Inside Story: A Letter from Vigorou

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Inside Story: A Letter from Vigorous Burmese Students Warriors

On January 24, a group of 10-armed men seized a hospital in Ratchaburi
in Thailand. They demanded the Royal Thai government to stop shelling to
their base camps inside Burma and to allow free movement and medical
treatment for those wounded Karen refugees and rebels who have been
trapped between Burmese government's military offensives and Thai Army's
shelling. All the 10 gunmen were killed after Thai commandos launched a
pre-dawn attack on the gunmen. Eye witness and hospital staff said that
most of the gunmen were killed in cold blood, though they had
surrendered to the Thai commandos.

"They were shot in the head after they had been told to undress and
kneel down," said a woman official."  A Thai female witness at the
Ratchaburi hospital.(See BANKGOK POST (January 26: WITNESSES SAY POLICE
SHOT THEM ONE BY ONE)

Thai government refuses to investigate how all the 10 gunmen were
killed.

The following is a letter from President of Civil Society for Burma (a
Burma Support Group in USA) and attached is a letter from a Burmese
student activist (from Vigorous Burmese Students Warriors) who was
reportedly involved in the hospital seizure. Vigorous Burmese Students
Warriors (VBSW) is a group, which seized the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok
in October last year demanding political changes in Burma.


Mizzima News Group


Letter from Civil Society for Burma (Via Email)

Dear Friends,

I express my deepest sorrow for the fallen comrades, who were
slaughtered even though they hadn?t killed anyone. My condolences go to
their families, who do not have a chance to see their beloved sons, or
to bury them according to their own religious beliefs. They did not
deserve to be killed like that, or to be buried without proper religious
ceremony. But the blood of these heroes was not given in vain. They are
selfless martyrs for a free Burma. Someday their bodies will be brought
back to Burma. Today they are labeled as terrorists, but when Burma is
free, they will be recognized as heroic martyrs. If the Thai government
wants a good relationship with Burma in the future, then they will have
to keep our comrades? bodies undisturbed.


Civil Society for Burma arranged a ceremony today at Reach Out for
Christ church (P. O. Box 22, Dryden New York 13053). Led by pastor Peter
Hopper, we began at 10:30 AM and gave prayers for the brave souls who
sacrificed their lives for their motherland. About 120 people attended
this prayer, including members from Civil Society for Burma from New
York City. I explained how our comrades were brutally slaughtered by the
Thai commandos in cold blood, shortly after they had surrendered. After
the memorial ceremony, we gave alms to the Buddhist monastery on Seneca
Street in downtown Ithaca.

Our comrades were killed without mercy, but their sacrifice brought
several positive results. First, they were able to bring a halt to the
shelling of their headquarters by the Thai military. Second, this tragic
incident has brought more attention to the plight of the Burmese people.
The New York Times, for example, ran this story for four consecutive
days. This is the first major coverage of Burma since the 1988 uprising.
Third, they have proven that the Thai military has been working with the
Burmese regime to suppress the pro-democracy movement.

In analyzing why they were killed, we can see that a public trial of
these Burmese activists would have brought even more attention to the
Thai military?s involvement with the Burmese regime. They were killed so
that they would not be able to act as witnesses against the Thai bombing
of innocent villagers.

I want to share with all of you the letter from Ko San Naing (alias Ye
Thiha), dated January 18. His urgent letter reveals the real situation
that they were facing, and why they decided to take over the Thai
hospital. Take a look on the next page!

Regards,


Htun Aung Gyaw


                                      Letter from Ye Thiha



Ko Htun,       Date 18-01-2000

I am heartened to make contact with you. We have a lot to discuss. Our
recent situation in the Kamaplaw region of the mountains is not good at
all. It is likely that we will lose our base soon. The enemy troops,
consisting of four regiments led by Colonel Soe Thein, are approaching
our base. The name of the operation is "Tain Yan Naing". Their target is
to overrun our base before
Revolutionary day ( March 27).

Also, Thai authorities have sealed the border and cut off all the
support lines such as food, medicine, and border crossing. We are facing
many difficulties. We have been under attack from both sides. In order
to please Rangoon, the Thai are targeting the "God Army" because we
lived with the God Army. They report our movements to the enemy all the
time.

Now they are pounding us with cannons. Our base is shaking like an
earthquake while I am writing this letter. Many villagers have been
wounded including kids and women. At least fifty-three are dead. If this
situation continues we will be dead soon. I have to do something to stop
the shelling as soon as possible. Our base was almost shattered because
of the heavy bombardment. Please do something for us. Let the
international people know that a lot of innocent villagers were killed
without any reason. Try to pressure the Thai to stop pounding the
region.

This might be the last letter from me because I do not know if I will
survive or not. We have no choice left here. I have to stop the bombing
somehow. Peoples? lives are in great danger. I do not care about my own
life, but I care about the others?. I know that after the Thai attack,
the Burmese troops will rush in and kill all of us, including civilians.
It is a really bad time. If I survive, we will talk about our future. I
need support from our comrades for our struggle. If they can arrange
financial, intellectual, and material support to us it would be great.
It is our national cause. All of us have a duty to do it. We have not
sought any funding from NGOs or any other organizations. I will not ask
for financial support for my own survival, ever.

Here, people talk about revolution as a seasonal job; it is very hard to
find a person who has a long-term commitment. I see a sansara [cycle] of
meetings, conferences, and publishing newsletters, under the name of
revolution, again and again without improvement. It is not a real
revolution. If I survive, we will give the revolution a new breath of
life, with committed people, a new outlook and a new approach.

I support Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's non-violent means, because if she
succeeds, there would be no bloodshed. It is the best option for our
country, and we, the Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors (VBSW),
wholeheartedly support this option. But we do not want to sit and wait
in order to see the change. We want to do something significant which
will catch the world?s attention to push for change and save our
motherland from the darkness as soon as possible.

We are planning another operation. I know a lot of people within our
circle will disagree with me for doing this, including you, because this
time we have to face the Thai military, not our enemy, the Burmese army.
I have no choice, but this operation might help us to stop bombing, or
else we all might die. I will assure you that we will not kill any
civilians. If I die, please keep the attached letter for my parents;
give it to them when we get democracy.

Faithfully to the revolution,

Ye Thiha
Kamaplaw Base
Thai-Burma Border