{"id":7941,"date":"2025-10-05T11:54:47","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T05:24:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/?p=7941"},"modified":"2025-10-05T11:54:50","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T05:24:50","slug":"inter-ethnic-frictions-during-the-spring-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/2025\/10\/inter-ethnic-frictions-during-the-spring-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Inter-ethnic frictions during the Spring Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1><a href=\"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-13.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7942\" src=\"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-13.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-13.png 600w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-13-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-13-560x280.png 560w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-13-260x130.png 260w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-13-160x80.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/h1>\n<h1>Myanmar Spring Chronicle \u2013 Viewpoint for October 3<\/h1>\n<p>(MoeMaKa) October 4, 2025<\/p>\n<h2>Inter-ethnic frictions during the Spring Revolution<\/h2>\n<p>In recent weeks, the battle to seize <strong>Banmauk<\/strong> in Sagaing District pitted, on one side, the <strong>KIA<\/strong> and its allies \u2014 <strong>PDF<\/strong> units under the NUG \u2014 and, on the other, the <strong>SNA (Shan Ni armed group)<\/strong> together with what can be regarded as its ally, the <strong>military junta<\/strong>. Because Shan-Ni, <strong>Kadu<\/strong>, and <strong>Ganan<\/strong> peoples live in the area, the fighting has begun to be interpreted in ethnic terms, as if actions were carried out on an ethnic basis. Against this backdrop, a civic organization, the <strong>Shan-Ni Nationalities\u2019 Unity Association (SNUA)<\/strong>, issued a statement dated <strong>October 2<\/strong> titled: <em>\u201cPosition statement regarding the armed conflicts occurring in Shan-Ni areas of Banmauk Township.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>What the SNUA says, in brief<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Shan-Ni, Kadu, Ganan and Bamar peoples have lived together in this region for many years.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Since the 2021 coup, war has raged in Shan-Ni areas: villages have been destroyed; civilians and even monks have been arrested and killed; there have been language restrictions; and excessive logging and unregulated gold mining have damaged the environment.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Roads have been blocked for \u201cmilitary reasons,\u201d and the internet and phone services have been cut for long periods, harming communication, livelihoods, and human rights. People struggle to live between taxes and orders imposed by armed groups.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Civilians have been killed and injured by actions from both warring sides.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>During the Banmauk offensive, there have been attempts to <strong>stoke ethnic conflict<\/strong> and even attacks on <strong>civilian targets<\/strong>; online ethnic incitement is also appearing. Assistance is needed for <strong>over 1,500 IDPs<\/strong>, and civic education is needed to promote social harmony.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Finally, the statement urges <strong>both armed parties<\/strong> to comply with rules of <strong>International Humanitarian Law (IHL)<\/strong> \u2014 specifically rules <strong>(7), (11), (12), (14), (30), (31), (35), (38), (43), (53), (55), (77), (78), (81), (88), (96), (97)<\/strong> \u2014 to refrain from war crimes and to prevent the outbreak of ethnic conflict.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>The broader picture<\/h3>\n<p>Since the Spring Revolution began, observers have tended to sort existing ethnic armed organizations into three rough groups:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<p>those <strong>fighting the junta<\/strong> \u2014 e.g., <strong>KNU\/KNLA, KIA, CNF, AA, KNPP, KNDF, PNO\/PNLA, TNLA, MNDAA<\/strong>;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>those <strong>neither supporting nor fighting<\/strong> \u2014 e.g., <strong>UWSA, SSPP\/SSA, RCSS, NMSP, Mong La<\/strong>;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>those <strong>aligned with the army<\/strong> or formed as <strong>BGF<\/strong> units \u2014 e.g., <strong>PNO\/PNA<\/strong>, the <strong>BGF<\/strong> in Karen State, and the former <strong>NDAK<\/strong> in Kachin.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>There are also groups like the <strong>SNA (Shan-Ni)<\/strong> that are <strong>not BGFs<\/strong> but have reached understandings with the army, aiming to protect areas inhabited by their own communities; at times the <strong>SSPP\/SSA<\/strong> has made similar choices. Questions such as whether the <strong>ethnic cause<\/strong> or the <strong>Spring Revolution<\/strong> should take precedence; historic rivalries and conflicting interests among ethnic groups; past armed clashes; feelings of discrimination; and deficits of trust all influence how sides are chosen and re-chosen.<\/p>\n<p>Because some EAOs are organized primarily around <strong>ethnic agendas<\/strong> rather than democratic ideals, there have been instances where one group restricts or pressures other co-resident ethnic communities \u2014 making alliances more complicated than a simple pro-democracy vs. pro-junta divide.<\/p>\n<p>If the term <strong>\u201cSpring Revolution\u201d<\/strong> is used to refer to the whole post-coup movement, its armed dimension has also brought side-effects: <strong>forced recruitment<\/strong>, <strong>human-rights abuses<\/strong>, and governance problems in newly seized areas where rulers and residents are of <strong>different ethnicities<\/strong> \u2014 all of which cast mixed light and shadow on the revolution\u2019s image.<\/p>\n<p>The current mistrust and tensions among <strong>Shan-Ni, Kadu, and Ganan<\/strong> around Banmauk are, in national terms, a <strong>small<\/strong> issue that has come to the surface now. Similar problems exist elsewhere: between <strong>Ta\u2019ang (Palaung) groups and Shan communities<\/strong>, between <strong>Kachin and Ta\u2019ang armed groups<\/strong>, and between <strong>Chin communities in Paletwa<\/strong> and the <strong>AA<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Understanding these <strong>historical<\/strong> relations, preventing <strong>new conflicts<\/strong> now, and ensuring that future conflicts are avoided require armed groups to act with political understanding and to look toward a <strong>better common future<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Myanmar Spring Chronicle \u2013 Viewpoint for October 3 (MoeMaKa) October 4, 2025 Inter-ethnic frictions during the Spring Revolution In recent weeks, the battle to seize Banmauk in Sagaing District pitted, on one side, the KIA and its allies \u2014 PDF&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/2025\/10\/inter-ethnic-frictions-during-the-spring-revolution\/\">Read more &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7942,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9,58],"tags":[100],"class_list":["post-7941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current","category-features","tag-myanmar-spring-revolution"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-13.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3RDLm-245","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7941"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7941\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7943,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7941\/revisions\/7943"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}