The TLNA has not only brought the Military Commission into Mogok, but also destroyed the city during its rule. Until recently, the city’s heritage and environment were severely damaged by the “excessive” extraction of the city’s valuable resources and the confiscation of public property. Throughout the period of the TNLA’s occupation of Mogok, the TNLA granted mining rights to Chinese companies with ties to them and companies from the Kokang region, which are allies, in the ruby land. Mining has been rampant in the town’s golf course and surrounding areas, where there was no mining before. Chinese companies have been ramping up mining in the golf course since the ceasefire was about to end. This is a shameful act that has completely disregarded the local people. Although some local miners have been allowed to work, most of the time, only Chinese companies have been given the blocks, and no local people have been hired for these blocks. When the TNLA withdrew, they took away not only natural resources but also public property in the town center, departmental furniture, and forest products. The residents of the town watched with pain as the TNLA’s activities could not be stopped. When the military-occupied town was abandoned, Mogok was left in ruins.
