Media council members and journalists have criticized military council leader Min Aung Hlaing for making confused and irrelevant connections between economic sanctions and computer software during a press conference in Belarus. At the March 7 press conference, Min Aung Hlaing bizarrely claimed that when facing economic sanctions, computer software would gain more collective strength and increase competition, demonstrating a fundamental misunderstanding of both concepts.
U Toe Zaw Latt, Secretary of the Independent Press Council Myanmar (IPCM), pointed out that Min Aung Hlaing appeared to completely misunderstand the meaning of both economic sanctions and computer software, noting that these two concepts have absolutely no relationship to each other. Additionally, a veteran domestic journalist observed that just as former leader Thein Sein had previously misused constitutional terminology, Min Aung Hlaing has now demonstrated his lack of understanding by nonsensically combining sanctions and software terminology. The journalist emphasized that Min Aung Hlaing’s statements made no logical sense and revealed his poor grasp of English terminology.
Min Aung Hlaing’s limited English language proficiency has been evident during his international trips, where he has relied entirely on interpreters during meetings with Russian leader Putin and the Belarus president, speaking only in Myanmar language. His diplomatic missteps were further highlighted when he presented Putin with a book claiming dubious historical prophecies about a ‘rat king’ on March 4, despite lacking any historical evidence. While state-controlled newspapers under the military council have reproduced Min Aung Hlaing’s erroneous statements, they have made no attempts to correct or clarify his confused remarks about sanctions and software. These incidents have raised further questions about the military leader’s competence in international diplomacy and basic understanding of global affairs.
