Violence, abuse, and a failing revolution : The dark record of the NUG and PDF (Article)
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By Phyo Lin Aung
Emerged in the wake of the 2021 state of emergency to oppose the administration of the State Administration Council (SAC), the National Unity Government (NUG) and its armed wing, the People’s Defense Force (PDF), have been inextricably linked to acts of national sabotage and heinous crimes like rape since their very beginning. Consequently, their sinister reputation has steadily gained notoriety, casting a dark shadow across both domestic and international stages.
On International Women’s Day, March 8, 2026, 16 women’s organizations, including the All Burma Women’s Union (ABWU), sent an open letter to the NUG Acting President, calling for effective action against violence against women by some members of the revolutionary forces (PDF). Among these demands, the case of a 25-year-old female PDF private from Battalion 20 in Yinmabin District is one of the most regrettable and prominent.
The incident began in late December 2025, when the private was arrested and detained in prison along with her 3-year-old child after an argument with the battalion commander over a fundraising. While in prison, the battalion commander himself beat her and tortured her. On December 31 and January 1, she was blindfolded, threatened with a knife, and raped twice. Then, on January 2, when she resisted the third attempt, the perpetrator brutally attacked her by scratching the battalion commander's name, "Yan Shin," and the battalion's name, "YMYZ," (Yoma Yar Zar) on her thighs and calf.
In addition, the private, who is a Muslim, was forced to cook pork while serving in the camp, which could violate her religious beliefs. While NUG government ministers have been vocal about human rights and religious and ethnic equality, subordinate institutions appear to be ignoring these basic policies.
U Nay Phone Latt, spokesperson for the NUG Prime Minister's Office, said that the suspect is currently being detained and investigated, but justice is still delayed and the victim's family is still concerned about their safety.
This is not the only case of rape committed by NUG/PDF forces. There have been many similar incidents in the past. However, the NUG judicial system has not effectively resolved any cases in the past five years, nor has it been transparent.
Similarly, the case of the rape of a five-year-old girl in Mae Sot, Thailand in 2023 also demonstrates the weakness of the NUG’s judiciary. In this case, former NLD Secretary of Twante Township U Aung Min raped the five-year old daughter of a DCS associate professor, but the NUG secretly arrested the perpetrator, but he was later released. Although the NUG issued an arrest warrant only in late August 2025, almost 2 years after the incident, this was only due to criticism from both domestic and international sources, and there was strong criticism that the accused was unlikely to be caught since he had already escaped.
In addition, in October 2024, the incidence of child rape in the PDF-dominated areas and war refugee camps was alarmingly high, according to an account of PDF member named Chaw Su Han. In particular, crimes against children aged 7, 8 and 11 have been increasing, and some cases have even gone as far as the crime of raping within the family or relatives. However, there are many weaknesses in the enforcement of these serious crimes, and instead of effectively punishing the perpetrators, they are only being fined or the case is being covered up and dismissed, saying it is a family matter.
Furthermore, the actions of the NUG-affiliated PDFs and People’s Administration Forces (PAF), as well as the armed violence of some PDFs, have led to deaths among the people, and the reputation of the NUG is gradually declining. Those familiar with the situation on the ground have pointed out that the safety of women and children in the Anyar region has reached a very worrying level due to the release of statutory rape perpetrators on bail and the lack of a clear judicial mechanism.
Not only have sexual abuses occurred within the NUG and PDF organizations, but there have also been instances of brutal killings among them in the name of influence. Including, the most serious incident was the torture and murder of Pale Maung, the information officer of Pale Township, by the Pale PDF in the basement of the house of Zaw Htet, the leader of the Pale Township People’s Administration Forces, in May 2024. Pale Maung died from severe injuries, including a broken nose, a blow to the head, and burns to his body, but the perpetrator, Zaw Htet, tried to shift the blame to other armed groups and falsely claimed that the victim died of hypertension.
Concerned with it, over 300 residents have protested and demanded an investigation into the murder, but the NUG has remained silent to this day about taking effective action against the PDF groups who are seeking for their interests.
The brutal killing of innocent civilians and their members by the PDF group led by Bo Thanmani in Yinma Township in 2021 also exposed the NUG’s judicial weaknesses. In November 2021, six members of the Hero Tiger Force, two civilians, and two firefighters (a total of 10) from Larbo village were killed, and the NUG Defense Department admitted that the case was found to have been misjudged. In addition, in October 2021, four locals (two women and two men) who had been issued loans in Zee Taw village were killed by Bo Thanmani’s group, but it is known that these cases have not yet been investigated.
Although the NUG Ministry of Justice announced in late March 2022 that the investigation into the killings had been completed and that action would be taken against the group of Bo Thanmani, the actual action is still unclear and has been delayed. The perpetrator, Bo Thanmani, has denied that he ordered the killings and that the allegations are only an attempt to undermine his public support. However, the extrajudicial killings by Bo Thanmani, who is linked to top NUG leaders, raise serious questions about the public’s trust in the revolutionary organizations and the rule of law.
The above incidents represent only a fraction of the many atrocities committed by the NUG and PDF groups over the past five years. By examining these incidents, it is clear that even among PDF members, there is a lot of violence and abuse, and that female privates are also insecure. In addition to committing brutal acts of child rape, the continuous perpetration of war crimes such as armed bullying against both their own members and the public shows that despite their revolutionary claims, they have, to a significant extent, descended into a void of heinous criminality.
The NUG's failure to address the crimes committed by its subordinates is tarnishing their so-called revolution's reputation. On the ground, the public is left to bear the brunt of PDF misconduct while the NUG faces a situation where 'the monkeys they raised have come back to haunt them.' Consequently, their so-called revolution is now on the brink of failure. –