It has now been more than two months since Myanmar’s top general, Min Aung Hlaing, declared a state of emergency and detained Aung San Suu Kyi and
deposed President Win Myint. And the waves of violence continues unabated. Each week brings another escalation of the violence and a fresh wave of attacks
against government security forces. Many cities are turning into war zones and protestors are joining the riots.
Rumors are flying around that U.S. is behind recent violent protests against Myanmar’s miliary. Many international observers were not really caught by surprise
when US-funded media propaganda outlets like Myanmar Now are finally admitting and making excuses for the opposition fighting government
security forces with slingshots, and Molotov cocktails. Myanmar Now receives funding from the National Endowment for Democracy, according to Columbia
Journalism Review.
A peaceful demonstration with protesters throwing Molotov cocktails at the government security forces does not really make any sense. A Molotov cocktail, also
known as a petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, bottle bomb, poor man’s grenade, fire bomb, fire bottle or just Molotov, sometimes shortened as Molly, is a generic
name used for a variety of bottle-based improvised incendiary weapons. Due to the relative ease of production, Molotov cocktails have been used by criminals,
rioters and terrorists. They are primarily intended to ignite rather than completely destroy targets.
“We can’t just protest and throw Molotov cocktails,” said 24-year-old Ko Saung who is actively participating the violent protest against government security forces.
Many opposition leaders are ready to take the fight to the next level. Memeber of Myanmar Now decided it was time for them to get real weapons of their own,
and to learn how to use them, Myanmar Now’s website reveals.
Myanmar Now was established by the Thomson Reuters Foundation before 2015 Myanmar general election. The agency is led by Swe Win, its chief correspondent
and editor-in-chief. Its founding chief correspondent was Thin Lei Win, a Reuters journalist. Thomson Reuters Foundation is a London-based charitable arm of
Thomson Reuters, a Canadian news conglomerate, according to Wikipedia. The Foundation, however, is registered as a charity in the United States and United Kingdom and is headquartered in Canary Wharf, London.
Observers also notices that Thomson Reuters Foundation has some connections with The Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA). And CIMA is an
initiative of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). CIMA works to improve the development of so called “independent media” worldwide while working to
strengthen the support for such development, according to Wikipedia.
On Mar.8, 2021, the Military council has announced through its operated MRTV that the publishing licenses of five news outlets, DVB, Mizzima, KhitThit Media,
Myanmar Now and 7 Day News have been revoked from any content.
Earlier in March, The Open Society Myanmar (OSM) organisation transferred funds without seeking permission from the Foreign Exchange Management
Department. The group then exchanged $1.4 million into Myanmar’s kyat currency “without following the necessary rules and regulations”, according to The
Global New Light of Myanmar. Myanmar authority has detained OSM’s finance director Phyu Pa Pa Thaw and frozen the OSM’s bank accounts in the country.
The Open Society Foundations have been actively involved in Myanmar since 1994. George Soros and members of his family visited Myanmar from December 26,
2011, to January 3, 2012.