Karen National Defense Organization: Statement on Karen Revolution Day

Karen National Defense Organization (KNDO) | January 31, 2017

General Headquarters, Kawthoolei

1. Today, January 31, 2017 is the 68th Anniversary of Karen Revolution Day, which may be termed more precisely as the Karen Revolutionary Resistance Day. Sixty-eight years ago, power-mad, militarist and racist Gen. Ne Win used his pocket army troops to attack militarily the Karen people. The initial attacks took place in Palaw-Palauk area of Taninthayi Region, without warning, in the time of Christmas, in 1948. Then in late January 1949, the Karen quarters of Ahlone and Thamine in Yangon/Rangoon were attacked and burnt down. Only when the Karen quarters in Insein Town came under attack that the Karen people and the KNDO took up arms in self-defense.

2. The KNDO is proud to be first in the line of defense of the Karen people, which the enemy tried to subdue and enslave or eliminate forever. The badly informed enemy thought that the Karen were just a small group of backward tribes and it would be able to subdue them easily. It did not know that the Karen, with all the dialect groups, form not less than 20% of the population of the country. Even when the enemy used all kinds of stratagem for decades to isolate and divide, and the barbaric means of ethnic cleansing war, massive foreign aid and drug money to wipe out the Karen people’s struggle, which had become a revolutionary resistance, it has remained intact and undefeated. Similarly, the struggle of the other oppressed ethnic nationalities, which started in late 90s and early 60s remain undefeated up to this day.

3. We would like to remind all the Karen people, people of all the nationalities, the ethnic and democratic forces that the power-mad, militarist racists have not given up the idea of ruling the country with the concept of “Government of the military, by the military, for the military.” Even if the constitution has been amended drastically to take the form of a democratic and federal one, we must not let our guards down.

4. We call upon people of all the nationalities, the ethnic and democratic forces to unite whatever the differences they have had at one time or another, due to the dirty machinations by the power-mad, racist regimes of the past. The racists power base has become small and weak now. History has proved that eventually they are rejected and crushed totally by the people and the civilized world. That day should not be far away.

5. Remember that we called for immediate nationwide ceasefire and meaningful political dialogue, when U Thein Sein government made overture for peace talks in 2012. After five years of talks, there is still no nation-wide ceasefire agreement. The war resumed by the militarists against the northern ethnic armed resistance forces, after 17 years of ceasefire, is still going on unabated. The people’s government of the NLD has been blocked from engaging effectively in peace building.

6. In conclusion, we call upon all peace-loving people, all the nationalities, the ethnic and democratic forces, and the international community to strive on insistently with courage and determination for genuine peace, in the country of Burma/Myanmar.

General Headquarters
Karen National Defense Organization