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Statement of the KNU on dialogue br



Subject: Statement of the KNU on dialogue broken down by  =?iso-8859-1?Q?SLORC=92s?= new offensive against KNU.

                        OFFICE OF THE SUPREME HEADQUATERS
                                KAREN NATIONAL UNION
                                     KAWTHOOLEI

Press  release					        Date: 12 February,1997


Dialogue broken down by SLORC's new offensive against KNU.

To solve the country's political problem by political means, the Karen
National Union (KNU) has held official talks with the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC) three times, from December 1995 to November
1996. Therefore, within one years we, the KNU, have already held talks with
the SLORC seven times to create genuine peace.

During talks in November 1996, we demanded SLORC not to use military force
to solve the problems between us, and to make a cease-fire and discuss
ethnic affairs, union affairs and peace, to draw democratic lines and
respective principle for both groups after a cease-fire. The SLORC demanded
that KNU had to announce to give up their armed struggle, sign a cease-fire
agreement, draw democratic lines  for both sides, achieve the development of
the Karen State together with the SLORC, attend and observe the National
Convention, and promise to lay down KNU's arms after the new constitution is
completed.

The chairman of the KNU replied to the SLORC's chairman on 31 December, 1996
saying that it was impossible for the KNU to lay down their arms to the
SLORC and return to the legal fold after the new constitution. This was
because this would mean the Karen would surrender to the SLORC. The KNU
would also not attend and participate in the National Convention because the
Karen recognise it as  a  shame like other ethnic groups do.  The KNU is
unable to know if all the Karen people in the country will accept the new
constitution or not. That is why the KNU has urged the SLORC to consider on
three main points proposed by the KNU. 

The SLORC sent a peace delegation to the KNU HQ on 31 January, 1997 and they
informed us that if the KNU doesn't give up its armed struggle and returned
to the legal fold, the SLORC military intelligence department will stop the
talks. Consequently, if the talks stop it was very hard to know how the
SLORC will respond to the KNU. If the SLORC does make a new offensive
against KNU, unavoidable, we the KNU will have to defend ourselves. However,
the KNU urged the delegation to reconsider what the KNU proposed in its
three main points. The KNU told the delegation  that the KNU would like to
continue the dialogue for the peace of the country.

Under these circumstance, the SLORC has broken down the dialogue process at
the beginning of February, 1997 in different KNU areas. The SLORC is now
using division No.88, Division No. 44, Division No. 22 and Division No.11 in
Karen area (One Division consisting of 10 Regiments). They are using local
people and prisoners as porters. When the SLORC started to launch a new
offensive against the KNU,  local Karen people abandoned their villages
because they were down by SLORC troops and the Karen were forced to become
porters for the SLORC. On 11 February, 1997, Chukali and Quee Hata Hoe
villages were burnt to the ground by the SLORC's troops and tens of thousand
of Karen people are now fleeing into Thailand for refuge.

The SLORC has created a shame dialogue and a shame peace process and now
launches an unjust war against the Karen people. It is clear that the SLORC
does not want genuine dialogue and peace in the country. We the KNU firmly
believe that future consequences are the responsibility of the SLORC.

The current brutal military offensive against the KNU launched by the SLORC
will have an effect on the cease-fire agreements between SLORC and other
ethnic armed groups, in which the SLORC will lose the trust of the various
ethnic nationalities.

The KNU appeal to all of our alliance, democratic forces and revolutionary
organizations and political parties to oppose the SLORC hand in hand with us.

We appeal to the international community and Governments to strongly oppose
the SLORC brutal military regime and  to support the Karen people who are
fleeing into Thailand.
 
CENTRAL COMMITTEE
KAREN NATIONAL UNION
Democratic Voice of Burma(DVB)
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Tel: 47-22-200021, Tel/fax:47-22-362525.
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