Junta leader ordered massacre, exile government says
BANGKOK, May 5, 2004�Burma�s exile government says it has new evidence that282 people were killed in violence orchestrated by the junta last year andthat junta leader Than Shwe was behind it, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.
The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has compiled a log ofeveryone killed in the May 30, 2003 violence in Depayin Township in northernBurma, a senior official in the exile government told RFA�s Burmese service.Previous reports estimated the number of deaths in the attack on Aung SanSuu Kyi�s opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) convoy at more than100.
"This came from SPDC sources�they have people who listed the names of thosewho died in the incident. According to this list prepared by the authoritiesthemselves, there were 282 dead, but it�s very difficult to get all thenames because these documents are top secret," San Aung, minister in theexile prime minister�s office, said in an interview.
The exile government, the National Coalition Government of the Union ofBurma (NCGUB), published its findings in Burmese on May 4. The report hasn�tyet been published in English. The NCGUB also obtained a list of peoplebelonging to junta-sponsored gangs or employed by the Shwebo District localgovernment who took part in the attacks.
"There were eyewitness," San Aung said, "and we got their names from theeyewitnesses. We also got names from the public and from those who, againsttheir will, carried out orders to attack NLD members and supporters. Thisincludes people in the [junta-sponsored group] Union Solidarity DevelopmentAssociation (USDA), in the police, and in the army. They themselves admittedto the killings."
"If in reality there were an independent commission to investigate theincident, the true facts would surely come out," he said.
In some USDA meetings, San Aung said, junta leader Gen. Than Shwe reportedlyclaimed credit for organizing the massacre, although any documentaryevidence to this effect has apparently been destroyed. "Than Shwe himself,from his mouth, said he organized this. But concrete evidence we will neverhave, because all orders on the case were unwritten, they were never onpaper, and they erased all kinds of evidence with regard to the order forthe killings," he said.
The report contains photos of the massacre site and tables listing thosekilled in and responsible for the attacks�as well as the names of companieswhose cars were seized for use in the attack. Photos are available on theWorld Wide Web, at www.democratic-burma.com/depayin/depayin_Photo_index.htmand the report, in Burmese only, is available atwww.democratic-burma.com/index.html
Sixteen cars from various private firms were commandeered for use in theattack, and the NCGUB report included the car registration numbers. It alsocontains an account of how weapons and chemical stimulants were distributedbeforehand.
"We got the facts and figures from democracy forces inside the country asbest as we could get," San Aung said. "They are credible and accurate, andwe will take full responsibility for their accuracy. But this is notcomplete. Because of the secrecy of this information, we were unable to getcomplete information�please understand this."
The SPDC announced at a news conference May 31, the day after violence, thatfour people had been killed and 50 injured in a clash between NLD supportersand opponents. On Jan. 10, 2004, Burmese Police Chief Khin Yi reiteratedthat account and stood by the official death toll.
Officials at the Burmese Embassy in Washington were unavailable to commenton the report.
According to Burmese dissidents, May 30 attackers numbered about 3,000 andAung San Suu Kyi's convoy of 10 cars and 20 motorcycles comprised 300 to 400people. Eyewitness told RFA that the attackers used stakes, pipes, and clubsto beat and kill NLD supporters.
The State Department, in its latest annual report on human rights around theworld, cited "credible reports [that] throughout the rest of the nightfollowing the attack, security forces clashed with and may have killedscores of other villagers, students, and Buddhist monks in the villagessurrounding the attack site."
"The Government did not credibly investigate any of the attacks and thusperpetuated a climate of impunity. Officials reportedly involved in theassault were subsequently rewarded," it said.
RFA broadcasts news and information to Asian listeners who lack regularaccess to full and balanced reporting in their domestic media. Through itsbroadcasts and call-in programs, RFA aims to fill a critical gap in thelives of people across Asia. Created by Congress in 1994 and incorporated in1996, RFA currently broadcasts in Burmese, Cantonese, Khmer, Korean, Lao,Mandarin, the Wu dialect, Vietnamese, Tibetan (Uke, Amdo, and Kham), andUyghur. It adheres to the highest standards of journalism and aims toexemplify accuracy, balance and fairness in its editorial content. Please visit www.rfa.org to learn more about RFA or to listen to RFA broadcasts.#####