‘Solar Soe Win’
After a year of humiliating and unprecedented defeats for the military he leads, Soe Win, the Myanmar junta’s second-in-command, appears to have found his true calling – as a solar panel salesman.
The vice senior general’s enthusiastic promotion of photovoltaic panels in recent weeks has even earned him a nickname: “Solar Soe Win.”
On Feb. 5, during a meeting to organize the Union-level MSME Product Exhibition and Contest, he fervently urged business owners to adopt solar to ensure an uninterrupted power supply.
Weighing the installation cost against average monthly electricity bills, he said solar power systems break even within a few years.
He even flaunted the example of his own illustrious military office, which has been using solar energy for the past two years, and claimed the panels will have paid for themselves in the next 18 months. He also gushed about the success of solar systems in Yangon’s Thilawa Special Economic Zone.
Six days later, during a meeting with state and regional chief ministers, Soe Win brushed aside matters like security, stability, and the rule of law to promote solar systems as the “ultimate cost-effective solution for Myanmar’s electricity needs.”
Supplying electricity to the public is a core government duty, but the military regime has proved it is not equal to the task. Instead, it has resorted to relentlessly promoting solar as an alternative. The message to the people of Myanmar is: if you want electricity, you’re on your own.
Meanwhile, junta boss Min Aung Hlaing’s son, Aung Pyay Sone, is profiting handsomely from this dismal situation, having been handed the license to import solar panels. This has sparked widespread mockery, with people joking that the father cuts electricity, the son sells solar panels, and the junta No.2 advertises them.
Border fraud clampdown tests old alliances
As the Thai and Chinese governments intensify their crackdown on criminal activities along the Thai-Myanmar border, China’s Ambassador to Myanmar Ma Jia met with junta minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney-General Thida Oo in Naypyitaw on Thursday. Their talks focused on boosting cooperation against transnational crime and drug trafficking, according to junta media.
The regime, which has long shielded warlords running cyber scam syndicates in northern Shan State near the Chinese border, has now pledged to crack down on these crime networks in partnership with international agencies. Junta officials have begun raiding scam operations in Tachileik, a town near the Thai border in eastern Shan State.
The junta faces growing international scrutiny as its allied Karen ethnic armed groups are deeply involved in scam operations along the Thai-Myanmar border in Karen State.
Beijing has announced its intent to root out border scam syndicates in collaboration with Bangkok and Naypyitaw. Chinese President Xi Jinping recently lauded Thailand’s efforts in the crackdown after it withdrew electricity, internet and fuel supplies to five Myanmar border scam hubs.
Poll wait goes on
Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing previously claimed that his regime is preparing to hold a general election.
This year was seen as the likely date, partly because previous general elections had been held every five years after 2010.
But the junta boss has not set a date and changed his tone. Read more
China ups pressure for scam crackdown
Myanmar’s regime says it continues to clamp down on scam operations in Mongyai Township, northern Shan State, arresting 107 alleged scammers in a week.
On February 6, Chinese ambassador Ma Jia reportedly met the junta-appointed Shan State chief minister Aung Aung in Taunggyi, southern Shan State, to discuss border cooperation and efforts to combat online scams.
Junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun then told the media that the regime was combating online scam operations in northeastern and eastern Shan State. Read more
Regime military collapsing everywhere, says captured officer
The Myanmar military will continue to lose on the battlefield due to low morale and weak combat skills, according to a regime military officer who recently surrendered to the Arakan Army (AA).
Lieutenant Colonel Kyaw Kyaw Thet commanded Strategic Team 992, formed under Light Infantry Division (LID) 99 and based in Yamethin Township, Mandalay Region.
The colonel and 20 troops—all that was left of his unit of over 360 soldiers—surrendered to the AA on Jan. 31 after the unit was defeated in battle by the ethnic armed organization in Ngape Township, Magwe Region. Read more
