MANDALAY, (Myanmar): More than 500 Myanmar opposition guerrillas surrendered to the junta, the military said Thursday (March 19), with AFP journalists witnessing a disarming ceremony that one resistance faction suggested was a propaganda stunt.
Myanmar has been consumed by a civil war since 2021, when the military swept aside the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup.
A kaleidoscope of rebel factions have entered the fray including battalions of pro-democracy fighters formed after the putsch and ethnic minority armies which have long resisted central rule.
AFP journalists in central Mandalay city saw hundreds of personnel assembled on a military base in the grounds of the ancient Royal Palace before a table stacked with guns, bullets and weapon magazines.
"You went there because you didn't know any better, but now you have regained your conscience," head of Myanmar's Central Command, Brigadier General Aung Htay, told the assembled ranks.
"You all have experienced it firsthand. Living in the jungle is nothing like you see in movies or what other people say," he said. "A person in the light can live in freedom without any fear."
The mixed-gender ranks wore mismatched camouflaged and drab uniforms -- many stamped with the logo of the Mandalay People's Defence Force (PDF), considered one of the most powerful pro-democracy battalions.
"There is no case of our PDFs surrendering to the Myanmar military in those kinds of numbers," a Mandalay PDF spokesman said, suggesting the event was for propaganda purposes.
"There are a few that surrender but it's very rare they surrender with full uniforms and badges," he added.
"We found out that some people are wearing our uniforms but we saw some mistakes in the way they're being worn as the caps don't match with the uniform."
The military permitted press interviews with the assembled personnel.
"I first joined them because I don't like the regime and thought the revolution could win," said one man, remaining anonymous for security reasons, adding he was followed into the PDF by his wife and two daughters.
"Their leadership is very different from what we expected. That is why we came back," added the 39-year-old.
While battalions dubbed the People's Defence Forces (PDFs) are fuelled by idealism to topple the junta, their most notable victories have come fighting alongside the more experienced ethnic minority armed groups.
But recent interventions by neighbouring China have sealed landmark truces with two key ethnic factions, once the stalwarts of the opposition, leaving the more rag-tag pro-democracy forces back-footed around Mandalay.
Analysts say the ceasefires are a sign Beijing backs the military to maintain some semblance of stability in Myanmar. - AFP
