------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: 2 September, 1995 Issue #213 Noted in Passing: It looked bad for them. They said the Karenni have surrend- ered and returned to the legal fold but the next day we declared we would continue to struggle for our political objectives. They were very angry. - Raymond Htoo, KNPP Secretary General on the SLORC (quoted in Between the Hammer and the Anvil) Headlines: ========== THE NATION: BETWEEN THE HAMMER AND THE ANVIL THE NATION: KHUN SA AND WA FORCES READY FOR FACE OFF THE NATION: BANHARN MAY BE FIRST THAI PM IN YEARS TO SEE BURMA BKK POST: CHAVALIT FACES TESTING TIME IN HEALING RIFTS WITH BURMA BKK POST: GOVT TOLD TO COOPERATE MORE CLOSELY WITH BURMA THE NATION: PROTEST MADE TO BURMA OVER RIVER BANK RECLAMATION BKK POST: SUU KYI TAPE LEADS ATTACK ON GOVTS AT MEETING THE NATION: UCOM PLANS BURMA PLANT BKK POST: JAPAN FAMILY GIVES UP BID TO CONQUER BURMA PEAK KNU: STATEMENT OF ELEVENTH CONGRESS OF KNU ---------------------------------------------------------- Produced with the support of the Burma Information Group (B.I.G). The BurmaNet News is an electronic newspaper covering Burma. Articles from newspapers, magazines, newsletters, the wire services and the Internet as well as original material are published. 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Sutcliffe" World Wide Web: FreeBurma@POBox.com Volunteering: christin@ksc.net.th [Feel free to suggest more areas of coverage] ---------------------------------------------------------- THE NATION: BETWEEN THE HAMMER AND THE ANVIL 1 September 1995 Rangoon's military is once again playing the religious card in an effort to divide and undermine one of the last fighting its rule, according to officials from the besieged Karenni Na tional Progressive Party (KNPP). Abel Tweed, foreign affairs minister for the KNPP, said the central government had co-opted the influential Bishop of Loikaw, the religious leader of Karenni-dominated Kayah state, into becoming a "medium for Rangoon's message that the rebels should lay down their weapons and return to the "legal fold. KNPP officials said they feared that Rangoon was seeking to re-create the kind of dissension among its followers that led to the demise of another ethnic group, the Karen National Union, earlier this year. The Burmese military has been accused of orchestrating a mutiny by Buddhist foot-soldiers against the Baptist leader ship of the KNU. The revolt led to the fall of the rebel group's largest bases along the Thai-border Burma and to the end of the KNU as a legitimate military force. "Unlike the Karens we are all of the same religion, Tweed said. "But if this continues it could get serious in the future with the Catholics divided into two parts, one part pro-bishop and the others against him." Rev Edward Evans, a Catholic scholar who recently visited Kayah state said the Bishop had been placed between the "ham mer and the anvil. "He was weak although you can't fault him. His people are suffering and he wants to help them. The Karenni are very devout. They will listen to him for everything. But now he has gone too far....he has placed himself in Slorc's hands," he said referring to the State Law and Order Restoration Council, the official name of Burma's ruling junta. Karenni and Catholic sources say the KNPP's troubles with the Bishop began last year when he approached Slorc strongman Khin Nyunt for relief from a campaign of military persecution. In addition to the usual litany of Burmese army abuses that have been documented by human rights groups such as the round ing up of young men and children for portering, forced labour, the theft of crops, and dislocation of villages, the Rangoon military in Kayah state had, according to the Karennis, rounded up villages in three concentration camps and been carrying out a systematic campaign to crush the Catholic religion. Priests and nuns were arrested and harassed, Karenni cemetries and religous sites desecrated and destroyed. Catholics and Karennis said Khin Nyunt, stepped in to order the release of a priest who had been arrested on a charge of aiding communist rebels. I return he asked the Bishop tp act as a go-between for Rangoon in its dealings with the Karennis. Since then, the Bishop has made 10 trips to see the KNPP leadership who are based along the Thai-Burmese border and addressed refugee camps as an advocate of Rangoon's peace plan. In fact, the Karenni are one of 15 ethnic groups that have already reached ceasefire agreements with the Burmese govern ment. But fighting resumed between government soldiers and Karenni troops within three months of the ceasefire ceremony on March 22 this year. Since June 14, KNPP officials estimate Rangoon has moved more than 4,000 troops into Kayah state in a bid to crush their four-decade old insurgency. Thai military and other observers suggested that the cause of the fighting had more to do with the lucrative trade in teak across the Thai-Burma border than politics. Tweed conceded that timber was a factor in the fighting but denied it was the main cause. "It's not because of the logs but because we are a threat to the three principles, he said referring to Slorc's stated aims of preventing the break up of the country. Raymond Htoo, KNPP secretary general, said the news of the ceasefire and its almost immediate repudiation by the Karennis had embarrassed and angered Ranoon. "It looked bad for them. They said the Karenni have surrend- ered and returned to the legal fold but the next day we declared we would continue to struggle for our political objectives. They were very angry." he said. Rangoon's official reasons for launching the rainy season offensive against the Karennis were threefold: a/ that they needed to protect the national logging trade from bandits and Thais; b/ the military needed access through Kayah state for their offensive against Shan warlord Khun Sa in the north; and c/ they needed to secure strategic points along the border with Thailand should relations with Thailand further deterio rate as a result of the Thai national election in July. The KNPP claims that more than 300 Burmese soldiers have been wounded the fighting as a result of guerrilla attacks, landmines and disease. They did not have a figure for fatali ties. The guerrilla group reported six Karenni deaths and eight wounded. Independent sources doubted the casualty tolls were as high as those claimed by the KNPP. "The Slorc troops are close and here in force but there are not a lot of people getting killed,_ said a guerrilla with the All Burma Students Demo cratic Front which holds a mountain-top base near the Thai border. "You can hear the Burmese at night, shouting and shooting at random and somethings tripping a land mine,_ the student guerrilla said. "They are firing mortars into the mountains but they are only hitting trees,_ he said. Raymond Htoo said the Burmese objectives were the remaining two border passes controlle by the KNPP. Asked what the KNPP would do to finance their struggle for autonomy should the passes fall, he shrugged his shoulders and repied, "I don't know._ Student dissidents said heavy rain and the hrush mountainous jungle conditions had blunted the Burmese offensive but pre dicted fighting would intensify once the wet season had passed. Tweed said the KNPP would continue their fight for indepen dence and if that could not be achieved then they would settle for autonomy. "But lets take it to the table not the battle field,_ he said. The foreign minister said the KNPP had not been in contact with Rangoon since they received a letter from Khin Nyunt setting an August 13 deadlin for the guerrillas to halt their hostilities. Other dissident sources however said that a senior KNPP intelligence officer had been in Rangoon since March and the two sides were talking. Tweed said he was not optimistic an agreement could be reached. "They just want to wipe us out, he said and warned that the situation could get critical next year because the Burmese authorities had refused to release irrigation water from the Loikaw dam for this year's rice planting. "They are planning to flood the area in November during har vest time and wipe out what crops have been grown,_ he said. "People are very afraid that next year they will be starv ing.(TN) THE NATION: KHUN SA AND WA FORCES READY FOR FACE OFF IN EASTERN BURMA September 1, 1995 Forces of Burma's drug warlord Khun Sa and ethnic Wa fighters have been facing off against each other on Burma's eastern border with Thailand, a Thai border official said yesterday. Between 2,000 to 3,000 fighters from the United Wa State Army (UWSA) were seen setting up positions opposite an equal number of men from Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army (MTA) in the Burmese state of Shan, a senior Thai army officer said. The two sides had been warned to keep fighting from spilling across the border, the officer said, but added that apart from sporadic shots from light weapons, the two forces had yet to engage each other. "We thought they were too close to the border, about a kilometre away, and that clashes could result in shells or rockets landing on Thai soil," he said. Khun Sa, the self-proclaimed independence leader of the Shan ethnic group, has been reported to be under attack by a combined force of Burmese government troops and the UWSA. The officer said both sides had been trying to take control of mountain ridges along the border, but said recent press reports that fighting had spilled over the frontier were inaccurate. He said that both sides had few heavy weapons and that no shelling had been heard yet in the border area. But he added that skirmishes between the UWSA and the MTA were reported to have taken place deep inside Burma. It was reported yesterday that Burmese troops and the UWSA have shelled MTA bases for three consecutive days and that both sides have tried crossing into Thailand to gather food. Kyodo reports from Rangoon: The leader of a party which opposed Burma's central government for over 40 years met leaders of the governing State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) on Wednesday to pledge his party's cooperation, the state-owned English-language daily New Light of Myanmar said yesterday. The paper said Nai Shwe Kyin, the 85-year-old chairman of the New Mon State Party, and other party leaders, met Slorc Secretary- General Khin Nyunt in Rangoon and promised to work "hand-in-hand with the Slorc for stability of national sovereignty and in building a peace and prosperous modern state". The party's leaders and Slorc officials, including ministers, at the Wednesday meeting discussed the development of fisheries, agriculture, mining, tourism and other projects in Burma's Mon State, which borders Thailand in the country's southeast. The party formally ended over 40 years of armed struggle against the central governments at a ceremony on June 29 in the state capital of Mawlamyine. Nai Shwe Kyin was unable to attend the ceremony because of poor health, but arrived in Rangoon recently for consultations with government officials. The paper said Khin Nyunt, who is also chairman of the government's Works Committee for Development of Border Areas and National Races, said at the Wednesday meeting that the New Mon State party is the 15th of 16 armed ethnic groups in the country to accept the government's peace terms. (TN) THE NATION: BANHARN MAY BE FIRST THAI PM IN YEARS TO SEE BURMA September 1, 1995 Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa said yesterday he has been advised to make an official trip to Burma because no Thai premier has visited the country in a long time. He made the remark during a meeting with the ambassadors of the six other Asean nations, who called on Banharn to congratulate him for his Royal appointment as the country's new prime minister. The premier told reporters after the meeting that Foreign Minister MR Kasem Kasemsri had recommended he make the trip to Burma "at an appropriate time" because such a visit had not taken place for quite some time. Banharn did not say whether he would take Kasem's advice. The premier said Burma was not raised for discussion during the Asean envoy's visit but he expects Defence Minister Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to brief him on his two-day visit to Burma which starts today. Chavalit, also deputy prime minister, failed yesterday to attend a House committee hearing on Burma, saying he would do so after he returns from his trip. Suwat Liptapanlop, chairman of the House Committee for Foreign Affairs, said Chavalit had called to say he could not attend the hearing because he had to depart for Burma today. The minister pledged to appear before the committee next week, said Suwat. Chavalit, who has established close connections with senior members of the Burmese junta, will take with him his personal secretary Gen Pat Akanibutr and several senior army officers, including Assistant Army Chief Gen Chettha Thanajaro and Lt Gen Sanan Kajornklam, a senior officer at Supreme Command. The Defence Minister is expected to hold talks with junta leader Gen Than Shwe, deputy prime minister and chairman of the foreign investment committee, Vice adm U Maung Maung Khin, and Brig Gen David Abel, concurrently the minister for National Planning and Economic Development. Speaking after a two-hour House hearing, Suwat said his committee was very concerned with the strained bilateral ties and the impact on the country's border economy. He said the committee has urged the Foreign Ministry to fond a means to resolve the problem. The Foreign Ministry, he said, has recommended the estiblashment of a joint committee comprising representatives from both the government and the private sector to oversee economic interests and activities between Thailand and Burma. The ministry is studying how such a committee could be set up, he added. The ministry plans to invite Lt Gen Khin Nyunt secretary of the ruling Burmese State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), to visit Thailand later this year. Thailand has invited Khin Nyunt several times, but he has never made the trip. Suwat said the hearing concluded that many factors were behind the damage done to the Thai-Burmese relationship, but some were related to problems inside Burma, such as the suppression of armed ethnic insurgencies_the Karen, the Mon, the Shan and opium warlord Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army. (TN) BANGKOK POST: CHAVALIT FACES TESTING TIME IN HEALING RIFTS WITH BURMA September 1, 1995 By Nussara Sawatsawang The official visit to Burma by Deputy Premier and Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh starting today is a confidence building exercise carrying the hopes of a good many people. General Chavalit is expected to achieve results largely because he is a professional soldier enjoying a history of good relations with a former leader of the ruling military junta in Rangoon. As army commander-in-chief, Gen Chavalit effectively became the first foreign dignitary, in December 1988, to recognise a regime that was condemned internationally for the brutal suppression some months earlier of Burma's pro-democracy advocates. After that visit to Rangoon as a guest of Gen Saw Maung, the first chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), Gen Chavalit brought home generous logging and fishing deals that were seen to have been given in exchange for the repatriation, soon afterwards, of some 80 Burmese students who had sought refuge in Thailand. As deputy premier and defence minister, Gen Chavalit can continue to impress Rangoon's key military officers, but he is unlikely to carry the same weight with them that he did seven years ago when army chief. The inclusion in Gen Chavalit's delegation of Assistant Army Commander Chettha Thanajaro indicates Thailand's recognition of the need to cultivate military-to-military contacts. Gen Chettha is said to be close to some of Burma's regional commanders, notably Maj Gen Ket Sein of the Southeastern Command, and Maj Gen Saw Tun, a former commander of the Eastern region who is now Minister of Construction. But Thai-Burmese relations may well be at their lowest point ever, with the death of Burmese seamen at issue in the latest of serious outstanding problems between the two neighbours. Foreign policy analysts say the success of Gen Chavalit's mission depends more on what he has to offer as solutions than the military backgrounds of himself and others in his delegation, or the military nature of the leadership in Rangoon. Gen Chavalit will be the guest over the next two days of the Burmese government, not of its military, sources point out. His direct host is Deputy Premier Maung Maung Khin, and his programme has been worked out by the foreign rather than defence ministry in Rangoon. Whatever his guest status, it was Gen Chavalit who initiated the idea of paying the visit, and a scheduled meeting with the regime's foremost leader is seen as a warm response, giving grounds for hope that Rangoon is interested in improving relations. Soon after his arrival this morning, Gen Chavalit is due to meet with Gen Than Shwe, who is concurrently the Slorc chairman, Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Armed Forces Commander. Gen Chavalit is expected to carry a message from Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa to Gen Than Shwe expressing regret over the death of the seamen and confirming Thailand's commitment to bring the guilty to justice. But doubters are asking whether Gen Chavalit can make as much headway with Gen Than Shwe as he did with his predecessor, Gen Saw Maung. Gen Chavalit was unsuccessful in having a ban of fisheries and logging concessions lifted when he visited Rangoon in June 1993 as Interior Minister. The Burmese side simply did not respond to his petition. Gen Than Shwe is reputed to be quite different from Gen Saw Maung, whom he succeeded in April 1992. A professional soldier and devout practising Buddhist, Gen Than Shwe is not known to risk long-term national interests for short-term profit. Gen Chavalit made it known he wished to open a dialogue with Burma soon after he assumed office as a member of Mr Banharn's government. This was before the murder of the Burmese seamen became an issue between the two countries, but there were three other problems which had sourced relations since early this year. Two concerned Thailand's alleged support for ethnic Karen and Shan rebels. The closure in early March of the Mae Sot-Myawaddy border checkpoint is seen as Slorc's "punishment" for alleged Thai help for rebels of the Karen National Union (KNU). Thailand was accused not only of reinforcing troops at the border to obstruct the pro-Slorc Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army, but also of helping KNU soldiers relocate to the Thai side. The closure in March of the Mae Sai-Tachilek border checkpoint is seen as Slorc's response to what it saw as Thai help for the forces of drug warlord Khun Sa. Thai authorities cited humanitarian reasons for allowing these rebels to take shelter and receive medical treatment. The third problem, which led to Rangoon's suspension in June of construction work at the Thai-Burmese Friendship Bridge across the Moei river, concerned alleged Thai encroachment on Burmese territory. Burmese authorities alleged the illegal encroachment had alerted the borderline marked by the Moei River. They demanded the removal of construction materials, rock filling, and all buildings on the river bank as preconditions for talks. In what is seen as a response to the Burmese demands, Mae Sot district authorities ordered the removal in early July of all shophouses and stalls built in the area within a month. The shophouse and stall operators have appealed for another 60 days, or up till October 8. The Thai side argued that the river bank was filled with rocks to prevent soil erosion. They also countercharged that Burmese authorities in Myawaddy had erected stakes along their river bank in order to redirect the current and damage the Thai side. Gen Chettha, who has been involved in several rounds of regional- level talks, earlier said two different issues were at stake and that separate Thai-Burmese committees on bridge construction and boundary work should be set up to deal with them. But Burma has held out against the idea, sustaining a tough line after a recent visit to the area by Slorc Vice Chairman and Army Chief Commander Gen Maung Aye, who knows the problem through his time as commander of the Eastern Region and co-chairman of the Thai- Burmese Regional Border Committee seven times. The general was furious to find a small island in mid-river being developed from the Thai side, a source familiar with the situation said. The murder of Burmese seamen aboard Thai vessels early last month has resulted in the closure of the checkpoints at Ranong and Burma's Victoria Point, and the disruption of all Thai fishing operations in Burmese waters. While exports of other Burmese raw materials, such as logs, are still permitted, the export of fish is prohibited "for the time being" as "a kind of punishment", a Burmese source said. According to the Burmese embassy's account, Thai fishermen assaulted 18 Burmese crewmen after learning they had reported Thai violations of a joint venture fishing agreement sealed only a few months ago to Burmese authorities. The Thai were said to have caught marine animals prohibited under the agreement. In an aide memoire handed to Thai Ambassador in Rangoon Poksak Nilubol, the Burmese Foreign Ministry has demanded that legal action be taken against the culprits. Over the past week, two suspects have been arrested, and three days ago, skipper Sunthorn Kaew-song-duang, who is said to have ordered the beating of the Burmese crewmen with a water pipe, surrendered to authorities. NCC Asian Fisheries Co, which has a stake in the Thai-Burmese joint venture company, also is reported to have contacted Burmese authorities with an offer of compensation for the crewmen. Over the next two days, Gen Chavalit may face the biggest challenge of his political career. Concerning ethnic minorities, he might be able to argue that Thailand was providing humanitarian aid to people in trouble. But Thailand can hardly escape legal responsibility for the murder of Burmese seamen, or encroachment on Burmese territory at the bridge. (BP) BKK POST: GOVT TOLD TO COOPERATE MORE CLOSELY WITH BURMA 1 September 1995 THE House Committee on Foreign Affair has recommended that the Government cooperate more closely with Burma in order to improve relations, which have become strained of late. To hear their views on Thai-Burma relations, the committee met representatives of the National Intelligence bureau, of the NSC, and of the Foreign, Defence, Interior, Commerce and Agriculture ministries. The representatives agreed that Thailand cannot ignore the problem of members of Burmese minorities fleeing Burmese governments oppression and seeking shelter on Thai soil. But they said Thailand's humanitarian policy of giving temporary refuge to the displaced persons has made Burma suspicious of Thailand's motives. A representative from the Defence Ministry assured the House committee that the military has no intention of interfering in the internal affairs of Burma. After hearing the different views of the parties concerned, the House committee concluded that a panel should be set up to explore how to improve bilateral ties. (BP) THE NATION: PROTEST MADE TO BURMA OVER RIVER BANK RECLAMATION September 1, 1995 Border Patrol Police in Mae Sot have made several protests to the Burmese authorities in Myawaddy over the reclamation of part of the Moei River bank. Officers of 346 Border Patrol Police said on Wednesday that the Burmese action was a clear violation of a bilateral agreement, which suspended all activities that could affect the banks or the flow of the Moei River. The river banks serve as the interim boundary line between the two countries. The officers said the Burmese began to fill in the river in June after Rangoon halted construction of the joint-venture bridge across the Moei River. The suspension of work stemmed from Burmese resentment over river bank reclamation by Thai businessmen. The two sides have since agreed to halt any activities that could affect the natural boundary and the river, and to begin negotiations on demarcating the frontier. The officers said reclamation subsequently ceased on the Thai side of the river, but the Burmese then violated the agreement. Burmese authorities had not replied to the Thai protests, they added. Yesterday about 2,000 Burmese students, soldiers and volunteers were seen extending the river bank with earth and stones. They also put up a Burmese flag on the reclaimed land, which now extended about three metres beyond the original river bank, local Border Police said. Throughout the activity, Burmese authorities broadcast patriotic music, urging the people to love and be prepared to fight to protect their beloved motherland. The officers said the Burmese junta yesterday despatched the commander of the 77th Division, Brig Gen Than Thun, to Myawaddy to assess the situation. Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh is tomorrow scheduled to begin a two-deay visit to Burma. Chavalit will try persuade the Burmese leaders to reopen border crossings at Myawaddy, Tachilek and Victoria Point or Kawthaung, which were closed early this year after several border clashes and incursions. He will also urge the Burmese to resume construction of the Moei bridge linking Myawaddy and Mae Sot. (TN) BANGKOK POST: SUU KYI TAPE LEADS ATTACK ON GOVTS AT MEETING September 1, 1995 (article abridged) (editor's note: similar story in THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, September 1, 1995, page 9, and on the wire services) Keynote speakers at the largest international women's meeting in history did what their Chinese hosts feared most yesterday. Led by Burmese dissident Aung San Suu Kyi, they challenged governments, big business and religious fundamentalists. Outside the opening plenary session, Amnesty International tested China's decision to limit demonstrations to a tiny school yard by marching for several blocks and holding a protest. Chinese police filmed in but did not interfere. Against a backdrop of friction over Chinese restrictions on free speech and lingering problems about living arrangements and shuttle busres, the 10-day NGO Forum on Women finally got down to work. Its goal is to top women's equality on top of the international agenda and influence the official UN Fourth World Conference on Women, which opens on Monday in Peking, 50 km away. They focused on women's vulnerabilities spousal abuse, gential multilation, forced prostitution and strengths peace-making efforts, grassroots politicking, and banks for poor women. But yesterday's biggest drawing card was the videotaped keynote address from Aung San Suu Kyi which was smuggled out of Burma. More than 3,000 cheering, applauding women jammed inside a cinema to watch, but thousands were left fuming outside. Organisers promised a replay last night. The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who spent nearly six years under house arrest for leading a pro-democracy movement, said the tape was made with the help of people who believe in "freedom of expression." Organisers refused to say how it was smuggled out. Suu Kyi said she remained in Burma to work for the freedom of Burmese men and women "who continue to suffer far more than I have." She described the struggle for democracy as "a struggle for life and dignity." But she devoted much of her 15-minute speech to women's role as peace-makers. "To the best of my knowledge, no war was ever started by women," she said. "Women have a most valuable contribution to make in situations of conflict by paving the way to solutions based on dialogue rather than viciousness and violence." She said the world must spend "less on the war toys of grown men and much more on the urgent needs of humanity as a whole." "It is not the prerogative of men alone to bring light to this world. Women with their capacity for campassion and self-sacrifice, their courage and preseverance, have done much to dissipate the darkness of intolerance and hate, suffering and despair," she said. (BP) THE NATION: UCOM PLANS BURMA PLANT 1 September 1995 UNITED Communication Industry Plc is conducting a feasibility study to establish an optical fibre plant in Burma to satisfy demand from its mobile phone and cable TV subsidiaries for network expansion. Boonchai Bencharongkul, Ucom CEO, said the investment is expected to be worth about Bt40-Bt50 million in the first stage. The plant, if finalized, will have equal stakes held by Ucon and another two local partners, Boomchai said. (BP) BKK POST: JAPAN FAMILY GIVES UP BID TO CONQUER BURMA PEAK 1 September 1995 BAD weather and an avalanche have forced a Japanese family to abandon their attempt to become the first climbers to conquer Burma's tallest mountain, a state owned newspaper said. They Ozaki family was forced to turn back 3,621 feet (1,097 metres) from the summit of the 19,296 foot (5,847 metre) Hkakabo Razi mountain in Kachin State, northern Burma. Takashi Ozaki, his wife, 11 year old son and 8 year old daughter were accompanied by members of the Myanmar Mountaineering and Hiking Association. They reached the foot of the mountain on July 31, and had hope to reach the summit on August 20. (BP) KNU: STATEMENT OF ELEVENTH CONGRESS OF KNU September 1, 1995 (Karen National Union) STATEMENT OF ELEVENTH CONGRESS OF KNU ------------------------------------- 1. Eleventh Congress of the KNU was being successfully held from August 21, to August 31, 1995. One hundred and six KNU representatives and 79 observers from the civil as well as the military establishments in all provinces attended the Congress. 2. After deliberation upon the prevailing domestic and international situations, the Congress made necessary modifications with regard to policies and programs of the Karen revolution, and Constitution of the KNU, so as to make them to be in consonant with time. 3. The Congress elected 35 candidates consisting of senior, middle and younger leaders as Central Standing Committee members and from among the 35, the Congress again elected eleven members to serve on the Central Executive Committee. The Congress also elected 20 young leaders as candidate members to the Central Standing Committee. 4. In addition, the Congress elected Gen. Saw Bo Mya as President, Saw Shwe Saing as vice-President, Saw Ba Thin as General Secretary, and Mahn Sha Lar Pan and Saw Tu Tu Lay as Joint-General Secretaries of the KNU. 5. With the reconfirmation of 11th Congress, the KNU is to undertake the following important tasks. They are: (a) To further consolidate the KNU morally, politically and organizationally; (b) To further strengthen the Karen National Liberation Army and Karen National Defence Organization so that they may be able to serve more than ever the interests of the people and the Karen resistance; (c) To endeavour for the unity of the entire Karen nation; (d) To continue to uphold the stand of holding and to endeavour for a dialogue between the KNU and SLORC for the establishment of genuine and lasting peace in the country. In conclusion, we, the KNU, would like to affirm that we will firmly join hands together with the entire people and fellow alliance forces, and resolutely struggle on for victory by upholding high our objectives of the establishment of genuine peace, democracy and a genuine federal union.