Ka Kwe Ye

   (Kar Kwe Ye, Kky)

   Because the Ne Win regime lacked sufficient military and economic resources to control border areas, it began recognizing local warlord groups as Ka Kwe Ye, "home guard" or "self-defense" forces, in 1963. In a classic "divide and rule" policy, the regime expected KKY forces to assist in its fight against communist and ethnic insurgents. In return, they were free to engage in the opium trade. The policy went a long way toward fragmenting opposition to the central government in Shan State. The two "kings of the Golden Triangle," Lo Hsing-han and Khun Sa, both became prominent as KKY commanders in the early 1960s. More than 50 groups had been organized as KKY by the late 1960s, but in 1973 the Ne Win regime declared them illegal. The cease-fires initiated by the State Law and Order Restoration Council with ethnic armed groups beginning in 1989 resemble the KKY arrangements, since the cease-fire groups have also been able to conduct private business. In both cases, government recognition of the legal status of armed groups has led to a major expansion in the drug economy.