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Junta Watch
Min Aung Hlaing presents awards to athletes who received gold medals on the thirty first SEA Video games, on June 3, 2022.
By The Irrawaddy 11 June 2022
Junta chief on an costly ego journey
Min Aung Hlaing continues to squander public funds on self-importance initiatives; most not too long ago in an try to painting himself because the nation’s supreme sports activities patron. On June 3, he awarded greater than 1.32 billion kyats (over US$700,000) to Myanmar athletes who received medals on the thirty first Southeast Asian Video games in Vietnam in Could—fairly a sum contemplating Myanmar completed seventh in a area with simply 11 nations.
The junta chief awarded $3,000 to every gold medalist, $2,000 per silver and $1,000 for a bronze. The Myanmar girls’s soccer group pocketed a cool $100,000 for reaching the ultimate. Myanmar bagged seven gold, 18 silver and 35 bronze medals on the SEA Video games.
The junta chief held a separate occasion at Naypyitaw’s Bayaintnaung Corridor only for navy personnel among the many medalists, once more honoring them and celebrating their achievements together with different prime brass. He known as the navy medalists the “pleasure of the Tatmadaw”, showering them with extra cash awards, certificates of honor and promotions. The Tatmadaw is Myanmar’s navy.
Regardless of his repeated calls on the general public and on regime ministers to tighten their belts, Min Aung Hlaing has been spending freely. Moreover splashing large sums on developing and consecrating pagodas, he spent greater than 1.5 billion kyats on honorary titles that he conferred on generals, ethnic leaders and artists to mark the standard Myanmar New Yr’s Day in April.
Maybe he actually is silly sufficient to imagine that handing out a couple of awards and titles can win him recognition because the nation’s reputable chief.
Lecturers proceed to shun regime’s training system
As colleges opened on June 1, the regime, which is significantly wanting skilled academics, urged hanging educators to return to their lecture rooms. However among the many tons of of 1000’s on strike, solely 2,960 have thus far contacted the regime about returning.
The more and more determined state of affairs has pressured the regime to twice lengthen its preliminary deadline for academics to return with out dealing with authorized penalties. It initially set a return-to-work interval of Could 17-31, however solely 2,482 academics registered. Extending the deadline to June 7 netted simply 400 extra, prompting the regime to once more push again the deadline, till June 14.
And in public colleges for primary training, greater than 100,000 of 450,000 academics and training workers—or round 27 %—have joined the Civil Disobedience Motion of hanging authorities staff, in keeping with an preliminary announcement by the Ministry of Schooling issued on April 23.
In line with the regime, 5.2 million college students had enrolled in colleges by June 1. On the similar time, the parallel Nationwide Union Authorities is operating digital and bodily lecture rooms with the assistance of hanging academics.
The regime stated it could deal with the absence of returning strikers as unpaid go away, with anybody besides those that have dedicated critical crimes welcome to return to their jobs.
Doubling down on executions
Sending one other sign that it intends to hold out the loss of life sentences imposed on former Nationwide League for Democracy lawmaker Ko Phyo Zeya Thaw and veteran democracy activist Ko Jimmy on terrorism costs, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing stated on Thursday the regime was punishing those that commit killings in accordance with the legislation, with none political motivation. The junta says the 2 activists masterminded armed resistance towards it in Yangon.
Min Aung Hlaing’s assertion could possibly be interpreted as an act of defiance by the regime within the face of mounting native and worldwide condemnation of the looming executions. It’s additionally the primary time he has appeared to touch upon the difficulty since his regime’s spokesperson confirmed final week that the duo and two others could be hanged in accordance with their loss of life sentences handed down early this yr.
If the hangings proceed, the lads would be the first political dissidents executed in Myanmar since ethnic Chin scholar chief Salai Tin Maung Oo was put to loss of life by dictator Common Ne Win’s authoritarian regime at Yangon’s Insein Jail in 1976.
Political commentators and others expressed concern that executing regime opponents would spark an all-out struggle towards the junta and result in even worse bloodshed all through Myanmar, which is already being rocked by day by day preventing between regime troops and anti-junta resistance forces throughout the nation.
Coup maker visits birthplace of 2008 Structure
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing described the buildings wherein the 2008 Structure was drafted as being of historic significance for the nation, and known as for correct upkeep of the positioning to make sure its preservation for posterity, when he visited the venue in Nyaungnabin Village in Yangon’s Hlegu Township on Wednesday.
The principle constructing, now crumbling, lined in mud and overgrown with bushes, was the venue of the Nationwide Conference, also referred to as the Nyaungnabin Conference, at which the nation’s third structure was put collectively. Drafted between 2004 and 2007 on the directions of then-military dictator Than Shwe, the constitution was designed to take care of the navy’s grip on energy after the nation launched into its “democratic transition”. Greater than 1,000 representatives, most of whom had been instructed to rubber-stamp the regime’s proposed provisions, lived a cushty life in these buildings for years, on the public’s expense.
Chairman of the conference and Secretary-2 of the State Peace and Growth Council Lieutenant Common Thein Sein turned president in 2011 based mostly on the provisions adopted on the conference he chaired. The buildings had been left to rot after the structure was adopted.
Regardless of being broadly criticized as undemocratic, the structure was ratified in a nationwide referendum held a couple of days after elements of the nation had been devastated by Cyclone Nargis in Could 2008, with a loss of life toll believed to quantity over 100,000.
To Myanmar’s individuals, the buildings symbolize solely the navy’s inhumanity and starvation for energy.
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