KNU statement (News, Information a

[mandalay@xxxxxxxxxx]

<center>Department of News, Information and Research

</center>

<center>Statement on Speculation of KNU Weakness

</center><flushright>January 18, 1996

</flushright>

	In 1949, a year after the independence of Burma, the KNU had to lead the
Karen people's resistance in self-defense against the genocidal attacks
by troops from the pocket army of Gen. Ne Win, the extreme right-wing
militia force. The resistance has been continuing up to this day, through
thick and thin, because of the KNU's flexibility, the steadfastness of
its leadership based on full sense of justice and freedom, and the
grass-root support of the 7 million Karen people in the Irrawaddy Delta,
Rangoon Division, Pegu Division, Tanessarim Division and Karen State. 


When the Karen resistance abandoned most of its fixed bases along the
Thai-Burma border in 1995, for a flexible military response to the
massive offensive by the SLORC military dictatorship, the SLORC and
pro-SLORC elements, among the businesses, with an eye to plundering the
natural resources in Karen State, started to spread rumors that the KNU
was no longer a fighting force. These elements tried to win over some in
the KNU leadership by dangling business opportunities on the one hand and
applying pressure in many forms on the other. This generated free and
frank debates among the KNU leadership, but sensibility and reason always
prevailed. The business opportunists and pro-SLORC agents, interpreting
these debates as a serious dissension, started to spread rumors that
there was a widening split between the younger and older generations in
the KNU leadership. 


The KNU had weathered worse times than what is taking place now. It has
to give up control over areas in the Rangoon Division, Irrawaddy Delta,
and Pegu Division over the years, but it has become politically much
stronger because of  the acceptance and understanding of its political
aims and objectives  by the democratic and other ethnic forces. The KNU
is determined to carry on its resistance against the military
dictatorship, many more decades, if need be, so long as there is no
political settlement with regard to the questions of freedom, democracy,
human rights and ethnic rights.


The KNU strongly reject superficial analyses of it by some agencies,
especially the analysis by the Mitsubishi Research Institute in its
recent publication titled "Forecast on Asia's Economy in 1998".  The KNU
hope that businesses in Japan will take more responsible approach with
its investments in Burma, whose people have to bear extreme sufferings
under the misrule of the past and present military dictatorships.


We have learned that the military dictatorship defaulted on loans
amounting to more than US $ 10 billions from Japan, given under the ODA.
There is no doubt that any further loan to the military dictatorship
would meet the same fate. For that reason, we would like to earnestly
urge the Japanese government not to resume the ODA to Burma until a
democratically elected government is in power. At the same time, we would
like to appeal to the people of Japan to check the actions of the
Japanese businesses, as well as the government, that would encourage and
support the military dictatorship in Burma, in any form.


<center>*********

</center>Communication Center in Thailand

NCGUB