An interview with Myingyan Black Tiger leader Bo Mike Khe on the formation of the “Myaung and Yesagyo Yaylekyun people’s Defense Alliance Force”
Local resistance groups came together and formed the “Myaung and Yesagyo Yaylekyun Local Defense Alliance Force” to defend the Yaylekyun area against the military council’s troops.
In this interview with Shanni Voice, Bo Mike Khe, the leader of Myingyan Black Tiger which spearheaded the formation of the Myaung and Yesagyo Yaylekyun Local Defense Alliance Force, talks about the current military situation in the Yaylelkyun area.
Q – First of all, tell us how the alliance force was formed in Yaylelkyun and what its purpose is.
A – It took us about two and a half months to form this allied force. There were many difficulties. On 1 September, we managed to form the alliance. We formed it based on four policies and ten points of consensus. To put it simply: The main goal is to relentlessly fight the illegal military council that is destroying people’s lives and property, to protect people’s lives and property, and to form a united front to repel them. The main goal is to protect people’s lives and property and collectively eliminate injustice. For this reason, we have formed this alliance.
Q – How many resistance groups are included in the current alliance?
A – For security and military reasons, we have agreed to keep secret the 10 points of consensus as well as the participating groups and their strength. The main groups are from Myaung, Yesagyo and Yaylelkyun areas. In the future, groups from other areas will also join our alliance as they have signed the agreement.
The strength is quite big. It’s much bigger than we expected. We aren’t revealing our strength because we’re afraid that they might try to outnumber us, because the military council has long detested the sight of this Yesagyo area. The local PDFs make up the majority in our alliance. But there are also some unnamed defense forces at the ward/village level.
Q – What is the current military situation with the military council forces in Yaylelkyun?
A – The current situation is such that it’s not easy for us to go out and attack, and it’s equally difficult for them to come in and attack us. Since everything is flooded, transportation is totally disrupted. By boat, we can only take some routes that we know well. Some places are completely inaccessible. There are paddy dykes in the fields. We can’t go to shallow areas. Therefore, they (the junta forces) can’t launch an offensive under the current circumstances. It would also be very difficult for us to attack them now. Before the floods, there was the “Balu Column” of junta forces. We clashed with them. In the southern part of Yaylekyun, they burned 26 villages. There were such situations.
Honestly, when the military column entered Yaylelkyun, members of the Pyu Saw Htee from Minywar also took part in burning and destroying villages and killing people. The situation was so bad. When the floods receded, both sides attacked each other. Sometimes they used the firepower of the navy. They fired both light and heavy weapons from their boats. Some people were killed and others were injured. Sometimes they even come with aircraft.
Q – How might the military situation develop after the formation of the alliance in the Yaylelkyun area?
A – As for the military matters, we only had to prepare our own forces when we planned to attack. Now, as a brotherhood alliance, we have to prepare together. We’re preparing our weapons and ammunition. We’re preparing for war. They often say, “If we invite war, war will come.” We’ll seize the opportunity to attack them before they come to us. Now we’re preparing for it. As member groups of the brotherhood alliance, we’re also carefully considering how best to continue our military activities.
Q – The local defense forces don’t seem to have sufficient weapons. Now that an alliance has been formed, will there be an improved combat capacity with weapons?
A – Let’s say one group has five automatic firearms. So if there are ten groups, there are 50 firearms. If there are 20, there are 100. If it takes one group about an hour to attack a base singlehandedly, we could do it in 15 minutes with the allied forces. Still, we won’t have as many weapons and equipment as they do if they push into our territory when the water recedes.
But we’ll have superior troop strength. In addition, we know the terrain better than they do and have more skills. It would be a fair fight if we have more manpower and skills and the military council side has more firepower. So we believe we can do our best. And now that we’re an alliance, if one group runs out of weapons or ammunition, it can be supported by another.
Q – There are fears that with the formation of these alliances, a competitive situation could arise. What is your opinion on this?
A – We have formed the brotherhood alliance, but we are not parallel to the battalions of the Ministry of Defense of the National Unity Government (NUG), including the People’s Defense Forces, the People’s Security Forces and the People’s Administration Teams. We don’t interfere with their work in tax collection, administration of justice and government work. We will focus exclusively on military defense as an independent defense force. So we will not compete or interfere in these things.
Our priority is to protect people’s lives and property. We have included these points in our consensus. So we won’t participate in such activities, but only protect and defend the people’s lives and property. When it comes to fighting, we are also ready to cooperate with the PDFs and PSFs and others and fight alongside them if they want.
Q – What else would you like to add?
A -Above all, I would like to say to people: – don’t lose heart, stay motivated and stay strong. I want to encourage them to contribute as much as they can to the revolution, no matter where they are. We, too, are trying our best and fighting back to the best of our ability. I also want to promise people that we will defend and resist to the best of our ability. In the beginning, we even resisted the military junta with the weapons we had. But now that we have better weapons, we will be able to resist even better. That is why I want to tell people to keep up their morale.
Sent by Shanni Voice.