[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

Can Burma Army Be Trusted?



Can Burma Army Be Trusted?

Mahn R. Ba Zan. 

Our mothers feel very sorry and shed tears like falling rains that flow
into the mighty Salween river because the Burma Army soldiers' barbarous
and brutal treatment of the people: they burnt down our houses, take our
belongings, rape our sisters, nieces and daughters, force us to work them,
force us to leave our village, terrorize us with summary executions, take
husbands, sons and nephews as porters, to carry for the army until they are
exhausted and then beat them to death. 

Our fathers feel very sorry and shed tears like falling-rains that flow
into the mighty Salween River, because our Karen people come into our
neighboring Thai territory nearly 120,000, refugees for more than fifteen
years. Refugee camps are not comfortable and luxuriate, nobody wants to say
in the camps, it's like a hell. We want to go home, to our beloved and
sacred land, Kaw Thoo Lei. It's our wishful thinking: we cannot go home,
there is no land to cultivate, no food to eat, no medicine to cure, no
guarantee for our life, nothing to live on. 

All our animals, our chickens, ducks, pigs, goats, oxen, buffaloes, even
cats and dogs were already eaten by war monsters, the Burma army soldiers.
Our grandparents had grown coconut, mango trees, but now all these trees
gave been cut, to make training grounds for the Burma army. All our
villages have been burnt down and wiped out, to set up enemies'
headquarters and lay gas pipelines. 


We all are afraid that we will become the Burma army porters, forced
laborers. Once we have become porter and forced laborers, there's no way to
return to our sacred land, and to meet our families. So we cross the
border, to seek temporary shelter in the Kingdom of Thailand. 


Mighty King and the brotherly Thai people give humanitarian aid, offering
shelter for our peoples for over fifteen years during our just struggle for
peace, liberty, equality and dignity for all Karen. Our gratitude has
become a credo. Our credo is "Until mighty the Salween and Chao Phraya
rivers dry up, our Karen and Thai brotherhood will never end." 


Thai and Karen people have settled along the border from Chaing Rai, Chaing
Mai, Mae Hong Son, Tak, Sangkla Buri, Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi, Petchburi,
Singburi, Pramburi, Prachup Kirikhan, Chumpon to Ranong centuries ago. We
have never fought each other. We never seized Ayutthaya as the Burma army's
great-grandfathers did four times. We both settle peacefully generation
after generation. Never has there been war among our two brothers. Our Thai
brothers forget or don't know about the Burma army's grand strategy. Their
grand strategy is, to eliminate all the ethnic groups in Burma, leaving
only Burmese. Their slogan - The nation who win the war is civilized (?) 


In order to win the regional war or to be a civilized nation, the Burma
army must build a great army. The Burma army officers are afraid that they
will be removed from power and hanged by the people. So they build up
military force, nearly half a million soldiers, the second largest in Asia
except China. 



The Burma army needs money to feed his big army, to run the government, for
stability. The SPDC (State Peace and Development council) wanted to be a
member of Asean. Once the SPDC becomes a member of Asean, unless removed by
the people, they will become legalized government. The SPDC generals would
be very proud and more brutally oppress the people and commit more human
rights violations. 


Externally, The SPDC tried to legitimize his government by Asean.
Internally, they tried to negotiate cease-fires with ethnic revolutionary
forces using tricks and tactics. With negotiating cease-fires groups the
SPDC refuses to resolve political issues. However, unless political issues
are resolved, there can be no cease-fire, no peace, and no stability in
Burma. 


Solving problems with might is the nature and behavior of militaristic, war
monsters the Burma army. Correspondingly, if every ethnic revolutionaries
forces cease-fire with the Burma army and there is no more war in Burma,
what will the Burma army do? Their war strategy would be Thailand. There
are too many border conflicts and problems: Moei River, near Mae Sot, Point
491 in Chumpon area, Island near Ranong, Burmese pagoda inside Thai Soil in
Ratchaburi and so on. Will the Burma army try to solve these problems and
conflicts with diplomacy or military force? 


Most of the Burma army officers think that the Thai army have no military
experience, even though they have modern equipment and technology. "We only
have to shout at the fighting, and the Thai army would retreat and run
away, we could occupy Mae sot, Mae sai within an hour!" 


According to Asean and other countries more interested in Burma, the Burma
army has become richer and the Burma army mightier and the Burma army
generals more proud than ever. Now that the cold war has ended, global
economic war is started. China wants superpower status in Asia. Japan,
Korea, and Asean countries want economic mighty as well. They want natural
resources from Burma. 


Every nation seeks natural resources. In Burma, foreign investors construct
gas pipelines, highways, a deep seaport at Tavoy, the Salween hydroelectric
dam and so on. Their projects make the Burma army richer, and the Burma
army mightier. 


Do Thai brothers remember the Burmese Army which invade Thailand and
annexed Ayutthaya fourth times killing, raping, and torturing the Thai
people? Who would guarantee that the Burma army led by the generals, Maung
Aye, Khin Nyunt and Tin Oo would not attack Mae Sot, Ranong, and Mae Sai
like their great-grandfathers? 


In conclusion, I pray that our Thai brothers will not suffer like our Karen
people, who suffer hardships, starvation, summary execution, rape, forced
pottering, forced labor, forced relocation, torture, and genocide. The
Karen and Thai people must safeguard our dignity, solidarity and fraternity. 


"Until mighty the Salween and Chao Phraya rivers dry up, our Karen and Thai
brotherhood will never end. 


Mahn R. Ba Zan. 
Karen Solidarity Organization 
(KSO) 
17 Oct 1999.