As he faces multiplying military and economic setbacks, junta boss Min Aung Hlaing cannot change doing what he is best known for – blaming others – but his list of those he says are responsible for Myanmar’s escalating crisis is now expanding to include just about everyone.
“Foreign drone experts,” bank staff siding with the National Unity Government and citizens of Myanmar in general were added to his list earlier this week. The latter are lazy, Min Aung Hlaing implied. Myanmar has abundant natural resources, fertile soil and a temperate client but its people are selling their country short because they do not work hard enough, he said.
New to his list is senior ex-general Thein Sein whose quasi-civilian government held power from 2011 to 2016. The former president is responsible for Myanmar’s economic slump, Min Aung Hlaing told a junta cabinet meeting.
It was the first high-level regime meeting Min Aung Hlaing has held since the emergency meeting of the National Defense and Security Council on November 8.
Although he seized power in a coup against an elected civilian government in February 2021, Min Aung Hlaing is now accusing ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) of trying to grab power with guns. They need to change the way they think, he told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
He continued to allege that “foreign drone experts” were involved in attacks on junta bases and outposts in northern Shan State last month. EAOs had been using “drones with advanced technology” to drop thousands of bombs in their attacks, he said.
The military regime has been struggling to exert its control across Myanmar since the putsch in 2021, but since the Brotherhood Alliance of three EAOs launched an offensive known as Operation 1027 on October 27, it has lost any semblance of administrative control over large swaths of territory.
Before Operation 1027, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) had been frequently lambasted by the military regime for providing military training to People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) and attacking junta bases.
Blame ethnic groups
At Wednesday’s meeting, Min Aung Hlaing accused the KIA of involvement in the narcotics trade and of expanding its strength by illegally selling the country’s resources to a neighboring country, inferring it was China.
He also accused the KIA of training and arming “radical” youths from Sagaing and Magwe regions. The KIA has since been involved in terrorist attacks in both regions and attacked junta bases in Kachin State while the regime’s army was battling other EAOs in northern Shan State, he added.
Min Aung Hlaing said about 6,500 troops from the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Ta’ang National Liberation Army, KIA, Arakan Army, other armed ethnic-Kokang groups – as well as “foreign experts” – had joined the fighting in Kokang Self-Administered Zone.
He did not name the country the “foreign experts” hailed from at Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, but at the meeting on November 8 he said junta positions in northern Shan State were being bombed mainly with China-made drones that can be bought in Myanmar with ease.
People sympathetic to Myanmar’s military claim China is behind Operation 1027, despite the MNDAA insisting that no foreign experts are involved in the Brotherhood Alliance’s offensive against the junta. The MNDAA is one of three members of the alliance.
Min Aung Hlaing also complained that the ethnic Rakhine Arakan Army had betrayed him by breaking a ceasefire and participating in the offensive in northern Shan State. It did this despite the fact that he personally visited Rakhine State in the aftermath of Cyclone Mocha in May, and his regime spent millions from state funds on aid and recovery in the state.
Since fighting renewed in the Rakhine State on November 13, the regime has blockaded all the roads and waterways in the coastal state.
Min Aung Hlaing also blamed the Karen National Union for fighting his military after decades of relative peace. Its armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army, has attacked junta outposts, Myawaddy and Kawkareik towns, and blown-up bridges, he said.
He also accused EAOs of expanding their arsenals during years of peace, and exploiting peace by training and selling weapons to PDFs.
Blame Thein Sein
Min Aung Hlaing has often blamed the ousted National League for Democracy government for the faltering economy under his rule, but at Wednesday’s meeting he singled out the government of former president Thein Sein, which held power from 2011 to 2016.
The elected government that came to power in 2011 did not support state-owned enterprises, but privatized or closed them, and the manufacturing industry, the key pillar of the national economy, suffered as a result, Min Aung Hlaing said.
Myanmar has been running deficits because it has to import more than it can export, he added.
It was a remarkable about face. In March, Min Aung Hlaing paid respects to and received advice from Thein Sein and other former generals. But as he loses control, he is now blaming them.
The problem with Myanmar is that its people do not work hard enough, Min Aung Hlaing said, noting that the country has great potential for prosperity due to its abundant natural resources, fertile soil and temperate climate.
Blame bank staff
Min Aung Hlaing also pointed his finger of blame at bank staff in Sagaing Region’s Kawlin Town, which is now controlled by resistance forces, saying their cooperation allowed money from state-owned Myanma Economic Bank and private banks in Kawlin Town to easily fall into the hands of the civilian National Unity Government (NUG).
More than 40 billion kyats were lost when PDFs threatened staff and robbed a private bank, Min Aung Hlaing said.
The NUG said on November 14 that it had seized over 95 million kyats from Myanma Economic Bank, but would ensure that people do not lose their savings. On Thursday, it said it had seized more than 4.4 billion kyats from five private banks including Kanbawza and AYA.
Min Aung Hlaing’s math – his additional ability – can be hard to fathom, especially when all he can do is point his finger.
