in 1989 the rank and file of the communist party of burma's army mutinied and drove its ageing, burmese maoist leadership into exile in china.the army broke up into four local forces along ethnic lines-including one of the kokang chinese-and subsequently made peace with the government inrangoon. by the terms of the ceasefire agreement,the former rebel forces are allowed to maintain their forces,control their respective areas and engage in any kind of business