The 1997 Offensives:
Suffering and Struggle for Identity and Justice of the Ethnic Karen in Burma
Burma Issues
Moe K. Tun
The Burmese Army offensives of 1997, unlike those of the past were economically motivated. The goal of the offensives was to secure border trade with Thailand and multinational projects in ethnic Karen inhabited areas.
In three weeks of offensives, beginning in February, the Burmese Army used an estimated 100,000 troops in the offensives and suffered 200 soldiers dead or injured. The Karen National Liberation Army, the military wing of Karen National Union lost 40 men. Many people did not expect the offensives because the cease-fire talks, started in December 1995 between the State Law and Order Restoration Council and the Karen National Union, had not officially broken up until the two weeks before the offensive.
The only way to solve the problem is to bring peace. Peace does not mean only the end of fighting. Justice must come with peace. Justice for the Karen as well as the other ethnic groups mean recognition of their rights to political and economic self-determination and to the preservation of their cultures
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