In his extraordinary first interview, on the eve of elections, a former major in the secretive regime tells of chaos at the core of the state's weapons programme.
A senior missile scientist who defected from Burma after
leaking secrets about the junta's suspected nuclear programme has revealed how
senior generals were personally involved in plans to develop a weapons system.
In his first in-depth newspaper interview since defecting
seven months ago, Sai Thein Win, a major in the Burmese army, said he attended
four presentations where the nation's nuclear ambitions were revealed. He gives
a rare insight into the shambolic, demoralising conditions imposed on
scientists, and reflects on the consequences of his flight on the family he has
left behind. The interview was conducted just days before Burma holds its first
elections for 20 years, which have been condemned as rigged by rights groups
and the international community.
Sai Thein Win now lives in a small flat on the outskirts
of a large European city. There is no name on the door and the curtains are
closed. The location of his home can not be revealed because he fears that
Burma's generals will send someone to try to kill him. "I'm not really
here," he said. His room is sparsely decorated, with a table, a computer
and a large, sharp dagger.
Sai Thein Win's revelations since he left the country
have been described by a former International Atomic Energy Agency head as
"truly extraordinary information". Burma's army is closed to the
outside world and Sai Thein Win is the main source, and in some cases the only
source, for a case with major political implications. Can he be trusted?
International observers fear that the junta has tried to
obtain nuclear weaponry as part of its strategy to retain power. But evidence
from Sai Thein Win suggests that the programme is so mired in incompetence,
corruption and delays that it would take years to develop a nuclear programme.
Sai Thein Win – who has been compared to Mordechai
Vanunu, who in 1986 exposed Israel's nuclear weapons programme – said he spent
three years working in a factory in the hot desert of western Burma. He said
the regime installed machinery for their programme but virtually nothing was
made, and employees were bored waiting for designs. At night, they sat drinking
whisky and watching TV.
"When we were alone, we sometimes talked about how
stupid this was," said Sai Thein Win. "We called ourselves Nato – No
Action, Talking Only. We wasted our lives. I'm not a politician, I'm proud to
be an engineer and an officer. I would be proud to be the first rocket
scientist of Burma but I had no chance to apply what I had learned. It made me
upset." The
Burmese authorities have denied that they are developing
nuclear weaponry and called Sai Thein Win a deserter and criminal. The
country's Foreign Ministry said that it lacked the "infrastructure,
technology and finance to develop nuclear weapons".
But in Sai Thein Win's evidence he claims senior leaders
of the junta were keen to try. As one of 72 young engineers sent to Moscow for
further study in 2001, he said they were waved off by a senior general, Maung
Aye. Sai Thein Win said a senior general told them Burma needed nuclear weapons
for its protection.
He specialised in missile technology but interrupted his
doctorate studies in Moscow. He was appointed production manger to make
components for the Burma's missile and nuclear weapons programme. He said he
was in a trusted position and had access to confidential material.
On two occasions, he says, he attended presentations of
the so-called nuclear battalion at another installation at Thabeikkyin, in
central Burma. At one of them, Than Shwe – the leader of the junta – arrived in
a car and was led to a room filled with other generals. He sat on a sofa and
watched a female scientist give a presentation related to their work.
Apparently, Than Shwe was impressed, gave a short comment and encouraged them
to continue with their work, said Sai Thein Win.
The scientist said he did not doubt that the intention of
the so-called nuclear battalion was to construct a reactor, enrich uranium and
build a nuclear bomb. He said he saw documents that proved this but did not
steal any to prove his claim.
"Everyone asks me, 'Did I get an order from the
generals to create a nuclear bomb?' But I never got my hands on those
documents. I had the chance to steal them, but I didn't."
He emphasised that his frustration with problems at the
factory was a major reason why he started leaking the information. He said when
machines broke, they could not fix them themselves but had to call the German
manufacturer, who thought they were for civil use and had to be deceived.
"If things went well, I would have still been there," he said.
"If they did very professional work, I would be proud to be there. I would
be proud to be part of that."
Another factor behind his defection was the suicide of
his sister while he was in Moscow. She had worked at a school and earned
one-seventieth of what he as a privileged army officer could earn. "The
regime gives privileges to the officers, but condemns other public
workers," he said. "For me, the pay was good enough, but not for my
sister. In that way, the regime was partly responsible for her suicide."
In 2009, he saw a television show from the Oslo-based
television channel, the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), which spoke of rumours
of a nuclear weapons programme, and showed a picture of the factory where he
worked. He said he went and bought a camera and took pictures at the factory. A
security guard saw him but did not say anything.
So he went to the office, uploaded a picture and sent it
to a contact. "After sending the pictures, it was like my thoughts kept
circling around this, 'I'm in danger, I'm in danger, I'm in danger!'" He
continued to collect pictures, get documents and upload them. "I had to
rely on strangers. I felt stupid. If the pictures were publicised before I was
out of the country, I would be killed."
He sat in his office during work hours and uploaded
pictures to Facebook. DVB, which he was now in contact with, asked for more. He
replied that he could give them everything, but that he would have to get out
quickly afterwards. He had a fake passport and paid a $400 (£246) bribe for a visa.
"If they got me on just one thing, they would find everything," he
said. "I wrote nothing down, it was too dangerous. Everything was spinning
around in my head."
He managed to get a flight to Thailand where he was met
by a representative from DVB. His documents were sent to the former head of the
International Atomic Energy Agency, Robert Kelly, for analysis. He has
described Sai Thein Win as a "source with truly extraordinary
information". The defector revealed hundreds of photographs from inside a
factory that show machines and constructions, as well as technical documents
that suggest attempts to develop nuclear technology, according to experts. The
defector's evidence "correlates well with information from other published
and unpublished sources", said Mr Kelly's report.
In his analysis, Nuclear Related Activities in Burma, he
wrote: "Our assessment of multiple sources is that Burma is really
developing nuclear technology, that it has built specialised equipment and
facilities, and it has issued orders to a cadre to build a programme." Mr
Kelly has also said: "This is not a good programme, it is not successful
and it is not professionally managed."
Sai Thein Win said his email and Facebook page were
hacked and he was tipped-off that he had been traced in Thailand. After he left
the country, his mother and family were visited by the secret police, put under
surveillance and had to inform the authorities if they were planning to leave
Rangoon, he said. The Burmese authorities have called the accusations about the
nuclear programme "unfounded" and said that Burma "only wants
peace and has no ambition to become a nuclear-power state".
If Burma's nuclear ambitions are substantiated, it will
raise questions about whether the junta – which has run the country since 1962
– is receiving help from rogue nations such as North Korea. Finally, when asked
what he wanted to tell those who suspected he had made up his story, Sai Thein
Win said: "Go and see for yourself. And wait for more to escape with
evidence. I've done my best. I've done everything I could."
Sai Thein Win: Life in brief
Sai Thein Win grew up in the village of Kyaukme in Shan
state in north-eastern Burma with mountains on all sides. His father was a
clerk; his mother stayed at home. He went swimming, boxing and played the
guitar – but one interest had his special attention: weapons.
He created traps, caught birds and studied guns and
missiles. At 18, he applied for the military. Because of his good grades, he
was one of 100 accepted on a defence engineering course. He studied subjects
including electronics, mechanics and weaponry. He got up to work at 5am every
day, and he says that he was proud to wear the uniform.
Still, the life he dreamed of was as a student, a life he
was finally able to enjoy when sent to Moscow by the Burmese government in
2001. Later he returned to Burma as a production manager for the national
nuclear weapons programme – his last job before he fled from the country for
good.
*A version of this article appears in the Norwegian
newspaper 'Morgenbladet' today