Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations U Kyaw Moe Tun and two ministers from the parallel National Unity Government (NUG) last week met Derek Chollet, a senior member of the U.S. Department of State. Myanmar’s military regime has accused U Kyaw Moe Tun of high treason, asked the UN to hand him over and hopes […]Read More

Under the previous military regime, Myanmar was known as a “diplomatic graveyard”, chiefly for the UN’s failed missions to the country on issues ranging from humanitarian assistance to national reconciliation between the junta’s old boys and their democratic opponents—primarily the now ousted and detained leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. That bad reputation persists for […]Read More

Striking police officers in Kayah State have formed a police force which will work together with anti-regime groups to fight military rule. It is the first such shadow police force to be formed in Myanmar since the junta’s February 1 coup. The Karenni State Police (KSP) was formed on August 15 under the leadership of […]Read More

The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM), which is controlled by the military regime, has sold nearly US$90 million (148 billion kyats) since the February coup as the kyat’s value tumbles. The CMB auctioned $6.8 million to domestic banks in February following the coup, $12 million in April, $24 million in May, $12 million in June […]Read More

The coup and the resulting political turmoil have caused Myanmar’s health care system to collapse and thrown the country’s COVID-19 response into chaos. Today, Myanmar is on the brink of a COVID-19 catastrophe due to a lack of leadership, vision and proper management. Many physicians and nurses have gone into hiding because of their conspicuous […]Read More

Over 5,000 residents from three villages in Shwebo Township, Sagaing Region, fled their homes after junta raids on Sunday. Shootouts occurred outside Pa Lai village on Sunday evening when resistance fighters used homemade rifles against large numbers of advancing junta troops. “They came with informants. At first, there was only a truck of them but […]Read More

It is sad, depressing and terrifying to see Myanmar facing a third wave of COVID-19. People are dying and crematoriums are overflowing in Yangon and elsewhere. It is a double blow to people in Myanmar, as they have been extraordinarily brave in resisting the attempted coup since February. This week, several charity groups said the […]Read More

Politicians from the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) who have stayed in touch with Chinese officials since the Feb. 1 coup say Beijing was convinced in advance of the Myanmar military’s intention to overthrow the country’s elected government. These NLD figures—who have remained largely aloof from the activities of the shadow National Unity Government […]Read More

On June 30, the military regime released over 2,000 people who had been detained over the past five months for their involvement in the anti-junta movement. Most of those freed were civilians detained in anti-regime protests, as well as 12 journalists. The Irrawaddy has interviewed some of the freed journalists about how they were arrested […]Read More

Myanmar’s military regime has locked down the country’s second-largest city, Mandalay, due to a spike in Coronavirus infections in the city of more than 1 million people. Residents of the city’s seven townships were ordered to stay at home starting from dawn on Friday, in an announcement made by the regime’s Health Ministry on Thursday, […]Read More