Burma: coup opponents find refuge at Thai border

As the army tightens repression in Burma, some opponents have found refuge near the border with Thailand.

On the spot, they can count on the support of local minorities, who protect them, feed them, and go so far as to train them militarily. 

REPORTAGE

Thailand has become the rear base for the Burmese resistance.

While since the coup d'état of February 1, during which the junta seized power in Burma and dismissed the civilian government, the protesters have had to face the toughening of the repression by the army, which now fires live ammunition on his people.

According to NGOs, there are at least 600 dead, including about fifty children, as well as thousands of arrests.

Airstrikes are also targeting the southeast of the country, where leaders of the civil disobedience movement are hiding.

Because at the border between the country and Thailand, and in particular on the Thai side, local ethnic groups welcome and militarily train the opponents.

Report on the spot of the correspondent of Europe 1. 

>>

Find the Carnets du monde every Sunday from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Europe 1 as well as in podcast and replay here

Leave your country to continue fighting 

At the back of a low-key restaurant, Saw Jay looks nervously over his shoulder.

This young politician and director of a Burmese NGO illegally crossed the Thai border almost a month ago.

After the arrest and disappearance of several of his colleagues, he decided to leave his country to stay alive and continue fighting.

"I did not want to leave my country, because we need people on the ground. But the soldiers started by attacking the deputies of Parliament, of the League for Democracy, then little by little, they moved on. closer to us, the next generation of leaders ", he tells the microphone of Europe 1." I participated of course in the demonstrations, as reinforcement, and they started to target precisely the people who remained behind (...) Then the police called me to threaten me, and I thought it might be time to leave. " 

"If the students want to learn to fight, we will train them"

Saw Jay is not the only one who chose to leave Yangon.

Thousands of members of the civil disobedience movement, including some leaders, are today in the border areas, under the protection of armed groups of ethnic minorities, and especially among the Karen, a community straddling Thailand and the United States. Burma.

According to Pdoh hman hman, spokesperson for the Karen authorities, feeding and protecting these fugitives requires significant resources in areas where food, water and electricity are already scarce in normal times.

"We are home to many deputies, officials on strike, but there are also deserting soldiers and police," he says.

"These people are really not safe. We are trying to provide shelter, means of communication, a place where they can work, organize meetings, etc ..."

DECRYPTION -

 Burma: why did the army overthrow Aung San Suu Kyi?

But ensuring the safety of these resistance fighters is not easy.

For more than a week, violent clashes have resumed in the Karen territories.

The first airstrikes by the Burmese army in 20 years in the area killed at least 15 people and caused thousands to flee to Thailand.

Much of the struggle against the junta now relies on ethnic armies, which threaten to unite and open training camps to train city students in combat skills, says Saw Htay Noo, director of the junta. 'a Karen NGO close to the armed forces.

"Of course, if the students want to come here to learn how to fight, how to defend themselves, how to use firearms, we will train them. And then they can go home, resume the fight in their respective cities", explains- he does.

And to conclude: "Our ethnic armed groups are ready to help them". 

Ethnic leaders want more autonomy for their provinces

This project raises the specter of civil war.

But before making a firm commitment, the ethnic leaders are waiting for guarantees on a new national pact that would give more autonomy to their provinces and control over natural resources.

A revolution in a country where the Bamar ethnic majority has always controlled power.

Thailand-based researcher Nay Oo Mutraw believes that under the leadership of youth, Burmese society is now ready for such a change.

“Since independence in 1948, Burmese society has practiced oppression, discrimination and racism. Look at what happened with the Rohingya, what citizens of Indian and Chinese descent have to go through. The youth reject all of this. We no longer want to be part of an oppressive society, we want to be free in our thoughts, our actions, our lives, "she said.

"The younger generation is courageously redefining what kind of society we could, we should be." 

Behind the resistance to the military, there is therefore the project of a new Burmese society, radically different, more diverse and more egalitarian. And the young Burmese are already calling their movement "the spring revolution".