This dyad belongs to the conflict Myanmar (Burma): Lahu
Summary of conflict Myanmar (Burma): Lahu
The Lahu conflict concerned the rights and potential autonomy for the Lahu population living in the Shan states of Myanmar, near the border with Thailand. The government generally depicted the conflict as attacks on the drug trade, as much drug trafficking passed through territory controlled by the Lahu. The competition for these trade routes eventually ended the conflict, as the Lahu were evicted after attacks from rival Shan rebels wanting to control the drug trade.
About the Lahu
The Lahu is a hill tribe that is found in southern China, Laos, northeastern Myanmar, and northern Thailand. While the tribe was settled in areas that traditionally was ruled by ethnic Shan or Karenni princes, they were internally led by a hereditary payah, a politico-religious leader. Since the Shan state sawbwas were granted continued autonomy at independence 1948, the creation of Burma had little influence on the lives of Lahu people.
Following the defeat of the Kuomintang (KMT) forces in the Chinese civil war in 1949, many KMT troops fled into Burma and settled in the Shan states. There they received support from the US while planning counteroffensives into China, recruiting locals into their forces, and soon became leading figures in the booming opium trade.
Lahu fighting for the government
In order to counter the threat of the KMT forces, as well as the ongoing Arakan, Karen, and communist rebellions, the government promoted local headmen in Shan states to set up militias in the early 1950s. The payah of the Lahu, Pu Kyaung Long, set up one such militia while other Lahu were recruited by the KMT.
When ethnic Shan groups rebelled from 1958 onwards, the Lahu milita also clashed with these forces. For example, during the first five months of its existance 1960, the rebel group SSIA (see Shan conflict) clashes almost exclusively with the local Lahu forces in Mawpha area rather than government forces.
The start of Lahu conflict
More than a decade after the government had started to encourage local warlords in the Shan states to set up pro-government militias, the benefits of the programs were hard to see. Although the militias at times had clashed with KMT forces, ethnic Shan rebels, and – from 1968 – the Chinese-backed forces of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), this had not led to more government control over the area. Indeed, many militia commanders had become heavily involved in the opium trade and started co-operating with KMT remnants and rebels in the area. Furthermore, the system that opium convoys paid off local militias to guarantee safe passage had reduced the ability for government forces to move freely in the territory.
The Lahu pro-government militia under Pu Kyaung Long was one group with such control over territory, and with little loyalty to the ruling military regime. When a former SSA-commander Jimmy Yang was recruited by former Burmese Prime Minister U Nu in 1970 to set up a non-communist tribal militia in northern Burma, the Lahu were interested to join but the planned rebellion never came about.
Instead, the event that triggered the Lahu rebellion was the government order that all local pro-government militia forces in Shan state should be disbanded. Within a week of having heard of this order, Pa Kyaung Long declared war against the government and attacked the town of Mong Hsat on 10 January 1973. The next day, other Lahu forces and irregulars stormed the town of Mong Ton, routed the local police and razed the government office. The government reacted by shutting down schools and offices across Shan state and deployed the army in a counterattack against the Lahu rebels. Pa Kyaung Long retreated and set up a base on the Loi Lang mountain near the Thai border where the Lahu forces formed the Lahu National United Party (LNUP).
Opium trade
The territory next to where the Lahu set up their base on Loi Lang in 1973 was controlled by the Shan State Army (SSA), who also helped train the group. The LNUP soon also participated in rebel alliances with other non-communist ethnic rebels but they were reported to be particularly targeted by government attacks throughout the 1970s.
Because of the strategic location of the Lahu base near the border to Thailand, the group were able to control a lucrative smuggling route that was particularly attractive to opium smugglers. After the Lahu payah Pa Kyaung Long died in 1980 and was succeeded by his son, Char Ui, this business expanded. Chinese opium merchants, mainly former KMT troops, were invited to set up heroin raffineries at Loi Lang while LNUP charged them for protection.
The fall of Loi Lang and end of the rebellion
The cooperation with drug traders provided LNUP with many resources but it also led to the demise of the group. In July 1982, the LNUP bases at Loi Lang were attacked by forces of the Shan rebel group Shan United Army (SUA), which at the time primarily focused on protecting the drug convoys of its leader Khun Sa. Increasing US-backed anti-drug operations were targeting Khun Sa at his camp in Thailand and he needed a secure base on the Burmese side of the border.
With the help of an ethnic Lahu commander of CPB, SUA defeated the LNUP and captured the mountain. Most LNUP forces were disbanded or joined either SUA or CPB. Having lost their base, the situation became difficult for the remaining troops and Char Ui and the last 400 troops of LNUP surrendered to the government in January 1984.
Char Ui eventually rebelled again in August 1985 when he set up the Lahu National Organization (LNO) but the limited military action of this organization have since consisted of providing supporting troops to the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) in the Karenni conflict.
