Independence Day amnesty frees 600 political prisoners
Regime spokesperson Zaw Min Tun told media on Saturday that it had granted an amnesty to 600 prisoners who were jailed for causing incitement and spreading false news against the military under Sec. 505 (A) of the Penal Code. The pardon included the Kachin State Chief Minister Khet Aung, who was ousted from his position and jailed after the 2021 coup.
“Political prisoners from some prisons are not included in the amnesty. We confirmed the release of around 150 political prisoners as of Jan. 4. It is not difficult to trust what the regime said, so we are trying our best to get a detailed number and make sure whether what they said is correct,” Thaik Tun Oo, the spokesperson for the Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM), told DVB.
The regime announced it had freed 6,044 prisoners to commemorate Myanmar’s 77th Independence Day. Among those released were 19 female political prisoners, who had been jailed for participating in a “Flower Strike” to commemorate jailed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s birthdays over the last 2-3 years by wearing flowers and sharing images to social media in protest of the regime’s detention of the 79-year-old National League for Democracy (NLD) government leader ousted in the 2021 coup. Read more.
New Myanmar task force to meet next Monday
The first meeting of the special task force to address the Burma crisis, which has engulfed the country since the 2021 military coup, has been scheduled for Jan. 13, according to Thailand. It will be chaired by the Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Maris Sagiampongsa and will include senior officials from the Interior Ministry, Defence Ministry, Foreign Ministry, and National Security Council.
The previous Burma task force was dissolved when former Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara abruptly resigned last May. His replacement, Foreign Minister Maris Sagiampongsa, now heads the task force and coordinates with relevant government agencies in Thailand to manage the ongoing crisis in Burma. Last year, Thailand managed humanitarian aid deliveries into Burma.
Thailand hosted two meetings on Burma’s crisis on Dec. 19-20. The first was “informal’ and involved Laos, China, India, Bangladesh, and Thailand. Regime Foreign Minister Than Swe briefed officials from these countries on its election plans, tentatively scheduled for November. The second was official, involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which has barred the regime due to its refusal to implement the Five-Point Consensus.
Cyber scams in Myanmar now targeting 100 countries
Jason Tower, the country director for the Burma program at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), spoke to DVB. He was in the newsroom to discuss how USIP has been documenting the rise of cyber scams in Burma’s borderlands, which has spread to the cities, and is now targeting 100 countries, including the U.S.
“The scam centers are generating massive amounts of revenue. It’s estimated that roughly for Myanmar alone, the scam centers are bringing in $15.4 billion USD per year. A lot of that illicit capital is now being laundered into places like Yangon or Mandalay,” said Tower.
To learn more about this growing global threat, DVB Newsroom podcast season 2 episode 4 featuring Jason Tower on documenting the rise of cyber scams in Burma is available to watch on Spotify or DVB English News YouTube. It’s also available to listen to on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts.
News by Region
ARAKAN—Maungdaw Township residents said that the Arakan Army (AA) has allowed residents to return to their homes after inspecting household lists since Wednesday. Maungdaw is located in northern Arakan State near the Burma-Bangladesh border. It came under AA control on Dec. 6.
“Some are still waiting [to return home] because of the concerns over airstrikes,” a Maungdaw resident told DVB. The AA has set up three separate Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps for Rakhine Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus. A Maungdaw resident told DVB that the AA will allow Muslim residents to return after Buddhists and Hindus. Maungdaw was evacuated in August as fighting between the AA and the military intensified.
MANDALAY—The Mandalay People’s Defense Force (MPDF) told DVB on Dec. 30 that it will establish a new battalion to be located in the neighbouring Sagaing Region, which is located northwest of Mandalay, to scale up its attacks against the military in 2025.
“Sagaing is connected to the territories under our control in Mandalay. This means, we must consider it for upcoming military operations,” the MPDF spokesperson told DVB. Mogok, Singu and Thabeikkyin townships were seized by the MPDF on June 25.
The PDF claimed that two civilians were killed and around 30 others were injured, 11 critically, by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on Chaunggyi village of Thabeikkyin township on Thursday. Thabeikkyin is located 89 miles (143 km) north of Mandalay. It came under PDF control on Aug. 25.
“Chanuggyi is located between Singu and Thabeikkyin [townships]. There are gold mining businesses [in the area],” a PDF spokesperson told DVB. Twenty-five homes, one religious building, a fire station and five rescue vehicles were reportedly destroyed. Thabeikkyin has been hit by an unknown number of airstrikes since Aug. 1.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,430 kyat)
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