Jailed Japanese executive released from prison
Japanese media reported that Hiroshi Kasamatsu, the director of the AEON Orange supermarket chain in Yangon, was released from prison on Monday. The 53-year-old executive was convicted of selling rice up to 70 percent higher than the rate set by the Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF) and sentenced to one-year in prison on July 11.
“He was released [Monday],” said regime spokesperson Zaw Min Tun. Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the release of Hiroshi Kasamatsu on Tuesday. It has not been reported whether he has returned to Japan. Tokyo continued to demand his release throughout the ordeal.
Hiroshi Kasamatsu was among 11 business leaders who were arrested for selling rice at prices higher than those set by the regime since it began inspecting rice merchants on June 17. Two other Japanese nationals have been jailed since the 2021 military coup, but have been released by the regime.
An unproductive meeting between the regime and China’s envoy
A meeting between regime leader Min Aung Hlaing and the Chinese Special Envoy Deng Xijun reportedly “did not go well,” sources close to the military told DVB. China’s envoy met with regime officials in Naypyidaw on Aug. 8.
“The army is unable to protect most of China’s interests,” said Lynn Htet Aung, a former army captain who defected to the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). “China might communicate [directly] with groups that could potentially protect its business interests.”
Min Aung Hlaing reportedly requested that Beijing stop supplying arms factories operating in areas under the control of ethnic armed groups along the border. He also questioned China’s tacit support for the Brotherhood Alliance, claiming it has supplied weapons to resistance forces fighting the military since the 2021 coup. Beijing has not responded to these allegations.
Arakan Army and military accused of targeting Rohingya
Human Rights Watch stated that the military and the Arakan Army (AA) have been carrying out arson attacks and killings of civilians, including members of the Rohingya and Rakhine communities in northern Arakan State’s Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships.
“Rohingya and Rakhine civilians are bearing the brunt of the atrocities that the Myanmar military and opposition Arakan Army are committing,” said Elaine Pearson, the Asia director at Human Rights Watch. She added that both sides have used hate speech to cause communal tension, which has exacerbated violence in the region.
The AA claimed to have rescued more than 13,000 Maungdaw residents – including Rohingya – on Aug. 9. Four days earlier, witnesses stated that the AA targeted Rohingya fleeing from Maungdaw into Bangladesh. It was also accused of burning down Rohingya homes when it seized control of Buthidaung on May 18. Khaing Thukha, the AA spokesperson, has denied all accusations and has blamed the military and Rohingya armed groups.
Read our op-ed: A genocide against the Rohingya is continuing to unfold with global inaction by Pacifist Farooq, a Rohingya refugee living in Bangladesh.
News by Region
KAREN—The Karen National Union (KNU) Chairperson Padoh Saw Kwe Htoo Win said that the regime is weak and that it may soon collapse due to the military’s continuing defeats on the battlefield. He made these remarks in a statement released on the 74th anniversary of Karen Martyrs’ Day.
He called on the Karen people to unite and defeat the “chauvinistic military dictatorship.” Karen Martyrs’ Day commemorates the death of Saw Ba U Gyi, the first KNU president, who was killed by the military in 1950. It honors all who have fought in the Karen resistance every Aug. 12.
MANDALAY—The People’s Defense Force (PDF) seized control of the ancient town of Tagaung, located in Thabeikkyin Township of northern Mandalay Region, on Monday. An unknown number of homes were destroyed by airstrikes since the fighting began on Sunday.
“There were nearly 100 army personnel in the town. The military staged retaliatory attacks with their aircraft, but we successfully took control of the town,” a Tagaung PDF spokesperson told DVB. Burmese royal chronicles claimed that Tagaung was founded in 850 BCE.
At least two civilians have been killed by artillery attacks since Monday as fighting between the PDF and the military began in Taungtha Township, located in western Mandalay Region, on Saturday. The Taungtha PDF claimed that it staged an attack on a factory and a security post for a natural gas pipeline.
“We set fire to the buildings that they were deployed at,” said a Taungtha PDF spokesperson. Most of the town’s residents have fled their homes due to the fighting. Resistance forces launched an offensive against the military in western Mandalay Region on Aug. 10.
SHAN—One civilian was killed and one was injured by retaliatory airstrikes carried out by the military on Namhsan, located in the Palaung Self-Administered Zone of northern Shan State, on Monday. “Six bombs were dropped,” said a Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) spokesperson. Five homes were destroyed.
