Karen rebels in Myanmar
Source : The Hindu
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Why in News?

Thousands of ethnic Karen villagers in Myanmar are poised to cross into Thailand as fighting intensifies between the Myanmar army and Karen insurgents.

Who are Karen Rebel ?

• Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) is the military branch of the Karen National Union.
• They campaigns for the self-determination of the Karen people of Myanmar.
• The KNLA has been fighting the Myanmar government since 1949.
• A brief History
  • KNLA was previously called the Karen National Defence Organisation (KNDO).
    • KNDO was an armed organisation which was formed by the KNU in 1947
    • They aimed to defend the interest of Karen communities
    • Most of them had previosly served served in the forces of British Burma.
  • During and after the Burmese independence from the British in 1948 leads to a considerable tension between the Karen community
    • The struggle included armed armed conflict.
  • By 1976-77 the Karen National Union changed its policy of an independent state
    • They started a new alliance the National Democratic Front.
    • They supported a federal union of Burma.
  • By 1993-94 KNLA broke into two forming DKBA ( Democratic Karen Buddhist Army )and declared a cease fire with the government.
  • Later years many cease fire agreement violated

Reason for Current Unrest

• • A coup in Myanmar began on the morning of February 2021
  • The reason was when democratically elected members of the country’s ruling party National League for Democracy (NLD) were deposed by the Myanmar’s military
  • The country made under military rule by declaring the results of the November 2020 general election invalid.
    • Military coup that ousted an elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
  • Tensions between the KNU and the military increased during the unrest following the 2021 Myanmar coup.
  • Most of the Myanmar people were satisfied with the election result.

Key Facts

• About 56,000 people have been displaced and 1000 died by conflict in Myanmar this year.
• Karen rebels and the Myanmar army have clashed near the Thai border in the most intense fighting in the area in 25 years.
• The Karen Peace Support Network says thousands of villagers are taking shelter on the Myanmar side of the Salween and they will flee to Thailand if the fighting escalates.
• 2,267 civilians had crossed into Thailand as of Friday since the latest conflict began.
  • Many more have taken refuge in forest on the Myanmar side.
• According to U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) the impact of the pandemic and the political crisis could lead 5 million Myanmar people slide into poverty by 2022.

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