bust Posted December 27, 2006 Report Share Posted December 27, 2006 http://www.irrawaddy.org/aviewer.asp?a=6522&z=154 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickfarang Posted December 30, 2006 Report Share Posted December 30, 2006 It seems that his death was a great loss to many of his followers. Do you think it will make a great difference to the fortunes of the karen people of today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bust Posted December 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2006 That is the $64.00 question. He has been a thorn in the side of the junta for decades. They hated him but also respected him. He was the one who brokered the cease-fire in 2003 with General Khin Nyunt the then PM of Burma and the SPDC which incidently the SPDC never honored. This was around the same time they ambushed and arrested Aung San Suu Kyi. Also at that time the Burmese Government hired a PR company to try and paint a brighter picture of the junta in the eyes of the US. Guess who also used the same PR company? The once governor of Texas George Bush and the NRA. He was always very critical of Thailand accusing them of being more interested in making money out of Burma than protecting human rights. Thaksin was hugely guilty of that exact accusation and the corruption with Thai officials along the border is unprecenented. In the eyes of his people he was still the most respected and strongest symbol of their struggle for freedom. As the ethnic Karen are in their sixth decade of fighting for their independance I cannot see them giving up the cause. As Bo Mya had been ill for some time measures were already in place for his death, although it will be a hard position to fill. The fact that there is a new government in power in Thailand may have some baring on the situation but that is yet to be determined. A friend of mine interviewed him and a quote I remember he said was " When your people are being killed, you are not afraid anymore. When you lose someone you love, you don't care how much you have to sacrifice." I know the Karen people will continue their fight and maybe just maybe the outside world will finally acknowledge their struggle and step in to stop the slaughter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickfarang Posted January 1, 2007 Report Share Posted January 1, 2007 Thank you for the thorough explanation. I seems the Karen's plight isn't getting much press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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