[국제이슈+] Myanmar crisis turned from protest to civil war…’minority’ rebels at the center

Ten minority rebels declare alliance with democratic camp
Concerns about involvement in neighboring powers such as China, India, and Thailand have also been raised.

[아시아경제 이현우 기자] The Myanmar protests are turning into a civil war as minority ethnic groups who were confronting the Myanmar military have declared that they will join hands with the Myanmar democratic camp and continue an armed struggle with the military. As minority ethnic groups active in the mountainous and jungle areas of the northern, western and eastern borders of Myanmar revolt in concert, there is a situation that raises concerns that may arouse armed intervention by neighboring powers such as China, India, and Thailand bordering Myanmar.

According to the AFP news agency on the 4th, 10 including the Shan and Karen The leadership of the minority armed group held a video conference the day before, criticizing the suppression of armed forces, including the use of live ammunition by the military and police against the protesters, and decided to fight the military with the democratic camp. These cowsSuemin ethnic rebel groups previously signed a ceasefire agreement with the Myanmar government, but they have expressed their position against the military regime and supporting the civil disobedience movement 20 days after the outbreak of the military coup.

With this, the protests in Myanmar are expected to turn into a full-scale civil war. On the 1st of this month, the CRPH, the leader of the Democratic Party of Myanmar, declared that it would abolish the constitution created by the military in 2008 and establish a national unified government with the Federal Democratic Union as a ring. He said he would create

In particular, the Shan and Karen, leading the largest minority rebels in Myanmar, are emerging as a new variable in the Myanmar outbreak. These are ethnic groups that have continued to struggle for armed independence since Myanmar’s independence and are known to possess considerable military power.

The Shan people struggled for independence with opium from the’Golden Triangle’

The Shan are a minority ethnic group distributed in the northern part of Myanmar where the borders of Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos are called’Golden Triangle’. They grew large amounts of opium in this Golden Triangle region for a long time, exported drugs all over the world, and continued their armed independence struggle with this money. In particular, it is known that in the process of ending the civil war in China in 1949 and the remnant of the Kuomintang party in northern Myanmar, they took over weapons and tactics from them and gained strong military power.

At one time, heroin made from opium produced by the Shan tribes accounted for more than 60% of US drugs. This is a much reduced state. However, after the 2008 financial crisis, the economic hardship worsened, and it turned into a major producer of new drugs such as methamphetamine.

It is known that the Myanmar military is very concerned about the Shan uprising as the Golden Triangle was not occupied by the Myanmar Army. Moreover, since the region is a border with several neighboring countries, if the battle is expanded incorrectly, it is expected that a large-scale attack will not be easy as it can give the reason for armed intervention to the neighboring countries.

The Karen have been confronting the Burmese for over 100 years

Another large armed group, the Karen, are known as one of the peoples who have confronted Myanmar’s main ethnic Burmes for more than 100 years. These are mainly ethnic groups living in the mountainous regions of the border between Thailand and China. As part of the divisional rule of Myanmar in the 19th century, Britain dispatched missionaries to the Karen to carry out relief activities, and many of the residents converted to Christianity. After that, they became very close to the Burmese. It is known to have gotten worse.

Later, in the course of the Myanmar independence movement, they signed an agreement with General Aung San, the father of Aung San Suu Kyi, and were promised to guarantee the independence of the Karen people by helping the independence movement in Myanmar. came. Military organizations under the Karen People’s Union (KNU) are scattered around, and they are known to be proficient in guerrilla warfare.

However, as members of the ethnic group live in various regions, depending on their interests, not only the democratic camp but also the military may collide with each other, which poses a risk of conflict within the nation. Among the Karen people living in large cities, some belong to the Myanmar regular army, and on the other hand, the Karen people are expected to be difficult to integrate easily due to the ongoing conflict between Buddhists and Christians.

Reporter Lee Hyun-woo [email protected]