conference began yesterday, October 29th, and will run for two days, concluding today, October 30th.
“We have founded [the] Kawthoolei Armed Forces, but some organizations are not ready [for that] yet. At first, [this] meeting [was to be] held for three days, but it can be finished within two days,” said Major Tun Tun, 2nd General Staff of Klo Htoo Baw Headquarters.
Maj. Tun Tun continued that the core objective in founding the Kawthoolei Armed Forces is to advance the unification of all Karen nationals under the name of Kawthoolei. Maj. Tun Tun notes that this is the objective, despite past failed attempts by various Karen armed groups to create a system to unite all Karen armed groups.
The conference opened yesterday, October 29th, with an introduction section in the morning, followed by an afternoon discussion regarding the establishment of the Kawthoolei Armed Forces.
Concerned with uniting all Karen armed groups under Kawthoolei, Maj. Tun Tun states that the KAF will, “Begin to form with the groups we already have. For example, [the] Karen National Union (KNU) accepts this [idea of founding the] Kawthoolei, according to its policy, but it will not join in the formation yet; it’s that [the KNU] is not ready to join yet.”
At the KNU’s October 13th central permanent emergency meeting, the group discussed the establishment of the KAF and acknowledged that. According to its policies, the KNU accepts the idea of founding Kawthoolei, as it was once already founded; however, the KNU would make the decision as to whether or not it would join the KAF at the group’s upcoming congress meeting.
About 250 representatives presented at yesterday’s KAF founding conference, including the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), the KNU and KNLA/KNU-PC, the Karen National Defense Organization (KNDO), the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), as well as various Karen Women’s groups, Karen youth networks, and township representatives.
According to the Kawthoolei Armed Forces’ October 29thpress release, the KAF has emerged, not as an individual organization, but to represent the whole Karen people, with the sole objective of receiving autonomy, while standing for equality and justice. The Kawthoolei pledges to preserve and safeguard its motherland and national culture, to resist those who damage the peace, to cooperate with other ethnic armed groups, to support peace, to stand on the side of justice, and to join hand-in-hand with other democratic forces to achieve a true democratic federal union.
