FROM THE DVB NEWSROOM
Burmese democracy activists in U.S. march on White House
A “Multi-Ethnic March” for Burma took place in Washington, DC on Feb. 25. It was organized by the group Anti-Dictatorship in Burma – DC Metro Area. It brought together all ethnicities of Burma, living in the U.S., to march on the White House and demonstrate their support for the Spring Revolution. Anti-Dictatorship in Burma – DC Metro Area spokesperson Yin Aye told DVB the Multi-Ethnic March seeks “the establishment of a future federal union of equality” in Burma.
NUG recruiting medical staff for its hospitals and clinics
The National Unity Government (NUG) Ministry of Health is recruiting healthcare personnel including doctors, and nurses who are unaffiliated with the junta to work at the hospitals and clinics under its administration. According to an NUG statement made on Feb. 23, applicants including diploma holders from medical technology universities, traditional medicine experts and people who graduated from medical universities can apply until Mar. 16. Applicants for the positions of health assistant, gynecologist, midwife, and public health supervisors can also apply from Mar. 17 to Apr. 7. Those applicants will be able to work in regions assigned to them by the NUG.
More Burma nationals arrested in southern Thailand
One hundred undocumented Burma nationals were discovered hidden inside a semi-truck parked in Hat Yai, located in Songkhla province, Thailand on Feb. 24, Thailand’s Channel 7 reported. The truck was reported to police. Two Thai national drivers told police the battery was dead. Police discovered 100 people hidden under a waterproof sheet covered with sand. The drivers admitted to police that they were paid to deliver the 100 people from the Thai-Burma border to the Thai-Malaysia border. All Burma nationals were arrested by Thai police and will likely face charges under the Thai immigration law.
News by Region
BAGO—Oak Pho People’s Defense Force (PDF) claimed that a woman’s dead body was found with evidence of rape in Oak Pho Township on Feb. 23. A striking nurse involved in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) went missing on Feb. 16 and was believed to have been arrested by Burma Army troops, according to a PDF spokesperson. “They raped her before she was killed. We found evidence in her clothes,” he said. The woman came from Kyat Kwin village. According to her family members, she was detained by the Burma Army for 10 days and interrogated for information on the location of the PDF camp before she was raped and killed.
KAREN—Security has been tightened along the Thai-Burma border, in Kyainseikgyi Township, after a PDF attack on Payathonzu police station on Feb. 25, the Bangkok Post reported. “The police station was on fire after the shootings. The police station has been collecting illegal taxes on border crossings between the two countries. I saw four dead bodies being carried away in a car,” a resident told Karen Information Center.
KACHIN—More than 640 people living in Sapaut village in Hpakant Township have lodged a complaint against a Buddhist monk and the monastery that agreed to allow a jade mining company to operate in the village. “Because we don’t agree with this matter, more than six hundred of our villagers have signed [a letter].” The villagers claimed that a group of people threatened them for protesting against the jade mine.
MAGWAY—A PDF said it has accepted more than K17.7 million ($ 8,434 USD) and gold donated by locals in Myaing Township. A PDF called “Garuda Guerrilla Force” told DVB: “We will continue to fight against the dictatorship. We urge the public to cooperate with us.”
MANDALAY—A photographer was killed on Feb. 19, Mizzima reported. Aung Win Htut was beaten and arrested at a house near Maha Muni pagoda in Maha Aung Myay Township and his family were later told to collect his body. “We didn’t know why he was arrested. A military vehicle arrived, fired two gunshots and arrested him. His body was sent to hospital,” said a source close to his family. On Feb. 19, young people staying near Maha Muni pagoda were arrested. Aung Win Htut’s body was cremated on Feb. 21, according to his family.
RAKHINE—Street vendors operating along the beach were ordered to close for two days as Min Aung Hlaing arrived in Sittwe on Feb. 26. “The municipal and administrative officials arrived and informed us about Min Aung Hlaing’s trip, and we were ordered to close the shop for the weekend,” a vendor told DVB. “We know that he will go to many places. However, no specific letter indicating where he will go has been released,” an administrator told DVB. Last month, Min Aung Hlaing hosted the 8th High-Level Committee Meeting between Burma and Thai armed forces in Thandwe town.
SHAN—A father and two sons were killed in Wun Lwal village, Tanyang Township on Feb. 22. Around 30 Burma Army troops in four vehicles arrived at their home. “They forced them to step out of the house. They didn’t. Then the shootout started and it was like a fight,” a local said. The man who owned the home was a former member of the Shan State Progressive Party/ Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA).
TANINTHARYI—Myeik PDF announced a list of 100 members of Pyu Saw Htee militias in Myeik and Kyunsu townships on Feb. 25. “We have already told them to resign from the junta. But they failed to do so, so we revealed the list,” a PDF spokesperson told DVB.
Sebastian Strangio talks about Burma and “In the Dragon’s Shadow: Southeast Asia in the Chinese Century.” DVB English Podcasts are on-demand via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Substack, SoundCloud, TuneIn Radio, Anchor FM & wherever you get your podcasts.
