Myanmar among 12 countries listed in US travel ban
U.S. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday fully restricting the entry of nationals from 12 countries, citing risks to national security. The countries listed by the White House are Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The U.S. travel ban states that it is “to protect the nation from foreign terrorist entry and other national security and public safety threats.”
A student from Burma currently applying for an education visa for graduate studies in the U.S. told DVB that it was not fair to list Burma among these 12 countries. “How can we be seen as a threat?” she asked.
The White House cited that Burma nationals had a 27 percent overstay rate for visitor “B1/B2” visas, and a 42 percent overstay rate for non-immigrant academic (F), vocational (M), and exchange visitor (J) visas. It also highlighted Burma’s lack of cooperation in repatriating its nationals who violate U.S. immigration laws and are ordered removed.
Arakan Army seizes militant base in border town
Residents of Maungdaw Township told DVB that the Arakan Army (AA) seized a camp reportedly belonging to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) after fighting near Leikya village in northern Arakan State on Monday. The AA gained control of the entire 168 mile (271 km) long Burma-Bangladesh border after seizing Maungdaw on Dec. 8.
A Maungdaw resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the ARSA has been using the village as an operational base by staging unconventional attacks against AA-controlled areas from it. “We didn’t dare go near that village. Even AA members exercise extreme caution,” the resident added. The AA captured two alleged ARSA members near Leikya in April.
The ARSA has been accused of fighting alongside pro-regime forces against the AA last year. The ARSA leader Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi was arrested in Bangladesh on March 18. He is accused of leading ARSA in the 2017 attacks along the border that led to a military crackdown and forced over 740,00 Rohingya to flee their homes in northern Arakan into Bangladesh.
Protest in northern Thailand against cross-border pollution
Thousands of Thais gathered at the Kok River Bridge in Chiang Rai, Thailand on Thursday to protest the increasing level of toxic pollution in the water on World Environment Day. They called on Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to shut down mining operations on the Burma side of the border.
“We, the people, living along the Kok, Sai, Ruak and Mekong river basins in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai are currently facing severe contamination of our rivers with heavy metals originating from Shan State, Myanmar,” stated a June 5 press release issued by the People’s Network to Protect the Kok, Sai, Ruak and Mekong river basins.
Thailand will hold a bilateral meeting with regime officials in Kengtung, Shan State, June 17-20 to address concerns over toxic contamination of the Kok and Sai rivers, which flow from eastern Shan into northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces. Protesters included Thai civil society, environmentalists, activists, and residents.
Check out our photos of the protest in Chiang Rai, Thailand on June 5.
News by Region
AYEYARWADY—Workers told DVB that they are demanding a raise from their employers after wage increases at factories in Yangon. “I only make 5,500 MMK ($1.2 USD) per day,” a worker in Ayeyarwady told DVB on the condition of anonymity, adding that he wanted to receive the same pay as workers in Yangon.
Sources told DVB that the Myanmar Xiang He shoe factory in Yangon Region raised its daily wage to 12,000 MMK ($2.60 USD) on May 20 following a week-long strike by its 6,000 workers. The GTIG garment factory also increased its daily wage to 11,500 MMK ($2.5 USD) after its 1,000 workers staged a strike in late May.
MAGWAY—Fighting between the AA and regime forces has been taking place in Ngape Township along the Ann-Padan road, which connects Arakan State with neighbouring Magway Region, since Tuesday. Ngape is 48 miles (77 km) west of the region’s capital Magway.
Ngape is where the regime’s Directorate of Defence Industries (DDI) 14 is located. Reinforcements were sent to its Natyekan outpost in late May. Residents near the outpost have been evacuated. The AA expanded its Arakan offensive to Magway, Bago and Ayeyarwady in December.
SHAN—Residents of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone in northern Shan, which is controlled by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), said that schools opened on Thursday. The MNDAA announced on Tuesday that primary schools in 20 villages would reopen.
The MNDAA invited teachers, who are members of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), to work at schools in the Kokang SAZ and other areas under its control in northern Shan. The regime announced on Tuesday that over 6.1 million students have enrolled in basic education schools for the 2025–2026 academic year.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,440 MMK)
