BURMA: KAREN REBELS THREATEN GAS PIPELINE BOMBINGS

(9 Feb 1995) English/Nat
Burma's Karen rebels have threatened to strike at the heart of the country's economy by blowing up a major gas pipeline.
APTV is the first camera crew to gain access to the rebels since they were driven out of border strongholds which they had held for decades.
These are desperate times for the Karen rebels who have been fighting Burma's dictatorship since for almost five decades.
Burmese soldiers loyal to the SLORC dictatorship are reported to have destroyed nine Karen villages in the Tavoy area.
Hundreds of villagers have flocked to one of the few remaining Karen bases. Hungry, homeless and over 100km from escape over the Thai border.
Boys, some as young as 14 have been given a gun and told to fight as their fathers and grandfathers have since 1948.
SOUNDBITE:
"We are prepared for war. We are prepared to fight to protect
ourselves, our villages and our position."
SUPER CAPTION: Commander Karay, 0 Battalion, Karen National Union, KNU.
In the same week that America threatened Burma with increased
isolation for its attacks on the Karen, American oil giant Unocal
and the Thai Prime Minister signed a deal with the Burmese junta to
buy $400 million dollars a years worth of gas.
Now a Karen commander has told APTV his men will destroy the new pipeline which will have to run through Karen strongholds to reach Thailand.
SOUNDBITE:
"The pipeline is for the economies of Thailand
and Burma. The pipeline will allow SLORC to give us more trouble.
Hard or easy we must destroy it."
Some military experts think that without having to defend the
many bases they have now lost, Karen guerillas could become more
lethal to the Burmese military.
If the pipeline were damaged Burma has a contractual obligation to pay Thailand for each days loss of gas, something which could quickly cost the country millions of dollars. Right now, though, victory seems a long way off for the Karen.

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