Karen state

Bo Mya, 79; longtime leader of Myanmar guerrilla group

BANGKOK, THAILAND — Gen. Bo Mya, a longtime leader of Myanmar’s largest guerrilla group, died Sunday, a spokesman for the Karen National Union said. He was 79.

Bo Mya died at a private hospital in western Thailand near the Myanmar border, according to the group’s spokesman, David Thaw.

Thaw said Bo Mya had suffered various illnesses including diabetes and heart and lung ailments. He also had a stroke more than a year ago.

“This is the big loss for the Karen and all Myanmar ethnic fighters,” said Mahn Sha, the group’s general secretary. “Gen. Bo Mya has led the fight of the Karen for more than five decades.”

The Karen National Union has fought for autonomy since Myanmar -- formerly known as Burma -- gained independence from Britain in 1948. Once in control of large swaths of the Thai-Myanmar border, the organization has seen its territory shrink to virtually nothing since the capture of its stronghold of Manerplaw in 1995.

Hundreds of thousands, according to expert estimates, have died in a conflict largely hidd

‘FREEDOM is More Important than Anything’: Karen Major General Nerdah Bo Mya

[KNU] headquarters. I grew up in Htoo Wah Lu village, a very small village. We had only few houses near by our house and we played together with some of the kids that we were growing up with. We were staying together like one big family, even though we had different houses.

We grew up in a KNU controlled area. My father set up a small school for us, like primary school. The school had Karen curriculum, all mostly Karen curriculum. Then later on, my father, because the community was enlarging, he set up a high school. We called it Karen State high school. We didn’t really actually know about the political problems or the fighting, because the community where we were brought up was very peaceful and our neighbors were mostly Karen people.

Then I heard about the fighting, the political problems, and then the refugees started moving into Thailand. And then I realised that Karen people are not recognised and we need to gain back our freedom. They started talking about these things and every Friday

Autobiography of Saw Bo Mya

71%(7)71% found this document useful (7 votes)
2K views

Copyright:

Available Formats

Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
71%(7)71% found this document useful (7 votes)
2K views123 pages

Copyright

Available Formats

PDF or read online from Scribd

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
71%(7)71% found this document useful (7 votes)
2K views123 pages

Copyright:

Available Formats

Download as PDF or read online from Scribd

You might also like

  • GNLM 2023-12-06
  • GNLM 2023-12-11
  • GNLM 2023-12-03

Footer menu

Support

Legal

Social

Get our free apps

Get our free apps

Copyright ©oakvibe.pages.dev 2025