Rangoon Opinions Differ on Kokang Assault

Rangoon Opinions Differ on Kokang Assault

By LAWI WENG Tuesday, September 1, 2009



Rangoon residents are expressing different opinions on the reasons for the recent government attack on the Kokang militia known as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in Shan State, according to sources in Rangoon.



A Mandalay-based journalist said he believes the government troops attacked the MNDAA so that senior generals could postpone the planned 2010 election because they do not want to share power with civilians.



He believes the military will stage a coup in the future and Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye will order his troops to attack before the election.



Many Journalists in Rangoon disagree with the attack, saying the government should negotiate instead of fight, according to sources.



However, a military retiree said he supported the attack because the MNDAA trafficked drugs and weapons.



“They broke the law and threatened peace and stability. This government has to fight them just as a new one would have to as well,” he said.



A law student in Rangoon University said the government would not postpone the election because of the conflict, saying they attacked the MNDAA as a warning to other ethnic armed ceasefire groups refusing to transform their troops into border guard forces.






“They attacked to make an example of them,” he said.



A Rangoon-based business analyst said continued fighting would damage Rangoon’s economy because many ethnic Kokang and Wa run businesses there.



“They will have to return home if the fighting continues. A lot of businesses would close,” he said.



Another Rangoon resident said many have mixed feelings. They worry about a civil war and wonder whether the Chinese government will change its policy toward the Burmese government after the recent influx of refugees from the Kokang area.



“China never supported sanctions against the junta at the UN, but they might act differently now,” he said.



Another Rangoon-based journalist said, “China might change its policy toward the Burmese government. They could even support the democracy movement in Burma, pressuring the junta to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and open dialogue with the opposition.”



Some Burmese democracy activists say the government took over the Kokang area to clear the way for the construction of an agreed gas pipeline starting in September.



Over 30,000 civilians fled to the Chinese border town of Nansan in Yunnan Province during the three days of clashes between junta troops and the Kokang militia.



Burma’s state-run media said government troops defeated the MNDAA forces, saying 26 Burmese policemen and at least eight rebels were killed.



Some civilians have said government troops looted their homes after they abandoned them.



The Burmese government recently announced the area is stable after about 700 MNDAA troops surrendered their arms to Chinese authorities.



The Burmese government is allowing Kokang residents to return, meanwhile. 4,000 have re-crossed the border, according to Chinese authorities, who said many others remain at the makeshift camp in Nansan.



Aung Thet Wine contributed to this article.

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