11/22/22, 4:37 PM Pro-military death squad rallies openly on social media | Frontier Myanmar Ko Demo Aung*, a member of the NLD youth committee in Mandalay, called Thwe Thauk and the military “two peas in a pod”. He fled the city in March after being threatened by soldiers and having his house raided twice. As a protest organiser, he was charged under section 505-A of the Penal Code for incitement and under the Natural Disaster Management Law for violating COVID-19 restrictions. “The dictators of our country consider the NLD and its members, who have the full support of the people, as their enemies,” he said. Demo Aung theorised that one reason the military may be relying on Thwe Thauk is to try to portray the political crisis in Myanmar as a two-sided dispute between civilians of different political beliefs, rather than a one-sided system of oppression by the military. Gil agreed, saying relying on proxies makes it more difficult for perpetrators to be held responsible, and easier for incidents to be dismissed as “local disputes or personal conflicts”. “Myanmar’s military has a long track record of implicitly endorsing or looking the other way while others do their dirty work, whether it be hired thugs at protests or pro-military militias,” Gil said. For the friends and family of the victims, there is little hope of pursuing justice through the regimecontrolled legal system. “If I were a member of that family, I would have to move to avoid losing more lives rather than filing a [criminal] complaint [to police],” said Aung Myint. Demo Aung agreed, saying it would be “easier to squeeze water from a rock by hand” than to get justice through the junta’s legal system. * denotes the use of pseudonym upon request for safety reasons More stories Dancing with dictators: The humanitarian dilemma in Myanmar International aid agencies say they need to play by the junta’s rules to serve vulnerable communities, but critics say they’re legitimising the regime for limited gain and ignoring informal channels. https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/pro-military-death-squad-rallies-openly-on-social-media/ 6/9