FROM THE DVB NEWSROOM
The Karen National Union (KNU) stated that the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) was void and it will help build a military that does not involve itself in Burma’s political affairs. “Including us, KNU, nobody in Burma wants the federalism that was given in the 2008 constitution. There is no way for us to follow the NCA as the military has trampled on Chapter One, which is the heart of the agreement. Their use of the NCA to try to deceive the public and the international community has nothing to do with us,” said Padoh Ta Doh Moo, KNU general secretary, at a press conference on Aug. 10.
The KNU announced that it has four political goals: to build an army that is not involved in the country’s politics, to draft a new federal democratic constitution, to implement the process of transitional justice, and to agree on the international community’s role in helping establish a new Burma. Padoh Ta Doh Moo added that military personnel need to be reformed into a professional army that accepts these goals and the process must be held under the supervision of the international community.
“Our ethnic armed organizations [EAOs] and People’s Defense Forces [PDF] need to join together and rebuild a new security system in accordance with new laws. It is important not only to fight against the dictatorship but to replace it with better laws, administration and legal systems in line with federalism. It needs to start in the interim period or this revolutionary period,” stated Padoh Ta Doh Moo.
