Myanmar is currently rocked by intense fighting in various parts of the country, with the military junta facing its stiffest challenge yet since it deposed the country’s democratically elected government in a February 2021 coup. The junta is now battling simultaneous and coordinated attacks by a range of resistance forces. The offensive has been named Operation 1027 after the date of its launch – October 27.
The battle has also reached India’s doorstep, with rebel forces capturing towns close to the Indo-Myanmar border, and at least 73 military personnel having fled to India so far.
U Kyaw Zaw, spokesperson of the president’s office of the National Unity Government – Myanmar’s shadow civilian government comprising primarily of leaders who had been elected before the coup – spoke to Sukrita Baruah about Operation 1027 and the rapidly evolving situation in the country.
On how many different fronts is the junta currently being challenged?
The military junta is facing resistance from different groups across the country – everywhere. There are the major ethnic armed revolutionary forces and also the local defence forces… After the coup, people just picked up arms, handmade guns, whatever to resist the military brutality. On top of that, people established the People’s Defence Forces (PDFs), initially to defend their villages, and their houses with whatever arms they could find.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar, the lawful and legitimate government, then set up more PDFs. The goal is to form a federal army when we finish this revolution… Under the MoD, we have almost 300 battalions… So, there are localised defence forces, which are coordinating with the PDFs and the MoD – not necessarily under their direct command but coordinating their activities with each other. In addition, we have had decades of oppression in the ethnic minority regions, and we have Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) that have been resisting military dictatorship for decades.
Read | Why Myanmar is now seeing its worst fighting in more than two years Premium Why Myanmar is now seeing its worst fighting in more than two years
Near the Indian border, in the Chin state, we have resistance forces like the Chin Defence Forces and the Chin National Army. In the Kachin state, there is the Kachin Independence Army, which is in the northern part of the country, close to both China and India. In the northeast and eastern part, in the Shan state, we have multiple EAOs.
Nowadays, people are talking about the Three Brotherhood Alliance, involving the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, and the Arakan Army…
We have more than 100 ethnicities, and the PDFs and MoD are working together with almost all the major EAOs, both militarily and politically. Because the chain of command is very important, we have set up the C3C – the central command and coordination committee. In the south, we have the J2C – the joint command coordination.
In the current fighting, how closely are all these different resistance groups coordinating?
I would say these are very closely coordinated operations and attacks against the brutal military. More than two-and-a-half years ago, when the military staged a coup against the democratically elected government, millions of people across the country staged a peaceful protest and the military brutally killed those protesters. That’s why many armed protests began in other areas. Like in central Myanmar, where there has never been a history of armed revolution because the Bamar majority people lived there (the Bamar people make up nearly 70% of Myanmar’s population)…
Such PDFs initially received sanctuary, training and support from the EAOs that have had decades of military experience. So, the NUG-MoD closely coordinated with the EAOs. We had very good coordination, not only on the ground but also in preparing strategy.
Though the country has been on the boil since February 2021, what is the trigger for this kind of unprecedented coordination at this moment?
The spark was lit two-and-a-half years ago. In recent weeks, if we go back to Operation 1027, it was triggered by a series of coordinated attacks across Myanmar. Mainly, it was in the northern Shan state. Along with decades of oppression, in recent years, there is international transnational criminal activity that has become a billion dollar business, under the control of the military and military-backed border guards. Thousands of local people and foreigners, including Chinese, American, Thai, and European nationals, became victims of these organised scams and human trafficking. At the same time, the local people are getting very poor. The Three Brotherhood Alliance decided that this is the time.
This is not just an ordinary military operation, this is a military operation with a political objective. The main objective in the 1027 statement is to end military dictatorship in Myanmar once and for all. The other is to end the transnational criminal activities…
It is being widely reported that the military is not able to adequately respond to the mounting attacks. What is your assessment of why that’s the case?
After the coup in 2021, the whole country no longer sees the military as protectors, but as more like a terrorist group. So the troops themselves were depleted. After more than two years of resistance war, tens of thousands of their troops are either killed or wounded, and about 20,000 of them either defected to the resistance forces or just simply deserted their posts. The military is also not able to recoup those losses because its main recruitment ground is the central region, which is now seeing the fiercest resistors to the military coup. They are demoralised even though they have the military might, heavy equipment, fighter jets, and helicopters. They are demoralised because they don’t receive the people’s support. So, you can see in recent weeks that battalion after battalion is surrendering to the resistance forces or siding with the people, or many of them are simply deserting.
The situation at India’s borders is also rapidly evolving. What is your expectation of an Indian response to this situation?
Our policy is to build a strong friendly relationship with all our neighbours, based on mutual respect. We do respect India’s interests and the objective to have a stable Myanmar. We have a thousand-year-long friendship with India and a lot of our culture came from India. We also look at India as the world’s largest democracy. So, we hope that the Government of India will understand and respect the will of the people of Myanmar and understand that there is only one destabilising force in Myanmar – the military. They are no longer the military, they have become a terrorist group now in Myanmar. So, the only way to end this brutality and instability is to end the military dictatorship…
We really do appreciate India hosting thousands and thousands of refugees from Myanmar. We appreciate the central and state governments of India, and especially the people of India, for providing humanitarian assistance… We would like the government of India to respect the will of the people of Myanmar. This way, we can end the instability and the atrocities in a very short period of time and build a peaceful Myanmar… This is the time that India should abandon cooperation and support with the military junta, which is collapsing and will end soon.
What is your assessment of how things currently stand for the junta and the rebel forces respectively?
The operation across Myanmar is a showcase of the unity, coordination and strength among resistance forces. At the same time, it is also a showcase of the weakened state of the Myanmar military. As we see, the Myanmar military is collapsing. They couldn’t even send reinforcements, they couldn’t even send air power to all those requesting air strikes. There are some videos of men pleading for air support and the military leaders couldn’t send it… At the same time, we want to end the atrocities in as short a time as possible. So, we are doubling our efforts to end the military dictatorship.
Distinct_Blueberry on November 21st, 2023 at 18:25 UTC »
India will do nothing, because India can't do anything. There is no path for the situation improving in supporting one side over the other.
IMO, as long as Myanmar junta (or whoever controls the border with India) keeps a check on infiltration, there won't be much Indian involvement.
There probably are also a few diplomatic channels where India urges the junta to restore democracy. The latter might work if there are promises of support to the military if they can at least have a democratic figurehead. Then again, the junta might not want an elected person (even if a figurehead) to claim success.
So, in a limbo this thing stays.
kimitif on November 21st, 2023 at 13:30 UTC »
I’ve spent time in Myanmar post-coup and have a lot of contacts there. Myanmar’s junta are a terror group and have been since the coup, this isn’t new news. The (minority of) people who even know about this conflict are generally aware that the junta is bad. But what isn’t reported in this already underreported war is that the biggest resistance groups are not a whole lot better. The enforcement of checkpoints and brutal tactics in resistance-controlled regions are on the same level as in junta controlled reasons. Many of the soldiers working for the junta are normal people trying to provide for their families in a country where food security is not good to say the least.
There is no winner in this war. Since the British left 80 years ago there has been constant internal conflict and grief. Truly a tragedy. The people are lovely, the food is amazing, and there is so much history.
sw1ft87ad3 on November 21st, 2023 at 09:44 UTC »
SS : U Kyaw Zaw, spokesperson of the president’s office of the National Unity Government (Myanmar’s shadow civilian government comprising primarily of leaders who had been elected before the coup), spoke to Sukrita Baruah about Operation 1027 and the rapidly evolving situation in the country.
Myanmar is currently rocked by intense fighting in various parts of the country, with the military junta facing its stiffest challenge yet since it deposed the country’s democratically elected government in a February 2021 coup. The junta is now battling simultaneous and coordinated attacks by a range of resistance forces. The offensive has been named Operation 1027 after the date of its launch – October 27.
The battle has also reached India’s doorstep, with rebel forces capturing towns close to the Indo-Myanmar border, and at least 73 military personnel having fled to India so far.
On how many different fronts is the junta currently being challenged?
The military junta is facing resistance from different groups across the country – everywhere. There are the major ethnic armed revolutionary forces and also the local defence forces… After the coup, people just picked up arms, handmade guns, whatever to resist the military brutality. On top of that, people established the People’s Defence Forces (PDFs), initially to defend their villages, and their houses with whatever arms they could find.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar, the lawful and legitimate government, then set up more PDFs. The goal is to form a federal army when we finish this revolution… Under the MoD, we have almost 300 battalions… So, there are localised defence forces, which are coordinating with the PDFs and the MoD – not necessarily under their direct command but coordinating their activities with each other. In addition, we have had decades of oppression in the ethnic minority regions, and we have Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) that have been resisting military dictatorship for decades.
Near the Indian border, in the Chin state, we have resistance forces like the Chin Defence Forces and the Chin National Army. In the Kachin state, there is the Kachin Independence Army, which is in the northern part of the country, close to both China and India. In the northeast and eastern part, in the Shan state, we have multiple EAOs.
Nowadays, people are talking about the Three Brotherhood Alliance, involving the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, and the Arakan Army…
We have more than 100 ethnicities, and the PDFs and MoD are working together with almost all the major EAOs, both militarily and politically. Because the chain of command is very important, we have set up the C3C – the central command and coordination committee. In the south, we have the J2C – the joint command coordination.
In the current fighting, how closely are all these different resistance groups coordinating?
I would say these are very closely coordinated operations and attacks against the brutal military. More than two-and-a-half years ago, when the military staged a coup against the democratically elected government, millions of people across the country staged a peaceful protest and the military brutally killed those protesters. That’s why many armed protests began in other areas. Like in central Myanmar, where there has never been a history of armed revolution because the Bamar majority people lived there (the Bamar people make up nearly 70% of Myanmar’s population)…
Such PDFs initially received sanctuary, training and support from the EAOs that have had decades of military experience. So, the NUG-MoD closely coordinated with the EAOs. We had very good coordination, not only on the ground but also in preparing strategy.
Though the country has been on the boil since February 2021, what is the trigger for this kind of unprecedented coordination at this moment?
The spark was lit two-and-a-half years ago. In recent weeks, if we go back to Operation 1027, it was triggered by a series of coordinated attacks across Myanmar. Mainly, it was in the northern Shan state. Along with decades of oppression, in recent years, there is international transnational criminal activity that has become a billion dollar business, under the control of the military and military-backed border guards. Thousands of local people and foreigners, including Chinese, American, Thai, and European nationals, became victims of these organised scams and human trafficking. At the same time, the local people are getting very poor. The Three Brotherhood Alliance decided that this is the time.
This is not just an ordinary military operation, this is a military operation with a political objective. The main objective in the 1027 statement is to end military dictatorship in Myanmar once and for all. The other is to end the transnational criminal activities…
It is being widely reported that the military is not able to adequately respond to the mounting attacks. What is your assessment of why that’s the case?
After the coup in 2021, the whole country no longer sees the military as protectors, but as more like a terrorist group. So the troops themselves were depleted. After more than two years of resistance war, tens of thousands of their troops are either killed or wounded, and about 20,000 of them either defected to the resistance forces or just simply deserted their posts. The military is also not able to recoup those losses because its main recruitment ground is the central region, which is now seeing the fiercest resistors to the military coup. They are demoralised even though they have the military might, heavy equipment, fighter jets, and helicopters. They are demoralised because they don’t receive the people’s support. So, you can see in recent weeks that battalion after battalion is surrendering to the resistance forces or siding with the people, or many of them are simply deserting.
The situation at India’s borders is also rapidly evolving. What is your expectation of an Indian response to this situation?
Our policy is to build a strong friendly relationship with all our neighbours, based on mutual respect. We do respect India’s interests and the objective to have a stable Myanmar. We have a thousand-year-long friendship with India and a lot of our culture came from India. We also look at India as the world’s largest democracy. So, we hope that the Government of India will understand and respect the will of the people of Myanmar and understand that there is only one destabilising force in Myanmar – the military. They are no longer the military, they have become a terrorist group now in Myanmar. So, the only way to end this brutality and instability is to end the military dictatorship…
We really do appreciate India hosting thousands and thousands of refugees from Myanmar. We appreciate the central and state governments of India, and especially the people of India, for providing humanitarian assistance… We would like the government of India to respect the will of the people of Myanmar. This way, we can end the instability and the atrocities in a very short period of time and build a peaceful Myanmar… This is the time that India should abandon cooperation and support with the military junta, which is collapsing and will end soon.
What is your assessment of how things currently stand for the junta and the rebel forces respectively?
The operation across Myanmar is a showcase of the unity, coordination and strength among resistance forces. At the same time, it is also a showcase of the weakened state of the Myanmar military. As we see, the Myanmar military is collapsing. They couldn’t even send reinforcements, they couldn’t even send air power to all those requesting air strikes. There are some videos of men pleading for air support and the military leaders couldn’t send it… At the same time, we want to end the atrocities in as short a time as possible. So, we are doubling our efforts to end the military dictatorship.