Myanmar’s military regime has launched a disinformation campaign to sow division between detained leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the resistance movement, distributing leaflets claiming that she does not support the movement.
Locals in Thabeikkyin and Amarapura townships in Mandalay Region, upper Myanmar, said soldiers and police distributed the leaflets to passersby early this week.
The Irrawaddy has viewed the leaflets, which feature a photo collage of Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under the heading “Thai foreign minister reveals at ASEAN foreign ministers retreat that he met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.”
The pictures are accompanied by highlighted text that reads: “Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has categorically rejected NUG and CRPH members who have used violent means to kill people while ignoring her political stand of nonviolence.”
NUG is the acronym for Myanmar’s civilian shadow National Unity Government (NUG) while CRPH refers to the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the NUG’s parliamentary wing. Both bodies were formed with elected lawmakers from Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party and ethnic allies in the wake of the 2021 military coup, to root out the regime politically. The NUG’s People’s Defense Force (PDF) armed wing has now been fighting junta forces for more than two years. Among Myanmar citizens, the NUG is widely considered to be their legitimate government.
Soldiers and police from Chaung Gyi police outpost in Mandalay’s Thabeikkyin Township distributed the propaganda leaflets among locals on Monday, residents said.
On Tuesday, regime troops and officials distributed the pamphlets in front of the military officer training school in the same township.
“I took one since they were handing them out. But why should I believe what’s printed on it? I cut it up with scissors but kept Mother Suu’s [Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s] picture,” a resident told The Irrawaddy.
The leaflets were handed to residents of Amarapura Township on the same day.
They were also reportedly distributed in some townships of neighboring Magwe Region.
Observers say the regime has been exploiting the recent meeting between the Thai foreign minister and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in a disinformation campaign designed to drive a wedge between the imprisoned civilian leader, the NUG and the PDF armed resistance.
PanOrient, a news website thought to be on the junta’s payroll for the campaign, was the first to disseminate the message that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi told Don she “neither recognizes nor supports the PDF or the NUG, which is accused by the government of Myanmar of ‘terrorism and the killing of innocent people.’” It cited “anonymous sources”.
PanOrient’s report met with widespread skepticism given that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had declared in December that she was proud of young Burmese people and all those defending and fighting for democracy. The public message, her first since being detained in 2021, was shared by her Australian former economic advisor Sean Turnell after he was released from junta detention.
PanOrient’s report also contradicted Don’s briefing on the meeting to his ASEAN counterparts, in which he said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had voiced support for dialogue but made no mention of her withdrawing support for the NUG and PDF.
NUG foreign minister Daw Zin Mar Aung said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is the NUG’s State Counselor and had always said she would never go against the people’s will and would stand with them.
“So, for such a person, the question of whether she supports the NUG or the PDFs is totally unnecessary. One thing that’s sure is that the junta is desperately trying to spread disinformation,” she said.
Unsurprisingly, the leaflet features a screenshot of the PanOrient report captioned “the news in which Daw Aung San Suu Kyi says she doesn’t support NUG and PDF.”
Ko Myat Pyue, a spokesperson for Thabeikkyin Township’s Wild Elephant Guerrilla Force, said the regime had resorted to propaganda lies after being defeated in the ground battle – referring to the junta’s loss of territory in resistance strongholds.
“It does not affect our revolution and we are not interested,” he told The Irrawaddy.
U Tun Kyi, a former political prisoner and activist, said the junta is trying to destroy the image of Myanmar’s revolution and sow division between the public and resistance forces because it is facing setbacks in every sector – from diplomacy, administration and military affairs to politics.
“The terrorist military council [junta] is in a frenzy. They haven’t found a new way,” he told The Irrawaddy.
