FROM THE DVB NEWSROOM

Junta threatens it will take severe action against netizens that donate to resistance groups and share anti-regime content. Junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun threatened action against netizens ‘liking’ or ‘sharing’ content or pages from the National Unity Government (NUG), Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), or the People’s Defense Force (PDF). He said, if identified or caught, people will face charges of sedition under Sec. 124(b) of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison. He warned that anyone caught sending funds to resistance groups will be charged under sections of the Counter-Terrorism Act, which carries a maximum penalty of death. State media has issued daily lists of Facebook accounts it accuses of “inciting and spreading propaganda to intentionally destroy the government’s apparatus.” | BURMESE 

Japan will stop accepting Burma Army cadets. Japan’s Defense Ministry will stop accepting Burma Army cadets as students at its National Defense Academy, NHK reported. This was done in response to the execution of four democracy activists last July. The Japanese government will stop accepting the cadets as of April 2023. Eleven Burma Army cadets are currently studying in Japan, and will be allowed to finish their studies. This move comes after pressure from Burmese activists in Japan. 

Migrant workers ask the NUG and CSOs for assistance in labor dispute in Thailand. At least 110 Burmese migrant workers at a Thai cannery factory located in Samut Prakan were fired on Sep. 19, according to the Aid Alliance Committee (AAC) – a labor organization assisting Burmese migrants. “They reached out to our team and asked for help. We also informed the Ministry of Labor of the NUG. We went to the field together with Wai Lin Maung, Burma’s former diplomatic officer for labor affairs who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement, and negotiated for a solution…The factory owner did not want to pay compensation, so the owner replied that the employees would not be fired,” AAC’s Ko Ye Min told DVB. The Burmese migrant workers have demanded that remaining wages and compensation fees be paid, and immigration paperwork be provided. | BURMESE 

Military council revokes the licenses of more publishing houses. The Ministry of Information announced on Sep. 21 that the licenses of two more publishing houses have been revoked. It accused Nyanalin Sarpay and Thanlwin House of printing materials deemed “offensive ethnically, religiously, and culturally.” A junta official from the Ministry told BBC Burmese that the two publishers printed a book on Buddhism and that “the writings in the book would lead to harm for monks and religion.” At least six publishing houses have been shut down since the 2021 coup. The regime has recently banned books about the 2017 Rohingya genocide and the LGBTIQ+ community in Burma. 

News by Region

KAREN—Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) forces seized the Kyait Burma Army base camp in Kawkareik Township on Sept. 20, according to the Karen National Union (KNU). Seven troops were killed in the month-long battle and two were arrested with weapons, ammunition and communications devices. Clashes with the Burma Army have escalated in most KNU controlled areas, with the exception of KNU Brigade 7. | BURMESE 

MANDALAY—Protesters wearing t-shirts with the National League for Democracy (NLD) party logo rallied in front of its office in Chan Aye Tharsan Township. The protesters held banners that read ‘May Mother Suu [Aung San Suu Kyi] be healthy’; ‘NLD should condemn terrorist acts and not encourage them’; ‘We condemn terrorist activities committed by the NUG, CRPH and PDF’; ‘Innocent NLD party members have been killed because of the terrorist activities of the NUG, CRPH, and PDF’. Area residents alluded to the fact that these protesters were likely pro-junta. “People know well who can easily and safely protest on the roads at this time. People are not stupid. It is so funny,” a Mandalay resident told Burma Associated Press. 

YANGON—A Thaketa Township administrator was killed in a tea shop at the corner of Aung Yadana and Aung Zayyar roads on Sept. 20, according to locals. “Two men on a motorcycle shot the head of administrator Win Bo twice from the back. The body was later taken away in an ambulance,” a resident told DVB. Security forces checked motorcycles and vehicles at the corner where the murder took place. Six people have been killed and another six have been injured during attacks in Yangon so far this month. | BURMESE