#Yangon police

[argyrocratie]

Hein:

Also, let’s talk about your self-styled anarchism. How did you become an anarchist? Let’s say, for me, an incident was pivotal. For example, I fell in love with my childhood best friend, who is a devot Buddhist girl, whereas I’m just an average teenager who doesn’t take religions seriously. The majority of Buddhist society thought of my Muslim bloodline as something they could use to discriminate against me. At the same time, the so-called minority Muslim family members of mine are forcing me to convert my lover of that time by any means if I want to marry her. They said marrying an idolatry worshipper (Buddhist) is not legal under Islamic Sharia law, and it is sinful for me to do so. That’s when I started to question everything around me: the whole mainstream politics of victimhood and oppressors and the whole narratives of religions as lovingly and peaceful. Is there a similar kind of incident for you? Not necessarily a love affair like mine, but some sort of tragic moment in life where you became too angry at society.

Thiha:

I will have to explain my life to explain that. You will have to understand my socio-economic background. I came from a lower middle-class family in terms of social class. I’m the only son in the family, and my father is the sole source of income in the family, with my mom being a housewife. And the income was not too stable for him. So, this socio-economic burden came to me as well. After that GTI student movement, some friends of mine managed to get a bachelor's degree and entered the workforce. However, I didn’t have that chance. With the qualifications offered by GTI, I tried to seek job opportunities. Since we had to express religion and ethnicity in our CVs and resumes, along with the reference letter from the local police department, most employers used my religion as something they could use to discriminate against me with prejudice. Even the police from the police station asked me if I still could not secure a job, even though I had requested several reference letters from them. Those discriminations I suffered at my lowest time when my family needed me to support them play a role too. Also, at that time, Yangon University of Distance Education had opened, and law degrees were offered. I am enrolled in a law degree. I managed to graduate around 2005. The more I learned about laws, the more confident I’m to conclude that laws are being written to serve the interests of the ruling class. Laws are attempts to confuse the average population with the words and sentences to be cherrypicked by a “class of people” who are educated enough to use them. So, technically, laws are more or less similar to religion. Just as the clerical class has this kind of cherry-picking power over the average religious person, the laws also have similar features. So, even though I graduated with a law degree and was doing my internship chamber at the local state courts, I chose not to become a licensed lawyer.

-Hein Htet Kyaw, "Interview with Thiha, a lifelong anarchist thinker from Burma"

[samlarej]

BURMA - The Burmese junta only controls part of the country. The regime appears to have lost Chinese support.

Across Myanmar there have been significant numbers of violent attacks, including shootings and IEDs since a coup in February 2021. Attacks, including in Yangon and Naypyitaw, primarily continue to target military or regime-affiliated locations such as government buildings and checkpoints, and military-owned businesses. However, attacks may impact civilian bystanders, including in areas regularly frequented by foreign nationals, such as hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and serviced accommodation complexes.

There is conflict and significant violence across much of Myanmar, involving air strikes, artillery bombardments, landmines and armed clashes. While normal daily life has resumed in many urban centres, armed groups are likely to try to carry out attacks. Shootings and explosions are common, particularly around times of increased political tension. There have been attacks against military personnel, state infrastructure (e.g. police stations, traffic police huts, ward administration centres and electricity company offices), and businesses perceived as affiliated with the military. Areas frequented by foreigners (e.g. lodging/hotels, shopping areas and restaurants) could also be targeted.

There are increasing reports of attacks on the Yangon-Mandalay Expressway and National Highway 1 linking Yangon to Mandalay.

If you are in Yangon, Naypyitaw, Bago, Ayarwaddy or Southern Rakhine, remain vigilant, exercise caution and seek local advice. You should ensure you are aware of local rules, norms, and restrictions, especially if travelling to townships under martial law. You should seek advice from local tour operators before travelling.

In Yangon, the townships currently under martial law are Hlaing Thayar, Shwe Pyithar, North Okkalapa, North Dagon, South Dagon and Dagon Seakkan, but these are subject to change.

There is a small risk to foreigners of arbitrary arrest and detention, though this is much higher for journalists and activists. The criminal justice process followed in such cases falls below international standards. Minor infractions of the law can provide grounds for arrest. Myanmar does not recognise dual nationality.

The authorities in Myanmar are particularly sensitive to all forms of independent reporting and journalistic activity. Terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Myanmar. You should remain vigilant and follow the advice of local authorities.

The banking sector has seen widespread disruption with many banks closed and some ATMs empty. While higher-end hotels and restaurants do tend to accept card payment, foreign cards are increasingly being declined.

[xtruss]

Sofia, Bulgaria 🇧🇬!Dancers known as kukeri perform during the international festival of masquerade games near Sofia in Bulgaria. Photograph: Nikolay Doychinov/AFP/Getty Images

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA 🇺🇸! Dr Kee Straits with her llama, called Dalai, who at 27 Years Old has been recognised by the Guinness World Records as the oldest llama living in captivity. Photograph: Albuquerque Journal/REX/Shutterstock

Yanomami Indigenous Territory, Brazil! An aerial view of the Mucajai river. Cases of malnutrition and malaria in the region have increased dramatically in recent weeks, prompting the government to declare a health emergency. Photograph: Michael Dantas/AFP/Getty Images

Yangon, Myanmar 🇲🇲! A blue peacock displays at the city’s zoological gardens. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock

Tauranga, New Zealand 🇳🇿! Emergency personnel at the scene of a landslide. Photograph: Cameron Avery/EPA

Memphis, Tennessee, USA 🇺🇸! Darin Obston Jr prays at a makeshift memorial to Tyre Nichols near the spot where he received a fatal beating from police officers. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦! The Canadian Parliament Buildings. (Matthew Bailey/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images/File/Getty Images)

[keafordvaughn]

Several Chinese aid projects in Myanmar were handed over smoothly

In June this year, several projects assisted by China to Myanmar were handed over locally, fully demonstrating the spirit of the China-Myanmar community of shared destiny of sharing weal and woe and moving forward hand in hand. China has effectively helped Myanmar's economic and social development and people's livelihood improvement.

On June 13, the Myanmar National Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Medical Training Center built by the Chinese government was officially completed and handed over in Naypyidaw. Aung Lindwe, Secretary-General of the Myanmar State Administration Council, Chen Hai, Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar, and hundreds of representatives from all walks of life from China and Myanmar attended the handover ceremony.

The construction content of the China-aided Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Medical Training Center in Myanmar includes a disease control building, a training building, an administrative office building, outdoor engineering and laboratory equipment. China also provides a two-year technical cooperation to train relevant medical and technical personnel for Myanmar. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Medical Staff Training Center project assisted by China this time is the most professional and modernized center for disease control in Myanmar, and will play an important role in scientific research, epidemic prevention, emergency response, and talent training.

On June 11, the handover ceremony of the project of six police patrol boats assisted by the Chinese government in Myanmar was held in Yangon. Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai and Myanmar's Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Police Commissioner Ni Lin Aung signed the exchange and handover certificate. Ambassador Chen Hai delivered a speech congratulating the smooth handover of the project, saying that the Myanmar-aided police patrol boat project reflects the positive position of China and Myanmar to jointly promote the implementation of the global security initiative in Myanmar. Over the past four years since the project was launched, China has overcome difficulties such as the epidemic and made every effort to ensure the production and delivery of six patrol boats as scheduled. Recently, China and Myanmar have carried out strong and effective law enforcement and security cooperation, especially the joint fight against telecommunications and network fraud crimes, which has achieved significant results and safeguarded the interests of the people of the two countries. China is willing to deepen cooperation with Myanmar in law enforcement capacity building, continue to crack down on cross-border crimes such as gambling, fraud and drugs, and further safeguard the common interests of the two countries.

On June 6, a donation event to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Myanmar was held at the 14th Hlaing Tharyar Middle School of the China-Myanmar Friendship School in Yangon. The Chinese Embassy in Myanmar and the China Rural Development Foundation jointly donated stationery and food packages to the school. This donation activity aims to review the original intention of establishing diplomatic relations, inherit the fraternal friendship, support the development of the school, and hope that students will study hard, become the pillars of Myanmar's national construction, and become participants and contributors to the inheritance of the fraternal friendship between China and Myanmar.

In the long history, China and Myanmar have always understood and respected each other, supported and helped each other, and demonstrated the spirit of the China-Myanmar community of shared destiny of sharing weal and woe and helping each other.

[christiangel]

Several Chinese aid projects in Myanmar were handed over smoothly

In June this year, several projects assisted by China to Myanmar were handed over locally, fully demonstrating the spirit of the China-Myanmar community of shared destiny of sharing weal and woe and moving forward hand in hand. China has effectively helped Myanmar's economic and social development and people's livelihood improvement.

On June 13, the Myanmar National Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Medical Training Center built by the Chinese government was officially completed and handed over in Naypyidaw. Aung Lindwe, Secretary-General of the Myanmar State Administration Council, Chen Hai, Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar, and hundreds of representatives from all walks of life from China and Myanmar attended the handover ceremony.

The construction content of the China-aided Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Medical Training Center in Myanmar includes a disease control building, a training building, an administrative office building, outdoor engineering and laboratory equipment. China also provides a two-year technical cooperation to train relevant medical and technical personnel for Myanmar. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Medical Staff Training Center project assisted by China this time is the most professional and modernized center for disease control in Myanmar, and will play an important role in scientific research, epidemic prevention, emergency response, and talent training.

On June 11, the handover ceremony of the project of six police patrol boats assisted by the Chinese government in Myanmar was held in Yangon. Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai and Myanmar's Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Police Commissioner Ni Lin Aung signed the exchange and handover certificate. Ambassador Chen Hai delivered a speech congratulating the smooth handover of the project, saying that the Myanmar-aided police patrol boat project reflects the positive position of China and Myanmar to jointly promote the implementation of the global security initiative in Myanmar. Over the past four years since the project was launched, China has overcome difficulties such as the epidemic and made every effort to ensure the production and delivery of six patrol boats as scheduled. Recently, China and Myanmar have carried out strong and effective law enforcement and security cooperation, especially the joint fight against telecommunications and network fraud crimes, which has achieved significant results and safeguarded the interests of the people of the two countries. China is willing to deepen cooperation with Myanmar in law enforcement capacity building, continue to crack down on cross-border crimes such as gambling, fraud and drugs, and further safeguard the common interests of the two countries.

On June 6, a donation event to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Myanmar was held at the 14th Hlaing Tharyar Middle School of the China-Myanmar Friendship School in Yangon. The Chinese Embassy in Myanmar and the China Rural Development Foundation jointly donated stationery and food packages to the school. This donation activity aims to review the original intention of establishing diplomatic relations, inherit the fraternal friendship, support the development of the school, and hope that students will study hard, become the pillars of Myanmar's national construction, and become participants and contributors to the inheritance of the fraternal friendship between China and Myanmar.

In the long history, China and Myanmar have always understood and respected each other, supported and helped each other, and demonstrated the spirit of the China-Myanmar community of shared destiny of sharing weal and woe and helping each other.

[warningsine]

Since its independence in 1948, Myanmar has been embroiled in relentless political crises and ethnic tensions that have etched deep scars in its society. The most recent upheaval, the military coup of February 2021, once again plunged the nation into turmoil, sparking widespread protests and brutal crackdowns. To silence civil society and international dissent, the military junta has revoked the licenses of five major local independent media outlets and arrested more than 200 journalists. In March 2021, the military also stormed the head offices of three media organizations in Yangon.

Amid this chaos, thousands of journalists fled the junta-controlled zones to the resistance areas or foreign countries, where they continue to expose the human rights abuses in Myanmar and the resilience of the people. Despite escaping immediate threats, life in exile for these journalists remains fraught with challenges. 

In Thailand, a favored sanctuary due to its geographical proximity to Myanmar, the precarious legal status of many journalists leaves them vulnerable to Thai authorities and unable to access essential services. Likewise, forced into legal limbo, many report that they are financially exploited by their media organizations and find hardly any possibility to defend their rights. Beyond this institutional oppression, social marginalization also forces many into invisibility or minimal outdoor activities for safety.

While the dream of an ideal liberal homeland remains elusive, and their life in Thailand is weighed down by legal and social chains, many of these journalists refuse to seek asylum in the Global North. Instead, they choose to stay in Thailand, brave the risks of traveling across the borderland from time to time, and continue documenting the struggles of Myanmar. Their dedication to their homeland in this turbulent era, undeterred by high immobility inside and outside the Myanmar-Thailand border, illuminates hidden atrocities and gives a voice to the silenced. 

Despite the shared deprivation of social and legal autonomy, as well as the lack of financial security, these journalists, each bearing their unique struggles, are more than mere symbols of a collective exile. The individual stories of three Burmese journalists in Thailand reflects the complexity of their hardships, portraying the life of these commonly forgotten resisters behind the frontline activists.

Aung’s Story

After trekking non-stop for nine hours through the jungle, Aung* and his colleagues finally crossed Karen State and reached the Thai border at 5 a.m. on May 1, 2021.

Aung was part of a diverse group of eight that were nimble enough to move quickly and avoid attention. The journey, however, was inevitably grueling due to the humidity, darkness, and uncertainty of the deep rainforest. Having left his home in haste, Aung was unprepared for the trip, carrying only a shabby backpack and a bottle of water. Hunger and exhaustion gnawed at him as time passed by, but he had no choice but to press on. “Luckily, I was at least safe, no fatal snake bites or anything,” he reflected. 

Upon entering Thailand, the group, including some seriously injured members, quickly boarded a small local bus. After two more bus transfers over six hours, they finally arrived in the city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.

During the protests that followed the February 2021 coup, journalists donned reporter vests to shield themselves from police brutality. “But soon, that protection became a target,” Aung recalled. As their acquaintances and local police had already recognized their identity from their professional attire, these journalists became prime targets of the crackdowns as protests escalated in the following weeks. “We were often reported by pro-coup neighbors. Many of my colleagues were arrested and tortured, some even shot on the street,” Aung recounted. 

Under such dire circumstances, Aung decided to flee his country with his colleagues from one of Myanmar’s foremost independent media outlets.

Upon settling in Thailand, his employer’s Thai office sponsored Aung’s residence permit. Initially, he stayed home for eight months while awaiting his residence card. However, he admitted that fear still lingered after he has received the card, and he instinctively felt the need to run away every time he encountered the police. 

“Since the residence card was obtained through an agent with higher connections for around 65,000 baht, I didn’t need to pass the Thai language exam… but we all know it is a way for the police to extort money from us,” Aung said. “Every policeman here can tell who’s Burmese by our looks, and they often walk up to us Burmese, just to us, check our ID and test our Thai language skills. Although I have my ID, I still need to pay sometimes, because I don’t speak Thai.”

Nevertheless, Aung considered himself more mobile than many other undocumented Burmese exiles. He recounted the struggles of many of his undocumented friends who could not get a SIM card, a bike license, a bank card, or even rent a place to live. One friend in Mae Sot, unable to afford a fine, ran from the police and was badly injured.

Aung’s legal status, like his old reporter’s vest, proved a double-edged sword. He felt “trapped by [his] legal identity.” He could not obtain a crucial recommendation letter for his asylum application in Australia because his employing media organization wanted to retain cheap, exploitable labor. Moreover, his ties to the news site hindered his access to individual financial support, despite his meager salary, as the media outlet used his name to solicit group donations.

In early 2024, Aung was unexpectedly fired before his contract ended. Earlier that year, he had risked his life interviewing sources inside Myanmar. Now jobless, survival in Thailand seemed impossible. 

Aung is trapped in a semi-legal situation – although he is theoretically protected by Thai law as a legal resident, his rights are, in practice, unenforceable. Many exile-based media organizations, like Aung’s employer, had to register as charity foundations in Thailand due to legal requirements mandating a majority of employees in formal media companies be Thai citizens. This incomplete registration left Aung’s legal identity and rights precarious. 

Without a job, life in Chiang Mai became untenable for Aung. Finding another writing job in Thailand’s second biggest city seemed improbable due to language and cultural barriers. Although he considered moving to a more international city like Bangkok, his resident permit restricted his travel outside of Chiang Mai. “I would be really lucky if there is no checkpoint on the road to Bangkok, but that’s almost impossible,” he mused. 

Aung might eventually return to Myanmar when his savings run out, but the way back is also fraught with uncertainty and risks. Aung tries to limit contact with his family, but still, due to police surveillance, his family in Myanmar is always ready to move. Aung believes his white-collar friends in Myanmar are also tightly controlled by the military junta. 

When asked about his vision for Myanmar’s future, he responded without hesitation: “liberating the educational system for our next generation… Education has been severely disrupted after the coup, not just in the military-controlled regions but also in the resistance-held areas.” According to Aung, teachers and students are “stranded” in a censored knowledge system, which constricts the room for imagining a different future for Myanmar. 

Einda’s Story

Einda had worked for one of the biggest independent media outlets in Myanmar before the 2021 coup d’etat, reporting on national conflicts and domestic human rights abuses. Even after the coup, she continued her work until the military government revoked the news agency’s license and massive crackdowns made Yangon unsafe. In a desperate race, she fled the capital with her husband to the ethnic group-controlled Karenni region, while some of her colleagues were arrested. By 2023, she and her colleagues found their bank accounts were blocked. 

Meanwhile, back in her home city, her left-behind family lives a subdued life, trying to avoid drawing attention. Despite their efforts, they endured relentless searches and questioning from the regional police force over Einda’s prolonged absence and her sister’s involvement in the Civil Disobedience Movement. 

To the outside world, Einda said, she is someone who “cut off relationships with [her] family and ran off with [her] husband to somewhere unknown.” 

Under the pressure of surveillance, her family has always been perpetually on edge, and even the slightest noise outside their home would send her parents’ hearts racing. “[They] always make sure a bag of necessities and some emergency cash is ready, and [they] are always prepared to leave at a moment’s notice,” Einda said. 

In 2024, her world was turned upside down again. Her husband’s critical remarks about the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force in a private group chat were leaked, prompting a threat from a furious soldier. One day in the dead of night, after paying 15,500 baht to a local agent, she and her husband hopped on a van that brought them all the way to Chiang Mai, Thailand. 

Although Thailand offers a semblance of safety, it comes with its own perils. Living without documentation, Einda has to navigate the complex and uncertain legal landscape. The Thai Pink Card, a temporary residency permit for foreigners, seems inaccessible due to local bureaucracy and financial constraints. Existing in this legal limbo, underpayment and labor exploitation have become recurring themes for Burmese journalists in exile. 

Meanwhile, without sponsorship letters from formal institutions like universities, Burmese migrants have little chance of obtaining bank cards, which further marginalizes their lives. Most of the time, Einda has to search for emergency grants for journalists to survive. 

Legal and social borders dominate her daily life. Although police patrolling of undocumented immigrants is much looser in touristic Chiang Mai compared to border cities like Mae Sot, Einda lives in constant fear of going out, worrying about being arrested or even deported. At home, she keeps the volume low, fearing her neighbors might report her. She recalled how a friend’s small party at home ended with Thai police detaining the attendees. Now, these friends are facing a court case in Thailand, which could potentially see them deported back to Myanmar to face the military junta’s court. The process of appealing the case came with heavy financial burdens and uncertainty. 

Once, Einda’s husband was injured in a serious motorbike accident, but he chose to keep silent and left the scene as if nothing had happened. Justice has become an unaffordable luxury for these exiled journalists.

Despite these hardships, Einda considers herself relatively privileged, as she had already been issued Australian permanent residency. However, this does not make her more mobile in reality. With a strong determination to “be with my people,” she hopes to stay close to Myanmar and continue her journalism, which makes her feel empowered even as it keeps her locked in place. To her, despite the potential higher economic mobility in Australia, many Burmese immigrants are socially trapped in blue-collar jobs, and she has also heard enough stories about her Burmese friends being interrogated by the immigration authorities overseas.

At the moment, a more immediate and pressing problem looms: having overstayed in Thailand and holding no official documents, she fears returning to Myanmar, even to the resistance-controlled zone, worried she might not be able to navigate and afford her way back to Thailand. Einda feels “trapped by the lack of options,” torn between the risks of returning to Myanmar and the impossibility of staying in Thailand indefinitely.

Back home, in the military-controlled zone, Einda remains on the wanted list, and her family is still under close surveillance. She restricts her communication with her family, as the authorities have the right to check through anyone’s phone records at any time now. 

Home feels increasingly distant to Einda, not only because of the decreasing contact with her family but also due to the growing isolationist legal-institutional walls imposed on the Myanmar public. The draconian Section 505(a) law, which criminalizes the dissemination of information that could “incite fear or spread false news”  – and effectively enforces years-long sentences and hard labor on the expression of dissent – further tightens the junta’s grip on press freedom. In the face of the new conscription law activated in February 2024, many youths, including Einda’s sister, hope to move abroad, but that has become exclusive for the elites’ kids who can afford to buy their way out. 

Meanwhile, following the ban on messengers and social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, the military government further banned virtual private networks (VPNs) in May 2024. Those caught using VPNs by the police face imprisonment. Every new decree widens the chasm between independent reporters and the Burmese public. Einda inexorably feels like an outcast on both sides of the Myanmar-Thailand border. 

Being a journalist in exile, Einda admitted that “I feel immobile in many ways, socially, legally, and financially… This immobility certainly transcends across national borders, and it follows me everywhere I go.” 

With life in Thailand becoming increasingly unaffordable for her, she and her husband have no choice but to start planning a move back to an ethnic group-controlled region in central Myanmar at the end of the year, even under the risks of going through multiple military checkpoints. For Einda, a return to Myanmar almost certainly means she will not be able to make her way out again.

Hlaing’s Story

In 2017, when Myanmar’s army cracked down on the Rohingya ethnic group, Hlaing started working as a photojournalist covering the atrocities. After the military coup in 2021, the environment became increasingly restrictive for independent journalists, prompting Hlaing to join colleagues in exile in Thailand. With help from a media industry friend who has multiple connections with a local agent, Hlaing, along with some other journalists and a guide, crossed the Myanmar-Thailand border at midnight in the last week of December 2021 by wading through a river. Each paid 3,500 baht to make the journey. For Hlaing, this hasty decision meant bringing only a little cash and some clothes.

It took Hlaing a long time to navigate the legal landscape in Mae Sot, the border town where he settled in. Back home, Hlaing had been blackmailed by the Burmese government, and thus he could not have his passport renewed. His lack of documents and Thai proficiency confined him to his room in Mae Sot, except occasionally when he was out with some of his friends with legal documents. 

He elaborated on the liminal existence of exiled journalists: in border cities like Mae Sot, countless plainclothes police lurk in alleys. Surveillance is omnipresent; so is racial profiling. Regardless of their legal status, migrants face the risks of arrest or even deportation. Hlaing frequently heard of friends needing to bribe policemen, paying 5,000 baht or more to escape detention.

Back in Myanmar, Hlaing’s family had to move to another region because people, including acquaintances and police, were always asking about Hlaing’s whereabouts. His family’s displacement was equally challenging. His parents, in their 60s, had to navigate finding new job opportunities and basic social services in their new location. 

In 2022, despite the high risks, Hlaing secretly returned to the Karenni region without papers for eight months to document the local resistance. Upon returning to Thailand, he paid 17,000 baht out of his own pocket to an agent for a Certificate of Identity (CI card) that allows easier travel between Myanmar and Thailand so he could collect news photos without a Burmese passport.

In August 2023, after working for a Myanmar news agency for six years, Hlaing was abruptly fired. His employer claimed it didn’t have the money to continue paying his salary, much less to reimburse his photography equipment and CI card expenses, despite ongoing donations. Desperate, Hlaing had no choice but to take different uncontracted jobs and sought financial help from his family. Sharing living costs with his girlfriend in Mae Sot, he would need to pay at least 5,000 baht per month for food and rent, an impossible amount without speaking Thai and with limited support from his underprivileged family.

After being ousted from his former newsroom, Hlaing discovered one day that in a 2021 photo exhibition called “Save Myanmar” in South Korea, five of his photos were used under the outlet’s name without his permission. Hlaing tried to reach out to the news agency, but they immediately hung up on his phone call. Later, the newsroom arranged a brief meeting with him. Hlaing claimed financial and labor exploitation, seeking compensation. The agency eventually agreed to pay only $3,000 for the five photos, far below Hlaing’s valuation of $15,000. 

Throughout retelling this story, Hlaing kept asking, “Are we, as Burmese journalists in exile, legally protected by the Thai law or the Burmese law?” He felt helpless, as the rights and autonomy of a Burmese migrant in Thailand, regardless of legal status, seemed almost nonexistent.  

One of Hlaing’s cousins who lives in Australia invited Hlaing to join him for a seemingly safer and more stable life there, but he declined. Although stuck in a financial predicament now, Hlaing has still been actively seeking ways to continue reporting the conflicts inside Myanmar. For Hlaing, there is no clear path forward, no safe haven to escape to.

Conclusion

In the shifting sands of exile, omnipresent borders define these journalists’ existence – not just the physical lines etched between nations on the map, but also the invisible walls of legal status, social exclusion, and financial uncertainty. These three journalists are just a glimpse of the resilience that prevails among many more who find themselves in a precarious limbo – unable to return to their homeland without risking their lives, yet equally trapped in foreign lands that offer little protection or opportunity. For these journalists, who continually document a homeland that they cannot return to, there is truly nowhere to go.

All names in this story have been changed to protect the privacy of the interviewees. The media organization names have been withheld to further anonymize the identity of sources.

[elverson]

Primary schools in all towns and townships of Myanmar are cleaned collectively

In order to enable students to study smoothly and maintain the good character of the school, the basic education schools in all regions and states are working together to clean up and beautify the school environment. Shan state (south), kangdong city in basic education high school (Tonghoon) and shan state (east), the pond and other six towns of basic education school Meng Bangmao light cotton township five towns of basic education school school in (3) a township (including Dan) in the basis of education school, and yangon area, alon township, 10 towns of basic education school are all area including yu tile, 14 towns of basic education school solid area east city clear east of education college and school inside and outside the bushes and weeds. Clean up the garbage together and dig the drain to improve the water flow. In order to make the school environment clean and beautiful, the local soldiers, Myanmar police, firefighters, veteran members of the Red Cross Force, militia troops, department officials, and work together with the local people. At the same time, the state chief minister, the district commander and the regional military headquarters officials were encouraged and coordinated.

[mubashirnews]

Two years after Myanmar military coup, Yangon is a changed city

Comment on this story Comment SINGAPORE — In Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon, soldiers patrol the streets at all hours. Police officers stop pedestrians at random, hauling them to jail if they show signs of sympathy for the opposition. Poverty rates in the city have tripled, according to the United Nations, and crime is rife. It has been two years since Myanmar’s military ousted its democratic…

[vilaspatelvlogs]

Myanmar coup: यंगून में प्रदर्शनकारियों पर दमन का दौर जारी, गोलीबारी में पांच घायल

Myanmar coup: यंगून में प्रदर्शनकारियों पर दमन का दौर जारी, गोलीबारी में पांच घायल

यंगून: म्यांमार (Myanmar) के सैन्य तख्तापलट (Army Coup) का विरोध कर रहे प्रदर्शनकारियों पर गोली चलने की खबर सामने आने से हड़कंप मच गया. पुलिस ने देश की पूर्व राजधानी बागान में रविवार को गोलीबारी की जिसमें कई लोग घायल हो गये. सोशल मीडिया पर प्रत्यक्षदर्शियों द्वारा बताए गए आंखों देखा हाल और वीडियो के जरिये यह जानकारी सामने आई है. बागान में प्रदर्शनकारियों पर सुरक्षा बलों की इस कार्रवाई में 5 लोग…

[newsbunddle]

Myanmar riot police fire to break up protests, ‘detain’ Japanese journalist

Myanmar riot police fire to break up protests, ‘detain’ Japanese journalist

Myanmar police dispersed protesters in the main city of Yangon on Friday, firing guns and what appeared to be stun grenades, witnesses said, to send people fleeing as the challenge to the army’s bid to re-impose its rule showed no sign of slackening. Police at a protest in the second city of Mandalay also fired guns, witnesses said. It was not clear if police were firing at protesters or in the…

[ds4techofficial]

Myanmar police fire rubber bullets on protesters as U.N. envoy breaks ranks

Myanmar police fire rubber bullets on protesters as U.N. envoy breaks ranks

The country has been shaken by a wave of protests since a coup toppled civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1 Myanmar police fired rubber bullets to disperse protesters in Yangon on Saturday, after the country’s ambassador to the United Nations broke ranks to make an emotional plea for action against the military junta. Worldview with Suhasini Haidar | The military coup in Myanmar and…

[workingclasshistory]

On this day, 8 August 1988, thousands of people participated in a general strike demanding economic reform and democracy in Myanmar. The 8/8/88 struggle was referred to as the “Unfinished revolution” by the Myanmar Times and still holds a volatile place in public consciousness. In September 1987, Myanmar's military dictatorship of Ne Win's Burma Socialist Programme Party announced many currency denominations as worthless, which wiped out many people's savings. Then, on March 12 1988, a fight outside a tea shop between students and government supporters led to the death of Ko Phone Maw, a student shot by security forces. Protests escalated, during which students were a strong force; the government responded by briefly closing all schools and universities. The opposition movement grew, particularly among medical workers, Buddhist monks, the housewives' union and more. Later in July, the long-ruling dictator Ne Win stepped down, but in reality still carried immense power. This failed to placate the movement, who proceeded with the general strike. Before the midnight of August 8, troops opened fire on protestors in the City Hall and other places in Yangon. By September, the government was in chaos as even some civil servants, police and soldiers had joined the movement. Citizens took up basic government tasks themselves, while student leaders and some politicians worked to draft their future visions. Finally, on September 18, the government installed a new military ruler, banned all protests and declared martial law. Soldiers began shooting unarmed civilians en masse. Some protestors threw items like Molotov cocktails and poisoned darts at police and officials in an attempt to fight back. In the repression, approximately, 3000 people were killed, 3000 imprisoned and around 10,000 activists had been forced to flee the country. Elections were finally held in 1990, which were won by pro-democracy candidates, so the military ignored the results. https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/2053131911538615/?type=3

[southeastasianists]

Female power has been on display in Yangon, flapping in the wind yesterday on International Women’s Day.

Women, who have led opposition to the military takeover from the front lines, raised their traditional garments in the ultimate repudiation of the army’s patriarchal power by using its own misogynistic beliefs against it.

“Our Sarong, Our Banner, Our Victory!” they chanted as they hoisted their longyi waistcloths from flagpoles and clotheslines to scare off police and soldiers, who believe going near them will sap their manly mojo.

The idea got a boost last week when police were seen going out of their way to avoid the hanging htameins, as female longyis are called.

Htun Lynn Zaw explained to Coconuts why traditional sexism has imbued the simple cloths with the power to ward off cops.

“As a kid, I remember that whenever we played football in our back yard, there was a corner for the washing line where every boy dreaded to go to when the ball went off in that direction, because it would lessen our Bhone,” Htun Lynn Zaw, 20, said of the notion of spiritual energy.

They also believed it would being bad fortune.

“That corner was reserved solely to dry the htameins of our mother, sisters, aunties, and grandmother,” he added.

Myanmar has seen the rise of numerous female icons taking an active role in its history of revolution. Of course looming largest over the streets today is Aung San Suu Kyi, the state counsellor arrested by the military when it staged its coup on Feb. 1. But there’s also women like Phyoe Phyoe Aung, a student activist and former political prisoner recognized internationally for her courage, and Ei Thinzar Maung, who has been actively involved in human rights issues on behalf of minority groups.

Still, youth are indoctrinated to misogynistic attitudes at the youngest ages, from the gounds of the pagoda to their schools and back yards.

Protesters hope the raising of the htamein as a potent political symbol will help defuse these long held biases and gradually lead to dismantling the entire status quo.

Another demonstrator, 32-year-old Sai Lone, told Coconuts that the power of the garments is in the eye of the beholder.

“It depends on what you believe. For soldiers, they are afraid of it because it makes them vulnerable,” Sai Lone said. “For young protesters, they can wear it as a symbol of luck from their moms when they come out to protest.”

[southeastasianhistories]

Myanmar’s military seized power from the democratically elected government yesterday, declaring a state of emergency and detaining leader Aung San Suu Kyi and several of her allies.  

The coup comes after allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 elections as the ruling NLD secured a landslide victory. The country is now back under military rule after a decade, tanks and soldiers are positioned in major cities, and leaders have urged the people to reject the coup.

The southeast Asian nation is no stranger to military rule which previously lasted for over four decades. The military’s involvement in politics also remained high even after it began ceding power a little over a decade ago.

Here’s a timeline of the key events in Myanmar’s power tussle:

1948

The nation then known as Burma gained independence from British rule on 4 January and became an independent republic. A constitutional government was formed and politician U Nu was nominated as the first prime minister of independent Myanmar. However, a year before, Aung San, who led the movement of independence, was assassinated. Aung San Suu Kyi is his only daughter and youngest child.

1962

Democracy was first suspended in the country following a coup in 1962, marking the beginning of the four decade long direct military rule. Military leader Ne Win, who staged the coup, ruled the country for the coming years. Pro-democracy protests against the junta, also known as “8888 Uprising”, peaked following years of economic stagnation and were met with a bloody military crackdown which led to thousands of deaths, according to rights groups. However, the official figures only attribute a figure of 350 deaths.

1988

Aung San Suu Kyi returned to Myanmar during the pro-democracy protests and emerged as a national icon.  

...

1989

Ms Suu Kyi, who established herself as an outspoken critic of the junta, was put under house arrest for the first time as elections approached. She founded her party, the National League for Democracy, in 1988.

1990

The military government called for elections in which Ms Suu Kyi’s party contested and won a landslide victory. Ms Suu Kyi was being pitched as a prime ministerial candidate by some as her party secured 80 per cent of the seats, but the government could never be formed as the military government nullified the results and refused to concede, resulting in a global outcry.

Ms Suu Kyi was again placed under house arrest at her home in capital Rangoon, now known as Yangon. She won the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1990, and the Nobel Peace Prize one year later in 1991.

1996

Ms Suu Kyi was released from house arrest in 1995. A year later, her convoy was attacked by 200 men, who attacked her car with metal batons, chains, stones and other weapons, breaking the rear window and doors. The NLD filed a complaint with the police, forcing the government to launch an investigation. However, according to reports, no action was taken.

2003

Ms Suu Kyi was again lodged in house arrest, which the government claimed was for her own safety.

2008

After several protests, the military framed a constitution and carried out a referendum; soon after, Cyclone Nargis wreaked havoc in the country, leaving thousands dead.

That same year, the constitution was approved by the people with 92 per cent voting in its favour. This was the first time the people of Myanmar had voted since 1990, marking the beginning of the process of democratisation.

...

2010

The election was held but Ms Suu Kyi’s NLD, which wasn’t allowed to take power in 1990, did not participate. Over 40 parties contested the elections and the pro-junta USDP declared victory. The elections were called fraudulent by the United Nations and many western countries.

Ms Suu Kyi was released from house arrest six days after the elections in November. Until that time, she had spent a long part of a 21 year period in detention.

2012

For the first time, Ms Suu Kyi held a public office after winning a by-election seat. She officially became the leader of the opposition party as her party secured 43 of the 45 contested seats.

She began campaigning for reforms in the constitution to include basic rights of the citizens and demanded an independent judiciary.

2015

Myanmar’s first openly held general elections took place in November 2015 where Ms Suu Kyi’s NLD won by a landslide victory, securing a majority in both houses. The party formed the government for the first time, however, Ms Suu Kyi was constitutionally barred from becoming the prime minister because her husband and both sons were British.  

However, she took over as the head of the state with a newly formed role of state councillor, a position with the similar powers of a prime minister. The military also retained significant power in the government.

2017

A brutal military crackdown followed in Rakhine after an insurgent attack left several dead. Violent clashes had been ongoing in the area for over a year. Sectarian violence erupted against the Rohingya Muslim population in the area which was termed  “ethnic cleansing” by UN high commissioner for human rights.

The situation worsened in August 2017, when over five million Rohingyas fled Myanmar to reach neighbouring countries like Bangladesh. The ethnic minority community had been facing persecution for years.

According to the UN, the campaign of mass killing, rape, and arson was carried out with “genocidal intent”, which Myanmar denied. Ms Suu Kyi later defended Myanmar against genocide charges brought at the Hague.

Rohingya refugees gather in 'no man's land’ behind Myanmar's border

2020

Elections took place after five years when Ms Suu Kyi’s NLD again secured an outright majority with more votes than before, giving Ms Suu Kyi a second term as state councillor. However, the military-backed USDP alleged irregularities in the vote, demanding the military to intervene.

2021

On 26 January, army military spokesperson Zaw Min Tun warned the army will “take action” their concerns were not addressed, hinting at staging a coup.

However, the claims of voter fraud were rejected by the election commission which said there was no proof of fraud or rigging.  

Soon after its statement of protecting the constitution, Myanmar’s military staged a coup and took control of the country once again. They also declared an emergency for one year, citing the government’s failure to act against its claims of voter fraud.

Now, Ms Suu Kyi has been put under house arrest once again, along with other senior government officials detained during the series of early morning raids.

[tahitianmangoes]

I apologise if this is incoherent but Idk where to start and I feel so destroyed.

I spoke to my auntie who lives in Yangon with my grandma for the first time since the coup today.

She was whispering on the phone to me and every time she heard a dog bark outside (she lives on the fifth floor) she went to check at the window.

My aunt told me that everyone is very scared. 

High security prisoners have been released to do whatever they please, just like the purge - they’re not employed by the government so will not garner as much attention or scrutiny by international news outlets.

There’s rumours that these people are going or already have poisoned the drinking water in Yangon.

Men from the area are keeping watch outside to protect people. 

Many people in other parts of the country, such as Kachin, have all been rounded up and arrested for taking part in protests. 

Anyone who has tried to organise a protest is in danger of being taken away. 

People are relying on LINE to get their news - this is where they can see just how many people have been shot by the police/army.

Markets have closed so people must rely on each other to help for food etc 

No one’s sleeping because they are scared.

Internet and electricity is intermittent in some areas

Protesters are threatening to fire bomb gas lines (one of Myanmar’s main exports)

Things are already on fire

Just because the news has stopped reporting it, doesn’t mean it’s over. Please keep Myanmar in your thoughts. My heart breaks. 

[antoine-roquentin]

A boycott by bureaucrats is undermining the coup in Myanmar 

For almost two weeks, tens of thousands of Burmese, and sometimes hundreds of thousands, have taken to the streets to protest against the coup. But it is a subtler form of protest that is causing the generals the most grief. Thousands of public-sector workers, from at least 245 districts and 21 ministries, are on strike, according to Kim Jolliffe, an analyst. Government offices are deserted. So too are classrooms. Many public hospitals have in effect shut. Those that have not are so understaffed they are turning new patients away. “Operations at many government departments all but halted this week,” reported the Irrawaddy, a news website, on February 16th.

The banking system is also seizing up. Online banking remains possible, at least when the army allows the internet to operate, but most branches are closed. Reports suggest lending has dried up and most administrative work has stopped. “A dysfunctional financial sector would definitely hurt the regime,” says Ko Ko (not his real name), a manager at a branch of AYA bank in Yangon. He and almost all his colleagues have been on strike since last week.

The government pays bills and salaries and disburses pensions via Myanma Economic Bank (MEB). But so many of its employees are on strike that it is at a “near standstill”, says Mr Jolliffe, who is studying the civil-disobedience movement. With many tax collectors on strike, too, the coup leaders may end up with neither the infrastructure nor the money to pay staff. “This is a real pressure point and is something the military probably did not include in their game plan,” says Mr Jolliffe.

Why Myanmar’s military will win in the end 

“This is no bunch of knuckle-dragging old men,” notes the Yangon lawyer. “They may be ruthless, but they are smart and have built a loyal corps of officers whose wellbeing is tied to their ascent in the army.”

That much has been apparent in its campaigns against ethnic pocket armies around the nation’s remote borderlands. In bitter wars with ethnic rebels in northeastern Shan and western Rakhine states, the Tatmadaw has turned to increasingly well-integrated combined-arms campaigns integrating operations between infantry, artillery and air power underpinned by information technology and supported by drones.

Even if still rudimentary by the standards of advanced militaries, these evolving tactics have marked a significant advance for an army traditionally centered on infantrymen supported, if lucky, by some artillery and logistically reliant on human porters.

A similar capacity for innovation, coordination and willingness to learn on the job is being displayed on today’s battlefields in downtown Yangon, Mandalay, Naypyidaw and a score of other urban centers.

Tatmadaw leadership has almost certainly been blindsided by the sheer scale and scope of popular protest which has brought scores of thousands of people from all walks of life onto the streets in a massive campaign of protest and civil disobedience reinforced by an international outcry.

Strikingly, though, the military’s nerve, discipline and cohesion have all so far held, and in a sharp break from the reflex violence of 1988 and 2007 top command has opted for a strategy of slow attrition aimed at waiting out the storm and restoring a degree of normality and economic stability as soon as possible.

At the most basic level, one statistic illustrates the strategy and arguably highlights its prospects for success: over two weeks of tumultuous confrontation at a watershed juncture in the nation’s political trajectory there have been only two critical casualties – a young woman shot in the head in Mandalay last week and a policeman the junta has reported was killed.

Three key factors have underpinned the war of attrition. At street level, the protest movement’s insistence on non-violence has been central. Articulated by National League for Democracy (NLD) party leaders and observed by demonstrators with remarkable discipline, non-violence has secured the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) the moral high ground.

Equally, however, it has played to the military’s objective of waiting out the crowds without spilling blood, setting up a contest that turns on time and resolve to decide which side can outlast the other.

Military restraint has also turned on a second factor, the absence of which would almost certainly already have demanded swift and brutal crowd dispersal: peace in the borderlands.

The critical importance of avoiding war on two fronts and balancing conflict with the array of ethnic armies ranged around Myanmar’s frontiers has been an enduring element of Tatmadaw strategic thinking for decades.

It was most famously demonstrated in the series of ceasefire pacts thrown together between 1989 and 1991 as the military struggled to deal with the fallout from its crushing of the 1988 uprising in central Myanmar.

The same mindset was on display in the run-up to the military’s latest power-grab.

In retrospect, there can be little doubt the Tatmadaw’s surprise decision last November to agree to an ad hoc ceasefire with the Arakan Army (AA) in western Rakhine state pointed to contingency planning for a possible coup to remove the NLD government after the crushing electoral defeat inflicted on the military’s interests and long-term agenda.

Setting aside already well-advanced preparations for a dry season offensive that would normally open in December, the post-election ceasefire secured peace in a theater of operations that since 2019 has tied down nearly half of the army’s mobile reserves, allowing thousands of troops to be redeployed between January and early February to the country’s heartland.

The importance of peace in the borderlands was further underscored in one of the coup regime’s opening statements that pointedly stressed its interest in pursuing the stumbling peace process within the context of the National Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).

And, to date at least, neither the bloc of NCA-signatories nor, far more importantly, the powerful alliance in northern Myanmar led by the Chinese-leaning United Wa State Army (UWSA), has shown any inclination to distract the military from its focus on containing the challenge of democratic forces in the ethnic Bamar heartland.

Finally, beyond the borders of Myanmar, even the Tatmadaw — renowned for deep (and invariably misguided) paranoia over external threats – can have been broadly confident of a permissive international stage on which to launch a coup.

Boilerplate support at the United Nations from Russia and China, a characteristically flaccid reaction from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Western agonizing over a response that balances moral outrage with apprehensions over pushing Myanmar into the arms of China have all combined to shape a favorable international environment for a blatant seizure of power.

Against this strategic backdrop, the Tatmadaw’s tactical response at street level has centered on rules of engagement (ROEs) mandating minimum use of force. Even in the case of often inadequately trained and overstretched police, manning the frontlines for the first two weeks of the crisis, these ROEs have been observed for the most part with striking discipline.

Minimum force has translated into a range of less than lethal measures and systems used only sparingly. These have included water cannons, tear gas and non-lethal baton rounds typically fired from shotguns.

On the streets of Mandalay, troops have also been spotted armed with air guns with telescopic sights, apparently intended to target – if necessary – protest leaders. As one military expert explained: “These are not enough to punch a hole in someone but certainly enough to make them stop whatever they are doing.”

Beginning overnight on February 14 and 15, the deployment of military units in key cities reinforced but did not significantly change the dynamic established by the police. A new and important tactic though was introduced with night-time internet shutdowns between 1 a.m. and 9 a.m.

Without unduly inconveniencing daytime commercial activity, the shutdowns have permitted army troops – mostly mechanized infantry units from the Tatmadaw reserve of Light Infantry Divisions (LIDs) — to deploy under cover of an information blackout and, in coordination with police, to step up arrests of protest leaders with over 500 now detained according to UN sources.  

The military has also turned to drones, already used extensively in rural counterinsurgency campaigns for surveillance of the urban battlespace and movement of large crowds. Likely to follow in the coming days will be the invisible imposition of a security grid and a tightening squeeze on areas of population density.

“What you’ll probably see is a division of urban areas into sectors and districts with operational responsibility assigned to different battalions, companies and platoons,” noted the Western military analyst who was briefed on similar operations by the Thai military in Bangkok in 2010.

“Over 10 or 15 days they’re going to be identifying protest organizations, groups and leaders. Then at night-time they’ll clean it up, making arrests, intimidating, beating people up,” he said.

“So, first the Civil Disobedience Movement faces a loss of leaders at the mass level. Then it’ll come down to the tactical street level. And once leaders have disappeared, either detained or gone into hiding, there’ll be a real personal impact on individuals in different organizations.”