************************** BurmaNet ************************** "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ************************************************************** The BurmaNet News: Thursday, February 16, 1995 Issue #110 Special Issue: The Seige of Kawmoora ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Contents: *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** 1 BURMANET: A REPORT FROM INSIDE KAWMOORA 2 BKK POST: BURMESE SUFFER HUGE LOSSES AT KAWMOORA 3 BKK POST: 40 DIE AS BURMESE HIT KNU BASE 4 NATION: HEAVY CASUALTIES FOR BURMESE ARMY IN KAWMOORA RAID 5 NATION: THAI ARMY DRIVES BACK BURMESE TROOPS 6 BKK POST: ETHNIC 'BLOODBATH' IMMINENT: JUNTA 7 REUTER: BURMESE POUND KARENS' LAST MAJOR STRONGHOLD 8 BKK POST: BURMA ACCUSES THAILAND OF AIDING KNU **************************************************************** The BurmaNet News is an ********************************* electronic newspaper * Iti * covering Burma. 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Burma Issues is a Bangkok-based non- governmental organization that documents human rights conditions in Burma and maintains an archive of Burma-related documents. Views expressed in The BurmaNet News do not necessarily reflect those of either NCGUB or Burma Issues] ************************************************************** *************THE BURMANET NEWS, FEBRUARY 16, 1995************* ************************************************************** *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** BURMANET: A REPORT FROM INSIDE KAWMOORA February 15, 1995 Kawmoora An Australian Broadcasting correspondent described Kawmoora as "a worthless bit of mud." Less than a square kilometre in area, it is a tear-drop shaped protrusion of Burma jutting into Thailand, surrounded on three sides by the Moei River. It hardly seems worth dying over--but in the last week, more than 200 Burmese and Karens have done just that. As many and more are likely to die there in the days to come. Several hundred Karen fighters are holding out at Kawmoora against a Burmese force that is at least ten times their number. Their situation is remeniscent of the Alamo, where several hundred Texans were finally overrun by a Mexican army ten times their size. The Tatmadaw, as the Burmese army calls itself, has several advantages which even the Mexicans did not--such as tanks and the fact that Kawmoora doesn't have walls. Kawmoora has been under daily bombardment since mid-December and the attacks were stepped up after the fall of the Karen's Manerplaw headquarters. As the last Karen stronghold along the Thai/Burma border, it has taken on a significance far greater than it's military value. For the Burmese State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), the fact that the Karens have been in rebellion for decades bears witness to the brutality and stupidity of Burma's military rulers. Kawmoora matters to the SLORC because wiping it out would put an end to that very public embarrassement. For the Karens of the 101st Special Battalion inside Kawmoora, evacuating in the face of a Tatmadaw attack could be suicide. It would surely mean giving up their weapons to the Thais. Losing their weapons would mean losing their ability to resist the SLORC. Getting into Kawmoora is easy enough. On most days the shelling is only intermittent and it is just a three kilometre walk from the Huay Kalok refugee camp through rice fields and degraded forest. The Thai Border Patrol and army Rangers have ostensibly closed the area, but true to form, they stay close to the roads and back from the border, lest they get too close to where stray Burmese artillary might impact. Kawmoora is on low, flat ground, with low hills on the opposite Thai shore and two much higher hills further off on the Burmese side. Between those higher hills and the Karen front line is a flat plain and a sharp ravine. Descending to the river bank on the Thai side, the Karen troops who were adding still more sandbags to the roofs of their bunkers, drop their shovels in favor of rifles and take cover. They haven't had a lot of reporters since the shelling started. Once they've determinined that their unexpected visitor does not have a Burmese accent, an extremely polite invitation to cross over is not long in coming. It is well into the dry season along the Thai/Burma border so the Moei is little more than waist deep and less than a hundred metres wide; an easy two minutes wade across the river. Bbut as the Burmese army has learned repeatedly, two minutes directly in front of a machine gun can last a lifetime. The men of the 101st Special Battalion are perhaps the best force in the Karen revolution. They are no boy-soldiers as there were at Manerplaw and these men have been fighting together for many years. The are however, extremely courteous and quickly invite their guest into a deep bunker in case the artillary starts up again. Kawmoora may be a "worthless bit of mud" but the teak in those bunkers is not. The bunkers are roofed with rows of entire teak trees, layered three rows deep. If there was any spot in them with less than 10 feet of teak over one's head, it was not evident. Even direct hits by the SLORC's 120 and 130mm shells are not enough to kill the men inside. The constant bombardment is enough to make their lives miserable, but while full of sound and fury, damages nothing. Their commander, Gen. Taw Hla is a devout Christian with a reputation as a reserved, cagey and able commander. Diminutive and with a scraggly white beard, he hardly looks the part of a fierce warrior. When the Karen Human Rights Group put up a display about SLORC abuses of Karen civilians near his base, the General carefully examined the display and then enquired as to its purpose. He was, it seems, concerned that his men not worked into into a blood lust by the reports. That concern, and it appears genuine, did not prevent the General and his men from grimly slaughtering the better part of three battalions when they they attacked his base a week ago. Deliberately conducting our brief interview above ground, Taw Hla lived up to his reputation for trying out journalists before he decides whether he likes them. His answers are straightforward; they aren't leaving until they've gained victory and the reason they are fighting at Kawmoora is because that is where the Burmese have come. Out of the general's presence, some of his men are more open. They are equally determined to stay but there is no missing the pressure that they are under. One has not eaten in the two days since the last attack because the sight of all the men they've killed stays with him. They are upset at the "unfairness" of the SLORC's unending artillary barrage, as if fairness were a concept that still applied in war. Their anger and fear was turned on the SLORC soldiers during the last attack: "We were very severe with them," one Karen soldier quietly said. Leaving the base is another brief wade across the Moei. On reaching the other side, another barrage breaks over Kawmoora like a summer storm. It is desultory by Kawmoora standards but enough to get one's attention. The nearest cover is up the hill and seventy five metres down the road, where I'd concrete culvert on the way in. Sliding over the side and into the narrow tunnel, the strong smell of human faeces is evidence that others have found cover here before. After a few minutes, the shelling clears up enough to make the return journey. These are almost certainly the last days of Kawmoora. It isn't that the Burmese will take it, but rather that the Thai army will close it by edict. The only way to get food in is through Thailand and the tilt of Thai foreign policy towards SLORC is both unmistakeable and odorous. For its part, the SLORC doesn't appear inclined to wait for the Thais to shut Kawmoora down. They've moved a number of PT-76 light tanks up to Kawmoora and look set to try armor where human wave attacks failed. For their part, the Karens, up against the longest odds they've ever faced, are putting their faith in God and their rocket-propelled grenades to get through the coming attack. [Messages can be sent to the troops inside Kawmoora care of BurmaNet, although replies cannot be guaranteed.] *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** BKK POST: BURMESE SUFFER HUGE LOSSES AT KAWMOORA 10 February 1995 More than 100 Burmese soldiers were killed or wounded in Wednesday's suicide attack on the KNU's rebel base at Kawmoora, according to KNU and Thai border Patrol Police sources. The BPP source said at least 54 Burmese soldiers littered no-man's land, an area of about 600 metres wide and 500 metres long in front of the camp. He said the Burmese troops were mowed down by small arms fire when they mounted a frontal attack on the rebels' defensive perimeter. An unknown number of Burmese soldiers were transported in six trucks to hospital in Than Gan Nti Naung and Kaw Ka Reik. The seriously wounded were helicoptered to Pa-an for surgery, the BPP said source. Seven Karen rebels were killed and four wounded, said Brig-gen Taw Hla, commander of Kawmoora. Among the dead Burmese were two majors. Karen renegades who defected to the Rangoon forces were also killed in the suicide charge. This was shown from their yellow scarfs, he added. The general claimed his troops were killed or wounded Burmese they leapt out of their bunkers to fight the Burmese face to face. About 300 Burmese troops from the battalions of the 44th Division, supported by artillery, motor and rocket fire, were involved in Wednesday's frontal assault on Kawmoora. Hundred of Karen fighters who retreated from Manerplaw headquarters arrived at Kawmoora a few days before Wednesday's assault. A KNU officer claimed that several thousand rockets, artillery and motor shells and slammed into Kawmoora over the past few days. Another Karen officer said the KNU leadership was not happy with reports of the split between Buddhist and Christian Karen.(BP) *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** BKK POST: 40 DIE AS BURMESE HIT KNU BASE 9 February 1995 More than 40 Burmese troops were killed yesterday as they attempted to storm the last remaining Karen National Union base at Kawmoora,, some 25 kilometres north of Mae Sot district. A Karen guerrilla, an eye-witness to the assault, said the Burmese army troops were blown to pieces when they entered the heavily-mined defensive perimeter of the last major KNU stronghold. He added that some government soldiers were seriously wounded and five were captured after they managed to evade the minefields and the shootout between the two sides that followed the daring assault. The Karen officers said the Burmese army sent in two assault forces, each numbering about 100 men at about 9 a.m. He described the 40 killed in the attack on the base as "very brave men who just walked through the minefields oblivious of the exploding mines and KNU bullets." He also said according to a government radio massage intercepted by the KNU, the Burmese army had ordered the 100 or more troops who had retreated from the minefields to capture Kawmoora at all costs. "The special assault groups are believed to have been heavily drugged to have carried out the suicide attack on the KNU base," said the Karen officer. He added that some of the seriously wounded in the minefields are still alive. Another source said it is common practice by the Burmese military regime to inject their frontline soldiers, especially suicide squads, with a certain drug that numbs the sense of pain and fear in a man. "They become like zombies, fearing neither pain nor death," the source said. Meanwhile Brig-Gen Taw La, commander of Kawmoora, said the KNLA (Karen National Liberation Army) has no intention of abandoning the base. "It has also established mobile units to stage hit and run attacks against Burmese troops." he said. A source in the Thai border security force in Mae Sot, Tak, said fighting in Burma was clearly heard throughout yesterday. The Burmese ground attack on kawmoora followed shelling of the camp with more than 2,000 rounds of mortar and recoilless gunfire which began on Tuesday, the source said. Thai forces went on full alerty yesterday after being told that a number of Burmese soldiers had crossed the Moei River to the Thai side of the border at Ban Wang Kaew early yesterday morning in order to attack Kawmoora from the south. The report, which was not confirmed, said a clash broke out after Burma troops who managed to cross to the Thai side of the border opened fire at kawmoora camp with machineguns and rifles, prompting KNU soldiers to return fire. A Border Patrol Police source said a number of artillery rounds landed at Ban Wang Kaew, some of which exploded in midair. Thai border security forces fired 30 warning rounds using 105 and 81 mm mortars. Fighting died down late in the afternoon. Rangoon troops have tried to overrun kawmoora many times without success. Three fresh Burmese battalions were reported to have reinforced the area, indicating Rangoon's determination to take Kawmoora "at all costs". (BP) *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** NATION: HEAVY CASUALTIES FOR BURMESE ARMY IN KAWMOORA RAID 10 February 1995 Yindee Lertcharoenchok THE Burmese army has suffered heavy casualties and ammunition loss from Wednesday's massive ground and artillery assault at Kawmoora, opposite Mae Sot District, Tak province. Thai border and guerrillas sources said the bodies of at least 54 Burmese soldiers, several of whom were Karen deserters, were found at the Kawmoora front line. The sources said at least six truck full of wounded Burmese soldiers left the area for Thin Gan Nyi Naung for medical treatment or to be transferred to Rangoon or Pa-an, which is the capital of Burma's Karen State. The guerrillas seized a number of weapons and ammunition from the Burmese Army. At least 20 assault rifles, one 7.62-mm machine gun, two wire cutters and ammunition were captured. The Karen also seized a Burmese flag and the Fifth Burmese Company flag from the fighting zone. The heavy bombardment and ground assault has come to an almost complete halt since Wednesday, but sporadic artillery fire can still be heard. The Burmese 44th Division Commanded, Brig-Gen Tin Lwin, has been directing the operations against Kawmoora, the guerrillas' 101th special military unit, from a near by town, while Maj Gen Maung Hla, commander of the Southern Operation Command is believe to have been monitoring the whole offensive in Pa-an. Some junta leaders, particularly the Chief of Military Intelligence, Lt Gen Khin Nyunt, who initiated and supported the cease fire talks with about a dozen armed ethnic groups, wanted to engage the Karen in dialogue, but the armed forces and regional commanders, especially Army Commander-in-chief Gen Maung Aye, supported the use of force to wipe out of the Ethnic insurgency. The Burmese junta broke its unilateral ceasefire against the Karen, declared in April 1992, and launched an unexpected and lighting offensive against Manerpalw in early December, when the KNU was facing the religious rebellion which saw the eventual breakaway of about 300 to 400 Karen Buddhist troops. (TN) ****************************THAILAND*************************** NATION: THAI ARMY DRIVE BACK BURMESE TROOPS 9 February 1995 Fifty Burmese troops who cross the Moei River into Thailand yesterday morning in an attempt to launch a rear attack against a Karen stronghold opposite Thailand's northern prov- ince of Tak, were repulsed after the Thai Army fired an artil- lery shot to warn them of their territory transgression. The Army also fired several rounds of heavy artillery and smoke canisters as a warning after the Burmese Army fired at least 10 heavy artillery rounds, including anti-personnel shells, into Thai territory yesterday. The shelling stopped at about 5 pm. Local Thai leaders and karen National Union (KNU) sources said the Burmese attacks yesterday were the heaviest assaults in the last three days, since its army decided to send ground forces in to overrun Kawmoora, headquarters of the Karen guerrillas' 10th special unit opposite Tak's Mae Sot district. Since early December, The Burmese army has fired about 1,000 rounds of artillery a day at Kawmoora, an attempt seen as "a never-breaking" operation to tire out about 2,000 war-battered die-hard karen soldiers. Karen officers said during interviews yesterday that they had intercepted a Burmese army message that its forces would try to capture Kawmoora by tomorrow. Thai authorities in Bangkok and in Mae Sot said the Burmese army keeps up its present all-out massive attack, it would be difficult for the Karen to hold on to their camp for long. But Karen officers said their troop would "fight til the death" to defend the one-square-kilometre Kawmoora stronghold. Both Karen and Thai sources said the Burmese army had deployed four battalions, including about 3,000 civilian porters, in the offensive. They believed that the Burmese army had suffered the heaviest casualties, estimated at over 100, in the ground assault yesterday against Kawmoora's narrow defence line, which has been well protected with mines, booby traps and alert karen forces. Karen officers said they believed many of the Burmese troops were in fact porters in army uniforms whom the Burmese army had forcibly rounded up recently from Kawkereik, Hlaingbwe and other towns in the area and forced to carry military loads and clear t he kawmoora frontline as "protective shields" and "mine sweepers". The officers also confirmed that about 30 Karen mutineers who defected in December from the Karen National Union to form a rival group, are now assisting the Burmese in the attacks. Agence France-Presse adds: The Burmese junta yesterday said more than 4,000 Karen who fled its January offensive against anti-Rangoon groups had returned from refugee in Thailand and were being settled by a government organization. An official statement, issued by the Burmese embassy in Jakarta, said that "4,165 Kayins have returned ... within the last week, and more are returning each day. "Local authorities and the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) are providing them with food, clothing and other necessities, and assisting to settle them in villages in Kayin State," it said. On Jan 29, Rangoon's state-run media announced that ethnic Karen state had been renamed Kayin state. The embassy statement obtained here also said that the Karen National Union (KNU), the rebel group which the junta forced into retreat on Jan 26, had suffered a general mutiny. (TN) *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** BKK POST: ETHNIC 'BLOODBATH' IMMINENT: JUNTA 13 February 1995 The chairman of the Burma's ruling junta said yesterday ethnic groups still at war with the government were pushing their members into a "bloodbath". Government troops, meanwhile, maintained their siege of the last major ethnic insurgent base, keeping up their shelling of Karen guerrillas at Kawmoorah, in eastern Burma near the Thai border town of Mae Sot. Speaking on the annual Union Day Holiday, Gen Than Shwe said internal strife that has believed the nation for decades still affected remote areas. "Owing to the insurgency, the national (groups) suffered all kinds of hardship and misery, death and injury, their villages and home put to the torch, and their farms, roads, bridges, hospitals and school destroys," he said. The government's reconciliation policy has led 13 insurgent groups to end their fight and join with the military for the welfare of the nation, Than Shwe said. But, he said: "There remain some groups which are misled and continue to commit destructive acts under influence of aliens, turning a blind eye to the welfare of the states and the nationals. "It is deplorable that the groups suppress their members' wish for making peace and are attempting to push them toward a bloodbath," he said. Union Day marks the anniversary of the 1947 Panglong Agreement, which asserted the semi-autonomous rights of ethnic minority regions within the Burmese union in preparation for independence, granted by Britain in 1948. Nevertheless, mutual distrust remained and ethnic minorities have been at war with the central government since before the country attained independence. In recent years, however, many groups have concluded ceasefire the government. Late last month, government troops captured the long time headquarters of the Karen National Union, the last major ethnic insurgent group still fighting. The fall of the camp at Manerplaw, 240 kilometres east of Rangoon, caused thousand of Karen civilians to flee across the river border to Thailand. The group's guerrilla scattered to other points along the border. Burmese forces have been besieging another Karen camp at Kawmoorah, 200 kilometres south of Manerplaw, but have been unable to drive out its defenders despite sometimes massive shelling, which continued on a reduced scale yesterday. Exile rebel sources in Thailand, said a propaganda campaign by the Rangoon government appeared to be effective in inducing defections among the Karen. They said about 1,000 Karen have left refugee camps in Thailand in the past three days to cross back into Burma and rally to the government side. The government campaign takes advance of a religious split in the Karen ranks, as well as a general war-weariness. Long-simmering tension between the mostly Christian Karen leadership and the lower ranks, mostly buddhist, turned into an open revolt last December. Athough the revolt was suppressed, members of the break-away Buddhist group later served as guides and otherwise aided Burmese troops in their successful six-day offensive against Manerplaw. Opposition sources said yesterday about 50 members of the break-away group have been visiting refugee camps in Thailand to try to persuade Karen refugees to return to the government side in Burma. They said returns were given some pocket money and promised good housing on their return. (BP) *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** REUTER: BURMESE POUND KARENS' LAST MAJOR STRONGHOLD February 9, 1995 MAE SOT, Thailand (Reuter) - Burmese government troops Wednesday pounded Kawmoora, the last major stronghold of autonomy-seeking Karen National Union (KNU) rebels, Thai military sources at the border said. More than 100 shells fired by the Burmese landed on Thai soil and the Thai army retaliated by firing artillery and mortars at Burmese positions, the sources said. A Reuter reporter at the scene reported heavy fighting between Burmese troops and KNU forces, who are defending their last major stronghold since the fall of their headquarters at Manerplaw last month. It was the first time the Thai third army stationed opposite Kawmoora on the River Moei had returned fire, having earlier sent smoke shells toward the Burmese positions as a warning. *****************KAREN STATE/KAWTHOOLEI*********************** BKK POST: BURMA ACCUSES THAILAND OF AIDING KNU 15 February 1995 BURMA accused Thailand of obstructing its military operations against the Karen National Union's Kawmoora camp and threat- ened to retaliate by closing the border and suspending construction of the Thai Burmese Friendship Bridge. The accusing was made in a letter signed by Lt-Col Than Soe of the local Burmese-Thai Border Committee and submitted to the Thai committee yesterday. The letter said Thai authorities had obstructed Burmese opera- tions aimed at seizing Kawmoora camp opposite Mae Sot District by sending food supplies to KNU soldiers defending the camp and providing medical treatment for wound rebels. This "support" had enabled the KNU to repulse the Burmese at- tacks, it said. The letter also claimed the Thai deployment of forces and weapons along the border opposite the combat zone and Thai shelling of Burmese troops had made the military offensive more difficult. It said Thailand's actions are obstructions to good relations between the two countries. Therefore, Burma would retaliate by closing the border to completely ban cross-border trade and also suspend construction of the Mae Sot - Myawaddy bridge, the latter said. Col Direk Yaemngamriab, chairman of the Thai side of the bor- der committee, said Thailand has a clear policy to maintain good relations with Burma and has never interfere in the ongo- ing suppressing against the KNU. "Thailand has never reinforceed its military force along the border because we are not involved in the conflict in Burma," he said. Col Direk said Pado Mah was a refugee in the care of Thai au- thorities and international organisations for humanitarian reason. "The DKBA's association was a violation of Thai sovereignty. Moreover, abduction is a violation of Human rights," he said. (BP) ************************************************************** NEWS SOURCES REGULARLY COVERED/ABBREVIATIONS USED BY BURMANET: ABSDF: ALL BURMA STUDENT'S DEMOCRATIC FRONT AP: ASSOCIATED PRESS AFP: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE AW: ASIAWEEK AWSJ: ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL Bt.: THAI BAHT; 25 Bt.3 DUS$1 (APPROX), BBC: BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION BI: BURMA ISSUES BKK POST: BANGKOK POST (DAILY NEWSPAPER, BANGKOK) BRC-CM: BURMESE RELIEF CENTER-CHIANG MAI BRC-J: BURMESE RELIEF CENTER-JAPAN CPPSM: C'TEE FOR PUBLICITY OF THE PEOPLE'S STRUGGLE IN MONLAND FEER: FAR EAST ECONOMIC REVIEW IRRAWADDY: NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY BURMA INFORMATION GROUP KHRG: KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP KNU: KAREN NATIONAL UNION Kt. BURMESE KYAT; UP TO 150 KYAT-US$1 BLACK MARKET 106 KYAT US$1-SEMI-OFFICIAL 6 KYAT-US$1 OFFICIAL MOA: MIRROR OF ARAKAN NATION: THE NATION (DAILY NEWSPAPER, BANGKOK) NCGUB: NATIONAL COALITION GOVERNMENT OF THE UNION OF BURMA NLM: NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR (DAILY STATE-RUN NEWSPAPER, RANGOON) NMSP: NEW MON STATE PARTY RTA.:REC.TRAVEL.ASIA NEWSGROUP SCB.:SOC.CULTURE.BURMA NEWSGROUP SCT.:SOC.CULTURE.THAI NEWSGROUP SEASIA-L: S.E.ASIA BITNET MAILING LIST SLORC: STATE LAW AND ORDER RESTORATION COUNCIL USG: UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT XNA: XINHUA NEWS AGENCY **************************************************************