August 24th, 2022
The Lahu Youths for Federal Democracy has issued a statement calling the participation of a group led by Kyar Salmon, former secretary of the Lahu Democratic Union (LDU), in the second peace talks led by the military council a betrayal of all Lahu people and a meeting for self-interest.
The youth group said on August 22nd that Kyar Salmon and his group have repeatedly violated the guidelines set by the parent organization, the LDU, disrespected LDU chairmen, betrayed the entire Lahu people, and met with the military council for their own interests.
“The Lahu community considers him [Kyar Salmon] a traitor because his meeting with the coup leader is totally unacceptable. We Lahu participated in the Spring Revolution, but now it looks like we sided with the coup regime just because he is a traitor. Therefore, we strongly condemn the meeting of any group other than the LDU. And our youth group calls him a traitor,” said Daniel Yang, the person in charge of Lahu Youths for Federal Democracy.
Military council chairman Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, a group led by Kyar Salomon, who has been suspended from LDU, leaders of the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) and the Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO) met at Bayintnaung Guesthouse in Nay Pyi Taw at around 10am on August 22nd.
The LDU had already issued a statement clarifying that General Secretary Kyar Solomon, Second Secretary Kyar Ya Kok and Central Committee member Kyar Phu were dismissed from their posts on July 8th this year for violating the organization’s rules.
Therefore, the statement was issued under the name of LDU Chairman Kyar Har that the meeting with the leader of the military council does not represent the LDU.
Daniel Yang added that the meeting of the former secretary with the leader of the coup regime does not represent the LDU because he was dismissed from the organization.
“It is not that we, the entire Lahu people, met with the military council. It’s just a group with self-interest that met with the junta. That’s why we had to make this statement to clarify the situation,” Daniel Yang said.
The Lahu Youths for Democracy therefore pointed out that the group led by Kyar Solomon has abused the image of the LDU in its meeting with the leader of the military council out of self-interest and will never be able to realize the original constitutional goals of the organization such as the national unity of the Lahu people and the implementation of a strong and lasting peace.
On August 22nd, the LDU issued another statement clarifying that the participation of Kyar Solomon and his group in the second peace talks convened by the military council was another abuse of the image of the LDU, which was founded in 1973, and that their action does not represent the parent organization under any circumstances.
The Lahu Youth for Federal Democracy has clearly stated that it will not accept the ongoing meeting of Kyar Solomon and his group with the military council and that it will only cooperate and fight together with the resistance groups against the dictatorship during the Spring Revolution until a new nation based on a genuine federal democracy emerges.
Sent by NMG