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BURMA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS #5d (Par
Subject: BURMA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS #5d (Part 2)
/* posted 13 Jan 6:00am 1995 by DRUNOO@xxxxxxxxxxxx on igc:soc.culture.burma */
/* --------------" HRSUB: OVERSEAS BURMA LIBERATION FRONT "----------------- */
[Subject: To inquire into and report on the human rights situation
and lack of progress towards democracy in Myanmar(Burma) by the
Human Rights Sub-Committee of the parliament of Australia.
Submissions made to this enquiry by various people and
organisations are re-posted here.-- U Ne Oo]
# SUBMISSION NO. 5d.
OVERSEAS BURMA LIBERATION FRONT
15A, 2 Beattie Street, NSW 2041, Australia.
SLORC'S MILITARY OFFENSIVE AGAINST KHUNSA AND
SLORC'S HIDDEN AGENDA
The State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), hasin the last few
months launched its military offensive in the South Eastern, and the
Eastern parts of the Shan State in Burma, against the Mong Tai Army (MTA)
headed by the drug warlord Khun Sa.
The launching by SLORC of its military offensive against Khun Sa, and his
MTA strongholds can only be viewed as SLORC's desperate attempt to
authenticate its blatantly declared "anti-drug enforcement policy", and to
simultaneously shed its tarnished image in the international political
arena.
The hidden agenda of SLORC's latest military campaign, is its devious plan
to regain Burma's lost stature, and the full diplomatic relationship it
once enjoyed with Western democratic nations, especially the United States
of America, which it lost on account of its violent suppression of the 1988
democracy movement. SLORC believes that in commencing this military
offensive, it will certainly regain the lost privileges of aid and
assistance it once enjoyed from the West, to enable it to carry out its so
called "anti-drug campaigns". It also believes that the carrying out of
this campaign soon after the taking of Manerplaw, will defuse the animosity
and the criticism of the Western nations - which it underestimated at the
time.
The US Government has recently publicy declared that, in order to formalise
its relationship with Burma, the ruling SLORC military junta, must
seriously implement democratic and human rights reforms, and it must also
firmly commit itself to the elimination of the illicit drug trade in Burma.
In further testing the will of the Western nations, SLORC's generals
believe that, it can lobby the US Government and the Western nations for
recognition and financial assistance, by only launching a military
offensive against Khun Sa and his MTA strongholes, - and to totally ignore
the ned to initiate any serious political reforms. The expressed view of
the Burmese people on SLORC's current gambling tactics, is said to be akin
to a common Burmese proverb - "STAGING A MONKEY SHOW TO BEG FOR RICE".
Under the dectatorial rule of Ne Win and his Burma Socialist Programme
Party (BSPP), Burma once received millions of dollars in aid and assistance
from the US Government annually for its so called "anti-drug campaigns"
from 1974 to 1988. These campaigns were later reported to be totally
ineffective and a sheer waste of US tax-payer's money, as such aid and
assistance was being diverted to support other campaigns, to eliminate all
dissent in the Shan State and in the country. This deceit has resulted in
the large annual increases in poppy cultivation and heroin production in
Burma.
Before once encourages the violent elimanating of the drug trade, many
issues may need to be pondered, such as the allegations that the "drug
trade", "politice", and the "armed forces", all have a firm, but invisible
triangular relationship. The question:"Will Burma's burgeoning drug trade
cease to exist, by aid and assistance to the SLORC military regime by
Western nations ?" "Will the production and trafficking of heroin in the
Shan State disappear, by completely annihilating KHun Sa and his MTA ?" The
answer to these questions, must be in the negative.
ONe must be aware that the drug trade under SLORC, is not isolated to Khun
Sa and MTA. There are otner prominent players in this field, which have
been conveniently ignored by SLORC. One person who gained prominence was
YANG MO XIAN, who was publicly executed by the Chinese authorities in
October 1994, for smuggling over 200 kilograms of heroin into China. The
late YANG MO XIAN, was a Kokang national and a Burmese citizen. He is the
younger brother of YANG MO LENG and YANG MU ANG, former leaders of the
defunct Burma Communist Party's (BCP) Kokang faction. They signed the
cease-fire accord with SLORC in early 1989, with the other former BCP
groups. the two YANG brothers have been elevated and glorified by SLORC as
the leaders of the Kokang ethnic tribe, and permitted to form and lead
their own armed militia's.
In addition to the YANG brohters, there is the PHAUNG brothers, the Chinese
WEI brothers, the Wa group's ex-Chinese Red Guard LIN MING XIAN (aka U Sai
Lin), and ZHANG ZHI MING (aka U Kyi Myint), who are all well known
notorious leaders of Burma's illicit drug trade. The interesting point is
that, SLORC and its military commanders turn a blind eye to all these
groups drug activities ( as they were signatories of the 1989 cease-fire
accord with SLORC) , and permit them to openly operate their drug
activities - resulting in a flourishing drug trade under their areas of
control.
Herion from Burma is now readily available in the neighbouring Indian
States of Manipur, Assam, Mezoram and Nagaland, and the Indian authorities
are now faced with a serious drugs problem, which is spreading at an
alarming rate in these Indian State. In the neighbouring Chinese State of
Yunan, the authorities are now openly admitting that, the heroin flowing in
from burma, has resulted in increasing drug usage, drug related crimes, and
the spresding of the HIV virus. The influx of these druges into the border
States of India and China, originate from different areas in the Shan
State, as the flourishing drug trade is not isolated in one remote Eastern
corner of the Shan State - which is predominantly under the control of Khun
Sa and his MTA. What SLORC fails to mention in its current "anti-drug
campaign" is that heroin production is flourishing in areas tightly under
its control and that of tis commanders, and in the areas controlled by the
armed militia's, that are in alliance with the military junta.
In the Shan State the peace-loving and unsophisticated hill-tribes, have
endured a vicious cycle of poverty and tragic suffering, due to external
interferences that have turned their once beautiful scenic landscapes, into
bloody battle-fields. In the 1950's and the 1960's, during the early Cold
War period, the Kuo Min Tang (KMT) Chinese troops regrouped in the Shan
State, after fleeing from communist mainland China. The US Government in
implementing its Communist Containment POlicy in Asia, approved of the
covert operations of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) which was at the
time actively supporting the KMT in the Shan State, in the launching of
military offensives into China's Yunnan province from Burma. To finance
these anti-Communist operations, the CIA and its accomplice the KMT,
unleashed on the poverty stricken hill-tribes, the cultivation and their
dependence of the poppy, resulting in the establishment of the deadly
heroin trade in the Shan State.
In the early 1970's, Ne Win's ruling junga formed an unholy alliance with
LO HSING HAN and KHUN SA's armed militias, known locally as the Kar Kwe
Ye's (who were at the time actively involved in drug trade), to combat
ethnic nationalists and Communism in the State. But this unholy alliance
did not last more than six years. In the period of the 1980's, the Burmese
Communists with the strong backing of China, gained the upper hand in the
Shan State. It soon influenced many ethnic resistance groups, and it staged
numberous successful military offensive against Ne Win's troops, inflicting
heavy causalities on his troops in the Nothern Shan State.
At the same time in the Southern Shan State, Ne Win's armed forces launched
successive military operations, code named "Operation Moe Hein"(the sound
of thunder) "one", "two", "three", "four", etc. - to justify the continued
influx of massive assistance from the United States of America, for its
shan anti-drug campaign. Ne Win's military operations to "eridicate these
druge", had a minimal effect on the drug warlords or their drug trade, and
only resulted in the hill-tribes in such areas suffering
forced-relocations, forced-conscription of labour, looting and pillage, and
various other human rights abuses.
After Burma's independence in 1948, there has been no significant
infrastructure development, or social or economic development in the Shan
State. This situation has not changed even after six years SLORC's military
rule. Not only have the hill-tribes been neglected by successive
governments, but they have also been forced to endure the hardship and the
misery caused to them by outsiders. In this undeclared war zone, their only
means of survival is the cultivation of the deadly poppy as a cash-crop,
and to sell the raw opium to the drug traders. Up until now, no significant
plans have emerged to break of the hill-tribes vicious cycle of poverty and
suffering - which will releasie them from the cultivation of poppy.
SLORC, whilst totally ignoring the tragic situation in the Shan State, is
now embarking on the grandoise Upper Salween River Flood Zone Project
(under the disguise of Border Area Development (BAD) Projects, and alleging
that these projects are for the benefit fo the resident hill-tribes) to
build dams, reservoirs and hydro-electric generating stations. The main
intention of the SLORC'S generals in carrying out these projects, is to
sell fresh water and electritity to neighbouring Thailand, in order to
obtain a regular flow of hard-currency. The resident hill-tribes, whose
lands will be confiscated and flooded, and who will be forced to relocate
to alien landscapes, will not benefit from such projects. With the
completion of these projects, the hill-tribes will be deprived of their
livelihood - thus creating more misery, suffering, and animosity in this
mountainous region of Burma.
The fundamental factors, that are acknowledged as being the root causes of
poverty in the Shan State, and the flourishing drug trade that relies on
such poverty, and exploits the continuing miserable situation, are said to
be caused by the: -
(a) lack of co-operation and co-ordination amongst the ethnic nationals;
(b) deprivation of the self-determination of the ethnic tribes;
(c) negligence of successive governments, in solving the political and
poverty problems, due to the lack of political courage and determination.
It is impreative that, the rights of self-determination of the ethnic
nationals be restored as soon as possible, as this is an essential
ingredient in solving the problems of poverty - the poverty upon which the
drug trade has relied on to keep up its supply of raw opium.
Neither the present SLORC military junta, nor the unitary system of a
centralised Constitution - which the junta's sham National Convention is
drafting, will have the capability of solving the existing poverty and the
drug problems in the Shan State. With a Federal system of constitution,
that guarantees the rights of self-determination of ethnic nationalities,
and with the formation of accountable governments (i.e. Federal, State and
Local levels), and with such appropriate action taken by such demoratically
elected and responsible governments, the poverty and miseries will cease,
and the associated durg trade - will only then start to disappear from the
whole nation.
Without the establishment of an accountable and responsible system of
government, the drug warlords will continue to exist and prosper in the
Shan State. The current military offensive by SLORC, in a despotic and
unstable political environment, even if successful, will only achieve
temporary success in eradication the drug trade in that particular region
of the Shan State, as new drug warlords will re-emerge and the drug trade
will again flourish and continue to haunt civilised mankind.
Assisting military dictators, or military regimes whose sole means of
solving the drug problem is by violent military offensives - will
definitely yield no positive results for burma or for the world.
We are of the opinion that, if the rich Western democratic nations,
never-the-less resumes aid and assistance to the SLORC military junta, the
aid will without a shadow of a doubt "GO UP IN THE SMOKE IN SLORC'S BOGUS
DRUG BURNING CEREMONIES".
Executive Committee.
OVERSEAS BURMA LIBERATION FRONT(OBLF)
22 April, 1995.
/* ENDREPORT */