Myanmar’s Ethnic Insurgents: UWSA, KNU and KIO

Since the elections of 2010, Myanmar’s political landscape has changed significantly;
the old military junta has officially been dissolved and a new
civilian government, led by President Thein Sein, has been inaugurated.
Together with the new constitution of 2008 and the government’s demand
that all ethnic armies must integrate into the Border Guard Force (BGF), this
situation raises a very important question; what will happen to the ongoing
ethnic struggles in Myanmar? While the future is never certain, this paper
will seek to predict the short-term future by focusing on Myanmar’s three
main ethnic resistance groups: the Untied Wa State Army, the Kachin Independence
Organization and the Karen National Union. Based on these predictions,
the paper will then provide a set of policy recommendations to the
central government, the ethnic groups and the international community.