The fall of the North Eastern Command shows that the Myanmar military, once believed to be the strongest institution in Myanmar, is losing its bite. But when Min Aung Hlaing rushed to explain the unprecedented defeat in a televised address on Monday, he could hardly bark, either.
Clad in a military uniform, the coup-maker, who recently assumed the role of acting president to extend the state of emergency by six more months, again did what he is good at doing—playing the blame game—in his 25-minute speech.
Much to the dismay of military sympathizers, all Min Aung Hlaing said was, “We will try to restore stability across the country,” without putting forward any specific solution for how he would turn the tide of the war.
Instead, he pointed a finger at the National League for Democracy, whose government it ousted in the 2021 coup, as well as ethnic armed organizations fighting the Myanmar regime. His list of targets included the Arakan Army (AA), Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Karen National Union (KNU), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), as well as foreign countries.
The rest of his address was just one long stream of hate speech.
Brazenly, he urged Myanmar people to “join hands” with his regime. Many responded by asking if he still thinks people will support his regime after it has inflicted three years of untold misery and hardship on them, after shooting peaceful protesters in the head, after bombing and torching their homes, after killing or jailing their families and friends. Even military supporters are losing their patience with Min Aung Hlaing.
After Min Aung Hlaing made his speech, former military officer and former Yangon Region MP Kyaw Zeya wrote on his Facebook: “[The speech] missed the point. I don’t know exactly what he plans to do.”
While the MNDAA was conducting an onslaught on Lashio, where the North Eastern Command is based, Min Aung Hlaing was busy at his cabinet meetings discussing the holding of traditional performing arts competitions and national sports events, and preparing railways for electric trains, which angered military supporters.
In his speech, Min Aung Hlaing again tried to justify his coup by blaming the NLD for alleged voter fraud in the 2020 poll. He accused the MNDAA and TNLA of expanding their territory outside their traditional turf.
He condemned the KNU for violating the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, the KIA for training and arming the People’s Defense Force—the armed wing of the civilian National Unity Government—in Sagaing, and the Chin National Front for fighting together with PDFs in Chin State.
He accused the AA of ravaging its own people by launching offensives in Rakhine State, where 90 percent of the population is ethnic Rakhine.
Min Aung Hlaing also alleged that certain foreign countries were funding the armed groups and supplying them with food, pharmaceuticals, arms, technology and administrative aid.
Without publicly naming China, he claimed ordnance factories built in territory controlled by ethnic armed organizations on the China-Myanmar border were selling weapons to PDF groups; that weapons seized from PDF groups were produced by those ordnance factories; and that hired foreign technicians were involved.
Min Aung Hlaing said he would try to find out where the funding and technology comes from.
During the first phase of Operation 1027, he also alleged anti-regime groups were using China-made drones to drop bombs on junta positions in northern Shan State. He also claimed “foreign experts” were fighting alongside the ethnic armed groups, though he didn’t mention the country they allegedly hailed from. Following his outburst, junta-backed nationalists staged protests against Beijing in downtown Yangon and outside the Chinese Embassy.
Min Aung Hlaing also tried to stoke racial hatred, saying local residents of other races including Bamar are suffering because ethnic Kokang (MNDAA) and Palaung (TNLA) troops are expanding their territory and fighting in Lashio and other places.
Ethnic armed organizations and their allies have so far occupied over 70 towns in Kachin, Karenni, Chin, Rakhine, Shan and Mandalay, and also have control over large swathes of territory outside those towns.
Despite his vow to restore stability across the country in his speech on Monday, another town, Kyaukme in northern Shan State, was seized by the TNLA on Tuesday.
When asked what he thought of Min Aung Hlaing’s claim that his regime would restore stability across Myanmar, not just northern Shan, a former military officer answered: “The North Eastern Command would not have fallen if he could do so.”
