The Background of Karenni National
Day
Karenni
people descended from Mongolia Plateau and settled in Demawsoe Plain then
established Karenni State in about 739 BC. From then on, they elected their own
chief to rule the country. Soon afterward, Yuan feudal king from the north
invaded Karenni and oppressed the Karenni people as slaved for almost a hundred
years. At last, Karenni people united and expelled the Yuan feudal king from
Karenni and continued to love under the rule of their elected chief as before.
Even though
Karenni is a small country co-inhabited by ethnic peoples, who share same
culture, it is full of rich natural resources and country would be prosperous
and developed if free to extract and use its resources.
In 1857,
the British government representative Load Dalhosei recognized Karenni
independence and signed a friendship agreement with Karenni in 1862. Moreover,
the representatives of British governor and Burmese king signed and agreement
on June 21, 1875 in recognition of Karenni independence. Even when the British
took control of the whole Burma, Karenni still remain a free state outside the
British’s occupation. Therefore, June 21 is regarded as the Karenni National
Day and it is celebrated once every year to maintain and preserve the precious
meaning of it.
The
conflict between the ethinic nationalities and the successive Burma rulers
began after Burma granted its independence in 1948. Howerver, the main causes
of conflict between Burma rulers and the ethnic nationalities were different
for each nationality. Some were based on equality, and some were on the grounds
of self-determination or autonomy. The Karenni cause wasn’t the same as these,
but rather to maintain her independence, and therefore, the conflict between
the Burma rulers and Karenni started.
As a
result of chronic war that was initiated by the Burmese, lives, properties and
rights of the Innocent people have been lost during over five decades. Besides,
in the late of 1988 there was student demonstration and thousands of different
ethnic groups such as Kayah, Kayan, Kayaw, Paku, Manu, Bweh, Shan and Pao so on
had to leave their home town and reside in the Thailand, refugee camps mainly
Mae Hong Son district for their safety. Last 18 years (1991-92), Karenni people
have lost sanctuary as temporary dwellers. There are over 23000 population who
is being sheltering in Thailand. Among these 23000 populations, generally 8000
population are young people.
