SLORC statue insults the Thais

SLORC statue insults the Thais

Independence 27 September 1994

Once again the SLORC are using their sinister sorcery to oppress and Burmanize the Shans. This time, however, they are also committing a grave insult against the Thai people. 

On July 28, the SLORC leasders participated in astrological rituals at the site where they are rebuilding the ancient palace of the Burmese King Bayintnaung at Pegu. Then, on September 4, they publicised that they had also built a statue of King Bayintnaung, which would be placed bear the bridge at Tachilek, facing Thailand, Clearly, the regime is bringing into play some evil magic. 

All Thais know that King Bayintnaung was the first Burmese invader of Thailand, who annexed and laid waste to Ayuthaya. Like the other Burmese kings, Alaungpaya and Hsinpyushin, he is the precursor of the SLORC's brutal chauvinism and expansionism. 

Bayintnaung and his troops committed untold atrocities when they ransacked Ayuthaya. They tortured men, women and children mercilessly even beating some young children to death with wooden clubs. Very few managed to flee to safety. 

Having conquered Ayuthaya, Bayintnaung returned to Burma taking numerous captives. Including the young Thai prince Phra Naresuan. 

They took back to Burma countless valuables, including gold from the Buddha images. Anything they could not carry they destroyed. Then, on the return journey to the border, they compelled all the unfortunate villagers along the way to work for them as porters, assisting in carrying the plunder that was too bulky for their mules and elephants. The villages were also forced to supply provisions to the invaders. After they had passed through the villages, they would torch all the houses and grain stores. 

The young prince Phra Naresuan grew up as a captive in the Burmese palace. When he later returned to his homeland, he felt afresh the pain of his countrymen's humiliation. He vowed to devote himself to freeing his people from their oppressors. 

Phra Naresuan then collected together an army and was to defeat the Burmese invaders. 

This heroic feat is what should now be remembered by the people of Thailand. If their national hero, Phra Naresuan, had not saved them from their oppressors, Thailand might not be enjoying the prosperity that it is today. 

Yet the people of Thailand, particularly the businessmen and soldiers, now seem to have forgotten their history, and are thinking only of money. Were their national leader Phra Naresuan alive today, he would surely think beyond narrow business interests. He would realise the danger of courting a regime that clearly has no respect for Thailand's national integrity.

For, of all the places in Burma to erect the statue of Bayintnaung, why have the SLORC chosen a small town like Tachilek?

How can the Thais ignore this preposterous insult? Are they so busy thinking of money that they cannot recognise when a brutal regime flaunts their expansionist aspirations right at their doorstep? 

The Shans kow only too well the sinister intent of this statue. The Burmese dictators have been using the same sorcery to build cedis on hilltops all over Shan State. Instead of filling them with relics of the Lord Buddha, they have put inside accursed items, such as bloodied women's undergarments, which disempower those who worship them. 

Without a doubt, the makers of the statue of Bayintnaung intend to use their evil spells to subjugate and humiliate not only the Shans, but also the Thais. 

The question now is whether Thailand is going to accept this provocative act in silence. Perhaps they should begin by building a statue of their own national hero, Phra Naresuan, on the Thai side of the border. 

Khun Sam