The Karen Student Association of Chiang Mai University held a traditional Karen Wrist-Tying ceremony at the Faculty of Social Sciences on Aug. 31. Organizers said the ceremony aimed to unite people, strengthen bonds, and offer blessings for health, happiness, and well-being. (Credit: DVB)
The Karen Student Association at Chiang Mai University held a traditional Karen wrist-tying ceremony at the Faculty of Social Sciences on Aug. 31. Organizers said the event aimed to unite people, strengthen bonds, and offer blessings for health, happiness, and well-being. Water, white threads, rice balls, sticky rice, bananas, flowers, sugarcane, a wooden ladle, and a bamboo tray are all necessary ingredients used in the tradition.
“The Karen wrist-tying ceremony is very important for Karen culture and traditions because it is a cultural event that we have been celebrating in our Karen community for generations. The purpose of the wrist-tying ceremony – what we call in Sgaw Karen as a Lakukisu – is where the family of the Karen come back together and celebrate and tie their hands together in a showcase of unity, as well as cooperation and collaboration among the families,” said Saw Nimrod, the secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU) Foreign Affairs Department.
Water, white threads, rice balls, sticky rice, bananas, flowers, sugarcane, a wooden ladle, and a bamboo tray are all necessary ingredients for a traditional Karen wrist-tying ceremony. (Credit: DVB)“The Karen wrist-tying ceremony is very important for Karen culture and traditions because it is a cultural event that we have been celebrating in our Karen community for generations. The purpose of the wrist-tying ceremony – what we call in Sgaw Karen as a Lakukisu – is where the family of the Karen come back together and celebrate and tie their hands together in a showcase of unity, as well as cooperation and collaboration among the families,” said Saw Nimrod, the secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU) Foreign Affairs Department.
Pavel Durov is the founder and CEO of Telegram. He's facing charges in France related to illicit activities on his messaging app. (Credit: Reuters)
Telegram founder Pavel Durov was arrested earlier this week and charged by French authorities for alleged offenses relating to his social media platform. How is the Telegram app being used by both sides of the information war in Myanmar? Let DVB English News explain.
DVB English News Weekly Briefing. In this week’s briefing: Fortify Rights report implicates Arakan Army in Maungdaw massacre; Rohingya ‘Genocide Day’ commemorated in Bangladesh and Thailand; How the controversial Telegram app is being used by both sides of the information war in Myanmar; Plus, a Karen traditional wrist-tying ceremony to connect, reflect and celebrate the community’s strength.
A Google Earth image showing Thabyugyaing village of Thandwe Township, where the Maung Shwe Lay naval base is located, in southern Arakan State. (Credit: Google Earth)
Arakan Army seizes naval base near Thandwe
The Arakan Army (AA) seized control of the Maung Shwe Lay naval base – the last remaining military stronghold in Thandwe Township – located in southern Arakan State, on Wednesday. It is the first naval base that has been seized by resistance forces and follows the capture of Thandwe Airport on June 23.
“The military abandoned the base after some military officers, including a general, were killed during the AA attacks on Aug. 27-28. They used naval ships to retreat,” a source close to the AA in Thandwe told DVB. The AA launched its offensive to capture the base on July 20 while the military used naval ships and airstrikes to retaliate.
The AA attacked Thandwe April 13 and took control of the town on July 16. Fighting between the AA and the military has spread to Gwa Township, located 80 miles (128 km) south of Thandwe. The AA now controls 10 townships in Arakan State, as well as Paletwa Township in southern Chinland. It began its offensive on Nov. 13.
Military accused of using French-made aircraft
The whistleblower group Justice for Myanmar revealed that the military has been using aircraft manufactured by the French-Italian company Avions de Transport Regional (ATR) since the 2021 coup. The aircraft have been used to transport soldiers, supplies, and weapons to the frontline to be used in military operations.
“It is unacceptable that the Myanmar military has managed to obtain ATR aircraft, spare parts and components and MRO [maintenance, repair and overhaul] over a prolonged period, as it has committed genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity with total impunity,” stated Justice for Myanmar in a press release Thursday.
The aircraft was transferred to the Burma Air Force through companies and airlines that have ties to the military, according to Justice for Myanmar. It called on international companies to stop conducting business with the military regime and its affiliates. ATR is a joint venture between the French company Airbus and the Italian business Leonardo. The E.U. has imposed several sanctions against Naypyidaw.
Dawei Watch journalists Aung San Oo (left) and Myo Myint Oo were sentenced by a regime court on terrorism-related charges. (Credit: Dawei Watch)
Calls for the immediate release of Dawei Watch journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called for the immediate release of Aung San Oo and Myo Myint Oo, two journalists working for the Dawei Watch news agency. Aung San Oo was sentenced to 20 years in prison and Myo Myint Oo received a life sentence. Both faced terrorism-related charges.
“These types of extreme court rulings aim to instill fear among all reporters and will have a chilling effect across Myanmar’s independent media,” said Shawn Crispin, the senior Southeast Asia representative for CPJ.
Both journalists were arrested in the southeastern town of Myeik, Tanintharyi Region, in December. A Myeik Prison court sentenced Aung San Oo on Feb. 16 and Myo Myint Oo on May 15. At least 43 journalists remain behind bars in Burma, according to a 2023 report by CPJ. Seven journalists have been killed since the 2021 coup, including Win Htut Oo, a citizen journalist who worked for DVB.
News by Region
MANDALAY—An elderly couple was killed and four others, including children, were injured when the Burma Air Force carried out retaliatory airstrikes on Natogyi and Ngazun townships Aug. 27-28. One of the injured children had to have a leg amputated, according to residents.
“There was no fighting happening in the area. The military just wants to cause trouble for the locals,” a Natogyi resident told DVB. The elderly couple was killed in Ngazun on Aug. 27. The People’s Defense Force (PDF) launched an offensive in southwestern Mandalay Region on Aug. 10.
SHAN—The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) announced on Tuesday that it will include participants of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) in its administration of TNLA-controlled towns in northern Shan State. TNLA General Secretary Tar Bhone Kyaw made the announcement during a visit to newly-administered TNLA territory Aug. 15-18.
NAYPYIDAW—Restaurant owners have been ordered to provide one staff member each month for military service. “Restaurant owners were called to a meeting at an administrative office and told to provide one person per shop each month. If they can’t, they must pay 5.5 million kyat per person,” a restaurant owner told DVB. Residents have claimed that young men have been abducted from their homes by military recruiters.
YANGON—Ten rice dealers from the Wadan Rice Wholesale Center were arrested in Lanmadaw Township on Tuesday. “People in civilian clothes arrested them outside of the center. We heard they were arrested for manipulating rice prices,” a rice merchant told DVB.
Rice merchants said there have been negotiations between retailers and wholesale dealers over the price per bag of rice. A fixed price was set by the Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF). This has forced wholesalers to sell rice at a loss, according to merchants. The MRF set the price of a bag of high quality Shwebo Pawsan rice from 135,000-145,000 kyat.
Rights on the move: Towards equal access to local inclusive transport services in Yangon Region is a 2019 film by DVB with the assistance of Yangon Film School.
In Myanmar, 2.3 million people – 4.6 percent of the total population – live with some type of disability. In Yangon Region, there are about 250,000 persons with disabilities (PWD) who rely on public transportation daily.
Mae Sot, Thailand, August 28, 2024 – Myanmar authorities should immediately release journalists Aung San Oo and Myo Myint Oo, who were sentenced to 20 years and life in prison respectively, and stop using terrorism charges to harass the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.
A military court inside Myeik Prison sentenced the Dawei Watch journalists Aung San Oo on February 16 and Myo Myint Oo on May 15, the chief editor of the local independent outlet told CPJ, requesting anonymity due to fear of reprisals. The reporters were arrested in the coastal town of Myeik in December, three days after returning home from hiding.
“Dawei Watch journalists Aung San Oo and Myo Myint Oo’s lengthy sentences on terrorism-related charges are senselessly harsh and must be reversed,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “These types of extreme court rulings aim to instill fear among all reporters and will have a chilling effect across Myanmar’s independent media.”
The sentences, to be served at Myeik Prison, were not made public until recently, the editor said.
Authorities beat Aung San Oo and Myo Myint Oo during interrogations at a detention center and denied them legal counsel, according to a Dawei Watch statement.
Four other Dawei Watch staff have been arrested since the military seized power in 2021, including reporter Aung Lwin who was sentenced in 2022 to five years in prison on terrorism charges.
Myanmar’s Ministry of Information did not respond to CPJ’s emailed request for comment. Myanmar was the world’s second-worst jailer of journalists, with 43 behind bars in CPJ’s 2023 prison census.
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