วันเสาร์ที่ 29 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2552
Guerrillas battle rising costs
The armed struggle of the region's rebel forces is becoming more
difficult as supplies of weapons and ammunition dry up and prices increase,
By: Suthep Chaviwan
Published: 21/12/2008 at 12:00 AM
Bangkok Post, Newspaper section: Spectrum
A few months ago, in a wooded camp controlled by an anti-Rangoon
ethnic group across the Thai border, arms merchants were making a sales pitch.
Among the weapons on offer was an M203 grenade launcher, as used by US soldiers
in Iraq. But at a price of over 25,000 baht, they considered it too expensive
for the guerrillas.
Like many others around the world, ethnic armed groups along the
Thai-Burmese and Indian-Burmese borders are facing economic hard times.
For arms smugglers, the heyday of the trade is gone. They now
make do with small-scale transactions, intelligence officers tell Spectrum.
It is not an exaggeration to say all armed ethnic groups
fighting against Burma's ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), as
well as rebel groups in the northeastern states of India, are having difficulty
getting weapons and ammunition to strengthen their forces, they say.
Thai authorities, who say the armed ethnic groups do not have
the resources to deal with major international arms traffickers like Viktor
Bout share this view, the alleged Russian arms dealer arrested in Thailand in
March this year. Mr. Bout is accused of selling arms to the Taliban in
Afghanistan and rebel groups in Colombia. He remains in Thai custody pending
further investigation.
Over 20 years ago it was easy to buy weapons of war along the
Thai-Cambodian or Thai-Laotian borders, thanks to the surplus from the
Indochina War and the rival groups fighting in Cambodia. There were
Russian-made Kalashnikov AK-47s, US-made M16s, light machine guns, hand
grenades, RPG launchers, pistols, and even SAM-7 surface-to-air missiles.
At the time it was easy to traffic these illicit items from the
Cambodian and Laotian borders to the Burmese border, or to the southern Thai
coastal town of Ranong on the Andaman Sea. Some of these weapons were delivered
to resistance groups in other countries, such as the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka.
Such shipments are difficult to find now. Gunrunners reportedly
collect from here and there in small quantities from rebels who have deserted
their outfits and from individual ex-members of the now-defunct Communist Party
of Burma.
There are a dozen armed ethnic groups in Burma that are still
fighting the SPDC for their independence and sovereignty. They include the
Karen National Union, the New Mon State Party, the Shan State Army, the Kachin
Independence Organisation, and the Chin Independence Organisation.
These groups today have all kinds of small arms - M16s,
Israeli-made Uzi sub-machine guns, Russian-made AKM (Automat Kalashnikov
Modernzikovanny) assault rifles, and Chinese-made AK-47s, to name a few.
But they are short on ammunition for their weapons, especially
7.62x39 ammunition for the AK-47 and 5.56mm ammunition for the M16.
CHINESE FILL GAP!
The shortage of AK-47 ammunition may be solved soon. According
to rebel sources, Chinese arms experts are trying to manufacture 7.62x39 shells
in a make-shift factory in the upper Shan state, close to the Chinese border.
Prospective clients will certainly include the Burmese resistance groups in the
region.
They will also come from seven northeastern states of India,
known as the Seven Sisters, inhabited by over 38.5 million people, most of
them ethnic tribal groups. These states are bordered by China, Burma,
Bangladesh, and Bhutan, and are connected to the rest of India by a narrow
corridor of land. They share a 1,643km border with Burma.
There are 15 ethnic tribes recognized by India, but more than 66
others in the region are not officially recognized. Over 40 rebel groups, both
large and small, are operating against the Indian government's intends to
create their independent nations. But they lack firepower.
According to a well-informed source, arms and ammunition in
these areas are very costly, several times more expensive than in Thailand,
Cambodia, or Burma. AK-47s and M16s sell for between 100,000 and 170,000 rupees
(73,300 to 125,000 baht) each, while a single bullet costs 120 rupees (88 baht)
in the rebel-controlled areas.
Even with such high-profit potential, it is hard to find
sellers, but the goods are available from time to time at the underground
market at the border trading area of Tamu-Moreh, close to India's Manipur
state.
The prices are higher further inside India's northeast
provinces, but rebel groups in these states have more money than their Burmese
counterparts as they can collect taxes from businesses.
Prices are rising in the old Golden Triangle region as well and
elsewhere along the Thai-Burmese border. Over 15 years ago, AK-47 and M16
ammunition could be purchased for around eight to 10 baht per round at Three
Pagodas Pass, Mae Sot, and Umphang. But the same rounds these days cost 20 to
25 baht each, according to ethnic rebel leaders.
Burmese rebels will not buy arms on Thai soil. They buy only
from dealers who can deliver.
Over 10 years ago, AK-47s and M16s cost 5,000 to 8,000 baht each
in these rebel-controlled areas, but the price of the same items now is over
17,000 baht. The weapons, of course, are not new.
The M203 grenade launcher is also available along the
Thai-Burmese border. It is fitted to an M16 rifle (or an M4 carbine) and is a
single-shot 40mm grenade launcher. It sells for over 25,000 baht.
The Type 56 assault rifle (a Chinese copy of the Kalashnikov
AK-47) and chemical explosives are also available along the frontier.
Users of Type 56, however, say it does not meet international
standards. After firing about 2,000 rounds, the barrel starts to bend and is
deformed by heat and pressure, they say. It is not as strong as the original
Russian-made Kalashnikov.
China, through its Norinco Company - part of the People's
Liberation Army - is one of the world's largest arms suppliers. Norinco has a
branch office in central Bangkok, registered under the name H.D.Intertrade Co
Ltd, located on soi Anumarn Rajathon, off Surawong road.
H.D.Intertrade acts as Norinco's agent in Thailand, selling
arms, ammunition, and heavy military hardware to the Thai armed forces. The
Chinese tear-gas canisters used by Thai police to disperse anti-government
protesters in front of parliament in October were purchased through this
company, according to a reliable source.
Although all governments of the region have been trying to solve
their insurgency problems through various methods, including peaceful
negotiation and ceasefire agreements, real peace is still a distant dream.
Some of the rebel leaders say they agree to peace proposals, but
peace must also come with independence and sovereignty. They believe peace
talks and armed struggle must go hand-in-hand to bargain for what they want.
That is why they are trying hard to secure more weapons to
strengthen their forces, even though this is much more difficult than it has
been in the past.
