The spirit of democracy is still alive in some war-torn parts of Myanmar

Recently, some pundits on Myanmar started echoing that the resistance/PDF are as abusive as their opponent.

To convince others of their worldview, they use a simplified logic:

PDF/Resistance Force = Abusive
Military Regime = Abusive
Therefore, PDF/Resistance Force = Military Regime.

Both are good for nothing. What a view!

An award should be invented, immediately, to celebrate those who try to explain Myanmar’s complex conflicts with a single equation. This is something even OpenAI’s GPT-4o cannot do.

While it is true that some PDF/resistance forces are abusing the power they built or earned over the past four years for their own interest, they can be tamed by public pressure, I think so.

Recently, a group of PDF/resistance forces collected donations/taxes/contributions/war funds/levies (Bitcoin is inconvenient in conflict zones where the internet is shut down) from long-haul truck drivers. Drivers were not happy with the levies, and they PROTESTED.

Yes, protest is allowed in the warzone, not in Los Angeles where democracy thrives.

In the end, the PDF/resistance forces withdrew their checkpoints and stopped collecting levies. As drivers croaked, public pressure made the bad PDFs’ pistol broke and choke (words stolen from Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise).

Finally, drivers won their fight!

Don’t you think it’s the real-world application of democracy in a warzone?

PDF/resistance forces, who started their armed revolt with home-made muzzle loader guns, now have automatics. The access to lethal weapons is increasing. That said, their capacity to kill or shoot someone or something — human or animal, or even an annoyingly attractive TikTok song — is much improved. And when it comes to public pressure, they do not use their guns. They are not deaf. They listen to people. Ain’t it good?

And when it comes to public pressure, they do not use their guns. They are not deaf. They listen to people. Ain’t it good?

Do you need to be as sophisticated as Plato or Paul Collier to understand this? Also, you do not need to have the beard and serious face of Max Weber to reflect on this power relationship.

With newly earned power (maybe through physical force), some PDF/resistance forces will definitely abuse it. Maybe they dream of becoming 21st-century dictators who admire Ibrahim Traoré.

Statistically, how many have abused it? Is it institutionalized? Is it widespread?

If it is institutionalized and widespread, civilians living in those areas, particularly in Burman-dominant parts, are not fools. They will find a way to tame the fighter they supported or fight back the ghost they fed beef.

Another endless conflict? Maybe. If and only if the new armed groups’ power abuse becomes widespread and institutionalized.

So far, I still believe that people power and pressure are working in conflict-affected rural areas. Democratic rule was short-lived in Myanmar, but I see the spirit of democracy is still alive.

So far, I still believe that people power and pressure are working in conflict-affected rural areas. Democratic rule was short-lived in Myanmar, but I see the spirit of democracy is still alive.

Ain’t it good in this depressing and hopeless period for democracy across the world?