By Maung Chan (Burma’s Chinese)

    No one knows fully and exactly why the Burma’s junta is moving the capital from Rangoon to middle-Burma Pyinmana.

   General Sarki of KNU is a famous bush-fighter, with a mind which perceives both past and future, his followers told me.

   He, General Sarki analyses for us from the military views:

   1.The junta can hide in the dense mountain-forest, keeping far distance from the invasion of U.S.cow boy Bush’s special troop.

   2.The junta can concentrate all their generals and army in Middle Burma, attacking westwards the people’s army of Arakan State and Chin State ,northwards and east-northwards those of Kachin State and Shan State, eastwards and south-eastwards those of Shan, Karenni, Karen and Mon States.

   “Speed is too important in war”, General Sarki smiled.

   He has studied actively and practised effectively the “Military Science of Sun Zi” and the “Mao Ze Dong’s Guerrilla Tactics” .

   The “Military Science of Sun Zi” is one of US Army’s textbooks and the “Mao Ze Dong’s Guerrilla Tactics” was referred quite often by the assassinated U.S. President J.F. Kannady.

   Let us looked back our painful revolutionary history.

   When the main revolutionary forces disintegrated 26 years ago, the Burma’s junta knew it was the best chance for them to propagandise, instigate, disintegrate and bribe their enemies. The junta has attracted 17 armed forces to sign the cease-fire agreement with it and summon a certain weaker ethnic rebels to surrender.

   Now, the junta has sent massive army to encircle, suppress and monitor each cease-fire group, at the same time has been bribing and disintegrating all cease-fire benefit-groups .

   Recently the junta is forcing them to “ exchange arms with peace ”.

   The existing situation of the main cease-fire groups are as follows:

Karen State

   The Karen State is in the south-east of the new capital Pyinmana, bordering Thailand on the east.

    The Karen National Union KNU has taken weapons against the Great Burman Chauvinism led by the Burmese army since 1948. It possesses an army with the longest years of armed struggle in the world.

   The world knows that the junta lost the election in 1990 .It, however , not only refused to handover power to the winners, but also shot dead thousands of peacefully demonstrating democratic forces. Thousands and thousands of students, monks, citizen ,elected people’s representatives ,governmental servant and democratic persons fled to the Karen Liberation Area. KNU took them in and has safeguarded them. All these oppressed people co-established there a united front against the Burmese junta.

   Among the Karen people there exist Buddhist and Christian religion conflict. The junta has taken every chance to sow and stir up trouble and hatred among them. From the Karen National Liberation Army KNLP split out the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army DKBA. It signed the cease-fire agreement with the junta in 1995 and got not only privilege given by the junta but also dissension and discord sowed by the junta. The Buddhist and the Christian Karen fight each other quite often. The junta also continuously sends spy to assassinate, split and stir up conflicts among the Karen masses ,sends troops to encircle and sabotage their revolutionary bases.

   Their revolutionary headquarter Manerplaw was destroyed in 1995.

   Under the integrated effort of Burma’s premier Khin Nyunt and the Thailand’s political, military and commercial leaders, the KNU and the junta reached a gentleman-agreement in 2004. The KNU’s old leader General Bo Mya flew personally to Rangoon for the peace negotiation. All the Thailand’s partners were very optimistic at that time for the peaceful reconstruction of the Thai-Burma border area.

   No one has predicted the junta charged the premier Khin Nyunt with corruption and jailed him. The peace negotiation failed and all benefit-groups were disappointed deadly.

   Under the junta’s mighty pressure of “exchange arms for peace”, the Buddhist and the Christian Karen are convinced now being necessary to fight united against the common enemy ,otherwise both will be defeated and annihilated by the junta. Now both of them have declared that they can not abandon the weapons which they use for safeguarding their people and their peaceful living.

Mon State

   Mon State is situated to the South-East of the new capital, with Thailand as its eastern neighbour.

   The New Mon State Party signed the cease-fire agreement with the junta in 1995. In 1996 the junta let them negotiate with Singapore and Malaysia for the cooperation of lumbering, fishing, gold-mining, internal transportation etc, in order to create benefit conflicts among the Mon leaders.

   In 1998, by giving various reasons, the junta took back most privilege and signed contracts by itself with Thai, French, Korean and American Petrol Companies such as Total, Unocal etc and monopolized all benefit.

   Since 1995 after the Mon leaders doing business for their existence, the Mon armed forces have fallen gradually to pieces, especially after their beloved leader Nai Shwe Kyin passed away.

   Recently the New Mon State Party held an urgent meeting and decided to participate the junta-sponsored National Convention.

   The Party’s General Secretary Nai Han Thar repeatedly said, “The best way to solve the political problems is through political dialogue” .

   The Party’s Chairman Nai Htaw Mon announced recently,“We insist on the tri-partite dialogue, we uphold the policy of solving problems politically. We oppose the military government distorting and violating the cease-fire agreement and forcing us to surrender”.

   In 1990 the New Mon State Party possesses 6000-men strong army. Now it has reduced a lot. Does the army stage a comeback? "Up date, not seen" said the Mon people.

   In 2001, Col Nai Pan Nyunt left the New Mon State Party and established the Hongsawatoi Restoration Party, as the saying “part company, each going his own way”.

   On November 20, Nai Suthorn ,Chairman of the Mon Unity League MUL, declared that they had written to the UN Security Council members, especially China and Russia, telling them the junta is controlling the country and all the cease-fire groups are not allowed to speak out their demand of solving Burma problems by political way. The junta has told National Convention representatives that they will not change any clause in the draft constitution。

   “The main Burma issue is, in fact, the problems of the ethnic nationalities which need the UN Security Council to intervene” announced the Mon community.

Karenni State

   Karenni State is in the south-east of the new capital, Thailand is its eastern neighbour.

   During the English ruling time, Karenni State was already an independent state, so this state showed interest neither at the Panglong Agreement nor at the Union Constitution in 1947. It had no interest at all to join the Union of Burma.

   So the Karenni National Progressive Party is a very old rebel.

   However, after other 4 Karenni armed forces having signed cease-fire agreements with the junta, the Karenni Progressive Party at last was also forced to sign it on 1-3-1995.

   In June 1995, the Burmese army pushed into its territory, forced Mon people to labour, construct the bridges and roads. Over 20 thousands villagers fled to Thai-Burma border in fear of the Burman Chauvinism and Neo-Fascism. So the civil war in Mon State broke up again.

   Recently Rimond Htoo, General Secretary of the Karenni National Progressive Party announced, “ They force us to lay down the arms, that means surrender! Is it political solution? We do not want such cease-fire agreement! ”.

   The Karenni National People’s Liberation Front KNPLF split out of the Karenni National Progressive Party KNPP in 1978 and signed the cease-fire agreement with the junta in June 1994. The junta authorized them to become its village security force and let them to take over by force from the KNPP the Thai-Burma border-tax gates, Maw Chin Tin Mine ,collecting woods tax etc . They have fought first business and benefit for their living, and finally they killed each other.