Shweku, May 25
The military council announced in its propaganda newspapers that eight members of the People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) from four regions and states have surrendered two weeks after inviting the People’s Defense Forces (PDF) to enter the legal fold with their weapons and ammunition.
On May 10, three PDF members from Maha Aung Myay and Aung Myay Thazan Townships in Mandalay Region, three others from Gangaw Township in Chin State, and one PDF member from Belin Township in Mon State surrendered along with their weapons, the military council said.
Officials said that the PDF members were given a reward for one Bareda pistol, two hand-made pistols, and ammunition, but did not say how much money was given.
On May 22, a PDF comrade from Shweku, Kachin State, surrendered and handed over one KA-22, one BA-91 grenade, one MG-1 grenade, and ammunition to the officials of Bamaw District, military sources said.
According to the junta newspaper on May 24, the PDFs were awarded a total of 5,600,000 kyats by the military council: five million kyats for a gun, 300,000 kyats for two grenades, and 300,000 kyats for ammunition and equipment.
Lieutenant Nat Soe, the leader of the Devil Underground Resistance Force based in Mandalay’s Madaya, told Than Lwin Times that the actions of the military council are just propaganda and that there is no one within their groups or allied forces who has surrendered to the military council.
The military council announced on May 9 that it will pay a reward of at least 200,000 kyats to a maximum of 7,500,000 kyats to the People’s Defense Forces (PDF) who surrender to them along with weapons.
The military council said that if those who surrendered along with weapons have committed crimes such as murder, rape, and causing harm to others, they will face legal proceedings in court.
The spokesperson for the Mon State Revolutionary Force (MSRF), Naing Nagar, told Than Lwin Times that he does not believe in the military council’s incentives, that he will continue to fight for the downfall of the military dictatorship, and that the invitation to surrender will not work.
U Than Soe Naing, a political analyst, said that the persuasion of the military group, which rewards those who surrender, does not attract the revolutionary forces, and when the military uses violent methods, the resistance spirit of the people is higher.
When pro-democracy civilians were peacefully protesting against the February coup in 2021, the junta forces carried out a series of violent crackdowns, torture, killings, and arrests.
As a result, young pro-democracy activists opted to go to liberated areas in surrounding ethnic communities and engage in armed resistance, and there are now over 500 armed forces.
On the second anniversary of the Spring Revolution, the National Unity Government (NUG) declared that the strength of the revolutionary forces had already surpassed that of the military council.
Currently, the People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) are fighting for the eradication of the military dictatorship as well as the long-desired goal of building a democratic federal union.
News – Than Lwin Times
Photo: MOI
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