Question: What do you see as the difference between the new and old government? What is the relation between the KNU and the new government?

Answer: I don’t see any changes especially in their main policy. This new government is the one run by the same army officers in civilian clothing. They are following the same policies of the old military regime. They are ruling the country for the benefit of a handful of the rulers whose obsession is autocracy and a unitary state. They are ruling the country for the sake of army generals only. They are not working for the people. I see them as working only to hold on to their power.

Q: Do you have any hope of negotiating with the new government led by President Thein Sein?

A: The KNU still wants to enter negotiations with them as before. We have met five times with previous governments. They only want their supremacy and domination over us. They are not for a federal union. They pushed us to surrender. Even if moderates in their camp wanted to build peace by negotiating with us, the extremists and hardliners would not tolerate it.

Q: What do you need for fruitful negotiations?

A: The reason we can’t negotiate fruitfully is because of Ne Win who started this civil war while the government led by then Prime Minister U Nu was in power. Ne Win was a fool and a chauvinist. This madman started the civil war with the Karen, but in their propaganda, they say the Karen started it. Ne Win got help from the US and told the US they were fighting against Communists during the Cold War era. Their propaganda at that time was to annihilate both Communists and ethnic insurgencies and build the Fourth Reich of Burma.

General Khin Nyunt followed this path too. His tactic was to push us to surrender gradually. He used divide and rule among our forces by threatening, appeasing and flattering. And they cheated us by giving false and hollow promises. And we are divided now.

Q: Has the new government approached you for talks?

A: No contact since the last election. They are saying the Karen issue is a Karen State issue. The MPs elected from Karen State are talking about a Peace Council and approaching us for negotiations. I think they will send priests as peace negotiators. We have heard about a plan to send priests and other people with religious backgrounds to talk to us.

Q: The political situation is changing. For instance, Thailand wants to continue the Dawei project. People are focusing on new businesses and there’s a civilian government. The KNU faces many new challenges.

A: No, we have no challenges. Dawei and Myeik were sold at a cheap price. But this is very large project. As far as we know, they cannot find investors and financiers for this project. The land in this project is not government land. It belongs to local farmers. The government wants to own all the land like the feudal kingdoms did in the past. This is not a challenge or crisis for us because they cannot find financiers for this project. The IMF and World Bank do not want to give their money for this project. Even their staunch supporter China does not want to give money for the project. If they go ahead with the project, it will be a unilateral effort.

Q: The KNU has reunited with some breakaway factions of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA). Can you trust them now?

A: This is different. They see the truth now. They realize now they were cheated and now they want to come back to us to fight against the government’s army. Some have already started fighting. Some troops from Myainggyingu also want to return to join our troops.

These people were naïve in politics and ideology. The army used religion to divide us and the economic privileges that they enjoyed in the past have been taken back. They have become the slaves of the army again. After realizing this reality, they are now fighting against the army.

Q: Now the KNU, DKBA and ABSDF are joining together in launching the ‘Marnesoe’ military operation. What are the goals? Is it offensive of defensive?

A: Its main goal is defensive. They will never win in their offensives. If we want to switch to the offensive, we must build unity among our ethnic forces first. What we are doing now is just repelling the enemy forces from our territory.

Q: Can you engage in political dialogue when you have no area of domination in your territory?

A: They too have no complete control and area of domination. They have no public support. They do everything by force like dictators and one-party rulers. So no one supports them. Have they got governance over the people? No, they cannot govern the people. They cannot win the trust of the people. Popular uprising can break out again in the country at any time like the wave of protests is erupting in Arab world. This wave will certainly spread to our country too.

Q: On the other hand, a new group like the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) has appeared. Some say its main goal is to secure a new cease-fire agreement with Naypyitaw. At the same time, the KNU and some units of the DKBA wage war. Do you agree there are two different tactical policies?

A: No, we are also ready to resolve things through peaceful means, but they are invading our territory and oppressing our people so we are waging a defensive war. What we want is a cease-fire and the withdrawal of Burmese forces from our territory. The main obstacle is from their side. The main obstacle is their occupation force. They must withdraw their occupation army from our territory.

Q: Some criticize you for involvement in many different organizations at the same time. Can this situation weaken the effectiveness of your leadership?

A: No. This is what the collaborators of the SPDC [government] are saying. The rights of ethnic Karen cannot be defended by Karen organizations alone. So we affiliate and connect with other democratic forces and other ethnic forces. We must build such alliance.

There are pro-SPDC forces and collaborators in our ethnic camp too. These collaborators were wooed and fooled by the government’s deceits. There is no difference between the former SPDC and Thein Sein’s government.

NGOs from Germany first entered Burma in about 1990. They advocated power sharing with the SPDC. The first organization that accepted this idea was the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). They are inexperienced in politics. Even so they said we were naïve in political tactics.

Q: Do the opposition leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi have a real and serious desire to solve the ethnic issues?

A: Yes, our Karen people fully support Aung San Suu Kyi. She really wants democracy and welfare for the people. We too really want democracy and a genuine federal union that must be based on democracy. We have no negative points with them.

But the collaborators and sycophants of Thein Sein are saying the problem is Daw Suu, that she is the main obstacle. Foreign countries want to turn our country into a market. And Germany is doing business with China. They need Burma as a land corridor for their businesses.

Some of our ethnic people are also saying nonsense. 'The cause of unrest in Burma is the ethnic issue and Daw Suu is the stumbling block in building peace in our country'. They also say Daw Suu is not shrewd enough in dealing with government. No, the problem is not Daw Suu. The main problem is the military dictatorship itself.

Q: Do you think Burmese opposition leaders really understand the human rights violations committed by the army in ethnic border areas?

A: I don’t know about other leaders but NLD leaders Win Tin and Daw Suu really understand our situation and they have sympathy for us. So Daw Suu understands us but she can’t speak out too strongly. Some so-called and self-styled ethnic leaders say these Burmese leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi cannot be trusted. But they trust the government.

Q: Did the opposition force that is trying to convene a Second Panlong conference ask the KNU to join it?

A: We support this work. The purpose of the conference must be for the emergence of a genuine federal union. We support it. We have no objection against it.

Q: What has been the impact from the closing of the Myawaddy Friendship Bridge?

A: No impact and no effect to us. The SPDC forces are also facing insufficient food supplies because of the closing of the bridge. Their intention of closing off this bridge is to put pressure on Thai businessmen. These businessmen will put pressure on their government when they suffer losses in their businesses. As a result of the pressure, the Thai government will impose a blockade on us at the Thai-Burma border. This is how they think.

Q: Will there be any changes if a new Thai government is elected?

A: We don’t know yet who will win in that election. The Thai government will not change arbitrarily in this regard.

Q: Some are saying the Thai government will repatriate the refugees living in refugee camps along Thai-Burma border. Do you have any worry and anxiety about these refugees?

A: I have no worry about them. The UN has its norms and regulations. The Thai government cannot ignore these norms and rules. If they ignore these norms and rules, they will become the same sort of government as the SPDC. Even if these refugees are repatriated to Burma there will be no impact on us.

Q: What does the KNU think about the coming by-election in Karen State?

A: Some of these political parties are collaborators with the government. They are fed by the SPDC and they are being nurtured by them. There are many more Karen in our country. I want to say to those Karen living in the delta, Bago and Rangoon regions to join hands with the NLD and Daw Suu for the national independence struggle. I want them to work in the movement inside the country.

Q: Are you satisfied with the unity in the exiled Karen organizations?

A: Yes, I’m satisfied with this situation. There are many types of unity, some are under the guidance of religion and some are under the guidance of politics. As for political unity, it must be based on the political programmes and political principles adopted by the KNU.

Q: So you have little hope of any positive changes in dealing with the new government?

A: We will talk to them in accordance with our preconditions. The Burmese people will revolt against them if the current situation continues. The army will change its stand and side with the people. The army might not support the reactionary path being followed by the generals. The majority of army units are not yet in this situation, but the attitudes and views are changing in their army.

Both military dictators and civilian dictators are the same and they are outdated now. Thein Sein’s government should not follow the path of working only for the welfare of the military clique and a handful of the generals. I’d like to tell them to work for the welfare of the people.