S.H.A.N : DIRECTIVE FROM THE C-IN-C

[owner-burmanet-l@xxxxxxx]

S.H.A.N :  DIRECTIVE FROM THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF
                  THE SHAN UNITED REVOLUTIONARY ARMY ( SURA )
August 31,1997
(  the report from the INDEPENDENCE news paper Vol. 14, N0. 4, June,July 1997 )

                                                         Directive
                                                     18 June 1997

To all the officers and the rank and file of SURA

Since its seizure of power (1988 ), Slorc military junta has regarded us the
people of Shan State as its enemies and has been killing and displacing the
civilian population up to the present, causing many people to lose their homes,
their farmland and, thus, their livelihood. In order to survive the atrocities
of the Slorc, it is imperative that the people and the armed resistance of Shan
State should unite in our effort to withstand Slorc's aggression and protect our
livelihood.

Our Shan United Revolutionary Army ( SURA ) is an army which was born of the
people and acts in accordance with the will of the people. Therefore, wherever
we go, it is imperative that we refrain from any act of injustice towards the
people and abstain from any form of racial discrimination. In the end, justice
will certainly prevail. When we meet good and just civilian Burmese nationals,
we should tell them that we are not brutal soldiers as Slorc troops and that it
would be advisable for them to return to Burma Proper for their own safety while
Slorc is brutally oppressing the people, because the situation has become
chaotic and many people are on the verge of starvation, robbers are rampant and
there are several armed groups, some with no identity, that roam the highways.

We shall strive with unified effort until we achieve our goals and restore our
rights.

Yord Serk   

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