Myanmar's junta showcases massive ruby amid intensified scrutiny and international isolation
Myanmar's military-backed government is putting on a display of wealth and natural resource power even as it faces renewed international condemnation over its human rights record and alleged war crimes. On May 10, 2026, state media reported that the regime's top leadership—including President Min Aung Hlaing, the army chief who led the 2021 coup—gathered at the presidential office in Naypyidaw to examine a newly unearthed 11,000-carat ruby, weighing nearly five pounds (2.2 kilograms).
The rough gemstone, discovered near the town of Mogok in April, is being hailed as the second-largest ruby ever found in Myanmar, and is considered far more valuable than a larger 21,450-carat stone discovered in 1996 due to its superior colour and quality. According to the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar, the ruby exhibits a purplish-red hue with yellowish undertones, high-quality colour grade, moderate transparency, and a highly reflective surface.
Mogok, the historic heartland of Myanmar's gem-mining industry, has been the scene of intense fighting in the country's ongoing civil war. The region's lucrative ruby trade has long been a major revenue source for the military, fueling accusations that gems are helping to fund the junta's brutal crackdown on opposition forces.
Roger Stone lobbying scandal casts shadow over junta's PR push
The junta's gemstone celebration coincides with a separate controversy involving a prominent American political figure. Roger Stone, a longtime ally and former adviser to Donald Trump, has been condemned for accepting $50,000 a month to lobby on behalf of Myanmar's military junta. According to documents filed under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), Stone is providing "public affairs services" to Myanmar's Ministry of Information with the stated goal of "rebuilding relations between the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and the United States, with a focus on trade, natural resources, and humanitarian relief."
The DCI Group, the firm for which Stone is listed as a consultant, is reportedly handling the contract. Stone, 73, was convicted in 2019 of obstructing a congressional investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. He was sentenced to 40 months in prison but never served time, having received clemency from Trump in 2020.
Human rights groups have reacted with fury. Justice for Myanmar, a leading civil society organisation, accused the DCI Group and Stone of profiting "from a heavily sanctioned junta that is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity with total impunity." The US has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions against individuals and businesses linked to Myanmar's military, both for its alleged genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority—a case currently before the International Court of Justice—and for the 2021 coup.
Why the ruby and the lobby scandal matter for Myanmar's future
Myanmar's junta has been struggling to break out of diplomatic isolation since seizing power in 2021, a takeover that ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The coup plunged the country into economic turmoil and a spiralling civil war, with the military accused by UN experts and rights groups of repeated atrocities against civilians.
In an attempt to project legitimacy, the regime recently held elections that human rights and opposition groups widely condemned as a sham. The ballot returned Min Aung Hlaing—who led the 2021 takeover—to the presidency.
Gemstones as a lifeline for the regime
Myanmar produces as much as 90% of the world's rubies, primarily from the Mogok and Mong Hsu regions. Gemstones have historically been a critical source of hard currency for the military, providing funds that activists say sustain the regime's operations and weapons purchases. Global Witness, a Britain-based research and lobbying group, has repeatedly urged jewellers worldwide to stop sourcing gems from Myanmar, arguing that the trade directly supports human rights abuses. The discovery of the 11,000-carat ruby, and the regime's decision to showcase it publicly, appears to be a direct effort to signal that the junta remains firmly in control of the country's most valuable natural resources.
Divergent recovery efforts
While the junta's leadership focuses on gemstone spectacles and PR campaigns, local communities are grappling with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that struck in March 2025. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the quake hit areas already suffering from economic collapse, displacement, and ongoing instability. In response, the ILO's Employment Intensive Investment Programme and vocational training efforts have created 27,733 workdays for 3,014 workers, 52% of whom were women. Training reached 393 individuals—79% women—in skills like masonry, textile sewing, computer literacy, and entrepreneurship.
Infrastructure work included repairs to 1.55 kilometres of embankment and earthen roads, three water supply systems, and the construction of a skills training centre. The ILO also helped form village development committees to give local communities a real say in rebuilding, shifting the focus from short-term aid to long-term sustainability. This approach stands in stark contrast to the junta's top-down control and its prioritisation of resource extraction over civilian welfare.
Broader implications: the junta's twin track of resource display and lobby push
Myanmar's junta is pursuing a dual strategy: showcasing its control over valuable resources at home while hiring well-connected US lobbyists to burnish its image abroad. The ruby display serves to reinforce the regime's authority over Myanmar's resource wealth, sending a message to both domestic opponents and foreign investors that it remains the power broker in the country. Meanwhile, the Roger Stone lobbying contract represents the junta's attempt to chip away at its diplomatic isolation, especially in Washington.
Stone's involvement, however, carries significant risks for the Trump-aligned political network. As the US election cycle approaches, the presence of a Trump ally on the payroll of a sanctioned military junta could become a political liability. The US has maintained a firm stance on Myanmar sanctions, and any attempt to normalise relations with the regime would face fierce opposition from human rights groups and many members of Congress.
The juxtaposition of the giant ruby and the lobbying scandal underscores the junta's core contradiction: it desperately wants international legitimacy, but it continues to rely on the very tools—resource extraction, repression, and back-channel lobbying—that earned it pariah status in the first place.
For now, the 11,000-carat ruby sits on display in Naypyidaw, a glittering symbol of a regime that remains fundamentally unchanged even as it scrambles to rewrite its global image. Whether the lobbying efforts of figures like Roger Stone can help that effort remains to be seen—but for human rights advocates, the stone and the stone lobbyist represent two sides of the same problematic coin.
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