KNU says it will not lay down arms ahead of talks
Posted on April 14, 2009
Filed Under Burma news, Karen news | Comments Off
David Thackrabaw
The Karen National Union (KNU) says it will not give up its arms despite signalling their openness to begin talks with the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), as Burma’s ruling military junta chooses to be known. The KNU has been engaged in an armed struggle for autonomy for 60 years and KNU vice president David Thackrabaw recently told the Democratic Voice of Burma that they welcomed a Thai offer to mediate talks between the two sides.
However, he stressed they would not lay down their arms. “If they [the government] demand us to lay down arms, then of course the talks will stop,” he said.
Past talks between the KNU and the junta have broken down due to the SPDC’s demand that they lay down their arms.
Meanwhile, the KNU may be close to reconciling with two splinter groups that have aligned themselves with the junta.
Mae Sot based journalist Daniel Pedersen reports that the Norwegian government is to sound out the KNU, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and the KNU/KNLA Peace Council with a view to hosting talks aimed at reconciling the three groups.
The DKBA split from the KNU in 1994, while the KNU/KNLA Peace Council split in 2007, in both cases weakening the KNU.
However, Pedersen reports that while senior DKBA commanders benefitted from their alliance with the junta, who allow them to profit from cross border trade, many ordinary DKBA soldiers would welcome a return to the KNU.
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