General Secretary Mahn Sha (right) of KNU pictured with Gen Bo Mya at Karen Revolution Day in 2005. (Photo: Htein Linn)
Karen Rebel Leader Assassinated
By SAW YAN NAING
Thursday, February 14, 2008.
Mahn Sha, the general secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU) was shot dead on Thursday afternoon at his home in Mae Sot, Thailand, according to KNU sources.
David Takapaw, the joint-secretary of the KNU, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that Mahn Sha was shot by two unknown gunmen on Thursday at about 4:30 p.m. in his home near the center of Mae sot.
The only eye witness, a Karen girl, said, “Two men climbed the stairs of his home and said ‘good evening’ (in Karen language) to Mahn Sha. Then they shot him twice in the left side of his chest. He died immediately.”
The two men arrived in front of the house in a black car, while the other people were downstairs.
Mahn Sha was general secretary of the KNU, which has faced serious internal conflicts since the death of its charismatic leader, Gen Saw Bo Mya, in December 2006.
Majoring in history at Rangoon University in 1962, Mahn Sha joined the Karen movement in the jungle at the Thai-Burmese border as soon as he finished his studies. He was seen as one of the leading lights in the KNU and was being groomed to take over the troubled KNU leadership. He was 64.
The KNU has been plagued with recent conflicts. Last year, Maj Gen Htain Maung, former leader of the KNU’s 7th Brigade, signed a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese military regime. This was seen as yet another blow to KNU leaders who lost their fortified headquarters at Manerplaw to the Burmese army in 1995.
There have recently been several attacks and assassination attempts between mainstream KNU members and the breakaway 7th Brigade, now known as KNU/KNLA Peace Council.
Last month, Colonel Ler Moo, the son-in-law of breakaway leader Htain Maung, was killed in a bomb attack while sleeping at a communications office near the group’s headquarters. He had earlier survived an assassination attempt in April 2007 while crossing the Moei River by boat.
Mahn Sha was involved in ceasefire talks with the Burmese military regime in the past. He was highly respected among both ethnic and Burman allies. The Burmese regime saw him as a strong leader in the KNU who repeatedly called for genuine political dialogue.
He is survived by two daughters and a son.
David Takapaw, the joint-secretary of the KNU, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that Mahn Sha was shot by two unknown gunmen on Thursday at about 4:30 p.m. in his home near the center of Mae sot.
The only eye witness, a Karen girl, said, “Two men climbed the stairs of his home and said ‘good evening’ (in Karen language) to Mahn Sha. Then they shot him twice in the left side of his chest. He died immediately.”
The two men arrived in front of the house in a black car, while the other people were downstairs.
Mahn Sha was general secretary of the KNU, which has faced serious internal conflicts since the death of its charismatic leader, Gen Saw Bo Mya, in December 2006.
Majoring in history at Rangoon University in 1962, Mahn Sha joined the Karen movement in the jungle at the Thai-Burmese border as soon as he finished his studies. He was seen as one of the leading lights in the KNU and was being groomed to take over the troubled KNU leadership. He was 64.
The KNU has been plagued with recent conflicts. Last year, Maj Gen Htain Maung, former leader of the KNU’s 7th Brigade, signed a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese military regime. This was seen as yet another blow to KNU leaders who lost their fortified headquarters at Manerplaw to the Burmese army in 1995.
There have recently been several attacks and assassination attempts between mainstream KNU members and the breakaway 7th Brigade, now known as KNU/KNLA Peace Council.
Last month, Colonel Ler Moo, the son-in-law of breakaway leader Htain Maung, was killed in a bomb attack while sleeping at a communications office near the group’s headquarters. He had earlier survived an assassination attempt in April 2007 while crossing the Moei River by boat.
Mahn Sha was involved in ceasefire talks with the Burmese military regime in the past. He was highly respected among both ethnic and Burman allies. The Burmese regime saw him as a strong leader in the KNU who repeatedly called for genuine political dialogue.
He is survived by two daughters and a son.
Burmese Junta Warns INGOs
By WAI MOE
Thursday, February 14, 2008.
The relationship between the Burmese government and international health NGOs (INGOs) is like a doctor and “a patient with a tumor,” a government health official told INGOs during a meeting in Naypyidaw.
According to a document obtained by The Irrawaddy recently, the meeting on January 11, chaired by Dr San Shwe Win, the deputy director general of the public heath department, involved the ministry of health and INGOs.
San Shwe Win said that INGOs have to follow four basic principles: “non-political, non-religion, nonprofit and nongovernmental.”
Ministry officials and 14 INGO representatives based in Burma attended the meeting. Three INGO health groups, including Medecins Sans Frontieres—Switzerland, were absent.
One of the central issues was the INGOs use of junta-backed “coordination committees” to channel aid and services into the country.
During the meeting, the government distributed copies of the national planning ministry guidelines on INGOs, which was issued in February 2006.
Members of coordination committees are to be drawn from junta-backed social organizations such as the Union Solidarity and Development Association, the Myanmar National Working Committee for Women Affairs and, at the township level, the Auxiliary Fire Brigades and Veterans Association. The Burmese language version of the guidelines say that one of the duties of a township coordination committee is to monitor project teams and ensure that their activities don’t go beyond the stated scope of their mission.
Ministry officials said NGO staffers can only travel to a field mission with a “travel authorization” from the Ministry of Defense—Army. Applications involve various steps and take time. No permission, no travel, said the guidelines document.
The Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria cancelled its aid program in Burma in 2005, saying travel regulations prevented it from accomplishing its mission.
INGO workers have to apply for travel authorization two weeks in advance and if a trip is cancelled, it must be reported in advance as well.
No travel permits can be issued for short-term consultants or trainers from abroad, said officials.
INGOs also have to provide specific plans, purposes and the location of activities. Activities such as observation or monitoring will not to be accepted, said ministry officials.
The document said INGO projects in Burma will be reduced from five years to one year, and INGOs must renew their projects 3 to 6 months in advance because agreements between INGOs and Burmese officials must be approved by the ministry of national planning, ministry of revenue and attorney general of Burma.
All INGOs foreign staff who apply for a visa must indicate the period of time they will stay in the country and a reason.
Ministry officials cautioned INGOs about conducting surveys and research and advised them to keep such work to a minimum, calling it a “very sensitive issue.”
“Encourage utilization of the existing information from other NGOs,” said the document.
San Shwe Win chided some INGOs for what he called a double standard between foreign NGO staffers and ministry liaison officers. He said foreigners sometimes stayed in expensive hotels while liaison officers stayed at more moderate hotels.
“We do not request special facilities for them,” said San Shwe Win, but everyone should stay in the same hotel.
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