Published on November 02, 2022
- Political Developments
- Ten ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) who have held peace talks with the junta recently including the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and United Wa State Army (UWSA) have yet to condemn the junta’s airstrikes on civilians in Hpakant, Kachin State.
- In an address on the 62nd anniversary of the Kachin Independence Organization’s (KIO) founding, General N’ban La, the chairman of KIO, announced that the KIO will begin a new political movement to eliminate the military dictatorship.
- Lieutenant General Myo Zaw and Lieutenant General Aung Soe from the junta forces stepped down from their military positions to take on leadership positions in the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
- On October 26, 2022, the military junta released the former heads of the Union Election Commission under the NLD Government from prison. The two released were U Hla Thein who served as the chairman of the UEC and U Myint Naing who was a commission secretary.
- On October 25, 2022, the military regime published a statement stating they were not responsible for the airstrikes conducted at a festival in Hpakant Township, Kachin State on October 23, 2022.
- On October 25, 2022, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) vowed to use the losses they have endured during the junta’s airstrikes in Kachin State to find courage for more revolutionary efforts.
- On the last week of October, the junta closed down The Irrawaddy, an independent media company, and revoked its license for alleged damaging of “state security, rule of law, and public tranquility.”
- Ground Situation
- As of November 02, 2022, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a Burmese human rights advocacy organization, reported that 2,408 individuals have been killed. AAPP also reported that 16,040 individuals have been arrested and 12,830 individuals are still detained by the Burmese military since the coup.
- Locals in Northern Rakhine reported that the junta forces are pressuring IDPs to return to their homes. There are significant security risks for IDPs to return home.
- On October 22, 2022, military junta forces burned a village called Shwe Pauk Pin in Myaung Township, Sagaing region. About 5,000 people were forced to flee.
- Local media reported that the junta is using state funds originally intended for development and disaster relief for funding pro-junta militia in their fight against the resistance forces in Sagaing Region.
- International Responses
- On October 27, 2022, ASEAN foreign ministers hosted an emergency meeting to discuss the Burma Crisis. The ministers acknowledged that efforts thus far have been unsuccessful but called for “concrete, practical, and time-bound actions” to strengthen the implementation of the five-point consensus.” Human Rights Watch implored ASEAN countries to “support tougher sanctions” and other measures to address abuses by the junta.
- The UN High Commissioner for Human rights, Volker Türk, urged Malaysia to halt the forced returns of refugees and migrants from Burma. The call came after Malaysia deported more than a hundred Burmese citizens on October 06, 2022.
- On October 28, 2022, the regime’s special operation commander, Lieutenant General Phone Myat, visited Bangladesh’s military chief General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed to discuss relations and regional security. Junta border forces also met with Bangladesh border forces to improve relations after shells landed in Bangladesh during the junta attacks in Rakhine State.
- Business and Economy
- Norway’s telecom company, Telenor, is working with 474 civil society organizations to conduct a risk assessment and provide support to its former users who may be at risk in Burma after Telenor exited the country.
- The junta-controlled Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) said that it will implement a draft action plan to increase compliance with FATF recommendations after it was put on the FATF blacklist earlier in October.