Thai Border : Burmese regime plans major offensive against KNU

[Mid]

Burmese regime plans major offensive against KNU
Reporting by Naw Say Phaw


Oct 30, 2008 (DVB)–The State Peace and Development Council is said to be planning an all-out offensive against the Karen National Union, according to a source close to the military.

The source said that a leaked confidential report from infantry headquarters outlined the need to collect information on KNU positions, resources and capabilities and to monitor the movements of the Thai army along the border.

Heavy weapon stations in the area have been reinforced and provided with extra shells, the source said.

KNU information officer major Saw Hla Ngwe said the offensive was part of the regime’s usual strategy.

“It is not a one-year plan to completely wipe us out, this is their strategic plan that they try to implement every year,” he said.

“This is nothing out of the ordinary; they have been doing it for a long time.”

Major Saw Hla Ngwe said there had only been low-level clashes so far, but added that the KNU is preparing for a larger scale attack.

“We are preparing for guerrilla warfare but we won’t know what will happen until we start firing at each other,” he said.

“It is like this every year, so we are already prepared.”

Thailand-based military analyst Htay Aung said the SPDC was seeking to weaken the KNU to prevent them from providing support to ceasefire groups.

“Many ethnic groups have signed as ceasefire, while other major armed resistance groups like the KNU, the Karenni National Progressive Party and the Shan State Army-South have not yet reached a settlement,” Htay Aung said.

“The SPDC plans to disarm these ceasefire groups, so some of them are planning to revolt against this disarmament,” he said.

“The SPDC thinks these ceasefire groups are being influenced by the KNU, KNPP and SSA-South to take up arms again,” he explained.

“That’s why they will launch some offensives against these three major groups before they disarm the other groups.”

Htay Aung said a new offensive could lead to human rights abuses and an increased number of displaced people.

“If heavy fighting breaks out, the people will suffer,” the military analyst said.

“Based on past evidence, whenever heavy fighting has broken out, the first thing they do is to burn down villages and carry our extra-judicial killings,” he said.

“When their offensives start, people have to flee or go into hiding, and usually they flee onto Thai soil.”

english.dvb.no

[Mid]

Military Accused of Crimes Against Humanity

By MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR / IPS WRITER
Tuesday, November 11, 2008

BANGKOK — An onslaught by Burmese troops in the eastern part of the military-ruled country, running for three years now, is laying the junta open to charge of ‘crimes against humanity’.

This new charge adds to a growing list of human rights violations that the Southeast Asian nation’s ruling military regime is being slammed for, including the use of rape as a weapon of war in military campaigns in areas that are home to the country’s ethnic minorities. The country has been under the grip of successive juntas since a 1962 military coup.

Eyewitness accounts from civilians fleeing the territory under attack reveal a grim picture of the ‘Tatmadaw’, as the Burmese military is called, targeting unarmed men, women and children in a "widespread and systematic way," say human rights and humanitarian groups.

An increasing number of refugees have been crossing over to northern Thailand from among the Karen ethnic community, the second largest ethnic group in Burma, or Myanmar. Many of them live in the mountainous Karen State, the territory where Southeast Asia’s longest—and largely ignored—separatist conflict is being waged between Burmese troops and the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU).

"Myanmar’s troops are overtly targeting civilians; they are actively avoiding KNU military installations. That is why we are describing the attacks as ‘crimes against humanity’," says Benjamin Zawacki, Southeast Asia researcher for Amnesty International (AI), the global rights lobby. "The violations are widespread and systematic."

"This campaign started in November 2005 and has escalated. They did not even stop during the annual monsoon period (from May to October), which was not the case before," he explained during an IPS interview. "There has been a shift in strategy and intensity. It is no more a dry season offensive."

The military campaign is the largest and the longest sustained drive in a decade. "The Burmese army is rotating soldiers every six months and they have penetrated areas deep in the Karen area," David Tharckabaw, vice president of the KNU, said in a telephone interview from an undisclosed location. "Nothing is being spared. They are even destroying fruit plantations like mangosteen."

The list of abuse document by AI, and corroborated by other humanitarian groups, include villagers being beaten and stabbed to death, being shot by the ‘Tatmadaw’ "without any warning" and being tortured and subsequently killed. Karen civilians have also reportedly been subjected to forced labour, disappearances and their rice harvest being burned down.

"Before the soldiers left the village, they planted landmines, one of them in front of the church. An old man, maybe 70 years-old, stepped on a landmine and was killed," a female rice farmer told an AI researcher of an incident in early 2006, when the ‘Tatmadaw’ burned 20 of the 30 houses in her village.

"I lost everything—kitchen, furniture, rice stocks—not a single piece of paper was left," she added. "The same happened to the other 19 families whose houses were burned."

The unrelenting campaign, which has included the Burmese infantry and heavy use of 120 mm and 81mm mortar shells, has shrunk an already limited space for Karen civilians and internally displaced people (IDPs) to escape to. "The more the Burmese military occupies areas in a worsening situation, the less space there is for civilians to escape to," says Duncan McArthur, emergency relief coordinator of the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), an alliance of 11 humanitarian groups helping refugees from Burma along the Thai-Burmese border.

"Nearly 66,000 people from 38 townships have been forced to flee their homes due to the armed conflict and human rights abuses," he told IPS. "They had to because the violations are being committed in a climate of impunity."

Some of the victims have poured into north-west Thailand, where there are already nine camps that house 120,000 refugees who fled intense phases of the conflict going back over a decade. "There are about 20,000 unregistered new arrivals and the natural growth in the camps," added McArthur. "There is no avenue for redress if they were to stay back."

That is reflected in Burma’s over half a million IDPs, nearly 451,000 of which live in the rural ethnic areas, according to TBBC. It places Burma in the same league as countries such as Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, which have internally displaced running into the hundreds of thousands.

But what sets Burma apart is the lack of any international agencies to help the victims and serve as neutral observers in the conflict zone.

Even the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which was helping to provide artificial limbs for landmine victims, was hampered by new restrictions to its operations in 2006.

In mid-2007, the Geneva-based humanitarian agency broke its famed silence in an unprecedented attack on the junta to explain why it had to end its operations in Burma, including the Karen areas.

The ICRC’s denunciation of major and repeated violations in the conflict zones in eastern Burma confirmed what many analysts had said of a region that is cut away from international scrutiny and media exposure. "The repeated abuses committed against men, women and children living along the Thai-Myanmar border violate many provisions of international humanitarian law," the organization said.

The Karens, who account for nearly seven million of Burma’s 57 million people, have their own distinctive culture and language and have Buddhists, Christians and animists among them. The Burmans, who are the majority, are predominantly Buddhist by faith, speak Burmese, and have a culture and history shaped by kings before being subjugated by British colonization.

The Karen fight for independence began in 1949, a year after Burma got independence. And the KNU has refused to sign peace deals with the Burmese regime unlike some of the other separatist rebels from ethnic groups. The latter settled for ceasefire deals over the past two decades, only to learn, subsequently, that the junta’s promises of more political autonomy were hollow.

"The Burmese military’s latest strategy is to keep attacking the KNU and Karen civilians in order to drive them to the Thai-Burma border," says Tharekabaw, of the KNU. "Their goal is to control all the land and all the people, which has never been the case before."

"If they cannot control, they have to kill the people or to wipe them out," he added. "The regime is a fascist regime. Their ideology is extremism, racism and militarism."

irrawaddy.org


see also :

[Rural Surin]

Just thought I'd throw ya a bone Middy. I appreciated your continuous touch regarding news and info about Burma. Always interesting reading. You must have a reason for the bombardment of Burma info and issues...{?}. Cheers, mate.

[Happyman]

Just thought I'd throw ya a bone Middy. I appreciated your continuous touch regarding news and info about Burma. Always interesting reading. You must have a reason for the bombardment of Burma info and issues...{?}. Cheers, mate.

In all seriousness re the nastiness that is happening in Burma, I think that we all despise it but Middy has the well founded commitment to make sure we all know what is happening there.
Well done Middy and thanks - well deserved green on its way !

[Thaiguy]

who are the KNU ?

[Mid]

who are the KNU ?

During the World War II, Karen nationalists fought against the Japanese, and in return the British government promised to grant them independence. When the war ended, the British did not keep their promise and in 1947, the Karen began to fight for their self-determination. The Karen has maintained the largest and most efficient army among the ethnic groups in Burma.

In February 1947, the Karen National Union (KNU) was established. After the British Government granted independence to Burma in 1948, the Burmese government declined requests from the ethnic groups for autonomy. Despite conflicts following this announcement, it was not until the Burmese government outlawed the KNU and demanded their surrender that the fighting took on a new intensity.

Burma Issues - Karen

[Sputnik]

Bladdy Brits !!! we have alot to answer for

[Mid]

Junta military builds up more forces and weapons on the Thai-Burma border
by admin — last modified 2008-11-13 11:01

Burma army continued build-up of more forces and weapons along the Thai-Burma border where the Shan State Army (SSA-South) and United Wa State Army (UWSA) are strongly active, according to reliable sources.

By Hseng Khio Fah
13 November 2008

On 9 November, weapons were sent with 15 Chinese made Dong Feng six wheel trucks from Taunggyi to Kengtung. Each truck was accompanied by 20 soldiers to provide security, said the source.

A friendly Burmese soldier told the source that the trucks were carrying ammunition and shells for heavy weapons such as 120mm and 150mm howitzers.

Moreover, the junta has placed more soldiers between Mongton to Nakawngmu on 7 November. Villagers said they later saw trucks carrying ammunition moving to Mongjawd on the way to border bases where they are facing SSA and UWSA forces.

“It is likely they [Burmese army] are building up their forces to be ready for a showdown,” said Col Yawd Serk, chairman of the Shan State Army (SSA-S).

Over the weekend, the junta set up new equipment in Monghsat, reportedly to control fighters and bombers, said a source.

In the meantime, the ceasefire group, UWSA has been training more soldiers and building more trenches and bunkers along the border of their domain in Monghpen-Hotao, south of Panghsang since July, according to sources.

shanland.org

[Mid]

Karen Refugees Fear More Attacks
By SAW YAN NAING
Monday, January 19, 2009

Karen refugees in Nu Po refugee camp are living in fear because of repeated clashes between the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and units of the Burmese army and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) over the weekend.

Major clashes took place over three days in Kawkareik Township in southern Karen State, where Battalion 103 of the KNLA, the military wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), is based.

About eight DKBA soldiers were killed, one KNU soldier died and two were seriously injured in the clashes, said Capt Kye Win of Battalion 103. Dozens of causalities on both sides were also reported, he said.

Karen refugees in Nu Poe camp are afraid of more outbreaks of fighting and a possible attack on the camp, said camp refugees.

“Some people here have been on standby alert for four days. Women especially are very afraid of more fighting,” said Daniel, a refugee in Nu Po camp.

“They’ve pack their belongingness to be ready to flee the camp if attacked, because there is no security here,” he said.

Capt Kye Win said an estimated 400 DKBA soldiers and Burmese army troops have been reinforced and plan to launch more attacks against KNLA soldiers in Kawkareik Township.

KNLA’s Battalion 103 and 201 are experiencing repeated clashes, he said.

The DKBA has publicly claimed it army will overrun the KNLA’s military bases on the border by 2010, said Karen sources, who say the aim of the DKBA is to control the region in order to establish business relationships with Thai authorities The region is rich in teak, gold, zinc and tin.

In 1995, after the DKBA split from the KNU, it staged daring attacks on Karen refugee camps on the Thai-Burmese border with the help of Burmese troops.

In 1997 and 1998, Huay Kaloke refugee camp, about 10 km from Mae Sot, was attacked and burned down by the breakaway Karen soldiers, now known as the DKBA.

irrawaddy.org

[Mid]

Myanmar's ethnic Karen attack border town: state media
23 minutes ago

YANGON (AFP) — An ethnic rebel group in Myanmar has attacked a town bordering Thailand, state media reported Sunday, hours before a key visit to the area by a United Nations human rights expert.

The New Light of Myanmar, a mouthpiece for the junta, said insurgents from the Karen National Union (KNU) had fired heavy weapons at the town of Myawady in Kayin State early Saturday, but caused no casualties.

"Two shells landed about seven miles south west of the town," the paper said.

Myawaddy is on Myanmar's border with Thailand where many ethnic Karen live. The KNU is the oldest of several Myanmar rebel groups, and has been battling the government for six decades.

Myanmar has suffered decades of armed rebellion along its borders, and no government has controlled all of the nation's territory.

The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962, justifying its grip on power by claiming the need to fend off the rebels.

The latest KNU fighting was reported as UN Human Rights expert Tomas Ojea Quintana arrived Saturday in Myanmar for a six-day visit to assess the development of human rights following his visit last summer.

Quintana left for Karen State by helicopter early Sunday to meet with members of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a group of former Karen insurgents who switched sides in the early 1990s to fight the KNU.

His visit comes amid criticism by rights groups of the regime's treatment of minorities, in particular the Rohingya Muslims, who have been fleeing the repressive country by boat in large numbers.

The UN confirmed that Quintana would also visit the notorious Insein prison in Yangon that holds hundreds of political activists, as well as the remote capital, Naypyidaw, during his stay, but was unlikely to meet senior generals. Quintana's visit is expected to pave the way for a possible visit later in the year by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon after another visit by the UN's Special Envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, last month.

Gambari met detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi but failed to secure a meeting with Myanmar's head of state Senior General Than Shwe.

The military regime has promised to hold elections in 2010, but critics have dismissed the polls as a sham as they do not allow for the participation of Aung San Suu Kyi.

google.com

[Mid]

KNU Denies Shelling Border Town
By SAW YAN NAING
Monday, February 16, 2009

The Karen National Union (KNU) has rejected claims by Burma’s state-run media that it shelled a number of sites near a town on the country’s border with Thailand, suggesting the attacks were staged by the Burmese army to portray its enemies as terrorists.

According to The New Light of Myanmar, a Burmese junta mouthpiece, the incident took place early Saturday morning near Myawaddy, a town in Karen State located opposite Thailand’s Tak Province.


File photo shows Karen National Union soldiers near the Thailand-Burmese border.
(Photo: AFP)

The newspaper reported that two shells landed about 10 km southwest of the town, one near a lodging house and another in the compound of a Buddhist monastery. No casualties were reported.

The attacks occurred on the same day that the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, arrived in the country for a six-day visit, and a day before he was scheduled to traveled to Pa-an, the capital of Karen State.

The KNU, Burma’s oldest ethnic insurgent group, immediately denied any involvement in the incident, and suggested that it was carried out by the Burmese military to coincide with the UN envoy’s visit.

“They want to accuse the KNU of being a terrorist group while Quintana is visiting Burma,” said David Takapaw, vice chairman of the KNU, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday.

Indeed, The New Light of Myanmar report seemed to suggest that the purpose of the attacks was to terrorize the local population. It said that the KNU was guilty of “firing from the distance into the towns and villages in a cowardly way with heavy weapons.”

However, Takapaw denied the charges, saying that since the KNU doesn’t possess the kind of heavy artillery allegedly used in the attacks, they could only have been carried out by the better-armed Burmese military.

The Burmese newspaper also accused the KNU of “bullying the innocent people with the use of arms, murdering, planting mines, looting, robbing people of their possessions, demanding extortion money [and] burning down the houses of people.”

Similar charges have been leveled against the Burmese army by human rights groups, which have extensively documented the targeting of civilians by government forces during the regime’s decades-old war with ethnic insurgents.

irrawaddy.org