‘Ramanya’ Mon Army rejects regime election plan
A new armed resistance group in Mon State formed as the Ramanya Mon Army (RMA) declared on Friday that it will block regime elections scheduled to begin on Dec. 28 in areas under its control. The RMA is reportedly active in Kyaikmaraw, Mudon, Thanbyuzayat, and Ye townships, as well as in Karen State’s Kyainseikgyi and Kawkareik townships and Tanintharyi Region’s Yebyu Township.
Nai Kaung Sakar, the RMA spokesperson, warned that any political parties participating would be seen as supporting the prolongation of military dictatorship in Burma and he urged the Mon community to reject any elections held under the regime, which seized power during the 2021 military coup.
The RMA was formed on May 24 through a merger of the Mon National Liberation Army – Anti-Dictatorship (MNLA-AD), the armed wing of the New Mon State Party – Anti-Dictatorship (NMSP-AD), and the Mon Liberation Army (MLA). Mon State has 10 constituencies and the first phase of the elections will be held in five of them, according to the Union Election Commission (UEC).
Unlicensed doctors thrive amid healthcare collapse in Yangon
A physician in Yangon Region told DVB that he treated at least four patients in the past week whose conditions had worsened due to a rise in what’s been labelled as “scam clinics.” Yangon residents shared on social media that such clinics are typically run by foreign physicians without medical licences in Burma and target patients seeking treatment for sexual enhancements or sexually transmitted infections.
“The most telling sign of a scam clinic is its diagnosis, which often contains incorrect medical terminology,” Thurein Hlaing Win, a Yangon-based physician, told DVB. He added that “scam clinics” usually overcharge patients, and that one of his patients suffered a genital deformity after receiving treatment at one such unnamed clinic in Yangon.
The emergence of “scam clinics” can be linked to the crackdown on medics for joining the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), and refusing to work under the military, following its 2021 coup. The World Health Organization (WHO) said Burma’s healthcare workforce had dropped from about six doctors and nine nurses per 10,000 people in 2020 to just 1.01 doctors and 1.96 nurses by 2022 — well below the recommended 22.8 per 10,000.
Farms in Thailand to hire 32,000 refugees from Myanmar
Farm owners in Thailand have reportedly agreed to employ 32,000 refugees from Burma residing at nine camps on the Burma-Thailand border at their meeting with officials from the Karen Refugee Committee (KRC) in Mae Sot, Tak Province, on Aug. 30. The employers own and operate sugarcane and orange farms in Sisaket Province, 475 miles (766 km) east of Tak.
“I think only 40 percent of the refugees at the camp can work. The rest are women, children and elderly,” an official at the Mae Ra Ma Luang camp in Mae Hong Song Province, told DVB on the condition of anonymity. He added that Thai business owners promised them a minimum wage of 300-400 THB ($9-12 USD) per day. The official minimum wage in Thailand is 337 THB ($10 USD).
A refugee at the Ohn Phyan camp in Tak Province told DVB that they only made 120 THB ($4 USD) per day working at farms without legal permits. The nine camps collectively house 86,000 refugees, with the Mae La camp outside of Mae Sot being the largest with 37,000, according to The Border Consortium (TBC), a Thailand-based non-governmental organization.
News by Region
KAREN—The pro-military Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) Adjutant General Saw Sein Win told the media on Saturday that his forces will “stand” with the regime during its scheduled elections to begin on Dec. 28 in 102 out of Burma’s 330 constituencies nationwide.
The Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) announced on Sept. 3 that it would assist with the regime elections. The Karen National Union (KNU) has called on citizens to boycott elections held under the regime which seized power during the 2021 coup.
MAGWAY—The People’s Defense Force (PDF) claimed that nine civilians were killed during a military offensive carried out by regime forces in five villages of Pwintbyu Township between Sept. 3-7. Pwintbyu is located 31 miles (50 km) west of the region’s capital Magway.
“Three civilians were killed and burned by the military. At least six civilians were injured,” a PDF member told DVB. Two military columns have been carrying out offensives in Pwintbyu since Sept. 3, reportedly arresting an unknown number of civilians and destroying at least five homes.
SAGAING—Residents of Tigyaing Township told DVB that at least 10 civilians were killed and an unknown number were injured in airstrikes, including children, on four villages in the township on Sunday. Tigying is located 187 miles (300 km) southwest of the region’s capital Monywa.
“The military wanted to protect its navy vessels leaving from Kachin’s Bhamo,” a Tigyaing resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Tigyaing is partly controlled by the PDF and is under National Unity Government (NUG) administration.
YANGON—Regime staff in Taikkyi Township told DVB that they were made to sign pledges taking responsibility to protect information, directives, and meeting records related to the upcoming elections on Friday. Taikkyi is located 43 miles (69 km) north of the city of Yangon.
A regime staff member in Taikkyi told DVB on the condition of anonymity that anyone found responsible for leaking election data would be prosecuted under the General Election Protection Law, enacted on July 29. Read more
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