‘Proof of Life’ campaign culminates on Aung San Suu Kyi’s 81st; China endorses Min Aung Hlaing

‘Proof of Life’ campaign culminates on Aung San Suu Kyi’s 81st birthday

Jailed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s son, Kim Aris, completed an 81-kilometre skateboarding challenge in London’s Hyde Park on Wednesday. This was part of his self-initiated “81 for 81” campaign, carried out two days before his mother’s 81st birthday today, to strengthen global calls for independent verification that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate is still alive.

“This has been a hard push, but we can keep on going because we know that what we’re pushing for, and what we’re fighting for, is right,” Aris stated in a video message from Hyde Park. He launched the fitness challenge on June 1, urging supporters around the world to run, walk, cycle, or take part in activities in increments of 81 to mark his mother’s June 19 birthday and to protest her continued isolation.

Aung San Suu Kyi was detained during the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. Unverified regime reports claimed that she was transferred from prison to an undisclosed house arrest location in Naypyidaw on April 30. Regime leader Min Aung Hlaing has repeatedly denied independent international observers—including the U.N. and the Red Cross—any physical access to verify her health or whereabouts. Read more

Myanmar GDP growth forecast cut amid new gas ‘discoveries’

The ​World Bank stated that the forecast for Burma’s‌ real gross domestic product (GDP) growth was cut to 2.0 per cent in the 2026-27 fiscal year, which began in April, from a projection of 3.0 per cent made before the war in Iran caused the ​global energy shock. Melinda Good, World Bank division director for ​Thailand and Burma, stated that the country’s economy is under “significant strain” despite signs that economic conditions have “stabilized” following the 2021 military coup.

Geologists have confirmed that “significant” natural gas reserves exist in deep-water offshore sites in Tanintharyi and Ayeyarwady regions, with estimated capacities of 95 trillion cubic feet (2.69 trillion cubic meters) and 14 trillion cubic feet (396.4 billion cubic meters). Regime media reported that the findings were based on the results of exploratory drilling wells and three-dimensional surveys of sandstone reservoirs beneath the seabed conducted on an undisclosed time.

Burma hosts four offshore natural gas extraction sites with a daily production capacity of over 1.3 billion cubic feet (36.8 million cubic meters) of which 1 billion cubic feet (28.3 million cubic meters) is exported to China and Thailand. The Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), which has been under regime control since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021, is sanctioned by the E.U., the U.S., and Switzerland.