- By Kamal Kumar
- Tue, 14 Nov 2023 08:29 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Myanmar, India's neighbour in the northeast, is again in turmoil as the fight between pro-democracy militia and the Junta intensified after the former captured two military bases at Khawmawi and Rihkhawdar in Chin state near the Indian border. The fierce war-like action by the People's Defence Force (PDF), the military arm of the ousted National Unity Party, has ignited strong speculation of a robust anti-establishment rebellion. These speculations are not all 'hearsay' as the president installed by the Junta has also shared the deep concerns of a reverse coup in the mountainous country.
"If the government does not effectively manage the incidents happening in the border region, the country will be split into various parts," Myint Swe, president of the State Administration Council, told a National Defence and Security Council meeting on November 9.
Who are the rebels?
Since the 2021 coup by the Myanmar military, several militias have been independently fighting against the tyrant rule. Even though groups such as the Arakan army, with a headcount of almost 30,000 soldiers, had some initial success in snatching control of border areas of some states, nothing substantial could come out of these localized battles. October 2023, however, brought these militias together, and since October 27, they have launched a renewed bid to free the nation from military rule, terming the latest rebellion - Operation 1027 - on the date it was constituted.
Many ethnic and non-ethnicity-based groups have coordinated for this alliance, knowing this could be the only way of getting out of the country from military clutches. Arakan Army, the Bamar People's Liberation Army (BPLA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Chin National Front are a few to be named in the long list of armed groups fighting for the national cause.
Why are they resisting the Junta rule?
According to the United States Institute of Peace, an independent conflict analysis body funded by the US Congress, since the coup, the Junta's level of violence and brutality has escalated, impacting virtually every part of the country.
(A rebel militia establishment at an unknown location in Myanmar. Credit-Reuters)
In a bid to consolidate its authority, the Junta has arrested around 20,000 civilians and killed approximately 3,000 in the past two years. Concurrently, around 15 lakh people have faced displacement as the Junta and resilient resistance movement fight for territorial dominance.
Who is the Poet?
Maung Saung Kha, a peaceful poet who has advocated against the war since his childhood, is now a rebel leader. Detained for a satirical poem he wrote that lampooned Junta, he formed the Bamar People's Liberation Army (BPLA), a group of 1,000 ethnic Bamar Buddhist fighters. Notably, Bamars are the two-thirds majority among the total population of Myanmar, and therefore, the rise of BPLA from a meek 17-man group to a 1,000-strong militia presents evidence of Maung's charismatic personality.
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Refugee Crisis and Displacement
As the conflict between the pro-democracy and military Junta intensified, so did the refugee crisis. In the last 24 hours, more than 5,000 Myanmar residents have crossed into the Indian state of Mizoram. These refugees are entering the porous Indo-Myanmar borders, and locals do not have any other option but to shelter them as the Mizos share ethnic ties with the Chin community.
This time, even the soldiers of the Military are fleeing Myanmar, saving themselves from the blazing guns of freedom fighters. The events since October 27 are signalling a fiercer and bigger battle ahead for Myanmar. It seems as if Myanmar Coup 2.0 has just begun- one more refugee crisis has just begun after Lakhs of Gazans fled their homes.