A junta official gave a "motivational" speech to new recruits and a group of militiamen before going into battle.
In a speech, among other things, he told them that:
- They cannot die from bullets unless fate itself carved their name on the bullet.
- They don't need to be afraid because they have great leadership (false).
- Soldiers probably have magical amulets that protect them from harm.
If this sounds like a story from a 19th century colonial story, it's not surprising.
Myanmar is a deeply religious country. The country's main ethnic group, the Bamar, are overwhelmingly Theravada Buddhists, sometimes to a militant degree about it.
Especially among the country's rural and elite populations such strange rituals and beliefs occur more often than one might think.