Identify traders who are buying weapons for the military council

Military vehicles seen during the Armed Forces Day celebration on March 27, 2021 in Nay Pyi Taw.

International Gateways Group of Companies Limited (IGG) for the Military Council; Myanmar Consultancy Company Limited and Myanmar New Era Trading Company have purchased millions of dollars in weapons and equipment, Justice for Myanmar reported on February 7.

Justice for Myanmar is constantly searching for weapons brokers of the Burmese military based on leaked documents, and has recently revealed the names of these companies.

It lists 18 CEOs and shareholders of military-related companies, four of whom are family members.

The four are IGG Managing Director Dr Naing Htut Aung and his wife Daw Wai Wai Yin; The first sons are Yan Nyein Aung and Moe Myat Aung. Dr Naing Htut Aung is a key figure in Burma's arms trade, especially with Chinese arms suppliers and the Air Force. It is said that the navy was contacted.

Gatesways Hongkong Company Limited, a subsidiary of the International Gateways Group of Companies Limited (IGG), headed by Dr Naing Htut Aung, has signed at least a dozen contracts to import arms to the Burmese military in the 2015-16 fiscal year, according to Justice for Myanmar.

He said the contracts were worth US $ 8 million to upgrade and import spare parts for Air Force fighter jets and other aircraft. Gateways Hongkong Company has offices in China and Myanmar, but buys weapons from Hong Kong offices.

Each of the individuals identified by Justice for Myanmar has subsidiaries in Singapore. These Burmese arms brokers have always used Singapore to facilitate payments between the Burmese military and international arms dealers.

According to a leaked document from the Ministry of Defense, between 2016 and 2017, a single company purchased more than US $ 3.7 million worth of aircraft parts and weapons for a total of more than US $ 5.7 million five times.

MCC-Myanmar Consultancy Company Limited imported equipment for the Burmese military after the military coup.

ALCWE, a Russian company specializing in the export of Mi-8 / Mi-17 helicopter-related components and aircraft components, said MCC brokered. According to Import Genius, an import-export research firm that collects world trade data, Myanmar New Era Trading Company imports 83 spare parts from Russia between 2017 and 2020.

The Mi-17 was used for transporting troops using helicopters during the November 2021 clashes in Saw, Magway Division. Justice for Myanmar urges targeted sanctions against these companies.

Meeting the Taliban does not mean recognition - Officer Hadi

Officials from the government's special envoy to the Middle East, Syahir Sulaiman, appeared to explain about a recent meeting with Taliban representatives in Doha, Qatar, which sparked criticism from some quarters.

The official told Abdul Hadi Awang that the meeting was a dialogue session organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mofa) in Qatar at the request of the special ambassador's office, but it did not mean a "recognition" to the government.

The whole world engages with Afghanistan/Taliban through various channels of 'dialogue', including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU), the United States (US), China and so on, "He said in a statement today.

Syahir, quoting an EU statement, said "dialogue does not show recognition but is part of our management's engagement".

Meanwhile, he said, Abdul Hadi's stance as the special envoy on recognition, remained the same as stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Saifuddin Abdullah.

On Jan 12, Saifuddin was reported to have said that Malaysia was only ready to make a decision on the recognition of the Taliban if international organizations such as the OIC stated their stance on the matter.

Earlier, the Taliban's permanent representative, Mohammed Suhail Shaheen, wrote about the Feb 3 meeting on Twitter, saying that the talks between him and Abdul Hadi were about Malaysia's need to provide economic and humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

Abdul Hadi in a statement later said the main focus of the visit was to express Malaysia's readiness to work with Qatar in rebuilding efforts

Afghanistan - including coordinating humanitarian aid, opening the door to economic, educational, and welfare cooperation - as well as strengthening Malaysia -Qatar ties.

Abdul Hadi's statement invited criticism, including from Amanah International Bureau Chairman Salahuddin Ayub who described him as leading the cabinet , in a hurry and in a hurry, while the government has not officially recognized the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan.

Salahuddin said Abdul Hadi's actions were watched by the world and gave a bad image to the country, apart from questioning whether he was given the authority to make such statements on behalf of the government.

Commenting further, Syahir said, during the dialogue, both sides agreed to prioritize reconstruction and humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan, in addition to

Abdul Hadi also stressed the need for stability and peace.

Syahir added that the special ambassador's office worked closely with Wisma Putra, the Malaysian Embassy and Mofa Qatar throughout the meeting.

He also quoted the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad SAW that "Muslims are like one body, if one of the limbs is sick, then the whole body will also feel sick".

"So are the feelings of our brothers in Palestine, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and the Rohingya, who need the highest help and attention from us," he added.

Nghe An: 5,000 leather shoe workers on strike in vietnam

More than 5,000 workers at Viet Glory leather shoe company, in Dien Chau district, Nghe An, on February 8, went on strike for the second day, demanding that the company increase wages and grant seniority allowances to employees.

On the morning of February 7, this company resumed work after the Lunar New Year holiday, but at noon, the workers simultaneously quit.

One worker working here, who asked to remain anonymous told RFA that the company has not increased wages for two years, longtime employees are not entitled to seniority pay, and the salary is not enough to cover the minimum living:

“This is because  the company does not raise wages for workers. The second is that longtime workers do not have seniority money. The  third is due to a  lot of pressure going to work, being forced to produce output . It's generally face -to- face, no breaks , eight hours with no breaks at all. 

Overtime until seven nights, working two Sundays  is just over six million/month, and that's including lunch. Because the company doesn't have a canteen , the workers receive an extra meal allowance , and even more than six million for the meal."

This person said that until noon on February 8, the workers were still on strike, had not heard anything from the company's leaders, as well as the Trade Union.

Contacting the Nghe An Provincial Trade Union, the staff here said that the Trade Union side has received information about this case and sent someone to negotiate with the company's leaders, but still has not resolved:

“This morning is working with the company 's leaders . Not yet this morning, still discussing, not yet resolved . "  

Tuoi Tre newspaper quoted Mr. Pham Duc Cuong, chairman of Dien Chau District Labor Union, as saying that from the beginning of 2021 , the workers of Viet Glory Company have proposed to increase wages and allowances. After that, this company had a number of allowances such as attendance, child allowance, fuel surcharge, etc.

However, according to the anonymous worker, the allowances mentioned above are not worth much, for example, allowances for children, each child is only 50,000 VND/month, but the company still knows find a ridiculous reason to deduct such amounts:

“The attendance allowance is still available now . Since last year , workers who have gone on strike will receive a diligence allowance, and for children under the age of five, each child under five will get 50,000 VND/month.

But if I take a day off, they will deduct everything, a free day  off will deduct all points for diligence, then deduct  gas, children... they deduct everything. All in all , except for the ridiculous amounts, the payroll is not clear.”

In February 2021, about 1,000 workers of this company also went on strike for two days, right after the Lunar New Year 2021, asking for a salary increase, allowances for meals, fuel, etc. and the company was not forced. workers overtime if they do not agree.