Myanmar refugee dies in Thailand after US clinic closed
A 71-year-old from Burma named Pe Kha Lau, living in Umpiem Mai Refugee Camp in Thailand, died after experiencing shortness of breath four days after being discharged from a health facility funded by the U.S. on Feb. 2. The clinic, which was run by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), closed after a U.S. freeze on foreign aid.
“To hear of this loss of life is devastating and we offer our condolences to the family and friends of Pe Kha Lau,” an IRC spokesperson told Reuters. The IRC closed and locked hospitals in several refugee camps in late January after receiving a “stop-work” order from the U.S. State Department, according to residents and aid workers.
The IRC has served tens of thousands of refugees from Burma, among the nearly 100,000, living at nine refugee camps in Thailand. Thai officials and refugee organizations are trying to fill the void left by the absence of U.S. funding along the Burma-Thai border. Pe Kha Lau had been hospitalized for three years and was dependent on a supply of oxygen, according to her family.
Beijing reiterates non-interference in Myanmar crisis
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated Beijing’s policy of “non-interference” in Burma during a press conference on Friday. It faced questions from the media and criticism from anti-coup resistance forces, including the National Unity Government (NUG), over its support to the regime in Naypyidaw, which seized power after the 2021 military coup, on Jan. 29.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the “main channel for mediation” on the crisis in Burma, and that its efforts to implement the Five-Point Consensus will stabilize the situation. He added that China “supports Myanmar’s efforts to safeguard its independence, sovereignty, national unity, and territorial integrity.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with leaders of two ASEAN member states—Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra—on Thursday. They reportedly discussed cyber scams centers operating along Burma’s borders. Bangkok cut power to five towns in Burma on Wednesday in an effort to stop transnational crime.
Military denies reports its now conscripting women
Regime spokesperson Zaw Min Tun stated on Friday that there are still no plans to draft women into military service under its conscription law, which was enforced on Feb. 10, 2024 and stipulates women aged 18 to 27 must serve at least two years, or up to five years in the case of an emergency. Female professionals, such as doctors or engineers, can be made to serve up to age 35.
Burma has been under a state of emergency since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. The regime extended it a seventh time on Jan. 31. “I want to make it clear that although women are eligible under the law and its regulations, there are no current plans to call them up for military service,” he told regime media, although he did not share specifics about when women might be forced into military service.
Since last month, Yangon residents have told DVB that township authorities have been compiling lists with women’s names eligible for military conscription. The regime has also ordered those selected for military conscription to be barred from leaving the country without authorization.
News by Region
KAREN—Nearly 100 residents of Myawaddy, led by pro-military supporters, staged a rally calling for a boycott of Thai products on Saturday. Myawaddy is located 90 miles (145 km) east of the Karen State capital Hpa-an along the Thai-Burma border next to Thailand’s Mae Sot.
They also demanded the closure of both official and unofficial border gates. “They’re bringing shame to Myawaddy while deliberately trying to create friction between Thailand and Myanmar,” a Myawaddy resident told DVB. Thailand’s Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) cut power to Myawaddy because it hosts several cyber scam centers.
MANDALAY—The regime’s Central Committee on Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) announced on Saturday that it had seized narcotics worth over 7.3 billion MMK ($1.6 million USD) in Pyigyitagon Township after arresting a group of alleged drug dealers on Feb. 1-6. Pyigyitagon is five miles (8 km) south of downtown Mandalay.
A total of seven were arrested and accused by police of drug dealing. Three vehicles and a motorcycle were seized. They allegedly told police that the drugs that were stored at a house in Pyigyitagon was owned by a man living in Kyethi Township of southern Shan State. Kyethi is 225 miles east (362 km) of Pyigyitagon.
SHAN—A group calling itself the Southern Shan Revolution Youth, which withdrew its forces from under the National Unity Government (NUG) Ministry of Defense, announced that it is seeking 200 new members on Friday. It wants to join forces with other local armed groups to scale up attacks in southern Shan State.
“We are calling new recruits to form a new systematic force to attack the military,” a spokesperson told DVB. Applicants must be over age 18 with no health problems and be able to follow orders and duties. The group is currently involved in joint attacks in Moebye Township of southern Shan and in neighbouring Karenni State.
YANGON—A source close to the police department told DVB that a Chinese national allegedly involved in human trafficking was arrested at the Yangon International Airport on Thursday. The man was alleged to have posted a video to social media offering cash and gifts to two teenage girls living in Dala Township to marry Chinese men.
“There are three to four people who are allegedly involved in [his] case,” said a police source on the condition of anonymity. Another Chinese national and two Burma nationals are alleged to have visited the teenagers in Dala on Feb. 3. The two Chinese nationals and two Burma nationals have been charged under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Law.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,530 MMK)
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