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At least 7,000 members of an ethnic Karen power of border guards backed by the Myanmar army resigned on Thursday to protest the ouster of their prime leaders beneath stress amid controversy over enterprise dealings by the group, sources within the nation say.
The mass resignation adopted the removing of senior officers Major Saw Chit Thu, Major Mout Thon, and Major Tin Win, who have been pressured to resign final week after being summoned by the Myanmar army for discussions, one officer of the Border Guard Force informed RFA on Friday.
“This action badly demoralized all of our troops, because these leaders looked after their economic well-being, and without them our soldiers’ families may now face hardships,” the BGF officer mentioned, talking on situation of anonymity.
“Therefore, we all decided to resign to show our disappointment,” he mentioned.
Myanmar army officers met on Friday with BGF commanders to ask them to rethink their unit’s resignations, mentioned BGF self-discipline and safety officer Major Naing Maung Zaw, additionally talking on Friday to RFA.
“They came to talk to us today and told us to reconsider,” he mentioned, including there was evident goodwill on the a part of a few of the Myanmar officers with whom they spoke.
“It seems that they would like to avoid unnecessary problems. So depending on what is discussed today, we will speak with our troops about what may be best for our region and our state. They might need to come back again for further negotiations,” he mentioned.
Kayin state lies in southeastern Myanmar and has a protracted border with Thailand.
Concerns over enterprise
Founded in August 2010 and tasked with guarding areas alongside the border with Thailand in southern Myanmar, Kayin state’s Border Guard Force has been repeatedly warned by its Myanmar army backers to not interact in enterprise actions, a lot of them reportedly unlawful, Myanmar sources say.
The army lastly intervened when information experiences emerged about public considerations over the U.S. $15 billion Shwe Kokko metropolis venture in Kayin state’s Thai border city of Myawaddy, “including the alleged involvement of Chinese criminals,” Myanmar’s Irrawaddy information service reported on Friday.
“Backed by Chinese investors accused of operating illegal casino activities in Cambodia and the Philippines, the project has been the subject of criticism for more than a year due to a lack of transparency, land confiscations, confusion over the scale of construction, and the growing influx of Chinese money,” Irrawaddy mentioned.
Speaking to reporters on Jan. 8, spokesperson for the President’s Office Zaw Htay mentioned that Myanmar has suspended the Shwe Kokko venture as a result of it was rising past its permitted scope. Supervision of the venture will now be moved from the BGF to authorities directors, he mentioned.
Not a long-term resolution
Problems now present between the BGF and Myanmar’s army can simply be solved by talks, mentioned Min Zaw Oo of the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security.
“These problems mainly revolve around the Chinese-invested businesses in the Shwe Kokko city project, and with regard to this, the government has encouraged the military to handle the problems, given that the BGF is under their command,” he mentioned.
“But the military may not put too much pressure on the BGF because they have been working together for so long,” he mentioned.
“I believe they will resolve these issues by means of negotiations,” agreed political analyst Aung Thu Nyein. “But this won’t be a long-term solution.”
“These BGF forces have vested business interests though they are still an armed group,” Aung Thu Nyein mentioned, including that related ethnic armies have been put beneath army command as border guards in Kayah and Shan states whereas negotiations on regional autonomy proceed with Myanmar’s central authorities.
“Keeping these militias under military control is only a short-term solution until peace deals can be reached and these armed groups can be disbanded,” he mentioned.
“Unless this happens, these problems will arise again from time to time,” he mentioned.
Reported by Saw Nyunt Thaung, Kyaw Lwin Oo, and Aung Thein Kha for RFA’s Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Richard Finney.
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