Published on November 09, 2022
- Political Developments
- In the last week of October, the junta prison staff in Yangon’s Insein Prison along with criminal inmates beat up and punished political prisoners for holding a memorial service for the four political prisoners executed in July. Four of the political prisoners leading the memorial service were put in solitary confinement.
- On October 15, the National Unity Government (NUG) established a courthouse in Katha Township in Sagaing Region to conduct its judicial proceeding. They have been conducting legal proceedings in the area for four months before the establishment of the courthouse. Local People’s Security Forces and PDFs have been recruited to enforce the law and make criminal arrests.
- The junta forces arrested nine civilians in Rakhine State alleging that they are affiliated with the Arakan Army (AA) and supporting the armed group.
- On October 28, 2022, the military junta released U Soe Win, the former Planning and Finance minister of the National League for Democracy (NLD) government after being jailed for a month.
- Ground Situation
- As of November 08, 2022, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a Burmese human rights advocacy organization, reported that 2,424 individuals have been killed. AAPP also reported that 16,116 individuals have been arrested and 12,905 individuals are still detained by the Burmese military since the coup.
- On November 01, 2022, Save the Children reported that 407,000 children have been forced to flee from their homes since the coup began. More than 1.1 million people have been displaced since February 2021.
- An investigation by Amnesty International, Justice for Myanmar, and other civil society organizations identified Puma Energy, ExxonMobil, Thai Oil, PetroChina, and Rosneft for their involvement in the aviation fuel supply chain for Burma.
- On October 30, 2022, an activist monk and four youth activists were arrested in Pyigyitagon Township in Mandalay Region. The day before, the junta forces also arrested five CDM health workers alleging that they were providing local PDFs with medical supplies.
- On October 27, 2022, five navy personnel from the junta’s Mawrawati Navy Headquarters in Yebyu Township in Tanintharyi Region deserted their post.
- On October 17, 2022, Myanmar Witness, a Burmese watchdog discovered a Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30 fighter plane on the tarmac at the Naypyidaw airbase. The junta purchased six of these in 2018. Local media reported that between four and six of these were delivered.
- Junta’s blockade of four villages in Maungdaw Township in Rakhine State is restricting locals’ access to essential goods including food and healthcare.
- International Responses
- The ASEAN Summit will take place from November 10 to November 13, 2022. Analysts expect Burma to be top of the agenda, following the recent emergency meeting on Burma. Some suggest ASEAN take “practical steps” to sanction the junta and bar “the appearance of junta officials” at regional meetings instead of “just ministerial-level” meetings. At the same time, senior Cambodian foreign affairs official Dr. Kung Phoak called for ASEAN to not “overstretch” the ASEAN charter in the Burma decision.
- The EU imposed sanctions on 19 individuals and one entity on November 08, 2022. EU’s newest sanctions target the junta Minister of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations Kan Zaw, the junta Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Htun Htun Oo, high-ranking members of the junta forces and its air force, members of the Union Election Commission (UEC), and junta-affiliated businessmen. The junta’s State Administration Council (SAC) is also included in this round of sanctions.
- On November 08, 2022, the US Department of Treasury sanctioned Kyaw Min Oo, a Burmese arms dealer, and his company, Sky Aviator Company Limited, for supplying the junta forces with aircraft parts and facilitating arms purchases for the junta.
- On November 05, 2022, Rosfinmonitoring, the Russian Federal Service for Financial Monitoring, put Burma on its “blacklist”, following the world body the Financial Action Task Force. However, the blacklisting likely won’t affect the junta’s plan to continue importing oil and fuel from Russia.
- The junta air force chief, General Tun Aung, was appointed to chair the ASEAN Air Chiefs Conference for 2023 on November 04, 2022.
- NUG Foreign Minister Daw Zin Mar Aung and Deputy Foreign Minister U Moe Zaw Oo were barred from participating in the Global Town Hall 2022 after the UN objected to NUG’s participation. The event was organized by the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia in collaboration with Global Citizen, an international advocacy organization.
- On November 04, 2022, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the junta is to blame for the failure of the ASEAN five-point consensus. She reported that her ASEAN counterparts are generating new recommendations to implement the consensus ahead of the upcoming ASEAN summit this week.
- Business and Economy
- Justice for Myanmar’s (JFM) investigation revealed that the military-owned Innwa Bank continues to transact with international banks despite the sanctions imposed on the Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), Innwa Bank’s parent company. Foreign banks transacting with Innwa Bank include Australia’s ANZ, Singapore’s UOB, Burma’s Yoma Bank, and Vietnam’s BIDV.