Myanmar junta chief under unprecedented pressure

YANGON, Jan 31 (Reuters): In mid-January, at a small gathering in a cantonment town in Myanmar, hard line pro-military monk Pauk Kotaw suggested that the country's junta chief Min Aung Hlaing step down and his deputy take over. The crowd cheered in agreement, according to videos of the event posted on social media.
Online, pro-military journalists and bloggers have been similarly direct. "He should resign as commander-in-chief," Ko Maung Maung, a pro-military Youtuber said in a post.
Such public utterances against Myanmar's powerful junta leader and the chief of its armed forces would have been unthinkable just a few months ago.
But after seizing power in a dawn coup d'etat on Feb 1, 2021, Min Aung Hlaing finds himself in his weakest position since deposing the democratically elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Questions about the 67-year-old's leadership are being asked after a series of battlefield defeats for the military in a sweeping offensive by rebel groups that started in October, dubbed Operation 1027.
So far, the junta has lost control of at least 35 towns, according to the media collective Myanmar Peace Monitor, although a Beijing-mediated ceasefire has halted clashes near the Chinese border. In other parts, fighting continues.
The junta, which has not addressed specifics about battlefield defeats, has previously acknowledged some loss of control of territory.
"There is deep frustration within the military, which extends to Min Aung Hlaing personally," a diplomat in Southeast Asia told Reuters, asking not to be named. "Some would certainly love to see him go."
The military is also struggling to recruit soldiers and forcing non-combat personnel to the frontline - all causing blowback for Min Aung Hlaing, the diplomat said.
A junta spokesman did not respond to calls from Reuters seeking comment.
To be sure, the army's losses on the battlefield may not lead to a collapse and it is unclear if or how Min Aung Hlaing could be pushed out or who may replace him, including his current deputy Soe Win.
However, the events have damaged both Min Aung Hlaing's standing and that of the Myanmar military, known as the Tatmadaw, which the UN has accused of conducting systematic human rights violations in the country.
"Its poor showing on the battlefield is seen as shameful by nationalists and other military supporters who have launched unprecedented public criticism of Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing's leadership," said Richard Horsey, the Crisis Group's Senior Myanmar Adviser.