[Myanmar Civil Society Interview Series] ⑥ “Myanmar Interim Government Chooses Korea, Requesting NUG’s Official Government Recognition and Sustained Support”

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7X8AoOqaS4

The <Strengthening Myanmar Civil Society Capacity Building> project has planned a civil society interview series, 'Myanmar Again,' over the past year, focusing on the stories of Korean and Myanmar civil society activists who have supported Myanmar's civil disobedience movement.

Yan Naing Htun, Special Envoy of the Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar to the Republic of Korea, analyzes that the 2021 military coup awakened the need for nationwide solidarity. Emphasizing the formation of a nationwide anti-military dictatorship force within Myanmar, he presents the Civil Disobedience Movement, the People's Defense Force, and international pressure as the three pillars of the National Unity Government (NUG). Reflecting on his personal experience of the 1988 Myanmar popular uprising and Korea's democratization experience, he proposes that the most urgent issue for supporting Myanmar's democratization is for governments, including Korea's, to officially recognize the NUG as the legitimate government.

Interviewer Introduction

■ Yan Naing Htun_Special Envoy of the National Unity Government (NUG) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar to the Republic of Korea. He also serves as co-chair of the Committee to Overthrow the Military Dictatorship and co-chair of the Myanmar Democratic Network, and is a negotiator for the Humanitarian Disaster Management Department. He dropped out of Yangon University of Economics in 1988 and served as head of the National Student Movement Information Department (for central and northern Burma) in 1988. He began his political critique (poetry) in 1989 and fled to the Thai border. After entering Korea in 1991, he has continued to engage in democratization movements for Myanmar. He was granted political asylum by the Korean government in 2005 and has since served as a Central Executive Committee member of the Burma Media Association and chairman of the NLD International Organization Committee (Korea).

■ In charge and edited by: Jun Ju-hyun_EAI Research Fellow

    Contact: 02 2277 1683 (ext. 204) | jhjun@eai.or.kr

Video Transcript

We have invited the special envoy Yan Naing Htun, representative of the National United Government (NUG) in South Korea, the provisional government of Myanmar's democratic camp. Please give us a brief introduction of NUG." Hello, I’m the special envoy of NUG's Korean branch, Yan Nai Ying Thun. I came to South Korea on October 4th, 1991. It’s been almost 30 years.

I was a freshman in economics at Yangon University during the 1988 National Democratic Uprising. At that time, I participated in the democratization movement and went on an escape road, stayed at the Thai border for a while, and came to Korea. Since then, I've been doing various activities for Myanmar’s democratization.

After the Myanmar coup broke out in February 2021, Myanmar organizations in Korea gathered and continued the activities of the Committee to overthrow the dictatorship. After the formation of the NUG in August 2021, I was appointed as a special envoy of the Korean branch.

The NUG is a government composed of members elected in the 2020 Myanmar general election representing the people of each region On February 1st, 2021, the military arrested all members who were illegally and forcible elected in the general election on the same day when the parliament was about to open.

It was a period of confusion, and back then some people could flee and reached a relatively free area, so the government of NUG was formed in April 2021 by the people that successfully fled and contacted each other again. It is a legitimate government organization consisting of people, members representing the people of Myanmar.

The NUG consists of elected members and ethnic group leaders from various regions in Myanmar. The purpose of the NUG is to get back Myanmar's sovereignty, which the military has forcibly taken away, and to end the military dictatorship. Ultimately, it is to establish a federal state with all ethnic groups and minorities in Myanmar. There are a total of 17 ministries in NUG.

There are 33 Vice Ministers and a total of 37 members, considering the State Advisor, President, Vice President, and Prime Minister. "Through your participation in the 8888 uprising, your settling in Korea to avoid military persecution and your being recognized as a refugee, we were able to get a glimpse of your history of struggle for democratization. " "How do you diagnose the current situation in Myanmar a year after the coup, as a Myanmar citizen who experienced the 8888 uprising and democratization struggle, and now as a special envoy to the NUG Korean branch?"

Innocent people were shot to death, forcibly arrested, jailed, tortured, and killed. They mercilessly suppressed students and citizens who had nothing to use as weapons, not even needles. As the number of victims increased, organizations such as NUG were also formed. I thought it is not something we could just accept as common.

It was only then that we began our own struggle for resistance. The reason why the resistance has been extended for more than a year is that the difference of power between the military and us is enormous The military has strengthened its armed force for decades. It moved very systematically, including high-tech technology.

However, this is just a difference in armed force between us, and the people's faith is strong as ever. The prolonged situation does not mean that Myanmar people have lost strength. We are still fighting steadily and will surely beat the military in the near future. It is the third coup d’état for Myanmar citizens.

We are continuing to risk our lives in the fight so that this third coup is the last one in our country. The will to fight against the military has not weakened. The current situation will soon end and we will surely come to form a federal state. "I'll ask you more specific questions about NUG's activities. It's been nearly eight months since NUG was formed, and I'd like to hear about NUG's visible achievements in detail." " For example, in September last year, you even issued a declaration of war to the military, but from the perspective of observers, it is difficult to understand what NUG's actual activities are."

In September 2021, NUG declared war to the military. Then young people across Myanmar began to form a civic group called PDF. In the process, we were even able to secure weapons. They frequently engage in defensive battles and participate in fights, but their armed force is actually very weak compared to the military.

However, people outside Myanmar work hard to raise funds to support PDF's expenses. It also supplements the budget with funds for the NUG government The struggle of the Myanmar people is gradually succeeding. It's developing. No matter how strong the military is, I want to tell you that the soldiers who are part of it don’t have a particular faith.

On the contrary, Myanmar citizens, especially the young generation have a firm belief (in democratization and victory). In addition, when the military fights they frequently use marine technology to attack, but when comparing the damage and casualties they suffered, it can be seen that there are comparatively few on our side and many on theirs.

The military, angry at not being able to win against the PDF, uses methods such as air bombing to suppress people. However, we knew from the moment they planned to use these tactics that this is because they couldn’t defeat the PDF. Another good news is that soldiers from the military sometimes join the NUG. The number of such people is increasing, and the reason is that there have been divisions within the military. Conflicts are brewing among Cabinet members in the military.

In the long run (for these reasons), I think the military will continue to weaken and eventually collapse. I believe the PDF will ultimately win and the long fight will end. "What is NUG's strategy to solve internal problems or to win when confronting the military?" I would like to talk about three representative strategies. The first is a Civil Disobedience Movement called CDM, which can be seen as a kind of civil servant strike movement.

They are Myanmar citizens who do not work for the military despite the difficulties to make a living. Sometimes soldiers go on strike, too. In the end, strikes by government officials and soldiers from each ministry can be said to be the first big strategy.

For more than a year, the Myanmar military has not been operating the state properly. During the 8888 uprising, state administration was carried out smoothly a month after the coup, and each ministry also operated normally. However, the situation is different now. State administration cannot be carried out by the military, and they cannot even guarantee national public order.

It is the failure of the military and our (democratic forces) success. The second strategy is the PDF's defense battle. The battle goes on every day, and there are also victims among the military every day. The military and soldiers, who have no faith, are likely to lose strength and collapse.

The third strategy is the pressure from the international community. Europe, the United States, Asia and ASEAN are putting pressure on the military in various ways, condemning its illegal rule and the oppression of its people. Various sanctions are imposed economically, politically, and diplomatically. In the future, the military will be stuck like a rabbit bitten by a tiger.

"Could you explain more about the People's Defense War, which was declared by the Civil Defense Force (PDF)? What is the main goal of the People’s Defense War, how is the current situation, and how much support is provided by minorities?" The people of Myanmar experienced 10 years of democratic government.

At first, they only changed their clothes from military to civilians and continued to rule the democratic government for five years, followed by the state advisor Aung San Suu Kyi in charge of the state administration for five years. The Myanmar people, who saw a ray of light (democracy), witnessed the coup and at the thought of going back to before, especially the younger generation, they made up their minds. We decided that this coup should be the last of our generation.

With such an objective in mind, everyone who participate in this anti-military struggle is striving to achieve two tasks. One is ending the military dictatorship and the second is the construction of a federal state. To achieve this, the PDF and NUG are fully supporting minorities.

Unusually, all soldiers in Myanmar are united. In the past, even if they fought, they often did separately. There have been many battles per ethnic groups. However, now, the struggle is continuing at the entire national level. That is a positive signal.

I feel like I'm finally aware of the need to stand together. At first, even NUG did not come up with such a balanced approach. However, through meetings and consultations with ethnic group minorities, we understood that we should do it together. Thanks to the active participation of Kachin and Karen states, we were able to form a nationwide anti-military dictatorship force. As a result of our unity, we will surely win soon.

"What is your current relationship with ASEAN, possibly the most important partner for NUG?" NUG also appointed a special envoy at ASEAN. It was a channel designed to cooperate with ASEAN at any time. The foreign minister of the NUG government is also holding talks with ASEAN national leaders.

In particular, exchanges between Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore are frequent, and Singapore’s support to NUG is very high. I can tell you that interests between ASEAN countries and NUG have been developed. Unfortunately, the relationship between NUG and ASEAN was never officially announced. However, it is important that we are still in a relationship in practice.

"If you could give a cool-headed evaluation and suggestions about the Korean government's and the civil society’s responses to the Myanmar crisis (when the Korean government first announced sanctions following the coup)?" First of all, I would like to thank the Korean people for their active support without thinking it is someone else's business when Myanmar was suffering. Of course, as it is necessary in this situation, I'd like to make a request publicly once again.

What NUG wants most from Korea is to be officially recognized as a government. The military does not possess state sovereignty in a democratic way. They illegally stole the sovereign power. I would like the Korean government, as a democratic country, to make an official announcement of their position by clearly recognizing and judging that part.

There may be many diplomatic considerations, but as a country that has experienced the democratization movement and military dictatorships, I think Korea can understand Myanmar's pain better than any other country. Please officially recognize the NUG government.

President Moon Jae In and the Prime Minister also talked a lot about Myanmar through Twitter or their website. They kept saying they would continue to support Myanmar, and there were also comments about cooperation at the Blue House level. There have also been many welcome announcements about stopping exchanges with the military and suspending or withdrawing investments by companies.

But we also heard voices of concern. Thank you for your solidarity so far, but in reality, recognizing the NUG as the official government would be a decisive proof of the movement of support toward Myanmar. Also, if the Korean government wants to support Myanmar or wants to provide any help, including subsidies, for the people suffering in Myanmar, please give it through the NUG Korean branch. We will try to ensure that the support is directly delivered to Myanmar people.

The delivery of support funds through the UN or at the government level could wrongly become a source of funding for the military. In that case, funds for the Myanmar people will become investment for weapons by the military. "What would be the scenery of a Myanmar that has regained democratization?" Bad things can’t last forever. After bad things, good things will come.

The clouds in the sky can't exist forever, and the wind blows and disappears. Nevertheless, just as we can see the light of the white and clear sky in the end, Myanmar's spring revolution will surely bring laughter and peace. Then Myanmar at that time will be a peaceful country with people smiling and a good public order. We will work there dreaming of becoming an advanced country.

Like Korea and Japan, Myanmar people also have a lot of talent. Not only faith but we also have strong human resources. Combining the ideas of future generations and older generations, we could go beyond Asian tigers to become Asian dragons. I can't wait to see Myanmar develop like that.

I am currently working in a factory and also working at NUG. It's a very busy schedule, but it's not hard at all. I want to do something to be proud of for Myanmar during all my life.