An interview with Ma Amara, information officer of the M2W
28th June 2022
Since the coup, the armed revolution against the military has entered over one year. The total number of the People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) across the country has exceeded 100. Many female members are participating in the armed revolution. There are very few female PDFs. The following is the interview with Ma Amara, information officer of the Myaung Women Warriors (M2W).
Q: First, May I know your name and your rank in the M2W?
A: My name is Amara. Currently I am serving as an information officer of the Myaung Women Warriors (M2W).
Q: Although there are a lot of PDFs, there are very few female PDFs like the M2W. Can you tell the brief history of the formation of the M2W? When was the M2W formed?
A: There are a lot of PDFs. There are many reasons why we separately stand as a female group. Because we want to show that women can stand separately in the armed revolution like men. Another point is that women are not in a position to enjoy equal rights when compared with men. Women are always in the back seat. As it is not in a position to promote the capacity of our women, we decided to form an all-female force. That is to say, we formed it to implement gender equality.
Q: How does the M2W participate in the current armed revolution?
A: The M2W is producing five kinds of mines. As our main product is mine, we are mainly cooperating in the mine operations. We also cooperate in the interim education program. Our female comrades give medical treatments to the wounded PDF members in the township. The M2W’s combat medics are also providing public health care services. During this interim period, we are staging the wider revolutionary war. At the same time, we are reinforcing the education and health care sectors.
Q: How many battles are the M2W involved in?
A: The M2W was involved in the battles twice. We carried out the military operation with our allies. We have conducted up to 13 mine operations. In addition to cooperation, we provided our allies with mines for the success of their operations in other townships.
Q: Can you tell me about the most successful and satisfactory battle?
A: The most successful and satisfactory battle is “22222” 2.2.2022. It can be said that we were satisfied with it. It is memorable for me. On January 30th, the military terrorists raided an outpost of the 005 PDF which is the front line fighter of the CASOI. The military’s raid resulted in a loss of around Ks-7 million. Since then, the military started its military operation in Myaung Township. We planted the mines. During this period, we were attacked by the military columns from four corners. The public and the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) faced difficulties. They did not know where to flee to. Our M2W helped them flee to safer places on the one hand. We had to take responsibility for the success of mine operations at the respective points on the other hand. During this period, we mainly helped save the lives and properties of the public. We are also working to crush the military council. We have to check whether the people get wounded after the completion of our mission. We successfully conducted the mine operation on 22222 day.
First, we immediately heard the news from the locals that we could crush two military terrorists. According to the information sent by locals, two more soldiers were killed. We could kill four military terrorists in the 22222 operation. This is a high spot for us. We ourselves had to manage it despite danger. It is a separate mission. At this moment, we recognized it and faced a lot of difficulties.
Q: What are your difficulties and needs?
A: The current difficulties and needs are that we do not have enough arms for the frontline battles. Our major requirement is arms as we have chosen armed struggle for this revolution. Our town has to rely on both water routes and inland. Due to the rising water level, we have difficulty in using water routes. We need motorboats to use the water route. This is the transportation need. Due to lack of funds, we cannot produce necessary mines. The inflow of raw materials is very slow as the State Administration Council (SAC) has blocked both inland and water routes. We cannot scale up production. Due to a shortage of raw materials, we are working to help the works that benefit the public, during the interim period. We are also accelerating our training.
Q: How do you solve these difficulties?
A: We face transportation difficulties. It is inconvenient for us to go by foot after the military operation. So we have to use motorbikes. Now we are going to prepare for the water way. It is found that the public’s funds have declined till over one year of the revolution. The pubic faces big losses as the military terrorists raid and burn the villages in our township. So we cannot rely on the people in the township. We are not in a position to expect a lot of aid from the public in the township. We understand it. What we can do is we mainly have to undergo training when we have the difficulty in the availability of enough arms. Currently, we have to raise funds to speed up the military operations. The battalion of the M2W has to raise the funds for military expenses and rations. Our Township has a fertile soil. We grow vegetables on the land beside our battalion. We have to do it on a self-reliant basis.
Q: What is the advantage of your participation in the revolution as a female member? How can it contribute to the revolution?
A: It is sure that the women themselves have to participate in the armed revolution by keeping abreast of the men. I believe that the role of women may improve as soon as the Spring Revolution comes to an end. Women have more mental fitness than men. There are male PDF members in our environs. The PDFs don’t have enough arms although they have a burning desire to participate in the frontline battles. They have to spend their time by providing assistance in the battalion. Youths feel discontented and depressed. In my view, they easily feel depressed. Our battalion does not have enough arms. However, we think about all the things we can do to contribute to the success of the Spring Revolution through our cooperation. We provide all kinds of support we can do from the behind.
We perform our duties. We play our role dutifully. I believe that we can march to our desired target as all PDF members from the battalion are advancing in harmony. Our ultimate goal is to root out the Fascist army and ensure gender equality. So, as I mentioned earlier, the reason why women choose armed struggle is to promote the empowerment of women. We ourselves are making in-depth cooperation in the respective sectors as we want to spotlight how important the role of women is and in which sector the women can do scrupulously. By doing so, the PDF members will see it as the entire people see our role. We promote our role. We ourselves create our role and work and overcome the difficulties. These are said to be our advantages.
Q: As a last question, which message do you want to convey to the public as a female revolutionary comrade?
A: My message to the public is that our major destination is to root out the Fascist dictatorship. We staged the revolutionary war with the support of the public. Our revolution against the power-thirsty Fascists by taking up arms enters over one year. I would like to thank the public who withstand it to a certain extent. We thank the public a lot for hanging tough and sacrificing for a certain period of time. We need to hang in there until we reach our desired goal. We would like to invite the public to march together with added momentum and all-out effort to root out the Fascist dictatorship.
Interviewed by Say Kaung Kham (Shan-ni Voice)
