Residents told RFA that some civilians were killed and injured when a shell fired by the military council exploded in a crossfire between the military council forces and the Rakhine Army (AA) on January 9 in the middle market neighborhood of North Oo, Rakhine State.
The 540th KM and AA, based in North Oo City, opened fire. There are reports that three civilians, including a child, were killed when the military council opened fire with heavy weapons, but residents said the exact details were not yet known.
A resident of North U, who did not want to be named for security reasons, said that two local residents were abducted and killed by the military council forces.
"It's very bad. I began to line up. I heard that the two who were taken to the convoy were shot dead.”
RFA has not yet been able to independently confirm the number of casualties and the number of casualties caused by heavy weapons.
General Zaw Min Tun, who is allowed to speak to the military council about this matter, was contacted by telephone, but he did not answer the phone.
Fighting between the military council and the Rakhine Army (AA) has been intense since the last week of December in North U town.
Reports have been released that the AA has attacked and captured the North Uyong District Police Station and the Surrey Bwe Police Station. Due to the intense fighting, local residents are fleeing to safety.
Ceasefire groups and political parties are preparing to meet with the new ASEAN representative
Alounkeo Kittikhoun, the ASEAN Special Representative for Myanmar of Laos, the 2024 ASEAN Alternate Chairman, is scheduled to visit Myanmar, so ethnic armed groups, The military council has invited political party leaders to meet with the new representatives.
The ethnic groups that are negotiating peace with the Military Council, The military council's invitation letter sent to political parties trying to contest the military council election did not specify when the new special representative would arrive.
However, on January 10, the special representative met with the ceasefire groups in Nay Pyi Taw, Those who received the invitation said that they plan to meet with the political parties in Yangon on January 12.
The Karen Peace Council (KNLA-PC) Secretary General Colonel Saw Kyaw Nyunt, who is scheduled to meet with the ASEAN Special Representative, said that the focus will be on overcoming the political crisis and providing humanitarian assistance.
"We can discuss initiatives to overcome the current political crisis. When it was Indonesia's turn to work consistently, It is assumed that there are also humanitarian aid issues that are still being worked on. However, what I want to say is that even if we want to find a decisive way to overcome the crisis that our country has been facing for three years, I would like to hope from this representative's visit first."
He did not divulge details on how to overcome the current political crisis.
Seven of the ten ethnic armed groups that have signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) have been invited by the Military Council to meet with the ASEAN Special Representative. (NCA) but after the coup, the Karen National Union (KNU), which is fighting again with the military council, Chin National Front (CNF) and All Myanmar Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) were not invited.
``Although we want to find a decisive way to overcome the crisis that our country has faced, we want to hope from this representative's visit.''
On January 1, the Election Commission invited the 45 political parties registered by the Election Commission under the Military Council to meet with the special representative. The meeting will be held in the morning of January 12 at the Yangon Regional Government Office.
U Tin Swe, vice chairman of the Democratic Party, who will be participating in the meeting, told RFA that he will ask for assistance in holding the general election in Myanmar as soon as possible as ASEAN's special representative.
"A political party is an election that he has to overcome. In order to pass the election, we need to end the current internal conflicts. As ASEAN, we think that we can support the election in a positive way."
He also said that it would be more effective for ASEAN to approach the Myanmar conflict in a soft way and convince the military council.
U Kyaw Zaw, spokesman for the NUG presidential office, said that the National Unity Government welcomes the efforts of the new ASEAN Special Representative on Myanmar.
However, U Kyaw Zaw pointed out that the new special representative should not only hold meetings with the organizers of the military council, but also meet with the forces opposing the military council, including the NUG.
"As this special representative, I not only met with the military council, but also those who organized the military council. political parties Not just meeting with ethnic groups, but also meeting with the official government, the National Unity Government (NUG), which truly represents the people. Ethnic organizations that are always working and fighting to protect the interests of the ethnic people, It is very important to meet with revolutionary organizations and so on. We believe and hope that such a meeting will happen."
RFA sent an email to the Lao Embassy in Yangon to inquire about the visit of the ASEAN Special Representative, but has not yet received a reply.
RFA called General Zaw Min Tun, who is allowed to speak to the military council, about this matter this afternoon, but he did not receive an answer.
Dr. Aung Myo, a political analyst who is a former military officer, said that the ASEAN Special Representative may request permission to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during this visit, and the Military Council may grant permission to a limited extent.
"When interacting and discussing, for example, when releasing news, what kind of things will I say, I won't say what kind, but if Laos says that he will accept some pre-determined condition, then it could be a meeting. As for Laos, I will look into the matter of trying to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. If it is possible, the military council may limit and allow it under certain conditions."
Since April 2021, ASEAN has adopted five common agreements to resolve the Myanmar issue after the military coup in February 2021. To put this into practice, the rotating chairmanship countries such as Brunei, Although Cambodia and Indonesia led efforts for almost three years, none of the countries were able to effectively resolve the Myanmar issue, and they were not allowed to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi, who was arrested and imprisoned.
On the other hand, because these common agreements have not been implemented, the military council has been barred from high-ranking representatives attending ASEAN summits and foreign ministers' meetings.
China-based Burmese political analyst Dr. Hla Kyaw Zao said that Laos, which will hold the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN for 2024, is a country close to the military council and has the same attitude as China.
"Laos is different from Indonesia, of course. He has the same line (attitude) as China, and seems to have the intention of drawing the military council as much as possible. Because of that, the things he will do in his country, In some cases, the military council may be invited."
The new ASEAN Special Representative for Myanmar, Alounkeo Kittikhoun, has served as the Minister of the Prime Minister's Office and Deputy Foreign Minister of Laos. He has many years of diplomatic experience as the permanent ambassador of Laos to the United Nations. Thai PBS reported on January 7 that he was appointed as the ASEAN Special Representative by the Lao government and has been working since January 1.
The first ASEAN Special Representative appointed after the coup was Brunei's Deputy Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof, the 2021 ASEAN rotating chairman. He tried to visit Myanmar in October 2021, but the trip was canceled because the military council did not meet some of his demands.
As for the 2022 ASEAN rotating chairmanship, Cambodia assigned Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn as a special representative, and he visited Myanmar twice within one year of his term. He requested a meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, but was rejected by the military council.
Indonesia, the 2023 ASEAN rotating chairman, did not send a representative to Myanmar, but instead used a method called Silence Diplomacy to secretly negotiate with the military council. However, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said on January 8 that he held 265 discussions with stakeholders to resolve the Myanmar issue within one year of his term.
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