4-8-2023 (YANGON) Poet-turned-militia leader Maung Saungkha, a prominent figure in the fight for democracy in Myanmar, has announced plans for his armed group to carve out new territory in the country’s heartlands to confront the junta more directly. The Bamar People’s Liberation Army (BPLA), a militia formed in the aftermath of the junta’s February 2021 coup, intends to establish its base in a Bamar region and work with the People’s Defense Forces (PDF), the armed wing of the National Unity Government, which is seeking to supplant the junta.
Saungkha’s BPLA has gained battle experience in the country’s borderlands and training from allies, which has led to the growth of the militia. The Myanmar-based Institute for Strategy and Policy estimates that the BPLA has about 1,000 members, making it one of the country’s largest new militias. The majority of BPLA members are Buddhist Bamars, who account for two-thirds of the population and dominate central Myanmar where government institutions are located.
Saungkha acknowledges that the fight against the junta will be long and faces significant challenges, particularly funding and motivation to keep fighting among some recruits. He has managed to build bridges with other armed groups, and his background as a poet who was jailed for a verse lampooning authority, then became a high-profile activist advocating for equality for minorities and federalism, has given the BPLA “ideological heft,” according to Richard Horsey, senior Myanmar adviser at the think-tank Crisis Group.
The BPLA was founded two months after the coup, seeking training and support from ethnic armed organisations that have been fighting for decades for greater autonomy. Initially, the BPLA only had wooden guns and BB guns to train with, but now they own some M16 rifles and AK-81s and borrow other weapons from allies. The BPLA works closely with the Karen National Union (KNU), on whose territory it is based, and the Arakan Army (AA), which provided training.
Resistance forces have inflicted significant damage on the junta and gained territory, but to have a greater impact, they need to move “beyond creating confusion and disorder” in urban areas and work together to seize strategic sites, according to Nicola Williams, an analyst at the Australian National University’s Myanmar Research Centre. However, their efforts are impeded by competition between armed groups for weapons and resources.
The National Unity Government, which provides the BPLA with some food support, said that to rebase centrally the BPLA would have to negotiate with its defence ministry to ensure smooth cooperation with PDF troops. The junta, which views armed groups that oppose it as “terrorists” who sow chaos and kill civilians, did not respond to requests for comment on the situation. It has charged Maung Saungkha with sedition, as it has done with most opponents of its rule.
Saungkha’s background has helped the BPLA forge strong ties with other ethnic armed organisations, which is critical for the resistance. The BPLA is considering sending small drone-operating units to new areas and starting training programs for other militias, but its funding and morale problems may hinder its progress. The BPLA’s growth illustrates how new militias have become entrenched in Myanmar’s political landscape, even if they are far from toppling the junta.
