Irrawaddy-Dec 15
Here is the grim reality for Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing: his freedom of movement is now severely restricted. He can no longer travel freely across the country, as he did before. The number of areas he can safely access has shrunk as the war against his rule by the country’s ethnic armed groups and their allied resistance forces has spread to most part of the country. Of Myanmar’s 14 states and regions and one Union territory—Naypyitaw, the junta’s nerve center and the country’s capital—the number to which Min Aung Hlaing can travel was reduced to six this year, and even in those areas he is mostly only safe in the state and regional capitals. This year he has visited Yangon, Bago, Mandalay and Sagaing regions as well as Rakhine and Shan states. His visits to Yangon, Bago and Mandalay are not surprising as they could be considered as the joint second-safest regions after Naypyitaw. His trip to Sagaing—a hotbed of anti-regime resistance activity—in March this year should not earn him any praise for his bravery, however; he didn’t dare set foot outside the headquarters of the Myanmar military’s North Western Command and the nearby regional capital Monywa. And while he did visit Rakhine State, the timing should be noted. The last time he went there was in July, when the western state was still relatively peaceful, and at least four months before local ethnic armed group the Arakan Army (AA) kicked off its ongoing offensive against his troops there in November. Shan State—northern Shan, to be precise—is the most restive place he has traveled to so far, visiting on Dec. 10. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/few-places-in-myanmar-still-safe-for-junta-boss-to-visit.html
