until Feb. 17, when she will likely appear in court by videoconference, according to Khin Maung Zaw, a lawyer asked by Suu Kyi’s party to represent her. The Nobel laureate remains under house arrest on a minor charge of possessing unregistered imported walkie-talkies.
Suu Kyi’s extended detention is likely to further inflame tensions between the military and the protesters who have taken to the streets of cities across the Southeast Asian nation seeking the return of the government they elected..."
Source/publisher:
"Associated Press" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-02-15
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Protests against military coup continue despite overnight internet blackout and extra soldiers deployed
Description:
"Troops have joined police in forcefully dispersing marchers in the city of Mandalay in northern Myanmar, as protests against the military coup continued despite the deployment of extra soldiers in some areas and an eight-hour internet blackout overnight.
Images and reports from the city on Monday showed police and soldiers using rubber bullets and slingshots to disperse protesters. A student union in the city said several people had been injured.
Myanmar resurfaced online at about 9am local time on Monday after an internet-monitoring service showed a dramatic fall in connectivity from midnight. There were fears the blackout might be used as cover for mass arrests or violence.
There was no sign of that on Monday, but the country woke to extra troops on the streets of many cities including the former capital Yangon, where the new forces on the ground included the 77th light-infantry division which, during pro-democracy protests in 2007, was accused of ramming demonstrators and using live ammunition against them. Protests continued in the city despite the show of force, albeit in numbers smaller than the peaks of Friday and the weekend. Students and Buddhist monks demonstrated in front of the troops, and a banner reading “We do not want military government” was stuck to an army vehicle outside Yangon’s central bank.
“Patrolling with armoured vehicles means they are threatening people,” said 46-year-old Nyein Moe, among the more than 1,000 gathered in front of the central bank in Yangon. “People are marching on the streets and they don’t care to be arrested or shot. We can’t stop now. The fear in our mind is going away.” There was a fresh rally in the southern city of Dawei, too, a verified live stream on Facebook showed, with hundreds of protesters accompanied by a marching band..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-02-15
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
‘It’s as if the people in charge knew this was going to happen and deliberately let it happen,’ says man injured in attack
Description:
"Knife-wielding thugs supporting the military ransacked a restaurant in Meiktila and threw bricks on Friday after accusing the diners of banging pots and pans in defiance of last week’s coup.
The attackers were marching through the town in central Myanmar, which is home to several military barracks, at around 4pm before they stormed into the Ywet Nu restaurant, witnesses said.
Videos posted on Facebook showed them throwing rocks, using slingshots, and overturning tables and chairs. Witnesses said the windows of nearby houses were also broken.
“When they were marching, we were eating,” said Than Tun Lin, the restaurant’s owner, who injured his neck during the attack. “Then they just barged inside the restaurant claiming we were banging our pots and pans and started throwing bricks. Some of them had knives, it was like a hijack.” Another person, Chit San Maung, was injured in the neck, back, stomach and shoulders during the attack.
“It’s like there’s no security in the town, we don’t even feel safe. And it’s as if the people in charge knew this was going to happen and deliberately let it happen,” says Chit San Maung, who was attacked.
Meiktila township police station chief officer Thein Tun denied the allegation.
“When the person concerned reports the case, we’ll take necessary action. We’ve been on patrols around the town for safety, taking precautions to maintain rule of law,” he told Myanmar Now..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-02-14
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Police, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
US warns of ‘military movements’ in Yangon and expects internet to be cut in next 12 hours
Description:
"The US embassy in Myanmar has warned of “military movements” in the country’s main city, Yangon, and has said it expects the internet to be interrupted over the next 12 hours.
The warning came after the appearance on Sunday of three Tatmadaw armoured vehicles on the streets of the commercial capital and the site of major daily protests against the military’s coup on 1 February.
The expected outages, which have not been confirmed by the Norwegian telecommunications firm that runs the country’s communication grid, have raised fears of a possible crackdown overnight.
The US urged its citizens to “shelter-in-place” on Sunday evening local time after three armoured vehicles were sighted in the city for the first time since the 1 February military coup. The embassy also said there was a “possibility of telecommunications interruptions overnight between 1am and 9am” (1830 to 0230 GMT).
The internet was blocked last Saturday as the protest movement was taking shape but restored after 24 hours.
Mostly young demonstrators have used the internet to organise, document their protests and capture the police response including firing rubber bullets at crowds and in some instances the use of live ammunition.
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Myanmar’s major cities for a ninth day of anti-coup demonstrations on Sunday.
Security forces fired to disperse protesters outside a power plant in the northern state of Kachin, footage broadcast live on Facebook showed, although it was not clear if they were using rubber bullets or live ammunition. Hundreds of people had gathered late on Sunday outside a power plant that soldiers had occupied in the city of Myitkyina. As darkness fell, riot police accompanied by troops arrived to drive away the crowds, the footage showed.
A convoy on motorbikes and in cars drove through the capital, Naypyidaw. In the south-eastern coastal town of Dawei, a band played drums in shadows cast by awnings as crowds marched under the hot sun. In Waimaw, on the banks of the Irrawaddy River in Kachin, crowds carried flags and sang revolutionary songs.
Many of the protesters nationwide held up images of Aung Sun Suu Kyi’s face. Her detention, on charges of importing walkie-talkies, is due to expire on Monday. Her lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, could not be reached for comment.
More than 384 people have been detained since the coup, the monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said, in a wave of mostly night-time arrests..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-02-14
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Amid crackdown, protesters aim is to take away the coup leaders’ power by stopping all governance mechanisms from working.
Description:
"Starve the government of legitimacy and recognition; stop it from functioning by staging strikes; and cut off its sources of funding. That is the strategy emerging from a mass movement in Myanmar aimed at toppling the new military dictatorship.
As protesters defying the February 1 coup brave beatings, arrests, water cannon, and even live ammunition, activists hope a “no recognition, no participation” approach can sustain pressure even if demonstrations are stamped out with violence. “The immediate aim is to take away the military’s power by stopping all of its governance mechanisms from working,” said Thinzar Shunlei Yi, who like many activists is now in hiding to avoid arrest.
“It will disable the military’s ability to rule.”
Myanmar’s fragile 10-year experiment in democracy was snuffed out in early February when soldiers arrested civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and other top officials in early morning raids as military chief Min Aung Hlaing seized power. A civil disobedience movement began almost immediately and amassed support from broad swaths of society. Trains have ground to a halt, hospitals have closed, and ministries in the capital, Naypyidaw, are believed to be straining amid mass walkouts.
Many thousands including nurses, doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, farmers, railway staff, civil servants, factory workers and even some police officers, have gone on strike or defected in a bid to cripple the new military government..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2021-02-13
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Thousands take to the streets again as junta releases 23,000 prisoners and detains more opponents overnight
Description:
"Facebook has imposed widespread restrictions on Myanmar’s military rulers to prevent them spreading “misinformation”, as tens of thousands again took to the streets in what was set to be the biggest day of protests against the coup so far.
The social network site said on Friday that it would reduce the distribution of all content and profiles run by Myanmar’s military, saying the generals have “continued to spread misinformation” after they seized power and detained civilian leaders in a coup.
The measures were not a ban, Facebook said in a statement, “but are aimed at reducing the number of people who see the content” and will apply to an official page run by the army and one by a military spokesperson. They would also cover “any additional pages that the military controls that repeatedly violate our misinformation policies”. The pages would no longer appear on news feeds as “recommended”.
The social media giant said it had also suspended the ability of Myanmar government agencies to send content-removal requests to Facebook through the normal channels used by authorities across the world.
“Simultaneously, we are protecting content, including political speech, that allows the people of Myanmar to express themselves and to show the world what is transpiring inside their country,” said Rafael Frankel, Facebook’s director of public policy. Hundreds of thousands of people have been protesting across Myanmar since the army overthrew the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi and detained most top leaders on 1 February.
Friday saw hundreds of separate marches in Yangon alone as people marked the Union day public holiday with what appeared to be the biggest show of defiance since the military takeover.
Witnesses said there were hundreds of separate marches, each with around 2,000 participants, and all converging on focal points such as Hledan, Sule pagoda and the Russian and Chinese embassies. One march consisted of the fans of rival English football teams joining together to vent their anger.
One student protester outside the Russian embassy said: “We don’t want to join the main rally at Sule pagoda because we are worried the military will go there. The military won’t do anything outside an embassy because it will hurt their image so we feel safer here..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-02-12
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar’s coup leader used the country’s Union Day holiday on Friday to call on people to work with the military if they want democracy, a request likely to be met with derision by protesters who are pushing for the release from detention of their country’s elected leaders.
“I would seriously urge the entire nation to join hands with the Tatmadaw for the successful realization of democracy,” Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said using the local term for the military. “Historical lessons have taught us that only national unity can ensure the non-disintegration of the Union and the perpetuation of sovereignty,” he added. In addition to the military commander’s message published Friday in the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper, the new junta also announced it would mark Union Day by releasing thousands of prisoners and reducing other inmates’ sentences.
Min Aung Hlaing’s Feb. 1 coup ousted the civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and prevented recently elected lawmakers from opening a new session of Parliament. It reversed nearly a decade of progress toward democracy following 50 years of military rule and has led to widespread protests in cities around the country.
The military has said it was forced to step in because Suu Kyi’s government failed to properly investigate allegations of fraud in November elections, though the election commission has said there is no evidence to support those claims.
The rallies against the coup — now daily occurrences in Myanmar’s two largest cities, Yangon and Mandalay — have drawn people from all walks of life, despite an official ban on gatherings of more than five people. Factory workers and civil servants, students and teachers, medical personnel and people from LGBTQ communities, Buddhist monks and Catholic clergy have all come out in force.
On Thursday, people from Myanmar’s ethnic minority groups, who are concentrated in far-flung, border states, joined in — a striking show of unity in a country where some groups have resented the Burman majority’s control and have also had their differences with Suu Kyi. But their deep mistrust of the military, which has brutally repressed their armed struggles for more autonomy, has made them uneasy allies with her party.
The protesters are unlikely to be swayed by Min Aung Hlaing’s call for unity, which come on Union Day, a national holiday celebrating the date in 1947 that Myanmar, then known as Burma, when many of the country’s ethnic groups agreed to unify following decades of British colonial rule..."
Source/publisher:
"Associated Press" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-02-12
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
more
Sub-title:
Analysis of video evidence shows police firing live rounds at protesters and shooting one woman in the head.
Description:
"Analysis of images from the protest showed a member of the police carrying a Myanmar-made BA-94 or BA-93 clone of the Uzi sub-machine gun, the human rights group said, contradicting the military’s claim that security forces only deployed non-lethal weapons during Tuesday’s protest.
The video of the shooting captured the exact moment the young woman, identified as Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing, was hit in the head by a bullet. According to local media, the 19-year-old has lost significant brain function and only has a slim chance of survival. Amnesty verified the video and said the alleged police gunman could be seen standing at or close to the other side of the road from where the woman was shot.
She was sheltering from water cannon with other protesters behind a bus stop when she was hit.
“The social media materials we have verified show that police recklessly targeted protesters, with no respect for their lives or safety whatsoever,” said Sam Dubberley, head of Amnesty’s Crisis Evidence laboratory.
“The serious injuries sustained by this young woman were caused by the Myanmar police firing live ammunition directly towards peaceful protesters,” he added.
The shooting took place a day after coup leaders threatened to “take action” against protesters.
After the young woman was hit, more gunshots could be heard in the video, which also captured fire bursts coming from weapons wielded by the police. Amnesty also verified the exact location of the shooting as being on Taungnyo Road, just southeast of the Thabyegone Roundabout in Naypyidaw.
Dubberley urged government forces to “immediately stop” the “unnecessary and excessive use of force”, adding that, as protests continue, people’s right to peacefully express their grievances should be respected..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2021-02-11
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
" The United States on Thursday (Feb 11) slapped sanctions on the leaders of Myanmar's military government, warning that more punishment could come even as the generals in Yangon ordered demonstrators to get back to work or face "effective actions".
As Myanmar was preparing for a seventh consecutive day of anti-coup rallies, the US Treasury Department announced it was blocking any US assets and transactions with 10 current or former military officials held responsible for the Feb 1 coup. Demonstrations condemning the ouster of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi have largely been peaceful, although security forces earlier in the week used tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets on protesters, with isolated reports of live rounds being fired.
In the most significant concrete action, President Joe Biden announced his administration was cutting off the generals' access to US$1 billion in funds in the United States.
Targets of US sanctions announced Thursday include Army chief General Min Aung Hlaing, who now holds legislative, judicial and executive powers in Myanmar. Min Aung Hlaing was already under US sanctions over the campaign against the mostly Muslim Rohingya minority. Also targeted are military leaders in the new cabinet such as Defence Minister General Mya Tun Oo, as well as three gem exporting companies controlled by Myanmar's military. "We are also prepared to take additional action should Burma's military not change course," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, using Myanmar's former name.
"If there is more violence against peaceful protesters, the Burmese military will find that today's sanctions are just the first," she said..."
Source/publisher:
"AFP" (France) via "CNA" (Singapore)
Date of publication:
2021-02-12
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association: standards and mechanisms, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"A young woman was shot in the head by Myanmar’s security forces during protests, Amnesty International has confirmed after investigating footage showing the attack. This evidence also contradicts Myanmar military claims that security forces were not carrying lethal weapons.
A video shared on social media of the shooting, which happened in the capital of Nay Pyi Taw on 9 February, was verified by Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence experts. According to media reports, the woman has lost significant brain function and has only a slim chance of survival.
The Myanmar military’s ‘True News Information Unit’ said in a statement that security forces only deployed non-lethal weapons. However, images show a member of the police (pictured above) wielding a Myanmar-made BA-94 or BA-93 Uzi clone, a Myanmar-made variant of this sub-machine gun.
In the verified coordinates of the image, the alleged police gunman is standing at or close to the other side of the road from where the woman was shot. The distressing video captures the exact moment the young woman, named on social media as 19-year-old Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing, is hit in the side of her head by a bullet as she turns away from security forces. She had been sheltering with protesters from water cannons behind a bus stop when she was shot.
“The serious injuries sustained by this young woman were caused by the Myanmar police firing live ammunition directly towards peaceful protesters,” said Sam Dubberley, Head of Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab.
“The social media materials we have verified show that police recklessly targeted protesters, with no respect for their lives or safety whatsoever. Their abhorrent use of lethal force against protesters is unlawful, and must be independently, thoroughly and promptly investigated..."
Source/publisher:
"Amnesty International" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-02-11
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The brazen seizure of power by the military has energised the population and produced a public display of cross-party unity
Description:
"little over a week after the Myanmar military seized power and arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and dozens of other ministers and activists, a counter-movement has taken hold across the country. The military’s efforts to thwart the spread of demonstrations – by the downing of internet connections and by use of intimidation and violence, including the shooting of one protester, Mya Thwe Thwe Khine, this week – have been in vain. Mass gatherings have spread from cities in the centre to far-flung towns in the north-east, close to the border with China. Against lines of armed riot police, protesters have so far held their ground.
Aung San Suu Kyi remains in detention, her location unknown. The charges she faces – among them possession of illegally imported walkie-talkies – are clearly a ruse intended to prolong her confinement while the military finds a way to stymie her popular influence. On Tuesday night, police raided the headquarters of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, whose landslide win in elections in November set in motion the train of events that led to the military’s coup. It is likely they were looking for evidence to incriminate other party members, or indeed criminalise the party altogether, in an attempt to weaken its organising power. Upon seizing power, the military declared a year-long state of emergency, which it hopes will give it space to develop a strategy for control of the country well into the future. In that time, the generals may seek out ways to condition Aung San Suu Kyi and her colleagues – via negotiation, incentives or threat – into becoming a less assertive political force. Otherwise they will move to banish the party from formal politics altogether. The NLD’s dramatic win in November 2020 was evidence both of the continued emboldening of its support base, despite repeat efforts by the military to undermine Aung San Suu Kyi during her five years as state counsellor, as well as the glaring unpopularity of the military, whose party won only 33 of 476 seats..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-02-11
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
A woman who was severely injured while protesting against Myanmar's military coup is in a critical condition.
Description:
"She was hurt at a protest on Tuesday in the capital city of Nay Pyi Taw, which saw police trying to disperse protesters using water cannon, rubber bullets and live rounds.
Rights groups and news outlets say the woman was shot in the head.
There have been reports of serious injuries as police have increased their use of force, but no casualties so far.
Tens of thousands have turned out in street protests against the coup, which overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi's democratically-elected government last week, despite a recent ban on large gatherings and a night curfew.
Demonstrations re-started on Wednesday morning, for a fifth consecutive day, with a large group of civil servants gathering in Nay Pyi Taw to protest.
Pools and princesses: Myanmar protesters go all out
Myanmar coup: What is happening and why?
'We have no weapons - so I fight with a pen' Video of shooting
On Tuesday, police had used water cannon in Nay Pyi Taw against protesters, who refused to retreat.
Warning shots were reportedly fired into the air before rubber bullets were fired at the crowd - but doctors later said it appeared live ammunition had hit protesters.
According to BBC Burmese, who spoke to an unnamed medical officer from a Nay Pyi Taw hospital, one woman suffered a serious head injury and another demonstrator had chest injuries. The woman is now in intensive care.
According to a report by Human Rights Watch, a doctor from the hospital said the woman had a "projectile lodged in her head and had lost significant brain function".
The unidentified doctor said the woman's wound was consistent with that of live ammunition, and that a metal bullet had penetrated the back of her right ear. A man wounded at the same protest also appeared to have similar injuries.
A separate report by Fortify Rights quoted a doctor who said the woman was brain dead from an "imminently fatal gunshot wound to the head"....."
Source/publisher:
"BBC News" (London)
Date of publication:
2021-02-10
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who himself first seized power in a coup, said on Wednesday (Feb 10) that he had received a letter from Myanmar's new junta leader asking for help to support democracy.
Prayut, who overthrew an elected prime minister in 2014 and stayed in office after a 2019 election which his rivals said was badly flawed, told reporters in Bangkok that he had always supported democracy in the neighbouring country. Min Aung Hlaing's army overthrew elected civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb 1 and detained her, alleging fraud in an election last year that her party won in a landslide. The electoral commission had dismissed the army's claims.
READ: Myanmar anti-coup protests resume despite bloodshed
READ: Myanmar military raids Aung San Suu Kyi's party offices as UN slams violence
"We are supportive of the democratic process in Myanmar, but what is most important today is to maintain good relations because it impacts the people, the economy, border trade, particularly now," Prayut said. "Thailand supports the democratic process. The rest is up to him to see how to proceed," he said.
Since the coup, Myanmar has been convulsed by the biggest protests in more than a decade as Aung San Suu Kyi's supporters challenge the coup that halted a tentative decade-long transition to democracy..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK) via "CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication:
2021-02-10
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Thailand-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Protests swell across country, with dozens of police officers choosing to join protesters in call for reversal of coup
Description:
"Protesters have turned out in huge numbers across Myanmar, a day after police instigated the most violent scenes yet in demonstrations against a military coup that removed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
An estimated 100,000 people gathered in the commercial capital Yangon on Wednesday, according to witnesses, with many more marching across the country.
A day earlier, tens of thousands demonstrated in major cities and smaller towns in defiance of a ban on gatherings in some areas, with police using water cannon, rubber bullets and live rounds against them. One woman remains in a critical condition after being shot in the head in the capital Naypyidaw. In Loikaw, the state capital of Kayah, about 40 police joined protesters on Wednesday and held a banner saying: “Members of Myanmar police force (Kayah state) stand with civilians.”
Other officers waved posters that read: “We do not need military dictatorship” and raised three-finger salutes, a symbol of resistance against the military.
At a separate protest in the city of Mawlamyine, a single officer moved to join protesters. On Tuesday, about 20 police switched sides at four different sites – at Pathein, Naypyidaw, Myeik and Magway. Protesters in Yangon have largely adhered to a curfew imposed from 8pm to 4am under section 144 of Myanmar’s colonial-era Penal Code – turning instead to pot and pan banging from the safety of their homes – but have defied the ban on large gatherings.
The United States and United Nations condemned the use of force against protesters, who demand the reversal of the coup and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) and activists..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-02-10
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The United Nations in Myanmar has voiced strong concerns over Tuesday’s reported use of force by security forces against demonstrators protesting the military takeover and arrests of elected leaders and politicians.
Description:
"“I call on the security forces to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression”, Ola Almgren, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar, said in a news release.
“The use of disproportionate force against demonstrators is unacceptable”, he added.
The UN office in the country cited reports from capital Nay Pyi Taw, Mandalay and other cities, of numerous demonstrators having been injured, some of them seriously, by security forces in connection with the ongoing protests.
Mr. Almgren reiterated UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ call on the military leadership to respect the will of the people of Myanmar and adhere to democratic norms, with any differences to be resolved through peaceful dialogue
Over the weekend, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) also called on the security forces in Myanmar to ensure people’s right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and that demonstrations are not subjected to reprisals.
The military takeover, last Monday, 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.
Uphold children's rights: UNICEF
The UN Children's Fund UNICEF released a statement on Tuesday through it's office in Yangon, expressing deep concern regarding the impact of the crisis in Myanmar on children’s wellbeing, and reminded all parties of their obligations to uphold all children’s rights as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), to which Myanmar is a State Party, and under its own Child Rights Law enacted in July 2019..."
Source/publisher:
UN News
Date of publication:
2021-02-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar's new military junta, which overturned the results of democratic elections when it seized power last Monday, has warned the public not to "destroy" democracy following three days of protests.
In a statement on the government-run MRTV channel, the military warned that "democracy can be destroyed" without discipline, and that people who "harm the state's stability, public safety and the rule of law" could face legal action.
It came as concerns are growing that the junta will crack down on tens of thousands of people protesting against the February 1 coup, after the military imposed a curfew and restrictions on public gatherings in the second largest city, Mandalay, amid threats to use live ammunition against demonstrators.
Notices have been issued to several townships in Mandalay imposing a curfew from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m., according to official notices posted to social media and translated by CNN. Public gatherings of more the five people, joining marches on foot or in a car, and public speeches have been prohibited in parts of the city, the notice said, citing that people are at risk of causing a riot by carrying out "worrisome behaviors that could affect the public peace and rule of law."
Those arrested could face prosecution under Section 144 of the Criminal Code for "unlawful assembly." Section 144 has been used in the past as a way to stop lawful protests and to justify violent crackdowns on mass demonstrations.
For a fourth straight day Tuesday, thousands of people gathered in the capital, Naypyidaw, against the military takeover and called for the release of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other elected lawmakers.
Riot police used water cannon against protesters who had assembled near a barricade on a main road in the capital. The demonstrators could be heard chanting "people's police." Police warned on loudspeakers that force could be used if the protesters did not leave the area..."
Source/publisher:
"CNN" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-02-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Police use water cannon on protesters in the capital and arrest 27 in Mandalay
Description:
"Opponents of Myanmar’s military coup have defied bans on big gatherings to rally for a fourth day following the biggest demonstrations in the country in more than a decade.
The 1 February coup and detention of elected civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi sparked outrage across the south-east Asian country of 53 million, and a growing civil disobedience movement affecting hospitals, schools and government offices. On Monday the army announced bans on gatherings in certain cities and towns and a curfew.
But on Tuesday morning large crowds again gathered near Sule Pagoda in downtown Yangon. One witness estimated there were tens of thousands on the streets by mid morning.
The protest in Yangon was largely peaceful but police fired water cannon on demonstrators in the capital Naypyidaw and in Bago. In the second-biggest city of Mandalay police arrested at least 27 anti-coup demonstrators, including a journalist, media organisations said.
A journalist from the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) said he was detained after filming the rally. He said people were beaten. Two media organisations also confirmed the arrests.
In Yangon martial law and rumours of incoming soldiers had created an atmosphere of unease, but protesters were determined. Pyae Phyo, 33, was gathered with his friends from the Myanmar Seamen Union under the shade of a tree near Sule Pagoda.
“Because of last night’s martial law announcement I thought people may not come,” he said. “But they have come. I am so proud of my people. Every day we will come here. Every day we aren’t free we will protest peacefully for our real leaders, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and president U Win Myint.”..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-02-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
" As thousands of protesters again take to the streets across Myanmar in escalating protests against last week’s military coup, some have been met with force by the police for the first time.
Videos on social media showed police firing water cannon at protesters in the isolated capital of Naypyidaw, as they demanded an end to military rule and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s leader and founder of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), who is under house arrest in the city. On Sunday, some protesters were also dispersed by warning shots fired into the air in Myawaddy, on the border with Thailand. So far however, there have been no reports of force in Yangon where huge crowds were again gathering on Monday. At the colonial-era City Hall in Myanmar’s largest city, hundreds were on the streets, with more police at hand and water cannons again on standby. Crowds were also forming elsewhere in the city, including the Hledan Center where youth activists have been demonstrating for the past three days.
Their placards urged the police to stand with the protesters, as part of a growing civil disobedience movement that has already won support from doctors, teachers and other government workers..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2021-02-08
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
" Myanmar’s military government imposed a curfew and bans on gatherings of more than five people in the country’s two biggest cities on Monday as protests against last week’s coup showed no sign of abating.
The decrees covering Yangon and Mandalay were issued on a township-by-township basis, and those which have become public so far have the same restrictions. At least seven have been issued, and more are expected for other areas.
Rallies and gatherings of more than five people, along with motorized processions, are banned, and a 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew is imposed. The measures are effective until further notice.
The decrees say they were issued in response to people carrying out unlawful actions that harm the rule of law.
Demonstrations against the coup had intensified Monday and spread to more parts of the country.
Police fired a water cannon at hundreds of protesters in Myanmar’s capital who were demanding the military hand power back to elected officials. Protesters also rallied at a major downtown intersection in the country’s largest city, Yangon, raising a three-finger salute that is a symbol of resistance and carrying placards saying, “Reject the military coup” and “Justice for Myanmar.”
There were also reports of new demonstrations in towns in the north, southeast and east of the country, as well as in the city of Mandalay, where there was a procession of marchers and motorbikes.
The growing wave of defiance — particularly in the capital Naypyitaw, where such protests are unusual — was striking in a country where demonstrations have been met with severe force in the past. That resistance is being seen in Naypyitaw, whose population includes many civil servants and their families, could speak to the level of anger among people who had only begun to taste democracy in recent years after five decades of military rule..."
Source/publisher:
"Associated Press" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-02-08
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"The military coup in Myanmar has gone past the point of no return, according to a confidential U.K. foreign office assessment, in a sign that major democracies expect to have limited ability to influence the events unfolding inside the country.
The latest in global politics
Get insight from reporters around the world in the Balance of Power newsletter.
Email
Enter your email
Bloomberg may send me offers and promotions.
Sign Up
By submitting my information, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
The bleak view last week from a senior British diplomat concludes the coup is irreversible, and that army chief Min Aung Hlaing will seek to crush ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s pro-democracy party in order to install himself as president. The assessment, the broad outlines of which were shared with Bloomberg News, also cites the risk that anti-coup protests -- with tens of thousands subsequently demonstrating on the weekend -- could turn bloody. With Suu Kyi and former President Win Myint in detention and facing criminal charges, the British conclusion is that a leaderless National League for Democracy will likely start to fracture. That will allow the military, which seized power on Feb. 1, to dominate in an election it has promised to hold following a one-year state of emergency.
Nations including the U.K., the U.S. and Australia have condemned the coup, which followed Suu Kyi’s landslide win in an election in November that outside observers deem to have been largely free and fair. Some countries have raised the prospect of renewed sanctions on Myanmar, which has made only tentative efforts in recent years to open up its economy to outside investment...."
Source/publisher:
"Bloomberg News" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-02-08
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
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."...."
Source/publisher:
"BBC News" (London)
Date of publication:
2021-02-07
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
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
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Political role of the Tatmadaw, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
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..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-02-07
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Political role of the Tatmadaw, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
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..."
Source/publisher:
"CNN" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-02-07
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Political role of the Tatmadaw
Language:
more
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
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of Opinion and Expression - tools for change in Burma/Myanmar, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
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
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
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.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-02-05
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
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..."
Source/publisher:
"CNN" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-02-06
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
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
Category:
Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) secured a landslide victory in November’s 2020 general election. The NLD’s massive win was shocking even for close observers of Myanmar politics, who anticipated the party’s popularity to take a hit after five years of controversial rule. Since the NLD has been in power, Myanmar’s nascent democracy has not met expectations. The country’s human rights record has not improved, the peace process is stalled, and repression of government critics is continuing. Economic growth has slowed down due to the inefficient bureaucracy and volatile conflict situation. Pro-democracy activists are wary of Aung San Suu Kyi’s growing authoritarianism while the international community now calls her a pariah.
The NLD did poorly in its 2017 and 2018 by-elections, a downward trend that was expected to continue. What does the NLD’s electoral victory suggest about Myanmar’s road to democracy?
Myanmar’s democratic institutions are working relatively well. The Union Parliament (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw) has been one of the most active government institutions since its birth in 2011, which implies that parliamentary democracy is functioning. General elections are held every five years and, while there is still room for improvement, no significant electoral fraud, violence or manipulation were reported in November. The voter turnout of 71.6 per cent is also an encouraging sign, up from 69 per cent in 2015.
But other aspects of Myanmar’s democratisation have regressed over the last five years. The government has tightened control over the media, causing overall freedom to decline and civil society space to shrink. Restrictive laws such as the Telecommunication Law, Unlawful Association Act and the defamation section in the Penal Code intimidate the media, while journalists have been detained for reporting on the conflict in Rakhine State. The COVID-19 pandemic has also affected the electoral landscape, with domestic and international observers criticising the Union Election Commission for introducing restrictions on election campaigns and cancelling the vote in some townships in Rakhine, Shan, Kachin and Kayin states.
Continued ethnic conflict presents another challenge. The violent situation in Rakhine State has not yet been contained. Although there was no visible political violence during the election period, following the election, a parliamentarian elected to the Amyotha Hluttaw (upper house) was killed in late November 2020. The Arakan Army, an insurgent group, and the Tatmadaw — the Myanmar military — agreed to hold a by-election in areas where the vote was cancelled, but the incident shows that national reconciliation will not be easy..."
Source/publisher:
"East Asia Forum" (Australia)
Date of publication:
2021-01-15
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
The Military's political role, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Human Rights Reporting (global, regional and Myanmar)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Despite her promise to welcome new voices into the peace process, many fine-grained obstacles to progress remain.
Description:
"In a New Year’s address to the nation on January 1, Myanmar’s State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi promised to take a new approach to long-delayed peace negotiations aimed at ending the country’s tangled web of civil conflicts.
According to a report in The Irrawaddy, Aung San Suu Kyi, whose second five-year term begins in March, announced plans for a “New Peace Architecture,” which would welcome participation by political groups, civil society organizations, and the public.
She said that the aim was to broaden the scope of who had a say in the ongoing talks, with the hope of consolidating inter-ethnic trust and inducing more ethnic armed groups to join the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in time for the 75th anniversary of Myanmar’s independence in January 2023.
“We recognize the important role of public participation [in the peace process],” Myanmar’s leader said, according to The Irrawaddy. “This depends on how much we can pave the way for all stakeholders to participate.” The NCA was signed in late 2015 between the Myanmar government and eight ethnic rebel organizations, while two more joined in February 2018. But the peace process continues to exclude some of the country’s largest and most prominent armed rebel groups, and since the signing of the NCA, fighting with some of them has reached levels not seen in years..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2021-01-07
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Panglong Peace Conference, Armed conflict and peace-building in Burma - theoretical, strategic and general, Various groups, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar President U Win Myint on Monday called for a constitution which is the foundation of the establishment of the future democratic federal union complying with democratic principles and standards, the actual situation of the country and the emerging federal union system.
Speaking on the occasion of the 73rd Anniversary of Independence Day, U Win Myint stressed that it is important for all ethnic nationals to help each other in close friendship, to have compassion and empathy, to discuss and negotiate, to be free from suspicion, to have mutual respect, understanding and trust as well as unity in establishing the democratic federal union.
He believed that a peaceful, modern, developed and prosperous democratic federal union will emerge in the future if all ethnic nationals worked strenuously in unity with firm union spirit.
He also stressed that the union government is striving to establish a democratic federal union which has been the aspiration of all ethnic nationals with the intention of achieving the speedy cessation of internal armed conflicts and durable peace.
Myanmar became a British colony in the 19th century and regained its independence on Jan. 4 in 1948..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2021-01-04
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Laws, decrees and regulations relating to the parliamentary process (texts), National constitutions, draft constitutions, amendments and announcements (texts), Federal and State constitutions (texts), Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Unusual 2019 rule change means party won’t accept lawmakers’ resignations until after 2020 election, so they can’t join rival parties
Description:
"Arakan National Party politicians who are not allowed to resign from the party because of an usual new rule will likely contest seats as independent candidates after receiving the blessing of the Union Election Commission.
Commission member Thet Tun said earlier this month that party members who have not been allowed to resign would be breaking the law if they ran for a rival party.
“However… running as an independent candidate to maintain their chances of being elected cannot be considered as an infringement,” he said, responding to a question from ANP lawmaker Ba Shein at a parliamentary meeting.
Upper House representative Htoot May says she will run independently to contest the Rakhine Ethnic Affairs minister’s seat.
“I’m a bit upset that the ANP isn’t letting me resign,” she told Myanmar Now.
“This is a transition period when everyone should be negotiating and having discussions. The party is unable to do that internally. And the entire Rakhine public will be watching this,” she said.
Nine lawmakers have applied to quit the ANP. They are: Dr Aye Maung, Kyaw Kyaw, who has since died, Khin Maung Latt, Htoot May, Wai Sein Aung, Aung Thaung Shwe, Kyaw Zaw Oo, Kyaw Lwin and Khin Maung Htay.
Khin Maung Latt and Kyaw Zaw Oo also say they are likely to run independently.
“From the Union Election Commission’s response to U Ba Shein’s question, it seems like we’re in a position to run,” Kyaw Zaw Oo said.
The ANP is the biggest of the three main political parties in Rakhine. The Arakan League for Democracy (ALD), and the Arakan Front Party (AFP) were founded or relaunched by people who quit or were removed from the ANP.
The ANP decided at a meeting in May 2019 that members who have applied for resignations will not be allowed to leave until the end of the current parliamentary term.
Although Htoot May’s resignation was rejected, she rejoined the ALD, while other Hluttaw representatives are cooperating with the AFP.
The ALD, which was the winning party in Rakhine in the 1990 general election, merged with the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party before the 2015 poll to form the Arakan National Party..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-07-24
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Burma/Myanmar's political parties
Language:
more
Description:
"The ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) on Thursday unveiled its candidate list for the upcoming election. The lineup consists largely of the party’s sitting lawmakers and current chief ministers, but also includes more women than in 2015 and two Muslim candidates.
Myanmar will hold a general election on Nov. 8.
With less than three months to go before the election, the party announced its list of candidates on Thursday afternoon, right after finalizing its selections.
Of the more than 1,000 candidates listed by the party, 80 percent are sitting lawmakers who won parliamentary seats in the previous general election held in 2015.
The NLD won a sweeping victory in 2015, defeating the then ruling, military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and taking office in 2016.
In a video message to the selected candidates, NLD Chairwoman Daw Aung San Suu Kyi acknowledged on Thursday that there were few new faces on the list of candidates.
Based on the lessons it has learned since the 1990 election, she said, the party prioritized “loyalty” and “experience” when selecting candidates.
“We look at the applicants’ loyalty to the party’s policies,” she said. “We pay special attention to those who will faithfully support the aspiration of democratic federalism and who will walk along with us [in the long term].”
Party Vice Chairman Dr. Zaw Myint Maung said on Thursday that 20 percent of sitting NLD lawmakers who had performed poorly in Parliament and had not adhered strictly to party discipline and implementing party policies were excluded from the candidate list.
All current state and regional chief ministers except Yangon’s U Phyo Min Thein were re-selected to run in the election. U Phyo Min Thein has previously said he won’t run in the election due to poor health..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-07-23
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Burma/Myanmar's political parties
Language:
more
Sub-title:
As Myanmar set to go to polls in November, Muslim community fears if no candidate from them will be elected as in 2015 elections
Description:
"Political parties in Myanmar have geared up for upcoming general elections with Nov. 8 set as the date for crucial polls which will be the first held under the civilian government in more than six decades.
The Union Election Commission announced the election date on July 1, inviting candidate registration from the 96 registered political parties from July 20 to Aug. 7.
A few days after the commission’s announcement, a 16-membered team was formed to assist Muslim candidates in campaigning in their constituencies countrywide. The team includes mainly Muslim legal experts.
Spokesman of the team Maung Muang Myint told Anadolu Agency that the group will help Muslim candidates financially, legally and technically.
“It was a shame that our parliament has no Muslim lawmaker although Muslims make up more than 5% of the country’s population,” he said over the phone.
“Of more than 6,000 candidates in the 2015 elections, only 28 were Muslims. And they won no seat,” he said, adding that the commission had rejected more than a hundred would-be candidates, mostly Muslims, on the grounds of citizenship. Election law states that candidates’ parents must be already recognized as citizens at the time of the candidates’ birth.
“So this year, we teamed up to help them in the whole process starting from candidate registration,” said Myint.
Two largest political parties in the county, Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party and military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), did not file any Muslim candidates for the last general elections.
Parties have yet to submit the lists of candidates to election commission for registration. Myint, however, said Muslims have only a slim chance of being chosen as candidates of the political parties in the Buddhist-majority country..."
Source/publisher:
"Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
Date of publication:
2020-07-21
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Ex-NLD lawmaker criticizes Suu Kyi for lack of democracy within ruling party
Description:
"Some lawmakers who have grown disgruntled with Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy are adding to Myanmar's political landscape in a way that could give the dominant party something to think about ahead of elections scheduled to take place on Nov. 8.
The NLD maintains a lead over military-affiliated and small ethnic parties but now also has to worry about its left flank as some pro-democracy politicians splinter away.
The NLD is led by State Counselor Suu Kyi, the country's de facto leader. Her party won 80% of the seats in the 2015 general election with a promise of breaking away from military rule. But Suu Kyi's clout has been partially diminished, although few people doubt the NLD will win most of the contested seats. Suu Kyi's waning influence is evidenced by the fact that the People's Pioneer Party, or the PPP, will participate in the general election. Among the PPP's three founders is Thet Thet Khine, a female entrepreneur, lower house lawmaker and formerly of the NLD.
In an interview with Eleven Media in early July, Thet Thet Khine criticized Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders. "There is no democracy inside the party," she said. "It's leaders are not loyal to the democratic system."
The PPP has been criticizing the NLD's handling of the government since it took power in 2015, including the slow pace of economic reforms and deteriorating press freedoms.
The preelection registration period for new candidates began on Monday.
Ko Ko Gyi, former leader of the 1988 democratic uprising, also known as the "8888 uprising," has established the People's Party. He could not win an endorsement from the NLD in 2015. Ex-general and former Lower House Speaker Shwe Mann, who had been close to Suu Kyi, has also set off on his own, having formed the Union Betterment Party.
The new parties are small but could grab votes from the NLD in single-seat districts.
In most constituencies, the NLD will be challenged by the military-affiliated Union Solidarity and Development Party, the country's largest opposition party, as well as several ethnic parties..."
Source/publisher:
"Nikkei Asian Review" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2020-07-21
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Burma/Myanmar's political parties
Language:
more
Description:
"Eight villagers who are currently being detained at the Dhanyawadi Naval Base in Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan State, are facing charges under Myanmar’s Counter-Terrorism Law, according to the Kyaukphyu Myoma police station.
The Tatmadaw arrested nine people from Kat Thabyay village on June 26 and a 100-household head from Sai Chone Dwein village two days later.
The detainees were remanded into police custody at Kyaukphyu Myoma police station on July 5. Two out of the 10 detainees — identified as Khin Win Maung and Maung Than Hlaing from Kat Thabyay village — have been released and the remaining eight men were charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law, said Police Captain Kyaw Zaw, head of the Kyaukphyu Myoma police station.
“Two youths were handed over to their parents as they were linked to the case. The remaining eight men have been charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law,” the police captain confirmed..."
Source/publisher:
"Eurasia Review"
Date of publication:
2020-07-08
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The Military's political role
Language:
more
Sub-title:
History shows pandemics can lead to profound political change in Myanmar
Description:
"Covid-19 lockdowns and internal travel restrictions have been lifted across Myanmar but that doesn’t mean its virus crisis is over – far from it.
Myanmar has officially confirmed only 316 Covid-19 cases and six related deaths, figures that many observers doubt are an accurate portrayal of the nation’s underlying viral situation.
But even if Myanmar’s Covid-19 figures are unrealistic, economic, social and political fallout from the health crisis is nearly certain.
Myanmar’s economic growth is projected to drop from 6.8% in fiscal 2018-2019 to just 0.5% in 2019-2020, according to World Bank estimates released on June 25. That assessment, considering the impact of lockdowns on the nation’s already impoverished population, could understate the human suffering to come.
Economic distress, meanwhile, is impacting politics as the country gears up for November 8 elections that will pit State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s ruling New League for Democracy (NLD) against the rival military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). The NLD is widely expected to win another five-year term, but observers in the commercial center Yangon wonder if military authorities will impose Covid-related restrictions on rallies and potentially use social controls to tilt the electoral playing field more in the USDP’s favor..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-07-07
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Burma/Myanmar's political parties
Language:
more
Description:
"Labor and farmers rights activists say they will run in the November election as independent candidates for both Union and regional parliament seats in 11 constituencies in Yangon Region, in a bid to raise their voices in the legislature and bring about change.
Myanmar will hold general elections on Nov. 8 with 97 registered political parties vying for a total of 1,171 parliamentary seats. Yangon has a total of 149 seats, 57 of them in the Union Parliament and the rest in the regional parliament.
The advocates-turned-political candidates come from a variety of farmer and labor advocacy groups and said they want to amend labor laws.
They will run in the industrial town of Hlaing Thar Yar as well as Htan Ta Pin and Kawhmu—the constituency where State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was elected to Union Parliament in the 2012 by-election and the 2015 election.
Daw Su Su Nway, farmers’ rights activist and chairwoman of the Myanmar Farmers Union, said she will run for the Union Lower House seat in Kawhmu.
“I will contest in my hometown. I decided to become a candidate as I want to work not only for the farmers from my area but also for those across the nation whose land rights are being violated,” she told The Irrawaddy on Monday.
“We want to work on enacting laws that would benefit farmers and help farmers to get their land rights, so I ask you to put your trust in me,” she added.
U Htay, a lawyer who works to help laborers, plans to run for the Lower House seat for Hlaing Thar Yar Township. He said he wants to work on behalf of laborers and farmers and promote their rights..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-07-07
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Following NLD’s lead, the military-aligned party says it will select candidates from lists from township constituencies
Description:
"The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) said it is ending its long-standing practice of favouring retired military generals as MP candidates and opening the selection process up to more local input.
In previous elections, the military-aligned party’s central executive committee would generally choose recently retired generals to run as MPs. The party is now handing some of that decision making power to township officials, USDP spokesperson Nandar Hla Myint told Myanmar Now last week.
“The party’s top leaders will not direct any general or colonel to run in any constituency,” he said. “If they want to represent the USDP, they will have to win over their local constituency."
Nandar Hla Myint said USDP constituencies in each township will make a list of candidates then send it to the central executive committee to select from.
It is unclear how many potential candidates township constituencies can put on that list. The new policy mimics changes the incumbent National League for Democracy (NLD) recently made to its candidate selection process.
The USDP was founded as a political party in June 2010, five months before that year’s elections - the first in the country’s ongoing transition from military dictatorship toward civilian democracy.
The party was largely a rebranding of the Union Solidarity and Development Association - the junta government’s propaganda wing..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-07-01
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Burma/Myanmar's political parties
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The National League for Democracy’s ostensibly bottom-up candidate selection process should not be mistaken for the real party decision-making ahead of this year’s election.
Description:
"Political parties have begun making preparations for the general election planned for November, even though the Union Election Commission has yet to announce the election date and the deadline for submitting candidates’ names. As parties focus on candidate selection, there has been criticism of the process used by the ruling National League for Democracy.
Many members and non-members of the party have sought to be selected as NLD candidates because, in many constituencies, this is considered a virtual guarantee of a parliamentary seat. The NLD plans to contest every constituency and is widely expected by political analysts to secure another victory, though opinions differ about the likely margin. In the 2015 general election, the NLD won 79 percent of the seats in the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, meaning that for every 10 of the party’s candidates about eight were elected.
Those wishing to vie under the NLD banner were asked to submit applications at township party offices in early June. Applications were then judged by NLD township executive committees, joined by five so-called town elders who the party had appointed to advise the process in each township. If consensus was not reached on a preferred nominee and a runner-up for each relevant seat in the Union and regional parliaments, they were chosen by secret ballot. This township-level process has already been completed, though the NLD leadership has not confirmed the final list of candidates..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-06-29
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Burma/Myanmar's political parties
Language:
more
Description:
"In 2005, Lieutenant Colonel Ye Htut was assigned to Myanmar’s Ministry of Information, where he later played an active role in General Thein Sein’s 2011-16 regime. He became deputy information minister in 2012, spokesman for the president in 2013 and the minister of information from 2014-16. Hence, he was both an actor and a witness to the country’s political transition to democracy.
Ye Htut provides rich detail on the interplay between the president’s office, the military’s Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the civilian National League for Democracy (NLD). His book profiles the main actors, their motivations and the frictions between the legislature and the president during the troubled passage to civilian power-sharing.
The book does not dwell on the painful mass uprisings of 1988, or why the junta allowed the transition in the first place. Nevertheless, writing a tell-all book is a brave errand when many powerful players remain alive and involved in politics..."
Source/publisher:
"South China Morning Post" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-06-27
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Burma/Myanmar's political parties
Language:
more
Description:
"In 2014, a court-martial stripped former Tatmadaw major Kyaw Swar Win of his rank and sentenced him to two years in prison for supporting an amendment to the country’s 2008 military-drafted constitution.
The amendment targeted article 436, which itself makes amending the constitution virtually impossible without unanimous military support in parliament. It was sponsored by the then-opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
After his release in a July 2015 presidential pardon, Kyaw Swar Win tried running as an NLD candidate but missed the deadline to enter the race. He is trying again this year for a seat in the upper house.
The incumbent NLD is yet to select candidates, but the 43-year-old former military engineer is hopeful. He’s happy to support the party even if he’s not chosen as a candidate, he told Myanmar Now, and he believes the military’s rank-and-file will too.
Myanmar Now interviewed Kyaw Swar Win earlier in June in Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay region - the district he hopes to represent.
MN: What was the charge you faced after signing the petition in support of amending article 436 of the constitution?
KSW: Breach of military order, under section 41e of the 1959 Defence Services Act, which stipulates punishment for a soldier that “neglects to obey any general, local or other order.” … It doesn’t specify particular orders, just any orders in general that a soldier is expected to follow. [Kyaw Swar Win’s charge says he disobeyed an order to “safeguard the constitution.”] I was also charged under section 65. In the army, we call that amyinkat podma [arbitrary charge] - they can use it against you when they want to punish you..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-06-23
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, The Military's political role, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
more
Description:
"Four years into the five-year term of the NLD-led
government, the issue of political prisoners remains
one of the main problems in the country. Almost
all the repressive laws that the military dictatorship
used to jail activists remain in place. State media
controlled by the NLD government has even carried
propaganda features defending and promoting the
usefulness of repressive laws, and new repressive
laws have been proposed.
On the sixth anniversary of the death of U Win
Tin, almost 200 political prisoners remain in jail,
and almost 400 more activists and journalists are
awaiting trial and possible detention.
Aung San Suu Kyi, as de facto leader of the NLDled government, has the power through Presidential
pardons to order the release of all political prisoners.
Her party has the majority in Parliament needed to
repeal all repressive laws.
Instead of the compassionate and principled
stance you would expect of her as a former political
prisoner, Aung San Suu Kyi denies that there are
political prisoners in the country and has made a
deliberate decision to keep those political prisoners
behind bars. This is not an issue where it can be claimed that
she lacks the power to act or is constrained by the
military. The military handed the power regarding
political prisoners to the civilian government.
Constitutionally there is no obstacle, and politically
Aung San Suu Kyi has repeatedly acted on issues
which she considers important despite potentially
upsetting the military, including making herself defacto President by creating the State Counsellor
position for herself..."
Source/publisher:
"Burma Campaign UK" (London)
Date of publication:
2020-04-00
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The Military's political role, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
330.12 KB
more
Sub-title:
Union Betterment Party plans to stand over 900 candidates, former general says
Description:
"The newly-formed party of former junta leader Shwe Mann will spend billions of kyat on this year’s general election and will contest every seat in the Union Parliament, the retired general has said.
The Union Betterment Party will use funds collected from supporters when it was founded last year for a campaign to elect over 900 candidates at local and national level, he told an online press conference on Thursday.
“I cannot tell the exact amount, but I suppose it will cost billions including election expenses and party registration fees,” he said.
The party has opened more than 8,000 branches and local party offices across 255 townships, he added. The party is aiming to win between 40 and 50% of seats, including regional ones, this year, he said.
He did not disclose which constituency he plans to represent in the election.
Shwe Mann lost his independent bid for a seat on his hometown of Phyu in the 2015 general election after positioning himself as an across-the-aisle ally of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The loss, he later wrote, meant he no longer needed to keep a pistol under his pillow, since his enemies were satisfied.
Shwe Mann was ousted from his post as chairman of the Union Solidarity and Development Party in August 2015 after running afoul of top party officials and senior military figures..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-06-19
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Thirty political parties have asked to meet with the Union Election Commission to discuss the ruling National League for Democracy’s (NLD) use of the word “town elders,” which they say is misleading people.
Description:
"The NLD has appointed a group of what it called “town elders” in every township to select its candidates for the November elections.
In a statement released on June 16, the 30 political parties objected to the use of “town elders” and called on the NLD to stop using it. They also urged the UEC to order the NLD to stop using the term in election campaign materials.
Among those that signed the statement were the opposition Union Solidarity Development Party, New National Democracy Party, National Unity Party (NUP), National Development Party, Democratic Party (Myanmar), and National Democratic Force.
"They use ‘town elders’ to promote the party,” said U Thein Nyunt, chair of New National Democracy Party.
The November polls will be a crucial test of the public’s trust and confidence in Daw Aung Suu Kyi and the NLD, which has ruled the country since its landslide electoral win in 2015, the first free elections in the country after more than a half-century of military rule. The State Counsellor and President U Win Myint will lead the NLD in this year’s political battle.
Myanmar’s political scene burst into life last week after the UEC announced that the elections would proceed as scheduled in November despite the COVID-19 pandemic..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-06-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Burma/Myanmar's political parties
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Japan Beverage Giant Pledges to Address Human Rights Concerns
Description:
" Japan-based Kirin Holdings Company, Ltd. should end its partnership with Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd. (MEHL) because of its connections to Myanmar’s abusive armed forces, Human Rights Now, Human Rights Watch, Japan Volunteer International Center, and Shapla Neer said today. The organizations wrote to Kirin on May 22, 2020, urging the global beverage company to terminate its partnership with the military conglomerate, and the company responded on June 12.
“Kirin is putting money right into the pockets of Myanmar’s military, which is responsible for countless atrocities against the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director. “Kirin should repair its damaged reputation by disentangling itself from the Myanmar military’s business conglomerate and its abusive armed forces.” Kirin currently owns a majority stake in Myanmar Brewery Ltd. (MBL) and Mandalay Brewery (MDL) in partnership with the military-owned MEHL. In 2015, Kirin bought 55 percent of Myanmar Brewery Ltd, 4 percent of which it later transferred to the military-owned firm. In 2017, Kirin acquired 51 percent of Mandalay Brewery in a separate joint venture with the firm.
Myanmar’s armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, have long been responsible for grave violations of human rights and the laws of war against the country’s ethnic minority populations. These abuses culminated in the August 2017 campaign of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, including killings, sexual violence, and forced removal, against the ethnic Rohingya population in Rakhine State..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication:
2020-06-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights Watch Reports on Burma/Myanmar, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Burma/Myanmar's political parties
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The peace process has made little progress since the National League for Democracy took office and stakeholders will need to embrace a new approach if the guns of war are to be silenced under the next government.
Description:
"The Union Election Commission’s announcement that the general election will be held in November means that the two months of campaigning will begin in September and end two days before voting takes place.
The election campaign period has implications for the peace process. Political parties, including the ruling National League for Democracy, will be focusing on their campaigns and will have little time to devote to complex negotiations involving the government, Tatmadaw and ethnic armed groups. The election will be followed by the installation of new governments and peace process will not be able to resume until April next year at the earliest. This is why the NLD government is pushing to hold another 21st Century Panglong Union Peace Conference before the election campaign period begins – the last opportunity to do so before its term ends.
Government spokesperson U Zaw Htay predicted at a regular news conference on May 30 that part three of the Union Accord would be signed at the next peace conference if it is held in the coming weeks. Zaw Htay said the accord consists of three parts. The first part includes topics not included in the original agreement that could be the subject of further negotiations. The second is the phases to be implemented after the 2020 election, and the third involves agreeing on the fundamental principles of a federal Union. The reason for addressing post-election matters is to provide some assurance that the peace process will continue regardless of the election outcome. Although the NLD is widely expected to win enough seats to nominate the president and form the next government, the accord will provide a greater certainty to all parties. The post-election aspect of the accord is also a sort of a roadmap for the peace process, and represents a commitment from the NLD if it does win another term in office..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-06-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies), Armed conflict and peace-building in Burma - theoretical, strategic and general, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
more
Description:
"The chief minister of Myanmar’s commercial capital Yangon, seen as a possible successor to Aung San Suu Kyi, told RFA on Monday that he will not contest elections in November because of a “health condition,” dismissing reports he had filed papers to run.
Phyo Min Thein had been nominated by the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party to run again for his current Yangon regional parliamentary seat. He won the seat in the NLD’s landslide victory in the 2015 general elections, and serves as a local MP concurrently with his job as chief minister of Myanmar’s biggest city.
“I have informed the party that I can no longer serve as an MP [member of parliament] due to my health condition, so I will not contest in the upcoming election,” Phyo Min Thein told RFA’s Myanmar Service during an exclusive interview. He said local media reports saying that he had submitted a candidate application were false.
Phyo Min Thein, 51, who underwent heart surgery four years ago, did not elaborate on his health condition.
“I will keep contributing to the party’s works and nation-building efforts,” he added.
Phyo Min Thein emerged several years ago as a strong candidate to succeed State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi after impressing her and other top NLD officials with his willingness to take on tough infrastructure and transportation challenges in Yangon. The former Rangoon was the commercial and political hub of British Burma and the country’s capital until 2006.
A former political prisoner like Aung San Suu Kyi and many of her followers in a decades-long struggle against military rule, Phyo Min Thein began his ascent in 2012, when he joined the then-opposition NLD and won a seat representing Yangon in a by-election..."
Source/publisher:
"Radio Free Asia (RFA)" (USA)
Date of publication:
2020-06-15
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Burma/Myanmar's political parties
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The safe return of migrant workers from Thailand amid the pandemic has required an unprecedented degree of cooperation between the government and armed groups on policing the border.
Description:
"The COVID-19 pandemic has put many people out of work in Myanmar, from garment workers and vendors to journalists and taxi drivers. Another group suddenly without income are the “brokers” who arrange for undocumented migrants to cross into Thailand at the many unofficial border gates run by ethnic armed groups in Myanmar’s southeast.
During normal times, there is a steady flow of migrants at these crossings. People cross to access better-paid jobs in Thailand and return to check on families and farms, to invest savings in land, property and small businesses, and to pay off debts – all without having to comply with the cumbersome and expensive requirements set by the Memorandum of Understanding between Thailand and Myanmar on labour migration.
But in recent months, these border crossings have been shuttered, in an unprecedented show of pandemic-prompted cooperation between the government and armed groups, which have instead funnelled migrants towards the official crossings, particularly at Myawaddy in Kayin State.
Informal migration has not stopped completely; the border is highly porous in places, with remote terrain allowing people to cross outside of both government and armed group-controlled gates. But this tends to happen far from major travel arteries and mostly serves local trips over small distances..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-06-17
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Economics of migration from Burma/Myanmar -, Thailand-Burma relations, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
more
Description:
" Hiding from Myanmar’s police, journalist Aung Marm Oo refuses to conceal his anger with the civilian government led by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi as his country prepares for an election later this year.
“Democracy is already dead,” the 37-year-old editor-in-chief of Development Media Group (DMG) told Reuters from a location he asked to keep secret.
“They blocked media, restrict media agencies, banned news, punish journalists. Media is the lifeblood of democracy in the country. Without media, how can democracy survive?”
When Suu Kyi was released from house arrest by a military junta in 2010, Aung Marm Oo was a student activist living in exile. Her release helped persuade him to return home and enter journalism.
The 2016 election that brought Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) to power ended half a century of military rule. But the generals retain strong influence under a constitution that reserves sweeping powers for the military, and 25% of seats in parliament for its appointees.
Aung Hla Tun, deputy minister for information, said the government had revoked some oppressive laws and was drafting both a right to information law and a hate speech law.
Expectations of the first democratic government were “very high and very unrealistic” given “accumulated bad legacies and challenges our predecessors had left us”, he said.
“We’re not capable of changing all these things drastically in three or four years,” he said in an email, adding that there was a need to promote trust and cooperation between the media and the pillars of power..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2020-06-12
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Burma/Myanmar's political parties
Language:
more
Description:
"Ye Ni: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! This week, we’ll discuss how the National League for Democracy (NLD) will select candidates for the coming general election, the possible results of the election and what the NLD has achieved over the past five years. First NLD Vice-Chairman and Mandalay Region Chief Minister Dr. Zaw Myint Maung has joined me to discuss this. I’m The Irrawaddy Burmese editor Ye Ni.
First of all, I would like to thank you for participating in The Irrawaddy’s Dateline program.
Zaw Myint Maung: Yes.
YN: First, I would like to ask about your health. Many are interested in your health status. In a recent interview, you said confidently that your health is good and you will continue to engage in politics. Will you run in the 2020 general election?
ZMM: As you know, I am suffering from a certain type of leukemia. But, there are medical treatments available in foreign countries that can allow me to live with it like people can live with diabetes. It is no longer that life threatening. There are new remedies, so if I keep my immune system fit and avoid contracting other diseases, the treatment can extend my lifespan. But, I need to be on medication for around two years. I am fine for light activities, but have not yet fully recovered. [Doctors] said it will take three months for me to return to normal [after my most treatment in Bangkok]. It has been just a few weeks since then. But I feel like I am stronger, and can do light activities. I have joined dozens of video conferences during ongoing quarantine [for the coronavirus].
I am committed to politics. I have said [in an interview] in Yangon that I will continue to engage in politics, playing the role assigned to me. I don’t know how it was misunderstood that I would not contest in the coming election. The journey to democracy is not yet over. We have yet to work for democracy to develop and thrive in Myanmar. In the 2015 election, we performed the role we were assigned to play. We did not choose. The party leadership in consultation decided who should be part of the Union-level government and who should be part of the region and state governments. We will continue to take the roles assigned by the party leadership in 2020..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-06-13
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
more
Description:
"Hiding from Myanmar's police, journalist Aung Marm Oo refuses to conceal his anger with the civilian government led by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi as his country prepares for an election later this year.
“Democracy is already dead,” the 37-year-old editor-in-chief of Development Media Group (DMG) told Reuters from a secret location where he is in hiding.
“They blocked media, restrict media agencies, banned news, punish journalists. Media is the lifeblood of democracy in the country. Without media, how can democracy survive?”
When Suu Kyi was released from house arrest by a military junta in 2011, Aung Marm Oo was a student activist living in exile. Her release helped persuade him to return home and enter journalism.
The 2016 election that brought Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) to power ended half a century of military rule. But the generals retain strong influence under a constitution that reserves sweeping powers for the military, and 25% of seats in parliament for its appointees. The interior ministry is controlled by the Tatmadaw, the official name of the armed forces, and the freedom of civil society and the media remains restricted in a country plagued by ethnic conflicts..."
Source/publisher:
"VOA" (Washington, D.C)
Date of publication:
2020-06-12
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar is one of the last nations to acknowledge Covid-19 cases within its borders. But the exiled human rights activist, Khin Ohmar, is skeptical of the 248 Covid-19 cases reported in a country whose healthcare systems in 2000 was ranked by the WHO as one of the world’s worst–and with a deep-rooted custom of “saving face.”
Over 100 ethnic groups comprise the 54 million Southeast-Asian country of Myanmar (formerly Burma) that borders India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand.
The 74-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi–human rights activist, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate turned politician– leads the National League for Democracy (NLD) and has placed the military to lead the country’s Coronavirus emergency response. Suu Kyi’s NLD and the military-backed party politicize pandemic prevention as part of their November re-election strategy by distributing supplies and cash donations with their campaign insignia.
The government hails its Myanmar Leaves No One Behind in its Fight Against Covid-19 campaign. Meanwhile, in western Rakhine and Chin States, ethnic Rakhine, Rohingya and Chin communities are subjected to Myanmar military’s air strikes, torture, extrajudicial killing, rape, and mass displacements–and attacks on the ad hoc groups distributing preventive supplies to ethnic communities..."
Source/publisher:
"Forbes" (USA)
Date of publication:
2020-06-11
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Leaders of the main opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), who are former senior military officers, may contest the November elections, a party spokesman said.
Description:
"U Thein Htun Oo, spokesperson of the USDP, said that while the party has not yet picked its candidates, there is a chance the party leaders would throw their hats in the ring. "It’s very likely,” he said, “but that's just my opinion.”
On June 9, a spokesman of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) said State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint will join the party’s candidates in the elections. Many see the November vote as a referendum on the NLD’s performance over the past five years, and as a major test of the State Counsellor’s ability to lead her party to victory despite heavy criticism by the international community over her handling of the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State.
Some foreign and local observers have said the NLD would be hampered by its poor handling of the economy. The 2015 elections were the first free elections in the country after more than half a century of military rule. The NLD won by a landslide, winning 390 seats in the Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House) and Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House), while the USDP won 117 seats.
The USDP was set up by former military commander-in-chief and junta leader U Than Shwe to replace the discredited State Peace and Development Council.
The council’s first secretary, U Thein Sein, led the USDP and was appointed president of the country in 2010. Thein Sein launched economic and political reforms that led to the 2015 elections.
After its second-place finish in 2015, the party was overhauled and is now led by U Than Htay, a retired army brigadier general who was minister of Rail Transportation, minister of Energy and deputy minister of Energy in the U Thein Sein government.
U Thein Tun Oo said that besides not yet choosing its candidates for November, the USDP has yet to decide which constituencies it will contest..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-06-11
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
more
Description:
"Board members of a military conglomerate with sweeping export and import operations have served as top customs and port authority officials for decades, a former company director has told Myanmar Now.
The President’s Office last week said it would investigate the appointment of two directors from Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) to lead the government’s customs department and the Myanma Port Authority.
But the practice, which appears to be a clear conflict of interest, has been going on since the military junta founded MEHL in 1990, retired lieutenant colonel Kyaw Zay Ya told Myanmar Now.
“The director-general of customs and the managing director of the port authority have always been on MEHL’s board of directors,” said the former director, who ran the conglomerate’s shares department for 10 years.
“But times are different now that this is an elected government … it’s not right,” he added.
A panel of United Nations experts has alleged that the military uses MEHL and other companies to enrich itself without civilian oversight and to fund operations that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Having MEHL board members in charge of customs and the country’s shipping ports allows the conglomerate to operate with less government interference.
“Things go much more smoothly for the company’s import and export businesses,” said Kyaw Zay Ya, who has also served as a regional MP representing the NLD and is now vice chair of the newly formed People’s Pioneer Party..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-06-04
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The Military's political role
Language:
more
Description:
"This article has been adapted from a Burmese language version titled “Race-Class, COVID Politics and Future Change,” first published in the COVID-19 Special Series No. 2 by the Institute for Strategy and Policy (ISP-Myanmar) on May 1.]
On March 23, Myanmar reported its first positive cases of COVID-19. Within two months, there were over 200 cases. More than 60 have been linked to a Christian religious gathering. A majority of initial positive cases were Myanmar re-pats, former Burmese citizens visiting the country temporarily, western tourists, and their local medical and travel service providers (and their family members).
In March and April, many thousands of migrant workers returned from Thailand and China through border crossing points. Around the same time, factory workers organized several protests against the factories for laying off workers and not allowing leave-with-pay during the Thingyan holidays.
As the news stories and images about foreigners, Myanmar returnees, religious gatherings, migrant workers, and factory workers were circulated in the media and on Facebook, people began to see the COVID-19 pandemic through racial, xenophobic and discriminatory lenses. They viewed COVID-19 as a foreign disease, imported by foreigners and Myanmar returnees. A senior government official said the lifestyle and diet prevented the people of Myanmar from getting the disease. Such a response is not new to Myanmar; it is a recurring socio-political dynamic that further divides an already divided nation..."
Source/publisher:
"Teacircleoxford" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-06-01
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
Language:
more
Sub-title:
New selection process begins at the township level but still gives final say to central executive committe
Description:
"The National League for Democracy (NLD) will begin selecting parliamentary candidates for the 2020 general elections this week.
In previous elections, NLD candidates were selected directly by the central executive committee. A new selection process will democratise decision making to an extent but still leave final say to the party’s central executive committee.
Townships will choose five candidates from among their NLD supporters, NLD vice chairman Zaw Myint Maung said during a press conference streamed online from Nap Pyi Taw on May 31.
Once five supporters are chosen in a given constituency, the township executive or campaign committee will select two of them as potential parliamentary candidates.
These two candidates will be forwarded to state and regional NLD officials who will then review and rank the candidates as first and second choices.
The ranked candidates will then be sent to the NLD party central executive committee before the end of the month, Zaw Myint Maung said.
The central executive committee will then select a candidate among the two to represent the party in the general election.
NLD Nay Pyi Taw district chairman Min Thu confirmed that instructions were sent to township offices on Tuesday.
It is unclear at this point if the central executive committee will be able to veto the selections it receives, demand new candidates from its constituency or choose candidates from elsewhere..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-06-02
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
more
Description:
"The majority of lawmakers voted on Monday to defeat a bid by Myanmar’s military-backed former ruling party and military-appointed lawmakers’ to impeach the Parliament’s house speaker over his handling of the constitutional reform process.
A total of 243 members of the Lower House (62 percent of those in attendance) voted down the proposal by the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and military appointees to remove Union Parliament Speaker U T Khun Myat. The accusation alleged that he violated the Constitution and parliamentary laws by favoring Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in its Charter reforms attempts, launched last year, and also on several other occasions. Military-appointed lawmaker Lieutenant Colonel Myo Htet Win said that the speaker broke the law by allowing the National League for Democracy (NLD) to submit an urgent proposal to form the Constitutional Amendment Committee in January 2019 and by blocking full parliamentary debate on charter amendment proposals submitted by military lawmakers and the USDP.
“The head of the legislative body’s failure to abide by the law harms the Parliament’s image,” the lieutenant colonel said.
In addition to accusing the speaker of thwarting debate on their charter-amendment proposals, the USDP and military-appointed lawmakers also accused U T Khun Myat of misusing his power to deny some of their motions on Monday during debate over their impeachment proposal..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-06-01
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to the judiciary (commentaries), Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The Military's political role
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Some feel Covid-19 restrictions on gatherings will hurt smaller campaigns, entrench incumbent advantage
Description:
"Union elections will take place in 2020, a Union Election Commission (UEC) spokesperson has said.
Myint Naing told an MRTV interview on a May 4 broadcast that, despite concerns over the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, elections must be held this year.
It is a divisive issue among Myanmar’s many political parties. Some say holding elections while large gatherings are banned will give the upper hand to the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), as smaller parties will have a tougher time getting their message out.
The NLD government’s efforts to support out-of-work laborers during the Covid-19 pandemic can appear as its own form of campaigning, while out-of-power parties can do little campaigning of their own at the moment, said Thein Htun Oo, spokesperson for the opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party.
“The ruling party has a lot of advantages right now,” he told Myanmar Now.
He declined to offer an alternate date for the elections, saying only that “public health should be the top priority.”
Dr Myo Nyunt, an NLD central executive committee member, declined to weigh in but said his party will strictly follow the commission’s decision.
Other party officials told Myanmar Now that, if elections do need to be delayed because of the pandemic, delays should not last more than a few months.
“If the next government and parliament are not ready to assume office by the time the current term expires, there will be political instability” said Thet Thet Khine, a former NLD member who left the party and since become chairwoman of the People’s Pioneer Party..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-05-05
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-31
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
more
Sub-title:
NLD members are in hiding and Rakhine nationalists from the ANP have gone off the radar after being released on bail as rivalries turn ugly in Taungup
Description:
"In 2012, 12 Muslim men were dragged off a bus and murdered by a mob while travelling through Taungup in southern Rakhine. It was the start of a bout of sectarian riots that helped plunge the state into the chaos it faces today.
But despite this grim mob killing, the township has since been largely peaceful and stable compared to other parts of Rakhine.
The armed conflict and hostile nationalist politics that have scarred the north - where the Arakan Army (AA) is battling the Myanmar military for greater autonomy - have mostly spared the state’s south.
But events in recent weeks suggest this is changing.
It started on May 5 when 53-year-old Than Shwe, who worked closely with the NLD and served his village’s Covid-19 prevention committee, was abducted in the early hours of the morning.
A military statement later that afternoon claimed that he had been snatched by “knife-wielding” AA members as he slept in his home in Bu Shwe Maw village.
Two days after the abduction, the Sittwe-based Development Media Group reported that several NLD members in Taungup had gone into hiding after a group of people posing as police officers tried to arrest them.
“Who else will have to run?” asked former Rakhine municipal affairs minister Min Aung, who lives in Taungup and is an NLD member, in a Facebook post. “They’ve abducted U Than Shwe and he’s just a normal civilian in Bu Shwe Maw. We don’t know if he’s been killed or not.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-05-29
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-31
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Armed conflict in Rakhine (Arakan) State, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
more
Sub-title:
China was initially suspicious of Suu Kyi, a pro-democracy icon and her late British husband who was a Tibetologist maintaining contacts with Tibetans in exile
Description:
"In a series of twists and turns in Myanmar politics leading to the November elections, which may differ in view of COVID-19 pandemic, China seems to be playing to its own advantage. Political analysts are of the opinion that the first and incumbent State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) will win again but not in a landslide victory as it did in the 2015 elections, because of her party losing significant support in ethnic areas of the country.
What remains crucial for her electoral victory is how she and her party juggles between the autonomous army of the country and the powerful northern neighbour China. China was initially suspicious of Suu Kyi for having a pro-democratic approach and her late British husband who was a Tibetologist maintaining contacts with Tibetans in exile. Suu Kyi was under house arrest when the military was ruling Myanmar. The Military then had good relations with China as the latter supplied arms as well as provided diplomatic support at the United Nations.
However, a significant reversal can be seen in today's politics in Myanmar. Suu Kyi, the harbinger of democracy in Myanmar is seen becoming close with China, while the military which once maintained close ties with China is now wary of China's growing advances in the region.
Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate, has been stripped of awards, one after the other, many of which she earned during her long non-violent struggle for democracy against the abusive military rule. Once a darling of the west, now she has often been condemned by the international community concerning the human rights violations under her rule including the Rohingya ouster, jailed journalists and locked up critics.
In 2017, at the time when the world condemned the Suu Kyi government for siding with the army for the Rohingya ouster, she was given a red carpet treatment by China. Although Myanmar Army's Senior General Min Aung Hlaing visited China a week before Suu Kyi, things didn't seem to go well between the Myanmar Army and China, despite Chinese President Xi Jinping calling the China-Myanmar Military relations the best ever..."
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
It is the first attempt to impeach a speaker in a decade
Description:
"The military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) filed a motion on Thursday to impeach the NLD-backed lower house and assembly speaker T Khun Myat - the first time in a decade lawmakers have sought to impeach a speaker.
The motion was signed by 110 MPs and submitted to deputy speaker Tun Tun Hein on Wednesday, then discussed the next day when T Khun Myat was absent. Tun Tun Hein chaired the discussions in his place.
The signatories have not yet been announced, though most or all are USDP or military MPs.
T Khun Myat’s 2018 bid for speakership was backed by the NLD government. Military-appointed MPs and the USDP make up the NLD’s largest opposition in parliament.
Sai Tun Sein, a USDP MP and signatory to the motion, accused T Khun Myat of permitting multiple constitutional violations as speaker.
He called the speaker’s approval of NLD attempts to amend the union charter while blocking several USDP and military amendment proposals “unconstitutional.”
The speaker’s rejection of USDP lower house MP Maung Myint’s proposal to convene the National Defence and Security Council to address the Covid-19 crisis also went against the charter, he said.
Sai Tun Sein also voiced concerns that a USDP proposal to lower the price of electricity rates after the NLD raised was blocked by the speaker..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-05-29
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to the judiciary (commentaries)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Suu Kyi is now close to old adversary China while long-ruling military is skeptical of Beijing's intent ahead of pivotal polls
Description:
"Elections are scheduled for November in Myanmar, and there is no indication so far that the polls will be postponed due to the Covid-19 crisis. Neither is there much doubt about the outcome.
Most political observers believe that State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) will win again, though not in the same landslide fashion as in 2015 as recent by-elections show she and her party have lost significant support in ethnic areas.
But the bigger electoral question is how her party’s delicate relationship with the autonomous military will play out and in that context how her government’s ties to its powerful northern neighbor China will be portrayed and potentially politicized on the campaign trail.
An entirely new paradigm has emerged in Myanmar, one where Suu Kyi is now seen as a trusted ally of Beijing and the military as a nationalistic bulwark against China’s strong advances. That’s a significant reversal, one that could have implications for stability in the lead-up to polls.
When Suu Kyi was under house arrest during military rule or active in non-parliamentary politics, China viewed the long-time pro-democracy icon with suspicion. That was at least in part because her late British husband, a Tibetologist, maintained ties with many Tibetans in exile..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-05-25
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The Military's political role, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies), “One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more