26th May 2021
I would like to thank all the readers who have indulged me over the last few months as I have tried to keep you up to date with events in Myanmar, many of which haven’t been covered by the MSM. I am having to stop writing these pieces for a few days as my sources are slowly drying up and we are looking at other ways of getting news out. The situation is getting desperate in Myanmar as the troops are running amok and looting, pillaging and worse. The officers aren’t controlling them as it is in their interests to keep the population in a constant state of terror.
The economy will soon hit the buffers, the agricultural output is dropping, food supplies will diminish, and the poorer people will not be able to afford food. Thailand is worried about a huge influx of refugees, as is India.
The military have not achieved their objectives as they thought it would be all over in a few weeks. The high-level officers are getting restless with the Senior General, not because of the coup – they are happy with the coup itself, but because of his gross incompetence in achieving its objectives.
China is getting twitchy; they won’t intervene militarily as they are afraid of getting bogged down in jungle guerrilla warfare which would interrupt its two oceans initiative. They were happy with the NLD government as they could deal with them and had better relations than with the army. Also, massive insurrections in the ethnic border zones will impact on the Chinese residents in China. The probability is that the narcotics trade will increase dramatically.
Total and Chevron have ceased all cash distributions to their Myanmar subsidiary, causing a forex and cash influx into Myanmar.
Buddhist monks around the world showed their displeasure with the Junta.
Another journalist has been detained by the Junta. Ko Aung Mya Than, a reporter for the Ayeyarwaddy Times was abducted by the military yesterday.
The above 5 people were abducted from a medical centre after receiving treatment.
Sat Taw Kone middle school after an attack by the Tatmadaw.
Some 70,000 residents from around 150 villages in Demoso, Loikaw and Shan State’s Pekon Township have been displaced in the five days of fighting since Friday, according to relief workers.
In Pekon and Moebyel Town, over 20,000 people have been displaced, while more than 50,000 are displaced in Kayah State, including 10,000 in Demoso and 6,000 in Nam Mae Khon, according to Pekon, Loikaw and Demoso residents.
One relief worker said the villagers have fled into the hills, while town residents are sheltering at monasteries, churches and in elders’ homes. “We need shelters in the rural areas with the rainy season beginning. The elders and children also need medicine,” he said.
Another relief worker in Pekon said the town residents and people from nearby villages have fled their homes. The displaced villagers are taking temporary shelter at five different places, as well as scattering across Pekon and Moebyel to stay with relatives. He added that they are in need of emergency help, as the basic food items the villagers brought with them will run out after a week if the fighting continues.
A spokesman of the management committee for the internally displaced people (IDP) in Pikin Kaw Khu, a village near the Kayah-Shan border, said that there are about 1,500 people who fled from Pekin Kaw Khu and Hawyi Kaw Khu villages. They have brought some food with them, but if they are going to be displaced for a long time, people will need rice, medicine and shelter from the elements.
“We opened an IDP camp in Pekin Kaw Khu. But after artillery fire landed in the camp, we now have to go to another place,” he said.
One villager from Kone Thar village said that more than 2,000 people have fled alongside him. “We have rice, but not enough for a long time. We need shelters, clean water and medicine,” said the villager.
Relief workers, camp management leaders and locals who The Irrawaddy contacted urged the junta forces not to fire at civilians and the IDP camps.
The relief worker from Pekon added, “There is no guaranteed safe place for the IDPs, because the junta forces even fire at the churches where people are sheltering and white flags are flying.”
Source The Irrawaddy 26th May 2021.
As this is the last report for a few days, I have tried to give a roundup of what is happening and showing what living is like in Myanmar. I shall be back in a few days when I can sort out my sources.
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