Burma to let loyalists carry guns

Citizens lost right to arm after ’88 democracy uprising

BANGKOK — Burma’s military government plans to allow people who are “loyal to the nation,” including government employees and retired military personnel, to carry licensed firearms, but they must comply with orders from local authorities to participate in security and law enforcement actions, the military and media reports said.

A 15-page document about the new gun policy attributed to the Ministry of Home Affairs was initially circulated on pro-military Facebook accounts and Telegram channels. It was also published by pro-military and independent news outlets, which stated that it had been issued Jan. 31 after being approved in December at a Cabinet meeting.

The new policy would allow people over the age of 18 to be licensed to carry several types of guns and ammunition. The document says recipients of gun permits must be “loyal to the nation, of good moral character” and not involved in disturbing state security. It also says license holders must comply when instructed by local authorities to participate in security and law enforcement actions.

The military’s spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, confirmed the policy Sunday to the BBC Burmese-language service, saying it needed to be issued because some people were asking to carry weapons to protect against attacks by anti-military groups.

Two pro-military news sites quoted Police Brig. Gen Kyaw Lin, spokesperson for the Ministry of Home Affairs, as saying that the policy revives and modifies one introduced in 1977 by the government of the late dictator Gen. Ne Win. After an unsuccessful popular pro-democracy uprising in 1988, the military revoked gun licenses for civilians and ordered people to turn in all firearms.

The decision to license guns is widely seen as a way for the military government to arm its supporters to help state security forces battle pro-democracy opponents.

Criminal activity has reportedly increased due to the chaos caused by the fighting and the government’s focus on battling its political opponents.

Nan Lin, a co-founder of the University Students’ Unions Alumni Force, a pro-democracy group, said the military is taking the action because it is under great political and military pressure.

“I think they are trying to create more conflict and break down society,” Nan Lin said Monday.

Burma is often called Myanmar, a name that ruling military authorities adopted in 1989. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other regime opponents have refused to adopt the name change, as have the U.S. and Britain.