Mawlamyine, March (2)
Mon State businessmen are among those who have applied for licenses to carry up to three firearms per person, according to regime officials who do not want to be named for security reasons.
The applications for carrying weapons came after the junta’s Ministry of Home Affairs announced on January 31 that civilians, civil servants, and military personnel could apply for licenses to carry arms.
The applicants in the state included veterans, members of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), businessmen and administrators.
Ko Aye Min Tun, a CDM police officer, told Than Lwin Times that he knows that weapons are being given to people who have been released from prison for theft, drugs, including businessmen who sided with the military council.
The military council said that those who apply for the acquisition of arms must be those who really need to carry guns for their own security and who cannot disturb national security, regional security, law and order, and stability.
After the military coup, people who supported the military council, members of USDP, and informants in Mon State were being targeted and killed by the revolutionary forces.
Local security forces, militias, and anti-resistance groups must apply for firearms permits, while civilians must apply for firearms licenses.
The types of firearms permitted under a firearms license include 38 point revolvers, pistols, shotguns, hunting rifles, and air rifles, while the types of firearms allowed to be carried under the permit include pistols with a point of 38 inches and wider caliber than that, rifles, and machine guns.
Allowing them to carry arms shows that the military council cannot provide security for the individuals who support them, and political analysts criticize this action as a deliberate act of creating conflict between people.
News-Than Lwin Times
Thanlwintimes