"The Loikaw Township Court on Monday officially charged six Karenni youths with slander under Article 8(d) of the Law Protecting the Privacy and Security of Citizens for calling the Kayah State chief minister a traitor over his support of a statue of Myanmar independence hero General Aung San. In February, the Kayah State government erected the statue in a park in the state’s capital, Loikaw, amid much protest from Karenni locals. The state government used the police force to crack down on protesters that had gathered at the park and later outside of the local National League for Democracy (NLD) headquarters. Karenni activists said at the time that they have their own history involving their own ethnic leaders, and that the statue of Gen. Aung San is a symbol of the dominant role the interests and identity of the Burmese majority plays in the country, to the disadvantage of ethnic minorities. To them, it’s also a symbol of what they see as yet-unfulfilled promises made by the assassinated general and the Panglong Agreement of 1947..."