7th May, 2021 #day96

Reports of the junta troops using the Italian made bullets to fire at protesters have fuelled calls for a global arms embargo on Myanmar. China is the main arms supplier to the military, followed by Russia and India. The junta has also received weapons from North Korea, Israel, Ukraine, and some European countries. After the G7 foreign ministers meeting on May 5, Japan has promised to stop selling arms and military equipment to the junta, Burma Campaign UK said in the statement. The statement said that 43 countries, including Japan and South Korea, have banned arms exports, while 149 countries have not. The Burma Campaign UK recommends the establishment of a global coalition to work more effectively on arms embargoes. The BBC reported that the US-ASEAN Economic Council called on the US government to appoint a special envoy as soon as possible to focus more on Myanmar affairs. The envoy will be able to assist taking more effective actions including the sanction against the military and collaborate with Quad alliance and ASEAN countries.

According to a joint survey by 10 foreign trade associations in Myanmar, nearly 13 percent of companies in the country have shut down their business since the coup. The economic impact in the last three months is worse than the impact of pandemic in 2020, according to the survey. The survey included 372 companies, 182 of which are Japanese-owned, 115 are Western, and 54 are local. About a third said their businesses have been downgraded by more than 75 percent, and 77 percent said that the main reason was the failure of bank transfers and online payments.

NUG's Ministry of Women, Youth and Children's Affairs invites youth organizations in the country to collaborate on their youth-centred activities. The ministry said it aims to focus on actions for ending the dictatorship, youth rights, development, and youth participation in nation-building processes. According to DVB, the junta announced on May 6 that 393 CDM teachers including professors and associate professors from Mandalay University have been temporarily suspended. In addition, the junta fired 247 employees of the Sale Fertilizer factory. The released girls and lawyers assisting the detainees told DVB that many of the girls arrested in Yangon were harassed and intimidated by the soldiers at the interrogation centres. They were verbally abused and humiliated and lawyers were also beaten and sexually harassed. The detainees in Yangon are taken to Kyaikkasan or Shwepyithar interrogation centres before being transferred to Insein Prison. 

A 16-year-old man was shot dead by soldiers in Myingyan Township and five villagers, including his 67-year-old grandfather, were arrested on suspicion of making bombs, according to Myanmar Now. Bombs exploded in about 10 places in Mandalay today, DVB reported. Most of the blasts took place near the junta local administrative offices and police stations, but no one was injured. Mizzima reported that KNU troops recaptured another military outpost in Hpapun Township. Soldiers of the Arakan National Council (ANP), a Rakhine group based in KNU territory, were also involved in the fighting. The Irrawaddy reported that the junta troops have been evacuating their bases in the KNU Bridge 5 controlled areas. Khit Thit Media reported that more than 30 soldiers were killed when KIA intercepted a naval vessel on the Irrawaddy River at around 8 pm last night.