Interview: On current Karen situation (Part II)

No.04 - 2/2007
7 February 2007
Politics

Interview: On current Karen situation (Part II)

Q: More on Gen Htein Maung?
 
A: On the 24th and 26th of January, a meeting was called by the GOC. To which Htein Maung replied that he could not attend the meeting and that he had been authorized by the Burmese government to be a mediator and that  if anyone wanted to meet the SPDC for peace talks, it could be only through him .

^{Brig-Gen Saw Hsar Gay}
Q: We heard Htein Maung was involved in Hutgyi and cross border contract farming projects initiated by the Thai business sector. Is it true?
 
A: Yes, it is correct Htein Maung and the people who have been manipulating him are in cahoots with businessmen involved in cross border contract farming and the Hutgyi  dam projects, which are in the 7th Brigade operational area of Pa-an district.
 
Q: Can we now say the KNU has overcome its biggest internal challenge to its existence?
 
A: I would not call this the biggest internal challenge as the ideological splits at the 3rd Kawthoolei Congress between the KNUP and KRC and later in 1994 the breakaway of the  DKBA  from the KNU which were much more threatening than this episode,  which although creating some  uneasiness  has not been a real challenge to the integrity of  the KNU  as it has really no followers and no support. I think many more of these challenges will arise in the future. They are part of a long-lasting revolutionary struggle where the enemy tries to work on personal ambitions and greed of individual people to try to divide their opponent. We have to be prepared for such events and  as a whole support  our  leadership   without  personal considerations  as long as the leadership  acts in accordance  with the principles of the constitution , the decisions and principles laid down by of Congress  and by the Central Committee.
 
The present leadership has  always  practiced collective leadership by allowing  free  internal discussion  and by consulting the CC  regarding important  decisions not only by calling the  regular Central Committee  meetings but by calling extraordinary CC meetings  so that  all matters can be discussed and decided within a proper forum  which has given our organization  a cohesion. This is indeed remarkable considering the existing hardships and pressure at all levels of our revolutionary society.
  
End of Interview