CRDB's Open Letter

[aung@xxxxxxxxxxx]

       The Committee for Restoration of Democracy in Burma


              An Open Letter to Opportunists and Collaborators

It happens in every difficult struggle. The long climb to the top of the 
mountain begins in the green valley, lush with rice, berries and nuts. 
Everyone is cheerful and committed to a successful quest for freedom which 
lies at the summit. As the marchers ascend from the valley they find the path 
becoming steep, strewn with rocks and thorns, and there is less singing now as
the bystanders who remained in the valley below fade into the distance.

At this point, the weaker and less committed begin to complain that the 
leaders are going too fast, or too slow, or have taken the wrong turn, or that
someone should have told them that they would have to suffer in order to reach
the top of the mountain where Freedom's sun shines brightly and the air of 
Democracy is fresh and cool.

Soon there are small groups of forming which openly question the need to go 
to the top of mountain at all--that even this short distance from the valley 
the air is cleaner and one can sense that the sun is about to break through 
the clouds. Certainly, there is room for a few to stop here and live 
comfortably and even make a tidy profit selling food and water to others who 
are seeking the liberation which awaits them at the end of this difficult 
quest. This self-deception is only that. Everyone knows that greed and 
cowardliness has caused the treason against the struggle for democracy in Burma.

We are at the critical junction in the struggle for democracy in Burma. We 
have suffered major set-backs recently in the military component. 
Internationally, Thailand has shamefully participated in the attempts to 
destroy an entire race of people who stand in their way to enormous profits.
China has armed the Burma Army  to enslave an entire nation. American, 
European and Asian business are behaving like jackals tearing away the oil, 
gas, fish, timber of our people and profiting from the slave labor provided 
by the military dictators in Rangoon. These acts of corporate greed are 
regrettable. Yet, they are not surprising as multi-national coroperations and
corrupt politicians have never shown compassion, nor have they ever 
demonstrated knowing the difference between right and wrong.

What is despicable, however, is the treasonous behavior of our own Burmese who
have turned against Aung San Suu Kyi and the pro-democracy movement.

Let me remind those who have thoughts about cooperating with the regime in 
Rangoon that a state of war exists between SLORC and the citizens of Burma. 
That war began in 1988 with the attack against hundreds of thousands of 
peaceful demonstrators. Thousands died in the streets, injured students were 
thrown into the crematorium to be burned alive, young women were gang raped, 
atrocities have continued ever since. Concentration camps have been 
established. Villagers in liberated areas are often shot on sight. Beheading 
occur regularly. The Burmese people cannot be neutral in this war.  We are 
either allied with the people or with their enemy.

There is a special place in the depths of Hell for those who side with SLORC 
and say that in so doing they are promoting democracy. Until they die and 
receive their punishment in the afterlife, they should be banished from our 
ranks and called "despised persons". They should be shunned by every person 
who seeks the liberation of Burma.

Who are those who should be banished from our ranks and shunned?

--- Burmese who invest in SLORC occupied Burma;
--- Burmese who advocate and lobby for investments in Burma by foreign 
corporations or by United Nations Development Programs.
--- Burmese who profit from the sweat and fear of our people.

As in every war, there are a small number of opportunists and collaborators 
who wear the colors of democratic forces while crawling on their knees before 
the enemy with their tongues but seeking favor and profit. When our day of 
liberation arrives, they will come to us in the same manner. At which time, 
we should tell them that they are "Despised Persons" and not welcome among our
people.


Executive Committee
CRDB-USA