Armed Conflict in Karen Area in the Era of Myanmar 2021 Military Coup
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.19184/csi.v5i1.45594Keywords:
Armed Conflict in Karen State,2021 Military Coup, Karen Conflicting Party, Karen Conflict analysis,Peace and conflictAbstract
Although the revolution has been going on for more than 70 years, the Myanmar military and allies are fighting the KNU and its allies' attitudes, behaviors, and contradictions under Saw Ba U Gyi's four guiding principles of the revolution using the excuse of fighting for autonomy and secession of armed organizations from the Union. Peace talks with the State Law and Order Restoration Council in 1994 failed. Peace talks and a nationwide ceasefire occurred in 2015. Since 2018, sporadic clashes have occurred due to both sides' lack of disarmament and political guarantees. After the 2021 coup, three attitudes, behaviors, and contradictions have emerged, resulting in daily battles. However, the Karen people are no longer fighting for their liberation, most Burmans are joining the struggle, and federal democracy is becoming clearer. Since the coup was staged to rig the 2020 election, the military has been fighting to suppress the rule of law. The chairman of the Japanese Nippon Foundation and the KNU met on March 10, 2022, to coordinate the 2012 NCA between the conflicting parties (Esther, 2022), but progress has yet to be made. In conclusion, peace and conflict are always in flux, and a compromise is needed to reach a ceasefire. The Myanmar military held similar talks but could not guarantee the outcome, the coup disrupted the peace process, and armed conflict peaked after 2021.
Keywords: Armed Conflict in Karen State,2021 Military Coup, Karen Conflicting Party, Karen Conflict analysis,Peace and conflict
Downloads
References
Adams, B., and J. Saunders. ‘They Came and Destroyed Our Village Again’ : The Plight of Internally Displaced Persons in Karen State’. New York: Human Rights Watch, 9 June 2005.
ANI. ‘Asean Should Retain Brunei’s Erywan as Special Envoy to Myanmar under Cambodia’s Chairmanship. [Online] The Star’, 2022. https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2021/11/01/asean-should-retain-brunei039s-erywan-as-special-envoy-to-myanmar-under-cambodia039s-chairmanship.
Borger, Julian, Bastien Inzaurralde, Cath Levett, Chris Newell, Finbarr Sheehy, and Phil Maynard. ‘Vetoed! What’s Wrong with the UN Security Council – and How It Could Do Better’. The Guardian, 2018, sec. World news. https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2015/sep/23/un-security-council-failing-70-years.
Burma Partnership. ‘Karen Civil Society Has Lost Trust in the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) Negotiations as a Gateway to Political Dialogue’. Karen Civil Society Organizations, 2015.
David Thaw, S. ‘Choosing to Engage: Strategic Considerations for the Karen National Union | Conciliation Resources’. C-r.Org (blog), 2022. https://www.c-r.org/accord/engaging-armed-groups/choosing-engage-strategic-considerations-karen-national-union.
Development Media Group. ‘Driver Killed as Military, KNLA Clash along Myawaddy-Kawkareik Stretch of Asia Highway’. Development Media Group, 2022. true://www.dmediag.com/news/stretch-of-asia-highway.html.
Esteban, Joan, Laura Mayoral, and Debraj Ray. ‘Ethnicity and Conflict: An Empirical Study’. American Economic Review 102, no. 4 (June 2012): 1310–42. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.102.4.1310.
Esther, J., and Maung Shwe Wah. ‘Japanese Envoy Meets Ethnic Armed Organisations in Northern Thailand’. Myanmar Now, 2022. https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/japanese-envoy-meets-ethnic-armed-organisations-in-northern-thailand/.
Fearon, James D. ‘Rationalist Explanations for War’. International Organization 49, no. 03 (1995): 379–414. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818300033324.
Fisher, Roger, William Ury, and B. Patton. Getting to YES : Negotiating Agreement without Giving In. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1986. https://www.pon.harvard.edu/shop/getting-to-yes-negotiating-agreement-without-giving-in/.
Galtung, Johan. Peace and Conflict Studies: A Reader. Sage Publications Inc, 2012.
Galtung, Johan and Undp/Undro Disaster Management Training Programme. ‘Conflict Transformation by Peaceful Means : The Transcend Method : Participants’ Manual : Trainers’ Manual’. Geneva: United Nations Disaster Management Training Programme, 2000.
Human Rights Watch. ‘Myanmar: ASEAN’s Failed “5-Point Consensus” a Year On’, 2022. https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/22/myanmar-aseans-failed-5-point-consensus-year.
Iji, Tetsuro. ‘The UN as an International Mediator: From the Post–Cold War Era to the Twenty-First Century’. Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations, 23, no. 1 (19 August 2017). https://doi.org/10.1163/19426720-02301008.
Johnstone, Naomi, and Isak and Svensson. ‘Belligerents and Believers: Exploring Faith-Based Mediation in Internal Armed Conflicts’. Politics, Religion & Ideology 14, no. 4 (1 December 2013): 557–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/21567689.2013.829046.
Jollife, K. and Asia Foundation. ‘Ceasefires, Governance, and Development : The Karen National Union in Times of Change’. Bahan, Yangon, Myanmar: Asia Foundation, 2016.
Kaicome, Jittrapon. ‘Marking 70 Years of War in Myanmar’. The Diplomat, 2019. https://thediplomat.com/2019/02/marking-70-years-of-war-in-myanmar/.
Karen Human Rights Group. ‘Minorities under Threat, Diversity in Danger: Patterns of Systemic Discrimination in Southeast Myanmar’. Karen Human Rights Group, 17 November 2020. https://www.khrg.org/2020/11/minorities-under-threat-diversity-danger-patterns-systemic-discrimination-southeast-myanmar.
Keenan, P. ‘Saw Ba U Gyi -Voices of the Revolution. (KHCPS), p.17.’ Karen History and Culture Preservation Society, 2008.
Kichaven, J. ‘Articles | Expert Commentary’. IRMI.Com (blog), 2004. www.irmi.com. Available at: https://www.irmi.com/articles/expert-commentary/the-mediators.
Lipes, J. ‘Myanmar Signs Historic Cease-Fire Deal With Eight Ethnic Armies’. Radio Free Asia, 2015. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/deal-10152015175051.html.
Loong, Shona. ‘The Karen National Union in Post-Coup Myanmar’. Stimson Center, 2022. https://www.stimson.org/2022/the-karen-national-union-in-post-coup-myanmar/.
Mason, Simon A. ‘Mediation and Facilitation in Peace Processes’. International Relations and Security Network. ETH Zurich: Center for Security Studies, 2007.
Ministry of Defence -NUG. ‘People’s Defence Force – ကာကွယ်ရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာန’, 2010. https://mod.nugmyanmar.org/en/peoples-defence-force/.
Ministry of Foreign Affair and Kingdom of Thailand. ‘Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Proposed Way Forward For ASEAN in Addressing the Situation in Myanmar in the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting in Jakarta’. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, 2021. https://www.mfa.go.th/en/content/dpmfmthaiaseanleadersmeeting24apr2021?page=5d5bd3cb15e39c306002a9ac&menu=5d5bd3cb15e39c306002a9ad.
Myanmar Peace Monitor. ‘ABSDF» Myanmar Peace Monitor’. Myanmar Peace Monitor, 2013. https://www.mmpeacemonitor.org/1527/absdf/.
———. ‘Border Guard Force Scheme» Myanmar Peace Monitor. [Online] Myanmar Peace Monitor. Available at: [Accessed].’ Myanmar Peace Monitor. Accessed 15 March 2022. https://www.mmpeacemonitor.org/border-guard-force-scheme/.
Powell, Robert. ‘Bargaining Theory and International Conflict’. American Political Science Review 5 (1 June 2002): 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.5.092601.141138.
Reiter, Dan. ‘Exploring the Bargaining Model of War’. Perspectives on Politics 1, no. 1 (March 2003): 27–43. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592703000033.
Reuters. ‘Fighting Erupts in Myanmar; Junta to “Consider” ASEAN Plan’. Reuters, 27 April 2021. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/fighting-erupts-myanmar-near-thai-border-thai-witnesses-2021-04-27/.
Sandford, Steve. ‘Conflict Resumes in Karen State After Myanmar Army Returns’. VOA, 2018. https://www.voanews.com/a/conflict-resumes-in-karen-state-after-myanmar-army-returns/4417421.html.
Schmidt-Leukel, Perry, Hans-Peter Grosshans, and Madlen Krueger. Ethnic and Religious Diversity in Myanmar. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2022.
Sears, David O., Leonie Huddy, and R. Jervis, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Selth, Andrew. Be Careful What You Wish for : The National League for Democacy and Government in Myanmar. Brisbane, Qld: Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University, 2017.
Shields, Patricia. ‘Limits of Negative Peace, Faces of Positive Peace’. The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters 47, no. 3 (1 September 2017): 6–12. https://doi.org/10.55540/0031-1723.2868.
South, Ashley. ‘Burma’s Longest War: Anatomy of the Karen Conflict’. Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2011.
———. ‘Karen Nationalist Communities: The “Problem” of Diversity’. Contemporary Southeast Asia 29, no. 1 (April 2007): 55–76. https://doi.org/10.1355/cs29-1c.
Strangio, Sebastian. ‘Myanmar Junta Labels Shadow Government “Terrorists”’. The Diplomat, 2021. https://thediplomat.com/2021/05/myanmar-junta-labels-shadow-government-terrorists/.
The Irrawaddy. ‘Myanmar Ceasefire Agreement Is Void: KNU Concerned Group’. The Irrawaddy (blog), 3 September 2021. https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-ceasefire-agreement-is-void-knu-concerned-group.html.
The Karen Women’s Organization (KWO). ‘Shattering Silences: Karen Women Speak out about the Burmese Military Regime’s Use of Rape as a Strategy of War in Karen State’. Karen Women’s Organization, 2004.
Tursunova, Zulfiya. ‘■ Rosenberg, Marshall B., 2005. Speak Peace in a World of Conflict: What You Say Next Will Change Your World. Encinitas, CA: Puddledancer. 240 Pp. ISBN 1892005174’. Journal of Peace Research 44, no. 5 (1 September 2007): 640–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/00223433070440050715.
United Nations. ‘Special Envoy Myanmar | Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs’. dppa.un.org, 2018. https://dppa.un.org/en/mission/special-envoy-myanmar https://dppa.un.org/en/mission/special-envoy-myanmar.
Valdman, S.M. ‘ASEAN Summit on Myanmar and the 5-Point Consensus’. Asialink, 2021. https://asialink.unimelb.edu.au/insights/asean-summit-on-myanmar-and-the-5-point-consensus.
Wallensteen, Peter, and Isak Svensson. ‘Talking Peace: International Mediation in Armed Conflicts’. Journal of Peace Research 51, no. 2 (1 March 2014): 315–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343313512223.
Webel, Charles P., and Jorgen Johnsen, eds. Handbook of Peace and Conflict Studies. London: Routledge, 2012.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 KYAW LWIN
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
