By Ma Aye Su (Law)

IN terms of the “Just War Theory”, a nation has the right to self-defence when its sovereignty and independ­ence are encroached. This the­ory allows a nation to exercise the right to self-defence for its territorial integrity and its po­litical freedom.

National self-defence is to defend the nation from imminent threats. In other words, it is to safeguard a nation’s sovereignty, infrastructure and socioeconom­ic lives and interests of the citi­zens. It is also a defence against internal and external threats.

Under the right to nation­al self-defence, the defence of the nation from internal threats means the exercise of national self-defence when violent acts and the attacks of terrorist groups in the country threaten the security and stability of the State National self-defence is required to be exercised to de­fend the nation from any form of external threats.

Our country is an inde­pendent sovereign State. The Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (2008) prescribes that “The Sovereign power of the Union is derived from the citizens and is in force in the entire country”, and the Defence Services has the right to administer for the participa­tion of the entire people in Union security and defence.

As our country is an inde­pendent sovereign State, it has the right to counter the threats fully as the right to self-defence when its territorial integrity and political freedom are en­croached. The government is making endeavours to have perpetual peace and build a Union based on democracy and federalism, whereas some ethnic armed groups are tak­ing advantage of political dilem­mas in the country to make the expansion of territories. Such actions of ethnic armed groups are encroachment on territorial integrity and political freedom.

It can be witnessed that some ethnic armed terrorists, insurgents and PDF terrorists are committing acts of terrorism such as attacks to wreck public security, lives and properties of the people, infrastructure that is important for the public and individuals, State-owned build­ings, vehicles, machines and other materials. They also blow up roads and bridges used for public purposes, launch bomb attacks against transmission towers, shell crowded areas in towns and villages from a dis­tance, launch drone attacks, kill innocent civilians wantonly, make forced arrests and killings of village administrators, hold women like female teachers to ransom and conduct forced recruitments. Such actions are defined as acts of terrorism un­der the provisions of the Counter Terrorism Law.

Such doings are terrorist’ attacks against the State and the people residing in the country. Accordingly, some ethnic armed insurgent groups have been de­clared as terrorist groups. Under the right to national self-defence, it is required to counter the en­croachment on the State’s sover­eignty and the acts of terrorism on the State and the people. This issue is not to be regarded only as Tatmadaw’s affair; it is also a national affair. Hence, every citizen has the responsibility to safeguard national interests. Every citizen needs to take any role in exercising the right to national self-defence.

Local ethnic residents are temporarily displaced due to ter­rorist attacks by ethnic armed terrorists and insurgents. Fur­ther, terrorists and insurgents have positioned themselves in the towns and villages. It can be seen that terrorists use civilian houses and buildings to defend Tatmadaw’s counter-offensive and persuade the temporarily displaced persons to return to the towns and villages for their use of human shields. Here, one thing to be noticed is that people need to be aware of the risk of being the victims of terrorists and insurgents and supporters of terrorists if they come into contact with them. As the State and Tatmadaw will inevitably counter terrorists’ encroach­ment on the State’s sovereignty and terrorist attacks, the people need to be aware of being inno­cent victims of a fight. The entire population needs to oppose acts of terrorism.

In countering the encroach­ment on the State’s sovereignty and acts of terrorism, apart from Tatmadaw, the people with na­tionalism, patriotism, and the spirit to preserve their race, lan­guage, and religion need to par­ticipate in exercising the right to national self-defence as a nation­al duty in the face of armed ter­rorist attacks against the nation. At present, responsible citizens are joining people’s militia units and public security units to col­laborate with Tatmadaw. It is an encouraging scene for the right to national self-defence. In addi­tion to this role, people need to play other roles. Under these cir­cumstances, serving in military service for the nation and joining other security organizations are becoming paramount duties of the people.

The Constitution of the Re­public of the Union of Myanmar (2008) apparently prescribes that “Every citizen has the duty to safeguard independence, sov­ereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar” and “Every citizen has the duty to undergo military training in accord with the pro­visions of the law and to serve in the Armed Forces to defend the Union”.

The people need to be loyal to the State, abide by the law as well as any security-related laws, and follow the rules and regulations to establish the security system of the State fully. Again, people also need to prevent false information by identifying whether the infor­mation is right or wrong. It is necessary to be aware of false information and pass on accu­rate information because false news and fabrication can harm national security. Following fun­damental social and cultural values, it is necessary to follow the rules, regulations, and pro­cesses that are fixed to keep the community peaceful and stable. The responsible citizens need to warn and report the govern­ment and security forces in the face of emergencies, threats and security risks. In this context, the people can join the security and defence system, doing the right to national self-defence effectively. I write this article urging the people to participate in inevitable counter-attacks against the encroachment on the sovereignty of the nation and acts of terrorism.