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Northern Myanmar is home to some of the

longest-lasting insurgencies in the world.

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It is also one of the world's main production

sites for opium, heroin and methamphetamines.

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One of the minorities in the North are the Taang.

They are known for producing tea. 

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But they also operate an armed group - the

Taang National Liberation Army or TNLA.

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Lt. Col. Tar Khoure Nyiem

Deputy Commander-in-Chief TNLA

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We are fighting the Burmese army because

we do not have what we want. 

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We are being oppressed. They control

everything. 

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 There is nothing they did for our region

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 no education, no health and no transport.

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For those reasons, we rise up to fight. 

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We

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let you know

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that we will

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never surrender!

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When they enter the villages

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 they take whatever they want.

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 If they need people to carry their

 supplies and guns

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if they need guides for their vehicles

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they will just grab someone. 

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They can do whatever they want.

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 They can just take anyone’s land or belongings.

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 They treat us like we are nothing. 

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This is how they suppress us.

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The TNLA was founded because we

want to achieve self-determination

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self-autonomy, and equality.

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We are one ethnic group and

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 we need our own rights as a minority.

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The TNLA was formed to achieve these goals. 

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I want the Taang to develop.

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I want the Taang to be united.

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There should not be a difference between

the north and those from the south.

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We should all be one.

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Before we had an army, the Taang almost disappeared.

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Our army is helping us get together and overcome our differences. 

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People come here to become soldiers

because of their patriotism.

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Another factor is the drug issue.

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 They have seen so many drug 

addicts in their villages.

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So when they finish their training here

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they will go back to educate people.

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We captured the drugs between Nam

Kham and Nar Or Dang village. 

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Wan Sate

Township Representative

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The owner of the drugs is Pansay. 

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According to the driver the drugs

came from Pansay. 

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Chinese drug transports just pass

all the checkpoints.

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 The Burmese never stop them. 

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We hide the confiscated drugs in the

jungle because the Burmese military

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knows that we have captured them.

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 They are looking for our drug storage.

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They go from place to place asking people.

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It is dangerous to keep the drugs

in the villages.

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Because the army is involved in the drug trade.

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While the Pansay do admit that opium is

grown on their land, they deny claims of any

involvement with the drug industry.

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The TNLA claims to store the drugs so they

can be publicly burned at special occasions.

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We haven’t seen any development

in our land.

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 It is all because of drugs.

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 We lost everything. 

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So we need to stop drugs from 

harming our region. 

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We had to start drug eradication operations

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 because two thirds of Taang were addicts.

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Drugs have misled us

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 and destroyed all our potentials.

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If we wouldn’t have taken military

action against drugs

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 it could have been devastating for the Taang.

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The government protects MP Kyaw Myint’s

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Pan Say militia and the drug production

in the Pan Say hills.

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They pressure us not to interfere

with their business.

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But drugs are produced on our land.

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It directly affects us.

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 Therefore we take drugs very serious.

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We take serious action against those

who produce, sell or consume.

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 That’s our policy on drugs.

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Before 2012, two thirds of the population

was using drugs.

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The situation has improved a lot.

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 About one third is left now.

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We have been treating addicts.

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The main problem now is the dealers.

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We have destroyed most of the

opium fields already. 

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The government created the problem

and is now pretending to solve it.

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That’s why our land has suffered so much.

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But it doesn’t matter now

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because we are going to fight. 

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Since the new government took

office after the 2010 elections

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we have not seen any change or

development in the TNLA area.

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The most important step towards

a peace process is a cease-fire.

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Only when we stop fighting can we sit

together on the negotiating table

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and proceed with political talks.

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Through political talks, we can achieve

our political goals and of course peace.

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If they don’t take our demands serious or

if they keep neglecting our basic needs

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there can be no peace process.

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Therefore, an initial cease-fire would lead

us to political dialogue and negotiations.

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We can only discuss our fundamental issues

through political dialogue.

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Peace is a fundamental right for us.

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So I would like to emphasize that without

a cease-fire as a first step

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we can’t go to political meetings.

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The Myanmar government does not recognize

the TNLA's political demands and excludes

them from negotiations for a nationwide

cease-fire agreement.

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Fighting with the Burmese army and

the Pansay militia continues.

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It’s time for us to rise up and fight back.

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I will give my life and die in the

battlefield.

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I am not afraid of death.

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I can lead the way to the front.

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I am a Taang.

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Producer

Chris Veits

Co-Producer

Arthur Nazaryan