AA chief praises MNDAA’s Peng Jiasheng as crucial to Arakanese ethnic armed group’s founding

By DMG 30 Mar 2022

DMG Newsroom
29 March 2022, Mongla, Shan State

Arakan Army (AA) chief Major General Twan Mrat Naing has expressed his gratitude to the late founder and former chairman of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Peng Jiasheng, for his assistance to the Arakanese ethnic armed group.

On Tuesday, the AA chief attended a memorial in Mongla, Shan State, for Peng Jiasheng, who passed away last month at the age of 94.

“When AA went through tough times in its early days of revolution, Chairman Peng treated us like compatriots, and we received his selfless assistance, guidance and concern,” said the AA leader.

“The most memorable thing in my life was in 2009, when our Arakan Army was formed with 26 men; we had only one gun. After Chairman Peng Jiasheng gave us 100 guns, we took these 100 guns and two RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades] to fight back to our homeland, Rakhine, and it was a crucial event in our revolution,” he added.

“Under the guidance of Chairman Peng, we, the Arakan ethnic group and the Kokang ethnic group, have established a solid friendship,” Major General Twan Mrat Naing said, adding that the AA as it exists today would not have coalesced had it not been for Peng Jiasheng and the MNDAA.

The AA now has more than 100 battalions, each of which has around 300 troops, Major General Twan Mrat Naing said. The Arakanese ethnic armed group now fights alongside ethnic allies including the MNDAA and others, he added.

Peng Jiasheng died in Mongla on February 16. His funeral is being held over the course of three days, from March 29-31. His body will be entombed on March 31.

The AA was established on April 10, 2009, in Laiza, Kachin State, the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) ethnic armed group.

The AA, KIA, MNDAA and Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) are members of a military coalition known as the Northern Alliance. The AA is also a member of the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee, which is led by the United Wa State Army (UWSA).