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Myanmar junta to let ‘loyal’ civilians carry licensed arms
The leaked document, purported to originate from the home ministry, was reviewed by Reuters and other media. It set out criteria for those seeking a gun license.
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M
ilitary-ruled Myanmar is set to allow civilians “loyal to the state” to apply for licenses to carry firearms, according to media reports and an unverified government document.
The leaked document, purported to originate from the home ministry, was reviewed by Reuters and other media. It set out criteria for those seeking a gun license.
Experts worry that allowing civilians to carry guns would empower pro-junta groups, and only serve to escalate the violence and near daily clashes between the military and armed resistance forces that have raged nationwide.
The conditions that figured in the document included an age threshold of 18 years and a demonstrable need for a gun for security purposes, in addition to the loyalty requirement.
Reuters could not immediately verify the 15-page document, and it was unclear when such a law would take effect. Telephone calls to a military spokesperson to seek comment went unanswered.
The document provides for members of counterinsurgency bodies, officially formed militias and those retired from the military to carry pistols, rifles and submachine guns, so long as they have such a permit.
It added that the military government would have the right to import and sell firearms and ammunition licensed by the defense ministry.
The Southeast Asian country’s top generals led a putsch in February 2021 after five years of tense power-sharing under a quasi-civilian political system created by the military.
United States-based conflict monitoring group Acled says around 19,000 people died last year as the military’s crackdown on protests led many to take up arms against the junta.
Around 1.2 million people have been displaced in the strife and more than 70,000 have left the country, according to the United Nations, which has accused the military of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Previously, Myanmar’s junta extended the country’s state of emergency by another six months, the acting president said at a leadership meeting broadcast on state TV earlier this month.
Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing, in a meeting on Tuesday with the army-backed National Defence and Security Council (NDSC), also said multiparty elections must be held, “as the people desire”. He did not provide a timeline for the polls, which cannot be held during a state of emergency.
Critics have said any elections are likely to be a sham aimed at allowing the military to retain power.
