Funding and morale problems
Although the BPLA has the support of allies for food and other supplies, Maung Songkha said funding is a constant concern.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, some armed ethnic groups have long depended on drug trafficking for funding. But the BPLA says its only independent funding comes from donations, the sale of BPLA-branded hoodies and merchandise, and Maung Songkha’s poetry books. Reuters could not independently verify this.
In contrast, according to the United Nations, China and Russia provide arms to the junta, which has accused Myanmar’s military rulers of being responsible for arbitrary airstrikes, mass killings and extrajudicial executions. The junta has said it is waging a legitimate operation against “terrorists”.
Maung Songkha said some of the soldiers had fled home, bored and tired after two years of combat, and declined to say how many members were in his group.
“This year, short-term revolutionaries will run away home…Now it is just the qualifying stage. There are still many battles ahead,” he said.