MNDAA commander promises ‘tranquillity and development’ in ethnic Kokang region

The leader of the ethnic Kokang Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) vowed to rebuild the Kokang Self-Administered Region in northern Shan State in a New Year’s address published on Monday. MNDAA commander Peng Daxun said that the ethnic armed organisation, along with its political wing, the Myanmar National Truth and Justice Party, would “strive for the tranquillity and development of our people” in the region. The MNDAA is a member of the Brotherhood Alliance of armed groups, alongside the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the Arakan Army. Together, they have captured more than a dozen towns and nearly 300 junta posts since the launch of Operation 1027, a military offensive against the Myanmar Army in northern Shan State, named for its start date on October 27. Myanmar Now reported on December 28 that Laukkai, the capital of the Kokang Self-Administered Region, was mostly under MNDAA control, after its forces first entered the city’s outskirts earlier that month. The group had reportedly been preparing to seize Laukkai since November. Since the 2010 elections, and as was prescribed in the military-drafted 2008 Constitution, the Kokang area, made up of Konkyan and Laukkai townships, had been designated as “autonomous region,” but was governed largely by ethnic Kokang members of the Myanmar army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party. A portrait of MNDAA founder Peng Jiasheng, the father of current commander Peng Daxun, hangs over an MNDAA office (MNDAA) In his statement this week, Peng Daxun—who is also the son of the MNDAA’s first commander, Peng Xiasheng—pledged to end the notorious cybercrime operations in Kokang territory, which China identified as the centre of major online scam networks. He noted that at least 300 fraud centres had been raided and thousands of people transferred to the neighbouring authorities in China over the last two months. “Our Operation 1027 is ongoing. It will persist until we have completely eradicated online scamming,” he said. Peng Daxun sought further support for Myanmar’s resistance movement from ethnic armed organisations and those in foreign countries, specifically naming the Chinese public. He expressed sadness for civilian casualties caused by junta airstrikes, and concluded by stating his goals of federal democracy and peace for Myanmar. “This is a crucial moment for us,” the commander said. “If we can overcome our final struggle successfully, I believe our special region will ultimately be in the hands of our people.”

MNDAA commander promises ‘tranquillity and development’ in ethnic Kokang region

In a New Year’s address, the leader of the Kokang ethnic armed organisation also pledges to ‘eradicate’ online scam centres in his group’s territory

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