Shan remain unshakable with their call

Shan remain unshakable with their call

Refugees

A monthly meeting of the campaign committee for Shan refugees on Saturday (3 November) ended with the resolution to fight on for a safe sanctuary in Thailand despite repeated rejections by Bangkok. 

Refuting National Security Council's Khajadphai Burusphat's contention that the war in Burma was over, Saengmuang a.k.a. Bawdin Kinawong General Secretary of the campaign committee, said: "The war in Shan State as well as other non-Burman areas are being fought in a different mode." 

Chairman Ood a.k.a. Thanoo Wittayakarnyutthakul read out a Thai translation of a pamphlet, dated 10 October 1988 by the Organization for the Preservation of the Fourth Burmese Empire, believed in general as the pseudonym of the present regime, exhorting "all Burmese soldiers and compatriots in Shan State" to wage economic and social offensive war against all non-Burman groups by using every kind of tactics available. 

It also promises monetary rewards by the State for 'any good son ... who can occupy Shan women'. 

A social worker, supporting the committee's argument, said, "It is getting more difficult for the rebels to begin a fight with the Burma Army, because every time there is an armed clash the local people are being held responsible and have to pay for it." 

He pointed out last year's massacres of more than a hundred men, women and children in Kunhing following an ambush by the Shan State Army on 9 May 2000. 

Saengmuang also rebutted the NSC chief's saying the majority of Shans had fled into Thailand to look for jobs. "If it were true, why are they bringing their children, wives and old people along?" he asked rhetorically. "Most of them are dependents and we are concerned about their well-being." 

The meeting also reported a petition to the United Nations High Commissioner on 28 September to consider setting up a refugee center in Fang, 160 Km north of Chiangmai, where the majority of Shan refuge-seekers reside. 

The 7 person Campaign Committee for Shan Refugee Camps was founded on 15 September in Chiangmai.