General have guns but not guts

General have guns but not guts, charge Shan women

During a meeting of activists held at the border Thursday (3 October), Shan activists maintained that military rulers of Burma still lacked sufficient confidence to begin serious talks with the opposition. 

"On the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the general premise was that the confidence-building phase was over", said Sao Sengsuk, spokesperson for Shan Democratic Union and Chairman of Constitution Drafting Commission -- Shan State. "Now it appears the generals are still short of the needed confidence." 

Hseng Noung Lintner was more vehement. "The SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) doesn't have the political will to come to the table just yet," she said. "That's why they are busy buying up planes and arms in order to boost their confidence." 

"One might say they are engaging in confidence-building in the way they know," she added. 
She also clarified at the meeting that contrary to accusation by Rangoon that Shan Women's Action Network had received funds from the Burma Fund, set up by Dr Sein Win and Harn Yawnghwe, the group was actually running on a shoestring. "We have yet to pay our office rent for 4 months now," she said. "We also haven't paid for the printing of our newsletter." 

Hseng Noung also informed the meeting License to Rape, the report on the Burmese military's use of sexual violence in the ongoing war in Shan State, was being translated into German and Japanese. "The Thai translation (that was launched on 5 September) was a huge success." 

The German version was launched on 8 November http://www.friends-of-shan.de/index.html.