Karen National Union

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The official flag of the KNU

The Karen National Union ( KNU ) is a political grouping that operates in the border area between Thailand and Myanmar , the former Burma. The KNU has one armed arm, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). Since 1948 the KNU has been fighting against the Burmese central government for an independent Karen state, which is called Kawthoolei in the Karen language . The KNU is the largest Karen resistance group in Myanmar. The KNU operates primarily in what is now Kayin State .

In 2006 the headquarters of the KNU was in Mu Aye Pu in Kayin State on the border with Thailand.

In January 2012, a first ceasefire agreement was signed between KNU representatives and the central government.

history

The KNU was founded on February 5, 1947 after talks in London for an independent Karen state failed. The first chairman of the KNU was Saw Ba U Gyi , a Karen politician who held ministerial posts under the British colonial government. He was murdered by Burmese soldiers in 1950.

For the past 40 years, the KNU and KNLA were primarily led by a Karen politician named Bo Mya , who died in exile in the Thai border town of Mae Sot at the end of 2006 . Also at Mae Sot, KNU General Secretary Mahn Sha Lar Phan was murdered on February 14, 2008 ; Although responsibility was not established, the Myanmar military government was immediately suspected of being behind the murder, as Mahn Sha's name was reportedly on a government hit list . On October 20, 2008, Zipporah Sein was elected as the new KNU General Secretary at the 14th KNU Congress.

For many years, KNU and KNLA ruled the border areas between Thailand and Myanmar. This enabled them to generate large revenues from customs duties on border traffic. But since the beginning of the 1990s, the KNLA has been increasingly pushed back from its territories by the Myanmar government. To make matters worse, in 1994 a group of Buddhist Karen split off from the primarily Christian-run KNU. The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army was formed, which reached a ceasefire agreement with the Myanmar government, the State Council for Peace and Development (SPDC). As a result of this split off, the KNU lost its important Manerplaw headquarters on the Saluen River. Due to the knowledge of the defensive positions and the location of the minefields, the Myanmar troops were able to conquer Manerplaw. Today the KNLA no longer has its own territory and is limited to guerrilla methods.

In 2004 an informal ceasefire was concluded between the KNLA and the Myanmar military government. However, the latter never took the armistice seriously. On the contrary, since the armistice it has tried to strengthen its position in the Karen area by building roads and bases. The oral truce was agreed by Bo Mya on a trip to the then Myanmar capital, Rangoon . Since October 2006, the KNLA no longer feels bound by this, as it has been broken too often by the central government. The 7th KNLA Brigade is currently trying to negotiate its own separate armistice with the Myanmar government.

Today most of the leaders of the KNU and KNLA live in refugee camps in Thailand or in the Thai border towns of Mae Sot , Mae Sariang and Mae Hong Son . Around 150,000 Karen live in refugee camps in Thailand, primarily in the Thai province of Tak , and the KNU tries to look after them through various sub-organizations. There are around six to seven million Karen, primarily in Myanmar, but also in Thailand.

The Karen conflict is the longest-running civil war today. It is led by the Myanmar military, called Tatmadaw , with indescribable severity. In addition to the refugees in Thailand, there are hundreds of thousands of internal refugees in Myanmar, called IDPs .

In January 2012, a government delegation and KNU officials signed an immediate ceasefire agreement in Hpa-an , capital of eastern Karen state. On the government side, the negotiations were led by Minister of Railways Aung Min. It is the first time since the fighting began that Karen officials have entered into an agreement with the central government. The agreements with the central government and the regional government of Karen state guarantee the Karen et al. a. Freedom of movement across the country. This had previously been regulated by the government. However, the central government only made the concessions subject to the approval of the Defense Minister.

Organization of the KNLA

There are the most contradicting statements about the strength of the KNLA. Some sources speak of 20,000 armed supporters, other sources speak of 4,000 to 5,000 men. At the 57th "Karen Revolution Day" there was even talk of 50,000 men, but they could not be armed by far.

Brigades of the KNLA / KNU

The KNLA is divided into seven brigades :

brigade KNU / KNLA Myanmar government
1st brigade Du Tha Htu District Thaton District
2nd brigade Tha Ow district Toungoo District
3rd brigade Kler Lwee Htuu District Nyaunglebin District
4th brigade Mergui Tavoy District Tavoy district
5th Brigade MuThraw district Papun District
6th Brigade Duplaya district Kya In Seik Kyi District
7th Brigade Pa-An District Pa-An District

Note: The 4th Brigade does not operate in Kayin State , but in northern Mon State . On January 30, 2007, the 7th Brigade split into two groups. Rebels from the 7th Brigade under Brigadier General Htain Maung founded the KNLA / Peace Council. He had conducted peace negotiations with the SPDC without the consent of the KNU leadership.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Al Jazeera : “Myanmar's Karen mourn leader” , February 23, 2008 (English)
  2. ^ KNU Appoints Karen Woman General-Secretary . Irrawaddy.org. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  3. ↑ Burma's Civil War: Government and Karen rebels conclude historic armistice at zeit.de, January 12, 2012 (accessed January 12, 2012).
  4. ↑ Conflict Tempo of Change in Burma surprised at focus.de, January 12, 2012 (accessed on January 12, 2012).
  5. ↑ BURMA NACHRICHTEN 3/2007, February 20 . Asiahaus.de. February 20, 2007. Retrieved July 12, 2010.