Mizzima News

Mae Sot (Mizzima) – For more than 60 years the Karen National Union (KNU) and Burma’s ruling military junta have been at war. Now, after a hiatus of 14 years, the two sides are again to hear each other out, in a bid to thrash out a deal to end the bloodshed.

Thailand, the current chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – of which Burma is a member – has cast itself in the role of mediator.

KNU Vice-President David Takapaw, speaking from the Thai-Burma border, said the KNU was committed to peaceful resolution of the conflict and would certainly meet with Burma’s generals.

“Of course we will meet with them, but not in Burma, it must be in a neutral location,” he said.

The Karen National Liberation Army's (KNLA) Colonel Nerdah Mya, the eldest son of the late General Bo Mya – former KNU president, has welcomed the talks.

“I really don't know much of the details…but I think if both sides are sincere then such an opportunity is to be welcomed,” said Colonel Nerdah.

History shows past attempts at negotiation have failed dismally, a primary reason being the junta’s insistence that the Karen lay down their arms.

And though both sides have much to gain from an amenable deal, there is also much to be lost.

Burma’s generals, who have promised the international community for the past 14 years that they are following a “roadmap to democracy”, are hoping elections planned for next year will lend the regime a veneer of legitimacy.

Ethnic minorities, however, have largely rejected the 2010 elections, labeling them a farce to re-open economic relations with the West.

But the KNU is at the weakest point of its six-decade battle for recognition, and the prospect of at least a lapse in hostilities may be inviting.

On Wednesday and Thursday of this week, KNU leaders were locked in meetings discussing the composition of any delegation to meet with Burmese government representatives.

The Thai offer to mediate comes at a time when the kingdom has been exerting intense pressure on the KNU, which once enjoyed relative freedom of action on Thai territory opposite Burma – a stretch of land renowned for smuggling and back-door business dealings.

That Thailand should now offer its assistance in brokering peace between the warring factions is no coincidence. Apart from contract farming, far more critical bilateral business deals have been signed between Burma and Thailand.

However, as hostilities continue to flare across the border between the KNU and Burmese Army, peace may very well yet again prove elusive.