U Than Soe Naing (Political Analyst)

“They have declared martial law in 37 townships in Myanmar,as explained by General Min Aung Hlaing. There are 37 townships in the country thatthey(the military) cannot control. 190 townships only controlled by Junta authority.As far as I know some townships are being controlled by both sides, each other.”

The Ministry of Home Affairs of the Military Councilannounced on January 31, 2023 that the Military Council will allow the carrying offirearms for the security of departmental personnel, militia and local security groups.Analysts say this is a reissue of the Arms Act, enacted 46 years ago with minormodifications.

Major General Zaw Min Tun, a spokesman for the MilitaryCouncil said, "The public is concerned about safety. We will provide guns to those whoreally need to defend themselves, those who are under threat, and those who can properlyhandle weapons." There are five types of firearms that will be authorizedtogether with licenses and permits, including: 9 mm pistols, Point 22 rifles,submachine guns, hunting guns, and air rifles.

The Narinjara news agency contacted U Than Soe Naing, apolitical analyst, about these developments and the Arms Act.

Q - What do you think about the Military Council allowingcivilians to own firearms?

A - It is surprising that after 75 years, a law was enactedto allow civilians to own firearms, which has never been done before. But if you lookat the actual situation of the country, it is not very surprising.

Q - In the current situation of Myanmar, is it reallynecessary to be allowed to own firearms? Under what circumstances would the MilitaryCouncil issue such a dangerous law?

A - They have declared martial law in 37 townships inMyanmar, as explained by General Min Aung Hlaing. There are 37 townships in thecountry that they(the military) cannot control. They admit there are only 190 townships areunder military control. However many of the 190 are townships are known tobeing controlled in part by both sides..The reason for this is that the NUG-led PDF,which the Military Council accuses of being terrorists, has more than 500 battalions.There are also ethnic armies (EAOs).

Now the Military Council will hold elections. PDF and theNUG have declared that they will disrupt and destroy this election. The NUG isproclaiming 2023 as the year when the military situation in Myanmar will change, and themilitary regime will end. At the same time, the Military Council is also announcing thatelections will be held. Under that situation, according to the statistics they are talkingabout ,over 1,500 ward

administrators of the Military Council and USDP personnelwere killed. So they have to admit that the current situation is that thepeople are suffering, at the same time, that they are doing terrorist activities. In thatcase, the Military Council will provide arms to the militia. Some monks will be providedwith weapons. They even

decided to provide arms to some Ma Ba Tha monks and hispeople. They say they are for the public, but their “ public” is not the generalpublic. It means that they will issue weapons to those who are in charge of the USDP and the wardadministrators to be able to defend themselves.

Q - Is this law just for Military Council followers? And ifso Why?

A - They already have their criteria for who can be trustedby the regime and who they should issue weapons to.They will only give arms tothose who will obey and implement the orders and instructions from theorganizational levels of the Military Council. This means that these weapons will not be issued tothe general public. They will give USDP members and ward administrators who will obeytheir orders to protect them. They must follow orders. I see that this is a planthat came about after they had to admit that there is a lack of security in the country.

Q - What are the negative consequences of this Arms Act forthe people?

A – The people who will now get the right to carry arms hadalready been oppressing the public in various ways and collecting taxes. There is nogeneral rule of law, the oppression of the people by the pro-Military Council forceswill definitely increase. However, we are not particularly worried about those issues.The night cannot get darker after midnight. This means that the public cannotstand up to them, and I believe that if they get armed and use to abuse the people,the common people will respond even if they have no weapons.

Q - Finally, what do you want to urge the public to do aboutthis Arms Act?

A - At a time when there is a lot of oppression, equippingthem with weapons is like putting horns on a horse. The horse doesn’t just kick. It is certain that it willincrease to the point where it will kill with horns. If the massacre ofthe people escalates I urge to prepare to respond and resist.(END)