20,000 Myanmar soldiers and 200 officials deserted, says former Army officer who sought refuge in India

Around 20,000 soldiers and 200 military officials have deserted the Myanmar military, which is engaged in combating Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs), said a military officer who deserted his post in Sagaing region bordering India’s Northeast after the junta started a crackdown following the February 2021 coup.

In an exclusive chat with The Hindu held here this week, Capt. Kaung Thu Win, who left the military in 2021, said the Myanmar military “indiscriminately killed civilians and confiscated private property and indulged in human rights abuses” that requires a solution that will not emerge from the three-phase election that Myanmar will undergo from December 28.

“Many military personnel are unwilling to participate in the killings and property grab that are going on in Myanmar. Around 20,000 soldiers and 200 military officers who have deserted the Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) are staying in Myanmar’s border areas with India and Thailand and in the “liberated zones” inside Myanmar,” Captain Kaung Thu Win said during a rare visit to New Delhi this week.

The 36-year-old captain had joined the Defence Service Academy located in Pyin Oo Lwin at the age of 16 and said he witnessed “a lot of crimes being committed by the military against common people since the beginning of the coup in February 2021.”

“I saw the military using civilians as human shields, confiscation of private property by the soldiers, arbitrary demolition of homes as punitive measures. All these were normal things for my colleagues that became part of their lives and I could not accept that,” said Kaung Thu Win explaining the reasons that prompted him to leave his post at the Northwest Command of Myanmar military at Monywa in Sagaing region, which borders India’s Northeast.

“My wife was pregnant when the crackdown began and we waited for the birth of our child and after that I left Myanmar in December 2021 and reached India after travelling in public transport and bikes on January 15, 2022,” he said, adding “my family joined me sometime later near Myanmar’s border with Mizoram”. He added that he is aware of many military officers who are in a difficult situation as they are being forced to do things that are against their conscience.

Captain Kaung Thu Win said that since leaving Myanmar, he has become the India-representative of ‘People’s Goal’, an organisation that is campaigning for restoration of democracy in Myanmar. He acknowledged that while life has not been easy since leaving his job in the military, he was helped indirectly by the Indian authorities who have displayed leniency towards him that enabled him to reside in Mizoram and allowed him to visit Delhi ahead of the national elections in Myanmar.

“The junta wants to hold elections without any reform and it is further proof that the armed struggle is the only option as the military is not serious about holding talks with the Opposition or the exiled National Unity Government,” said Kaung Thu Win adding that 30 EAOs are part of the resistance whereas around 10 outfits are currently fighting the military.

He urged India to convey to Myanmar’s military that the “people of Myanmar have rejected the election already”.

“India is reportedly planning to send observers to watch the election but in reality there is already a ‘silent strike’ of the election that is taking place in Myanmar,” said the former army man who argued that the “military can’t be trusted with military power”.