February 15, 2008 – Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02), co-chair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus Task Force on International Religious Freedom, today made the following remarks regarding the assassination of Mahn Sha, the General Secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU).  Reports state that three gunmen entered his house in Mae Sot, a refugee town along the Thai-Burma border, and shot him three times before fleeing in a car, but have yet to be apprehended. 

"The assassination of this visionary Karen leader is a great loss for the Karen people and the movement for democracy in Burma.  Mahn Sha gave his life to protect the Karen from the incomprehensible genocide committed against them by the Burmese military regime.  My heart goes out to his family and the people of Burma who have lost a courageous leader."

Reflective of the situation throughout Burma, the Karen face three to four attacks a day with villages burned down and villagers forced to run for their lives with little notice, either hiding in the jungles or being forced into relocation camps.  In clear violation of international humanitarian law, these attacks are aimed at civilians, destroying food supplies, rice fields and barns, homes, medical clinics, and schools.  According to information Mahn Sha provided before his death, in 2007 alone, the Karen suffered 2,000 attacks on civilians, 20,000 people were forced to flee their villages, 3,000 Karen became refugees and there were about 110 deaths.

In a private meeting with Congressman Franks' staff in Mae Sot last month, Mahn Sha expressed sadness that in spite of the clear systematic and coordinated extermination of the ethnic minorities throughout Burma by rape, forced relocation and labor, and the denial of freedom of religion and other human rights, the international community still hasn't called this atrocity "genocide". 

Congressman Franks stated, "It is time the world hold the Burmese military regime accountable for decades of genocide against the ethnic and religious minorities of Burma.  They are all God's children and deserve the dignity to live as such, in freedom and without fear.  I call on the international community to act in solidarity to end the suffering of these people and support the democracy movement of which Mahn Sha was a critical part."

Seeking to destroy the KNU and the Karen desire for self-determination, Burma's military regime has carried out a war on civilians in eastern Burma, destroying or forcing the abandonment of 3,200 villages in the last ten years, leading to millions of refugees and internally displaced persons.  The Burmese military launched a major offensive against the Karen which has lasted continuously for the past two years.  The KNU has about 6,000 opposition forces compared to the Burmese military's 400,000 troops, with 70% of the Burmese troops based in eastern Burma. 

Mahn Sha was a strong supporter of Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Burma's democracy movement, the National League for Democracy, who has been under house arrest since her party won over 80% of the popular vote in the 1990 elections.  He was working to bring together the ethnic minorities throughout Burma in a federated union that would protect the rights and dignity of the people of Burma. 

Congressman Franks stated, "Under his leadership the KNU fought for peace and unity in one of the world's longest conflict, providing sanctuary for dozens of former child soldiers and Burmese military deserters." 

Burma’s atrocious human rights record is well documented and in the past year has deteriorated further.  Burma's military regime has conscripted more child soldiers than any other country in the world, up to 70,000, and is the largest producer of methamphetamines in the world.  The military regime continues to perpetuate serious abuses against political opponents, most notably in the attacks on Buddhist monks and political opponents in the Fall of 2007.  Since October 2007, political prisoners have increased from 1,000 to 2,000.  The Burmese military is largely funded through an illicit drug trade that the United Nations turns a blind eye to, and continued support from countries such as China which invests heavily in Burma’s natural resources and supplies the regime with arms and international political protection.