Myanmar democracy chief says 2,000 lifeless battling navy junta

According to Myanmar’s Democracy chief, 2,000 pro-democracy fighters have been killed whereas battling a navy junta that seized energy final yr.

Bangkok,UPDATED: Dec 1, 2022 23:10 IST

Duwa Lashi La, performing president of the National Unity Government. (Photo: Reuters)

By Reuters: At least 2,000 pro-democracy fighters have been killed in Myanmar battling a navy junta that seized energy final yr, the pinnacle of a parallel civilian authorities stated in an interview aired on Thursday, urging allies to offer navy support.

Duwa Lashi La, performing president of the National Unity Government (NUG), comprised of remnants of the administration of deposed chief Aung San Suu Kyi and others, was talking to the Reuters NEXT convention from an undisclosed location in Myanmar.

“We regard (the deaths) as the price we must pay,” stated Duwa Lashi La, a former instructor and lawyer in his seventies who fled his residence in Kachin State in northern Myanmar along with his household.

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The navy has branded him and his colleague terrorists and banned residents from speaking with them, however their parallel civilian authorities enjoys widespread assist. Allied armed teams referred to as People’s Defense Forces have emerged throughout the nation.

Duwa Lashi La has been pictured visiting troops, who embody former college students and professionals pushed to the jungles by navy crackdowns, clad in a flak jacket and helmet.

“I don’t know when I’ll quit my life,” he stated. “It is up to God’s will. I am already committed to sacrificing anything for my country,” he said.

The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since the military seized power in February last year, reversing a decade-long democratic experiment, and using deadly force to crush protests.

In addition to the 2,000 deaths in fighting, more than 2,500 civilians have been killed elsewhere, mostly in crackdowns on protests, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights group that has been monitoring the unrest.

SUPPORT LIKE UKRAINE

Pro-democracy fighters are out-gunned by an army equipped by Russia, China and India, which uses fighter jets to carry out deadly bombing raids. More than 1.3 million people have been internally displaced since the coup, according to the United Nations, which has said military attacks may constitute war crimes.

The junta did not respond to requests for comment by Reuters. It has said it does not target civilians with air strikes and its operations are responding to attacks by “terrorists”.

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Duwa Lashi La stated the opposition fighters had killed about 20,000 junta troops. It was not attainable to independently verify the numbers.

“If we had anti-aircraft weapons, safe to say that we could win in six months,” he stated. “If only we received the same support that Ukraine receives from the US and EU, the sufferings of the people who are being slaughtered would cease at once.”

While Western nations have voiced assist for the NUG and sanctioned navy commanders and firms, they’ve stopped in need of navy support for the opposition and stated the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which has a conference of non-interference in one another’s affairs, is finest positioned to unravel the disaster.

Last month, Southeast Asian heads of presidency issued a “warning” to Myanmar to make measurable progress on a peace plan or danger being barred from the bloc’s conferences.

The navy has refused to have interaction opponents or civil society teams.

Duwa Lashi La stated the door was not closed to negotiation, however the navy needed to cease killing civilians, vow to withdraw from politics and abolish the structure that enshrines their energy.

“Then … we would probably have dialogue,” he stated.

Posted By:

India Today Web Desk

Published On:

Dec 1, 2022