It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
The violence in Myanmar shows that the conflict between pro-democracy protesters and the military has reached an impasse. Protesters need to work on a new strategy, says DW's Rodion Ebbighausen.
Anti-coup protesters are optimistic they can defeat the military
Two narratives currently dominate social media in Myanmar: the sheer brutality and reprehensibility on part of the generals, and the protesters' willingness to struggle for the restoration of democracy. The link between these narratives is the idea that good will eventually triumph over evil.
Nobody doubts the courage and good intentions of the demonstrators, but the protest movement will not succeed if it continues to function on naive optimism.
No external support
The protesters must realize that they will not receive any outside support against the military. The UN, the US and Europe will condemn the violence in Myanmar and impose some targeted sanctions on the military, but they will not directly intervene in the conflict. Even the call by many former heads of states and governments will not change that. China and Russia will block every move in the UN Security Council that could allow the West to increase its clout in Myanmar. This means there are no levers at the international level to increase pressure on the generals.
Some supporters of the protest movement and the opposition parliament hope there could be a federal army in the country. After decades of fighting against the central government, various armed ethnic groups are expected to join hands with the protest movement and fight against the military. A similar attempt was made in the early 1990s, but it failed.
Armed groups in Myanmar have different interests. At the same time, China has decisive influence on rebel armies such as the United Wa State Army.
It is also a misconception that a federal army would pose a serious challenge to Myanmar generals. Even if all rebel armies work together with an inexperienced protest movement, they cannot compete with the battle-tested and well-equipped "Tatmadaw" (the Myanmar army).
Although what's happening in Myanmar looks like a civil war, the military has not yet used heavy weaponry against the population. Tanks or helicopters are not yet firing at protesters in Yangon and Mandalay.
The 10-year-long Syrian war has shown how frightening civil wars can be. The dream of a federal army could easily turn into an endless nightmare.
Direct confrontation means defeat
The protesters cannot win through a direct confrontation with the military. There is a lack of international support, money, experience and unity between ethnic groups and the protest movement.
Instead of risking lives in hopeless street battles, pro-democracy supporters need to debate what small steps they can take in the long run. Instead of hoping for a quick victory, they need to work on a long-term strategy.
DW
Saturday, April 10, 2021
MYANMAR INC.
MILITARY STATE CAPITALISM
Myanmar's army controls huge swathes of the economy through two conglomerates. High-ranking officers operate family-run ventures, including military chief Min Aung Hlaing. DW looks into his children's financial ties.
In Myanmar, resisting the military's coup is a perilous affair. Activists are constantly on the run — moving from one safe house to the next while carrying a burner phone. And, each evening, they delete every image from it.
For it is in the dark of night, when the internet has been disconnected by the junta, that the army swoops in, abducting activists, journalists, and anyone else it suspects of resisting its takeover on February 1, from their homes.
Citizens are also resisting the coup in other ways. Phone apps have begun to crop in Myanmar, such as one called "Way Way Nay," meaning "go away." Protesters use the app to identify which businesses have ties to the military — and boycott them.
The military has sent in counter-insurgency battalions to fight against protesters
For the Tatmadaw, as the army is called, has built a vast business empire. It consists of two major holdings, and a myriad of intertwined subsidiaries, joint ventures and smaller companies that enrich both the army and individual generals.
And the spouses and children of military personnel are also an integral part of this opaque network, according to a DW investigation. Military business revenues 'dwarf' civilian-owned companies
It's impossible to fathom the extent and depth of the Tatmadaw's economic power without first delving into the army's two holdings: Myanma Economic Holding Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC). Both were established in the 1990s when the country was ruled by a previous iron-fisted military junta.
They are run by both active and retired military personnel, operating in the shadows without any independent oversight.
Business interests span gem production and mining, oil and gas extraction, banking, tourism and telecommunications. Dozens of companies across diverse sectors of the economy are owned by the two holdings, many others are affiliated with MEHL and MEC.
A 2019 UN Fact-Finding Mission identified more than 100 businesses fully owned by MEHL or MEC, noting that it was certain that it had not been successful in identifying all subsidiaries. The authors concluded that "MEHL and MEC and their subsidiaries generate revenue that dwarfs that of any civilian-owned company."
The two holdings do not openly declare their revenue, making it impossible to gauge the extent of their revenues.
As the country carefully transitioned to democracy in 2010, the Tatmadaw and high-ranking military officials further built and consolidated vast business empires through the acquisition of capital, land and assets. In numerous cases, analysts say, state assets were sold to favored companies, including those controlled by high-ranking officers and their families.
Commander-in-chief's family empire
The children and spouses of many military leaders own and run numerous personal economic ventures. In some cases, they were awarded lucrative contracts and joint ventures with MEHL, MEC, and their subsidiaries.
Take, for example, the military's commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing, who in late March gravely warned protesters: "You should learn from the tragedy of earlier ugly deaths that you can be in danger of getting shot in the head and back."
The UK has said Min Aung Hlaing is "responsible for the serious human rights violations committed by the Myanmar security forces"
The US Treasury went a step further and, on March 10 of this year, targeted his son, Aung Pyae Sone, and his daughter, Khin Thiri Thet Mon.
The reason, according to a Treasury statement, is their control of a "variety of business holdings, which have directly benefitted from their father's position and malign influence."
The Treasury listed six businesses run by Min Aung Hlaing's two children, who are both in their 30s.
These include a somewhat eclectic portfolio, including a medical import business, restaurant, art gallery, chain of gyms, and a TV entertainment business. Companies owned by army chief's daughter involved in internet blackout?
DW has identified three additional companies controlled by the commander-in-chief's son or daughter by trawling through company registration data, namely Pinnacle Asia Company Limited, Photo City Company Limited, and Attractive Myanmar Company Limited.
Pinnacle Asia Company Limited is controlled by the army chief's daughter, the latter two by his son.
So far, none of these companies has been targeted by sanctions. In a statement to DW, a US State Department spokesman did not directly address whether additional companies would be sanctioned, but emphasized it would "continue taking further action to respond to the brutal violence perpetrated or enabled by Burma's military leaders."
The data was scraped from the company registry of DICA, Myanmar's Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, and made publicly available by DDoSecrets, a US-based group that publishes information sourced from whistleblowers and activists.
This data also includes loan agreements and other business documents.
Pinnacle Asia, the data shows, was registered in November 2016 and lists its main business activity as "telecommunications."
In May 2020, another document shows, it was awarded a loan by a Myanmar bank to build 17 cell phone towers across Myanmar for Mytel. According to the loan agreement, Pinnacle Asia had already set up 60 towers in various regions.
Mytel is one of four telecommunications providers in the country and was set up as a joint venture by the militaries of Myanmar and Vietnam.
Hundreds of protesters have been killed since the coup.
Since the coup, all four telecommunications providers in Myanmar have been ordered to severely limit access to the internet.
Right now, the only way to access the internet is through fiber optic cable, meaning Wi-Fi and mobile phone data have been completely cut off for a majority of internet users.
Activists also fear that Mytel may be used to track protesters' phones.
"The army chief's daughter's closed-door dealings not only channel profits to the family of war criminal Senior General Min Aung Hlaing but also support the military's other abuses of Mytel, including to build military communications infrastructure, access international technology and to conduct surveillance," says Yadanar Maung, a spokeswoman for Justice for Myanmar, a group of Myanmar activists who document the Tatmadaw's abuses.
On March 17, a week after the US sanctions were imposed, Khin Thiri Thet Mon was removed as Pinnacle Asia's company director, company registration documents show.
Pinnacle Asia did not respond to DW's requests for comment on its investigation, including why Khin Thiri Thet Mon had been removed as director.
Military staking its economic claim?
In the case of Attractive Myanmar and Photo City, Aung Pyae Sone was not removed as director following his designation by the US.
Photo City Company Limited was registered in January 2021 — but did not list any business activity in its registration documents. DW did not find any online presence for the company.
The exact nature of Attractive Myanmar is equally unclear. Company records show that it was registered in late 2019 as providing services in a wide range of almost 30 distinct activities, including accounting, advertising and travel services.
A website registered to the company shows glossy pictures of tourist destinations in Myanmar but has no information on the company's actual activities.
It is not unusual for military-linked and owned companies to cover such a wide range of business activities, according to rights group Justice for Myanmar. Security forces use tear gas and live ammunition against demonstrators
CHEMICAL WARFARE AGAINST CIVILIANS JUST LIKE PORTLAND
In doing so, the commander-in-chief and his children may be staking out their claim in emerging sectors and squeezing out any potential competition.
And, given that they are often awarded contracts through contacts rather than fair and transparent bidding procedures, there is no need to advertise their companies or services online.
Recent moves by the now-deposed government of Aung San Suu Kyi to implement an anti-corruption framework were unlikely to have been viewed favorably by the military and its crony companies.
Myanmar's Embassy in Germany did not respond to DW's request for comment on the regime's business ties involving Min Aung Hlaing and his two children. Foreign companies exiting Myanmar
Foreign companies, too, have established links with military ventures in Myanmar. Activists are rushing to compile lists to pressure them to sever all ties and pull out their investments.
One such company, Kirin Holdings, a Japanese beverage company, announced it would end its partnership with MEHL shortly after the coup.
Both the UK and US have targeted MEC and MEHL with economic sanctions in recent weeks. This includes a freeze of all assets in both countries.
The European Union may soon move to target the military's business interests, too. A spokeswoman for the European Council told DW that its policy recently changed to also allow for the sanctioning of business entities — but stopped short of saying whether the bloc would target the two Myanmar companies.
Can sanctions harm the junta?
But it is unclear if these moves can dislodge the junta.
While observers note that the ongoing boycotts and walkouts by Myanmar people may have a destabilizing effect, many of the Tatmadaw's business interests are domestic — and so potentially less impacted by any international sanction.
The turmoil in Myanmar has led to an increase in food and fuel prices
For many protesters in Myanmar, like Htay, the sanctions are toothless, allowing the army to go untethered.
"International sanctions have been imposed on the Burmese military junta for many years," Htay says, adding that such measures have failed to rein in the regime.
This, however, hasn't stopped Htay and other activists from risking it all each night, hurrying from one safe house to the next, armed with only a burner phone to document the junta's crackdown.
"My personal protests will continue until we get democracy and end the military dictatorship," he says.
Editor's note: DW has changed the name of the activist to protect their safety
China’s Qin Gang pledges economic help for Myanmar, stops short of recognising junta
During rare visit, the Chinese foreign minister meets Myanmar’s junta leader, the most senior official to do so since a military coup
But amid international condemnation of regime, analysts say Beijing has not officially recognised it
Shi Jiangtao Published: 3 May, 2023 During a rare high-level visit, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang meets Myanmar’s junta leader, Min Aung Hlaing, in Naypyidaw on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua
In a rare visit to Myanmar, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang has called for stability in the troubled country and urged the international community to respect its sovereignty and help push for peace and reconciliation.
Qin praised China’s “good-neighbourly relations” with Myanmar during a meeting with the country’s junta chief on Tuesday, promising economic help on key infrastructure deals and other projects and pledging to “build a community of a shared future” between the two neighbours.
Qin’s visit, and his meeting with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in particular – making him the highest-ranking Chinese official to do so since a coup in February 2021 – signalled Beijing’s warming ties with the military regime.
But Chinese analysts said the visit should not be interpreted as Beijing’s official recognition of Myanmar’s junta, as China remained ambivalent towards the military-ruled government and its ability to control the country amid international condemnation of the coup and the ensuing conflict.
According to an official readout by China’s foreign ministry, Qin described the two countries as “brothers who share the same mountain and water”, and said China was ready to promote the comprehensive strategic cooperation promised by President Xi Jinping during a 2020 state visit.
“China sincerely hopes for Myanmar’s stability and development, supports Myanmar in exploring its development path that is in line with its national conditions and with Myanmar’s characteristics,” Qin was quoted as saying.
He also pledged Beijing’s support for Myanmar’s pursuit of political transformation and efforts by all relevant parties to “properly settle their differences and seek national reconciliation under the constitutional and legal framework”.
“China advocates that the international community respect Myanmar’s sovereignty and play a constructive role for Myanmar to achieve peace and reconciliation,” Qin said.
China would continue to “provide help to Myanmar’s development within its capabilities”, speed up investment linked to the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, and implement projects in agriculture, education and healthcare, Qin told his host. The Chinese readout did not include a quote from Qin in a Burmese-language statement from the junta’s information team that said China “stands with Myanmar on the international stage”, according to Agence France-Presse.
Qin’s predecessor, Wang Yi, visited Myanmar in July last year to co-chair a regional gathering of foreign ministers of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation mechanism, but he failed to secure a meeting with Min Aung Hlaing.
China has refused to condemn the military takeover and remains a major ally and arms supplier of the internationally isolated junta in the wake of Western sanctions.
Beijing’s previous pledges to help safeguard Myanmar’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity “no matter how the situation changes” have been widely criticised by Myanmar’s armed opposition as tacit support for the military rulers.
The junta’s dependence on Beijing has increased – China is Myanmar’s largest trading partner and its second-largest foreign investor after Singapore since the country’s democratically elected government was toppled.
According to a report last month by the UK-based Energy Intelligence, a Myanmar pipeline connected to a refinery in Kunming has become a new route for sanctioned Russian exporters to deliver crude oil to China in the wake of the Ukraine war. A total of 3 million barrels of crude oil have been shipped to China from a deep seaport in Myanmar’s Rakhine state since February, said the report citing local port data.
Since the coup, Chinese factories and projects have been specifically targeted by armed resistance groups in Myanmar.
Before his visit to Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw, Qin painted a grim picture of the Myanmar issue during a meeting with Noeleen Heyzer, special envoy for the United Nations secretary general on Myanmar on Monday, and warned against a “spillover” of the country’s escalating violence. “With internal and external factors intertwined, the Myanmar issue is complex and has no ‘quick fix’,” he said according to his ministry.
In a message to Myanmar’s junta regime during an inspection tour of the frontier province of Yunnan on Tuesday, Qin said it was important to maintain stable borders with Myanmar and “severely” crack down on cross-border criminal activities.
During their meeting hours later, Min Aung Hlaing hailed China’s “objective and impartial stance” on Myanmar-related issues and pledged that Myanmar would work to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions in the country.
Myanmar was “willing to cooperate with China to maintain tranquillity in the border areas of the two countries”, he was quoted as saying in the Chinese readout.
Xu Liping, director of the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Qin’s visit was mainly about maintaining peace and stability along the China-Myanmar border.
“It is in China’s interests to engage with Myanmar’s military regime, but this kind of dialogue does not mean China supports the junta, nor does it imply any change in China’s stance on the Myanmar issue,” Xu said.
He said Beijing was concerned about the instability in Myanmar, especially near the border areas, with rampant cross-border crime, such as telecoms fraud and human trafficking in northern Myanmar, reportedly targeting Chinese nationals.
“The trip was aimed at enhancing communication and coordination with the Myanmar authorities on issues such as stability along the China-Myanmar border and combating transnational crime, which directly affect China’s security interests,” he said. In recent months, China has increased its engagement with the junta. China’s special envoy for Asian affairs Deng Xijun has met Min Aung Hlaing at least twice since December.
Deng also held separate meetings with leaders of ethnic armed groups in the north, particularly in Shan and Kachin states bordering Yunnan province.
Deng also chaired a meeting in Kunming last month between the junta representatives and Bangladesh’s foreign secretary, Masud Bin Momen, as Beijing sought to help both sides repair ties and repatriate Rohingya refugees to Rakhine state from Bangladesh. Yunnan’s Communist Party boss Wang Ning and Peng Xiubin, a senior official at the International Liaison Department, also visited Myanmar last month. According to the Irrawaddy news portal, Wang also met Min Aung Hlaing, but his request to meet imprisoned former state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi was denied.
Despite the warming ties with Myanmar’s military regime, Xu said Beijing still had reservations about officially recognising the junta.
“China has not explicitly recognised Myanmar’s military government in public so far. Instead, Beijing has tried to forge normal relations between the two countries, regardless of who is in power,” he said.
But Xu cautioned that it would not be in China’s interest to expand investment or economic cooperation with Myanmar because of security concerns and anti-Chinese sentiment in the Southeast Asian nation.
“Since the coup, investment projects have been largely suspended and the instability has dealt a heavy blow to economic and trade relations between China and Myanmar,” he said.
Xu said China – which has had to endure Myanmar’s protracted instability and violence – would continue to help the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) mediate Myanmar’s peace and transformation process.
However, Asean has remained divided over Myanmar, which many have seen as a sign of weakness in the regional bloc’s ability to tackle such a regional crisis on its doorstep.
“There’s a consensus among many countries in the region, including China, that it would be unrealistic to find solutions to the Myanmar issue without engaging the military,” Xu said.
Shi Jiangtao A former diplomat, Shi Jiangtao has worked as a China reporter at the Post for more than a decade. He's interested in political, social and environmental development in China.
-- On Feb. 1, Myanmar's military detained State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint in the country's first coup since 1988, bringing an end to a decade of civilian rule.
The Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD) had won a landslide in a general election last November. But the military has claimed the election was marred by fraud.
For all our coverage, visit our Myanmar Coup page.
12:00 p.m. In Yangon and elsewhere, a broken-down car campaign spreading on social media has resulted in motorists stopping their vehicles on streets and bridges. The campaign is meant to block police and military trucks. The drivers who stopped also got out of their cars and checked under their hoods. Social media activists are also calling for a massive demonstration on Wednesday, an apparent attempt to turn the tide as protests in Yangon have been noticeably smaller since the military began patrolling the streets days ago.
9:30 a.m. Internet service has resumed following another blackout starting at 1 a.m. Protesters marched in the main roads in Yangon to express their anger over additional charges brought against ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
3:50 a.m. The Myanmar coup has emerged as the first major diplomatic challenge for U.S. President Joe Biden since his Jan. 20 inauguration.
On Feb. 10, the day Biden announced sanctions on Myanmar's military leaders, a senior State Department official briefed bipartisan members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the situation in the Southeast Asian country.
While lawmakers expressed strong support for the condemnation of the coup and the need for a return to democratic control, they also recognized that Washington has little direct leverage over Myanmar to persuade the junta to change course.
"There was an urging by both Republican and Democratic members to pursue a multilateral sanctions-and-pressure campaign against Myanmar to exert more leverage, and in particular convince Japan and Singapore to act, given they are Myanmar's largest financial partners behind China," according to one participant in the briefing. Read more.
1:20 a.m. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi express "deep concern over the coup in Burma" in a phone call.
Blinken also "agreed on the key role of ASEAN-centrality in the Indo-Pacific, and underscored the importance of protecting and preserving a free and open South China Sea," according to U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price.
Separately, Price told a news conference that the U.S. is "disturbed" by reports of additional criminal charges Aung San Suu Kyi.
10:30 p.m. U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab blasts Aung San Suu Kyi's detention in a Twitter post.
"Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained in a clear violation of her human rights by the military," Raab says after reports of additional charges against Myanmar's de facto leader before the recent coup.
6:20 p.m. The Chinese ambassador to Myanmar says the current situation is "absolutely not what China wants to see," according to Reuters.
In a local media interview posted on the Chinese Embassy's Facebook page, Ambassador Chen Hai dismisses rumors of Chinese involvement in the Feb. 1 coup as "completely nonsense" and insists Beijing was "not informed in advance." He says China had "friendly relations" with both the army and former civilian government.
4:30 p.m. In the first press conference held by the junta since it seized power on Feb. 1, Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson for the ruling State Administration Council, blamed protesters for inciting violence and illegally pressuring civil servants to join the civil disobedience movement. Authorities have been using firearms to disperse protesters.
"Our objective is to hold an election and hand power to the winning party," he added. "We guarantee ... that the election will be held," he said during the news conference, broadcast from Naypyitaw, that last nearly two hours.
3:45 p.m. Aung San Suu Kyi's attorney tells reporters that the police has filed additional charges against her.
Suu Kyi's lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said the ousted leader is being charged with violating the country's Natural Disaster Law, without elaborating further. Suu Kyi was first charged with illegally importing walkie talkies and meant to be held under house arrest until Wednesday.
1:00 p.m. Dozens of Buddhist monks protest on the streets near Shwedagon Pagoda, the most famous temple in Yangon.
Buddhist monks march in protest against the military coup in downtown Yangon on Feb. 16.
12:45 p.m. Singapore foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan tells parliament he does not support slapping "widespread generalized indiscriminate sanctions" on Myanmar because such measures could hurt ordinary citizens. The island state is a major investor in Myanmar and a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Indonesia, Malaysia and other ASEAN members have been calling for a special meeting to discuss the situation in Myanmar.
9:03 a.m. Residents say internet access has been restored. The army had cut off access for a second consecutive night early on Tuesday, raising concerns among coup opponents, particularly after the army suspended legal constraints on search and detention powers. "There is suspicion this blackout was to commit unjust activities, including arbitrary arrests," said a local political prisoners group, which has recorded 426 arrests as of Monday.
7:30 a.m. The United Nations special envoy has warned Myanmar's army of "severe consequences" for any harsh response to the protests, a U.N. spokesman said. Special Envoy Christine Schraner Burgener spoke on Monday to the deputy head of the junta via phone. "Ms. Schraner Burgener has reinforced that the right of peaceful assembly must be fully respected and that demonstrators are not subjected to reprisals," U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said. Myanmar's army stated that deputy head Soe Win discussed the administration's plans and information on "the true situation of what's happening in Myanmar."
2:15 a.m. France "will continue to support the Burmese people in their struggle for democracy and the rule of law" in partnership with European and international partners, the French foreign ministry says in a statement.
The French statement comes as security forces in Myanmar appeared to toughen their stance toward widespread protests against the country's return to military rule.
"France remains deeply concerned about the deterioration of the situation in Burma with the increasing use of violence against peaceful demonstrators and the deployment of armored vehicles in several cities of the country," the statement says.
"The attacks on freedom of expression and the freedom of the press are of great concern," the statement says. "France calls on the security forces to restore access to communication networks as soon as possible."
9:15 p.m. Malaysia says it will not deport any Muslims or migrants registered with the U.N. refugee agency.
Malaysia had agreed to return them after Myanmar's military, which seized power in a Feb. 1 coup, offered to send three navy ships to pick up its citizens held in Malaysian immigration detention centers.
In response, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees has urged Malaysia not to hand over asylum-seekers, saying many of those in detention may require international protection, including vulnerable women and children.
4:58 p.m. Myanmar security forces open fire to disperse protesters in the city of Mandalay, local media outlet Frontier Myanmar reports. The number of casualties is not clear, it says. A member of a student union in the city says some people have been wounded.
11:00 a.m. Aung San Suu Kyi will be remanded in detention until Wednesday for a court hearing and will not appear on Monday as initially expected, her lawyer tells journalists in the capital Naypyitaw, according to Reuters. "Whether it is fair or not, you can decide yourself," the lawyer says.
9:30 a.m. Residents in Yangon say internet service has resumed. Protests have broken out in the commercial capital, with many military vehicles seen in the city.
1:00 a.m. All four telecommunications networks were inaccessible from about 1 a.m. on Monday (1830GMT), residents in Myanmar reported. In the early days after the coup, the internet was cut across the country.
12:02 a.m. Reuters reports that two journalists from The 74 Media, which was broadcasting live from the site of the confrontation, were arrested along with three other journalists, the news outlet said in a Facebook post.
Sunday, Feb.14
11:01 p.m. Western embassies in Myanmar called on the country's military to "refrain from violence against demonstrators and civilians" in a statement released late Sunday.
9:41 p.m. Soldiers were deployed to power plants in the northern state of Kachin, leading to a confrontation with demonstrators. Security forces fired to disperse protesters outside one plant in Kachin's state capital Myitkyina, footage broadcast live on Facebook showed. It was not clear if they were using rubber bullets or live fire.
8:45 p.m. The U.S embassy in Myanmar urged its citizens to "shelter-in-place" on Sunday, citing reports of military movements in the commercial capital Yangon, after armored vehicles were sighted there for the first time since the Feb. 1 military coup. The embassy also said there was a "possibility of telecommunications interruptions overnight between 1:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m".
1:30 p.m. Thousands of people from Myanmar living in Japan marched in Shibuya, downtown Tokyo on Sunday to protest the military coup back home, some holding photos of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and signs deploring the loss of human rights.
11:30 a.m. "I haven't slept last night. People are getting tired of patrolling at night in their neighborhoods since the military released 23,000 prisoners," said a young man. He quit his job at a garment factory to join the protests; 400 out of 2,000 workers have left the plant, he said.
10:20 a.m. According to Reuters, tens of thousands of protesters take to the streets in major cities. It is the ninth straight day of anti-coup demonstrations, after a fearful night as residents formed patrols and the army rolled back laws protecting freedoms.
"We created two teams with our neighbors, each team with three to four people, to secure the streets in the neighborhood," said a seafood seller in Yangon. The team formed a makeshift checkpoint from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. armed with sticks. He said it was to "protect ourselves because we don't know what kind of weapons the suspicious person might bring. But we are trying not to be violent."
9:10 a.m. Myanmar's army reinstates a law requiring people to report overnight visitors to their homes, as police hunt supporters of protests that have rocked the country since a military coup on Feb. 1.
The amendment to the Ward or Village Tract Administration Law, announced late on Saturday on a military-run Facebook page, is the latest in a raft of legislative changes introduced by the army.
Saturday, Feb.13
4:00 p.m. Peaceful protests continue in Yangon. Hledan district, the commercial hub of the city, is becoming the main place to protest. People gather on street corners and chant for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.
A crowd of protesters call for the end of military rule, in Yangon on Feb. 13.
A protester waves the flag of the National League for Democracy, in Yangon on Feb. 13.
12:30 p.m. Many people in Myanmar are now tweeting: 'STOP NIGHT ARRESTS.' Rumors are circulating that the police are arresting citizens at night without proper legal procedures, targeting civil servants who are taking part in the boycott against the military.
9:30 a.m. Protesters start to gather in central Yangon. Young people demonstrate in the streets, chanting "Release Mother Suu," in front of Myanmar Plaza, a large shopping center. People also gather around the U.S. embassy in Yangon, urging tougher sanctions against the military.
Most of the shops in the Junction Square shopping mall in Yangon remain closed on Feb. 13.
A promotion site of Chinese carmaker Soueast sits empty due to intensifying protests in Yangon on Feb. 13.
3:50 a.m. The Bank of Japan, like most central banks around the world, is watching carefully to see how Myanmar's coup may affect bilateral and regional cooperation on monetary policy and financial stability.
As news of the military takeover reached the halls of the BOJ, staff raced to gather information about the ongoing developments, including the fate of the Southeast Asian nation's central bank governor.
The shocking news was passed up the command chain at the head office in Tokyo's Nihonbashi district. Read more.
12:15 a.m. The spokesperson for the United Nations secretary-general calls the U.N. Human Rights Council resolution on Myanmar "a very important step."
"It shows that the international community will speak strongly and with a strong voice, calling for the reversal of the events we've seen in Myanmar, and for the full respect of the democratic will of the people of Myanmar as well as full respect of their human rights," Stephane Dujarric says.
Children protesters carry placards and march on a street in Yangon on Feb. 13.
