{"id":3964,"date":"2025-11-22T07:04:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T07:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/?p=3964"},"modified":"2025-11-22T07:05:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T07:05:09","slug":"disappearance-of-saw-chit-thu-exposes-the-deep-cracks-in-myanmars-criminal-military-nexus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/2025\/11\/22\/disappearance-of-saw-chit-thu-exposes-the-deep-cracks-in-myanmars-criminal-military-nexus\/","title":{"rendered":"Disappearance of Saw Chit Thu Exposes the Deep Cracks in Myanmar\u2019s Criminal\u2013Military Nexus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By MMNN Desk \u2014 adapted from a Kyimyindaing Channel commentary<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The sudden disappearance of Saw Chit Thu<\/strong>, the powerful commander of the Karen Buddhist Border Guard Force (BGF), has entered its third day. His absence has triggered what many online commentators call a \u201cthree-sided drama,\u201d involving the BGF leadership, the Myanmar junta, and international pressure \u2014 particularly from the United States and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BGF Statement: \u201cNo Reason to Run\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yesterday, the BGF released a statement insisting that its leaders have nothing to hide<\/strong>, no reason to flee, and were merely \u201coccupied with regional development projects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original author also references a Jataka metaphor for Saw Chit Thu’s present condition as \u201c\u1019\u1015\u100b\u102c\u1019\u103c\u1031\u101c\u1030\u1038\u201d Ma Padar<\/strong>, who lost her husband and sons, rolled on the ground crying in grief \u2014 \u201c\u1019\u1015\u100b\u102c\u1019\u103c\u1031\u101c\u1030\u1038\u201d \u2014 used here to describe chaotic, directionless scrambling among implicated actors. He said that those BGF who were posting or updating every movements of Saw Chit Thu, even his entry of Bamboo forests to collect young bamboo-shoots (to cook and eat) are now strangely silent! There is a deafening silence about Saw Chit Thu as he is scared of arrest or kill to shut his mouth to cover up his bosses’ crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, critics question what kind of \u201cdevelopment\u201d the BGF refers to. For years, the BGF\u2019s Shwe Kokko and Myawaddy compounds were hubs for Chinese-backed scam syndicates, human trafficking, narcotics routes, illegal online casinos, and transnational criminal networks<\/strong> \u2014 collectively known in Burmese slang as kyar phyant<\/em> (a Burmanization of a Chinese term for scamming\/financial cheating).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly 100,000 Workers in Scam Zones<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to multiple reports, nearly 100,000 workers<\/strong> passed through Myawaddy\u2019s scam compounds without proper documentation. The scam-mafia bosses \u2014 protected by militia partners \u2014 face long lists of criminal allegations. Yet, BGF leaders insisted that \u201cnot a single bullet\u201d<\/strong> is pointed at them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BGF Deputy Nyi Maung Zaw<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Nyi Maung Zaw is Saw Chit Thu\u2019s Buddhist Karen deputy<\/strong> in the BGF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veteran activists note that younger people today \u201csee everything more clearly,\u201d especially the long-standing nexus of lying, theft, and criminal protection rackets<\/strong> involving various armed groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Changing Landscape of Power<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In earlier years, any disappearance of a BGF leader would be accompanied by bodies floating in the Moei River \u2014 a grim message from rival groups.
But today the context has shifted:
BGF families are reportedly moving assets, shifting land titles, and hiding properties<\/strong>, indicating deeper instability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Internal Contradictions Surface<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Deputy Minister Soe Win once ordered the Shwe Kokko\u2013scam network to be dismantled.
But during an interview with The Reporter<\/em>, Nyi Maung Zaw appeared displeased, likely because BGF-linked interests were involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He argued that the major Shwe Kokko buildings cannot be demolished like those in KK Park because they were \u201clegally constructed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet on the ground, residents observe:<\/p>\n\n\n\n