CONTINUED FROM YESTERDAY
NyaungU (Bagan) City (Myanmar) was one of the recipients of the Fifth ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable Cities (ESC) Awards. Other recipients were Yala (Thailand), Temborong (Brunei Darussalam), Preah Sihanouk City (Cambodia), Balikpapan (Indonesia), Xamnneau City (Lao PDR), Majilis Bandaraya Shah Alam (Malaysia), Marikina City (the Philippines), Nee Soon South Division (Singapore) and Can Tho City (Viet Nam).
On 28 October, Myanmar hosted the 11th ASEAN Airport Inter-diction Task Force Meeting, held via videoconferencing.
On 26 October, Myanmar and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. Officials from the two countries are discussing the export of Myanmar agricultural products to Russia.
On 27 October, the SAC Chair-man received a delegation from the Russia-Myanmar Friendship and Cooperation Association. The two sides exchanged views on bi-lateral socio-economic cooperation between the two countries, notably, in investment, tourism, education, health, culture and transportation sectors.
On 29 October, the SAC Chair-man in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services received the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Vice-Admiral Vladimir Lovich Kasatonov and delegation members on board the Russian warship Gremyashiy. The Senior General took the salute of the Guard of Honour on board the Russian warship. The two sides then discussed multisectoral cooperation between the two armed forces, exchange of goodwill visits to enhance relations and trust, and exchange of maritime technology and information. Response to International Pressures
On 9 October, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement urging the international community not to ignore terrorism and extremism and to cooperate in the fight against terrorism. The statement emphasized that liaising with representatives of illegal terrorist groups such as Committee Representing Pyithu Hluttaw (CRPH), National Unity Government (NUG) and their affiliates, and allowing them to open representative offices in countries were tantamount to interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign state and undermined the Myanmar government’s efforts to establish a disciplined democracy.
On 14 October, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press release on the visit of the Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair to Myanmar. The statement mentioned the efforts of Myanmar to ensure a successful visit and the difficulties in accommodating certain requests from some ASEAN countries which went beyond Myanmar’s existing legal framework. The statement emphasized that Myanmar would welcome neutrality and impartiality as per the principles enshrined in the ASE-AN Charter and based on ASEAN Spirit.
In a statement issued on 16 October, Myanmar expressed its deep disappointment and strong opposition to the statements by some ASEAN Member States at the Emergency ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held via video conference on 15 October, notably on the topics of attendance at ASEAN meetings and representation issues. The Union Minister asked to put on the record of the meeting that Myanmar objected to the decision made by ASEAN without reaching consensus and to unilateral actions, which were found to be contrary to the provision of the ASEAN Charter and Principles.
On 22 October 2021, Myanmar reminded ASEAN that during the Emergency ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting on 15 October 2021, there had been no consensus reached on the issue of Myanmar representation at the ASEAN Summit. Therefore, Myanmar found it difficult to comply with the decision, which was not in line with the procedures of ASEAN and beyond the mandate of the Chair. Furthermore, the Emergency ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting on 15 October 2021 had deliberately linked participation in ASEAN Summits to the domestic affairs within Myanmar. This violated Article 2 (2a, 2e and 2f) of the ASEAN Charter. This state (i) respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of all ASEAN Member States, (ii) non-interference in the internal affairs of ASEAN Member States; and (iii) respect for the right of every Member State to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion and coercion. Under with Article 7.1, the Myanmar Head of State or Government is entitled to participate in the ASEAN Summits and, under Article 5 of the ASE-AN Charter, is entitled to do so with equal rights and obligations. Therefore, Myanmar would not be in a position to accept any outcome of the discussions and decisions which were ultra vires and contrary to the provisions, objectives and cherished principles of the ASEAN Charter. Regardless of this, Myanmar will endeavour to find a peaceful solution based on ASEAN Spirit and ASEAN Way through consultation and nego-tiation. ASEAN member states should respect the principles of ASEAN.
On 26 October, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement regarding Myanmar’s participation at the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits on 26 October 2021, which had been held under the Chairmanship of Brunei Darussalam. The statement noted that limiting the level of participation from Myanmar violated the principles and procedures of the ASEAN Charter and was contrary to precedents set by ASEAN, especially with regard to Articles 2 and 5. Myanmar, therefore, exercised its rights as an ASEAN Member State in accordance with the principles enshrined in ASEAN Charter and declined to participate in the said ASEAN Summits under the terms set by Brunei Darussalam in the capacity of ASEAN Chair. Since Myanmar joined ASEAN, Myanmar had adhered to the principles and procedures enshrined in the ASEAN Charter in its contributions to the ASEAN Community Building process. Myanmar would continue constructively cooperating with ASEAN in its capacity as an ASEAN Member State.
On 24 October, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press re-lease condemning the Interactive Dialogues with the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on Myanmar and with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, which were organized at the Third Committee of the 76th United Nations General Assembly on 22 October 2021. The press re-lease rejected the biased reports and allegations made against a sovereign country.
The peace process
On the occasion of the Sixth Anniversary of the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) which fell on 15 October, a meeting was held between the National Unity and Peace Coordination Committee and ethnic armed organizations that had signed the National Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) to date. Representatives and leaders of the ethnic armed organizations and members of the committee attended the meeting. To honour the Sixth NCA Anniversary, the State Administration Council issued an amnesty for 114 members or affiliates of ethnic armed organizations who had been detained for various reasons, closing all cases against them. Legal Affairs Amendments to laws were made to bring them up to date. On 30 September, the State Ad-ministration Council enacted the National Planning Law for the six months of the 2021/2022 financial year, the 2021 Union Tax Law, and the Union Budget Law for the six-month period of October 2021 to March 2022, which all took effect on 1 October 2021. On 6 October, the Law amending the Foreign Exchange Management Law was enacted. On 11 October, the Adaptation of Expressions Law and the Law amending the Code of Civil Procedure were enacted. The State Administration Council also enacted the Law amending the 2018 Myanmar Historical Com-mission Law on 18 October and the Law amending the Bar Council Act on 28 October.
On 11 October, the Special Appeal Tribunal convened, adhering to COVID-19 regulations, and comprising Chief Justice of the Union
U Htun Htun Oo and judges of the Supreme Court of the Union. The Tribunal passed judgement on four civil special appeals and heard a total of six special appeals.
On 18 October, the Chair-man of the State Administration Council granted pardons and commutations to 1,316 detainees and prisoners from various prisons and detention centres. In addition, the criminal cases of 4,320 people charged in connection with the riots were closed. These included 34 artists and social media celebrities who had been arrested for inciting unrest. The amnesty was intended to promote humanitarian values and enable those who had been released to contribute to nation-building efforts. Population and election activities
On 1 October, the Ministry of Immigration and Population released its estimation of the population of Myanmar as 55.3 million people, comprising 26.5 million males and 28.8 females. The estimation was based on projections from the 2014 Population and Housing Census.
Throughout October, the Un-ion Election Commission continued its inspection and reviews of the activities of political parties. The inspections focused on compliance with prevailing laws and regulations, party membership, party finances and assets, audits and liquidation.
Media and information
The Ministry of Information has been working on several fronts to develop the media and provide accurate information to the public. During a meeting with officials from the Copyrights and Registration Division, Union Minister for Information U Maung Maung Ohn emphasized that while pro-viding the necessary support for media development, action would be taken under the law against unethical media outlets and those who deliberately create and publish fake news.
In this regard, Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun, head of the State Ad-ministration Council Information Team, had to issue several statements throughout the month to expose fake news and to let the public know the truth, especially about the fire at Thantlang on 29 October. The Chin Defence Force had deliberately started the fire after they destroyed the bridge between that town and Haka. In response to biased allegations made by a certain country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a communiqué circulated to all embassies on the true sequence of events at Thantlang, backed up by detailed reports from the Ministry of Home Affairs and government security forces. The State Ad-ministration Council Information Team issued a press release on 23 October to let the Myanmar public know about the negotiations regarding the ASEAN Special Envoy. The Statement reaffirmed Myanmar’s commitment to the Five-Point Roadmap of the State Administration Council, which is the position of the Union Government. Myanmar would cooperate to the extent possible with ASEAN and would continue adhering to its foreign policy guided by the 2008 Constitution.
Winning the fight against COVID-19
On 28 October, the Prime Minister attended the 13th coordination meeting for COVID-19 Prevention, Control and Treatment. He underlined the need to monitor the transmission carefully although test positivity rates have declined, from starting the ward and village levels. He also emphasized the importance of vaccination and public education programmes for all ethnic nationals, including ethnic armed organizations and those in border regions.
By 31 October, Myanmar reported 500,073 cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 18,697 deaths. Nonetheless, the situation had steadily improved from July and August, with test positivity rates having declined to around 4 per cent by the end of October (29 October). By 31 October 2021, 12.9% of the total population of Myanmar had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 while 24.2% of the population had received at least one dose. The vaccines included those donated by China (4.6 million doses), India (2.5 million) and around two mil-lion from Russia. The rest were purchased, first from India, and then mainly from China.
The Tatmadaw and Ministry of Health ensured that the vaccines were transported and distributed to the respective regions and states in proper cold chain storage and using Tatmadaw aircraft as required. COVID-19 vaccination was systematically organized and administered without discrimination to various target groups, including Bengalis, internally displaced people, prisoners, ethnic armed organizations, and Salone ethnic nationals living on the seas.
The Ministry of Health is-sued a statement on 5 October regarding the negotiations with the GAVI COVAX Facility for COVID-19 vaccination. The CO-VAX programme has been widely administered in ASEAN and other countries, yet Myanmar has not received vaccines from this source.
The Government has started a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination programme for students aged 12 and above on 12 October. On 23 October, ViceChairman of the State Administration Council Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win visited such a vaccination site and with words of encouragement to the students. The Ministry of Health has requested people who have been fully vaccinated to give priority to those who had never been vaccinated and not to ask for booster shots at the free vaccination centre.
The Ministry of Health has lifted the Stay-at-Home regulation from a total of 44 townships in various regions and states. In a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Health, the Tatmadaw and community organizations, COVID-19 patients and those who need to be monitored were admit-ted to health facilities including military hospitals, converted military training schools and camps, and quarantine centres in the respective townships.
The Ministry of Commerce has been making necessary arrangements to facilitate the import of medical supplies and equipment required for the COV-ID-19 prevention, control and treatment. Myanmar nationals who returned home have been systematically administered COVID-19 tests, medical check-ups, and treatment as necessary, and their return to respective regions and states has been facilitated by the authorities.The Ministry of Health is using the Vaccination Management Information System (VMIS) that was developed by the Information and Technology Department of the Tatmadaw to support the systematic management of the COVID-19 vaccine in Myanmar (In November, the VMIS won the Digital Government Award in ASOCIO ICT Award 2021 hosted by Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization).
Opening up after the COV-ID 19 restrictions
With COVID-19 infections be-coming more manageable, the government allowed filming ac-tivities to resume following COV-ID-19 rules and regulations. On 9 October, the Ministry of Information visited private television production facilities and on 12 October, he inspected the production work at Myawady Media Centre. In addition to regulating the sec-tor, the Ministry of Information is also working with various artistes on entertainment projects.
The Ministry of Information, Ministry of Health, Yangon Region Government and Myanmar Motion Picture Organization co-ordinated to ensure that those artistes and their families who had not yet been vaccinated received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 5 October.
The Ministry of Information handed over 13 cinemas that are under its management to the respective region and state governments. The Ministry of In-formation also met with acting executives from the Myanmar Music Association (Central), Chairmen and executive committee members of the Myanmar Motion Picture Organization on 12 October. The meeting focused on plans for the development of the film and music industries.
Domestic tourism has resumed under COVID-19 prevention guidelines. On the Fullmoon
Day of Thadingyut on 20 October, pagodas were alive with pilgrims, while people across the country celebrated the Thadingyut Festival of Lights and performed good deeds, all the while adhering to the COVID-19 regulations.
In October, the Chin State Government and the Tatmadaw cooperated with regard to the repatriation of internally displaced people and demining work in Chin State. However, during this same month, the projects were disrupted by the so-called Chin Defence Forces (CDF), which attacked the security forces.
Speedboat services for Myeik and the Myeik Archipelago resumed with limited passengers on 4 October. Myanmar National Airlines announced the resumption of flights between Yangon and Kawthoung and Yangon and Kalay from 16 October, following the guidelines and regulations of the Ministry of Health.
A number of stadiums, gyms, and sport training camps were opened in October. In addition, efforts are being made to open the Sport and Physical Education Institute in Sittway, which will host a training camp for track and field.
Helping citizens recover
Across the country, Tatmadaw families and other donors have been donating food, medicines and other essential items to Buddhist monasteries and nunneries, and to religious centres of other religions, conducting medical check-ups, and contributing necessary medical supplies. In October, Tatmadaw families and other donors were also seen donating medical equipment and supplies to Region and State Pub-lic Health Departments, public hospitals and various charitable organizations.
The Working Committee to address the Economic Impact of COVID-19 held a meeting on 18 October and arranged to help the livestock sector including shrimp and fish farming from the COVID-19 fund. The Committee announced that artists and journalists who have been affected by the COVID-19 crisis can apply for loans from the COVID-19 fund.
Efforts are being made by the government to address the high food prices which are affecting the public. The wholesale price of cooking palm oil was sold at K3,700 per viss and more than 7,522 tonnes were sold as of 6 October. Arrangements were set up across the country for gas stations to offer special prices to the public, and relevant authorities are monitoring the price of fuel. A number of regions and states, including Yangon, held pharmaceutical and food exhibitions to share information and facilitate purchase at affordable wholesale and retail prices. The prices of essential medicines are also announced to the public to prevent stopping price gouging by unscrupulous vendors. On 1 October, the Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank, Ministry of Planning and Finance, announced that the deadline for farmers to repay the 2020 monsoon crop loan and the COVID-19 special loan had been extended until the end of December.
Civil service recruitment and skills development
Recruitment efforts are underway to fill vacancies in the civil service after disruptions caused by the civil disobedience movement. In early October, following COVID-19 prevention procedures, the Union Civil Service Board conducted interviews with candidates who had passed the written examinations for 195 gazetted officer vacancies in 10 ministries and government organizations. The Supreme Court of the Union issued certificates to 20 senior lawyers on 4 October.
The Department of Human Resource for Health opened 31 nursing/midwifery training schools on 7 October. To date, 781 third-year nursing and second-year midwifery students are enrolled, with 56 attending the Nay Pyi Taw Nursing Midwifery Training School. The Union Minister for Health said that arrangements are being made for the trainees to be appointed as civil service personnel immediately after the end of the training period on 16 October.
On 28 October, the basic education teachers Refresher Course No. 67 commenced at the Central Institute of Civil Service (Upper Myanmar), attended by 960 trainees.
The Myanmar National Skills Standard Authority (NSSA) issued National Vocational Skills Certificates on 6 October. The Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Science and Technology are collaborating to provide job opportunities for skilled workers. According to the Ministry of Labour, 437 skilled workers who passed the skill levels of 13 occupations in the 2020-2021 financial year were issued skills certificates.
Conclusion
In October, people turned out in demonstrations across the country to show their sup-port for the government and the Tatmadaw, condemn the violent terrorist acts carried out by NUG/PDF, and denounce the interference from certain foreign governments. These foreign governments have been supporting NUG/PDF through their actions at the United Nations and ASE-AN, and by extension, are supporting the NUG/PDF’s terrorist tactics and killings of unarmed civilians and monks. Clearly, these foreign governments do not want peace and development in Myanmar but want a government that they can manipulate. Their efforts have strengthened the surge of national pride and feelings of patriotism among those who want peace and development in the country. Despite the pressures being exerted by certain governments, Myanmar will remain steadfast in asserting its sovereignty and following the roadmap set by the State Administration Council.
# THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR