Speech by Commander-In-Chief at 11th Anniversary Day of the Arakan Army
10 April 2020
Good day! (Thar Li Swa par!)
Today 10 April 2020 is the 11th anniversary day of the Arakan Army which was founded on 10 April 2009 with firmly vowing to the political objectives to liberate the whole people of Arakan, to regain the lost of the sovereignty of the people of Arakan, to build a dignified people’s republic of Arakan which is a just, free, modernized and developed society, to endure Arakan and its people, and to guarantee the future of people of Arakan.
As you all know, we have been practically carrying out every working steps of our struggle, year after year, in the adoption of “the Way of Rakhita”, political principle of Arakan, in order to implement the abovementioned objectives.
Fellow warriors,
Our Arakan Army is resolutely fighting for the future of Arakan to write new history after transforming and rooting out current appalling situations. At the same time, we are trying to strengthen the Arakan Army. Standing with the people as a oneness, we are doing our best among the difficulties to undertake the tasks of the revolution that can be construed as “struggling by organizing; organizing by struggling, training by fighting; fighting by training.” As known to you, the Arakan Army is moving forward after building developmental milestones year by year in the history of modern Arakan as a result of strong leadership, the right way, pragmatic performance, solidarity, capacities and courage of our fellow comrades.
It can be said that 2009 was a significant year because of the establishment of Arakan Army, the years of 2010, 2011 and 2012 had had heydays as progress and new steps. Similarly, the years of 2018 and 2019 had also generated remarkable turning points for the Arakanese revolution. We could transform the weaknesses to the strengths by learning lessons from the historical experience and assumption that disputed that armed revolution would not be possible to set up in Arakan due to geographic conditions and neighboring situations of Arakan region. The deed of the launching of a people’s war by new revolutionary generations of the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA) from strong bases in Arakan and across the region has proved that nothing is impossible for people of Arakan and we can do anything.
“The struggle for national liberation and the restoration of the Arakan’s sovereignty to the people of Arakan is our legitimate resistance in accordance with our natural and historic right. We are not asking the consent of the enemy; we are practically implementing our collective determination to throw off the shackles of the Burmese racism and colonialism in Arakan. This is our morale and faith in our own strength that we are going to attain the independence of Arakan whether the Burmese war criminals grant us or not; nothing can stop us”.
It’s absolutely necessary to launch a national revolution that the lives of people of Arakan are lagging far behind without any developments but for more worsening though the world is changing rapidly. Once the sovereignty of Arakan is fully restored to the hands of people of Arakan, the future of Arakan will be guaranteed. For a successful revolution with a well-trained army, we need to try hard to be perfect. Both good leadership and good followership are required. It can’t be achieved if there are no weapons but lots of people and there are no military trainings and other skills but people and weapons. What I want to mention here is a general assessment concerning solidarity, endurance, performance and capacity of each revolutionary fighter. Among these, what I want to deliver is one of the most important tasks of public relations and organizing strategies in this long struggle.
Fellow warriors,
The Arakan Army was founded to safeguard and promote Arakan’s national interests. Public security and interests are our prime accountabilities. I want to command that revolutionary fighters of the Arakan Army always treat people with full respect whenever communicating with any member of the people of Arakan, abiding to the rules and regulations of the Army. We live with the people in unity and oneness. No army is a greater force than the people. As the Arakan Army is the defenders of the fatherland of Arakan, to protect the people is our principle. Responsible leaders and all the comrades must be cautious not to happen in the future and take actions to control misbehaviors that we have been hearing from recent reports about the misuse of the position, the misuse of power without the necessity, the use of the United League of Arakan for personal gain by some opportunists, and non-disciplinary behavior of some troops of us in some regions.
Our Arakan Army must create the future of people of Arakan with a legacy of good order while serving national responsibility and duty for our Arrakha Nation. Repression of the civilians and discrimination on the grounds of religious and race against the minorities of Arakan are not permitted and will never be forgiven.
One of the main reasons why the Arakan Army can firmly stand up and resist full-force offensive attacks of the enemy is because the entire population of Arakan supports us. People are the main roots of the revolution. Our Arakan Army is absolutely legitimate in Arakan that people of Arakan support us with their own will and political recognition, however the enemy colonialists have defamed and designated us as an unlawful organization under whatever banners in the use of unjust laws. Our just war, rational demands and decisive actions will determine who we are.
The Arakan Dream 2020 in the step by step carrying out of the tasks of national resistance is an alert to inform people of Arakan that the pragmatic implementation process of the Way of Rakhita and the national liberation movement participated by all citizens in Arakan and abroad has begun. From this year of 2020, the entire oppressed people of Arakan irrespective of religious, race, sex, minority or majority must struggle for the successful revolution in order to attain the sovereignty and liberation of Arakan. We must move forward through the storm however we endure in the harsh time of the revolution.
All ethnic peoples living in the territory of Arakan are the citizens of Arakan. All peoples in Arakan, without any discrimination, shall be equally treated and impartially lived with full human dignity because we are fighting for freedom, democracy, social justice and welfare, and human dignity for all inhabitants in Arakan irrespective of religion, race or sex. But equal rights and responsibility are two faces of the same coin. Thus, no one will be left behind in this life or death decision making time for the future and fate of the liberation of Arakan. No one should live as parasitic existences to reap the rewards only without self-sacrificing spirit. We all must remain loyal to the Arakan and its people and come to join a unified fight for freedom.
Fellow warriors,
It is essential to effectively manage everything with full accuracy and certainty on the path to the liberation struggle. Each combatant must be acute and stuck to the awareness of the revolution and conscience. There are a lot of examples we suffered a setback and great losses due to a small mistake. We are not only engaged in the ground battles but contesting each battlefronts such as informational intelligence field, the frontline of psychological warfare, organizing operations, legitimacy and international law, and the diplomatic field from which our struggle can receive international support and good perception. It is important that conduct and performance of fellow revolutionaries must be complied with the principles of the revolution.
It is very crucial for all revolutionary fighters to have awareness and restraint not to leak military information to outside and social media and not to occur bad things that could be detrimental to our struggle to cause negative consequences. Everything related to warfare must not be considered as minor issues. Please be assured that we are doing our utmost with certainty and revolutionary commitment.
Fellow warriors,
As a logic of the national liberation struggle - training by fighting; fighting by training, our combating skills have improved much more courageous and valorous than before and our commanding systems and collective operations have become more effective and efficacious. We can clearly see now the physical and moral collapse of the colonialist-war criminals defeated by your vigorous fighting skills.
Their operations and military conducts are not like before anymore. They are adapted to the reality. Conducting indiscriminate airstrikes and artillery fire on civilians is a distinct attempt to cover up the fear and inferiority of the enemy troops. You can imagine their strategic artillery posts are becoming like the fearful homeless dogs in the darkness that are barking without any purpose whenever they hear about the breaking out of clashes. You are now capable of painting a more clear picture of the characteristics of the revolutionary war. Due to your great efforts, the light of hope and power of confidence are ever becoming more stronger and brighter for the people of Arakan who are suffering the greatest oppression and the enduring misery. I am also honored and proud of your revolutionary courage and achievement. You all are highly appreciated and respected. Lets try to improve more together with greater solidarity.
Fellow warriors,
We are so sadly proud of our heroes who sacrificed their lives for the Fatherland of Arakan and its people in the combats. They are respectfully saluted in our hearts. Although we cannot provide sufficient social security and health insurance in these challenging times for our fellow comrades who were injured and became disabled in the fight for the country and people, we are taking utmost care of them with whatever we have. With full spirit of comradeship, we have decided to arrange the best for them as much as we can when the right time comes.
Instead of fighting troops to troops, the Burmese war criminal forces that suffered heavy losses in the ground battles have attacked civilian-villages in the exercise of their cowardness and cultural inferiority. They have launched airstrikes, fired artillery gunship and torched villages. The Burmese troops have ruthlessly killed, arrested, tortured and punished innocent civilians of Arakan after accusing them with various unjust laws. Based on racial hatred and the Burmese cunnings, destroying our Arakanese cultural heritage sites and pagodas is obviously aimed to obliterate our national identity. The so-called civilian NLD regime in the name of democracy has been assisting and collaborating with the Myanmar military to have committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, serious human rights violations after shutting down the internet and blacking out the media in Arakan so that the world cannot be informed about the truths and evidence of war crimes there. We are deeply saddened for the Arakanese children, vulnerable women, breastfeeding mothers and the elders who were killed by the deliberate state-sponsored terrorist attacks of the Burmese colonial troops. Their crimes be known forever. On the other hand, we are going to collect and record their killings to be prosecuted according to international laws. Our Arakan Army will also retaliate. These documents will be handed down from generation to generation and a clear line between us and the enemy has been drawn as a historical evidence.
Currently, there are about 200,000 desperate and helpless people displaced from their places in Arakan. We are deeply heartbroken to see the sufferings of the people of Arakan. They are not fleeing their homes to avoid the war conflicts between the Arakan Army and the Myanmar troops; however, they are displaced only by the attacking of the Burmese troops or they are just “the Burmese troops displaced persons” who are fleeing their homes to escape from the atrocities of the Burmese colonial occupiers. Without taking any accountability, the so-called Union government and its puppet useless state-government have not even marginalized these desperate IDPs but blocked international humanitarian aid to the refugees by giving various reasons.
As you all know, the coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting all countries around the world since the end of 2019. The whole human species are in danger. Amid every governments of all countries are urgently taking measures to protect the lives of their citizens and are calling for global collective action regardless of foes and friends but with humanitarian mindsets, the Burmese armed forces have intensified their military operations after cutting down every communication channels including media, mobile internet and transportation of medicines and foods in Arakan. It’s clearly found that their clearance operations are just attacking innocent civilians and torching villages. Where are the so-called Union spirit and equality they are loudly shouting about? Forget about the rights of citizens, they don’t even have affection for fellow human beings; they are just barbaric and uncivilized creatures. While ethnic Bamar people are being daily informed about public health via Facebook pages and accounts, people of Arakan are neglected. In addition, they are cunningly plotting against the civilians of Arakan to suffer double-crises. The Burmese regime and its military have inhumanely rejected a call for a global ceasefire by the United Nations Secretary General and Ambassadors to Myanmar. How can we possibly continue to co-exist with such cruel and inhumane people who do not even recognize the eternal principles?
Building an independent society of Arakan without any constraints is the most reasonable and best solution for these chronic political woes in order to determine our own lives with our own hands and to be masters of our own fate. Our national flag of Arakan will be freely raised on our ancestral soil and in our ancestral sky of Arakan. Citizens of Arakan by virtue of our innate political right will stand tall with pride and full dignity in the world. This is each individual’s legitimate aspiration of people of Arakan, Arakan Dream. When we inevitably launch a people’s war or national revolution, we will surely suffer the horrors of war and the hardships of the revolution. For freedom, we must sacrifice everything giving our blood, sweat and tears to the struggle.
We will take great pride ascribing to how we boldly sacrificed and how we firmly adhered to enormous tenacity in solidarity and loyalty as the greatest national event and historical significant record when we triumph this war with our unity in the future.
Fellow warriors,
Today the greatest suffering and endurance of the people of Arakan in the hope of freedom should not be in vain.
The revolutionary courage is the key for liberation. Fellow revolutionaries and fellow compatriots of Arakan are respectfully and encouragingly urged to vow again that we are going to build an Independent Arakan by any means hand in hand with the brave and freedom loving people of Arakan.
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