Clarification on Tatmadaw Defense Services Head Office’s Statement Accusatorily Claiming, “Seizure of TNLA’s Weapons, Ammunitions and Narcotic Drugs”

Palaung State Liberation Front | October 11, 2017

The Tatmadaw Defense Services Head Office and Myawaddy News published reports, dated October 10, accusatorily claiming with the headline, “Tatmadaw, Conducting Area Clearance Operation in Lashio Township, Captured Arms, Ammunitions and Narcotic Drugs after Clash with Terrorist Insurgents, the TNLA”.

The news report asserted that a “Tatmadaw military column, while conducting area clearance operation around Lehpwe and Panpa villages, from October 1 to 9, found and captured weapons, ammunitions and narcotic drugs”.

With regard to the news report, we have to say that during the time from October 1 to 9, the TNLA troops did not have any activity and there was also no armed clash around Lehpwe and Panpa villages of Lashio Township. Only in the past month of September, the TNLA troops had contact and armed clashes, in Mineyaw region of Lashio Township, with Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) troops.

Accordingly, the arms, ammunitions and narcotic drugs shown in the accusatory news reports of Tatmadaw Defense Services Head Office and Myawaddy News had nothing to do with the TNLA. We would like to clarify that some of the small arms shown in the photos were the ones the TNLA had lost previously in the battles, taking place on September 17, in Namtsan Township.

In the previous year of 2016, there was an incident of the Myanmar Tatmadaw troops issuing a false statement saying that a battle took place on June 25, in Mineyaw region of Lashio Township, after murdering 7 innocent villagers, and putting on the TNLA uniforms on the corpses, before burial. When subsequent investigation exposed the truth that the persons murdered were the innocent villagers, action was taken against those involved in the crime, including a Tatmadaw officer.