Posted on May 31, 2023
Myanmar coup: The soldiers refusing to fight
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The Myanmar military is suffering defections from its forces and is finding it hard to recruit. In exclusive interviews, newly-defected soldiers tell the BBC that the junta, who seized power in a coup two years ago, is struggling to suppress the armed pro-democracy uprising.
"No-one wants to join the military. People hate their cruelty and unjust practices," says Nay Aung. The first time he tried to leave his base he was badly beaten with a rifle butt and called a "traitor".
He managed to escape the second time and flee across the border to Thailand with the support of opposition groups.
"One of my friends is in the resistance," he says. "I called him and he told people here in Thailand about me. I arrived here with their help."
He's now living in a safehouse along with 100 other newly-defected soldiers and their families. These men, who refused to fight their own people, are now in hiding so we are not using their real names. They're being housed and protected by the very resistance movement they were ordered to fight.
"No-one wants to join the military. People hate their cruelty and unjust practices," says Nay Aung. The first time he tried to leave his base he was badly beaten with a rifle butt and called a "traitor".
He managed to escape the second time and flee across the border to Thailand with the support of opposition groups.
"One of my friends is in the resistance," he says. "I called him and he told people here in Thailand about me. I arrived here with their help."
He's now living in a safehouse along with 100 other newly-defected soldiers and their families. These men, who refused to fight their own people, are now in hiding so we are not using their real names. They're being housed and protected by the very resistance movement they were ordered to fight.
Myanmar coup: The soldiers refusing to fight
Posted from bbc.com
Yangon
Democracy
Posted 11 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
"On February 1, 2021, a military coup took place in Myanmar, in which power was seized from the democratically elected government and handed to the military234. The coup was rejected by the civilian population and sparked civil disobedience, protests, and enduring armed resistance to military rule25. The military declared a year-long state of emergency and declared power had been transferred to Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing. The coup occurred the day before the Parliament of Myanmar was due to swear in the members elected at the 2020 election, thereby preventing this from occurring. The military declared the results of the November 2020 general election invalid and stated its intent to hold a new election at the end of the state of emergency."
"On February 1, 2021, a military coup took place in Myanmar, in which power was seized from the democratically elected government and handed to the military234. The coup was rejected by the civilian population and sparked civil disobedience, protests, and enduring armed resistance to military rule25. The military declared a year-long state of emergency and declared power had been transferred to Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing. The coup occurred the day before the Parliament of Myanmar was due to swear in the members elected at the 2020 election, thereby preventing this from occurring. The military declared the results of the November 2020 general election invalid and stated its intent to hold a new election at the end of the state of emergency."
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