National Unity Government meets US Congress members
The National Unity Government (NUG) Minister of International Cooperation Sasa led a delegation to meet with members of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific during a visit to Washington, DC. He said that he is building a relationship with the incoming administration of President Donald Trump during an event organized by the Philadelphia Ethnic Community of Burma on Saturday.
“We met with senators, members of the congress, and leaders close to President Trump and discussed many things. We met with at least five senators from the U.S. Congress and made connections with the office of Senator Marco Rubio [the incoming U.S. Secretary of State under President Trump],” said Sasa in Philadelphia on Dec. 14. But he didn’t share any specific details about how he discussed Burma’s crisis since the 2021 military coup during these meetings with U.S. government officials.
The event in Philadelphia reportedly raised over $30,000 USD for humanitarian aid in Burma. Kyaw Moe Tun, Burma’s Permanent Representative to the U.N., attended the event. Sasa has been meeting with diaspora communities in the U.S. since last month. At a fundraising event in Boston on Nov. 30, Sasa urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue its arrest warrant for Min Aung Hlaing following the request by ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan on Nov. 27.
Regime and Brotherhood Alliance in China for talks
A new round of China-brokered peace talks between the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the regime in Naypyidaw, which seized power after the 2021 coup, went into its second day in Kunming, China, on Monday.
A ceasefire was signed in China on Jan. 11 between the military and the Brotherhood Alliance, which consists of the MNDAA, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and the Arakan Army (AA), following its rapid success on the battlefield in northern Shan State after the launch of Operation 1027 on Oct. 27, 2023.
The ceasefire failed when the military resumed airstrikes against areas under the control of the MNDAA and the TNLA in northern Shan State, with full-scale fighting resuming on June 25, which has been dubbed by anti-regime groups as Operation 1027 Second Wave. Read more here.
Thawthi Taw Oo Indigenous Park established in Karen State
A new conservation park called the Thawthi Taw Oo Indigenous Park was established from Dec. 10-12 by the Karen National Union (KNU), local communities, and civil society organizations, along the Sittaung River in Toungoo (Taw Oo) district, which is an area under the control of the KNU. Its stated aim is to ensure that land resource rights are under the control of local communities.
“We need environmental stewardship and to mitigate the impact of climate change. We want to continue our cultural heritage for future generations. The process started in 2018 and after that we faced COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 military coup. Despite all this, we came together to make this park happen,” said Paul Sein Twa, the director of Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN).
He added that the inspiration came from Salween Peace Park, which was established in 2018 to conserve 1.4 million acres (5,485 square km) in Hpapun (Mutraw) district of Karen State. The Thawthi Taw Oo Indigenous Park also covers 1.4 million acres (5,754 square km) and is located in the Indo-Burma Global Biodiversity Hotspot and the Dawna Tenasserim Landscape, which spans the Thai-Burma border.
News by Region
ARAKAN—The Burma Air Force carried out retaliatory airstrikes on the Arakan Army (AA) in Taungup Township on Monday after it seized control of the No. 5 Military Operations Command (MOC-5) headquarters on Sunday. Taungup is located 284 miles (457 km) south of the Arakan State capital Sittwe.
“We are now searching for military personnel who’ve escaped,” Khaing Thukha, the AA spokesperson, told DVB. The number of people killed or injured in Taungup is unknown. The AA stated that it killed at least 450 military personnel in Maungdaw Township of northern Arakan. It was seized by the AA on Dec. 13. Fighting between the military and the AA over control of Gwa Township in southern Arakan continues.
KACHIN—The Burma Air Force also carried out retaliatory airstrikes on Khaunglanhpu Township in Putao district after Kachin Independence Army (KIA)-led resistance forces seized a military outpost in Khaunglanhpu, located 130 miles (209 km) north of the Kachin State capital Myitkyina, on Monday.
“There were more than 100 [pro-military] militias deployed at that outpost. We attacked it for five hours and then seized it,” a member of a KIA-led resistance group told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
YANGON—Bookstore owners and book publishing houses in Yangon told DVB that the regime’s Ministry of Education has been carrying out random inspections for registration and publishing licenses since Saturday.
“I think they are investigating whether people are selling books online without having a publication license,” a bookstore owner told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Individuals who have published or printed books without a publishing license could face fines up to five million kyat ($1,130 USD).
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,420 kyat)
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