Myanmar activists receive Forum 2000 International Award
The General Strike Coordination Body, a coalition of anti-2021 military coup strike committees and civil society organizations in Burma, was honored with the 6th Forum 2000 International Award for Courage and Responsibility alongside prominent pro-democracy activists Tayzar San, Nan Lin and Htet Myat Aung, at the 30th Forum 2000 Conference in Prague, Czech Republic, on Sunday.
“The role of civil resistance in any revolution is vital and powerful because it allows participation from the entire public regardless of their sex, age and location,” Tayzar San, a pro-democracy activist from Mandalay, said in a video message on Oct. 11. Tayzar San, 37, continues to call for leadership and reform within Burma’s resistance movement.
“Tayzar San, Nan Lin, and Htet Myat Aung embody extraordinary civic courage, moral steadfastness, and an unwavering commitment to non-violent resistance in the face of one of the world’s most repressive military regimes,” said Jakub Klepal, the executive director of the Forum 2000 Foundation. Accepting the award on behalf of the recipients were three activists from Burma living in Prague.
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Myanmar’s UN Ambassador sits down with DVB
As the United Nations General Assembly began its 81st session, Burma’s Permanent Representative to the U.N. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun reaffirmed his commitment to retain the country’s seat at the headquarters in New York, dismissing ongoing efforts by the regime in Naypyidaw to replace him with the regime-appointed attaché and to charge him with treason and financial impropriety.
In a DVB Newsroom interview following high-level engagements in September, Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun outlined his dual mandate since breaking ranks with the regime following the 2021 coup: blocking military representatives from gaining diplomatic standing at the U.N. and channeling the democratic aspirations of the people in Burma before the international community.
“I always mention that I have two objectives of being here as a Permanent Representative of Myanmar, especially after the military coup,” Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun told DVB. “The first objective is to make sure that there is no representation from the military junta here at the United Nations, especially in New York. And then the second objective is to convey the voices of the people of Myanmar.”
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IPU continues to recognize CRPH as Myanmar representative
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) reaffirmed the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) as its official interlocutor in Myanmar for the fifth year in-a-row while continuing to urge its member states not to legitimize the military regime in Naypyidaw, which seized power during the 2021 coup, at its 153rd Assembly held in Arusha, Tanzania, from Oct. 5-9.
“We remain committed to building a federal democratic Myanmar where public resources serve the people and all citizens have a voice in determining their future and security,” Zin Mar Aung, the National Unity Government (NUG) Foreign Minister representing CRPH, told delegates at the IPU Assembly on Oct. 8. The CRPH established the NUG on April 16, 2021 to lead the diplomatic battle against the regime.
“The parliament elected in 2020 has been prevented from convening and continuing its work since the February 2021 coup. The CRPH continues to operate virtually, as well as in areas under its control in Myanmar,” the IPU Executive Committee said in a statement, adding that it was recently contacted by the regime in Naypyidaw regarding its elections that ended on Jan. 25.
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News by Region
AYEYARWADY—More than 3,000 residents living in 20 villages downstream of the Ma Mya Dam in Myanaung Township have been evacuated due to the risk of a potential dam collapse since Saturday. Myanaung is located 146 miles (234 km) north of the region’s capital Pathein.
A Myanaung resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the Ma Mya Dam is about to collapse as it’s only four feet above the water level. The reservoir’s water level had reached 315 feet (96 m), its full supply level, on Oct. 10. Read the full article on our website
SAGAING—At least five civilians were killed and 23 others were injured in two airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on Wetlet and Shwebo townships, located 50-58 miles (80-93 km) east and northeast of the region’s capital Monywa, on Oct. 11-12. Wetlet and Shwebo are partially controlled by the NUG.
A Wetlet resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that there was no fighting between regime and resistance forces. At least two civilians were killed and eight others were injured in airstrikes on a historic Buddhist monastery compound in Shwebo’s Seikkhun village on Oct. 11. Read the full article on our website
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Read: Get the Rohingya wrong and you get Myanmar wrong by Jaivet Ealom, the Secretary-General of the Rohingya Consultative Council.
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