Military regime moves forward with nationwide census plan
Min Aung Hlaing said that his regime will move forward with its plan to hold a national population census from Oct. 1 to 15 in preparation of the general election he has pledged to hold in November 2025, regime media reported. The remarks were made during a video speech on Sunday.
“The census can be used in compilation of correct and accurate voter lists which are basic needs for successfully holding a free and fair multi-party democratic general election which is the ultimate mission of the State Administration Council,” said Min Aung Hlaing, referring to the name he gave his regime following the 2021 military coup.
Min Aung Hlaing insisted that the population census would be conducted door-to-door and that data would be collected from every household. A group of experts, the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M), stated that the regime has lost control of over 86 percent of the country. The U.N. states that nearly 3.3 million people are currently displaced from their homes. Burma’s previous census was held in 2014.
Operations at nickel mine in Mandalay grinds to a halt
Work at the Tagaung Taung nickel mine, which is located between Tigyaing Township in Sagaing Region and Thabeikkyin Township in Mandalay Region, has ceased as the military stopped providing it coal and other raw materials. The People’s Defense Force (PDF) took control of the mine after regime troops surrendered there at the end of July.
“We don’t know for sure which group is responsible for the blockage in providing materials, but the military tried to find ways to provide coal,” a humanitarian aid worker in Tigyaing told DVB. He added that mine officials have provided some assistance to the workers.
Fighting between the PDF and the military began near the mine in January 2023. China has invested $855 million USD in the nickel mine. The National Unity Government (NUG) instructed the PDF in June 2023 not to attack foreign investment projects. Discussions between Chinese officials and the NUG about the mine reportedly took place, but neither side has publicly commented on details of the talks.
Pe Maung Same Film Fund to be established
Friends of award-winning documentary filmmaker Pe Maung Same are organizing an event to establish a film fund in his name. The 50-year-old died at a hospital in Yangon on Aug. 19 – three days after his release from Insein Prison. Pe Maung Same was sentenced to three years in prison in 2022, where his health deteriorated rapidly.
“A group of friends and I [have] organized ‘Memories of Pe Maung Same’ film screenings. We will collect all the donations and support from the films [in order to] create a grant in the name of Pe Maung Same. [This will allow us] to provide a film grant every year to filmmakers,” said Lay Thida, a documentary filmmaker and close friend to Pe Maung Same.
A screening of Pe Maung Same’s films will be held Sept. 7 at Chiang Mai University (CMU). Listen to DVB Newsroom: The death of Pe Maung Same and the future of documentary film in Myanmar. It’s available on Spotify, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music and Apple Podcasts. DVB English News is available wherever you get podcasts.
News by Region
ARAKAN—The Arakan Army (AA) claimed that the military used chemical bombs during retaliatory airstrikes in Maungdaw town, located in northern Arakan State, on Aug. 28. Residents told DVB that the AA controls most of the town but fighting is taking place near the No. 5 Border Guard Police (BGP) headquarters.
“All military troops and Rohingya armed groups are currently deployed inside the headquarters, firing artillery shells every day” said a Maungdaw resident. The AA launched an offensive to seize control of Maungdaw town on Aug. 4.
BAGO—Letpadan Township residents said that a local woman was raped by regime troops and the man who tried to stop it was killed on Aug. 29. “She was at her home with her son and husband when the military entered the village. They raped her [after] the husband was arrested,” said a resident of Yengan village, where the incident occurred.
Another man, who tried to stop the soldiers in Yengan village, was killed. The female victim, her son and husband, fled the village once he was released by the soldiers. Many residents of Yengan and Oakphosu villages have been forced to flee from their homes since the military launched an offensive in Letpadan on Aug. 27.
MANDALAY—Three police officers, including a deputy police chief, were killed during a PDF attack on a vehicle along the Kyaukpadaung-Meiktila Road in Kyaukpadaung Township, located around 140 miles (225 km) southwest of Mandalay, on Saturday. An officer at the Kyaukpadaung Police Station confirmed the number killed to DVB.
“We conducted a security check along the road as one of our informants told us. But they didn’t stop their vehicle, and tried to shoot at us. So, we shot back at them,” said a PDF member. Five weapons and one grenade were confiscated by the PDF. An unknown number of civilians were killed by retaliatory airstrikes on two villages in Kyaukpadaung on Sunday.
Check out our photo essay: Born in Burma Arts perform live at Rangoon Nights in Chiang Mai.
