‘A comedy show’: Myanmar youth in exile slam military-run ‘sham’ election

Mae Sot, Thailand – On the outskirts of this tiny Thai municipality connected the borderline with Myanmar, a tattoo artist’s weapon buzzes alongside a blaring punk euphony soundtrack.

“Punk means freedom,” says Ng La, his look and assemblage covered heavy successful tattoos.

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“It’s much than conscionable euphony oregon manner – it’s a mode of life,” helium tells Al Jazeera portion tattooing a chap Myanmar national-in-exile astatine the backmost of his “punk bar” successful Mae Sot, successful Thailand.

To unrecorded escaped was 1 of the reasons Ng La fled his location successful Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city.

But the 28-year-old present lives precariously arsenic an undocumented Myanmar nationalist successful Thailand, though that is, helium says, amended than being captured by the subject regime that helium archetypal resisted, fled from and past fought against.

“The biggest fearfulness was that if I got arrested, I would beryllium deported backmost into the hands of the Myanmar military,” Ng La said.

“We are nary longer acrophobic of dying,” helium said, but getting caught by the subject would beryllium worse than death.

Ng La’s travel into exile successful Mae Sot is not uncommon for galore young radical from Myanmar who person fled the civilian warfare backmost home.

His travel began erstwhile helium joined demonstrations successful February 2021 aft Myanmar’s subject toppled the democratically elected authorities of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The coup overturned the results of Myanmar’s 2015 and 2020 elections, which were considered the archetypal just elections successful Myanmar’s past and were easy won by Aung San Suu Kyi – a longtime ideology activistic and leader to galore successful Myanmar.

The subject takeover besides triggered a civilian struggle that has killed thousands and seen fearfulness engulf overmuch of the countryside, including aerial strikes connected agrarian populations, the usage of landmines, oppressive conscription laws enacted by the subject authorities and wide governmental oppression – including executions.

“When the coup archetypal began, the fascist subject ordered the radical not to spell extracurricular oregon protestation for 72 hours,” Ng La recounted.

“During that 72-hour period, maine and 2 of my friends protested connected the thoroughfare with handmade banners,” helium said.

Fearing arrest, Ng La fled to the jungle on Myanmar’s borderline with Thailand to articulation the People’s Defence Force (PDF), 1 of the galore equipped groups that emerged to combat subject rule.

But, aft dense clashes successful February 2022 betwixt the PDF and the Myanmar military, Ng La was forced to fly erstwhile again and secretly crossed into Thailand, wherever helium yet acceptable up his punk-themed barroom and tattoo parlour, helped by his partner.

“Because I came successful illegally, I had nary documents. I couldn’t spell anywhere, and it was precise hard to find enactment to survive,” helium said of his caller beingness successful Thailand.

Struggling with the day-to-day challenges of surviving undocumented successful a overseas country, and being a caller father, Ng La told however payments indispensable beryllium made to the applicable Thai authorities and however determination was the ever-present fearfulness of deportation.

“So we wage a ‘licence’ interest and effort to unrecorded and gain a living,” helium said.

Ng La tattooing a chap Myanmar nationalist successful exile, successful the backmost of his ‘punk bar’ [Ali MC/Al Jazeera]

‘Destroyed each our hopes and dreams’

The Myanmar military’s authoritative justification for the 2021 coup against Aung San Suu Kyi’s authorities was that her National League for Democracy (NLD) party’s triumph successful an predetermination conscionable months earlier was the effect of electoral fraud and truthful illegitimate.

Now, the military volition clasp its ain election connected Sunday, which is wide seen arsenic lacking immoderate credibility and chiefly an effort by the authorities to legitimise its powerfulness drawback done the pretence of holding and winning a vote.

The autarkic quality outlet Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) reports that dozens of parties person registered for the polls – yet notably, Aung San Suu Kyi’s hugely fashionable NLD is barred from registering.

The United Nations peculiar rapporteur connected quality rights successful Myanmar, Tom Andrews, has labelled the predetermination a “sham”, stating the “elections cannot beryllium free, just oregon credible erstwhile held amid subject unit and repression, with governmental leaders detained and cardinal freedoms crushed”.

Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng reported precocious that notable artists, musicians and filmmakers successful Myanmar were being arrested for criticising the election, causing galore to fly into exile – similar Ng La.

The Irrawaddy mag has besides reported that rebel groups who are successful power of important populations not nether subject power accidental they will not recognise the election’s results.

Ng La said the military-run predetermination matters little.

“The predetermination is conscionable similar a drama show,” helium told Al Jazeera.

Mae Sot successful Thailand has agelong had an influx of Myanmar nationals, fleeing from decades of struggle astatine home. This Buddhist temple connected the Thai broadside of the borderline is specifically of Myanmar plan and root [Ali MC/Al Jazeera]

As Myanmar’s post-coup struggle looks acceptable to participate a 5th year, immoderate anticipation for a speedy instrumentality location is rapidly fading for those successful exile.

The United Nations estimates that astir 3.5 cardinal radical person been displaced internally by the warring successful Myanmar, and hundreds of thousands person fled to neighbouring countries, including Thailand, India and Bangladesh.

Thailand has played big to refugees from Myanmar adjacent earlier the coup, with astir 85,000 semipermanent refugees surviving successful imperishable camps on the border, according to estimates.

Recently, the Thai authorities granted moving rights to registered refugees; however, this does not instantly use to undocumented migrants. Human Rights Watch states that undocumented migrants look a “constant menace of harassment, arrest, and deportation” and “many Myanmar nationals, including children, person nary ineligible entree to basal healthcare, acquisition oregon work”.

Some of the undocumented Myanmar exiles Al Jazeera spoke with successful Mae Sot told of being excessively acrophobic to permission their accommodation for fearfulness they would beryllium discovered and deported backmost to Myanmar, wherever they look forced conscription, imprisonment oregon worse.

Military-run election: ‘A licence to termination our people’

Snow, a 33-year-old erstwhile English teacher, was portion of the procreation of young Myanmar radical who came of property with the archetypal predetermination triumph of Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD successful 2015 and the committedness that play offered of an internationally engaged and antiauthoritarian Myanmar.

After the coup, Snow – who did not privation their existent sanction divulged for information reasons – besides fled from Yangon metropolis to articulation a absorption radical connected the borderline with Thailand.

The coup and ensuing civilian warfare “destroyed each our hopes and dreams”, she told Al Jazeera.

“So I decided to fly to the jungle and to articulation the resistance,” she said, telling however she wanted to larn astir weapons and fight.

Despite completing the aforesaid grooming arsenic her antheral counterparts, pistillate fighters were not assigned duties connected the beforehand lines, said Snow, who blamed favoritism for the quality successful attraction betwixt the men and women who joined the resistance.

“[Female fighters were] seldom assigned to beforehand enactment battles, nary substance however good trained you were arsenic a medic oregon a newsman oregon a drone squad member,” she told Al Jazeera.

Snow served with the PDF rebel radical for 2 years, but yet fled crossed the borderline to Mae Sot, wherever she has continued to thatch English and assists wounded fighters from Myanmar.

Her determination to permission the absorption was owed to a consciousness of betrayal, she said, by taste equipped groups successful the borderline areas that were expected to beryllium allied with the PDF.

“In 1 fight, a batch of our PDF comrades were trapped and killed due to the fact that confederation forces betrayed america and became agreed with [the Myanmar military],” she told Al Jazeera.

Many erstwhile absorption fighters fled to Mae Sot for the aforesaid reasons – a consciousness of betrayal, she said.

“Fifty percent of america fled to Mae Sot due to the fact that of this reason,” she added.

Snow told Al Jazeera she had nary involvement successful the “fake” elections that would lone springiness the subject “a licence to termination our people”.

“Once we person accepted this election, our hands are already bloodied,” she said.

Snow said she struggles to get by successful Mae Sot, and galore of the Myanmar exiles successful the Thai municipality are considering applying for exile presumption successful the anticipation of gathering a caller beingness elsewhere.

Yet the tendency to instrumentality location to Myanmar is ne'er acold away, nary substance however distant that anticipation remains.

“Some anticipation to permission to a 3rd state by applying for asylum,” Snow said, “or, to instrumentality location erstwhile this long, disgusting nightmare is over.”

“What we are warring for is to instrumentality location and to unite with our families,” she said. “So we volition combat until we tin spell location and rebuild it amended and brighter.”

The Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge that connects Myanmar and Thailand [Ali MC/Al Jazeera]