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From The Daily Yomiuri, March 1, 19



Subject: From The Daily Yomiuri, March 1, 1997

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Now Thais threaten beleaguered KNU rebels

By Sutin Wannabovorn 
Reuter

BANGKOK -- Beleaguered Karen National Union (KNU) guerrillas, already
wracked by internal strife, now face added pressure from previously friendly
Thailand, KNU and Thai military sources said on Thursday. 

This week the Thai Army, which has traditionally turned a blind eye to KNU
movements inside Thailand's western border with Myanmar, rounded up some
senior leaders of the group and put them in a central location, KNU sources
said. 

Thai military sources, however, would say only that they were closely
monitoring the movements of senior KNU leaders. 

The added pressure on the KNU comes after Myanmar troops wiped out its
mobile bases inside eastern Karen state earlier this month and sent
thousands of refugees fleeing into Thailand. 

The KNU, founded in 1948 to seek greater autonomy for Karen state from the
Yangon government, is one of the few ethnic groups still fighting Rangoon.
Its hard line leader Gen. Bo Mya has rejected peace overtures by Myanmar's
ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) and refused to lay
down arms. 

Senior KNU sources also said differences on dealing with the SLORC had
emerged within the KNU leadership, with moderate Vice President Swe Seing
seeking peace talks with Yangon. 

More than 70,000 Karen refugees have been living in sprawling camps inside
Thailand since the 1980s. 

Last week senior Thai military officials said they would screen out KNU
guerrillas from the genuine refugees and bring order to the camps. This
followed charges by Myanmar that the KNU was using the camps to launch
attacks on it. 

"They (the Thai military) have begun to register and set order in the camps.
We cannot move in and out freely like before," a Karen refugee official at
one camp said by telephone. 

Other KNU officials said the refugees were now very discouraged and would
not support the KNU leaders. 

"I think all the KNU leaders will fade away and disappear. If they continue
to ignore the plight of people, then the people cannot give them the
leadership," said a top KNU official who declined to be named. 
KNU sources said serious power struggles within the group have been
festering since 1994 when a Buddhist faction in the predominantly Christian
KNU broke away and joined Yangon. 

This led to the fall of the KNU headquarters and all its camps along the
Salween and Moie (sic!) rivers. 

"If they do not look after the people, next time when they come to the
villages for a cup of water they may not have a chance to drink it," another
senior KNU official said. 

He predicted that with the Thai pressure, the internal rift and the Burmese
offensive against the KNU, the rebel group was set to disintegrate. 

Official Myanmar reports say nearly 1,000 KNU guerrillas have defected to
the SLORC in the past week, but the KNU has disputed the numbers. 

The KNU official said more refugees were set to take up the latest SLORC
offer to repatriate them, provided they were guaranteed proper housing and
security. 

"Yes, even I myself will go back," he said. 

Meanwhile, Amnesty International urged Thailand on Thursday to halt any
forcible return of Karen refugees who fled to its territory after the recent
fighting inside Myanmar. 

Thai military sources said the refugees merely were being moved to safer
places inside Thailand away from the fighting, but that suspected KNU
guerrillas would not be allowed to stay. 


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