123
lost no fewer than 3,000 men.
Holy crap. I didn't realize the battles were that huge. Even if only 10% of Thai estimates are true, that's still a lot of deaths for a few days of what I thought were border skirmishes.
258
For those unfamiliar with the political situation on the Arakan front - which is where the world's attention on Myanmar has been due to the Rohingya crisis, this is a small lifting of the rug so to speak to the complex history of the area and its political participants.
Military still has the same political strategy that failed them in the last 2 general elections - being ultra-nationalist to the exclusion of minorities, attempting to sow division in the country in order to rule a fractured country by default.
Why now? Because they have finished rigging everything for this to happen. And the dictator running the junta - Min Aung Hlaing - have always had the desire to be called "President" of the country. Head of Junta isn't sexy enough for him. And this election will force some of the countries to recognize the military government (who have their own political party) allowing him to go on overseas as head of state and host foreign dignitaries on visits in Burma. Currently, the only countries he can visit are Russia and Belarussia as head of state. Even China while allowing him to visit for the first time this year didn't host him as head of state but just another foreign dignitary at a regional meet in a minor city. He's an ass who's in love with the trappings of being president of a country.
The military's ambition was always to legitimize their rule through an election system that's rigged in their favor - the constitution was written by them, the electoral system was set up by them. They won the first election in 2011, but to their surprise, lost to the NLD in 2016. They thought they would win in it in 2021 with an ultra-nationalist policy, but again lost to NLD so they staged the coup. This time they've banned most of the opposition parties, disqualified them from running and put them in jails, and made conditions that are almost impossible for others to participate in the election. And on top of that, I am sure they will cheat. This will legitimize their rule. They will seek recognition from other nations on the back of this election. China is pushing for elections too for whatever reason.
While the state of emergency has been lifted, I very much doubt that heavy-handed military presence with indiscriminate stops and check points in cities and towns will change. This is just the precursor to steps that legitimize military's rule with a fake election at the end of the year.
In the early days of the coup, Burmese people naively asked for US intervention of the coup, in similar ways we saw the US intervene in the Philippines, Taiwan, and Korea in the decades past that led to a democracy. The cynical and popular answer was that Burma held no oil, i.e. no strategic value for the US. Rare earths may soon change that.
While all the production from Burma goes to China for processing due to proximity to China, there is a way for the exports to be coursed to Thailand, via the same routes opium and other narcotics have been shipped out of Burma in the decades since CIA encouraged opium farming in Eastern Burma to finance the Chinese Republican army fighting the Red Army.
Or like the Chinese, he will play both sides - the junta and the rebels.
This is such a cowardly move by ABC.
They need to fire the leaders of Democratic party. Find new blood and new direction. Swing to the right didn't help them.
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The body count isn't from the paper. If you read, it is a direct quote attributed to a general of the Thai military.
I am not sure there are any center-left newspapers left in Thailand. The nation isn't a rag as you claim to be. It is a reputable news outlet.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nation_(Thailand)