‘Loyal’ Civilians May Obtain Licenses for Firearms
According to media reports and unverified leaked government documents, the Myanmar junta is set to allow civilians “loyal to the state” to apply for licenses to carry firearms; the fifteen-page document outlined criteria for obtaining a license but could not be immediately verified by Reuters (Reuters)
Chevron to Exit Myanmar
U.S. oil major Chevron Corp said it agreed to sell its forty-one percent interest in the Yadana Project to a subsidiary of the Canadian company MTI; the deal marks Chevron’s departure from Myanmar two years after the military coup in 2021 (Reuters)
Myanmar and Russia Agree to Develop Nuclear Power
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing met with the Russian State Atomic Energy Corp director general to inaugurate a nuclear power information center in Yangon; Myanmar is working with Russia to develop atomic power to fill energy shortages (AP)
Myanmar’s Military Rulers Extend State of Emergency
The state of emergency was set to be lifted two days ago; the six-month extension is expected to delay elections that were planned to occur by August (Nikkei)
UN Chief Supports Democracy Aspirations
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he supports the democratic aspirations of Myanmar’s people but warned that the military’s upcoming elections “risk exacerbating instability” as the military continues to crack down on civilians and political leaders (AP)
Myanmar Junta Tightens Election Rules
The new rules include increased membership requirements for parties seeking to participate in general elections that could take place this year; it will also be easier to dissolve parties if they are suspected of having connections to terrorist groups (Bloomberg)
UN: Opium Output in Myanmar Soars to Nine-Year High After Coup, Economic Slump
The surge in cultivation of illicit opium poppies, used to make many narcotics, reverses a decade-long decline, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a new report (UN)
Myanmar’s legal economy has stumbled as the country bears international sanctions applied after its 2021 military coup; energy price shocks related to Russia’s war in Ukraine have also taken a toll (Nikkei)
Myanmar Group Files Suit in Germany Against Junta
The group comprises a range of ethnicities and is seeking accountability both for the crackdown against Rohingya Muslims in 2016 and 2017 and abuses committed since a 2021 coup, activists said (The Guardian)
Indian Civil Societies Groups Providing Medical Aid to Myanmar
Civil society groups in the Indian border region of Mizoram are planning a cross-border medical assistance mission after Myanmar’s military bombed a rebel camp on its side of the border (ThePrint)
One shell crossed the border and damaged a truck (Indian Express)
Myanmar Jails 112 Rohingya Trying to Leave Country
Twelve children were among the members of the Muslim minority group who were found on a boat in December and sentenced last week, state-run media said; the adults received five-year sentences, while the children were sentenced to up to three years in a “youth training school” (Al Jazeera)
Myanmar Junta Plans Mass Prisoner Release
The military government will grant amnesty to some seven thousand prisoners to mark Myanmar’s Independence Day, state media reported; authorities said they will not free those convicted of certain crimes, such as murder and rape, and it is unclear if political prisoners will be freed (Reuters)
At Least Twenty-Six Rohingya Refugees Die in Sea Voyage
An Amnesty International director criticized the lack of a regional response to the ongoing outflow of refugees by boat toward Indonesia and Malaysia; nearly two hundred refugees have died in such journeys this year, according to the United Nations’ refugee agency (AP)
UN Security Council Approves First Resolution on Myanmar in Seventy-Four Years
It called for an immediate end to violence in Myanmar and for the country’s military government to release all political prisoners; twelve council members voted in favor of the resolution, while China, India, and Russia abstained (PTI)
UN Delays Decision on Accepting Junta Diplomats
A UN credentials committee again delayed a decision on whether Taliban-led Afghanistan and junta-ruled Myanmar can send diplomats to the United Nations, effectively blocking them from UN representation for now (Reuters)
United States Downgrades Relations With Myanmar
The United States is downgrading diplomatic relations with Myanmar and will not send a new ambassador to the country after the current one departs this month, Nikkei reported (Nikkei)
UN Postpones Decision on Representation
A UN committee delayed determining who should represent Myanmar at the United Nations amid concerns about Russia’s support for Myanmar’s military government, Al Jazeera reported (Al Jazeera)
Myanmar Junta to Free Nearly Six Thousand Prisoners
A former British envoy, an Australian economics advisor, and a Japanese journalist were among those released so far by Myanmar’s military government (AFP, France24)
ASEAN Members Call for Timeline for Peace in Myanmar
The heads of government constituting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) called for “measurable indicators with a specific timeline” in Myanmar’s ongoing peace process (Reuters)
After joining the summit on Saturday, Biden pledged to provide further support to the ten ASEAN members on Myanmar and other regional issues (South China Morning Post)
Additionally, one hundred and ten Rohingya Muslims were discovered by local fisherman in Indonesia after fleeing Myanmar by boat (AP)
Myanmar Conflict Set to Dominate ASEAN Summit Agenda
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit begins today in Cambodia and is expected to focus in part on escalating violence in military-led Myanmar; U.S. President Biden is set to attend (AP)
Amnesty International Claims Junta’s Air Strikes Amount to War Crimes
The military is diverting fuel from civilian airlines to military planes conducting air strikes that could amount to war crimes, Amnesty International said (Amnesty)
Myanmar Military Court Hands Former Politician 148-Year Prison Sentence
Win Myint Hlaing’s sentence on terrorism charges is the longest given to a member of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party since the military took over Myanmar’s government in February 2021; he had already received prison sentences totaling twenty-five years (AP)
ASEAN Statement Says Myanmar Peace Plan Needs to Be ‘Time-Bound’
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has called for a cessation of violence in Myanmar after last year’s coup, to no effect; ASEAN ministers will discuss the conflict during a summit next month (Nikkei)
Junta Defends Airstrike on Concert
Myanmar’s military released a statement arguing that it is the military’s responsibility to fight insurgents after accusations that the junta targeted civilians and conducted war crimes in its attack on Sunday that killed at least fifty civilians (Reuters)
The chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) expressed concern over the worsening situation in Myanmar ahead of a special meeting of the region’s foreign ministers to discuss the crisis (AP)
Additionally, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, Daniel Kritenbrink, stated that the United States would take “additional steps to put pressure on the regime” (Reuters)
Dozens Reported Dead in Myanmar After Military Strikes Rebel-Organized Concert
A rebel group said at least fifty people were killed when military jets attacked a concert it held in the northern Kachin State (AFP)
UN Calls on Southeast Asian Neighbors to Accept Asylum Seekers
The UN refugee agency called on Myanmar’s neighbors to accept asylum seekers from the country amid reports that Malaysia deported 150 people to Myanmar last month (UNHCR).