Archive for the ‘Loimaw’ tag
Shan rebel had an interview with the Australians
Documentry film-makers from Australia risked their lives to go into jungle of the Shan land although there were some risks in every adventure.
They were keen to know about opium growth, opum trade, heroin refineries and who were controlling biggest heroin product-ion in the Shan State? etc.
They however wanted to know most was about Khun Sa and his army, Wa army, Go Gang group and
Nationalist groups revolted against the Burmese Government.
The interview made in evening and 2 hours long.
Major Koan Mong was responsible to answer the questions and said “I’m read to respond frankly to your questions, Go ahead please!”
Q: How your SSA army’s situation currently ?
A: The situation of the SSA was currently in crisis and it was to be considered.
Q: What had really happen to your army ?
A: Our leaders Col. Sam Mong, Divisional Commander, and Col. Pan Aung, Senior financier in the party had been disappeared since in August 1978 in Thai soil. We believed that they were dead. It’s the great lost and it’s also the main reason that the SSA had to be confronted with difficulties. The 2 men had been trusted and highly respected by their subordinates. In the previous days the SSA with 4,000 strengths had been the second strongest force among the revolutionary groups in Burma while the Karin KNDO was the largest Army and being the most revolutionist. We anyway would continue our political movement.
Q: We believed that currently Khun Sa’s Shan United Army holding with modern military equipments was the strongest.How did you think that?
A: Yes it’s sure,but he’s not the politician and his armed force had not been fighting against the Government forces basing through-out Shan State. He had been doing for his own rich which being large involved with heroin trade.
Q: Howmany refinery he had and howmany ton the refinery was capable to produce pure white heroin ,estimatedly, and where did the heroin go?
A: Not less than 5 refineris around the mountainous areas of Loimaw west of Salween river where raw opium was collected as Loimaw was his native place. Vast productive opium- field was also under his strict control. Besides, opium from others merchants and privade collectors in Tang Yan district sold their opium to him. Refined heroin, it’s depending on the demand, had to be stocked as one “massive demanded massive productive”. Escalating heroin activity, from the switch to a biannual harvest by poppy farmers in the Shan State to doubling of heroin addicts in the USA. Accompanies the growing influence of the triads. Throughout much of the 1980s the USA attempted to curb the supply of heroin by providing Burma with millions of US dollars for poppy fields eradication efforts.This had minimal effect, and the US suspended all aid to the Burmese Government because of its brutal supression of a nationwide Democracy movement. Since then, heroin on US street had become more abundant than ever before. That was after Khun Sa moved to Ma Hin Dek, on Thai border of Chieng Rai,1976. According to mutual interests, which had made between Burmese Junta and Khun Sa in April 1973,Khun Sa drew up the six years plan for the control and eradication of opium and opium related crops. It was doubted that the plan was created by the Burmese and the Warlord was urged to do. Khun Sa ,as the opium King, promised to corporate with internation community to fight against narcotic drugs and submitted his six years plan. This was rejected by the Carter Administration on July in the same year.
Q: Had you ever met the opium King before? We would like to know about his Drugs transportion route and his drug gangs abroad including Australia?
A: No,I had never seen him but we as the Political group always observed and detected any armed group active in the Shan State. Therefore we tracked down Khun Sa’s every step.
- More interested Q And A on drug be continued -
Khun Sa spends longtime in the jungle to do what he wants to be and has acheieved his purpose
His main purposes (1) to expel the white Chinese, the Kumingtong Force led Gen. Lee and Gen. Duon, (2) to control the whole opium trade and (3) to build his own empier in the Shan State solely. That is not meant fighting for the Freedom of the Shan State but he declares the World that he is Patriotic Fighter for the autonomy of the Shan people who are being under pressure of the Burmese Ruler for decades .Due to his purpose, he trys to build a small armed force folowing his militant experience in KMT (The Kumingtong army) which involed the opium trade hugely and tried to build its empire in the Shan State after defeated by the Communist in 1949. Khun Sa is the native of Loimaw township situated on the western bank of the Salwin river. Loimaw had to bear the brunt of this unexpected foreign invasion.Local people were conscripted for labour and military service, taxes were levied on them and they were subjected to harsh,lawless rule. One day the KMT armed troops took his grandfather’s horses and mules. Khun Sa can still recall his grandfather ,eyes filled with tears, as he directed his grandson to show the KMT personel present at the occasion, the designated packsaddle for each of the mules. The his resolved him to regard the KMT as foreigners and enemies to be driven from the motherland. He then organized an anti force from his boyhood friends and staged on a raid one erly dawn on an unsuspecting KMT unit. The surprise seem to be total because he managed to acquire 30 assorted weapons from this sihgle adventure. The KMT quickly moved to put his grandfather in custudy and demand the return of the weapons .Consequently, the young rebel had to free for his life into urban districts. The bittter experience that he had witnessed under foriegn occupation. After a ten years trail period led him to form a clandestine underground movement on New Year’ s Day, 1960. Col. Mong Shwe, the Burmese commander of the Eastern Strategic command (Shan State), who on 6 January 1960, offered him the status of a volunteer militia chief and a free hand in the build - up of his strength in return for his pledge to fight the KMT and commnist party of Burma (CPB). He accepted the offer. His strength, supported by the local merchants who were by nature averse to socialism,gradually grew and by 1963 spread to Kengtung,which borders with Laos. Khun Sa named his armed force as Shan United Army (SUA). The KMT joined the CPB force attacked the SUA in the following year but failed to destroy him. The KMT used a different strategem which turned to be unfortunately effective as subsequent events proved.
