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Sahel region junta chiefs mark divorce from West African bloc

Their ECOWAS exit was fueled in part by their accusation that Paris was manipulating the bloc, and not providing enough support for anti-jihadist efforts…reports Asian Lite News

The military regimes of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso marked their divorce from the rest of West Africa Saturday, with Niger’s ruling general saying the junta-led countries have “turned their backs on” the regional bloc.

The three country’s leaders are taking part in the first summit of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), set up after pulling out of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) earlier this year.

“Our people have irrevocably turned their backs on ECOWAS,” Niger’s ruling General Abdourahamane Tiani told his fellow Sahel strongmen at the gathering’s opening in the Nigerien capital Niamey.

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger set up the mutual defense pact in September, leaving the wider Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc in January.

Their ECOWAS exit was fueled in part by their accusation that Paris was manipulating the bloc, and not providing enough support for anti-jihadist efforts.

“The AES is the only effective sub-regional grouping in the fight against terrorism,” Tiani declared on Saturday, calling ECOWAS “conspicuous by its lack of involvement in this fight.”

The exit came as the trio shifted away from former colonial ruler France, with Tiani calling for the new bloc to become a “community far removed from the stranglehold of foreign powers.”

All three have expelled anti-jihadist French troops and turned instead toward what they call their “sincere partners” — Russia, Turkiye and Iran.

Given the deadly jihadist violence the three countries face, “the fight against terrorism” and the “consolidation of cooperation” will be on Saturday’s agenda, according to the Burkinabe presidency.

ECOWAS is due to hold a summit of its heads of state in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Sunday, where the issue of relations with the AES will be on the agenda.

After several bilateral meetings, the three Sahelian strongmen are gathering for the first time since coming to power through coups between 2020 and 2023.

In mid-May, the foreign ministers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger agreed in Niamey on a draft text creating the confederation, which the heads of states are expected to adopt at Saturday’s summit.

Niger’s General Abdourahamane Tiani first welcomed his Burkinabe counterpart Ibrahim Traore in the capital on Friday, followed by Malian Col. Assimi Goita who arrived Saturday.

“Don’t expect many announcements, this is primarily a political event,” said Gilles Yabi, founder of the West African think tank Wathi.

“The aim is to show that this is a serious project with three committed heads of state showing their solidarity.”

In early March, AES announced joint anti-jihadist efforts, though they did not specify details.

Insurgents have carried out attacks for years in the vast “three borders” region between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, despite the massive deployment of anti-jihadist forces.

The trio have made sovereignty a guiding principle of their governance and aim to create a common currency.

Sunday’s summit comes as several West African presidents have called in recent weeks for a solution to resume dialogue between the two camps.

Notably, Senegal’s new President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said in late May that reconciliation between ECOWAS and the three Sahel countries was possible.

In June, his newly re-elected Mauritanian counterpart, President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, called on West African countries to unite again against the expansion of jihadism.

But successive summits on the same weekend raises fears of a stiffening of positions between AES and ECOWAS.

“I do not see the AES countries seeking to return to ECOWAS. I think it’s ECOWAS will have to tone it down (the situation),” Nigerien lawyer Djibril Abarchi said.

While AES is currently an economic and defense cooperation body, its three member countries have repeatedly expressed their desire to go further.

At the end of June, Col. Goita assured that cooperation within the AES had taken “a path of no return” during a visit to Ouagadougou, Burkina’s capital.

The potential creation of a new common currency would also mean leaving behind the CFA franc they currently share with neighboring countries.

“Leaving a currency zone is not easy,” warned Yabi. “Any country can change its currency, but it takes a lot of time and requires a clear political choice as well as a technical and financial preparation process.”

Issoufou Kado, a Nigerien financial expert and political analyst, agreed: “They have to be very careful, because the mechanism takes time.”

ALSO READ-‘India supports Africa’s greater role at UN, global forums’

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Niger coup leader meets Wagner group-allies Junta in Mali

French Foreign Ministry on Tuesday announced that it is preparing to evacuate its citizens and people of European nations who wish to leave Niger, days after President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown by members of his presidential guard…reports Asian Lite News

General Salifou Mody, one of the Niger officers who seized power in a military coup last week, visited Mali on Wednesday, CNN reported citing the Mali presidency.

Notably, this comes amid speculation of possible interest in the Wagner mercenary group, which has a presence in the country.

Mali’s transitional president, Assimi Goïta, hosted Mody and a large Nigerien military delegation on Wednesday, CNN reported citing the pictures and a statement posted on Facebook by the Mali presidency.

Mody called the meeting “part of a complex regional context,” the Mali presidency said, and thanked Malian authorities “for their support and accompaniment since the seizure of power by the CNSP,” referring to the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland where Mody is vice president.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Wagner contractors are stationed in Mali at the invitation of the country’s military junta, to quell an Islamist insurgency brewing in an area where the borders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger meet.

Last week, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin celebrated the coup in the landlocked West African country, saying his private military company could also help with situations like the one unfolding in Niger, CNN reported.

The dramatic ouster of Niger’s President Bazoum last week alarmed Western leaders, including the US and France, which are both key stakeholders in Niger’s crackdown on local insurgencies.

US officials have warned that the Russian mercenary group could now seek new opportunities in Niger.

“I would not be surprised to see Wagner attempt to exploit this situation to their own advantage as they’ve attempted to exploit other situations in Africa to their own advantage,” State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Wednesday.

Miller added that “any attempt by the military leaders in Niger to bring the Wagner forces into Niger would be a sign, yet another sign that they do not have the best interests of the Nigerien people at heart.”

Meanwhile, at least four European countries announced that plans to evacuate their citizens are underway in Niger.

Recently over the weekend, pictures from Niger showed protesters waving Russian flags, chanting Putin’s name.

French Foreign Ministry on Tuesday announced that it is preparing to evacuate its citizens and people of European nations who wish to leave Niger, days after President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown by members of his presidential guard.

French Foreign Ministry’s statement comes after the supporters of the coup in Niger on Sunday burned French flags and attacked the French embassy in Niger’s capital, Niamey, Al Jazeera reported.

Germany also suspended collaboration and withhold financial aid to Niger, reported Al Jazeera.

At a press conference, a representative of the German foreign ministry said that all direct assistance payments to the Nigerian central government will be halted until further notice.

However, the coup has provoked a split reaction from countries in the Sahel region, where the threat of militant extremism in recent years has destabilized local governments and led to volatility.

On Monday, Mali and Burkina Faso’s governments said they would consider any military intervention “an act of war” against them and put their armies on standby.

On the other hand, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Sunday threatened to use force if Niger’s ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, was not reinstated within one week.

ECOWAS also imposed a travel ban and asset freeze for the military officials involved in the coup attempt, as well as for their family members and civilians who accept to participate in any institutions or government established by the officials.

Burkina Faso and Mali expressed their solidarity with Nigerien authorities and said they would not participate in any measures against Niger by ECOWAS, calling the sanctions “illegal, illegitimate and inhuman.” Guinea also expressed its solidarity with Niger on Monday. (ANI)

ALSO READ-US orders partial evacuation of Niger embassy  

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Suu Kyi transferred to ‘state-owned residence’

Media reports said Suu Kyi had been transferred to a residence for deputy ministers in the capital on July 24.

Myanmar’s junta has relocated former leader Aung San Suu Kyi from a prison in the capital Naypyidaw to “a more comfortable state-owned residence,” a party official and a source with ties to the prison was cited by a report in Radio Free Asia (RFA).

An NLD official who declined to be named due to security concerns told RFA Burmese: “It has been confirmed that Aung San Suu Kyi has been placed in a house in a residential area of Naypyidaw.”

A source with connections to Naypyidaw Prison, where the jailed head of the deposed National League for Democracy Suu Kyi had been held since the military seized power in a February 1, 2021 coup d’etat, also confirmed that the former State Counselor had been “relocated”.

Both sources could only confirm that the move had taken place “recently,” but were unable to confirm the exact date or location.

Media reports said Suu Kyi had been transferred to a residence for deputy ministers in the capital on July 24. Attempts by RFA to contact junta Deputy Information Minister Major General Zaw Min Tun for comment went unanswered on Friday.

Protesters holds placards and portraits of Aung San Suu Kyi during a protest. (Photo Aung Kyaw Htet_SOPA Images via ZUMA Wire_dpa_IANS)

The 78-year-old Suu Kyi who was found guilty by junta courts of corruption charges and violation of election and state secrets laws, faces a total of 33 years in jail for 19 cases and had been held in solitary confinement in Naypyidaw. Suu Kyi’s supporters say the charges were politically motivated.

A second NLD official suggested to RFA on Friday that the transfer may have been made in response to increased domestic and international pressure on the junta to end Myanmar’s political stalemate.

“The junta has let the world know through this transfer that it is also facing difficulties in resolving the turmoil in Myanmar,” the official said, as per RFA.

Myanmar’s junta has been involved in a prolonged conflict with Myanmar’s increasingly formidable armed resistance groups and ethnic armed organizations since the military detained Suu Kyi and other top leaders of the NLD during the coup. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Myanmar power plant shutdowns hint at China relations strain

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Myanmar Diplomats Refuse To Serve Junta

Nearly 20 diplomats in seven countries, according to reports, are opposing the military junta for ousting popular leader Aung San Suu Kyi on 1 February this year and resorting to violence against civilians, reports Rahul Kumar

In an unprecedented situation, 11 Myanmarese diplomats in the US and Switzerland have refused to return home in a mark of protest against the country’s military rule while others continue to defy the military regime.

Kyodo News reports that Myanmar Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun said that nearly 20 diplomats in seven countries are opposing the military junta for ousting popular leader Aung San Suu Kyi on 1 February this year and resorting to violence against civilians.

Kyaw Moe Tun, who plans to stay in the US instead of going back to Myanmar, said that four Washington diplomats and three in Los Angeles are applying for protected status. He added that four in Geneva also plan to request Swiss authorities to allow them to stay back in Switzerland.

Former Indian diplomat, Achal Malhotra told India Narrative: “It is noteworthy that Myanmar diplomats have revolted in the USA and Switzerland which are relatively liberal in entertaining requests for asylum.”

He added that in such adversarial circumstances as prevail now in Myanmar, some diplomats, particularly if they fear persecution on return to their home country, may openly oppose their government.

“It can be as part of a build-up for their case for asylum in the host country or such acts can be triggered by genuine ideological reasons or by sheer opportunism,” says Malhotra.

He added that as a rule and as per established norms, diplomats are expected to build a positive image of their country abroad and defend their country’s policies, besides promoting and strengthening bilateral ties and protecting the rights of the diaspora in the host country.

Talking about India, he said: “A former Indian diplomat in Oslo had resigned and sought asylum in Norway to register his protest against Operation Blue Star undertaken by the Indian Government to flush out terrorists from the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984”.

As Myanmar hurtles towards a civil war-like situation, pro-democracy youth are gravitating towards an armed struggle. Many have joined the numerous armed groups that dot the diverse ethnic landscape of the country.

In Myanmar, besides the diplomats, national soccer goalkeeper Pyae Lyan Aung too is opposing the military regime. He applied for refugee status in Japan expressing threats to his life.

The military regime has detained thousands of civilian and political protestors and an estimated 883 people are believed to be dead in protests against the military rule.

2000 detainees freed

 Myanmar has released a total of 2,296 detainees from across the country, according to the figures released by the military-run State Administration Council (SAC).

The detainees, comprising 1,839 men and 457 women arrested in connection with the protests staged in the country since the February 1 coup, were released as a priority batch on Wednesday, reports Xinhua news agency.

A total of 721 people from Yangon region, 711 from Mandalay region and 22 from Nay Pyi Taw were among the released.

This latest development comes after U Zaw Htay, who served as the spokesman of the Aung San Suu Kyi-led ousted government of Myanmar, was freed from military custody in capital Nay Pyi Taw after more than four months in detention.

The former military officer, who had also served as spokesman for the U Thein Sein government (2010-15) that preceded the Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD) government which was ousted following the coup, was released late last month.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), at least 858 people have been killed and almost 6,000 others have been arrested in the protests that erupted since the military takeover.

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ALSO READ: EU, UK slap fresh sanctions on Myanmar

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Beijing’s support for Myanmar junta grows

Protesters holds placards and portraits of Aung San Suu Kyi during a protest. (Photo Aung Kyaw Htet_SOPA Images via ZUMA Wire_dpa_IANS)

Myanmar is on the verge of collapse, driving out many of the Western investors who had entered the country on hopes of a democratic transition, reports Asian Lite News

Even as many nations, including the United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on Myanmar’s military junta following the February 1 coup, China has declared its support for Senior General Min Aung Hlaing-led government.

The Great Game proxy theatre in post-coup Myanmar has pitted China against the US in a conflict that is escalating into a regional crisis, writes Bertil Lintner for Asia Times.

Other regional actors like Japan and India and other regional actors struggle to strike a middle ground as they are not keen on seeing Chinese influence grow in a desperate Myanmar.

Neighbouring Thailand is too dependent on natural gas imports from Myanmar to condemn the takeover and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has once again demonstrated incapability of resolving regional crises, writes Linter.

Myanmar is on the verge of collapse, driving out many of the Western investors who had entered the country on hopes of a democratic transition.

Asia Times reported that China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, at a regional meeting in Chongqing on June 8 told his Myanmarese counterpart Wunna Maung Maung Lwin that bilateral tensions between Myanmar and China have not been affected by the “changes in Myanmar’s domestic and external situation.

ALSO READ: Myanmar buckles to ASEAN

On the other hand, Chinese officials have also pledged support for ASEAN’s diplomatic initiatives on Mynamar’s crisis, despite the ‘five point consensus between Myanmar’s military leader and the ASEAN representative on April 24 has been largely dead on arrival.

In essence, the “consensus agreement” put equal blame on the Myanmar military’s gunning down of hundreds of peaceful demonstrators, including children as young as five, writes Bertil Lintner for Asia Times.

Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing

Indonesia remains the only ASEAN member that has shown some willingness to address Myanmar’s problems and how they are spilling over into the wider region.

On June 2, after holding talks with EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell in Jakarta, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that her country is continuing to communicate with ASEAN’s chair and other member states to demand an immediate end to killings and the release of over 4,000 political detainees.

Meanwhile, China has big geostrategic interests to protect in Myanmar and Beijing has always sided with the political camp that appears to have the upper hand – which is now Myanmar’s military junta.

Furthermore, Myanmar is the only country that provides China with direct access to the Indian Ocean that allows Chinese shipments of fuel and other key imports to bypass the disputed waters of the South China Sea and the Malacca Strait, according to Asia Times.

Whereas the US is on the other side of the political divide in post-coup Myanmar and beginning this month, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) announced that two of its media networks will launch a 24-hour video channel on Myanmar.

USAGM said the channel will be available on two different direct-to-home TV satellites covering Myanmar and is being launched in response to the junta’s “shutdown of independent media and its intermittent blocking of mobile phone services since the military’s February 1 coup.”

Moreover, civil society organisations inside the country and in exile will also get support from the US.

An estimated 861 protesters had been shot dead by the Myanmar military since the coup until June 11, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), an independent rights group.

Security and other analysts argue that neither civil disobedience nor armed struggle in frontier areas is likely to bring down the military, reported Asia Times.

It is in Washington’s strategic interest to strengthen the forces that are opposed to Myanmar’s military to avoid the country once again becoming a dependent client of China.

Myanmar authorities have recently arrested a total of 638 suspects for committing terror acts and illegally possessing firearms, state-run media reported Friday.

The report said that the arrested suspects include 49 people for setting fire, 61 people for murder, 256 for illegally holding arms and ammunition and 272 people for terror and destructive acts, reported Xinhua. (ANI)

ALSO READ: 100,000 flee as violence spikes in Myanmar
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EU warns Myanmar junta against NLD dissolution

This comes after military-appointed commission chairman Thein Soe announced on Friday plans to dissolve the NLD, headed by former state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, for alleged vote fraud in general elections last year…reports Asian Lite News.

The European Union has issued a statement warning the Myanmar military against the dissolution of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the party that won the November elections, as such a decision would be a “blatant disregard” for the will of the people.

This comes after military-appointed commission chairman Thein Soe announced on Friday plans to dissolve the NLD, headed by former state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, for alleged vote fraud in general elections last year.

Myanmar’s election commission meets political parties

“The EU reiterates that the elections in November faithfully represented the will of Myanmar’s people. This was confirmed by all independent domestic and international observers. No arbitrary decision by the military junta and their illegally-appointed members of the Electoral Commission can cancel that,” a spokesperson for the EU external action service said in a statement on Sunday.

The EU will continue to denounce all attempts to overturn the will of the Myanmar people and to alter the outcome of the last general elections, the statement said.

Myanmar protests

“No repression or unfounded pseudo-legal proceedings can grant legitimacy to the junta’s illegal takeover of power. Only respecting the will of the people can bring Myanmar back onto its democratic path and deliver stability and sustainable development,” it added.

On February 1, the Myanmar military overthrew the civilian government and declared a year-long state of emergency. The military coup led to mass protests and was met by deadly violence, resulting in the killing of more than 700 people. Meanwhile, about 3,000 protesters have also been detained. (ANI)

ALSO READ-Myanmar junta bans satellite TV, Internet

READ MORE-Junta approves huge Chinese project among 15 investments

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Armed resistance in Mindat against Myanmar military

The armed resistance at Mindat marks a dramatic transformation of the pro-democracy movement from a peaceful protest agitation to an armed one…reports Anwesha Bhaumik

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS3jZ1Nw_sA

Heavy fighting continued in Mindat town in Myanmar’s Chin state on Saturday, as civilian fighters fought the Myanmar military or Tatmadaw, braving heavy artillery barrages.

Two more resistance fighters died on Friday, bringing the death toll to three, said a spokesman of the resistance who called himself “John”.

“John” told IANS the Mindat Defense Force were not taking cognisance of a declaration of martial law by the Myanmar military junta.

“We just don’t care for such declarations. We will fight on and not allow the Tatmadaw enter our town,” said John.

The armed resistance at Mindat marks a dramatic transformation of the pro-democracy movement from a peaceful protest agitation to an armed one, that could dramatically escalate Myanmar’s civil war so far restricted to ethnic border regions like Kachin, Karen and Rakhine provinces.

A demonstrator stacks bags on a street as a barricade during a demonstration against the military coup and the detention of civilian leaders in Myanmar(ians)

While hundreds of Burmese protesters have fled and joined armed resistance groups like the Federal Army and United Defence Force and are now receiving training at Karen and Kachin rebel bases, the defence by Chin boys and girls armed with just hunting rifles and gunpowder used locally is turning into an epic symbol of the resistance.

The junta describes the Chin resistance fighters as ‘armed terrorists’.

John said the Mindat Defense Force is just 300-400 boys and girls with a sprinkling of local police and former Chin insurgents, armed with barely 100 hunting rifles, but adept at using the hill terrain to tie down a demoralised Burmese army.

He said the Tatmadaw is pounding the Mindat town with artillery from a base in Magwe 33 km away.

ALSO READ:China alarmed after Myanmar protestors attacked strategic pipeline station

“They have also brought in snipers who killed two of our fighters,” John told IANS.

“We are not able to retrieve the two dead bodies or rescue the wounded since the junta troops are opening fire on anyone who appears on the streets.”

A Myanmar police officer

“The junta troops are trying to enter into the town via both the west and east entrances while we are protecting our town. Fighting at the east side of the town is intensifying. Shootouts also occurred downtown,” he added.

The civilian resistance fighters also reportedly seized about six military vehicles from Kyaukhtu that were approaching Mindat during the shootouts.

A viral video on social media shows weapons and provisions on about six vehicles abandoned by the fleeing junta troops being taken by Chin civilian resistance fighters.

Local residents also said that at least five junta troops were reportedly killed during the shootouts on the east side of the town on Friday.

Fighting between junta troops and the Mindat Defense Force resumed on Wednesday night after a ceasefire in late April broke down.

The military regime declared martial law for Mindat on Thursday night after bombarding the town with artillery in response to the residents’ week-long resistance.

Under martial law, those who commit one of 23 “offenses” in the town will be tried in military courts and face penalties ranging from death, indefinite jail terms with labor and the maximum possible punishments under existing legislation, said orders signed by the military regime’s secretary Lieutenant-General Aung Lin Dwe.

Myanmar protests

The 23 offenses also include high treason, sedition, obstruction of military personnel and civil servants performing their duties, possession of weapons, ties to unlawful associations and violence.

However, the martial law declaration has had no effect on the town since 60 per cent of Mindat is under the control of its residents, said a member of Mindat’s People Administration, who identified himself as “Lian”.

“Our people do not accept the marital law. Currently, we are concentrating on the shootouts. We can govern the whole town, except the police station and some places,” Lian said.

ALSO READ:Myanmar junta bans satellite TV, Internet

Since 6 p.m. on Thursday, shootouts started on the Mindat-Matupi highway, which is located on the west edge of the town.

Mindat Defense Force fighters defended the approach to the town against about 11 vehicles carrying 250 junta troops on a probing mission.

Security guards are seen at the entrance of the City Hall in Yangon, Myanmar

Meanwhile shootouts have been happening on the highway connecting Mindat and Magwe region’s Kyaukhtu on the east side of the town since Thursday morning.

Civilian resistance fighters there are fighting against about 180 junta troops from Kyaukhtu that are approaching the town.

Also, civilian resistance fighters resisting junta troops at the east side of the town have also been attacked by artillery based in Kyaukhtu, John told IANS.

Mindat Defense Force said in its statement on Friday that the military has used reinforced troops, heavy explosives, artillery, rocket propelled grenades and automatic machine guns in the shootouts with civilian resistance fighters.

In the firefights, most civilian resistance fighters are using traditional percussion lock firearms, a kind of hunting rifle.

The firearm uses technology dating back to the early 19th century.

On Friday, residents were told by the Mindat’s People Administration to dig bomb shelters as two military helicopters were hovering over the town.

Photo taken on Feb. 1, 2021 shows a resting place for federal parliamentarians blocked by the military in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.(Photo by U Soe/Xinhua/ians)

On Thursday night, shootouts between junta troops and resistance fighters occurred at Mindat’s police station near the headquarters of the military’s Battalion 274.

After the initial encounters, the Tatmadaw troops opened indiscrminate fire on the town.

In Thursday’s encounter, an ethnically Chin teenager was killed and six other members of Chin state’s civilian resistance forces were wounded by junta artillery.

Armed resistance by Mindat residents started on April 26 with an attack on the police station after junta forces broke promises to release seven young anti-regime protesters.

On April 26 and 27, the Mindat Defense Force attacked military reinforcements approaching the town using homemade percussion lock firearms, leaving at least 20 junta troops dead.

The military casualties led to talks with residents and a ceasefire in April that broke down this week.

ALSO READ: Myanmar’s beauty queen picks up guns

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Myanmar’s beauty queen picks up guns

Htet Htet represented Myanmar in the first Miss Grand International beauty pageant in Thailand in 2013….reports Anwesha Bhaumik

Burmese beauty queen Htar Htet Htet has turned rebel, promising to bring down the brutal military junta in Myanmar or die fighting it.

Htet Htet represented Myanmar in the first Miss Grand International beauty pageant in Thailand in 2013.

Eight years later, the 32-year-old fitness instructor, who contested against 60 participants, has joined ethnic armed groups in Myanmar’s border regions.

Hundreds of ethnic Bamars or Burmese, angered by death of protesting comrades in military/ police firings, have joined the newly-formed urban rebel groups like the Federal Army and United Defence Force.

Nearly 800 Burmese have been killed in these indiscriminate firings.

Like Htet Htet, these angry youths are now training in weapons use and guerilla tactics in bases of Myanmar ‘s old ethnic rebel armies like the Karen National Union.

Some may have returned already to Burmese cities for action.

The former beauty queen recently posted her pictures with an assault rifle in her Burmese Facebook page, in which she wrote: “The time has come to fight back. Whether you hold a weapon, pen, keyboard or donate money to the pro-democracy movement, everyone must do their bit for the revolution to succeed.”

It was not clear which rebel base was Htet Htet undergoing training and for how long.

She did not reveal further details, but her appeal to fight the junta may boost recruitment to the Bamar urban insurgent groups.

“Htet Htet is quite an icon among the Burmese youth, beautiful and sexy but very political and socially conscious,” said her friend, who is another beauty queen and presents a popular TV program.

But she asked not to be identified for obvious reasons.

ALSO READ: Myanmar junta bans satellite TV, Internet

“She is quite a draw and very courageous. I wish I could do what she did.”

These Bamar groups are believed to be responsible for individual assasinations and select strikes against police informers and on an off-take station in the Chinese financed and operated oil-gas pipeline connecting terminals in Myanmar’s Rakhine province and China’s Yunnan province.

Chinese interests have become target because most in the pro-democracy movement see Beijing as the principal backer of the Myanmar military regime.

Htar Htet Htet(Twitter)

“That will be further reinforced by the junta’s recent clearing of 15 foreign investment proposals, almost all Chinese. Beijing is having a windfall backing a blood thirsty junta which is shooting its own boys and girls like flies,” said Kolkata-based Myanmar watcher Amrita Dey, who edited a volume on Burmese democracy movement.

Dey says the 2021 generation is different from the 1988 generation that led the country’s most powerful uprising in the last century.

“The current generation is tech savvy, better exposed to the world and more educated , having benefitted from a decade of relative openness. And this generation is more passionate about democracy because they have somewhat experienced it and feel they have so much to loose,” Dey told IANS.

ALSO READ:China alarmed after Myanmar protestors attacked strategic pipeline station

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Myanmar junta bans satellite TV, Internet

The ruling Council announced that anyone using satellite dishes to watch television could face up severe actions…reports Asian Lite News

The Myanmar junta has banned satellite television after imposing severe restrictions on the Internet and media, provoking global rights groups to protest the military’s tightening grip over information flow in the country.

The ruling State Administration Council announced this week that anyone using satellite dishes to watch television will face up to one year in prison or a fine of 500,000 kyat ($320).

The military junta claimed that “illegal organisations and news agencies” were broadcasting programs via satellite that threaten state security.

The ban appears targeted at independent Burmese language broadcasters such as the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) and Mizzima, which have continued broadcasting via satellite since the junta revoked their operating licenses in March.

A demonstrator stacks bags on a street as a barricade during a demonstration against the military coup and the detention of civilian leaders in Myanmar(ians)

The ban will also affect foreign news channels broadcast via satellite into Myanmar.

“The satellite TV ban is a blatant attempt to deny access to independent news broadcasts and further isolate Myanmar’s people,” said Linda Lakhdhir, Asia legal advisor at Human Rights Watch.

“The junta should immediately withdraw its outrageous blanket censorship and end its relentless assault on news reporting.”

Also read:India welcomes ASEAN initiative on Myanmar

The ban on satellite television is part of the military’s full-scale attack on the country’s media, alleged Mizzima chief editor Soe Myint.

He told IANS the military crackdown now extends from ground to air in an unprecedented way and Myanmarese people can only look forward to the global community to redress their plight.

A Myanmar police officer

On May 4, the junta also announced that it was banning two more media outlets, Kachin-based 74 Media and Shan-based Tachileik News Agency, increasing the number to eight.

Many of those outlets, including 74 Media and Tachileik News, have responded with defiance to the junta’s bans, vowing to continue their reporting.

In addition to banning media outlets, the security forces have aggressively targeted journalists for arrest.

Also read:Internal memos indicate more army attacks on Myanmar protests

At least 71 journalists have been arrested since the February 1 coup, of whom at least 48 remain in detention.

The authorities have charged many of those detained, including Japanese freelance reporter Yuki Kitazumi, with violating a new provision in the penal code adopted by the junta that makes it a crime to publish or circulate comments that “cause fear” or spread “false news”.

Those convicted face up to three years in prison.

The authorities have imposed severe restrictions on the internet, making it very difficult for people to access or to share information.

Myanmar refugees staged a protest against China’s support to the new military rule in Myanmar at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Wednesday 03rd March, 2021. (Photo: IANS)

Mobile internet data and wireless broadband have been turned off for more than six weeks, and Facebook and other social media platforms popular in Myanmar have been blocked since the coup.

“The Myanmar junta’s increasingly desperate efforts to block those inside the country from accessing independent news and information won’t hide the truth about its ongoing violations of rights,” HRW’s Lakhdhir said.

“Concerned governments should use their wide array of tools, including arms embargos and targeted sanctions, to pressure the junta to end its rights abuses and bring those responsible to account.”

Also read:Chinese jabs land in Myanmar

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Hundreds detained in undisclosed locations

A Myanmar police officer

Reports say that at least 2,500 out of over 3,000 people currently detained are in locations that have not been disclosed …reports Asian Lite News

Hundreds of people in Myanmar are being held in undisclosed locations throughout the country since the military coup, leading to speculations that they may not be alive.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the arrests are both targeted and random, sweeping up politicians, protesters and anyone in their orbit, intended to crush opposition to the military’s seizure of power.

At least 2,500 out of over 3,000 people currently detained are in locations that have not been disclosed to families, lawyers or human rights groups, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a non-profit organisation.

Lawyers and human rights researchers have described frantic in-person quests from one detention centre to another, searching for sympathetic guards who might be willing to share prisoner lists and filing letters demanding confirmation of their clients’ whereabouts.

“It’s very hard to find the people grabbed from their homes because the police often deny that they’re in their custody,” said Khin Maung Zaw, a spokesman for the Independent Lawyers Association of Myanmar.

A Myanmar police officer

As violence continues to intensify in Myanmar, 740 people have been confirmed to be killed since the military takeover on February 1, according to AAPP.

The military has not responded to questions on the detentions. Announcements made by the regime in state media have claimed that the reports about deaths and arrests have been ‘exaggerated’, WSJ reported.

Demand for “constructive dialogue”

During a broadcast each night, the military regime announces the addition of at least 20 people to its list of wanted individuals, sending many into hiding.

“In the beginning ,they [the regime] were careful, there weren’t a lot of pictures or evidence. But now they’re televising it, you can clearly see that people who were detained were beaten up,” said Wai Hnin Pwint Thon, a senior advocacy officer for the Burma Campaign UK, whose father was detained on February 1, the day of the coup.

Myanmar protesters

Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have urged the head of Myanmar’s military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who took power in a coup on February 1, to end the violent crackdown in the country.

This includes: there shall be an “immediate cessation of violence” and restraint by all parties; all parties shall commence “constructive dialogue” toward “a peaceful solution in the interests of the people”; a special envoy of the ASEAN chair shall mediate the dialogue; ASEAN shall provide humanitarian assistance, and the special envoy and delegation shall visit Myanmar to meet with all parties.

On February 1, the Myanmar military overthrew the civilian government and declared a year-long state of emergency. The coup triggered mass protests and was met by deadly violence. (ANI)

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