Myanmar resistance groups pledge to oust military-backed civilian government

Myanmar’s exiled National Unity Government (NUG) – formed by elected lawmakers ousted in the 2021 military coup – has constituted what it calls the Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union (SCEF).

In a statement shared with TOI, the NUG says that SCEF’s aim is to “completely dismantle all forms of dictatorship, including the military dictatorship, and to collectively initiate a new political landscape that can effectively and practically realise our political aspirations and positions”.

The newly formed SCEF comprises various ethnic resistance groups such as Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), Karen National Union (KNU) and Chin National Front (CNF), among others.

The development coincides with junta chief Min Aung Hlaing’s election as a vice-president by the lower house as the coup leader edges closer to becoming the country’s civilian leader.

The former commander-in-chief has led Myanmar since 2021. His election initiates a process that will transition him from military to civilian leadership. Parliament will appoint three vice-presidents, one of whom will become president.

The upper house has elected Nan Ni Ni Aye, a lawmaker with the military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) from Karen State, as another vice-president. The military will appoint the third.

A full parliamentary vote to choose the president from the three vice-presidents is expected this week.

Democracy watchdogs have long warned that the new government will be a proxy of the military, which has ruled Myanmar for the vast majority of its post-independence history.

What will SCEF do?

According to the NUG statement, the SCEF rests on three pillars:

1. The pillar representing states/federal units/ethnic resistance organisations (EROs)

2. The pillar representing the people

3. The pillar representing women — to coordinate, lead, guide, and implement military, political, federal, and institutional matters.

It says the SCEF is “committed to protecting and promoting the diverse identities of all ethnic nationalities residing within member states and units of the Union, and to firmly building a new Federal Democratic Union composed of states that fully guarantee equality among nationalities and the right to self-determination”.

The newly-formed body also stresses “shared sovereignty” between the Union and the states/federal units as well as “collective leadership” to ensure “that the voices of EROs, democratic resistance forces, women’s groups, and representatives of the people are meaningfully included”.

Former spymaster is new military chief

Meanwhile, Myanmar’s former intelligence chief Ye Win Oo, 60, will take over leadership of the military.

On February 1, 2021, he had led the troops that arrested Nobel Peace Prize winner and then-leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Reuters reported that the key factor behind Ye Win Oo’s selection — the first intelligence chief to reach the top post — is his close ties and loyalty to outgoing commander Min Aung Hlaing.

“Min Aung Hlaing has chosen to hand over power to his most trusted inner circle loyalist,” said Naung Yoe, a major who defected from the military after the 2021 coup that plunged Myanmar into civil war.

Although Myanmar’s military intelligence generals are known for their brutality, the early phase of Ye Win Oo’s leadership is expected to align closely with the priorities of Min Aung Hlaing and his prospective presidency.

“For at least two years, the commander-in-chief will be compliant to the president,” an analyst told Reuters, adding that a major overhaul of the military’s war doctrine is unlikely as it continues fighting armed groups across large parts of the country.

With inputs from agencies

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