Highlights: More than three years after General Min Aung Hlaing's coup, a civil war rages in Burma. Zin Mar Aung, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the pro-democracy government in exile, gave an exclusive interview to RFI. The Government of National Unity was created as an alternative to the military junta which overthrew, in a putsch in 2021, a democratically elected government. ASEAN and its leaders, with the 5-point consensus found in (April) 2021, continue to prevent themilitary junta from politically representing Burma.

More than three years after General Min Aung Hlaing's coup, a civil war rages in Burma. On the ground, the junta suffered several strategic setbacks in the face of the advance of multiple...

Exclusive interview

Burma: “We, revolutionary forces, are winning,” explains a minister of the pro-democracy government

More than three years after General Min Aung Hlaing's coup, a civil war rages in Burma.

On the ground, the junta suffered several strategic setbacks in the face of the advance of multiple insurgent groups.

On the political level, the Government of National Unity in Exile (NUG) is continuing its diplomatic offensive by trying to rally as many people as possible to its cause: the advent of democracy and the construction of a federal union.

On a European tour, Zin Mar Aung, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the pro-democracy government in exile, gave an exclusive interview to RFI.

By: Jelena Tomic Follow

RFI

On February 10, the Burmese junta imposed compulsory military service of at least two years for men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27.
Recently, the Shan State Progress Party announced that it would join anti-junta forces in the south of the state bordering China.
Do these two events have any impact on the balance of power on the battlefield?

Zin Mar Aung

: The military junta

is losing ground

, because it is no longer even able to recruit.

He's a public enemy.

No one wants to fight in their ranks.

Young people, in particular, prefer to join the People's Defense Forces (PDF) or ethnic armed organizations.

Also, the army has a lot of deserters.

We have specially created a department responsible for receiving these deserters.

We have welcomed between 10,000 and 20,000, but there are many more.

Our revolutionary forces today have the responsibility to govern, to establish the rule of law and public services.

To do this, we must coordinate, but not only militarily and on the battlefield.

We must organize ourselves politically and dialogue on what the Burma of tomorrow should look like.

We are here today.

The Government of National Unity was created as an alternative to the military junta which overthrew, in a putsch in 2021, a democratically elected government.

How do you explain that this government is struggling to obtain international recognition so far?

ASEAN and its leaders, with the

5-point consensus found in (April) 2021

, continue to prevent the military junta from politically representing Burma.

It's the same thing within the United Nations and the General Assembly in New York, where our ambassador represents the voice of the people and not the junta.

On the other hand, we are worried to see that certain countries are discreetly trying to exchange ideas and bring the junta back into international institutions.

This is a point on which we must remain very vigilant.

As for the lack of support, many countries tell us that they recognize not a government, but a country.

But I think that from a moral and political point of view, it is quite clear that we are the representatives of the voice of our country.

This is why formal and informal exchanges are extremely important.

Will they be able to recognize us as a government?

I think they need to know who really represents the people of Burma.

What concrete help have you obtained from the international community?

Since the first day we launched our offensive against military power, we have expressed our needs in terms of weapons and political aid.

In response, we only received words of support and statements.

Concretely, we have received nothing, partly also because world leaders are overwhelmed by other conflicts between Ukraine and Russia and between Gaza and Israel.

Wars and

the struggle for democracy

are a challenge all over the world.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Government of National Unity and what areas need improvement in order to obtain the support of all armed ethnic groups confronting the

Tatmadaw
(the Burmese army) on the ground

?

Obviously, this is a huge task ahead of us.

Since independence, we have never managed to achieve this goal, because we have suffered several putsches.

Our first objective is therefore to unite and put an end to military power.

This should be our final appeal to all democratic forces.

We must come together to achieve this goal.

Building a federal union will be a real challenge.

We also have a draft Constitution, because

the 2008 Constitution

must disappear.

Finally, regarding future political disputes, we undertake not to use force, but to favor dialogue.

This is what we are working on and what we agree on.

Also listen Where is Burma three years after the coup?

At the beginning of December, your government announced that it was ready to dialogue with the junta.

Can you specify under what conditions such a dialogue could take place?

Military leaders must be able to listen to our requests.

This is the first condition.

As I said before, we need to amend the Constitution.

According to this new text, the military will be excluded from political life and will have to cede control of power to democratic civilians.

We must also put in place transitional justice mechanisms, which the junta must accept.

A peace agreement was recently signed between the Burmese army and a Beijing-led alliance of ethnic armed groups in northern Shan State.

What relations does the Government of National Unity maintain with its Chinese neighbor?

Our principles are clear and our foreign policy is independent.

We wish to remain vigilant that we must deal with our neighbors, because without their support our revolution is doomed to failure.

And at the same time, we must try to understand what their interests are.

What matters to China is

stability in my country

And it is quite clear that the military does not bring stability, neither in the country nor in the region.

And without stability, no sustainable investment can be guaranteed.

Whether we speak of dictatorship or democratic nations, all are guided by their own national interests.

At the end of your European tour, what message would you like to send to the European Union

My main message is this: we, the revolutionary forces, bringing together the national unity government, the ethnic armed groups and the people's revolutionaries, are winning.

We are victorious and we are on the right side of history.

Therefore, to all those who wish to join us and be on the right side of History I say this: “support us, join our fight with determination on the political and diplomatic level”.

This is my message to Europe.

Germany, France and other countries have traditionally been major contributors to UN agencies and humanitarian organizations already on the ground.

But we need more help because the coup has left

2.6 million internally displaced

and compulsory military service will lead to an increase in the number of refugees.

We therefore need more humanitarian aid, but this assistance should not be politicized.

Burma: “We, revolutionary forces, are winning,” explains a minister of the pro-democracy government

Burma: “We, revolutionary forces, are winning,” explains a minister of the pro-democracy government

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