Nearly all of China's neighbors have maintained national stability and sovereign integrity, with the exception of Myanmar.
Myanmar is a large regional country, the second largest in Southeast Asia, but the country has long been in the process of "formal unity". Except for the plains in the south, the mountainous areas in the north are not under the rule of the Burmese government, and have long been self-governing by the "people, land, and military".
This kind of organization exists not only in Myanmar, but also in a large number of troubled areas in Asia and Africa.
There are many ethnic groups in Myanmar, there are more than 120 large and small ethnic groups, and there are countless "people, land and martial arts". In Myanmar's "Mindi Armed Forces", the "Karen LRA" in the late 90s was the most famous.
In fact, in terms of combat effectiveness and destructive power, the "Karen LRA" cannot compare with many armies of the Shan, Kachin, and Wa peoples. But the "Karen LRA" has produced two "child kings", and a pair of 8-year-old twins are the leaders of this guerrilla force, which is rare in the world.
The twins, Johnny and Luther, claimed to have heard Jesus' call to lead the Karen tribe to independence when they were 8 years old, so they were considered by the priest to be the messengers who saved the Karen and sent them to the army as "mascots".
The brothers excelled in the army, following the soldiers to fight guerrilla warfare in the rain of bullets and bullets, and were later regarded as one of the spiritual leaders by the soldiers.
At that time, there were also Western reporters who went into the jungle to interview them, but the 10-year-old brothers were very old and full of national independence and religious ideas, which once made it rumored that the two were "dwarfs" rather than real children.
So, what kind of armed force is the "Karen LRA"? Are Johnny and Luther really "God's messengers"? What happened to these two people?
[a]
The great dream of independence for the Karen people in Myanmar
From the 17th century onwards, Britain joined the Asian trade and crossed the African continent to trade in the Indian Ocean. During this period, the British established the "East India Company" to plunder India's resources and support their home country.
Few people know that the British not only occupied the whole of India, but also that Burma next door was also a British colony, and was divided into "British India" and connected with India.
In the 100-year colonial history, the British rule over Myanmar has left the hidden danger of division in the region.
In order to reduce the cost of rule, the British "indirectly" ruled much of Burma, giving power to local ethnic leaders who could be crowned as kings as long as they owed allegiance to the colonial government and paid taxes.
Among the British colonies, Myanmar is the most complicated, because the main ethnic group in Myanmar, although the Burmese account for more than half of the population, there are also many large ethnic groups, such as the Shan, Karen, Mon, and Kachin.
In the era of the old Burmese kingdom, these ethnic groups did not get along with the Burmese people, and after the British colonization, these ethnic groups were self-governing for a long time, so it can be said that "they only know that they have a home, but they do not know that they have a country".
It wasn't until after World War II that Britain spit out a large number of colonies, and British India became completely independent and shattered into several countries.
During this period, Myanmar became independent, and the main body of the country was still in the southern plains, that is, "Lower Burma", but in order to maintain the unity of "Greater Myanmar", the Burmese people included northern Myanmar and ethnic minority areas, making Myanmar's territory the second in Southeast Asia.
However, the Burmese government was completely unable to administer the northern region, and the local ethnic groups did not recognize the Burmese government.
As the third largest ethnic group in Myanmar, the Karen ethnic group is a strong opponent of the Burmese government.
In the 50s and 60s of the 20th century, Myanmar had a poor domestic economy and military strength, and it was a country with no face and no money.
To give a simple example, at the end of the Liberation War in 1949, the remnants of Chiang's army in Yunnan were defeated and retreated to northern Burma.
In the end, Li Mi, the general of Chiang's army, also said: "As long as I want, I can be the king of Burma at any time." ”
This stimulated the Burmese government, and the complaint was filed with the United Nations, and Chiang, who had retreated to Taiwan, made the remnants of the army low-key, announced that they would stop supporting the remnants of the army, and recalled Li Mi to China.
But the Karen people have many internal problems, and they can't be twisted into a rope.
Originally, the Karen people were distributed in Karen and Kayah states in Myanmar, and because of the different lifestyles and economic levels in the mountains and plains, this ethnic group believes in Buddhism and Christianity respectively.
In the early days, the two groups of believers fought together for national independence, but in the late 60s, due to long-term mutual suspicion and the division of Burma, the Karen Buddhists and Christians fought fiercely, and the two sides became enemies.
In this context, the Burmese government has long drawn the Karen Buddhist Army into internal fighting, and finally at the end of the 20th century, the Burmese government and the Buddhist Army alliance broke up the Karen Christian armed forces, and the "Karen National Union" was declared extinct.
Eventually, many Karen Christian units fled into the jungle to fight guerrillas, and the so-called "LRA" was formed during this period.
[two]
The LRA ushered in a "savior", and the 8-year-old became a general
Karen Christian rebels operate in eastern Burma, and some have fled to the "Golden Triangle" because it is a lawless zone in Southeast Asia, where the Burmese, Laotian, and Thai governments have a low presence, and there is a drug trade to make money and buy arms.
However, because of the difficult conditions of the struggle, the Karen guerrillas were small in number and their morale was not high, and it was difficult to achieve long-term resistance.
In desperation, some leaders, in concert with religious forces, began to provoke the military and civilians with "miracles".
The "miracles" of the objective world are difficult to find, often hard to find, and the Karen people gave up early. But it is perfectly feasible to make a miracle.
The army was surprised why the priest had sent the two children over, and the priest smiled and let the two children speak for themselves.
Johnny and Luthor said that they had spoken to Jesus, who had promised to "help the Karen people, the followers of the Lord, to win" and that they had sent two brothers to support the Karen war effort.
It stands to reason that few people would believe such a child's words, but the Karen generals were stunned.
It turned out that because they found that the tongues of the two little children were purple and black, which is a "miracle" in the legend of the Karen people, and it is a sign of the Karen people's heavenly nobles.
The Karen generals also considered it, and in the end, in view of the fierce situation of the struggle, they accepted the priest's proposal and sent the two children to the army in the rainforest as a morale-boosting "stimulant".
When the two little children came to the army, the partisan soldiers were also amazed to see their black tongues. After that, each of the brothers was given a gun and soon joined the fight.
Reverend Harper and his two brothers charged, and although Johnny and Luther were only 8 years old, the guerrillas were impressed by their bravery in battle.
At that time, the Karen armed forces were undergoing siege and suppression, and the soldiers were very excited to see the "God Men" Johnny and the Luthor brothers.
It is said that in the first battle of the "LRA", eight fighters, including the brothers, killed more than 20 government troops, which made the guerrillas raise their eyebrows.
At the end of 1997, the Karen "LRA" once again repelled the encirclement of government forces, and dozens of men routed more than 200 regular troops, a result that the guerrillas believed could not explain beyond miracles.
At this point, the two brothers were worshipped as true gods by the army and worshipped every day.
Johnny and Luthor have different personalities, and the older brother Johnny is introverted and has long hair, which at first glance can be mistaken for a girl.
The younger brother has a more cheerful personality and likes to smoke, and he has a great addiction to smoking, and he never leaves his cigarette in almost every photo. Beside them, there are always a few warriors who are closely accompanied, and even the marching will carry them on their backs, with great respect.
After several victories in 1997, rumors swirled that the LRA had been helped by two prodigies who were invulnerable and could turn food and even water clean.
[three]
There was a bloody case in the hospital, and the "LRA" was encircled and surrendered
Although the "LRA" won several battles in the Golden Triangle, after all, it was only a small guerrilla force and could not get out of the rainforest to make a big noise. At that time, the Karen ethnic group had been divided, and the government controlled order in Karen State, and it was difficult to change the status quo.
In the 90s, the LRA was also supported by some people in Thailand, who encouraged them to fight other guerrillas in the Golden Triangle. But in the 21st century, the Thai government changed its tactics and joined forces with Myanmar to suppress the Karen militants.
At that time, the "LRA" expressed its anger at the continuous Thai shelling of the mountains along the Thai-Burmese border, which caused a large number of guerrilla casualties, and attacked a hospital in "Ratchaburi Province" on the Thai border in early 2000.
In that incident, the LRA abducted more than 700 doctors, nurses and patients from the hospital and killed the Thai military police in an exchange of fire. Eventually, the Thai military and police stormed the hospital, killing 9 out of 10 terrorists.
The only remaining terrorist was captured, and it was later revealed that the operation was actually commanded by brothers Johnny and Luther.
After this incident, the "LRA" made headlines around the world, and people were surprised that two 12-year-olds controlled a guerrilla group.
The Burmese and Thai governments began searching for information about the two children, who were taken from the camp in 1997 and whose families are still living in camps on the Thai-Myanmar border.
According to Johnny and Luthor's mom account, the two are twins with congenital heart disease, so their tongues and fingertips are purple-black. In 1997, a pastor said he could treat two children and took them away.
Thailand and Myanmar immediately made their backgrounds public, so that the Karen people should be sober and not be confused by the so-called "miracles".
The British also came to join in, sending reporters into the mountains to look for guerrillas to interview, and the British took pictures of Johnny and Luthor, and the two became popular all over the world, becoming the "youngest guerrilla leader" recorded in the Guinness Book of Records.
But interviews are interviews, and revenge for terrorist attacks still has to be avenged.
In 2000, when the Thai and Burmese armies jointly encircled and annihilated the "LRA", Johnny and Luthor were cornered with their men and suffered heavy casualties.
Finally, in 2001, the brothers surrendered with their last dozen cronies, and the two were taken to a children's hospital for treatment and interrogated about their five-year experience.
As for the invulnerability rumors, which are also false, Johnny and Luthor said, "I didn't get shot, I was just lucky." ”
Soon, in an attempt to minimize the impact, Johnny and Luther were quarantined by the Thai government and sent to refugee camps separately. Luthor later moved to live in Europe, and his brother Johnny was active in Thailand, and the two were separated for nearly 10 years.
In 2013, it was reported in the media that the two were reunited in Thailand and later planned to settle in New Zealand. As for the remnants of the "LRA", they were all annihilated in 2003, and this unit became a historical term.
Literature / Shogakuno
Resources:
1. "The Secret of the Karen Armed Forces", Li Shiyun
2. "The "Scarlet Childhood" of "Child Soldiers", Wei Yuejiang