FEATURES
DISPATCHES FROM INSIDE BURMA
Embedded With
The Shan State Army
By Antonio Graceffo
Soldiers
in green fatigues, carrying AK-47 assault rifles, carved out of wood, marched
about the parade grounds calling cadence. “Sai, sai, sai, kwa, sai. Sai, kwa,
sai.”
This wasn’t the site I expected to see when I entered the Shan State Army (SSA)
headquarters and training grounds at Doi Tailand, where several hundred new
recruits were going through boot camp, while two hundred others were attending
NCO (Non Commissioned Officer) school, awaiting their promotion to sergeant.
When the whistle blew, signaling the start of the lunch period, the soldiers
frantically ran back to their lean-to huts, where they secured their aluminum
mess tins. They waited patiently in an organized file, until it was their turn
to receive to heavy dollops of food. Next, they filed into an open air mess
area, where they stand in a position of attention, staring hungrily at their
food. The soldiers knew that it would be a breach of discipline for any man to
eat until every soldier had his food ration. When the last soldier was finally
seated, a sergeant shouted a command, prompting the men to chant.
“We eat to make our bodies strong. We eat for victories. We eat for our home
land.”
The sergeant blew a whistle, and the hungry men tore into their food, as if they
had never eaten before. This was one of three short breaks the men would receive
during their 14 hour training day.
The Shan State Army is one of the largest tribal armies battling against the
Burmese federal government. For nearly fifty years, the Shan people, a unique
ethnic group, have been fighting for the independence promised them by the
British at the end of the colonial era.
Rebel
soldiers, at great risk to themselves, smuggled me into Burma, so I could see
their operations and training center, and meet the cadre.
“Please tell the world about our struggle,” said Colonel
Yawd Serk, supreme commander of the Shan State Army forces.
It may seem strange that the supreme commander would be called colonel, rather
than general. The original army commander was general Khun Sa. When he died, the
army reserved the title of general out of respect for their fallen leader. Now,
Col Yawd Serk, a bright and intelligent man, a veteran of 200 battles, serves at
the helm, leading his people toward their goal of independence. Not a rowdy band
of mustachioed rebels, the Shan State Army (SSA) is a well-trained, disciplined
military force of 10,000 soldiers, protecting the Shan homeland, which boasts a
population of 8.5 million civilians. At present, they control 60% of the
landmass, and fight daily, to maintain their lines.
In the areas which the SSA does not control, the civilians are victims to all
manner of human rights abuses perpetrated by government troops. There are
widespread reports of villagers being used as forced labor. Farmers are often
“taxed,” as the Burmese army steals their rice and livestock, leaving families
to starve. Entire villages are often burned to the ground or forcibly relocated.
Boys, as young as 14, are pressed into the army. And the Shan language is being
driven to extinction.
“It
is illegal to teach Shan language in the Burmese controlled areas,” says Lt.
Philip, a former monk, who after completing ten years of Buddhist education
abroad, returned to his homeland to join the fight for independence. “In the
temples, sometimes we can lie and say that we are teaching Pali or Buddhist
history, when we are really teaching the children Shan language. But it can be
very dangerous for us.”
In the SSA base at Doi Tailang, however, there is no shortage of Shan culture.
The Shan language is spoken proudly. The street signs and pamphlets are written
using the Shan alphabet. Approximately 750 children attend school on the base,
where they study Shan, Thai, Burmese, and English. Sadly, 250 of those children
are war orphans being raised by the army.
The base had everything from barbershops, gas stations, restaurants, and grocery
stores to a school, training center, and hospital.
“Soon we will build an internet café.” Said Philip proudly.
Doi Tailang is a fortified village built along a ridge top, with a sheer drop on
three sides. The facility once came under serious attack, in 2005, when Burmese
army (SPDC) and Wa troops shelled the facility for forty-five days. The Wa have
a cease fire agreement with the SPDC and are often used as a proxy army to
combat the SSA and other tribal resistance groups. In the end, the SSA held
their ground, and emerged victorious. The distance was too great for artillery,
the mountains proved too steep to mount an assault and the approaches are
heavily mined. Burmese and Wa forces took heavy casualties and eventually broke
off the engagement.
There
is a small Buddhist monastery with a number of monks and young novices, The
families of high ranking soldiers live in the village. Below the village is an
IDP camp for Internally Displaced People. There are currently 350 families
living in the IDP camp. These are people who were driven from their homes by the
SPDC. They are living in a makeshift village, made of bamboo huts, far from the
fields they once worked, to deed themselves. Food, medicine and other aid cannot
get to them because the camp is located on the Burmese side of the border.
Doi Tailang is not the capital of Shan State, but the government offices are
located on the highest hill, overlooking the village side of the facility.
The other side of Doi Tailang is the military training ground. In addition to
boot camp, there is a course for sergeants, which is also five months long and
taught at the same facility. Every Shan boy over the age of 18 must serve five
years in the army. After that, he may retire or make the army his career. He is
permitted to marry in the third year, with permission from his commanding
officer. Boot camp is five months long. Soldiers train form early morning till
late evening and have Sundays off. They are fed large quantities of rice three
times a day. Vegetables are minimal and meat is nearly non-existent. So, the
army supplements their
diet by hunting animals in the forest. Hunting is done under cover of darkness,
when hunting parties go into the jungle, armed with
old-fashioned muzzle-loading rifles, taking game.
There is a small shop where soldiers can buy supplemental food, as well as soap
and comfort items, but most soldiers don’t have any money at all. Their salary
is 200 Baht per month. But the army has had financial troubles and soldiers have
only been paid three times this year.
While the Colonel isn’t exactly sitting on his hands, waiting for the outside
forces to come and take his problems away, he understands the value of good
public relations, and hopes that the world community will come to his aid,
against the 400,000 troops of the Burmese federal government.
“The UN can do nothing,” he said with disgust, “only speaking,
blah…blah...blah.” Col Yawd Serk told me what he would say if he could visit the
UN in New York. “Sanctions are nothing. They can do nothing.”
The Colonel is in favor of a military solution. “If China invades Burma, the US
and the UN will get angry. If the US invades, then China will be angry. Also, it
is very expensive for the US to invade.” The Colonel and his staff were
extremely well informed about world events. He quoted the cost of the US/Iraq
war, to date. “If they spent a quarter of that money to arm the tribal armies,
we could win.”
The SSA recognized the important role China could play in their struggle, but at
the same time, they were aware of China’s refusal to take a stand.
“The SPDC bought many weapons form China and India. During the September
protests, China told the SPDC to change their tactics because they were afraid
of US intervention. But they didn’t put enough pressure because they have a lot
of business in Burma. And now, Yangon has better relation with Russia, and China
is angry a little bit.”
The conflict in the tribal areas is both political and ethnic. The SPDC is an
organ of the Burman ethnic majority. The Shan belong to the Tai ethnic group,
which includes the people of Thailand and Lao. Their language, Tai or Tai-Ai is
60% similar to Thai and Lao. The Shan have their own written script, different
from Thai but also based on Pali as is Thai. The Tai people originate from
Sipsong Panna, in China. The Burmese are from a completely different linguistic
and ethnic origin. As a result, the Shan feel closely tied to Thailand. The SSA
display pictures of the current Thai King (Rama IX) and often wear T-shirts with
his royal emblem. They also revere King Narasim, who is seen as the unifier of
Thailand. He lead a combined force of Thai and Shan troupes against the Burmese
and later died in Shan State.
Shan State should probably never have been included in the Union of Burma, as
the people are more closely related to Thailand than to Burma.
There is no reliable census data, but the SSA puts the population of Shan State
at 8.5 million. This figure includes other ethnic groups, living in Shan State,
such as the Pa-O which is quite small, and the Palong, who number nearly one
million. The Palong no longer have their own army. As of the last four years,
the Palong army was merged into the Shan State Army.
One of the leading premises of the Shan State government is equal rights for all
minorities living within the state. They also promote the maintenance and
teaching of tribal languages.
There are thought to be between one and 1.5 million Shan or Tai-Ai people living
in northern Thailand, most notable Chiang Mai where there are several Shan
temples.
Burma experts, working from Chiang Mai, have told me that the SSA is seen as a
proxy army for the Thai government in patrolling the border and controlling the
narco-trafficking of other, more violent groups, most notably the Wa (Wa
Dang/Red Wa) who are seen as gangster thugs in Thailand.
The SSA also serve as a buffer of Tai ethnicity, separating the Thais and their
ancient enemy, the Burmese. About twenty percent of the SSA speak Thai, and many
have Thai passports. As a cultural and political side note, almost none of the
SSA could speak Burmese.
Britain annexed Burma in 1885. Shan State became a protectorate, under British
rule, in 1887. The Saophas or princes administrated Shan State until 1959.
During their reign, they signed the Panglong agreement, which gave Shan State
the right to autonomy, followed by full independence in ten years. In order to
join the Union of Burma, and gain full independence from Britain, the Saophas
resigned in 1959. Burmese General Ne Win lead a military coup in 1962, seizing
control of Burma. At that time, he ousted the Shan State government, and
nullified the Panglong agreement. The SSA was formed in the 1960s, to fight for
independence against Burmese troops, who marched into and occupied Shan State.
In his published objectives, Col Yawd Serk stated that he supports Aung San Su
Kyi and the National League for Democracy.
“The first step, we have to get the Junta out of power. Then we can communicate
with Aung San Su Kyi. We can have a conference with all the tribal people, and
we can create a democracy.” Said the Colonel.
The SSA soldiers knew that Sylvester Stallone had recently finished up filming
Rambo IV on the Burmese border.
“Do you think you could get Rambo to come here?” the Colonel asked. “If my men
could see him, even for one day, it would encourage them and they would fight
like lions.”
I promised I would do what I could, but I think Sylvester Stallone only goes
into war zones in his movies.
“Maybe you could also try to reach Stephen Segal and Arnold.”
Once again, I swore that I would try. Using a satellite phone provided by the
rebels, we actually called a TV producer from Hollywood and asked if he could
get word to Sylvester Stallone.
Other outsiders were seen in a more critical light.
“Some Shan people living overseas say that they support our revolution, but they
only support with their mouth, no checkbook and no guns.” Said Philip. “They
never suffered like us. They are far away from our poor civilian population.
They love themselves more than they love the Shan people.”
Outside forces lie at the root of much of the trouble in Burma.
“Before the British came here, the tribal people were at peace.” Said Philip.
“England profited from Shan State for sixty years, and they left us with
nothing.” Said the Colonel. “Britain could come here and help us solve our
problems.”
Antonio
Graceffo is an adventure and martial arts author living in Asia. He is the
author of four books available on
amazon.com. He is the author of four books: "The Monk from
Brooklyn", "Bikes, Boats, and Boxing Gloves", "The Desert of Death on Three
Wheels" and "Adventures in Formosa". Antonio is the Host of the web TV
show, “Martial Arts Odyssey,” See the pilot episodes and all of his videos on
YouTube. His website is
www.speakingadventure.com and can be reached at his email:
Antonio@speakingadventure.com.
