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The junta leaders of Myanmar are reportedly going to allow “loyal” civilians to apply for licenses to carry firearms. The reported move comes as experts have expressed concerns that allowing pro-junta civilians to carry firearms would only escalate the violence under the junta’s rule.
Media reports and a government document seen by Reuters said that the junta is expected to allow civilians “loyal” to the generals to apply for licenses to carry firearms. The document was believed to be from Myanmar’s home ministry and laid out criteria for those looking to apply for a gun license. The criteria included an age threshold of 18 years and a demonstrable need for a gun for security purposes aside from the requirement that the applicant must be loyal to the junta.
It remains to be seen whether such a policy would be implemented. Experts have raised concerns that allowing pro-junta civilians to carry firearms would only fuel the violence that has occurred almost every day with the clashes between the Myanmar military and armed resistance groups on multiple fronts.
The government document provides for members of counter-insurgency groups, officially formed militias, and those who retired from the military to carry pistols, rifles, and submachine guns as long as they have a license. The document added that the military reserves the right to import and sell firearms and ammunition that are licensed by the Myanmar defense ministry.
Myanmar has been in a state of unrest since February 2021, when the generals staged a coup and overthrew the elected government, ousting leader Aung San Suu Kyi and diverting the country back to military rule. Thousands have been killed in the military’s crackdown on those protesting the junta.
Friday last week, the US oil company Chevron Corp. said it agreed to sell its assets in Myanmar to the Canadian firm MTI, allowing the firm to leave the country. The agreement comes a year after Chevron and other oil companies decided to leave Myanmar following the military coup, and Chevron has condemned the Myanmar military’s human rights abuses since the coup.
French oil firm TotalEnergies sold its assets and left Myanmar back in July last year.
