War first, sham vote later
Amid ongoing forced recruitment to replenish its depleted army, the junta’s central conscription body held its second meeting of the year at the Defense Ministry in Naypyitaw on Thursday.
Chairing the meeting was Defense Minister General Maung Maung Aye, who underscored the importance of conscription and called for efforts to meet recruitment quotas.
The junta is desperate to reclaim vast swathes of territory now under resistance control ahead of its planned December election – widely condemned as a sham to entrench military rule but key to the regime’s claims of legitimacy.
However, political parties registered for the vote voiced opposed to the conscription drive during last week’s “peace forum” hosted by the regime in Naypyitaw, calling for it to be halted.
Their dissent was dismissed at Thursday’s conscription meeting, when General Kyaw Swar Lin – No. 3 in the military hierarchy – insisted that regular forced recruitment was needed to boost defense capability and security.
The regime enforced the Conscription Law in February 2024 following major battlefield losses, and is now thought to have recruited nearly 70,000 individuals in batches of 5,000 at a time.
Of the 14 batches recruited so far, 11 have completed their training and been sent to the frontlines in Karenni, northern Shan, Rakhine and Tanintharyi. Fresh conscripts are also being thrown into intense battles in Nawnghkio and Moebye in Shan State and Hpasawang in neighboring Karenni State.
The prospect of becoming cannon-fodder for a widely reviled military has sent thousands of conscription-aged adults fleeing over the border or into resistance-held territory. Meanwhile, junta personnel continue to snatch eligible adults from their homes and streets to plug growing gaps in the ranks.
Loyalist Actresses, Militia Chief Honored on Women’s Day
Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing marked Myanmar’s Women’s Day on July 3 by showering honors on hundreds of women helping to prop up his military regime – including his own wife, Kyu Kyu Hla.
Among the well-known names rewarded with Ye Bala medals and Wunna Kyawhtin titles on Thursday were Thida Yu Mon, a Pyu Saw Htee militia leader from Mandalay Region’s Myingyan; the late Lily Naing Kyaw, a singer assassinated by the resistance; and Saw Mra Razar Lin, chair of the Arakan Liberation Party, which is backing the junta’s bogus peace talks.
Others included actresses who have starred in regime propaganda productions and female government employees organizing pro-junta activities.
Junta honorary titles are typically reserved for generals’ wives and high-ranking advisors, ministers and members of its ruling State Administration Council.
But on Thursday the regime broke with tradition by recognizing women who serve as cogwheels in its administrative and military machinery.
Min Aung Hlaing claimed the women were being honored for outstanding contributions in their respective fields. In reality, the titles were rewards for loyalty to the junta.
Junta Boss Dismisses World Bank’s Dire Prediction
Regime boss Min Aung Hlaing, who frequently claims that data and information from global organizations like the UN is inaccurate and incomplete, is now insisting that the World Bank’s economic forecasts for Myanmar lack credibility.
The World Bank predicted last month that Myanmar’s economy is set to shrink 2.5 percent in the 2025/26 financial year, largely as a result of March’s devastating magnitude-7.7 earthquake.
During the National Economic Development Coordination Meeting on Wednesday, Min Aung Hlaing claimed the World Bank’s prediction is based on “inaccurate and incomplete data”, state run media reported. Read more
Blacklisting of Firms Signals Deepening Dollar Crisis
The Central Bank of Myanmar has backlisted nearly 200 companies and their directors for violating foreign exchange regulations designed to line the regime’s pockets with hard currency.
A total of 197 companies, mostly trading firms in Yangon, were blacklisted for failing to deposit foreign currency export earnings in junta-controlled banks as required by the Myanmar Foreign Exchange Supervisory Committee (FESC), the bank said Monday.
Since the 2021 coup, Myanmar’s military regime has faced international sanctions, the exodus of foreign investment, and trade disruption, resulting in a hemorrhage of foreign currency reserves. Read more
Junta Blocks ASEAN Entry for Timor-Leste
Myanmar has officially informed Malaysia, the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), that it will not support Timor Leste’s accession in October, according to informed sources.
Naypyitaw’s official position was recently conveyed to the chair, stating that Timor Leste has failed to adhere to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs, as enshrined in the ASEAN Charter.
According to the sources, the State Administration Council (SAC) urged Timor Leste to “refrain” from engaging with entities that are explicitly opposed to or in conflict with the positions of ASEAN member states. Read more
