More than 270 Myanmar civil society groups have called on China to immediately halt all threats against the country’s ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) and to stop pressuring them to agree to a ceasefire and concessions with the illegal Myanmar military junta.
The 276 groups said in a statement that EAOs are at the forefront of the revolution in Myanmar, serve as the de-facto authorities in their territories, and are key stakeholders in a future federal democracy, while the junta is an “illegal, illegitimate and criminal organization that is the root cause of the crisis in Myanmar”.
The statement follows a fierce online backlash in Myanmar against China after a warning was reportedly issued against the ethnic Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) to immediately stop fighting and cooperate with China in maintaining peace and stability in northern Shan State and along the China-Myanmar border or “face more deterrent and disciplinary actions”.
The TNLA is one of the three members of the Brotherhood Alliance of ethnic armies that has been waging a successful anti-regime offensive known as Operation 1027 since October last year. The operation was halted in northern Shan State on Jan. 10 after Beijing brokered a ceasefire between the ethnic alliance and the regime. However, the TNLA and another member of the ethnic alliance, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, resumed their operation in northern Shan State on June 25 after the regime’s military repeatedly bombed the TNLA’s territory, breaching the China-brokered ceasefire.
The “Myanmar military junta is perpetrating atrocities on a mass scale and is the prime cause of instability and regional insecurity. There can only be sustainable peace when the junta is removed and held accountable for its international crimes,” the endorsing organizations said.
They said it is the actions of the junta that are causing instability on China’s border and demanded it halt its support for the Myanmar military regime and stop undermining revolutionary forces and civil society.
They added that China’s support for the junta and its planned election undermines the will of the Myanmar people, deepens the people’s suffering and prolongs the crisis. The junta’s election plan has been widely dismissed internationally as a sham.
China must stop legitimizing and politically supporting the junta and recognize the National Unity Government (NUG) as the legitimate government, the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) as the highest consultative body and federal councils and EAOs as key stakeholders, the 276 organizations said.
The organizations endorsing the statement include strike committees, civil society organizations, revolutionary forces, ethnic groups and Rohingya rights organizations.
Nan Lin of Anti-Junta Alliance Yangon (AJAY) said issuing the statement and holding strikes condemning China for supporting the junta aimed to show that China’s policies regarding Myanmar are “deeply flawed and directly oppose the path and goals that the people of Myanmar are fighting for with their lives, blood, sweat, and future.”
“Our revolutionary forces are not promoting hatred against China. We do not hate China, nor any ethnicity, and we seek no enemies. However, we will not accept any interference or pressure on our people’s path to freedom, justice, and dignity,” he said.
He added that as long as the military council and dictatorship remain in Myanmar, and as long as China stands by the military and turns a blind eye to the oppression of the people, the perception of China among the people of Myanmar will not be favorable and China’s projects and interests will also be unstable.
“Only by listening to these [demands] and building a relationship of cooperation with the people of Myanmar can China-Myanmar relations flourish and grow stronger.”
In the statement, the 276 civil society organizations also called on China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to support efforts to impose targeted economic sanctions and a comprehensive arms embargo against the junta, and refer the crisis in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court or establish an ad hoc international criminal tribunal. China must not block UN action to resolve the crisis in Myanmar, they said.
