Irrawaddy-June 13
The Brotherhood Alliance—the tripartite military alliance made up of the Arakan Army (AA), Ta’ang National Liberation Amy (TNLA) and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA)—has again come under the spotlight for its recent talks with the regime. Indisputably, the military alliance—which first made its name known in 2016—has become one of the key players in Myanmar’s civil war and politics. Established in 1989, the MNDAA, also known as the Kokang Group, was reconstituted after many of its fighters were forced to flee Kokang in the wake of the Myanmar military’s large-scale assault in 2009. It took three to four years for the Kokang Group to rebuild itself. The AA and the TNLA have inherited the revolutions of the Rakhine and Ta’ang peoples from their predecessor organizations. The AA was established in 2009, and the TNLA was reconstituted in 2011. Both groups started from humble beginnings with a few dozen soldiers. All three groups are based near the Chinese border in northeastern Myanmar, and emerged around 2010. They are led by men in their 30s and 40s. Over the next decade, they established systematically organized and well-armed forces with combat capabilities. While their fellow ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), including the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), backed up the three groups, the Myanmar military underestimated them. They joined the nationwide ceasefire and peace process as members of the United Nationalities Federal Council, but the Myanmar military did not allow them to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in September 2015. In early 2016, the Myanmar military demanded that the three groups surrender. Peace brokers paid by the Myanmar military threatened them with the “four cuts” strategy—the Myanmar military’s doctrine designed to sever rebels from the key inputs of funding, food, intelligence and recruits. Led by young leaders in early middle age, the Brotherhood Alliance is different from traditional EAOs in the way they think and act. They are also close to other powerful EAOs like the UWSA, Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) and National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), and thus deserve close attention when analyzing the Spring Revolution. Read more at:
