UN Special Rapporteur labels situation in Myanmar ‘catastrophic’
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Kelley E. Currie, has issued a comprehensive assessment during a press conference at the U.N. in New York on Thursday. She blamed the country’s “catastrophic” human rights situation on the military for intentionally terrorizing non-combatants through aerial strikes, heavy artillery, and systemic abuses to force civilians into submission.
“It is worrying that countries in the region and beyond are engaging with the regime in Naypyidaw without asking for anything in return, such as a reduction in the level of violence, freedom for thousands of political prisoners, and dialogue toward peace with all parties,” she said, expressing concern over members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) not pursuing its own Five Point Consensus.
This is a peace plan developed by ASEAN and agreed to by regime leader Min Aung Hlaing in April 2021 but never implemented. Currie stressed that the conditions on the ground are being directly exacerbated by ongoing foreign weapons flows from Russia and China, which enables the regime to deploy unchallenged air power even as its military has lost control over roughly half the country to resistance forces.
Read the full article on our website
Rakhine returnees from Malaysia released from military custody
Over 400 ethnic Rakhine deported from Malaysia have begun returning home since Tuesday after being held in military custody since arriving back to Burma on Oct. 4, according to family members. “Everyone has been allowed to go home, but if there is no one to come and collect them, they are not permitted to leave,” a father of one of the returnees told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
The 400 ethnic Rakhine were among 1,476 Myanmar nationals deported from Malaysia via three Myanmar Navy vessels on Sept. 29. All 1,476 arrived at Yangon’s Thilawa Port on Oct. 4 but the 400 ethnic Rakhine were transferred to temporary facilities in Yangon’s Thanlyin and Hlaingtharyar townships. Relatives told DVB that the 400 were offered jobs if they stayed in Yangon.
On Oct. 26, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told parliament that he instructed Johan Ariff Abdul Razak, the Chargé d’ Affaires at the Malaysian embassy in Yangon, to investigate reports that the 400 ethnic Rakhine returnees remained in detention and to verify their physical condition and legal status.
Read the full article on our website
ASEAN Special Envoy denied access to Aung San Suu Kyi during visit
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Special Envoy on Myanmar, Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Maria Theresa Lazaro, concluded a high-stakes mission to Naypyidaw where she held direct talks with regime Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe on the ongoing civil war and expanding cross-border humanitarian access.
The ASEAN humanitarian mission to Burma—conducted amid deep regional divisions over re-engaging the regime—underscores Naypyidaw’s aggressive push to end its five-year diplomatic isolation since the 2021 military coup, even as senior regime officials denied the envoy physical access to jailed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.
Discrepancies quickly emerged between official accounts of the meetings. Regime media reported on Friday that discussions centered on “ways to restore Myanmar’s original role and rights within ASEAN.” Regime Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe claimed that Naypyidaw is working to implement the ASEAN peace plan, but pointedly asserted this would only occur “in line with its national interests and sovereignty.”
Read the full article on our website
News by Region
KAREN—The Burma Air Force carried out two airstrikes in southern Myawaddy Township on Saturday. No casualties were reported. This comes one day after the Thai Army closed all unofficial border crossings from Myawaddy into Mae Sot on Friday for seven days due to security reasons.
A resident told DVB that the border closure has slowed market activity in Myawaddy. Fighting between the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and regime forces in Myawaddy’s Minletpan village intensified in October. Myawaddy is located 81 miles (130 km) east of the state capital Hpa-An.
KARENNI—At least three children were killed and another six civilians were injured during airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force in the state capital Loikaw Township on Saturday. Loikaw’s urban area is controlled by the regime, while its outskirts remain contested by Karenni resistance forces.
A Loikaw resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the airstrikes hit a makeshift school. The Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC) told DVB that regime forces have deliberately targeted Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps with aerial and artillery attacks since September.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,750 MMK)
Watch our latest report: Myanmar military and Arakan Army forcing Rohingya to fight in Rakhine State on DVB English News YouTube.
