Nearly 90 junta administrators in western Myanmar abandoned their posts after opponents of military rule warned them not to support the regime, pro-democracy representatives said on Wednesday.
Activists determined to end military rule in the wake of a 2021 coup have set up various parallel administrations, from a shadow National Unity Government in exile down to village-level teams, gradually eroding the authority of the army.
In Chin state’s Kanpetlet township, 88 health and education department staff had left their positions after being given notice by an anti-junta People’s Administration, a resident of Kanpetlet town told Radio Free Asia.
“After being warned by the People’s Administration, they came to join the Civil Disobedience Movement,” said the resident, who declined to be identified, referring to a nationwide campaign against military rule.
The military plunged Myanmar into turmoil with the 2021 coup against an elected government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Civil Disobedience Movement sprang up when the army crushed demonstrations against a military takeover that brought to an end a decade of democratic reforms in a country that had endured rule by the generals since 1962.
The anti-junta administration told the staff in May that if they did not join the Civil Disobedience Movement in 60 days, they would be “dealt with according to the existing law,” the resident said, referring to the movement’s self-declared authority.
Armed activists opposing the military have attacked junta administrators, in particular those enforcing army conscription efforts. As of June, gunmen had killed more than 80 administrators across the country.
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‘Not forcing them’
Not all of the staff who resigned joined the Civil Disobedience Movement, with some fleeing to neighboring regions, like Magway or Sagaing, or even as far as the main city of Yangon, residents said.
“Some have fled because they were afraid to stay in the area, and there were others who applied to the junta to be transferred to another post,” the first Kanpetlet resident said.
RFA attempted to contact some of those who had resigned but was unable to due to telecommunications blackouts plaguing large parts of the country.
A spokeswoman for Kanpetlet anti-junta People’s Administration said the staff had been given the opportunity to join the anti-junta movement in the township, which boasts some 800 members.
“The main thing is that we are not forcing them to join the Civil Disobedience Movement,” said the spokeswoman who declined to be named for security reasons. “We’re giving them the chance because they wanted to join after we explained things carefully.”
RFA called Chin state’s junta spokesperson, Aung Cho, for information on the situation but he did not respond by the time of publication.
Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.