Min Aung Hlaing has awarded a first-class technology excellence award to Colonel General Myat Min Oo, Director of the Military Information and Technology Department, who helped enable the military coup by falsely claiming irregularities in the 2020 election voter lists. The award ceremony was held at the military headquarters in Naypyidaw on March 13, with a formal presentation ceremony taking place on March 16.
Colonel General Myat Min Oo was one of the key instigators who helped pave the way for Min Aung Hlaing’s military coup. After the National League for Democracy’s landslide victory in the 2020 election, he collaborated with U Thaung Aye, a USDP representative from Pyawbwe, to conduct unauthorized inspections of voter lists. He then falsely reported to Min Aung Hlaing that there were irregularities in the Pyawbwe voter lists.
Min Aung Hlaing, who had been looking for a pretext to seize power, used this false information to conduct arbitrary inspections of voter lists nationwide. He then fabricated claims of millions of voting irregularities to justify the violent seizure of state power, with Colonel General Myat Min Oo’s initial false report serving as the catalyst. Myat Min Oo, a graduate of the 36th intake of the Defense Services Academy, had earned Min Aung Hlaing’s complete trust through these actions.
However, after the coup, Myat Min Oo’s expectations of being appointed as Minister of Transport and Communications in the military council’s government were not met. He was also passed over for the position of Minister of Science and Technology, which he had hoped to secure. Currently, he enjoys the trust of Vice Senior General Soe Win and plays a key role in the immigration department’s e-ID project. He has also secured lucrative contracts to supply computers and technology equipment to the military council at high profit margins.
Colonel General Myat Min Oo leads the technical cooperation team working with Russia and has relocated with his family from their former residence in Myenigone Sanchaung to the military headquarters in Naypyidaw for security reasons following the coup. He is known for frequently disregarding military regulations and visiting entertainment venues during off-duty hours. As the current director of the military’s information and technology department, he continues to play a crucial role in supporting the military council’s ongoing oppression of Myanmar’s people, making him a significant figure in the military’s crimes against the population.
