{"id":3697,"date":"2025-11-06T07:31:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T07:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/?p=3697"},"modified":"2025-11-06T08:42:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T08:42:07","slug":"when-the-homemade-tu-mee-shotguns-were-first-fired-it-marked-a-turning-point-as-it-transformed-the-peaceful-civilian-youth-movement-into-an-armed-resistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/2025\/11\/06\/when-the-homemade-tu-mee-shotguns-were-first-fired-it-marked-a-turning-point-as-it-transformed-the-peaceful-civilian-youth-movement-into-an-armed-resistance\/","title":{"rendered":"From catapults and stones to homemade \u201cTu Mee\u201d shotguns \u2014 how the Chin highlands ignited a new phase of Myanmar\u2019s people\u2019s revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Chin hill fighter holding a traditional handmade \u201cTu Mee\u201d shotgun \u2014 a weapon that came to symbolize the early phase of Myanmar\u2019s Spring Revolution.<\/strong> Credit: BBC Online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From catapults and stones to homemade \u201cTu Mee\u201d shotguns \u2014 how the Chin highlands ignited a new phase of Myanmar\u2019s people\u2019s revolution.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Spring Revolution did not begin with the firing of Tu Mee<\/em> shotguns.
At first, it was fought with stones and catapults<\/strong> in the hands of brave young civilians.
But when the Chin hill fighters<\/strong> began firing their homemade Tu Mee<\/em> shotguns<\/strong>, the struggle entered a new phase.
Yes \u2014 only when those handmade guns first roared did people see the light of a real revolution against the unjust military coup.<\/strong>
Those first gunshots marked a decisive turning point \u2014 transforming a peaceful civilian uprising into a determined armed resistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the military seized power in 2021, tens of thousands of people across the country flooded the streets to protest. But after two or three months, the huge crowds began to thin. Why? Because many young demonstrators had left the cities to seek military training in territories controlled by Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in 1962<\/strong>, when the army first took power, most citizens remained passive. They disliked the power struggle within the ruling AFPFL but still trusted General Ne Win, one of the \u201cThirty Comrades,\u201d believing he acted out of patriotism. Apart from the students of Yangon University, the public did not openly resist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 1988<\/strong>, that had changed. People took to the streets again, students fled to the jungles\u2014but still, the army clung to power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 2021<\/strong>, however, decades of military rule had left the country impoverished. Having briefly experienced democracy for five years, people came to value it deeply. Young people began to hate the military<\/strong>, believing that only by defeating the army<\/strong> could the nation have a future. Around 80% of youth<\/strong> became determined to fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the homemade shotguns of Tu Mee\u2019s group<\/strong> successfully destroyed a military convoy, it sparked a new belief among the youth: if we truly fight, we can truly win.<\/em>
As the revolution continued, they began to build organized forces with command structures and discipline. But over time, as the struggle lengthened, those same young revolutionaries began to experience authority, hierarchy, and power<\/strong> for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As revolutionary groups gained control over territories, they also started managing local resources<\/strong> and enjoying economic benefits<\/strong>. Former comrades who had once fought side by side against the junta became business partners<\/strong>, and when profits were no longer shared fairly, internal divisions appeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who had once seen only the army as the common enemy<\/strong> began to split over differing views and ambitions. Alliances and rivalries grew, and territorial disputes<\/strong> arose among revolutionary groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Unity Government (NUG)<\/strong> emerged as a civilian alternative to the junta, but it has struggled to organize, coordinate, and lead<\/strong> effectively. Its main weakness stems from internal divisions and conflicts<\/strong> among the resistance forces themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the 2021-generation revolutionaries<\/strong> have also been exploited by some EAOs<\/strong> for their own interests.
Take Operation 1027<\/strong>, for example\u2014although it captured 53 towns and two major military command centers, afterward TNLA revealed its self-serving nature<\/strong>, and MNDAA shifted its stance<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, the PDFs<\/strong> and NUG<\/strong> continue to depend on the EAOs, while the EAOs themselves remain essential to the revolution. This uprising cannot succeed without both<\/strong>\u2014neither EAOs nor PDFs alone can achieve victory. The EAOs\u2019 strength grew thanks to the anti-junta youth who joined them, while the PDFs\u2019 improved combat skills came from EAO military training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The young people who once passionately opposed dictatorship were extremely strong in 2021. But gradually, poor coordination<\/strong>, distrust toward leaders<\/strong>, and internal disunity<\/strong> weakened the movement. In some areas, manpower shortages became so serious that certain groups began recruiting even children<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In northern Shan State<\/strong>, a revolutionary group that had ruled like a \u201csmall kingdom\u201d began retreating when TNLA withdrew from Mong Ko<\/strong>, and the M-PDF<\/strong> had to urgently recruit new fighters to defend it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This shift reflects how some youths who once saw only \u201cthe army as the enemy\u201d have changed their behavior\u2014and how some began to lose trust in their own leaders<\/strong>.
It also exposes the self-interest and lack of loyalty<\/strong> of certain EAOs toward the PDFs under their influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Mai Trazar (Chin Political)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Chin hill fighter holding a traditional handmade \u201cTu Mee\u201d shotgun \u2014 a weapon that came to symbolize the early phase of Myanmar\u2019s Spring Revolution. Credit: BBC Online. From catapults and stones to homemade \u201cTu Mee\u201d shotguns \u2014 how the Chin highlands ignited a new phase of Myanmar\u2019s people\u2019s revolution. The Spring Revolution did not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3698,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-history"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3697"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3705,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3697\/revisions\/3705"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}