Interview with the Father of the People’s Liberation Army of Burma
“The PLA is Prepared for Everything”
The following article was submitted to People’s World in July 2023.
In light of the ongoing Operation 1027, I have decided to share this article here for the public. I hope that readers will find it insightful in light of the ongoing civil war, and plight of the Burmese people.
"It has been said that victory can be envisioned by faith in the future...
Workers, farmers, students, urban poor and rich people who revolt today are a progressive force that stands with justice against injustice such as oppression, and vandalism. In history, the progressive force that stood for justice has always won in the end…
We must see the light of victory, as well as the difficulty. Difficulty and victory are twins, meaning that difficulties are tough while the path to victory exists. Victory can be won only by overcoming difficulties...
Even though it is difficult, we have to do our best to get closer to victory. Although it is not possible to say when the victory will be in the front, the PLA is no less than other organizations in wanting to achieve victory. Because the PLA has been fighting the revolution since 1948, we want victory to arrive quickly. But the PLA will continue to follow the path of waging a long-term revolution.
We fall down, bounce back from the bloodshed, and fight back. We have wiped away the blood and fought back. We have experienced revolutionary struggle."
Excerpts from "Letter # 10", published by People's Liberation Army (PLA)
03 July 2023
(Translation by MC)
Background
On Feb. 1, 2021, the Grand Army of Myanmar, known more widely as the Tatmadaw, seized control of the civilian government, arresting civilian political leaders, and initiating what most describe as a military dictatorship. As students and workers took to the streets, they were met with a wave of violence and repression at the hands of military forces. Exact figures on casualties are unknown, as the Burmese junta-government has sought to create an information blackout surrounding the country and its ongoing war of resistance.
Given these conditions, many Burmese people quickly found themselves turning to the tools of the past in order to secure their collective future: the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), long believed to have ceased operations in the late-80s or early-90s, reappeared, hoisting the flag of revolution. Unbeknownst to many onlookers, the Communists had not disappeared, but had rather gone underground. For around three decades the revolutionaries had operated mostly in silence: organizing, studying, watching. Through various popular labor and student movements, the Party remained deeply involved in the development of Burmese society and its decades-long struggle towards progress. As the forces of the Tatmadaw bore down on Naypyidaw in 2021, the Communist Party knew that their time had come, and they once again issued the call for radical change.
As violent reprisal was met with violent reprisal, the popular resistance to the dictatorship in Myanmar quickly approached proportions many would describe as a kind of low-boiling civil war. Despite being home to over 50 million people, the outside world has been slow to learn updates and new information regarding the ongoing war. What information is available is usually contradictory: the junta government claims that People’s Defence Forces (PDF) operations throughout the country are terrorist attacks, indiscriminately bombing and shooting wherever they go—whereas at the same time, civil rights and resistance forces claim the same is occurring at the hands of the junta’s forces in order to clamp down on civil unrest and resistance to the military’s authority.
While the fog of war makes it difficult to gather exact details, the author has begun investigating the situation, and the Communist Party of Burma’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), a member of the broad PDF coalition fighting against the dictatorship, have been eager to share their side of the story. A young commander going by the name Thet, who spoke exclusively with the author previously from his base in northern Myanmar, was able to cast light on many of the basic characteristics of the current situation. Following Thet’s interview with the author, things went quiet again. For nearly two months, there were few updates. That was, until the author received an unexpected call in the late days of June, 2023.
An Unexpected Meeting
Mr. Champo, the local businessman who had previously assisted in establishing a meeting between the author and the PLA commander, spoke very quickly over the phone: “We are now in Wa State territory… Phone service not good… We are coming to meet you.” Within 48 hours, the author was on a bus, heading 12 hours west through the torrential wet season rains, weaving in and out of the mountains and forests of northern Thailand. Finally, at the predetermined location near the Thai-Burmese border, the CPB-PLA delegation arrived.
Trading in their bright uniforms and assault rifles for polo shirts and fanny packs, they appeared quintessentially pleasant—blending in seamlessly with the tourist population in this part of the world. Few, if any, could imagine that the young man at the head of the delegation was in fact a Burmese revolutionary commander. Even still, a commander so distinguished for his accomplishments as to be named “father of the PLA”. Indeed, at this meeting held far away from the horrors of war, Commander Thet, his wife, and Mr. Champo felt more comfortable sharing the outlines of their lives.
As reported previously, Thet was indeed a student when the military overthrew the government in 2021. As a student organizer at the time, he had come to know the Communist Party, and to appreciate their teachings. When the call for revolution came, Thet’s group had been one of the first to take up arms—to begin the work of rebuilding the revolutionary army. Despite his age, his seniority alone would make him an authoritative figure. More than mere seniority, though, the young commander has earned his stripes on the field of war, achieving the 2nd highest rank in the PLA’s military-political command structure. The revolutionary delegation had come to share exclusive news, as well as to celebrate the most recent victories on the battlefield.
Bristling with the pride one would expect of revolutionary guerillas who have risked life and death for their people’s future, the delegation shares many stories of the developments on the front lines. The Burmese military’s tactics of terror have continued, but have met a stiff and increasingly overwhelming resistance. The massacre of over 170 civilians in the village of Pazigyi in north-central Sagaing region, on April 11th, was a rare instance where local developments were so shocking—and so horrific—as to actually make a blip on the international radar. Nevertheless, the PLA has claimed that the death toll was in fact at least 200 killed. The massacre sent a clear signal to the people of Myanmar, and the revolutionaries defending their communities, that there would be no mercy from the military dictatorship; rather than flee or give up, they responded with attacks of their own.
On June 14th, the delegation claims, PLA forces successfully downed a Tatmadaw aircraft attempting to strafe their position near the Thai-Burmese border. What’s more, they claim to have done it with nothing more than one machine gun, and two rifles. Photographs could not be provided to corroborate the claim, however, the enthusiasm of the delegation is proof enough of the more important aspect: whether or not it is true, they believe it is true, and that belief alone is enough to even the odds in their fight against the better-equipped junta forces. An example of another method utilized by the PLA and broader PDF coalition—drive-by ambush—may be seen in a video uploaded to social media in May of this year; the delegation was able to confirm the authenticity of the video to the author, and claimed that, in total, five Tatmadaw soldiers had been killed in the attack—another two had been taken prisoner, and a number of heavy machine guns and other materials had been captured.
On the subject of POWs, the author was surprised to find that the delegation balked at the idea of executing or torturing prisoners. “We are not killers. We ask them questions, and then we let them go”. This display of humanity in the face of barbaric terror is, of course, not repaid in kind by the Tatmadaw when dealing with known or suspected supporters of the resistance. Rather, it points to the community-based nature of the Burmese revolutionaries and their movement; they hold no territory for themselves, keep no prisoners, and commit precious manpower to helping local communities—such as Pazigyi. This stands in stark contrast to the claims made by outlets aligned with the military dictatorship, who often claim—without evidence—that PDF forces have carried out indiscriminate attacks against civilians.
A New Mission
Alongside news of the victories in the field, the delegation likewise brought insights regarding what they describe as their “new mission”.
First, Commander Thet was happy to share that the “2nd front”—the theater of war in north-central Myanmar where he has overseen his forces—has advanced considerably. One reason for the delegation’s ability to travel and visit outside of their area of operation is that they now claim to have liberated a sizable enough zone to allow for greater safety and movement. As the liberated zone has grown, more and more people from the local community have taken up the call to freedom, leading to the creation of a new program for so-called “comrade neighbors” (ရဲဘော်ရဲဘက်, pronounced like “yeah-bo yeah-vhat” in Burmese). In a single month, the PLA claims that it trains hundreds of new soldiers, not only for their own ranks, but for the ranks of these “comrade neighbors” as well—local groups, and liaisons to the other armed forces operating under the PDF’s coalition banner. This joint-training allows for greater coordination, greater cohesion, and, given the PLA’s strong basis in Marxist-Leninist ideology, a greater vision for what the future in a post-dictatorship Myanmar may hold. The PLA remains committed to this “united force”, similar to the Communist Party in the US’ own (non-violent) method of pursuing a “united front” to combat the rise of fascism, and sees their efforts as bearing fruit; three days prior to the meeting, the delegation claims that a PLA-PDF joint force had overran one of the few remaining junta military camps in the now-liberated zone where Thet commands his forces.
While discussing these developments, a civilian craft from the local airport flew overhead—the Commander ducked down instinctually, and then began to chuckle. For nearly two-and-a-half years he has led his men into battle against the dictatorship; for two-and-a-half years the sight and sounds of aircraft have meant certain doom. “I’ve been in the jungle too long”, he remarked with a grin.
As the liberated zone has expanded, so too has the native capacity of the resistance forces. Until recently, the revolutionaries explained, many resistance fighters had been forced to rely on homemade weapons, or whatever they were able to capture from the junta’s forces. Now, they say, they have been able to begin building weapons of their own, and securing weapons from elsewhere. One such domestic production, which the delegation was able to show pictures of to the author, is the creation of their own 80mm mortar launchers—simple, portable artillery weapons capable of launching explosive shells at targets up to 5.5 miles away. The delegation once again chuckled, explaining in a dark humor that the “trial and error” process for developing such dangerous weapons had not been painless. Likewise, as well as their advancements in domestic production, the delegation claimed to have secured arms from elsewhere—specifically, access to the Type-81. An assault rifle based on the AK-47, the Type-81 was first developed by the People’s Republic of China; other variants include the Type-81 LMG, a light machine gun. While traditionally developed and utilized by China, there have been some unconfirmed reports of native production within Myanmar, and the Burmese revolutionaries, for obvious reasons, have no interest in disclosing who their sources are.
Their priority now, they say, is to defend against the junta’s indiscriminate airstrikes—such as those that targeted the village of Pazigyi—and develop methods for improving safety for both armed combatants as well as civilians, who are all too often targeted as well. Likewise, they are continuing to train hundreds of new volunteers every month, developing their local productive capacity, and beginning the work of rebuilding their communities. Fighting along the 2nd front continues, the commander says, “every minute, every second, every day”, but claims that the liberated zone has grown large enough, and the coalition forces strong enough, that there is now a considerable safe-area outside of junta control. This momentum, he says, has even carried over into opening up new areas of operation in the east of the country.
A Revolutionary Education
With the new mission underway to secure the liberated zone, as well as to expand the liberated zone and choke out the Naypyidaw-based junta, the PLA sees one of its clearest contributions to the cause in the form of its ideological strength and clarity. The PLA, following the line of Mao Zedong Thought, maintains that “the Party commands the gun, and the gun must never command the Party”. As such, the PLA is not merely an armed force, but a political one as well.
Commander Thet, as the 2nd highest ranking officer in the PLA’s military-political structure, helps to ensure that each soldier under his command is given the ideological training they need in order to make them fully competent—not only teaching them how to fight, but also why. Under the oversight of the PLA’s Chairman, Thet explains that three course areas are taught to all of the young comrades of the PLA during their military training:
A course on Che Guevara, including both his ideological grounding in a desire to serve the people, as well as the military strategies and tactics he utilized while supporting revolutionary movements across the Global South.
A course specifically on understanding and grasping the roots of the PLA’s ideology—Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought (ML-MZT)—as well as their analyses of Burmese society and dedication to building socialism.
A course on Mao Zedong, similar to the one on Che Guevara, focusing more on the specific actions taken during his lifetime, and the strategies and tactics utilized by the Red Army and People’s Liberation Army of China under his leadership.
Education and training, Thet explains, is led by experienced comrades such as himself, as well as those from the previous generation; the veterans of the revolutionary struggle in the 20th century who are now too old to fight, but no less dedicated to the cause. In their training and strategizing, he further explains that goals are assessed in three tiers: one month goals, three month goals, and six month goals—and further organized into military and ideological goals.
March of the Steel Torrent
With the onset of the wet season, much of south and southeast Asia is beset with torrential rains, such as those that had been causing historic floods across northern India at the time of writing. The guerillas explain that, with these rains, the junta forces’ ability to carry out airstrikes is very limited; nevertheless, whenever there is a break in the clouds, the scream of jet engines and whistling of bombs and missiles is never far off. Whenever an opportunity is presented, they say, the junta’s forces are striking hard—and indiscriminately—anywhere they believe the resistance might be taking hold.
As the bombs of the Tatmadaw rain down on villages across the region, the people’s will to resist is only emboldened, rather than crushed. This is a lesson many in Laos and Vietnam would recall with solemn humor, as the strategy of indiscriminate bombing in order to suppress local agrarian populations was first employed in the region by the colonialists—namely the French—and then, following their defeat, by the imperialists—namely the Americans. It would appear to many that the Burmese military junta is now repeating this failed strategy from the past, and leaving behind a trail of broken lives and destroyed homes in its wake.
Nevertheless, just as had been the case in Laos and Vietnam, the more the Tatmadaw’s forces burn and destroy, the more resolute the people’s fighting spirit becomes. According to the PLA delegation, there is good reason for the resistance’s morale to be high. "We have more arms and ammunition”, Thet says in a low whisper, “more machine guns, more bullets". Whereas in the beginning the resistance’s forces had relied on what little they could find or make, now, they say, the situation has improved greatly—much to the chagrin of the junta.
In hushed whispers and vague tips, several sources—including those not affiliated with the PLA—have implied that something important may be in preparation. First mentioned to the author earlier this year by a foreign source living in southern Myanmar, who spoke on condition of anonymity, many people across the country expect a large movement to occur on or around a very specific date: August 8th. This date coincides with the anniversary of the “8888 Uprising” in 1988, when thousands of Burmese people, in nearly every town and region across the country, rose up in protest against the military dictatorship established by Ne Win. Although ostensibly claiming to pursue the “Burmese Way to Socialism”, Ne Win was hostile to the Communist Party of Burma, and is remembered by many for corruption, repression, and in the end, brutality. The 8888 Uprising succeeded in forcing the hand of the Ne Win government to concede, however, the Tatmadaw, allied with Ne Win and fearing a “leftist conspiracy”, soon once again seized power. It was in this period that the Communist Party of Burma and the People’s Liberation Army had gone underground.
The CPB-PLA delegation acknowledged that “August is the anniversary of the movement”, and is an important date that will be celebrated by resistance forces and supporters across Myanmar. “Everybody,” they said, “hopes that something will change”. When asked if they had anything planned to mark the occasion, their response was as cryptic as it was foreboding: “We have new soldiers, new machine guns, and bigger mission plans”. Whether meaning their intention to launch a large offensive, or their assurance that any Tatmadaw offensive will be easily defeated, onlookers will have to simply wait and see.
A Message of Hope
As the liberated zones in the country have expanded, and the PLA appears to be leaning more into its role of coordinating and planning with other “comradely” allies and organizations, a very important new area of struggle has come to the fore: the need to begin rebuilding. In this area, too, the PLA hopes to make large contributions. Already, reports have shown PLA soldiers assisting local communities—from recovering the bodies of the innocents slain at Pazigyi, to planting rice in an unnamed location somewhere in north-central Sagaing, the PLA’s revolution will not end with merely removing the Tatmadaw from power.
It was in this spirit that Commander Thet shared with the author the PLA’s intention to begin working to garner more humanitarian support from abroad, and to share more information with the wider world about the situation on the ground there. It is his hope, and the hope of many others, that the solidarity of working people around the world may be a key to unlocking Myanmar’s post-dictatorship future. New initiatives in this area are underway, and, they hope, will even include inviting foreign aid workers to come to the country in the future.
As the marathon meeting came to a close, the author once again asked Commander Thet if there was a message he wished to end on for the readers. “The PLA is prepared for everything,” he said, “every day we are fighting to build the PLA.” While perhaps at first glance this message could be interpreted as posturing or saber-rattling from one of the many armed groups fighting in Myanmar, having met with the PLA and spending dozens of hours learning about the situation, it is the opinion of the author that this is instead a message of hope—that the PLA is committed to its mission of building a new Myanmar on the basis of democracy, human rights, and socialism.
And with that, the meeting ended, and the unassuming delegation of revolutionary soldiers began their long trek back to the battlefield.
TO A SOLDIER SON
(Written by an anonymous witness to the 1988 Sagaing massacre)
Listen now, my soldier son,
To everything I have to say.
I need to tell you what was done
On that ninth, infamous day
Of August nineteen eighty-eight.
Students, farmers, artisans
Had gathered on that fateful date
With monks armed only with fans
In peaceful protest through the town,
Unaware of waiting guns.
Those beggar-men and beggars’ sons,
The Police, just mowed them down.
I only wish you’d seen, my son,
The way Sagaing with blood did run.
It was as if the spotless white
Of every zedi now was red.
And then another ghastly sight:
The wounded, dying and the dead
They dragged down to the Irrawaddy —
Those who’d died where they were found,
Others screaming, everybody
Still alive was clubbed or drowned.
As these tears of mine run down
My cheeks, I see them flail and drown.
Then some corpses were found
On display in the police compound.
And the one-party rulers
Made it all too crystal-clear:
The Police had fired in self-defense.
The murderous mob had got too near!
Same old lies, same old story.
This one-party state’s corrupt.
With its own expedient laws
It handles us like water cupped
But draining through its ruthless claws.
In that water we’re drowned still
And then discarded, son, at will.
Their lies are on the radio,
The papers too are lying.
What is it but the so-called ‘law’
That leaves the people dying?
It was, that death-toll in Sagaing,
A record even for Myanmar.
A battle in the fierce front line
Leaves fewer casualties by far.
If our murderous police
Were drafted to our battlefront
They’d make war on us, not peace:
With their rifles they would hunt
For bribes, and without thinking twice
From hungry mouths they’d steal the rice.
They’re like the dog that bites its master,
Except they drink our blood much faster.
Now’s the time, without a doubt,
To cut their bloody innards out.
Remember, son, and never forget,
The ninth of August eighty-eight,
When gentleness was killed by hate,
When shots rang out across the town
Cutting sons and mothers down,
When below pagoda bells
We heard the tinkling cartridge shells,
When the blood of living bodies
Turned the golden Irrawaddy’s
Deepest waters deepest red.
Do not forget. Ask why, instead,
So many innocent lay dead.