The Burmese military ruling
regime has used the four cuts operation in the
eastern Karen State since 1976 against Karen
National Union (KNU). This operation is also
known as Scorched Earth, or the Scorched
intervention military tactic. It commences
annually as the "dry season offensive" against
the country's ethnic nationalities. Since 1996,
over 3200 villages in eastern Burma had been
destroyed and forcibly relocated or abandoned.
The Burmese military has
persuaded some of the Buddhist Karen under one
of the Karen monk and created Democratic Karen
Buddhist Organisation (DKBO) and formed the
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), who is a
politically naive group with very limited
political and general knowledge. Their
propaganda is that the KNU is a Christian
organisation working solely for its own benefit.
Moreover, the DKBA leaders were misled by the
SPDC's promise that “If there is no Marnerplaw
(the KNU headquarters), the Rangoon government
will withdraw all their troops from the Karen
State and within six months, would be installed
the DKBO as government and handed over all
political power to them to rule their own Karen
State".
Since then, the Burmese army
and DKBA combined troops and attacked Wanka,
where KNU's base caved. During January and
around Februrary 1996, the Burmese and DKBA
combined troops attacking with mortar shellings
and burning down Karen refugee camps along the
Thai-Burma border at Maeramu, Bawnaw, Shoklo,
Kamawlayko and Hwaykaloke, where tens of
thousands of Karen refugees lived. Within the 15
months the Shoklo and Hway Kaloke camp were
burnt down twice despite the UN and Human rights
commission (Human rights council) having passed
repeatedly resolutions condemning Burma's
military regime for human rights abuses each
year since 1990.
A working committee was first
formed in 1996 embodying themselves as the
Australian Karen Organisation (AKO) to make
representations, and bring to the attention of
the world community the plight of the thousands
of refugees that were being driven out of their
homes to the Burma-Thai border.
The committee operated as
organisation giving priority to the urgent
matters and situations that they had, and their
fellowmen were experiencing.
The AKO's objectives were to
express their concern and disapproval of the
deterioration of the living standards and denial
of basic human rights and injustices that their
fellow Karens and others were suffering at the
hands of the military authorities in Burma. The
AKO have organised themselves, joining together
to show their solidarity, and to continue the
struggle for the restoration of democracy in
Burma.
When the news of the Burmese
army's attack on Karen Refugee camps circulated,
the Karens all over Australia held a
teleconference and agreed for the AKO to meet
with the Australian Foreign Affairs Officials.
The first Karen protest against the Burmese
army's attacks on Karen Refugee camp at the
Thai-Burma Border was in front of Burmese
embassy, Canberra on the 17 February 1997.
Subsequently AKO's delegation (consisting of
Karen delegates from Perth, Sydney, Canberra and
Melbourne) met with the Australian Foreign
Officials, after the Karen protest. Following
meeting with Australian Foreign Officials, the
Karens held another meeting at Canberra to
discuss the drafted AKO constitution, and made
suggestions to seek advice from the Karen
National Union (KNU) to gain perspective of the
overseas Karen needs.
Finally the Karen groups in New
South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia
finally concluded their consultations on the 14
February 1998 and agree to adopt the
constitutions for the umbrella organisation for
the Karen people in Australia, including women
department and youth department as set out
hereunder. The Australian Karen Organisation was
registered as Incorporated under the Association
ACT 1981, on 16 July 1998 in the state of
Victoria.
At present, there are six
chapters of the Australian Karen Organisation-
which operate as the Victoria, New South Wales,
Western Australia, Queensland, Australian
Capital Territory and Northern Territory
branches.
The AKO's National general
meeting is held biannually, while each state
management's annual meeting is held yearly. The
AKO's National Council consists of 21 to 42
members (7 nominated members from each state)
with a term of two years.
The Australian Karen
Organisation is an umbrella organisation for the Karen people in Australia and to represent them;
voice their concerns in all political, social,
cultural and economic matters; and to facilitate
their affiliation to the AKO.
