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NEWS- Karen Rebels Vow to Continue



Karen Rebels Vow to Continue Fight against Yangon

               Reuters
               13-FEB-98

               THIKERNY, Myanmar, Feb 13
               (Reuters) - The leader of the rebel
               Karen National Union (KNU) has
               vowed to continue an armed struggle
               against the Myanmar government for
               an autonomous Karen state. 

               ``I will never surrender and will
               continue to fight against the Myanmar
               (Burma) military junta,'' KNU
               president General Bo Mya said on
               Thursday. 

               The 71-year-old self-styled general
               was taking part in a ceremony to
               mark Myanmar's Union Day with
               about 500 Karen villagers in the
               jungles along the country's eastern
               border with Thailand. 

               Union Day marks the signing of the
               ``Panglong Agreement'' on February
               12, 1947, which paved the way for
               Myanmar's independence from over
               100 years of British colonial rule on
               January 4, 1948. 

               The KNU, which has been fighting for
               a separate state ever since, is one of
               a handful of rebel groups fighting the
               Myanmar authorities. 

               Bo Mya has in the past refused
               overtures by Myanmar's ruling State
               Peace and Development Council
               (SPDC) in the capital Yangon to hold
               peace talks and lay down arms. 

               The KNU leader said he had met
               leaders of Shan guerrillas operating
               in the northeastern state and had
               agreed to joint military operations
               with them against Myanmar's military
               government. 

               Thousands of guerrillas broke away
               from opium warlord Khun Sa's Mong
               Tai Army after he gave himself up to
               Myanmar authorities in early 1996
               and are still operating in the Shan
               state jungles. 

               The KNU was dealt a severe setback
               in 1995 when its jungle camps along
               the Myanmar-Thai border were
               overrun by government troops. A
               small KNU group still operates along
               the border area. 

               The group has also been hit by
               internal disputes. In 1994, some
               Buddhist guerrillas from the KNU
               split from the Christian-dominated
               leadership and started fighting Bo
               Mya's supporters. 

               At least 17 ethnic minority rebel
               groups have reached a ceasefire
               agreement with the Myanmar
               government since it offered them a
               variety of deals in 1989, according to
               the government. 

               ``We demand that the KNU lay down
               their arms and return to the legal fold
               like others,'' a government
               spokesman told Reuters.