WHAT THEY ARE FIGHTING FOR
The Karen National Liberation
Army (KNLA) is the military arm of the civilian government for the Karen people,
the Karen National Union (KNU). There are some seven million Karen, and their
state, Kawthoolei, stretches some 600 kilometers in the hills along the border
of Thailand. They have been at war for over fifty years, dating back to the
conflict with the British colonialists and the failure of the subsequent Burmese
Union. They are, and have been - to this day - fighting for:
- Their right to self-determination
- Their land
- Their families
- Their culture
- Their lives