The Trouble with "Collaborators"
Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan’s involvement with Burma began in the early 1980s, inspired by his meditation practice at the Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts, which introduced him to Burma’s rich Buddhist traditions. Later, he traveled to Burma to practice meditation at the Mahasi Center, marking the beginning of a deep connection with the country. As a committed activist and advocate for disarmament, Yeshua eventually joined the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, focusing on Burma's severe landmine crisis. In 1995, he became one of the leading researchers documenting landmine use in Myanmar, working to expose the indiscriminate harm these devices inflict on civilian populations across the country. Over the years, Yeshua has engaged directly with local ethnic armed groups and community leaders, highlighting the impact of landmines on vulnerable communities, and urging responsible handling and, ideally, the cessation of landmine use. His work has been instrumental in bringing international attention to Myanmar's unique landmine crisis. Through reports, personal testimonies, and strategic campaigns, he has shed light on the Myanmar military’s and ethnic groups' roles in laying mines, contributing to a broader understanding of their impact on communities that rely on mined lands for their livelihood. His dedication to both activism and meditation underscores a unique approach to advocacy, one rooted in compassion and a commitment to reducing suffering wherever possible. Listen to his full interview here.
“The article is called ‘A Right to Refuse to Kill in Myanmar?’ It was published by War Resisters’ League [International] about a week and a half ago. It basically is for an international audience. People in Myanmar know the story there. It states how many people as combatants have been killed in the conflict. So, if you're going to become a combatant, this is something to think about: way more combatants have been registered as killed than civilians at this point. And people being forced or coerced or encouraged by one side or the other to join them in killing the other side, many people are feeling caught. Like, ‘How can we get out of the situation?’
We quoted a number of young people who were interviewed by Radio Free Asia, and others within the article, who were planning to flee the country, go underground, whatever, but not engage in armed conflict. We felt that they should have that right. And I felt that the response by the National Unity Government was particularly unhelpful, because it essentially could be read as condoning attacking civilian parts of the current governance structure, whatever we want to call it, who have to carry out the conscription activities as a part of their job.
I mean, many of those people, who knows why they're keeping their job. They may hate the military as much as anybody else, but they have 20 family members depending on their job, and they have to keep it. Assassinating those people; those are those are extrajudicial executions; there's no other way around it.
People in Myanmar should reflect on what's happening with the people on the docket at the International Court of Justice, from Kosovo, who were accused of killing ‘collaborators.’ What's that term mean? It's very vague. Are you a collaborator? Am I a collaborator? Could be. It's vague enough to capture anybody. And if you're going to punish someone, it should be under criminal sanction. It should be straightforward. There should be lawyers. They should have their day in court. If you can't provide that, you shouldn't be killing them. It's my opinion.”