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Boys' brigade: a boy fighter of the Karen National Union poses on a jungle bridge with a companion as the rebels celebrated 51 years of armed resistance to the Burmese military. Agence France-Presse photo |
BURMA
WILLIAM BARNES in Bangkok
Many of the guerillas trading lives in deadly skirmishes with the Burmese army on the Thai border would still be two or three years short of university age in more peaceful countries.
"We don't send young children - they must go to school," the soldier said yesterday. "But yes, by the age of 16 some are already in our army. They are very, very keen to join. We have to be stern to make them stay at school."
Armies in Burma - as in many unstable parts of the world - have traditionally recruited teenagers because they are malleable, cheap and available.
The Karen claim that although they have used many teenagers in their bitter half-century of struggle for autonomy, their fighters are never as young as the Burmese child soldiers.
"We say men grow up quickly here - still we don't want 13 or 14-year-olds at the front," the Karen source said.
The Burmese army also has a reputation for recruiting young. "Ever since Ne Win's [1962] coup, the Tatmadaw [military] has concentrated on recruiting older teenagers from peasant backgrounds for its basic army of foot soldiers," author Martin Smith said.
The age of Burmese army recruits has dropped over the past decade with its rapid expansion to include boys of 14 and below", said the Thai-based human rights group Images Asia.
Karen veterans say they are astonished the Burmese army is using waves of youngsters to attack heavily defended positions - apparently keeping their more experienced soldiers in reserve.
The Karen National Union, the leading Karen rebel group, celebrated the 51st anniversary without its new leader, Saw Ba Thin.
He did not attend a simple anniversary ceremony in Karen territory just inside Burma because he was "sick", rebel sources said.
The group's president, Bo Mya, demoted in a transfer of power last week, led a contingent of about 200 fighters in a jungle ceremony opposite the Tak district of northern Thailand to celebrate the event.
Myanmar Rebels Shelter
God's Army
Mon 31 Jan 2000
WALAY KHEE, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar's main ethnic rebel group said Monday it would shelter members of a beleaguered guerrilla gang led by twin 12-year-old boys, but only if they accept the larger group's leadership.
God's Army, led by Johnny and Luther Htoo, was blamed for the armed takeover of a hospital in Thailand last week and was engaged in heavy fighting with the Myanmar military on Monday.
David Tharckabaw of the Karen National Union said the group was preparing to contact God's Army with an offer to take them in, but ``only if they agree to follow our leadership and promise not to do any more foolish acts.''
A senior leader in the Karen National Union, Bo Mya, said the group believes God's Army was manipulated into the hospital raid by another group, the Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors, who could have been provocateurs sent by the Myanmar government.
Five of the student warriors briefly took over the Myanmar Embassy in Thailand last October, and at least one of its members took part in the hospital takeover in Ratchaburi in western Thailand. The hospital siege ended when all 10 Myanmar raiders were shot dead by Thai security forces.
Bo Mya and other KNU officials spoke at a celebration of Karen Revolution Day, held at a base not far from the border with Thailand. About 300 people shared a communal breakfast of rice and potato-chicken curry and listened to songs and speeches.
The Karen National Union, whose fighting force has dropped in recent years to an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 troops, has been seeking autonomy from the government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, since the country gained independence from Britain in 1948.
God's Army, which has at most 200 people, is only loosely associated with the KNU but the hospital takeover caused outrage in Thailand and a backlash against the Karen cause.
The Karen National Union relies on Bangkok's goodwill to operate, since most of its supply lines run through Thailand, which is also the only safe refuge for its civilian followers.
``There will be a systematic approach to neighboring countries for understanding and sympathy,'' Bo Mya said in apparent reference to strained relations with Thailand.
Tharckabaw said the KNU had information about fighting around the God's Army base and that the Htoo twins — whom their followers believe have magical powers of victory — were still alive.
``We are concerned about their safety and well-being,'' he said. ``We don't want to see them killed.''
Thai television reported Monday that five Thai troops were seriously injured by a land mine they triggered while patrolling near the border with Myanmar, where fighting has been raging between government forces and God's Army.
Myanmar troops were getting close to the frontier in pursuit of God's Army and Karen National Union troops, ITV television said. It was unclear who planted the mine.
| A Young Karen National Union (Knu) Soldier Sits Next to a... | Mon, Jan 31 2:51 PM |
A young Karen National Union (KNU) soldier sits next to a sign erected during the national celebration at a Wallay Khee jungle camp in Myanmar opposite Mae Sot district of Tak province, 370 kilometers (230 miles) northwest of Bangkok, Monday, Jan. 31, 2000. Myanmar's main ethnic rebel group said Monday it would shelter members of a beleaguered guerrilla gang led by twin 12-year-old boys, but only if they accept the larger group's leadership. "SPDC" in sign is the acronym for State Peace and Development Council. Photo by Apichart Weerawong (AP)
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Bangkok Post - Feb 1, 2000
Two guerrillas took part in embassy siege
Only two of the 10 God's Army guerrillas who
seized Ratchaburi regional hospital a week ago were involved in the Burmese
embassy siege last October, the Special Branch Police has confirmed. The confirmation was made in an official reply from Pol Maj-Gen Sawek
Wattanakij, commander of Special Branch Division 2, to the Ratchaburi governor
who asked police to identify pictures of the 10 guerrillas killed in a raid by
commandos that ended the hospital crisis. The two were Maung Htwe, 25, and Beda,
also known as Preeda or Nui. Maung Htwe was a former Burmese soldier who worked
in Mahachai, Samut Sakhon, for about one year before joining the students at
Maneeloy holding centre in Ratchaburi. Meanwhile, a religious ceremony to make merit for the 10 God's Army rebels
was held at Ratchaburi regional hospital yesterday. The ceremony was chaired by
Pol Lt-Gen Anan Hemthanon, the Region 7 police chief. The hospital was re-opened
for the first day yesterday. Police were deployed to provide security. All schools closed last week were also re-opened. Elsewhere, four Thai soldiers were wounded yesterday in an explosion of a
land mine at Chong Khao Krachom area opposite Kamaplaw, a former base of God's
Army. About three weeks ago, four Thai soldiers were killed by a land mine
explosion in the same area.
Ivanhoe Mines: S&K Yr Copper Output 26,736 Metric Tons
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (T.IVN) said copper production from the S&K Copper Mine in Myanmar was 26,736 metric tons, or 58.9 million pounds, in 1999, its first year in commercial operation.
The mine is operated Myanmar Ivanhoe Copper Co., a 50-50 joint venture with a Myanmar state-owned company.
In a news release, Ivanhoe said minegate cash production costs were 28 cents a pound for the year, with total costs of 59 cents a pound, including interest expense, depreciation, marketing and royalty payments.
It said S&K's cathode copper production in the second half of 1999 was 13,953 tons, or 30.8 million pounds, about 12% higher than the mine's initial annual design capacity of 25,000 tons.
As reported, a $7 million expansion will boost production capacity by about 40% before year-end, to an annual design rate of 35,000 tons or 77.2 million pounds.
Ivanhoe is a mining company.
Tuesday, February 1 6:25 PM SGT
Karen rebels look to political means to settle war with Yangon
Myanmar's main guerrilla group, the Karen National Union, says it wants to change its policy.
The new chief of the KNU, Saw Ba Thein, says that instead of arms, he will use political means to settle his group's long-running war with the government.
He has also asked the government to restart peace negotiations.
The appeal comes as the Karen rebel movement this week marks 51 years of fighting Myanmar's military rule, making it one of the world's oldest guerrilla groups.
This year's Revolution Day celebration is a shadow of the usual festivities, as the KNU's battle for an independent homeland looks increasingly desperate.
"The SPDC troops should start making a dialogue to have a peaceful settlement. It is clear for us, we are always ready and the door is always open for negotiations and peaceful settlement because we know this is the only solution, viable solution for a stable peace," said KNU leader Saw.
The Karen have negotiated before and got nowhere because they want to retain their arms under any deal, something the Myanmar government will never accept.
The KNU's leader says the group will now reduce its role purely to self-defence.
He does not have much of a choice.
His group used to command about 25,000 guerrillas, but it is now down to just a few thousand, split into small groups.
Since 1990, at least 16 ethnic minority rebel groups have entered into ceasefire agreements with Yangon government, leaving the KNU as the main group still out in the cold.
The group also has a new problem: a breakdown in its relations with the Thais, who have for years let the rebels operate from bases on the Thai border.
The KNU said an attack on a Thai hospital last week, by a faction called "God's Army", had damaged the Karen cause.
Still, the group says it will not simply give up its fight for independence, but will try to get support from the international community and other democratic forces in Myanmar.
Wassana Nanuam
The special forces units who ended the Ratchaburi crisis were told to use their discretion and did not have orders to shoot to kill, the army spokesman said yesterday.
Gen Surayud Chulanont, who directed the operation in which 10 God's Army rebels were killed, told unit commanders their men had freedom to act, said Col Somkuan Saengpattaranet.
The army chief was quoted as saying: "We had to give the special forces freedom to act because they were risking their lives. If we had allowed the situation to continue, the guerrillas might have done something. They had M16 rifles, M79 grenades. We didn't know if there were hidden explosives. What if they detonated the bombs."
Gen Surayud said the rebels were shot in the head because the special forces men used laser sights to ensure accuracy.
He was quoted as saying the guerrillas' morale had been boosted after they escaped the Oct 1-2 raid on the Burmese embassy and had been pushing their luck since.
According to the spokesman, Gen Surayud felt the special force's move was justified considering recent attacks by the rebels on Thai soil including the embassy siege.
God's Army, he said, had also planted booby traps which killed four Thai soldiers and a civilian.
"We agreed to two original conditions but they later laid down five conditions which we found unacceptable-especially the demand to punish the gunners who shelled their base," he said.
Gen Surayud also said the media were obstacles in carrying out the mission and delayed the attack deadline from 2am to 5.30am.
Unit chiefs have been ordered to clarify what happened at Ratchaburi regional hospital to people they know. "If the hostages were harmed or killed, we would have taken the blame," he said. "Fortunately the situation ended in our favour," adding the army would clarify its action through its radio programmes.