• Burmese
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
34 °c
Ashburn
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Military Chief’s Comment on Tatmadaw ‘Representing’ the People Draws Backlash Online

San Yamin Aung by San Yamin Aung
July 12, 2018
in Burma
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Military chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing delivers a speech on the first day of the third session of the Union Peace Conference in Naypyitaw on July 11. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

Military chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing delivers a speech on the first day of the third session of the Union Peace Conference in Naypyitaw on July 11. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

8.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

YANGON — Military commander-in-chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing’s claim that the military (or Tatmadaw) represents all Myanmar nationals in his speech to the Union Peace Conference has drawn a strong negative response from the public on social media.

Addressing hundreds of delegates from the government, ethnic armed groups, political parties and Parliament on the first day of the conference on Wednesday, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing said that neither the ethnic armed groups nor the country’s political parties can claim to represent the entire population of 52 million. He added that political parties only represent their own supporters.

“Our Tatmadaw, being the people’s Tatmadaw born of ethnic people, is an organization representing the state and the people,” he said, asserting the legitimacy of the Tatmadaw and its positions on national issues.

RelatedPosts

Thailand’s ‘Yellow Shirts’ Return to Streets to Demand PM Quit

Thailand’s ‘Yellow Shirts’ Return to Streets to Demand PM Quit

June 19, 2025
714
Thai PM Faces Growing Calls to Quit in Cambodia Phone Row

Thai PM Faces Growing Calls to Quit in Cambodia Phone Row

June 19, 2025
820
Myanmar’s Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Marks 80th Birthday in Junta Jail

Myanmar’s Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Marks 80th Birthday in Junta Jail

June 19, 2025
545

The senior-general’s remarks went viral on social media and quickly met with objections. Many netizens began posting “The Tatmadaw doesn’t represent me” on their Facebook accounts.

Human rights activist Ko Moe Thway, who wrote “The Myanmar Army doesn’t represent me” on Wednesday night, said he could not agree with the military chief’s words.

“[The senior general’s] statement could be misinterpreted to mean that the military reflects the public’s voice. That’s why I wrote [my comment],” he said.

“The armed services is a profession, like other occupations in which people choose to work; it doesn’t need to be elected [by the people],” the activist said. The incumbent National League for Democracy-led government was elected by an overwhelming majority in the 2015 general election, whereas the Tatmadaw is an agency of the Ministry of Defense, just like agencies under other ministries of the Union government, he said, adding that the commander-in-chief was comparing apples and oranges.

Ko Moe Thway added that the military chief’s comments would have been legitimate if he had said that the Tatmadaw “comprises” rather than “represents” many different ethnicities.

Daw Myint Myint Khin Pe, co-founder of the Free Funeral Services Society (FFSS)—which is known for its free funeral services for the poor, as well as its education initiatives and free health care services—also posted “the Tatmadaw doesn’t represent me.”

“I just made it clear that the Tatmadaw doesn’t represent us, and what he said in his speech doesn’t reflect us,” she said.

U Nyan Win, a member of the NLD’s central executive committee, objected to the senior general’s comments that political parties only represent those who support them.

“I would say it is totally wrong,” U Nyan Win told reporters in Naypyitaw. He did not comment on Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing’s comment that the military represents all Myanmar nationals.

Buddhist monk U Issariya, who played a leading role in the 2007 Saffron Revolution, also posted “the Myanmar Tatmadaw doesn’t represent me” on social media on Thursday.

He said that the Tatmadaw doesn’t represent the people — rather, it represents a group of people.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Ethnic groupsPoliticsSnr-Gen Min Aung HlaingTatmadaw
San Yamin Aung

San Yamin Aung

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Myanmar Civil Society, Burmanization, and the Bars and Coffee Shops of Thailand
Guest Column

Myanmar Civil Society, Burmanization, and the Bars and Coffee Shops of Thailand

by R. J. Aung and Tony Waters
November 18, 2023
10.9k

After the 2021 coup the donors, NGOs and CSOs of ‘Peaceland’ decamped from Yangon to Thailand, but their Western, ‘we-know-best’...

Read moreDetails
By Almost Every Measure, Myanmar Junta Ranks Among World’s Worst Regimes
Analysis

By Almost Every Measure, Myanmar Junta Ranks Among World’s Worst Regimes

by Khin Nadi
February 2, 2024
10.8k

The Irrawaddy unpacks the regime’s three-year track record of violence and rights abuses, as assessed by leading global organizations and...

Read moreDetails
The Uncertain Future of Myanmar’s Rakhine State
Guest Column

The Uncertain Future of Myanmar’s Rakhine State

by David Scott Mathieson
March 19, 2025
9.6k

The Arakan Army must now consolidate its unprecedented territorial gains in Rakhine State and contend with humanitarian, intercommunal and international...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta’s Yangon Economics Minister was Friends with Assassin Conspirator 
Burma

Myanmar Junta’s Yangon Economics Minister was Friends with Assassin Conspirator 

by The Irrawaddy
September 28, 2022
18.4k

Lieutenant Colonel Myo Myint Aung has been appointed to run Yangon’s economy, despite having a military background.

Read moreDetails
Charting Myanmar Strongman Ne Win’s Tragic Legacy
Books

Charting Myanmar Strongman Ne Win’s Tragic Legacy

by Mon Mon Myat
July 18, 2024
9.2k

In a new book, Saw Eh Htoo and Tony Waters examine the late dictator’s policy of Burmanization and how it...

Read moreDetails
Dead or Alive: Min Aung Hlaing’s Final Gamble
Commentary

Dead or Alive: Min Aung Hlaing’s Final Gamble

by San Yeik Nyein
May 23, 2025
9.2k

As his regime loses ground, the Myanmar junta boss turns to strongmen overseas. But inside military circles, one question remains:...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Karen people gather to oppose the construction of the Hatgyi Dam and other hydropower projects on the Salween River in Hpapun, Karen State, on March 1. / The Irrawaddy

Transparency Concerns Raised About 7 Dam Projects in Southern Myanmar

Government and military leaders, along with representatives of ethnic armed organizations, attend the first day of the five-day Union Peace Conference in Naypyitaw on Wednesday.  / The Irrawaddy

ANP’s Criticism of Government in Peace Conference Speech Sparks Controversy

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

5 days ago
861
Karenni Resistance Leaders Vow to Crack Down on Price Gouging as Fuel Crisis Deepens

Karenni Resistance Leaders Vow to Crack Down on Price Gouging as Fuel Crisis Deepens

5 days ago
503

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Scrambles for Chinese Energy Investment as Lights Go Out

    Myanmar Junta Scrambles for Chinese Energy Investment as Lights Go Out

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • New Law on Civil Servants by Myanmar’s Parallel Gov’t Troubles Observers

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • TNLA Fights Off Myanmar Junta Assault

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • How Myanmar Military Conscripts Child Soldiers

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Changes Election Law Ahead of Polls

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.