People’s Pioneer Party founder to be prosecuted by UEC
The regime’s Union Election Commission (UEC) stated on Wednesday that it’ll take legal action against the People’s Pioneer Party (PPP) Chairperson Thet Thet Khine, along with a member of the PPP central executive committee named Htet Htet Hlaing, for “meeting discreetly with foreign diplomats without obtaining UEC permission” in Yangon’s Bahan Township on Dec. 18.
A UEC statement shared with media on Jan. 14 added that the two admitted during their arrest that they had in fact met with foreign diplomats. A source inside the PPP told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the party will continue campaigning for the third phase of the military’s 2025-26 elections with a final round of voting on Jan. 25. Thet Thet Khine was disqualified as a candidate by the UEC in October.
Sections 407(c) and 408 of the 2008 Constitution, as well as Section 6(f) of the Political Parties Registration Law stipulate that a party’s registration shall be revoked if it receives or spends financial, material, or other assistance—directly or indirectly—from a foreign government, religious group, or foreign individual. The PPP is contesting 672 seats in the elections but has not won any in the first two rounds of voting.
Drugs worth nearly $400 million seized in Shan State
Regime spokesperson Zaw Min Tun said on Thursday that the military seized an estimated 1,620 billion MMK ($400 million USD) worth of drugs and materials used for manufacturing drugs in Hsipaw and Mongyai townships, Jan. 9-11. Hsipaw and Mongyai are located in territory controlled by the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP/SSA) 45-56 miles (74-90 km) south and southeast of the regional capital Lashio.
“We got a tip off that online gambling was taking place in [SSPP] controlled areas, so [the military] raided their locations. This is the largest drug seizure in Myanmar history,” Zaw Min Tun told a press conference with “several foreign diplomats” in attendance held in Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay Region, on Jan. 15. The SSPP also controls parts of Tangyan Township, located 83 miles (134 km) southeast of Lashio.
The regime’s Ministry of Home Affairs accused the Karen National Union/ Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the Arakan Army (AA), the Chinland Defense Force (CDF) and the People’s Defense Force (PDF), which is under the command of National Unity Government (NUG), of manufacturing drugs. The SSPP/SSA denied any involvement with online gambling and drugs in a statement released on Jan. 11.
NUCC temporarily suspends CRPH from formal meetings
The Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), a group of lawmakers elected in 2020 but ousted in the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021, told DVB that the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC), an advisory body to the National Unity Government (NUG), has temporarily suspended it from meetings since November due to what the group describes as “minor internal disputes.”
CRPH spokesperson Sithu Maung, who was elected in 2020 for the National League for Democracy (NLD) party in Yangon’s Pabedan Township, told DVB that the NUCC has only suspended it from “formal meetings” and has not yet set conditions or a timeline for allowing it to resume full participation. He added that “limited coordination” will be done between the two resistance groups in the meantime.
Two of Burma’s oldest ethnic armed groups, the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), temporarily withdrew from the NUCC in November. The NUCC was established on March 8, 2021 as an alliance of ethnic armed groups which seeks to build an inclusive federal democratic union in Burma through collective leadership, political dialogue, and coordination.
News by Region
AYEYARWADY—Sources close to the regime administration told DVB that two residents of Kangyidaunt and Hinthada townships were arrested on Jan. 9 and charged with violating Section 23 (A) of the Election Protection Law for “disrupting” the military elections for sharing social media posts deemed critical.
The law carries a minimum sentence of three years to a maximum sentence of death. Over 330 people have been arrested for criticizing the elections, according to regime Home Affairs Minister Tun Tun Naung. Kangyidaunt and Hinthada are located 21-86 miles (33-74 km) west and north of the region’s capital Pathein.
CHINLAND—Residents of Falam Township told Chin World, a local media outlet, that two churches and an unknown number of houses were destroyed by an airstrike carried by the Burma Air Force on Lente village on Wednesday. Falam, located 68 miles (109 km) north of the state capital Hakha, was seized by the Chin Brotherhood in April.
Fighting between regime and resistance forces in Falam has been ongoing since October. Voting was held only in Hakha and Tedim townships—two of the state’s nine—during the first phase of elections on Dec. 28. The military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won both seats in the Pyitthu Hluttaw, or lower house.
KACHIN—The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) resumed its battle against regime forces over control of Bhamo Township, located 118 miles (190 km) south of the state capital Myitkyina and 56 miles (90 km) southwest of the KIA headquarters in Laiza on Wednesday, following a two-week pause in fighting after the new year.
No casualties were reported but a KIA source on the frontline told DVB that retaliatory airstrikes to defend military positions hit KIA and People’s Defence Force (PDF) positions on Jan. 14. Fighting between the KIA and regime forces over control of Bhamo has been ongoing since Dec. 4, 2024. Read more
SAGAING—At least eight civilians were injured by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on gold mining sites located in western Kyunhla Township’s Thaphanzeik reservoir on Wednesday, residents told DVB. Kyunhla is located 136 miles (219 km) north of the region’s capital Monywa.
A Kyunhla resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that five of the eight injured are in critical condition. A member of the People’s Administration Team under the NUG in Kyunhla told DVB that five Air Force jets dropped an unknown number of bombs and fired rounds into the gold mining site.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,060 MMK)
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