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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.