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Malaysia discusses Myanmar with former Thai Prime Minister; Bangladesh seeks Japan’s help with Rohingya

Malaysia discusses Myanmar with former Thai Prime Minister

Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that he met with former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Malaysia on Sunday. The two discussed the situation in Burma but didn’t disclose details. On Dec. 16, Anwar appointed Thaksin as an informal advisor to assist Malaysia as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 2025 chair.

“In the evening, we continued this discussion with former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo,” Anwar posted to his social media account. At the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Langkawi last month, Malaysia Foreign Ministry Secretary General Amran Mohammed Zin told the media that ASEAN is focused on resolving Burma’s crisis

The global alliance of civil society organizations, known as CIVICUS, accused ASEAN of legitimizing the regime and providing it with weapons to carry out attacks on civilians. A total of 6,230 civilians have been killed by the military, over 3.5 million people have been displaced, and almost 20 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, according to Burma’s Permanent Representative to the U.N. Kyaw Moe Tun.

Network in Bangkok opposes labor reforms for migrant workers

A network calling itself “Thais Won’t Tolerate” held a rally in front of the U.N. headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand on Saturday. They were reacting to a request submitted by Bright Future, a coalition of migrant workers from Burma in Thailand, to the U.N.’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Thursday.

Bright Future advocates for the improvement of migrant labor conditions in Thailand. But Akkarawat Kraisisombat, a Thai businessperson and political activist, said that Thais will not tolerate “the oppression of the Thai people” and called the presence of illegal foreign workers in Thailand “a pressing issue.”

The Media Intelligence Group’s 2023 report stated that there are approximately 6.8 million migrant workers from Burma in Thailand with only 1.8 million officially registered. Migrant workers typically earn between 10,000-15,000 THB ($294-441 USD) per month. Burma’s Ministry of Labor barred men aged 18 to 35, who are eligible for military service under the regime’s conscription law, from leaving the country for work on Friday.

Bangladesh seeks Japan’s help with Rohingya

Japan’s Parliamentary Vice-Minister Ikuina Akiko reiterated Tokyo’s support for Bangladesh’s interim government, along with its ongoing reforms and efforts to address the Rohingya crisis, during her meeting with its Foreign Advisor Md. Touhid Hossain at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka on Sunday. 

Dhaka Tribune reported that Hossain expressed appreciation for Japan’s assistance to the Rohingya, including in the relocation of some to Bhasan Char, an island in the Bay of Bengal hosting refugees. Dhaka is seeking Tokyo’s support for Rohingya repatriation to Arakan State and for its proposed high-level conference to be held in Doha, Qatar, in collaboration with the U.N. 

The interim government of Bangladesh led by Muhammad Yunus is seeking international support to assist the estimated 1.2 million Rohingya living in refugee camps in the country’s southeastern Cox’s Bazar district. Over 700,000 Rohingya fled a military crackdown in northern Arakan in 2017, which is the basis for the International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s request for an arrest warrant against Min Aung Hlaing in November.

News by Region 

The Arakan Army released a cargo ship transporting goods from Burma to Bangladesh that it seized 16 days ago. (Credit: The Daily Star)

ARAKAN—A cargo vessel carrying 1,600 sacks of dried fish arrived at Teknaf Land Port on Saturday after being held for 16 days by the Arakan Army (AA), which seized it in the Naf River on its way from Yangon to Bangladesh. The AA seized three boats carrying a total of 50,000 sacks of commodities bound for Teknaf on Jan. 16, and later released two on Jan. 20.  

“The detained vessels were using [Burma’s] waters to reach Bangladesh, which the Arakan Army is now leveraging to demand commissions. This is not the first instance,” Abu Morshed Chowdhury, the president of the Cox’s Bazar Chamber of Commerce, told Bangladesh media. A Maungdaw trader told DVB that the military has blocked trade to Arakan State, forcing residents to rely on smuggled goods from Bangladesh.

KARENNI—The Progressive Karenni People’s Force (PKPF) claimed that 718 civilians have been killed and over 2,800 homes, 54 religious buildings, 26 schools, and 16 hospitals, have been destroyed by airstrikes and artillery since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. It has documented 1,788 airstrikes carried out by the military on Karenni up to Jan. 31. 

“The military’s aircrafts are continuously flying around the town. We are afraid when we hear the sound,” a Demoso Township resident, now staying at a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs), told DVB. The PKPF added that it has documented 3,665 military personnel and 686 members of the resistance killed in 1,282 clashes in the state. 

MON—The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) announced that it, and allied resistance forces, captured 29 prisoners of war (POWs) after it seized the Maepali military outpost located in Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 1 of Bilin Township on Saturday. Bilin is 69 miles (111 km) northwest of the Mon state capital Mawlamyine.

“We also seized one 122-mm artillery, two 120-mm mortars, as well as 81-mm and 60-mm mortars, along with various small arms and ammunition,” the Bamar People’s Liberation Army (BPLA) spokesperson told DVB, adding that the POWs are now receiving medical attention. The KNLA-led offensive to take the Maepali military outpost began in January. 

SAGAING—Residents of Kanni Township told DVB that four people, including two People’s Defense Force (PDF) members, were killed and seven others were injured by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on Sunday. Kanni is located 40 miles (64 km) north of the region’s capital Monywa. It has been under resistance control since 2023.

“A Y-12 aircraft flew from Kale, dropped a bomb and killed four people instantly,” a Kanni resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. The military has launched airstrikes on villages along the Chindwin River since January. There has been no fighting between the military and resistance forces in Kanni since mid-2024, according to the PDF.   

(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,550 MMK)

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