The Tatmadaw subjects its own troops to vaccine experiments while their families seldom see the outside of the military compound – even their social media accounts are restricted. Little wonder, then, that opposition to the military dictatorship has implored the rank-and-file to side with the people.
These efforts are taken to the extreme in a viral video shared by Mizzima, in which an armed fighter for the Chinland Defence Force (CDF) in Mindat, prone behind the cover of a tree, shouts over to Tatmadaw soldiers.
“We’re going to fight you soon,” he says. “Surrender peacefully now and we will ensure you receive compensation, 50 lakhs, feed you well and send you to friendly territory. If we hear any hostility, we will shoot back. Don’t ask for back-up. Join the CDM if you want to.”
Watch the video here.
It’s an offer the CDF announced on August 10: defect from the Tatmadaw and receive five million kyats (about US$3,030). The soldiers should surrender their equipment and they will be transported to a liberated territory or another country, says the CDF.
Many Tatmadaw forces have carried out extrajudicial executions, arbitary arrests, torture, rape and other abuses – even if an individual soldier says he has not, actively supporting a civilian-led government is just about the only thing that may stop the public from hating him.
Some who aren’t completely brainwashed by Tatmadaw ideology have chosen to support the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) and are facing their former employer in a revolution determined to prise the country’s fate out of the hands of murderous generals.
Soldiers’ faith in the military leaders is in the pits, according to a leading defector, who told Myanmar Now that about 1,500 troops had deserted the Tatmadaw since the coup. Ranks ranging from private and sergeant to major have left and the number is growing ever faster, he said.
While the numbers are not enough to tip the oppressive institution over the edge, pockets of rebellion – such as the 280 or so policemen who Reuters reported fleeing from Chin State to India in March – have teased one possible path to victory for pro-democracy supporters.
