Padoh Aung San Defects
The KNU faced a serious setback in May with the sudden defection of Padoh Aung San, the head of the forestry department, who absconded taking with him over two hundred supporters including a training commandant Col. Yaw Mu and Bo Mya’s nephew, Maj. Thay Gay (Over 70 KNLA officers and soldiers with a 143 family members accoding to NLM 21/04/88) , but perhaps more importantly, the he also spiritied away the fairly substantial amount of 28 million Baht from the KNU’s treasury.
Padoh Aung San, the first cousin of U Thuzana, had previously converted from Buddhism to Adventism, in a move no doubt not unconnected to his rise in power, and had risen from being a lower-clerk in the Forestry Department in 1967 to becoming a CC member in 1985 and EC Member in 1995. As the extremely influential forestry head he was responsible for generating income from the lucrative logging trade and as such held an extremely important position in the Organization. After the fall of Manerplaw he had fled his base at Htee Ter Khee town opposite Tha Song Yang and moved to Ban Mae Wei. He had been a highly trusted individual and confidante of General Bo Mya, however like many others; he seems to have grown weary of the revolution and may have been tempted by the DKBA’s promises of greater wealth as the head of their forestry operation. For the SPDC Padoh Aung San’s ‘return’ was a major publicity coup which resulted in a press conference on the 20th April where he praised the Junta who ‘had welcomed him with open arms’ and accused the KNU, at least according to newspaper reports of running ‘murder camps’(Interestingly the reports of the press conference in the Thai newspapers, calling the camps ‘murder camps’ are at odds with NLM’s version of the conference where no mention of the phrase is made. Instead Aung San lists a number of accusations of murder and extrajudicial actions directly at Bo Mya. The KNU response also includes the term ‘murder camps’. NLM 21/04/88).
He is also said to have stated that:
'Uncle Mya, who claims to keep the door for peace open, at the same time guards it with a big stick…I would like to appeal to Thai authorities to allow my people to return.'
See ‘Karen Defector Praises Junta’, Bangkok Post, 21/4/98. Again the wording of this statement is not supported by the NLM version which states that ‘When something was passed at the meeting [congress] it must be realized, he noted. What the meeting as agreed was to always keep the door open to hold peace negotiations with the Government as KNU wants peace, he said. But the door is kept open with a guard holding a stick in front of it to hit all representatives who want true peace, he said. But the door is kept open only to those who said the Government will disintegrate soon and it is oppressing the people.’ (NLM 21/04/88)
Regardless of such reported inaccuracies The Karen National Union was quick to respond to the press conference with a statement issued two days later clarifying that:
'…He misappropriated the income [from logging] for buying land, buildings and cars for his own personal benefit. From our information we have come to know that he made secret contacts with the DKBA and participated in the [Salween] illegal logging scandal in cooperation with some greedy business men. He made secret purchase of firearms and formed his own pocket army to achieve power by dubious means.'
Although the reasons for the establishment of his own personal army is unclear with only 70 (38 in some accounts) former KNLA soldiers defecting with him, he left behind quite a substantial cache of weapons at Ban Mae Wei including rocket launchers, a mortar, three AK47s and an M16 assault rifle, and 23,000 rounds of ammunition.
Images:Padoh Aung San and his Forestry Rangers (KNU Bulletin)
Excerpt from 'A Just Country - The Karens of Burma: History, Identity and Conflict' by Paul Keenan
