Min Aung Hlaing arrest warrant application by ICC welcomed
Messages of support have been coming in from all corners of the globe after the International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan announced that he was applying for an arrest warrant against regime leader Min Aung Hlaing at the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber 1 on Wednesday.
The arrest warrant application on Nov. 27 by the ICC Chief Prosecutor is over alleged crimes committed by Min Aung Hlaing when he ordered his Myanmar military into northern Arakan State to carry out a “security clearance” operation against the Rohingya in 2016-17. The ICC case refers to the subsequent mass deportation of Rohingya from Myanmar into Bangladesh as a crime against humanity.
“This is a day of celebration not just for Rohingya, but for everyone from Burma,” said Tun Khin, the president of Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK). “This is not only about seeking justice and accountability, but also an acknowledgement of the crimes committed against us, which were ignored for so long.”
UK court fines company for importing teak from Myanmar
A U.K. court fined the British yacht builder Sunseeker International £358,760 ($454,118 USD) for importing teak from Burma after a hearing on Nov. 22, The Independent newspaper reported. Burma’s teak industry is a key source of revenue for the military regime, which seized power after the 2021 coup.
“Using blood teak from conflict-torn Myanmar is totally unacceptable and will cost them dearly in the end,” said Faith Doherty, the forests campaign leader of the U.K.-based Environmental Investigation Agency, which welcomed the court ruling as a “milestone” in combating the global illegal timber trade.
Sunseeker International claims it has taken steps to prevent future imports of teak from Burma. The U.K., the U.S. and the E.U. have imposed sanctions on the regime in Naypyidaw, and have made nearly all teak imports from Burma illegal. Beatrix, the former Queen of the Netherlands, was accused of using teak from Burma in renovating the deck of her luxury ship in 2023.
‘Kawthoolei Climate Action Plan’ presented at COP29
Ashley South, the author of Conflict, Complexity and Climate Change: Emergent federal systems and resilience in post-coup Myanmar, returned to the DVB newsroom to discuss the U.N. Climate Change Conference COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan Nov. 11-22. He shared how nation states are beginning to take climate adaptation and mitigation seriously, except for Burma, which is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change.
“In Myanmar, where we have an illegal [regime] that is quite incapable of this work, I think that it really presents a strong opportunity to work with sub-national authorities, such as the Karen National Union, the Kachin Independence Organization, and then also state-level bodies,” said South. “My view is that there should be no international climate funds going anywhere near [Naypyidaw].”
South added that two environmental activists from Karen State attended COP29 to present a “Kawthoolei Climate Action Plan.” Out of 183 countries listed in the 2021 Global Climate Risk Index, Burma is ranked the second most vulnerable to extreme weather events. Stay tuned to DVB English News for the second Newsroom interview with Ashley South on conflict, complexity, and climate change in Burma.
News by Region
CHINLAND—Two members of the Chinland Defense Force (CDF) were killed and nine others were injured after the Chin National Army (CNA) seized control of a military outpost near the Chinland capital Hakha on Monday. Nearly 20 military personnel – out of the 0ver 30 stationed inside the outpost – have been injured by CNA-led resistance forces since fighting began on Nov. 22.
“The Burma Army was deployed there for two months,” Salai Htet Ni, the CNF spokesperson told DVB. The military outpost is located 22 miles (35 km) from Hakha on the road connecting it to Thantlang. It is mainly used for providing food and reinforcements to the military. CNA-led forces launched an offensive on outposts in Thantlang and Hakha in July.
KARENNI—The Karenni Army (KA) claimed that it killed nearly 30 military personnel during fighting near the Karenni State capital Loikaw on Nov. 25-26. It stated that regime troops fled an ambush it laid and that it wasn’t aware of any civilian casualties.
“Only around 20 troops from the battalion remained. [Its] commander was critically wounded and evacuated by air,” Phone Naing, the KA spokesperson told DVB. Retaliatory airstrikes were carried out near the site of the ambush. The KA seized ammunition and explosives from the military after the attack.
MANDALAY—Three civilians, including a novice Buddhist monk, were killed by a drone strike conducted by the military on Letkaunggyi Ywarthit village in Madaya Township, which is located 24 miles (39 km) north of the city of Mandalay, on Wednesday.
“A bomb dropped by the drone landed on a religious building in the monastery compound,” a Madaya People’s Defense Force (PDF) spokesperson told DVB. The regime has restricted telecommunication services in Madaya since the Mandalay PDF (MPDF) and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) launched a joint offensive in Mandalay Region and Shan State on June 25.
NAYPYIDAW—A resistance group calling itself the Kloud Drone Team claimed that it had conducted a drone strike on a wedding ceremony of the son of the chief of general staff of the military Maung Maung Aye, in Naypyidaw, on Monday, It added that an unknown number of people were killed or injured.
It stated that it had targeted the wedding due to intel gathered that there would be a presence of high-ranking regime officials at the ceremony. Kloud Drone Team claimed responsibility for drone strikes on Naypyidaw’s Ayelar Air Force base shortly after Min Aung Hlaing departed for China on Nov. 5.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,480 kyat)
