ABSTRACT
As they lost control of the liberated zones during the 1980s and '90s, the Mon, Karen and Karenni insurgents became increasingly dependent on the refugee camps in Thailand, and the continued good will of the Thai military and security establishments. As the extent of rebel-controlled territory shrank and the number of black market trade gates along the border became fewer each year, the rebels' finances came under pressure. By the end of the 1980s, logging operations had replaced the cross-border trade in contraband as many insurgent groups' prime source of funding. Meanwhile, increased opium production and heroin trafficking continued to finance a number of armed ethnic groups along the Chinese border and in the Golden Triangle.
