JUNTA AND LEAKS

Junta finds scapegoats for government leaks, says former colleague
Source: Mizzima.com
http://mizzima.com/edop/interview/3357-junta-finds-scapegoats-for-government-leaks-says-former-colleague.html

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A former foreign ministry employee has accused the Burmese military regime of trying to wipe out secrets  of the past – the killing of SPDC’s Secretary 2 General Tin Oo, who died in a controversial helicopter crash in 2001 by giving death sentences to two officials last Friday.

They were accused of leaking secret details of the military government’s ministerial visits to abroad and the network of tunnels built in Burma.

Sein Lwin, a former employee in the Burmese embassy in Cambodia told Mizzima in an interview that he does not believe that those who were sentenced to death by the Burmese regime last Friday leaked the information as accused by the Burmese government.

Sein Lwin (35), was in the Burmese embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia till 2004 as head of branch II and worked for intelligence gathering and reporting for the Burmese military.  However, he was not in Burma at the time of the arrests last year.

Excerpts from the interview:

Qs. 1. What do you think of the recent death sentence to two officials because of secret documents leaked?

Ans: Starting from July 2009, the Head of Sa- Pha-Ra (Military Affairs Security- MAS) issued orders to his newly appointed intelligence officers at Naypyidaw to find out details of the leakage.

The new intelligence officers had to find scapegoats for temporary satisfaction of Lieutenant General Ye Myint, the chief of MAS. If the two men could be blamed for blowing the whistle, there would be no more news regarding transfer of staff members to embassies and abroad.

The dictators may hope that by giving the death penalty to the whistle blowers will stop others, but sooner or later, there will be more news and pictures on the public media again and again, until the regime is changed.

Qs: 2. Can you tell us about former army Major Win Naing Kyaw (who is a friend of Zaw Tun Oo, son of General Tin Oo) and how  he was arrested?

Ans: He was working and living in Phnon Penh, Cambodia. He was traced by Brg. Gen Than Han from Military Attaché office in the Burmese embassy in Cambodia. He did not know that he was being watched and not only the leaked files. He knew that His boss Lt-Gen Tin Oo, former Secretary-2 of SLORC (State Law and Development Council, the name of the junta, which was changed to State Peace and Development Council) was assassinated in 2001.  By this time, the Generals used one stone to kill two birds. Win Naing Kyaw was changing to the side of democracy activists and one day, if he revealed the details of the conspiracy, the current batch of generals would lose the support of the new generation within the army.

He came back in early December 2009. He was arrested at the Rangoon Mingalardon airport by MAS. To be honest, I was not in Burma but according to my sources, MAS found the pictures of tunnels and Gen. Shwe Mann’s North Korea trip. But the true reason is more secret files of Secretary 2 were stored in his laptop. But the generals did not want more ripples in the case.

Below are some Questions asked. For answers, see Mizzima.com

Qs: 3. How can you tell that he is not the one who leaked secret files to the media in exile?

Qs: 4. The junta sentenced to death not only Win Naing Kyaw but also Thura Kyaw, a clerk in the Foreign Ministry. The files may have come from Thura Kyaw. What do you say?

Qs. 5. Did you know where they were detained and about his trial?

Qs. 6. What is the evidence that S2 was assassinated?

Qs. 7.  Who shot the pilot?

Qs. 8.  Why did you decide to defect and what are the immediate causes?

Qs 9. What do you think of the nuclear ambition of the regime?

The military government is really afraid of being attacked by the US like Iraq.

Having military might by getting nuclear missiles may give it more weight politically and it assumes (that) the US will not attack the regime (if it possesses nuclear weapons).

Qs. 10. What do you know about regime 2010 election plan?

Ans. The regime won’t allow free and fair polls like 1990. The Union Solidarity Development Association would win by a majority. So, with  one stone the junta will kill three birds. The junta will also automatically cancel the results of the 1990 elections and disarm ethnic groups.

Qs. 11. What do you know about the regime’s plan for ceasefire and the Border Guard Force issue?

Qs 12. What do you think of the relationship between North Korea and the Burmese regime? What are North Korea’s projects in Burma?