Regime threatens ‘harsh actions’ for anyone disrupting election
Regime media reported that Min Aung Hlaing said that anyone who disrupts the general elections scheduled to begin on Dec. 28 will face “harsh actions” during a meeting of the “State Security and Peace Commission,” which he chaired in Naypyidaw on Friday. This followed a regime Union Election Commission (UEC) press conference on Thursday, which explained why it had dissolved four political parties.
A source who attended the UEC press conference told DVB that anyone affiliated with the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Arakan Army (AA), who has pledged to boycott the regime elections, will be prosecuted under the “General Election Protection Law.” The AA controls 14 out of 17 Arakan townships. The KNU has seized at least 200 regime outposts since 2021, according to the Institute for Strategy and Policy (ISP – Myanmar).
The KNU was designated as a terrorist group last month, while the AA received the designation by the regime in Naypyidaw last year. The new “General Election Protection Law,” which was enacted on July 29, carries a minimum sentence of three years in prison to a maximum sentence of death, if convicted of disrupting the elections. Three people have been reportedly prosecuted under this new law since its adoption.
UN Refugee Agency chief visits Myanmar
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi said that millions of people in Burma “live in daily fear for their lives” on Thursday, following his three-day visit to Naypyidaw. Regime media reported that Grandi met with regime officials from the Ministries for Border Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Population, as well as Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement.
Grandi reportedly discussed issues related to peace and stability in the border regions, as well as the status of humanitarian assistance to conflict-affected areas such as Arakan State. “The suffering of millions of people across Myanmar is immense,” he said. Grandi added that “civilian men, women and children must be protected from violence, and solutions found so that they can choose to return home in safety and dignity.”
The U.N. estimates that there are over 3.5 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Burma. Grandi highlighted the 150,000 Rohingya who have fled fighting in Arakan between the AA and regime forces over the last year into Bangladesh. He will attend a high-level U.N. conference on the Rohingya later this month in New York to call for “greater regional and international efforts” to address the crisis in Burma.
At least 22 students killed in airstrike on schools in Rakhine State
The AA vowed to retaliate on Saturday after an airstrike killed 22 students and injured an unknown number of civilians at two private high schools in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, on Sept. 12. Kyauktaw is located 60 miles (96 km) northeast of the Arakan State capital Sittwe.
“The attack adds to a pattern of increasingly devastating violence in Rakhine State, with children and families paying the ultimate price,” stated the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in a press release on Sept. 12. The UNICEF statement condemned targeted attacks on schools, which is considered a war crime under international law.
Seven school buildings, including classrooms and dormitories, were either damaged or destroyed in Kyauktaw, the AA stated on Sept. 13. Five airstrikes across the state have killed 89 civilians and injured 91 others between January and August, according to the AA, which called on the international community to take action. Kyauktaw Township was seized by AA in February 2024. Read more
News by Region
ARAKAN—The AA stated on Thursday that two of its members were killed by “terrorists” from Bangladesh disguised as fishermen on boats in Rathedaung Township on Sept. 10. Rathedaung is located 44 miles (71 km) north of the state capital Sittwe.
A resident from Maungdaw Township told DVB that fishermen from Bangladesh are taking advantage of the AA’s “poor security” along the coast. The AA claimed it seized five of 80 fishing boats off the coast of Rathedaung. Both townships were seized by the AA last year.
AYEYARWADY—Residents of Yekyi Township told DVB that more than 40 homes and shops in Letpanpin village were forced to close after allegedly selling goods and food to members of resistance forces, on Sept. 10. Yekyi is located 53 miles (85 km) north of the region’s capital Pathein.
A source close to the regime administration told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the 40 homes and shops are located two miles (3 km) from the Yenatha checkpoint gate. Traders told DVB that the military has restricted the trading of goods in Yekyi, Lemyethna, and Ingapu townships.
MANDALAY—Pro-democracy activist and physician Tayzar San shared a video on Saturday to social media of a flash mob protest against the regime general elections, scheduled to begin on Dec. 28, in an urban area of Mandalay – under the control of regime forces — at an undisclosed location and date.
A protester in the video called on citizens to boycott the elections, warning Mandalay residents that the regime is using polls as an “exit strategy” to gain legitimacy by transforming itself under a pro-military political party. He added that this would not end the uprising to the 2021 military coup.
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