Min Aung Hlaing attends Tazaungdaing festival in Naypyidaw
Regime leader Min Aung Hlaing released a hot-air balloon at the Tazaungdaing Festival in Naypyidaw on Friday. It read: “Nothing is more important than human life” on the same day his Air Force killed eight civilians, including seven children, in Kone Law village of Momauk Township, located on the Myitkyina-Bhamo Road 87 miles (140 km) south of the Kachin State capital.
A delegation led by the head of Russia’s Republic of Buryatia Alexey Tsydenov attended Tazaungdaing as guests of the regime in Naypyidaw. “Both sides discussed topics ranging from investment, tourism and direct flights to deepening of people-to-people ties between Russia and Burma,” regime media reported. A hot-air balloon emblazoned with “Buryatia” was released to commemorate the visit.
Besides Naypyidaw, the regime hosted Tazaungdaing events in Yangon, Mandalay and Taunggyi Nov. 11-17. A fire at the Inle Princess Resort, located in the tourist hotspot of Inle Lake 24 miles (38 km) south of Shan State capital, was reportedly caused by a hot-air balloon which crashed and burned down several buildings inside the resort on Friday.
A military cadets program in Myanmar?
Legal experts have condemned the regime’s decision on Oct. 28 to incorporate the military conscription law into the high school curriculum in Burma. Naypyidaw now requires high school teachers to attend training on how to incorporate it and the Counter-Terrorism Law into their lessons.
“They will teach the Military Service Law and the Counter-Terrorism Law from their perspective. This is ideological indoctrination. These subjects are usually taught at university level. Secondly, it was not passed by parliament, nor approved by the Ministry of Education,” Kyi Myint, a senior legal expert, told DVB.
The regime announced the enforcement of its conscription law on Feb. 10. Under the law, men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 serve up to two years, while specialists like doctors aged up to 45 must serve for three years. The military claims it has recruited at least 21,000 conscripts this year so far. Regime spokesperson Zaw Min Tun said that the military aims to conscript at least 50,000 per year.
Loy Krathong festival lights up sky over Chiang Mai
Thailand’s floating lantern festival Loy Krathong was held in Chiang Mai on Nov. 15-16. Loy means to float, and Krathong are small baskets made of banana leaves decorated with flowers, candles, and incense sticks. These offerings are made to the water goddess Pra Mae Khongkha. Loy Krathong coincides with the Lanna northern Thai festival of Yi Peng.
“Yi means two, and Peng means full moon in the Lanna language. The name ‘Yi Peng’ translates to ‘Full Moon of the Second Month.’ On the occasion of this full moon, we offer fire and listen to sermons. The Loy Krathong festival is a national event, while the Yi Peng festival is an ancient tradition of the former Lanna Kingdom in northern Thailand,” said Nuttapong Punjaburi, a lecturer at Chiang Mai University (CMU) Faculty of Education.
The Yi Peng: Lanna Light Festival 2024 was held at the Three Kings Monument in Chiang Mai Nov. 13-15. It celebrated northern Thailand’s Lanna culture. Participants released silk paper lanterns into the sky. Releasing these lanterns at night symbolizes letting go of past misfortunes and hoping for future prosperity.
News by Region
MANDALAY—Residents of Madaya Township, located around 24 miles (39 km) north of Mandalay city, told DVB that airstrikes were carried out by the Air Force on at least four villages Sunday. Fighting between the military and the People’s Defense Force (PDF) has been ongoing in Madaya since Saturday.
“We saw a fighter jet and a helicopter open fire onto the villages from afar. We don’t know exactly how much damage [was caused],” a Madaya resident told DVB. An unknown number of Madaya residents had already fled their homes due to fighting since last month. Read more here.
SAGAING—Resistance forces, including the Burma National Revolutionary Army (BNRA), retreated from Pale Township due to retaliatory airstrikes carried out by the Air Force and 100 pro-regime troops being deployed to the town on Thursday. Pale is located around 35 miles (56 km) southwest of the Sagaing Region capital Monywa.
“All resistance groups are now withdrawing their forces around the town,” said a BRNA spokesperson. More than 20,000 Pale residents have been displaced from their homes due to the fighting between BRNA-led forces and the military. At least three civilians have been killed by airstrikes in Pale since Nov. 11.
YANGON—A resistance group calling itself Dark Shadow stated that it detonated a small explosive at actor Yan Aung’s residence in Yankin Township on Nov. 14. It claimed that the attack was intended as a “warning” after he was seen greeting Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw after the regime leader returned from a visit to China.
“We no longer view him as an artist after he shook hands with [the regime leader],” a spokesperson of the group told DVB. Yan Aung played a Kachin elder in the military propaganda film “The Red Blanket.” It was released in cinemas nationwide in March 2023. He has regularly attended regime-sponsored events since the 2021 military coup.
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