Armed groups - Demons in disguise exploiting federalism, democracy: Political party says
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Hsu/ Munich (NP News) - Dec 10
The Chairman of the Tai-Leng Nationalities Development Party (TNDP) has criticized armed groups, stating that they are merely wolves in sheep's clothing, using the terms "federal" and "democracy" as mere lip service.
U Sai Htay Aung, chairman of the TNDP made this criticism in an interview with The Statesman journal regarding armed groups.
He asserted that regardless of the armed group, their primary motivation is self-interest, and the terms "federal" and "democracy" are merely used to sound appealing.
“The leaders of these armed groups prosper by exploiting the country's natural resources, while their lower-ranking members are dying. As for federalism and democracy, they merely serve as makeup to conceal the reality behind the scenes—a demon's head. No matter how much makeup they apply, the demon's head remains visible,” said U Sai Htay Aung.
He further added that while the top leaders of armed organizations enjoy a luxurious lifestyle, the young soldiers on the ground are sacrificing their lives, and the general public is suffering.
More than 1,000 non-governmental armed groups now exist across Myanmar, making the country one of the most violent conflict zones in the world.
The chairman of the TNDP also criticized the fact that every time an armed group emerges, the burden on the people increases.
He continued saying “Whenever a new armed group emerges, their targets are the people. They recruit from the people, and when they need resources or finances, they take them from the people. Consequently, the public bears the burden. Additionally, it is these armed groups—both government and non-government—that exploit the country's natural resources from the ground and underground. If they truly loved the country, they would protect and preserve these resources. But what they are doing now is looting them and oppressing the people. This is why I say that with every new armed group, the burden on the people only grows.”
Under the current SAC government, nearly 10,000 unarmed civilians, including village administrators, have been killed by armed groups under various accusations.
From February 2021 to September 2024, in Sagaing Region alone, 109 village administrators, 18 former military personnel, and 1,884 civilians accused of being informants were killed by these terrorist armed groups.
Similarly, in Mandalay Region, 272 local administrators, 12 former military personnel, and 1,122 civilians accused of being informants, totaling 1,406 people, were killed by these armed groups.
Since 2021, Myanmar has been experiencing intensified armed conflicts, resulting in the daily killing of an average of eight civilians, and widespread destruction of villages and towns.
Therefore, there are calls for armed groups to resolve the ongoing armed conflicts through dialogue. The SAC government has officially invited all armed groups, including ethnic armed groups, to engage in political negotiations.
"In my opinion, this conflict should be resolved at the negotiating table. If necessary, the military is willing to compromise. They have been making efforts to implement these compromises. However, when both sides are fighting with weapons, the casualties are all Burmese people. In that case, we lose a lot of human resources. Therefore, to end this conflict, we cannot use weapons. We must resolve it at the negotiating table," said Sai Htay Aung, the Chairman of the Tai-Leng Nationalities Development Party (TNDP).