On 19 April, government owned media reported that a total of 126 soldiers were killed and 359 more injured during the fight in Kokang. The Kokang rebels who go by the name of Myanmar National Democracy Army (MNDAA) meanwhile says government casualties are some 1,800 while the MNDAA has suffered some 70. Understandably, the actual figures could be in the in-between.

Meanwhile the number of civilians that have fled the killing zone on the Sino-Burmese border is somewhere between 50,000-90,000.

The number however is less important. The point is more about the citizens of Burma who are giving up their lives to satisfy the whims of their leaders. On the contrary, if the war were fought only between the said leaders themselves in a duel without involving their soldiers and people, it would be more preferable.

The message here is especially for the government and its armed forces. Because all the trouble in the country today could have been avoided if they were more open to reason.

And also because it was the President himself who told his Kachin visitors on 16 March, according to U Hla Maung Shwe, Myanmar Peace Center’s special advisor: Anyone killed on the battlefield—whoever they are—is a loss to the country. These words should apply to those killed and wounded in the Kokang battlefield too.

Sun Zi (BC 551-467), the universally respected author of the Art of War, has counseled:

A government should not mobilize an army out of anger

Military leaders should not provoke war out of wrath

Act when it is beneficial, desist if it is not

Anger can revert to joy

Wrath can revert to delight

But a country destroyed cannot be restored to existence

And the dead cannot be restored to life

Therefore an enlightened government is careful about this

A good military leadership is alert to this

This is the way to secure a nation and keep the armed forces whole

(The Art of War, Chapter 12)

Master Sun’s master Lao Zi is even more explicit:

Weapons are instruments of fear

They are not a wise man’s tools

He uses them only when he has no choice

Peace and quiet are dear to his heart

And victory no cause for rejoicing

When many people are being killed

They should be mourned in heartfelt sorrow

That is why a victory must be observed like a funeral.

(Dao De Jing, Chapter 31)

A good soldier is not violent

A good fighter is not angry

A good winner is not vengeful

(Chapter 68)

What is more, how can a peace process that excludes some of the active armed movements inspire confidence even from those who have signed ceasefire agreements? They are certain to count themselves as the next possible targets of the government and its armed forces and focus more on preparations for war than for peace.

At stake is the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) which was successfully drafted on 31 March. At stake is the peace that the country has been deprived of for so long.

It is therefore hoped both the President and Commander-in-Chief will conduct a critical review of the peace process and the war in Kokang—together, not seprately—and decide on an enlightened course of action that will benefit both themselves and the country.