In the past two weeks fierce fighting along Burma's border with Thailand has forced more than 4,000 Karen villagers to flee for their safety. ''There's no end in sight,'' the general secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU), Zipporah Sein, told Spectrum. [html]
''If the fighting continues, at least 8,000 more villagers will have to escape across the border or die at the hands of the soldiers.''
Fighting and persistent shelling along the border by the Burmese army and the local pro-government militia group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), over the last fortnight has forced the villagers to flee across the border as the Burmese authorities launched their usual end of dry season offensive against the KNU, which has been fighting for autonomy for more than 60 years.
But this time it is much more serious, according to Win Min, a Burmese academic at Chiang Mai University and a specialist on the Burmese military.
''There is no doubt that the DKBA and the Burmese Army are intent on eliminating the KNU this time,'' he told Spectrum. ''With elections planned for next year, the SPDC.
[State Peace and Development Council] cannot afford to have any armed rebel force in control of some of its territory.''
The DKBA has been ordered by the Burmese regional commander to crush the Karen resistance before the 2010 elections, according to the Soe Aung, a spokesman for the Forum for Democracy in Burma (FDB), an opposition coalition of ethnic groups, youth and women.
''The DKBA has launched this onslaught at the behest of their masters, and are going all-out to annihilate any Karen opposition in the lead-up to the elections in 2010,'' he said.
But more importantly, he added, it is a model for the future. The DKBA, which broke away from the KNU in the mid-1990s, has a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese military government. They, like all other ethnic groups which have peace pacts with the SPDC, have been ordered to surrender their arms and form a border police force under the central authorities. The other ethnic groups _ notably the Kachin, Kokang, Shan and the Wa _ have all refused so far to follow these orders, but the DKBA have agreed in principle.
''Now they have been ordered to secure the border with Thailand and send the KNU packing,'' said Win Min. ''The question is whether all the other smaller ethnic groups and break-away factions will follow suit.''
Aid workers fear that this may soon happen, at least along much of the border with Thailand _ with the Karennis and others being unable to resist the pressure from the SPDC if the DKBA are relatively successful.
''If that happens the result will be a humanitarian disaster _ thousands more refugees will flood into Thailand for safety,'' a senior aid official working on the border told Spectrum on condition of anonymity.
Decades of fighting between the ethnic guerrilla groups and Burmese soldiers has left an indelible mark on the people in the region.
''The mere sight of a Burmese soldier fills me with fear and hatred,'' one of the women who recently fled Burma and is seeking temporary shelter in a temple in Thailand told aid officials who questioned her earlier this week.
''They are heartless and we had to flee for our safety,'' she said. ''Now I feel safe and am grateful to the Thai authorities for their kindness.''
Most of the refugees are women and children. The men stayed behind to look after the fields, according to aid workers looking after those who escaped.
''They are in relatively good condition,'' Kitty McKinsey, the regional spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told Spectrum in a phone interview from the Thai border town of Mae Sot. ''They are not emaciated, though they walked for more than seven days to escape from the Myanmar Army,'' she said.
More than 4,000 Karen have abandoned a camp and villages in eastern Burma to seek refuge in Thailand following government attacks, a Karen spokesman and aid groups said.
''They hurriedly left with nothing but the clothes on their back. They desperately need basic supplies _ soap, toothbrushes and cooking utensils.''
The present mass exodus of Karen villagers started last weekend when the DKBA and the Burmese army launched their latest offensive.
More than 2,000 people have fled Burma in the past week, according to UN officials who have been interviewing the refugees this week. The number could be as high as 6,000 as many are in hiding inside Thailand, according to other aid agencies working in the area. Some of the men folk are actually already working illegally in factories inside Thailand, according to some of the refugees.
''These people were not just fleeing the fighting and the shelling. They are fleeing for fear of being forced to work as porters and of being conscripted into the army,'' said Ms McKinsey.
The refugees are now being cared for in five different sites, including Nuh Bo temple. Thai authorities have set up medical centres to provide health care and medical checks for anyone who needs them. The main organisations working in the area, the Thai Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) and the Karen Refugee Council, have been distributing rice and fish paste.
The most immediate priority is shelter. The UNHCR has provided plastic sheeting to help make temporary shelters for them. But the rain is making everything much more difficult, and there are fears for the refugees' health. For the present they seem to be alright, Sally Thompson of the TBBC told Spectrum. ''No outbreaks have been reported, only some cases of malaria.''
''With the rainy season starting, the women and children are particularly vulnerable to diarrhea, disease and malaria,'' said Saw Hla Htun, the chairman of the Karen Youth Organisation, which is helping to look after the refugees.
Most of the refugees are reluctant to be moved to camps in Thailand, preferring to be as close to the border as possible so they can return home when the fighting eases.
''They all say they want go back as soon as possible,'' said Ms McKinsey. ''But to what _ they all said their crops and livestock had been confiscated by the authorities.
''They are clearly traumatised. They have lived with this kind of trauma all their lives,'' added Ms McKinsey. ''One young woman said she had been on the move since she was five; this is a recurring nightmare, and this is only the latest chapter.''
Many aid workers supporting the Karen refugees believe this is only the start of the exodus. There is little sign of the fighting subsiding soon.
''I could still hear constant mortar fire and shelling as I talked to the villagers,'' said McKinsey.
Many analysts like Win Min believe this is the beginning a new protracted campaign against the Karen.
''The rainy season may bring a temporary halt to this phase of the offensive, but there is certain to be a further assault on the KNU at the start of the new dry season,'' said Win Min. The signs are that this is going to be a long, drawn out offensive.
''The DKBA has also demanded food supplies from Thai villagers across the border, or else they face being shelled,'' Soe Aung told Spectrum.
Many aid workers report shells and mortars falling on the Thai side of the border. The Thai army has already sent reinforcements to that part of the border to boost security.
The joint forces of the Burmese army and the DKBA plan to attack all KNLA-controlled military camps along the Thai-Burma border, according to Soe Aung. They may even attack some of the refugee camps.
Already the inhabitants of Mae La refugee camp are growing nervous, fearing the Burmese and DKBA troops plan to launch attacks along the border near the camp. Some young men from Mae La camp have reportedly been called up to serve as security guards if conditions become worse, according to Karen sources. Thai authorities are considering moving the refugees inland, away from the fighting, an international aid worker said on condition of anonymity. So far nothing has happened.
''As a matter of principle, UNHCR recommend that refugees should not be close to the 'conflict' border for their protection,'' Ms McKinsey said.
Since the DKBA launched their attack on the KNLA's 7th Brigade last week, more than 20 soldiers from the joint SPDC force have been killed, including two senior officers, according to the KNU's wing, the Karen National Liberation Army.
''There is little doubt that the DKBA will keep up its assault until they have taken the entire area,'' said Soe Aung. ''They seem prepared to accept high casualties as long as they wrest control from the KNU,'' he added.
''These attacks clearly show that the SPDC is not interested in peace, but only destroying the KNU,'' Zipporah Sein said. ''The DKBA soldiers are clearly being used by the Burmese army. During fighting, the DKBA soldiers must stay in the front line and serve as minesweepers while the Burmese soldiers stay back and fire mortars,'' she said.
The KNU has renewed its call for tripartite peace talks with the junta. ''But these would have to be on neutral ground, and at the highest possible level,''she said.
Over the past two decades there have been many attempts to get talks started, with several bilateral meetings held in Burma between lower-ranking officials from the two sides.
But all have failed. Earlier this year the Thai government, after foreign minister Kasit Piromya visited the Burmese capital, again offered to help broker talks, but nothing has eventuated.
''It is more important than ever that the SPDC enter tripartite talks _ not only with the KNU, but with all ethnic groups,'' said Soe Aung. ''What is desperately needed is a nation-wide ceasefire, government recognition of the ethnic groups' demand for autonomy and a genuine dialogue about the country's political future.''
While the KNU may support this, they feel it's a pie in the sky. The junta's intentions are only too clear, they say.
''The Burmese regime wants to let the Karen fight and kill each other,'' said Ms Sein. ''The DKBA should reconsider whether they want to be a Burmese tool to kill Karen people,'' she added.
The conflict is set to increase. So far only seven villages have been affected, out of more than 40 villages in the region along the border. As the fighting grows, more Karen refugees are certain to seek safety across the border in Thailand. For these villagers there seems no end in sight _ to what has been more than 60 years of violence and brutality.
''We want an end to all this fighting. All we want is to be left alone in peace, and to be able to return to our homes,'' one of the refugees who recently fled from the fighting told an aid worker.
Source: Bangkok Post
Exodus from Burma offensive