The death sentences handed to three Myanmar junta brigadier generals who surrendered in Laukkai could be counterproductive, according to former officers who have defected.
Three other brigadier generals who surrendered to the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in northern Shan State on the Chinese border were given life sentences on Friday, according to junta sources.
Such punishment will only weaken the military, said Win Naing Soe, a former captain at the Triangle Region Command.
“If soldiers that surrender are punished after being sent back, they would consider joining the revolution or they may flee,” he said.
Brigadier General Moe Kyaw Thu, the Laukkai headquarters chief, Brig-Gen Tun Tun Myint, the acting chief of Kokang Self-Administered Zone, and Brig-Gen Zaw Myo Win, the Division 55 commander, were given death sentences, junta sources reported.
The six generals were flown by helicopter to Naypyitaw, interrogated and tried by a military tribunal.
The three generals on death row have been moved to Insein Prison in Yangon. Three others, 14th Military Operations Command (MOC) chief Brig-Gen Aye Min Oo, 16th MOC chief Brig-Gen Thaw Zin Oo and 12th MOC chief Brig-Gen Aung Zaw Lin, were given life sentences.
Aye Min Oo reportedly claimed in interrogation that he initially disagreed with the surrender but had to follow the decision. Thaw Zin Oo reportedly has close ties with Min Aung Hlaing since the junta chief was the 44th Light Infantry Division commander.
Former captain Kaung Thu Win, who defected from the Northeastern Command, following the 2021 coup, said regime leader Min Aung Hlaing hoped to deter his other commanders from surrendering.
“Soldiers who retreat from frontline outposts and strongholds are normally subjected to life imprisonment or death sentences. Those brigadier generals surrendered regional operations command and divisional headquarters. For the military and Min Aung Hlaing, it is totally unacceptable. They must be severely punished to set an example to other senior officers so that others will continue to fight,” he said.
China protested to the regime after five people were injured by artillery shells from fighting around Laukkai that hit a Chinese border town in early January.
Min Aung Hlaing then stopped airstrikes on MNDAA troops encircling Luakkai and junta forces were unable to fight their way through to escape. The generals sought approval from the defense ministry to surrender, according to junta soldiers.
Brig-Gen Min Maung, the head of the 1st MOC, defended his base near Laukkai and successfully retreated with over 350 troops. They were then airlifted to Tangyan in northern Shan State.
