A wise saying found on fridge magnets in one form or another goes something like “the energy you put out is the energy you get back”.
In that vein, struggling dictator Min Aung Hlaing carried a handgun and wore what social media users say is a bracelet for magic protection when he visited Yangon’s Hlaing Thar Yar township, where his troops slaughtered more than 40 people a month ago.
In fact, the military-owned newspaper Myawaddy Daily reportedly erased the bracelet with some photoshop wizardry last week.
Min Aung Hlaing was in the working class suburb's Shwe Lin Ban Industrial Zone on April 11 to check up on Chinese-owned clothing factories that were set ablaze during the brutal crackdown, which thousands of residents fled as martial law was imposed in the township.
While China had kept quiet on the growing number of civilian deaths at the hands of the Myanmar military, its embassy quickly responded to the arson, urging authorities to take effective measures to stop violence and punish the perpetrators. Unsurprisingly, the response fed the perception that China was at best indifferent to the people’s struggle to salvage democracy.
Min Aung Hlaing was joined by junta ministers and fellow Special Administration Council members for the visit, which also took in burned factories in Shwe Pyi Thar, another industrial township under martial law and subjected to military atrocities since the coup on February 1.
According to state newspaper the Global New Light of Myanmar, the dictator “stressed the need to operate factories as usual to create jobs for the people”, meaning the people who have so far survived his orders.
Compensation for insured factories and losses from the fires were also discussed, the newspaper reported, but the moment also called for a photo opportunity, and like every laid-back man-of-the-people leader, Min Aung Hlaing brought a gun to his rice and oil donation.
The state news article ended on a salient note, explaining that officials should organize locals to clean “and beautify the environs” according to the saying: “Unity is strength” – something that the protest movement has taken on board, bringing most of the country together against the military.
At least 706 people have been killed by the junta, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) monitoring group, including dozens of children.
