Johnny and Luther Htoo

Johnny Htoo and Luther Htoo (born circa 1988) are twin brothers who jointly led the God's Army guerrilla group—a splinter group of Karen National Union in Myanmar (Burma) during the late 1990s.

According to them and their followers, the twins gained fame in 1997 when they commanded the defenders of their village after troops of the Karen National Union had retreated.

Various legends claimed that the twins had numerous magical powers, including invulnerability to bullets and mines and that they could hand out magical bullets. Supposedly, they could kill by pointing a rifle at the ground and concentrating. One tale claims that Johnny turned himself into an old man and back when bathing in a river. Luther claimed he had 250,000 invisible soldiers in his command when Johnny had 150,000. Their flesh-and-blood followers amounted to between 150 and 300 men. Their men referred to them as "Bu Lu" and "Bu Joh". Both were chain smokers.

God's Army was situated in Thailand, just across the border from Myanmar. They were from the Karen ethnic group and were a band of Christian guerrillas who maintained an austere lifestyle, including abstinence from sexual intercourse, drugs, alcohol, milk, eggs and pork. In October 1999 God's Army seized the Burmese embassy in Bangkok and the situation ended with their departure.

The Htoos came to worldwide attention in January 2000 when at 10 members of God's Army, seized a hospital in Ratchaburi, Thailand. The group held 700 to 800 patients and staff members hostage for 22 hours. They demanded the Thai government stop shelling Karen positions in Burma and treatment for their wounded. Thai security forces stormed the hospital, killing all 10 of the gunmen, allegedly after they had surrendered.

In a 2000 interview, Luther Htoo stated that he wanted freedom for Karens. They were pursued by the Tatmadaw (Burmese armed forces) and shunned by other Karen rebels.

The twins surrendered to Thai soldiers in January 2001 and requested sanctuary. By that time the number of their followers had dwindled to 20. They repudiated the stories about being invulnerable but insisted that God had helped them to survive over the years. They were reunited with their family.

According to an Associated Press report, Johnny Htoo—who by this time was eighteen—surrendered in Myanmar with eight other members of God's Army in two groups on 17 July and 19 July 2006. [http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-asia/2006/jul/25/072500407.html]

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/616772.stm Profile: God's Army] at Bbc.co.uk
* [http://burmadigest.wordpress.com/2006/07/31/not-a-child-anymore-johnny-htoo-has-come-of-age/ Not a Child Anymore: Johnny Htoo has come of age]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3SZ69R5YEc Youtube 17 minutes video about God's Army] Luther and Johnny Htoo, posted Sep 2007