The New Challenge for the Karen National Union (KNU)

Htun Aung Gyaw

February 2, 2004

The current cease-fire agreement meeting between the Karen National Union and the Burmese military regime in Rangoon seems to be going well. But reaching a real peace for the Karen state and its people seems distant. The Thai government is pushing an agenda that would devour Burma’s rich natural resources for its own benefit and it would ignore the suffering of the Burmese people. In addition, KNU faces a new challenge from its splinter group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), as well as pressure from Burmese regime.

Behind the cease-fire agreement, there are many difficulties that the KNU leadership needs to overcome. First the KNU has to negotiate with the Burmese regime for its territorial control. How much area they can control is a big question because KNU, DKBA and SPDC territories overlap each other. The tricky part is that even though they may reach an agreement with the regime, KNU still needs to make a deal with the DKBA, which controls the inner part of the Karen state. DKBA is also fully supported by the regime.

DKBA leaders were once KNU fighters, who split from KNU because of religious discrimination against the Karen Buddhist majority. Mistrust and hatred between KNU and DKBA is not going to evaporate over night. If KNU reaches a cease-fire agreement, these two rival groups would need to build trust and work together for the sake of the Karen people. If not, SPDC will play those two sides against each other and reap the benefits.

DKBA’s and KNU’s infighting is only weakening their cause for self-determination. DKBA is supported by the regime, yet, they dislike the regime’s ill treatment of the Karen people. The Karen people have been harassed and killed, villages have been burned down and the population forced to work as porters by the Burmese troops. Some of the DKDA leaders want to rejoin with the KNU but KNU does not trust them. Both groups need a mediator who they can trust and count on. The best mediators are former Karen leaders and National Democratic Front (NDF) leaders who live in exile or in Thailand.

KNU needs to issue a statement that they want reconciliation with DKBA. This step is crucial for the KNU and the Karen people as a whole to rise again.

Many Burmese pro-democracy groups are operating inside Karen-controlled territory. Their revolutionary tasks are mainly dependent on how much freedom they have within the Karen area. Karen leadership is quite generous to help pro-democracy groups operating in the Thai-Burma border inside Burma. If the Karen signed the cease-fire agreement with the regime, KNU would have to restrict the anti-regime movement in their domain. It would be very difficult for both the Karen and the pro-democracy groups to continue their struggle.

Burmese and other ethnic groups that operate in the Karen area need to find ways to continue their struggle for democracy outside the Karen-controlled territory. They have to understand the difficulties that the KNU faces right now. We do not need to blame KNU for its move; instead we should look at the reasons why KNU has tired to reach a cease-fire agreement with SPDC. At the same time, democratic forces need to find other ways to continue the struggle for democracy, if they cannot operate effectively within Karen territory.

When we look at the cease-fire groups, we see their influence becoming weaker and weaker. Over the past decade, cease-fire areas have steadily been occupied by Burmese troops. In Kachin state, many Kachin Independence Army troop-controlled areas are now mixed with occupying Burmese troops. Their headquarters is not safe because it is surrounded. Kachin leaders became corrupt, much as the Wa and Kokang. KIA soldiers have lost their spirit for continuing the fight for democracy and self-determination. The results are shocking. Drug trafficking, deforestation and environmental damage is rampant.
After the cease-fire agreement with SPDC, the Chinese, who pressured the Kachin and Wa to reach a cease-fire agreement with the regime, got lucrative logging concessions. Within the past ten years, valuable hardwood forests were systematically slashed down by the Chinese. As a result, precious wild life in that area was diminished over night. These are the results of the cease-fire agreement in Kachin state.

In Karen state a cease-fire agreement is technically not yet signed. It will take some time, and possibly, negotiations might break down. The main task for Karen leadership is to start reconciliation with their Buddhist Karen brothers despite their different religious background. They speak the same language, eat the same food, drink the same water and dress alike. In the past, they have worked together, successfully thwarting the Burmese offensive against the Karen territory. The Karin headquarters in Manaplaw was never occupied by the Burmese army, like it is now, when the Karin people were united. .
If the Karen manages to reunite, they will rise up again. Not only can they successfully oppose the Burmese army but also the one-sided pressure from the Thai Prime Minister.

Htun Aung Gyaw

Civil Society for Burma

http://www.csburma.net