A month is a long time in politics, and the succession of recent news reports about Col.Moengzuen’s disagreement with the regime has partially surprised us. I am sure that we all read with pleasure and relief that Col.Moengzuen and at least some of his men have rebelled against SPDC coercion. What is not so surprising is that the world’s media have not reported the event with the same enthusiasm that greeted the so-called ‘surrender’ last month. The Irrawaddy, Network Media Group and Mizzima News all reported the latest news story, based largely on the SHAN report and what information they could gather from SSA-S. Associated Press and Reuters reported nothing – nothing shows up in news searches with Yahoo, Google, MSN, etc., perhaps because they don’t have the news release from the Myanmar News Agency (MNA); perhaps because they want to remain neutral and collude with the regime to gain acceptance; perhaps they want to keep in the regime’s good books as part of what they will claim as ‘constructive engagement’ with the regime. It does seem strange that global press organisations who are supposed to be dedicated to freedom of the press listen with bated breath to every outpouring from the odious MNA, but take scant regard of the pro-democracy website news agencies.

When Moengzuen returns to the SSA-S base, I expect he will be asked to explain his actions in some detail, and not just over the last month, but over a rather extended period of time. Watching over the last few weeks, it seems he hasn’t given any clue about his actions to SSA-S for some years; and even ISG, whom Moengzuen supported, did not know why he did what he did. Whatever our Allegiance, I am sure that we are glad that Moengzuen has seen sense and is now showing his patriotic spirit and returning to the fight again for Mong Tai.

As we expected, the New Light of Myanmar (NLM) have not yet worked out the propaganda to go with this recent unexpected event – except to accuse the SSA-S of setting off a bomb in Tachilek – which the SSA-S stated was most likely set off by the SPDC themselves. No doubt if they do need to report something about this event, their version will be as laughably absurd as their other ‘reporting’. We can speculate that the NLM were preparing something dastardly to follow the news that Moengzuen had obeyed their commands to do something worst against his former comrades – perhaps whatever it was that led Moengzuen to see the truth of what his ‘ceasefire’ really meant and decide to return to his own people. No doubt the regime wanted to squeeze as much propaganda out of Moengzuen as they could – since he represents to them a defector from one of their most resilient adversaries in the SSA-S. Thankfully, Moengzuen realised what he had let himself in for and has now seems to have seen sense and will return to SSA-S to face the music – and let us and the rest of the world know the truth about his actions and those of his seducers, subject of course to any specific security related issues that SSA-S may request.

NLM did make good use of the ‘return to the legal fold of a national race group’. One of their ghost writers, Yadanasi Sayadaw (Loilem), produced a two page article, called ‘to the peace station via the peace path’ – I just don’t know where they get their headlines from, but it reeks of political slogan. The name of this ghost is intended to give us the feeling that a respected wise teacher from Loilem is telling us some truth. The subliminal messages here, as is usual from NLM, is that the SPDC are doing Buddha’s work, and that the insurgents are doing bad things. Associate respected people and actions with the regime’s leaders and the association is supposed to stay in our mind. This article appears in an issue of NLM that has front page story of the vice-chairman of the SPDC visiting a new communications facility and giving necessary instructions – astonishing us all with his expertise in communications, but once we have read through the list of military officers present we find that his instruction is for this project to become a ‘silicon mountain town’. This subversive use of the press is yet another example of the brain-washing techniques used by the SPDC. They want their readers to associate all good things as coming down from the omnipotent dictator. Over the years they have developed their skills in psychological warfare. They are able to physically suppress all the freedoms that we in liberated zones take for granted and at least fully understand if we read the UN declaration of human rights. The regime are using their censorship and press outpourings in a vain attempt to take away our last bastion against the regime - freedom of thought. The article by ‘Yadanasi’ seeks to contrast the bad actions of the SSA-A – yes, we hear the untrue accusations again about opium as well as pleased their western allies, racial hatred, fleeing in disarray when they encounter a Tatmadaw column – with the regime’s regional development actions in Shan State, Kayah State and Karen State; developments that include technological colleges. 

Regarding the accusations made against SSA-S, (i) it is a well reported fact that the regime itself is ‘hand in glove’ with the illicit drugs business in Burma, (ii) the regime’s racial hatred applies not just to ethnic groups in Burma but the entire civilian population of the country as well as every ‘foreigner’ or neo-colonialist, and (iii) although the Tatmadaw may have numerical supremacy, the ethnic armies have an enormous superiority in ethical conduct, discipline, morale, martial spirit and widespread popular support. 

The NLM had printed articles on regional development activities for some days before this trash came out, as a build up to the ‘piece de resistance’. What the articles did not focus on the bigger picture of why the SPDC are building colleges in regional towns. I think it is good to have a broad range of educational facilities for all. However, the SPDC game is one of creating smaller – containable – colleges that are run by their own stooges, to restrict access to any political awareness and to be able to quickly suppress any radicalism. The youth of tomorrow are only to be allowed a restricted diet of SPDC information and fed it by SPDC approved educators, under the watchful eye of the MIS. No doubt, they will arrange for students at these colleges to sign the ‘no politics’ contract that they demand of students to the traditionally politicized universities at Rangoon and Mandalay. 

As well as the accusation that the insurgents haven’t built educational facilities the article also accuses them of not building roads or bridges. I would suggest that the insurgents do in fact provide educational facilities with very good dedicated teachers, but these are obviously within their financial and logistical means that constrain all of their operations. Regarding roads and bridges, the insurgent armies don’t have access to the national treasury, nor do they use forced labour as the SPDC do to build all of their construction projects. Given political stability within the liberated areas and regional development funds, I have no doubt the insurgents would provide facilities better than those provided by the SPDC – schools where children can learn the truth without fear of oppressive surveillance, roads and bridges on which they can travel without fear of attack by SPDC troops, etc.

Yadanasi states that the local people saw the news of Moengzuen’s surrender with happiness and joy – many people were on the phone to exchange views – oh yes, with the MIS listening in to find out who to torture next. I suspect that the local people will now be happy and joyous that Moengzuen has left the illegal fold of the SPDC and will work out his own future with those he can trust. 

For the time, we can rest assured that the NLM will be out there trying their best to brainwash anyone willing to forgo the opportunity to ask questions or think for themselves.

Moengzuen was not the only Shan soldier involved in these events, and we remain concerned for the troops who followed him into the ‘surrender’ and those who haven’t managed to get away from the regime. Our thoughts are with these men who are now left at the mercy of the regime. We trust that as many as possible can return to safety in the rightful ‘fold’ of their people in Shan States, with their arms and as much equipment as they can carry, but most importantly with their lives.

Moengzuen’s actions may be criticized or seized on to praise his worthy actions and forgive his not-so-worthy actions. Whatever we view of his actions in the past, one aspect of this series of events is clear. The SPDC have managed to persuade a fighter who said he was not trained to surrender, to do just that. Those of us who read the history of insurgency and politics in Burma know that not one ceasefire group has achieved its political goals. How do they continue to agree ceasefires? The Tatmadaw picked on Moengzuen once he had separated from SSA-S to join ISG; and the SPDC targeted him militarily in action, and subtly with words of cajoling and offers of rewards, to corrupt his mind – they know very well how to do that. We may think we are immune to their dishonest and degenerate ways, but we can all learn from this experience – and the more that Moengzuen tells us about the events of the last year, the better protected against the SPDC’s ‘cold war’ tactics we will be.

Quotations

{I have only the eloquent words of our own true Tai patriots to add here}

A Poem for Moengzuen
by Feraya

When you said that you weren't trained to surrender
We took your words to heart
Because that was what a patriot would say.
But when you went missing on that day
We did not know what to think
We hoped that you knew what you were doing
When you went to suekmarn to make peace
We hoped that you did not betray us
And it was only because you had no choice
Did you think that you would get what you wanted
From suekmarn who can never be trusted?
What exactly were you thinking of?
By taking that risk, and risking everything?
Not to mention the lives of our young soldiers?
Although we were angry and very sad
We hoped that it was not the end of you,
And that your troops would be alright.
Now you want to return to the fold of your people,
We want to welcome you back;
But we need to understand why you did what you did,
Why did you choose to learn the lessons the hard way?
We want to know whether we can trust you again,
And whether your experience had made you wise,
We want to know whether your heart is with us,
And that you will not sadden your people again.

Freedom fighter
by Jai Si Lond

Freedom….
Freedom is a matter of philosophy,
As no one can free you,
It is only you, who can free yourself,
To be free,
Free yourself from fear,
And you will fight for freedom.

Faith…
As it is said “He, who loses money, loses much;
He, who loses a friend, loses much more;
He, who loses faith, loses all”.
So, always be in Faith,
Faith in the Truth, faith in the power of Love,
And the power of Goodness,
As good means action always reflects good means result.

Peace….
He, who seeks peace will isolate himself from others,
But he, who is in peace will live with others,
As only he, who is strong, is he, who can be in peace.

Humble…..
Humble without strength is a sign of under confidence,
Being strong without being humble is a sign of over confidence.
So, to balance your confidence,
Be humble yet strong,
And be strong yet humble.

Religion……
Whatever religion you believe in,
The more you understand your religion,
The more you will do for others,
The more you try to isolate from others,
Means the less you understand your religion,
The less you understand the meaning of “Life”.

Emotion……
The day that one can manage one’s emotion,
Is the day that one will gain strength,
And it is the beginning of one’s freedom,
As the more one can control one’s emotion,
The more the world will be with one.

Failure……
Weak one thinks he can’t fail,
So he works as hard as he can,
Because he fears failure,
Strong one thinks it is possible that one might fail,
But he is just as strong as he is,
And as courageous as he is,
To face his failure and to learn his failure,
As failure is not a sign of weakness,
But fear of failure is.

Fighter…..
You are freedom fighter,
As you are born to fight,
And as your ancestors were fighters,
Fight… fight for your freedom,
Fight for the freedom that you deserve.

References

To the peace station via the peace path.
New Light of Myanmar, 25th July 2006
http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs2/NLM2006-07-25.pdf

A sonic bomb explodes in Tachilek
New Light of Myanmar, 7th August 2006
http://www.myanmardigest.com/eng_md/Aug07.html

Prodigal son returns
Burma News International / SHAN
http://www.bnionline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=349&Itemid=6

Shan Renegade Group Breaks with Government
The Irrawaddy
http://www.irrawaddy.org/aviewer.asp?a=6049&z=154

Shan group back in jungle from ‘legal fold’
Burma News International / Network Media Group
http://www.bnionline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=360&Itemid=6

Shan deserters break with junta
Mizzima News, 8th August 2006
http://www.mizzima.com/MizzimaNews/News/2006/Aug/08-Aug-2006-12.html

Statement from President of ISG, Federated Shan States. 18th July 2006
http://www.tai4freedom.info/isg/isgnews.htm

Burmese generals in cahoots with drug lords in Shan State: Drug report
SHAN (reported widely in free press.)
http://www.mizzima.com/MizzimaNews/News/2006/Aug/03-Aug-2006-07.html

Acronyms

MNA Myanmar News Agency
NLM New Light of Myanmar