Myanmar Spring Chronicle – February 21 Scenes
MoeMaKa, February 22 2023
The degree of recognition of the NUG government by international and expatriate Myanmar nationals
On February 20, the European Union Office in Myanmar released a press release.
The European Union has imposed sanctions on 9 more individuals and 7 entities. According to the report, the Minister of the Ministry of Electricity and Energy, businessmen who support the military, and high-ranking officials from the Myanmar military were included.
According to the reports, the list also included politicians and administrators from Yangon Division who took part in the execution of four pro-democracy activists in July 2022, those who oversaw airstrikes in Kachin State, mass killings, raids, arson, and the use of human shields by the military.
A total of 93 individuals and 18 entities have been sanctioned, including departments of the Ministry of Defense and state-owned enterprises under it, as well as private companies that provide fuel, weapons and funds to the military, according to reports.
Before the end of December 2022, the NDAA, which established a budget that was approved by the United States to provide support and encouragement to Myanmar’s spring revolutionary forces and people within its specified range, was said to be a good introduction for 2023.
Internationally, it has been commented that the validity of the Spring Revolution has been revealed, due to the inclusion of the U.S. government’s support and encouragement to directly name “NUG, NUCC, CRPH, etc.” and to the “Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) and the People’s Defense Force (PDFs)” who are opposing the military coup in Myanmar in the Burma Act 2021, which was approved by the Lower House last April, and now the updated Burma Act 2022 (Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability (BURMA) Act of 2022).
It is consider that although EU sanctions lists are not nearly identical with the US, the sanctions authority can be much broader and more effective within their borders. Although not as severe as the sanctions against Russia that invaded Ukraine, the sanctions against the Myanmar military council are said to be effective for the United States, the EU, and the United Kingdom, as well as ASEAN trading partners such as ASIA countries, Japan, Australia, and South Korea.
According to analysts, it is an opportunity for Myanmar activists and the NUG, CRPH & NUCC communities to expose and deploy intelligence to the Myanmar military council’s business and military partners, and this should be used effectively. If Myanmar expatriates pay attention, provide information, and find information about the military council network that is continuously campaigning through campaign organizations such as Justice for Myanmar and Blood Money Campaign, the international governments can be quick to take action. Some have also criticized that there are difficulties in showing the link between the current military council and their close community because they are already present in various shades, and in the US, the EU, and Britain.
Myanmar expatriates are actively participating in the spring revolution as support troops, so it can be said that the revolution has not slowed down yet. However, if you look at the people’s questions during the direct meetings of the NUG foreign ministers with Myanmar in the US this month, you can see that they are mainly interested in asking them about the PDFs, military affairs, and military armaments.
The common people from abroad support the fund-raisers and fund-raising events in their area and donate as much as they can. Another is that they participate in fund contributions linked to NUG. There is a moderate amount of purchase of NUG government’s direct funding or support projects such as End of Dictatorship’s Bonds, Plot & Housing and payment of tax services, but the percentage of participation in fund raising organized by local residents is the highest.
If the US government’s NDAA, which was mentioned above, was successful in the allocation of the Myanmar budget, it would actually be allocated to the spring forces from the intermediary American organizations. Not just only the NUG, the flow has been moving toward groups and forces on which people have been focusing, such as fund raisers and public fundraising pages. The fact that more than 100 million US aid that is helping Myanmar every year flows to organizations in areas that have already been determined from the beginning, so reaching parts of the NUG may be limited. Yesterday, US President Biden said that he will help Ukraine with 500 million dollars, which means that it is direct government-to-government aid, and the NDAA Burma Act Budget is for all groups. In the NDAA, Myanmar humanitarian and protection aid will be 50 million dollars from USAID every year for 5 years, and 220 million will be shared with neighboring countries in 2023.
Although people abroad are interested in direct action, fighting in warring areas, and mainly questioning the ability of the NUG, in fact, international aid, in addition to their contributions of funds, has been widely distributed to the NUG government, EROs, local PDFs, and humanitarian aid organizations, so I hope you will also be aware that this is not a question for NUG government officials to answer.