Aung San Suu Kyi’s son addresses Argentina arrest warrant
The son of Burma’s jailed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi is in the U.S. to raise awareness about his mother’s fifth year in prison ahead of her 80th birthday on June 19. Kim Aris spoke to DVB in Maryland on Saturday. He blamed news reports stating that Aung San Suu Kyi was responsible for crimes against the Rohingya, which led to the arrest warrant issued by an Argentine court on charges of genocide.
“People got it completely wrong about [my mother] when they painted her as colluding with the military over the Rohingya [crisis]. The international media is responsible for lying in [Aung San Suu Kyi’s] case,” Aris told DVB. “But the fact is even when they retract their lies, they don’t make any fanfare about it. They just do it quietly.”
At an event in Maryland, Aris auctioned a guitar for $8,888 USD, a painting of Aung San Suu Kyi for $7,000 USD, and a calendar featuring her image for $1,700 USD. All the proceeds will go toward providing clean drinking water for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in three states of Burma. Aris arrived in the U.S. for the “Suu 80th birthday campaign” on March 15.
Backlash against Myanmar refugee resettlement to South Korea
Residents of Yeongyang County, South Korea oppose a plan to accept refugees from Burma. Korean officials announced in mid-March that Yeongyang County in North Gyeongsang Province, located 132 miles (215 km) southeast of the capital Seoul, would welcome around 40 refugees from Burma as early as this year.
“The issue of hosting Myanmar refugees in our country is not just a humanitarian one, but also a matter of public safety. As seen in Europe, many countries have faced problems, including a rise in crime, after adopting similar policies,” a Yeongyang County resident wrote, which was published in The Korea Times newspaper.
The plan is being considered as a way to address Yeongyang County’s “depopulation crisis.” Radio Free Asia reported that the 40 refugees are of Karen ethnicity from Burma currently living in Thailand. The U.N. states that 1,356,875 refugees and asylum seekers from Burma reside in neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, India, and Indonesia.
Nationwide matriculation exams completed
The 2025 nationwide matriculation exams were completed on Saturday with the final exam for economics and biology majors. The regime Ministry of Education announced that 1,700 out of the 3,264 registered students in Arakan State, where fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and the military is ongoing, did not sit the exam as expected.
“Students from Yangon and other cities where there is no fighting going on can concentrate and complete the exams. But students from the war-torn areas of the country can not,” a student in Yangon told DVB on the condition of anonymity. The exams were held in 817 centers, according to the ministry.
Regime media reported that over 94 percent of all students – 208,889 out of 220,843 – nationwide took the 2025 matriculation exam. In 2024, a total of 128,820 students sat the exams, according to the regime. This means that 80,069 more students took this year’s exam compared to last year. The nationwide matriculation exams were March 17-22.
News by Region
CHINLAND—The Chinland Defense Force (CDF) Hakha, which is allied to the Chin National Front (CNF), announced that 23 civilians have been killed and 260 homes have been destroyed in arson attacks carried out by regime forces in Hakha. The CDF-Hakha was founded on March 21, 2021. Over 50 of its members have been killed since then.
“We are not afraid to give our lives to control Hakha. We fight against the military not only in Hakha but across Chinaland,” Salai Haramlyan, the CDF-Hakha chairperson told DVB. He added that the CDF has fought in a total of 326 battles against regime forces, including 150 in Hakha, since 2021. It vows to seize Hakha from the regime.
MAGWAY—Resistance forces in Gangaw Township told DVB that at least 12 people, including five children, a pregnant woman and a doctor, were killed by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on a clinic in Hnamkha village on Saturday. Gangaw is located 222 miles (357 km) southwest of the region’s capital Magway.
Thousands of residents from Hnamkha, and nearby villages, have been forced to flee their homes along the Magway-Kale highway. Around 70 people have been killed and two thirds of the homes in Gangaw have been destroyed by regime forces in attacks since the 2021 military coup.
NAYPYIDAW—The regime’s Ministry of Labour announced on Saturday that overseas employment agencies sending workers to Thailand will only be allowed to submit 50 job applications per month. Prior to this, agencies could send as many workers to Thailand as requested by Thai employers.
“These restrictions will likely cause delays in sending workers,” an overseas employment agency owner told DVB on condition of anomity. There are over 600 licensed overseas employment agencies with the majority sending migrant workers to Thailand, according to the regime. Read more.
YANGON—The regime Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on Friday that two Burma nationals deported from the U.S. – in the first batch of deportees – will arrive in Yangon March 19 and 28. “They will be welcomed and provided the necessary assistance by the responsible officials,” the ministry stated. It has not shared any information about the returnees.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,410 MMK)
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