Up to 2,000 pro-democracy fighters have been killed fighting the military junta that seized power last year, according to Myanmar’s democracy leader.
Duva Lashi La, Acting President of the Government of National Unity. (Photo: Reuters)
by ReutersAt least 2,000 pro-democracy fighters have been killed in Myanmar battling a military junta that seized power last year, the head of a parallel civilian government said in an interview broadcast on Thursday, prompting allies to provide military aid. urged.
Duwa Lashi La, acting president of the National Unity Government (NUG), which includes the remnants of the administration of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others, was speaking at a Reuters Next conference from an undisclosed location in Myanmar.
“We see (the death) as a price we have to pay,” said Duwa Lashi La, a former teacher and lawyer in his seventies.
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The military has labeled him and his allies as terrorists and banned civilians from communicating with them, but his parallel civilian government enjoys widespread support. Affiliated armed groups known as the People’s Defense Forces have sprung up across the country.
Duwa Lashi La is depicted visiting soldiers, including alumni and professionals, who are driven into the jungles by military action, wearing a flak jacket and helmet.
He said, “I don’t know when I will lay down my life. It is up to God’s will. I am already committed to sacrifice anything for my country.”
The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since the military seized power in February last year, overturning a decades-long democratic experiment and using deadly force to crush protests.
In addition to the 2,000 deaths in the conflict, more than 2,500 civilians have been killed elsewhere, mostly in protests, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights group that is monitoring the unrest.
support like ukraine
Pro-democracy fighters have been gunned down by forces armed with Russia, China and India, who use fighter jets to carry out deadly bombings. More than 1.3 million people have been internally displaced since the coup, according to the United Nations, which has said military strikes may constitute a war crime.
The junta did not respond to requests for comment by Reuters. It has said it does not target civilians with airstrikes and that its operations are responding to attacks by “terrorists”.
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Duwa Lashi La said that opposition fighters had killed around 20,000 junta soldiers. It was not possible to independently verify the numbers.
“If we had had anti-aircraft weapons, it would be safe to say that we could have won in six months,” he said. “If only we received the same support that Ukraine receives from the US and the European Union, the suffering of the people being killed would end at once.”
While Western countries have expressed support for the NUG and sanctioned military commanders and companies, they have lamented the lack of military support for the opposition and have called it a regional association of Southeast Asian nations that interfere in each other’s affairs. There is a convention not to do, the best place to solve the crisis.
Last month, Southeast Asian heads of government issued a “warning” to Myanmar to make measurable progress at the risk of being barred from a peace plan or the bloc’s meetings.
The military has refused to engage opponents or civil society groups.
Duwa Lashi La said the door was not closed for talks, but the military had to stop killing civilians, vowed to withdraw from politics, and scrapped the constitution that ensures their power.
He said, “Then… we’ll probably have a conversation.”