Internal discord plagues Myanmar's PDF fighters
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Hsu/ Thant Zin (NP News) - July 29
A source informed The NP News that growing class disparity is intensifying tensions between the profit-seeking leaders and the rank-and-file members of the People's Defense Forces (PDFs) in central Myanmar.
In upper Myanmar, major PDF factions and the Three PaThoneLone are reportedly profiting from illegal businesses like gold mining, oil extraction, and illegal logging. This has created a widening social gap, as leaders thrive while lower-tier fighters struggle in harsh conditions.
"From the beginning, there were already many differences in attitudes between the leaders and the ordinary members. Now, it’s growing worse. We’ve started seeing some of their internal disagreements surfacing online. For example, in areas like Kyaukpadaung, there are PDFs involved in gold mining. Some of them used to be part of the NLD (National League for Democracy) and are now fugitives under Section 505. They were high-ranking people during the NLD era. Some are now living abroad, and some are still in the PDFs. While operating under the banner of the revolution, they’re engaged in gold mining and illegal logging. Of course, there are also genuinely committed individuals with firm beliefs. But recently, with more of this kind of activity, problems are starting to arise more visibly,” said a local resident from central Myanmar.
The source added that internal conflicts among PDF members are worsening, escalating from simple discontent to acts of retribution, and warned that the situation could deteriorate further.
“As for the PDFs, one thing’s for sure—this fragmentation will only continue. We already know one side’s nature. Even during Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s administration, things were happening between MPs, government staff, and people in rural areas. People from within Parliament and those who later gained power ended up turning on each other. Even now, if they lose, they’ll be destroyed in defeat. And if they win, they’ll fight over positions and still eliminate each other. That’s undeniable. It’s more rampant in the upper Myanmar regions. There are too many groups. Everyone wants to be their own boss. If you really get to know them, most are the kind of people who would turn on each other. Right now, they’re just helping each other to gain strength,” the source said.
Since the emergence of PDF groups in upper Myanmar four years ago, a stark contrast has developed: some members have become wealthy from illegal economic ventures, while others are reportedly struggling with poverty and unable to meet their basic needs.
These developments are seen as the negative consequences resulting from the lack of clear and unified political ideology among many PDFs since the beginning of their armed resistance, said U Thein Tun Oo, Executive Director of the Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies.
“Because they don’t have a clear sense of purpose in their actions, they’ve taken up arms under the slogan of the revolution. They fight against the military in hopes of taking territory, and that’s it. It’s all just rhetoric. In reality, what they’re doing is exploiting the local natural resources. To put it bluntly, the revolution is only in name. When it comes to actual work, what’s really happening is the imposition of warlordism in the territories they control. Why? Because they have problems related to ideology, and that’s what’s causing all this,” said U Thein Tun Oo.