Non-Ceasefire Groups
Individual Documents
Description:
"The Myanmar military conducted air strikes using two attack helicopters, as well as artillery shelling, against Arakan Army (AA) rebels in northern Rakhine State’s rural Minbya and Mrauk-U townships on Thursday and Friday.
U Hla Thein Aung, an Arakan National Party lawmaker in the Rakhine State Parliament from Minbya, said the fighting between the two sides lasted nearly all day on Thursday. He said two or three attack helicopters launched hellfire missiles and bombarded the Kalama mountain range, where AA guerrilla forces are believed to be stationed.
The lawmaker said the battle zone is situated 3 miles northeast of Pan Myaung model village in Minbya. He said the frontline is just 1 or 2 miles from Shwe Kyin village, which is home to more than 1,800 people.
Rakhine Ethnic Congress secretary Ko Zaw Zaw Tun said the air strikes caused some residents of neighboring villages like Shwe Kyin, Dai Tha and Kyaung Taung to flee their homes for safer locations on Thursday and Friday. He said his group was informed by locals that Thursday’s fighting was heavy and lasted almost the whole day..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy"
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Armed conflict in Rakhine (Arakan) State, Non-Ceasefire Groups
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"The Myanmar military accused an ethnic armed group operating in Myanmar’s northeastern Shan state of terrorism and drug trafficking, and warned of all-out war, according to a report by RFA on 23 August.
The message was conveyed by Major General Tun Tun Nyi at a press conference in Nay Pyi Taw in response to the August 15 attacks on military and civilian targets close to Mandalay.
According to the RFA report, the army spokesman said most of the attacks on August 15 were not in military-related places and were “terrorism acts”.
“They were more than terrorist attacks. They were an act of brutality and could be described as a war crime,” he said, adding they tarnished the government and country’s image.
The surprising August 15 attacks by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), an ethnic Palaung group, and two other ethnic armies, the Arakan Army (AA), and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), left 15 people dead, including nine soldiers, and an equal number injured..."
Source/publisher:
"Mizzima"
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
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Description:
"Senior leaders from ethnic armed organizations (EAO) pleaded for an end to the current fighting in Myanmar’s northeast, calling on both the government and the three EAOs involved in the fighting to negotiate an end as soon as possible.
It has been a week since an alliance of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) launched attacks on police outposts and a Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, training facility in townships in Mandalay Region and Shan State.
Those attacks killed 15 people, including civilians, soldiers and police, and the resultant fighting has displaced thousands.
On Aug. 15, rebels targeted the military’s Defense Service Technological Academy, in Pyin Oo Lwin Township, Mandalay Region, as well as security outposts, anti-narcotics checkpoints, toll gates and bridges in Naung Cho Township, in Shan State.
The government denounced the attacks as “terrorist acts” last Friday but said it remains open to dialogue.
“The country has been sunk in conflict,” said Mahn Nyein Maung, the Karen National Union’s (KNU) senior Central Executive Committee member..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy"
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Non-Ceasefire Groups, Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"The leader of a militia group has been killed in an apparently targeted attack on his house as fighting continues near Lashio in northern Shan State between members of the Northern Alliance and the Tatmadaw.
U Win Maung, 61, the leader of the Mong Yan militia, and his wife, Daw Aye Mya, were killed in an attack on their home at Man Kaung, the main village of the Man Kaung Mong Yan village tract, about 32 kilometres (20 miles) east of Lashio, at about 8.30pm on August 20.
The house was bombarded with grenades and M79 rocket launchers in the attack, which has terrified the 200 residents of the village.
The attack in Lashio Township came three days after the three Northern Alliance members involved in the fighting issued a statement warning that any members of government security forces found in operational areas would be “duly taken care of for the sake of self defence”.
Fighting has intensified across northern Shan State since August 15, when Northern Alliance forces launched simultaneous attacks at five locations along a major highway.
The August 17 statement referred to the Tatmadaw but warned specifically that members of the Myanmar Police Force and uniformed members of paramilitary groups would be regarded as members of ancillary forces on active duty..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar"
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Non-Ceasefire Groups, Armed conflict in Shan State
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"A recent political talk-show on Radio Free Asia (RFA) on the topic of China’s political influence in Myanmar mentioned the Arakan Army’s (AA) endorsement of China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) or Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It was taken as a remarkable testimony of bowing to a regional power.
In fact, it is not only the AA that is kowtowing to China but also the seven-member Federal Political and Negotiation Consultative Committee (FPNCC) has also been staunchly behind it. The FPNCC is made up of United Wa State Army (UWSA), National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP), Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and AA.
Generally, China employs a government-to-government and party-to-party two-pronged relationship with Myanmar as it usually does with the other countries. But lately, with the ambitious BRI mega project, it seems to have added another channel which is military to military.
The FPNCC relies heavily on China for arms, munitions, uniforms, food supplies, and also two-way trade which involves exporting natural resources and mineral extraction, among others, from the EAOs’ side and importing needed consumer goods from China.
One outstanding example of Chinese influence was China’s pressure on the Tatmadaw, which is bitterly against some FPNCC members, to invite the FPNCC to the second (May 2017) and third (July 2018) 21st Century Panglong – Union Peace Conferences (21PC-UPC). The FPNCC was also not too keen to attend the conference as it has its own approach to handle the peace process..."
Source/publisher:
"BNI Multimedia Group"
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Non-Ceasefire Groups, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"A village militia chief and his wife were shot dead Tuesday evening by unknown gunmen in Myanmar’s war-ravaged northern Shan state, while a government official said recent coordinated attacks by rebel armies in the region have seriously affected crucial trade routes with China.
Chinese-speaking and Shan-speaking assailants killed Win Maung, militia chief of Mong Yang village-tract, and his wife when they threw explosives and fired several shots from all directions into his home and a nearby office in the village in Lashio township, locals and a family member who survived the attack said.
Win Maung’s two sons and two daughters were away from home on a trip when the attack occurred, but his grandson was in the house and managed to escape.
“I heard the blasts sounding like fireworks,” the grandson said. “I tried to hide, but my grandfather told me to leave the house. I asked him to come with me, but he didn’t. I jumped out of the house and ran into the fields.”
He said he caught up with other villagers who ran from the village during the attack, and they tried to hide on the other side of the river..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA"
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Non-Ceasefire Groups, Armed conflict in Shan State - general articles, Border Trade with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"A series of recent clashes between the Myanmar Army and an alliance of ethnic armed groups in northern Shan State has raised concerns over the feasibility of Beijing’s push to implement the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), part of its region-wide Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). They have also raised questions about the wisdom of the strategy embraced by both the Chinese and Myanmar governments to move ahead with the scheme before Naypyitaw has reached peace deals with rebels in the region.
In a three-day period last week, Northern Alliance members the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) blew up four major bridges along the main route to the two most important trade hubs on the Myanmar-China border. As a result, two major border gates in Shan State—in Muse (across the border from Ruili, in China’s Yunnan Province) and Chinshwehaw in Laukkai Township (part of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone)—have been shut down.
The two locations play important roles in China’s infrastructure plan for Myanmar and in the BRI, Beijing’s grand plan to build an infrastructure network through Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Russia to foster trade. Since the CMEC was officially announced in 2017, China has prioritized cross-border economic cooperation zone projects in Muse and Chinshwehaw..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy"
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Non-Ceasefire Groups, Armed conflict in Shan State - ceasefires and ceasefire talks, Burma's economic relations with China
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Over 3,400 people from Lashio, Theinni and Kutkai townships, in northern Shan State, have been displaced by recent conflicts between ethnic armed organizations and the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, local volunteer groups told The Irrawaddy.
The groups, which are now assisting the displaced, told The Irrawaddy that people began arriving at camps opened in monasteries in the three towns over the weekend.
U Haung Dawng, secretary of the Joint Committee of Northern Shan State Social Volunteer Groups, told The Irrawaddy that over 2,700 locals have taken refuge in the monasteries of Tayyar, Pannar, Makkinu, Hmine Tin and Mansu, in Lashio.
In Kutkai 300 have sought refuge and in Theinni, 480. Those numbers, collected on Monday evening, do not included those staying with friends and relatives. Volunteer groups say they fear the number will rise.
“The shooting can still be heard in Kutkai. No shootings were heard in Lashio but armed groups are still involved in confrontations there,” said U Haung Dawng.
Another volunteer told The Irrawaddy that residents of a village outside of Lashio have fled en masse, though no fighting had been reported there.
“There is enough food and clothing and enough space to accommodate the displaced for now, but if the conflict doesn’t end soon, we will face difficulties,” said U Than Zaw, a volunteer with Lashio-based Beautiful Heart..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy"
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Non-Ceasefire Groups, Armed conflict in Shan State
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
An ambulance from a local philanthropy group came under attack on Saturday.
Description:
"A volunteer ambulance worker has been killed and several others injured during fighting between separatist rebels and government forces in northern Myanmar.
The rescue workers were about 20km from Lashio, the largest town in Shan State, where armed groups have been fighting for greater autonomy from the central government when their convoy came under attack on Saturday.
The vehicle from a local philanthropy group came under assault by sniper and artillery fire, the state-owned Global New Light of Myanmar reported.
The attack killed 58-year-old driver Tun Myint, his wife Tin Tin Aye told AFP news agency..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera"
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-20
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Non-Ceasefire Groups, Armed conflict in Shan State
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
Insurgent assault on armed forces’ equivalent of West Point and other targets extends conflict dangerously near to nation’s second largest city
Description:
"In one of their most audacious insurgent operations in recent years, ethnic minority rebels in northeast Myanmar launched a wave of surprise attacks including on the nation’s premier military academy and main trade artery with China.
The lightning offensive by the factions of the so-called Northern Alliance-Burma (NAB) opened a potentially crucial northern front in a war driven by minority demands for federal autonomy that since the beginning of the year has already swept the western coastal state of Rakhine.
Unfolding in the pre-dawn hours of August 15, rebel assaults targeted multiple points in Nawng Khio township of Shan state on the main highway linking the city of Mandalay to the town of Muse on the Chinese border. Nawng Khio is close to the historic colonial-era Goteik railway viaduct.
Joining forces for the offensive were rebel troops from three NAB factions – the Palaung Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the ethnic Chinese Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) based in the Kokang region, and the Rakhine Arakan Army (AA), which continues to field forces in northern Myanmar even as its main operational focus has shifted to its home state on the western coast..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times"
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-17
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Non-Ceasefire Groups
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and Arakan Army (AA), which have not yet signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, said in a statement that hundreds of innocent people have died and 60,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to the fighting.
The fighting in northern Rakhine grows more intense by the day and the military is shelling areas controlled by the TNLA and MNDAA, a spokesperson for the alliance said.
The military had also entered areas controlled by the Shan State Army, it said.
These activities were based on ethnic hatred, it said, which could destroy trust and delay the peace process.
It said the military has to stop its attacks on allied groups or the military will have to accept responsibility for the consequences.
Efforts to reach Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson of the military’s True News agency, were unsuccessful..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times"
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-13
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Non-Ceasefire Groups, Armed conflict in Rakhine (Arakan) State, Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"ကလုာ်ဒူၣ်ဖီၣ်စုက၀ဲၤကဒဲကဒဲအဘၢၣ်စၢၤတၢ်ဃူတၢ်ဖိးတအိၣ်အဃိ တၢ်ပၢၢ်ဆၢအံၤ ဘၣ်ယံာ်၀ဲအဂ့ၢ် ကညီဒီကလုာ်တၢ်ထူၣ်ဖျဲးသုးမုၢ်ဒိၣ် (KNLA)သုးရိၣ်မဲခိၣ်ကျၢၢ် သုးခိၣ်ကျၢၢ်ဒိၣ်စိ စီၤကၠီၣ်နံၣ် စံးလီၤ၀ဲ ဖဲတနံၤအံၤယနူၤအါရံၤ(၃၁)သီ၊ ကညီတၢ်ပၢၢ်ဆၢအမုၢ်နံၤၦဲၤထီၣ်၀ဲ (၇၀)နံၣ်အမူး တၢ်ရဲၣ်တၢ်ကျဲၤအပူၤန့ၣ်လီၤႉ
သုးခိၣ်ကျၢၢ်ဒိၣ်စိ စီၤကၠီၣ်နံၣ် စံး၀ဲလၢ“တၢ်ပၢၢ်ဆၢအတီၢ်ဘၣ်ယံာ်၀ဲတုၤခဲအံၤန့ၣ်ပ၀ဲကလုာ်တဖၣ်၊ ကလုာ်ဒူၣ်တဖၣ်၊ ကရူၢ်ဖီစုက၀ဲၤ တဖၣ်တၢ်ဃူတၢ်ဖိး စှၤစ့ၢ်ႉ ဖီလိာ်စုမၤသကိးတၢ် ဂံၢ်စၢ်အဃိ အခဲအံၤအိၣ်ၦဲၤဒူၣ်လဲၣ်န့ၣ် ပမ့ၢ်တဲသု၊ သုသ့ၣ်ညါလီၤႉ ကဲထီၣ်ခံကရူၢ် သၢကရူၢ်တုၤကတီၢ်အံၤ ပတၢ်ဃူတၢ်ဖိးတအိၣ် ဘၣ်အဃိန့ၣ်ပတၢ်ပၢၢ်ဆၢအံၤၦဲၤထီၣ်၀ဲနံၣ်(၇၀)လံ”အဂ့ၢ် ကတိၤလီၤ၀ဲဖဲ တၢ်ပၢၢ်ဆၢအမုၢ်နံၤၦဲၤထီၣ် (၇၀)နံၣ်မူး တၢ်ရဲၣ်တၢ်ကျဲၤ လၢဘၣ်တၢ်မၤအီၤ ဖဲသုးက့(၇) သုး၀ဲၤလီၢ်ခိၣ်သ့ၣ်၊ ကျိၣ်ယီၤလ့အပူၤန့ၣ်လီၤႉ..."
"တိုင်းရင်းသား လက်နက်ကိုင်များအကြား စည်းလုံးညီညွတ်မှုမရှိ၍ တော်လှန်ရေးသက်တမ်းရှည်ကြာ ရခြင်းဖြစ်သည်ဟု ကရင်အမျိုးသားလွတ်မြောက်ရေးတပ်မတော်-KNLA စစ်ဦးစီးချုပ် ဗိုလ်ချုပ်ကြီး စောဂျော်နီက ယနေ့(ဇန်နဝါရီလ ၃၁ရက်)တွင် ကျရောက်သည့် နှစ် (၇၀)ပြည့် ကရင့်တော်လှန်ရေးနေ့ အခမ်းအနားတွင် ပြောဆိုခဲ့သည်။..."
KIC
Source/publisher:
KIC (Karen Information Center)
Date of entry/update:
2019-02-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Non-Ceasefire Groups, Karen National Union (KNU)
Language:
Sgaw Karen, Burmese မြန်မာဘာသာ
Local URL:
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Description:
Chaos reigned in northern Shan State in September. A Burma Army commander threatened to kill everyone in Na Leng Village, the "Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and its armed wing, the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), has been fighting Kachin, Ta’ang, and other Shan ethnic armies, and Burma Army attacks are increasing post-rainy season. The result is civilians being injured and killed, caught in the middle of this total war.
There were at least seven civilian and soldier deaths and 26 civilians and soldiers injured in military battles in September. This fighting has displaced more than 2,185 civilians in northern Shan State. The 26 military actions documented in September in Kachin and northern Shan states is a conservative account and one exclusive to Burma Army and ethnic armed organization (EAO) troop-on-troop engagements, not troop-on-civilian attacks.
The military actions included three EAO landmine incidents and one account of a civilian injured by a landmine. The person stepped on a landmine while foraging in the jungle in Waingmaw Township. Elsewhere in Waingmaw, the Burma Army laid landmines in three villages, displacing the remaining households and leaving the villages uninhabitable..."
Source/publisher:
Free Burma Rangers
Date of publication:
2018-10-15
Date of entry/update:
2018-12-13
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies), Non-Ceasefire Groups, Shan (cultural, historical, political) articles
Language:
English
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Tar Aik Bong is a leader of the Ta?ang (Palaung) people, one of Burma?s ethnic nationalities that continues a daily struggle for survival in largely inaccessible areas in northern Shan State. He joined the Ta?ang liberation movement in 1987, and currently serves as Chairman of Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF) and Head of the military commission of Ta?ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). TNLA is one of the few ethnic armies that continues to fight against the Burma army and vows not to lay down arms until equal rights and a lasting political solution is achieved. TNLA fights to ?obtain freedom for all Ta?ang nationals from oppression, to form Ta?ang autonomous regions that guarantee democracy and human rights, to oppose and fight against dictatorship and any form of racial discrimination, to attain national equality and self-determination and to establish a genuine Federal Union that guarantees Ta?ang autonomy and to eliminate cultivation, production, sale and use of narcotics.”
Tar Aik Bong is also a member of the ethnic alliance United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) council and Foreign Affairs Department. In an exclusive interview with Burma Link, Tar Aik Bong talks about the causes and current situation of the Ta?ang conflict, the role of the UNFC, and the brutal tactics that the Burmese military uses against Ta?ang civilians in order to cut the opposition movement. Tar Aik Bong also discusses the Burmese military?s instrumental role in the epidemic drug usage in Ta?ang areas, and TNLA?s plan to eradicate the drugs."
Source/publisher:
Burma Link
Date of publication:
2014-11-11
Date of entry/update:
2016-03-18
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Various groups, Non-Ceasefire Groups, Armed conflict in Shan State - general articles, Drugs and conflict, Shan State, Dialogue/reform/transition in Burma/Myanmar - analyses and statements
Language:
English
Local URL:
more
Description:
"The Ta?ang, also known as Palaung, are one of Burma?s myriad ethnic groups who have been fighting for basic human rights and autonomy for decades. Despite the international enthusiasm over Burma?s reform process, the reality in Burma?s ethnic borderlands remains dire, and the Burmese military continues its brutal offensive against ethnic civilians. Tar Aik Bong joined the Ta?ang struggle in 1987, and is now the Chairperson of the Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF), the Head of military commission of the Ta?ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), as well as a member of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) council and Foreign Affairs Department. The PSLF/TNLA is one of the few prominent ethnic armed groups yet to sign a ceasefire with the Burmese government. The following is Tar Aik Bong?s message to the international community."
Source/publisher:
Burma Link
Date of entry/update:
2016-03-18
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Armed conflict in Shan State - general articles, Armed conflict in Burma - Impact on village life, including health and education, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Non-Ceasefire Groups, Armed conflict and peace-building in Burma - theoretical, strategic and general, Shan State, Dialogue/reform/transition in Burma/Myanmar - analyses and statements, Decentralisation (Decentralization) in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
English
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Ta?ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the armed wing of Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF), is one of the ethnic resistance armed organisations that vows not to lay down arms until there is a guarantee of political negotiations. Burma Link spoke with two TNLA soldiers, Mai and Mai Main, who were sent by their leaders to study human rights and politics in Mae Sot, so that they could go back to Ta?ang land and educate other soldiers. These two soldiers studied in Mae Sot for a year, and believed it is their responsibility to go back to Burma to educate others and safeguard their people?s rights. In this interview, they share their story on how and why they became involved with the TNLA and why the Ta?ang people so strongly support their army. Mai and Mai Main, aged 23 and 26, are now back in the battle fields of northern Shan State."
..."END NOTE: Although TNLA is a member of the ethnic alliance United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), the government has tried to exclude the group from the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) talks. TNLA is an ally of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and fights alongside the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in northern Shan State, to obtain freedom and to establish a genuine federal union. TNLA also fights to eliminate cultivation, production, sale and use of drugs in their traditional lands. Read more."
Source/publisher:
Burma Link
Date of publication:
2015-07-13
Date of entry/update:
2016-03-17
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Non-Ceasefire Groups, Armed conflict in Kachin State - general articles, Drugs and conflict, Drugs and Burma: general links, reports and articles, Shan State, Armed conflict in Shan State - general articles
Language:
English
Local URL:
more
Description:
"For more than 60 years, Karen rebels have been fighting a civil war against the government of Myanmar...In February 1949, members of the Karen ethnic minority launched an armed insurrection against Myanmar?s central government.
In pictures: Sixty years of war.
Over 60 years later, the conflict continues, with more than a dozen ethnic rebel groups waging war against the army in their fight for self-rule.
Now, the war is entering a new and bloody stage.
Myanmar is the only regime still regularly planting anti-personnel mines. But it is not only the army that uses them. Rebel groups also regularly use homemade landmines or mines seized from the military.
As the conflict escalates, civilians are trapped in the middle of some of the worst fighting in decades.
101 East travels to Myanmar, home to the world?s longest running civil war."
Source/publisher:
Al Jazeera (101 East)
Date of publication:
2011-08-11
Date of entry/update:
2011-12-27
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Individual videos and films on Burma in English and other non-Asian languages, Karen and other refugees from Burma in Thailand - general reports and articles, Internal displacement/forced migration of Karen villagers, Reports and maps covering anti-personnel landmines and Burma/Myanmar, Non-Ceasefire Groups, Armed conflict in Karen State - general articles and reports
Language:
English, Karen (English sub-titles)
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Political grievances among Karen and other ethnic nationality communities, which have driven over half a century of armed conflict in Burma/Myanmar, remain unresolved. As the country enters a period of transition following the November 2010 elections and formation of a new government, the Karen political landscape is undergoing its most significant changes in a generation. There is a pressing need for Karen social and political actors to demonstrate their relevance to the new political and economic agendas in Burma, and in particular to articulate positions regarding the major economic and infrastructure development projects to be implemented in the coming years.
The country?s best-known insurgent organisation, the Karen National Union (KNU), is in crisis, having lost control of its once extensive ?liberated zones?, and lacks a political agenda relevant to all Karen communities. Meanwhile the government?s demand that ceasefire groups, such as the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, transform into Border Guard Forces under direct Burma Army control throws into question the future of various armed groups that have split from the KNU since the 1990s. In this context, Thailand-Burma border areas have seen an upsurge in fighting since late 2010. Nevertheless, the long-term prospect is one of the decline of insurgency as a viable political or military strategy.
Equitable solutions to Burma?s social, political and economic problems must involve settling long-standing conflicts between ethnic communities and the state. While Aung San Suu Kyi, the popular leader of the country?s democracy movement, seems to recognise this fact, the military government, which holds most real power in the country, has sought to suppress and assimilate minority communities. It is yet to be seen whether Karen and other ethnic nationality representatives elected in November 2010 will be able to find the political space within which to exercise some influence on local or national politics. In the meantime, civil society networks operating within and between Karen and other ethnic nationality communities represent vehicles for positive, incremental change, at least at local levels."
Ashley South
Source/publisher:
Transnational Institute, Burma Centrum Nederland
Date of publication:
2011-03-28
Date of entry/update:
2011-03-29
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Karen (cultural, historical, political), Non-Ceasefire Groups, TNI-BCN Project on Ethnic Conflict in Burma
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.99 MB
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Description:
Am Montag, dem 24. Januar 2000 besetzen zehn burmesische Terroristen das Zentralkrankenhaus im thailändischen Ratchaburi unweit der Grenze und nehmen Belegschaft und Patienten als Geiseln. Schnell ist in der Presse ausgemacht, dass es sich um die God?s Army? Rebellen der Zwillinge Johnny und Luther Htoo handeln muß. In einer Kommandoaktion thailändischer Spezialeinheiten werden in der Nacht zum Dienstag alle Geiselnehmer erschossen.
KNLA; God`s Army; Kindersoldaten, Child Soldiers
Source/publisher:
Burma Riders
Date of publication:
2007-07-14
Date of entry/update:
2007-08-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
German, Deutsch
Local URL:
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Description:
"After 57 years of fighting for independence from the Burmese, the Karen National Union is beset by internal divisions, a lack of resources and an aging leadership..."
Shah Paung, Harry Priestley
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 14, No3
Date of publication:
2006-02-28
Date of entry/update:
2006-05-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Non-Ceasefire Groups, Karen National Union (KNU)
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
Australian journalist looks closely at life in a Thai border town...
"Restless Souls. Refugees, Mercenaries, Medics and Misfits on the Thai Burma Border, by Phil Thornton, Asia Books, Bangkok; 2005. P240
Borders everywhere attract their fair share of humanitarians, traders, mercenaries, messiahs, opportunists and loons. The beautiful, rugged and long-suffering Burma-Thailand frontier region seems to have exceeded its quota of all of them some time ago, and the Thai border town of Mae Sot is now clogged with foreigners existing as a sort of parallel species to Thai, Burmese, Karen and Muslim inhabitants. Such is its fascination as the entrep?t for trade, refugees, drugs and conflict over the border that Mae Sot and its surroundings represent a microcosm of the deep malaise of Burma.
Phil Thornton is an Australian journalist who has lived in Mae Sot for more than five years, working with a range of Karen groups and collecting stories of everyday survival. Restless Souls is a painfully authentic tour through the lives of ordinary people living in a zone of low-intensity conflict in the world?s longest and most ignored civil war, the 58-year struggle of the Karen people against the Burmese military..."
David Scott Mathieson
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 14, No.2
Date of publication:
2006-01-31
Date of entry/update:
2006-05-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Book Reviews and Announcements, Non-Ceasefire Groups, Karen and other refugees from Burma in Thailand - general reports and articles
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
The troops of KNLA Battalion 101 stick to their guns... "...The KNU is one of Burma?s oldest and strongest armed ethnic opposition groups, and it has waged war with successive administrations of the Burmese government since 1949. Government troops overran KNU headquarters at Manerplaw in 1995, and since that time the group has lost ground in its fight for greater regional autonomy.
In the last decade, other political developments have weakened the KNU. Neighboring Thailand had for many years adopted a policy of tacit collaboration with the Karen and other armed ethnic minority groups along the Thai-Burma border, hoping that they would establish a buffer zone against any encroachment by Burmese forces. This policy has changed in recent years as Thailand seeks to strengthen its economic and political ties with Rangoon. Despite more than a half century of armed conflict, the KNU has since 1995 made several efforts to open diplomatic lines of communication with Burma?s ruling junta to negotiate an equitable ceasefire agreement. In 2004, then deputy chairman Gen Bo Mya flew to Rangoon to hold peace talks with ex-prime minister Gen Khin Nyunt. The meeting—backed by some of Thailand?s top military and business leaders—produced a ?gentleman?s agreement? to end hostilities in Karen State. Khin Nyunt?s subsequent ouster later in the year, however, ended any momentum towards an official ceasefire..."
Shah Paung
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 11
Date of publication:
2005-10-31
Date of entry/update:
2006-05-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Non-Ceasefire Groups, Karen National Union (KNU)
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
Born in 1988, when students fled to Burma?s eastern border, the ABSDF army is now only a shell...
"The All Burma Students? Democratic Front was born out of bloodshed and political necessity. Many of its founding members fled Burma after the 1988 uprising and the brutal military coup that followed, and they formed the ABSDF in Karen National Union-controlled area near the Thailand-Burma border.
Years of fighting a relentlessly cruel and well-funded army, diseases endemic to their jungle habitat such as malaria, dengue fever and a variety of respiratory illnesses, and the attrition of their forces, have taken their toll on the ABSDF. Most of the soldiers come from Rangoon or other urban areas, and the adaptation to a jungle environment is slow and difficult. A mere 300 of Burma?s kyaung-thar tatmadaw, or student army, remain in the field..."
Text by Yeni; photos by Paddy O’Hanlon
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 14, No.2
Date of publication:
2006-01-31
Date of entry/update:
2006-05-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Non-Ceasefire Groups
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
Conflicting claims, suspicion and arrests create confusion...
"Although the Rangoon regime insists that Shan State is stable, one armed opposition group, the Shan State Army (South), continues to hold out against government pressure to disarm. Relations between Shan groups and the regime are also strained because of the arrest in February of several ethnic leaders, including 82-year-old activist Shwe Ohn.
Complicating the situation still further in Shan State is the status of the United Wa State Army, which maintains a de facto ceasefire with the regime while allegedly continuing to engage in a drugs trade protected by their own armed forces.
The first ceasefire agreements between Shan ethnic groups and the regime were signed in 1989. The original agreements granted the groups business concessions, particularly in logging, and tax collection autonomy. They also allowed the groups to remain armed—but from early this year the regime has been pressing them to disarm under a program dubbed ?Exchange Arms for Peace.?..."
Aung Lwin Oo
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 11
Date of publication:
2005-10-31
Date of entry/update:
2006-05-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies), Non-Ceasefire Groups, Shan (cultural, historical, political) articles
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
"The recently published memoirs of former Karen leader Gen Bo Mya offer a glimpse into the inner workings of Burma?s longest-running insurgent struggle..."
Aung Zaw
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy", Vol. 10, No. 5, June 2002
Date of publication:
2002-05-31
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Non-Ceasefire Groups, Karen National Union (KNU)
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
Internal conflict and ideological differences have taken their toll on the decades-old Karenni insurgency, but the Karenni National Progressive Party remains one of the few ethnic-based political organizations in Burma still actively engaged in armed resistance against the Rangoon regime. Now, reports Neil Lawrence, the KNPP is facing a new challenge, as opium and other narcotics once confined to neighboring Shan State make their way into territory controlled by Rangoon?s Karenni allies.
Neil Lawrence
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy", Vol. 8, No. 6
Date of publication:
2000-05-31
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Non-Ceasefire Groups, Drugs and Burma: general links, reports and articles, Discrimination against the Karenni (Kayah)
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
Padoe Saw Ba Thin Sein, chairman of the Karen National Union, spoke to The Irrawaddy recently about a host of issues affecting Burma?s longest-running insurgency. In this frank interview, he discusses rumors of "secret meetings" with Rangoon, as well as claims that the KNU has been receiving military support from Thailand and Britain. He also touches on his own role in the KNU and the group?s policies on drugs, Internally Displaced Persons, and ICRC visits in Karen State.
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy", Vol. 8, No. 6
Date of publication:
2000-05-31
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
"The "Kachin Massacre" was committed in northern Burma by members of the All Burma Students� Democratic Front (ABSDF), an armed group fighting the military.
February 12th is a date of great significance for Burma. On that historical day in 1947, national hero Aung San and ethnic nationalities leaders signed the Panglong Agreement, which granted equality and national self-determination for all the people of Burma, and the date has been commemorated ever since. But on the 45th anniversary of what is now known as Union Day, in the jungles of Kachin State, a group of Burmese democracy activists were murdered under shadowy circumstances in 1992..."
Kyaw Zwa Moe, Naw Seng, Ko Thet
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 10, No. 5, June 2002
Date of publication:
2002-05-31
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Non-Ceasefire Groups
Language:
English
Local URL:
more