BURMA: INCREASED ACTIVITY IN KAREN STATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 001168 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MLS, DRL, AND IO PACOM FOR FPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/06/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM BM SUBJECT: BURMA: INCREASED ACTIVITY IN KAREN STATE RANGOON 00001168 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Pol Officer Sean O'Neill for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. Karen National Union contacts told us the Burma Army has been increasing its presence and activities in Karen State. A recent announcement that the KNU will close a portion of a major road between Karen and Mon States was not approved by KNU headquarters and likely came from local commanders. Kachin Independence Organization contacts have been unable to confirm Mizzima News reports that tanks have been seen on the streets of Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, but continued to report increased Burma Army activity in the region. End Summary. Karen Violence Greater -------------- ¶2. (C) Karen National Union (KNU) Intelligence Chief Isaac Po told Poloff the Burma Army has recently increased its presence and activities in Karen State. He reported that a division from the Coastal Command entered the Duplaya District to conduct joint operations with existing units in the area. Normally troops are rotated every February, but he believed the Burma Army has surged its presence in order to build more roads and clear-cut trees for logging. Daily skirmishes between the Burma Army and KNLA have resulted in numerous casualties, higher than usual in the normally violent dry season. Isaac Po also told us that the Burma Army has used Democratic Karen Buddhist Army soldiers as paramilitary forces to attack the KNU. Politically active Karen, Dr. Simon Tha, corroborated his report, adding that the Burma Army also asked the Karen People's Front (KPF) to perform similar operations, but the KPF refused. ¶3. (C) Both Isaac Po and Simon Tha confirmed that the KNU announced it will close the KNU-controlled portion of a major road between Karen and Mon States. Isaac Po said he did not know about the announcement ahead of time and would not speculate on the reasons behind it. Both of them pointed out that this is the first time the KNU has announced such a move, and noted that the road had benefited both the KNU and Burma Army in the past resulting in previous tacit agreements between the two to keep the road open in the dry season. Isaac Po speculated that this decision came from local commanders, rather than the KNU headquarters. ¶4. (C) Isaac Po also discussed limited but increased cooperation among ethnic groups to take action against the Burma Army. Simon Tha, while not mentioning cooperation among these armed groups, said that decentralized networks of NGOs and religious groups throughout the area have increased cooperation with the KNU as well. He thought, however, that the danger of being part of such a network decreased participants' ability to carry out significant coordinated efforts. Other News -------------- ¶5. (C) Kachin Independence Organization Captain Ko Lone Taung said he had heard nothing to confirm Mizzima News reports that tanks were seen on the streets of Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State. ¶6. (C) Oo Win Naing, a member of the Free Funeral Society, confirmed a media report that the Burmese authorities have banned a wedding advertisement for the daughter of prominent actor and political activist Kyaw Thu. Kyaw Thu has already been banned by the regime's censorship board for his involvement in the September protests. His daughter is resident in Australia and is scheduled to be married in Sydney on December 16. ¶7. (C) Comment: While it is difficult to determine details about troop movement in Karen State, our various contacts confirmed that activity is abnormally high this year, even for the usually violent dry season. Time will tell whether the reported cooperation among the various armed groups and NGOs will materialize into a larger, constructive movement RANGOON 00001168 002.2 OF 002 against the Than Shwe regime. In 1988 distrust of the ethnic Burmans prevailed over ethnic minority desires for greater freedom. This year, at least there is discussion of the possibility of cooperation. End Comment. VILLAROSA