Karen BGF Talks Break Down; Tensions Remain High

Chit Thu, left, and Maw Tho at the 2010 initiation ceremony for DKBA members who joined the Burmese government's border guard force. (Photo: Border Guard Force).

Attempted negotiations aimed at resolving a conflict between a pro-government Border Guard Force (BGF) in Karen State and a faction that broke away from the BGF several months after it was formed last year have failed, according to Karen sources.

The talks were initiated in early July by government loyalist Chit Thu, a leading figure in the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), which was officially disbanded late last year to form the BGF. They were held at the headquarters of the breakaway BGF faction in Myaing Gyi Nyu, in southern Karen State's Hlaing Bwe Township.


The talks were aimed at easing tensions between government forces and former BGF troops led by Lt-Col Po Bi. Around 1,000 soldiers under Po Bi's command broke away from the BGF in May after deciding to remain as members of the DKBA. Po Bi now leads four battalions.

Several days ago, Chit Thu traveled to Myaing Gyi Nyu accompanied by at least 20 pickup trucks carrying BGF troops to meet with Po Bi and attempt to persuade him to rejoin the pro-government force, according to Brig-Gen Johnny, the commander of Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 7.

The talks failed, however, because Po Bi rejected Chit Thu’s offers, said Johnny.

The move came after military officials in Naypyidaw ordered Chit Thu to conduct a meeting with the renegade Karen BGF faction led by Po Bi, said DKBA sources.

Htee Moo, a DKBA source, reported that local villagers in Myaing Gyi Nyu fear the breakdown of the talks could result in major fighting between the two Karen armed groups led by Chit Thu and Po Bi. Some villagers have already moved to villages or towns nearby Myaing Gyi Nyu, he added.

However, Po Bi and his troops have since left Myaing Gyi Nyu and taken up positions near the town, according to Johnny.

“He [Po Bi] doesn’t want to open the front line in Myaing Gyi Nyu as temples and religious halls could be destroyed if major fighting breaks out,” said Johnny.

The KNLA has also vowed to assist the Po Bi-led renegade Karen group if the government and its ally, the Chit Thu-led Karen BGF battalions, launch a major attack against them. Chit Thu still has influence over four remaining Karen BGF Battalions.

“The Burmese government wants Karens to fight against Karens, so they asked Chit Thu to negotiate with Po Bi,” said Johnny.

The DKBA split from its mother organization, the Karen National Union—the political wing of the KNLA—in 1995 and signed a ceasefire agreement with the government. The DKBA was formed into BGF battalions under Burmese army command in 2010. However, a DKBA brigade under the command of Brig-Gen Saw Lah Pwe rejected the move and has since allied itself with the KNLA.

Source:http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21643