On June 12th, the Military Council made an announcement stating that two members of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) operating in Kachin State had defected, bringing with them weapons and ammunition. This declaration comes at a critical juncture, as the Military Council's military and administrative capacities are evidently declining.
This has been refuted by Colonel Nhpang Naw Bu, the spokesperson of the Kachin Independence Organization (the political wing of KIA), who vehemently denied the Military Council's claims, stating that,” there were no incidents of KIA members surrendering weapons to the Military Council.”
The Junta had earlier announced that the two surrendered KIA members were warmly received in a hall at the local battalion in Myitkyina Township, where they were subsequently reunited with their respective parents.
According to the Military Council's statement, the two KIA comrades who defected from their previous deployment in Danai Township arrived with two KA-25 rifles, two cartridges, fifty rounds of ammunition, and five grenades. The Military Council added that KIA members who voluntarily returned to the legal framework, carrying arms and ammunition with them, were greeted with warm appreciation and were given a reward of 10.6 million kyats.
Colonel Naw Bu rejected these claims as false propaganda. “ “Not a single instance exists where our members sought to defect by delivering weapons to the Military Council. Instead
some of our men were arrested. They exploited the detained KIA comrades weaving a narrative
to suit their whims, and disseminate unfounded propaganda. I emphasize unequivocally that no KIA member was persuaded to defect.”
As a formidable entity within the Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs), KIO/KIA plays a prominent role in diligently combatting the oppression of the Military Dictatorship.
Following the coup, the Military Council finds itself under relentless assault from both the EAOs and the People's Defense Force (PDF), resulting in significant casualties among Junta soldiers. Moreover, hundreds of soldiers have chosen to defect and align themselves with the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), while others have abandoned their posts altogether, leading to a gradual depletion of the Military Council's manpower and resources.
In a desperate act, the Military Council announced on May 9th that it would offer incentives ranging from 200,000 kyats to 7.5 million kyats, as an enticement for PDF fighters to defect. The rewards were contingent upon the defectors bringing along weapons and ammunition with them.
The Military Council, in its announcement clarified that in cases where defectors are implicated in grave offenses such as murder or rape, they will be subject to legal proceedings and must face appropriate consequences in accordance with the law.
Political analysts caution that providing incentives to PDF fighters to defect may potentially be a strategic maneuver orchestrated by the Military Council to sow discord within the resistance forces.
Additionally, pro-Junta Telegram channels have reported that a significant number of male and female PDF members, exceeding 530 individuals, have purportedly defected and reintegrated into the legal framework as of June 5th.
However, certain regional PDF officers have contradicted the claim that the majority of defectors presented by the Military Council are genuine members of the PDF.
