Karen National Union leader Mahn Sha was shot dead by unknown assassins at his home in Mae Sot, Thailand on Feb. 14, 2008. So far, no one has been brought to justice for the killing and the identity of the culprit remains a mystery. Below, The Irrawaddy revisits a commentary on the assassination of the Karen leader published in the wake of his death 16 years ago.
MAE SOT—The high-profile killing of the third-ranking Karen leader Mahn Sha in Mae Sot indicated that the Thai-Burmese border town, once a stronghold of Karen and Burmese pro-democracy forces, is no longer a safe place.
The brazen assassination, committed in broad daylight, showed that infiltrators of the regime and rivals of the Karen National Union (KNU) are gaining ground in a Thai town once controlled by the KNU and its sympathizers.
I visited Mahn Sha’s rented house a day after the killing. Burmese friends of the Karen leader believed that the assassins had conducted reconnaissance surveillance of the area and gathered intelligence before they walked into his house and shot him dead.
Mahn Sha had received death threats via cell phone calls. Some of his colleagues said the Karen politician had not taken security measures even though he knew assassins were roaming the town. The question is, however: could he have taken measures to protect his life?
Karen leaders living in Mae Sot and border villages, including the late Gen Saw Bo Mya, usually guard their homes with bodyguards and sentries, even if they are not armed.
Mahn Sha’s neighbors were no strangers to him as he lived close to other opposition members’ houses. They usually lived in a group, fearing possible attack in a border town where it is difficult to distinguish friend from foe. Diplomats, journalists and Burmese often visited Mahn Sha’s house.
Since the fall of the KNU’s Manerplaw headquarters to Burmese troops in 1995, the KNU’s influence in Mae Sot and border villages has gradually waned. Following the fall of Manerplaw, soldiers of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), backed by Burmese troops, made daring attacks on Karen refugee camps on Thai soil.
In 1997 and 1998, Huay Kaloke refugee camp, about 10km from Mae Sot, was attacked and burned down by Karen rebel forces. I remember visiting the camp in 1998 a day after the attack and finding a deserted, destroyed settlement, the refugee residents, including children, having been gunned down by the rebel army.
In past years, the DKBA, other Karen splinter groups and Burmese informers have slowly infiltrated Mae Sot, gathering information about the location and movements of dissident leaders and NGO offices that assist refugees and exiled groups. Over the past five years, the presence of Karen splinter groups has been more and more visible in Mae Sot.
The Burmese government has long accused Thailand of harboring Burma’s most wanted rebels and dissidents—who now include several monks who led the September demonstrations and fled into hiding on Thai soil. Thailand is no safe haven for Burma’s dissidents, but it’s certainly preferable to Insein Prison in Rangoon.
Like many other Burmese dissidents living discreetly in Thailand, Mahn Sha knew how uncertain an existence he was leading in view of Thailand’s relationship with its unpredictable neighbor. He and other Burmese dissidents moved regularly from house to house to evade enemies and informers.
Nevertheless, there was little reason for Mahn Sha to fear for his life in Thailand. He was a prominent Karen leader who merited protection.
After the start of the Cold War, Bangkok enforced a “buffer zone policy” with respect to its neighbors. Ethnic Burmese minorities such as the Karen, Mon and Shan rebels enjoyed relative freedom in Thailand, and—most importantly—access to arms, which they then shipped back into Burma to rebels fighting for autonomy.
But this is no longer the situation. Thailand’s “buffer zone” policy in relation to Burma is no longer in place.
Thailand is now a major trading partner of Burma, dealing mostly in gas, teak and other natural resources. Karen, Mon and Shan rebels who once offered lucrative trade deals with Thai merchants are no longer formidable forces.
I noticed massive construction work on the proposed Asian Highway behind Mahn Sha’s house—and I wondered what Mahn Sha had thought about the project.
Meanwhile, Thai authorities have closed all border checkpoints near DKBA-controlled areas following the killing. Only the Friendship Bridge linking Mae Sot and the Burmese border town of Myawaddy remains open for trade between the two countries.
Police in Mae Sot have begun an investigation into the murder. According to a KNU official, local authorities in Mae Sot have arrested a Thai man suspected of lending his car to Mahn Sha’s killers.
Despite a pledge from Thai police that they will find the assassins, KNU leaders say they don’t expect much success to emerge from the investigations.
“As neither the victim nor the gunmen were Thai citizens, I don’t think the Thai authorities will take this case seriously,” said KNU spokesman David Taw, who acknowledged that it would be difficult for Thai police to catch cross-border killers.
Some Burmese colleagues said Thai police and officials were worried that Burma would accuse Thailand again of harboring dissidents. “This is a big piece of evidence for the Burmese,” said a friend of Mahn Sha with a note of irony.
The new, democratically elected government in Bangkok has been unusually silent on the killing, leading many Karen to wonder if the culprits will ever be brought to justice.
