By Luke Hunt
August
31, 2023
Credit: Luke Hunt
As deputy minister of
international cooperation for Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG), David
Gum Awng is at the forefront of negotiations and holding together a coalition
of ethnic militias that are opposed to the military takeover of his country.
Gum Awng met with The
Diplomat’s Luke Hunt along Thailand’s northern frontier, where he spoke about
the future of the NUG and its armed wing the Peoples Defense Force (PDF), the
low points in the struggle against the junta, and the importance of Aung San Suu
Kyi.
Despite Aung San Suu
Kyi’s tarnished image, he says the Nobel laureate remains extremely popular
within Myanmar, particularly among the youth, and as a figurehead within the
broader movement, given that the NUG was largely formed out of her National
League for Democracy.
He was also optimistic
about the role of ASEAN and was diplomatic about the bloc’s failures in opening
up talks with the NUG after the junta led by Senior Gen. Aung Min Hlaing seized
power in February 2021, saying this had improved with Indonesia as chair over
the past year.
Gum Awng singled out
Timor-Leste, scheduled to formally join ASEAN shortly, for its strong
stance that resulted in the expulsion of its charge d’affaires
from Dili’s embassy in Yangon, who was ordered to leave Myanmar by September 1.
But he says ASEAN also
needs to fall in line with Western countries, which have imposed financial
sanctions, and take further actions with regard to the sale of arms and
aviation fuel, required by the air force to stage bombing runs over rebel-held territory.
AUTHORS
CONTRIBUTING
AUTHOR
Luke Hunt
Luke Hunt is a Southeast Asia correspondent for The
Diplomat. He has spent three decades working in the region
and produces the Mekong Deep Dive podcast. He can be followed on Patreon and X
– formerly Twitter.
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