Interview with Information Officer of the National Unity Government (NUG)
July 11th, 2022
At the 16th press conference of the State Administration Council (SAC) held on July 1st, Major General Zaw Min Tun explained the recent battle of Ukritha. In his statement, he said that the young PDF members are being incited to participate in the battles at the risk of their lives, that they receive donations in the name of struggle, and that the joint forces of the KNU and the PDFs are attacking on the SAC forces by taking shelter in schools and houses.
This interview contains the responses of Nay Phone Latt, the National Unity Government (NUG) Information Officer, to the allegations of the mouthpiece of the SAC, Major General Zaw Min Tun.
Q: The SAC has alleged that the NUG is inciting PDF members and supplying them with weapons to join the fighting at the risk of their own lives. What would you like to say about this?
A: It has long come to our attention that the SAC holds press conferences on the current state of the fighting and also spreads disinformation through MRTV and MWD. In fact, their statements and broadcasts differ greatly from the actual situation on the ground. Normally, in a war, there are casualties on both sides. But the current situation on the ground shows that the number of casualties on SAC’s side is many times higher than on our PDFs. These aren’t just words. You can see the photos and evidence. So again, I’d like to emphasize that their statements about the casualty numbers on their side is different from the actual numbers. And the other point you just mentioned is the complete opposite. Everything is the complete opposite. To be honest, the SAC leaders are letting the low rank soldiers die. They’ve got a lot more soldiers and they will continue to do that just to stay in power.
We NUG value the life of each and every young member of the PDFs or the ethnic revolutionary fighters. That’s why we always take care to minimize the casualties of our soldiers. Not so with the SAC. They don’t care how many soldiers they have to let die as long as the soldiers defend their military camps or the SAC leaders can stay in power.
Q: Major General Zaw Min Tun said at the press conference that the NUG and the PDFs are collecting donations for weapons and ammunition and misusing them. As the NUG Information Officer, how would you like to respond to these allegations?
A: As for this financial matter, donations are people’s hard-earned money. With their sincere will to contribute to the success of the revolution, people simply donate money from their meager income or salary. Some even pawn or sell their earrings to donate. People donate in a variety of ways. The NUG manages the donations systematically to ensure that not a single penny is wasted, even though corruption of any kind. We also keep careful records of donations. The relevant ministries provide necessary information on expenditures. So, there is no reason for the NUG and the PDFs to misuse the people’s donations. Some people donate directly to the revolutionary groups with the sole intention of winning the revolution. We make sure that not a single cent of these donations is wasted by keeping the necessary financial records.
Q: How do you deal with the imbalance of weapons and the need for weapons in current battles?
A: The finance and planning minister has already explained some things about this. We use most of the funds for military spending. But as you know, we are not yet able to fully supply the PDFs and ethnic revolutionary groups all across the country with all the weapons and ammunition they need. We are constantly striving to do just that. We do that in many ways. Currently, we are also selling land that has been illegally occupied by military leaders. In many ways, we raise the money and manage it systematically to make the revolution a success. During the recent battle of Ukritha, not only the NUG but also the people themselves supported the revolutionary groups through various channels. So we also make sure that their contributions flow smoothly.
Q: Major General Zaw Min Tun has claimed that some KNU and PDF forces are attacking SAC camps by holing up in village houses? How do you clarify these claims?
A: They say just the opposite. But they themselves have already admitted how ruthless the SAC’s terrorist army is. I think everyone by now has seen the videos showing how many people have these SAC soldiers have killed. There are videos and photos of villagers with their hands being tied behind their backs in places like monasteries. They can’t lie. We have both photos and video footage. Just think how much damage the SAC forces are doing. They have destroyed so many religious buildings in towns and villages, especially churches, including monasteries, Buddha images and stupas. They fire artillery aimlessly and commit arson attacks. They even shoot at churches. No matter how much evidence we have they just blame it on the PDFs or ethnic fighters. That’s exactly what they are doing. They are just doing their duty. But the truth is that all our people know the truth and the world knows it.
Q: There’s been criticism that the leaders do not participate in ground fighting and only publish statements from abroad. How do you explain this criticism, which doesn’t seem to reflect the actual situation on the ground?
A: How can we say that our leaders are abroad? Our acting President is Duwa Lashi La and President is U Win Myint. The NUG’s State Counsellor is Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Both of them are being held in prison by the SAC. Our acting president is on the ground. And our Union Prime Minister is also on the ground, but we can’t say exactly where he is. In the same way, there are other ministers and deputy ministers like Daw Zin Mar Aung who have to deal with international relations. And then there is Dr. Sasa, who is living abroad because of the nature of the current international operations. So,some of them are abroad and some of them are at home working together on the ground in unity. Also, I want to say that our government is not just one that exists only on the Internet.
Look at the current situation. The NUG has been running certain government-sponsored services, such as hospitals, in the areas it controls. In these areas, our government has also set up schools that use the curriculum developed by the NUG. We talked about this in the last online press conference. The NUG now has such a large capacity and provides public services locally.
Q: Do you have anything to add to the answers to the previous questions?
A: What I would like to add is the situation of this revolution. Hand in hand with ethnic allies, the NUG is staging the all-encompassing popular revolution. So the SAC has put itself into a difficult position. The SAC is fighting a losing battle at the moment. Therefore, at the moment, they are trying to find a way out by all cruel and despicable means. It is very important to properly assess the status quo. I would like to say that it is time for the international community and those who are observing the situation of the revolution, especially those who are still serving the military council, to correctly assess the current state of the revolution and make the right decision.
Sent by KIC
