A home in Moebye, Pekon Township of southern Shan State, was destroyed by regime air and artillery strikes during fighting with Karenni resistance forces on April 28. (Credit: PDF)
The Progressive Karenni People Force (PKPF) stated on Thursday that regime attacks have killed 742 civilians and destroyed 3,031 homes in Karenni State from Feb. 1, 2021 up to April 30. It added that 3,760 regime troops have been killed in 1,323 clashes with resistance forces, which lost 740 of its own fighters.
“[The regime] carried out air and artillery strikes in addition to a ground offensive,” a People’s Defence Force (PDF) member told DVB on the condition of anonymity after a regime column of 300 troops launched a counteroffensive against Karenni resistance forces in Moebye town of Pekon Township, southern Shan State, on Monday.
Moebye is located 100 miles (160 km) south of the Shan State capital Taunggyi and 11 miles (17 km) north of the Karenni State capital Loikaw. It was seized by the Karenni resistance during Operation 1111, which was launched on Nov. 11, 2023.
But the regime’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 422, stationed outside the town, remained under regime control and became the staging ground for a counteroffensive that began on Nov. 14, local media reported.
On April 26, three civilians were injured by an airstrike in Mawchi town of Hpasawng Township. At least six civilians were killed and 10 were injured by an airstrike on Mawchi April 24.
Banyar Aung, the Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC) secretary 2, told DVB that two airstrikes were carried out on Mese Township, along the Myanmar-Thailand border, on the same date as Mawchi. No casualties were reported. Hpasawng and Mese are located 73-109 miles (117-175 km) south of Loikaw.
The PKPF claimed that 1,874 airstrikes have destroyed 57 religious buildings, 29 schools and 17 medical facilities in Karenni. The regime in Naypyidaw announced a ceasefire on April 2, later extended to April 30, but it carried out 354 attacks during this period, according to DVB data.
The Solidarity Trade Union of Myanmar leads a protest against the military coup in Yangon Region in February 2021. (Credit: STUM)
Myanmar workers fired for unionizing, says trade union
The Solidarity Trade Union of Myanmar (STUM) told DVB that factory owners have fired some employees for demanding to be paid the full minimum wage and attempting to unionize in Yangon Region. “They sack anyone who tries to form a union or demand increased wages or fairer working conditions,” Myo Myo Aye, a leading member of the STUM, told DVB.
A worker in Yangon told DVB on the condition of anonymity that she was fired from her job for attempting to form a labour union and demanding the full minimum wage for herself and colleagues. She claimed that the regime Department of Labour failed to resolve her case but advised her to sue the factory. She has accused her employer of physically assaulting her and is currently pursuing legal action.
The ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government set the daily minimum wage to 4,800 MMK ($1 USD) in May 2018. Workers told DVB that they wanted at least 10,000 MMK ($2.2 USD) per day. As of October, the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre has documented 665 cases of alleged labour and human rights abuse across 304 factories in Burma since the 2021 coup.
Ground fissures prevent quake recovery in Mandalay
Residents of Patheingyi Township in Mandalay Region told DVB that they are still unable to start restoration works due to ground fissures, one month after the earthquake killed 4,461. The township includes seven villages located on islands in the Irrawaddy River between Mandalay and Sagaing towns, which reportedly face flooding during the rainy season.
“Fissures are as wide as 30 feet and as deep as 20 feet in some places,” Yin Mya, a resident of Patheingyi’s Thanbo village, told DVB. Patheingyi is located 7-22 miles (11-35 km) northeast of the region’s capital Mandalay and the earthquake epicenter in Sagaing Region. Residents told DVB that at least 40 houses collapsed in Thanbo village, forcing many to stay in temporary shelters.
Residents also reported a lack of electricity and a shortage of freshwater as local groundwater sources have been depleted since March 28. No humanitarian aid has been provided by the regime, and no experts have visited the area, according to residents, who want the fissures to be filled with earth and sand before the arrival of the monsoon season.
People’s Defence Force member faces murder charges
“After we completed our investigation into the murders, we found that he acted alone and shot both men dead,” Bo Bo, an officer with the Karenni State Police, told DVB. The court in Karenni has yet to deliver a verdict. But Bo Bo added that the accused could face between 10 years to a life sentence in prison with hard labour.
The PDF admitted that its member was investigating the monk at his monastery and found text messages to military officials on his phone. The PDF member allegedly shot and killed the monk “out of anger” because he refused to accompany him to another location for “further investigation.” The disciple who arrived at the scene was also killed, according to the PDF.
News by Region
Residents of Mandalay’s Amarapura Township have been living in makeshift tents since the earthquake on March 28. (Credit: Reuters)
MANDALAY—An aid worker told DVB on the condition of anonymity that residents have been searching for valuables in the rubble of collapsed buildings. “People [search] in areas where rescue operations have been completed,” he added.
NAYPYIDAW—Sources close to the regime told DVB that the Regional Commander for Naypyidaw Soe Min was ordered to sign a cautionary pledge after the PDF organized activities in four of eight townships in the Naypyidaw Council Territory.
“He needed to sign a confession that he was not aware of [the PDF activity],” a source told DVB on condition of anonymity. The source added that the PDF has detained military personnel during vehicle inspections and operations in villages.
SAGAING—The Kalewa People Defence Organization told DVB that two civilians in Kalewa Township were killed by an airstrike carried out by the Burma Air Force on Tuesday. Kalewa is located 143 miles (230 km) northwest of the region’s capital Monywa.
“They attacked the township using Y12 aircraft. It also damaged residential houses,” a Kalewa People’s Defence Organization spokesperson told DVB. Three people were killed in a similar attack on a gold mining site in the township on April 24.
“Fissures are as wide as 30 feet and as deep as 20 feet in some places,” Yin Mya, a resident of Patheingyi’s Thanbo village, told DVB. Patheingyi is located 7-22 miles (11-35 km) northeast of the region’s capital Mandalay and the earthquake epicenter in Sagaing Region.
Residents told DVB that at least 40 houses collapsed in Thanbo village, forcing many to stay in temporary shelters. They added that the regime has not provided any humanitarian aid.
Regime Minister for Industry Charlie Than told a meeting in Naypyidaw that the price of cement was set at 17,000 MMK ($3.7 USD) per bag but residents of Sagaing Region told DVB that they have to ask permission to buy cement at 27,500 MMK ($6 USD) per bag from the authorities.
“We have to show photos of the damaged buildings [then] officials sell cement based on the extent of the damage,” a Sagaing resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity, adding that he had requested 50 bags of cement but was only allowed to purchase 10.
Reports indicate that the market price of cement has increased from 18,000 to 40,000 MMK ($4-8 USD) per bag since March 28. Almost all the buildings in 22 wards of Sagaing Township were either damaged or destroyed, local media reported.
Besides Sagaing, the hardest hit regions were Mandalay, Naypyidaw, Bago, Magway, and southern Shan State.
The regime in Naypyidaw has calculated that 48,834 houses and 2,171 offices and buildings were destroyed. The earthquake also damaged three of the nine cement factories, which reduced the daily production from 30,700 to 17,100 tons, it added.
Regime media reported that action was taken against eight shop owners selling construction materials after the price of cement and other products were investigated by officials after complaints from residents. The reported action taken against the shop owners was not disclosed.
An aid worker helping with restoration efforts in Thedaw and Wundwin towns of Mandalay Region told DVB that the regime allowed earthquake survivors to purchase five bags of cement each at 23,000 MMK ($5 USD) per bag.
Residents have claimed that they have received no assistance from the regime. The two towns reported 320 buildings destroyed by the earthquake.
Mandalay residents told DVB that the daily wage for construction workers has nearly doubled from 15,000 to 30,000 MMK ($3-6 USD). Mandalay is located 15 miles (24 km) east of Sagaing Region.
Residents of the capital Naypyidaw told DVB that the price of a 6 by 15 foot bamboo mat rose from 25,000 to 40,000 MMK ($5-8 USD) following the earthquake.
Bamboo mats are commonly used to build walls in makeshift shelters, and residents expressed difficulty in constructing these temporary structures due to the rising costs associated with the materials.
“We’ve been instructed to prioritize selling to [regime] officials for building makeshift offices,” a shop worker selling construction materials in Pyinmana Township told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
Over 800 ministry buildings have reportedly sustained damage, but the regime has not disclosed further details. Naypyidaw is located 169 miles (272 km) south of Sagaing and 229 miles (368 km) north of Yangon.
Healthcare workers who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement, in opposition to the 2021 military coup, provide treatment to a patient at a hospital run by the National Unity Government in Mandalay Region on April 10. (Credit: NUG)
Lack of healthcare providers hinder earthquake response
The arrest of over 872 healthcare workers and the closure of private hospitals has undermined the response to the March 28 earthquake, according to Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights. About 263 healthcare facilities have been attacked and at least 74 health workers have been killed since the 2021 coup, according to Swiss organization Insecurity Insight.
“Governments supporting the earthquake response should call on the [regime] to cease airstrikes and other unlawful attacks targeting healthcare facilities and health workers and release all those wrongfully detained,” said Lindsey Green, the deputy director of research at Physicians for Human Rights, in a press release on Monday.
Labour unions in Burma told DVB they want an increase to the daily minimum wage for International Workers’ Day on May 1. Workers in Burma are paid 4,800 MMK ($1 USD) per day—a rate set in May 2018 under the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government. The labour law requires the daily minimum wage to be revised every two years, but it has remained unchanged since then.
“We haven’t finalized our [May 1] statement yet, but I believe it will include a call for sufficient wages,” a spokesperson at the Solidarity Trade Union of Myanmar (STUM) told DVB on the condition of anonymity. The STUM was established in 2016 by trade unions from Yangon, Ayeyarwady, and Mandalay regions.
A seamstress in Yangon’s Shwepyitha Township told DVB that the regime began paying an additional 2,000 MMK ($0.40 USD) as an allowance on top of the daily wage last year. But it is not officially included in workers’ wages and they do not receive it during holidays. Labour rights activists told DVB they want at least 10,000 MMK ($2.2 USD) per day.
Building solidarity for Myanmar democracy in Europe
Nyein Chan May is an intersectional feminist, a pro-democracy activist, a podcaster, and the co-founder of German Solidarity with Myanmar based in Germany. She joined the DVB Newsroom to discuss her work in Europe building solidarity for Myanmar’s democracy movement since the 2021 coup.
“We feel very neglected. We feel unheard by the international community,” Nyein Chan May told DVB. “All my friends are standing up and fighting for democracy so this inspires me every day to fight for social justice, democracy and also freedom for the country.”
Watch DVB Newsroom podcast season 2 episode 14 Nyein Chan May on solidarity for Myanmar democracy in Europe on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Or, if you’d prefer to listen to it as audio, find and follow us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts.
News by Region
Mandalay residents living in temporary shelters at the corner of 73rd and 30th streets on April 1. (Credit: DVB)
MANDALAY—A source close to the regime told DVB on the condition of anonymity that Judge Advocate General Myo Thant Naing informed residents on April 26 that all earthquake relief must be carried out via regime officials. Mandalay is located 14 miles (22 km) east of the earthquake epicenter in Sagaing.
Chanmyathazi Township residents told DVB that five men, including two wearing military uniforms, robbed the Shwe Zarmani gold shop at gunpoint on Monday. Chanmyathazi was one of the townships impacted by the earthquake.
A source close to the regime administration told DVB on the condition of anonymity that many soldiers have been deployed in the area to assist with relief work. They set up checkpoints to inspect vehicles after the robbery. But no arrests have been made by police.
SHAN—Residents of Aungpan and Hopong townships told DVB that 50 homes and nearly 100 acres of vegetable farms were destroyed by heavy wind in three villages on Sunday. Aungpan and Hopong are located 13-35 miles (20-56 km) east and west of the state capital Taunggyi.
“The wind was too strong, blowing off the roofs and walls. There was heavy rain and hail as well,” a Hopong resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Over 5,000 homes were destroyed by the earthquake and reconstruction works have not yet begun.
Residents of Nawnglen and Ommati villages in Nawnghkio Township, northern Shan State, reported “intense” fighting between regime forces and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) since Sunday. Nawnghkio is located 96 miles (154 km) south of the region’s capital Lashio and 147 miles (236 km) north of Taunggyi.
Images show that large parts of Indaw were destroyed last year. (Credit: Google Earth Pro Imagery)
Bellingcat has identified at least 22 villages damaged by airstrikes in Myanmar, despite a temporary ceasefire declared by the State Administrative Control (SAC) or the military junta from April 2 to 22 following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit the country on March 28. The ceasefire has been extended to April 30.
The earthquake’s epicentre was recorded just 16km northwest of Mandalay, the second-largest city in Myanmar, and it struck just before 1pm local time. More than 3,000 people died and aid groups report that over 17 million people living in earthquake-affected areas are in urgent need of food, water, shelter and healthcare.
The country, which has already been devastated by four years of civil war, continues to be hit with multiple aftershocks. The SAC, ruling Myanmar since seizing power from the democratically elected government in 2021, declared a temporary pause to fighting only after the main opposition coalition announced one – except in the case of defensive actions.
Bellingcat has geolocated at least 19 villages damaged in military assaults during the first 20 days of the ceasefire. Two of them were identified from ground reporting. Three additional villages were damaged after the earthquake but before the ceasefire – bringing the total to 22 villages.
The airstrikes targeted civilian areas in territory held by rebel forces and territory where the junta is fighting to regain control. The villages damaged after the ceasefire were geolocated by cross-referencing our findings with NASA FIRMS or satellite imagery alongside local and other media sources.
“It’s quite clear that only the military can do airstrikes. The rebels don’t have aircrafts,” Aye Chan Naing, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), one of Myanmar’s largest independent media organisations, told Bellingcat.
Lacking jets or fighter planes, resistance groups heavily rely on commercial drones “improvised into sort of military use,” Naing said.
Targeting and scaring civilians is part of the military’s strategy, he explained. “If you support the rebels, then you know we [the military] are going to burn the village.”
“At a moment when the sole focus should be on ensuring humanitarian aid gets to disaster zones, the military is instead launching attacks,” said U.N. Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on April 11.
“Since the earthquake, military forces have reportedly carried out over 120 attacks – more than half of them after their declared ceasefire was due to have gone into effect on 2 April,” she told journalists.
According to local media reports, the Myanmar military carried out an aerial attack just hours after the earthquake struck. Anti-junta armed group, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), claimed that the military bombed Nawng Len village, approximately 120 km from the earthquake’s epicentre in the eastern Shan State. Seven members of a TNLA-aligned ethnic armed organisation (EAO) were reportedly killed in the attack.
We were not able to independently confirm the airstrike, but we were able to geolocate images of several damaged buildings, to a location in the north of the village. The intact buildings can be seen on Google Earth imagery in late January.
Left: Location of the village on Google Earth. Right: Photos of Nawng Len after the attack. (Credit: The Irrawaddy)
The military junta did not respond to Bellingcat’s request for comment.
Attacks in Worst-Affected Earthquake Areas
Out of the 22 villages we identified, 14 of them are in either Sagaing or Mandalay, which were some of the worst affected areas by the earthquake. Large parts of both regions are located in central Myanmar, where a lot of townships are either contested or under junta control.
The military tries to cut the rebels’ survival pipeline, Naing told Bellingcat.
“They understand that the rebels cannot survive without civilians because that’s where they get food and maybe tax money,” he said.
Since the rebels don’t have permanent bases, members are difficult to locate. While drones might strike and kill a few individuals, it’s much easier for the army to identify and target areas where civilians live, Naing added.
On April 9, twenty people were reportedly killed in an airstrike in Nan Khan in Sagaing’s Wuntho Township. We were able to geolocate images of damaged buildings to the coordinates 23.9983922,95.8881422.
Left: Image of houses damaged in Nan Khan, (Credit: Khit Thit Media); Right: Location on Google Maps
Just days before this attack, on April 6, Thone Pan Hla in Chaung-U Township was reportedly attacked in an airstrike, killing three members of a family. “The motivation for such an attack on a village of melon farmers is difficult to understand. It seems to be an effort to terrorise a civilian population that strongly supports the anti-regime National Unity Government (NUG) and its armed rebel (People’s Defense Force) wing,” reported The Times newspaper. NUG is the country’s parallel government in exile, elected democratically and ousted in the 2021 coup.
About 25 km northeast of Thone Pan Hla is the village of Ngar Shan also in Chaung-U Township. Local news outlets reported that the village was burned down by the junta, just days after the earthquake. While we weren’t able to geolocate specific images or independently confirm the cause of the fire, thermal hotspots were detected at the site on March 31. This lines up with the timeline and reports of 170 houses being burned in Ngar Shan on April 1 local time.
Images of the destruction shared on Facebook show the village in ruins. However, NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System, FIRMS, detects thermal hotspots in the entire village in the early hours of that day.
Source: NASA FIRMS, March 31, 2025 UTC
A false-colour infrared map from Sentinel Hub’s Copernicus platform also reveals signs of destruction in the village. Though commonly used to assess vegetation health, this type of imagery shows plant-covered areas in deep red, while cities and exposed ground are grey or tan, and water appears blue or black. Following the attack, exposed ground, indicative of possible damage, can be seen primarily in the northwest of the village.
Source: Sentinel Hub’s Copernicus platform
Chaung-U Township is located in the southern Sagaing Region, where the geography poses challenges for resistance armies.
“Unlike ethnic resistance groups along Myanmar’s borders, or those in northern Sagaing near India, the resistance forces in southern Sagaing do not have foreign borders across which they can attempt to retreat,” wrote Centre for Information Resilience’s Myanmar Witness in a December 2024 report.
Sagaing remains an epicentre for violence with a strong resistance presence due to the region’s strategic importance. A state of emergency was declared in the state following the quake.
Repeated Bombings in Lost Territories
Another region of strategic importance is Mandalay where the Central Military Command is located in the Mandalay Palace, reported to have been damaged in the earthquake. Mandalay is also a logistical hub in Myanmar’s heartland, and since late last year, the SAC has been trying to retake townships it has lost there.
Two of those townships are Thabeikkyin and Singu. Both were attacked during the ceasefire.
On April 19, the Myanmar military reportedly carried out an airstrike on the village of Yae Htwet in Thabeikkyin Township. The attack killed at least 27 people, according to the BBC. The report added that pro-military Telegram channels claimed the attack targeted PDF camps, the armed wing of the anti-regime National Unity Government.
Just a day earlier, 13 people were reportedly killed in an attack on Leik Kya village, located 3 km north of Yae Htwet.
A separate aerial attack was reportedly carried out over a village in Thabeikkyin, killing two people. It took place on April 13 in Chaung Gyi along the highway running through the village. We were able to identify distinct features of the roof of buildings across the street from the attack and, along with the location of trees, match satellite images of the area.
Above: Photo of the damage in Chaung Gyi, (Credit: Khit Thit Media); Below: Location on Google Earth
Bellingcat also geolocated a school (here: 22.689505, 96.016978) in Singu Township, the site of a reported airstrike in Kyi Tauk Pau village that injured six people.
Destruction of Schools and Religious Sites
The junta has a track record of targeting schools. According to a tally by Radio Free Asia last November, nearly 200 schools were hit by airstrikes since the 2021 military coup in regions and states which have seen fighting by resistance forces opposing junta rule.
A school in Sagaing’s Shwebo Township was reportedly bombed during the ceasefire on April 20, killing two people, including a pregnant woman. According to DVB, Shwebo Township People’s Administration, a local anti-junta governance body, said displaced people were taking shelter in the school.
Bellingcat found four schools and seven religious sites – monasteries and churches – damaged in recent attacks.
Peter Bouckaert of the human rights and advocacy group Fortify Rights called the attacks on churches and monasteries that could be hosting people displaced by the earthquake “a great violation of the laws of war”.
“These are protected sites under international humanitarian law. They are direct deliberate attacks on these protected institutions,” he told Bellingcat.
The junta has a history of attacking religious sites. During the ceasefire, a Baptist church was bombed in Mindat in the neighbouring Chin State, where several armed opposition groups have emerged since 2021. While there were no reported casualties at the church, six people were killed in the attack on the town.
The Baptist Church in Mindat before (left, source: bruno.assaz/wikiloc) and after (right, credit: Tachileik News Agency) the attack
Mindat was taken over by resistance forces last year amid reports of hundreds of homes destroyed by alleged junta shelling, arson, and airstrikes. A lot of this damage is now visible on Google Maps’ updated imagery from January 2025.
Several churches in Chin State have been damaged in the past few years, Myanmar Witness had found in 2023. It is the only Christian-majority state in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.
Battle for Control of Town Rages Amid Ceasefire
Indaw is a small town close to the border with Kachin State, a state partly controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA)-led resistance forces. Indaw was reportedly bombed on April 1 when it was still under the junta’s control. According to local accounts, two people were killed and eight others injured. A monastery was damaged in the attack. We were able to geolocate the images of the aftermath by comparing old pictures and satellite images of the monastery with structures still standing after the recent attack.
Left: Before image of the monastery, (Credit: Kachin News Group); Right: Photo of monastery after the military’s attack (Credit: Indaw Revolution-IR); Middle: Location on Google Maps
The destruction on April 1 was just one of the many assaults the town has witnessed since resistance forces launched an offensive in August last year. The junta’s reported airstrikes against the resistance displaced hundreds of people, and many others fled.
Despite the ceasefire, on April 8, resistance forces captured Indaw after months of fighting. However, the junta has continued to carry out airstrikes in civilian areas, according to reports. As Richard Horsey, Senior Adviser on Myanmar at Crisis Group, previously told Bellingcat, the junta often bombs areas it has lost so people have nothing left to return to.
Images show that large parts of Indaw were destroyed last year. (Credit: Google Earth Pro Imagery)
Attacks During Burmese New Year
The military regime reportedly carried out airstrikes on monasteries over the four-day Thingyan or Burmese New Year festival from April 13 to 16. According to data compiled by an independent news site, The Irrawaddy, at least 23 civilians were killed in these attacks.
In one of the monastery attacks, six people were reportedly killed and 20 others injured. Bellingcat geolocated the aftermath of the reported strike. This was in Kan Ni village in Kawkareik Township in Kayin (Karen) State, one of the southernmost states of the country.
Left: Screenshot from a video capturing damage in the monastery, (Credit: Independent Mon News Agency); Right: Photo of the monastery on Google Maps
The Myanmar military has now extended the ceasefire to April 30 in a move to “expedite relief and rebuilding efforts”, but reports say that aid is being restricted. “The SAC is weaponising humanitarian assistance,” Surachanee Sriyai, interim director at the Center for Sustainable Humanitarian Action to Displaced Ethnic Communities, told Bellingcat, explaining that aid is not reaching areas that aren’t under the SAC’s control. An analysis by the BBC in November last year reported that the military only has full control of 21 percent of Myanmar’s territory.
Sriyai noted that while the earthquake has drawn some attention to Myanmar, the country has already been in critical need of aid due to the prolonged armed conflict. Meanwhile, bombings persist even during the extended ceasefire period.
Members of Bellingcat’s Global Authentication Project, including Afton Knox, Nicole Kiess, Stéphanie Ladel, and Max F. Wan contributed research to this piece.Interactive map by Miguel Ramalho.
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A Myanmar journalist reads about the termination of funding for Radio Free Asia on its website on March 20. (Credit: DVB)
Guest contributor
James Shwe
The recent operational pause of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) Burmese language services, following a U.S. government review of federal agency funding, has sparked important discussions about the role of independent media in regions where press freedom is under siege.
As the U.S. recalibrates its global media engagement to meet emerging challenges, this moment highlights a pivotal opportunity for democratic nations worldwide to unite in supporting access to truthful information and humanitarian aid for Myanmar—particularly in the wake of the devastating March 28 earthquake and the military junta’s ongoing repression.
The role of independent media in Myanmar
For decades, VOA and RFA have provided millions in Myanmar with uncensored news, offering a critical counterbalance to state-controlled narratives.
Their reporting on human rights abuses, governance, and regional affairs has empowered communities to make informed decisions, even as the junta tightened censorship after the 2021 coup.
The temporary suspension of these services, pending legal and congressional review, underscores the need for robust international collaboration to ensure continuity in truthful reporting.
A federal judge recently ordered the restoration of funding for VOA and RFA, reaffirming their congressionally mandated mission to deliver “accurate, objective, and comprehensive” journalism.
This legal victory reflects bipartisan efforts to preserve essential tools of U.S. soft power, which have long fostered global trust in democratic values.
Myanmar’s dual crisis: Earthquake and authoritarian control
The devastating March 28 earthquake, which killed thousands and displaced millions, has compounded Myanmar’s humanitarian and political crises.
The junta has restricted aid to resistance-held areas, diverted relief funds to military operations, and staged propaganda campaigns to legitimize its rule.
Meanwhile, China has expanded its influence, pressuring ethnic armed organizations to surrender key territories and flooding Myanmar’s information space with state-backed narratives.
Propaganda and disinformation have become central to the junta’s strategy, distorting public opinion and undermining resistance efforts. While Myanmar’s majority population remains firmly opposed to military rule, an increasingly fractured information ecosystem has left many vulnerable to manipulation.
Investment in critical thinking education, paired with broader media access, can help empower citizens to dismantle authoritarian narratives and strengthen national unity. However, these efforts must be accompanied by strategies addressing tech platform accountability, media freedom, and grassroots mobilization.
China has further complicated Myanmar’s path to democracy by providing diplomatic cover for the junta’s planned sham elections, widely condemned as a facade to entrench military rule.
This approach enables Beijing to prolong the conflict while securing strategic advantages, such as preferential access to Myanmar’s resources and infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative.
In this environment, the international community faces an urgent responsibility: to ensure humanitarian aid reaches those in need and to prevent authoritarian narratives from dominating the discourse.
A call for global democratic solidarity
The U.S. has historically been a leader in supporting democracy and human rights in Myanmar, providing more than $400 million USD in assistance since the 2021 coup. As Washington reevaluates and strengthens its global media strategy, democratic partners can reinforce these efforts by:
Emergency support for independent media: Democracies such as the E.U., Japan, South Korea, and others should provide transitional funding and technical assistance to sustain alternative and local Burmese media outlets. Initiatives already proposed by countries like the Czech Republic and Germany to support independent journalism offer a promising model.
Humanitarian aid through trusted channels: International donors should prioritize partnerships with Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG), ethnic organizations, and civil society groups to deliver earthquake relief directly to communities, bypassing junta-controlled distribution networks.
Countering authoritarian disinformation: Democracies must invest in Burmese-language media initiatives to counter the growing dominance of Chinese state outlets such as Xinhua and China Radio International (CRI), which now produce more Myanmar-focused content than any other foreign broadcasters.
Diplomatic pressure on the junta: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the U.N., and other international actors must intensify demands for humanitarian ceasefires and accountability for aid obstruction, while urging China and others to respect Myanmar’s sovereignty and democratic aspirations.
Why this matters for democracy
The people of Myanmar continue to aspire to values of transparency, accountability, and self-determination—principles that resonate deeply with all democracies. As global media dynamics shift, international solidarity can ensure that access to truthful reporting and life-saving aid remain steadfast pillars of support for Myanmar’s democratic resistance.
The restoration of VOA and RFA, as mandated by U.S. courts, will be critical to these efforts. As RFA President Bay Fang rightly stated: “Our audiences deserve access to facts, not propaganda.”
By working together, democracies can uphold this vision and ensure Myanmar’s people are not left in the dark.
James Shwe is a Myanmar democracy activist in the U.S. and is a member of the advocacy groups Free Myanmar and the Los Angeles Myanmar Movement. He has been trying to organize and motivate the Myanmar diaspora to advocate for democracy in Myanmar.
DVB publishes a diversity of opinions that does not reflect DVB editorial policy. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our stories: [email protected]
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