News and Analysis - 01 January 2007: Karen National Union Leader Bo Mya Dies

On 24 December 2006, Bo Mya, the legendary 79 year old former leader of the Karen National Union (KNU) died in a Thai hospital near the Burmese border after a long illness.  Bo Mya, who earned his military credentials fighting with the allies against the Japanese during World War II, was an icon of the Burmese separatist insurgency. His drive for an autonomous Karen state began shortly after Burmese impendence in 1948 and continued right up until his death. The Karen were at the apex of their strength in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s but saw a serious reversal of fortune with the splintering of the organization and the subsequent fall of their Mannerplaw headquarters stronghold in 1995. Since then, they never recovered their former strength, and have, over time, become increasingly marginalized. (Comment – The Burmese Army continues to work slowly but relentlessly to whittle down the remaining core of insurgents along the Thai border. Without sanctuary in Thailand, it is likely the KNU would have been defeated a decade ago, but even with limited sanctuary, unless there is a tremendous shift in their fortunes, it is likely that the Burmese government/military will continue to slowly erode their powerbase, and in a few years, the KNU as an insurgent group will no longer represent an armed threat.) [slr]