Burma: Thousands dead in the massacre of the monks dumped in the jungle
Pastor Dale Morgan
Burma: Thousands dead in the massacre of the monks dumped in the jungle*
Last updated at 01:24am on 1st October 2007
The Daily Mail UK
Thousands of protesters are dead and the bodies of hundreds of executed
monks have been dumped in the jungle, a former intelligence officer for
Burma's ruling junta has revealed.
The most senior official to defect so far, Hla Win, said: 'Many more
people have been killed in recent days than you've heard about. The
bodies can be counted in several thousand.'
Mr Win, who spoke out as a Swedish diplomat predicted that the revolt
has failed, said he fled when he was ordered to take part in a massacre
of holy men. He has now reached the border with Thailand.
Hundreds of executed monks have been dumped in the jungle
Reports from other exiles along the frontier confirmed that hundreds of
monks had simply ' disappeared' as 20,000 troops swarmed around Rangoon
yesterday to prevent further demonstrations by religious groups and
civilians.
Word reaching dissidents hiding out on the border suggested that as well
as executions, some 2,000 monks are being held in the notorious Insein
Prison or in university rooms which have been turned into cells.
There were reports that many were savagely beaten at a sports ground on
the outskirts of Rangoon, where they were heard crying for help.
Others who had failed to escape disguised as civilians were locked in
their bloodstained temples.
There, troops abandoned religious beliefs, propped their rifles against
statues of Buddha and began cooking meals on stoves set up in shrines.
In stark contrast, the streets of Rangoon and Mandalay - centres of the
attempted saffron revolution last week - were virtually deserted yesterday.
A Swedish diplomat who visited Burma during the protests said last night
that in her opinion the revolution has failed.
Liselotte Agerlid, who is now in Thailand, said that the Burmese people
now face possibly decades of repression. 'The Burma revolt is over,' she
added.
'The military regime won and a new generation has been violently
repressed and violently denied democracy. The people in the street were
young people, monks and civilians who were not participating during the
1988 revolt.
'Now the military has cracked down the revolt, and the result may very
well be that the regime will enjoy another 20 years of silence, ruling
by fear.'
Mrs Agerlid said Rangoon is heavily guarded by soldiers.
'There are extremely high numbers of soldiers in Rangoon's streets,' she
added. 'Anyone can see it is absolutely impossible for any demonstration
to gather, or for anyone to do anything.
'People are scared and the general assessment is that the fight is over.
We were informed from one of the largest embassies in Burma that 40
monks in the Insein prison were beaten to death today and subsequently
burned.'
The diplomat also said that three monasteries were raided yesterday
afternoon and are now totally abandoned. At his border hideout last
night, 42-year-old Mr Win said he hopes to cross into Thailand and seek
asylum at the Norwegian Embassy.
The 42-year-old chief of military intelligence in Rangoon's northern
region, added: 'I decided to desert when I was ordered to raid two
monasteries and force several hundred monks onto trucks.
'They were to be killed and their bodies dumped deep inside the jungle.
I refused to participate in this.'
With his teenage son, he made his escape from Rangoon, leaving behind
his wife and two other sons.
He had no fears for their safety because his brother is a powerful
general who, he believes, will defend the family.
Mr Win's defection will raise a faint hope among tens of thousands of
Burmese who have fled to villages along the Thai border.
They will feel others in the army may follow him and turn on their
ageing leaders, Senior General Than Shwe and his deputy, Vice Senior
General Maung Aye.
UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari is still trying to set up a meeting
with General Shwe.