Award for stupidity
Chaos in the military regime has apparently spread to its honors system, with the junta awarding a medal to a National League for Democracy (NLD) member wanted for alleged terrorism offenses.
The regime awarded a medal for Excellent Performance in a Social Field (1st Class) to U Saw Hsan Win, an executive member of the NLD’s Paung Township chapter in Mon State, at a ceremony on January 4.
Held to mark the 76th anniversary of Independence Day, the ceremony handed awards to 1,000 representatives who attended the National Convention to design the 2008 Constitution under the previous regime.
It took several days before the junta realized it had issued an arrest warrant for U Saw Hsan Win. It canceled the award on January 8.
U Saw Hsan Win was included in the list of medal recipients as a representative who attended the National Convention. The NLD, whose government the military ousted in February 2021, attended the early days of the convention but walked out when it became clear the constitution was being drafted to ensure the military’s grip on power.
Since seizing power in 2021, Min Aung Hlaing has regularly abused the country’s honors system in an attempt to portray himself as the legitimate head of state. The junta boss has awarded titles and medals to thousands of people every year since the coup – including himself and his wife.
Stirring religious hatred
Having lost every battle against the Brotherhood Alliance in northern Shan State since late October, the military regime finally found a golden opportunity to strike back against the alliance’s Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army. A video clip depicting a young man in an MNDAA uniform hitting a pagoda with a sledgehammer went viral this week as junta propagandists rubbed their hands in glee.
The MNDAA swiftly issued an official apology, clarifying that religious buildings were not a legitimate target and the culprit, who was acting for personal motivations, would be punished.
The regime has since organized a series of protests against “terrorists that destroy pagodas” in Yangon, Mandalay, Mawlamyine and Lashio. The aim is to stir ethnic and religious hatred between the country’s Buddhist majority and the ethnically Chinese MNDAA from Kokang.
Junta spokesman Major-General Zaw Min Tun got busy fashioning a mountain from this molehill, describing the attack as an insult not only to Buddhists in Myanmar but also in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, India and China.
The regime went further by adding an English translation of Zaw Min Tun’s rant, aired on junta media mouthpieces on Jan. 10, for “global citizens to understand.”
While successive Myanmar military generals have been eager to portray themselves as protectors and promoters of Buddhism, they have never hesitated to attack monasteries and monks when their interests were harmed. A prime example is the Saffron Revolution of 2007.
Junta air and artillery strikes since the 2021 coup have damaged or destroyed countless religious buildings, including pagodas.
When bombing doesn’t work…
In his message for Karen New Year, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing urged ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) to enter political dialogue instead of fighting to resolve disagreements. The call was made as his military reels from losing some 30 towns to EAOs, mostly in northern Shan State, since late October.
Min Aung Hlaing is fooling no one by urging ethnic parties to join what he calls the “people’s security and defense system” – or in other words, fight for a regime that is committing war crimes against civilians almost daily.
As the junta boss spoke, his forces continued to pound ethnic areas with air and artillery strikes, inflicting heavy civilian casualties and damaging property.
Unsurprisingly, powerful ethnic organizations turned a deaf ear to his plea.
On the occasion of Ta’ang National Revolution Day on Jan. 12, Palaung State Liberation Front chairman General Tar Aik Phone vowed to continue to fight to oust the military dictatorship.
Karen National Union chair Padoh Saw Kwe Htoo Win made the same promise in his Karen New Year message on Jan. 11.
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