New Year Message Statement From S.H (r)

[suantak@xxxxxx]

Dear Shan,

I was analysing the methods of the Burmese Army, why they signed the
ceasefire with the non-Burman armed resistance groups and on the otherhand
they are not interested in signing new ceasefires. I have my analysis in a
few days. I will be sending you the analysis. I think that we must aware
what the Burmese Army is doing against armed resistance.  We must also act
in unison, that means the remaining armed resistance groups, the KNU, Chin
National Army,  SURA, the Karenni, Naga, Wa etc. must do things together. 
The Burmese Army survived because the armed resistance groups have no
understanding from each other.  I believe that it is too late for the
non-Burman resistance groups to ever achieve a military victory.  When
taking arms the non-Burman are offering themselves to be victims of
torture, brutality, and all kinds of atrocities the Burmese Army has been
committing against the non-Burman nationals for the last fifty years. The
non-Burman need to control their emotions and not give the Burmese Army
reasons for their brutality against the population.  Without the armed
resistance existing in many parts of Burma, the Burmese Army has no reason
to have such a large army, the sixth largest army in the world, whereas
Burma is the poorest of all nations.  The Burmese Army is using the
resistance movements to justify all its actions against all the ethnic
groups including the Burman, and if we are serious about peace in Burma, I
believe, the initial incentive must come from the non-Burma but not from
the Burmese Army who has the upperhand. So long as the non-Burman are
stubborn in refusing to understand  the logic of the Burmese Army, or in
other words, Ne Win, there will be no peace in Burma. This is the Ne Win
Doctrine.

Sincerely

Vum Son  


----------
> From: shan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> To: Recipients of burmanet-l <burmanet-l@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: New Year Message Statement From S.H.A.N
> Date: Tuesday, December 30, 1997 9:12 PM
> 
> NEW  YEAR'S  MESSAGE 
> STATEMENT ON CURRENT  SITUATION  IN  CENTRAL  SHAN  STATES
> 
> ( 1 January 1998 )
> 
>         We have received disturbing news about the resumption in Shan
State
> of the forced relocation of the populace after a brief respite during the
> monsoons. They are taking place in two townships, namely, Mongkung and
Kesi.
> Twenty battalions are involved in this horrendous operation affecting
> approximately 100,000 people.
> 
> 	The forced exodus began in early 1996 when Khun Sa surrendered to the
> Rangoon government and peace was declared as restored in Shan State. A
part
> of Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army, formerly the Shan United Revolutionary Army
> (SURA), refused to surrender but instead offered to sign a cease-fire
> agreement like other armed groups. However, the offer was spurned the
> Burmese military.  It vowed to destroy the SURA and all the people in its
> area of operations, mainly in the central Shan States. 
> 
> 	Since then hundreds of thousands of households from villages have been
> moved to relocation centers.  Many women have been raped, many men forced
to
> "contribute" free labor, and many, including Buddhist monks, have been
> killed by soldiers. SURA then joined the SSA and SSNA (Shan cease-fire
> groups) on 13 September 1996 to form the Shan State National Organization
> (SSNO) and the Shan State Army (SSA) in the hope that SURA's desire for
> peace might be recognized. Together they appealed to the SLORC to accept
the
> SSNO/SSA as non-hostile forces. The SLORC's clear answer was to wage an
> all-out military offensive against SURA and the people in its operating
> areas. The above indicates that the military is not serious about
restoring
> peace, and that its real intention is to empty the central region of Shan
> State of its inhabitants.
> 
> 	Many of the people who survived the killings, and unable to make a
living
> in towns fled to Thailand, the land of their ethnic cousins. In Thailand
> they were not recognized as refugees, which is just as well, for they do
not
> wish to be so either. They wanted to stand on their feet and 
> work in order to survive. 
> 
> 	The overnight downturn of the Thai economy have changed everything.
> Forcibly displaced are now faced with a terrible choice: To go back to
Shan
> State where prosecutions, neglect and starvation await them, or to remain
in
> Thailand and risk the danger of arrest and forced 
> repatriation. 
> 
>         We therefore appeal to His Majesty King Bhumibhol and the Royal
> family, the government of Thailand, the opposition parties, and
individuals,
> and other governments and international community to seek humanitarian
and
> practical ways to help thousands upon thousands of families driven off at
> gunpoint from their villages and fields.  
> 
> 	We will be most honoured to cooperate with all individuals,
organizations,
> and governments in their efforts to resolve the problem of forced
> dislocation . We further take this opportunity on New Year day to thank
all
> those who have done their best to help us so far.
> 
> S.H.A.N.
> Shan Herald Agency for News
> 
> // End //.
> 
>