An interview with the Karen National Union (KNU) spokesperson Padoh Saw Taw Nee
October 17, 2022
Regarding the military council’s ongoing attempt to hold a general election in 2023, Padoh Saw Taw Nee, spokesperson for the Karen National Union (KNU), was interviewed to learn the armed ethnic organization’s position.
Q: To what extent could the military council succeed in the upcoming 2023 general election?
A: The 2023 general election that the military council is trying to hold is the last attempt to gain legitimacy. But this isn’t the time to hold an election. Almost every day, armed conflicts are taking place throughout the country and hundreds of thousands of people are displaced. All of this is due to the military council. Holding an election at this time in no way does reflect the current situation. On the question of whether or not this election will be successful, we can say that no plant can grow in an arid plain without water or rain.
Q: What was your stand on mixed administrative areas in the previous elections? What’s your position on the upcoming election plan?
A: The KNU policy on the upcoming elections is that we don’t accept them at all. But it’s not appropriate to talk about how it’ll be handled, and it’s also unnecessary to mention it. KNU didn’t interfere in the last elections. Especially in the areas of mixed administration, we didn’t interfere in the elections in any way as the people desired. This is because the political problem of the country has existed since the British rule. We’ve never been given the chance to solve this problem. That’s why the country is being ruled unfairly from one era to the next by chauvinism and military dictatorship
This is why the military tends to seize power as soon as the country enters a political crisis. This is because the country’s existing political problem hasn’t been solved. Not just once, but two or three times already. Only the people were put in trouble. When the people got into trouble because of the coup, we as KNU stood by them and did a lot to help them and protect them. But this time, some people and unarmed politicians wanted to take the non-violent path and turned back after the junta announced that it would hold elections. What we see as KNU is that, as they’ve been doing since 1990, they [the military dictators] put forward election plans to find a way out as soon as they see a crisis ahead. Then the people and the political parties would turn back to the elections to cast their votes. As KNU, we’ve never said anything about this. Since the 2010, 2015 and 2020 elections were held “under the 2008 Constitution,” it wasn’t easy for us, for the people, to abolish it. We’ve not resisted going down that road. But this time it’s not the same. This time, the military regime is trying to get itself recognized internationally. So we’re just talking about our stand then and now.
Q: In the last elections, we found that the KNU supported and cooperated with the Karen parties. What’s your stand this time?
A: In the past, we worked for peace in our country through ceasefires and supported and cooperated with the parties of our own ethnic group. But that belongs to the past. Now, after the coup of 2021, it’s no longer easy to meet and discuss with the local political parties. Everything they do is done according to the wishes of the military.
Q: What about the military council meeting with other ethnic armed groups to try to make this election happen?
A: As I said, that’s not going to happen, so it’s not going to benefit anyone. It doesn’t represent public opinion. Even if it did take place, no one would recognize it. Our position is clear: we’ll try by all means to prevent it, but that doesn’t mean we’ll disrupt it. We’ve also informed the international community that this election would only affect the people in the country. Therefore, we clearly see that their election attempt won’t benefit anyone or any party.
A: The NUG had also said that it would prevent this election by all means. Can you please tell me as much as you can about how the KNU will prevent the election?
A: We’ve already made it clear that we cannot accept this election. But we don’t advocate violent methods [to prevent it]. The KNU isn’t the only group involved in the country’s problems. There are many other groups, and we’ve no right to prevent them from deciding for themselves how to proceed. If these plans are put into action, we don’t want to say how they’ll do it, but that there could be bloodshed among the population. We’re not in a position to talk about how other groups are working on it. They’ll do it any way they can. So we can only talk about what might happen next if the election is realized.
Q: Is there anything the KNU would like to share with the public about the upcoming military council election?
A: We want to clarify that we’ve seen all kinds of these elections before. Since 1990, they’ve lied and deceived people in exactly the same way to make them return to their side. They’ve used this election method not just once, but over and over again. They’ve never accepted a result unless there was no way for them to win. We’ve had enough of that. So we’ve to understand that they’re doing it for themselves without representing the will of the people. That’s why all the people have to oppose it. There’s no reason to have anything to do with them. If we get involved with them, it’s just like watering a poisonous plant so that it’ll grow.
Sent by KIC.