American pro-democracy activist Michael Sladnick joins us in the DVB Newsroom to share his journey about how he learned first learned about Myanmar after the 2021 military coup, then learned to speak Burmese and moved to the Thailand-Myanmar border to provide assistance to the anti-coup resistance.
Michael Sladnick on assisting the resistance to the 2021 coup
American pro-democracy activist Michael Sladnick joins us in the DVB Newsroom to share his journey about how he first learned about Myanmar after the 2021 military coup, then learned to speak Burmese and moved to the Thailand-Myanmar border to provide assistance to the anti-coup resistance.
Kachin Independence Army seizes three military outposts; Regime carries out airstrikes on Kachin State
Kachin Independence Army seizes three military outposts
The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and allied resistance forces, including the People’s Defense Force (PDF), seized the Light Infantry Battalions (LIB) 319 and 601, as well as the Artillery Battalion 523, in Mansi Township on Wednesday. Mansi is located 133 miles (214 km) south of the Kachin State capital Myitkyina.
“All three battalion headquarters were captured,” a KIA source told DVB on the condition of anonymity. “There was a significant capture of prisoners of war, alongside substantial quantities of weapons and ammunition,” the source added. The KIA launched its offensive to capture the three military outposts near Mansi town on Monday.
It took control of the Mansi police station last May. In southern Kachin State, the LIB 47, an armored battalion, a logistics battalion, a general engineering battalion, the Military Operations Command (MOC) 21 in Bhamo, and a military hospital located between Bhamo and Momauk are still under regime control.
Regime carries out airstrikes on Kachin State
The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) reports that fierce fighting between the KIA and the military in Bhamo District, located 121 miles (194 km) south of Myitkyina, has led to air and artillery strikes carried out by the Burma Air Force and Army on Wednesday.
“The KIA and allied forces have established footholds within city neighborhoods and are engaged in close combat with troops near several military bases. The regime forces are defending with heavy artillery and extensive air support,” Naw Bu, the KIA spokesperson, told DVB.
The KIO information team reported that airstrikes have destroyed an unknown number of civilians’ homes and buildings in Bhamo and Mansi. DVB was unable to confirm with the KIO the number of casualties since the KIA launched its most recent offensive against the military in southern Kachin on Dec. 4. The KIA launched its statewide offensive against the regime on March 7.
Burmese Women’s Union celebrate its 30th anniversary
The 30th anniversary of the Burmese Women’s Union (BWU), as well as the 10th anniversary of its media outlet Honest Information (HI), was celebrated under the theme: “We dare, we challenge Patriarchy!” in Chiang Mai, Thailand on Jan. 7.
“We have trained and built the capacity of many of the young women [in Burma]. Because of this, after 30 years BWU is still running strong,” said Tin Tin Nyo, a BWU board member. “[Women in Burma] have never accepted any sort of military rule. Instead, they would like to restore human rights, democracy and gender justice.”
BWU was established on Jan. 7, 1995. It is a founding member of the Women’s League of Burma (WLB), an umbrella organization established in 1999 to include women from all ethnic nationalities with the aim of increasing their participation in the struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma. Check out our photos from the event.
News by Region
KAREN—The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) told DVB that it and the Border Guard Force, which was renamed as the Karen National Army (BGF/KNA), along with the KNU/KNLA Peace Council, shut down “gambling rings” in Myawaddy Township, located along the Thai-Burma border 80 miles (128 km) east of the Karen State capital Hpa-An.
A Myawaddy resident told DVB that gambling operations were closed only for five days during the Karen New Year celebrations which began on Dec. 30. “It doesn’t look like [gambling rings] will be permanently closed. This is how they make [profits],” another Myawaddy resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
SAGAING—National Unity Government (NUG) appointed administrator Ngwe Thein was killed by two unidentified gunmen at his home in Tingokekyi village of Kanbalu Township on Monday. Kanbalu is located 120 miles (193 km) north of the region’s capital Sagaing. The town is partly under the control of the PDF.
“Two men with a motorcycle arrived at the administrator’s home. Family members thought they were PDF and prepared coffee. Then, they fired at the administrator and killed him instantly,” a Kanbalu resident, close to Ngwe Thein’s family, told DVB. A PDF member said that the bullet casing found at the scene was known to be produced at the military’s defense equipment factory (KaPaSa).
SHAN—The Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLA) announced on Tuesday that two homes and a vehicle were destroyed by artillery shelling carried out by the military on Htison village of Hsihseng Township on Tuesday. Hsihseng is located 53 miles (85 km) south of the Shan State capital Taunggyi and 38 miles (61 km) north of the Karenni State capital Loikaw.
“The Burma Army has conducted daily artillery shelling on Pa-O villages,” said a PNLA spokesperson. Twenty-four homes have been destroyed by artillery shelling since November during fighting between the military and the PNLA. Hsiseng came back under military control last March after it was occupied by the PNLA for two months.
YANGON—A source close to the police reported that a Thaketa Township resident, over age 50, was killed by an unidentified gunman on Kannar Road in Kyimyindaing Township on Monday. The man was allegedly shot while trying to cross the road.
“It happened during the day in the middle of the road. The [unidentified] gunman held a gun in a white bag and opened fire from the road as vehicles drove by. The man’s body was transported to Yangon General Hospital,” said a Kyimyindaing resident. The police stated that the murder is still under investigation.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,520 kyat)
Prison Desk: The death of political prisoners since 2021
Prison Desk – Episode 3 examines how the lack of medical treatment for political prisoners in Myanmar’s prisons has led to the death of several high profile individuals. A lack of accountability and care inside the prison system since the 2021 military coup, has many international observers worried about the country’s detained leaders who have spent almost four years locked up. Prison Desk is a co-production with the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
Burmese Women’s Union celebrate its 30th anniversary
The 30th anniversary of the Burmese Women’s Union (BWU), as well as the 10th anniversary of its media outlet Honest Information (HI), was celebrated under the theme: “We dare, we challenge Patriarchy!” in Chiang Mai, Thailand on Jan. 7.
“We have trained and built the capacity of many of the young women [in Myanmar]. Because of this, after 30 years, BWU is still running strong,” said Tin Tin Nyo, a BWU board member.
BWU was formed on Jan. 7, 1995. It is a founding member of the Women’s League of Burma (WLB), an umbrella organization that includes women from all ethnic nationalities in Myanmar. Women in Myanmar have been at the forefront of the resistance to the 2021 military coup.
“[Myanmar women] never accept any sort of military rule. Instead, they would like to restore human rights, democracy and gender justice,” added Tin Tin Nyo. “Our revolution is not just a physical [one], it’s [also] an ideological revolution because our country is mainly controlled and influenced by the patriarchy.”
India restricts access to Myanmar border bridge; Documented number of political prisoners freed reaches 344
India restricts access to Myanmar border bridge
India has restricted access to the No. 2 India-Burma Friendship Bridge, located on the border between Rikhawdar, Chinland, and Zokhawthar in Mizoram State since Jan. 2. Rikhawdar is 147 miles (236 km) north of the Chinland capital Hakha. It came under Chin resistance control on Nov. 13, 2023. The export of goods from Rikhawdar into Zokhawthar was stopped by India on July 25.
“The bridge is open from 6am to 6pm. They are collecting fingerprints and eye scans [on the Indian side] for a border pass that allows travel within 10 km of the border. It must be renewed every seven days,” a Rikhawdar resident told DVB. More than 500 students from Chinland cross the bridge daily to attend schools in India since fighting between Chin resistance forces and the military began following the 2021 military coup.
India’s government announced last February that it is ending its Free Movement Regime (FMR) along its 1,020 mile (1,643 km) long border with Burma, which allowed Indian and Burma nationals to travel up to 16 km on either side of the border for up to two weeks without a visa, using a border pass. The Institute of Chin Affairs (ICA) has documented that over 60,000 people from Burma have fled into Mizoram since 2021.
Regime yet to free four detained Thai fishermen
Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura expressed “disappointment” over the continued detention of four Thai nationals who were sentenced from 4-6 years in prison for illegally fishing in Burma’s waters. He added that “patience and careful negotiations” were essential for securing their release. Thai officials were told by the regime that the four Thais would be released on Jan. 4.
Thailand’s Minister of Defence Phumthan Wechayachai told Thai media that negotiations between Bangkok and the regime in Naypyidaw, which seized power after the coup, to release the four Thais are still underway. He added that family members had visited them and reported that all are in good health while being held in detention in Kawthaung, located 408 miles (656 km) south of the Tanintharyi Region capital Dawei.
The four Thais, along with 27 Burma nationals, were arrested by the Burma Navy in 15 fishing boats after allegedly “encroaching” inside Burma’s territorial waters on Nov. 30. They were accused by the regime of having items related to “terrorist groups” but handed suspended sentences for “illegal fishing.” A total of 151 Thai prisoners were freed in the regime amnesty on Jan. 4. Bangkok stated that one Thai fisherman died while attempting to evade arrest by the Burma Navy, which was denied by Naypyidaw on Dec. 2.
Documented number of political prisoners freed reaches 344
The Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM) updated its list of political prisoners released in the regime amnesty on Monday. It reported that 344 political prisoners have been freed so far. The regime spokesperson Zaw Min Tun claimed that 600 political prisoners were pardoned to mark Burma’s 77th Independence Day on Jan. 4.
“It is far less than the number claimed by the military regime,” stated the PPNM press release on Monday. It added that the 344 were released from 40 prisons nationwide. No prominent members of the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi or President Win Myint – arrested on Feb. 1, 2021 – were included in the amnesty.
The regime announced that it had released a total of 6,044 prisoners nationwide. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) told DVB that the unconditional release of all political prisoners would be a positive step by the regime. It has documented that 28,134 civilians have been arrested across the country since the 2021 coup, and that 21,452 are currently held in prisons nationwide.
News by Region
AYEYARWADY—A boat carrying nearly 300 people, including children, women and the elderly, from Manaung, Thandwe and Taungup townships in neighboring Arakan State has been held by the military near Hainggyi island in Ngapudaw Township since Dec. 27. Ngapudaw is located 59 miles (94 km) south of the Ayeyarwady Region capital Pathein.
“They are not allowed to go anywhere. The military does not allow aid groups to help those poor people,” a local aid group member told DVB on the condition of anonymity. The 300 people from Arakan State have fled fighting between the military and the Arakan Army (AA) which launched its most recent offensive on Nov. 13, 2023.
Kyonpyaw Township residents told DVB that the military evicted an unknown number of families from their homes in Ngayoema village in order to build an airstrip near an outpost belonging to the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 36. Kyonpyaw is located 52 miles (83 km) north of Pathein.
“Ngayoema residents have been forced to leave their homes since last week without any notice,” said a Kyonpyaw resident. The military has set up checkpoints inside the town. The AA seized Gwa in southern Arakan State, located 63 miles (101 km) west of Kyonpyaw, on Dec. 29. Regime authorities in Ayeyarwady have been on alert for possible AA attacks.
MAGWAY—The People’s Defense Force (PDF) told DVB that the military has deployed troops near the Shwe Set Taw pagoda in Minbu Township ahead of a festival there on Feb. 2. Over 1,000 residents from 11 nearby villages have fled their homes since Dec. 22. Minbu is located eight miles (12 km) west of the region’s capital Magway.
“We would like to tell residents not to travel around the pagoda during the festival as fighting [with the military] may occur at any time,” a PDF spokesperson told DVB. Minbu residents accused the military of forced recruitment. The regime enacted its military conscription law on Feb. 10. It stipulates men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 24 must serve at least two years in the military.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,470 kyat)
