Over the last three months, the sound of mortar fire has become a constant feature of life in the Karenni refugee camps located on the Thai-Burma border. In the first week of January, the Burmese military (known as the State Peace and Development Council or SPDC) joined forces with a cease-fire armed group, the Karenni National People's Liberation Front (KNPLF) to launch a heavy artillery attack on the last remaining Karenni stronghold, known as called Nyar Moe. The KNPLF is a break-away group that split from the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) in 1978.
The Karenni army, the armed wing of the KNPP, has been fighting the Rangoon government for over 50 years. As a result of this ongoing war, more than 20,000 Karenni people have fled into Thailand to shelter as refugees. An estimated 50,000 internally displaced people have also escaped from the Burmese military regime by hiding out in the jungle inside Karenni State. Although, the KNPP signed a cease-fire in 1995, the agreement collapsed after only three months and the fighting between the two parties continued. The latest attack on Nyar Moe is the second time the SPDC troops have launched a serious offensive against the Karenni base. The last time, in August 1998, the SPDC was also supported by the KNPLF break-away group.
Impact on the camp residents
The Karenni army base at Nyar Moe is in a good strategic location, at the top of a steeply-forested mount ridge. The nearest Burmese military base is just visible across the steep side of the valley.
Nyar Moe is only 5 km away from the Karenni refugee camps. The camps are home to a total population of 22,744 people, in 4,438 families. The camps comprise hundreds of small bamboo and leaf houses crowed together into valleys surrounded by mountains. Camp residents are concerned that, if the Karenni army loses control of the base, their homes will be vulnerable to attack. Karenni refugees in Thailand have already experienced several attacks by Burmese troops, including an attack in 1996 in which two refugees were killed. "I don't worry for myself. I am only worried for the old people and children who are living in the camps," says Gaw Reh, a youth from one Karenni refugee camp. He added that older people and children would not know what to do or where to go if the SPDC attack the camp.
After the first few days of fighting, camp residents began to dig bunkers for each family, to be used if the camps come under direct fire. A curfew has been imposed, with residents forbidden to leave their homes after 6pm without permission from the camp leaders and camp-based Thai security forces. Some parents have warned their children to be ready to run into a bunker if an attack comes. Other camp residents are so worried that every time they hear an explosion, they run for cover.
If the base is lost, people are also concerned that they will face even tighter restrictions on their movement in and out of the camps – or may be forced to return home. "If the Karenni army loses the base, I cannot imagine what will happen to us. Maybe the SPDC or Thai soldiers will force us to go back home," worried a refugee named Pray Reh.
When the fighting began, the people in the camps were so scared that they couldn't sleep at night - now people look worried because the fighting has been going on for so long, according to Pray Reh.
Some of those who are working very closely with the Karenni community are concerned about the impact on the next generation. Because of the tension between the two sides, young people in the camps want to take revenge on the SPDC troops. "Some young boys said, ‘When we grow up, we will fight against the SPDC’," said Law Reh, a Karenni Education Department staff member.
"I heard that three students didn't sit their school exam. Instead they left to stay with the Karenni army. They want to fight against the SPDC," Law Reh said.
The current situation is also particularly stressful for women married to Karenni soldiers, who worry whenever their husbands go to stay at the base or to the frontline. With their husbands away, these women must also deal with the burden of activities such taking care of their children, looking after their property, and work such as collecting firewood for cooking, repairing their homes and carrying water.
A refugee schoolteacher name Htay Myar, whose husband is a Karenni soldier, described her experiences. She said that if the cooking firewood has gone, instead of her husband collecting it for her, she must ask her relatives to help her. She comments that it is particularly difficult for those women who don't have relatives in the camps.
"Sometimes I feel exhausted because I have to teach during the day - I feel very tired when I get home from school. When I get home, I don't want to do anything else, but my child is crying and asking for snacks," Htay Myar commented, pointing to her little daughter. “Occasionally my children get sick and I have to take care of them. All these things make me feel so stressed,” Htay Myar added.
The concern of local Thai people and the Karenni leadership
The fighting has not just affected Karenni people, it has also threatened residents of Thai villages in Mae Hong Son province. The Karenni refugee camps are located in northern Thailand, about 8 km away from Mae Hong Son town. Heavy shelling on January 10 came close to the Thai village of Meh Shew Oo, located only 2.5km from the Karenni army base. More than one hundred villagers fled from their homes, and were forced to take shelter at a nearby village for the night. The villagers were taken back to Meh Shwe Oo by the Thai military the next day.
Some Karenni leaders suspect that if the Karenni army base is lost, drugs will be traded across the Burma border into Mae Hong Son province. This opinion is also held by some Thai village leaders and local Thai authorities. However, local Thai businessmen disagree, claiming that more cross-border trade will bring mutually beneficial development between the two countries.
Mee Reh, a Thai village head from Mu Ban Huey Hsue Htaw, said "I don’t want drug trafficking to reach my village." He fears that drug smugglers from Burma will pass through his village if the Karenni army base is lost.
The Burmese military and the KNPLF cease-fire group claim that the purpose of their attack is to enable the opening of an official border trading post between Thailand and Burma. They say that this will allow the border region to build stability and peace, control the supply of narcotic drugs and eliminate the Karenni army.
The KNPP, however, believes that that the attack has been launched by the SPDC in an attempt to get the Karenni armed groups to fight amongst each other. According to this theory, eventually both armies will be weakened, enabling the SPDC to increase its control over the area.
Some observers and analysts feel that after the ousting of SPDC Prime Minister, Khin Nyunt, in October last year, the generals in Rangoon turned their attention to attacking the Karenni army and other ethnic groups along the border.
However, one senior Karenni army leader, General Bee Htoo, argues that this latest attack is not linked to the ousting of former Prime Minister Khin Nyunt. Instead, General Bee Htoo believes that the SPDC in Rangoon are using the attack to divert peoples’ attention from the National Convention.
General Bee Htoo has confidently claimed that the base will not be lost. "We Karenni soldiers are always ready to fight against our enemy. As long as we hold our weapons, we will fight," he said. One camp resident, Gaw Reh, agreed, saying "The Karenni army base is very good location, I don't think the SPDC can overrun it."
However, some ordinary Karenni soldiers feel less positive about their ability to hold the base. "If the SPDC troops launch a heavy attack with artillery, we could lose control of the base," an unnamed Karenni soldier said during a short period of respite from the fighting on the frontline. “However, many SPDC soldiers will also die and be injured for sure if they come close to overrunning the base”, added the soldier. Most of his comrades from the Karenni army feel the same way.
KNPP Break-Away Groups
1978
The split of the KNPLF led by Nya Maung Me weakened KNPP's position and its strength in Karenni territory. The KNPLF was made at this time of 200 ex-KNPP soldiers.
1995
The Karenni National Defence Army (KNDA) was formed. It was made up of approximately 150 ex-KNPP members. Led by Lee Reh, the group agreed to a cease-fire in 1996 and is used today as a proxi army by the SPDC to fight the KNPP
1998
The KNPP was further weakend by the three more splits. The first fraction that broke away was led by U Goeri and agreed to a cease-fire witht he SPDC in July 1999. The second split, let by U Day Moo, agreed to a cease-fire in 1999. The final faction led by U Saw Bae Bay, signed a cease-fire agreement with the central government in November 1999. It is estimated that approximately 200 KNPP soldiers allied themselves with these three groups.
