Growing Lies in Myanmar
In an interview with Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency in March, junta boss Min Aung Hlaing told his Russian audience that he managed to revive a national economy that had been stagnant since 2018 under the government of the National League for Democracy (NLD).
The economy was in recession because of the NLD’s flawed policies even before the country was hit by the pandemic, he said.
He made a similar claim when he addressed a cabinet meeting on Monday, saying his regime has tried to recover a national economy battered by the pandemic, and that the economy has picked up because his regime promoted manufacturing based on agriculture and livestock farming.
Whoever he may blame for the slow economy, it is false that the economy has picked up under his rule.
Myanmar has been hit by spiraling inflation since the coup while the kyat steeply depreciates against other currencies, increasing the prices of imports. Starved of hard currency, the regime has imposed restrictions on import and export permits, used various means to pocket foreign currency from businesses and individuals, and introduced regulations to milk Myanmar migrant workers.
Despite Min Aung Hlaing’s claim of an improving economy thanks to agriculture- and livestock-related manufacturing, the price of vegetables, the cheapest food in an agricultural country, has soared since the coup. A head of cabbage was 500 kyats before the coup. It is 3,000 kyats now.
Economic indices issued by the World Bank and United Nations agencies over the past three years indicate a failing national economy in Myanmar. Even the working poor are aware that Myanmar’s economy has been in free fall, but Min Aung Hlaing keeps saying it has recovered.
All smiles for India
Min Aung Hlaing hailed India as “a good friend and neighbor” in his address to the 60th anniversary of the India Technical and Economic Cooperation event on Thursday in Naypyitaw.
The junta boss offered praise as he thanked the Indian government for providing humanitarian aid and relief for flood victims affected by Typhoon Yagi. But it was not the only reason.
The world’s largest democracy has maintained diplomatic ties with a regime shunned by the international community for its war crimes. It is also one of the few arms suppliers of the regime and promotes defense and military cooperation with it. India has also offered support for junta’s proposed election, which opponents criticize as a sham to help it retain its grip on power.
India is the seventh biggest trading partner of Myanmar, with bilateral trade for the first 11 months of 2023-24 fiscal year reaching US$ 1.15 billion, according to Min Aung Hlaing, whose regime is starving for hard currency due to increasing military expenditures and the withdrawal of foreign investments following the coup.
Min Aung Hlaing said he expects India will remain Myanmar’s most valuable trading partner.
Apart from India, the junta boss has hailed authoritarian China and Russia as good friends of Myanmar.
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