KNPLF to Split?

A minority faction of the Karenni National People’s Liberation Front (KNPLF) is to transfer its troops into a border guard force in accordance with the terms set by the Burmese military regime, according to sources close to the KNPLF.

The left-wing KNPLF split from the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) in 1978 due to ideological differences. The KNPLF then cultivated good relations with the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), receiving training, supplies and armed support.

The KNPLF signed a cease-fire agreement with the Burmese regime in May 1994 and has since operated as a militia for the Burmese army. Members of the KNPLF have received economic concessions from the military junta, and unconfirmed reports suggest that the KNPLF’s strength has increased to an estimated 4,000 armed men.

The sources said that the KNPLF’s Chairman Sandar and Secretary Maj Shwe War have the loyalty of the majority of senior commanders of KNPLF battalions; however a faction led by Maj Tun Kyaw has decided to split from the ethnic army to join the Burmese regional command as a border guard force.

The military junta has given the KNPLF until Oct. 27 to announce whether it will join forces with the Burmese army.

The military government’s plan will offer more control of the armed cease-fire groups, such as the KNPLF, to the Burmese military, because border guard battalions would consist of 326 troops, including three officers and 27 ranked soldiers from the Burmese armed forces.

Under Naypyidaw’s plan, the border guard forces would only be mobilized within their own territories, where they would maintain security alongside the Burmese regional command.

A source close to the KNPLF told The Irrawaddy: “Vice-chairman Maj Tun Kyaw said he would integrate his battalions into the border guard force process, because he expects benefits from the deal.”

Sources from Hpasawng Township in Karenni State said that Tun Kyaw had been in Hpasawng, 95 km [60 miles] south of the state capital, Loikaw, since Oct. 18 and had held public seminars to explain his stance on why the Karenni should accept the junta’s border guard plan.

Meanwhile, tensions remain high between the Burmese army and the KNPLF with reports that the Burmese military wants to build a highway from Hpasawng to Kyauk Nyat, which would pass through KNPLF-controlled areas. Sources say the KNPLF has refused to accept the highway proposal.

A Hpasawng-Kyauk Nyat highway would be a strategic benefit for Burmese regional command in Karenni State, offering supply routes for food and ammunition for its battalions, which could then sustain an offensive against the Karen National Liberation Army’s Brigade 5 in northern Karen State in the coming dry season.