Burma’s Permanent Representative at the UN speaks out
Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, Burma’s Permanent Representative to the U.N., addressed the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2024 in New York on Wednesday.
“The military junta has murdered over 5,400 people. More than 3.1 million people are internally displaced, and 18.6 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Poverty is now deeply entrenched. Nearly half of the population are living below the national poverty line,” he said.
Kyaw Moe Tun added that Burma has been unable to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) since the 2021 military coup, but emphasized that “eradicating the military dictatorship and building a federal democratic union will create a conducive condition to achieving peace, building accountable, inclusive institutions in Myanmar.”
Rohingya women assisting refugees in Malaysia and Indonesia
Noor Azizah, the co-founder of the Rohingya Maiyafuinor Collaborative Network, spoke to DVB. She recently visited Indonesia and Malaysia to help Rohingya women and children. The U.N. states that 2,500 Rohingya refugees arrived by boat to Indonesia from January to March, and at least 109,230 Rohingya refugees live in Malaysia.
“Some of our ongoing work right now in Aceh [Province of Indonesia] is providing psychosocial support to around 80 unaccompanied children who have lost their parents during the sea journey, or whose parents have been arrested in either Malaysia or Indonesia,” said Azizah.
The U.N. stated in December that a coordinated hate speech campaign against the Rohingya was spreading across Southeast Asia. Indonesian protesters broke through a police cordon and forced 137 refugees to be relocated to another facility in Banda Aceh, located at the tip of Indonesia’s Sumatra island, on Dec. 27.
Mandalay People’s Defense Force seizes Singu Township
The Mandalay People’s Defence Force seized Singu Township and released six detainees from the police station on Wednesday. Residents reported retaliatory airstrikes and artillery attacks by the military.
“The police had already fled before the PDF took the town, leaving the detainees behind, so the PDF released them,” a source close to the Singu police told DVB. The source added that the Singu police are now under investigation regarding the release of the detainees.
Twenty-eight military outposts have come under MPDF control since Operation Shan-Man, which refers to the twin offensives in Mandalay and northern Shan State, was launched on June 25.
News by Region
MANDALAY—Three civilians were killed and at least two were injured during retaliatory airstrikes and artillery attacks against the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA )in Mogok Township on Wednesday.
“The artillery shells landed near the homes and killed people,” said a Mogok resident. Many have been trapped inside their homes since fighting began on June 25. Ten civilians were killed by artillery in Mogok from July 8-17.
MAGWAY—Hundreds of thousands of Yesagyo Township residents have been impacted by flooding along the Chindwin River and are in need of food and shelter materials. Charity groups, the People’s Administration, and the People’s Defense Force (PDF), are assisting flood victims.
“We are facing many difficulties in finding food over the last three weeks since flooding began,” said a Yesagyo resident. Flooding from the Irrawaddy and Chindwin rivers has led to the evacuation of over 27,000 households from 130 villages.
KARENNI—The Karenni National Women’s Organization (KNWO) have reported up to 80 cases of gender-based violence over the last year in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, which are hosting over 280,000 IDPs.
“We run safe houses in different areas. We also coordinate with the newly-formed Women’s and Children’s Department of the Interim Executive Council,” said Day Myar, the project manager at KNWO. The IEC was established as the provisional government in Karenni on June 12, 2023.
AYEYARWADY—The family of a 19-year-old military conscript from Mawlamyinegyun Township was informed that he was killed at a training center on July 14. The regime claimed the conscript was attempting to escape. Sources close to the military reported that residents aged 18-35 are being forcefully conscripted with the help of local administrators.
“The shooting incident is true but we were told to keep quiet about it. The boy was selected for military training through the draft lottery [under the conscription law],” a source close to the military told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
ARAKAN—Residents of Thandwe Township reported that the Arakan Army (AA) had seized full control of the town on Tuesday after navy personnel abandoned its Maung Shwe Lay naval base. Fighting between the AA and the military began in Thandwe on April 13.
“They will try their best to take back [Thandwe] from the AA,” a military analyst in Arakan State told DVB on the condition of anonymity. The AA claimed that the military deployed forces from Ayeyarwady Region and the Navy SEALs to defend Thandwe.
