Shwe Mann’s party to spend billions of kyats on election

Union Betterment Party plans to stand over 900 candidates, former general says

An opening ceremony for the Union Betterment Party’s Bago region office, held in May 2019 (Photo- Sai Zaw/ Myanmar Now)

The newly-formed party of former junta leader Shwe Mann will spend billions of kyat on this year’s general election and will contest every seat in the Union Parliament, the retired general has said.

The Union Betterment Party will use funds collected from supporters when it was founded last year for a campaign to elect over 900 candidates at local and national level, he told an online press conference on Thursday.

“I cannot tell the exact amount, but I suppose it will cost billions including election expenses and party registration fees,” he said.

The party has opened more than 8,000 branches and local party offices across 255 townships, he added. The party is aiming to win between 40 and 50% of seats, including regional ones, this year, he said.

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He did not disclose which constituency he plans to represent in the election.

Shwe Mann lost his independent bid for a seat on his hometown of Phyu in the 2015 general election after positioning himself as an across-the-aisle ally of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The loss, he later wrote, meant he no longer needed to keep a pistol under his pillow, since his enemies were satisfied.

Shwe Mann was ousted from his post as chairman of the Union Solidarity and Development Party in August 2015 after running afoul of top party officials and senior military figures.

Security forces surrounded his home in Naypyitaw during the ouster, which also quelled speculation that he was next in line for the Presidency.

Senior General Than Shwe regarded Shwe Mann as a traitor, according to former minister Ye Htut.

As lower house speaker in 2012, Shwe Mann appointed Aung San Suu Kyi to chair the powerful Rule of Law committee.

The NLD leader returned the favour after her party came to power in 2016, appointing Shwe Mann as the head of the Commission for the Assessment of Legal Affairs and Special Issues.

Thura Shwe Mann graduated from the Defence Services Academy, Intake 11 and served as the official operations coordinator of the army, navy and air force, the third most powerful position under the military government.

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Junta arrests two more journalists in Naypyitaw

Those arrested include a BBC reporter and a former Mizzima correspondent.

Myanmar Now

Published on Mar 19, 2021

Photojournalists take cover near the entrance of a monastery where military supporters gathered to attack protesters and media in Yangon on February 18 (EPA-EFE/LYNN BO BO)

A BBC journalist and a former Mizzima News reporter were arrested by men believed to be plainclothes officers in Naypyitaw on Friday afternoon, a family member confirmed.

BBC Burmese journalist Aung Thura was in front of the Dekkhina District court to report on a hearing for National League for Democracy patron Win Htein when he was arrested. Former Mizzima correspondent Than Htike Aung was with him at the time of the arrest.

No further details of the arrest or the reporters’ detention were known at the time of reporting, according to Aung Thura’s relative.

“I saw some plainclothes officers dragging away a person in trousers into a car,” lawyer Min Min Soe, who was near the court at the time, told Myanmar Now. The man she saw is believed to be Than Htike Aung.

“Two other officers in plainclothes were hassling another individual in a paso [traditional sarong for men] and glasses,” she said, referring to Aung Thura. “It was quite a scene so I don’t know what happened next.”

BBC News issued a statement on Friday afternoon saying that they are "doing everything [they] can" to find Aung Thura, who they described as being taken away by unidentified men.

“We call on the authorities to help locate him and confirm that he is safe,” the statement said.

As of March 16, a total of 38 journalists had been arrested or targeted for arrest since the February 1 coup. The latest arrests of the BBC and former Mizzima journalists push this number up to 40.

Only 22 of these reporters have been released. Ten journalists have been charged with violating Section 505(a) of the penal code, which has been used against people who are seen as causing fear, spreading fake news, or agitating government employees. Under recent amendments to the law, the charges come with a three-year prison sentence if convicted.

Online news website The Irrawaddy has also been charged by the junta as violating the same statute for showing “disregard” for the armed forces in their reporting of the ongoing anti-regime protests.

Five publications, including Myanmar Now and Mizzima had their offices raided and their publishing licenses revoked earlier this month by the regime.

Editor's note: This story was updated to include the BBC's statement, which was not available at the original time of publishing.

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Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.

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KIA attacks police bases in Hpakant

The offensives come in the wake of deadly crackdowns against anti-coup protesters in Myitkyina

Myanmar Now

Published on Mar 18, 2021

A KIA soldier watches from an outpost in Kachin state in this undated file photo (Kachinwave)

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) launched attacks against police bases in the jade mining region of Hpakant on Thursday morning, a local resident told Myanmar Now.

The attacks targeted police battalions where soldiers were stationed near Nam Maw village in the Seik Muu village tract.

“There are Myanmar police battalions around Nam Maw,” a resident said. At least three bases were attacked, he added.

A 41-year-old civilian in Seik Muu village injured his left hand during the clash, the Kachin-based Myitkyina News Journal reported.

The KIA has launched several offensives against the coup regime’s forces recently. Fighting has also been reported in Mogaung and Injangyang this month.

Some 200 people fled the Injangyang villages of Gway Htaung and Tan Baung Yan on Monday after the KIA launched an offensive against the military there.

The offenses began in the wake of deadly crackdowns against anti-coup protesters in Myitkyina. The KIA has warned the junta not to harm anti-coup protesters.

Myanmar Now

Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.

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Four shot dead, five injured during junta attack on protesters in Kalay on Wednesday

The coup regime’s forces took the injured people away and locals do not know their whereabouts

Myanmar Now

Published on Mar 18, 2021

Kalay residents move the body of a man who was shot dead on Wednesday (Supplied)

Four young men were killed and five people were injured in the town of Kalay in Sagaing region on Wednesday as protesters continued their fight to topple the regime despite daily massacres across the country aimed at terrorizing them into submission.

The Tahan Protest Group gathered in the town at around 10am and police and soldiers began shooting. One young man was shot dead on the spot as he tried to help people who were trapped amid gunfire, residents told Myanmar Now.

The regime’s forces also shot at and chased fleeing protesters along roads and through narrow alleys, a resident said.

“The crowd of protesters dispersed but one person was shot dead while trying to rescue those trapped in the protest site,” the resident added.

As the crowd dispersed, a man riding a motorcycle was shot outside a branch of KBZ Bank. “He also died,” the resident said.

Despite the murders, protesters gathered again in the afternoon around 4pm. Police and soldiers started shooting again and killed two people.

“They were shot dead while trying to set up barricades at the protest site. They were shot while trying to obstruct the army’s way as the army troops chased and shot the trapped protestors,” the resident said.

The two who were killed in the morning were identified as Salai Kyong Lian Kye O, who was 25, and Kyin Khant Man, who was 27 and had three children. The identities of the other two have not yet been confirmed.

Five people were also injured and then taken away. Locals said they did not know where they had been taken.