Commute to be simplified to single pass

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PUBLISHED: 1 Feb 2025 at 04: 00

Beginning in the middle of this year, Bangkok riders will be able to use a single solution to access Chao Phraya express boat service through all-electric trains, people buses, and public cars.

A special council was set up, according to Deputy Transport Minister Manaporn Charoensri, who announced monday that the legislature approved the Common Ticket System Management Act on Wednesday.

The act aims to lower travel costs and make traveling by public transport convenient for passengers while encouraging commuters to use public transportation, which may help to meet government goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. By the middle of the time, according to Ms. Manaporn, the legislation is anticipated to become lawful.

By September, the extra policy will be made available to help the 20-baht flat price policy for all electronic train routes.

The creation of campaign funds for activity and potential growth, including providing loans to participated operators, criteria for concessionaires, and measures to ensure benefit from the popular ticket system while preventing damage to the public are some of the five key principles of the law.

Ms. Manaporn stated that the Office of Transportation Policy ( OTP ) will establish the technological standards for the system.

She added that the law may also help make it easier for town riders to go by using a single ticket system that is applicable to all public transportation systems.

According to this law, contractors who are eligible to participate in the system’s procedure must also have a permit license.

According to Ms. Manaporn, the average cost of traveling on public transportation now depends on the various fare rates that are already set by each service provider, the majority of which are very high.

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Three reasons why gold’s record run is different – Asia Times

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Gold opened in London January 31 at an all-time history of$ 2.845 an ounce. Platinum is a form of protection from political and financial disasters. More specifically, it has become a special insurance coverage against systemic risk, breaking apart from other resources it used to record – foreign assets and other metals, for instance, as well as inflation-linked Treasuries.

That may worry politicians in Washington.

Trump declared during his election plan,” I may end the war in Ukraine, I will stop the panic in the Middle East, and I will stop World War III from occurring,” adding,” You have no idea how near we are.” Trump vowed to put an end to the Ukraine War within a time of taking office, but peace is still not in view. The West didn’t accept Russia’s primary need for Ukrainian neutrality. Nevertheless, Russia continues to crush out regular gains.

What will the US would if Russia wins the military in a significant way over Ukraine? No single knows, and the price of end-of-the-world healthcare continues to rise.

Gold’s document work is distinctive in three ways.

First, gold stopped trading with other metals, including gold, copper and various professional metal. That partnership lasted from 2007 until the close of 2023. Gold has increased significantly over the past year, while another metal have not.

Next – as we have noted usually – gold traded in combination with the supply of inflation-protected US Treasuries, or TIPS. Both are types of protection against sudden inflation and serious dollar depreciation. However, after the US and its allies seize$ 300 billion of Russian foreign exchange reserves in March 2022, gold became decoupled from TIPS provides. A plan of insurance that the insurer may seize at will is less appealing than gold in a central bank vault.

Third: Different currencies used to indicate a wall against the dollar. The Japanese renminbi, an alternative to the penny, was almost tracked by the silver price. However, in 2022, this marriage ended. For one thing, Japan’s government debt is now 250 % of GDP ( twice the US figure of 120 % ), and the central bank owns more than half of that debt. Japan’s inflation has crept up, eroding consumer purchasing power and weakening the region’s political organizations. The japanese is no longer a haven for foreign currency investors. The Euro, which has the bag of fragile and depressed markets like France and Italy, is not.

The United States must sell more than a trillion dollars of assets to the rest of the world annually with a trade deficit of$ 1.2 trillion and a net international investment position of negative$ 25 trillion. Five years ago, foreign investors stopped purchasing US bill, and since then, the country has been selling tech companies to foreigners to help it balance its trade deficit. A stock market selloff may have negative effects on the US dollar.

During his confirmation hearings, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pointed out that the US federal deficit, which ranges between 6 % and 7 %, is unprecedented for a time without war or recession. As I wrote December 20 in Asia Times, the gap may be Trump’s rival. American businesses now have the ability to cover the majority of the US government’s gap since 2020 as a result of foreign central banks ‘ reductions in their investments of US Treasuries. However, to get interest-sensitive personal investors, it will require either lower interest rates to help banks purchases of Treasuries, which are expansionary, or higher yields on government loan.

Both the global financial picture and the geopolitical balance are becoming more dangerous. Gold’s cost run provides a disturbing measure of risk perceptions, and it has evolved into a unique hedge against both types of risk.

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Ukraine says N Korea troops likely pulled from front line over heavy losses

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Russian special forces fighting in the northern Kursk region of Russia have told the BBC they haven’t seen any North Korean soldiers there for the past three weeks.

According to a official, they were likely to have left after suffering significant costs.

Last week, Western leaders told the BBC that, out of some 11, 000 troops sent from North Korea to struggle for Russia, 1, 000 had been killed in only three weeks.

North Korea and Russia have no commented.

The Russian special forces official told the BBC on Friday that he was only referring to places in the Kursk area where his forces were engaged in combat.

The official did not specify how much that top line had been.

And while this is never the whole picture, it does indicate significant North Korean deaths.

The North Koreans were even reported to have been taken off the front lines, according to the New York Times.

According to US officers, the soldiers may not be permanently withdrawn, and they may do so after receiving additional training or after the Russians find new ways to deploy them to avoid for high casualties.

The North Koreans are reportedly ready for contemporary warfare and are particularly susceptible to Ukrainian drone strikes, according to reports from South Korean intelligence.

In recent months, Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin have strengthened diplomatic ties by signing a security and defense agreement.

Pyongyang’s aid to Moscow then also extends to huge quantities of ammunition and weapons.

Last August, elite Ukrainian troops launched a lightning offensive in Kursk, seizing more than 1, 000 sq km ( 386 sq miles ) of Russian territory.

A sizable portion of that area has been retaken by Russian forces since then.

Kyiv’s wonder invasion was intended to alter the conflict’s relationships.

It was initially hoped the operation would relieve pressure on other parts of the more than 1, 000km-long ( 620 miles ) frontline, particularly in eastern Ukraine.

Moscow has recently seized a number of settlements in the Donetsk region, continuing its continuous, albeit slower, expansion in the west.

Then, Kyiv is looking to use the land it owns in Kursk as a springboard for any upcoming peace or peace negotiations with Moscow.

In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale war of Ukraine.

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Mongolian sumo wrestler appointed grand champion

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10 days before
Alex Loftus

BBC News

AFP/ Getty Images Hoshoryu, topless and in ceremonial dress from the waist down, with his arm raised. A crowd is in the background AFP/ Getty Images

A Mongolian weightlifting fighter has been elevated to the highest position in a meeting held on Friday.

Hoshoryu, true name Sugarragchaa Byambasuren, became the 74th yokozuna, or grand hero, after winning a big event last month.

The boxer must not only achieve excellent having success, but also demonstrate good conduct, and have their qualifications evaluated by a panel of judges.

Hoshoryu’s brother Asashoryu, a previous yokozuna who was known as the poor boy of weightlifting, was forced to quit the game in 2010 after breaking a man’s head in a drunken fight outside a bar.

However, Hoshoryu has already indicated that he wants to follow a different way than his brother, whose wedding was held 22 years previously to the present.

” I want to work effectively as a yokozuna and would my best”, he said.

AFP/ Getty Images Hoshoryu, topless and in ceremonial dress from the waist down, crouched with two other wrestlers either side of himAFP/ Getty Images

Around 3,500 fans watched the 25-year-old perform a number of festivals for his new name at the Meiji Shine in Tokyo.

He was handed a light cord buckle worn by yokozuna, which he put on for his ring-entering service.

He clapped his hands, stamped his foot, and sat in a small squat for a few days as the audience applauded.

” I practised a lot but I was still more frightened than I expected”, he said.

” I think I did it properly though”.

AFP/ Getty Images Hoshoryu, topless and in ceremonial dress from the waist down, stamping with a huge Japanese shrine behind. Other wrestlers sit cross-legged nearby and seated audiences are seen in the far left and right of the pictureAFP/ Getty Images

A yokozuna is expected to withdraw if their level of sumo falls, unlike various ranks, and cannot be demoted.

Many wrestlers can keep the rank at any one time, but Hoshoryu will stand out after Terunofuji, the 34-year-old grand champion, made the announcement earlier this month.

His interview, for the first time in more than 30 decades, leaves the game with no great champion.

Sumo has been dominated by Peoples for the past 25 times.

Six of the seven athletes who were promoted to yokozuna have been from the Asian nation since the turn of the century.

Japan’s only new champion during that period, Kisenosato, held the rank for less than two years.

” Peoples do so well because their regional wrestling type, Bokh, is quite comparable”, Rob Ó Néill, chairman of the British Sumo Federation, told the BBC.

In Bokh, combatants rely on foot washes, which are legitimate in sumo but were unusual until the influx of Mongolian fighters turned specialist.

” It was like a kickboxer fighting a boxer”, Mr Ó Néill said.

Although the Chinese soldiers have improved their ability to defend these maneuvers, they are a fundamental component of Mongolian fighting idea in a way that they are not in Japan.

Sumo is a very classic game that requires practice.

The Mongolians ‘ success is also attained by their early wrestling training.

” They’re also absolutely huge people”, Mr Ó Néill added.

Unlike additional combat sports, expert weightlifting does not have weight classes.

To be a professional, soldiers must eat, sleep and educate with one another in a type of education house called a solid.

The Japan Sumo Association has approved about 40 horses, and there are now about 40.

” It’s their entire way of life from when they join to when they retire”, Rob said.

Franchises serving chanko, a type of dish eaten in large amounts by the athletes, are often opened by previous fighters near stables.

Since Japan is the only nation with a professional sumo wrestler, the majority of the fighters are self-taught. Each can simply teach one foreign wrestler.

The success of the men’s aspiring Sumo World Championships, which fields competition from nearly 90 countries, is invited to join a firm.

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Western private equity firms return to Japan – Asia Times

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They’re again. After a break earlier in the new millennium, American private equity firms are increasingly&nbsp, targeting Japan for their Eastern investment techniques. And the Chinese government and regulators have taken bold steps to welcome them and help make Tokyo Tokyo the world’s first global financial hub.

Back in the late 1990s and early&nbsp, 2000s&nbsp, Japan was a favored destination for European alternative property managers. In 1999, for example, Newbridge Capital, co-founded by Texas Pacific Group ( then TPG), took a lot interest in&nbsp, the online service provider&nbsp, Livedoor. &nbsp,

And, in 2000, J. Christopher Flowers and Ripplewood Holdings organized a consortium of investors to purchase Japan’s distressed Long Term Credit Bank, renaming it Shinsei ( translation: &nbsp, “rebirth” ). After Shinsei went public in 2004, the bargain was commonly regarded as one of the most successful private equity investments ever, both in Asia and in the early days of private equity investment. &nbsp,

Curiosity Waned&nbsp, &nbsp,

But by the time of the Great Financial Crisis, American businesses began to find other Asian nations, &nbsp, most notably&nbsp, China and South Korea, &nbsp, more open and welcoming –countries&nbsp, where owners could achieve greater financial returns with fewer regulation roadblocks.

While American investors retreated, Eastern PE money continued to undertake to Japan. The Eastern PE large PAG continued to build its staff and&nbsp, investments&nbsp, in Tokyo. The company bought Universal Studios Japan in 2015 and reportedly exited three years later with&nbsp, a&nbsp, five-times&nbsp, return&nbsp, on&nbsp, their purchase. &nbsp, PAG ‘s&nbsp, most significant investment of late&nbsp, is&nbsp, the&nbsp, largest theme park by physical size, Nagasaki’s Huis Ten Bosch.

Nagasaki’s Huis Ten Bosch topic area. Photo: Japan Guide

One industry observer&nbsp, told Asia Times&nbsp, that&nbsp, while, about a decade ago, &nbsp, there were a few&nbsp, of&nbsp, what he calls&nbsp, one-off “predecessor transactions” &nbsp, by mega&nbsp, global&nbsp, funds &nbsp, including KKR and Bain, &nbsp, Western PE firms&nbsp, had&nbsp, largely&nbsp, remained circumspect&nbsp, about Japan&nbsp, – at least &nbsp, until recently&nbsp, when&nbsp, the country &nbsp, made a conscientious effort to win them back by committing to a series of sweeping&nbsp, regulatory initiatives. These included:

•&nbsp, Implementation of the Corporate Governance Code ( 2015, revisions in 2018 and 2021 ): &nbsp, Introduced to improve transparency, accountability, and decision-making in Japanese corporations, which aligns with international standards, the&nbsp, code encourages companies to have more independent directors&nbsp, to provide companies&nbsp, an outside perspective&nbsp, and&nbsp, commitment to shareholder&nbsp, rights, making Japanese companies more attractive to foreign investors, including PE firms.

The Stewardship Code’s implementation ( 2014, revised 2020 ): This code encourages institutional investors to work with the companies they invest in more, putting an emphasis on shareholder returns and sustainable growth. American PE firms discover working with shareholders that promote the implementation of value-adding techniques.

•&nbsp, Tokyo Stock Exchange&nbsp, market restructure ( 2022 ): &nbsp, This initiative simplified and restructured the TSE into three new segments: Prime, Standard, and Growth Markets. By highlighting encouraging growth sectors, the restructuring aims to define market dynamics, boost market visibility, and draw in foreign investors.

•&nbsp, Guidelines for Corporate Takeovers&nbsp, ( 2023 ): &nbsp, This bold action by The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry ( METI ) &nbsp, is designed&nbsp, to facilitate mergers and acquisitions ( including hostile takeovers ), recognizing them as critical to business revitalization and growth. The 2023 Guidelines aim to improve Chinese people M&amp, A practices by incorporating principles like shareholders ‘ intentions and the union’s fiduciary responsibility to make the Asian business manage business more visible to international clients. &nbsp, This directly benefits private equity firms, which&nbsp, are a major driver of email M&amp, A&nbsp, and as a” white hero” alternative to hostile protesters.

Business observers&nbsp, today&nbsp, say the governmental change toward&nbsp, encouraging&nbsp, greater foreign investment is also aided by a poor yen and persistently low interest rates.

Solid rise

The&nbsp, effect on&nbsp, offer growth has been&nbsp, remarkable. &nbsp, The&nbsp, Japanese&nbsp, Private Equity Association and the Japanese Venture Capital Association &nbsp, track the number of&nbsp, private equity&nbsp, offers in the country as well as the price of&nbsp, those&nbsp, purchases. In 2020, &nbsp, there were 96 personal equity&nbsp, deals valued at&nbsp, 1.2&nbsp, trillion renminbi. By 2023, &nbsp, the&nbsp, deal&nbsp, figures and length had jumped to 125 private equity deals valued at 5.9&nbsp, trillion renminbi.

Expediting the re-entry of&nbsp, western&nbsp, secret equity&nbsp, firms&nbsp, has fallen mostly to FinCity Tokyo, founded in 2019. FinCity Tokyo, &nbsp, a public-private&nbsp, engagement, &nbsp, was created to support &nbsp, owners understand and improve value in the novel regulatory environment. &nbsp, Its&nbsp, stated aim is&nbsp, making&nbsp, Japan’s capital&nbsp, an “international monetary centre”.

To do so, &nbsp, FinCity Tokyo&nbsp, coordinates with the government of Japan, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government&nbsp, and 57&nbsp, part companies including business associations, major financial institutions, international investors&nbsp, and&nbsp, service&nbsp, services. The&nbsp, organization&nbsp, also&nbsp, provides proper assistance to&nbsp, financial&nbsp, firms&nbsp, seeking to&nbsp, enter and&nbsp, operate smoothly&nbsp, in Japan. Since 2022, it has helped nine global companies, with goods of almost$ 1.3 trillion, &nbsp, to successfully activate and engage in Japan. &nbsp, &nbsp,

FinCity Tokyo ‘s&nbsp, Executive Director Keiichi Aritomo&nbsp, says one of its tasks is helping international investors secure workers in a tight labour market. The company even covers the costs of hiring new PE investors in search of qualified workers.

Accepting non-family control

The failure of&nbsp, Japanese business owners&nbsp, to establish family succession&nbsp, plans&nbsp, used to strike Western investors as a stigma, &nbsp, but owners now&nbsp, have come to&nbsp, welcome&nbsp, external ownership and professional management by Western buyers. Or, as Aritomo of FinCity Tokyo writes, “private equity firms provide the experience to offset labor shortage with skilled management and productivity gains.”

Bain &amp, Company, in a report published last spring, &nbsp, said&nbsp, that Japan was the leading deal market in Asia-Pacific in 2023&nbsp, with private deals as the dominant strategy, noting “more companies are preferring to go private”. And&nbsp, the&nbsp, capital&nbsp, needed&nbsp, to complete deals via limited partnerships is plentiful. ” There is increasing LP appetite for Japan”, noted Sebastien Lamy, co-head of Bain &amp, Company’s Tokyo-based Asia Pacific PE practice.

PE firm&nbsp, Carlyle, based in Washinton, DC, with investments and operations&nbsp, globally, &nbsp, is&nbsp, also focused on&nbsp, Japan. &nbsp, In a report last September, the firm pointed to the positive regulatory changes, the attractive valuations, the stable political climate and the continued investment opportunities. ” We are seeing many overseas GPs]general partners ] establish offices in Japan for the first time” ,&nbsp, the firm said.

And, in an analysis last year, &nbsp, the management consulting firm, &nbsp, McKinsey&nbsp, &amp, Company, &nbsp, noted that, &nbsp, while&nbsp, Japanese&nbsp, private equity&nbsp, is&nbsp, a growing presence in the financial landscape, the industry still has &nbsp, more room&nbsp, to grow.

Increasingly, western private equity players&nbsp, have gotten&nbsp, the message.

Owen Blicksilver is a private equity-focused public relations executive in New York.

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Anutin seeks clarity on Myanmar power cuts

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Security officials were asked to clarify whether Thai surveillance could be threatened by scam centers.

PUBLISHED: 31 Jan 2025 at 20: 45

Power lines of the Provincial Electricity Authority cross the border from Mae Sai district in Chiang Rai province to Tachilek in Myanmar. (Photo: PEA Facebook account)
Power lines operated by the Provincial Electricity Authority travel across the border from Tachilek in Myanmar to Mae Sai region in Chiang Rai state. ( Photo: PEA Facebook account )

Anutin Charnvirakul, the interior minister, has requested clarification of the legal procedures required for the Provincial Electricity Authority ( PEA ) to shut off the supply to areas in Myanmar where criminal activity, particularly call-centre scams, is pervasive.

The NSC has argued that it has no authority to determine which areas of the neighboring nation are hazardous for Thailand and may support haltering utility service.

In a text to Chatchai Bangchuad, the NSC secretary-general, Mr Anutin said the Seed supplies power to five sections in Myanmar: Payathonzu Town in Kayin State, two pieces of Tachilek Town in Shan State, and two locations in Myawaddy in Kayin State.

According to a government decision from March 5, 1996, the Seed is required to inform the National Energy Policy Council before selling power to customers in neighboring countries without having to request coverage approval.

Additionally, Mr. Anutin cited a previous case resolution from May 14 last year that recommended that the Ministry of Interior arrange with various organizations to halt the clause of cross-border public power services that have been illegally used for human trafficking, money laundering, scam gangs, and drug networks.

He claimed that because of this, his government requested that the NSC disclose whether there are any illegal activities taking place in those five areas that threaten Thailand’s peace and order or safety. If thus, the data could be used to turn off the power.

Before cutting off electricity to a particular area, the Seed has stated that it would need a pronouncement from security forces in Thailand and maybe Myanmar as well.

The Seed needs to discuss the problem with its commercial partners and make a decision in accordance with the rule of law, according to the NSC secretary-general, even though the government has the authority to order energy cuts if it sees a safety hazard.

Mr. Chatchai emphasized the need to examine the legal contracts between the Peas and the classic contracting parties for any ambiguities that might result in the suspension of services. In that environment, the NSC has no authority to declare certain sections as dangerous.

” All deeds must comply with legal systems”, he added.

After attending an ad-hoc council meeting on the Myanmar crisis, foreign secretary Maris Sangiampongsa made a comment on the subject on Friday. He claimed that members discussed the possibility of cutting off energy in border areas where swindling is carried out.

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Cyber police close in on ‘Oreo’ gang

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Hardcore gamers are accused of stealing personal information and creating video of abuse against rival players.

PUBLISHED: 31 Jan 2025 at 19: 58

A police officer questions a member of the “Oreo” gang, which stands accused of posting violent videos showing acts of torture and dehumanisation. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
A police commander interrogates a part of the” Oreo” group, which is accused of posting brutal films that depict acts of torture and dehumanization. ( Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill )

Following the release of violent films that depict functions of torture and dehumanization, expert computer police on Friday made another arrest of a part of the” Oreo” group.

Adipat Kamlangkua, 23, was apprehended after police examined a video posted on the account” Reez Oreo”, according to Pol Lt Gen Trairong Phiewpan, commissioner of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB ).

A victim was allegedly forced to eat grass and remove his clothes before being sprayed with water while dressed, according to the movie, which was reportedly shot on December 3.

The account’s owner, who is a member of an online gaming community known as” Oreo,” uses FiveM, a well-known role-playing modification app for Grand Theft Auto Online, later identified as Mr. Adipat.

The suspect, according to Pol Lt. Gen. Trairong, acknowledged that the group, led by a man known as” Ta,” had systematically targeted and intimidated other gamers who engaged in conflict with them.

First, Mr Adipat may be charged with violating the system crime legislation, said the CCIB chief.

Following inquiries into claims that members of the group had illegally obtained personal information to abuse survivors, Mr. Adipat’s arrest was made.

According to Pol Lt Gen Trairong, the suspect even reported to police that the party had hired a site administrator to get private information from other players for 500 ringgit for particulars of two people.

The site executive, aged 16, was located in Ayutthaya on Friday.

One of the team’s members claimed to be able to get federal databases and find personal data about its rivals, which members would then use to harm or abuse the victims, according to a previous Facebook post.

The representative was alleged to be able to do so because his girl is a police officer’s daughter.

But, Pol Lt. Gen. Trairong claimed that initial data suggested that customers or applicants were required to provide personal information by private companies rather than government agencies.

The Khlong Luang Police Station in Pathum Thani’s key earlier this week stated that Ta was ready to be charged after a picture of him beating a man with a baseball pitcher was discovered.

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Aung San Suu Kyi isn’t the villain of Myanmar’s tragedy – Asia Times

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Myanmar is in collapse. The country has experienced unrelenting conflict since the military coup in February 2021, with popular crimes, thousands of lost lives, and more than two million people displaced.

With the prison of all elected officials, including State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, government officials, and more than 21, 000 captives of conscience, a restrictive military government has added to the rigorous destruction of political institutions.

Some reviewers have chosen to criticize the State Administration Council junta, the organization’s most notable sufferer, in the midst of this terrible landscape’s horrors.

Benedict Rogers ‘ recent article,” The world must end its silence on Aung San Suu Kyi” ( Union of Catholic Asian News, January 17, 2025 ) indulges in distorted half-truths. Rogers portrays Suu Kyi as the criminal in a horror engineered by the very defense she has constantly opposed, despite his so-called great purposes.

This is not journalism—it’s the persuasive equivalent of lighting a fire beneath a female enduring her 19th season of imprisonment, including her third parallel year in solitary confinement, and calling it justice.

Mainstream media has taken to calling Myanmar a “forgotten state”, but a video from&nbsp, The Independent&nbsp, next December reveals a state not so much forgotten as consciously ignored. Some lament the demise of” the one democratic hope that Burma had,” as well as her repulsive behavior by those who unnecessarily desired a saint before being sullied by realpolitik.

” Some editors I speak to presently say they got it wrong about my family”, explains Aung San Suu Kyi’s child, Kim Aris, featured prominently in the film&nbsp,” Terminated”, talking to us before its release.

A clear correlation is found between Western reporting, heightened sectarian violence, and rising nationalism, according to research from organizations like Care International. As Sir John Jenkins, former UK ambassador to Myanmar, explains in the documentary, Suu Kyi’s abandonment by her “international friends” during the Rohingya crisis enabled the military to launch its 2021 coup d ‘état.

Tightrope over an abyss

Labeling Suu Kyi’s 2019 defense of Myanmar at The International Court of Justice ( ICJ) as a “defense of the military” by a “genocide apologist” carries as much weight as a shadow on a sidewalk. She engaged in a delicate legal and diplomatic defense of her nation at a time when allowing international assistance would have only made things worse.

Despite the fact that condemning either Buddhist or Muslim communities would have only sparked the flames, international observers steadfastly failed to define sectarian violence as intercommunal. Suu Kyi addressed the ICJ by saying,” Myanmar will not tolerate human rights violations committed in Rakhine state and will prosecute the military if war crimes have been committed there.”

These statements acknowledged Myanmar’s difficulties rather than denying atrocities. Her arrival at The Hague was more of an act of survival than a declaration of complicity. To reject the military’s oppressive hold on her government, one would say Suu Kyi is a collaborator.

Suu Kyi’s political philosophy emphasized peace through dialogue and non-vilification. In a society that frequently divides, demonizes, and retaliates, this strategy stands out as a unique one.

Suu Kyi’s intentions are discredited by collusion claims, and Myanmar’s 2008 Constitution is viewed as a military instrument. Dismantling the military was never an option. The only realistic course of action is to implement incremental reform because the system she inherited was meant to obstruct civilian control.

It is a fundamental fact that Suu Kyi’s accusations of failing to end the military’s influence ignore. The real question is not Suu Kyi’s failure to end the military, but why her critics are so eager to shift blame for her actions.

Any analysis of Suu Kyi’s leadership during the Rakhine state crisis that ignores the brutal attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army ( ARS A ) is intentionally misleading and incomplete.

These coordinated attacks &nbsp, by the Islamic terrorist&nbsp, group &nbsp, were a deliberate provocation that had their desired effect of triggering the military’s “area clearance operation” that drove hundreds of thousands of Rohingya into Bangladesh. ARSA’s goal was to destabilize the region and provoke military retaliation.

The establishment of the Kofi Annan Commission on the Rakhine state was a remarkable act of political courage in a nation that is deeply divided by ethnic divisions. Critics often dismiss it as a public relations stunt, ignoring the commission’s real significance. Suu Kyi’s leadership during this time laid the groundwork for reconciliation.

Ignoring ARSA’s purposeful provocation is comparable to analyzing the horrors that occurred on October 7 in Israel without acknowledging the Hamas attacks that caused the rise. Blaming Suu Kyi for the military’s obstructing is just as absurd as blaming a firefighter for an arsonist’s crimes.

People’s mandate

Under her leadership, the National League for Democracy ( NLD ) emerged as a form of peaceful yet defiant opposition to the junta. By the 2020 elections, despite systemic repression, the people of Myanmar overwhelmingly entrusted Suu Kyi with their democratic aspirations. Every vote cast by the NLD was a profound act of defiance, a declaration that Myanmar’s citizens would not bow down to military authoritarianism.

However, critics trivialize this victory and dismiss Suu Kyi’s leadership as a failure. Such criticism disregards the sacrifices of millions who volunteered for their safety and livelihoods to help her campaign for a free Myanmar.

The obsession with Suu Kyi’s alleged failings obscures the crimes committed by the military generals, led by coup-maker Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who have stoked a decades-long reign of terror. These are the men responsible for the 2021 coup, which stifled democracy and caused the nation to fall into chaos.

This ingrained system of terror faced direct challenges under Suu Kyi’s leadership and the NLD’s electoral victories. It is inaccurate to criticize Suu Kyi while downplaying the junta’s crimes. If there is a failure to hold the military accountable, it is not Suu Kyi’s failure—it is the world’s failure to confront the true perpetrators of Myanmar’s tragedy.

It is time to stop using Suu Kyi as a scapegoat for Myanmar’s suffering. Her critics—many of whom once hailed her as a beacon of hope—owe her more than criticism, they owe her an apology.

The military junta has always been the primary architect of Myanmar’s oppression. Suu Kyi embodied the aspirations of millions of people who dared to achieve freedom, despite being far from a perfect leader. The extraordinary resilience of a nation fighting for its dignity is undermined by continuing to demonize her.

Suu Kyi’s imprisonment is more than just a personal tragedy; it is also a betrayal of democracy itself. Her detainment symbolizes the suffocation of a nation’s hopes. The international community must confront the unfairly denigrated smear campaign that has unfairly tarnished her legacy by doing more than just demand her release.

Let history interpret Suu Kyi as what she truly is: a brave leader who adapted to adversity, a flawed yet defiant symbol of her people’s struggle, and a voice for reconciliation in a country shattered by decades of terror. The call is clear:# FreeAungSanSuuKyi&nbsp, and hold the true villains—the junta—accountable for their crimes.

Alan Clements&nbsp, is an author, investigative journalist and former Buddhist monk ordained in Myanmar, where he lived for years immersed in the country’s spiritual and political landscapes. He is the author of&nbsp,” Burma: The Next Killing Fields” ?&nbsp, and&nbsp,” The Voice of Hope”, &nbsp, co-authored with Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as the four-volume&nbsp,” Burma’s Voices of&nbsp, Freedom” &nbsp, and&nbsp,” Aung San Suu Kyi From Prison and a Letter to a Dictator” .&nbsp, His decades-long work focuses on Myanmar’s ongoing struggle for democracy, human rights and spiritual resilience.

Fergus Harlow&nbsp, is a writer, scholar and human rights advocate. He co-authored&nbsp,” Burma’s Voices of&nbsp, Freedom” &nbsp, and&nbsp,” Aung San Suu Kyi From Prison and a Letter to a Dictator”, &nbsp, providing an in-depth exploration of Myanmar’s political crises and the resilience of its people. Harlow’s work centers on the intersections of democracy, spirituality and global human rights.

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