Min Aung Hlaing shuns Shan
Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing finally visited earthquake-ravaged southern Shan State on Thursday, two weeks after the March 28 disaster left a trail of death and destruction, making it the fourth hardest-hit area after Mandalay, Naypyitaw and Sagaing.
Meeting with locals, he stressed that reconstruction efforts would require substantial funds. However, he made no mention of regime help to restore their destroyed businesses and livelihoods. Instead, he urged locals to grow more vegetables that they could export for income.
His quake-damage inspection tour included stops in Aungban, Hopong, Taunggyi and Kalaw.
The junta chief’s “encouragement” to victims came as south Shan’s death toll rose to 70, with hundreds injured, more than 2,400 homes flattened and over 1,700 damaged.
Adding to widespread local dismay at the lack of rehabilitation measures is the absence of efforts to build shelters for Shan quake victims before the monsoon arrives.
Meanwhile, as the Senior General lectured ethnic communities on the virtues of hard work, his wife Kyu Kyu Hla was busy living her best life. Accompanied by her son, daughter-in-law, and a squad of generals’ wives, Kyu Kyu Hla was seen sporting a broad smile during the ceremonial inauguration of a new building at Metta Aye Yeik Monastery in Panglong.
Kyu Kyu Hla had already come under fire earlier this week when photos of her consoling earthquake victims while casually lugging a luxury Louis Vuitton handbag went viral on social media.
Back-to-work order in Naypyitaw
The military regime has ordered ministries in Naypyitaw to resume normal operations by the end of this month despite chaos in the administrative capital following the March 28 earthquake.
Home Affairs Minister Lieutenant-General Tun Tun Naung told a meeting of the Disaster Management Center on Monday that all regime offices must be open and operational by the end of April.
The earthquake killed hundreds in the junta’s nerve center, wrecking roads, bridges, staff housing, hospitals, hotels, reservoirs, homes, and government buildings.
Naypyitaw suffered nearly 600 fatalities, the highest after Mandalay. Many of the victims were government employees. Read more
Regime bombs rain down in quake zones
Myanmar’s junta conducted 92 shelling attacks and airstrikes between March 28 to April 8, killing 72 people and injuring 91 amid the earthquake devastation, according to the Human Rights Ministry of the civilian National Unity Government (NUG).
The ministry on Wednesday said Sagaing and Mandalay regions, which were severely impacted by the 7.7-magnitude earthquake, reported the highest numbers of junta attacks, with 18 shelling attacks and airstrikes in each region.
Junta assaults on civilian and resistance targets were reported in eight Sagaing Region townships, many of which were quake-affected. The ministry said six people were killed and 15 injured. Read more
Sham election takes priority
Less than two weeks after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake claimed over 3,600 lives and devastated central Myanmar, the junta has switched focus from recovery efforts to preparations for a general election in December.
On Tuesday, the junta’s Union Election Commission (UEC) reaffirmed its plan to hold the poll in December and January, calling on those wishing to set up political parties to submit their applications by May 9 to leave time for registration and campaigning.
The election body also appointed commissioner Than Soe as its vice-chair, in an unprecedented move it said was aimed at “assisting the commission chairman and facilitating the commission’s functions.” Read more
Trembling at mention of ‘Sagaing Quake’
Earthquakes are typically named after the location of the epicenter, so it seems appropriate to call the 7.7-magnitude temblor that devastated parts of Myanmar on March 28 the “Sagaing earthquake”, as that is the town to which the epicenter was nearest.
Many, including most media outlets, have been using this name, but the regime on Monday officially called for the earthquake to instead be referred to as the “Mandalay earthquake”, leaving many people wondering why.
Junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun said the March 28 quake should be called the Mandalay earthquake to “avoid ambiguity” with earlier major quakes in Sagaing Region. He also urged media outlets to adopt the name. Read more
Shooting down Modi’s truce plea
Despite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent call for lasting peace in military-ruled Myanmar, the country’s junta has continued offensive operations against resistance forces nationwide, launching at least nine attacks in five regions and states since Modi’s plea.
During a meeting on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit of seven South Asian and Southeast Asian nations in Bangkok on Friday, Modi urged junta boss Min Aung Hlaing to enter a permanent ceasefire with the rebels following a devastating earthquake on March 28, the death toll for which has surpassed 3,500 people and continues to climb.
Since seizing power in a coup in 2021, Myanmar’s military has been waging war against its own people, who have taken up arms to fight against military rule. The junta’s indiscriminate aerial bombing and shelling has killed many civilians and left the country devastated politically and economically. Read more
