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PRESS CONFERENCE HELD WITH LOCAL AND FOREIGN NEWS CORRESPONDENTS |
News briefing - KNU
armed terrorist group and SURA drug trafficking terrorist group mindlessly
kill innocent citizens and commit other acts of violence
[ 10 May , 2003 ]
A news conference was held at 8.30 a.m. at the Defence Services Guest House on Inya Road, with local and foreign news correspondents to apprise them of how the KNU terrorist group and the SURA drug trafficking terrorist group are brutally killing innocent people and also terrorizing them with other acts of violence.
The news conference was attended by Deputy Chief of Military Intelligence Maj. Gen, Kyaw Win, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs U Khin Maung Win, Deputy Minister for Home Affairs Brig. Gen. Thura Myint Maung, Deputy Minister for Information Brig. Gen. Aung Thein, senior officers of the Ministry of Defence, departmental officials, officials of the Information Ministry, the News and Periodicals Department, U Sein Win of the Kyodo News Agency, Patron of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Myanmar U Hla Htway, President U Sai Khai Hpa, club members and invited guests.
Spokesman Col. San Pwint of the Ministry of Defence first began by stating that at today’s press conference he would give an account of how the KNU terrorists and the SURA drug trafficking terrorist group led by Yawd Serk, were terrorizing the innocent people by perpetrating acts of violence and terror; that at the previous press conference held on 25 April a briefing had been given concerning the claim made by KNU general secretary Ph’doh Manh Shah on 23 April, that they were responsible for the sabotage of the natural gas pipeline and that their declared aim was to step up their campaign of terror.
The Colonel then said that true to their word the KNU have increased their acts of violence; that they were now mercilessly killing innocent and vulnerable villagers, burning down their homes, robbing and abducting them, planting land mines in the vicinity of villages and on motor roads and firing upon travelling vehicles.
Col. San Pwint conveyed the information that from 23 April to date, the KNU terrorists have committed the following crimes in the Kayin State And the Tanintharyi Division: indiscriminately firing weapons and setting houses on fire with intent to rob and plunder, twice; laying mines and firing upon vehicular traffic, 4 times; planting land mines near villages and thus injuring villagers, twice. The total number of innocent victims consists of 8 killed and 25 wounded including 5 monks. The colonel said that these crimes as well as other brutal acts perpetrated previously show that the KNU are indeed terrorists. He then recounted in detail the crimes committed by the KNU within this period, which are as follows;
On 23 April Saw Mike of Kawt-do Village in Kawkareik Township, while on his way to the woods stepped on a landmine planted by the KNU near his village, as a result of which his lower right leg was blown off.
On 24 April a convoy of 9 cars travelling from Dawei to Yangon was indiscriminately fired upon between Lawt-thai and Kywe Talin villages in Yebyu Township with both small arms and heavy weapons by a group of about 15 KNU terrorists resulting in one passenger killed and 12 seriously wounded including two Buddhist monks.
On 29 April a villager named Tun Ko of Thamat village, Tanintharyi Township while returning to the village from his vegetable plot suffered serious injuries when he stepped on a land mine laid by KNU terrorists on the cart track to his village. His lower right leg was blown off in the incident.
On 30 April a Hilux truck travelling from Myawady to Hpa-an was viciously attacked by a group of KNU terrorists who detonated a trip mine and fired small and heavy weapons on the vehicle between Thingan Nyinaung and Ale-bodai. Of the passengers on the truck two were killed and 5 including a Buddhist monk were seriously wounded.
On 5 May a mine laid by KNU insurgents exploded and damaged a cargo truck, which left Ku Hseik Village for Phapun, as it was approaching Winpa village. Shrapnel from the mine that exploded caused serious injuries to one U Aung Sein travelling on the vehicle.
On 6 May about 20 KNU terrorists of 101 Battalion of No: 7 Brigade led by Tar Hmway fired on a passenger Hilux vehicle proceeding from Myawady to Hpa-an with assorted small arms and heavy weapons between Kawkareik and Auk Bodai. Four passengers were killed and four others seriously wounded in the attack.
On 5 May a group of 10 KNU terrorists of No: 4 Brigade led by Kaw La Hpo arrived at Thu Ye Taung Village, Thayetchaung Township in Tanintharyi Division late in the night and seized and took away chairman of the village Peace and Development Council U Tin Pe. Then this same group proceeded to Kyet Sar Pyin Village where they set fire to the home of Village Council chairman U Than Swe and furthermore sliced off the right ear of his son Maung Tin Tun with a knife. Next they demanded the sum of kyat 30,000 from a villager by the name of U Maung Nyunt and also destroyed some of his household property. Then the KNU terrorists demanded a payment of fifteen hundred thousand kyats from the village and because this demand could not be met they abducted secretary of the village council U Han Sein.
This group next went to Kyar Inn Village the same night and
extorted kyat 30,000 from villager U Myo Aung, kyat 15,000 from villager U Kyee
Myint and took away the wife of village council chairman Daw Khin Win and
villager U Htay Naing as captives.
They then proceeded to Hin Poke Chaung
Village where they seized kyat 70,000 and a motor cycle from villager U Soe
Myint, kyat 200,000 from another villager U Tin Nyunt, kyat 8,000 and 75 ticals
of gold from one U Than Aung and kyat 50,000 and 100 ticals of gold from a
village woman Daw Mae Nyee. Then at 1 a.m. on 6 May, when they reached a spot
near Thu Ye Taung Village they turned and fired on their four captives with
small arms. The villager from Kyar Inn U Htay Naing and the villager from Kyet
Sar Pyin U Han Sein were seriously wounded, but the other two villagers managed
to escape. The two wounded were later sent to Dawei Hospital for treatment but U
Han Sein died of his injuries.
The same group of 10 terrorists from No: 4 Brigade led by Kaw Lar Pho later in the morning of 6 May, entered Kyauk Hlaykar Village of Thayetchaung Township and extorted kyat 10,000 from the wife of the village council chairman, another kyat 35,000 from villager Tin Nyunt, kyat 85,000 from U Tin Shwe, kyat 80,000 from U Yan Kyi, and kyat 60,000 from U Kyaw Ngwe.
On 8 May another group of about 17 KNU terrorists went to Kyauktalone Village of Tanintharyi Township and for no reason set fire to four houses belonging to villagers U Myint Swe, U Sein Thaung, U Khaung Gyi and Daw Ma Tin.
Colonel San Pwint went on to brief the correspondents present, on the SURA drug trafficking terrorists led by Yawd Serk. He said that the SURA was notorious as the remains of the MTA drug trafficking group once led by U Khun Sa and that to date it was not only still engaged in the immoral and illegal drug trade, it was also actively perpetrating inhuman acts of terror and violence against innocent people.
The colonel then went on to enumerate the crimes it had committed against innocent citizens from January 2003 to date which are as follows: the number of times this drug trafficking terrorist group has meaninglessly killed innocent citizens, 11 times; attacking people by laying mines, 3 times and robbing from villagers, once. As a result of these vile actions, 25 people including one Buddhist monk have been killed, 17 including one monk have been injured with 3 more still missing and one person abducted.
Col. San Pwint then gave a detailed account of the crimes perpetrated by this drug trafficking terrorist group as follows:
On 18 January 5 terrorists of the SURA group fired on the train traveling from Namhsan to Mongnai, injuring one of the railway staff on board.
On 18 January a group of 10 SURA drug traffickers arrived at a logging camp in Kyaingtong/Kyaingkhan region in Mongnai Township, where “Tun Myat Aung Co.” was carrying on officially licensed logging operations. They seized eight elephant Mahouts and five loggers and after binding them with ropes fired their weapons at the captives. As a result 12 innocent workers were brutally killed and one was seriously wounded.
On 27 January a group of 10 SURA terrorists fired on a passenger bus proceeding from Namhsan to Kyaingtaung, killing one civilian and seriously wounding the driver.
>On 3 February two villagers of Naung Par Mun Village, Mongpan Township, U Saw Na aged 50 years and Sai Phyu, aged 38, were injured when the former stepped on a mine laid by SURA terrorists near their village. U Saw Na’s leg was blown off and he died from his injuries.
On 24 March a group of about 5 terrorists of SURA battalion No: 242 led by Saw Sein Oo of the rank of lieutenant arrived at Lwe Khon Monastery in Kunheng Township and fired on the three resident monks of the monastery and left. The presiding monk U Pandita aged 66 years was killed and another monk was seriously wounded.
On 30 March three SURA terrorists arrived at Kali Village, in Kunheng Township and shot and killed one U Lalu of the same village.
On 31 March a gang of 5 SURA terrorists came to Hai Saing Village in Laichar Township and mercilessly shot and killed one U Aik Pan Pok aged 35 years and abducted another villager, Einda, 34 years of age.
On 5 April a gang of SURA terrorists arrived at Phwe Haing Village, Laichar Township and shot and killed one U Kanna, aged 43 years. Then in a most gruesome act, decapitated his head and took it away.
On 12 April a group of SURA terrorists threatened and stopped a convoy of 5 cars traveling from Namhsan to Kunheng near Kholan Village in Namhsan Township and robbed the passengers of their cash and jewellery.
On 13 April a gang of SURA terrorists arrived at Wan Tong Village in Monghsat Township and shot and killed village council chairman U Inn Pone, aged, 48 years.
On 13 April a time bomb was placed by SURA terrorists in a Hilux vehicle driven by one Yin Htwe, which was running a passenger service in the town of Tachilek. The bomb exploded when it reached Hsan Hsaing B Ward. As a result one woman, an expectant mother, was killed on the spot and 4 other passengers including a child were seriously injured.
On 14 April SURA terrorists attacked a ten-wheeler goods truck travelling from Kyaingtong (Kengtung) to Taunggyi with a trip-wire mine four miles beyond Karla village in Kunheng Township. The car was damaged and one U Saing Hla Win riding on the truck was severely injured.
On 14 April, in another incident, two SURA terrorists went to Lwe Laing Village in Mongkong Township and brutally shot and killed a woman Daw Nan Ngwe, aged 51 years.
On the night of 29 April a group of SURA terrorists arrived in the vicinity of Naungpan Village of Kunheng Township in Shan State (South). On seeing some peasants some of whom were of the Kayan national race from the Phekhon and Demoso regions of Kayah State and some who were of the Lahu national race from nearby villages totaling altogether 11 people who had come to work on hillside cultivation plots, the terrorists captured them and after making them sit together in a group senselessly fired upon them. Four peasants, Pho Htoo, Chi Po, Moo Hso and Min Thu died on the spot. Four others, called Joseph, Moe Kyaw, Air Phoo and Kya Hsay were wounded but they managed to escape and are being treated as in-patients at Kunheng Hospital. The remaining three, U Phein, Maung Oo and Mar Ku are still missing.
On 8 May about 3 miles northwest of Kyaingtaung, a number of SURA terrorists who came upon a group of workers crushing rocks for construction of the Kholan-Kyaingtaung motor road fired upon them with small arms and rocket launchers. Three workmen were severely wounded and are being treated at Sao Hsam Tun Hospital in Taunggyi.
Colonel San Pwint concluded his briefing by pointing out that the above cases clearly indicate that both the KNU and SURA insurgents are accelerating their acts of violence and terror. The KNU has itself openly declared that it would continue its campaign of sabotage and terror. So they have unequivocally admitted to being in fact a terrorist organization.
The SURA group led by Yawd Serk because it is being partly funded by some remnants of Shan insurgents who absconded the country earlier, is using this as a cover to proclaim itself as a group for Shan nationalism. But it is obvious from its drug trafficking activities and the atrocities it is committing that it is but a terrorist group engaged in the illicit drug trade.
After the briefing Deputy Foreign Minister U Khin Maung Win, Brig. Gen. Than Tun and Col. San Pwint of the Ministry of Defence replied to questions raised by the local and foreign news correspondents.
The local and foreign news correspondents then viewed the photographs recording the acts of terror and violence committed against innocent citizens by both the KNU terrorist group and the SURA drug trafficking terrorist group.