Myanmar: Ongoing Updates

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His name is Ari Ben-Menashe, and he has more bullshit to sell.

Ben-Menashe told Foreign Lobby that Aung San Suu Kyi had also played a significant role in the marginalisation of the Rohingya people, a Muslim minority who have fled successive crackdowns that have been likened to genocide.

“Aung San Suu Kyi as leader was the one who did in the Rohingyas, not the army,” he said.

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This reframing makes me worry about the dialogues and stuff I’ve been publishing. Because she does need to be held to account. BUT she didn’t say word one until they were virtually all pushed out. So first, silence was complicity, and then she went to bat for her entire, military-dominated government on the international stage. “As leader,” she is constitutionally forbidden to lead.

Ben-Menashe is now Canadian and previously represented a Sudanese warlord. Sounds like he may also have been an enabler for Jeffrey Epstein. (That’s “Mint Press News,” with which I’m admittedly unfamiliar).

Yes, and we called them out for using human minesweepers starting in 1989. I am not some right winger (as I imagine most of my sludgy comments elsewhere suggest), but I have to point this out as yet another point where President Bill Clinton blew it. When the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the campaign to end landmines internationally, Clinton responded by refusing to sign legislation for the US to join the ban. Among other things he wanted to US to be able to keep planting mines in the Korean DMZ. If you ever see anything labelled “Free Burma Rangers” I strongly urge not viewing - they contain no warning. These were US (and maybe English) medical troops who crossed the Thai Burma border to basically do safe amputations on the spot, and they record everything and it cannot be unseen.

My thinking a month on is, is the campaign still gathering steam? What kinda of mealy mouthed excuses are we going to start seeing since China is blocking, this Mussad/lobbyist is running loose, and people asking Chevron to freeze payments?

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10 March 2021
Appears the US is so far not biting on whatever bait the scummy lobbyist is putting out. They’ve added Min Aung Hlaing’s kids to the sanctions (which they should have done a month ago).

Also got a lead that the military commander responsible for the murders in Mandalay has a daughter at UC Irvine. This is exactly what the US should be doing more deeply - finding out who’s in our schools from Myanmar and if they’re tied to the regime in any way, sending them packing.

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They better work fast. 6 weeks of largely nonviolent demonstrations is not gonna hold up. There are some discussions and they are poorly translated by FB, but some in CDM are taking up molotov cocktails, some are horrified at this and some suspect those resorting to violence are (or are prompted by) instigators from the other side.

Prompting this by saying it’s unfair of me to “armchair warrior” but… many of these streets where they are doing nighttime raids and arrests are really dirt alleys with 2 and 3 story houses down the block. The neighborhoods could create movable barriers and when an arrest crew (of maybe 10 officers) comes in, they could barricade them in from both sides, seize the officers (there can be at least 200 able bodied men who can appear within seconds), strip them of their uniforms and guns and send them back out. They could also jam their radios. It is very risky but they are already taking these risks.

I’ve come to a bit of a standstill with this and other life events, but plan to poke a round a bit today to find out how to set up a reporting mechanism for the State Dept to follow up on with respect to regime family members enjoying life in the US.

Also have been looking for potential facilitators or bridge builders in the US for Rohingya - other Muslims - CDM/Gen 88. Possibly the thing to do is get the monks and imams together first, then have a joint conference. L.A. is a bit unique in that we definitely have sizeable expat congregations of both (not to mention missionized Karens, Kachins and others of various Xtian faiths).

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3/16/2021
Deaths may have tripled in the past few days vs the first 41 days.

44 killings on Sunday. 20 yesterday. When does “R2P” kick in? One of the Gen Z CDMers asked “how many deaths will it take?” He was killed a couple of days later.

Textile workers are facing harassment for participating in CDM. Please sign this:

  • Lufthanza for the time being is shutting down service to Yangon.
  • Chinese textile factories have been set ablaze. Biased reporting (IMO) in Chinese media and from their embassy blames CDM and urges the local authorities to secure their factories and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Burmese have pictures of soldiers adjacent to the buildings and say the Tatmadaw set the fires, and that this is Min Aung Hlaing’s doing to promote the need for a military government.
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16 March 2021 Afternoon Edition

  • I’ve read a poorly translated (because FB) report that a Chinese shoe factory contacted all the (striking) workers to come to get their pay. The military was in wait. Three were shot and many were arrested…

…at Dawwar Shin Road, Hlaing Tharyar Township, Part (6) and Dawwwar Shin Road and some workers were shot.

Most of the workers who work in the factory are residents of Hlaing Tharyar Township, Dysu and Nyaung Village Ward.

′′ A local said that the children went to pay for the salary in Nyaung Village Clear Tiger Factory, as the factory put in and shut down, children came to protest for help when they asked for help outside the factory".

  • I had mentioned Dr. Sasa, who had been living in the UK, raising funds and building medicine related development projects in upper Myanmar, and is now the envoy of the elected parliament to the United Nations. He has been charged with treason. His response in full:

Statement by Dr Sasa, Special Envoy to the United Nations of the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), The Union Parliament of Myanmar

Today, I am proud to have been charged with treason by the military junta - because treason against the junta means that I am standing with the people of Myanmar, giving my life for their freedom, for federal democracy and for justice.

In my life, I have witnessed the torture, forced labour, intimidation, rape and killing of my people by the same military Generals who today have accused me of high treason. These military Generals are the ones who today are ordering the army to kill unarmed civilians on streets across the country.

This illegal and illegitimate regime have been committing atrocities and crimes against humanity for the last seventy years against the ethnic people. The Kachin, Karen, Kayah, Shan, Mon, Rakhine, Chin… In 1988, they killed hundreds of peaceful students, in 1997 they murdered unarmed civilians, in the 2007 saffron revolution, Buddhist monks were beaten and slaughtered. In 2017 they ordered ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya people. Throughout our history of independence, there has been bloodshed and suffering across our country committed by those that are meant to protect our people.

It is these Generals that have committed acts of treason every day. Taking what they want for themselves, denying the people their rights, and oppressing those that stand in their way.

Today, this declaration of treason is a declaration of war on federal democracy, freedom and justice. And we will not rest, until we have brought these criminals to justice.

I stand for freedom, I stand for federal democracy, I stand for justice for my country and I continue to call for an end to military brutality and bloody violence. And again, I repeat those calls today. I will not rest. I will go on calling for international action, to stop the treason of the Generals for turning their battlefield weapons against unarmed civilians - the brave and courageous people of Myanmar - who are protesting for their freedom. This charge, which carries with it the death sentence, will not intimidate me, it will not deter me any more than the Generals’ threats will deter the brave people who are risking their lives every day on the streets across Myanmar.

It is the Generals, the military junta who are the ones who should be charged with high treason and crimes against humanity, with ethnic cleansing and genocide. Every day we are collecting evidence of their crimes and we will not rest until we bring them to justice. We will not be deterred, we will go to international criminal courts so that justice is done for the people of Myanmar, once and for all.

This act of charging me with treason, is a desperate move by an illegal and illegitimate military regime that has realised it is out of control and cannot win.

Federal democracy will prevail

Freedom will prevail

Justice will prevail

Dr Sasa

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18 March 2021

  • A young father who lives in the neighborhood I stayed in went to exchange gold for cash and was shot and killed by the military. There are numerous stories like this.
  • The lobbyist is arguably not doing well in interviews but I don’t think that’s his purpose. It’s a long term PR strategy to shift the conversation, to have the media and politicians asking about the history of ethnic tension and DASSK’s role in that without looking at the regime as the chief cause of all of it. What bothered me was the “journalists” were surprised that he was willing to grant an interview. Let me say that again. A person in the public relations profession “granted an interview.”
  • He also denied being in PR or being a lobbyist. It may actually be illegal to lie about being a lobbyist (anyone know?). His firm is now registered for lobbying in the US.
  • ADDED: Here’s the signed agreement attached to his US lobbying registration form. He is promising to be BOTH the PR agent and the lobbyist. Includes Saudi Arabia which has already come on board with the coup as of yesterday.
  • He’s also casting himself as the heroic advisor to the military (to allow journalists in etc.) and says he would never represent a client he’d find reprehensible. When asked for an example of one he has or would turn away, he said “Oh, they know not to contact me.” Sure.
  • CRPH takes the unprecedented stance the NLD and parliament should have taken decades ago. As far as they are concerned, the armed ethnic groups are no longer terrorists.
  • The AP photographer Thein Zaw spent his birthday yesterday still in jail.
  • At least two senior NLD members have now died in custody and another has just been arrested.
  • The internet blackouts are getting longer - days are passing between posts from people there.
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Dear gawd. Sounds like the prof is now suspended. Guessing he did not have tenure. The statement from the university PR could definitely be stronger. They are likely locked into a review process that limits what they can say publicly, but it comes off as mighty weak.

UPDATE: The University can now confirm that it is taking steps to address the matter under the relevant collective agreement, and further, effective immediately, alternate arrangements for the teaching of the course have been made.

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20 March 2021

  • Confirmed there is a real communications blackout. Disappointing to see people posting skepticism when communications do leak out. Here’s the deal - they are blocking all cellular access so no more live coverage. WiFi is intermittent. So what Gen Z-ers with IT knowledge could do is make VPN’s / create virtual wifi networks so at least people can go live with footage from their homes and businesses that are within wifi range. My experience living in a residential home for a month: There is basically no cable internet or hard line DSL. Each house with a communications provider gets a shitty wifi transponder posted on the telephone pole outside their property which may or may not aim at the best spot for wifi - so you basically have to choose which room you want to receive the strongest signal. Repeaters/receiving antenna are difficult to deal with for most people. The pole on which the provider’s transponder is posted sits on the front street facing the house. I don’t know of easements or infrastructure along the back yards. That is, the unidirectional transponders have their backs to the street. It’s very difficult to stream from a street protest. I don’t recall if there are usage caps and (guessing) the ISPs may also be instructed to choke the bandwidth now.
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21 March 2021

  • Snipers are taking positions on rooftops at night.
  • The congressional Q/Trump faction voted against supporting CDM. Historically some of the top supporters for a Free Burma ranged from ultra right to right of our already right “center.” Possibly it was a political misstep by the dems not to let some GOP take the lead on this and do more of a joint resolution, but you also can’t talk about Myanmar without questioning the bogus claims made by the coup regime of an unfair election and these people are reading more into that than they should (but then Q-Anon has said what happened in Myanmar needs to happen in the USA). But the language should be amenable to every American:

“Whereas the Tatmadaw [Myanmar military] claimed they had evidence of parliamentary election fraud perpetrated by the NLD and Burma’s Union Election Commission, an allegation that contradicted the judgment of several independent election monitoring organizations that the electoral process and outcome were credible despite minor irregularities.”
– House resolution

I feel bad even talking about his. The people of Myanmar don’t want their most basic human rights treated as a partisan issue in the US. But it seems that “Freedom Caucus” stands for “freedom for me, but not for you.”

Rep State Freedom Caucus? Supporting Capital Police? Supporting Myanmar CDM?
Andy Biggs AZ Yes No No
Marjorie T Greene GA Yes No No
Lauren Boebert CO Yes No
Chip Roy TX Yes No
Scott Perry PA Yes No
Andy Harris MD Yes No No
Ted Budd NC Yes No
Mary Miller IL Yes No
Alex Mooney WV Yes No
Barry Moore AL Yes No
Jody Hice GA Yes No
Ken Buck CO Yes No
Matt Gaetz FL No No No
Thomas Massie KY No No No
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22 March 2021

Two more Australians being held in Myanmar.
New from OFAC:

  • Complementing just announced EU sanctions, US is sanctioning Chen Mingguo and Wang Junzheng for mass detention of Muslim Uighurs in northwestern China.

  • Myanmar additions:
    – How’s this for a combined job title? “Deputy Minister for Home Affairs and Chief of Burma Police Force” Than Hlaing.
    – The entire 33rd Light Infantry Division of the Burmese Army.
    – The entire 77th Light Infantry Division of the Burmese Army.

  • EU has added 11 persons to sanctions bringing total to 25 (14 were already sanctioned for atrocities against the Rohingya).

  • But just how large is Myanmar’s military?

33rd Light Infantry Battalion
There is terror wherever the 33rd shows up. They carried out massacres of Rohingya, are responsible for the first known shooting in Mandalay, then for the shootings in North Okkalapa in Yangon and, as they are based in Sagaing Division, I’m guessing they were also in Monywa. Amnesty International reports they’ve been seen “lending their weapons to police officers” who then made a sport of shooting protesters from afar. The coup dictator Aung Min Hlaing in 2009 had overseen the 33rd in the northeast in a terror campaign that sent 37,000 people fleeing into China. Here is the arm badge of the 33rd:
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77th Light Infantry Battalion
Based in Pegu. Pegu encompasses the main travel routes between Yangon and just about anywhere else we’ve been talking about. As recently as 2014 they were waging full scale war on the independence armies of Kachin and Shan States. In 2019 in Chin State they were engaging in forced labor practices of the local villagers.

You may notice you’re only reading about the 33rd, 44th, 77th, 99th divisions. Numerology is widely practiced along with going to seers (some of whom were deliberately targeted in the recent roundups). So all of the military divisions have a double number. Same reason the older activists are “Gen 88.” Not just 1988. There was a massive uprising on August 8th of that year.

Forced labor has a long history and is still rampant. We’ve already talked about human minesweepers and those forced to dredge the moat in Mandalay for Visit Myanmar Year. The article linked above describes the forced portering practice very well.

This is always initiated by a battalion leader arriving with armed soldiers to tell the village headman to come up with “volunteer” (or now, not well paid) laborers. Many village heads have been killed for failing to comply and villagers are typically lined up to watch them die.

Throughout the 1990s, we provided Unocal with reports of forced labor linked to activities to prepare Tenasserim Division for their gas pipeline connecting the Adaman Sea Yadana field to electrical generation stations in Thailand. Within a couple of weeks, we learned from a rigorous human rights group in the area that the companies were supervising payments within a fenced in area to all of the forced laborers. So that way they could say they were paying them.

However, because this aspect of the entire project was overseen by the military, as soon as the villagers left the compound and were on their way back to the village, they’d be stopped by the soldiers who would take the money at gunpoint. Their work included what’s described in the article (both providing and carrying massive sacks of rice etc.), as well as land clearing for oil company helipads and continued construction/dredging/repair of the notorious ye-tavoy railway which would give troops faster access in and out of the gas pipeline region of Tenasserim Division (the country’s long Florida-like finger to it’s SE).

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It is said that Ne Win ordered the country to switch to driving on the right because a seer told him that the right would prevail. Or was it a gesture to signal rejection of British colonial influence?

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23 March 2021

Driving is total chaos. I have not been to Thailand so I can’t say “worst in the world” but as a westerner, I remain mystified as to the method pedestrians use to cross streets with constant traffic and no signals. It’s like frogger where nobody seems to lose. Like a blind man I let my little niece take me by the hand and followed her tug. I suppose the flip side to this is seeing Burmese seniors encountering an escalator for the first time at one of the newer indoor shopping centers.

Arguably much worse for the country was when Ne Win first introduced 75 unit currency notes (to celebrate his birthday) and it went downhill from there: 15 and 35 kyat notes on 1 August 1986, all of which lasted a year. On 5 September 1987, Ne Win -replaced- with no opportunity to exchange the 75, 35 and 15 kyat notes with those numbered 45 and 90. His astrologer said his lucky number was 9. Do the math! 4+5=9. He had an 8th grade education. Family fortunes were virtually wiped out. This led to a growing student uprising and a similar cycle to what we’re seeing now from March through June. Ne win “resigned” on 23 July 1988, but everyone knew he continued to exert considerable influence and as an affront to his obsession with 9’s, the student movement designated 8/8/88 as their own number.

Items next:

  • I have been unsure of how to write this, as it’s disturbing: there is clear evidence that the police/tatmadaw are torturing people to death and issuing bogus cause of death reports (“he died by falling on a fence while attempting to escape.”) I say “police/tatmadaw” because police are acting in their official capacity at the behest of tatmadaw so it looks like a legal arrest and then the arrestee is promptly handed to tatmadaw or Military Intelligence and also the bodies are taken the military hospital. Based on evidence of a body received back with orders to promptly cremate and not to photograph it ignored, among other things it is also raising suspicion of organ harvesting. Sorry.
  • There is some talk about the UN surveying or taking a look at Myanmar tomorrow and the people there are saying, no matter what you do or have done, take work off tomorrow and hit the streets.
  • [late addition here] Businesses are taking it seriously. The Costco of Yangon, Makro Market, has announced they will close for the day tomorrow, “taking commuting safety of our employees into consideration…” They have also suspended delivery services indefinitely - you may recall that a food delivery driver was killed.
  • A UN observer is missing the mark IMHO, in that he’s describing the overwhelming desire of the people to see stronger sanctions. This is not true. They have seen the so-so results of sanctions. What I have to say about sanctions would be, well, a very lengthy rant. He reported “some are even calling for UN troops.” Some? Dude. There are probably 100,000 hand drawn signs that say “R2P NOW” - they want an international military force to take on the army that is terrorizing them, and/or the arrest or targeted assassinations of the top brass. That’s their message.
  • The Tatmadaw is unsubtly threatening the population in Namti, Kachin State with these messages posted on lamp posts. They claim that the Kachin Independence Army is planning to carry out bombings and arson attacks on protesters and order everyone to stay home “for your own safety.”
    image
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  • What’s really happening: All of the independence armies which normally hide out and do jungle/ambush actions are planning to support the demonstrators in the populated cities in each of their regions. The KIA plans to protect the citizens from the Tatmadaw.
  • Digital activists are posting deepfakes of Min Aung Hlaing on FB. In this one, he appears to be a bollywood starlet.
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Wiping out cash savings may have been the goal, as when North Korea revalued its currency in 2009.

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“We make money the old fashioned way. We print it.”

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