SLORC-KNU FIGHTING, 13/2/97

[darnott@xxxxxxxxxx]

                  SLORC-KNU FIGHTING: BBC REPORT
 
(Reception was bad. I put ... for what I missed, and [in
square brackets] what I reconstructed -- DA)
 
In addition to the following interview, Newshour quoted relief
agencies as saying that Karen refugees are fleeing to
Thailand, and that up to 10,000 are expected to join the
80,000 Karen refugees already there.
   
                       ....................
 
BBC World Service (Newshour) of 13.00 GMT, 13/Feb/97 carried
the following interview:
 
Announcer: .....Karen rebels in the town of Sakhandhit.
Fighting is reported to be continuing between Government
soldiers and rebels of the Karen National Union around the
town, which has been their base since they were driven out of
the border town of Manerplaw two years ago. Joining me now is
Larry Jagan, the BBC's Burma specialist. How severe a blow to
the KNU is the loss of Sakhandhit?
 
LJ: Well, they never really had their headquarters in the
township, although the township was important in terms of
their economy, and they did derive finance from it. Most of
the headquarters have been outside in the nearby jungles.
There's no doubt that in fact what happened is that the Karen
actually withdrew and allowed the Burmese troops to come into
the township, and there is intense fighting going on.
 
The other key area some 100 kilometres to the east of this
township is also under threat, and this is where General Bo
Mya, the actual head of the Karen National Union is based, and
some 2000 Burmese troops are launching an onslaught on that.
So there is intense fighting and there is no doubt that the
KNU is under great threat at the moment.
 
Announcer: So if I hear ... what is reported to be going on at
the moment around Sakhandhit could be more crucial to the
KNU's survival.
 
LJ: In some ways in terms of their finances, certainly; but
after Manerplaw fell I think that the KNU actually found it
very difficult to continue the fighting, to get resources, and
they relied very heavily on Thai support which was also cut
off because the Burma-Thai relationship had improved. But I
think what happened after that was that the KNU decided that
they were going to maintain a guerrilla force, and we've got
two major guerilla camps in this area that are now continuing
to fight, and the Burmese troops have moved in something like
14,000 soldiers, so there's no doubt that they are trying to
push them or crush them. I think what has actually prompted
this is the KNU and other ethnic groups coming out at the
beginning of January and saying that they actually rejected
the military dictatorship and wanted to have tripartite talks
with both Suu and the military.
 
Announcer: So by all accounts, what the Burmese Government is
trying to do is some kind of decisive offensive against the
KNU.
 
LJ: It is indeed; this is the beginning of the end, I think,
for the KNU. And the real issue is [whether] there is going to
be any scope for talks or not. 
 
 
(Burma Peace Foundation Monitoring Service 13/Feb/97)