Burmese soldiers 'had orders to kill monks'

A Burmese army major has told how he defected from his unit after secret codes were issued ordering them to shoot and kill protesting monks. Speaking from his refuge on the Thai border, Major Hla Lin said he fled before protests began in earnest last week in Rangoon. "I knew the plan to shoot and kill the monks. There were secret codes to start shooting. If I had stayed on I would have to follow these orders," said Major Hla Lin. "I am a Buddhist and I did not want to carry out these orders." Major Hla said that there were divisions and many officers were horrified at being forced to crush protesters. "Many officers like me are deeply unhappy. The problem is they are of afraid of [dictator] Than Shwe. He is very cruel." In Rangoon on Oct. 3, the junta waged psychological warfare against the people as thousands, especially monks, remained unaccounted for. Before dawn, trucks with loud-speakers drove through the streets announcing, "We have photographs. We are going to make arrests!"–a threat to anyone who attended last week's marches. Near the Shwedagon Pagoda, which was the starting point for the protests, soldiers ordered sleeping residents into the street, with at least eight truckloads being driven away. The detainees are believed to be held at a disused race course and a technical college in the city, among other locations. Dissident groups believe 200 people were killed in the initial clampdown last week and 6,000 people have been imprisoned. Hard facts are difficult to come by and all such numbers are educated guesswork, but one thing is clear: normally a common sight on the streets of Rangoon, the monks have all but disappeared. On Oct. 3, 80 monks and 149 women were released from government custody. A witness said that the dresses of two or three of the women, some of whom were in their 70s, were drenched in blood. A relative of one of the women who was released said the prisoners had been divided into four categories for interrogation: passers-by, those who watched, those who clapped and those who joined in the protests. A monk said that he had been disrobed and interrogated for many hours but had been fed two meals a day.