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 Read more…
The coup in Sudan and the situation in Myanmar have some similarities. We have to remember that the real goal of the Revolution is not to just overthrow Min Aung Hlaing.No matter who the leader is, as long as the military has political power and can act with impunity, a Read more…
The news of the 2 children dying (and a very young one getting injured) in Monywa, and 2 children getting injured in Shan State are devastating. This is nothing new, especially in a country that has seen armed conflict for over 7 decades. We’ve seen horrifying images for years, and Read more…
Superstitions, astrology, numerology and soothsayers play important roles in Myanmar society, just like in many other asian countries. But for the Burmese generals, these superstitions are not only important, they often become real obsessions that lead to irrational and sometimes self-defeating behaviours.Very recently, in Shwegyin, Bago Region, local farmers have Read more…
DVB reports that in Shwegyin, Bago Region, local farmers have been pressed to plant sunflowers in place of the usual crops. The Burmese word for sunflower, နေကြာ (nay kyaar) means “long lasting”, and the ever superstitious regime generals believe they will be auspicious for themselves. Military supporters have been asked Read more…
The military regime really cares about legitimacy, and the exclusion from the next ASEAN summit really hit Min Aung Hlaing hard, it seems. So hard, that the general seem to want to attend the meeting “by force”. ASEAN leaders (at least the few legitimate ones), should avoid associating with such Read more…
Will we ever learn from the past?The regime army destroyed villages and churches on its way to Hakha, Chin State. As Edith Mirante noted on Twitter, regime soldiers did not even spare “mithuns”, a forest ox which is considered sacred by Chin people. E. Mirante highlights that this could be Read more…
I guess the Tatamadaw’s tactics of distraction works. International media reported the news of the 5,000+ prisoners to be released this week, but nobody can actually verify those numbers.For sure the news helped minimizing talks about ASEAN’s decision to exclude general Min Aung Hlaing from the next summit.The Junta wants Read more…
After weeks with so little international coverage, today Myanmar reappeared on some media with the news of the 5,000 released political prisoners. It’s weird, because it almost sounds like the military regime suddenly became “good” and that all problems have been solved.It’s hard to explain that in reality there are Read more…
Min Aung Hlaing announced that the regime pardon over 5,000 civilians who were (unlawfully) arrested for being anti-regime. While amnesties under code 401 are pretty common, especially before certain events (celebrations or a visit by important foreign diplomats), this one is clearly linked to ASEAN’s exclusion of Min Aung Hlaing Read more…