Myanmar elections to be discussed at ASEAN summit
Naypyidaw has invited the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to send observers for its scheduled elections, and the regional bloc will discuss the request during a regional summit later this month, stated Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The invitation to send election observers was extended to all ASEAN member states, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.
“The Foreign Minister [Mohamad Hasan] noted the invitation extended to ASEAN member states to send election observers. For Malaysia, the invitation was addressed to Malaysia’s Election Commission,” added the foreign ministry. Critics view the regime election as a sham exercise designed to legitimize the military’s rule via a proxy political party called the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
The announcement came after talks were held between Myanmar’s regime leader Min Aung Hlaing and Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan in Naypyidaw on Thursday. The statement did not refer to reports in regime media on Friday that Malaysia will send observer teams for the regime scheduled elections, set to begin on Dec. 28. Read more
Resistance groups demand regime elections be rejected
Pro-democracy forces in Burma, opposed to the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021, demanded that ASEAN reject any elections organized by the regime in Naypyidaw. Regime media reported Friday that Malaysia would send observers to monitor its polls, which have been called a “sham” by several Western nations.
“If true, this would amount to a dangerous endorsement of a regime that has massacred civilians, jailed political opponents, and bombed its own people,” Charles Santiago, a former Malaysian lawmaker and the chairperson of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), told the Free Malaysia Today newspaper on Oct. 11.
A statement signed by 20 anti-regime groups, including the National Unity Government (NUG), the Karen National Union (KNU), and the Chin National Front (CNF), claimed that such elections are illegitimate under the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus — the regional bloc’s peace plan which calls for an end to violence, the release of all political prisoners, and inclusive dialogue. Read more
International condemnation over paramotor attacks that killed 40
The U.N. condemned paramotor attacks that killed at least 40 people at a ceremony and protest in Bonto village of Chaung-U Township in Sagaing Region on Monday, which was the end of Buddhist Lent called the full moon day of Thadingyut in Burma. The U.K., Canadian, and Australian embassies in Myanmar shared condolences online for the victims and condemned the attack in statements on Oct. 10
“This tragic incident, if confirmed, would add to a disturbing pattern of indiscriminate attacks affecting civilians across the country,” Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the U.N. Secretary-General, told the media on Oct. 8. He added that indiscriminate airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force are unacceptable, calling for both regime and resistance forces to follow international humanitarian law.
The NUG called the attack a “war crime” and vowed to hold the regime accountable. Its Spring Development Bank (SDB) launched a crowdfunding campaign to provide assistance to injured survivors of the attack in Chaung-U on Oct. 9. At least 1,849 civilians have been killed by a total of 2,321 airstrikes on territory controlled by resistance forces in Burma since January, according to DVB data. Read more
News by Region
KAREN—The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 5 told DVB that regime forces have intensified its counteroffensive with aerial strikes since Oct. 6 to recapture Kataingti base in Mutraw (Hpapun) Township, which was seized by the KNLA during the last week of September.
“Up until now, they haven’t reached the camp yet, but they have a plan,” Saw Kler Doh, a colonel from the KNLA Brigade 5 told DVB. Over 3,000 civilians from seven nearby villages have fled their homes. Two civilians were injured by airstrikes on Hpapun and surrounding villages on Oct. 6.
MON—Sources close to the KNLA told DVB that five children, aged 7-12, were killed and eight others were injured when the Burma Air Force carried out an airstrike on a village in Bilin Township on Oct. 9. The village is located 65 miles (105 km) northeast of the state capital Mawlamyine.
Three houses were damaged and two cows were killed in the airstrike, according to residents. No fighting between KNLA and regime forces was reported in Bilin. Three people were killed in an airstrike in Kyaikto Township, located 18-87 miles (29-140 kilometers) north of Bilin and Mawlamyine.
NAYPYIDAW—A source close to the regime in Naypyidaw told DVB that Hla Swe, a member of the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and its parliamentary candidate in Pobbathiri Township, was arrested by regime authorities on Oct. 7.
A source told DVB on the condition of anonymity that he was arrested for publicly criticizing the regime’s Union Election Commission (UEC) over errors in voter lists on social media on Oct. 5. “The UEC chairman himself requested the regime to have him arrested,” the source added.
SHAN—Residents of Mongmit Township told DVB that seven civilians were killed and eight others were injured by an airstrike on Oct. 9. Mongmit is located 50 miles (80 km) north of the regional capital Lashio, which was seized by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in July 2024.
A Mongmit resident told DVB that several bombs fell close to homes, causing extensive damage, and that phone and internet connections have been down ever since. The TNLA released a statement on Oct. 10 confirming the number of casualties and that 10 houses were destroyed by the airstrike.
YANGON—Thet Thet Khine, the founder of the People’s Pioneer Party (PPP), told the media on Wednesday that State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint from the National League for Democracy (NLD)–ousted from government and arrested during the 2021 military coup on Feb. 1, 2021–are “not political prisoners.”
“They didn’t face political charges but corruption ones,” said Thet Thet Khine, who served as an NLD lawmaker in the Pyithu Hluttaw, or the lower house of parliament, from 2016-2021. She was suspended from the NLD for criticizing Aung San Suu Kyi in September 2018. Read more
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