Lashing out at ASEAN
After junta boss Min Aung Hlaing was once again barred from attending this week’s ASEAN summit for defying the bloc’s peace plan, his regime swiftly hit back by claiming that the Five‑Point Consensus on Myanmar was never formally adopted by ASEAN.
The reality is simpler: for five years the junta chief has been blacklisted by ASEAN precisely because he refuses to honor that very consensus, which calls for an immediate end to violence.
Min Aung Hlaing, who has revelled in the friendship of Putin, Xi Jinping, and Modi, and basked in the limelight of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Russia’s “anti‑fascist” parades, seemed to believe that ASEAN should be just as eager to embrace him.
He even angled for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the latest regional summit, hosted by Malaysia. Just days earlier, Foreign Minister Than Swe had pleaded with Malaysia’s foreign minister in Naypyitaw to restore Myanmar’s “original role and rights” in ASEAN, insisting that its current exclusion was unfair. Yet the door was once again slammed in Min Aung Hlaing’s face.
Adding insult to injury, ASEAN has made clear that the ban will remain in place. The junta, stung by the snub, complained on October 26 that Myanmar’s exclusion was “undermining ASEAN unity.” Now, it has gone further—dismissing the consensus itself as illegitimate, as though pretending it never existed might erase five years of defiance.
Moviemaker, Actors Seized for Criticizing Election Propaganda Flick
The junta has arrested a well-known movie director and two actors for criticizing a propaganda film promoting its upcoming election, regime media reported.
Director Mike Tee, supporting stalwart Kyaw Win Htut, and comedian Ohn Daing were taken from their homes on Oct. 27 and charged under the draconian Election Protection Law.
They had scoffed at a 36-minute film titled “Khit Ko Done Saing Myi Thu Myar” featuring several movie stars that has been screened on junta-controlled TV channels in recent days. The film drew widespread derision for its cack-handed propaganda for the planned election and demonization of the resistance.
Karen Warzone Slated for Vote
Myanmar’s military regime has announced elections in war-torn Papun, despite being encircled by resistance forces who control most of the township in Karen State.
The regime recently included Papun in its second phase of elections, scheduled for January 11.
Papun is bordered by Thailand to the east, Hpa-an and Bilin to the south, Kyaukkyi and Shwegyin to the west, and Thandaunggyi and Hpasawng to the north.
Regime Mollifies Minsk After Belarusian ‘Dismembered’ in Scam Center
The junta has reassured Belarus, one of its handful of allies, that it is combating online scammers after a Belarusian woman was reportedly tortured to death and dismembered for organ transplants in a scam center in Myanmar.
Speaking at a security conference in the Belarus capital of Minsk on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Than Swe said Myanmar is combating online fraud in close cooperation with China and Thailand.
“It is essential to cut off criminal financing as it will help resolve conflicts,” he said during the Third Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security, according to Belarusian news agency Belta.
Resistance Strongholds Targeted in New Poll Plan
Myanmar’s junta-appointed election commission announced on Tuesday that the second phase of the regime-organized election will be held on Jan. 11, 2026 in another 100 townships—nearly half of which are strongholds of anti-regime resistance groups.
The election will take place in three townships in Kachin State, two in Karenni (Kayah) State, two in Karen State, 11 in Sagaing Region, three in Tanintharyi Region, 12 in Bago Region, 11 in Magwe Region, nine in Mandalay Region, five in Mon State, 16 in Yangon Region, 17 in Shan State and nine in Ayeyarwady Region.
In the 11 townships in Sagaing, resistance forces control most rural areas, while the regime holds only the towns. Even in the towns, it continues to face frequent urban attacks by anti-regime groups.
