858 Civilians Killed, 800 Soldiers Of Myanmar Military Regime Defected

Myanmar army illustration. (Twitter/@MyatWutYeeAung1)

JAKARTA - At least 800 soldiers of the Myanmar military regime have left service and joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), said a military captain who helped defected soldiers.

Captain Lin Htet Aung defected at the end of March. Since then he has teamed up with more defectors, to help others leave the military. He served in the 528th Infantry Battalion under the Triangle Region Command in eastern Shan state.

He explained that about three-quarters of those who defected were ready to join the People's Defense Army (PDF) to fight against the Myanmar military regime. The rest wanted to help the revolution in other ways but did not want to go to war, he added.

"Around 100 defectors have served as officers with ranks including major, captain, and lieutenant," said Lin Htet, as reported by Myanmar Now, Thursday, June 10.

He further explained that some had traveled to border areas controlled by armed ethnic groups and given crash courses in combat to people fleeing the city to take up arms against the junta.

"Most defectors are from the Navy and Air Force. Soldiers from infantry regiments find it more difficult to escape for fear of repercussions for their families," he said.

"The main reason they can't defect is because they are conducting frontline operations and are separated from their families. They also don't have access to our statements, so that doesn't help," he said, referring to public pleas by defectors for other soldiers to join the CDM.

About 40 to 50 soldiers who defected left their families in military housing. According to him, the soldiers knew what to do, as they could not contact their families.

"Most of the defectors are between the ages of 2o and 35 and no one above the rank of major has defected. We don't expect anything from those of higher rank," he said.

"The higher they are, the more afraid they are of losing their position. If they defect, this fight will end quickly," he continued.

Separately, Lieutenant Htet Nay Bala of the 269th Infantry Battalion in Chin State decided to defect on March 7 after being ordered to attack peaceful protesters.

"Instead of protecting the people after taking taxes as salaries, this institution is doing all these atrocities. So I don't want to be a part of that anymore," he said.

"Everyone felt their future was snatched away when the coup took place. As a young man who loves my country, I will continue the revolution. There is no turning back." he concluded.

For information, data from the Legal Aid Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) of Myanmar recorded that up to the 129th day of the Myanmar military coup on Thursday, June 9, 858 people were killed and a total of 5,941 people were detained, of which 4,782 people were still in detention.

Myanmar Coup. The VOI editorial team continues to monitor the political situation in that one of the ASEAN member countries. Casualties from civilians continue to fall. Readers can follow the news covering the Myanmar military coup by clicking this link.