Unholy alliance
Prominent ultranationalist monk Sitagu Sayadaw, a favorite of junta boss Min Aung Hlaing, donated US$ 10,000 for flood victims at a propaganda event in Naypyitaw on Tuesday.
The stage-managed donation was received by junta No.2 Soe Win at the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Soe Win told the monk that the flood death toll had climbed to 419, and claimed the regime had earmarked 30 billion kyats ($14.3 million) for relief and rehabilitation efforts.
That claim came amid reports the regime is suppressing relief efforts in areas controlled by resistance forces, where it is escalating airstrikes on civilian targets.
The influential monk has voiced support for the 2021 coup and called Min Aung Hlaing – responsible for a brutal military crackdown that has killed over 5,000 civilians – “a ‘king’ of great generosity and wisdom.” The junta boss has rewarded the 87-year-old with honorary titles, appointing him chief of the Shwe Kyin, one of Myanmar’s nine Buddhist monastic sects.
Sitagu Sayadaw played a leading role in construction of the giant Maravijaya Buddha statue in Naypyitaw, commissioned by Min Aung Hlaing as part of yadaya rituals to ward off misfortune.
He also defended the regime when it came under fire for killing renowned Buddhist monk Sayadaw Bhaddanta Munindabhivamsa, a retired member of the State Sangha Nayaka Committee, the highest Buddhist authority in Myanmar, in Mandalay in June. The monk urged the Buddhist clergy “to forget and forgive” the attack.
Beijing backs border crackdown
China has stepped up military-to-military cooperation with Myanmar’s regime as the latter escalates its aerial bombardment of towns controlled by ethnic armies.
On Thursday, Chinese military attaché to Myanmar Senior Colonel Qu Zhe met Myanmar Chief of General Staff (Army, Navy, and Air Force), General Maung Maung Aye in Naypyitaw. The two discussed “improvement of friendly relations between the armed forces of the two countries, joint military training and further collaboration in defense,” according to junta media.
The regime has ramped up its air attacks on territories controlled by ethnic armies since Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Min Aung Hlaing in mid-August.
Soon after Wang’s visit, China closed border crossings to territories controlled by ethnic armies and warned the Ta’ang National Liberation Army to stop fighting immediately. Under pressure from Beijing, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army said recently it would halt fighting and engage in talks with the regime.
China also hosted regime home affairs minister Lieutenant-General Yar Pyae and defense minister Admiral Tin Aung San this month, pledging equipment for the junta’s police force and military cooperation including support from Chinese hi-tech drone manufacturers.
Surprise invitation to armed groups
The regime invited ‘ethnic armed groups, terrorist insurgent groups, and terrorist PDF groups’ to communicate with it to ‘solve political problems politically’. Read more
Visit to national garrison town
As he visited the town, which neighbors rebel-held Nawnghkio, his forces continued to bomb civilian areas in resistance-controlled parts of northern Shan State. Read more
Suppressing flood relief in resistance areas
Aid groups in Bago say they have been threatened with arrest if they deliver food to stricken villages under resistance control. Read more
