Gregory

In Bangkok demonstrators complain about pollution caused by gold and rare earth mining in Shan State, in areas controlled by armed ethnic groups backed by Beijing, not Myanmar’s military junta. In Thailand people are debating the ineffectiveness of diplomatic outreach limited to Myanmar.

Aung San Suu Kyi, imprisoned since 2021, turned 81. According to the military, she has been under house arrest at an undisclosed location in Naypyitaw since late April, but no images have yet been released to prove this. Despite restrictions, she is being celebrated with prayers and flowers across the country and in the diaspora. Her son, Kim Aris, accuses the regime of “hostage diplomacy”.

In Rome, the Bishops’ Conference met the Pope and the heads of the Roman Curia’s dicasteries in recent days for the event, which takes place every five years and involves dioceses from around the world. The presentation of new translations of liturgical texts into local languages and a review of Caritas’s response to the earthquake were among the most significant moments. Pope Leo XIV’s words of encouragement: “Myanmar is not forgotten”.

Stored gelignite reportedly caused a massive explosion that killed at least 55 people in a village in Shan State. The catastrophe has put the spotlight on the TNLA, a controversial militia that struck a deal with China. Meanwhile, according to the United Nations, more than 16 million people in Myanmar are currently suffering from acute food insecurity. International organisations are appealing for help for one of the world's least-funded emergencies.

Myanmar’s military has launched a new recruitment drive targeting high schools, with new military training centres for young people aged 16 to 19. According to analysts and human rights activists, this is yet another move to address the serious man power crisis in the armed forces, which are increasingly engaged on multiple fronts.

ASEAN continues to keep its distance from Myanmar’s military junta: at the summit in Cebu, Philippines, regional leaders demanded access to Aung San Suu Kyi and refused to officially recognise the elections that brought Min Aung Hlaing to power. Meanwhile, however, the humanitarian crisis in the country is worsening: millions of displaced people, widespread hunger and new army offensives against civilians in the Mandalay region.

International pressure is mounting on Myanmar’s military junta to provide verifiable proof of the democratic leader’s health, who has been held in solitary confinement since 2021, through the “Proof of Life” campaign. There has been no reliable news about her for years. Her son Kim Aris told AsiaNews: “The Burmese people love my mother as much as I do”.

A military-dominated government was approved today following elections deemed a sham by the international community. But while General Min Aung Hlaing consolidates his power by merely changing his clothing, the exiled opposition and the ethnic groups fighting on the ground are uniting in a common political structure.

Twelve months after the earthquake which, according to official figures, claimed at least 5,000 lives, Caritas and CAFOD continue to support the affected communities. Many people are still displaced and living in even more precarious conditions due to poverty and civil war. Reconstruction remains slow and the needs are still enormous, warn organisations on the ground.

Myanmar’s military junta has introduced new restrictions on fuel, including petrol, while its planes hit a facility housing more than a hundred internally displaced people in Sagaing. Activists have documented how millions of litres of fuel are being diverted to the air force, despite the fuel shortages paralysing the country.

A Lenten initiative from the country’s bishops, with a call to pray “that God may grant his peace to the world and to Myanmar, and that there may be mutual understanding and progress in unity”. In a country where civil society has been systematically dismantled, the importance of such gestures, which also draw the world’s attention to the suffering of the people of Myanmar.

Presented as a "tax measure”, the requirement further tightens digital surveillance in a country torn by civil war for more than five years following a military coup. By tracking devices, the regime is not only repressing dissent, but also undermining people’s daily survival thanks to high-tech tools made available by Chinese firms.