Bleming does give a supposed step-by-step guide on how to become a foreign volunteer with the KNLA. So “Charles F” is correct that Bleming is not advocating for paid mercenaries – just for volunteer/unpaid gunmen.
It is utterly irresponsible to recruit would-be volunteers so openly. The “vetting” that Bleming claims the KNU gives voluteers is nonexistent. There is no shortage in the past of foreigners with questionable backgrounds having wandered into the Karen State and been given a rifle, or even their own troops to command. It has at times been a “Fantasy Island” for the aspiring Rambo. Professional soldiers have fought with the Karen (ex-Legionnaires, etc) – but so too have delusional psychopaths.
Bleming might be charmingly Quixotic, but the problem is that he incorrectly presents himself as the official US representative for the KNU. The KNU leadership needs to clarify this matter and disavow Bleming’s claim – if for no other reason than it appears silly.
I have no doubt that Nerdah Mya might have left Bleming with the impression that he had been appointed the ‘Consular General.’ The Karen have a wonderful talent for playing up the “white brother liberator” fantasy in which foreigners like Bleming become enmeshed.
It is a dangerous, confusing conflict. Foreigners with little understanding of Karen factional struggles, the millennialism that infects their political/military “strategy,” – and the KNU’s own problems with human rights and democracy – should not be encouraged to blithely enter the fray.
The elected representatives of the Thai people (who are the sovereign in this country, according to the constitution), do apparently not even have enough democratic maturity to decide about to which place their new meeting place (the National Assembly building) should be moved. See the following news piece (TN, Feb. 11).
Yongyuth to petition for royal advice on Parliament relocation
A petition will be submitted for the royal advice of His Majesty the King in regard to the relocation of Parliament building, House Speaker Yongyuth Tiyapairat said on Monday.
“I was born under the reign of His Majesty and would ask for the royal advice as blessing for Parliament,” he said, insisting he would not do anything to offend the monarch.
Thanks for the very interesting paper Andrew.
This is an excellent, very clear of articulation of the complex rural economy that urban dwellers should be more aware of to lessen entrenched prejudices. However, I find the presentation of the paper within the framework of ‘sufficiency economy’ quite confusing. If it is about dispelling myths, why not take the case studies promoted in the Thai media as ‘success’ stories and prove otherwise. That would have been a much more direct.
That is why I also find the last paragraph quite out of context from a very strong and coherent presentation. It is quite a leap of scale from Ban Thiem to national politics, coups, Thaksin with significant gaps that needs filling in to be convincing. I am certain Andrew is addressing that in a fuller paper he is writing – that I expect will lead to a comprehensive book which will eventually fill in those knowledge gap for us, and also encompass those rural areas that intentionally adopt sufficient economy’s ‘New Theory’ principles.
As an urbanite, I am always enlightened and excited by research such as those carried out by Andrew in the rural realm and I am grateful for that. My unresearched response to ‘suffiency economy’ is, as mentioned in earlier posts, based on my studies into ‘urban sustainability’. Otherwise it is more consistent with the Matichon article in Thai posted by Srithanonchai (#8). Self-sufficiency leads to independence of thought and actions – and evolving through the described stages can coalesce into strong community actions. For aspects in the bureaucracy and elite, including PMThaksin himself, this may not be desirable evidenced by the many grassroots activists murdered (many unresolved) during his days as prime minister.
Maybe it is two, not necessarily competing, visions towards ‘self-sufficiency’ we are talking here – and it may already define village politics throughout Thailand. A conservative group wants to grow slowly always naturally losing out to pro-development groups that want to ‘develop’ as fast as possible. It is a matter of differing views on and pace of the ‘exploitation’ of human and natural resources. PMSamak government is proposing the mega-water grid directing water from the Mekong to irrigate Isan or the eucalyptus forest at an industrial scale – naturally this will meet with protest from bureaucrats and academics who ‘know better’ as well as villagers that fear radical change to their surrounds and livelihoods (but just the idea alone is already a PPP vote winner)…
The converse: 51% see sexual relationships as abnormal (?) or coerced (by their parents through marriage?). Should have just given respondents a real life situation and see how they would respont. More meaningful.
The word “mercenary” seems to be getting thrown about quite a bit in this thread.
Nowhere in this thread – or his book – does Mr. Bleming advocate or advertise for mercenaries.
As I stated in my review of the book, anyone going to the Thai /Burma border looking to be paid to fight is in for a rude surprise – nothing there but grinding poverty and human misery.
An area that I’d like to touch upon is the fact that there is a faction within the KNU/KNLA that wants to negotiate with the SPDC. From my own research I have found that this group is being looked upon as traitors by those of the KNU /KNLA that wish to continue the armed struggle for indepencence. In reality, all they’re doing is negotiating how tight their chains will be applied.
As Mr Farrelly pointed out in an earlier post, some of these individuals are being hunted down and assassinated. Some family members of these people have also been killed. You roll the dice, you take your chances.
I would wager that there are some people on this very board that wish for the KNU /KNLA to negotiate with their tormenters.
I have been in contact with Col. Nerdah “Rocky” Mya, and he supports the activities of Mr. Bleming. He considers him a good friend and a loyal ally. Nothing else needs to be said about it.
I recently spoke with an individual that was organizing about two dozen people to go to the Thai Burma border and assist the Karens militarily. Twenty-two people to be exact for those who make notes on these things.
But like so many of these ventures – 99.9% – it has come to naught because of finances. As anyone who has traveled internationally knows, money is king, and without it, you “aint going nowhere, boy”.
This thread had sat dormant for over a year until I mentioned Mr. Bleming and his book. Once Mr. Bleming took note of it, and responded, the posts began to take on a more personal note, calling into question Mr. Blemings motives.
Figuratively speaking, raise your hands if you believe Mr. Bleming has made any money by his involvement with the KNU KNLA.
Raise your hand if you believe that Mr. Bleming’s involvement has led to him being attacked and ridiculed.
For just one moment, put aside your personal feelings about Mr. Bleming and look beyond it, to the larger picture of the KNU / KNLA and what it needs to survive.
Would you prefer that they involve themselves in the narcotics trade, like so many other groups have done, in order to survive? Or would it be better if they availed themselves of the generosity and experience of people like Mr. Bleming?
Even the various aid groups are having this argument. Some would like the KNU /KNLA to quit the field and submit to the tender mercies of the SPDC.
Others want to see the world take a larger role in assisting the KNU /KNLA , both humanitarily and militarily.
If I had the money, I would be over there right now. I have the experience to assist them. In more areas than just militarily. But I don’t have the money, so I instead find myself on this forum, putting forth the argument that the KNU / KNLA needs outside assistance in order to prevail.
I would not dare to say that I’m an expert on Burma, the SPDC or the KNU /KNLA. But I know enough about the situation to know that unless the people of Burma receive some sort of assistance, the reign of terror they’re enduring will only continue, and most likely accelerate. Think “killing fields”. It’s already happening.
One last thing I would like to point out. As I stated in an off-line message to Mr. Farrelly, I personally know Mr. Bleming. I have known him for over thirty years.
While he doesn’t need me to defend him, I felt that I should stand up and be counted.
He lives a very frugal lifestyle, on 100% disability. What money he doesn’t use to survive on, he pours into the KNU /KNLA effort. He has borrowed money he could ill afford to, in order to assist them.
Call Mr. Bleming ” Don Quixote” if you care to, but don’t insult him by calling him a mercenary.
Having some connections with the Karen community both in Thailand and in the US, I must say I have never heard of any active recruiting of foreign military folks by the KNU. There have long been a very small number of foreign mercenaries finding their way to the Thai-Burma border. If memory serves me right, Jonathan Falla makes note of some foreigners in his book True Love and Bartholomew during his medical volunteering stint along the border nearly 20 years ago. But most of the commentaries about the foreign military “volunteers” tends to describe them as a bit odd and eccentric, combat junkies really, and not particularly idealistic.
There is an American named David who is a highly trained professional military man and who is indeed deeply committed to the plight of the Karen. He acts as a military adviser and is also very active politically here in the US. There are also a few American-Karens who served in the US military and have also been involved in training KNLA folks along the border. To the best of my knowledge they have not actively sought out nor engaged in any combat role.
I am close to a Karen living in the US who is very active politically here in the US and is connected to the highest echelons of the KNU. He has never heard of Mr. Bleming although he is currently checking with his sources along the border to perhaps clarify Mr. Bleming’s claims. He did find Mr. Bleming’s reference to the “Republic of Kawthoolei” to be rather, how shall we say….., novel.
I can’t say what I want, except that the system should be open. “Absolutist openness”, perhaps? However, I talked to a senior Thai recently. He referred to the British monarchy, saying that this was no monarchy. And he added, “If we had something like this in Thailand, it would mean that we don’t have a monarchy any longer.” To him, obviously, terms such as constitutional monarchy and democracy take on a rather ambivalent meaning when combined with his preference for “real” monarchy (without wanting to return to the pre-1932 situation, I am sure).
Here is another book on the history (?) of Laos (review from Bangkok Post, February 9, 2008).
BOOK REVIEW
The gulags of Laos
A survivor’s account of political incarceration in Laos details similarities with other oppressive regimes
KATHRYN SWEET
‘I Little Slave” is the direct translation of the term doy khanoy, a pre-revolutionary Lao pronoun meaning “I”. The term was suppressed after the change of regime in Laos in 1975 as an indicator of feudalism. Ironically, its continued use was encouraged in the prison and camp system of the newly communist nation. This is the setting for I Little Slave, in which Bounsang Khamkeo recounts the seven years he spent in re-education camps in the north-eastern province of Houaphan.
I Little Slave is one of few accounts of the Lao re-education camps. While the Lao Ministry of National Defence official history states that 80,000 people underwent re-education in the years after 1975, little is known about the system of re-education and labour camps. A small handful of personal accounts are available in Lao, French and English. Many of the Lao accounts are unpublished, and circulate informally among interested readers in a manner similar to the samizdat of the former Soviet Union.
Unfortunately, the introduction to I Little Slave is marred by a muddled explanation of Laos’ many ethnic groups. The author equates the term Lao Soung with Meo and Lao Theung with Kha, pre-revolutionary pejorative terms for Hmong and Khmou. In fact these outdated, blanket terms encompass many more ethnic groups than just Hmong and Khmou. Also, when referring to the high ranking party members detained in the early 1990s for discussing the option of multi-party democracy, he mentions only two of the three people detained, even though he is clearly aware of the third person. However, these are minor criticisms. On the whole, the book stands out as a well-written, comprehensive account of one man’s ordeal within the Lao camp system.
The author, Bounsang Khamkeo, is a Pakse native who spent 13 years in France before returning to Laos in 1973 with a PhD in political science from the University of Toulouse. He joined the coalition government in 1974 as a Foreign Affairs officer and stayed on to work under the new government of Lao PDR in 1975. At the time, many of his family and friends were fleeing the country. Despite his patriotism and his hope in the future of his country, he was arrested in 1981 on the evening he challenged his supervisor about some unorthodox work practices he had noticed at the Lao Mekong River Commission Secretariat. He spent the next seven years, from 1981 to 1988, in prisons and re-education camps in Xam Tai and Vieng Xay districts of Houaphan province.
Bounsang’s account contributes to our knowledge of some key Lao identities during their incarceration, both high ranking officers in the former Royal Lao Government and proponents of multi-party democracy in the current regime. He courageously names names: Those who were his friends and those he respected both inside and outside the camps as well as those who were his foes. Bounsang also documents a series of human rights abuses by the Lao authorities including his arrest and detention without charge, trial or conviction, the poor conditions of the camps, the day-to-day brutality he experienced there and the summary executions and disappearances around him.
If I Little Slave had been published earlier it may well have represented the Lao experience in Paul Hollander’s 2006 anthology of communist camp systems around the world, From the Gulag to the Killing Fields, which features excerpts from writings on many countries. As it is, Laos is conspicuously missing from this anthology. However, comparisons can be made between Bounsang’s account and those in Hollander’s work, which give international perspective to the Lao experience.
The many excerpts in Hollander’s anthology emphasise the importance of extracting confessions from prisoners, despite prisoners often having little clue about which law they had violated or how they had done so. Bounsang himself doubted that he had broken any law and suspected that his detention was based on the personal jealousy of his supervisor. Inevitably, the Lao authorities finally sought a confession from him. However, he was subjected to scant interrogation in comparison with experiences in other communist countries and was not required to make a confession until many years into his imprisonment. Even then, the Lao authorities’ attention to his confession seemed irregular compared to the serious bureaucratic attention it would have been expected to receive if he were detained in the former Soviet Union, China or the countries of Eastern Europe.
According to Hollander’s anthology, another common characteristic of communist detention systems was the physical abuse suffered by the prisoners. Bounsang reports that in the camps of Houaphan province, as in other communist camp systems around the world, prisoners were required to take part in beating fellow prisoners or be punished themselves. Some prisoners were tortured to death or executed. Most prison deaths, however, were a result of malnutrition or untreated health problems in a country that was undergoing food shortages outside the prisons and camps and where even today rural people still suffer under a very weak health system. On the whole, torture and punishment within the Lao camps seemed to be less systematic than in other communist countries. Instead, the Lao camp regime was marked by a low-tech, low budget approach of general neglect.
The official papers shown on the cover of I Little Slave are Bounsang’s release documents. Upon release, some of his fellow prisoners were issued with official apologies, which admitted that their arrest and many years of detention had been an administrative error. Bounsang was not issued with any such apology as his accuser was well-connected and senior party members were unwilling to challenge him.
A fellow prisoner who subsequently died in the camps advised Bounsang that each prisoner needed a reason to survive. Bounsang’s reason was his desire to tell his story of unjust incarceration, hardship and abuse so that others would know. He has achieved his goal. He survived the camps and has told his story in I Little Slave. In doing so, Bounsang has helped to illuminate a little known part of recent Lao history.
————-
I LITTLE SLAVE:
A Prison Memoir from Communist Laos
Bounsang Khamkeo
Eastern Washington University Press, 422pp, $21.95 (from amazon.com)
This thread now has a sizeable audience – lots of people seem to be interested in the issues under discussion. However, many readers may not be aware of another side to the mercenary, Rambo, KNLA story.
Pastor Derek Melton is a character who has, until now, been overlooked here on New Mandala. According to one report: “Derek Melton never imagined his first trip to Burma would be inspiration for a movie, especially a Sylvester Stallone film”. Another article, this one with a picture of Rambo and Melton, notes, “Derek Melton is a minister that has been to Burma to offer aide to resistance fighters. He wrote about his experiences for Soldier of Fortune magazine”.
In his time in Burma “Melton also delivered approximately $5,000 worth of military supplies to Col. Largo. The supplies were provided by Soldier of Fortune magazine”.
Pastor Melton has an extensive website. Right now that website carries the following announcement:
“With great sorrow and pain I regretfully announce to you that my dear friend General Thera Lermu has been killed (martyred) in Burma by a bomb that exploded underneath the bedroom of the hut where he was sleeping in the Jungle. The bomb was intentionally set by the Karen corrupt political faction called the KNU. Their hitmen rebels carried out the dastardly deed. General Lermu held a masters degree in Business and Economics out of India and was one of the chief leaders of the KNU/KNLA Peace Council with Pastor Timothy – and is Pastor Timothy’s best friend. General Lermu is survived by his wonderful wife and children. This loss is a great set back for the Karen nation, especially the Peace Council. Be praying for his family, and the stability of the region. Their engines of war will be retaliating soon after his funeral tomorrow and many lives will be lost. Pastor Timothy needs our prayers now more than ever, for these wicked hitmen will attempt to remove him next. Please pray for safety!
Pastor Derek Melton”
Pastor Melton’s website also includes a large number of photos from his visits to Karen State. They are all worth a look.
Other sources that have reported the death of Saw Leh Mu (who I have seen called a Major, a Colonel and, now, a General) are the Democratic Voice of Burma and The Irrawaddy.
I hope this has been a useful overview for New Mandala readers.
More discussion and information on these issues is certainly very welcome.
To ‘X’ i have great repect for your comment but liek you said there are some people (myself) and many others who have extensive military background and we go offering our services now in todays world espessialy this situation wich i have just recently become familiar and informed on looks like a oppurtunity to help no one i know is looking forward to being the next rambo well one guy was but that dream ended in a street in iraq again i have great respect for him but his ideas were just wrong , i apologize this comment isnt directly aimed at you what you said is very true , also does anyone have a ny footage or articles on the situation there it would be great help to me.
A PhD research at Melbourne University also confirms this entrenched attitudes. In this context, will the public ever learn the truth of real environmental health up in the northern forests? From the excerpt Andrew provided, I am certain that this invaluable book goes a long way to shedding light on this issue. I hope to read it when it is available here.
Democracy for me please! The constitutional monarchy that we now have back is fine for me.
Give PMSamak a chance. The odds may stack (by PMThaksin himself) badly against him but my sense here is one aging prime minister who will try his best to leave a great (at least mega-project wise) legacy however controversial and shady his past is.
I am only saddened and disappointed with PMThaksin’s insincerity to the country. He had the power to give us – or at least those who voted PPP – a decent, professional cabinet, but clearly chose to prioritize his family’s interests above that of the nation’s (facing a very possible global recession). This is a clear missed opportunity to give democracy good PR post-coup government (at least PPP voters expected another ‘dream team’). But we all only know too well for PMThaksin, democracy in his own words is only a ‘means to an ends’ (the Shinawatras in the top 20, 50 richest family in the world ruling over a ‘modern’, ‘developed’ Thailand – at least image wise).
The irony here is without PMThaksin’s money, we’ll never have a ‘dream cabinet’ (nor the almost totaly ‘ugly cabinet’ that we currently have) – and this is the carrot package that he will dangle infront of Thai voters. He will return big-time to lead a dream cabinet (I am just stuck with the vision of a big, televised welcome back party at Suvarnabhumi!). Maybe a good way forward is for Thai voters to learn that a ‘half-dream cabinet’ (which the Democrat-led coaition may be able to provide? Or even PMSamak if given his choice of ministers?) is the best we can expect?
The KNU has a bad habit of warmly welcoming just about any nut-job who manages to cross the border. No doubt some foreign volunteers prove useful, but many are just a waste of time and resources. Bleming, I believe, is sincere in his effort to help, but he is also equally enthusiastic about self-promotion and aggrandizement. Does the KNU really need to cater to every warrior wanna-be that this book might encourage? Bleming spent very little time on the border and his understanding of the dynamics within the KNU and the history of the conflict should be called into question. I suspect Nerdah Mya has indeed encouraged Bleming in his belief that he is the Consul General. The KNU has enough trouble without having a clear misfit claiming to be their spokesperson in the United States. Someone needs to have a word with Rocky and reign in this potential embarrassment.
Yes, Aiontay, I have seen people hunting for gold with shovels or pans – and have also seen dredging equipment on certain sections of the river. But I have never had the impression that the Irrawaddy was the easiest pickings these days. As you know, much of the major gold extraction goes on elsewhere.
Lots of the people who are visible out in the distance in these two pictures are either fishing, bathing or washing clothes. Some may have been hunting for gold, but I didn’t get a chance to explore further on this occasion.
Do they still dig for gold in the riverbed at Myitkyina? I heard that in the old days the locals looked for the location of whirlpools in the river during the rainy season, and during the dry season dug for gold there since the gold dust in the river debris settled in those whirlpool areas. I guess these days they’re just using dredging equipment from China.
I don’t understand all this fuss about Samak. In the US we have Bush who was twice elected. In Italy Berlusconi is getting ready again and there are numerous other cases. Now we might doubt in how far those who voted for PPP have a proper understanding of democracy, but we should look in a similar way to the US, Italy (and if you wish as well Germany and France). Unfortunately, not all people seem to be enlightened. However, the big problem is, who actually is enlightened enough? Or, is there an interest to re-install absolutist monarchy, or patrimonial rule?
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Volunteering to fight in Burma
Bleming does give a supposed step-by-step guide on how to become a foreign volunteer with the KNLA. So “Charles F” is correct that Bleming is not advocating for paid mercenaries – just for volunteer/unpaid gunmen.
It is utterly irresponsible to recruit would-be volunteers so openly. The “vetting” that Bleming claims the KNU gives voluteers is nonexistent. There is no shortage in the past of foreigners with questionable backgrounds having wandered into the Karen State and been given a rifle, or even their own troops to command. It has at times been a “Fantasy Island” for the aspiring Rambo. Professional soldiers have fought with the Karen (ex-Legionnaires, etc) – but so too have delusional psychopaths.
Bleming might be charmingly Quixotic, but the problem is that he incorrectly presents himself as the official US representative for the KNU. The KNU leadership needs to clarify this matter and disavow Bleming’s claim – if for no other reason than it appears silly.
I have no doubt that Nerdah Mya might have left Bleming with the impression that he had been appointed the ‘Consular General.’ The Karen have a wonderful talent for playing up the “white brother liberator” fantasy in which foreigners like Bleming become enmeshed.
It is a dangerous, confusing conflict. Foreigners with little understanding of Karen factional struggles, the millennialism that infects their political/military “strategy,” – and the KNU’s own problems with human rights and democracy – should not be encouraged to blithely enter the fray.
Samak must resign!
The elected representatives of the Thai people (who are the sovereign in this country, according to the constitution), do apparently not even have enough democratic maturity to decide about to which place their new meeting place (the National Assembly building) should be moved. See the following news piece (TN, Feb. 11).
Yongyuth to petition for royal advice on Parliament relocation
A petition will be submitted for the royal advice of His Majesty the King in regard to the relocation of Parliament building, House Speaker Yongyuth Tiyapairat said on Monday.
“I was born under the reign of His Majesty and would ask for the royal advice as blessing for Parliament,” he said, insisting he would not do anything to offend the monarch.
Royal misrepresentation of rural livelihoods
Thanks for the very interesting paper Andrew.
This is an excellent, very clear of articulation of the complex rural economy that urban dwellers should be more aware of to lessen entrenched prejudices. However, I find the presentation of the paper within the framework of ‘sufficiency economy’ quite confusing. If it is about dispelling myths, why not take the case studies promoted in the Thai media as ‘success’ stories and prove otherwise. That would have been a much more direct.
That is why I also find the last paragraph quite out of context from a very strong and coherent presentation. It is quite a leap of scale from Ban Thiem to national politics, coups, Thaksin with significant gaps that needs filling in to be convincing. I am certain Andrew is addressing that in a fuller paper he is writing – that I expect will lead to a comprehensive book which will eventually fill in those knowledge gap for us, and also encompass those rural areas that intentionally adopt sufficient economy’s ‘New Theory’ principles.
As an urbanite, I am always enlightened and excited by research such as those carried out by Andrew in the rural realm and I am grateful for that. My unresearched response to ‘suffiency economy’ is, as mentioned in earlier posts, based on my studies into ‘urban sustainability’. Otherwise it is more consistent with the Matichon article in Thai posted by Srithanonchai (#8). Self-sufficiency leads to independence of thought and actions – and evolving through the described stages can coalesce into strong community actions. For aspects in the bureaucracy and elite, including PMThaksin himself, this may not be desirable evidenced by the many grassroots activists murdered (many unresolved) during his days as prime minister.
Maybe it is two, not necessarily competing, visions towards ‘self-sufficiency’ we are talking here – and it may already define village politics throughout Thailand. A conservative group wants to grow slowly always naturally losing out to pro-development groups that want to ‘develop’ as fast as possible. It is a matter of differing views on and pace of the ‘exploitation’ of human and natural resources. PMSamak government is proposing the mega-water grid directing water from the Mekong to irrigate Isan or the eucalyptus forest at an industrial scale – naturally this will meet with protest from bureaucrats and academics who ‘know better’ as well as villagers that fear radical change to their surrounds and livelihoods (but just the idea alone is already a PPP vote winner)…
Sufficiency economy more popular than sex
“…48.9 per cent of respondents also see sexual relationships as normal and about personal rights,…”
This says nothing about “premarital sex” or “popularity.”
Given that the students are from Assumption, they might be admiring Pope Paul VI’s Humanae Vitae encyclical or perhaps the survey taker was?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanae_Vitae
The converse: 51% see sexual relationships as abnormal (?) or coerced (by their parents through marriage?). Should have just given respondents a real life situation and see how they would respont. More meaningful.
Royal misrepresentation of rural livelihoods
[…] foreign academics who continue to criticise sufficiency economy just don’t understand Thai values! Here is some compelling data from […]
Volunteering to fight in Burma
The word “mercenary” seems to be getting thrown about quite a bit in this thread.
Nowhere in this thread – or his book – does Mr. Bleming advocate or advertise for mercenaries.
As I stated in my review of the book, anyone going to the Thai /Burma border looking to be paid to fight is in for a rude surprise – nothing there but grinding poverty and human misery.
An area that I’d like to touch upon is the fact that there is a faction within the KNU/KNLA that wants to negotiate with the SPDC. From my own research I have found that this group is being looked upon as traitors by those of the KNU /KNLA that wish to continue the armed struggle for indepencence. In reality, all they’re doing is negotiating how tight their chains will be applied.
As Mr Farrelly pointed out in an earlier post, some of these individuals are being hunted down and assassinated. Some family members of these people have also been killed. You roll the dice, you take your chances.
I would wager that there are some people on this very board that wish for the KNU /KNLA to negotiate with their tormenters.
I have been in contact with Col. Nerdah “Rocky” Mya, and he supports the activities of Mr. Bleming. He considers him a good friend and a loyal ally. Nothing else needs to be said about it.
I recently spoke with an individual that was organizing about two dozen people to go to the Thai Burma border and assist the Karens militarily. Twenty-two people to be exact for those who make notes on these things.
But like so many of these ventures – 99.9% – it has come to naught because of finances. As anyone who has traveled internationally knows, money is king, and without it, you “aint going nowhere, boy”.
This thread had sat dormant for over a year until I mentioned Mr. Bleming and his book. Once Mr. Bleming took note of it, and responded, the posts began to take on a more personal note, calling into question Mr. Blemings motives.
Figuratively speaking, raise your hands if you believe Mr. Bleming has made any money by his involvement with the KNU KNLA.
Raise your hand if you believe that Mr. Bleming’s involvement has led to him being attacked and ridiculed.
For just one moment, put aside your personal feelings about Mr. Bleming and look beyond it, to the larger picture of the KNU / KNLA and what it needs to survive.
Would you prefer that they involve themselves in the narcotics trade, like so many other groups have done, in order to survive? Or would it be better if they availed themselves of the generosity and experience of people like Mr. Bleming?
Even the various aid groups are having this argument. Some would like the KNU /KNLA to quit the field and submit to the tender mercies of the SPDC.
Others want to see the world take a larger role in assisting the KNU /KNLA , both humanitarily and militarily.
If I had the money, I would be over there right now. I have the experience to assist them. In more areas than just militarily. But I don’t have the money, so I instead find myself on this forum, putting forth the argument that the KNU / KNLA needs outside assistance in order to prevail.
I would not dare to say that I’m an expert on Burma, the SPDC or the KNU /KNLA. But I know enough about the situation to know that unless the people of Burma receive some sort of assistance, the reign of terror they’re enduring will only continue, and most likely accelerate. Think “killing fields”. It’s already happening.
One last thing I would like to point out. As I stated in an off-line message to Mr. Farrelly, I personally know Mr. Bleming. I have known him for over thirty years.
While he doesn’t need me to defend him, I felt that I should stand up and be counted.
He lives a very frugal lifestyle, on 100% disability. What money he doesn’t use to survive on, he pours into the KNU /KNLA effort. He has borrowed money he could ill afford to, in order to assist them.
Call Mr. Bleming ” Don Quixote” if you care to, but don’t insult him by calling him a mercenary.
Lao explorers reach Vietnam on Italian Scooters
Warren – can you get in touch mate. I’d like to use some of this in an upcoming report for GoL.
Volunteering to fight in Burma
Having some connections with the Karen community both in Thailand and in the US, I must say I have never heard of any active recruiting of foreign military folks by the KNU. There have long been a very small number of foreign mercenaries finding their way to the Thai-Burma border. If memory serves me right, Jonathan Falla makes note of some foreigners in his book True Love and Bartholomew during his medical volunteering stint along the border nearly 20 years ago. But most of the commentaries about the foreign military “volunteers” tends to describe them as a bit odd and eccentric, combat junkies really, and not particularly idealistic.
There is an American named David who is a highly trained professional military man and who is indeed deeply committed to the plight of the Karen. He acts as a military adviser and is also very active politically here in the US. There are also a few American-Karens who served in the US military and have also been involved in training KNLA folks along the border. To the best of my knowledge they have not actively sought out nor engaged in any combat role.
I am close to a Karen living in the US who is very active politically here in the US and is connected to the highest echelons of the KNU. He has never heard of Mr. Bleming although he is currently checking with his sources along the border to perhaps clarify Mr. Bleming’s claims. He did find Mr. Bleming’s reference to the “Republic of Kawthoolei” to be rather, how shall we say….., novel.
Samak must resign!
I can’t say what I want, except that the system should be open. “Absolutist openness”, perhaps? However, I talked to a senior Thai recently. He referred to the British monarchy, saying that this was no monarchy. And he added, “If we had something like this in Thailand, it would mean that we don’t have a monarchy any longer.” To him, obviously, terms such as constitutional monarchy and democracy take on a rather ambivalent meaning when combined with his preference for “real” monarchy (without wanting to return to the pre-1932 situation, I am sure).
The Irrawaddy River in winter
Maybe they’re digging for gold after a night at the “Wheel of Fortune”.
New book on Lao history
Here is another book on the history (?) of Laos (review from Bangkok Post, February 9, 2008).
BOOK REVIEW
The gulags of Laos
A survivor’s account of political incarceration in Laos details similarities with other oppressive regimes
KATHRYN SWEET
‘I Little Slave” is the direct translation of the term doy khanoy, a pre-revolutionary Lao pronoun meaning “I”. The term was suppressed after the change of regime in Laos in 1975 as an indicator of feudalism. Ironically, its continued use was encouraged in the prison and camp system of the newly communist nation. This is the setting for I Little Slave, in which Bounsang Khamkeo recounts the seven years he spent in re-education camps in the north-eastern province of Houaphan.
I Little Slave is one of few accounts of the Lao re-education camps. While the Lao Ministry of National Defence official history states that 80,000 people underwent re-education in the years after 1975, little is known about the system of re-education and labour camps. A small handful of personal accounts are available in Lao, French and English. Many of the Lao accounts are unpublished, and circulate informally among interested readers in a manner similar to the samizdat of the former Soviet Union.
Unfortunately, the introduction to I Little Slave is marred by a muddled explanation of Laos’ many ethnic groups. The author equates the term Lao Soung with Meo and Lao Theung with Kha, pre-revolutionary pejorative terms for Hmong and Khmou. In fact these outdated, blanket terms encompass many more ethnic groups than just Hmong and Khmou. Also, when referring to the high ranking party members detained in the early 1990s for discussing the option of multi-party democracy, he mentions only two of the three people detained, even though he is clearly aware of the third person. However, these are minor criticisms. On the whole, the book stands out as a well-written, comprehensive account of one man’s ordeal within the Lao camp system.
The author, Bounsang Khamkeo, is a Pakse native who spent 13 years in France before returning to Laos in 1973 with a PhD in political science from the University of Toulouse. He joined the coalition government in 1974 as a Foreign Affairs officer and stayed on to work under the new government of Lao PDR in 1975. At the time, many of his family and friends were fleeing the country. Despite his patriotism and his hope in the future of his country, he was arrested in 1981 on the evening he challenged his supervisor about some unorthodox work practices he had noticed at the Lao Mekong River Commission Secretariat. He spent the next seven years, from 1981 to 1988, in prisons and re-education camps in Xam Tai and Vieng Xay districts of Houaphan province.
Bounsang’s account contributes to our knowledge of some key Lao identities during their incarceration, both high ranking officers in the former Royal Lao Government and proponents of multi-party democracy in the current regime. He courageously names names: Those who were his friends and those he respected both inside and outside the camps as well as those who were his foes. Bounsang also documents a series of human rights abuses by the Lao authorities including his arrest and detention without charge, trial or conviction, the poor conditions of the camps, the day-to-day brutality he experienced there and the summary executions and disappearances around him.
If I Little Slave had been published earlier it may well have represented the Lao experience in Paul Hollander’s 2006 anthology of communist camp systems around the world, From the Gulag to the Killing Fields, which features excerpts from writings on many countries. As it is, Laos is conspicuously missing from this anthology. However, comparisons can be made between Bounsang’s account and those in Hollander’s work, which give international perspective to the Lao experience.
The many excerpts in Hollander’s anthology emphasise the importance of extracting confessions from prisoners, despite prisoners often having little clue about which law they had violated or how they had done so. Bounsang himself doubted that he had broken any law and suspected that his detention was based on the personal jealousy of his supervisor. Inevitably, the Lao authorities finally sought a confession from him. However, he was subjected to scant interrogation in comparison with experiences in other communist countries and was not required to make a confession until many years into his imprisonment. Even then, the Lao authorities’ attention to his confession seemed irregular compared to the serious bureaucratic attention it would have been expected to receive if he were detained in the former Soviet Union, China or the countries of Eastern Europe.
According to Hollander’s anthology, another common characteristic of communist detention systems was the physical abuse suffered by the prisoners. Bounsang reports that in the camps of Houaphan province, as in other communist camp systems around the world, prisoners were required to take part in beating fellow prisoners or be punished themselves. Some prisoners were tortured to death or executed. Most prison deaths, however, were a result of malnutrition or untreated health problems in a country that was undergoing food shortages outside the prisons and camps and where even today rural people still suffer under a very weak health system. On the whole, torture and punishment within the Lao camps seemed to be less systematic than in other communist countries. Instead, the Lao camp regime was marked by a low-tech, low budget approach of general neglect.
The official papers shown on the cover of I Little Slave are Bounsang’s release documents. Upon release, some of his fellow prisoners were issued with official apologies, which admitted that their arrest and many years of detention had been an administrative error. Bounsang was not issued with any such apology as his accuser was well-connected and senior party members were unwilling to challenge him.
A fellow prisoner who subsequently died in the camps advised Bounsang that each prisoner needed a reason to survive. Bounsang’s reason was his desire to tell his story of unjust incarceration, hardship and abuse so that others would know. He has achieved his goal. He survived the camps and has told his story in I Little Slave. In doing so, Bounsang has helped to illuminate a little known part of recent Lao history.
————-
I LITTLE SLAVE:
A Prison Memoir from Communist Laos
Bounsang Khamkeo
Eastern Washington University Press, 422pp, $21.95 (from amazon.com)
ISBN: 978-1597660075
Volunteering to fight in Burma
This thread now has a sizeable audience – lots of people seem to be interested in the issues under discussion. However, many readers may not be aware of another side to the mercenary, Rambo, KNLA story.
Pastor Derek Melton is a character who has, until now, been overlooked here on New Mandala. According to one report: “Derek Melton never imagined his first trip to Burma would be inspiration for a movie, especially a Sylvester Stallone film”. Another article, this one with a picture of Rambo and Melton, notes, “Derek Melton is a minister that has been to Burma to offer aide to resistance fighters. He wrote about his experiences for Soldier of Fortune magazine”.
In his time in Burma “Melton also delivered approximately $5,000 worth of military supplies to Col. Largo. The supplies were provided by Soldier of Fortune magazine”.
Pastor Melton has an extensive website. Right now that website carries the following announcement:
“With great sorrow and pain I regretfully announce to you that my dear friend General Thera Lermu has been killed (martyred) in Burma by a bomb that exploded underneath the bedroom of the hut where he was sleeping in the Jungle. The bomb was intentionally set by the Karen corrupt political faction called the KNU. Their hitmen rebels carried out the dastardly deed. General Lermu held a masters degree in Business and Economics out of India and was one of the chief leaders of the KNU/KNLA Peace Council with Pastor Timothy – and is Pastor Timothy’s best friend. General Lermu is survived by his wonderful wife and children. This loss is a great set back for the Karen nation, especially the Peace Council. Be praying for his family, and the stability of the region. Their engines of war will be retaliating soon after his funeral tomorrow and many lives will be lost. Pastor Timothy needs our prayers now more than ever, for these wicked hitmen will attempt to remove him next. Please pray for safety!
Pastor Derek Melton”
Pastor Melton’s website also includes a large number of photos from his visits to Karen State. They are all worth a look.
Other sources that have reported the death of Saw Leh Mu (who I have seen called a Major, a Colonel and, now, a General) are the Democratic Voice of Burma and The Irrawaddy.
I hope this has been a useful overview for New Mandala readers.
More discussion and information on these issues is certainly very welcome.
Best wishes to all.
Volunteering to fight in Burma
To ‘X’ i have great repect for your comment but liek you said there are some people (myself) and many others who have extensive military background and we go offering our services now in todays world espessialy this situation wich i have just recently become familiar and informed on looks like a oppurtunity to help no one i know is looking forward to being the next rambo well one guy was but that dream ended in a street in iraq again i have great respect for him but his ideas were just wrong , i apologize this comment isnt directly aimed at you what you said is very true , also does anyone have a ny footage or articles on the situation there it would be great help to me.
Forest guardians, forest destroyers
A PhD research at Melbourne University also confirms this entrenched attitudes. In this context, will the public ever learn the truth of real environmental health up in the northern forests? From the excerpt Andrew provided, I am certain that this invaluable book goes a long way to shedding light on this issue. I hope to read it when it is available here.
Samak must resign!
Democracy for me please! The constitutional monarchy that we now have back is fine for me.
Give PMSamak a chance. The odds may stack (by PMThaksin himself) badly against him but my sense here is one aging prime minister who will try his best to leave a great (at least mega-project wise) legacy however controversial and shady his past is.
I am only saddened and disappointed with PMThaksin’s insincerity to the country. He had the power to give us – or at least those who voted PPP – a decent, professional cabinet, but clearly chose to prioritize his family’s interests above that of the nation’s (facing a very possible global recession). This is a clear missed opportunity to give democracy good PR post-coup government (at least PPP voters expected another ‘dream team’). But we all only know too well for PMThaksin, democracy in his own words is only a ‘means to an ends’ (the Shinawatras in the top 20, 50 richest family in the world ruling over a ‘modern’, ‘developed’ Thailand – at least image wise).
The irony here is without PMThaksin’s money, we’ll never have a ‘dream cabinet’ (nor the almost totaly ‘ugly cabinet’ that we currently have) – and this is the carrot package that he will dangle infront of Thai voters. He will return big-time to lead a dream cabinet (I am just stuck with the vision of a big, televised welcome back party at Suvarnabhumi!). Maybe a good way forward is for Thai voters to learn that a ‘half-dream cabinet’ (which the Democrat-led coaition may be able to provide? Or even PMSamak if given his choice of ministers?) is the best we can expect?
Volunteering to fight in Burma
The KNU has a bad habit of warmly welcoming just about any nut-job who manages to cross the border. No doubt some foreign volunteers prove useful, but many are just a waste of time and resources. Bleming, I believe, is sincere in his effort to help, but he is also equally enthusiastic about self-promotion and aggrandizement. Does the KNU really need to cater to every warrior wanna-be that this book might encourage? Bleming spent very little time on the border and his understanding of the dynamics within the KNU and the history of the conflict should be called into question. I suspect Nerdah Mya has indeed encouraged Bleming in his belief that he is the Consul General. The KNU has enough trouble without having a clear misfit claiming to be their spokesperson in the United States. Someone needs to have a word with Rocky and reign in this potential embarrassment.
The Irrawaddy River in winter
Yes, Aiontay, I have seen people hunting for gold with shovels or pans – and have also seen dredging equipment on certain sections of the river. But I have never had the impression that the Irrawaddy was the easiest pickings these days. As you know, much of the major gold extraction goes on elsewhere.
Lots of the people who are visible out in the distance in these two pictures are either fishing, bathing or washing clothes. Some may have been hunting for gold, but I didn’t get a chance to explore further on this occasion.
Best wishes to all.
The Irrawaddy River in winter
Do they still dig for gold in the riverbed at Myitkyina? I heard that in the old days the locals looked for the location of whirlpools in the river during the rainy season, and during the dry season dug for gold there since the gold dust in the river debris settled in those whirlpool areas. I guess these days they’re just using dredging equipment from China.
Samak must resign!
Absolutist monarchy for me please!
Samak must resign!
I don’t understand all this fuss about Samak. In the US we have Bush who was twice elected. In Italy Berlusconi is getting ready again and there are numerous other cases. Now we might doubt in how far those who voted for PPP have a proper understanding of democracy, but we should look in a similar way to the US, Italy (and if you wish as well Germany and France). Unfortunately, not all people seem to be enlightened. However, the big problem is, who actually is enlightened enough? Or, is there an interest to re-install absolutist monarchy, or patrimonial rule?