It’s time for Min Aung Hlaing to go.
That’s what some of his most vocal and ardent supporters are saying publicly.
They cite what they describe as his incompetence, selfishness and lack of backbone, accusing him of guiding a military once considered invincible into a state of inconsolable shame and desperation.
After high-profile regime cheerleader Maung Maung switched his tune on Saturday, others followed suit. “Three years is enough for U Min Aung Hlaing,” Maung Maung announced on his YouTube channel.
“U Ming Aung Hlaing was unable to demonstrate any capabilities over the past three year, causing the country [to fall] into historic shame and recession. He is incompetent in every sector, including politics and economics … He should resign from his position [to show] accountably,” he explained.
The recent surrender of almost 2,400 soldiers, including six brigadier generals and more than 200 army officers, may have been the tipping point. It handed all of Kokang Self-Administered Zone to an alliance of ethnic armies and other resistance groups, shocking regime supporters so much that they have publicly and strongly criticized someone who appears unable to stop blaming others for his own shortcomings and dismal judgement.
The military has lost control of about 30 towns, several hundred bases and outposts – including command centers – to resistance forces across the country in less than three months.
Other regime cheerleaders have echoed the call for Min Aung Hlaing to resign since Maung Maung broadcast it on Saturday.
Many cite the debacle in Laukkai, the capital of Kokang, where besides losing its biggest command center to date, thousands of weapons, ammunition and armed vehicles were handed over to the resistance.
Junta troops did not even try to fight back.
“We are ashamed we have to use the word ‘surrender.’ We are inconsolable by the surrender of more than 2,000 troops and over 1,000 of their family members” regime booster Kyaw Myo Min announced on his Telegram channel NP News Talk Show.
He also criticized a meeting last Saturday between the junta boss and representatives of political parties approved by the junta-controlled Union Election Commission for failing to address the fall of Laukkai to an ethnic armies and allied resistance groups on Jan. 4.
Many junta paladins say Min Aung Hlaing has been too soft a leader to handle the escalating nationwide rebellion. He has, however, been cold-blooded enough to oversee the killing of several thousand people to keep his grip on power.
He is directly or indirectly responsive for several dozen massacres, arbitrary killings, unrelenting bombing of civilians, and the destruction of thousands of civilian buildings, including religious structures, schools, hospitals and historic sites. Min Aung Hlaing’s resume also includes war crimes and crimes against humanity.
There may not be an international law he has been told about that he can’t help violating.
Since the coup in February 2021, the regime chief has overseen the killing of 4,335 civilians, including several hundred women and children, as well as the arrest of almost 25,800 people, including democratically elected leaders.
His unyielding cruel streak, however, seems to have got in the way of his ability to govern, and added fuel to the growing resistance against junta rule. One fact is clear: Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has no qualifications or ability to lead the country.
Even Moe Hein, a pro-democracy advocate turned regime booster, is switching sides again.
He’s been watching regime troops raise the white flag. Since the surrender at Laukkai, Moe Hein has been calling on the top brass to exit politics. He runs pro-junta outlet Thuriya Nay Wun and often pontificates on junta-controlled state broadcaster MRTV.
“Despite being provided with long-term military training, more soldiers will be dying on the ground if the generals of the military only focus on their self-interest,” Moe Hein wrote on Facebook.
“I want to ask all military leaders (including the junta boss) to run their own businesses if you only consider your own self-interest. Don’t put the burden on soldiers who are already fully loaded with military duties and their family duties,” the former democracy advocate added.
The regime’s top leaders are busy relaxing inside their comfortable and heavily guarded compounds, while soldiers at the frontlines can’t sleep due to the danger of being hit by resistance drone attacks, Moe Hein said.
His critique of those he has spent the past few years praising coincides with massive losses by regime forces, including the loss of control of vital trade routes with Thailand, China and India.
Troops and generals alike are waving white flags instead of fighting.
“The military has lost dignity and its soldiers on the ground are desperate,” Maung Maung said on YouTube. Min Aung Hlaing must be replaced; there is no way forward for him, he added.
The regime’s cheerleaders – a self-serving bunch – are turning on it.
