BGF Developments

Key Facts

SPDC Chief Negotiator:
Lt-General Ye Myint, Chief of Military Affairs Security (MAS)

Announcement of Border Guard Force Order:
27 April 2009

Sources said that the military plans to form three committees to coordinate the transition of the ceasefire groups.

Transformed Border Guard Force Groups

30 Mar 2009	KPF Karen Peace Force
16 Oct 2009	LAWPG Lasang Awng Wa Peace Group
8 Nov 2009	KNPLF Karenni National People’s Liberation Front
8 Nov 2009	NDA - K New Democratic Army – Kachin
19 Jan 2009	KDA Kachin Defense Army
4 Dec 2009	Kokang Region Provisional Leading Committee
2 Apr 2010	The Burmese government formed border guard forces in two areas (Pungpahkyem in Mongton township and Mongyu in Mongyawng township) in the country's Shan state- East
22 Apr 2010	SSA-N transformed 2 out of 3 of it's brigades.
30 Apr 2010	A Lahu militia unit which is based in Mongton township, which is also where the United Wa State Army (UWSA)’s 171st Military Region is active, opposite Chiangmai’s Chiangdao district, was promoted as BGF No.1007. Another militia unit which is based in Mongyu, Mongyawng Township, opposite the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA)’s 911th Brigade base, became BGF No. 1008

Pending Transformation Border Guard Force Groups

6 Jan 2009 (or May 09?)	DKBA Democratic Buddhist Karen Army (Breaking alliance 2 May 2010, 24 Feb 2010 reversed decision)
	PNA Pa-O National Army
	KNG Kayan (Karenni) National Guard
	MNPCP Mon National Peace Council Party

Groups Rejecting Border Guard Force Plan

NMSP New Mon State Party	22 Apr 2010: sent letter 30 Jan 2009: reiterated that they could not accept the Junta's Border Guard Force plan.
KIO Kachin Independent Organisation	22 Apr 2010 10 Jun 2009: would only accept the plan when there is political change in Burma 5 Feb 2009: reiterates oppositing stance
KPC Karen Peace Council	24 Apr 2010: sent a 7page letter
MNDAA Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army	Aug 2009: Defeated by the Burmese Army 5 Jun 2009: it could not accept the proposal to reassign its troops as border guards in its present form and would wait until after the 2010 election and the formation of a new government before making a final decision.
UWSA United Wa State Party/Army	14 Nov 2009: Presented 9-points proposal to the junta 19 May 2009: will not reform their army, as suggested by the junta, but would continue with their struggle

Ethnic-SPDC BGF meetings

KIO/KIA Kachin Independent Organisation/Army	22 Apr 2010 4 Apr 2010 12 Mar 2010 29 Jan 2010 - meeting Myitkyina 29-30 Sept 2009 9 Sept 2009 31 July 2009 8-11 July 2009
UWSP/A United Wa State Party/Army	9 Apr 2010 1 Apr 2010 - 8 point proposal (3 Mar 2010 - Ye Myint sent letter to request the Chinese Yunnan Government to mediate) 25 Feb 2010 2 Feb 2010 - Rejected 5 Jan 2010 - Rejected request for a meeting with Ye Myint 14 Nov 2009 24-28 Oct 2009 8 Oct 2009 18-19 Jan 2009
NMSP New Mon State Party	7 Apr 2010 16 Mar 2010 28 Aug 2009 18 Aug 2009 7 Jun 2009
NDAA-ESS National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State	30 Apr 2010 28 March 2010 25 Feb 2010 28 Oct 2009 9 Jun 2009
Rehmonya Breakaway from NMSP	Oct 2009
KNU/KNLA Peace Council	7 Apr 2010 1 Oct 2009 30 Mar 2009 15 Feb 2009 (with KNLA company commander Nay Soe Mya)
MNDAA Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army	5 Jun 2009
SSA-N Shan State Army - North (likely to split over disagreement Apr 2010)	2 Apr 2010 6 Feb 2010 7 to 18 Dec 2009

Background

In April 2009 the government ordered all 17 ethnic ceasefire groups to transform their armies into Border Guard Forces under the command of the Burmese army as outlined in the 2008 constitution. With just a few more days to go before elections, ethnic armed forces are witnessing growing pressure from the junta and are preparing for a large scale attack by the Burmese army. Six major armed Karen National Union (KNU), the Kachin Independence Organization, the New Mon State Party (NMSP), the KNPP, the Chin National Front and the United Wa State Army have formed an alliance to strengthen their defense.

The BGF plan gives greater control of ethnic armed groups to the Tatmadaw by putting all ethnic armies under the command of the commander-in-chief of the Tatmadaw, currently Srn-Gen Than Shwe, head of the SPDC. A BGF battalion would have 326 soldiers including 18 officers and three commanders with the rank of major. Among the three commanders, two would be from ethnic armed groups and one from the Tatmadaw who would manage day-to-day administration. Other keys positions such as general staff officer and quartermaster officer would also be from the Tatmadaw. Twenty-seven other ranking non-commissioned officers would be from the Tatmadaw such as company sergeant majors, sergeants, clerks, nurses and so on. All BGF troops would be mobilized only in areas within their own territory. Salary and benefits for BGF troops would be paid by the Tatmadaw at the same level as regular soldiers.

While several ceasefire groups have agreed to the government's plan, those resisting are facing mounting pressure. The tension on the borders has also affected relations with neighbouring countries: namely China, Thailand and Laos.

Latest attacks and military preparations

One day after elections, a splinter group of the DKBA attacked government forces at the Three Pagoda Pass after it claimed it was facing increasing pressure from the government to join the BGF and to protect citizens from being coerced to vote at gunpoint. Fighting spilled over across the border injuring 3 Thais and forced up to 20,000 Burmese refugees into Thailand.

Several attacks against the Burmese army by ethnic armies were already reported in the few weeks ahead of the November elections. The Burmese government had begun hardening its stance on ceasefire groups calling the KIA an insurgent group for the first time in the state-run newspaper and stepping up attacks on ethnic armed groups in an apparent attempt to assess their capacities.

In preparation of further attacks, several armed groups have formed alliances. The first between UWSA, NDAA, SSA-N 1st Brigade and KIO on October 7th and Karen National Union (KNU), Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), Chin National Front (CNF), Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), New Mon State Party (NMSP) and the Shan State Army North (SSA-N) on November 2nd.

Rising Tension

Military Buildup and Preparations

KIA	According to local sources in Kachin State, KIA officials have sped up recruitment of villagers for KIA militias in Kachin-controlled areas. They attract recruits by saying low rank and file troops would get at least 10,000 kyat [US $10] monthly. In April 2010 KIO troops provided military training to people from the ethnic minority. on Mar 15 KIO moved all its important documents and office materials from Laiza to prevent them falling into regime hands if government forces launch an attack as the latest BGF deadline passes
NMSP	Several leaders, officials and soldiers of the NMSP are making preparations to travel to jungle bases in anticipation of an outbreak in hostilities between the Mon cease-fire group and the Burmese army. After the 16 March 2010 meeting the NMSP started moving some departments and its stockpile of weapons to a new undisclosed base in case of an outbreak of civil war. On 9 Mar 2010, two Burmese battalions were ordered into areas under the control of the NMSP as outlined in the ceasefire agreement. NMSP leaders said on 12 Mar 2010 that they have trained their soldiers to wage a guerrilla war, if they are attacked.
UWSA	Since the junta started talks about the BGF with ethnic groups in April 2009. recruitment for additional UWSA troops is active among Wa people as well as other ethnic peoples living in the Wa territory. UWSA met in the week of the 22 Apr 2010 with its allies to discuss the potential threats they face in the near future
Burmese Army	Burma’s ruling junta is deploying a force of about 70,000 troops in Shan State to confront more than 30,000 troops of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) if hostilities break out over the regime's Border Guard Force (BGF) plan, according to sources close to military officials in the Burmese border town of Muse (March 4 2010). On 22 Mar The Burmese junta has directed government employees and staff of NGOs posted in Panshang, the headquarters of the ‘United Wa State Army’ (UWSA), to go back home
Chinese PLA	China's People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has deployed more troops along its southwestern border with Burma. on 3 Mar thousands of troops from China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) were deployed along the border as Naypyitaw’s 28 February deadline to the ex-communist ceasefire groups drew to a close, according to Wa and Shan sources.

Statements:

Burmese Army	29 Apr 2010 - Brig-Gen Kyaw Myint, from the Directorate of the People's Militia and Frontier Forces, held a meeting with representatives of the local militias at the headquarters of the No. 275 Light Infantry Battalion in eastern Karen State and told them to be on high alert following the expiration on April 28 of the deadline for armed ethnic militias to join the junta's border guard force (BGF). on 9 Apr Burma's No. 2 general, Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, who is also commander in chief of the Burmese armed forces, visited government troops in northeastern and eastern Burma this week amid speculation of an outbreak of armed conflict in the northeastern frontier.
SSA-S	28 Apr 2010 - Lt-Gen Yawdserk, leader of the anti-Naypyitaw Shan State Army (SSA) ‘South’ warned that large-scale civil war can break out again due to the military junta’s one sided policy to convert all ceasefire groups into forces run by its Army
NDF	23-24 Apr 2010 - declared that it will join hands with its allies to attack the junta on multiple front lines at a Central Committee meeting of 18 members.
KNU	19 Mar 2010 - Zipporah Sein, General secretary of the KNU, warns of war ahead of the vote at a news conference organised by the Forum of Democracy with over 150 activist groups in Bangkok.
NMSP	12 Mar 2010 - Nai Hang Thar, the secretary of the NMSP, told The Irrawaddy, “If there is war in the future, we will not fight like we did in the past, and we will fight not only in the jungle. Our Mon people are everywhere. We will take a clandestine, guerrilla war to the enemy.

Refugee flows:

29 Apr 2010	Reports that Hundreds of ethnic Shan, Lahu, Chinese and Thai businesspeople, including some families of United Wa State Army (UWSA) personnel, have moved to the Thai-Burmese border area in fear of a serious flare-up of fighting between Burmese government troops and UWSA units
25 Apr 2010	Report that a group of 400 Mon refugees arrived at the Hlokhani Mon refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border fearing an outbreak of war
22 Feb 2010	At least 100 people in southern Burma’s Mon State have fled to regions controlled by the New Mon State Party (NMSP) after local army authorities attempted to force them to join a peoples’ militia, according to Mon humanitarian workers.

Government offensives against Ethnic Groups

UWSA	23 Apr 2010	Burmese military junta began to launch military attacks on the United Wa State Army (UWSA), the 171st Military Region based along the Thai-Burma border in southern Shan State. However the Burmese army claim that they believed they were attacking the non-ceasefire group SSA-S. No casualties were reported.
SSA-S	13 Mar 2010	About 20 Burmese junta soldiers were killed and eight were injured in an ambush in Nam Zam Township in Shan State by Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) soldiers.
MNDAA Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (Kokang)	8 Aug - 28 Aug 2009	Conflict forced 37,000 refugees into China and MNDAA out of its capital Qingshuihe. Replaced by the Kokang Region Provisional Leading Committee under the control of the Burmese government.
KNU/KNLA	6-21 Jun 2009	A joint force of Burmese army troops and soldiers of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) seized the headquarters of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 7, its most important victory in a weeks-long offensive in the Burmese-Thai border area
KNU/KNLA	1 Jun 2009	An attack on KNLA Brigade 6 displaced more than 2,000 people, forcing many to flee to Thailand, marking the beginning of a new offensive by pro-junta forces
KNU/KNLA	15-28 Apr 2009	The Burmese Army took over the Karen National Liberation Army’s base camp of Wah Lay Kee.
UWSA	20 Jun 2009	The Burmese government has reinforced Burmese forces in Mong Tong Township, Shan State, due to growing tension with the United Wa State Army (UWSA)
SSA-S	Jan 2009	Fierce fighting is taking place between the Shan State Army (South) and the Burmese Army in three townships in southern Shan State

BGF-related crimes

17 Jan 2010	Kokang	Bomb blast in Laogai. 6 other bombs were reportedly found
16 Jan 2010	Shan	The New Light of Myanmar reported that a bomb went off in Panglong town in Shan State slightly injuring four civilians. The military junta reportedly blamed the Shan State Army-South for the blast.
15 Jan 2010	Kokang	Bomb blast in Laokai, 9 were reported to have been injured but the Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN) reported that one person was killed and 11 were injured.
27 Jan 2010	NDAA-ESS	NDAA-ESS Secretary Min Ein (a.k.a. Lin Hongshen), a key negotiator with the junta, was shot by unknown gunmen at about 6:30 a.m. (local time)
24 Oct 2009	Kokang	12 Bombs go off in Junta seized Kokang capital Laogai
6 May 2009	NMSP	A member of the New Mon State Party was attacked by gunmen
18 Apr 2009	NMSP	Dr. Nai Min Naung, a member of the NMSP, was shot dead. Sources said three gunmen from a rebel faction led by Nai Aung Chan, have been arrested for his murder.

Latest News

Date	Group	Details of the event
2010.11.22	Government	The Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) at Three Pagoda Pass (TPP) ordered an 8 p.m. curfew for all TPP residents.
2010.11.22	Government	The Burmese military junta has reinforced the armed forces on the Indo-Myanmar border area trade no. 2 from 12 November following the alliance by ethnic armed group’s to take on the Burmese Army if it launches offensives against rebels.
2010.11.22	KIO	In the midst of growing tension between the two sides, the Burmese military junta ordered the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) to shut down all its branch liaison offices immediately in Northern Burma, KIO sources said.
2010.11.19	SSA-N	Shan State Army North (SSA-N) headquarters on Sunday instructed its units stationed at Wan Et, Mong Nang sub-township, in Wan Kang Township, and Wan Tu Ya in Mong Nawng Township to pull out. The instruction came after a unit of the Burmese Army attacked the group last Friday, the source close to the SSA-N said.
2010.11.15	DKBA	About 650 Burmese villagers, mostly supporters of the anti-Rangoon Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), abandoned their homes to flee to Ban Valley Nua, a border village on the Thai side in Phop Phra.
2010.11.15	SSA-S	Lt-Gen Yawd Serk, leader of the anti-Naypyitaw Shan State Army (SSA) ‘South’, in response to Burma’s pro-democracy Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s call for “a second Panglong conference”, says he is still worried about her security and whether she will be able to hold the “21st century Panglong conference” because she will be under 24-hour surveillance by the ruling military junta.
2010.11.14	DKBA	More than 200 ethnic Karen escaped to Ban Wale in Tak's Phop Phra district following fresh fighting between Myanmar troops and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) late Sunday night
2010.11.14	DKBA	The Burmese government is offering a cash reward for information leading to the arrest of Col Na Kaw Muay, leader of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA).
2010.11.11	DKBA	Almost all of the thousands of people who fled the Burmese border town of Myawaddy on Monday have returned, but many still fear for their security following an outbreak of hostilities between Burmese troops and ethnic rebels earlier this week.
2010.11.11	DKBA	A key stronghold of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) has been captured by Burmese troops after hours of heavy artillery bombardment
2010.11.11	DKBA	Cease-fire talks, under Thai army mediation, between leaders of the armed ethnic splinter group, Democratic Karen Buddhist Army Brigade 5, and Burmese army commanders broke down on Thursday afternoon
2010.11.11	DKBA + KNLA	in Kyoud Kway village, Three Pagoda Pass (TPP) Township, Karen State, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) [Burmese government] troops recommenced fighting with the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA/KNU).
2010.11.11	SSA-N	The cease-fire in Shan State between the Shan State Army-North (SSA-North) and the Burmese army has been broken after a series of clashes in Mong Hsnu Township in southern Shan State. The Shan State Army (SSA) ‘North’ fighters and the Burmese Army fought for the fourth time in Shan State South’s Monghsu township, according to SSA sources.
2010.11.09	DKBA	Col Saw Lah Pwe is the commander of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army's (DKBA) Brigade 5 that launched a surprise incursion into Myawaddy on Sunday said "We heard that the Burmese military regime forced the residents of Myawaddy to vote. People didn't want to go, but we heard that the junta threatened them with a gun. So we started to deploy our troops in Myawaddy for security."
2010.11.09	DKBA	The United Nations said around 15,000 refugees had fled Myanmar after clashes broke out between the government troops and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) in Myawaddy area in the east part the country.
2010.11.09	DKBA	Junta bombards DKBA splinter group at Three Pagodas Pass
2010.11.09	KSPP	“Without all relevant parties being able to find peaceful solutions, the military showdowns will occur again. Those who suffer most from lack of peace would be the public,” said Dr. Manam Tuja, the former vice chairman of the KIO, the political wing of the Kachin Independence Army in northern Burma, commenting on the continuing election violence in the Burmese border town, Myawaddy.
2010.11.08	DKBA + SSA-S	According to Lt-Gen Yawd Serk, the leader of the Shan State Army-South (SSA-South), fighting between the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) Brigade 5 and Burmese government troops is taking place because the military regime put to much pressure on DKBA Brigade 5 to join its border guard force.
2010.11.08	DKBA	About 10,000 refugees fled to neighboring Thailand to escape fighting between Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) forces and Burmese army troops in and around the border town of Myawaddy. DKBA forces seized control of all major government offices, and the Burmese army was reported to be planning a counter-offensive to recover them. It was also said to be conscripting local men forcibly. Seven people are reported to have died and about 20 injured so far in the fighting.
2010.11.06	Alliance	After a four-day meeting in Mae Hong Son in northwestern Thailand, a Mon representative confirmed that five ethnic armed groups—the Karen National Union (KNU), the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the New Mon State Party (NMSP), the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and the Chin National Front (CNF)—had agreed to form a political and military alliance. The political wing of the federal army will be called the “Committee for the Emergence of a Federal Union.”
2010.11.02	Alliance	Six major armed ethnic opposition groups have reached a landmark deal to join forces against the Burmese Army at a meeting in Mae Hong Son near Thailand’s border with Burma.They are: the Karen National Union (KNU), Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), Chin National Front (CNF), Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), New Mon State Party (NMSP) and the Shan State Army North (SSA-N).
2010.10.29	Karenni Army	Security has been beefed up around town site gates in Loikaw as of this month amid reports that the Karenni Army (KA) and opposition groups are gearing up to oppose next month's election in Burma, according to local sources. The Karenni Army (KA) has warned that it will shoot if the Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP) members campaign in rural villages in Karenni State.
2010.10.26	KNLA	Two soldiers of the Burmese Army were killed and three injured, while carrying ballot boxes from Taung Suan to Chaung Sone village, when they were ambushed by members of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) at 10:40 am.
2010.10.26	Karenni Army	A Karenni Army unit raided a 72 Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) outpost, located west of the Nam Pon River, about 8 miles (13 kilometres) east of Loikaw. During the attack, four Burmese Army soldiers were killed. The Karenni militants lost one fighter and three were injured.
2010.10.20	Lahu Militia + UWSA	Hostilities were witnessed to the east of Mae Ken village between the joint forces of the 65th LIB of the Burmese Army and a Lahu militia unit led by Ja Bee Koi, and troops from the United Wa State Army (UWSA). One Lahu soldier and two UWSA fighters died in the encounter, with several others on both sides reportedly wounded.
2010.10.20	KIA	The Kachin Independence Army confirmed that Myanmar troops surrounded three Kachin Independence Organization offices in Kachin state.
2010.10.19	Unknown	Troops from the Burmese Army’s 277^th Light Infantry Brigade (LIB) engaged members of an undetermined armed group to the south of Mae Ken village, Mong Tone Township, in the east of Shan State. One Burmese soldier was reportedly killed.
2010.10.19	KNLA	Hardened troops known as the "Special Force" have joined Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) brigades along the Salween River in anticipation of a post-election assault by the Burma Army.
2010.10.19	DKBA	The Influential Karen Buddhist monk U Thuzana reportedly visited Col Saw Lah Pwe, leader of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) Brigade 5 who has rejected the Burmese military government's Border Guard Force (BGF) plan in order to persuade him to accept it, said Karen sources.
2010.10.18	KIA	Burmese troops raided offices of the ethnic Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Kachin State at night and detained at least two KIA officers, increasing fears of imminent fighting in the northern part of the country as elections are approaching
2010.10.18	Government	The Burmese junta recalled government workers out of a ceasefire group’s area of control in northern Shan State amid rising tensions between ethnic forces and the Burmese Army, a source said. The Burmese Army also called on a Border Guard Force (BGF) militia group to stand by for reinforcements in case fighting breaks out with 1st Brigade SSA-N.
2010.10.18	KNU + KIO + NMSP + KNPP + CNF + UWSA	In order to defend against major junta offensives, six armed ethnic groups have formed an alliance and agreed to help each other if a member is attacked. These include the Karen National Union (KNU), the Kachin Independence Organization, the New Mon State Party (NMSP), the KNPP, the Chin National Front and the United Wa State Army.
2010.10.16	Karenni	Karenni troops launched a full armed assault on a Burmese Army outpost in Loikaw Township, Karenni State. Four junta troops and one Karenni were killed.
2010.10.15	KIA	The state-run Myanma Ahlin newspaper reported that a land-mine blast Wednesday in northern Kachin state had killed two people and injured one accusing "KIA insurgents", the first time it used the word "insurgent" to describe the ceasefire group.
2010.10.14	KNLA	The commander of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 5 has told all soldiers in his command along the bank of the River Salween to be prepared as the Burmese regime plans an offensive to clean up the border areas after the Nov. 7 election
2010.10.13	KIO	The main ethnic Kachin political group is being pressured by the government to move out of its existing liaison office in Tanai district that governs the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina, sources said.
2010.10.09	NMSP	Burmese authorities have demanded that information about all non-member guests moving in and out of New Mon State Party (NMSP) offices in Mon State be recorded and submitted to the Burmese government. Sources within the party explained that the requirement of information about guests is treatment only given to parties deemed illegal by the Burmese government.
2010.10.07	UWSA + NDAA + SSN-A + KIO	Ethnic ceasefire groups in the north of Burma have agreed to a common strategy in the face of any concerted Burmese Army offensives, according to sources within the groups. The deal comes in the wake of the junta’s third attack against one of the armed militia in Shan State last month. They include the UWSA, NDAA, SSA-N 1st Brigade and KIO.
2010.10.04	UWSA	Burmese authorities in Tachilek Township on the Thai-Burmese border have banned vehicles registered to the United Wa State Army (UWSA)
2010.10.01	KDA	The Kachin Defense Army (KDA) based in Shan State in Eastern Burma, is threatening to drive local people out of their village if they do not vote for the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
2010.09.30	Burmese Army	Two more Burmese battalions have arrived in the Three Pagodas Pass area to increase pressure on ethnic armed groups and to prepare for a possible offensive, according to local sources.
2010.09.29	KNU	A fight between Burmese army battalions and the Karen National Union (KNU) left 4 Burmese soldiers dead and 2 wounded near Three Pagodas Pass (TPP), Karen State
2010.09.27	UWSA	A Thai defence volunteer and two Wa soldiers were killed in a clash between a border defence unit of the 3rd Army and an armed unit of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) near the Thai-Burmese border in Doi Lang area in Chiang Mai's Mae Ai district
2010.09.24	Burmese Army	The regime’s newly appointed Northern Regional Commander Brig-Gen Zeyar Aung held a meeting with Christian church leaders at St. Columban’s Catholic Cathedral in Aung Nan Yint Ta in Myitkyina the capital of Kachin State to woo Christian leaders
2010.09.20	Karenni Army	The Karenni Army (KA) has prohibited the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) from campaigning in several villages under its control
2010.09.20	KNLA	Four soldiers of the Burmese Army were killed and seven injured when it exchanged gunfire with the KNLA in Hlaing Bwe Township in Karen State
2010.09.13-14	KNLA	Three soldiers of the Burmese Army were killed and seven, including a captain, were injured when the Karen National Liberation Army's (KNLA) 201 battalion ambushed Burmese Army troops, during a change of duty twice in Wal Lay area, Myawaddy district in Karen State.
2010.09.08	KNLA	Two Burmese government soldiers were killed and six injured in an ambush launched by Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) soldiers in Thingya Nyi Naung in Karen State
2010.09.06	KIO	The Burmese Army has imposed travel restrictions on the Kachin Independence Organisation. KIO officials and KIA staff are banned from bearing arms and wearing uniform while traveling and are required to report traveling plans to the local unit of the Military Affairs.
2010.09.06	NMSP	According to sources within the New Mon State Party (NMSP), Burmese authorities have been investigating NMSP members at roadway checkpoints since the 1st of September.
2010.09.06	SSA-S	The real struggle for freedom will begin only after the elections and not before or during the polls, where the ruling junta’s Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is expected to win, said Lt-Gen Yawdserk, leader of the anti-Naypyitaw Shan State Army (SSA) ‘South’.
2010.09.03	KPC	The KNU-KNLA Karen Peace Council (KPC) is gearing up to defend itself if the Burmese Army launches an offensive against it, a high ranking KPC official said
2010.09.01	KPC	The Karen Peace Council this week warned 6,000 to 10,000 people could initially be evacuated, but if the Burmese Army made a clean sweep of its capital, as many as 100,000 people could be affected.
2010.09.01	NMSP	The NMSP sent their refusal of the BGF agreement in a letter to the Southeast Command (SEC) but has requested that political dialogue remain open between the two groups.
2010.08.31	KIO	Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) issued a statement reiterating that it will not transform its armed-wing the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) till a genuine federal union is formed and lasting peace is restored in Burma.
2010.08.30	KIO	A KIO official said "for the sake of KSPP’s approval by the Election Commission, we cannot give up our armed struggle for liberation of the Kachin people in military-ruled Burma,”
2010.08.30	KIO	Junta military security and police seized a year’s supply of medicines from a Kachin rebel motorboat docked on the Irrawaddy River in the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina which analysts say was designed to apply more pressure on the KIO.
2010.08.30	KIO	The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) released a statement following its party congress calling for Burma's Nov. 7 general election to be conducted in a free and fair manner. The KIO leaders also said that they will not oppose the election, but will keep a close watch on whether the election is free and fair.
2010.08.28	BGF	The BGF battalion 1009 of the La Hu people's militia group replaced the Burmese Army’s LIB 571 and 572 on the Lao-Burma border area
2010.08.28	NMSP	The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) gave the New Mon State Party (NMSP) a final deadline of September 1st to accept the SPDC’s Border Guard Force (BGF) offer.
2010.08.27	KIO	The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) held the first “Party Congress” in the revolutionary organization’s 49 year history to deal with shifts in the Kachin political situation. A majority of participants rejected disarming despite a Burmese military junta threat to end the ceasefire between the two sides.
2010.08.26	UWSA	A Wa Leader said Lieutenant General Ye Myint, the head of Military Affairs Security (MAS), the junta’s military intelligence wing, said the United Wa State Army (UWSA) would be declared in breach of laws governing unlawful association and that the State Peace and Development Council (the junta) would deploy its army units to effect those charges against them next month.
2010.08.25	NMSP	In the 63rd Mon Revolution Day statement the New Mon State Party (NMSP) said Burma's election will not bring genuine democracy or build ethnic unity in Burma
2010.08.24	KPC	Lt. Gen. Ye Myint, chief of Military Affairs Security (MAS) and Brigadier Gen. Thet Naing Win, commander of southeastern military command told KPC delegates in a meeting at the southeastern military command headquarter in Mawlamying in Mon State that if they did not transform into a BGF within a week or 10 days, the organization would be termed illegal and the Burmese Army will be deployed around its area
2010.08.24	UWSA	Two townships in the Wa self-administered division, Hopang and Metman, have been given permission by the United Wa State Army (UWSA) to allow public campaigning by political parties during the upcoming election period following a meeting with the government on Aug 20th.
2010.08.23	NMSP	NMSP’s Central Executive Command (CEC) met the SPDC Southeast Command (SEC) in Moulmein and were given a deadline of September 1st to accept the Border Guard Force Agreement.
2010.08.21	DKBA + BGF	Border Guard Force of DKBA formed at Kayin State's Hti-hu-than village in Kawkareik Township and Atwinkwinkalay region, Myawady Township
2010.08.20	DKBA + BGF	A ceremony to set up the Border Guard Forces of DKBA took place on a grand scale in Mepale of Myawady Township, Kayin State
2010.08.20	UWSA + NDAA	The United Wa State Army (UWSA), and its close ally the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), were called by Naypyidaw for a fresh round of talks over the Border Guard Force (BGF) issue, the first since May
2010.08.18	DKBA + BGF	A number of DKBA members held a military parade to celebrate their transformation into the Burmese Army’s Border Guard Force (BGF) of South-East Command in Myainggyingu region of Hlaingbwe Karen State
2010.08.17	DKBA	A delegation from the faction of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) led by Col. Chit Thu visited Naypyidaw in early August for 10 days to agree terms for the Border Guard Force (BGF) proposal,
2010.08.16	KIO	The Kachin Independence Organisation will try to conform to the nation’s current political situation, the joint secretary of the group said following a two day meeting
2010.08.14-16	KIO	KIO officials had a crucial meeting with Kachin public representatives from Kachin State and Shan State at the Laiza capital and decided to adopt a new policy to take Kachin politics forward with the Burmese junta or a new government to come to power after the November elections.
2010.08.11	Border Guard Force	Over 100 Border Guard Force (BGF) members attending military training in Shan State East’s Kengtung have deserted citing the Burmese military junta’s failure to abide by its promise given before they joined BGF
2010.08.06-13	CNF	The Chin National Front (CNF) held its second central committee meeting and resolved to increase the strength of its armed force.
2010.08.05	DKBA	Burmese junta troops in Myawaddy Township seized the main border trade gate operated by Brigade 999 of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army on the Thai-Burma border. They ordered the removal of the Karen national flag from the gates and military camps of ceasefire groups in Karen State.
2010.08.03	KNLA	KNLA 22nd Battalion ambushed a government battalion with more than 100 troops, killing nine junta soldiers including the force’s deputy commander and wounding 14 others. It is the second heaviest loss this year for junta forces fighting the KNU
2010.08.03	UWSA	The United Wa State Army (UWSA), will ban political party campaigns in areas under its control
2010.07.28	DKBA	Five battalions from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) will join the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) to fight Burmese junta's troops after the DKBA troops refused to join the Border Guard Force (BGF), according to Karen sources.
2010.07.27	SSA-N	The ceasefire Shan State Army (SSA) ‘North’, which transformed to the junta controlled home guard force in April, received an order from the Northeastern Region Command to persuade the last remaining brigade to accept the regime’s programme as soon as possible
2010.07.25	DKBA	Col Lah Pwe, a high-ranking DKBA military official issued a warning that fighting between the Burmese army and DKBA troops could break out this week, causing about 700 villagers from Karen State to flee to the Thai border
2010.07.23	KNU	The Burmese Army’s Light Infantry Battalions 370 and 361 bombarded a Christian Karen village with about 40 mortar shells forcing more than 700 refugees into Thailand.
2010.07.21	DKBA	Col Lah Pwe, a high-ranking DKBA military official rejected the offer by Lt-Gen Ye Myint, the regime's chief of Military Affairs Security, to meet and discuss the BGF plan.
2010.07.19	KNU + NDAA +SSA-S	A document received by SHAN from an unidentified source on the border contains more allegations of conspiracy between Burma’s ethnic resistance groups and the Thailand’s Red Shirts.
2010.07.15	DKBA	Sources say officers from Naypyidawwere sent late last week to Myawaddy on the Thai-Burmese border to investigate allegations that the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) has been trafficking and extorting money from deported Burmese migrants
2010.07.01	Armed groups	A total of 12 members from some four anti-government armed groups in Burma laid down their arms to the government forces in the months of January, February and May 2010, the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported.
2010.06.30		The New Light of Myanmar publishes an article announcing that 12 armed group members exchange arms for peace
2010.06.23	NMSP	Sources say Leaders of the New Mon State Party (NMSP) rejected a request by Lt-Gen Ye Myint to meet and discuss the Border Guard Force (BGF) plan. The request was made on made on 9 June
2010.06.17-23	DKBA + KNU	Secret peace talks between the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) were held in Kanchanaburi Province in Thailand, according to sources close to the KNU.
2010.06.14		Border sources say that pressures on ethnic cease-fire groups such as the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) has decreased recently following Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Burma
2010.06.10	KNLA	At least a dozen Burmese government soldiers were killed and another 22 wounded in a series of attacks by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)
2010.05.31		Five Burmese ethnic armed groups have said they will work together to achieve a ‘real Union’ in Burma where equal rights and self-determination exist for all ethnicities. It includes the Chin National Front (CNF), Karen National Union (KNU), New Mon State Party (NMSP), the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP)
2010.05.30	KNLA	Colonel of the Karen National Liberation Army Ner Dah Mya started a European tour carrying details of a "peace strategy" which he said he discussed with officials. He was invited by two young billionaires Olav og Frederik Selvaag and Erich Holte and will travel to Norway, Germany and Italy, where he is scheduled to meet the Italian deputy foreign minister
2010.05.25	KIO	The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) met with the commander of the Northern Military Regional Command (NRMC) to discuss the border guard force (BGF) issue and the bomb blasts at Myintsone Dam
2010.05.22	BEPWN	The Rangoon-based group Burma Ethnic Politics Watch Network (BEPWN) strongly condemned seven ethnic leaders and their political movement for "helping the Burmese regime stay in power and delay democratic reform in Burma". They are Harn Yawnghwe (Shan), the executive director of the Brussels-based Euro-Burma Office; Dr. Lian H. Sakhong (Chin) of the Ethnic Nationalities Council; Dr. Saw Simon Tha, a Karen physician-turn-politician; Sai Aik Pao, former secretary of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD); San Tha Aung of the Khami National Solidarity Organization; Dr. Saboi Jum, a peace broker between the Burmese regime and Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), and Wa politician Philip Sem, who will contest in the general election.
2010.05.20	SSE BGF	A ceremony to form Shan State (East) Border Guard Force was held in Metmang
2010.05.18	NMSP	Three top leaders of the New Mon State Party, which has rejected the junta’s offer of bringing its troops into a junta-controlled Border Guard Force, resigned from the party
2010.05.18	SSE	Shan State (East) Border Guard Force was formed with a ceremony held on a grand scale in Tachilek
2010.05.02	DKBA	Hundreds of Democratic Karen Buddhist Army troops are reported to have broken their alliance with the Burma Army and are heading for the Thai border. Fears over clashes between the Burmese army have in the past two days caused an exodus of Karen refugees to Burma’s border with Thailand
2010.05.02-03	SSA-N	SSN-A Brigade No.7 leader Maj-Gen Gaifa and commander Col Lao Gawn went to the First brigade for a meeting with its leader Pang Fa. They reportedly told Maj-Gen Pang Fa to follow in their steps because they did not want to have problems within the same group
2010.04.30	NDAA-ESS + Burmese Army	Maj-Gen Kyaw Phyoe, Commander of Golden Triangle Region Command held a meeting with National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) known as Mongla group, at their headquarters, to convince the group once more to transform into Naypyitaw run border guard force.
2010.04.30	SSA-S/RCSS + SSA-N	Restoration Council of the Shan State (RCSS), the political wing of the non-ceasefire group SSA ‘South’, released a statement saying that the SSA North was misleading its followers and people.
2010.04.29		Reports that Hundreds of ethnic Shan, Lahu, Chinese and Thai businesspeople, including some families of United Wa State Army (UWSA) personnel, have moved to the Thai-Burmese border area in fear of a serious flare-up of fighting between Burmese government troops and UWSA units based in southern Shan State after the military deadline given to ceasefire groups to join the border guard force plan.
2010.04.29	People's Militia and Frontier Forces	Brig-Gen Kyaw Myint, from the Directorate of the People's Militia and Frontier Forces, held a meeting with representatives of the local militias at the headquarters of the No. 275 Light Infantry Battalion in eastern Karen State and told them to be on high alert following the expiration on April 28 of the deadline for armed ethnic militias to join the junta's border guard force (BGF)
2010.04.28	SSA-N	Shan State Army-North (SSA-N), a Shan ethnic cease-fire group, is likely to split into two factions due to a disagreement over joining the military regime's border guard force (BGF).
2010.04.28	SSA-S	Lt-Gen Yawdserk, leader of the anti-Naypyitaw Shan State Army (SSA) ‘South’ warned that large-scale civil war can break out again due to the military junta’s one sided policy to convert all ceasefire groups into forces run by its Army
2010.04.24	KPC	The Karen Peace Council (KPC) rejected the Burmese military government's border guard force (BGF) proposal again in a seven-page letter to the Burmese military chief of intelligence
2010.04.24	NMSP	Report that a group of 400 Mon refugees arrived at the Hlokhani Mon refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border fearing an outbreak of war
2010.04.23-24	NDF	the National Democratic Front - Burma (NDF) has declared that it will join hands with its allies to attack the junta on multiple front lines at a Central Committee meeting of 18 members. A NDF statement said it supports the rejection by ceasefire groups of the junta’s proposal to transform their armed wings to the Border Guard Force (BGF).
2010.04.23	NMSP	The New Mon State Party (NMSP) announced at a press conference that the party has rejected both the junta's border guard force (BGF) and militia proposals. The group sent a letter to Regional Southeast Command on April 22 stating that we will not accept the militia offer.
2010.04.23	UWSA + Burmese Army	Burmese military junta began to launch military attacks on the United Wa State Army (UWSA), the 171st Military Region based along the Thai-Burma border in southern Shan State. However the Burmese army claim that they believed they were attacking the non-ceasefire group SSA-S. No casualties were reported.
2010.04.22	KIO	KIO rejected the junta’s offer again to transform their army into BGF during a meeting between four junta representatives including Northern Command chief Major General Soe Win and Colonel Thet Pone from Military Affairs Security and an eight-member Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) team that included KIO Chairman Layauk Zauhara, General Secretary Dr. La Ja and Vice-Chief of Staff Colonel Guan Mau at Northern Command Headquarters for about 1½ hours.
2010.04.22	SSA-N	The SSA ‘North’’s leader Maj-Gen Loi Mao with other 12 top leaders submitted lists of their men who agreed to become members of a home guard force to be formed under the Burma Army’s supervision on 22 April, to Maj-Gen Aung Than Htut, Commander of the Northeastern Region Command at Lashio headquarters. However one of the three brigades has not submitted a list.
2010.04.22	UWSA	UWSA met this week with its allies to discuss the potential threats they face in the near future
2010.04.20	KIO	Kachin Independence Organisation troops are providing military training to people from the ethnic minority
Apr 2010.04.17-18	NMSP	Several leaders, officials and soldiers of the New Mon State Party (NMSP) held secret farewell parties in state capital Moulmein, as they made preparations to travel to jungle bases in anticipation of an outbreak in hostilities between the Mon cease-fire group and the Burmese army
2010.04.09	UWSA	A 7 men junta delegation led by Col Than Htut Thein, Staff Officer Grade 1, of the Triangle Region Command and the Wa delegation led by Vice Chairman No.1 Xiao Minliang, held a meeting at the Wa headquarters, Panghsang over Naypyitaw’s response to the group
2010.04.07	KPC	Meeting in Moulmein, capital of Mon State, between Lt-Gen Ye Myint, the chief of Military Affairs Security, and the KNU/KNLA Peace Council executive committee members on the “Burma Army Militia Group” plan, the junta's latest name for the ethnic cease-fire groups who join the BGF
2010.04.07	NMSP	Ye Myint met the four executive members of the NMSP at the Regional Southeast Command site in Moulmein to discuss the BGF proposal
2010.04.04	KIO	The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) Vice-Chairman Gawri Zau Sai met Lt. Gen. Ye Myint again regarding the BGF proposal
2010.04.02	Army	The Burmese government formed border guard forces in two areas (Pungpahkyem in Mongton township and Mongyu in Mongyawng township) in the country's Shan state- East under the command of the government forces, a state-run daily reported. The report did not specify the former leadership of the border guard forces.
2010.04.02	SSA-N	Lt. Gen. Ye Myint met the chairman of the 5,000-strong SSA-N, Lwe Mao, in Lashio and told him that the ceasefire group must respond to the regime not later than 22 April on the BGF issue or else the organization will be declared an unlawful association
2010.04.01	UWSA	The Wa delegation led by Bao Yo Yi, Vice-Chairman of the political wing, the United Wa State Party (UWSP) met Naypyitaw's negotiating team led by Lt. Gen. Ye Myint in Tan Yang, northern Shan State and submitted a new 8 point counterproposal to Naypyitaw
2010.03.30	BGF	The military junta held ceremonies to mark the establishment of two militia units, one based along the Thai-Burma border and the other along the Sino-Burma border. A Lahu militia unit which is based in Mongton township, which is also where the United Wa State Army (UWSA)’s 171st Military Region is active, opposite Chiangmai’s Chiangdao district, was promoted as BGF No.1007. Another militia unit which is based in Mongyu, Mongyawng Township, opposite the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA)’s 911th Brigade base, became BGF No. 1008
2010.03.28	NDAA-ESS	Lt. Gen. Ye Myint met Vice-Chairman U San Luu of the 3,000-strong Meng La group in Keng Tung, headquarters of the Triangle Command and told them to accept the proposal by April 28 or else they would be declared an unlawful association
2010.03.25	SPDC	Gen. Thura Shwe Mann, Joint Chief of Staff of Operations of the Burmese junta visited Kachin State visited Hopin, Tanai and Puta-O and returned to Nay Pyi Taw
2010.03.24	SPDC	Gen. Thura Shwe Mann, Joint Chief of Staff of Operations of the Burmese junta visited Kachin State visited Northern Command in Myitkyina, Kachin State
2010.03.22	Wa	The Burmese junta has directed government employees and staff of NGOs posted in Panshang, the headquarters of the ‘United Wa State Army’ (UWSA), which is still refusing to accept the regime’s proposal to transform its armed wing into the Border Guard Force (BGF), to go back home by today
2010.03.21	SPDC + KIO	Northern Command Commander Maj. Gen. Soe Win met KIO Chairman Zau Hara, Secretary Dr. Laja and Col. Gwan Mau at the Northern Command Headquarters. He made inquiries with the KIO on the seizure of 33 bombs from two villagers in Kum Ban village, Bamao town by the Drug Enforcement Special Police Force on March 13.
2010.03.19	KNU	Zipporah Sein, General secretary of the KNU, warns of war ahead of the vote at a news conference organised by the Forum of Democracy with over 150 activist groups in Bangkok.
2010.03.17	KIO	The KIO’s central committee meeting, attended by 20 members decided not to have any further discussion on the Border Guard Force issue if the junta does not respond to the demands submitted earlier.
2010.03.16	NMSP	Five executive the New Mon State Party (NMSP) members met with Maj-Gen Thet Naing Win, the commander of the junta's Southeast Regional Command in Moulmein, the capital of Mon State, to discuss the border guard force order. After meeting the NMSP will move some departments and its stockpile of weapons to a new undisclosed base in case of an outbreak of civil war. Recently, two Burmese battalions were ordered into areas under the control of the NMSP as outlined in ceasefire agreements.
2010.03.15	KIO	KIO moved all its important documents and office materials from Laiza to prevent them falling into regime hands if government forces launch an attack as the latest BGF deadline passes
2010.03.13	Army + SSA-S	About 20 Burmese junta soldiers were killed and eight were injured in an ambush in Nam Zam Township in Shan State by Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) soldiers. Three clashes have occurred in Shan State between Burmese troops and the SSA-S this month. According to government military sources, more than 70,000 additional regime troops have been sent to northeastern Shan State where strong ethnic cease-fire groups such as United Wa State Army (UWSA) and Kachin Independence Army (KIA) are based.
2010.03.12	KIO	Eight leaders of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) met with Maj-Gen Soe Win, the commander of the Northern Regional Command, in Myitkyina, the Kachin State capital, for a decision on the border guard force order. The Burmese general is said to have wanted a “yes or no” answer on whether the KIO would transform its troops into a junta-led border guard force but the KIO want to continue negotiations.
2010.03.12	NMSP	NMSP leaders said that they have trained their soldiers to wage a guerrilla war, if they are attacked. Nai Hang Thar, the secretary of the NMSP, told The Irrawaddy, “If there is war in the future, we will not fight like we did in the past, and we will fight not only in the jungle. Our Mon people are everywhere. We will take a clandestine, guerrilla war to the enemy.
2010.03.11	KNPLF	The Karenni National People's Liberation Front (KNPLF) is holding a meeting to register for the election and to give a party name to contest the election as representative of Karenni State.
2010.03.09	NMSP	Two Burmese government battalions have been sent into areas under the control of the New Mon State Party (NMSP) despite a longstanding agreement between both parties that Burmese troops would not enter the area while the 1995 cease-fire remains intact. NMSP is holding a meeting at their headquarters to discuss the recent developments
2010.03.03	China	Junta’s ‘Military Affairs Security’ (Military Intelligence) chief Lt. Gen. Ye Myint sent a letter to the Chinese Yunnan State government asking them to mediate with the UWSA. The letter says unless the ‘Wa’ leaders accept their demand of transforming the Wa army into BGF, they will (1) declare the Wa organization as unlawful (2) order them to surrender and (3) will launch an offensive against them
2010.03.03	KIO	The KIO held a crucial meeting at its party headquarters Laiza with leaders including 30 members of the Central Executive Committee (CEC), decide on how to respond to the junta's demand to transform into a Border Guard Force.
2010.02.25	SPDC + NDAA	Ye Myint traveled to Kengtung in southern Shan State to met the NDAA, also known as the Mongla group.
2010.02.24	DKBA	The Irrawaddy reports that sources in the Burma's Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) that the group has reversed its original decision to accept the regime's plan for ceasefire groups to become a “border guard force” (BGF).
2010.02.22	NMSP	At least 100 people in southern Burma’s Mon State have fled to regions controlled by the New Mon State Party (NMSP) after local army authorities attempted to force them to join a peoples’ militia, according to Mon humanitarian workers.
2010.02.07	SSA-S	The Shan State Army – South leader, Col. Yawd Serk, said on Shan National Day that if the military government allows free political movement in the country and promises to transfer power to the winning party, he will form a political party and contest in the 2010 election
2010.02.06	SSA-N	Chief of the Military Affairs Security (MAS) Ye Myint travelled to Shan State to meet delegations from the Shan State Army–North to urge them to accept the Border Guard Force Proposal
2010.02.05	KIO	The KIO continues to demand ethnic rights and reject the Border Guard force plan at the 49th Kachin Resistance Day
2010.02.02	UWSP	The United Wa State Party Chairman Bao Yuxiang refused to meet with the junta's Military Affairs Security (MAS) Chief Lt. Gen. Ye Myint for the second time to discuss the dictatorship's desire to turn the UWSP into a Border Guard Force (BGF)
2010.01.30	NMSP	Nai Htaw Mon, the chairman of the New Mon State Party (NMSP), said at a press conference after the 63rd anniversary celebrations of Mon National Day that the Burmese regime was forcing the NMSP's hand by pushing it to join a joint border guard force. He also reiterated that they could not accept the Junta's Border Guard Force plan.
2010.01.29	KIA	Lt-Gen Ye Myint and Maj-Gen Soe Win commander of Northern Regional Command met for the 10th time, representatives of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) in Myitkyina to resolve the standoff on transforming the Kachin Independence Army
2010.01.28	Wa	A bomb was reportedly discovered before it could explode at a UWSA trading office in Burma’s northeastern town of Mu-se near the border with China
2010.01.27	NDA-ESS	NDAA-ESS Secretary Min Ein (a.k.a. Lin Hongshen), a key negotiator with the junta, was shot by unknown gunmen at about 6:30 a.m. (local time)
2010.01.24	KNPP/KNU	Government accuses KNPP of bombing the power supply system in Karen state on the 9th of January and 23rd of January.
2010.01.21	KDA	KDA was ordered by SPDC Regional Commander Maj-Gen Aung Than Htut to change to two militia groups by changing its KDA military uniform to that of the militia.
2010.01.19	KDA	Kachin Defense Army (KDA) transformed into a regime-controlled militia group as part of the Government's Border Guard Force Plan
2010.01.05	UWSP	United Wa State Party Chairman Bao Yu Xiang rejected a meeting with the junta’s Lieutenant General Ye Myint for another round of talks on transforming the Wa Army into a Border Guard Force.
2010.01.04	SNLD	SNLD sent Than Shwe a letter requesting a meeting with its imprisoned party leaders prior to elections this year, apparently with an eye to participating.
2009.12.07-18	SSN-A	SSA-N held meetings with members of its armed forces to explain the border guard force proposal
2009.12.04	Kokang Army	The Kokang Army in Shan State (North) Special Region-1 in Northeast Burma was formed into frontier forces by the government
2009.12	KSPP	The Kachin State Progressive Party (KSPP) led by former leaders of Kachin ceasefire groups' have begun their pre-election campaigns in major townships of the Kachin State. The KSPP party campaigns are now underway in Myitkyina, Waing-Maw, Puta-O, Naungmong,Ma-chambaw, Kaung-lanphu, Ingyan-yang, Pharkant, Ta-naing, Moe-nyin, Moegaung, Bahmo, Moe-mauk, Shwe-gu townships.
2009.12	MNPCP	Two Mon surrendered armed groups led by Nai Aung Naing and Nai Shaung (Rehmonya) merged into one for the purpose of recruiting a local militia under their command and in control of the Burmese Army to form the Mon National Peace Council Party (MNPCP)
2009.11.14	UWSA	Wa Army leaders met junta’s top military leaders in Tanyang to discuss the Border Guard Force issue. But the meeting failed to yield results after the 9 Point proposal submitted by the Wa. The deadline for transformation to BGF was extended to the end of December.
2009.11.08	NDA-K	New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K) officially converted its forces to the Burmese Army-controlled Border Guard Force at a ceremony held at the NDA-K base in Pangwah east of Kachin State near the Sino-Burma border.
2009.11	KIA	The Kachin Independence Army started giving militia training to civilians in Mung Seng Yang, a military training center near the Sino-Burmese border. First militia training in November with about 200 civilians, and the second training, with more than 100 civilians, started in the middle of December
2009.10.28	NDAA-ESS	The National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State (NDAA-ESS), the ethnic group commonly known as the Mongla group, has agreed in principle to the junta’s “one country, one military” proposal. A Mongla delegation led by its leader Sai Leun (U Saing Lin) met with junta chief negotiator Lt-Gen Ye Myint of Military Affairs Security (MAS) in Kengtung, Eastern Shan State recently. The Mongla group is reported to have agreedto place its 4,500-strong armed forces under the SPDC’s control on a step-by-step basis, provides some conditions are met.
2009.10.27	KNU/KNLA	Thai soldiers and police entered the homes and offices of more than 10 leaders of the Karen National Union and its military wing, the Karen National Liberation Army
2009.10.24	Kokang	12 Bombs go off in Junta seized Kokang capital Laogai
2009.10.24-28	UWSA	A five-man delegation from the United Wa State Army (UWSA) met with the North- Eastern Regional Commander, Major-General Aung Than Htut, to discuss the proposed Border Guard Force programme. At the meeting, the Wa made clear that the withdrawal of Burmese army units from Wa territory was a first priority and requirement.
2009.10.20	KPC	Released a statement saying they had rejected the junta’s border guard force order
2009.10.19	KNU + DKBA	Leaders of the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) held first cease-fire talks since they split in 1994
2009.10.18	KNPLF - faction	A minority faction of the Karenni National People’s Liberation Front (KNPLF) led by Major Tun Kyaw has decided to split from the main KNPLF ethnic army to join the Burmese Regional Command and transform his troops into Border Guard Forces in accordance with the terms set by the SPDC regime.
2009.10.16	LAWPG	Lasang Awng Wa Peace Group, a Ceasefire group converted into a people’s militia under the Government's Border Force Guard Plan
2009.10.16	Rehmonya	Naing Shaung, a former Battalion Commander of the New Mon State Party (NMSP), and leader of the breakaway faction, Rehmonya, met with South-East Regional Commander Lt.Gen. Thet Naing Win, to discuss the transformation and creation of a People’s Militia or BGF. According to sources, Naing Shaung recently laid down his arms to the authorities, with the aim of accepting the SPDC’s Border Guard Forces proposal. Following the defection, the NMSP, issued a statement requesting Naing Shaung to rejoin the NMSP, stating that his actions were jeopardizing the Mon national cause.
2009.10.8	UWSA	Officers from the ‘Military Operation Command’ (MOC) 16 based in Seinwi, Kwanlon and Hopan in northern Shan State met some Wa officials from Mai Mai based 318th Brigade and Mai Khan based 468th Brigade to discuss the Border Guard Force proposal
2009.10.5	NDF	National Democratic Front (NDF) released a statement saying they rejected the regime’s 2010 election because it will implement the 2008 Constitution, which was adopted by force and fraudulent means.
2009.10	KPC	Gen. Ye Myint and Gen. Khin Zaw led a delegation of 20 high ranking officers to meet Brigadier Gen. Saw Htay Maung of the KNU/KNLA Peace Council in Pa-an, Karen State
2009.09.29-30	KIO	La Ja and members of the KIO delegation met with the junta’s northern regional commander, Maj-Gen Soe Win, in Myitkyina. SPDC made no response to the KIO’s proposal of allowing some of its departments to cooperate with the Burmese army. The meeting ended with both sides agreeing to meet again in a few days.
2009.09.15	UWSA	UWSA held meetings on Sept. 15-16 at its headquarters in Phangsang and agreed to repeat its offer to become a border guard force if the junta allows the Wa to establish an autonomous state.
2009.09.09	KIO	The junta delegation led by Military Affairs Security (MAS) Chief Lt. Gen. Ye Myint and the eight-member KIO team led by Vice-Chairman U Gauri Zau Seng met at the junta’s Northern Command headquarters in Kachin State’s capital Myitkyina
2009.09.5-6	Kachin	mass rally held on September 5 and 6 at Laiza town in Kachin State, attended by 324 representatives of the Kachin people and KIO leaders, also flatly rejected the junta’s transformation proposal demanding a free and fair 2010 general election, and wanted to discuss later, reforms between KIO and the Kachin State government, which will be formed after the 2010 election.
2009.09	KIO	KIO Secretary Dr. La Ja sent a letter to Snr Gen Than Shwe that states if the junta accepts and upholds the 1947 Panlong Agreement that guarantees equal rights for ethnic nationalities, the KIO is ready to abandon arms struggle, in which case it will not be necessary to transform its armed wing into the ‘Border Guard Force’ proposed by the regime.
2009.09	KIO/KSPP	Six KIO high-ranking officials including Dr. Mana Tu Ja, vice-president (2) of the KIO, announced their resignation from the KIO to form the Kachin State Progressive Party (KSPP) that will contest in the 2010 elections
2009.09	NMSP	New Mon State Party (NMSP) Chairman Nai Htaw Mon, as well as NMSP Central Executive Committee members, Nai Hong Sar and Nai Htar Wara, have been traversing Mon State and NMSP territory since mid-September 2009 organizing Mon communities in Burma in preparation for the 2010 elections.
2009.08.31	USA	The Obama administration urged an end to the violence in Burma's Kokang region, calling for the Burmese government to launch a "genuine dialogue" with ethnic minority groups.
2009.08.29	KIO +SPDC	Lt. Col. Thet Pone of the junta’s northern command came to the KIO headquarters in Laiza and briefed KIO leaders on the reason behind the recent attacks against the Kokang
2009.08.28	NMSP	The junta's Southeast Command Commander Maj. Gen. Thet Naing Win met NMSP Vice-Chairman Nai Rao Sa, Joint Secretary Nai Chan Twe and Central Executive Committee member Nai Dala Ny at Command headquarters - third such meeting The NMSP informed the military regime that they cannot accept separation of their party and the army or disbanding their army and transforming it into the BGF without guarantee of the right to self-determination for Mon people.
2009.08.26– 09.09	Wa + Mongla	joint Wa-Mongla forces seize the Burma Army garrison at Mongyang
2009.08.24-27	MNDAA	Conflict between the Burmese army and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA)- the Kokang Group led by Peng Jia Xing, forcing 37,000 refugees into China and MNDAA out of its capital Qingshuihe.
2009.08.18	NMSP/MNLA	Maj-Gen Thet Naing Win, the regional commander of the junta’s Southeast Command, told Mon leaders New Mon State Party and Mon National Liberation Army to order their members not to take part in political campaigns in Thaton District
2009.08.08	MNDAA	Tension flared between the Burmese Army and the Kokang ethnic ceasefire group, following a stand-off for about five hours between the two sides near the Sino-Burma border following an attempted drug raid by some 70 Burmese troops on the house of the Kokang group’s chairman
2009.07.31	KIO	The Commander of the Northern Military Command Maj-Gen Soe Win, along with leaders of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), held a meeting in Laiza, the KIO headquarters
2009.07.08-11	KIO	KIO leaders and regime officials led by Maj-Gen Soe Win, the commander of the Northern Regional Command and head of the regional transformation committee of the border guard force, the KIO told the military government it planned to keep its military wing, the KIA, autonomous and it rejected the order to join a junta-dominated border guard force. It instead proposed to change it to a ‘Kachin Regional Guard Force’ (KRGF) instead of the Border Guard Force’ (BGF)
2009.06.21	KNLA	A joint force of Burmese army troops and soldiers of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) seized the headquarters of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 7, its most important victory in a weeks-long offensive in the Burmese-Thai border area
2009.06.20	UWSA	The Burmese government has reinforced Burmese forces in Mong Tong Township, Shan State, due to growing tension with the United Wa State Army (UWSA)
2009.06.10	KIO	The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) rejected the Burmese military government’s proposal to transform its armed battalions into a border guard force under joint-command with the Burmese army, and would only accept the plan when there is political change in Burma
2009.06.09	NDAA-ESS	Military Affairs Security Chief Lt-Gen Ye Myint accompanied by Northeast Command Commander Aung Than Htut, Triangle Command Commander Brig. Gen. Kyaw Phyo and Maj. Gen. Maung Maung Ohn from the Ministry of Defense, met the National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State (NDAA-ESS), led by Sai Leun, at Mongla
2009.06.08	KNLA	The Karen National Union (KNU) has called on international bodies to pressure the Burmese military government for tripartite talks on political and ethnic military conflicts in Burma
2009.06.07	NMSP	The Burmese army’s Southeast Regional Commander Maj-Gen Thet Naing Win in Moulmein, Mon State, has suggested to the New Mon State Party (NMSP) in a meeting that it should transform its armed wing into a militia group if it doesn’t want to take up border guard duties.
2009.06.06	KNLA	The Burmese army and the ceasefire Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) are shelling the main base of Brigade 7 of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) with long-distance mortars
2009.06.06-07	UWSA	Burmese Military Affairs Security Chief Lt-Gen Ye Myint met UWSA leaders in Pangsan
2009.06.05	MNDAA	Kokang leaders of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) met Burmese Military Affairs Security Chief Lt-Gen Ye Myint in Laogai. They reportedly told the Naypyidaw regime it could not accept the proposal reassign its troops as border guards in its present form and would wait until after the 2010 election and the formation of a new government before making a final decision.
2009.06	DKBA	The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a ceasefire group, has begun forcibly recruiting people to serve as border guards in compliance with orders from Burma’s ruling junta
2009.06.01	KNLA	An attack on KNLA Brigade 6 displaced more than 2,000 people, forcing many to flee to Thailand, marking the beginning of a new offensive by pro-junta forces
2009.06	KNLA	Burmese government troops and their Karen ally, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, captured three military bases from the Karen National Liberation Army. About 4,500 Karen civilians flee across the Thai-Burmese border.
2009.05.19	UWSA	The United Wa State Army said they will not reform their army, as suggested by the junta, but would continue with their struggle
2009.05.11-12	KIO	The central executive committee of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) held a two-day meeting to discuss the Burmese regime’s calls for the ceasefire group to transform its armed wing into a border security force (BSF).
2009.05.06	NMSP	A member of an ethnic Mon party, the New Mon State Party (NMSP), was attacked by gunmen who fired at least six shots
2009.04.28	SPDC	Government orders all Ethnic ceasefire groups to transform into Border Guard Forces under the control of the Burmese Army
2009.04.27	KNU	Armed ethnic rebel group, the Karen National Union, has called on international governments not to endorse the Burmese military junta’s forthcoming general elections of 2010, as it is not a step in the direction of political reforms.
2009.04.18	NMSP	Dr. Nai Min Naung, a member of the NMSP, was shot dead. Sources said three gunmen from a rebel faction led by Nai Aung Chan, have been arrested for his murder.
2009.04.15-28	KNLA	The Burmese Army has overrun the Karen National Liberation Army’s base camp of Wah Lay Kee.
2009.04.09	CNF	The Chin National Front (CNF), an ethnic rebel group, has said it is ready for another round of peace talks with Burma's military junta, but that the government has so far shown no signs of looking to resume talks.
2009.04.09	LNDO	According to a report published by the Lahu National Development Organization (LNDO) the political situation in Burma’s eastern Shan State has worsened since mid-2008, as ceasefire groups come under growing pressure to disarm and China exerts greater economic influence over the region
2009.04.06	KNU	Burma’s leading ethnic armed resistance group, the Karen National Union has accepted the offer of the Burmese military junta for peace talks through Thailand’s Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya
2009.03.30	KNU	Nay Soe Mya, son of the late KNU leader Gen Saw Bo Mya, led 71 Karen rebels and defected to the junta
2009.03.30	KPF	Members of the Karen Peace Force, a cease-fire group, have been directed by the Burmese Army to form a Border Guard Force during a meeting between a Karen officer, senior officers from Naypyidaw and General Thet Naing Win from the Southeast Command met Karen Peace Force, Chairman, Saw Thamu Hel, Vice-Chairman Saw Daw Daw and Secretary Mahn Aung Tin Myint at the Southeast Command Headquarters in Moulmein
2009.03.25	SPDC	The Burmese junta’s Secretary 1 Lt-Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo has signaled that talks with armed groups who have not signed ceasefire agreements are possible at any time
2009.03.24	KNU	The Karen National Union’s deputy chairman, David Takapaw, has welcomed Thailand’s offer to mediate talks between the KNU and the Burmese regime, but said they would have to be held outside Burma.
2009.03.21	DKBA	Secretary 1 Lt-Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo met with Than Htoo Kyaw, the chairman of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA). He said the military regime will continue to encourage the development of DKBA-controlled areas.
2009.03.17	NDA-K	New Democratic Army-Kachin has declared it is ready to abandon armed struggle after the 2010 general elections, if the new elected government urges them to do so.
2009.03	KNU	The Karen National Union (KNU) expelled the youngest son of former leader General Bo Mya, Captain Nay Soe Mya, from the organization for meeting with a Burmese military leader in Naypyitaw in February
2009.02.15	KNU	Nay Soe Mya, a company commander in the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), met with Major General Ye Myint of the Burmese Army in Naypyitaw. He was accompanied by KNU splinter group leader Major General Htein Maung, who previously reached a ceasefire agreement with the military regime.
2009.01.28	CNA	The Chin National Army, the armed wing of ethnic the Chin rebel group – the Chin National Front - vehemently denied accusations of abusing the rights of Chin people, who are already vulnerable to Burmese military persecution.
2009.01.18-19	UWSA	Lt. Gen Ye Myint, along with Maj-Gen Kyaw Phyo and Maj-Gen Aung Than Htut visited UWSA's headquarters in Pang Sang to urge the Wa group to change its army into a militia to be used by the junta as a border security force under its control.
2009.01.12	SSA-S	Fierce fighting is taking place between the Shan State Army (South) and the Burmese Arny in three townships in southern Shan State
2009.01.06	DKBA	The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a splinter group of the Karen National Union, is expected to provide border guards under the terms of Burma’s new constitution, members were told at Independence Day celebrations at the headquarters of the DKBA’s Battalion 999.
2009.01.03	KNU + DKBA	Major Clash occurred between the rebel Karen National Union (KNU) and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA)
2009.01	Army	Saeng Juen, assistant editor of the Thailand-based Shan Herald Agency for News, said the Burmese army had deployed an estimated 2,000 reinforcements since the middle of January in Mong Ping, Mong Hsnu, Tang Yan and Kunlong.
2009.01	UWSP	The United Wa State Party (UWSP), an ethnic ceasefire group based in northern Burma, has proposed to the country’s military regime that territory under Wa control be designated a special autonomous region from the beginning of January 2009, according to political observers based in the area.
2008.10.11	MNDF-LA	The Mon National Democratic Front (MNDF-LA) said it would not support the 2010 elections during the 20th anniversary of its founding held on the Thai Burma border.

Last Updated on Thursday, 25 November 2010 18:19