Mizzima News

Chiang Mai – While the recently completed 14th Congress of the Karen National Union (KNU) witnessed the progressive appointment of the first woman to the higher echelons of the movement, it also may signal a harder line by the movement as it moves into its 60th year of war against the central government.

Naw Zipporah Sein has become the first Karen woman to be appointed as General Secretary, let alone to the Executive Committee, of the KNU. The hard working 53-year old has spearheaded the revival of the Karen Women's Organization (KWO) over the past several years, taking it from a women's collective with very limited reach to an organization that reaches throughout Karen areas on both sides of the border to educate women about their rights, provide training on women's issues, document human rights abuses, create cottage industries for Karen women and work to preserve the Karen culture. The KWO has become a necessary point of contact for journalists, activists and aid workers. Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, she won the Perdita Huston Human Rights Award in 2007 for her work in promoting the struggle of women in Burma for freedom, democracy and equality. Naw Zipporah replaces Saw Htoo Htoo Lay who had temporarily taken over the position after the assassination of Mahn Sha Lah Pan on February 14, 2008.

Few other women have risen to the higher ranks of the KNU or its armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). Naw Lah Po, wife of deceased Karen leader General Saw Bo Mya, has long been on the KNU's Central Committee and is the chairwoman of the KWO. Several other women have risen to the rank of Major, including the colorful Mary Ohn, who became the chairwoman of the Karen Refugee Committee before retiring.

In a possible signal of a more aggressive and hard-line stance by the KNU, General Saw Tamala Baw moved up from Vice-Chairman to Chairman of the KNU and Saw David Thakabaw moved from Secretary-2 to Vice-Chairman. The 86-year old Tamala Baw was the commander of the KNLA until becoming Vice-Chairman in 2004 and had been acting Chairman since the death of veteran Saw Ba Thin Sein in May 2008. Tamala Baw joined the Karen struggle in its earliest days in 1949 and worked his way up through the ranks. Both men are known for being tough and uncompromising in their stance towards the military regime.

Notably absent from the Executive Committee is Saw Htoo Htoo Lay who has apparently moved aside due to reasons of ill health according to border-based observers. Other notable absences from the line up are the children of Saw Bo Mya, especially outspoken son Lt Colonel Ner Dah. This congress is the first since the passing of Bo Mya in 2006. As chairman of the KNU from 1976-2000 he became the face of the Karen struggle and although he was moved to the Vice-Chairman position in 2000, he maintained a strong influence over the Karen until his death.

It remains to be seen what the KNU's new policies will be; however, a taster was given by a statement released at the end of the congress on October 20th. Not surprisingly the congress resolved to follow the Four Principles of Saw Ba U Gyi, the KNU's first chairman who was killed by the Burmese Army in 1950. The Four Principles call for self-determination, the right to bear arms in defense, the recognition of a Karen State and to never surrender.

The statement claims that the organization will still work together with other ethnic groups with the aim of toppling the military junta and establishing a federal union. It also expressly states that the SPDC's new constitution is not recognized by the KNU since it is not representative of the people. It also called for working out political issues through negotiations and a tripartite dialogue between the generals, the democratic opposition and the ethnic groups. The release of pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners was also called for.

Many Karen and Burma watchers will be especially interested to see how the new government handles the ceasefire issue. The statement on the 14th Congress declared the "Gentleman's Agreement" which was agreed to between the SPDC and the KNU in 2005 to be "null and void" due to troop buildups and military operations in northern Karen State that have been ongoing since 2006. It also claimed that the ceasefire process had been "smashed" in 2005 by the SPDC's "unacceptable demands" on the KNU.

The issue of peace talks created considerable tension in the KNU in 2004 and 2005, with some wanting to attempt to come to terms with the junta and others, believing the generals insincere, wanting to continue the struggle.

Eventually the ceasefire dispute – and considerable machinations by the SPDC - resulted in a split in February 2007 when Major General Htain Maung, former commander of the KNLA's 7th Brigade, made a separate peace with the generals.

The last peace talks were held in Moulmein in 2005 and were called off after an unauthorized KNLA attack on a Burmese Army post, although many saw this as an excuse by the SPDC. A year later the Burmese Army resumed military operations against the Karen and has since refused to enter into talks with the KNU. Burmese troop buildups and road building that led to large-scale military operations from 2006 to present seem to prove the second camp's argument.

With this most recent experience and other failed peace talks, including those in 1997 that were ended by a large scale Burmese offensive that resulted in the loss of much of the KNU's territory, it would hardly be surprising if the new leadership takes a much more wary stance to the SPDC.