Summary of News
- NUG Minister holds bilateral talks with University of Toronto and MyPACK Hub during Canada visit
- Union Minister Dr. Tu Hkawng cautions military junta’s scheme to create rift between KIA and China
- Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun urges Security Council to refer Myanmar situation to ICC
- NUG Australia representative stresses the need to identify and focus on the “real” enemy
- Chin State People’s Police Force Chief says current generation is fortunate to draft a new constitution
- UN OCHA reports over 185,000 displaced in Rakhine and southern Chin State
- Tanintharyi Township Board of Education celebrates completion of elementary teacher’s refresher training course
- NMD guerrilla force bombs military-owned Myawaddy Bank and No. 7 Police Station in Mandalay
- Tharrawaddy Garuda Army and Northern District People’s Defence Force of Yangon Region People’s Defence Team join forces for military operations
- Dyna truck with junta soldiers hit by mine in Ngazun, resulting in casualties
1. NUG Minister holds bilateral talks with University of Toronto and MyPACK Hub during Canada visit
On May 22, Union Minister for Human Rights U Aung Myo Min, currently visiting Canada, met with Mr. Joseph Wong, Vice President of International Affairs at the University of Toronto. They discussed supporting Myanmar’s spring revolution, addressing issues faced by Myanmar students, and exploring collaboration opportunities.
Earlier, on May 21, U Aung Myo Min met with researchers from the Myanmar Policy and Community Knowledge Hub (MyPACK) at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. MyPACK, supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) through the Knowledge for Democracy-Myanmar (K4DM) project, is involved in research and analysis related to Myanmar. The discussions included MyPACK’s research processes, Canada’s foreign policy on Myanmar, and potential collaborations to support the establishment of a federal democratic union in Myanmar.
2. Union Minister Dr. Tu Hkawng cautions military junta’s scheme to create rift between KIA and China
Union Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation of the National Unity Government (NUG), Dr. Tu Hkawng, commented on the military junta’s recent attempts to restart the Myitsone Dam Hydropower Project.
“As the KIA grows stronger in Kachin State, the junta is already planning to play tricks to divide the KIA with the Chinese government,” Dr. Tu Hkawng stated.
In Kachin State, the military junta has been losing its military bases one after another.
3. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun urges Security Council to refer Myanmar situation to ICC
Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, Permanent Representative of Myanmar to the United Nations, addressed the UN Security Council Open Debate on the “Twenty-fifth anniversary of Security Council resolution 1265 (1999)” under the agenda item “Protection of civilians in armed conflict” on May 22, 2024, in New York.
“The current trajectory in Myanmar shows the intensification of conflicts, followed by unabated violence and indiscriminate attacks by the military junta against the civilian population,” stated Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun. He highlighted that the military continues to commit atrocities with impunity due to the lack of an accountability mechanism by the international community. He urged the Security Council to fill this accountability gap by referring the situation in Myanmar to the ICC and adopting an enforcement resolution as a follow-up to resolution 2669.
He also reported that since the attempted military coup in 2021, the junta has killed over 5,100 people, internally displaced over 3 million, and left more than 18.6 million in need of humanitarian assistance. Additionally, nearly 90,000 private properties have been destroyed, and the health sector has been attacked over 1,293 times, resulting in damage to 343 health facilities and the deaths of 104 health workers.
4. NUG Australia representative stresses the need to identify and focus on the “real” enemy
Dr. Tun Aung Shwe, the representative of the National Unity Government (NUG) in Australia, emphasized the importance of recognizing and focusing on the true enemy in a social media post on May 23. He urged, “Know the ‘real’ enemy, don’t lose sight of the ‘real’ enemy, and make every effort to defeat the ‘real’ enemy.”
He warned against falling into the traps set by the enemy, stating, “If you are too reactive, you will fall into the pit that the enemy set. Don’t underestimate the ‘enemy’. They have dominated and ruled over us for more than 70 years because they are cunning.”
He also mentioned that the terrorist junta, facing military defeat, is attempting to create ethnic and religious conflicts.
5. Chin State People’s Police Force Chief says current generation is fortunate to draft a new constitution
On May 23, Chief Steven Thian Nung Bia of the Chin State People’s Police Force (CSPPF) remarked that despite enduring the atrocities of the military dictatorship, the current generation is fortunate to have the right to draft a new constitution for building the best new federal democratic country in the world.
“We are a generation that is very unfortunate because of the military dictatorship’s atrocities. However, we are also fortunate to have the right to draft a new constitution to build the best new federal democratic union in the world,” he said.
He also mentioned that Chin revolutionary forces have already gained control of most of the Chin territory.
6. UN OCHA reports over 185,000 displaced in Rakhine and southern Chin State
On May 23, UN OCHA Myanmar reported that more than 185,000 people have now been forced to flee their homes in Rakhine and southern Chin.
It stated, “More than 185,000 people have now been forced to flee their homes in Rakhine and southern Chin since the conflict reignited last November. Meanwhile, in the Northwest, approximately 10,000 people from 10 villages along the Ayeyarwady River in Myingyan Township in Mandalay have been displaced since 14 May amid widespread military operations. In the Southeast, more than 4,000 people in Bilin and Thaton townships fled their homes due to shelling on 15 May. In the Northeast, in Kachin, more than 800 people from 2 villages in Puta-O Township have been displaced since 11 May, amid intense fighting.” This information is part of the UN OCHA’s Weekly Regional Humanitarian Snapshot (May 14–20, 2024) for Asia and the Pacific, released on May 21.
7. Tanintharyi Township Board of Education celebrates completion of elementary teacher’s refresher training course
May 23, 2024
It is reported that the refresher training course for elementary school teachers by the Tanintharyi Township Board of Education under the Ministry of Education of the National Unity Government (NUG) was conducted from May 14 to 19, and a ceremony was held to celebrate the completion of the training course.
In the course, the teachers in the ground schools discussed and learned all the subjects related to elementary-level teaching with the instructors. After the completion of the training period, the graduation ceremony was held and certificates were given to the teachers, the Township Board of Education informed.
A military source, a CDM captain, revealed that the military has employed tactics of firing heavy weapons at Laiza, targeting the headquarters, and bombing with airpower whenever their military bases are captured.
KIA-led joint forces have captured LIB-321 in Waingmaw, but they still need to capture LIB-58 in the town. Currently, the local people are fleeing the war because the military is still tense near Waingmaw.
Military News
8. NMD guerrilla force bombs military-owned Myawaddy Bank and No. 7 Police Station in Mandalay
No More Dictatorship People Defence Force (NMD), a Mandalay-based guerrilla force operating under the Ministry of Defence of the National Unity Government, announced that they have carried out an IED attack on the military-owned Myawaddy Bank in Chanmyathazi township and the No. 7 Police Station in Mahaaungmyay Township in Mandalay.
It is reported that the guard tent in front of the military-owned Myawaddy Bank, located at Block No. 902 on the Yangon-Mandalay Road, between Myanandar Street and Sagaing-Mandalay Road, in the south of Chanmyathazi Township, was bombed with a hand grenade at about 11:00 a.m. on May 21 as the first mission. Although the guard soldiers returned fire at several shots with small arms, the revolutionary comrades were not harmed. NMD stated that they bombed the bank because the military-owned Myawaddy Bank is the economic pillar operating the atrocious murdering mechanism of the military council.
As the second mission, the No. 7 Police Station near 35th Street and Kanna Street in Mahaaungmyay Township was attacked with 2 grenades at around 7:00 p.m. on May 21. One exploded inside the police station compound, and one didn’t explode. During the mission, a comrade was injured due to an equipment error and was arrested. In addition, another comrade was also injured but has now reached a safe place.
The NMD stated that this attack was carried out because they wanted to inform the public that the revolutionary guerrilla UG comrades are not becoming indifferent and that although there were many losses and arrests during the revolution, they will fight to the end with a strong spirit for the goal of ending the military dictatorship.
9. Tharrawaddy Garuda Army and Northern District People’s Defence Force of Yangon Region People’s Defence Team join forces for military operations
On May 23, the Tharrawaddy Garuda Army, based in Tharrawaddy District in Bago Region, and the Northern District People’s Defence Force, or Company 3, of the Yangon Region People’s Defence Team (Pa-Ka-Fa) Combat Team 3, announced that they would join forces and escalate the speed of the military more than before. They have been cooperating since May 21, but the official announcement was made on May 23.
Tharrawaddy Garuda Army and Northern District People’s Defence Force aim to be more effective and successful in urban battles and Yoma battles. They stated that they would escalate warfare more than before and that the military junta and all military support pillars would be attacked.
Tharrawaddy Garuda Army, based in Tharrawaddy District in the western part of Bago Region, is also a revolutionary force that is attacking the military council troops that have marched into the Bago Yoma. Similarly, the Northern District People’s Defence Force is also a force that conducts urban operations in Yangon Region.
10. Dyna truck with junta soldiers hit by mine in Ngazun, resulting in casualties
Red Dragon Guerrilla Force-Myingyan reported that they had executed a mine attack on a Dyna truck with about 50 terrorist junta soldiers travelling in Ngazun Township, Mandalay Region, which might result in casualties.
The mine attack was carried out at around 11:45 a.m. on May 21, when the junta troops of about 50 forces came back in a 12-foot Dyna truck to Myotha after a raid on villages near Kyin Thar village in Ngazun township. Because the truck was mined with 5 cluster mines and 1 front mine, there were casualties, and they drove away towards Gway Kone military camp with wailing sounds in agony. Gway Kone Village is a village in Ngazun Township on the border of Tada-U township.
The mine attack was carried out by the comrades of Red Dragon Guerrilla Force—Myingyan. Although the military junta soldiers returned gunfire indiscriminately, the people’s defence forces successfully retreated harmed.
#Credit : Radio NUG
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