Dear Burmese Activists,
There is a serious omission and inaccuracy in Harn Yawnghwe's "Bird-eye's
view" document which I am constrained to put right.
In Section "TWO", item **(5), CRDB should have been clearly
identified; and its contribution written in brief, as has been done
with the other groups mentioned. Not only is it the oldest and truly
the original group that worked against Ne Win and SLORC, but has
also been acknowledged to have been partly responsible for the 1988
people's uprising.
In item **(11), credit is given to ADDB (Harn's organization) for
being ..."instrumental in the formation of the NCGUB as a functioning
organization...". While this is partly true, it needs to be
recorded for future historians that there would have been no NCGUB,
nor would anyone who is now a member of the NCGUB be alive, had
it not been for the fact that U Ye Kyaw Thu and U Tin Maung Win
(the founding General Secretary and President of the CRDB) rushed
to the border areas of Thailand/Burma, and convinced Gen. Bo Mya
and the KNU leadership to provide sanctuary and hospitality to Prime
Minister Dr. Sein Win and his accompanying newly elected MPs, when
they came across the mountains into KNU territory.
I have been given first-hand detailed accounts of this monumental
effort on the part of the CRDB leadership, by U Tin Maung Win. U
Tin Maung Thaw and others are also well aware of all this.
Furthermore, it was the CRDB that arranged the grand reception of
the PM and U Win Ko (a Cabinet member, later killed in China) on
their arrival in Washington, D.C. The CRDB also made all the early
arrangements, first to brief these two NCGUB leaders on how the
American government and system worked; and later, took them on a
round of Capitol Hill to introduce them to selected leaders of our
nation, including Senator Moynihan, and others. Sen. Moynihan, and
his Senior Counsel, Mr. Andrew Samet, were instrumental in helping
us to prevent the U.S. Ambassador from going to Burma (on a request
by PM Dr. Sein Win, at a meeting in Sen. Moynihan's office, at which
Dr. Sein Win, U Win Ko, Daw Tin Tin Nu Raschid and I were present.)
The early briefing meetings took place in the home of Uncle Lou
Walinsky (who died last year). Among others who were present was
Mr. Robert Helvey.
A session was also arranged with Pro. Joseph Silverstein, at Rutgers
University, for all of us to understand the workings of the U.N.;
and to draft a preliminary action plan for the U.N. It was here
that the ADDB first became involved with the NCGUB.
This is not being written to nit-pick; but to put the historical
record straight. There is enough distortion of history and lies
by SLORC, SPDC, et. al. Those of us who have the privilege of living
in free societies have a moral and ethical obligation to posterity
to keep the facts straight.
Yours in Freedom,
Bilal Raschid,
President, CRDB-International
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