For the first time the ASEAN summit started without any representative from a State member. I am pretty sure that Min Aung Hlaing, watching his friend Pryut on the screen, is thinking “why other dictators have been invited, and not me?”.
The move is highly symbolic, and very unlikely to influence the situation on the ground, but it’s important to not legimitize the regime.
POLITICS, ECONOMY AND OTHER NEWS
• The ASEAN summit started without any Myanmar representative. After ASEAN excluded Min Aung Hlaing from the meeting, and extended its invitation to a “non-political” figure, the military regime refused Chan Aye who was chosen by ASEAN to represent the country. Myanmar Now reports that the military spokesperson Zaw Min Tun said “They must invite our head of state because the summit is about meetings between the heads of member states,”. The regime’s Ministry of Foreign affairs stated that the military, by choosing to not send any representative, “does not intend to show its protest against ASEAN or to boycott ASEAN”. Cambodia’s Prime Minister, Hun Sen, who is going to chair ASEAN in 2022, said that the Myanmar military is not cooperating with ASEAN. U.S. President Joe Biden, attended the meeting, and Min Aung Hlaing lost a good photo opportunity.
• U Bo Hla Tint was appointed by the National Unity Government (the democratic government that opposes the regime) as its representative to ASEAN. He served as a minister in another exiled government, The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), formed by opposition parties (including the NLD) in 1990 after the 8888 Uprising. There have been no official engagements between ASEAN and NUG, although sources report some interactions
• The United Nations formalized the appointment of Noeleen Heyzer as the new UN Special Envoy to Myanmar. She led the UN response to the Cyclone Nargis in Burma in 2008. She replaces Christine Schraner Burgener, who has been denied entry to Myanmar since the coup.
• NUG representatives, Acting President Duwa Lashi La and Minister of Foreign Affairs Daw Zin Mar Aung met with Jake Sullivan, US National Security Advisor.
• Ko Jimmy’s wife says her husband is in critical conditions after being brutally arrested by the military regime. The pro-democracy leader is currently hospitalized in Mingalardon Military Hospital
• Daw Aung San Suu Kyi appeared in court in Naypyidaw to testify during her trial. She denied the charges of incitement, but no other details have been disclosed, as her lawyers have been barred from speaking to the media or other organizations.
YANGON
• Mingalardon: a local administrator was killed. Despite his public resignation, he continued to work for the regime.
• Thaketa: a 13-year-old boy lost an arm after a device exploded at a landfill site that he was working at in Thaketa last night. (from DVB)
MANDALAY
• Patheingyi: a military-appointed local administrator assassinated
SAGAING
• Monywa: Resistance fighters attacked a police vehicle and a government office. 2 policemen have been killed while returning from a KTV
• Monywa-Mandalay highway closed for landmine clearance
• Minkin: over 100 soldiers are raiding Intaw, Nyaungpinthar, Ohnaeboat, Bin and Anauk villages, forcing civilians to flee in the dark, under the rain.
• Myaung: probably the first female-only armed resistance group in Myanmar, “Myaung Women Warriors” has been announced today. Women have been at the forefront of the revolution since day 1.
CHIN STATE
• Mindat: according to local sources, regime soldiers are raiding and looting villages between Matupi and Mindat
• Tar village, Falam: regime soldiers burned several civilian houses
KARENNI (KAYAH) STATE
• Demoso: Resistance groups claim to have killed 10 regime soldiers
SHAN STATE
• Maw Taung Village, Muse: the Kachin Independence Army attacked regime soldiers
ARAKAN (RAKHINE) STATE
• Three men have been arrested by the military regime. They are accused of having ties with Resistance groups. Arakan has been relatively quiet after the coup, as the Arakan Army is taking advantage of an informal ceasefire to strengthen its control over the local administration.
• Maung Taw: the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), claims to have killed 7 border guard members
NAYYPYITAW
• Resistance groups claim an attack at The Air Force’s Command Headquarters and the base of Air Defense Battalion 3030
BAGO
• Yae Tar Shay: over 40 local administrators resigned after receiving warnings by Resistance groups
• GyopinThar village, Paungde: according to local sources, regime soldiers raided the village at 4am. A young civilians was shot and killed.
MON STATE
• Thone Khwa village, Kyaikhto: a non-CDM health worker shot dead
COVID DAILY (real numbers are believed to be much higher than officially reported)
• 924 new cases and 22 new deaths
AAPP Burma update (does not include victims of armed conflicts)
• 1213 (+14) civilians killed since February 1st
• 9223 (+30) total arrests
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