Irrawaddy-Jan 9
Amid fatal gun attacks and robberies in major cities like Yangon and Mandalay, not to mention a civil war that has engulfed the country, junta minister General Mya Tun Oo has urged ministries, chief ministers and tourism agencies to work promptly to convince international travelers that tourist spots in Myanmar are safe to visit. Addressing a meeting of the Central Committee on National Tourism Development, which he chairs, in Naypyitaw on Wednesday, Communications and Transport Minister Mya Tun Oo repeated junta boss Min Aung Hlaing’s call for “disseminating true information about safe travel to destinations in Myanmar to travelers”—an instruction the regime leader issued during his address to mark World Tourism Day on Sept. 27 last year. The following day, Washington renewed its list of destinations for US citizens to avoid traveling to, with Myanmar again included. The UK and other European countries have also warned their citizens against visiting Myanmar due to the armed conflict in the country. In fact, under the military regime, cities and towns in Myanmar have become unsafe not only for international tourists, but even for local residents. While Mya Tun Oo was speaking about safe travel, a gold shop in downtown Yangon’s Pabedan Township was robbed in broad daylight. On Monday, a person was shot dead from behind at point blank range in Yangon’s Kyimyindaing Township.Myanmar’s second-largest city, Mandalay, has also been rocked by gold shop robberies, kidnappings and murders.
In ethnic areas and central Myanmar, conflicts have been intensifying year by year since the coup. The junta has lost control over hundreds of towns and two regional military commands in Rakhine and northern Shan State. The regime admitted in a recent preliminary census report that it was only able to conduct a full census in 145 out of 330 townships nationwide. Many Myanmar destinations once popular with globetrotters are now conflict zones. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/junta-minister-makes-surreal-pitch-for-war-torn-myanmar-as-global-tourism-destination.html
