Brig-Gen Htain Maung expelled, regiments remain loyal to KNU

The commander of Brigade 7 of the Karen National Liberation Army, Brig-Gen Htain Maung (left) has been expelled by the Central Committee of the Karen National Union but all the regiments are still under the organisation’s control. The stringent action was taken against the commander because he ignored the committee and initiated a dialogue with the Burmese military junta for a ceasefire, KNU sources said.

The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) is the armed wing of the KNU.

“There are six regiments under the command of Brigade 7,” said Padoh Mahn Sha, KNU secretary general. “None of these regiments are following him [Brig-Gen Htain Maung]. All the regiments are now under the command of Col. Kyaw Nee (Johnny) and Col Tun Kyaing. Some of his [Htain Maung] associates and his family have gone with him.”

Padoh Saw Ah Toe, chairman of Pa-an district confirmed that none of the regiments under Brigade 7 are following the former Commander Brig-Gen Htain Maung, but are very much under the command of the KNU. His family, security personnel and Col. Ner Dah Mya (left), a son of late Saw Bo Mya and some of his associates have gone along with him.

Brig-Gen Htain Maung has been dismissed from the posts he held by the KNU Central Committee at the committee meeting today, said Padoh Mahn Sha.

“He was a member of the Central Committee and a Brigadier. He went on to talk with the junta and reach a ceasefire agreement turning his back on the organization. We, the committee members decided to dismiss him from his posts,” said Padoh Maha Sha.

Chairman of Pa-an district, Padoh Saw Ah Toe and Padoh Aung Maung, Col Johnny and Col Tun Kyaing have taken over the duties of Htain Maung.

“What he has done has affected us,” said Mahn Sha. “But the regiments didn’t support him.”

The conflict of interests between the KNU Central Committee and Brig-Gen Htain Maung came in the wake of a delegation of Brigade 7 led by the Brigadier travelling to Rangoon on January 3 and starting a dialogue with the junta for a ceasefire without the consent of the KNU.

Brig-Gen Htain Maung and his group went on to negotiate with the junta while the KNU as a whole was preparing to send a delegation to talk to the Burmese military brass.

The Burmese military junta has agreed to some of Brig-Gen Htain Maung’s proposals.

NMG
30-1-07

KNU 7th brigade prepares for ‘Peace Areas’

The commander of the Karen National Union 7th Brigade, Brig-Gen Htain Maung, is apparently following through with plans to move the brigade’s headquarters while also surveying regions to designate as “peace areas.”

A contingent of KNU/KNLA “peace representatives” toured areas in Karen State together with officers from the Burmese military government and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, Maj Maung Kyaw, liaison officer of the 7th Brigade, said on Monday.
“We went to those areas to survey the situation for those who will go back and stay in the old villages,” said Maung Kyaw. “Some Tatmadaw [armed forces] government officers went with us, and the KDBA was providing our security.” He declined to identify the areas visited.
Maung Kyaw said people who want to return to the designated peace areas can go back any time they choose. “It is not forced relocation,” he said.
Leaders of the 7th Brigade and Burmese junta officers agreed to a cease-fire in Rangoon on January 16. Htain Maung described it as a “peace agreement.”
Because of the recent tension between the KNU and the break-away 7th Brigade, the KNU will not celebrate the 58th anniversary of Karen Revolution Day on January 31,
Mahn Sha said.
“We have ordered our people to celebrate the day by their self in areas where they are based,” he said. “Our [KNU] Central Committee will not celebrate this day with a big ceremony like in past years.”
Karen people around the world have taken a strong interest in the standoff between the policies of the KNU Central Committee and some 7th brigade leaders, seeing it as a political wedge dividing the Karen community.
Some reports have speculated that Htain Maung plans to move the 7th Brigade headquarters to Maw Pah Thoo on the Taungyin River near Khoko village, the headquarters of DKBA Special Battalion 999. Maw Pah Thoo is one of the designated control areas of the DKBA, a Karen cease-fire group that broke away from the KNU in January, 1995.
However, liaison officer Maung Kyaw said if the 7th Brigade headquarters relocates it would not be to Maw Pah Thoo but rather to Toh Kaw Koe village of Kawkareik Township, Karen State. The Karen hero Ba U Gyi was killed in the village on Aug 12, 1950, a date designated as Karen Martyr’s Day.

Rifts in KNU seen as bad for security

Faction goes to peace talks with Burma

Rifts have emerged within the Karen National Union (KNU) which could affect border security. The conflicts have surfaced a little more than a month after the death of its former leader Bo Mya on Dec 24, said a KNU officer.
If the friction within the KNU continues to widen, it could stall the ongoing peace process between the KNU and the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), Burma's military junta, the officer said, adding that fresh armed clashes were likely between the two sides along the Thai-Burmese border.
Border trade would suffer as a result. The value of cross-border trade at Tak's Mae Sot district has peaked to 12 billion baht during the past two years.
Gen Bo Mya was a skilled negotiator who had initiated truce talks with former Burmese prime minister Gen Khin Nyunt, now serving a jail sentence for corruption, in late 2004 in Rangoon.
Gen Bo Mya died at the age of 79 at a private hospital in Mae Sot district from natural causes.
Signs of a split in the KNU ranks first appeared when the commander of KNU's 7th Brigade Maj-Gen Htay Maung led a delegation to undertake a peace dialogue with Burma's military government on Jan 3, the KNU officer said.
According to an officer of the 7th Brigade, the Burmese military government has agreed to withdraw its troops from non-strategic areas in Karen state, but will keep troops in other key locations.
''However, the 7th Brigade delegation acted purely on its own accord and did not represent the KNU's Central Committee. It seems that the Burmese are plotting to divide and rule us. I don't believe they would really pull out,'' the KNU officer said.
The KNU's central committee made it clear at a meeting on Thursday that they had not endorsed the dialogue and also condemned it as going against the KNU's interests.
KNU secretary-general Mahn Sha said the latest negotiations were initiated by Maj-Gen Htay Maung and the delegation was not appointed by the committee.
''They (the delegates) are willing to go along with the SPDC so that they could get an opportunity to expand their businesses in Burma.
''This would not be in the best interests of the KNU,'' said Mahn Sha, though he insisted the KNU has not abandoned peace talks with Rangoon.
The talks, however, must be pursued on an equal footing, he said.
The KNU was the first among Burma's nationalities to rebel against the central government following the country's independence in 1948 from Britain.
It is one of the last armed groups that continues to actively oppose the military junta, prompting annual offensives in Karen state that have driven an estimated 140,000 civilian refugees to border camps.

By Supamart Kasem
Bangkok Post
28/1/07

Finn says to fight with KNLA in Burma -Paper

A 28-year-old Finn identified only as Mika intends to fight the Burmese military junta in the ranks of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the largest insurgent group in Burma, the Bangkok Post reported on Sunday.
"The Burma issue and the KNLA are well known in Finland," Mika told the paper, adding he had served in both the Finnish Defence Forces and the French Foreign Legion.
"Military types are well aware of the problems facing Burmese people and of the brutality of the (Burmese military). I want to join the KNLA to protect civilians."
"Some people help the Karen with their teaching skills. I have military skills, so I am helping with those."
Mika recently approached the Thailand-based All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), which told the paper it had hundreds of volunteers serving in Burma's ethnic armies.
According to the Bangkok Post, Mika, if accepted into rebel ranks, will probably travel to one of the ABSDF's training camps in Burma to learn guerrilla warfare tactics and jungle survival skills.

29.1.2007 at 16:42

7th Brigade cease-fire talks"against Karen interests" -- KNU CC

The Central Committee of the Karen National Union has dismissed a Karen faction's attempts to reach a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese military junta, as "against Karen interests".
The KNU Central Committee in an internal circular on Thursday, which was leaked to the media, denounced the cease-fire talks between a group of their leaders led by the commander of The 7th Brigade and the junta.
"They are going to ally with SPDC to go into developmental business. It is not the right way, especially without the permission of the Central Committee. Moreover, it is against the interest of the Karen ethnic nationalities," said Pado Mann Shar, spokesperson for the Karen rebels.
The war of statements, between the Central Committee and the faction, followed soon after the Karen delegation led by the Commander of the 7th Brigade, Brigadier-General Htain Maung of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the KNU, went to Rangoon to meet high ranking officials of the military junta to negotiate peace.
The ceasefire hungry faction released a statement on January 24, which said that they would go ahead with the talks with the junta and would not tolerate any attempt to derail it.
"It cannot be called talks with the 7th Brigade, it is only an attempt by its commander", Mann Sharr said.
"Actually, we did not release this as a statement. It was only for members of the Central Committee. But dishonest people leaked it," he said.
Officials of the other faction were not available for comment at the time of reporting. However, sources in the 7th Brigade described the ceasefire talks as, "so far, so good" and talked about plans to go to Rangoon again in the near future for further discussions.
Sources close to the military junta said that the possibility of a ceasefire agreement with the KNU faction was high, which the junta views as a political success.
Meanwhile, fire fighting broke out between KNLA's No. 16 and 17 battalions on January 14, and the situation is tense.
Twelve Burma Army troops including two officers were killed and nine injured in the skirmish, KNU claimed.

Karen delegation returns to base

The Karen peace delegation hope to be back in their base on the Thai-Burma border today after a series of meeting with high-ranking officials of the Burmese military junta, sources said.

The 10-member delegation led by Brigadier-General Htain Maung, the Commander of the 7th Brigade of the Karen National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Karen National Union, held discussions with Burmese junta's representatives including General Ye Myint of Burma's Military Affairs Security in Rangoon.

Sources close to the Burmese Army said the Karen delegation also met Major General Ko Ko, the southern military Commander, Brigadier General Thet Naing Win, the southeastern military commander and the First Secretary of the State Peace and Development Council Lieutenant-General Thein Sein.

The cease-fire talks attempted by the commander of the KNLA have been rejected by the Central Committee of the Karen National Union, the strongest ethnic rebel fighting against the government for over five decades.

Sources close to the KNU said that there are major differences among Karen leaders over peace talks but they are trying to sort it out.

Mizzima
11/01/07

Some Burmese troops to withdraw, says Karen delegation

A delegation from the Karen National Union’s 7th Brigade returned on Thursday from a meeting with Burmese officials in Rangoon, who said that the ruling junta would withdraw troops from some KNU-controlled areas.
The delegation, led by Brig-Gen Htain Maung, crossed into the Burmese border town of Myawaddy on January 3 and traveled overland to Rangoon by car.

There, the eight-member delegation met Lt-Gen Thein Sein, secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council, and Maj-Gen Ye Myint from Military Affairs Security, who said that the junta would pull out some of its troops from Karen State.
“They will withdraw [troops] from areas considered unimportant,” a senior leader of the KNU’s 7th Brigade said on condition of anonymity. “But in important areas, the [SPDC] will continue to control.”

The 7th Brigade leader added that Burmese troops will pull out of an area of Htee Mu Kee village in Papun district in 1st Brigade, where the late Karen leader Gen Bo Mya was born, and some areas in 6th Brigade’s Vallay Kee, and 7th Brigade, where the  KNLA’s Battalion 202 is based.

SPDC representatives told the delegation that if other KNU brigades wanted the withdrawal of Burmese troops, their leaders would need to conduct similar negotiations in Rangoon.

Following the announcement of the 7th Brigade delegation’s trip to Rangoon, KNU officials said that they were acting independently of the KNU and did not represent the interests of the group’s Central Committee.
“It seems like the Burmese [junta] is trying to divide us [KNU],” the senior 7th Brigade leader said. “I don’t believe that they will withdraw as they said.”
The SPDC’s latest offensive in northern Karen State and Pegu Division has led to the displacement of more than 20,000 villagers, with thousands more seeking refuge in camps along the Thai-Burmese border.

The 7th Brigade’s eight-member delegation included Col Paw Doh, head of the KNU’s Liberation Army Battalion 101; Maj Shwe Ro, second-in-command of Battalion 202; Htain Maung’s bodyguard Mar Ner, Say Plow Poe, the former head of 1st Brigade, Pastor Timothy (left), a former member of the KNU’s Executive Committee, and two other Karen pastors.

The group arrived back in Shwe Khoko village on Thursday and will hold a press briefing at 7th Brigade headquarters at an unspecified date.

Shah Paung
Irrawaddy
11/01/07

Partial troop withdrawal by Burma Army from Karen State

The Burmese military junta has promised, albeit verbally, to the Brigade 7 delegation of the Karen National Liberation Army, (the armed wing of the Karen National Union), that it will withdraw some of its troops from Karen State, according to an officer of the brigade.

The oral agreement was arrived at when the KNLA delegation negotiated with the junta in Rangoon early this month, according to the source.

“They will pull out some of their troops from unimportant areas -- Papun and Pa-an districts and Brigade 6. Not all their troops will be withdrawn, but those only in these three areas,” said a major of Brigade 7.

To begin talks and stop attacks by the Burma Army on Karen civilians, the Brigade 7 delegation led by Brigadier Htin Maung set off for Rangoon on January 3 to negotiate with a delegation of the junta including Secretary (1) Gen. Thein Sein, Lt-Gen. Ye Myint and Col. Tun Myat Oo.

The central committee of the KNU had announced earlier that the trip of the Brigade 7 delegation to Rangoon did not have the consent of the KNU Central Standing Committee.

During the dialogue, the Burmese junta did not mention its military offensives in Taungoo and Nyaunglebin districts, the source added.

“They [junta] will withdraw its troops from three areas only,” said the source. “It is not what the KNU as a whole wants. What KNU wants is the rights for all oppressed ethnic people in Burma.”

He added that the oral promise by the Burmese junta to withdraw some of its troops cannot be totally relied upon because it was not a signed agreement.

The junta has carried out more attacks in Taungoo and Nyaunglebin districts after it declared the cancellation of the oral ceasefire agreement which was reached during negotiations between the junta and the KNU in September 2004.

NMG
10/01/07

Thai Traders Hope KNU Talks will Succeed

Thai traders look forward to increased border trade in Karen State in Burma and Tak Province in Thailand, if negotiations between the Karen National Union and Burmese officials are successful. 
   
Ampol Chartchaiyaruek of the Tak Province Chamber of Commerce said the situation in Karen State, which lies opposite of Tak province, following the recent death of General Bo Mya may offer a renewed chance for successful negotiations.

“If both groups could reach an agreement on the problems of illegal immigrants then it would help the refugee problem," he said. Any political breakthrough could also lead the Burmese government to place fewer restrictions on products from Thailand, he said.
Ampol cited a similar situation in Muse, opposite the border with China. He said the example in Muse, where Burmese and Chinese officials jointly worked to solve disputes with the Wa ethnic group, could offer a model on which to proceed. Trade in Muse has been transformed and returned to normal.

However, an agreement may not be possible, because Burmese officials do not want to give additional power to the KNU, the most hardcore ethnic resistance group which now administers affairs within its territory.

Last year, Burmese officials increased import restrictions because, they said, there was a need to try to balance the import and export trade. In addition, high profile corruption cases caused a reshuffle among Burmese custom officials.
 
Suchart Triratwattana, a trader in Mae Sot, said a breakthrough may be possible because of new KNU leaders who want to make a deal with the military government.

“Previously, the Burmese government worried that the Thai government and some local traders wanted to work with the KNU," Suchart said. "But if they could end their disagreement, trading and coordination on many projects along the border with Karen State would be smoother.”

Recently, talks with Burmese officials were held by the commander of the KNU’s 7th Brigade, Brig-Gen Htain Maung, according to Col Ner Dah Mya, the tactical commander of the KNU’s

Sai Silp
Irrawaddy
08/01/07

Controversial KNU delegation visits Rangoon

The commander of the Karen National Union’s 7th Brigade, Brig-Gen Htain Maung, and an accompanying delegation was set to meet Maj-Gen Ye Myint of Burma’s Military Affairs Security in Rangoon, KNU officials said on Friday.

“During this trip, [officials] will talk about a ceasefire and ask the regime to stop attacking the Karen people and withdraw their troops from Karen State, the tactical commander of the KNU’s General Headquarters battalions, Col Ner Dah Mya, told The Irrawaddy on Friday. He provided no other details about the trip.

The 7th Brigade’s visit to Rangoon was not approved by the KNU’s Central Committee, and other groups within the KNU have been quick to distance themselves. The KNU sent letters to the Karen Youth Organization and the Karen Women’s Organization saying it does not endorse the meeting in Rangoon, according to one high-ranking KYO leader. The letters also encouraged the two groups not to compromise their principles by supporting the negotiations.

Brig-Gen Htain Maung (left) and his group crossed into Myawaddy in Karen State on Wednesday and traveled overland by car to Rangoon.
The accompanying delegation included Col Paw Doh, head of the KNU’s Liberation Army Battalion 101, Maj Shwe Ro, second-in-command of Battalion 20, Htain Maung’s bodyguard, Mar Ner, and the former head of the First Brigade District, Say Plow Poe.
The KNU reached a “gentleman’s agreement” with Burma’s ruling junta in January 2004 during ceasefire talks in Rangoon, led by the late Karen leader Gen Bo Mya, who died late last month.

The informal agreement was later revoked in late 2006 during a meeting with Maj-Gen Ye Myint in Rangoon, which was attended by Col Paw Doh, Lt-Col Jonny, Maj Yin Nu and Maj Shwe Ro.

The Burmese junta’s recent offensives in northern Karen State and Pegu Division has led to the displacement of more than 20,000 and sent thousands more to seek refuge in camps along the Thailand-Burma border.

Shah Paung
Irrawaddy
05/01/07

KNU's 7th Brigade holds talks with junta

A Karen delegation led by the Commander of the 7th Brigade Brigadier-General Htain Maung have begun discussions for a ceasefire with Major General Ye Myint of Burma's Military Affairs Security in Rangoon.

The controversial Karen delegation led by Commander Htain Maung of the 7th Brigade, under the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA),the armed wing of the Karen National Union, along with nine other officials left for Rangoon on January 3 without the approval of the KNU's Central Committee.

The KNU has waged guerrilla warfare against the central government since 1949.

"The delegation arrived in Rangoon and met General Ye Myint. The talks will be on for three or four days. As far as I know, they are discussing right now. But we will get the whole picture when General Htain Maung is back here," Colonel Ner Dah Mya (pictured), the tactical commander of the KNU's general headquarters battalion told Mizzima. Ner Dah Mya is the son of late KNU leader General Bo Mya

When asked which areas will come under the ceasefire if the talks succeed he said, "We will ask for ceasefire in the whole of Karen but we will get the answers on whether it is possible when the delegation is back", Ner Dah Mya said.

Ner Dah Mya is fully supportive of the veteran Karen freedom fighter Brigadier General Htain Maung. He said he believes that Htain Maung will work for the whole Karen without surrendering.

The Central Committee of the KNU and other groups are reportedly uncomfortable with the 7th Brigade and its supporters visit to Rangoon.

Saw David Htaw, head of KNU's foreign affairs committee told Mizzima "We do not recognize this action and neither do we encourage it. If the 7th Brigade had tried for the ceasefire with the permission of the Central Committee, it would have been good for the image of the party and would have boosted unity. As for the SPDC, they want to divide us and they are taking advantage of the situation in the KNU and its armed wing."

The KNU arrived at a "gentleman's agreement" with the Burma military junta in January 2004 when a Karen delegation was led by late Karen leader General Bo Mya who died late last month. But KNU expressed its dissatisfaction with the junta after the final meeting in 2006.

The junta launched military offensives in Karen State and Pegu division where several thousand Karen villagers had to flee from their homes to refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border.

Than Htike Oo
Mizzima
05/01/07

KNU Distances itself from Rangoon mission

A delegation of the Karen National Liberation Army, led by its Seventh Brigade commander, Brig-Gen Htain Maung, is reported to be on its way to Rangoon for a meeting with regime representatives, against the wishes of the Karen National Union.

The KNLA is the military wing of the KNU. Relations between the two groups worsened following a meeting last July between the late KNU leader Gen Bo Mya, who was a close friend of Htain Maung, and a regime intelligence officer, Col Myat Htun Oo. Bo Mya died on December 24, and Myat Htun Oo attended his funeral, while KNU General Secretary Mahn Sha failed to turn up.

In a statement following the death of Bo Mya, the veteran general’s son, Col Ner Dah Mya, and Htain Maung disavowed all orders from the KNU, accusing its present leaders of abandoning Karen national interests, clinging by all means to power and appointing corrupt officials to the central committee.

Sources at the Thailand-Burma border confirmed that Htain Maung and his group had arrived in Myawaddy, opposite the Thai border town Mae Sot, on Wednesday. Htain Maung’s group included Col Paw Doh (left), head of the KNLA Battalion 101, Maj Shwe Ro, second-in-command of Battalion 203, Htain Maung’s bodyguard, Mar Ner, and the former head of the First Brigade District, Say Plow Poe.
David Taw, head of the KNU foreign affairs committee, told The Irrawaddy Htain Maung had said he was on his way to meet regime officials whether the KNU liked it or not. The journey was out of order, David Taw said.

David Taw denied there was any split over the issue, however. “He [Htain Maung] is a sincere person and what he is trying to do is for the Karen people.”

Sources say the mission to Rangoon, nevertheless, is being followed by the KNU with concern about is purpose and consequences.

Shah Paung
Irrawaddy
03/01/07