Published on April 10, 2023
Political Development
- On April 08, 2023, a junta court sentenced prominent pro-democracy leader, Ko Wai Moe Naing, to an additional 20 years in prison, bringing the total number of years he has been sentenced to 34 years.
- As of April 07, 2023, 63 political parties have registered for the junta’s election.
- On April 05, 2023, the NUG and the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) urged political parties to not contest in the junta’s election.
- The junta-appointed National Solidarity and Peace Negotiation Committee (NSPNC) held informal talks with seven ethnic armed groups that were signatories to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) on March 28 and March 29, 2023.
- On March 28, 2023, the military junta dissolved the NLD and 39 other political parties after they refused to register for the junta’s elections.
- On March 25, 2023, former NLD Tanintharyi Region Chair U Aung Soe and Lower House lawmaker U Win Myint Aung visited ousted State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyitaw prison to seek advice from her regarding concerns that the NLD would be dissolved. However, a prison official reportedly told them that she refused to meet them.
- From March 15 to March 21, 2023, approximately 60,000 students took matriculation exams administered by the National Unity Government (NUG) in its Southern Military Region 3 area.
Situation on the Ground
- As of April 10, 2023, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) reported that 3,229 individuals have been killed. AAPP also said that 21,300 individuals have been arrested and 17,421 individuals are still detained by the Burmese military since the coup.
- Nearly 1.8 million people were displaced in Burma as of March 27, 2023. More than 1.4 million of those have been displaced by violence and conflict since the 2021 coup.
- A corporate lawyer accused of laundering money and helping evade Western sanctions for the junta was shot and killed by local PDF in Yangon.
- A PDF in Hlaing Tharyar bombed the local junta-election commission office on March 25, 2023.
- The junta arrested 15 teachers in Mandalay Region in connection with a NUG online school.
- The junta outpost at the Yangon Airport was bombarded by PDFs on April 06, 2023.
- KNLA captured a major junta base in Karen State on March 28, 2023.
- Recent satellite imagery of Great Coco Island in the Indian Ocean reveals that the junta may be militarizing the island for surveillance purposes.
International Response
- On April 04, 2023, the NUG called on Taiwan, Japan, and other Asian democracies to reject the junta’s planned elections. This followed the junta’s dissolution of 40 political parties.
- On April 03, 2023, a UN Panel of Experts report stated that the junta may have purchased weapons from North Korea, going against sanctions barring arms trade with the country. Royal Shune Lei Company Ltd. allegedly served as a broker between the junta and the UN-sanctioned Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation.
- On March 30, 2023, the US, UK, Japan, and Australia condemned the junta’s decision to dissolve 40 political parties, including the National League for Democracy. A State Department spokesperson stated further objection against the junta’s planned election.
- On March 29, 2023, US State Department Counselor Derek Chollet stated that he met with the Indonesian government to discuss Burma. He shared that the Indonesian foreign ministry established a special office to address the crisis and that sanctions “have had some effect.”
- On March 27, 2023, the UK announced further sanctions against arms dealers and aviation fuel suppliers to the junta. This marks the UK’s 15th round of targeted sanctions against the junta.
Business and Economy
- The junta-controlled DICA reported that Burma attracted over US$1.64 billion in FDI in the 2022-2023 fiscal year. Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand were the largest foreign investors.
- On April 02, 2023, China signed an agreement with the junta to purchase power from Dapein 1 Hydropower Plant in Kachin State.
- The World Bank predicted a three percent growth in the economy for Burma in the fiscal year ending in September 2023. Uncertainties and disruptions due to coup-related conflicts will largely affect this slow growth.