Myanmar Situation Developments: Week of 6 April 2026

Congratulatory Messages Sent to Senior General Min Aung Hlaing [3 March 2026]
Allies of the military commission congratulated Senior General Min Aung Hlaing for becoming president-elect. Chinese President Xi Jinping last Friday said Myanmar was in a “new stage of political transition and national development,” China Daily reported. The Chinese state-owned outlet said Chinese Vice President Han Zheng also congratulated Prime Minister Nyo Saw and Nan Ni Ni Aye on becoming Myanmar’s first and second vice presidents respectively. Russian President Vladimir Putin also congratulated Min Aung Hlaing, The Global New Light of Myanmar reported. “I am confident that Your Presidency will further facilitate the advancement of constructive bilateral cooperation for the benefit of the peoples of our countries, and in the interests of strengthening stability and security in the Asia-Pacific Region,” the state-run newspaper quoted him as saying. His message was echoed by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, who said Min Aung Hlaing’s “rich experience as a statesman” will bring prosperity to Myanmar.

Thai foreign minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow also sent his congratulations to Min Aung Hlaing. The Global New Light of Myanmar quoted him as saying that he is “confident” relations between Myanmar and Thailand will “continue to prosper in all areas of mutual interest” during his presidency. Sihasak has denied accusations that Bangkok supports the military commission but has expressed hopes that the election could be the start of a political transition leading to peace in Myanmar.

Usage-based Fuel for Taxis [3 March 2026]
The military commission announced it is limiting fuel sales to taxis, three-wheelers and cargo trucks after inspections allegedly revealed that some drivers were exploiting rationing rules. The military commission said it has been selling fuel to the vehicles based on “actual distance traveled” since last Friday. These vehicles could previously purchase fuel three times a week. The new restrictions appear designed to prevent drivers of these vehicles from selling extra fuel on the black market. The military commission said it has installed equipment to monitor petrol sales in 879 of 2,943 fuel stations in Myanmar.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Coast Guard last Saturday detained four Bangladeshi nationals and eight Rohingya for attempting to smuggle 6,000 litres of diesel to Myanmar, The Financial Express reported. They were found on a boat off the coast of southeastern Bangladesh’s Chattogram district, a BCG spokesperson told the outlet, adding that the men were smugglers planning to transport 150 to 200 people to Malaysia on the boat. Bangladesh authorities have been cracking down on fuel hoarding as the country has been hit with petrol shortages since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran on 28 February 2026.

CBM Announces Blacklisting of Companies for Failing to Repatriate Export Earnings [4 March 2026]
The Central Bank of Myanmar blacklisted 287 companies, including Htoo Trading owned by Tay Za, for not transferring export earnings into the official banking system between 2021 and March 2025. The CBM invoked a 2023 directive requiring companies exporting goods to Asian countries to channel their foreign earnings into the banking system within 30 days of exporting and 60 days for other parts of the world. The Foreign Exchange Management Law requires companies to return their exports to the banking system within six months. Tay Za was regarded as the richest man in Myanmar during the previous dictatorship of Senior General Than Shwe. Genocide Case Filed in Indonesia [6 April 2026]
Civil society organisations on Monday filed a criminal case with the Indonesian prosecutor’s office in Jakarta against Min Aung Hlaing, accusing him of genocide during the 2016-2017 “clearance operations” against the Rohingya in northern Rakhine State, Reuters reported. Rohingya activist Yasmin Ullah, former Indonesian Attorney General Marzuki Darusman, lawyer Busyro Muqoddas, and other activists filed the complaint based on universal jurisdiction. The news agency quoted a statement from the activists as saying they will present evidence of forced displacement of Rohingya and killings committed by the Myanmar military, adding that Indonesian prosecutors accepted the case. “It is the first time under Indonesia's new penal code that a case has been officially received and I warmly welcome this historic development as a milestone for all Rohingya people on their long march to justice and accountability,” the news agency quoted Yasmin Ullah as saying.

Indonesia is the second ASEAN member to consider investigating crimes allegedly committed by Myanmar military officials, after activists filed a similar complaint with the Timor-Leste prosecutor’s office in Dili, which agreed last month to investigate the case. East Timorese prosecutors are investigating war crimes allegedly committed in Chin State. The Gambia filed a case against Myanmar in 2019 on charges of genocide against the Rohingya at the United Nations International Court of Justice. An Argentinian court issued arrest warrants against Min Aung Hlaing and other senior officials last February for their role in the 2016 and 2017 military operations against the Rohingya.National and Local Cabinets [7 April 2026]
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing proposed the re-appointment of 18 ministers to their positions and offered only a few positions to the military proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party for the new cabinet. During its session on Tuesday, the Union Parliament, which is a joint session of the parliament’s upper and lower houses, approved Min Aung Hlaing’s proposal to form his administration with 31 ministries, according to the Ministry of Information. The parliament also agreed to hold confirmation hearings tomorrow on several of Min Aung Hlaing’s appointments to the cabinet and other institutions, such as the Supreme Court and the Union Election Commission. It is likely the USDP-dominated legislature will confirm them.

BBC Burmese reported that Min Aung Hlaing  proposed appointing the chief of the air force General Tun Aung as the new defence minister, while Lieutenant-General Nyunt Win Swe, from the office of the commander-in-chief, will become home affairs minister. Current home affairs minister Lt-Gen Phone Myat will lead the Ministry of Border Affairs. Tin Maung Swe, who served as the ambassador to China from November 2022 to January, will replace Than Swe as foreign minister. Voice of Myanmar reported that USDP vice chair Myo Zaw Thein will become the new minister of co-operatives and rural development. The outlet said senior USDP official Maung Myint will serve as the minister of hotels, tourism and culture, while Maung Thin, also a senior party official, will be appointed as minister of youth affairs.

Shan Herald Agency for News reported that Min Aung Hlaing appointed Sai Htein Soe, a USDP member representing southern Shan State’s Lawksawk Township, as the chief minister of Shan. Nam Kham Lu, a parliamentarian from the Shan and Nationalities Democratic Party who represents Mongnai Township, was appointed as the state’s social affairs minister. Khun Than Htoo, an MP of the Pa-O National Organisation from Hsi Hseng Township, was appointed as electricity, energy, industry and transportation minister in Shan.

Min Aung Hlaing appointed Brigadier-General Aung Win Than as the new chief minister of Mon State, Independent Mon News Agency reported. Two cabinet positions in the Mon government were offered to the Mon Unity Party, which secured seven seats, the second highest in the state legislature after the USDP. MUP member Nai Layi Tama, who is serving as an economic minister in Mon, was appointed as the state’s finance and planning minister. Fellow party member Mi Lawi Han was appointed as the natural resource and environmental conservation minister of the state during the Mon parliament’s session yesterday.

Saw Myint Oo was re-appointed as Kayin State chief minister, and Saw Khao Pan Htok, a member of Phalone-Sqaw Democratic Party from Hpapun Township, as the municipal affairs minister of the state, Popular News Journal reports. Min Aung Hlaing also re-appointed Vung Suan Thang as the Chin State chief minister, Khonumthung reports. He appointed the retired army doctor to the position in August 2022.Activists Sue Telenor [7 April 2026]
The nonprofit Justice and Accountability Initiative on Tuesday filed a class action lawsuit against Telenor for giving the Myanmar military access to the data of users suspected of opposing the February 2021 coup, the Netherlands-based activist group SOMO said. The civil case, brought on behalf of Myanmar customers against the Norwegian state-owned telecommunications company, was filed by the Norwegian law firm Simonsen Vogt Wiig at the Asker and Bærum District Court in Norway. The plaintiffs allege Telenor shared the phone numbers of at least 1,253 customers between the coup and March 2022, when the company exited Myanmar. They argue that Telenor is liable for EUR 9,000 (around USD 10,500) in damages per customer for failing to prevent disclosure or “knowingly and unlawfully” authorising its Myanmar subsidiary to disclose customer data without taking measures to prevent its misuse. “For us as civil society representatives, we want to hold Telenor accountable on behalf of other users of Telenor, not only for specific people but also for the wider community that was harmed,” JAI’s chair Ko Ye was quoted by SOMO as saying.

The plaintiffs said Telenor shared the data of activist and National League for Democracy lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw with the Myanmar military in October 2021. He was arrested in Yangon in November that year and sentenced to death in January 2022. He and three others, including 88 Generation activist Ko Jimmy, were executed in July 2022. JAI said Telenor handed Phyo Zeya Thaw’s data over despite an internal assessment that the disclosure would likely lead to his arrest. His widow Thazin Nyunt Aung is one of the individual plaintiffs in the case. According to SOMO, the lawsuit also alleges that data shared by Telenor led to the arrest of civil society activist Aung Thu. He was arrested by the Myanmar military on 5 September 2021, and charged with sedition, but his case was withdrawn. The plaintiffs said the military requested his user data from Telenor, which complied with the order despite an internal assessment finding that doing so would infringe on his rights. Aung Thu was released in October 2021 but was rearrested at the jail gate and was later sentenced to five years in prison on terrorism charges. He was released last year.

Telenor told Reuters on Wednesday that refusing the Myanmar military's requests could have led to “imprisonment, torture or the death penalty” for its employees in the country. “Telenor Myanmar had no real options. We could not play Russian roulette with the lives of our employees,” the company said, adding that the Myanmar military bears sole responsibility for its human rights violations.