Junta ‘losing control on the ground’, Myanmar’s opposition foreign minister says • FRANCE 24

Junta ‘losing control on the ground’, Myanmar’s opposition foreign minister says • FRANCE 24

Hello and welcome to tetatet France 24’s Flagship interview show our guest today is zinar on she acts as foreign minister in myanmar’s opposition government known as the national Unity government nug thank you very much for being with us thank you for inviting me uh 3 years

After the coup uh in your country is the Juna about to lose control of the majority of the territory and maybe lose power yes it is they are losing on the ground and they already lose people support since our since day one but gradually in Practical control of on the

Ground is losing isan every day it is very clear that how much of the territory do you control uh it’s very difficult to uh know to to talk uh exactly but uh we estimate that almost uh 60% of the our the myar territory are under the control of the ethnic M

Organization control area and of course plus nug control area alog together almost 60 70% of the territory under the control of the federal Democratic forces right uh would you say that there was indeed a turning point uh in October uh when there was an offensive by several of those

Ethnic armed groups and uh they proved very uh successful this really turned the tide for uh your fight yes of course especially after uh operation 1027 last last year so it is very clear that uh one of the evidence uh that military is weakened uh weaken uh already weakened

And and also now the you know the many of the majority of our ethnic um organizations are joining our revolutionary e course so yeah it is quite clear I agree that and and and on the ground we are even and setting up our loc at governance to substitute

Their their governance system right uh are you having reports of uh Army troops surrendering do you have figures of how many soldiers have already surrendered since this offensive yeah it is difficult to identify ex that uh we have estim made uh uh uh um numbers uh almost

Uh 20,000 Defenders are already um in our list but um it might be more than that amount because you know in in ethn M uh resistance control area they are also each and every day they defect and and and you know joining and also the surrender uh in our uh fightings and and

Battles so it is is more and more uh the soldiers are surrendering and of course some are defect right what we’ve seen uh the Hun do uh in recent days is to bring back uh mandatory military service conscription uh law uh does this sound

Like a sign of Panic or a sign that they are really willing to fight to the very end actually it is the sign of that they are losing and also it is a false labor so you know false conscription laws because they don’t have legal and political rights and Authority you know

Uh to to activate that laws so and at the same time what does that show is that they are very much very the most difficult situations in in order to recruit recruitment of the the the Army because majority of of our bment majority control areas originally and previously they are recruitment area but

Now these areas are fighting against military Hunters so they are very difficult position now right I what has surprised the world I should say is that uh you had your organization link up with those uh ethnic rebellions uh that have been there for decades some dormant some not

So dormant to coordinate I mean is there a unified chain of command how did you pull this off to coordinate with those groups that do not necessarily work together or get along just we are working uh together uh on the ground in each and every sector espe especially in

In military chain of command for example like uh ethnic M organization control areas especially uh ethnic ER control areas we have the joint uh chain of command along with ethnic M organization but for those Obama major the uh area like previously zag and muu region so we

Already we are trying to set up our military chain of command and code of contact dur under the uh uh nug um Ministry of Defense so two line of chain of government and coordination right what is your goal because right now you control mostly territories on the

Borders of Myanmar uh no major town is the uh goal uh the capital uh and how soon do you think you will push for it uh I believe that uh you can see very soon within a few months I I believe that uh we uh we we means nug and ethnic

Alliance uh forces revolutionary forces are more and more getting pressure to the uh Capital so I I I believe that you can see uh within the few months this year who provides your weapons I know you’re going to tell me that it’s a lot of people mobilization courage but it’s

Not enough to fight a war you need weapons who gives you weapons yeah the the weapons are there is a moto that the enemy weapons are our weapons because now you know many of the military Hunter are surrender and and and our revolutionary forces are also receiving

Uh uh uh weapons from them and but initially it is very homemade uh weapons and and and of course some uh ethnic M organizations have their own Productions so we can get uh that way is the Hun reaching out to uh dialogue or uh is there no point in

Dialogue because as you said you’re now training your sites on seizing the capital yes this is a pressure uh it is and what what what we are doing is that we need to put pressure maximiz the pressure uh to make uh internal changes and to transform themsel if they do not

Transform themsel that will be uh more and more uh uh difficulties for our country so our pressure is not just only military means but also political means and diplomatic means and economics means so in this regards uh people um I would like to says that people are more uh

Interested in military means but actually not just military means we are fighting against indifferent means of to do put pressure the milit H can I read into what you just said that you’re hoping uh that maybe some of uh the members of the H will decide that its leaders Min

Angang uh is BEC a burden and that they will decide to push him aside and reach out to you is that the strategy yeah there is there are possible different possible scenario it is the one of it is one of the possible scenario but it is

Difficult to say so it is premature that what which scenario is the most likely scenario and think the scenario you mention is that one of the likely scenario what is the role of uh China uh many of observers noted uh that the one of the most sucessful pushes of the

Rebellion were in the Border area with China and are saying that China actually looked the other way or maybe supported you against the Hun you’re smiling uh why uh because this time we have a you know different uh era of military coup but uh this time uh based on my own

Experience the China is quite cautious and and China itself is quite uh concerned about the mline leaderships and this military coup and this coup is not even reflect and prevent their own interest so that is why the way uh Chinese uh government approach to our Affairs this time is quite cautious and

You have contacts with them do they tell you go ahead no they don’t but you do have contact with them yes well from our sides we do have uh what about Western uh support uh I guess you would hope that Western countries would recognize your government as the legitimate government

Uh in Myanmar clearly this hasn’t happened do you think it’s time I don’t see yet but instead of the legitimate government but but uh I think in some extent some levels of recognitions like the our the legitimate representative of the uh people of Myanmar so for example like uh receiving

Our representative officially in the capital for example in Czech Republic and then last year I was received by the uh foreign minister of United Kingdom officially received uh as the Minister of Foreign Affairs so that kind of year year yes here not yet we are trying to

But uh not yet uh but I really appreciate that the way France Parliament and and government is supporting in humanitarian grounds the fren par is much more active than France government last question uh if you come to power what’s the program a federal state that’s the only possible solution

For Myanmar yes Federate Democratic Union is the only possible way out to Myanmar so and then new constitution so we already have a basic principle which based on federal democracy Charter that will be ground and basic document for the new constitution last question uh you were part of uh the party of Anan

She uh she’s obviously uh now Behind Bars is she part of uh your uh movement or because of her association with the military hun she cannot be one anymore actually she is the leaders of our party and and leaders of our country as a state councelor so I do believe that she

Is with the people and the interest of the people and so you expect her to play a role in the future so I do I do hope thank you very much uh for coming on the friends 24 set and thank you all for watching this Show

Zin Mar Aung, the foreign minister in Myanmar’s opposition National Unity Government (NUG), spoke to FRANCE 24’s Marc Perelman about the ongoing conflict in her country. The NUG supports the rebel groups that are fighting the ruling junta. These groups “have regained almost 60 to 70 percent of the territory”, she claimed.

Read more about this story in our article: https://f24.my/A9vf.y

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