More than half of Myanmar's territory is at risk of landmines

In 2023, a child injured by a landmine explosion was being treated at Myitkyina Hospital. See you on December 26th.

More than half of Myanmar's townships are at risk of landmines, which indicates the insecurity of civilians, according to a report released today by the Landmine & Cluster Munition Monitor.

According to the report, out of 330 townships in Myanmar, 168 townships are at risk of landmines, an increase of 68 townships compared to 2020. In 2022, there were 384 deaths and 124 injuries due to landmines.

From 2018 to 2021, the Burmese military was the only country to use anti-personnel landmines internationally, and in 2022, Russia joined the ranks, said Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan, a researcher at the Myanmar Landmines and Explosive Weapons Monitoring Group, in Thailand today. He said at a press conference in Chiang Mai.

"Myanmar is the only country in the world that uses deadly landmines from its military. In previous years, the Burmese army was the only army to use anti-personnel landmines. In the years since then, it has been seen that the country of Shasha has started using murderous landmines.

As military council troops, villages where civilians live, homes, Landmines are often found near churches and public buildings, as well as mobile phone towers and oil and gas pipelines, he said.

The Landmine & Cluster Munition Monitor reports that landmines are used by the military as well as by armed organizations fighting against the military.

Among the mines seized by the revolutionary armed groups are the MM1 landmines produced by the state-owned Myanmar Defense and Military Equipment Manufacturing Factory (KAPS). MM2 MM3, The report also mentions that MM5 and MM6 are involved.

Residents said that a 12-year-old boy, Maung Luakham, was injured when a landmine exploded near Madin village in Kachin State's 0 Wai Maw Township on December 26.

A resident of Madin village, who did not want to be named for security reasons, told RFA that the explosion occurred near the 58th Battalion of the Military Council Army.

"In the evening, while driving the cattle, he stepped on a landmine near Kao Kha Creek. Yes, the cow stepped on a mine and hit him. Yes, he was hit by a lot of landmines on his legs. He said that his left eye was severed. Yes, he stepped on a mine near Kao Kha Creek in the west of the camp."

He said that Maung Luakham, who was injured, was taken to Myitkyina Hospital and is being treated.

In Chin State, as the fighting intensifies, they are facing more dangers of landmines, and the locals are even afraid to go to the mountains, said Deputy Director of the Chin Affairs Federation, Salai Van Sweesan.

"In Chin, every village depends on the mountain land to live. So Landmine went to jail, People go to the countryside, When people go to landmines, even if they want to go to the mountains now, it's a kind of adventure."

He said that in the period before the seizure of power, there were no casualties caused by landmines in Chin State, and there was no danger of landmines.

Chin State Human Rights Organization (CHRO) announced in September this year that 20 civilians were killed and 37 injured by landmines from the military coup in Chin State until August 2023.

"Myanmar is the only country in the world that uses deadly landmines from its military."

In northern Shan State, where the fighting between the Military Council Army and the Northern Three Sisters is raging, there are also civilian casualties due to landmines.

Last December 8, a 63-year-old man from Nam Hu Taung Village, Kyauk Mae Township, lost one of his legs when he stepped on a mine while cutting bamboo. Similarly, on December 6, a man from Nam Sang Village, Lashio Township, lost one of his legs and suffered damage to his limbs when he was tripped by a mine while looking for honey in the forest, residents said.

Kut Khaing, where the military council and TNLA forces are fighting fiercely. Lashio, At least five civilians were injured and lost their limbs due to a mine explosion in Kyaukme town in December.

In the village of Enai, Lashio Township, which is only 10 miles away from the Military Council's Northeast Regional Headquarters, there has been a military standoff between the Military Council and TNLA forces for almost a month.

M Noonoo, a resident of Enai village, said that because the military council has placed mines near the village, the locals are worried about their safety and there are also difficulties.

"People in the village also know that there is a mine. That's why I didn't go to the forest at all. Dogs and other people stepped on this mine, and then there were mines. When the politics in our village were good, we went into the forest and then went to the forest. going to the corn farm, I thought the gourds only went in the forest, so now none of them go. those dogs I also heard the sound of cattle trampling. If I go to work, I'm worried that I can't go. I can't get it if I go to the wood. I can't go to the mountains. There is nothing to get into the forest. Let alone the forest, we don't even dare to go to this side of the road anymore, it's not convenient for us to work and eat.

Enai village is located on the main road connecting Namtu and Lashio city, and is a village with nearly a thousand houses.

Residents said that now, because of the fighting, they have fled their homes near the city of Lashio, leaving only a few caretakers in the village.

According to the lists of civilian groups based in the northern Shan region, during the 1027 operation of the three northern groups, 130 civilians were killed by air and heavy weapons, including land mines.

RFA tried to contact General Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson of the military council, regarding the situation of civilians being affected and killed by landmines, but he did not answer the phone.

According to a report by the Landmines and High Explosive Ordnance Monitoring Group, the Military Council Army has been widely using high-explosive landmines through the remnants of weapons left on the ground.

However, the report pointed out that the Military Council did not have a specific strategy for demining until 2022, and international organizations were not allowed to do so.

“The population with a monthly income of less than 2,000 yuan is 964 million.” Scholar’s ​​article was removed from the shelves

An article published by Chinese economist Li Xunlei in China Business News quoted research data that China's "population with a monthly income of less than 2,000 yuan is about 964 million."

Recently, a commentary article discussing the lack of demand for home purchases became a hot topic among netizens because the author quoted research data that "the population with a monthly income of less than 2,000 yuan in China is approximately 964 million." Some netizens questioned the authenticity of the data, while others lamented the disparity between rich and poor in China. But the article was taken down a day after it was published.

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Chinese economist Li Xunlei published "Easy to go up the mountain but hard to go down?" in China Business News on Christmas Day. The thousand-word essay "Looking at the Economy from the Demand Side". The article cites a large amount of data to analyze China's current economic situation, saying that according to his statistics, most countries with a population of more than 100 million have Gini coefficients above 0.4, indicating that the larger the population, the "variance" of income distribution expands accordingly. Li Xunlei also cited survey data published by Beijing Normal University's China Income Distribution Research Institute in 2021 and pointed out that China's population with a monthly income of less than 2,000 yuan is about 964 million, and the per capita GDP level of Chinese residents is only one-third of Japan's per capita level in 1994. First, Japan's Gini coefficient remains within a safe range below 0.4. However, as a developing country with a low income level, China faces the pressure of getting old before it gets rich. This explains the problem that China may have insufficient effective demand for home purchases in the future.

The statement that nearly one billion people in China are low-income has sparked a lot of discussion on various social platforms, and once became the number one trending search topic on Weibo; some platforms even used this to conduct online surveys and collect netizen income data. Some people shared their experiences of low-income living, and some bloggers cited official census data to question Li Xunlei's remarks.

Blogger "Teacher Mingtao": "If all people aged 15 to 59 are regarded as the working-age population, then there are only 890 million people, and the number of people with an income below 2,000 exceeds 964 million. I don't know the experts and institutions. Before releasing these data, have they been verified? I would like to ask experts from Li Xunlei to clarify the relevant data."

Some bloggers believe that low income is the root cause of the current economic downturn.

Blogger "Instant GET+": "The economy is the second largest in the world. As a result, the average monthly income of 964 million people is less than 2,000 yuan. How can we increase consumption and stimulate economic growth? Everyone knows that effective demand is insufficient and social confidence is not high. The reason is simple, there is no money.” 

Li Xunlei’s article was removed from the shelves one day after it was published. When searching for relevant topics on Weibo, a prompt will appear saying "According to relevant laws, regulations and policies, the content of this topic is not displayed." However, netizens continued the discussion using methods such as screenshots of articles and transcripts of posts.

"The average monthly income of 964 million people is less than 2,000 yuan" has become the epitome of young people's employment

Independent commentator Ji Feng said that Li Xunlei's article is not only reminiscent of former Prime Minister Li Keqiang's mention that 600 million people in China have a monthly income of only 1,000 yuan, but also combines the public's personal experience with the current economic situation. Ji Feng said that his two nieces who have just graduated from college are also one of the low-income people mentioned by Li Xunlei as one in 964 million.

Ji Feng: "His data and the data used by Li Keqiang all come from survey data of Beijing Normal University. As long as (the article) is downloaded, most of what it says is true. Three years after the epidemic, the economic downturn has become a common problem for everyone. My personal experience. My niece lives in Chongqing. Now her monthly salary after graduating from college is only 2,000 yuan, and the rent goes to 1,000 yuan, so her father has to pay her 1,000 to 2,000 yuan every month, but the internship When it’s over, you’ll be unemployed, and the economy is out of control, everyone knows it.”

The removal of Li Xunlei’s article may be related to criticizing the system and speaking down on the economy.

Zhang Jianping, a current affairs commentator in Yixing, Jiangsu, said that whether the economic situation is good or bad, everyone may feel differently. However, the data cited in Li Xunlei's article has a certain degree of authenticity, and it also points out long-standing social problems in China.

Zhang Jianping: "After 40 years of reform and opening up, especially after joining the WTO, China's economy has entered into rapid development, but the income of ordinary people does not match the country's development. From the earthquake in Gansu, we can see the existence of a large number of poor people, which shows that The government has a big problem in development and distribution. This gap between the rich and the poor is caused by the system and needs attention and reform. However, the current behavior of the authorities in deleting posts shows that they have no idea of ​​such reform. This kind of poverty The wealth gap will continue."

Fang Yuan, a current affairs commentator, believes that the removal of Li Xunlei’s article was not only because the topic caused controversy among netizens, which was not the public opinion effect the government wanted, but it was also related to the ban just issued by the Ministry of National Security.

Fang Yuan: "Li Xunlei's article was removed from the shelves. Although he was only talking about some data, we must see that the data itself expresses the current economic situation, which just touches on the newly introduced ban on discussion and badmouthing the economy. The regulations are equivalent to touching the iron plate, so being removed from the shelves is in line with the logic of current management."

Fang Yuan said that the people who can discuss Li Xunlei's articles through the Internet only account for a minority of China's 1.4 billion population. Low-income or unemployed people who do not even have the time and space to express their opinions online are the ones who need more social attention and discussion.