Min Aung Hlaing invited to regional summit in Bangkok
An anonymous source told Thai PBS that Burma’s regime leader Min Aung Hlaing is set to visit Thailand’s capital Bangkok April 3-4 to attend the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). This would be Min Aung Hlaing’s first official visit to Thailand since the 2021 military coup.
“A final confirmation is still needed regarding this matter,” a senior official from Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the BBC on Sunday, adding that Bangkok has yet to confirm whom the regime in Naypyidaw would send to the regional summit. Regime Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Than Swe attended the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in New Delhi last year.
Founded in Bangkok in 1997, BIMSTEC includes Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Nepal and Thailand. It aims to connect countries around the Bay of Bengal to promote economic growth, trade, and cooperation in areas like transportation, energy and counter-terrorism. Thailand is hosting the 6th BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok April 2-4.
Myanmar crisis discussed at Thailand security seminar
Thailand’s House of Representatives hosted a seminar called, “Fostering Sustainable Peace and Security: Thailand and [the Association of Southeast Asian Nations] Path towards Border Stability and Democracy” in Bangkok March 22-23. Lawmakers in Thailand invited experts from Burma to the Thai legislature to discuss security issues along its 1,501 mile (2,416 km) long border with Burma.
Rangsiman Rome, the chairperson of Thailand’s Committee on National Security, Border Affairs, National Strategy, and Reform, hosted the event. He invited Tom Andrews, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma, who updated delegates on the progress the Bank of Thailand and the Anti-Money Laundering Office has made in its investigation into transactions linked to arms procurement in Burma.
Andrews’ report Banking on the death trade: How banks and governments enable the military junta in Myanmar accused Thai banks of facilitating weapons purchases by the regime in Naypyidaw. The ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) co-hosted the event. Burma’s National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC), the Karen National Union (KNU), and human rights activists attended.
Hlaingbwe Township residents flee fighting in Karen State into Thailand
The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) told DVB that hundreds of Hlaingbwe Township residents in Karen State have fled across the border into neighbouring Thailand due to fighting with regime forces on Sunday. Hlaingbwe is 23 miles (37 km) northeast of the Karen State capital Hpa-An.
“Women, children and elders are amongst the displaced. The Thai army has provided humanitarian aid, food and water,” a source from KNLA told DVB. Resistance forces launched a drone attack on the regime’s Khaleda outpost located one mile from the Burma-Thai border on March 23. “We are trying to seize that outpost in the coming days,” another KNLA source told DVB.
The Burma Air Force carried out a retaliatory airstrike against the Karen National Union (KNU) headquarters in Hlaingbwe following the attack. Fighting between KNLA-led resistance forces and the regime’s Aung Zeya column resumed last month after regime forces conducted air-and arson attacks, which forced over 500 families to flee their homes in Kawkareik Township and seek safety in Thailand.
News by Region
KACHIN—Fighting resumed in Bhamo Township on Saturday after the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) continued its offensive on the Military Operations Command (MOC) 21. This KIA-led attack on regime forces ended a week of relative calm, according to a source on the frontline.
“We started the attack, not the military,” the source told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Bhamo is located 120 miles (193 km) south of the Kachin State capital Myitkyina and 58 miles (93 km) southwest of Laiza, the KIA headquarters. Read more.
YANGON—Regime media reported that four men aged 18 to 20 are accused of robbing a gold store in Pabedan Township on Sunday. The four men allegedly wore masks and used a fake gun to steal gold jewelry worth 120 million MMK ($27,000 USD) before fleeing the gold shop by taxi.
“Four men from Mon State, Bago and Yangon regions were arrested together with the tools they used in the robbery, as well as the jewelry they stole, at a hotel in Botahtaung Township,” regime media added. The four were arrested five hours after the robbery are being held at Pabedan police station.
Sources close to the regime administrations in Ahlone, Kyimyindaing and Sanchaung townships told DVB that uniforms were provided to the Public Security and Counter-Terrorism committee, which is mandated to provide security during Thingyan April 13-16 and the upcoming regime elections despite no specific date being set.
A source told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the committee’s first role is to provide security at the water festival. The regime has provided food and uniforms to committee members from 19 townships in four districts of Yangon since March 14. Weapons have also been distributed to members in Bago and Ayeyarwady regions, the source added.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,400 MMK)
The DVB Peacock Film Festival lands in Bangkok, where five films will be screened at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand on March 27.
