Psychological Warfare

This chapter recounts the series of events which led to Saw Ralph's extended leave from the army. It begins with tensions within the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) as Karen officers began imitating Burmese soldiers in forcibly recruiting more soldiers for the army. These instances of misconduct boiled up in 1994, when Buddhist monks and the Karen Buddhist community expressed their dissatisfaction. This eventually led to tensions between Karen Buddhists and Christians, which was further inflamed with the help of the Burmese. The chapter also details the fall of Manerplaw and Ralph's eventual request for extended leave, which seemed to have effectively become his retirement.