.Col Saw Lah Pwe is the commander of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army’s (DKBA) Brigade 5, which broke away from the DKBA when the DKBA leadership agreed to join the Burmese military government’s border guard force (BGF).
DKBA Brigade 5 is positioned near the Thai-Burmese border in the area of Myawaddy and the Three Pagodas Pass. On Sunday, the DKBA launched a surprise incursion into Myawaddy and took temporary control of several government buildings, and on Monday, fighting between the DKBA and government troops broke out in and around the town. Also on Monday, the DKBA attacked government troops in the Three Pagodas Pass area and burned government buildings. The fighting has sent thousands of refugees fleeing across the border to Mae Sot, Thailand.
Saw Lah Pwe spoke with Saw Yan Naing of The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.
Question: What is the reason you entered the town of Myawaddy on Sunday and seized government buildings?
Answer: We heard that the Burmese military regime forced the residents of Myawaddy to vote. People didn’t want to go, but we heard that the junta threatened them with a gun. So we started to deploy our troops in Myawaddy for security.
Q: How is the Burmese government pressuring you?
A: The Burmese authorities told me that they will give me 500 cars and other business opportunities if I agree to join the BGF. They pressured monk U Thuzana [a monk highly influential in the DKBA] to visit me and ask me to accept the BGF. When nobody could persuade us to join, the regime told us to leave Myawaddy. They said they don’t want to see us any longer. But I told them we will not leave. This is our Karen land, so Karen people must live in it. There is no way to leave.
They told me they will give me everything I want if I accept the border guard force. I told them I work for the people. The responsibility of our troops is to protect the people.
Q: What do you think about Burma’s election?
A: The election will not bring democracy to the people of Burma and equality for ethnic minorities. It is not real democracy. It is the way they [the junta generals] shed their skin. People don’t support this election. It is not truth. The international community needs to come and observe what is really happening in ethnic areas. They should come and solve the problem.
Q: Other DKBA brigades accepted the BGF. Your Brigade 5 is the only brigade that rejected it. What do you think about the BGF?
A: The BGF is the way the regime will eliminate and manipulate our Karen people. We will uphold four principles of our Karen resistance leader Saw Ba U Gyi [the assasinated Karen resistance hero] until we win the battle.
The four principles of Saw Ba U Gyi are:
• Surrender is out of the question.
• The recognition of the Karen State must be complete.
• We shall retain our arms.
• We shall decide our own political destiny.
Q: You have been operating under a cease-fire agreement with the Burmese government for 15 years. What you do think is the government’s perspective on the ceasefire agreement? Are they serious about the cease-fire?
A: The regime asked us to come and cooperate with it. We cooperated for years with the aim of peace and in the interests of our people. But they don’t want peace.
They don’t respect the agreement. They are not honest about the ceasefire agreement. They are not honest with their people or the ethnic minorities. They will only manipulate and eliminate us. Under their rule, we can only breathe, but can’t survive.
Q: Compared to the Burmese government, you have few soldiers. How will you counter the government troops?
A: We pull our troops out of Myawaddy and deploy outside the town.
We will change our military strategy and focus on using guerrilla warfare tactics against them. We also have back-up troops that will provide military assistance to us.
Q: Will the Karen National Union help you?
A: We have been in contact with them.
Q: Do you think the Burmese government will further negotiate with you to join the BGF?
A: I don’t think so. Their tone is not good. They are still reinforcing their troops.
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