In the summer of 2010, Burma's ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) demanded that the Karen rebel group Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) surrender and become part of the junta's Border Guard Force (BGF).
Two of the DKBA's three brigades did so. However the DKBA 5th Brigade, under the leadership of Colonel Saw Lah Pwe, aka "Mr. Beard", declined to surrender.
This refusal to join the Border Guard Force has given much needed fuel to...
more »In the summer of 2010, Burma's ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) demanded that the Karen rebel group Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) surrender and become part of the junta's Border Guard Force (BGF).
Two of the DKBA's three brigades did so. However the DKBA 5th Brigade, under the leadership of Colonel Saw Lah Pwe, aka "Mr. Beard", declined to surrender.
This refusal to join the Border Guard Force has given much needed fuel to the fire of Karen resistance, engaged in the world's longest ongoing conflict. Before the SPDC's demands the DKBA was often in open conflict with the other major Karen rebel group, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). The DKBA itself began as a breakaway faction of the KNLA. In 1994 the majority Buddhist army fell out with the KNLA's Christian leadership. For years the two groups have been fighting and killing each other, Karen against Karen. The story is different now.
The DKBA 5th Brigade and KNLA have agreed to join forces and stop fighting each other, focusing on their common enemy; the SPDC. The newly formed alliance between the DKBA and the KNLA may have larger impact then a simple peace agreement between the rebel armies. Word has spread quickly of the new accord between the two groups and support is building throughout Burma, reigniting interest in the revolution amongst other ethnic and Burmese opposition groups.
While the final outcome of the DKBA 5th Brigade decision has yet to fully play out, one thing is clear; the Karen resistance is now stronger and will have to be reckoned with. The Burmese junta's stratagem has given life to a monster of their own making; a unified Karen resistance.
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