A former US Senator on a private humanitarian mission recently met the junta leader Min Aung Hlaing.  Further charges were raised by the military against the editor of local newspaper Frontier Myanmar, a US national detained for the past 4 months. Neither Mr. Fenster’s nor Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers are allowed to talk to the press and the detention and military court appearances happen without media or observer access.

1200 people have so far been killed since February, 400 of these in detention. Military troops, as well as representatives, are attacked on regular basis across the country by opponents to the regime’s unlawful takeover in what is slowly evolving towards civil war.

Around 5000 detainees, young and old, were released on Monday after being held for weeks for participation in street protests and objecting to the repressive tactics applied by the current government.  In the run-up to this release, Myanmar’s current leaders did not allow the ASEAN envoy to meet Aung San Suu Kyi during his upcoming visit to Myanmar, and subsequently, the ASEAN secretariat withdrew an invitation to the military leader for the upcoming ASEAN summit to be held from 26 to 28 October. It was seen as a sign that even am0ng peers in the region, Myanmar’s leadership’s actions can’t be accepted to sit at the table.

Meanwhile, Aung San Suu Kyi’s health, at 76 years, is declining and there is a genuine worry for her well-being. She has recently asked to reduce the lengths of her court appearances due to her frail state. She has been held at an unknown location for more than 8 months and has not been able to talk to her lawyer regularly to prepare her defense. Nothing is known about the medical attention she receives, given that she was not allowed to appear in public or able to talk to the press. There is by the way no more free press to talk to, given the controls imposed by the current government, forcing any dissenting and reporting opinions into hiding.

Not much has changed for the good in Myanmar over the last months. The elected leaders are still under arrest as are reporters, local and foreign, with little apparent intention to resolve things other than to drag out any solution and remain in power while subjugating an entire population.  While life in Yangon and some big cities seemingly is normal, there are violent army activities and killing of civilians across the country and an underground movement against the regime has now turned to violence in a desperate but worrying turn.

Today marks Martyrs Day in Myanmar, the day General Aung San, the father of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, was assassinated with some of his comrades by political foes in 1947. While he fought for his people and the independence of Myanmar, his daughter, an elected democratic leader, is still kept under house arrest.

With the resurgence of the virus, today in Myanmar people are dying, many in their homes, and crematories are struggling to cope with bodies delivered to their doors. No dialog is being thought to try to go back to a peaceful and ‘normal’ life. Vaccines and oxygen are dramatically scarce in a fight against a pandemic in a country which even under normal circumstances had an underdeveloped health infrastructure, but valiant and dedicated staff doing their all to counterbalance things. Medical staff was brutally targeted in the 2 months of street fights when helping civilians wounded by bullets. Going back to work today would expose them to repression and punishment. This is the outcome the country is facing 5 months after the disruption of what was a hopeful and positive nation in constant development.  Today fear, anger and uncertainty rule, and trust is hard to come by. Brave Myanmar people used to decades of similar hardship in the past are determined to hold looking for the voice of hope.

The situation remains grim in Myanmar where a resurgence of covid infections and lack of hospital care comes on top of oxygen shortages and the unsolved political situation in a split country. Private persons are not allowed to purchase oxygen cylinders which is adding to the current despair. How much do the people of Myanmar still have to endure?

It has been 5 months since the army re-took power and put elected leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.

2200 prisoners were released on Wed 30 June while around 4000 remain in custody.

Today marks Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s 76th birthday and as many of her birthdays from 1989 until 2011, she will be spending it locked up and without much celebration.

The deposed leader of Myanmar, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will go on trial this Monday 15 June. Expectations are that she will be sentenced to an indefinite prison or house arrest term. DASSK already has spent more than 15 years under house arrest under a prior military leader.

One more senseless death. People turning against people in a deadly cycle. In Bagan, local informants, the reviled ‘Dalan’, lead police to a house and an innocent man is shot trying to protect his pregnant wife.

https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-junta-forces-kill-innocent-man-in-botched-bagan-raid.html

827 killed.  Approx 4200 detained. The foreign editor of the local newspaper Frontier Myanmar was arrested yesterday at Yangon airport before boarding a flight out. Charges are not known and no statement has been made by the government. Journalists reporting on the current crisis are having much difficulty reporting and expressing their opinion especially if critical of government actions; many have been imprisoned without process.

112 days after her arrest, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is seen today for the 1st time in a court appearance. ASSK vows not to give up and says her party, the NLD, will live on with people. Myanmar is out of the international headlines and street protests are happening at a much-reduced scale and frequency. Economic uncertainty and hardship are now the main concern for people. The outlook is bleak as the whole country returns to darker times last seen more than 1o years ago. The response to street protests was disturbing and shocking and the after-effects will be lasting because the trust has been badly shaken. Clashes between government forces and rebel armies are now taking place upcountry. In Yangon artisanal improvised devices are going off targeting police, soldiers, and local informers, making everyday life difficult.

100 days since the military government took over.

The military government announces that no visit from an ASEAN envoy will be allowed for now.

3 months since Aung San Suu Kyi was ousted and 69 days since the first protester died.

Saturday 24 April, a special ASEAN summit on Myanmar took place in Jakarta. The Southeast Asian leaders have called on attending military government leader General Min Aung Hlaing to end violence against civilians.

Detained: 3750.

Death toll at 715.

1st day of the New Year in Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia.

Today is normally be a big celebration day with people splashing each other with water in the streets with nothing but laughter and joy.  The very opposite is happening, nobody is celebrating today.

Death toll at more than 700.

82 deaths just in Bago on the bloodiest day so far for a single location.

Renewed reports of attacks by the army/police on ambulances and medical volunteers.

Death toll at 585, around 3000 detained.

No improvement in sight, the elected leaders remain under arrest, the internet is cut off.

Military forces are sweeping houses at night arresting people for participating in protests and voicing their opinion.

A military spokesman mentioned a 1-year extension until holding elections to the 1- year announcement made at the beginning of February, a major shift away from the 1st announcement.

Death toll at 560.

Soldiers and police continue their offensive, shooting at people, ambulances, and medical volunteers, breaching the Geneva Convention ratified by Myanmar in 1992.

See: https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/in-the-line-of-fire-the-deadly-job-of-covering-mandalays-protests/

See also a CNN report about Myanmar for an insight into the situation on the ground: https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2021/04/05/myanmar-protests-army-ward-intl-ldn-vpx.cnn

Death toll at 540.

All wireless broadband services have been cut off.  The majority of the population relies on these wireless services and there are few FTTH (Fibre-To-The-Home) cabled internet services that remain open. This further restricts what was an already patchy and irregular access to wants to information and communication for citizens and businesses.

It has been 2 months since the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi was ousted in a coup. Since then, Myanmar has descended into chaos and violence.  No end is in sight. More than 500 civilians have lost their lives.  Almost all have been shot either on the streets or in their homes. Read about some of the lives cut short:

https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/remembering-myanmars-fallen-heroes.html

Death toll at 420.

Last weekend saw the bloodiest 2 days since the coup with more than 100 killed on Saturday alone. What marked a day of unity for the country 56 years ago, is now the opposite. Even children have fallen victim to bullets. 90% of the dead protesters have been killed by shots to the head. People are trying to cross the borders to Thailand and India to escape the violence.

Death toll at 270.

Yesterday Thursday the streets of Myanmar were empty as people stayed home in a silent protest. Tomorrow Saturday 27 March is Armed Forces Day celebrating the army’s rise against the foreign occupation of Myanmar by the Japanese in 1945. General Bogyoke Aung San, the founder of the Tatmadaw (Burmese Army) and the father of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, currently under house arrest, did unite the country at that time including many ethnic factions to lead Myanmar to independence from Britain and Japan.

Death toll at an estimated 260, an estimated 2550 detained. 600 were released yesterday from Insein prison.

Today Wednesday, a silent strike takes place with people staying away from work and the streets.

In Mandalay, a 7-yr old girl shot in her home is one of the youngest to be killed since the armed actions started.

A military spokesman expressed sadness at 164 recognized deaths, saying ‘they are also our citizens’. The question is: Why do the soldiers shoot to kill?

Death toll at 230, 2290 detained.

People are leaving some areas of Yangon for the relative safety of the countryside. The street barricades in Yangon have been cleared in most areas, often forcing civilians to do it.

Many expatriates have left or are leaving Myanmar due to sustained violence and an uncertain outlook.

Death toll at 193.

The level of violence and the amount of filmed horror scenes is unprecedented. It is heartbreaking to see what is happening.

A bloody weekend with 39 civilian fatalities in various cities as protests continue.

Armed forces continue shooting into the crowd. Multiple Chinese-invested factories and properties have been vandalized and set on fire. The UK government has asked its citizens to leave Myanmar ‘unless there is an urgent need to stay’. Martial law has been decreed in some parts of Yangon.

9 more deadly shootings, mostly in Mandalay today. 1 monk and 1 pregnant woman among the victims. The images and videos are shocking: a nun is seen kneeling on the street in Miytkina imploring police to stop.

More street protests; more deaths. Police and armed forces use force against civilians. 2 district leaders died in police custody after having been taken away the evening before. No explanation was given to families.

The military government continues to come down on protesters with nighttime arrests and shooting at windows and houses. Terrible pictures of headshot victims by snipers bleeding out on the street.

More bloodshed and at least 16 more deaths. Shooting with live bullets is taking place again. Snipers have been seen and many of the fatalities are reported to have suffered shots to the head. Medical volunteers are being threatened.

Today has been the bloodiest day of the protests for a return to democracy. Armed forces have opened fire in various locations and 18 people have been killed and multiple more wounded. There are no words to describe how upsetting it is to see unarmed civilians shot at.

Yesterday has so far seen the biggest turnout of people to protest. Some violent incidents did happen in Mandalay and other upcountry cities, while Yangon has stayed calm and the 2 sides have managed to keep emotions under control. People are determined; the situation remains tense.

Following a press conference by the new government yesterday and after Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint were charged with breaching Covid regulations on top of the first charge of possession of 6 undeclared walkie-talkies, widespread civilian disobedience gatherings took place in major cities in Myanmar.

Over the weekend the situation has unfortunately escalated and it is becoming increasingly tense. As peaceful protests by citizens to return to democracy are continuing, laws protecting the privacy of people and protecting information have been suspended, the internet has been shut down temporarily and armed vehicles are now present on the street of towns including Yangon. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is still detained.

Police and the armed forces are making nighttime raids during the curfew to detain people in their homes. Some government employees and doctors are refusing to go to work in acts of civil disobedience.