Fall of Manerplaw

Last updated

Fall of Manerplaw
Part of the Karen conflict
Date27 January 1995
Location
Result SLORC / DKBA victory
Belligerents
Flag of Myanmar (1974-2010).svg Myanmar (SLORC)
Flag of DKBA.svg DKBA
Flag of the Karen National Union.svg Karen National Union
Fighting Peacock Flag.png ABSDF
Units involved

Flag of the Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) of Myanmar.svg  Tatmadaw

Karen National Liberation Army flag.svg Karen National Liberation Army

  • 6th Battalion
  • 7th Battalion
Strength
Army Flag of Myanmar.svg 4,000–10,000
Flag of DKBA.svg 400
Unknown
Casualties and losses
5 killed 10 killed, 50 wounded
9,000–10,000 civilians displaced

The Fall of Manerplaw occurred on 27 January 1995, when the village of Manerplaw was captured by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces) and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA). Manerplaw was the headquarters of two armed opposition groups, the Karen National Union (KNU) and the All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF). [1] [2] The final military assault by the Tatmadaw, aided by positional information provided by the DKBA, was met with little resistance by the KNLA, whose leaders had ordered a tactical retreat. [1]

Contents

Background

The Karen people of Kayin State (also known as Karen State) in eastern Myanmar (also known as Burma) are the third largest ethnic group in Myanmar, consisting of 7% of the country's total population, and have fought for independence and self-determination since 1949. [3] The initial aim of the KNU was to obtain independence for the Karen people. However, in 1976 they instead began to call for a federal union in Myanmar with fair Karen representation, and the self-determination of the Karen people. [4]

Up until the fall of Manerplaw, the village had been subjected to several military offensives by the Tatmadaw, and the surrounding area was the location of several alleged human right abuses by the military junta, including forced labour and extrajudicial punishment. [5]

Prelude

In December 1994, Buddhist and Christian factions of the KNU began to have disagreements on the construction of pagodas in Manerplaw. U Thuzana, a Karen Buddhist monk who ordered the construction and was then a member of the KNU, revolted against the organisation with others who were dissatisfied with the group's Christian-dominated leadership. [2] On 11 December 1994, the KNLA clashed with Buddhist dissidents in Manerplaw. This ultimately led to a split in the KNU and the establishment of the DKBA on 21 December 1994. [2] [6] U Thuzana later brokered a deal with Major General Maung Hla, the southeastern regional commander of the Myanmar Army, and attempted to persuade Karen villagers to evacuate to DKBA protected refugee camps. U Thuzana also attempted to persuade Buddhist soldiers of the KNLA to defect to the DKBA and assist the Tatmadaw. [1]

Tatmadaw and DKBA offensive

In January 1995, 4,000 [1] [2] to 10,000 [6] Tatmadaw and DKBA troops advanced towards Manerplaw, capturing several nearby villages. The Min Yaw Kee ridge, which in 1992 had been fiercely defended by the KNLA, was captured without a single shot being fired. Soldiers from the DKBA assisted the Tatmadaw by providing information on KNLA positions and guiding them through the jungle to Manerplaw. [1] As the Tatmadaw and DKBA approached Manerplaw, an estimated 9,000 [5] to 10,000 [7] civilians fled from the village and its surrounding area, including from nearby refugee camps.

When the Tatmadaw and DKBA finally moved into Manerplaw on 27 January 1995, the leadership of the KNLA ordered their soldiers to retreat and to raze the village; [6] the roughly 3,000 inhabitants of Manerplaw had already been evacuated by then. [8]

Aftermath

Five Tatmadaw [9] and ten KNLA soldiers were killed in the final assault. [1] Of the KNLA troops who managed to escape the Tatmadaw advance, 50 were treated for their wounds. [1]

Most of the refugees who fled the fighting headed towards refugees camps in Thailand, near the Myanmar–Thailand border. After capturing Manerplaw, the Tatmadaw advanced towards nearby villages it previously could not reach, eventually reaching the southern KNU stronghold of Kawmoora, which fell to Tatmadaw soldiers on 21 February 1995. [10]

A direct consequence of the fall of Manerplaw and its aftermath was that the KNU lost most of its income derived from local tax revenue, logging deals and cross-border trade, as the Tatmadaw captured several border towns. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen National Union</span> Ethno-political organisation

The Karen National Union (ကညီဒီကလုာ်စၢဖှိၣ်ကရၢ) is a political organisation with an armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), that claims to represent the Karen people of Myanmar (Burma). It operates in mountainous eastern Myanmar, and has underground networks in other areas of Myanmar where Karen people live as a minority group. In the Karen language, this area is called Kawthoolei.

Manerplaw was a village in Kayin State, Myanmar (Burma), on the Moei River. It was the proposed capital of an independent state governed by the Karen people, known locally as Kawthoolei. Manerplaw was established in 1975 and had a population of around 3,000 in 1992 until its evacuation following military offensives by the government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen people</span> Ethnolinguistic group of people in Myanmar and Thailand

The Karen, also known as the Kayin, Kariang or Kawthoolese, are an ethnolinguistic group of Sino-Tibetan language-speaking peoples. The group as a whole is heterogeneous and disparate as many Karen ethnic groups do not associate or identify with each other culturally or linguistically. These Karen groups reside primarily in Kayin State, southern and southeastern Myanmar. The Karen account for around seven percent of the Burmese population. Many Karen have migrated to Thailand, having settled mostly on the Myanmar–Thailand border. A few Karen have settled in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, and other Southeast Asian and East Asian countries.

Bo Mya was a Karen leader born in Papun District, which is in present-day Karen State, Myanmar. He was a long-standing chairman of the Karen National Union (KNU), a political organisation of the Karen people, from 1976 to 2000. He stepped down to become vice-chairman in 2004, and retired in 2004 from all public offices, due to poor health.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen National Liberation Army</span> Military organization in Myanmar

The Karen National Liberation Army is the military branch of the Karen National Union (KNU), which campaigns for the self-determination of the Karen people of Myanmar. The KNLA has been fighting the Burmese government since 1949. The KNLA was reported to have had a strength of approximately 20,000 in 1980, 3,000 in 2001, 5,000 in 2006, 6,000 in 2012, and 7,000 in 2014. As of early 2021, the KNLA is estimated to have at least 15,000 troops. The army is divided into seven brigades and a 'Special Force' reserved for special operations.

Insurgencies have been ongoing in Myanmar since 1948, the year the country, then known as Burma, gained independence from the United Kingdom. The conflict has largely been ethnic-based, with several ethnic armed groups fighting Myanmar's armed forces, the Tatmadaw, for self-determination. Despite numerous ceasefires and the creation of autonomous self-administered zones in 2008, many armed groups continue to call for independence, increased autonomy, or the federalisation of the country. The conflict is the world's longest ongoing civil war, having spanned more than seven decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Karen Buddhist Army</span>

The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army was an insurgent group of Buddhist soldiers and officers in Myanmar that split from the predominantly Christian-led Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), one of the largest rebel factions in Myanmar. Shortly after splitting from the KNLA in December 1994, the DKBA signed a ceasefire agreement with the government of Myanmar in exchange for military and financial assistance; provided that it supported government offensives against the KNU and its allies.

The Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) is a grassroots Karen-led human rights organisation, established in Karen State during 1992 and it is now operating across rural southeast Burma/Myanmar. With over twenty years of experience. KHRG is recognised internationally as an authority on major issues such as internal displacement, forced labour, landmines, conflict and land confiscation in southeast Burma/Myanmar. KHRG works directly with "rural villagers who are suffering abuses such as forced labor, systematic destruction of villagers and crops, forced relocations, extortion, looting, arbitrary detention, torture, sexual assault and summary executions." Most of these abuses were committed by soldiers and officials of the State Peace & Development Council (SPDC), Burma's previous ruling military junta. The organisation's goal is to support villagers in rural Burma, by helping them develop strategies to resist abuse and by translating their testimonies for worldwide distribution, accompanied by supporting photos and documentary evidence.

The 2010–2012 Myanmar border clashes were a series of skirmishes between the Tatmadaw on one side, and the DKBA-5 and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) on the other. The clashes erupted along the border with Thailand shortly after Myanmar's general election on 7 November 2010. An estimated 10,000 refugees have fled into nearby neighbouring Thailand to escape the violent conflict. There was concern that due to discontent with the elections, and speculations of electoral fraud, that the conflict could escalate into a civil war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bo Nat Khann Mway</span>

Bo Nat Khann Mway, born Saw Lah Pwe and also known by his nicknames "Bo Moustache" and "Mr. Moustache", was a Karen military officer and commander-in-chief of DKBA-5, an insurgent group in Kayin State, Myanmar (Burma).

Noh Poe or Nu Po is a refugee camp of approximately 14,000 people in the Amphoe Umphang district of Tak Province in Thailand. Located near the Thai border with the Karen state in Burma, it was set up in 1997 to accommodate Karen refugees fleeing fighting between the Burmese and the Karen National Union (KNU) forces. There is a school located in Noh Poe which is significantly cheaper than comparable schools in Burma, and many Karen students go there to complete their education as a result. Refugees cannot leave the camp without the permission of the local Thai government, and chain fences surround the camp to keep people from leaving.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mae La refugee camp</span> Refugee camp in Tak Province, Thailand

Mae La, Beh klaw ,(S'gaw Karen: မဲၣ်လးဒဲကဝီၤ, ဘဲကျီး) is a refugee camp in Thailand. It was established in 1984 in Tha Song Yang District, Tak Province in the Dawna Range area and houses 50,000 Karen refugees; the number continues to rise as of June 2019. Mae La is the largest refugee camp for Karen refugees in Thailand. Over 90% are the persecuted ethnic Karen. The camps are overseen and run by the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), a union of 11 international non-governmental organizations that provide food, shelter and non food items to the Burmese refugees and displaced people.

Ceasefires in Myanmar have been heavily utilized by the Burmese government as a policy to contain ethnic rebel groups and create tentative truces. The first ceasefire was arranged by the State Law and Order Restoration Council in 1989, specifically spearheaded by Khin Nyunt, then the Chief of Military Intelligence, with the Kokang-led National Democratic Alliance Army, which had recently split from the Communist Party of Burma due to internal conflicts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen conflict</span> Armed conflict in southeastern Myanmar

The Karen conflict is an armed conflict in Kayin State, Myanmar. It is part of the wider internal conflict in Myanmar between the military government and various minority groups. Karen nationalists have been fighting for an independent state, known as Kawthoolei, since 1949. The Karen National Union (KNU) and its Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) are the most prominent Karen rebel groups. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced by the conflict, many of whom fled to neighbouring Thailand and survive in refugee camps.

The Battle of Kawmoora was a protracted battle between the Tatmadaw and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). Before 1994, the Tatmadaw was unable to capture the KNLA stronghold of Kawmoora due to the stronghold's robust fortifications and narrow access from Tatmadaw-held territory. The Tatmadaw instead fired artillery at enemy positions from Thai territory, with the permission of the Thai government. However, the Fall of Manerplaw on 27 January 1995 allowed the Tatmadaw to advance southward and capture Kawmoora on 21 February.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U Thuzana</span> Karen Theravadin Buddhist monk (1947–2018)

Thuzana, also known as the Myainggyi-ngu Sayadaw, was a Karen Theravada Buddhist monk based in Myaing Gyi Ngu, Kayin State, Myanmar. He was the leader of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), an ethnic insurgent group, until its dissolution in 2010.

The Karen–Mon conflict is a series of armed clashes between the ethnic rebel armies of the Karen and Mon peoples. The Karen National Liberation Army and the Mon National Liberation Army have clashed sporadically since 1988, mostly around the Myanmar–Thailand border at Three Pagodas Pass.

Yar Pyae is a Burmese military officer and the Minister for the Union Government Office as of 11 May 2021. He was appointed as the National Security Advisor on 22 May 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People's Defence Force (Myanmar)</span> Armed wing of the National Unity Government of Myanmar

The People's Defence Force is the armed wing of the National Unity Government (NUG) in Myanmar. The armed wing was formed by the NUG from youths and pro-democracy activists on 5 May 2021 in response to the coup d'état that occurred on 1 February 2021 that put the military junta and their armed wing the Tatmadaw in power. The military junta designated it as a terrorist organisation on 8 May 2021. In October 2021, NUG's Ministry of Defence announced that it had formed a central committee to coordinate military operations across the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myanmar civil war (2021–present)</span> Ongoing armed conflict in Myanmar since the 2021 coup detat

The Myanmar civil war, also called the Myanmar Spring Revolution, and the People's Defensive War, is an ongoing civil war following Myanmar's long-running insurgencies which escalated significantly in response to the 2021 military coup d'état and the subsequent violent crackdown on anti-coup protests.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "The Fall of Manerplaw. KHRG Commentary February 1995". KHRG. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Whither KNU?". www.hartford-hwp.com. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  3. Smith, Martin (1991). Burma : insurgency and the politics of ethnicity (2. impr. ed.). London: Zed Books. ISBN   0862328683.
  4. "About | Official Karen National Union Webpage". Archived from the original on 21 January 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Burma: Abuses Linked to the Fall of Manerplaw". www.hrw.org. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 "The Politics of Pressure: The 1990s and the Fall of Manerplaw". www.ibiblio.org. The Museum of Karen History and Culture. Archived from the original on 27 October 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  7. Smith, Martin John (1991). Burma: insurgency and the politics of ethnicity (2. impr. ed.). London: Zed Books. pp. 283–284. ISBN   0862328683.
  8. "The history of Kawthoolei (Karen State): The KNU to fall of Manerplaw". Hartford Web Publishing. 1995. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  9. "Government of Myanmar (Burma) – KNU". ucdp.uu.se. Uppsala Conflict Data Program. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  10. "Karen stronghold falls to the Burmese junta". Reuters. 21 February 1995.
  11. South, Ashley (2011). Burma's Longest war. Anatomy of the Karen conflict. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Transnational Institute and Burma Center Netherlands. pp. 10, 14 and 16.

17°43′30″N97°44′06″E / 17.725°N 97.735°E / 17.725; 97.735