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Three Cheers Hurrah!!! Mutinous tro



Subject: Three Cheers Hurrah!!! Mutinous troops back top activist

TIN KYI wrote:
> 
> Wednesday  January 6  1999
> 
> Burma-Mutinous troops back top activist
> 
> WILLIAM BARNES in Chiang Mai, Thailand
> Dozens of Burmese troops have walked out on their commanders in the Shan
> state, voicing support for opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, sources on
> the Thai-Burma border say.
> 
> The move will be a serious blow to a regime that has retained a remarkably
> united military front in the face of international condemnation, civil
> conflicts and economic crisis.
> 
> Soldiers based at Mong Ton and Mong Hsat, across the border from the
> northern Thai town of Fang, are reported to have left the camp recently -
> some tearing off their badges and allegedly voicing support for Ms Aung San
> Suu Kyi.
> 
> Border sources talk of "big trouble" and of "some kind of shooting".
> 
> Two companies from one battalion, and large numbers from another, are said
> to have left the ranks.
> 
> Desertions are not uncommon in an army that feeds its ballooning appetite
> for recruits with often unemployed youths, some of whom are press-ganged
> into service.
> 
> However, one observer said: "Any breaking of the ranks must be deeply
> disturbing for the generals. If this is anything more than a one-off thing
> it is very significant."
> 
> Not the least of the generals' fears is that dissatisfied troops will link
> up with ethnic rebels along the border or dissidents inside the country.
> 
> The regime uses vicious discipline, but also rare perks, to retain the
> loyalty of its soldiers. Yet economic privileges have been severely eroded
> by the country's dire stagnation and mismanagement by the central
> authorities.
> 
> There have been several reports that battalions have been asked to grow
> their own food. Even if in practice this usually means more forced labour
> and confiscations for local people, it hardly smacks of high rewards for a
> hard life.
> 
> Maintaining discipline in an army that may have nearly tripled in size to
> around 400,000 personnel in the 10 years since the junta was formed appears
> increasingly problematic.
> 
> Many soldiers are known to resent the favours given to well-connected, often
> Chinese businessmen, and the privileges of the elite.
> 
> Some observers say the junta will not talk to Ms Aung San Suu Kyi for fear
> of her potential power over many sections of the military.