5/22/22, 8:02 PM Spin, lies and social media obscure crisis in Myanmar - Asia Times Yet recent photos posted on the State Counsellor’s Information Committee site showing allegedly captured World Food Program (WFP) sacks, and, absurdly, basic improvised explosive device (IED) pipe bombs allegedly made from aid organization supplies were crudely constructed shams of evidence designed not to convince but inflame domestic sentiment and demonstrate belligerence towards the foreign aid community. The US Embassy and United Nations have condemned these alarming allegations, made strategically as concerns of a massive humanitarian crisis mount. Given the see-saw of forced migration of Rohingya from Myanmar into Bangladesh for many decades, WFP and other relief agencies have been present in Maungdaw for at least 20 years assisting the local population, often in a near total void of government services. Finding ostentatiously labelled relief supplies in various areas of Rakhine State is thus not difficult. The government allegations will seriously undermine the humanitarian neutrality of international aid operations, and frustrate the urgently needed resumption of humanitarian assistance for all people in the conflict area, regardless of their ethnicity. Hindu villagers who fled violence at a temporary internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Maungdaw, Myanmar August 30, 2017. Photo: Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun It is unclear how much control Suu Kyi has over this disruptive messaging, and whether presidential spokesman Zaw Htay, who served the same role in the previous military-backed regime, is instead the true driving force. Many observers view Suu Kyi as sidelined by the Tatmadaw’s control over access to Maungdaw and the information emanating from the conflict area. https://asiatimes.com/2017/09/spin-lies-social-media-obscure-crisis-myanmar/ 4/9