Ceasefire group leader in Rangoon to file complaint of massacre

Ceasefire group leader in Rangoon to file complaint of massacre

A source close to a Shan ceasefire group reported from Taunggyi this morning that its leader went down to Rangoon yesterday to report about a recent killing of 17 people last week. 

Col. Karnyawd, 38, leader of the Shan State National Army, is currently at the capital, he said. The source dismissed rumors of his assassination that were in circulation during the past few days and confirmed that Karnyawd, whose mutiny in 1995 broke the backbone of Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army and forced it to surrender less than a year afterwards, was still very much alive. 

"It was Sanghtee, one of his cousins, who was killed," said the source. "He was among the 17 people who were shot down by a Burmese column made up of elements from IB 9, IB 12 and LIB 513 on Saturday (7 July)." 

The killings took place in Nawngleng, a village 8 miles north of Panglong, a historic town 53 miles east of Taunggyi. Sanghtee was only 27. Another who was killed was Tha-nge, 36, a longtime follower of Karnyawd. The cause of the killings, however, is not known. 

Another source from northern Shan State, however, hinted there might be some more reasons other than the killings in southern Shan State. He pointed out that the SSNA chief did not go to Rangoon alone. He was with Gen. Hsoten, the leader of the combined Shan State Army "North" and SSNA. The source nevertheless declined to disclose what the reason was. 

The ceasefire groups have been at loggerheads with Rangoon since the issuance of their joint statement on 1 March calling for a tripartite dialogue. 

Karnyawd was born on 29 March 1963, a year after Gen. Ne Win's "bloodless" coup. 
He is concurrently holding three offices: 
General Secretary, Shan State National Army; General Secretary, Shan State Peace Council (a joint setup with SSA-N) and General Secretary, Joint Action Committee with Shan Nationalities League for Democracy headed by Khun Htoon Oo.

Follow-up 

As two of the dead were well-connected to the generals in Rangoon, an investigation was said to have been conducted by the military intelligence. 

Tha Nge, 39, was the son of Sao Mya Aye of Laikha who was related to Gen Saw Lwin, Minister of Industry II, by marriage. Another, Yang Fu, 42, was younger brother to Yang Ming, a Kokang and follower of Peng Jiasheng (Hpong Kya Shin, as Rangoon spells his name) whose group enjoys a ceasefire agreement with Rangoon since 1989. Yang Ming had won a concession to improve the road from Laikha to Wan Yetng near Nawngleng. Both had demanded redress of their grievances. The following is the picture that emerges from the investigations. 

Kanna, former commander of Brigade 275, Shan State National Army, was a close friend of the late Lt-Gen Tin Oo, who was killed in a helicopter crash in February. He had the bad habit of going over Gen Maung Bo, the Eastern Region commander, whom he came under, every time he had a problem with the local junta officers. "Kanna, be ready to face the music now," Maung Bo was reported to have exclaimed jubilantly when Tin Oo's death was confirmed. 

The majority of those shot were mere civilians, said the source. At least 4 of them were not even Shans: Win Myint, 34, Win Tin, 36, and Myo Min Naing, 24 were from Thazi; and Htay Nwe, 32, was from Lawkzawk. 

Soon after the killings, 10 other members from the splinter group went to surrender, but they were also summarily executed, the source claimed. 

Kanna is, at the time of this reporting, in Namlan, northern Shan State, his health deteriorating. He has been trying to make up to his former bosses in the SSNA, said the source. 

23 November 2001