Myanmar rebels see possibility of victory

The night Ma Suu Kyi thought she would die from her wounds on the front lines of a forgotten war, a crescent moon hovered above her head. A pendant of the Virgin Mary hung from her neck. Maybe these omens saved her. Or maybe, she said, it wasn't yet time for her to die.

“When I joined the revolution, I knew that my chances of surviving were 50-50” Ms Suu Kyi, 21, spoke of her decision to enlist as a rebel soldier, fighting to overthrow the junta that returned Myanmar to military dictatorship three years ago. “I am an ordinary girl, an ordinary young person. I believe in federal democracy and human rights. »

Mrs. Suu Kyi said the words “federal democracy” in English. There are no easy words to describe this concept in Burmese.

Since the junta in Myanmar staged its coup in February 2021, ending to a brief period of democratic reform and training its weapons once again in the face of peaceful protesters, much of the country turned against the military. A new generation, which came of age under the civilian administration of Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has taken up arms, joining rebels who have opposed the military dictatorship for decades.

The world's gaze has remained focused on other conflicts on other continents – to the dismay of many in Myanmar who wonder why there is little concern for the chaos and death here. global outcry. Today, after three years of desperate resistance, the battle lines are rapidly shifting. The rebels have invaded numerous military bases and taken control of dozens of towns. The pace of victories has accelerated in recent days and anti-junta forces now claim to control more than half of Myanmar's territory, from the jungles of the lowlands to the foothills of the Himalayas.

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