A Lesson from the Past: the fate of the Karen Revolutionary Council

A Lesson from the Past: the fate of the Karen Revolutionary Council

A year ago in April 2009 Burma’s military rulers proposed that all seventeen armed cease-fire groups transform their armies into Border Guard Forces (BGF) administered by the junta. Tension has increased in recent months between the Burmese military and the New Mon State Party (NMSP) and other ethnic resistance groups who have rejected the regime’s order to transform their armies into a border guard force.

According to local news, the armed wing of the New Mon State Party, the Mon National Liberation Army, has relocated all its ammunition and military hardware to a more secure area obviously in preparation for a conflict. Pressure from the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to coerce the cease-fire groups into the BGF unavoidably means that the NMSP will be preparing for the worst.   Now is a timely reminder to look back on history.