Clarification by KNU Department of

[mandalay@xxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: Clarification by KNU Department of Information


From
The Director
C/o CCT
Department of Information
Karen National Union (KNU)
July 1-1999

	Regarding the bomb attack on a passenger bus on the motor road between the
border town of Myawady  and Kawkareik town, in the Karen state, on June 23,
1999, the Information Department of the KNU has to clarify as follows.
	Troops of the military dictatorship of Burma, the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), have maintained a tight security on the whole
stretch of motor road mentioned above. The place where the attack occurred
was between two sentry posts of the SPDC troops. 
	The transport businesses are operated the SPDC army, the Democratic Kayin
Buddhist Army (DKBA), a puppet army of the SPDC, and a few private
operators. All the transport operators make high profits because of the
border tade, and as a result, there has been a fierce competition among them.
	The bus attacked was owned by a civilian. It was probable that a civilian
was operating in this highly competitive field by paying enough protection
money to some SPDC military officer in the higher echelon.
	Nowadays, income for the bus operators, SPDC army or otherwise, has
dwindled due to worsening economic situations. Apparently, it was either
the SPDC or the DKBA operators, who were responsible for the attack, with
the intention of eliminating competition.
	The KNU has never had a policy to deliberately attack civilians and
moreover, it has not had any conflict of interest with the bus operators,
in order to commit such a wantonly attack. Even if the KNU had wanted to do
something on the road, like bomb attack, which required placing a bomb on
the road or a few meters from it, the tightness of the security measures,
maintained by the SPDC, would have precluded the approach of its troops
even a few hundred meters of the road. Any speculations about the
involvement of the KNU in the attack were totally false.
	At the same time, the KNU Department of Information would like to say that
some news agencies, including the AP and the Reuters, has been reporting
very speculative and unconfirmed reports about the KNU. The
well-established news services like them should be extremely careful to
avoid being bias or becoming crap journalism. Even if their sources are KNU
personnel, they have to know that there are some corrupt ones. The
situation being as such, they should try to get in touch with genuine KNU

spokespersons, in case there is a need to confirm.
	There has been many groups ,such as the pro-SPDC lobbies or individuals
with an axe to grind with the SPDC, have been attempting to paint the KNU
as a terrorist organization, manipulating the fact that the KNU has to
maintain an armed wing. 
	Since a long time, it has been the position of the KNU that all conflicts
concerning political and ethnic problems in the country must be resolved
peacefully by political means. After the democratic revolution in Burma,
this position of the KNU has become firmer. The armed resistance of the
Karen people, led by KNU, is entirely for self-defence and ethnic survival.
In face of a genocidal war waged by the SPDC and its prdecessors, the KNU
has no other choice. The armed resistance of the Karen people, led by the
KNU, is neither for ethnic rights, seperation, autonomy, Karen land,
freedom nor for democracy. It is purely for self-defense and survival.

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