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Myanmar’s rebels see unity as key to victory over weakened military rulers

Myanmar’s rebels see unity as key to victory over weakened military rulers

Karen State, Myanmar – A young fighter looks out from the upper floor in a concrete skeleton of a church that villagers have been building for two years in this small pocket of southeast Myanmar. The construction work has been a slow undertaking, said 21-year-old Zayar, a member of Myanmar’s Muslim community who moved from the country’s biggest city, Yangon, to this rebel camp near the Thai border to fight against his country’s military rulers. Air strikes by military warplanes are a constant threat in this hamlet in Karen State – also known as Kayin – where jobs are scarce and money is tight. But, little by little, the ethnic Karen here were able to build their church. “Before, we thought the Karen people were dacoits [bandits],” said Zayar, who joined the rebellion against Myanmar’s military just last year. “Now people understand the real situation,” he told Al Jazeera. Zayar’s opinion of the Karen – one of Myanmar’s largest minorities – was shaped by disparaging depictions and stereotypes circulated under the country’s military generals, who primarily hail from the ethnic Bamar majority and have violently suppressed the aspirations of Myanmar’s diverse ethnic groups for decades. Zayar, a fighter with the KTLA in Karen State, Myanmar, in December 2023 [Lorcan Lovett/Al Jazeera] The Myanmar military’s attempts to pressure the country’s minorities into submission – stretching as far back as the 1940s – fuelled one of the longest-running conflicts in the world. Now as military leaders mark their third year since seizing power in Myanmar, an uprising that melds the decades-old ethnic struggles for self-determination with the more recent armed fight to restore democracy has enveloped much of the nation. In October, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), based in the Mandarin-speaking region of Kokang on the border with China, along with two other powerful ethnic armed groups, as well as Bamar fighters, launched their offensive against the military. The collaboration – known as the Three Brotherhood Alliance – has scored unprecedented victories against Myanmar’s military, which toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in February 2021. Resistance to the country’s military rulers is now a broad church and confidence in the movement and its campaign has been massively boosted by the participation of a growing number of armed actors. However, the alliance’s common cause of removing the military from power remains set against a complex history of rivalries and suspicions between a multitude of ethnic armed groups – divisions which the military has successfully exploited to its benefit in the past. As the alliance’s offensive moves from the countryside to urban areas in the west, north and east of Myanmar, the military is struggling to find a way back, and some fear the collaboration among the rebels will not hold together. Unity of purpose Zayar slings his rifle around his shoulder and takes the path past corn and peanut crops to his camp. His role in the revolution embodies much of the dreams and contradictions that have come to define the struggle in Myanmar. On a friend’s recommendation, Zayar joined the Kawthoolei Army (KTLA), a fringe splinter group formed by General Ner Dah Bo Mya, who stormed out of the established Karen National Union (KNU) armed movement after refusing to participate in an investigation into the killing of a group of men allegedly carried out by his fighters in 2021. An anti-coup activist undergoes basic military training with the Karen National Union (KNU) in Karen State in 2021 [AFP] Ner Dah Bo Mya has not denied the killings were carried out by his fighters, claiming the 25 unarmed men were military spies. He has also cultivated a firebrand image for his KTLA unit that has attracted young people itching to take up weapons to overthrow the military dictatorship. Though both are fighting the military, the KTLA has also clashed with the KNU in southern Myanmar. On other occasions, KTLA fighters and soldiers under KNU command have worked together on operations. KTLA fighters stand to attention at their base in Karen State, Myanmar, in December [Lorcan Lovett/Al Jazeera] Unity, says Myanmar political analyst Kim Jolliffe, stands as the overriding factor in the success of the current armed revolt. Being unified is not only necessary for military success, said Jolliffe, but also for laying the foundation of a post-military Myanmar. Unity, he said, will be key to moving the country away from a “highly coercive centralised state” that “creates perpetual conflict” to one where “all ethnic groups are equal in a genuine power-sharing mechanism”. “The central problem that the revolution must solve is how to create a system that enhances the diversity and create a power balance so that no single group positions themselves as overarching chauvinist controllers,” Jolliffee told Al Jazeera. “We will likely continue to see localised conflicts and tensions among resistance groups in some areas. But there is little to suggest that it will have a fundamental impact on the overall direction of the revolution,” he added. While some ethnic forces have aligned with the military or have remained neutral, most of the country’s formidable ethnic armed groups have poured their resources and troops into the current campaign against the generals. Zayar said he has risked everything for the revolution. “Living under the dictatorship is worse than death,” he says. “I will fight back until I die.” For Zayar, he is fighting for equality. Being of the Muslim faith in predominately Buddhist Myanmar, some have called him a “kalar” – a term used as a slur against Muslims or anyone of South Asian origin in Myanmar. His official Myanmar national identity card also marks him out as a “Muslim”, not only as his religion but also as an ethnic identity, he says. “When the government put me as that, I felt discriminated,” he told Al Jazeera. “I was born and raised in Myanmar. Of course, I’m Myanmar.” Two KTLA fighters dressed in clothing donated by supporters perform a comedy dance routine to the amusement of their comrades at their base camp [Lorcan Lovett/Al Jazeera] Zayar joined the revolution relatively late – in April 2023 – more than two years after the military’s chief commander Min Aung Hlaing seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi. On the military’s side, people are

Carl Weathers, star of Predator and Rocky films, dies at 76

Carl Weathers, star of Predator and Rocky films, dies at 76

Co-stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone pay tribute to NFL linebacker-turned-actor. Carl Weathers, who starred as nemesis-turned-friend Apollo Creed in the Rocky film franchise, has died. He was 76. “Carl was an exceptional human being who lived an extraordinary life,” Weathers’s family said in a statement on Friday. “Through his contributions to film, television, the arts and sports, he has left an indelible mark and is recognised worldwide and across generations.” Carl Weathers, a former NFL linebacker who became a Hollywood action star, was perhaps best known for playing Rocky Balboa’s rival-turned-ally in the film Rocky and its three sequels opposite Sylvester Stallone. Rocky, released in 1976 and starring the largely unknown Stallone, became an unexpected commercial and critical hit, nabbing the Oscar for best picture and catapulting both actors to prominence. Weathers also had memorable roles as the brash Colonel Al Dillon in the 1987 film Predator, starring alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, and as one-handed golf coach Chubbs Peterson in the Adam Sandler-led comedy, Happy Gilmore. Most recently, Weathers starred in the Star Wars spin-off series, The Mandalorian, a role for which he received an Emmy nomination. Stallone on Friday paid tribute to Weathers, saying the Rocky films’ success would not have been possible without his co-star. “When he walked into that room, and I saw him for the first time, I saw greatness,” Stallone said in a video posted on Instagram. “I never could have accomplished what we did with Rocky without him. He was absolutely brilliant. His voice, his size, his power, his athletic ability, but more importantly, his heart, his soul.” Schwarzenegger described his co-start as a “legend”. “An extraordinary athlete, a fantastic actor and a great person … We couldn’t have made Predator without him,” Schwarzenegger said in a message on Instagram. “And we certainly wouldn’t have had such a wonderful time making it. Every minute with him – on set and off – was pure joy.” Born in New Orleans, Weathers played American football at San Diego State University and with the Oakland Raiders before retiring from the game in 1974 to pursue a career in acting. He appeared in more than 75 films and TV shows during a career in Hollywood spanning more than 50 years, according to Deadline. Weathers, who was married and divorced three times, is survived by two sons. “He was a beloved brother, father, grandfather, partner and friend,” his family said in their statement. Adblock test (Why?)

Arkansas parole board chair was fired from police department for lying about sex with minor

Arkansas parole board chair was fired from police department for lying about sex with minor

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The man appointed to chair Arkansas‘ parole board by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was fired from a local police department several years ago after lying to investigators about having sex with a minor, documents released by the department show. Jamol Jones, who Sanders named the board’s chair last week, was fired from the Benton Police Department in 2018 for lying to investigators about whether he had sex with a 17-year-old girl, according to his personnel file released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. The documents were first reported Thursday night by Little Rock television station KATV. ARKANSAS TOWN WITHOUT WATER FOR TWO WEEKS AS OLD INFRASTRUCTURE FREEZES, FAILS Jones lied twice to criminal investigators looking into the relationship, and he initially told them he had only talked with the girl. Prosecutors didn’t pursue any charges against Jones, but he was fired for violating the department’s code of ethics by lying to investigators, the documents show. According to the documents, Jones told an internal affairs investigator that he did not know the girl’s age but he acknowledged he “should have picked up on some clues” including Snapchat messages where she talked about going to classes all day. A spokeswoman for Sanders did not say whether the governor or her office knew about the investigation into Jones before she appointed him, or whether Sanders believed he should still serve as parole board chair. “Jamol bravely served our nation in the Army and protected his community as a police officer providing him with the experience and knowledge to serve on the Post-Prison Transfer Board and the Board of Corrections,” spokeswoman Alexa Henning said in an email. Sanders last week said Jones’ “prior law enforcement experience makes him a clear choice to take on this important role.” His appointment chairing the seven-member panel expires Jan. 14, 2030. Jones is an Army veteran who also served as a corporal assigned to patrol at training divisions at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Jones did not say whether he had discussed the investigation and his firing with the governor’s office before the appointment. “I did not break any laws, no charges were filed, but I made a mistake I’ve asked God and my families forgiveness for, and I take full responsibility for my actions,” Jones said in an email. “I am proud of my service to our country and our state, and the support of my wife and family.” As parole board chairman, Jones also serves as a member of the state Board of Corrections. The revelations about his firing come as Sanders and the panel have been in an escalating fight over who controls the state’s prison system. A state judge has blocked a law Sanders signed last year that took away the board’s ability to hire and fire the secretary of corrections. Following that ruling, the board fired Sanders’ appointee to the post.