Why this article focuses on a small rebel group I don’t know. I am pretty sympathetic to them, but unfortunately they don’t really have a lot of power. The larger ones, like the United Wa State Army, the Kachin Independence Army, the Arakan Army, and the Karen National Liberation Army control a much larger part of the country.
And let me tell you, they don’t care about democracy or community lead activism. They will only tolerate absolute independence, which is why fighting happens until they get it (see KIA until ceasefire broke, MNDAA, UWSA, etc). This is because they are involved in running and taxing illegal jade mining, illegal gold mining, cyber scam, and meth operations, and all that money goes away if a functioning federalized system is established. There are literally KNU and Shan State Army leaders under indictment in New York for trying to sell $40 million of heroin in return for weapons. This is part of why the US has been very hesitant to offer aid to these ethnic armed groups.
It is so sad how dysfunctional Myanmar is. If they had a government at least half as functional as Thailand they could be so much better off. The country is so messed up there are literally articles about how criminals have worked out deals with police and judges to send paid substitutes to prison so they wouldn’t have to go. Not to mention the regular reports of ethnic cleansing and massacres.
And let me tell you, they don’t care about democracy or community lead activism. They will only tolerate absolute independence, which is why fighting happens until they get it (see KIA until ceasefire broke, MNDAA, UWSA, etc). This is because they are involved in running and taxing illegal jade mining, illegal gold mining, cyber scam, and meth operations, and all that money goes away if a functioning federalized system is established. There are literally KNU and Shan State Army leaders under indictment in New York for trying to sell $40 million of heroin in return for weapons. This is part of why the US has been very hesitant to offer aid to these ethnic armed groups.
It is so sad how dysfunctional Myanmar is. If they had a government at least half as functional as Thailand they could be so much better off. The country is so messed up there are literally articles about how criminals have worked out deals with police and judges to send paid substitutes to prison so they wouldn’t have to go. Not to mention the regular reports of ethnic cleansing and massacres.