BEYOND 1988 — REFLECTIONS
Romancing the Revolution
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By AUNG NAING OO |
Friday, March 13, 2009
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On Christmas Eve in 1995, Zaw Min, the assistant foreign affairs secretary of the ABSDF, visited a mysterious little office on Ramkhamhaeng Road in Bangkok. An ex-Kuomintang colonel, who was by then a Taiwanese national, and an American shared the office. Both worked with the Mon in the resistance movement. Zaw Min's arrival coincided with a plan to establish a rebel army.
The army was to be called the "Homsa Command," after the Homsa or Hintha, a drake-like mythical bird which was the Mon national symbol. Zaw Min, who had visited the duo frequently, was unexpectedly awarded the rank of a captain for his “commitment to the revolution”—despite the fact that he was an official of the ABSDF. He was presented with a certificate as proof of his appointment.
Considering the appointment as mere fun, Zaw Min accepted it. When I heard about it later, I was stunned by the way a military position was offered to someone merely because he was committed to the resistance. In the ABSDF, one had to earn a position in the military or civilian administration through election or hard work in the frontline areas.
Perhaps, these supporters of the Homsa Command were merely trying to form a new army and were trying to attract young and committed talent. I was curious and a few days later, I dropped by the office myself to find out what was going on.
The office was tucked away in a quiet Soi near The Mall. The two men were there, and a few other people. I chatted a little while, and quickly saw that there was no sign of any activity that you would normally see in a war room or rebel army headquarters. The Homsa Command seemed to be a pipe-dream, and the two men repeatedly addressed each other as "Marshall" and "General."
The "Homsa Command" did have a legitimate connection with the Mon rebels, but the army was born only in Bangkok, and it died without ever being baptized by fire. The American (the Marshall) was later barred from entering Thailand for unknown reasons. I don’t know if he’s still alive. The ex-Kuomintang officer (the General) died a few years ago.
Around that time, an exiled labor organization also had plans to start its own rebel army, called the "Democratic Labor Army," in southern Burma. I heard that its soldiers actually underwent basic military training. But I don’t know if it ever saw battle. It too died within a few months.
I spent about 11 years with the ABSDF, and I saw many people—both Burmese and foreigners, almost always with good hearts and intentions—romance the revolution. Most of those who joined the revolution were idealists—inspired and adventurous. They saw injustice and longed for a purity of purpose in fighting for Burma’s liberation. By the time most of them joined the resistance, especially the Burmese, they had already decided that there was no alternative but to take up arms. Yet for all the purists, there were people with questionable characters among us as well.
For some, revolution was romantic, sexy and attractive, but the sacrifices were harsh and unforgiving. Many made the ultimate sacrifice—most died tragically, due to friendly fire or at the hands of those whom they had sworn to protect, work for and fight alongside. My pain at these deaths was beyond words.
Only a small number of ABSDF members actually saw combat, and among those who did, several people I knew were killed by friendly fire.
Three students from my hometown disappeared in Karen State, probably killed by Karen soldiers. Many people died in the jungle in different ways and under various circumstances.
Sure enough, these kinds of killings were not ordered by the mainstream KNU leadership, but they were carried out by individual Karen, mostly on suspicions. Many of these deaths had their roots in extreme ethno-nationalism.
Some Karen considered all Burmese the enemy. They could not differentiate between an ordinary Burmese, an ABSDF member fighting alongside them and the Burmese military, which is made of up of mostly Burman. An ABSDF official once noticed a tattoo on a young Karen soldier that read, “I am of Karen blood. I will kill the Burmese when I meet them.”
Any ABSDF soldier who ventured into Karen territory when fighting was taking place without actually understand the real dangers, could easily lose his life. Despite their good rapport and relationship with Karen leaders and commanders, the ABSDF leaders, in dangerous areas, had to act like a mother hen protecting their troops from birds of prey on all sides.
One student, Kyaw Naing, was from my hometown. He was killed by a Karen villager. His uncle was a monk in a monastery where we the pro-democracy protesters had set up a protest center during the uprising. I did not know him or the monk before, but the monk repeatedly asked me to take care of his nephew before were left for the jungle.
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 COMMENTS (15)
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| What is your intention here? Biting the hands that fed you when you were hungry? |
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Ko Than Naing Wrote: |
02/04/2009 |
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Dear Ko Aung Naing Oo,
This is a sad story. But I am confused whether I should feel sad or happy. I feel sad because when the military is ruling the country brutally, the rivals are also killing innocent people. I feel happy because you are safe now. It is said that we have to fight for freedom even if we have to give our blood and lives. Now I wonder how effective the rival forces will be for the democracy and equality. Some people (just a few compared to the Burmese military) are fighting with guns and some are resisting with their beliefs (non-violence). I personally think that if the armed groups such as the KNU and ABSDF won't cooperate with the non-violent groups, especially organizations from inside, I do not think that there will be freedom in our country, or at least peace and mutual understanding among ethnic groups. You may think how dare I suggest that the armed groups and non-violent groups should work together. Whatever you think, I strongly suggest this idea. |
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| To solve this problem and to settle the longstanding conflict among the ethnic groups, all Burmese have to build confidence among them and assure them that you are not their enemies but their friends. It is more important to try to dethrone the brutal regime leaders and change Myanmar to a democratic system, as the people wish. Don’t point fingers at the ethnic people and say that they are barbarians. They are peace-loving people living in nature without any aggressive manner. Moreover, they would like to see a genuine federal union of Burma. The union of Burma is the legacy of the ethnic group’s concern. It exists until now because they love and are proud of their motherland, which is the real Union, without discrimination based on sex, race or religion—not the defunct union of Burma of today. |
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kawthaw Wrote: |
25/03/2009 |
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| I wouldn't be surprised to hear the Karen had killed some of the 88 students while in the jungle. After all, all they have known their entire lives is that the Burmese are their enemies. Some of them have seen relatives being killed brutally in front of them by the army, who are indeed mostly Burman. It is the Burmese military who planted the seeds of hatred and racism among ethnic people. How would you expect my grandparents, who had learnt of Burmese people only through oppression and abuse by the Burmese army, to differentiate between good and bad Burmese? And I think the same is also true for those who live in Rangoon. How they will think of Karen people living in the frontier region: rebels, vicious, murderous, threatening. |
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naingmya Wrote: |
24/03/2009 |
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Maungkomaung,
Do you want to know about the mass killing by KNU thugs? Ask people in the camps how many KNU have killed innocent people in their areas. History has shown that they have slaughtered a lot of civilians during their more than 50-year-old armed conflict.
Do you think the KNU gave assistance to people? Remember, the KNU is always busy killing each other. No time to take care of their fathers. |
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komaung Wrote: |
23/03/2009 |
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Maung Naingmya,
If the KNU did not allow you in their liberated area, you would be brutally killed by your own men in Burma, but now, with the kind assistance of the KNU, you can create a nice story and enjoy your life in a third country. |
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Free Man Wrote: |
22/03/2009 |
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| Some comments are very conducive to reconciliation and peaceful coexistence. But some people seem to be emotional and more interested in causing more problems than healing the wounds of the country. If they don't know to do anything good, they should just avoid causing more problems. |
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naingmya Wrote: |
21/03/2009 |
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Thanks to the writer. The story has a lot of true information which really happened in ethnic areas. There were many innocent people died in the jungle.
The so-called KNU junta and its palm-size supporters are surviving from the funds provided by their fellow Karens who have gone to the third countries. Unfortunately, the Kawthoolay dream is gone with the wind.
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Ko Maung Wrote: |
18/03/2009 |
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| Don't forget to point out that the fall of Manerplaw was a consequence of accepting and allowing the people from the '88 demonstration into KNU territory. |
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Rural citizen Wrote: |
18/03/2009 |
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Treat each other like human beings.
Yes, a few ABSDF might have died during the so called “students’ armed struggle” 20 years or so ago, but the writer wants to emphasize it as one important part of our history or his memo, so why not also mention the civilians who were killed during his years in the jungle. He mentioned none. I bet he at least had seen a few killings by the Burmese army. I guess the civilians who fed him and his fellows during his time in the jungle were less important than the one who died from his town. I too don’t know how to say to my village men and women about the killing of my village head man, his wife and the rape of his daughter by the Burmese soldiers. How can I tell my friends about this story? Just think twice! |
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Myat Theik Wrote: |
17/03/2009 |
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| I am glad that we still have someone like Ko Aung Naing Oo, who is quite truthful about those killings. Most of the leaders still holding the offices in our movement are too reluctant to talk about that issue, for example, killings within ABSDF. I saw an article on ABSDF (Northern Burma) quite a few years ago. The reality in Kachin State was more than that, very cruel, I would say; beyond your imagination. I don’t really want to go into detail here, because I always become so emotional whenever I speak about that. I will have to live with that nightmare for the rest of my life. What deeply upset me is, those who were responsible for the killing of Ko Htun Aung Kyaw, former chairman of ABSDF (NB). Many of them are still alive, still holding their offices, funded by Western NGOs. |
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Kyaw Kyaw Wrote: |
15/03/2009 |
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To Mg Bamar,
When you wrote, "When one hears such news, even the actions of the SPDC sound justifiable," I can understand your thinking, but you'll need to look at the other side that was not included in this article too. For decades, countless Karen people suffered unspeakable suppression from the army that comprised mostly Burmese. Can you imagine if you and your ethnic people were oppressed for that long and how would you feel and act?
Even the so-called colonists (British and others) didn't do this to Burma's populace in history. Anyway I'm not criticizing you, but only trying to point out some valid issues that you might not know.
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Ko Ko Oo Wrote: |
14/03/2009 |
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Author Aung Naing Oo wished to describe the human rights violations of all parties involved in these conflicts, but his unfair criticizing shows an emotional hope of reconciliation. I understand that he was dreaming of finishing the mission that we’re dedicated to walking together to the destination.
There are many differences between the military regime and revolution groups. Burma already has a constitution, rules, laws and institutions that support any government to rule the people fairly, but the regime significantly violated human rights. On the other hand, our revolution groups have nothing like a government formation and its necessary support to control the human rights violations. The powerful regime always clutches on to power and clashes with rebels, like any oppressive ruler. This is the reason why all rebel groups around the world are not having tight regulations and urban justice system. Most fair leaders tried to make fair practice by “the law of the jungle,” but some don’t.
In the northern ABSDF affair, instead of pointing at or blaming the organization, the author needs to carefully examine the close-minded leaders who violated human rights because of enemies might be hiding among rebels.
If you find solid supporting causes, considering differences honestly, criticizing uprightly, then displaying true stories in your article will be acceptable but now it isn't a flawless one. |
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Mg Bamar Wrote: |
14/03/2009 |
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Such a sad thing to know the racial hatred that exists among Karens. When one hears such news, even the actions of the SPDC sound justifiable.
ABSDF needs to be careful with its choice of allies. When Burma was fighting for independence, BIA made alliance with anybody who hated the British, which included fascists and communists. And look what happened after we got independence.
I don't want the same story to be repeated after the SPDC falls. |
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Mr. Change Wrote: |
13/03/2009 |
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Wow!! This is a very powerful reflection of the truth and reality that exist among the so called "revolution" groups; valuable lessons to learn from, for us (the younger generation); to be bold and strong enough to admit our failures and take the necessary actions to move forward so that we can sustain hardships and sacrifices to achieve the goal of peace, equality and democracy for all.
Great piece of information. |
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