Contents

1 Karen people 1
1.1 Origins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.4 Political history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.4.1 British period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.4.2 World War II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.4.3 Post-war . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.4.4 Karen National Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.4.5 Insurgency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4.6 Democratic Karen Buddhist Army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.5 Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.6 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.6.1 Animism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.6.2 Buddhism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.6.3 Christianity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.7 Karen Flag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.8 Kawthoolei . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.9 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.10 Footnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.11 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.11.1 Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.11.2 Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.12 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2 Democratic Karen Buddhist Army 11
2.1 1990s and 2000s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2 2010s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.3 DKBA 5 Faction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.4 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.5 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.6 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
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3 Gods Army (revolutionary group) 13
3.1 Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.2 Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.3 Surrender and disbandment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.4 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.5 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4 Kantarawadi 15
4.1 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.1.1 Rulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.2 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.3 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
5 The Karen Hilltribes Trust 17
5.1 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5.2 Collaborating charities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5.3 Media links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5.4 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5.5 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6 Karen National Liberation Army 18
6.1 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
6.2 Recent history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
6.3 Events in 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
6.4 Foreigners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
6.5 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
6.6 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
7 Karen National Union 20
7.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
7.2 Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.3 Direction (2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.4 Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.4.1 1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.4.2 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.4.3 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.4.4 2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.4.5 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.4.6 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.4.7 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.4.8 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.4.9 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.5 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
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7.6 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
7.7 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
8 Karen of the Andamans 23
8.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
9 Karenni Army 24
9.1 Karenni State and its short history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
9.2 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
9.3 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
10 Karenni States 26
10.1 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
10.1.1 British rule in Burma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
10.1.2 Post-independence Burma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
10.2 States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
10.2.1 Western Karenni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
10.2.2 Kantarawadi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
10.3 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
10.4 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
10.5 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
11 Kawthoolei 28
11.1 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
11.2 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
12 Kayan people (Burma) 30
12.1 Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
12.1.1 Present settlement of the Kayans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
12.2 Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
12.2.1 Brass coils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
12.2.2 Traditional religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
12.2.3 Current religious practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
12.3 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
12.4 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
12.5 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
13 Pa-O National Organization 34
13.1 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
13.2 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
13.3 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
14 Red Karen 35
14.1 Karen-Ni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
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14.2 Karenni States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
14.3 Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
14.4 Kayah Traditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
14.5 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
14.6 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
15 S'gaw people 37
15.1 Classication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
15.2 Geographic distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
15.3 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
16 Western Karenni 38
16.1 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
16.2 States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
16.2.1 Kyebogyi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
16.2.2 Bawlake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
16.2.3 Naungpale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
16.2.4 Nammekon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
16.3 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
16.4 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
17 Saw Ba U Gyi 40
17.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
18 Louisa Benson Craig 41
18.1 Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
18.2 In Perpetuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
18.3 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
19 Smith Dun 42
19.1 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
19.2 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
20 Johnny and Luther Htoo 43
20.1 Formation of Gods Army (1997) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
20.2 Worldwide attention (1999-2000) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
20.3 Surrender and life after Gods Army (2001- ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
20.4 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
20.5 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
21 Ka Hsaw Wa 45
21.1 Biography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
21.2 Awards and recognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
21.3 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
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21.4 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
22 Pascal Khoo Thwe 47
22.1 Biography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
22.2 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
22.3 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
23 Cynthia Maung 48
23.1 Early life and education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
23.2 Medical career . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
23.2.1 Mae Tao Clinic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
23.3 Health services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
23.4 Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
23.5 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
23.6 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
23.7 About Mae Tao Clinic and Dr. Cynthia Maung . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
23.8 Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
24 Bo Mya 52
24.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
25 Nant Bwa Bwa Phan 53
25.1 Footnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
26 Bo Nat Khann Mway 54
26.1 A quote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
26.2 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
26.3 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
27 Zoya Phan 55
27.1 Biography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
27.1.1 Early life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
27.1.2 Bangkok University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
27.2 Political activism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
27.2.1 Little Daughter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
27.3 Personal life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
27.4 Awards and recognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
27.5 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
27.6 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
28 San C. Po 59
28.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
28.2 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
vi CONTENTS
29 Saw Bwe Hmu 60
29.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
30 Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan 61
30.1 Early life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
30.2 Activism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
30.3 Personal life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
30.4 Assassination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
30.5 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
30.6 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
31 Tha Byu 63
31.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
31.2 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
32 David Tharckabaw 64
32.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
32.2 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
33 Win Maung 65
33.1 Biography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
33.2 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
33.3 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
34 Naw Zipporah Sein 66
34.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
34.2 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
35 Karen languages 67
35.1 Classication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
35.1.1 Manson (2011) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
35.1.2 Shintani (2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
35.2 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
35.3 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
36 Bwe Karen language 69
36.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
37 Eastern Pwo language 70
37.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
38 Geba Karen language 71
38.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
39 Geko Karen 72
CONTENTS vii
39.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
40 Kayaw language 73
40.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
41 Lahta language 74
41.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
42 Northern Pwo language 75
42.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
43 Pa'O language 76
43.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
44 Padaung language 77
44.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
45 Phrae Pwo language 78
45.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
46 Pwo Karen languages 79
46.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
47 Red Karen language 80
47.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
47.2 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
48 S'gaw Karen language 81
48.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
48.2 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
49 Western Pwo language 82
49.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
49.2 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
49.2.1 Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
49.2.2 Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
49.2.3 Content license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Chapter 1
Karen people
Karen state in Burma
The Karen, Kayin, Kariang or Yang people (Per Ploan
Poe or Ploan in Poe Karen and Pwa Ka Nyaw or Kanyaw
in SgawKaren; , pronounced: [kj l mj]; Thai:
or ) refer to a number of Sino-Tibetan lan-
guage speaking ethnic groups which reside primarily in
Karen State, southern and southeastern Burma (Myan-
mar). The Karen make up approximately 7 percent of
the total Burmese population with approximately 5 mil-
lion people.
[2]
A large number of Karen have migrated to
Karen ag
Thailand, having settled mostly on the ThaiKaren bor-
der.
The Karen are often confused with the Red Karen
(Karenni), which is one of the tribes of Kayah in Kayah
State, Myanmar. One subgroup of the Karenni, the
Padaung tribe, are best known for the neck rings worn
by the women of this group of people. This tribe reside
at the border region of Burma and Thailand.
Some of the Karen, led primarily by the Karen Na-
tional Union (KNU), have waged a war against the central
Burmese government since early 1949. The aim of the
KNU at rst was independence. Since 1976 the armed
group has called for a federal system rather than an inde-
pendent Karen State.
1.1 Origins
Karen legends refer to a 'river of running sand' which an-
cestors reputedly crossed. Many Karen think this refers
to the Gobi Desert, although they have lived in Burma for
centuries. The Karen constitute the third biggest ethnic
population in Burma, after the Bamars and Shans.
[3]
The term Karen is an umbrella term that refers
to a heterogeneous lot of ethnic groups that do not
share a common language, culture, religion or material
characteristics.
[4]
A pan-Karen ethnic identity is a rela-
tively modern creation, established in the 1800s with the
conversion of some Karens to Christianity and shaped by
various British colonial policies and practices and the in-
troduction of Christianity.
[5][6]
1
2 CHAPTER 1. KAREN PEOPLE
Karen boy with traditional costume for Karen New Year
Karen is an Anglicisation of the Burmese word "Kayin"
(), whose etymology is unclear.
[4]
The word, which
was originally a derogatory term referring to non-
Buddhist ethnic groups, may have come from the Mon
language, or is a corruption of Kanyan, the name of a
vanished civilization.
[4]
In pre-colonial times, the low-lying Burmese and Mon-
speaking kingdoms recognized two general categories of
Karen, the Talaing Kayin (), generally lowlan-
ders who were recognized as the original settlers and
essential to Mon court life, and the Karen (),
highlanders who were subordinated or assimilated by the
Bamar.
[7]
1.2 Distribution
The Karen people live mostly in the hills bordering
the eastern mountainous region and Irrawaddy delta
S'gaw Karen girls of Khun Yuam District, Mae Hong Son
Province, Thailand
Entrance of a Karen house in Northern Thailand
of Burma,
[8]
primarily in Karen State, with some in
Kayah State, southern Shan State, Ayeyarwady Region,
Tanintharyi Region, Bago Division and in western Thai-
land.
The total number of Karen is dicult to estimate. The
last reliable census of Burma was conducted in 1931. A
2006 VOA article cites an estimate of seven million in
Burma. There are another 400,000
[9]
Karen in Thailand,
where they are by far the largest of the hill tribes. Some
Karen have left the refugee camps in Thailand to resettle
elsewhere, including in North America, Australia, New
1.4. POLITICAL HISTORY 3
Densely populated Karen village in Northern Thailand
Karen terrace elds in Northern Thailand
Zealand, and the Scandinavian countries. In 2011, the
Karen diaspora population was estimated to be approxi-
mately 67,000.
[10]
1.3 Population
No one really knows how many Karen people there are.
There has never been an accurate census in Burma. When
Burma was a British colony only Christian and Animist
Karen were recorded as Karen: Buddhist Karens were
recorded as being ethnic Burmans.
More recent estimates of the size of the Karen are dis-
torted by politics. In 1997 Burmese Army General
Maung Aye walked on a Karen ag and announced that
in twenty years you will only be able to nd Karen people
in a museum. The Burmese military regime claims there
are less than a million Karen people, but this is clearly
politically motivated and a gross underestimate. Some
Karen leaders claim that there are twenty million Karen
people in Burma or about forty per cent of the popu-
lation. This is also obviously politically motivated and a
gross overestimate.
More realistic estimates state there are between six and
seven million Karen people in Burma. There are about
300,000 Thai-Karen people living in Thailand. There
are probably even more Karen living in Thailand as illegal
migrants, but it is impossible to know how many.
1.4 Political history
Further information: Internal conict in Burma
A Karen village in Thailand.
1.4.1 British period
Following British victories in the three Anglo-Burmese
wars, Burma was annexed as a province of British In-
dia in 1886. Baptist missionaries introduced Christian-
ity to Burma beginning in 1830, and they were success-
ful in converting many Karen.
[11]
Christian Karens were
favoured by the British colonial authorities and were given
opportunities not available to the Burmese ethnic ma-
jority, including military recruitment and seats in the
legislature.
[12]
Some Christian Karens began asserting an
identity apart from their non-Christian counterparts, and
many became leaders of Karen ethno-nationalist organi-
zations, including the Karen National Union.
[6]
In 1881 the Karen National Associations (KNA) was
founded by western-educated Christian Karens to repre-
sent Karen interests with the British. Despite its Chris-
tian leadership, the KNA sought to unite all Karens of
dierent regional and religious backgrounds into one
organization.
[13]
They argued at the 1917 Montagu
Chelmsford hearings in India that Burma was not yet in a
t state for self-government". Three years later, after sub-
mitting a criticism of the 1920 Craddock Reforms, they
won 5 (and later 12) seats in the Legislative Council of
130 (expanded to 132) members. The majority Buddhist
Karens were not organized until 1939 with the formation
of a Buddhist KNA.
[14]
In 1938 the British colonial administration recognized
Karen New Year as a public holiday.
[14][15]
4 CHAPTER 1. KAREN PEOPLE
1.4.2 World War II
During World War II, when the Japanese occupied the re-
gion, long-term tensions between the Karen and Burma
turned into open ghting. As a consequence, many
villages were destroyed and massacres committed by
both the Japanese and the Burma Independence Army
(BIA) troops who helped the Japanese invade the coun-
try. Among the victims were a pre-war Cabinet minis-
ter, Saw Pe Tha, and his family. A government report
later claimed the 'excesses of the BIA' and 'the loyalty of
the Karens towards the British' as the reasons for these
attacks. The intervention by Colonel Suzuki Keiji, the
Japanese commander of the BIA, after meeting a Karen
delegation led by SawTha Din, appears to have prevented
further atrocities.
[14]
1.4.3 Post-war
The Karen people aspired to have the regions where they
formed the majority turned into a subdivision or state
within Burma similar to what the Shan, Kachin and Chin
peoples had been given. A goodwill mission led by Saw
Tha Din and Saw Ba U Gyi to London in August 1946
failed to receive any encouragement from the British gov-
ernment for any separatist demands.
In January 1947 a delegation of representatives of the
Governors Executive Council headed by Aung San was
invited to London to negotiate for the Aung San-Attlee
Treaty, none of the ethnic minority groups were included
by the British government. The following month at the
Panglong Conference, when an agreement was signed be-
tween Aung San as head of the interim Burmese govern-
ment and the Shan, Kachin and Chin leaders, the Karen
were present only as observers; the Mon and Arakanese
were also absent.
[16]
The British promised to consider the case of the Karen
after the war. While the situation of the Karen was dis-
cussed, nothing practical was done before the British left
Burma. The 1947 Constitution, drawn without Karen
participation due to their boycott of the elections to the
Constituent Assembly, also failed to address the Karen
question specically and clearly, leaving it to be dis-
cussed only after independence. The Shan and Karenni
states were given the right to secession after 10 years, the
Kachin their own state, and the Chin a special division.
The Mon and Arakanese of Ministerial Burma were not
given any consideration.
[14]
1.4.4 Karen National Union
In early February 1947, the Karen National Union (KNU)
was formed at a Karen Congress attended by 700 dele-
gates from the Karen National Associations, both Baptist
and Buddhist (KNA - founded 1881), the Karen Cen-
tral Organisation (KCO) and its youth wing, the Karen
Youth Organisation (KYO), at Vinton Memorial Hall in
Yangon. The meeting called for a Karen state with a
seaboard, an increased number of seats (25%) in the Con-
stituent Assembly, a new ethnic census, and a continu-
ance of Karen units in the armed forces. The deadline
of March 3 passed without a reply from the British gov-
ernment, and Saw Ba U Gyi, the president of the KNU,
resigned from the Governors Executive Council the next
day.
[14]
Judson Memorial Baptist Church is the main place of worship for
the Karen community in Mandalay, Myanmar
After the war ended, Burma was granted independence in
January 1948, and the Karen, led by the KNU, attempted
to co-exist peacefully with the Burman ethnic majority.
Karen people held leading positions in both the govern-
ment and the army. In the fall of 1948, the Burmese gov-
ernment, led by U Nu, began raising and arming irregu-
lar political militias known as Sitwundan. These militias
were under the command of Major Gen. Ne Win and
outside the control of the regular army. In January 1949,
some of these militias went on a rampage through Karen
communities.
The Karen National Union has maintained its structure
and purpose from the 1950s onward. The KNU acts a
governmental presence for the Karen people, oering ba-
sic social services for those aected by the insurgency,
such as Karen refugees or internally displaced Karen.
These services include building school systems, provid-
ing medical services, regulating trade and commerce, and
providing security through the Karen National Liberation
Army (KNLA), the KNUs army.
[17]
1.5. LANGUAGE 5
1.4.5 Insurgency
In late January 1949, the Army Chief of Sta, Gen.
Smith Dun, a Karen, was removed from oce and im-
prisoned. He was replaced by the Burmese nationalist
Ne Win.
[14]
Simultaneously a commission was looking
into the Karen problem and this commission was about
to report their ndings to the Burmese government. The
ndings of the report were overshadowed by this polit-
ical shift at the top of the Burmese government. The
Karen National Defence Organisation (KNDO), formed
in July 1947, then rose up in an insurgency against the
government.
[14]
They were helped by the defections of
the Karen Ries and the Union Military Police (UMP)
units which had been successfully deployed in suppress-
ing the earlier Burmese Communist rebellions, and came
close to capturing Yangon itself. The most notable was
the Battle of Insein, nine miles from Yangon, where they
held out in a 112-day siege till late May 1949.
[14]
Years later, the Karen had become the largest of 20 mi-
nority groups participating in an insurgency against the
military dictatorship in Yangon. During the 1980s, the
Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) ghting force
numbered approximately 20,000. After an uprising of
the people of Burma in 1988, known as the 8888 Upris-
ing, the KNLA had accepted those demonstrators in their
bases along the border. The dictatorship expanded the
army and launched a series of major oensives against
the KNLA. By 2006, the KNLAs strength had shrunk
to less than 4,000, opposing what is now a 400,000-
man Burmese army. However, the political arm of the
KNLA - the KNU - continued eorts to resolve the con-
ict through political means.
The conict continues as of 2006, with a new KNU head-
quarters in Mu Aye Pu, on the BurmeseThai border. In
2004, the BBC, citing aid agencies, estimates that up to
200,000 Karen have been driven fromtheir homes during
decades of war, with 160,000 more refugees fromBurma,
mostly Karen, living in refugee camps on the Thai side of
the border. The largest camp is the one in Mae La, Tak
province, Thailand, where about 50,000 Karen refugees
are hosted.
[18]
Reports as recently as February, 2010, state that the
Burmese army continues to burn Karen villages, dis-
placing thousands of people.
[19]
Many Karen, includ-
ing people such as former KNU secretary Padoh Mahn
Sha Lah Phan and his daughter, Zoya Phan, have ac-
cused the military government of Burma of ethnic
cleansing.
[20][21][22][23][24]
The U.S. State Department has
also cited the Burmese government for suppression of
religious freedom.
[25]
A2005 NewYork Times article on a report by Guy Horton
into depredations by the Burma Army against the Karen
and other groups in eastern Burma stated:
Using victims statements, photographs,
maps and lm, and advised by legal counsel to
the UN tribunal on the former Yugoslavia, he
purports to have documented slave labor, sys-
tematic rape, the conscription of child soldiers,
massacres and the deliberate destruction of vil-
lages, food sources and medical services.
[26]
The Refugee Crisis
Throughout the insurgency, hundreds of thousands of
Karen ed to refugee camps while many others (num-
bers unknown) were internally displaced persons within
the Karen state. The refugees were concentrated in
camps along the Thailand-Myanmar border. Accord-
ing to refugee accounts, the camps suered from over-
crowding, disease, and periodic attacks by the Myanmar
army.
[27]
1.4.6 Democratic Karen Buddhist Army
During 1994 and 1995, dissenters from the Buddhist mi-
nority in the KNLA formed a splinter group of the KNU
called the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA),
and went over to the side of the military junta. As a note,
the DKBA split themselves from the KNU due to the
KNLAs weak central power. Additionally, the mostly
Pwo-speaking Buddhist Karen of the DKBA felt a ten-
sion with the KNU, whose leadership consisted for the
most part of Sgaw-speaking Christians.
[28] [29]
The split
is believed to have led to the fall of the KNUheadquarters
at Manerplaw in January 1995.
[30]
1.5 Language
The Karen languages, members of the Tibeto-Burman
group of the Sino-Tibetan language family, consist of
three mutually unintelligible branches: Sgaw, Pwo, and
Pa'o.
[31][32]
Karenni (Red Karen) and Kayan belong to
the Sgaw branch. The Karen languages are almost
unique among the Tibeto-Burman languages in having
a subjectverbobject word order; other than Karen and
Bai, Tibeto-Burman languages feature a subjectobject
verb order. This anomaly is likely due to the inuence of
neighboring Mon and Tai languages.
[33]
1.6 Religion
The majority of Karens are Theravada Buddhists who
also practice animism, while approximately 25% are
Christian.
[34][35]
Lowland Pwo-speaking Karens tend to
be more orthodox Buddhists, whereas highland Sgaw-
speaking Karens tend to be heterodox Buddhists who pro-
fess strong animist beliefs.
6 CHAPTER 1. KAREN PEOPLE
Buddhist Karen pilgrims at Ngahtatgyi Pagoda in Yangon
1.6.1 Animism
Karen animism is dened by a belief in klar (soul), 37
spirits that embody every individual.
[34]
Misfortune and
sickness are believed to be caused by klar that wan-
der away, and death occurs when all 37 klar leave the
body.
[34]
1.6.2 Buddhism
Karen Buddhists are the most numerous of the Karens
and account for around 6575% of the total Karen
population.
[36]
The Buddhist inuence came from the
Mon who were dominant in Lower Burma until the mid-
dle of the 18th century. Buddhist Karen are found
mainly in Kayin and Mon States and in Yangon, Bago and
Tanintharyi Regions. There are Buddhist monasteries in
most Karen villages, and the monastery is the centre of
community life. Merit-making activities, such as alms-
giving, are central to Karen Buddhist life.
[37]
Buddhism was brought to Pwo-speaking Karens in the
late 1700s, and the Yedagon Monastery atop Mount
Zwegabin became the foremost center of Karen lan-
guage Buddhist literature.
[36]
Many millennial sects were
founded throughout the 1800s, led by Karen Buddhist
minlaung rebels.
[38]
Two sects, Telakhon (or Telaku) and
Leke, were founded in the 1860s.
[36]
The Tekalu sect,
founded in Kyaing and considered a Buddhist sect, is a
mixture of spirit worship, Karen customs and worship
of the future Buddha Metteyya.
[36]
The Leke sect was
founded on the western banks of the Thanlwin River,
and is no longer associated with Buddhism (as follow-
ers do not venerate Buddhist monks).
[36]
Followers be-
lieve that the future Buddha will return to Earth if they
maintain their moral practices (following the Dhamma
and precepts), and they practice vegetarianism, hold Sat-
urday services and construct distinct pagodas.
[36]
Several
Buddhist socioreligious movements, both orthodox and
heterodox, have arisen in the past century.
[36]
Duwae, a
type of pagoda worship, with animistic origins, is also
practiced.
[36]
There are several prominent Karen Buddhist monks, in-
cluding Thuzana (S'gaw) and Zagara, who was conferred
the Agga Maha Saddammajotika title by the Burmese
government in 2004.
[36]
The Karen of Thailand
[39]
have
their own religion.
1.6.3 Christianity
Tha Byu, the rst convert to Christianity in 1828, was
baptised by Rev George Boardman, an associate of
Adoniram Judson, founder of the American Baptist For-
eign Mission Society. Today there are Christians belong-
ing to the Catholic Church and various Protestant denom-
inations. Some of the largest Protestant denominations
are Baptists and Seventh-day Adventists.
[40][41]
Alongside
'orthodox' Christianity, some of those who identify them-
selves as Christian also have syncretised elements of ani-
mismwith Christianity. The Karen of the Irrawaddy delta
are mostly Christians, whereas Buddhists tend to be found
mainly in Kayin state and surrounding regions. 25% of
Karen identify themselves as Christian.
[42]
Persecution of
Christians by the Burmese authorities continues to this
day.
The Karen Baptist Convention (KBC) was established in
1913 and the headquarters is located in Yangon with 20
member associations throughout Burma. The KBC op-
erates the K.B.C. Charity Clinic in Insein, Yangon. The
KBC also operates the Karen Baptist Theological Semi-
nary in Insein. The seminary runs a theology program as
well as a secular degree program to fulll young Karens
intellectual and vocational needs. The Pwo Karen Baptist
Convention is located in Ahlone, Yangon and also oper-
ates the Pwo Karen Theological Seminary.
[43]
There are
other schools for Karen people in Myanmar, such as Paku
Divinity School in Taungoo, Kothabyu Bible School in
Pathein, and Yangon Home Mission School. The Thai-
land Karen Baptist Convention is located in Chiang Mai,
Thailand.
The Seventh-day Adventists have built several schools in
the Karen refugee camps in Thailand to Christianize the
Karen people. Eden Valley Academy in Tak and Karen
Adventist Academy in Mae Hong Son are the two largest
Seventh-day Adventist Karen schools.
1.7 Karen Flag
Dr. Tee Than Pyar founded The Karen National Associ-
ation in 1881, becoming its rst chairman. Afterwards,
Dr. Tee Than Pyar, Sayar San Baw from Thararwaddy
served as a chairman between 1930 and 1940. During
this period, he and other Karen leaders petitioned parlia-
ment for the creation of a Karen ag and national anthem.
That request was not ignored. It was discussed in parlia-
1.8. KAWTHOOLEI 7
ment and voted upon in 1935. The public was invited to
participate in a competition to design the new ag. The
Karen National Flag played a predominant role during
recent new year celebrations. The Karen National Flag
played a predominant role during recent new year cele-
brations. More than one hundred designs were received.
Eventually, three were selected for consideration.
Among the three designs selected, Mann Ba Khin, (BA),
won the rst prize. He was also a writer in the Karen
organization. In his ag design, there was a frog drum
(called that because it is covered with frog skin). He said
ancient Karen people used the frog drum during war and
venerated it. Karen people believed that its a living thing.
The second winner, Sayar Moe from Taung Oo incorpo-
rated a rising sun symbol. He noted the rising sun gave the
bright light to all Karen people in the world; and sunlight
could erase fear. For instance, if a person in a particular
family was sick, other family members were worried, be-
ing fearful at night especially. When the daylight came,
it could erase the fear. As well, sunlight gives life to all
living things. All human beings need sunlight and doctors
have even cured patients by exposing them to sunlight, as
a medical treatment.
The third winner, Dr. Ba Saw Dwe incorporated the im-
age of a white elephant image in the Karen ag. There
was an elephant image on the frog drum. According to
his denition, the white elephant is a precious treasure.
Mann Ba Khin, the secretary of the Karen National As-
sociation, led a group to incorporate all three elements
into the nal design, which he sent to the Karen National
Association.
In the nal design, the color red was used on the fab-
ric to speak of heroism and perseverance, white for pu-
rity and clarity and blue for honesty and peace. Karen
youth bow in unity to honor their national ag. Karen
youth bow in unity to honor their national ag. Nine
rays of light streaming from the rising sun indicated the
nine regions from which the Karen people traced their
origins. The frog drum symbolizes unity in traditional
Karen culture. In 1936, Karen army leaders added two
Dohs (rounded seeds) under the frog drum in the Karen
ag. The frog drum symbolizes unity in traditional Karen
culture. In 1936, Karen army leaders added two Dohs
(rounded seeds) under the frog drum in the Karen ag.
Before Burma gained independence in 1937, Karen peo-
ple held a Karen New Year celebration in Rangoon. At
the celebration, the Karen ag was successfully hoisted in
the ag pole and Karen people bowed to it in unity.
When the Karen armed revolution occurred on January
31, 1949, some people from the AFPLF government ar-
gued the Karen national ag was the ag of the rebels.
After that, the government did not allow the ag to be
used. However, some Karen leaders, who would not join
the armed revolution, named Sayar Thar Hto and Sa-
yar James Htun Aung and Saw Bel Lay bravely used the
Karen National ag during Karen New Year celebrations
in Rangoon.
In the dierent regions of Burma where Karen live, and
even abroad, Buddhist and Christian Karen people have
used the Karen national ag during Wrist Tying cere-
monies, cultural, public meetings and especially during
Karen New Year.
1.8 Kawthoolei
Kawthoolei is the Karen name for the state that the Karen
people of Burma have been trying to establish since the
late 1940s. The precise meaning of the name is disputed
even by the Karen themselves; possible interpretations
include Flowerland and Land without evil, although, ac-
cording to Martin Smith in Burma: Insurgency and the
Politics of Ethnicity, it has a double meaning, and can
also be rendered as the Land Burnt Black; hence the land
that must be fought for. Kawthoolei roughly approxi-
mates to present-day Kayin State, some parts of Pegu
and Tanintharyi Division, although parts of the Burmese
Ayeyarwady River delta with Karen populations have
sometimes also been claimed. Kawthoolei as a name is a
relatively recent invention, penned during the time of for-
mer Karen leader Ba UGyi, who was assassinated around
the time of Burmas independence from Britainpoep
1.9 See also
Karen State
Karenni
Karen Baptist Convention
Karen Baptist Theological Seminary
Karen of the Andamans
Paku Divinity School
1.10 Footnotes
[1] http://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/guidestoolkits/
ethnographicguides/Burma/chapters/chapter1.pdf
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Burma
History and Immigration to the United States, (2007)
[2] Radnofsky, Louise (2008-02-14). Burmese rebel leader
shot dead. The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2008-03-
08.
[3] Kayin. Myanmar.com. May 2006. Retrieved 28 Febru-
ary 2011.
[4] Cheesman, Nick (2 September 2002). Seeing Karen in
the Union of Myanmar. Asian Ethnicity (Carfax Publish-
ing) 3 (2).
8 CHAPTER 1. KAREN PEOPLE
[5] Guo, Rongxing; Carla Freeman (2010). Managing Fragile
Regions: Method and Application. Springer. p. 19. ISBN
978-1-4419-6435-9.
[6] Keyes, Charles F. Living at The Edge of Thai Society: The
Karen in The Highlands of Northern Thailand. Routledge.
pp. 210212. ISBN 978-1-134-35907-3.
[7] Harriden, Jessica (2002). ""Making a Name for Them-
selves:" Karen Identity and Politicization of Ethnicity in
Burma. Journal of Burma Studies 7.
[8] This area is generally referred to as the Karen Hills in
colonial literature, especially natural history texts such as
Evans (1932).
[9] Delang, Claudio O. (Ed.) (2003). Living at the Edge
of Thai Society: The Karen in the Highlands of Northern
Thailand. London: Routledge.
[10] Ardeth Maung Thawnghmung, The Other Karen in
Myanmar: Ethnic Minorities and the Struggle without
Arms (UK: Lexington Books, 2012), 84.
[11] Mikael Gravers, Conversion and Identity: Religion and
the Formation of Karen Ethnic Identity in Burma, Ex-
ploring Ethnic Identity in Burma, ed. by Mikael Gravers
(Copenhagen: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, 2007),
228.
[12] Josef Silverstein, Burma: Military Rule and the Politics of
Stagnation (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1977),
16.
[13] Ardeth Maung Thawnghmung, The Other Karen in
Myanmar: Ethnic Minorities and the Struggle without
Arms (UK: Lexington Books, 2012), 29.
[14] Smith, Martin (1991). Burma - Insurgency and the Politics
of Ethnicity. London and New Jersey: Zed Books. pp.
5051,6263,7273,7879,8284,114118,86,119.
[15] The First Karen New Year Message, 1938. Karen Her-
itage: Volume 1 - Issue 1. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
[16] Clive, Christie J., Anatomy of a Betrayal: The Karens of
Burma. In: A Modern History of Southeast Asia. Decolo-
nization, Nationalism and Separatism. (I.B. Tauris, 2000):
72.
[17] Phan, Zoya and Damien Lewis. Undaunted: My Strug-
gle for Freedom and Survival in Burma. New York: Free
Press, 2010.
[18] Fratticcioli, Alessio (2011). Karen Refugees in Thailand
(abridged)". Asian Research Center for Migration - Insti-
tute of Asian studies (IAS), Chulalongkorn University.
[19] Burma army burns more than 70 houses of Karen people
[20] BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacic | Burma Karen families 'on the
run'
[21] Countries of Focus: Burma. Christian Solidarity Net-
work. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
[22] Refugeesinternational.org
[23] U.S. House Committee on Foreign Aairs
[24] Jacques, Adam (2009-05-10). Credo: Zoya Phan. The
Independent (London).
[25] Burma
[26] A witnesss plea to end Myanmar abuse', by John Macgre-
gor, New York Times, May 19, 2005.
[27] Phan, Zoya and Damien Lewis. Undaunted: My Strug-
gle for Freedom and Survival in Burma. New York: Free
Press, 2010.
[28] Ashley South, Karen Nationalist Communities: the
'Problem' of Diversity, Contemporary Southeast Asia
29.1 (2007): 61.
[29] Ashley South, Burmas longest War. Anatomy of the
Karen conict. Transnational Institute and Burma Cen-
ter Netherlands (PrimaveraQuint, Amsterdam 2009):2-4.
[30] Ba SawKhin (1998 - revised 2005). Fifty Years of Strug-
gle: A Review of the Fight for the Karen Peoples Au-
tonomy (abridged)". kwekalu.net. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
Check date values in: |date= (help)
[31] STEDT: The Sino-Tibetan Family
[32] Lewis(1984)
[33] Matiso 1991
[34] The Karen people: culture, faith and history. Karen
Buddhist Dhamma Dutta Foundation. pp. 6, 2428.
[35] Keenan, Paul. Faith at a Crossroads. Karen Heritage:
Volume 1 - Issue 1, Beliefs.
[36] Hayami, Yoko (2011). Pagodas and Prophets: Con-
testing Sacred Space and Power among Buddhist Karen
in Karen State. The Journal of Asian Studies, 70
(Association for Asian Studies) 70 (4): 10831105.
doi:10.1017/S0021911811001574.
[37] Andersen, Kirsten Ewers (1978). Elements of Pwo
Karen Buddhism (in Copenhagen). The Scandinavian
Institute of Asian Studies. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
[38] Thawnghmung, Ardeth Maung (2011). The Other Karen
in Myanmar. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-0-7391-6852-
3.
[39] http://www.chiangmai1.com/chiang_mai/karen.shtml
[40] Karen Seventh-day Adventist Church Website.
[41] Adventist Southeast Asia Project.
[42] Karen people.
[43] http://www.pkts.org
1.12. EXTERNAL LINKS 9
1.11 References
1.11.1 Print
Marshall, Harry Ignatius (1997) [1922]. The Karen
People of Burma. A Study in Anthropology and Eth-
nology. Wihte Lotus Press.
Anderson, Jon Lee (2004) [1992]. Guerrillas: Jour-
neys in the Insurgent World. Penguin Books.
Delang, Claudio O. (Ed.) (2003). Living at the
Edge of Thai Society: The Karen in the Highlands
of Northern Thailand. London: Routledge. ISBN
978-0-415-32331-4.
Evans, W.H. (1932). The Identication of Indian
Butteries (2nd ed). Mumbai, India: Bombay Natu-
ral History Society.
Falla, Jonathan (1991). True Love and
Bartholomew: Rebels of the Burmese Border.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN
978-0-521-39019-4.
Forbes, Andrew, and Henley, David, 'Chiang Mais
Hill Peoples in: Ancient Chiang Mai Volume 3.
Chiang Mai, Cognoscenti Books, 2012. ASIN:
B006IN1RNW
Lewis, Paul; Elaine Lewis (1984). Peoples of the
Golden Triangle. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd.
ISBN 978-0-500-97472-8.
Gravers, Mikael (2007). Exploring Ethnic Diversity
in Burma. Copenhagen: Nordic Institute of Asian
Studies. ISBN 978-87-91114-96-0.
Matiso, James A. (1991). Sino-Tibetan
Linguistics: Present State and Future
Prospects. Annual Review of Anthropol-
ogy (Annual Reviews Inc.) 20 (1): 469504.
doi:10.1146/annurev.an.20.100191.002345.
Phan, Zoya (2009). Little Daughter: a Memoir of
Survival in Burma and the West. Simon & Schuster.
Scott, James C. (2009). The Art of Not Being Gov-
erned: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast
Asia. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN
978-0-300-15228-9.
Silverstein, Josef (1977). Burma: Military Rule and
the Politics of Stagnation. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell Uni-
versity press. ISBN 0-8014-0911-X.
Smith, Martin (1991). Burma - Insurgency and the
Politics of Ethnicity. London and New Jersey: Zed
Books. ISBN 0-86232-868-3. ISBN 0-86232-869-
1 pbk.
Thawngmung, Ardeth Maung (2012). The 'Other'
Karen in Myanmar: Ethnic Minorities and the Strug-
gle Without Arms. Lanham, UK: Lexington Books.
ISBN 978-0-7391-6852-3.
1.11.2 Online
Karen Baptist Convention in Thailand
San C. Po, Burma and the Karens (London 1928)
Adventist World Radio Karen
"Burma:International Religious Freedom Report
2005. U.S. State Department. 2005-11-08. Re-
trieved 2006-07-18.
Karen Weblinks. Retrieved 2006-07-18.
Kendal, Elizabeth (2006-03-09). Day of Prayer for
Burma. Christian Monitor. Retrieved 2006-07-18.
Description of the Sino-Tibetan Language Fam-
ily. Retrieved 2006-07-18.
Recent humanitarian eorts serving the Karen
people. Retrieved 2010-12-10.
Karen Buddhist Dhamma Dhutta Foundation. The
Karen People: culture, faith and history. Retrieved
2013-02-12.
1.12 External links
the Karen people of Burma
S'gaw Karen Grammar
S'gaw Karen Dictionary
S'gaw Karen Bible
Karenvoice.net, shares the information of Karen in-
teracting in the world from the past, struggling in
Burma in the present and transiting in the world
again in the future
Karens Around the World Unite.
Karen Human Rights Group, a new website doc-
umenting the human rights situation of Karen vil-
lagers in rural Burma
Kawthoolei meaning a land without evil, is the
Karen name of the land of Karen people. An in-
dependent and impartial media outlet aimed to pro-
vide contemporary information of all kinds so-
cial, cultural, educational and political
Free Burma Rangers, website of NGO that provides
humanitarian assistance to Internally Displaced Peo-
ple
10 CHAPTER 1. KAREN PEOPLE
Index of IRF reports on Burma 2001-5
Kwekalu literally Karen Traditional Horn, the only
online Karen language news outlet based in Mer-
gui/Tavoy District of Kawthoolei
Karen Womens Organization
Karen Audio Bible
Chapter 2
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army
The Democratic Karen Benevolent Army for-
merly known as Democratic Karen Buddhist Army
(Burmese: ;
abbreviated DKBA) is a breakaway group of Buddhist
former soldiers and ocers of the predominantly Karen
Christian led Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA),
one of the larger insurgent armies in Burma. Shortly
after their breakaway in December 1994, the DKBA
signed a ceasere with the Myanmar government in
exchange for military and nancial assistance provided
that it supported government oensives against the
KNU.
[1]
The Karen insurgency began with Burmas independence
from the British in 1948 and is the longest running in
Myanmar today. Though the majority of Karens are Bud-
dhist, the Karen political leadership and leadership of the
Karen insurgency have always been overwhelming Chris-
tian, a legacy of American missionary inuence over the
19th and early 20th centuries. The DKBAbreakaway was
rooted in the perceived discrimination by the Christian
leadership against local Buddhist Karen communities and
the Buddhist Karen rank-and-le of the Karen insurgency
KNLA.
The Burmese army was quick to exploit the breakaway
and soon agreed to a ceasere arrangement with the
DKBA, who have since proted from various sanctioned
business arrangements, at the expense of the KNLA who
long dominated trade and revenue extraction in the area.
2.1 1990s and 2000s
The DKBA was formed for a variety of reasons. A
Buddhist monk, U Thuzana, had started a campaign in
1992 of constructing pagodas all over Karen state in-
cluding at the KNU headquarters at Manerplaw. As
the KNU leadership would not grant permission for the
white-painted pagoda, claiming it would attract govern-
ment air strikes, Thuzana then started to encourage KNU
troops to leave the KNU. Following some skirmishes and
failed negotiations in early December, the DKBA an-
nounced its formation and collective resignation from the
KNU on 28 December 1994.
[2]
Throughout much of the ghting in the Karen state since
1994 the DKBA has been closely allied with the Myan-
mar army against KNLA forces, who have gradually lost
more and more territory and bases inside the country.
This group was reportedly given territory inside of Burma
to rule over in exchange. They played a signicant part
in the capture of Manerplaw, a stronghold of the Karen
rebels.
Pado Mahn Shar, the secretary-general of the Karen Na-
tional Union was shot dead in his home in Mae Sot,
Thailand, on February 14, 2008. Many analysts claim
that the assassination was possibly carried out by soldiers
of the DKBA.
[3][4][5]
2.2 2010s
Main article: 2010 Burma border clashes
The informal alliance between the Myanmar junta and
the DKBA seemed to break down in the aftermath of
the general election of 2010, when the DKBA clashed
violently with junta troops. The violence caused a mas-
sive exodus of refugees across the border to Thailand,
particularly through border crossings controlled by the
DKBA. On November 12, Al-Jazeera English reported
that the DKBA has joined forces with the Karen Na-
tional Liberation Army, the two rebel armies forming an
alliance, in advance of a possible crackdown by the mili-
tary government.
[6]
The break-down DKBA is managed by Bo Nat Khann
Mway.
2.3 DKBA 5 Faction
The DKBA 5 is a faction of the DKBA led by Bo Nat
Khann Mway AKASawLah Pwe which broke away from
the DKBA in 2010 and originally had ve battalions un-
der his command and later had three. ";
[7][8][9][10]
Ac-
cording to an Oct. 14, 2012 article in the Bangkok Post
Brigade 5 comprises about 1,500 of the KNLAs esti-
11
12 CHAPTER 2. DEMOCRATIC KAREN BUDDHIST ARMY
mated 10,000 soldiers and is believed to be the strongest
of the rebels seven brigades.
[11]
2.4 See also
Internal conict in Burma
List of political and military organizations in Burma
2.5 References
[1] http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=
112&regionSelect=7-Eastern_Asia#, Uppsala Conict
Encyclopedia, Myanmar (Burma)
[2] http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=
112&regionSelect=7-Eastern_Asia#, Uppsala Conict
Encyclopedia, Myanmar (Burma)
[3] Radnofsky, Louise (2008-02-14). Burmese rebel leader
shot dead. London: www.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved
2008-02-14.
[4] Burmese rebel leader is shot dead. BBC News. 2008-
02-14. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
[5] Radnofsky, Louise (2008-02-14). Burmese rebel leader
shot dead. The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2008-03-
08.
[6] Myanmar rebel armies join forces. Al-Jazeera English.
2010-11-12. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
[7] Noreen, Naw(2010-11-07). DKBArenegades seize bor-
der town. Democratic Voice of Burma. Retrieved 2011-
01-03.
[8] Weng, Lawi (2010-11-08). DKBA Troops Seize Three
Pagodas Pass. The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
[9] Wade, Francis (2010-08-03). KNU general-secretary
says Saw La Bwe may come home. Danielpedersen.org.
Retrieved 2011-01-03.
[10] Burma attack 'a warning of possible civil war'" (Press
release). Burma Campaign UK. 2010-11-08. Retrieved
2011-01-03.
[11] Bangok Post, PEACE MAY PROVE ELUSIVE AS DI-
VISIONS SAP STRENGTH OF KAREN NATIONAL
UNION by, Saw Yan Naing, 14 October 2012, http:
//www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/316916/
peace-may-prove-elusive-as-divisions-sap-strength-of-karen-national-union
2.6 External links
Revolution Reviewed: The Karens Struggle for
Right to Self-determination and Hope for the Future
SawKapi, February 26, 2006, retrieved on 2006-11-
30
Fifty Years of Struggle: A Review of the Fight for
the Karen Peoples Autonomy (abridged) Ba Saw
Khin, 1998 (revised 2005), retrieved on 2006-11-
30
Determined Resistance: An Interview with Gen. Bo
Mya The Irrawaddy, October 2003
Photos by James Robert Fuller
Chapter 3
Gods Army (revolutionary group)
This article is about the Burmese group. For other uses,
see Army of God (disambiguation).
Gods Army was an armed, revolutionary Christian force
that opposed the military government of Burma.
[1][2]
The
group was an oshoot of the Karen National Union. They
were based along the Thailand-Burma border, and con-
ducted a string of audacious guerrilla actionsfor exam-
ple, seizing the embassy of Burma in Bangkokduring
the 1990s and early 2000s.
3.1 Formation
Gods Army was formed in an area of eastern Burma pop-
ulated by the Karen ethnic group, who had been ght-
ing against Burmese army at various times for over fty
years, primarily through the Karen National Union. In
the early 90s the Burmese army launched a major oper-
ation to secure the route of an oil pipeline through the
area.
[3][4]
Gods Army was led by brothers Johnny and
Luther Htoo beginning in 1997, who were at that time
estimated to be only ten years of age. Some of the fol-
lowers of the twins believed that they had Animist and
Christian powers.
[5]
According to the legend among fol-
lowers, the twins then rallied defenders of their village by
shouting Gods Army!", leading them to a victory over
Burmese troops.
[6]
The legend of the boys was embraced
by locals who viewed the existing Karen National Union
as corrupt and ineective.
[3]
3.2 Activity
Gods Army was situated in mountainous rainforests
along the border between Burma and Thailand.
[6]
They
were a band of Christian guerrillas who maintained an
austere lifestyle, including abstinence from sexual inter-
course, alcohol, milk, eggs and pork. The group was esti-
mated to have around 500 ghters in 1998, but gradually
declined to between 100 and 200 men by early 2000 after
many left to nd work to support their refugee families.
Meanwhile, the Burmese army had 21,000 troops in the
area.
[7]
In October 1999, A group calling themselves Vigorous
Burmese Student Warriors seized the Burmese embassy
in Bangkok and the situation ended with their departure,
at which point they were taken in by Gods Army.
[8]
In January 2000, 10 members of Gods Army seized a
hospital in Ratchaburi, Thailand.
[9]
The group held 700
to 800 patients and sta members hostage for 22 hours.
They demanded the Thai government stop shelling Karen
positions in Burma and treatment for their wounded. Thai
security forces stormed the hospital, killing all 10 of the
gunmen.
[6]
After the raid, Gods Army were strenuously
pursued by the Tatmadaw (Burmese armed forces) and
shunned by other Karen rebels.
3.3 Surrender and disbandment
In January 2001, the Htoo twins and the less than 20 re-
maining members of Gods Army surrendered to Thai
soldiers and requested sanctuary.
[8]
They abandoned the
Karens goal of an autonomous or independent homeland,
in exchange for permission to stay in Thailand. In July
2006, Johnny Htoo surrendered to Burmas military gov-
ernment with eight other members of Gods Army in two
groups.
[10]
3.4 See also
Karen National Union
3.5 References
[1] Gods Army. GlobalSecurity.org.
[2] Terry McCarthy and Robert Horn (2000-02-07).
Leading Gods Army. Time Magazine.
[3] Two little boys. The Guardian (London). 2000-07-27.
Retrieved 2012-01-16. The cameras found the students
in the camp of the twins, who were nine years old at the
time
13
14 CHAPTER 3. GODS ARMY (REVOLUTIONARY GROUP)
[4] Terrorist Organization Prole: Gods Army. National
Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to
Terrorism. Retrieved 2012-01-16. Johnny and Luther
Htoo, twin brothers who were only nine years old when
they formed the Gods Army...
[5] Richard S. Ehrlick (2006-07-27). Bizarre 'Gods Army'
Led By Young Boys Surrenders. Global Politician.
[6] The Twin Terrors. Time. 2000-02-07. Retrieved 2013-
11-02.
[7] Mydans, Seth (2000-04-01). Burmese Rebel Chief More
Boy Than Warrior. NY Times. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
[8] Burmese Rebel Twins and 14 Followers Surrender in
Thailand. NY Times. 2001-01-17. Retrieved 2013-11-
02.
[9] The Washington Post. 2000-01-24 http://www.
washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/pmextra/jan00/24/hostage.
htm |url= missing title (help).
[10] Myanmar Teen Rebel Leader Surrenders. Las Vegas
Sun. 2006-07-25. Archived from the original on 2008-
01-04. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
Chapter 4
Kantarawadi
Territories annexed by Thailand in the Shan and Karenni States
during WWII.
The ruler of Kantarawadi (standing in the middle of the back
row), at the Delhi Durbar in 1903
Kantarawadi, also known as Gantarawadi,
[1]
was one
of the Karenni States in what is today Kayah State in
Burma. It was also known as Eastern Karenni owing
to the location of part of its territory east of the Salween
River.
[2]
4.1 History
According to local tradition in the early times of the
Karenni states there was a principality led by a Sawphya
that was under the overlordship of a Shan prince. This
state nally became independent in the 18th century. In
the 19th century the Karenni state was divided into ve
principalities (sawphyas).
In 1864 a Karenni prince requested the status of British
protectorate for his state, but the British authorities did
not show any interest. After the death of this prince in
1869 his two sons renewed the petition claiming that they
feared Burmese ambitions on their state. The British re-
fused again, but agreed to arbitrate before the King of
Burma. Since the Burmese monarchy insisted in their
demands on the Karenni territories, the British granted
recognition to four states, Kyebogyi, Namekan (Nam-
mekon), Naungpale and Bawlake, which became inde-
pendent under British protection on 21 June 1875. Kan-
tarawadi state, however, remained independent without
ocial protection. Kantarawadi was heavily ned in
1888 for the disturbances caused by Myoza Sao LawPaw.
After his successor Sao Lawi agreed to pay a tribure of
Rs 5,000 to the British government, he was granted the
title of Saopha.
[1]
On 27 May 1942, during World War II, Kengtung
State was invaded and its capital captured by the Thai
Phayap Army.
[3]
Following a previous agreement be-
tween Thai Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram and
the Japanese Empire, in December the same year the
Thai administration occupied the area of Kantarawadi
State between the Thai border and the Salween, as well
as neighbouring Kengtung and Mngpan. The annexation
by Thailand as Saharat Thai Doemnorthern province was
formalised on 1 August 1943.
[4]
Following the defeat and
surrender of the Japanese Empire, Thailand left the ter-
ritories it had annexed to the north in 1945. However,
the Thai government ocially relinquished its claim over
Kantarawadi State only in 1946 as part of the condition
for admission to the United Nations and the withdrawal
of all wartime sanctions for having sided with the Axis
powers.
[5]
15
16 CHAPTER 4. KANTARAWADI
4.1.1 Rulers
The rulers of Kantarawadi bore the title of Saopha after
1903.
[6]
1837? Maung Pon (Pe Baw)
1845? Papaw Kyi
1850? Sao Lasa
c.1850 - 1866 Sao Pyatin
1866 - 1868 Sao Law Paw (d. 1930)
Myozas
1868 - Dec 1888 Sao Law Paw (s.a.)
28 Jan 1889 - 3 Jan 1903 Sao Lawi (b. 1852 - d.
1907)
Saophas
1 Jan 1903 - 8 Jul 1907 Sao Lawi (s.a.)
2 Dec 1907 - 1909 Hkun Nan (b. 1880 - d. 1909)
22 Apr 1910 - c.1948 Hkun Li (b. 1891 - d. 19..)
4.2 See also
Western Karenni
4.3 References
[1] Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 15, p. 36.
[2] Khu Oo Reh (October 2006). Highlights in Karenni His-
tory to 1948. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
[3] Thailand and the Second World War at the Wayback Ma-
chine (archived October 27, 2009)
[4] Shan and Karenni States of Burma
[5] David Porter Chandler & David Joel Steinberg eds. In
Search of Southeast Asia: A Modern History. p. 388
[6] Ben Cahoon (2000). World Statesmen.org: Shan and
Karenni States of Burma. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
Chapter 5
The Karen Hilltribes Trust
The Karen Hilltribes Trust is a charity dedicated to
working with the Karen people of Northern Thailand to
help themselves build a better future.
[1]
The charity has three main focuses:
to improve health
to improve education
to create income generation
The Trusts vision is to see the Karen people empowered
to help themselves in a sustainable way
[2]
The trust is a registered charity, no. 1093548. In 2008
the trusts income was just under 360,000
[3]
and since
inception has raised over 1.5 million.
[4]
Currently, the
charity has raised over 2.5 million.
[5]
5.1 History
The trust was founded by Penelope Worsley in 1999 after
the death of her son Richard Worsley, who had previously
spent six months volunteering with the Karen people dur-
ing his gap year. After joining the army, Richard died in
a car crash in Germany in 1996, following this the Karen
dedicated a water system to him in a remote village.
[4]
5.2 Collaborating charities
The Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund
The SET Foundation
The Richard Hua Trust
5.3 Media links
Penelope Worsley on Home Truths, BBC Radio Four
5.4 External links
The Karen Hilltribes Trust
The Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund
5.5 References
[1] http://www.karenhilltribes.org.uk/ 24/08/09
[2] http://www.karenhilltribes.org.uk/about-us/welcome
24/08/09
[3] http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/ShowCharity/
RegisterOfCharities/CharityWithoutPartB.
aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1093548&
SubsidiaryNumber=0
[4] http://www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire/content/articles/
2008/10/31/karen_hilltribes_feature.shtml
[5] http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/features/charity/8953951.
Karen_Hilltribe_children_dance_at_Monks_Cross/
17
Chapter 6
Karen National Liberation Army
Flag of KNLA
The Karen National Liberation Army (Burmese:
; abbreviated
KNLA) is the military branch of the Karen Na-
tional Union (KNU), which campaigns for the self-
determination of the Karen people of Burma. The KNLA
has been ghting the Burmese government since 1949.
The KNLA may have had a strength of roughly 5,000
soldiers in 2006.
[1]
It is nominally divided into seven
brigades
[1]
and a 'Special Force'.
[2]
6.1 History
At the time of Burma's independence from the British in
1948, there was considerable tension between the Karen
community and the Burmese majority. Some Karens
sought independence while others attempted co-existence
within Burma. The KNLA was previously called the
Karen National Defence Organisation (KNDO). The
KNDO was an armed organisation which was formed by
the KNU in 1947 to defend Karen communities and in-
terests. Most KNDO soldiers had previously served in
the forces of British Burma.
In early 1949, portions of a socialist political militia
raised by the government went on a rampage in Karen
civilian areas. The Burmese government then arrested the
Karen leader of the armed forces and replaced him with
radical Burmese anti-Karen nationalist Ne Win. Contin-
ued attacks against Karen dominated townships around
Rangoon and the arrest of Karen political leaders led the
Karen national Union to declare armed struggle, and the
worlds longest running civil war began.
Early in the ghting, Karen forces overran much of
Northern Burma including towns such as Mandalay and
established strong positions outside Rangoon at Insein
Township. But lacking a port from which to receive mili-
tary supplies, the Karen forces gradually withdrew to the
southeast of Burma.
In 1976 the Karen National Union changed its policy
on wanting an independent state, and joined a new al-
liance, the National Democratic Front. This alliance of
armed ethnic political parties supported a federal union
of Burma.
[3]
6.2 Recent history
In 1994 a group of Buddhist soldiers in the KNLA, claim-
ing that the KNLA was unfairly dominated by Chris-
tians, broke away from the KNLA to form a new force,
the DKBA, which soon organised a cease-re with the
Burmese military government.
In 1995 KNLA lost Kawmoora and Myawaddy to the
DKBA. This considerably reduced the KNLAs border
trade taxation.
[4]
A group calling itself the Karen Peace Council (KPC)
broke away from the KNLA in February 2007, and
organised a cease-re with the Burmese military
government.
[5]
On February 14, 2008, Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan, the
KNU secretary-general, was assassinated in Thailand.
On May 13, 2009, a senior Burma Army ocer, Brig.-
Gen. Kaung Myat was killed by the KNLA. He
had been the commander of No 5 Military Operations
Command.
[6]
Next month, on June 19, DKBA soldiers
started to attack KNLA Brigade 7 headquarters, which
they then captured on June 23.
[7]
18
6.6. EXTERNAL LINKS 19
6.3 Events in 2010
See also: 2010 Burma border clashes
During 2010, increasing numbers of Democratic Karen
Buddhist Army (DKBA) soldiers defected to the KNLA,
or ed to Thailand, following the announcement that the
DKBAwould be absorbed into the Burmese military gov-
ernments Border Guard. The DKBA had previously
been allied to, but distinct from, government forces.
In November 2010, following the general election of
2010, large parts of the Democratic Karen Buddhist
Army are alleged to have mutinied and re-aligned them-
selves with the KNLA, resulting in the escalating conict
with junta troops. The two rebel armies have formed an
alliance, in advance of a possible crackdown by the mili-
tary government.
[8]
6.4 Foreigners
A number of foreigners have gone to Burma to ght for
the KNLA.
Dave Everett, a former Australian SAS soldier, fought for
the KNLA and was later arrested in Australia for trying
to steal money to fund the KNLA. Des Ball, Professor at
ANU, has advised them on military strategy.
Thomas Bleming, an American, claims to have fought for
the Karen and has written a book called War in Karen
Country.
[9]
Three of the KNLAs French volunteers were killed in
action ghting for the KNLA: Jean-Phillipe Courreges
(killed 1985), Olivier Thiriat (killed 1989), and Guil-
laume Oillic (killed 1990).
6.5 References
[1] http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/
EJ18Ae03.html
[2] 'Special Force' Joins KNLA on High Alert
[3] Karen National Union website www.knuhq.org
[4] ISBN 87-11-23074-6 Carsten Jensen's source is Padoh
Mahn Sha Lah Phan
[5] Karen Peace Council Rejects BGF Proposal
[6] Senior Burmese Commander killed by KNLA Soldiers
[7] Mae La Refugees Fear DKBA Attack
[8] Myanmar rebel armies join forces. Al-Jazeera English.
2010-11-12. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
[9] Bleming, Thomas James (2007). War in Karen Country:
Armed Struggle for a Free and Independent Karen State in
Southeast Asia. New York; Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse.
ISBN 0-595-69327-X. OCLC 609978846.
6.6 External links
Karen National Union home page
Victory over KNU, new order on Thai-Burma bor-
der
This Month in History - May
Karen rebels go on oensive in Myanmar
Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) on
Schema-root
BLOG: BURMA CONFLICT SITUATION RE-
PORT
PHOTO ESSAYS OF ACTIVIST CAUSES AND
DEMOS
Six month battle report for the Karen National Lib-
eration Army
The ag of the Karen National Liberation Army
Chapter 7
Karen National Union
Flag of kawthoolei
The Karen National Union (Burmese:
; abbreviated KNU) is a political organisa-
tion with an armed wing, the Karen National Libera-
tion Army (KNLA) that represents the Karen people of
Burma. It operates in mountainous eastern Burma, and
has underground networks in other areas of Burma where
Karen people live as a minority group. In the Karen lan-
guage, this area is called Kawthoolei. Some of the Karen,
led primarily by the Karen National Union (KNU), have
waged a war against the central government since early
1949. The aim of the KNU at rst was independence.
Since 1976 the armed group has called for a federal sys-
tem rather than an independent Karen State.
In January 2012, Burmas military-backed civilian gov-
ernment signed a ceasere deal with the KNU in Hpa-an,
the capital of eastern Kayin State. Aung Min, the Rail-
way Minister, and General Mutu Sae Poe of the KNU led
the peace talks.
[1]
7.1 Overview
The KNU was dominated for three decades by its long-
time leader Bo Mya, who was president from19762000.
The KNU was for many years able to fund its activi-
ties by controlling black market trade across the bor-
der with Thailand, and through local taxation. After the
failed 8888 Uprising of the Burmese people in 1988, the
Burmese military government turned to China for help in
consolidating its power. Various economic concessions
were oered to China in exchange for weapons. The
Burmese Army was massively expanded and began to of-
fer deals to groups ghting the government. The groups
were oered the choice of cooperating with the military
junta or being destroyed.
In 1994, a group of Buddhist soldiers in the KNLA, citing
discrimination by the KNUs overwhelmingly Christian
leadership against the Buddhist Karen majority, broke
away and established the Democratic Karen Buddhist
Army (DKBA). They were led by a monk widely thought
to be an agent of the Burmese dictatorship. The DKBA
quickly agreed to a ceasere with the Burmese army and
was granted business concessions at the expense of their
former KNU overlords. The KNU and DKBA have since
been in regular ghting, with the DKBA actively sup-
ported by the Burmese army.
The KNUs eectiveness was severely diminished after
the fall of its headquarters at Manerplaw, near the Thai
border, in 1995.
Padoh Mahn Sha La Phan, the secretary-general of the
union was shot dead in his home in Mae Sot, Thai-
land, on 14 February 2008, possibly by soldiers of the
DKBA.
[2][3][4]
Since then, the KNU and KNLA continued to ght the
Burma state military (Tatmadaw) by forming guerrilla
units and basing themselves in temporary jungle camps
on the Thai-Burmese border. Following its principle of
no surrender, the KNU continued despite a precarious
state of existence. Nonetheless, their ght continues to
garner the sympathy of people around the world since
the KNU has been ghting for the Karen people, one of
the many ethnic nationalities of Burma that are experi-
encing ethnic cleansing under the military regimes Four
Cuts campaigns (Pyat Lay Pyat), a strategy where intelli-
gence, nances, food and recruits are eliminated through
a scorched-earth policy.
Several attempts have been made to conclude a form of
peace with Burmas military junta, the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), but with little success.
The 2004 peace talks yielded only an informal ceasere
which the regime used to reinforce their frontline troops.
Analysts realized this was a ruse, and sure enough, oen-
sives against KNU held areas have resumed in earnest.
The Karen conict is the longest internal war in the world,
having been waged since 31 January 1949.
[5]
The KNU
wants a political settlement and supports a federal Burma.
20
7.4. TIMELINE 21
In March 2012, a senior political leader of KNU, Phado
Mahn Nyein Maung, was found guilty of high treason un-
der the Illegal Association Act, for his involvement with
the Karen rebellion and sentenced to 20 years.
[6]
He was
freed soon afterward and sent back to Thailand.
[7]
7.2 Leadership
The Karen National Union leadership is a democrati-
cally elected body with individuals elected at a four-
yearly congress. The KNU Congress is recognized as
the KNUs supreme legislative body and it is here that
the President, Vice-President, General Secretary, Joint
Secretaries 1 and 2 and the Central Executive Commit-
tee (CEC), the Central Standing Committees (CSC) and
candidate members are elected. The seven KNU districts
are responsible for electing their own District Chairmans
and District Standing Committee leaders every two years.
As the District Chairmans and Brigade Commanders are
elected at local levels, they are automatically appointed
as Central Standing Committee Members. The District
Chairmans and Brigade Commanders together with nom-
inated District Standing Committee Members attend the
KNU congresses. In addition, elected Central Stand-
ing Committee members would provide the ministers for
14 Departments including Culture, Defence, Education,
Forestry, Foreign Aairs, Health and Mining. The CEC
is made up of 11 members that are responsible for the
day-to-day running of the KNU. The CSC meets annu-
ally, however when issues arise that either directly aect
the KNUpolicies and/or the existence of the KNUorgan-
isation, the CEC will call a CSC Emergency Meeting.
[8]
Additionally the Foreign Aairs Department appoints
KNU representatives. These representatives are based
among the Karen communities who support KNU politi-
cal goals and objectives in their respective countries.
7.3 Direction (2012)
Secretary General: P'doh Saw Kwe Htoo Win
Vice President: Naw Zipporah Sein
President: General Saw Mutu Sae Poe
7.4 Timeline
7.4.1 1974
KNU 9th congress held in September 1974
[9]
7.4.2 1995
KNU 11th congress.
[10]
7.4.3 2000
KNU 12th congress.
[10]
7.4.4 2005
The 13th KNU congress was held from 12 to 16
December.
[11]
7.4.5 2008
The 14th KNU congress was held from 6 to 20 Oct. It
was held on KNU-controlled territory
[11]
7.4.6 2009
Karen National Unions ghting force has been reduced to
30005000 ghters
[12]
and on 25 June KNLAs Brigade
7 headquarters is overrun.
[13]
7.4.7 2010
On 2 November 2010, the Karen National Union be-
came members of an alliance which includes: the Karen
National Union (KNU), Karenni National Progressive
Party (KNPP), Chin National Front (CNF), Kachin In-
dependence Organisation (KIO), New Mon State Party
(NMSP) and the Shan State Army North (SSA-N).
[14]
7.4.8 2012
The Karen National Union held its 15th Congress at Lay
Wah, 7 Brigade, on 26 November 2012. This congress
heralded in a pivotal moment in the resistance groups
history as it occurred at a time of political in-ghting in
relation to how best to negotiate a ceasere agreement
with the Burmese government.
7.4.9 2013
From30 October to 2 November 2013, an unprecedented
meeting took place at the Kachin Independence Organi-
sation headquarters in Laiza. For the rst time, represen-
tatives of 17 armed ethnic opposition groups were able to
meet in Burma with the consent of the Government.
This Laiza conference nally resulted in the formation of
a 13 member Nationwide Ceasere Coordinating Team
(NCCT) and the signing of an 11-Point Common Posi-
tion of Ethnic Resistance Organisations on Nationwide
Ceasere or Laiza agreement. The NCCT is a working
teammade up of all the ethnic armed organisations. Their
22 CHAPTER 7. KAREN NATIONAL UNION
mandate is to take responsibility on writing the nation-
wide ceasere document based on mutual understand-
ing between the dierent armed groups so far. How-
ever, at the Law Khee Lah Conference it was agreed that
NCCT has the mandate to discuss and change the doc-
ument technically, except at policy level. Once the -
nal document is ready, the respective ethnic organisation
leaders can deicide and discuss with the Union Peace-
making Working Committee (UPWC) on the nationwide
ceasere.
[15]
7.5 See also
Kayin State
Internal conict in Burma
7.6 References
[1] Burma government signs ceasere with Karen rebels.
BBC News. 12 January 2012.
[2] Radnofsky, Louise (14 February 2008). Burmese rebel
leader shot dead. The Guardian (London). Retrieved 14
February 2008.
[3] Burmese rebel leader is shot dead. BBC News. 14
February 2008. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
[4] Radnofsky, Louise (14 February 2008). Burmese rebel
leader shot dead. The Guardian (London). Retrieved 8
March 2008.
[5] Burmas Longest War: Anatomy of the Karen Conict.
Tni.org. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
[6] Myanmar court jails ethnic rebel leader for high treason.
Daily Times. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
[7] Burma frees ethnic Karen rebel leader. BBC News. 19
March 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
[8] http://www.knuhq.org
[9] 1970s Struggle for Identity. Burmalibrary.org. Re-
trieved 14 January 2012.
[10] Interview with Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan. Burmadi-
gest.info. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
[11] KNU holds its 14th congress. Dvb.no. 16 December
2005. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
[12] Post. The Times March 24, 2009 Burma: worlds longest
war nears its end. The Times. UK. Retrieved 14 January
2012.
[13] KNU Headquarters Overrun: Now What?". Ir-
rawaddy.org. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
[14] Armed ethnic groups denied vote form historic alliance.
Mizzima.com. 3 November 2010. Retrieved 14 January
2012.
[15] http://www.knuhq.org/knu_involvement_in_ethnic_
unity.html
7.7 External links
Armed-groups: KNU
KNU homepage
http://www.karenwomen.org/
Revolution Reviewed: The Karens Struggle for
Right to Self-determination and Hope for the Future
Saw Kapi, 26 February 2006, retrieved on 2006-11-
30
Fifty Years of Struggle: A Review of the Fight for
the Karen Peoples Autonomy (abridged) Ba Saw
Khin, 1998 (revised 2005), Retrieved on 2006-11-
30
Determined Resistance: An Interview with Gen. Bo
Mya The Irrawaddy, October 2003, Retrieved on
2006-11-30
Karen Heritage Karen History and Culture Preserva-
tion Society
Karen National Union Homepage
Karen Martyrs Day Marked by Calls for Unity Saw
Yan Naing, The Irrawaddy, 13 August 2008
Remembering our heroes and rethinking the revolu-
tion Saw Kapi, Mizzima, 13 August 2008
Chapter 8
Karen of the Andamans
The Karen of the Andamans are Karen people who live
in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The Karen were encouraged to settle in the Andaman is-
lands in 1924 by Dr Marshall, the principal of the Karen
Baptist Theological Seminary, following a visit to his
cousin, who was the commissioner there. In 1925, the
rst thirteen families arrived, led by a priest, Reverend
Luygi. In 1926, another fty families arrived and the
rst Karen village, Webi, was founded on the Middle An-
daman Island.
[1]
They worked as foresters, for which
purpose the British government had moved them to the
Islands with the help of the missionaries,
[2]
and the pop-
ulation of the village was about 500 people in 2009.
[3]
In 2004, the total population of Karen in the Andamans
was about 2000 people, living in eight villages in the
Mayabunder tehsil of the North and Middle Andaman
district: Borang, Chipon, Deopur, Lataw, Karmatang 9
and 10, Lucknow (Burmadera) and Webi.
[1]
A government declaration was made on 12 December
2005, reserving some government jobs and places in
higher education for the Karen as one of the Other Back-
ward Classes in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
[4]
The Karen respect the natural forest in a spiritual way and
so avoid deling it by spitting or urinating. Their har-
vesting of its resources for their community is sensitive
to the need for sustainability and so they avoid killing
female animals in their hunting. They use a variety of
forest plants for construction, food and medicine. For
example, they make canoes from the trunks of mulberry
trees (artocarpus chaplasha Roxb.) and use a paste of the
sweet ag laniti with other aromatic plants as a poultice
for colds and headaches.
[5]
8.1 References
[1] Sameera Maiti (2004), The Karen ALesser Known Com-
munity of the Andaman Islands, ISLANDS of the WORLD
VIII International Conference Changing Islands Chang-
ing Worlds, 1-7 November 2004, Kinmen Island (Que-
moy), Taiwan
[2] Venkateswar, Sita (2004), Development and Ethnocide:
Colonial Practices in the Andaman Islands, IWGIA, p. 16,
ISBN 978-87-91563-04-1
[3] Edith Mirante (2009), Island of Peace, The Irrawaddy 17
(5)
[4] Philipp Zehmisch (2012), The Struggle for OBC, A Xe-
rox of India Policies and Politics of Migration in an over-
seas colony, ISBN 978-3-9809131-1-9
[5] MU Sharief, S Kumar, PG Diwakar, TVRS Sharma
(2005), Traditional Phytotherapy among Karens of Mid-
dle Andaman, Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge 4
(4): 429436
23
Chapter 9
Karenni Army
The Karenni Army (abbreviated KA) is the mili-
tary branch of the Karenni National Progressive Party
(KNPP), which campaigns for the self-determination of
the Karenni people of Burma.
On 7 March 2012, the Burmese government signed a
ceasere agreement with the KNPP, in the presence of in-
ternational observers from the UN High Commission for
Refugees, British Council and the American embassy.
[1]
A similar ceasere deal was signed in 1995, but it was
dissolved within three months.
[1]
9.1 Karenni State and its short his-
tory
Karenni State is a state of Myanmar. Situated in eastern
Myanmar, it is bounded on the north by Shan State, on
the east by Thailands Mae Hong Son Province, and on
the south and west by Kayin State (Karen State). It lies
approximately between 18 30' and 19 55' north latitude
and between 9440' and 97 93' east longitude. The area
is 11,670 km2 (4,510 sq mi). Its capital is Loikaw (also
spelt Loi-kaw). The estimated population in 1998 was ap-
proximately 207,357, according to UNICEF. It is inhab-
ited primarily by the Karenni ethnic group, also known as
Red Karen or Kayah, a Sino-Tibetan people.
Karenni State is located in the eastern part of Myan-
mar. The relief of Karenni State is mountainous with the
Dawna Range and the Karen Hills also known as Kayah-
Karen mountains separated by the Salween River as it
ows through Karenni State. Balu Chaung, called Nam
Pilu in local language, ows fromInle Lake and converges
with the Salween in southern Karenni State.
Lawpita Dam, built in 1950 as a bilateral reparation
agreement with Japan, is a major hydroelectric produc-
tion dam which produces a quarter of the total hydroelec-
tric power generation in Myanmar.The Karenni States
was the name given to the three states of Kantarawadi,
Kyebogyi and Bawlake. These states were located south
of the Federated Shan States and east of British Burma.
According to the 1930 census, the states had a total popu-
lation of 58,761 with Kantarawadi (3,161 square miles or
8,190 square kilometres), 30,677, Kyebogyi (790 square
miles or 2,000 square kilometres), 14,282 and Bawlake
(568 square miles or 1,470 square kilometres), 13,802.
The British government recognized and guaranteed the
independence of the Karenni States in an 1875 treaty
with Burmese King Mindon Min, by which both par-
ties recognized the area as belonging neither to Kon-
baung Burma nor to Great Britain. Consequently, the
Karenni States were never fully incorporated into British
Burma. The Karenni States were recognized as tribu-
tary to British Burma in 1892, when their rulers agreed
to accept a stipend from the British government. In the
1930s, the Mawchi Mine in Bawlake was the most im-
portant source of tungsten in the world. The Constitution
of the Union of Burma in 1947 proclaimed that the three
Karenni States be amalgamated into a single constituent
state of the union, called Karenni State. It also provided
for the possibility of secession from the Union after 10
years. In August 1948, the Karenni leader U Bee Htu
Re was assassinated by central government militia for his
opposition to the inclusion of the Karenni States in the
Union of Burma. An armed uprising swept the state that
has continued to the present-day. In 1952, the former
Shan state of Mong Pai (1901. pop - 19,351) was added
to Karenni State, and the whole renamed Kayah State,
possibly with the intent of driving a wedge between the
Karenni (in Kayah State) and the rest of the Karen peo-
ple (in Karen State), both ghting for independence. In
1957, pro-independence groups already active in the area
formed the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP),
backed by its own army, the Karenni Army (KA). Apart
from a brief ceasere in 1995, the KA has been ghting
ever since. Rivals to the KNPP include the leftist Kayan
New Land Party (KNLP), and the Karenni National Peo-
ples Liberation Front (KNPLF), both of which are now
allied with the Myanmar military.
9.2 References
[1] Burma: Government, Rebels Sign Ceasere. UCA
News. 8 March 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
24
9.3. EXTERNAL LINKS 25
9.3 External links
Karenni Army (KA) (Myanmar), GROUPS - ASIA
- ACTIVE
Karenni State
Karenni Independence Through Education
Conict and Displacement in Karenni: The Need for
Considered Responses
Chapter 10
Karenni States
Karenni princes at the Delhi Durbar in 1903. The rulers of
Bawlake, Kantarawadi and Kyebogyi standing in the back row.
Territories annexed by Thailand in the Shan and Karenni States
during WWII in order to form the Saharat Thai Doem northern
province.
The Karenni States, also known as Karen States, was
the name formerly given to the states inhabited mainly by
the Red Karen, in the area of present-day Kayah State,
northern Burma. They were located south of the Feder-
ated Shan States and east of British Burma.
The British government recognized and guaranteed the
independence of the Karenni States in an 1875 treaty with
Burmese King Mindon Min, by which both parties recog-
nized the area as belonging neither to Burma nor to Great
Britain. Consequently, the Karenni States were never
fully incorporated into British Burma. The Karenni states
formed for a time the Kayah State in post-independent
Burma,
[1]
but on 29 Apr 1959 both the Shan and the
Kayah rulers formally surrendered their ruling powers to
the Burmese government.
[2]
10.1 History
There are no historical data on the Karenni States before
the 19th century. According to local tradition in the early
times of the Karenni states there was a principality led by
a Sawphya that was under the overlordship of a Shan
prince. This state nally became independent in the 18th
century. In the 19th century the Karenni state was divided
into ve principalities (sawphyas).
10.1.1 British rule in Burma
In 1864 a Karenni prince requested the status of British
protectorate for his state, but the British authorities did
not show any interest. After the death of this prince in
1869 his two sons renewed the petition claiming that they
feared Burmese ambitions on their state. The British re-
fused again, but agreed to arbitrate before the King of
Burma. Since the Burmese monarchy insisted in their
demands on the Karenni territories, the British granted
recognition to four states, Kyebogyi, Namekan (Nam-
mekon), Naungpale and Bawlake, which became inde-
pendent under British protection on 21 June 1875. Kan-
tarawadi state, however, remained independent without
ocial protection.
[3]
The Karenni States were recognized as tributary to British
Burma in 1892, when their rulers agreed to accept a
stipend from the British government. An Assistant Su-
perintendent of the Shan States was based at Loikaw as
Agent of the British government. He was exercising con-
trol over the local Karenni Rulers, being supervised by the
Superintendent at Taunggyi.
[3]
On 10 October 1922 the
administrations of the Karenni states and the Shan states
were ocially unied in order to establish the Federated
Shan States,
[4]
under a commissioner who also adminis-
26
10.3. SEE ALSO 27
tered the Wa States. This arrangement survived the con-
stitutional changes of 1923 and 1937. By the 1930s, the
Mawchi Mine in Bawlake was one of the most important
sources of tungsten in the world.
On 27 May 1942, during World War II, nearby Kengtung
State was invaded and its capital captured by the Thai
Phayap Army.
[5]
Following a previous agreement be-
tween Thai Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram and
the Japanese Empire, in December the same year the Thai
administration occupied Kengtung and Mngpan. The
annexation by Thailand as Saharat Thai Doem northern
province was formalised on 1 August 1943.
[6]
Thailand
left the territory in 1945, but ocially relinquished its
claimover Kengtung State only in 1946 as part of the con-
dition for admission to the United Nations and the with-
drawal of all wartime sanctions for having sided with the
Axis powers.
[7]
Thailand left the territory in 1945, but ocially relin-
quished its claim over Kantarawadi State only in 1946 as
part of the condition for admission to the United Nations
and the withdrawal of all wartime sanctions for having
sided with the Axis powers.
[8]
10.1.2 Post-independence Burma
The Constitution of the Union of Burma in 1947 pro-
claimed that the three Karenni States be amalgamated
into a single constituent state of the union, called
Karenni State. It also provided for the possibility of
secession from the Union after 10 years. In 1952, the
former Shan state of Mong Pai was added, and the whole
renamed Kayah State, possibly with the intent of driving
a wedge between the Karenni in Kayah State and the rest
of the Karen people in Karen State, both ghting for in-
dependence.
10.2 States
There were ve Karenni states, divided into two regions.
10.2.1 Western Karenni
The Western Karenni States were the four Karenni states
located west of the Salween River:
Kyebogyi, 350 square miles or 910 square kilome-
tres, population 9,867 in 1901.
Bawlake, 200 square miles or 520 square kilome-
tres, population 5,701 in 1901.
Naungpale, 30 square miles or 78 square kilome-
tres, population 1,265 in 1901.
Nammekon, 50 square miles or 130 square kilome-
tres, population 2,629 in 1901.
10.2.2 Kantarawadi
Kantarawadi State was also known as Eastern Karenni.
It had an area of 2,500 square miles or 6,500 square kilo-
metres and a population of 26,333 in 1901.
[3]
More than
half of its territory was located east of the Salween River,
an area that was annexed by Thailand during World War
II.
10.3 See also
Princely States
Shan States
Red Karen
10.4 References
[1] Map of Shan States c.1910
[2] Shan and Karenni States of Burma
[3] Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 15, p. 36.
[4] Myanmar Divisions. Statoids. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
[5] Thailand and the Second World War at the Wayback Ma-
chine (archived October 27, 2009)
[6] Shan and Karenni States of Burma
[7] David Porter Chandler & David Joel Steinberg eds. In
Search of Southeast Asia: A Modern History. p. 388
[8] David Porter Chandler & David Joel Steinberg eds. In
Search of Southeast Asia: A Modern History. p. 388
10.5 External links
The Imperial Gazetteer of India
Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan states
Karenni Ethnicity
Coordinates: 1830N 9800E / 18.500N 98.000E
Chapter 11
Kawthoolei
Flag of Kawthoolei
Kawthoolei is the Karen name for the state that the
Karen people of Myanmar have been trying to estab-
lish since the late 1940s. Kawthoolei roughly approxi-
mates to present-day Kayin State, although parts of the
Burmese Ayeyarwady River delta with Karen popula-
tions have sometimes also been claimed. Kawthoolei,
as a name, was penned during the time of former Karen
leader Ba U Gyi, who was assassinated around the time
of Burmas independence from Britain. Kawthoolei has
also been spelled Kaw-thu-lay or Kawthoolie with the
last syllable replacing the lay with lea. The name Kaw-
thu-lay was used by the Government of the Union of
Burma in drawing up its constitution which made pro-
visions within a Karen State.
Prior to the adoption of Kawthoolei there were a number
of other names to denote what the Karen people would
call a Karen state. In the early 1900s, the historical term
used for a Karen land was KawLah or green land and it
is unclear as to why the new name was adopted, although
it probably developed due to Karen political aspirations
after the Second World War. Kawthoolei is not the only
name used to refer to a Karen country: the Pwo Karen
use the phrase Kan Su Line, literally land cool cave.
[1]
The precise meaning of Kawthoolei is disputed even by
the Karen themselves. Kawthoolei, literally means a land
without evil in Sqaw Karen.
[2]
However even this trans-
lation is at odds with the linguistic realities. It serves to
reinforce a particular conception of Karen society and is
attributed to the inuence of Christian beliefs. The trans-
lation as a land where the Thoo Lei ower grow can
similarly be misinterpreted. As one elder pointed out,
the Thoo Lei ower can be found throughout the coun-
try, and even in Thailand, and as such the term could be
interpreted as the Karen making a claim for Burma in
its entirety, and perhaps adding even more territory. Ac-
cording to Martin Smith in Burma: Insurgency and the
Politics of Ethnicity, Kawthoolei has a double meaning,
and can also be rendered as the Land Burnt Black; hence
the land that must be fought for.
28
11.2. REFERENCES 29
11.1 See also
Karen-Ni
11.2 References
[1] Languages of Security in the Asia-Pacic (March 13,
2014). Karen Kawthoolei.
[2] kawthoolei.org (March 13, 2014). About Kawthoolei.
Chapter 12
Kayan people (Burma)
For other uses, see Kayan.
The Kayan are a subgroup of the Red Karen (Karenni)
A Kayan Lahwi woman
people, a Tibeto-Burman ethnic minority of Burma
(Myanmar). The Kayan consists of the following groups:
Kayan Lahwi (also called Padaung, [bd]),
Kayan Ka Khaung (Gekho), Kayan Lahta, Kayan Ka
Ngan. Kayan Gebar, Kayan Kakhi and, sometimes, Bwe
people (Kayaw).
Padaung (Yan Pa Doung) is a Shan term for the Kayan
Lahwi (the group whose women wear the brass neck
coils). The Kayan residents in Mae Hong Son Province
in Northern Thailand refer to themselves as Kayan and
object to being called Padaung. In The Hardy Padaungs
(1967) Khin Maung Nyunt, one of the rst authors to
A Kayan Lahwi girl
use the term Kayan, says that the Padaung prefer to be
called Kayan.
[1]
On the other hand, Pascal Khoo Thwe
calls his people Padaung in his 2002 memoir, From the
Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey.
[2]
In the late 1980s and early 1990s due to conict with
the military regime in Burma, many Kayan tribes ed to
the Thai border area.
[3]
Among the refugee camps set up
there was a Long Neck section, which became a tourist
site, self-sucient on tourist revenue and not needing -
nancial assistance.
[4]
According to U Aung Roe (1993:21ss) Kayan number
about 40,000 in Shan State (around the Pekon Township
area) and 20,000 in Kayah State (around Demawso and
Loikaw). A 2004 estimate puts the population at approx-
imately 130,000.
[5]
About 600 Kayan reside in the three
villages open to tourists in Mae Hong Son, or in the Ban
30
12.2. CULTURE 31
Mai Nai Soi refugee camp.
12.1 Geography
12.1.1 Present settlement of the Kayans
According to Kayan tradition the Kayan settled in the De-
mawso area of Karenni State (Kayah State) in 739 AD.
[6]
Today they are to be found in Karenni (Kayah) State
around Demawso and Loikow, in the southern region
of Shan State and in Mandalays Pyinmana and Karens
Than Daung township.
There are three Kayan villages in Mae Hong Son province
in Thailand. The largest is Huay Pu Keng, on the Pai
river, close to the Thai Burma border. Huai Seau Tao is
a commercial village opened in 1995. Many of the res-
idents of Nai Soi Kayan Tayar moved into the Karenni
refugee camp in September 2008, but a few families re-
main there.
Most of the Kayan people in Mae Hong Son are formerly
from nine villages in Karenni State. The majority are
from Rwan Khu and Daw Kee village. The people of
Huay Pu Keng are mainly from Lay Mile village.
12.2 Culture
12.2.1 Brass coils
Women of the Kayan tribes identify themselves by their
forms of dress. Women of the Kayan Lahwi tribe are
well known for wearing neck rings, brass coils that are
placed around the neck, appearing to lengthen it. The
women wearing these coils are known as girae women
to tourists.
Girls rst start to wear rings when they are around ve
years old.
[7]
Over the years the coil is replaced by a
longer one and more turns are added. The weight of
the brass pushes the collar bone down and compresses
the rib cage. The neck itself is not lengthened; the ap-
pearance of a stretched neck is created by the deforma-
tion of the clavicle.
[8]
Many ideas regarding why the coils
are worn have been suggested, often formed by visit-
ing anthropologists, who have hypothesized that the rings
protected women from becoming slaves by making them
less attractive to other tribes. Contrastingly it has been
theorised that the coils originate from the desire to look
more attractive by exaggerating sexual dimorphism, as
women have more slender necks than men. It has also
been suggested that the coils give the women resemblance
to a dragon, an important gure in Kayan folklore.
[9]
The
coils might be meant to protect from tiger bites, perhaps
literally, but probably symbolically.
[10]
Kayan women, when asked, acknowledge these ideas, and
Woman and child, 1905.
often say that their purpose for wearing the rings is cul-
tural identity (one associated with beauty).
32 CHAPTER 12. KAYAN PEOPLE (BURMA)
The coil, once on, is seldom removed, as the coiling and
uncoiling is a lengthy procedure. It is usually only re-
moved to be replaced by a new or longer coil. The mus-
cles covered by the coil become weakened. Many women
have removed the rings for medical examinations. Most
women prefer to wear the rings once their clavicle has
been lowered, as the area of the neck and collarbone of-
ten becomes bruised and discolored. Additionally, the
collar feels like an integral part of the body after ten or
more years of continuous wear.
In 2006 some of the younger women in Mae Hong Son
started to remove their rings, either to give them the op-
portunity to continue their education or in protest against
the exploitation of their culture and the restrictions that
came with it. In late 2008 most of the young women
who entered the refugee camp removed their rings. One
woman who had worn the rings for over 40 years removed
them. After removing the rings, women report discom-
fort which fades after about three days. The discoloration
is more persistent.
The government of Burma began discouraging neck rings
as it struggled to appear more modern to the developed
world. Consequently, many women in Burma began
breaking the tradition, though a few older women and
some of the younger girls in remote villages continued to
wear rings. In Thailand the practice has gained popular-
ity in recent years because it draws tourists who bring rev-
enue to the tribe and to the local businessmen who run the
villages and collect an entry fee of 250B per person. The
Karenni National Peoples Liberation Front (KNPLF), an
armed cease-re group, have made attempts to invite the
Kayan to return to Kayah State to set up their own tourist
villages.
In January 2008 the UNHCR expressed reservations
about tourists visiting the Kayan villages in Northern
Thailand due to the provincial governments refusal to al-
low registered Kayan refugees to take up oers of reset-
tlement in developing countries.
[11]
It is believed this pol-
icy was linked to their economic importance to the area.
This policy was relaxed in late 2008 and a small group
of Kayan have left for New Zealand in August 2008.
[12]
Others entered the main Karenni refugee camp (which is
not open to tourists) in September 2008 and they are now
eligible for resettlement.
12.2.2 Traditional religion
Kay Htoe Boe poles.
The Pwai dance.
Following the pwai dance the women sprinkle the
men with water using eugenia leaves.
Fowl bone prognostication.
The Kayans traditional religion is called Kan Khwan, and
has been practiced since the people migrated from Mon-
golia during the Bronze Age.
[13]
It includes the belief that
the Kayan people are the result of a union between a fe-
male dragon and a male human/angel hybrid.
[14]
The major religious festival is the 3-day Kay Htein Bo
festival, which commemorates the belief that the creator
god gave form to the world by planting a small post in
the ground. During this festival, held in late March or
early April, a Kay Htoe Boe pole is erected and partici-
pants dance around the pole.
[13][15]
This festival is held to
venerate the eternal god and creator messengers, to give
thanks for blessings during the year, to appeal for forgive-
ness, and pray for rain. It is also an opportunity for Kayan
from dierent villages to come together to maintain the
solidarity of the tribe.
The Kayan have a strong belief in augury and nothing is
done without reference to some form of divination, in-
cluding breaking thatch grass, but most importantly con-
sulting the chicken bones.
[16]
In present times the annual Kay Htein Bo festival is always
accompanied by a reading of the chicken bones to predict
the year ahead. Fowl bone prognostication can be wit-
nessed in the Kayan villages in Thailands Mae Hong Son
province during the annual festival and during Cleansing
Ceremonies which are held when a family has encoun-
tered ill fortune. Dreams are also used to make predic-
tions.
Cleansing Ceremony Rituals

12.2.3 Current religious practices

Although many of the Kayan still participate in these tra-
ditional festivals, in the 19th Century Italian missionaries
worked amongst them for many years and today the ma-
jority of Kayan and Kayaw people are Roman Catholics.
Statistics published in 2004 lists 306 Kayan villages, out
of which 209 are Roman Catholic, 19 Kan Khwan, 32
Baptist and 44 Buddhist, of which 2 belong to the Bya-
maso civil society organization.
[5]
Catholic First Communion

12.3 See also

Ndebele people of South Africa - An African tribe
with a similar practice.
12.5. EXTERNAL LINKS 33
The Kayan of Borneo share the name but are not
related and do not have the same customs.
12.4 References
[1] Rastorfer, Jean-Marc (1994), On the Development of
Kayah and Kayan National Identity, Bangkok: Southeast
Asian Publishing House
[2] Pascal Khoo Thwe, From the Land of Green Ghosts: A
Burmese Odyssey (2002), ISBN 0-00-711682-9 Google
books
[3] Thai Burma Border Consortium / A brief history of the
Thailand Burma border situation
[4] Burmese Border Consortium Relief programme: January
to June 2003
[5] Eden Phan, Khon (2004), The Narratives, Beliefs and Cus-
toms of the Kayan People, Mae Hong Son: Kayan Literacy
and Culture Committee
[6] Eden Phan, Khon (2004), The Narratives, Beliefs and Cus-
toms of the Kayan People, Mae Hong Son: Kayan Literacy
and Culture Committee
[7] Mirante, Edith T. (1994), Burmese Looking Glass: A Hu-
man Rights Adventure and a Jungle Revolution, NewYork:
Atlantic Monthly Press
[8] Keshishian, J.M. (1979), Anatomy of a Burmese Beauty
Secret (155.6 ed.), Washington: National Geographic, pp.
798801
[9] Mirante, Edith T. (September 2006), The Dragon Moth-
ers Polish their Metal Coils, Guernica Magazine, retrieved
2009-01-01
[10] Mirante, Edith T. (January 1990), Hostages to Tourism,
Cultural Survival Quarterly (14.1)
[11] BBC news / Burmese women in Thai 'human zoo'
[12] huaypukeng.com
[13] Religion. Huay Pu Keng. Retrieved 2013-08-04.
[14] Virtua Design. The Dragon Mothers Polish their Metal
Coils by Edith Mirante - Guernica / A Magazine of Art &
Politics. Guernicamag.com. Retrieved 2013-08-04.
[15] Les peuples oublis. Blogg.org. 2007-08-26. Retrieved
2013-08-04.
[16] Manna, Padre Paolo (1902), The Ghekhu-Karen Tribe of
Eastern Burma, S. Guiseppe Ponticial Printing
12.5 External links
Padaung, a subgroup of Karen, The Peoples of the
World Foundation
Huay Pu Keng: Long Neck Village Website about
this Kayan village in Thailand contains information
on Kayan history, religion, and culture
Karenni Homeland Current news from Karenni
State
Burmese women in Thai human zoo BBC News ar-
ticle
Video showing neck stretching over time
Flicker Group: Long-Necked Karn
Hostage to Tourism Article by Edith T. Mirante.
Need to create account to view article.
French Language page with introduction, notes and
bibliography of Kayah, Kayan, Karenni et Yang
Daeng by Jean-Marc Rastorfer
Chapter 13
Pa-O National Organization
The Pa-O National Organization (Burmese:
) is a political organization
of the Pa-O people in Burma, with the Pa-O National
Army as its military wing. In 1990, the Pa-O National
Army had about 500-600 men.
The PNO signed a cease-re agreement with the junta on
April 11, 1991. The PNO controls Special Region-6 in
southern Shan State and has been granted a number of
business concessions.
13.1 See also
United Wa State Army
Aung Kham Hti
13.2 Bibliography
The rise and fall of the Communist Party of Burma
(CPB) By Bertil Lintner
The Pa-O: Rebels and Refugees. Russ Christensen
and Sann Kyaw ISBN10: 974-9575-93-8
ISBN13: 978-974-9575-93-2
13.3 External links
Pa-O National Organization
Pa-O National Organization (PNO)
Pa-O National organization (PNO) presents its pol-
icy, stance and work programmes
A brief history of the Pa-O road to revolution
34
Chapter 14
Red Karen
Red Karen (Kayah) also known as Karenni, is a sub-
group of the Karen people, a Sino-Tibetan people living
mostly in Kayah State of Burma.
According to a 1983 census, the Red Karens (Karenni)
consist of the following groups: Kayah, Geko (Kayan Ka
Khaung, Gekho, Gaykho), Geba (Kayan Gebar, Gaybar),
Padaung (Kayan Lahwi), Bres, Manu-Manaus (Manu-
manao), Yintale, Yinbaw, Bwe, Shan and Pao.
[1]
Several
of the groups (Geko, Gebar, Padaung) belong to Kayan,
a subgroup of Red Karen.
14.1 Karen-Ni
Karen-Ni was the country of the Red Karens, a collec-
tion of small states, formally independent, which had feu-
dal ties to Burma. The states were bounded on the north
by the Shan states of Mong Pai, Hsatung and Mawkmai;
on the east, they were bounded by Thailand; on the south
by the Papun district of Lower Burma; and on the west
a stretch of mountainous country, inhabited by the Bre
and various other small tribes. During British rule in
Burma, Karen-Ni had a guard of military police, which
was posted at the village of Loikaw.
14.2 Karenni States
Main article: Karenni States
The Karenni States is the name formerly given to a
group of states that included Kantarawadi (3,161 square
miles or 8,190 square kilometres, pop (1931) 30,677),
Kyebogyi (790 square miles or 2,000 square kilometres,
pop (1931) 14,282) and Bawlake (568 square miles or
1,470 square kilometres, pop (1931) 13,802), located
south of the Federated Shan States and east of British
Burma.
The British government recognized and guaranteed the
independence of the Karenni States in an 1875 treaty with
Burmese King Mindon Min, by which both parties rec-
ognized the area as belonging neither to Burma nor to
Great Britain. Consequently, the Karenni States were
never fully incorporated into British Burma. The Karenni
States were recognized as tributary to British Burma in
1892, when their rulers agreed to accept a stipend from
the British government. In the 1930s, the Mawchi Mine
in Bawlake was the most important source of tungsten in
the world. The Constitution of the Union of Burma in
1947 proclaimed that the three Karenni States be amal-
gamated into a single constituent state of the union, called
Karenni State. It also provided for the possibility of se-
cession from the Union after 10 years. In 1952, the for-
mer Shan state of Mong Pai was added, and the whole
renamed Kayah State, possibly with the intent of driving
a wedge between the Karenni (in Kayah State) and the
rest of the Karen people (in Karen State), both ghting
for independence.
14.3 Images
14.4 Kayah Traditions
Kayah Tribes and Dresses
14.5 Notes
[1] Karenni Homeland
14.6 External links
karennihomeland.com
huaypukeng.com
karennisu.org
karenni.net
knrf.org

This article incorporates text from a publication now

in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911).
35
36 CHAPTER 14. RED KAREN
Encyclopdia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge Univer-
sity Press.
Chapter 15
S'gaw people
The S'gaw or Paganyaw are an ethnic group of Burma
and Thailand. They speak the S'gaw Karen language.
15.1 Classication
The S'gaw are a Karen ethnic group, part of the larger
Tibeto-Burman ethnicity. The sub group of S'gaw Karen
are Paku Karen, Bwe Karen, Monaypwar Karen and
Mobwar Karen.
15.2 Geographic distribution
Population of 1,848,000 in Burma
Population of 375,000 in Thailand
Population of 900 in India
15.3 Religion
46% of the S'gaw in Burma are Christian; 45% ad-
here to ethnic religions
20% of the S'gaw in Thailand are Christian
61% of the S'gaw in India are Buddhist; 38% are
Christian
37
Chapter 16
Western Karenni
The rulers of Bawlake, Kantarawadi and Kyebogyi (standing in
the back row), at the Delhi Durbar in 1903
Western Karenni was the collective name for the
four Karenni States located west of the Salween River:
Bawlake, Nammekon, Naungpale, and Kyebogyi. On
21 June 1875, the government of British India and king
Mindon of Burma signed a treaty recognizing the inde-
pendence of Western Karenni. On 23 January 1892,
Western Karenni was incorporated into British India as
a protectorate.
[1]
16.1 History
In 1864 a Karenni prince requested the status of British
protectorate for his state, but the British authorities did
not show any interest. After the death of this prince in
1869 his two sons renewed the petition claiming that they
feared Burmese ambitions on their state. The British re-
fused again, but agreed to arbitrate before the King of
Burma. Since the Burmese monarchy insisted in their
demands on the Karenni territories, the British granted
recognition to four states, Kyebogyi, Namekan (Nam-
mekon), Naungpale and Bawlake, which became inde-
pendent under British protection on 21 June 1875.
[2]
16.2 States
16.2.1 Kyebogyi
Kyebogyi had an area of 350 square miles or 910 square
kilometres and a population of 9,867 in 1901.
[2]
The
rulers bore the title of Myoza.
[3]
Myozas
1845 - 1890 ....
1890 - 27 Jan 1908 Hkun U (b. 18.. - d. 1908)
12 Jun 1908 - 1933 Hkun Sao (b. 1857 - d. 1933)
1933 - 1948 Vacant
16.2.2 Bawlake
Bawlake had an area of 200 square miles or 520 square
kilometres and a population of 5,701 in 1901.
[2]
The
rulers bore the title of Myoza after 1892.
[3]
Rulers
1810? - 1850? Po Bya Hla
1850? - 1872 La Kye
1872 - 23 Jan 1892 Paban (b. 1857 - d. 1916)
Myozas
23 Jan 1892 - 1916 Paban (s.a.)
1916 - 1948 Hkun Nge (b. 1894 - d. 19..)
16.2.3 Naungpale
Naungpale had an area of 30 square miles or 78 square
kilometres and a population of 1,265 in 1901.
[2]
The
rulers bore the title of Myoza after 1892.
[3]
Rulers
1845 - 23 Jan 1892 ....
38
16.4. REFERENCES 39
Myozas
23 Jan 1892 - 1897 ....
8 Jul 1897 - 1916 Hkun Che (b. 1857 - d. 1916)
1916 - 19.. ....
16.2.4 Nammekon
Nammekon had an area of 50 square miles or 130 square
kilometres and a population of 2,629 in 1901.
[2]
The
rulers bore the title of Myoza.
[3]
Myozas
c.1860 - 1892 Po Bya
1892 - 1899 Vacant?
1899 - 1902 Hkun Baw (b. 1870 - d. af.1902)
1903 - 19.. Pra To (b. 1863 - d. 19..)
16.3 See also
Kantarawadi, also known as Eastern Karenni.
16.4 References
[1] Khu Oo Reh (October 2006). Highlights in Karenni His-
tory to 1948. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
[2] Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 15, p. 36.
[3] Ben Cahoon (2000). World Statesmen.org: Shan and
Karenni States of Burma. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
Chapter 17
Saw Ba U Gyi
In this Burmese name, Saw is an honoric.
Saw Ba U Gyi (Burmese: [s ba d];
1905 12 August 1950) was the rst President of the
Karen National Union.
[1]
Ba U Gyi graduated with a
Bachelors degree from Rangoon University in 1925 and
studied lawin England, passing the English bar in 1927.
[2]
From1937 to 1939, he served as the Minister of Revenue
of British Burma, and fromFebruary to April 1947, as the
Minister for Transport and Communications of Burma.
[2]
He was killed in ambush by the Burmese Army on 12 Au-
gust 1950.
[2]
Ba U Gyis four principles are still held as the guid-
ing Principles of the Revolution of the Karen National
Union:
[3]
1. Surrender is out of the question
2. The recognition of the Karen State must be com-
pleted.
3. We shall retain our arms.
4. We shall decide our own political destiny.
17.1 References
[1] Our Fallen Heroes. Karen National Union. Retrieved
23 October 2012.
[2] Keenan, Paul (March 2008). Saw Ba U Gyi - Voice of
the Revolution. Karen History and Culture Preservation
Society. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
[3] Objectives. Karen National Union. 23 November 2009.
Retrieved 23 October 2012.
40
Chapter 18
Louisa Benson Craig
Louisa Charmaine Benson Craig (sometimes spelt
Luisa Benson; 10 March 1941 2 February 2010) was
a Burmese-born two-time beauty pageant winner and
Karen rebel leader of Portuguese Jewish and Karen an-
cestry who was particularly known for becoming Burmas
rst Miss Universe contestant in 1956
[1]
and again Miss
Burma in 1958.
[2]
After American schooling she returned to Karen and
married Lin Htin, a commander of the Karen National
Liberation Army(KNLA) in 1964.
[3]
After her husbands
death in 1965, widowed Louisa led the Fifth Brigade, but
fell out with the Karen National Union leadership follow-
ing a power struggle with Bo Mya.
[4]
As a Most Wanted independence warrior leader, Louisa
was urged by her people in 1967 to leave to spare her
life; and she emigrated to the United States by marrying a
Mayower descendant of Massachusetts historic Gover-
nor Bradford and an aunt who started Twinings American
tea company, Glenn Campbell Craig, former classmate of
her youthful overseas studies at Tufts University,
[4]
who
reconnected with her as a U.S. Naval ocer requesting
assignment to Asian waters near Karen.
After emigrating, Louisa Benson Craig obtained a mas-
ters degree in international aairs at Columbia Univer-
sity and worked to advocate for Burmese democracy and
resettlement eorts for Burmese refugees in the United
States.
[5]
In 2004, she was named a plaintiin a landmark
human rights case against Unocal, which was operating in
Burma, for proting from the Burmese militarys alleged
human rights abuses by operating the Yadana gas eld.
[6]
18.1 Family
Louisas father, Saw Benson (also known as Moses Ben-
Zion Koder), was an entrepreneur descended from the
Koder family, a prominent Cochin Jewish business clan
in South India's Cochin (now Kochi) on his paternal side,
and the Leynado family, a Sephardic Jewish family on his
maternal side.
[1]
He converted to Christianity and in 1939
married an ethnic Karen woman, Naw Chit Khin.
[1]
Louisa bore three children to Glenn Craig, who became
an entrepreneur helping found an international school
publications enterprise out of California.
[5]
Their daugh-
ter perpetuating Louisas middle name, Charmaine Craig,
is an actress who, like her husband Andrew Winer, is a
novelist and university professor of literature.
[7]
Louisa
and Glenns second daughter is a physician, and their son
is a musician who also works in public radio. Karen rel-
atives of Louisa also emigrated to California.
18.2 In Perpetuity
Louisas legacy and memory live on not only as a heroine
among the Karen people but also in continued awareness-
raising by others moved by Karen courage and tenac-
ity to hold onto ancient independence, history, culture,
and identity. Most recently world attention has turned to
Karen since quinine has become no longer eective there
in treatment of malaria, with UCLA working on a syn-
thetic quinine, and additional natural plant sources like
dogwood for malaria treatment should be explored too.
18.3 References
[1] Cernea, Ruth Fredman (2007). Almost Englishmen:
Baghdadi Jews in British Burma. Lexington Books. pp.
117118. ISBN 9780739116463.
[2] Naw Louisa Benson, Naw Louisa. Museum of Karen
History and Culture. Karen History and Culture Preserva-
tion Society. 2003. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
[3] Saw Yan Naing (4 February 2010). Louisa Benson Craig
Dies Aged 69. The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
[4] Tzamg Yawnghwe (1987). The Shan of Burma: Memoirs
of a Shan Exile. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp.
202203. ISBN 9789971988623.
[5] Naw Louisa Benson Craig () ".
LA Organizers for Burma. 2 March 2010. Retrieved 9
April 2012.
[6] Former actress joins lawsuit. AP. 1 June 2004. Re-
trieved 9 April 2012.
[7] About. Charmaine Craig. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
41
Chapter 19
Smith Dun
General Smith Dun (November 11, 1906 1979) was
the commander-in-chief of the Burmese Army from Jan-
uary 4, 1948 February 1, 1949.
Dun enlisted in the Indian Army on 8 November 1924,
initially with the 10th battalion 20th Burma Ries and
after training served with the 2nd battalion 20th Burma
Ries, seeing service in Burma during the rebellion of
1930-32.
He was commissioned a Viceroys Commissioned O-
cer on the 10th January 1931. He attended the Kitchener
College, Nowgong and from there was later selected to
attend the Indian Military Academy and earned the rst
Sword of Honour which is given to the best cadet of each
years class. He was commissioned on 1 February 1935,
his senority later being antedated to 4 February 1934. For
a year after commissioning he was attached to the 2nd
battalion the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry at Agra.
On 24 February 1936 he was admitted to the Indian Army
and appointed to the 2nd battalion the 1st Punjab Regi-
ment on 9 March 1936. He was promoted Lieutenant on
4 May 1936. His battalion was involved in ghting on the
North West Frontier during 1936-37.
He was serving attached to the Burma Military Police
when the Japanese invaded in 1941. For his services on
the retreat from Burma he was Mentioned in Despatches
(London Gazette 28 October 1942). He attended the
Sta College at Quetta and then saw further service in
Burma, receiving another Mention in Despatches (Lon-
don Gazette 5 April 1945) and later was awarded the
Military Cross (London Gazette 17 January 1946) as a
temporary Major attached the Burma Intelligence Corps.
In a move to build condence in the Burmese Union that
would include all ethnic groups, Dun, a Karen, was ap-
pointed commander-in-chief of the Burmese army and
of the police forces when Burma gained its independence
from Britain following World War II. However, in 1949
when the Karen began their war for independence from
Burma, Dun was removed from his position. Dun was
a loyal leader of the Burmese Army while maintaining a
strong sense of his Karen ethnicity. Known as the four-
foot colonel for his small stature, he kept his Karen sol-
diers disciplined although suspicion of his ethnic roots
lingered even after his dismissal.
19.1 See also
Indian Army
Military of Myanmar
19.2 References
Dun, Smith. Memoirs of the Four-Foot Colonel.
Ithica, NY: Cornell Southeast Asia Program, 1980.
42
Chapter 20
Johnny and Luther Htoo
Johnny Htoo and Luther Htoo{{[pronounced 'too'. 'H'
is silent.]}} (born circa 1988) are twin brothers who
jointly led the Gods Army guerrilla group a splinter
group of Karen National Union in Myanmar (Burma)
during the late 1990s.
20.1 Formation of Gods Army
(1997)
The Htoo twins were from an area of eastern Burma
populated by the Karen ethnic group. The Karen and
Burmese army had fought at various times for over fty
years, but in the early 90s the Burmese army launched
a major operation to secure the route of an oil pipeline
through the area. In March 1997, a local pastor brought
the two illiterate nine-year-olds to the local military chief
and said the Lord had spoken to themand they would save
the Karen people.
[1][2]
According to the legend among
followers, the twins then rallied defenders of their vil-
lage by shouting Gods Army!", leading themto a victory
over Burmese troops.
[3]
Various legends claimed that the
brothers had numerous magical powers, including invul-
nerability to bullets and mines and that they could hand
out magical bullets. Supposedly, they could kill by point-
ing a rie at the ground and concentrating. One tale
claims that Johnny turned himself into an old man and
back when bathing in a river. The legend of the boys
was embraced by locals who viewed the existing Karen
National Union as corrupt and ineective. A new rebel
group called Gods Army of the Holy Mountain, or Gods
Army for short, was thus formed under the nominal lead-
ership of the Htoo twins.
[1]
20.2 Worldwide attention (1999-
2000)
Gods Army was situated in mountainous rainforests
along the border between Burma and Thailand.
[3]
They
were a band of Christian guerrillas who maintained an
austere lifestyle, including abstinence from sexual inter-
course, alcohol, milk, eggs and pork. The boys, called
Bu Lu and Bu Joh by their followers, were both chain
smokers and were said to know the Bible by heart al-
though they had never studied it.
In October 1999, a group calling themselves Vigorous
Burmese Student Warriors seized the Burmese embassy
in Bangkok and the situation ended with their departure,
at which point they were taken in by Gods Army.
[4]
The Htoos came to worldwide attention in January 2000
when 10 members of Gods Army seized a hospital in
Ratchaburi, Thailand.
[5]
The group held 700 to 800 pa-
tients and sta members hostage for 22 hours. They de-
manded the Thai government stop shelling Karen posi-
tions in Burma and treatment for their wounded. Thai
security forces stormed the hospital, killing all 10 of the
gunmen.
[3]
A photograph taken by Associated Press pho-
tographer Apichart Weerawong of a long-haired Johnny
posing next to his tougher-looking, cigar-pung brother
was circulated around the world after the hospital raid.
After the raid, Gods Army were strenuously pursued by
the Tatmadaw (Burmese armed forces) and shunned by
other Karen rebels. Luther claimed at the time he had
250,000 invisible soldiers in his command while Johnny
had 150,000 of his own. Their esh-and-blood followers
was estimated to be around 500 in 1998, but gradually de-
clined to between 100 and 200 men by early 2000 after
many left to nd work to support their refugee families.
Meanwhile, the Burmese army had 21,000 troops in the
area.
[6]
20.3 Surrender and life after Gods
Army (2001- )
The twins surrendered to Thai soldiers in January 2001
and requested sanctuary. By that time the number of their
followers had dwindled to less than 20.
[4]
They repudiated
the stories about being invulnerable but insisted that God
had helped them to survive over the years. They were
reunited with their family. In July 2006, Johnny Htoo
surrendered in Burmas military government with eight
other members of Gods Army in two groups.
[7]
Luther Htoo now lives in Sweden.
[8]
Johnny Htoo lives
in a Thai refugee camp and has been attempting to go to
43
44 CHAPTER 20. JOHNNY AND LUTHER HTOO
New Zealand to join his mother and sister.
[9]
20.4 References
[1] Two little boys. The Guardian (London). 2000-07-27.
Retrieved 2012-01-16. The cameras found the students
in the camp of the twins, who were nine years old at the
time
[2] Terrorist Organization Prole: Gods Army. National
Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to
Terrorism. Retrieved 2012-01-16. Johnny and Luther
Htoo, twin brothers who were only nine years old when
they formed the Gods Army...
[3] The Twin Terrors. Time. 2000-02-07. Retrieved 2013-
11-02.
[4] Burmese Rebel Twins and 14 Followers Surrender in
Thailand. NY Times. 2001-01-17. Retrieved 2013-11-
02.
[5] The Washington Post. 2000-01-24 http://www.
washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/pmextra/jan00/24/hostage.
htm |url= missing title (help).
[6] Mydans, Seth (2000-04-01). Burmese Rebel Chief More
Boy Than Warrior. NY Times. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
[7] Myanmar Teen Rebel Leader Surrenders. Las Vegas
Sun. 2006-07-25. Archived from the original on 2008-
01-04. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
[8] Al Jazeera news report, September 2013
http://www.aljazeera.com/video/asia-pacific/2013/
09/201391541541502909.html
[9] Myanmar 'Gods Army' twins reunite, seek comrades
20.5 External links
Prole: Gods Army at Bbc.co.uk
Chapter 21
Ka Hsaw Wa
Ka Hsaw Wa is a Burmese human rights activist. He is
a member of the Karen indigenous group. Along with
his wife, environmental and human rights attorney Katie
Redford, he is the Co-Founder and Co-Director
[1]
of
EarthRights International(ERI), an organization that fo-
cuses on human rights in Burma and other areas where
protection of human rights and the environment is in-
trinsically connected.
[1]
Ka Hsaw Wa and Katie Redford
have two young children.
21.1 Biography
Ka Hsaw Wa was born under a dierent name, which he
keeps secret in order to protect his family in Burma. He
has not seen his parents in over 15 years. He adopted
the name Ka Hsaw Wa, which means the White Ele-
phant, while in exile in the United States. White Ele-
phants are traditionally thought of by the Karen people
as symbolizing righteousness and strength as well as a
harbinger of great positive change.
Ka Hsaw Wa grew up in Burma as the son of a doc-
tor and enjoyed relative economic privilege in his youth.
However, when he entered college he soon became active
in political causes, and quickly developed into a strong
student leader. The Burmese government attacked the
students brutally in 1988, killing many. Ka Hsaw Wa
was captured and tortured. He then left Burma, but re-
entered the country in order to participate in a lengthy
photographic campaign documenting environmental and
indigenous destruction, as well as severe human rights
abuses, including starvation, systematic rape, and the de-
struction of entire villages. Most of the problems he doc-
umented were connected to the construction and opera-
tion of a petroleum pipeline in the area of Yadana for the
oil companies Unocal (U.S.-based) and Total S.A. (based
in France).
Ka Hsaw Wa, Katie Redford and EarthRights launched
a federal lawsuit against Unocal, employing a unique
legal strategy utilizing the U.S. Alien Tort Statute of
1789, which says that federal courts have jurisdiction
for torts that occur in violation of the Law of Nations,
[which] includes abuses of fundamental human rights
[and] genocide,
[2]
in order to force the company to as-
sume responsibility for human rights abuses caused by its
actions. In the case Unocal eventually agreed to pay com-
pensation to the 15 anonymous villagers who suered
forced labor, rape, and the eects of killings.
[3]
Ka Hsaw Wa continues his front-line activism, and was
featured in the 2006 lm, Total Denial. A description
based on his role in the lm is as follows:
Ka Hsaw Wa dedicated his life to hu-
man rights activism, speaking uent English
and Burmese, dodging back and forth as he
plays cat-and-mouse with the border guards,
marrying another rights worker and even rais-
ing a family. All the while he is ghting to live
and protect his homeland. At one point he de-
scribes how he was himself tortured. When he
goes into dicult areas of the jungle, he takes
a gun with a single bullet - to commit suicide if
captured (to avoid torture).
[4]
Ka HsawWa and EarthRights are also involved in the cur-
rent struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma,
wherein a number of protesters, including monks, have
been killed, and hundreds of protesters arrested. They
are working to bring an end to the current violence against
the people. In response to the 2007 protests, Ka HsawWa
has said:
As someone who experienced this
regimes brutality in 1988, I am glad that this
time around, the world is watching. But that
is not enough. The international community,
including multinational corporations, must act
now to prevent further bloodshed in Burma.
The people have suered profoundly for too
long they have already sacriced so much,
and they will not stop.
21.2 Awards and recognition
Goldman Environmental Prize (1999)
[5]
Reebok Human Rights Award (1999)
[6]
45
46 CHAPTER 21. KA HSAW WA
Whitley Award Winner (Human Rights & the En-
vironment), sponsored by Sting and Trudie Styler
(2004)
[7]
Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership
(2009)
[8]
21.3 References
[1] Ka Hsaw Wa | EarthRights International. Earth-
rights.org. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
[2]
[3] Unocal Settles Rights Suit in Myanmar. The New York
Times. 2004-12-14.
[4] Total Denial (2006) - IMDb. Uk.imdb.com. Retrieved
2012-01-28.
[5] Goldman Environmental Prize (1998-07-01). Ka Hsaw
Wa. Goldman Prize. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
[6]
[7] The Whitley Fund for Nature. Whitley-award.org. Re-
trieved 2012-01-28.
[8] 2009 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee - KA HSAW WA.
Rmaf.org.ph. 2009-08-31. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
21.4 External links
http://www.earthrights.org/home.html
http://www.totaldenialfilm.com/
http://www.theconnection.org/shows/2003/09/
20030930_b_main.asp
http://pbs.org/now/shows/345
Chapter 22
Pascal Khoo Thwe
Pascal Khoo Thwe (born 1967)
[1]
is a Burmese author
from the minority Padaung people,
[2]
known for his au-
tobiographic writings about growing up in Burma un-
der military rule.
[3]
His book, From the Land of Green
Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey, was awarded the Kiriyama
Prize.
[4]
22.1 Biography
Thwe was born in Pekon (Phekhon, Pekong, Pecong,
Pkon), Shan State, Burma (Myanmar). He is the eldest
of six sons and ve daughters. His father died in 1996 in
Thailand.
By a chance encounter with Dr. John Casey, a Cambridge
don, Khoo Thwe was rescued from the jungles of
Burma where he and other student refugees were ght-
ing Burmese soldiers for independence. In 1991 Khoo
Thwe enrolled in Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
where he received his BA in English literature in 1995.
Khoo Thwes autobiographical book From the Land of
Green Ghosts was published by Harper-Collins in 2002.
He currently resides in London.
22.2 References
[1] From the land of green ghosts: a Burmese odyssey p10
[2] The tablet, Volume 246, Issues 7939-7951, 2002, Page 14
[3] Myanmar (Burma) By Robert Reid, Michael Grosberg
2005 Page 29
[4] Perspectives on the Novels of Rohinton Mistry By Jay-
dipsinh Dodiya 2006
22.3 External links
Pascal Khoo Thwe, From the Land of Green Ghosts:
A Burmese Odyssey (2002), ISBN 0-00-711682-9
BBC Radio 4: Taking a Stand - BBC journalist Fer-
gal Keane interviews Pascal Khoo Thwe about his
life for a radio programme rst broadcast on BBC
Radio 4 on December 18, 2007.
47
Chapter 23
Cynthia Maung
Dr. Cynthia Maung (Burmese: [s j
m]; born 6 December 1959) is a Burmese medical
doctor who since 1989 has lived in Mae Sot, on the
Thai-Burmese border. An ethnic Karen, Dr. Maung left
Burma (Myanmar) after the 8888 Uprising and has since
run a clinic treating Burmese refugees, migrants and or-
phans at Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burmese
border, together with 100 paramedics and teachers.
Maung received Southeast Asias Ramon Magsaysay
Award for community leadership and she was listed as
one of 2003 Time Magazines Asian Heroes. Altogether
she has received six international awards for her work. In
1999, she was the rst recipient of the Jonathan Mann
Award, sponsored by Swiss and US health organisations.
Cynthia Maung has been married to Kyaw Hein since
1992.
[1]
Together, they have two children: Nyein Chan
Maung and May Thint Sin.
[2]
23.1 Early life and education
Cynthia Maung was born to ethnic Karen parents Mahn
Nyein Maung and Hla Kyi in Rangoon, and grew up in
Moulmein with her parents and 6 siblings.
[3]
Cynthia at-
tended State High School No. 4 and it was during this
period that political upheaval and the student movement
began to cause disruptions to the education system in
Burma. Maung found that many of her friends were drop-
ping out of school, as they needed to work in order to
make a little money to assist their family.
In 1977, the Burmese government began to make changes
to the educational system which aected universities and
colleges, and there were more disruptions to the school
year. Maung nished high school this year but had to
wait for 10 months before being able to enter the regional
college where she was required to spend two years before
entering medical school. A further 10 months between
the regional college and medical school [15] meant that it
was 1980 before she was able to commence her medical
studies.
23.2 Medical career
After medical school, Maung undertook a one-year in-
ternship at the Mawlamyaing General Hospital. It was
during this time that Maung began to realise how poor
some people were and how much they had to sacrice in
order to get medical care. Many people sold their homes,
property and land or animals so that a family member
could receive medical assistance. But still they had to pur-
chase their own supplies such as soap, blades and dress-
ings if they required surgery. Equipment was old and of-
ten broken, and items such as syringes were repeatedly
used.
From there she went to work in a private clinic in Bassein
in the delta area of Burma. It was during this time that
the Burmese government decided to change the monetary
system. Some of the currency became invalid and many
people lost their life savings. This caused suering for
many people and especially for students and the poor.
Some schools closed down and the student movement be-
came stronger. Maungs mother became at this time and
so she moved back to Moulmein to help care for her and
to be close to her family. In 1987, Maung started working
in a clinic in Eindu Village in Karen State. The village,
which was on the main transit route between Hpa-An and
Myawaddy was made up of three main ethnic groups: the
Pa-Owho earned their living mainly by weaving, the Mon
who ran the small shops and businesses, and the Karen
who made a small living from farming and agriculture.
Living for all of these people was dicult and they all
struggled to survive on a daily basis. Maung realised how
poor the people were, how little they had and watched
as they were forced into working for the military as sol-
diers and porters. Many village children were not able
to attend school and from necessity helped the military in
order to make a small amount of money so that they could
survive. Taxation was high and diseases such as Tuber-
culosis widespread. The village had one small hospital
but during her stay there was a doctor present for only
23 months and there were no medicine or supplies with
which to treat the people.
During 1988 the pro-democracy movement and demon-
strations increased. Maung joined up with other villagers
and high school and university students who had returned
48
23.3. HEALTH SERVICES 49
to the village. They tried to work together with similar
groups fromother parts of the country to bring about pos-
itive change in Burma. There was a lot of tension, and
parents were worried about their children and their safety.
Communication and transportation avenues were cut o
and the price of rice and commodities went higher and
higher. There was confusion and fear among the people.
On 19 September 1988 the military seized power, many
activists disappeared, ed the country, or were forced to
go into hiding. Many thousands of people moved quickly
to the ThaiBurma border. On 21 September Dr. Cyn-
thia and fourteen of her colleagues decided it was time
for them to go also. With few provisions or personal
belongings, they ed through the jungle for seven days.
They travelled mainly at night and as they passed through
remote villages, where the people had never seen health
workers or had access to a hospital, they tried to treat the
local people suering from disease and injury with the
limited supplies that they carried.
23.2.1 Mae Tao Clinic
On arrival in Thailand, Dr. Maung and her friends
stopped at Mae La, opposite Be Claw refugee camp in
Tha Song Yars district.
[4]
Here Maung worked at a small
hospital treating those eeing the ghting. There was a
lot of confusion as thousands of people tried to nd their
friends and families. There were many people with many
dierent political ideas, and illnesses such as malaria
were rife. Later, Maung moved to Hway Ka Loke refugee
camp and it was while she was here that she made con-
tact with Karen leaders responsible for student aairs and
with local Thai authorities and church groups who were
sympathetic to the plight of these people. Together, they
tried to set up some systems to lessen the confusion and to
bring a little order to the situation in the area. In Novem-
ber 1988, Maung moved to Mae Sot. She wanted to
set up a centre for students needing somewhere to stay
or requiring referral for further medical care. Mae Sot
had a hospital where this could be done and from this
time the Clinic began to develop a referral system with
the local hospital which continues today. In February
1989, she was oered a dilapidated building with bare
dirt oors on the outskirts of Mae Sot. Here, Dr. Cyn-
thia went to work. Her makeshift clinic had few supplies
and money. She improvised by sterilizing her few instru-
ments in a rice cooker and solicited medicine and food
fromCatholic relief workers working in the area. She and
her companions lived simply and worked hard to treat the
increasing number of patients coming to the clinic with
malaria, respiratory disease and diarrhea as well as gun-
shot wounds and land mine injuries. Malaria cases are
still one of the most common diseases treated by the Mae
Tao Clinic. As the years have passed, the type of patient
attending the clinic has also changed. In the beginning, it
was mainly students and young people escaping the ght-
ing. Gradually, migrant workers began to come to the
area in an eort to nd work and money for their families
at home. As time passed, their wives and families joined
them. Today, there are also many children and adoles-
cents who are dropping out of school and need a place
of safety. As the population changes, so do the medical
needs of those that the clinic serves. Today, one of the
highest patient loads is in Reproductive Health and asso-
ciated areas. Each year, over 2,700 babies are delivered
at the clinic. The clinics facilities and activities continue
to grow. Currently, between 400 - 500 people on aver-
age come to the clinic each day, and there is a sta of
about 700 providing comprehensive health services and
child protection services. Total caseload exceeds 115,000
cases annually with a client number of over 75,000 per
year.
23.3 Health services
Mae Tao Clinic provides inpatient and outpatient med-
ical care for adults, children, reproductive health clients
and surgical service patients.
[5]
Other services include eye
care, dental care, laboratory and blood bank services,
prosthetics and rehabilitation, voluntary counseling and
testing for HIV and counseling services. Severe cases
(less than 1%) are referred to Mae Sot Hospital.
[5]
An-
tiretroviral treatment and prevention of mother to child
transmission of HIV is also conducted in collaboration
with Mae Sot Hospital. Since the establishment of the
Clinic, Thai Ministry of Public Health, Mae Sot Hospital
and Mae Tao Clinic share information and experiences
and have developed a positive working relationship. The
Clinic also supports small satellite clinics set up in Burma,
particularly in the IDP areas, to assist those who cannot
reach the Clinic.
23.4 Awards
2013 - Sydney Peace Prize
2012 - National Endowment for Democracy's 2012
Democracy Award
[6]
2009 - Inspiration Model Award from Khon Khon
Khon, Thai Television Programme
[7]
2008 - Catalonia International Prize along with Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi
[8]
2007 - Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award
(Taiwan Foundation for Democracy)
[9]
2007 - Worlds Childrens Prize for the Rights of the
Child Honorary Award (Childrens World Associa-
tion, Sweden)
[10]
2005 - Nominated as part of the 1,000 Women
Nobel Peace Prize Nomination
[11]
50 CHAPTER 23. CYNTHIA MAUNG
2005 - Unsung Heroes of Compassion Award from
the Dalai Lama and Wisdom in Action
2005 - The Eighth Global Concern for Human Life
Award
2005 - Included in Time Magazines November Ar-
ticle on 18 Global Health Heroes
[12]
2002 - Magsaysay Award for community leadership
[13]
2001 - Foundation for Human Rights in Asia Special
Award
2001 - Van Heuven Goedhart Award
1999 - Jonathon Mann Health and Human Rights
Award
[14]
1999 - American Womens Medical Association
Presidents Award
1999 - John Humphrey Freedom Award
[15]
23.5 References
[1] A Journey of the Heart. Seattle Times. Retrieved 15
April 2012.
[2] Cynthia Maung (1959 - )". Honour with Books. HKU
Libraries. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
[3] Biography of Cynthia Maung. 2002 Ramon Magsaysay
Award for Community Leadership. 2002. Retrieved 15
April 2012.
[4] http://maetaoclinic.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/mtc%
2020%20yrs.pdf
[5] http://maetaoclinic.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/mtc_
annual_report_2009.pdf
[6] http://cpintl.org/news/
dr-cynthia-maung-receives-us-democracy-award
[7] http://www.tvburabha.com/tvb/special/
iframeact091106.asp
[8] http://www.gencat.cat/pic/eng/index_2008.htm
[9] http://www.tfd.org.tw/english/HTML/ADHRA_2007.
html
[10] http://www.worldschildrensprize.com/prizelaurates/
page.html?pid=1229
[11] http://word.world-citizenship.org/wp-archive/385
[12] http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/heroes/cynthia_
maung.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
[13] http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Citation/
CitationMaungCyn.htm
[14] http://www.globalhealth.org/publications/article.php3?
id=161
[15] John Humphrey Freedom Award 2009. Rights &
Democracy. 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
23.6 External links
Seattle Times biography
University of Washington
*Mae Tao Clinic Website
Dr. Cynthias Mae Tao Clinic Home Page
Dr. Cynthia and Mae Tao Clinic Blog-Chinese
Advice For Action Freedom Collection interview
Cynthia Maung Freedom Collection interviews
23.7 About Mae Tao Clinic and Dr.
Cynthia Maung
From Rice Cooker to Autoclave at Dr. Cynthias
Mae Tao Clinic: Twenty Years of Health, Human
Rights and Community Development in the Midst of
War: http://maetaoclinic.org/wp-content/uploads/
pdf/mtc%2020%20yrs.pdf
23.8 Research
Community-based assessment of human rights in
a complex humanitarian emergency: the Emer-
gency Assistance Teams-Burma and Cyclone Nar-
gis by Voravit Suwanvanichkij, Noriyuki Mu-
rakamil, Catherine I Lee, Jen Leigh, Andrea L
Wirtz, Brock Daniels, Mahn Mahn, Cynthia Maung
and Chris Beyrer: http://www.conflictandhealth.
com/content/4/1/8
Mobile Obstetrics Project Improves Health of
Mothers in Eastern Burma Mullany et al., (August
2010): http://www.jhsph.edu/publichealthnews/
press_releases/2010/mullany_burma_mom_
project.html
After the Storm: Voices from the Delta by
Voravit Suwanvanichkij, Mahn Mahn, Cynthia
Maung, Brock Daniels, Noriyuki Murakami,
Andrea Wirtz and Chris Beyrer (February 2009)
http://www.jhsph.edu/humanrights/locations/asia/
BurmaCyclone.html
Access To Essential Maternal Health Inter-
ventions and Human Rights Violations among
Vulnerable Communities in Eastern Burma by
Luke C. Mullany, Catherine I. Lee, Lin Yone,
Palae Paw, Eh Kalu Shwe Oo, Cynthia Maung,
Thomas J. Lee and Chris Beyrer (December 2008):
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs6/Access_To_
Essential_Maternal_Health.pdf
23.8. RESEARCH 51
Working our Way Back Home: Fertility and Preg-
nancy Loss on the Thai-Burmese Border by Cyn-
thia Maung and Suzanne Belton (December 2005)
http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/OurWay.pdf
Chapter 24
Bo Mya
In this Burmese name, Bo is an honoric.
Bo Mya (Burmese: [b mja]; born Htee Moo Kee;
20 January 1927 23 December 2006) was a Karen rebel
leader born in Papun District, which is in present-day
Karen State, Myanmar. He was a long-standing chairman
of the Karen National Union (KNU), a political organisa-
tion of the Karen people, from 1976 to 2000. He stepped
down to become vice-chairman in 2004, and retired in
2004 from all public oces, due to poor health.
Bo Mya was among a signicant number of Karens who
joined the British specically in Bo Myas case, Force
136 during World War II, with whom he fought the
Japanese from the East Dawna hills in 1944 to 1945.
After the Karens declared independence from Burma in
1949, Bo Mya quickly rose to a position of pre-eminence
in the Karen movement, earning a reputation as a hard
and ruthless operator. Based at Manerplaw (victory
eld) close to the Thai-Burma border, the KNU under
his control, and its military wing the Karen National Lib-
eration Army (KNLA), was probably the most successful
of the ethnic rebel organisations ghting Rangoon in the
1970s and 1980s.
But by the mid-1990s, the tide was turning against him.
A devout Christian of the Seventh-day Adventist Church,
Bo Mya had always risked antagonising elements from
within the predominantly Karen Buddhist and animist
KNLA ranks. Although his defenders say he treated both
Christians and Buddhists equally, the fact that the top po-
sitions of the KNU were lled almost entirely by Chris-
tians seemed to conrm the impression that he promoted
the minority Christians interests at the expense of those
of the Buddhists and animists.
In late 1994, a group of KNLA soldiers broke away from
the main army and formed the Democratic Karen Bud-
dhist Army (DKBA). They allied themselves with the
Burmese military, and led Burmese troops into Maner-
plaw in December 1994, leading to its capture the
biggest single setback to the Karens in their post-war his-
tory.
Since then, the KNU and KNLAs eectiveness has grad-
ually diminished. This was demonstrated at the beginning
of 2004 when Bo Mya travelled to Yangon (Rangoon),
his rst visit to the capital in 50 years, to hold peace talks
with Khin Nyunt, who was Prime Minister at the time.
On 23 December 2006, Bo Mya died in a hospital in Mae
Sot, Thailand, near the eastern border of Myanmar. He
had heart disease and diabetes and was unable to walk for
three years before his death.
24.1 References
[1] Bo Mya, 79; longtime leader of Myanmar guerrilla
group. Associated Press (Los Angeles Times). 25 De-
cember 2006. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
Smith, Martin. Burma: Insurgency and the Politics
of Ethnicity
Paung, *Shah (2006-12-24). Renowned Karen
Rebel Leader Dead. The Irrawaddy. Retrieved
2006-12-25.
South, Ashley (December 2006). Bo Mya-Life-
long revolutionary. The Irrawaddy. Archived from
the original on 2007-01-08. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
Myanmar rebel leader dies after long illness.
Reuters. 2006-12-24. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
Saw Kapi (2006-12-25). Obituary - Saw Bo Mya:
A symbol of resistance. Mizzima News. Retrieved
2006-12-26.
52
Chapter 25
Nant Bwa Bwa Phan
In this Burmese name, Nant is an honoric.
Nant Bwa Bwa Phan is the United Kingdomrepresenta-
tive of the Karen National Union, a political organization
representing the Karen ethnic people of Burma.
[1]
She is
also Vice-Chair of the Karen Community Association
UK, and on the board of the European Karen Network.
[2]
She has previously worked for Burma Campaign UK,
[3]
and assisting Karen refugees resettled in the United King-
dom.
Her father was Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan, the General
Secretary of the Karen National Union, who was assassi-
nated on 14 February 2008. With her sister and brothers,
Zoya Phan, Saw Say Say Phan and Slone Phan, she set
up the Phan Foundation. The Foundation has four main
objectives: To alleviate poverty, to provide education, to
promote human rights, and to protect Karen culture for
the Karen people of Burma.
Her sister Zoya Phan is a high prole activist, and is In-
ternational Coordinator at Burma Campaign UK. Zoya
Phans acclaimed autobiography, Little Daughter, was
published in April 2009. It was published in the United
States as Undaunted in May 2010.
25.1 Footnotes
[1] Karen National Union website http://karennationalunion.
net/index.php/burma/freedom/knu-around-the-world
[2] Mizzima website http://www.mizzima.com/news/
regional/3126-austrian-film-fest-highlights-burma.html
[3] Burma Campaign UK website http:
//www.burmacampaign.org.uk/index.
php/news-and-reports/news-stories/
UN-EU-Silent-as-Burmese-Army-Completes-Takeover-of-Kler-Law-Seh-Karen-State/
13
53
Chapter 26
Bo Nat Khann Mway
In this Burmese name, Bo is an honoric.
Bo Nat Khann Mway;
[1]
Na KhamMwe";
[2][3][4][5]
Na
Kam Mui";
[6]
Col Saw Lah Pwe";
[3]
Colonel Saw La
Pwe";
[7]
"Bo Moustache";
[7][8]
Saw Lar Bwe";
[8]
Saw
La Bwe";
[4]
Saw Lah Bwe"; Mr. Moustache";
[5]
Mr.
Beard
[9]
The break-away DKBA is managed by Bo Nat Khann
Mway. He is Brigadier General
[2]
of Brigade 5.
[4]
Saw Lah Pwes force broke with the rest of the DKBA
after rejecting the regimes plan for a Border Guard Force
(BGF).
[10]
He originally had ve battalions under his command, but
two battalions led by Majors Motethone and Sawblue,
comprising a total of 300 troops, transformed themselves
into the Border Guard Force on August 21. 2010.
[8]
26.1 A quote
[The Burmese regime does not] understand the language
of diplomacy or political talks, but [only the language of]
guns.
[11]
26.2 References
[1] facebook. facebook. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
[2] Noreen, Naw(2010-11-07). DKBArenegades seize bor-
der town. Democratic Voice of Burma. Retrieved 2011-
01-03.
[3] Weng, Lawi (2010-11-08). DKBA Troops Seize Three
Pagodas Pass. The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
[4] Wade, Francis (2010-08-03). KNU general-secretary
says Saw La Bwe may come home. Danielpedersen.org.
Retrieved 2011-01-03.
[5] Burma attack 'a warning of possible civil war'" (Press
release). Burma Campaign UK. 2010-11-08. Retrieved
2011-01-03.
[6] Wechsler, Maxmilian (2010-12-05). A new phase in
Burmese politics : What drives Brig Gen Saw La Bwe,
the commander of the DKBAs 5th Brigade?". Bangkok
Post. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
[7] Phanida (2010-11-09). Junta bombards DKBA splinter
group at Three Pagodas Pass. Mizzima. Retrieved 2011-
01-03.
[8] Kha, Kyaw (2010-08-26). Bo Moustache and followers
still reject BGF plan. Mizzima. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
[9] Naing, Saw Yan (August 2010). Mr. Beard Breaks
Away 18 (8). The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
[10] Naing, Saw Yan (2010-11-09). DKBA Brigade Leader
Rejects Election Result. The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 2011-
01-03.
[11] Brig Gen Na KhamMwe aka SawLa Bwe, Commander of
DKBABrigade 5, reported by Bangkok Post, 5 December
2010
26.3 External links
Portrait of a Karen Warrior
54
Chapter 27
Zoya Phan
Zoya Phan (born 27 October 1980) is a political activist
from Burma of Karen descent. She resides in the United
Kingdom on political asylum, and is the International Co-
ordinator of the human rights organization Burma Cam-
paign UK. She is an outspoken critic of the Burmese
government and has repeatedly called for democratic re-
form in Burma, as well as economic sanctions from both
the British government and the United Nations. In April
2009, she published her autobiography, Little Daughter,
in the UK, which was published under a dierent title in
the United States in May 2010.
[1][2]
27.1 Biography
27.1.1 Early life
Zoya Phan was born in Manerplaw, then the headquar-
ters of the Karen National Union (KNU), on 27 October
1980, the second of her parents three biological children.
Her father was Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan, General Sec-
retary of the KNU, and her mother was Nant Kyin Shwe,
a former soldier for the KNU. Zoya got her unusual name
from her father, who named her after the Russian World
War II hero Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya because he saw
several parallels between the Soviet ght against the Nazis
and the Karen struggle against the Burmese government.
She spent most of her early life in a Karen village called
Per He Lu, an hours walk away from the KNU headquar-
ters in Manerplaw. When she was six, she began to spend
more time in Manerplaw, and it was there she had her rst
exposure to the ghting in Burma, as land mine victims
frequently went to the hospital there for treatment.
[3]
When Zoya was 14, the Burmese army attacked Maner-
plaw and Per He Lu, forcing her and her family to run to
Mae Ra Moh, a refugee camp just across the border in
Thailand. In 1996, she and her family managed to cross
back into Burma, settling in a Karen village called Ther
Waw Thaw (The New Village).
[3]
Halfway through the
school year, she nearly died of an unknown disease, only
recovering after weeks of being on an IV drip. In March
1997, the village came under attack by the Burmese army,
and she and her family ed back across the border to an-
other refugee camp called Noh Poe, near a Thai-Karen
Bust of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, for whom Zoya Phan was
named.
village. After ten months, Zoya and her older sister, Nant
Bwa Bwa Phan, were able to get to Mae Sot in Thailand
for three months, hoping for a chance to go to a university
in Australia; however, this fell through, and they decided
to complete their education at another refugee camp, Mae
La.
[3]
In 1999, Zoya and Bwa Bwa took an Open Soci-
ety Institute (OSI) exam to earn a scholarship to go to a
university. Both of them passed the rst time; however,
there was only enough space for Bwa Bwa, who went to
Bangkok University, and Zoya had to retake the exam
the following year. While waiting, she caught cerebral
malaria, and almost died a second time. In 2000, she re-
took the OSI exam and was granted an OSI scholarship
and a scholarship from Prospect Burma, giving her the
55
56 CHAPTER 27. ZOYA PHAN
chance to join her sister studying in Bangkok.
[3]
27.1.2 Bangkok University
At Bangkok University, Zoya enrolled in the business ad-
ministration program, as that was the only program her
scholarship permitted her to enter. Zoya and her sister
had no papers, and like other students from Burma had
to maintain a low prole to avoid the scrutiny of the Thai
police. During her second year, she and Bwa Bwa helped
to secretly organize a support group for other Karen stu-
dents, collecting money to give a prize to a student in one
of the refugee camps. In her third year, Zoya entered
a three month internship in the consumer department of
Telecoms Asia, and was oered a position after she com-
pleted her degree. After three years, she graduated with
a Bachelor of Arts in business administration.
[3]
Upon
returning to the refugee camps, she and several other
Karen students from their organization illegally crossed
the Burmese border to Papun so they could personally de-
liver their prize to the winner and to document what was
happening to Karen people still in Burma. Soon after they
returned, Zoya considered accepting Telecoms Asias of-
fer, but ultimately accepted a scholarship to study in
the United Kingdom with her sister, while her younger
brother Slone went to study in Canada. Before she left,
her father took in two Burmese child soldiers who were
sent to kill both him and Zoya; although they failed, it
was the rst time the Burmese government had speci-
cally targeted her. Her mother died a few weeks later,
and Zoya considered staying to help her father; however,
he insisted that she go.
[3]
27.2 Political activism
When Zoya was in her early teens, her father frequently
used her name as a pseudonym for his writings, some-
thing she only found out about many years later. She
rst saw her father speak while her family was in Ther
Waw Thaw, inspiring her to become an activist herself.
Upon entering the UK in 2005, she began volunteering
with the Burma Campaign UK. She attended one rally in
traditional Karen dress, and was asked on the spot to be
the master of ceremonies. She accepted, and soon after-
ward, she was asked to do an interviewwith the BBC, and
rapidly became a sought-out speaker for issues related to
Burma and Burma-UK relations.
Zoya has accused the Burmese government of using child
soldiers and violent repression tactics, including torture,
ethnic cleansing, religious discrimination, and killing of
political opponents and protesters.
[3][4]
She says that this
has had a particularly devastating eect on the Karen,
who are an ethnic minority and around 40% Christian
and 20% animist in predominantly Buddhist Burma. In
addition, she accuses the Burmese government of ex-
treme corruption, saying that the leaders of the military
junta have intentionally mismanaged the economy to ben-
et themselves.
[3][4]
She has called for both the UN and
the British government to place economic sanctions on
Burma, and to cease all arms deals with the government.
In 2010, she sharply denounced the international com-
munitys response to the 2010 Burmese elections, saying
it was overly focused on very small changes that might
occur while ignoring the fact that their impact would be
minimal and would not lead to any signicant increase
in freedom.
[5]
While Aung San Suu Kyi was under house
arrest, she repeatedly urged the UN and the ASEAN In-
tergovernmental Commission on Human Rights to work
towards her release.
[6]
In 2007, she spoke at a Conservative Party conference,
calling for the British government to cease trade with
the Burmese government, and expressed her anger at the
British governments continued inaction towards Burma
even in the face of human rights abuses. She was also very
critical of the UN for failing to impose an arms embargo
on Burma after Russia and China blocked a Security
Council motion. Later, she met with then-British prime
minister Gordon Brown to encourage imposition of a
trade embargo with the Burmese.
[4]
In 2008, she accused the Burmese government of using
Cyclone Nargis to proliferate ethnic cleansing. She said
that the governments lack of warning people about the
impending cyclone and refusal of foreign aid to assist
with medical treatment and rebuilding lead to thousands
of unnecessary deaths.
[7]
In addition, she harshly criti-
cised Western governments, especially the United King-
dom, for refusing to push further when Burma agreed to
allow relief workers into small parts of the country, say-
ing that they did not do enough to hold the Burmese gov-
ernment accountable for its lack of response to the cy-
clone. She pointed out that the junta had already bent to
international pressure by allowing workers in at all, and
said that the international community should have pushed
harder, which she said would have forced the junta to al-
low more essential aid. Ultimately, she said the interna-
tional reaction was symbolic of the past several decades
of inaction towards political and human rights abuses in
Burma.
[3][7][8]
In May 2011, she spoke at the Oslo Freedom Forum, and
said that despite the Burmese governments claims of re-
form, the changes were only cosmetic and no real change
had occurred in Burma. She also urged the UN to judge
the Burmese government by their actions instead of their
ocial statements.
[9]
In March 2012, she spoke at the
fourth Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democ-
racy and continued to maintain that the Burmese gov-
ernments reforms were insucient and that international
pressure and sanctions were still necessary.
[10]
After Suu
Kyis National League for Democracy won 40 of 45 par-
liamentary seats in April of that year, Zoya urged peo-
ple not to become overly optimistic, echoing Suu Kyis
statement that far from being the complete transition to
27.4. AWARDS AND RECOGNITION 57
democracy, this was only the very beginning of the pro-
cess. She also stated that, despite assurances from Thein
Sein that reforms would take place, attacks on minority
groups in Burma were only increasing in frequency, fur-
ther bolstering the need for caution.
[11]
In addition to her work with the Burma Campaign UK,
Zoya is the coordinator of the European Karen Network,
secretary of the Karen Community Association (UK),
and serves of the board of the Austrian Burma Cen-
tre.
[12][13]
27.2.1 Little Daughter
In speeches and interviews, Zoya frequently speaks about
her experiences to describe conditions in Burma. In
2009, she worked with Damien Lewis to publish her au-
tobiography, Little Daughter: a Memoir of Survival in
Burma and the West, 2009. It is published by Simon
and Schuster.
[1][2]
In May 2010, it was published in the
United States under the title Undaunted: My Struggle for
Freedom and Survival in Burma. She said that the goal
of her book was to share her story as a Karen living in
Burma, and to raise international awareness of the ongo-
ing ghting and human rights abuses in Burma, especially
in the east, which she says does not receive enough at-
tention. At the end of the book, she also expresses her
extreme scepticism over the upcoming elections, criticis-
ing the UN and governments who believe that real re-
form will be attained. She maintains that the situation in
Burma is exactly the same as when she ed the country,
and that only pressure and sanctions from other countries
will bring about the reform necessary to create democ-
racy within Burma.
[3]
The book has received positive re-
views from papers such as the Globe and Mail and the
Independent.
[1][2]
27.3 Personal life
Because Zoya had entered the UK with a falsied pass-
port, she was almost deported, but was allowed to stay
while applying for refugee status. Two years after her
initial application, after applying for judicial review in
August 2007, the British government granted it to her.
After delivering her rst speeches for the Burma Cam-
paign UK, a radio transmission was intercepted, which
contained a Burmese governments hit list with her name
on it.
[3]
On 14 February 2008, just before she received
her MA from the University of East Anglia, Zoyas father
was assassinated by agents of the Burmese junta. Despite
her name still being on the Burmese governments hit list,
she and her family decided to attend his funeral in They
Bey Hta, just inside Kayin State in Burma.
[14]
Following
this, Zoya and her remaining family set up the Phan Foun-
dation, which aims to ght poverty, promote education
and human rights, and protect the culture of the Karen
people of Burma.
[15]
She received her MA in politics and
development from the University of East Anglia in May
2008.
[16]
Today, she resides in the UK, in an apartment
in north London.
[17]
Zoya has two brothers and one sister. Say Say, her older
brother, was adopted by her parents when she was four
months old, and her younger brother Slone Phan was born
when she was two. Nant Bwa Bwa Phan, her older sister,
is the UK representative of the Karen National Union.
Slone lives in Manitoba, Canada, where he studied at the
University of Manitoba and became active in the Mani-
toba Interfaith Immigration Council, an organization as-
sisting refugees coming into Manitoba.
[18][19]
27.4 Awards and recognition
In 2009, Zoya became a TED Fellow.
[20]
In March 2010,
she was honored as a Young Global Leader by the World
Economic Forum (WEF).
[21]
27.5 References
[1] Connelly, Karen (5 July 2009). Little Daughter: AMem-
oir of Survival in Burma and the West, by Zoya Phan with
Damien Lewis. Globe and Mail (Canada). Retrieved 27
July 2009.
[2] David, Calleja (1 July 2009). Zoya Phans Account of
Surviving Burma. Foreign Policy Journal. Retrieved 27
July 2009.
[3] Phan, Zoya (2009). Little Daughter: a Memoir of Sur-
vival in Burma and the West. Simon & Schuster.
[4] Mulholland, Helene (2 October 2007). Campaigner at-
tacks UK inaction over Burma. The Guardian (London).
[5] Phan, Zoya (9 November 2010). Regional press encour-
aged by Burma election. The BBC (London).
[6] An Interview With Zoya Phan. Allvoices.com. Re-
trieved 18 May 2011.
[7] Zoya Phan: Denial of aid is as eective a way of killing
my people as a bullet. The Independent (London). 2 May
2009.
[8] Jacques, Adam(10 May 2009). Credo: Zoya Phan. The
Independent (London).
[9] Zoya Phan Testied at Oslo Freedom Forum. Zo-
miDaily. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
[10] Speaker - Zoya Phan. March 13, 2012. Retrieved June
21, 2012.
[11] Phan, Zoya (April 2, 2012). Aung San Suu Kyis vic-
tory does not bring Burma freedom. The Guardian UK.
Retrieved October 6, 2012.
[12] Austrian Burma Center. Austrianburmacenter.at. Re-
trieved 18 May 2011.
58 CHAPTER 27. ZOYA PHAN
[13] Zoya Phan. Zoya Phan. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
[14] Funeral Statement By The Children of Pahod Mahn Sha
Lah Phan Latest News. The Phan Foundation. 18
February 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
[15] The Phan Foundation. The Phan Foundation. Retrieved
18 May 2011.
[16] Zoya Phan , Author Revealed at Simon &Schuster. Au-
thors.simonandschuster.co.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
[17] Grice, Elizabeth (6 May 2009). Zoya Phan: the face of
Burmese protest. The Daily Telegraph (London).
[18] KNU Website http://karennationalunion.net/index.php/
burma/freedom/knu-around-the-world
[19] http://uniter.ca/pdf/uniter-2007-10-18.pdf
[20] TED Blog , 25 new TED Fellows announced for TED-
Global in Oxford. Blog.ted.com. 26 May 2009. Re-
trieved 18 May 2011.
[21] Zoya Phan at a 2007 Conservative Party conference
(Reuters) (5 March 2010). Zoya Phan inducted as a
Young Global Leader , Democratic Voice of Burma.
Dvb.no. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
27.6 External links
Oslo Freedom Forum
Chapter 28
San C. Po
Sir San Crombie Po, CBE(18701946) was a Karen na-
tionalist who devoted himself to improving the situation
of the Karen people of Burma in the early 20th century.
He was born in 1870 near the village of Bassein. His fam-
ily was Sgaw Karen and Christian. He attended a school
headed by an American missionary, Charles Nichols, who
was impressed with his motivation and decided Po should
continue his education in the United States. At the age of
fourteen, he was sent to live with relatives of Dr. Nichols.
After high school, he attended Albany Medical College
and received his MD degree in 1893.
[1]
He applied for
naturalization as a U.S. citizen but was denied on the
grounds of his race.
[2]
He returned to Burma and served as the district medical
ocer in Bassein, followed by Kyaukse and Myaungmya.
He increasingly became involved in Karen nationalist af-
fairs and in 1915 was appointed to Burmas Legislative
Council, an advisory council to the British colonial gov-
ernor.
He was awarded a CBE and was further knighted in
1933.
[3]
He is also known for his book Burma and the Karens.
Published in 1928, Burma and the Karens now functions
as a survey on the situation facing the Karen people in the
early 20th century.
[4]
28.1 References
[1] Po, San C, with an introduction by Christina Fink. Burma
and the Karens. Bangkok, Thailand: White Lotus Co.
Ltd., 2001. ISBN 974-7534-82-7. introduction, page xv-
xvi.
[2] Scott, James Brown; Hill, David Jayne; Hunt, Gaillard
(1906). Citizenship of the United States, expatriation, and
protection abroad. Washington, DC: Government Print-
ing Oce. p. 100. Retrieved 2013-03-25. Cites In re Po,
28 N.Y. Supp. 379.
[3] London Gazette http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/
ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=33936&geotype=London&gpn=
2936&type=ArchivedIssuePage
[4] Paung, Shah. San C. Po: Elusive Dream. Irrawaddy
News Magazine June 2004.
28.2 External links
Irrawaddy article on San C. Po
Read Burma and the Karens at Project Gutenberg
Australia
59
Chapter 29
Saw Bwe Hmu
Saw Bwe Hmu (Burmese: - 24 July 1993) was
one of the ve founders and leader of renounced Burma
rock music band Iron Cross in 1991. He was an eth-
nic Karen Christian. He was lead guitarist while Chit
San Maung was another guitarist and successor of him as
leader of the band later, Khin Maung Thant was bassist,
Banya Naing was keyboard player and Kha Yan played
drummer. Lay Phyu, Ah Nge, Myo Gyi and Wyne Wyne
were key singers of that band and R Zarni joined later.
Composers Maung Maung Zaw Latt and L Phyu freed
it from its reliance on such popular American bands as
Metallica and won it critical acclaim and a wide public.
[1]
He played guitar at Success and Symphony music bands
before Iron Cross was founded. He composed sangs for
Kaisar.
[2]
He was a music critic and his pen name was Zar
Hlaing.
[3]
He died at the age of 39
[4]
on 24 July 1993. He was sur-
vived by wife and ex-keyboard player NawPhawWar and
2 daughters, Mee Mee Khe and Kabya Bwe Hmu. Both
are successful singers.
[5]
29.1 References
[1] From Rock to Romance. .irrawaddy.org. Retrieved
2014-06-17.
[2] Saw Bwe Hmu by Andrew Sway
[3] Yar Zar Zar Hlaing / Saw Bwe Hmu | MoeMaKa
Burmese News & Media. Moemaka.com. 2013-07-25.
Retrieved 2014-06-17.
[4] Remembering Saw Bwe Hmu by Dr. Ko Ko Lwin
[5] Saw Bwe Hmu by Naing Zaw (Lazy Club)
60
Chapter 30
Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan
In this Burmese name, Padoh Mahn is an
honoric.
Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan (July 5, 1943 February
14, 2008) was the secretary general of the Karen Na-
tional Union (KNU), which is the largest insurgent group
in Burma.
[1]
30.1 Early life
Mahn Sha Lah Phan was born and raised in Tawgyaung,
Maubin District. He studied at the University of Yangon,
receiving a degree in history. After graduating, he joined
the Karen resistance in Burma, and it was then that, like
many other members of the Karen resistance movement,
he changed his name to Mahn Sha Lah Phan, which in
Karen means Mr. Star Moon Bright. He chose star
and moon (Sha Lah) to represent the light of the future,
and bright (Phan) in the belief that the future would be
bright.
[2]
30.2 Activism
The KNU, through its armed wing, the Karen National
Liberation Army, has been ghting against the Burmese
government for autonomy for the Karen people since
1949. It operates in both Burma and Thailand. He served
as the Secretary-General of the KNU.
[1][3]
Sha Lah Phan
was against any form of surrender to the Burmese gov-
ernment.
[1]
30.3 Personal life
Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan married a former KNU sol-
dier, Nang Kyin Shwe, and had three children in addition
to adopting a boy named Say Say. Despite frequently
moving back and forth across the Burma-Thailand bor-
der, he insisted that his children receive the same educa-
tion he did, and had adopted Say Say to give him a better
education than what would have been available to him in
his home village. His two daughters, Zoya Phan and Nant
Bwa Bwa Phan, are both political activists in the United
Kingdom, and Bwa Bwa is currently the United Kingdom
representative of the Karen National Union.
[2]
In 2005, Phan allowed two Burmese children posing as
refugees to stay in his house at Noh Poe. The children
were really child soldiers who were sent to assassinate
both him and Zoya; however, before they could carry out
their plan, they admitted their real reason for coming to
him. In return, he permitted them to stay at Noh Poe to
prevent them from being forced back into the Burmese
army.
[2]
30.4 Assassination
On February 14, 2008 at about 4:30pmin the border town
of Mae Sot, Thailand, Sha Lah Phan was sitting in the
veranda of his home when two gunmen approached him
bearing gifts, which were reportedly fruit baskets.
[1][3]
One attacker shot Phan twice in the chest while the second
gunman shot him as he lay on the ground.
[3]
The attack-
ers escaped in a pick-up truck.
[1]
His house was approxi-
mately ve kilometres from the Thai-Burmese border.
[3]
He died instantly and was reportedly 64 years old at the
time of his death.
[3]
Phan had predicted an increase in violence ahead of
a Burmese constitutional referendum in May 2008, in
an interview with Reuters the week of his death.
[1]
His
adopted son, Say Say Phan, blamed a Karen splinter
group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA),
for carrying out the attack on behalf of the Burmese mil-
itary rulers.
[3]
30.5 References
[1] Burmese rebel leader is shot dead. BBC News. 2008-
02-14. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
[2] Phan, Zoya (2009). Little Daughter: a Memoir of Sur-
vival in Burma and the West. Simon & Schuster.
[3] Radnofsky, Louise (2008-02-14). Burmese rebel leader
shot dead. The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
61
62 CHAPTER 30. PADOH MAHN SHA LAH PHAN
30.6 External links
The Guardian: Burmese rebel leader shot dead
BBC News: Burmese rebel leader is shot dead
Information on Pado Mahn Shar
Karen Leader Pa Doh Mahn Shar of KNU on
YouTube
Chapter 31
Tha Byu
Tha Byu (c.1778 9 September 1840) was the rst
Karen Christian and a notable evangelist to the Karen.
He was born in U Twa village. In his early life, he report-
edly engaged in robbery and was involved in many mur-
ders. After being sold as a slave to a Christian Burmese,
he was converted to Baptist Christianity by Adoniram
Judson in 1828. he was called Tha Byu (younger
brother) by Judson when they rst met. Judson recalls
that Tha Byu was a vicious and angry person when they
rst met, and Tha Byu conrms this. After his conver-
sion, though, Tha Byu became an energetic missionary to
the Karen people. After twelve years, 1270 Karen had
been baptized, with many other believers.
31.1 References
Cliord Kyaw De and Anna May Say Pa. "Tha Byu,
Ko" A Dictionary of Asian Christianity. Scott W.
Sunquist, editor. Michigan: Wm B Berdmans Pub-
lishing Co. 2001.
31.2 Further reading
Francis Mason. Ko Tha Byu, the rst Karen Chris-
tian (1983)
(Karen) Ya Ba Toh Loh. Life of Saw Ko Tha Byu
(1950)
63
Chapter 32
David Tharckabaw
In this Burmese name, Phado Saw is an
honoric.
Phado Saw David Tharckabaw is Vice President and
Minister of Foreign Aairs of the Karen National Union
(KNU).
[1][2][3]
David Tharckabaw should not, as in some cases,
[4]
be
confused with David Taw, who is the secretary of the
KNU Peace Committee and also a member of a KNU
delegation that negotiated peace with the Burmese gov-
ernment in January 2012.
[5]
32.1 References
[1] Interview Pado David Taw (Secretary. National Demo-
cratic Front KNU foreign aair)
[2]
[3] Phado David Htaw. His surname is variously spelt Tak-
abaw, Takapaw, Takarpaw, Thackrabaw, Tharkapaw.
[4] A Long Struggle
[5]
32.2 External links
A long struggle
Saw David Tharckabaw. Responsible for relations
with governments, the United Nations, and interna-
tional NGOs.
Extract from Secret Genocide
64
Chapter 33
Win Maung
For the Burmese boxer, see Win Maung (boxer).
In this Burmese name, Mahn is an honoric.
Mahn Win Maung (Burmese: [m w
m]; 17 April 1916 4 July 1989) was the third
president of Union of Burma (Myanmar). He was ap-
pointed president by Prime Minister U Nu in March
1957. He served for ve years until 2 March 1962, when
General Ne Win's military coup d'tat ousted Nus gov-
ernment.
33.1 Biography
Win Maung was an ethnic Karen born on 17 April 1916 in
the Irrawaddy delta, son of Daw Tharya and U Shwe Yin.
He graduated with a B.A. from Yangon University's Jud-
son College in 1937. Between 1947 and 1956 he was var-
iously Minister of Ministry of Mining and Labour, Minis-
ter of the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunication
and Minister of the Ministry of Water, Air and Costal
Ship. He was imprisoned between 1962 to 1967.
33.2 References
New York Times Obituary: Mahn Win Maung, Ex-
Burmese President, 73
33.3 External links
Leaders of Myanmar (Burma)
65
Chapter 34
Naw Zipporah Sein
In this Burmese name, Naw is an honoric.
Naw Zipporah Sein is a Karen political activist and
Vice-President of the Karen National Union. Zipporah
Sein was born in 1955 in Kayin State, Burma, and trained
as a teacher before eeing to Thailand in 1995. From
1998 to 2008, she was the coordinator and executive sec-
retary of the Karen Womens Organization, which de-
scribes its mission as helping Karen women refugees.
[2]
She has been called a heroine by the Political Heroes
website.
[3]
34.1 References
[1] KNU - About Us. Knuhq.org. Retrieved 2014-05-06.
[2] Karen Women Organisation. Karenwomen.org. Re-
trieved 2014-05-06.
[3] Leader - Naw Zipporah Sein. Political Heroes. Re-
trieved 2014-05-06.
34.2 External links
Biography on the Asian-Eurasian Human Rights Fo-
rum
Zipparh Seins Facebook Page
Karen Womens Organization
1000 Peace-women: Naw Zipporah Sein.
66
Chapter 35
Karen languages
The Karen /krn/,
[2]
or Karenic, languages are tonal
languages spoken by some seven million Karen people.
They are of unclear aliation within the Sino-Tibetan
languages.
[3]
The Karen languages are written using the
Burmese script.
[4]
The three main branches are Sgaw,
Pwo, and Pa'o. Karenni (also known Kayah or Red
Karen) and Kayan (also known as Padaung) are related
to the Sgaw branch. They are almost unique among the
Sino-Tibetan languages in having a subjectverbobject
word order; other than Karen and Bai, Sino-Tibetan
languages feature a subjectobjectverb order.
[5]
This is
likely due to inuence fromneighboring Mon and Tai lan-
guages.
[6]
The Karen languages are also considered un-
usual for not having any Chinese inuence.
[7]
35.1 Classication
Because they dier from other Tibeto-Burman languages
in morphology and syntax, Benedict (1972: 24, 129)
removed the Karen languages from Tibeto-Burman in a
Tibeto-Karen branch, but this in no longer accepted.
[3][6]
The internal structure of the family is as follows:
Pao
Pwo (Eastern, Western, Northern, Phrae Pwo)
SgawBghai
Bghai: Lahta, Padaung (Kayan), Bwe (Bghai),
Geko, Geba
Brek (Bwe)
Kayah: Eastern Kayah, Western Kayah,
Yintale, Manumanaw
Sgaw: Sgaw, Paku Karen, Mopwa
35.1.1 Manson (2011)
Manson (2011)
[8]
classies the Karen languages as fol-
lows. The classications of Geker, Gekho, Kayaw, and
Manu are ambiguous, as they may be either Central or
Southern.
Karen
Peripheral
Pao
Pwo
Northern
Kayan
Lahta
Yinbaw
Yintale
Central
Western Kayah, Eastern Kayah
Geba, Bwe
Paku (?)
Geker, Gekho (?; may be Central or Southern)
Kayaw, Manu (?; may be Central or Southern)
Southern
Sgaw, Paku
Dermuha, Palaychi
35.1.2 Shintani (2012)
Shintani (2012:x)
[9]
gives the following tentative clas-
sication, proposed in 2002, for what he calls the
Brakaloungic languages, of which Karen is a branch.
Individual languages are marked in italics.
Brakaloungic
Pao
Pao
Karen
Kayah-Padaung
Kayah
67
68 CHAPTER 35. KAREN LANGUAGES
Pado-Thaido-Gekho
Thaidai
Pado-Gekho
Gekho
Padaung
Padaung
Gekho (Yathu Gekho)
Bwe
Bweba-Kayaw
Kayaw
Bweba
Geba
Bwe
Sgaw-Pwo
Pwo
Mobwa
Mopwa
Blimaw
Pako-Sgaw
Sgaw
Pakubwa
Paku
Monebwa
Thalebwa
However, at the time of publication, Shintani (2012) re-
ports that there are more than 40 Brakaloungic languages
and/or dialects, many of which have only been recently
reported and documented. Shintani also reports that Mon
inuence is present in all Brakaloungic languages, while
some also have signicant Burmese and Shan inuence.
35.2 References
[1] Nordho, Sebastian; Hammarstrm, Harald; Forkel,
Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). Karen.
Glottolog 2.2. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolu-
tionary Anthropology.
[2] Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Students Handbook,
Edinburgh
[3] Graham Thurgood, Randy J. LaPolla (2003). The Sino-
Tibetan Languages. Routledge. ISBN 0-7007-1129-5.
[4] Omniglot
[5] Description of the Sino-Tibetan Language Family
[6] Matiso, James A. (1991). Sino-Tibetan Linguistics:
Present State and Future Prospects. Annual Review
of Anthropology (Annual Reviews Inc.) 20: 469504.
doi:10.1146/annurev.an.20.100191.002345.
[7] Thai Cultural Tourism
[8] http://jseals.org/seals21/manson11subgroupingd.pdf
[9] Shintani Tadahiko (2012). A handbook of comparative
Brakaloungic languages. Tokyo: ILCAA.
George van Driem (2001) Languages of the Hi-
malayas: An Ethnolinguistic Handbook of the
Greater Himalayan Region. Brill.
35.3 External links
Free Anglo-Karen Dictionary
Anglo-karen Grammar
Drum Publication GroupOnline Sgaw Karen lan-
guage materials. Includes an online English - Sgaw
Karen Dictionary.
Karen Teacher Working GroupSeveral Karen
fonts available for download.
Chapter 36
Bwe Karen language
Not to be confused with Brek language.
Bwe, also known as Bwe Karen and Bghai (Baghi), is a
Karen language of Burma.
36.1 References
[1] Bwe at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
[2] Nordho, Sebastian; Hammarstrm, Harald; Forkel,
Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). Bwe Karen.
Glottolog 2.2. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolu-
tionary Anthropology.
69
Chapter 37
Eastern Pwo language
Eastern Pwo, or Phlou, is a Karen language spoken by
over a million people in Burma and by about 50,000 in
Thailand, where it has been called Southern Pwo. It is
not intelligible with other varieties of Pwo.
A script called Leke was developed between 1830 and
1860 and is used by members of the millenarian Leke
sect of Buddhism. Otherwise a variety of Burmese al-
phabets are used, and refugees in Thailand have created
a Thai alphabet which is in limited use.
37.1 References
[1] Eastern Pwo at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
[2] Nordho, Sebastian; Hammarstrm, Harald; Forkel,
Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). Pwo Eastern
Karen. Glottolog 2.2. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for
Evolutionary Anthropology.
70
Chapter 38
Geba Karen language
Geba, also known as Eastern Bwe, is a Karen language
of Burma.
38.1 References
[1] Geba at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
[2] Nordho, Sebastian; Hammarstrm, Harald; Forkel,
Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). Geba Karen.
Glottolog 2.2. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolu-
tionary Anthropology.
71
Chapter 39
Geko Karen
Geko is a Karen language of Burma. Yinbaw is report-
edly a variety. Speakers of Geko and Yinbaw are ethni-
cally Kayan, as are speakers of Lahta and Padaung.
39.1 References
[1] Geko at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
Yinbaw at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
72
Chapter 40
Kayaw language
Not to be confused with Bwe language.
Brek, also known as Brek Karen, Bwe, and Kayaw, is a
Karen language of Burma.
40.1 References
[1] Kayaw at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
[2] Nordho, Sebastian; Hammarstrm, Harald; Forkel,
Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). Brek Karen.
Glottolog 2.2. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolu-
tionary Anthropology.
73
Chapter 41
Lahta language
Lahta is a Karen language of Burma.
41.1 References
[1] Lahta at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
Zayein at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
74
Chapter 42
Northern Pwo language
Northern Pwo, or Phlong, is a Karen language of
Thailand. It is not intelligible with other varieties of Pwo,
though it is close to Phrae Pwo.
42.1 References
[1] Northern Pwo at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
[2] Nordho, Sebastian; Hammarstrm, Harald; Forkel,
Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). Pwo North-
ern Karen. Glottolog 2.2. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute
for Evolutionary Anthropology.
75
Chapter 43
Pa'O language
Not to be confused with Pao language.
Pa'O is a Karen language spoken by half a million Pa'O
people in Burma.
The language is primarily written using a system of pho-
netics devised by Christian missionaries,
[3][4]
and many
of the materials now available for it on the internet derive
from Christian missionary involvement, although the ma-
jority of the Pa'O are generally reported to be Buddhists
(without real statistics, etc.).
The language is also (correctly or incorrectly) referred to
by the exonyms Black Karen and White Karen, both
of which are terms used in contrast to the Karenni (or
Red Karen). The Christian missionary website Ethno-
logue categorizes the language as BLK, abbreviating
Black Karen.
[5]
43.1 References
[1] Pa'O at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
[2] Nordho, Sebastian; Hammarstrm, Harald; Forkel,
Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). Pa'o Karen.
Glottolog 2.2. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolu-
tionary Anthropology.
[3] A Pa'O wordlist: http://www.ling.hawaii.edu/ldtc/
languages/paoh/wordlist.html
[4] Some remarks on Pa'O Orthography: http://www.ling.
hawaii.edu/ldtc/languages/paoh/orthography.html
[5] Accurate as of Feb. 2013, cf. http://www.ethnologue.
com/show_language.asp?code=blk
76
Chapter 44
Padaung language
For the unrelated Kayan dialect cluster spoken by the
Kayan people of Borneo, see Kayan language (Borneo).
Padaung or Padaung Karen, also known as Kayan, is
a Karen language of Burma, spoken by the Kayan people.
44.1 References
[1] Padaung at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
77
Chapter 45
Phrae Pwo language
Phrae Pwo, or Northeastern Pwo, is a Karen language
of Thailand. It is not intelligible with other varieties of
Pwo, though it is close to Northern Pwo.
45.1 References
[1] Phrae Pwo at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
[2] Nordho, Sebastian; Hammarstrm, Harald; Forkel,
Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). Phrae Pwo
Karen. Glottolog 2.2. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for
Evolutionary Anthropology.
78
Chapter 46
Pwo Karen languages
The Pwo Karen languages are the second largest group
of the Karen languages. The four languages are at best
marginally mutually intelligible:
Eastern Pwo, Western Pwo, Northern Pwo, Phrae
Pwo.
The people who speak these languages are referred to by
many names, notably Pwo Karen. The Pwo Karen peo-
ple have lived in the eastern part of Burma for centuries,
and in the western and northern parts of Thailand for at
least seven or eight centuries.
The endonym is Phlou [phou ] or Ka Phlou [ka plou ],
meaning Karen or human beings.
46.1 References
[1] Nordho, Sebastian; Hammarstrm, Harald; Forkel,
Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). Pwo.
Glottolog 2.2. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolu-
tionary Anthropology.
79
Chapter 47
Red Karen language
Red Karen or Karenni, known in Burmese as Kayah, is
a Karen dialect continuum spoken by over half a million
Kayah people (Red Karen) in Burma.
The name Kayah is a newname invented by the Burmese
to split them o from other Karen.
[2]
Eastern Kayah is reported to have been spoken by
260,000 in Burma and 100,000 in Thailand in 2000, and
Western Kayah by 210,000 in Burma in 1987. They are
rather divergent. Among the Western dialects are Yintale
and Manu (Manumanaw in Burmese). There are incon-
sistent reports of whether Yinbaw is Red Karen or Geko
Karen.
47.1 References
[1] Eastern Kayah at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
Western Kayah at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
Yintale at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
Manumanaw (Manu) at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
[2] Christopher Beckwith, International Association for Ti-
betan Studies, 2002. Medieval Tibeto-Burman languages,
p. 108.
47.2 External links
E-books for children with narration in Karenni.
Unite for Literacy library. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
80
Chapter 48
S'gaw Karen language
Paku language redirects here. For the language of
Borneo, see Paku language (Indonesia).
S'gaw, also known as S'gaw Karen and S'gaw Kayin,
is a Karen language spoken by over four million S'gaw
Karen people in Burma, and 200,000 in Thailand. S'gaw
Karen is spoken in Tanintharyi Region's Ayeyarwady
Delta, Yangon Division, Bago Division and Kayin State.
It is written using the Mon script. A Bible translation was
published in 1853.
Various divergent dialects are sometimes seen as separate
languages: Paku in the northeast, Mopwa (Mobwa) in the
northwest, Wewew, and Monnepwa.
[2]
48.1 References
[1] S'gaw at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
Paku at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
Mopwa at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
Wewaw at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
[2] Christopher Beckwith, International Association for Ti-
betan Studies, 2002. Medieval Tibeto-Burman languages,
p. 108.
48.2 External links
S'gaw Karen Grammar
S'gaw Karen Dictionary
S'gaw Karen Bible
S'gaw Karen Picture Bible
SEAlang Library Sgaw Karen Dictionary
Drum Publication Group
81
Chapter 49
Western Pwo language
Western Pwo, or Delta Pwo, is a Karen language of
Burma. It is not intelligible with other varieties of Pwo.
49.1 References
[1] Western Pwo at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
[2] Nordho, Sebastian; Hammarstrm, Harald; Forkel,
Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). Pwo West-
ern Karen. Glottolog 2.2. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute
for Evolutionary Anthropology.
82
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Democratic Karen Buddhist Army Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Karen_Buddhist_Army?oldid=626761937 Con-
tributors: Skysmith, Haabet, Hintha, Toussaint, FlaBot, SmackBot, Brianski, Kazkaskazkasako, CristianoMacaluso, Cydebot, Wagaung,
ArnoldPlaton, Nono64, Uthantofburma, BotKung, WereSpielChequers, Miotroyo, Iohannes Animosus, Paleofreak, MatthewVanitas, Ad-
dbot, OlEnglish, Yobot, Againme, AnomieBOT, Xufanc, J04n, LucienBOT, Degen Earthfast, HenryYule2009, Full-date unlinking bot,
FoxBot, RjwilmsiBot, Thos okapi, The Blade of the Northern Lights, Charles Essie, Majorcolor2 and Anonymous: 8
Gods Army (revolutionary group) Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God's_Army_(revolutionary_group)?oldid=626761965 Contrib-
utors: Ahoerstemeier, Ryanaxp, Jossi, Neutrality, Freestylefrappe, Axeman89, Descendall, Jdcooper, Rjwilmsi, Koavf, CalJW, Le Anh-
Huy, Conscious, Deodar, Maximusveritas, SmackBot, Aelfthrytha, JJay, Kintetsubualo, Xaosux, Paul 012, Wikipediatastic, Cydebot,
The Lizard Wizard, Fluxbot, Alex moore, Farkas Jnos, VVVBot, Niceguyedc, Ktr101, PixelBot, Zappa711, Addbot, Josh Keen, Light-
bot, Rubinbot, Xufanc, Outback the koala, Degen Earthfast, Dinamik-bot, Clumsily, RjwilmsiBot, Rtamayoaz, H3llBot, Supasate, Chris-
Gualtieri, Raymond1922A, Charles Essie and Anonymous: 16
Kantarawadi Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kantarawadi?oldid=630722752 Contributors: Srnec, Niceguyedc, Xufanc, Phyo WP
and Murashel
The Karen Hilltribes Trust Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Karen_Hilltribes_Trust?oldid=592522401 Contributors: Rjwilmsi,
Wavelength, RadioFan, Grafen, SmackBot, Dougalg, Cydebot, GrahamHardy, Addbot, Js619, BG19bot, Karenhill and Anonymous: 2
Karen National Liberation Army Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_National_Liberation_Army?oldid=629484876 Contribu-
tors: KAMiKAZOW, Haabet, DocWatson42, Hintha, Japanese Searobin, ToddFincannon, Je3000, Lapsed Pacist, Descendall, Rjwilmsi,
Batterbu, SmackBot, Aelfthrytha, Kintetsubualo, Hmains, Bluebot, Ambuj.Saxena, Andrews12489, Cydebot, Kslotte, Jed, ArnoldPlaton,
VolkovBot, TXiKiBoT, FrogTrain, SieBot, Yintan, Mfarmaner, ImageRemovalBot, ClueBot, Niceguyedc, Solar-Wind, Alexbot, Noctibus,
Addbot, Fieldday-sunday, Eivindbot, Yobot, Xufanc, Que Sera Sera Sera, Lainestl, Degen Earthfast, EmausBot, John of Reading, Ald-
nonymous, Helpful Pixie Bot, Phyo WP, Wattosacrim, Wxguy12, Charles Essie, NawEh and Anonymous: 9
Karen National Union Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_National_Union?oldid=629455255 Contributors: Ahoerstemeier,
KAMiKAZOW, TUF-KAT, Haabet, WhisperToMe, Itai, Joy, Wetman, Antandrus, Brianhe, Rich Farmbrough, Bobo192, Circeus, Trevj,
Hintha, Cdc, Lapsed Pacist, Koavf, CalJW, Alex Sims, Wisekwai, SmackBot, Aelfthrytha, Kintetsubualo, Mokwella, Evlekis, Ohconfu-
cius, Neelix, Wagaung, Smith Jones, Scanlan, STBot, Hybernator, FrogTrain, BotKung, Chaoborus, Mfarmaner, RegentsPark, Solar-Wind,
Iohannes Animosus, Paleofreak, Addbot, Eivindbot, Lightbot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Natsharp, AnomieBOT, Xufanc, Que Sera Sera Sera,
Kingpin13, GrouchoBot, JamesRockford, FrescoBot, HenryYule2009, FoxBot, Jonkerz, Soewinhan, RjwilmsiBot, Wikipelli, The Blade of
the Northern Lights, CocuBot, Amp71, Phyo WP, Jingapore, Fart1001, Fatin01234, Charles Essie, Mfbjr, GabeIglesia, Kawthoo, NawEh
and Anonymous: 31
Karen of the Andamans Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_of_the_Andamans?oldid=575544958 Contributors: Orlady, Ser
Amantio di Nicolao, Colonel Warden and Sitush
Karenni Army Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karenni_Army?oldid=626762153 Contributors: Ijon, Haabet, Hintha, Magioladitis,
Solar-Wind, PixelBot, Addbot, Xufanc, Charles Essie and Anonymous: 2
Karenni States Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karenni_States?oldid=630722428 Contributors: Olivier, Hintha, MChew, TheMad-
Baron, SmackBot, Aelfthrytha, Kintetsubualo, SchreiberBike, Addbot, Xufanc, Murashel and Anonymous: 2
Kawthoolei Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawthoolei?oldid=630838712 Contributors: Bearcat, Hintha, Bhadani, FlaBot, Splin-
tercellguy, BL Lacertae, BonsaiViking, SmackBot, Kintetsubualo, KylieTastic, Andymccullough27, ClueBot, MatthewVanitas, Addbot,
Degen Earthfast, BattyBot, Cerabot and Anonymous: 4
Kayan people (Burma) Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayan_people_(Burma)?oldid=627447738 Contributors: Frecklefoot,
Haabet, Chidoll, PBS, Alan Liefting, Orangemike, Discospinster, Dbachmann, Kwamikagami, Iranian86Footballer, Hintha, MPerel,
84 CHAPTER 49. WESTERN PWO LANGUAGE
ARKdeEREH, Lerdsuwa, Woohookitty, Pol098, Ratzer, Cuvtixo, Koavf, Nightingale, Bgwhite, T.woelk, RussBot, Kauner, Blue Danube,
SmackBot, Zainker, Peter Isotalo, Matthew Timbang, Dreadstar, Michalchik, Joseph Solis in Australia, Missvain, Angelofdeath275,
Doom777, Cadsuane Melaidhrin, Emeraude, Tathar, Naniwako, Flutiki, Hybernator, Aymatth2, Saeta, Palaeovia, HansHermans, SieBot,
Til Eulenspiegel, Sue Douglasss, WhereIsTheCite?, Excirial, DumZiBoT, John Blundell, Actam, Bergsteiger, Cewvero, Salim sakir, Ad-
dbot, MrOllie, Chamal N, Elen of the Roads, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Editor2423, Momoricks, Xufanc, Citation bot, DynamoDegsy, LilHelpa,
Xqbot, Mmthinker, RibotBOT, Joaquin008, Amitdatta, Citation bot 1, TobeBot, RjwilmsiBot, Ornithikos, ZroBot, 11 Arlington, Menti-
bot, Petrb, ClueBot NG, Hazhk, O.Koslowski, Helpful Pixie Bot, CitationCleanerBot, NotWith, PeterOle, Khazar2, Starsnoopy, Jesper7,
TLyne13, 07deb07 and Anonymous: 59
Pa-O National Organization Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pa-O_National_Organization?oldid=626828459 Contributors: Haa-
bet, Hintha, WilliamThweatt, Cydebot, Eeekster, Addbot, Xufanc, Degen Earthfast, TjBot, John of Reading, Gurt Posh, Phyo WP, Charles
Essie and Khun Zaw Zaw Htay
Red Karen Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Karen?oldid=624908577 Contributors: Haabet, Kwamikagami, ZayZayEM, Hintha,
PANONIAN, Woohookitty, Koavf, Jimp, Badagnani, SmackBot, Aelfthrytha, Kintetsubualo, Hmains, TheNeon, HelloAnnyong, PamD,
Coyets, Kborland, Magioladitis, Maproom, Giov9, Palaeovia, Thehphe, ImageRemovalBot, SoxBot, XLinkBot, John Blundell, Addbot,
Anderscj, VP-bot, Rubinbot, Xufanc, CXCV, MastiBot, Tawoo, Ericwinny, The Blade of the Northern Lights, , MALLUS, Chuispaston-
Bot, ClueBot NG, CityOfSilver, Aranea Mortem, Burma601, Thewriterforkarenni and Anonymous: 11
S'gaw people Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S'gaw_people?oldid=545024023 Contributors: Jeroen, Kwamikagami, Koavf, Beta-
commandBot, Kborland, Hekerui, Addbot, TaBOT-zerem, A-eng, Tawoo and Anonymous: 3
Western Karenni Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Karenni?oldid=624936969 Contributors: Bearcat, Orange Tuesday, Wil-
helmina Will, Yobot, Xufanc, Snotbot and Shire Reeve
Saw Ba U Gyi Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saw_Ba_U_Gyi?oldid=556176074 Contributors: Kwamikagami, Hintha, MZM-
cBride, Bhadani, Gurch, Bgwhite, Jkaharper, Alaibot, Magioladitis, Waacstats, Rettetast, Reedy Bot, Hybernator, WereSpielChequers,
Mr.Z-bot, Oosaw, Mfarmaner, Mkativerata, Addbot, Yobot, Xqbot, HRoestBot, Minimac, Soewinhan, RjwilmsiBot and Anonymous: 5
Louisa Benson Craig Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisa_Benson_Craig?oldid=613663647 Contributors: Hintha, Angr,
Gudnabrsam, Johnpacklambert, Icarusgeek, Solar-Wind, Good Olfactory, RjwilmsiBot, Captain Assassin!, ChrisGualtieri, Liz and Bible
Literate
Smith Dun Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_Dun?oldid=588037294 Contributors: David Gerard, Zigger, Necrothesp, Hintha,
Woohookitty, Koavf, Bhadani, Bgwhite, SmackBot, Aelfthrytha, Kintetsubualo, Bluebot, Bwpach, Rjka K, IndianGeneralist, Cgingold,
Nono64, Yobot, LilHelpa, RjwilmsiBot, Mikemovall, NWFrontier, Phyo WP, ChrisGualtieri, Zovapuii, VIAFbot and Anonymous: 2
Johnny and Luther Htoo Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_and_Luther_Htoo?oldid=626309423 Contributors: Skysmith,
Docu, WhisperToMe, Altenmann, Bobblewik, Sesel, Utcursch, Popefauvexxiii, ClockworkLunch, Neutrality, D6, MeltBanana, Kwamik-
agami, Brother Dave Thompson, Hintha, Geschichte, Vizcarra, Joolz, Bnguyen, Dismas, Descendall, Cuchullain, Crzrussian, Deus Homoni,
DickClarkMises, Fisenko, Chanlyn, Wisekwai, Severa, Briaboru, LiniShu, Maximusveritas, DisambigBot, Kintetsubualo, Wikipediatas-
tic, Eastlaw, Jack O'Lantern, Seicer, Mgorun, Gabe1972, Waacstats, Barkeep, Plastikspork, Good Olfactory, Addbot, Ozguco, SpBot,
Mchow4000, Lightbot, RjwilmsiBot, ZroBot, H3llBot, RscprinterBot, BattyBot, Haddo68 and Anonymous: 20
Ka Hsaw Wa Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka_Hsaw_Wa?oldid=603235492 Contributors: Andycjp, Woohookitty, Koavf, Bg-
white, Wavelength, Khazar, Robosh, Cydebot, Laualoha, SimonBillenness, Cgingold, Pxma, Good Olfactory, Otisjimmy1, Fgheal, Frag-
gle81, FrescoBot, Hariehkr, RjwilmsiBot, Qzxpqbp, Moonandthegirl and Anonymous: 3
Pascal Khoo Thwe Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal_Khoo_Thwe?oldid=609663422 Contributors: Skysmith, Haabet, David
Gerard, Enzino, Bender235, Hintha, Graham87, SmackBot, Kintetsubualo, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, Pascal.Tesson, Barticus88, Puchku,
Magioladitis, Waacstats, Hybernator, Palaeovia, Evansab, Mr.Z-bot, Addbot, Power.corrupts, Yobot, RjwilmsiBot, Fiedorczuk, Helpful
Pixie Bot, BBCRCA, VIAFbot and Anonymous: 2
Cynthia Maung Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Maung?oldid=615980468 Contributors: Haabet, Cariaso, Bender235,
Kwamikagami, Hintha, Gene Nygaard, Woohookitty, Aelfthrytha, Uzawaung, Will Beback, Khazar, DanKorn, Cydebot, Thijs!bot,
NSH001, Gcm, Dsp13, Waacstats, DrKiernan, Hybernator, PolarBot, Good Olfactory, Addbot, Numbo3-bot, Lightbot, Yobot, Natsharp,
JoJo, RibotBOT, Full-date unlinking bot, RjwilmsiBot, ZroBot, Ontheborder2010, ClamDip, Narare, Qzxpqbp, Vit Nam Dn Ch Tin
B ng, Guanaco55, and Anonymous: 10
Bo Mya Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Mya?oldid=587911645 Contributors: Rmhermen, Zigger, Kwamikagami, Hintha,
HenkvD, Bnguyen, Bgwhite, Gaius Cornelius, Thijs!bot, Mlipin, Hybernator, BOTijo, Star Garnet, Good Olfactory, Addbot, Lightbot,
Xufanc, Thehelpfulbot, Jun Nijo, Full-date unlinking bot, RjwilmsiBot, EmausBot, H3llBot, Phyo WP, BattyBot, Makecat-bot, VIAFbot
and Anonymous: 8
Nant Bwa Bwa Phan Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nant_Bwa_Bwa_Phan?oldid=619236431 Contributors: Hintha, Bgwhite,
Welsh, Hmains, Epbr123, Nono64, Hybernator, WereSpielChequers, Mfarmaner, Dubeerforme, Yobot, AnomieBOT, The Blade of the
Northern Lights, 2sc945 and Anonymous: 1
Bo Nat Khann Mway Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Nat_Khann_Mway?oldid=571028018 Contributors: Haabet, Klemen Koc-
jancic, BD2412, Bhadani, Bgwhite, Malcolmxl5, Niceguyedc, Dawynn, Yobot and RjwilmsiBot
Zoya Phan Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoya_Phan?oldid=615813463 Contributors: Haabet, Rich Farmbrough, Hintha, Ff-
bond, Woohookitty, Graham87, Ground Zero, DMacks, Ohconfucius, Flying Saucer, Magioladitis, Waacstats, Flaming Ferrari, Trusilver,
VolkovBot, WOSlinker, Malcolmxl5, Mfarmaner, Iohannes Animosus, Yobot, AnomieBOT, RjwilmsiBot, EmausBot, The Blade of the
Northern Lights, H3llBot, BattyBot, Wrathofjames, VIAFbot, J.quartermaine and Anonymous: 2
San C. Po Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_C._Po?oldid=612587986 Contributors: Deb, Hintha, Rjwilmsi, SmackBot, Hmains,
Khazar, Collywolly, Postcard Cathy, Waacstats, Yume no Kishi, Andrew.bedhead, Lightbot, RjwilmsiBot, Quant18, VIAFbot and Anony-
mous: 2
Saw Bwe Hmu Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saw_Bwe_Hmu?oldid=614196373 Contributors: Hintha, Racklever, Valenciano,
Waacstats, MyatLynnAung, Phyo WP, OccultZone and Anonymous: 1
49.2. TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES 85
Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padoh_Mahn_Sha_Lah_Phan?oldid=613969184 Contributors: Haa-
bet, PBP, Rich Farmbrough, Bender235, Hintha, Mayumashu, Bgwhite, RussBot, CmdrObot, Neelix, Thijs!bot, Scanlan, Hybernator,
Mfarmaner, Stevenphil, RogDel, Good Olfactory, Addbot, SpBot, Yobot, Full-date unlinking bot, RjwilmsiBot, The Blade of the Northern
Lights, OleHansen2 and Anonymous: 2
Tha Byu Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tha_Byu?oldid=600917330 Contributors: Shii, Hintha, Rjwilmsi, SmackBot, Waacstats,
Johnpacklambert, Hybernator, Truthanado, Kjd624, OccultZone, 07deb07 and Anonymous: 2
David TharckabawSource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Tharckabaw?oldid=624910494 Contributors: Haabet, Klemen Kocjancic,
Hintha, Mandarax, StephenBuxton, DGG, Gbawden, Ttonyb1, Yobot, PhnomPencil and Anonymous: 2
Win Maung Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Win_Maung?oldid=604712466 Contributors: Ahoerstemeier, Rich Farmbrough, Ben-
der235, Kwamikagami, Hintha, Rjwilmsi, Koavf, Sardanaphalus, SmackBot, Andrwsc, Cydebot, Biruitorul, Waacstats, Rixon45, Hyber-
nator, ImageRemovalBot, Ekyaw, Good Olfactory, Addbot, Tassedethe, Lightbot, Xqbot, Mayor mt, FrescoBot, Full-date unlinking bot,
Asalrifai, Dav subrajathan.357, Smalleditor and Anonymous: 4
Naw Zipporah Sein Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naw_Zipporah_Sein?oldid=624910344 Contributors: Haabet, Hintha, Lapsed
Pacist, Mangojuice, Bgwhite, Asarelah, Aelfthrytha, Kintetsubualo, Will Beback, DanKorn, Amalas, Cydebot, Epbr123, DuncanHill,
Magioladitis, Waacstats, Hybernator, Gbawden, Mfarmaner, Good Olfactory, Yobot, The Blade of the Northern Lights, Hall of Jade,
PhnomPencil, Phyo WP, Hmainsbot1, Gorgeous Nightmare, NawEh and Anonymous: 1
Karen languages Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_languages?oldid=629551889 Contributors: Haabet, Bogdangiusca,
Kwamikagami, Angr, David Haslam, Abd, Stevey7788, Rjwilmsi, Alynna Kasmira, Badagnani, Haemo, Aelfthrytha, Kipmaster, JorisvS,
Vanisaac, Deective, PhilKnight, Dragfyre, Azalea pomp, G. Campbell, VolkovBot, TXiKiBoT, Jkeene, BotKung, BenoniBot, Neebs1959,
WikiBotas, ClueBot, PipepBot, Niceguyedc, Alexbot, Kanguole, Amdf, MelonBot, Addbot, DOI bot, AndersBot, Yobot, A-eng, Lucien-
BOT, Citation bot 1, Tawoo, EmausBot, Widr, Helpful Pixie Bot, Tahnawhsit and Anonymous: 10
Bwe Karen language Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bwe_Karen_language?oldid=611061808 Contributors: Kwamikagami, Ad-
dbot, EmausBot, PotatoBot, Mentibot and Helpful Pixie Bot
Eastern Pwo language Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Pwo_language?oldid=611130696 Contributors: Kwamikagami,
EmausBot, PotatoBot, Helpful Pixie Bot and Cukanovoleg
Geba Karen language Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geba_Karen_language?oldid=611074299 Contributors: Kwamikagami, Pota-
toBot and Helpful Pixie Bot
Geko Karen Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geko_Karen?oldid=599066247 Contributors: Kwamikagami, ClueBot NG, TheJJJunk
and Anonymous: 1
Kayaw language Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayaw_language?oldid=611060304 Contributors: Kwamikagami, GoodDay, Pota-
toBot and Helpful Pixie Bot
Lahta language Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahta_language?oldid=599066318 Contributors: Kwamikagami and TheJJJunk
Northern Pwo language Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Pwo_language?oldid=611130721 Contributors: Kwamikagami,
EmausBot, PotatoBot, TheJJJunk and Cukanovoleg
Pa'O language Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pa'O_language?oldid=611126347 Contributors: Kwamikagami, Addbot, EmausBot,
PotatoBot, ClueBot NG, Helpful Pixie Bot, Altar, Qetuth, Jep Tong and Anonymous: 1
Padaung language Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padaung_language?oldid=600593703 Contributors: Scott, Kwamikagami and
Helpful Pixie Bot
Phrae Pwo language Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrae_Pwo_language?oldid=611128182 Contributors: Kwamikagami, Addbot,
EmausBot, PotatoBot and TheJJJunk
Pwo Karen languages Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pwo_Karen_languages?oldid=602663457 Contributors: Haabet, Kwamik-
agami, David Haslam, Alynna Kasmira, SmackBot, Whpq, Alaibot, Io Katai, TXiKiBoT, BotKung, Psamermit, BenoniBot, Addbot,
Luckas-bot and Anonymous: 1
Red Karen language Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Karen_language?oldid=613759321 Contributors: Kwamikagami, Tdslk,
Addbot, EmausBot, Djembayz, TheJJJunk, Cukanovoleg and SteenthIWbot
S'gaw Karen language Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S'gaw_Karen_language?oldid=630369980 Contributors: Haabet, Hippietrail,
Wonder al, Kwamikagami, Hintha, David Haslam, JorisvS, Jose77, TXiKiBoT, Auntof6, Arjayay, Addbot, A-eng, FrescoBot, Tawoo,
ClueBot NG, Saeng Petchchai and Anonymous: 5
Western Pwo language Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Pwo_language?oldid=611130755 Contributors: Kwamikagami,
EmausBot, PotatoBot, TheJJJunk and Cukanovoleg
49.2.2 Images
File:2010_Karen_girls_Khun_Yuam_district.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/2010_Karen_girls_
Khun_Yuam_district.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-4.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Takeaway
File:402935_4329556404986_108484308_n1.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/402935_
4329556404986_108484308_n1.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: 07deb07
File:A_Karen_woman.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/A_Karen_woman.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: Customs of the World Original artist: Photo: R. Lenz.
File:Ambox_content.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f4/Ambox_content.png License: ? Contributors:
Derived from Image:Information icon.svg Original artist:
El T (original icon); David Levy (modied design); Penubag (modied color)
86 CHAPTER 49. WESTERN PWO LANGUAGE
File:Blank.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Blank.png License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:Buddhist_Karen_in_Yangon.JPG Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Buddhist_Karen_in_Yangon.
JPG License: ? Contributors:
I created this work entirely by myself.
Original artist:
Wagaung (talk)
File:Burmese_character_k.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Burmese_character_k.svg License: Pub-
lic domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Ch1902
File:Commons-logo.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:Crystal_Clear_app_Login_Manager_2.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c2/Crystal_Clear_app_Login_
Manager_2.png License: ? Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Densely_populated_Karen_village.JPG Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Densely_populated_
Karen_village.JPG License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Adbar
File:Edit-clear.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg License: ? Contributors: The Tango! Desktop
Project. Original artist:
The people from the Tango! project. And according to the meta-data in the le, specically: Andreas Nilsson, and Jakub Steiner (although
minimally).
File:Flag_map_of_Burma_(Myanmar).svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Flag_map_of_Burma_
%28Myanmar%29.svg License: Public domain Contributors:
Location_Burma_(Myanmar)_ASEAN.svg Original artist: Location_Burma_(Myanmar)_ASEAN.svg: ASDFGHJ
File:Flag_of_Bangladesh.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Flag_of_Bangladesh.svg License: Public
domain Contributors: http://www.dcaa.com.bd/Modules/CountryProfile/BangladeshFlag.aspx Original artist: User:SKopp
File:Flag_of_Cambodia.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Flag_of_Cambodia.svg License: ? Contrib-
utors: File:Flag_of_Cambodia.svg Original artist: Draw new ag by User:_
File:Flag_of_Ceylon.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Flag_of_Ceylon_%281948-1951%29.svg Li-
cense: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Zscout370
File:Flag_of_East_Timor.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Flag_of_East_Timor.svg License: Public
domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Flag_of_Hong_Kong.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Flag_of_Hong_Kong.svg License: Public
domain Contributors: http://www.protocol.gov.hk/flags/chi/r_flag/index.html Original artist: Tao Ho
File:Flag_of_India.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/41/Flag_of_India.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:Flag_of_Indonesia.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Flag_of_Indonesia.svg License: Public do-
main Contributors: Law: s:id:Undang-Undang Republik Indonesia Nomor 24 Tahun 2009 (http://badanbahasa.kemdiknas.go.id/
lamanbahasa/sites/default/files/UU_2009_24.pdf) Original artist: Drawn by User:SKopp, rewritten by User:Gabbe
File:Flag_of_Japan.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:Flag_of_Kayah_State.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Flag_of_Kayah_State.svg License: Pub-
lic domain Contributors:
Flag_of_Kayah_State.png Original artist: Flag_of_Kayah_State.png: Jolle
File:Flag_of_Laos.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Flag_of_Laos.svg License: Public domain Con-
tributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Flag_of_Malaysia.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Flag_of_Malaysia.svg License: Public
domain Contributors: Create based on the Malaysian Government Website (archive version)
Original artist: SKopp, Zscout370 and Ranking Update
File:Flag_of_Myanmar.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Flag_of_Myanmar.svg License: ? Contribu-
tors: Open Clip Art Original artist: Unknown
File:Flag_of_Nepal.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Flag_of_Nepal.svg License: Public domain Con-
tributors: Constitution of The Kingdom of Nepal, Article 5, Schedule 1 [1] Original artist: Drawn by User:Pumbaa80, User:Achim1999
File:Flag_of_Pakistan.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Flag_of_Pakistan.svg License: Public domain
Contributors: The drawing and the colors were based from agspot.net. Original artist: User:Zscout370
File:Flag_of_Singapore.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Flag_of_Singapore.svg License: Public do-
main Contributors: The drawing was based from http://app.www.sg/who/42/National-Flag.aspx. Colors from the book: (2001). The
National Symbols Kit. Singapore: Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. pp. 5. ISBN 8880968010 Pantone 032 shade from
http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/colorfinder.aspx?c_id=13050 Original artist: Various
File:Flag_of_South_Korea.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Flag_of_South_Korea.svg License: Pub-
lic domain Contributors: Ordinance Act of the Lawconcerning the National Flag of the Republic of Korea, Construction and color guidelines
(Russian/English) This site is not exist now.(2012.06.05) Original artist: Various
File:Flag_of_Spain.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9a/Flag_of_Spain.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
49.2. TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES 87
File:Flag_of_Sri_Lanka.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Flag_of_Sri_Lanka.svg License: Public do-
main Contributors: SLS 693 - National ag of Sri Lanka Original artist: Zscout370
File:Flag_of_Sweden.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4c/Flag_of_Sweden.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Origi-
nal artist: ?
File:Flag_of_Thailand.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Flag_of_Thailand.svg License: Public domain
Contributors: Own work Original artist: Zscout370
File:Flag_of_Tibet.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Flag_of_Tibet.svg License: Public domain Con-
tributors: From http://www.iheartvector.com/2008/04/25/tibetan-vector-flag/ Original artist: Unknown
File:Flag_of_the_People{}s_Republic_of_China.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Flag_of_the_
People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work, http://www.protocol.gov.hk/flags/eng/n_flag/
design.html Original artist: Drawn by User:SKopp, redrawn by User:Denelson83 and User:Zscout370
File:Flag_of_the_Philippines.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Flag_of_the_Philippines.svg License:
Public domain Contributors: The design was taken from [1] and the colors were also taken from a Government website Original artist:
User:Achim1999
File:Flag_of_the_Republic_of_China.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Flag_of_the_Republic_of_
China.svg License: Public domain Contributors: [1] Original artist: User:SKopp
File:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg Li-
cense: ? Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg License: ?
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:IMG_JudsonChurch.JPG Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/46/IMG_JudsonChurch.JPG License: ? Contribu-
tors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Incubator-notext.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Incubator-logo.svg License: ? Contributors:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Meddie_Egg_horizontal_line.svg Original artist: NielsF
File:Karen_National_Liberation_Army_flag.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Karen_National_
Liberation_Army_flag.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Image:Karen National Liberation Army ag.png from [1] Original artist:
Jolle
File:Karen_National_Union_Flag.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Karen_National_Union_Flag.
png License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Karen_Padaung_Girl_Portrait.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Karen_Padaung_Girl_
Portrait.jpg License: CC-BY-2.5 Contributors: picture taken by author Original artist: Dili
File:Karen_house_entrance.JPG Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Karen_house_entrance.JPG License:
CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Adbar
File:Karen_village.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Karen_village.jpg License: Public domain Con-
tributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Kayan_woman_with_neck_rings.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Kayan_woman_with_neck_
rings.jpg License: CC-BY-2.0 Contributors: http://www.flickr.com/photos/babasteve/351227116/ Original artist: Steve Evans
File:Kayanlahta.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Kayanlahta.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:
Transferred from en.wikipedia; transferred to Commons by User:Shashenka using CommonsHelper.
Original artist: User:Tawoo. Original uploader was Tawoo at en.wikipedia
File:Kayar.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5f/Kayar.jpg License: ? Contributors:
Author
Original artist:
User:Tawoo
File:Map_of_Karenni_States-1917.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Map_of_Karenni_States-1917.
png License: CC-BY-SA-4.0 Contributors: Own work based on Section of the Map of Shan States 1917 Original artist: Xufanc
File:Memorial_to_Zoya_Kosmodemyanskaya.JPG Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Memorial_to_
Zoya_Kosmodemyanskaya.JPG License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Rave
File:MyanmarKayin.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/MyanmarKayin.png License: CC-BY-SA-3.0
Contributors: taken from the english Wikipedia Original artist:
File:PADAUNG_COLD-WEATHER_COSTUMEcut.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/
PADAUNG_COLD-WEATHER_COSTUMEcut.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: National Geographic; march 1922.
Original artist: Sir George Scott
File:P_vip.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/69/P_vip.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Peacock_symbol_Burma.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Peacock_symbol_Burma.svg License:
CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors:
Peacock_symbol_Burma.PNG Original artist: Peacock_symbol_Burma.PNG: Gryndor
File:Question_book-new.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Question_book-new.svg License: ? Contributors:
Created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator. Based on Image:Question book.png created by User:Equazcion Original artist:
Tkgd2007
File:Rice_fields_dry_season_Karen.JPG Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Rice_fields_dry_season_
Karen.JPG License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Adbar
88 CHAPTER 49. WESTERN PWO LANGUAGE
File:Saharat_Thai_Doem_map.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Saharat_Thai_Doem_map.png Li-
cense: ? Contributors:
Own work
Original artist:
[/w/index.php?title=User:Murashel&action=edit&redlink=1 Murashel]
File:ShansAtDurbar.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/ShansAtDurbar.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: G. E. Mitton, Scott of the Shan Hills, 1936 Original artist: photographer, J. G. Scott, died 1934
File:Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Text_document_
with_red_question_mark.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Created by bdesham with Inkscape; based upon Text-x-generic.svg
from the Tango project. Original artist: Benjamin D. Esham (bdesham)
File:Thunderbird_on_Totem_Pole.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Thunderbird_on_Totem_Pole.
jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: w:Image:Thunderbird_on_Totem_Pole.jpg Original artist: Dr Haggis
File:Waricon.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/65/Waricon.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:WikiProject_Burma_(Myanmar)_peacock.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/WikiProject_
Burma_%28Myanmar%29_peacock.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Modied version of en::File:Burmapeacockforhistory.gif
Original artist: Original uploader was Stepshep at en.wikipedia
File:Wiki_letter_w.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6c/Wiki_letter_w.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
49.2.3 Content license
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0