KNLA Leaders Still Barred from Mae Sot

By LAWI WENG

Senior military officials of the Karen National Union (KNU) have not been allowed to re-enter Mae Sot, Thailand, since Thai authorities forced them to leave the country on February 25, according to a KNU leader.

Saw David Taw, a member of KNU central executive committee, said that Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) senior leaders have been denied permission to re-enter Mae Sot since they were forced to return to Burma.

“Many are worried that they can’t ever return to Mae Sot,” he said.

The Thai army reportedly told the KNU that the expelled officials must obtain permission from Thai authorities to re-enter Mae Sot and must not engage in military activities while on Thai territory.

KNU leaders believe the recent pressure is a result of improved bilateral trade on the Thai-Burmese border.

Saw David Taw said, “The Thai policy today is different than before. They don’t want us to live on their territory, and many KNU leaders are having a difficult time.”

The KNLA has fought against the Burmese government since 1948. In 1995, it lost control of its former headquarters at Manerplaw in Karen State. It later shifted its command center close to the Thai-Burmese border area.

Since then, the KNU and KNLA have continued to attack Burmese army units by forming small units and basing themselves in temporary jungle camps along the Thai-Burmese border.

Meanwhile, there are reports that the Burmese government has reinforced troops in Karen State in preparation for a dry-season military offensive against the Karen army.

Military sources said that the Burmese junta has deployed more infantry battalions and a group of armored personnel carriers (APCs) in Kya Inn Seikgyi Township, a so-called “black area” in Karen State where the KNLA is active.