How It's Used

General Aung San “…would go on to form the Burma Independence Army, to become one of the legendary Thirty Comrades trained secretly by the Japanese. They reentered Burma with the Japanese invasion to oust the British in early 1942, then turned around in March 1945 and helped the British end Japanese occupation.”

"Little is known of Sein Lwin's origins or early life. Although apparently not one of the 'Thirty Comrades' who went to China for military training under the Japanese in early 1941, he served in 4th Battalion Burma Rifles, the unit commanded by Ne Win at the time of Burma's independence. This battalion later remained loyal to the Government when other army units rebelled or deserted, which no doubt cemented his relationship with Ne Win."

"The military, which has ruled the former Burma in one form or another since 1962, had never before sent condolences on the death of a colleague of General Aung San, who mostly supported his daughter in her battle for democracy, veteran politicians said on Saturday. Senior generals went to the residence of Bohmu Aung, one of the famed 'Thirty Comrades', led by Aung San, who led the country to independence from Britain, a relative said. One of the top members of the regime, Lt General Thein Sein, led the delegation late on Friday and it passed on the condolences of Myanmar's paramount leader, Senior General Than Shwe, U Zaw, a son-in-law of Bohmu Aung, told Reuters."

"Similar to the New York Times judgment, former Brigadier Kyaw Zaw, one of the country's legendary Thirty Comrades and a member of the underground Burma Communist Party, said in exile that Pyinmana was the headquarters of the Burma Independence Army during the anti-Japanese resistance war. The junta is just returning to this old place, assumably to wage another resistance war from the mountains, this time the 'imagined' US invasion. His remark, citing the Burmese adage 'a tiger changes his habitat only to meet his death,' entertains the huge anti-junta circles at home and abroad."

"Japan has a historical obligation to Myanmar, from its relationship with Aung San and the Thirty Comrades through its occupation of Burma in World War II to Suu Kyi's time studying in Kyoto and the murder of Kenji Nagai. Foreign Ministry officials of the kind I have met do Japan no favors at all. Their acquiescence in the regime's dirty work should be replaced with a robust rejection of the regime's sham elections, and pro-active leadership in support of an arms embargo at the U.N. Security Council. Japan should introduce targeted financial sanctions aimed at the generals ruling Myanmar, and support a U.N. commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity. It is time to fulfill the false promises Japan made almost 70 years ago--to help the Burmese people liberate themselves and have the genuine independence they have sacrificed so much to achieve."

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