"CONTENTS: 2 Trials for NLD leaders 2 NUG and CRPH 5 COVID-19 surge 5 Conflict and displacement 6 Ceasefires 6 Displacement 7 Fighting by region 9 Protests and violent crackdowns 12 Resistance bites 12 Women continue to lead, and to suffer disproportionately 13 International reactions, sanctions 15 ASEAN engagement 15 ASEAN-China meeting 17 UN General Assembly 17 G7 Summit 17 Effects on foreign business 18 Foreign links identified 18 Economy continues to sink 19 Junta continues to enrich itself.....Junta seeks to bolster coup narrative: Since April, the junta has published at least three propaganda books that omitted its killing of over 800 pro-democracy protesters. The books focused on the myth that the military had to take over due to widespread electoral fraud by the NLD in the 2020 elections. According to the books’ prefaces: “Although Myanmar’s democracy foundation shaped by the Tatmadaw since 1988 is making certain progress, the democratic journey is delayed by voter-list errors and poor transparency in the 2020 election and the failure to handle the Tatmadaw’s statements on the election.” On 10 June, the Ministry of Information reported that the junta’s Union Election Commission had found evidence of electoral fraud by the NLD after examining the voter lists and voting conditions in 49 townships in Shan State. It declared that NLD candidates violated the Hluttaw Election Law, as well as COVID-19 prevention and control guidelines during the campaign and on polling day. The Commission added that the NLD had “arranged to seize power in advance”, and concluded that the election was not free and fair. This was one in a months-long series of examinations by location since February. During the ASEAN-Russian Federation Summit on Security on 28 June, junta representative Lt-Gen Yar Pyae said that electoral fraud by the NLD had led to a loss of trust in democracy and the election system. He claimed that the Tatmadaw had no choice but to take power to maintain stability. Yar Pyae also accused the NLD of banning “the rights of democracy, including media freedom” during its first term in office, and blamed the kyat’s drop in value and increased commodity prices on their “wrong” economic policies. Irrawaddy (24 Jun 2021) Myanmar Junta Propaganda Books Hope to Rewrite History; SAC (10 Jun 2021) Announcement of Union Election Commission; SAC (29 Jun 2021) Union Minister Lt-Gen Yar Pyae joins virtual ASEAN-Russian Federation Summit on Security Affairs.....Junta’s “perfect information”: In light of widespread condemnation by independent media, the NUG, and foreign governments, the junta sought to dispute the facts about its military actions. On 7 June, it denied that its troops initiated a 5 June shootout with villagers armed with homemade guns in Kyonpyaw Township (Ayeyarwady Region). This contradicted news reports that the Tatmadaw fired first. The junta also alleged that three villagers were killed, compared to 20 in other sources. On 19 June, it criticized CNN and Reuters for their “wrong news without media ethics” after they reported, on 17 June, that junta forces had burned down 80% of homes in Kinma Village, Pauk Township (Magway Region). It alleged that a local PDF and insurgents from Chin State set fire to the house of a USDP member during a clash with security forces on June 15, leading to more fires. Also on 19 June, it published a press release on the incident, accusing the CRPH, NUG, PDF, extremist NLD members and followers of spreading rumours on social networks to cause instability. On 20 June, it alleged that the PDF had deliberately set fire to Kinma to raise funds through Facebook donations, tarnish the image of the government, and draw international condemnation. On 21 June, the (reconstituted) Myanmar Press Council released a statement that unlicensed local media outlets, international news agencies, and foreign embassies had spread fake news regarding the events in Kinma to help international organizations interfere with the country’s internal affairs. It said it would not be responsible for further disputes that occur if media workers contact and provide information to news outlets whose licenses were revoked by the junta. The next day, the junta said official news media had already provided “the perfect information” and urged news agencies to follow international media ethics. SAC (7 Jun 2021) Exaggeration of media on attack in Ayeyawady Region; Myanmar Now (5 Jun 2021) Junta troops kill three civilians in shootout over arrest of local villager; Guardian (6 Jun 2021) Myanmar junta forces reportedly kill 20 civilians in fresh clashes; SAC (19 Jun 2021) CNN, Reuters news agencies presenting news without media ethics need to post correct news; SAC (19 Jun 2021) Public information released not to believe fake and false news on social networks; SAC (20 Jun 2021) Statement strongly condemns media outlets and organizations spreading false information on Kinma fire case; SAC (22 Jun 2021) Media council releases statement urging to follow journalism ethics; SAC (26 Jun 2021) Myanmar Press Council – Announcement 5/2021.....Latest information control measure: whitelists: In June, internet providers in Burma confirmed that the junta plans to allow access only to approved (“whitelisted”) websites/platforms, whereas before the internet was open except for blacklisted sites. From February, the junta instructed internet providers to ban platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and continued to add other websites, often via twice-weekly directives. A senior official at Burma telecommunications company MPT said the junta gave the company hundreds of thousands of IP addresses to blacklist, including news websites. For nearly 50 days, there were only around 500,000 internet connections in a country of 54 million. Website/platform bans and internet blackouts disrupted even the most basic functions of the banking, education, transportation, and healthcare sectors. The junta restored access to the internet over mobile data in May. Popular websites and platforms like Facebook and Twitter remain inaccessible without a VPN, but some mobile banking applications became usable again. An IT professional said that while the junta could not ban some Cloudflare VPNs, most VPNs could be shut down as whitelisting begins. All internet users in Burma will likely eventually be affected by whitelisting, but so far the whitelist only seems to be affecting mobile internet. The ministry has sent its lists of over 1,000 websites and applications to be whitelisted, and mandated that mobile operators and internet service providers follow the whitelist plan. MPT was also recently required to begin monitoring calls and the most frequently visited websites. Senior official said they could not view emails and chats, but were monitoring the highest traffic websites from local IP addresses. Frontier Myanmar (30 Jun 2021) Whitelisted internet takes Myanmar back to a ‘dark age’..."