Sitting on flimsy plastic chairs in an old town hall with holes in the roof and flaking paint on the walls, a dozen young people wait patiently for their turn to join Myanmar’s rebel army.
As they kill time, they compare notes about the junta-controlled cities and villages they have come from.
Some are just mere miles away from the rebel-held town of Tagu, one of several areas in southern Myanmar’s Tanintharyi region which the insurgent People’s Defence Force (PDF) has captured from the ruling military government over the past year.
“I didn’t even know a place like this existed,” said Jenny, 18. She asked not to use her real name for fear of repercussions for her family, like all the people interviewed for this story.
Jenny wanted to join the fight against the country’s junta ever since they launched a coup in February 2021 and jailed then-leader Aung San Suu Kyi. She watched appalled as the army launched a campaign of violent repression, mass rape and bombing campaigns.
“No way would I choose the Burmese military – they kill civilians,” she said. “I want to be a revolutionary.”
baeb66 on April 13rd, 2024 at 13:39 UTC »
The Junta built their capital where it is to insulate themselves from the people of Myanmar. Now they cannot recruit people to fight for them. Who could have seen this coming?
kimitif on April 13rd, 2024 at 09:43 UTC »
Something that’s never pointed out when people discuss this conflict is the PDF is debatably as bad as the Junta. From what I’ve heard in the regions controlled by PDF they use many of the same oppressive tactics.
TheTelegraph on April 13rd, 2024 at 07:21 UTC »
The Telegraph reports:
Sitting on flimsy plastic chairs in an old town hall with holes in the roof and flaking paint on the walls, a dozen young people wait patiently for their turn to join Myanmar’s rebel army.
As they kill time, they compare notes about the junta-controlled cities and villages they have come from.
Some are just mere miles away from the rebel-held town of Tagu, one of several areas in southern Myanmar’s Tanintharyi region which the insurgent People’s Defence Force (PDF) has captured from the ruling military government over the past year.
“I didn’t even know a place like this existed,” said Jenny, 18. She asked not to use her real name for fear of repercussions for her family, like all the people interviewed for this story.
Jenny wanted to join the fight against the country’s junta ever since they launched a coup in February 2021 and jailed then-leader Aung San Suu Kyi. She watched appalled as the army launched a campaign of violent repression, mass rape and bombing campaigns.
“No way would I choose the Burmese military – they kill civilians,” she said. “I want to be a revolutionary.”
Read more: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/04/13/myanmar-conscription-backfires-young-people-join-rebels/