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Are the K N U Days Numbered ?



                        Are the K N U  Days Numbered


Kanbawza Win


        Karen National Union or the K N U that form the main part of the
Burmese resistance movement has completed   its  second round of talk
for the cease fire agreement with SLORC and have called its Central
Committee Members meeting  to evaluate the outcome. I ts twelve points
proposal and its rejections together with its counter proposal by SLORC
has already being outlined by Padoh Mann Shar in the Bangkok Post. The
very fact that KNU is forced to agree to the cease fire talk inside the
country on SLORC's terms had demonstrated its position of weakness, on
the other hand if it does not respond to the talk would be labelled as
an organization that does not want peace and would fall into the trap of
SLORC's propaganda machine. This is the picture which has been acce pted
or rather painted by the KNU and its sympathizers. But on travelling to
the jungles and talking face to face with the majority of its leaders
seems to depict quite q different scene. The crux of its crisis is
disunity and the vested interest of some of
 its influential  KNU leaders.

        The dividing line can be drawn with the poor patriotic Karen or
rather the underdogs who have carried on the torch of resistance for
nearly five decades and the rich leaders, who have accumulated enough
wealth and desire to live in peace whatever the cost.
 Those harboring  these vested interest are the ones that usually send
their off springs to foreign countries for further studies and those who
have connections with the Thai counterparts either through marriage or
through business partners and have been gr eatly influenced by the Thai
National Security Council led by its de facto spokesman Mr X.

        The acceptable point or rather a fair argument  made public by
SLORC in every cease fire agreement  was that the proponents were to
stick on to their guns until the peace agreement  is reached and now in
this cease fire talk sensing the kill have come up with their usual
rhetoric of "coming in to the legal fold and renouncing, the armed
struggle" tantamounting to complete surrender without conditions. If the
KNU were to go in for another round of talk with that factor in mind
then the world will soon be witnessing yet another scene of betrayal of
the peopl e by its leaders, similar to what Khun Hsa had done to the
Shan and its Mong Tai army. To be candid the wording use by SLORC "to
come to the legal fold and to renounce armed struggle" is what they
themselves should have practice as they should come to the legal fold
and renounced their armed atrocities committed on the people of Burma
for the legal government is the NLD lead by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi that
has been mandated by the people since 1990. Besides Article 21 of the U
N Declaration of Human Rights clearly says " that the authority to
govern must derived from the people" and that SLORC has been  governing
Burma in direct violation of the U N Charter (Why was SLORC was not kick
off from the U N is another topic). This point was already known by the
KNU delegation and yet fail to mention it to SLORC. Why the timidity? Is
the KNU delegatio n afraid to jeopardize the talk? Or  just towing the
SLORC theory of might is right?


        The world has known that SLORC  still dance to the tune of its
great helmsman, the Evil Genius U Ne Win who have taken lessons of
"Divide and Rule Policy" from the British Colonialist. Admittedly this
Buddhist-Christian crisis has been smol dering since the 1980s and the
inability of the KNU to nib it in the bud finally lead to the creation
of DKBA (Democratic Karen Buddhist Association) resulting in the fall of
Manerplaw. No doubt this split was greatly orchestrated by SLORC who now
sees anot her crack in the KNU in the form of denomination viz the
Seventh Day Adventist and the Baptist including other denominations as
the Anglicans which SLORC label it as Sunday Group and Saturday Group
That is why in the first talk they have put in the General Secretary of
the Burma Baptist Convention, Saw Margay Gyi as one of the neutral
observers. If SLORC is sincere enough and is desirous to have a
religious representative, as the majority of the Karen delegation being
Christians then they coul d have invited the General Secretary of the
Burma Churches Council, Saw San C Htay another Karen Christian
representing all the Christians in Burma. Why fishy?

        In half a century since the KNU had embarked on its armed
resistance, the world has changed a lot except the KNU leadership.
Perhaps in this aspect, they have taken a page out of U Ne Win's book,
the de facto if not the de jure leader of Burma. But U Ne Win is wise
enough to pump in young blood as Khin Nyunt and Than Shwe, whereas most
of the KNU leaders are on the wrong side of the sixties if not
seventies, so much so that the SLORC Gen erals have to address them as
"Phati" (uncle). This trend also resulted in driving the young Karen
intelligentsia out of the KNU folod and indirectly encourage them  to
search for greener pasteur. The old guard could not comprehend that weap
ons of the ethnic wars has changed. From guns and cannons to television
cameras and computer internets and other sophisticated Information
Technology. The classic examples being Saddem's Hussein War of
eradication against the Kurds. When he unleash that war
 of genocide, a substantial number of reporters and newsman happens to
be in the right place, at the right time and their report is so
effective that the world opinion was moved and finally forced the U N to
set up a buffer Zone.Such kind of episodes cannot
 be seen not only by the KNU but also be the majority of the Burmese
dissidents.

         On discussing with the brigade commanders operating inside
Burma, I discover that they have well documented all the atrocities
including several killings which SLORC's soldiers have committed in
their respective area but in the absence of camera or televi sion there
seems to have no proof. Even when Manerplaw falls there is no single
reporter or camera crew to documen the episode with the result that the
world does not know that the headquarters of the Burmese aspiration for
democracy,  human rights and federalism has fallen to SLORC. No news on
Star T V nor any other electronic media, except the sympathe tic Thai
printed media and soon the story was forgotten.

        The mode of war has also changed drastically. We are essentially
fighting an economic war.SLORC because of its resources both in men and
materials have been able to marginalized the opposition. Why can't the
dissidents use the expatriates economic experts so abundant in this part
of the world? Simple logic will tell that one is not urging them to
become  terrorist organization but sometimes is feasible to uses these
techniques so numerous in the world. When the IRA switch its techniques
on the Briti sh and began to concentrates on the economic targets as
blowing up a bomb in central London without any casualty, thousands of
American tourists stayed away from Britain.This finally led to the
negotiating table. How about a minor explosion in Rangoon and M andalay
in the Visit Myanmar Year 1996 ? Surely it will scare away the tourists,
not to mention blowing the TOTAL and UNOCAL pipelines? Only the young
energetic persons can think on these innovative lines. New strategy,
techniques and the tactics cannot eas ily come to the old conservatives
who simply ask, what can the television camera do?

        In this part of the world where the truth follow the rumors, it
has been said that the Thai Premier in going to Rangoon has come up with
the idea that SLORC would prohibit its scape goat DKBA from incurring
into Thailand to attack the Karen Refugee Camps w ith an understanding
that the Thai authorities on its part would eventually move the refugees
back into Burma and hence have now started placing these unfortunate
refugees  in the vicinity of the Burmese army. Burmese blood for
economic gains being one of t he fruits of Constructive Engagement is
obvious. The very fact that unlike the Laos, Cambodian and Vietnamese
refugees  the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) and
the UNBRO (United Nations Border Relief Organization) were not able to
se t up the good offices in Western Thailand for the Burmese refugees
have prove beyond doubt of the connivance of the Thai and the Burmese
governments. My talk with the refugees have come to the conclusion that
the KNU will have to sign a cease fire agree ment for their very
survival. Or otherwise the DKBA could make short work of them is also
one of the factors playing in the signing of cease fire agreement.

        In the entire history of Burma or Thailand, DKBA is the only
example where religion is use as a pretext to cause havoc. Even though
their tactics are very much categorical to the teachings of Lord Buddha,
the two Theravada Buddhist countries of Burma and T hailand are finding
it a good pretext to condone them and attain their means.

        Because of unfavourable circumstances if the KNU were to sign
the one sided cease fire agreement, it will be a great blow to the other
para Myanmar groups that are still fighting against SLORC e.g. ABSDFs
(All Burma Students Democratic Fronts  two factions ), DPNS (Democratic
Party for New Society), as well as other members of the DAB (Democratic
Alliance of Burma)that are still holding it out up to this day. Moreover
the three million Burmese expatriates, most of whom are professionals
and have now come arou nd to near unity will be greatly disheartened. It
will also tantamount to SLORC's theory that there is no such thing as
the 1988 episodes and that only a few misguided youths have taken
sanctuary with the KNU and that KNU should lull these youths back to th
e legal fold. SLORC is ready to recognize the ethnic group aspirations
but would not budge the Myanmar groups fighting for Democracy and Human
Rights as this will shaken its very foundation. That is why it would not
negotiate with the ABSDF or any other Mya nmar orientated groups
including the NLD (National League for Democracy) lead by Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi.

        But the unkindest cut of all  will be that hundreds and
thousands of patriotic Karens and otheres minorities as well as the pro
democratic forces that have sacrificed their lives  in vain because of
the vested interest of the few present  leaders to sign a cease fire
agreement. Lamentably the struggle for democracy and human rights inclu
ding the legitimate rights of the ethnic minorities will be set back for
some more years to come if the KNU days are numbered and acquiesce to
the unfair cease fire agreement.

Kanbawza Win
April 1996
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