Bombs Explode ‘Truce’ Lie
After a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake rocked Myanmar on March 28, the regime declared a temporary truce, supposedly to aid reconstruction efforts. And yet, the skies remain filled with the roar of fighter jets as the junta pounds resistance-held areas, targeting civilians with airstrikes rather than humanitarian aid.
On Thursday, while receiving the second batch of “donations” from regime cronies for post-quake reconstruction, junta boss Min Aung Hlaing urged ethnic armed organizations and other stakeholders to honor the ceasefire “because stability is required for quake recovery.”
The regime finally declared its so-called “truce” on April 2 – only after the parallel National Unity Government (NUG) and several ethnic armed organizations had already called unilateral quake ceasefires. Since then, junta airstrikes have claimed hundreds of lives as the regime ramps up its aerial campaign in northern Shan, western Bago, northern Sagaing, and Kachin State. Junta ground attacks have also been reported in Mandalay Region and Kachin and Karen states.
The bogus truce was shattered on May 12, when a regime airstrike on a school in resistance-held Depayin Township killed 22 students and two teachers – another grim reminder that junta “peace” declarations cannot be trusted. The next day, the regime followed up with a precision strike on Tun Yawai village in Rathedaung Township, Rakhine State – territory controlled by the ethnic Arakan Army – killing 12 civilians, including women and children.
The NUG reports that junta air attacks have killed more than 400 people since the March 28 earthquake.
Partners in Crime
In a dazzling display of solidarity, the regimes of Myanmar and Russia have signed an agreement protecting each other from the reach of global law.
The two sides inked the Agreement on Mutual Protection of Citizens from the Misuse of International Legal Processes as the junta’s Legal Affairs Minister and Attorney-General, Thida Oo, attended the 13th St Petersburg International Legal Forum from May 19-21, according to regime-controlled media.
The timing of the deal could not be more critical – leaders of both regimes are currently wanted by the international community.
An Argentinian court has issued a warrant for the arrest of junta boss Min Aung Hlaing over genocide against the Rohingya, while Russian President Vladimir Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court for invading Ukraine.
The agreement reportedly includes legal cooperation programs, which one can only assume involve lessons on making war crimes sound like national security measures.
With this historic pact in place, Myanmar and Russia have boldly stepped into a new era of impunity, supporting each other’s crimes against humanity.
Psst! Wanna Buy Smuggled Goods?
Myanmar’s cash-strapped regime is planning to sell confiscated goods to reduce the budget deficit.
On Monday, deputy junta chief Soe Win called on officials to take good care of illegal goods to minimize losses during storage and take rapid legal action to allow items to be sold off to generate revenue.
Soe Win, who chairs the junta’s Illegal Trade Eradication Committee, instructed ministries and state and regional governments to tackle illegal trade, saying it created instability and encouraged criminal activities and funded terrorist organizations, in reference to resistance groups. Read more
Boss visits USDP hotbed ahead of rigged poll
Four years after plunging Myanmar into chaos with a coup that toppled a democratically elected government, junta boss Min Aung Hlaing has urged his troops to back candidates “who can genuinely work for the benefit of the country” in the regime’s planned December election.
The regime chief was visiting military families in Kengtung, eastern Shan State, just days after reiterating his promise to hand over power to the winner of a poll widely condemned as a sham to entrench military rule.
The military’s proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has emerged as the strongest contender for the December election, after the regime dissolved pro-democracy parties including the National League for Democracy (NLD), which won the 2020 general election by a landslide, and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD). Read more
Yadaya Frenzy Spells Presidential Bid
Over the weekend, Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was again in Kengtung, where he served as chief of Triangle Region Command in 2000s. He has visited the eastern Shan State town a number of times since his 2021 coup. The reason behind almost every visit is the same – to perform yadaya, the Burmese form of voodoo.
On his latest tip, the junta boss had a bejeweled crown – one of the Myanmar monarchy’s five items of regalia – enshrined at Lawkatharaphu Pagoda on Saturday. He was accompanied by Vasipake Sayadaw, one of his favorite Buddhist monks for yadaya, and famous for his vows of silence.
The ties between the two date back to the 2000s when Min Aung Hlaing headed the regional command. The monk is widely believed to be the coup leader’s astrological adviser, and has been accused of advising his powerful follower to order security forces to shoot anti-coup protesters in the head as a form of yadaya. Most anti-regime protesters killed in the early days of the junta crackdown had bullet wounds to the head. Read more
