Chiang Mai - Karen National Union, an ethnic armed rebel group, said there will be no change in the group's policy despite the death of the top-most leader on Thursday.
Pado Saw Ba Thin Sein chairman of the Karen National Union (KNU), an armed resistant group, died on Thursday morning.
Pado Saw Ba Thin Sein (82), the KNU Chairman and Commander-in-Chief, died at 2 a.m. on Thursday at his residence on the Thai-Burmese border. His funeral will be held in a few days in the KNU controlled area. He is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son.
While there will be slight changes in KNU's top hierarchy, as a result of the demise of the Chairman, there will be no policy change, KNU's Joint General Secretary Pado Saw David Tharkapaw said.
According to the KNU constitution, the Chairman's post will be automatically filled by the current Vice-Chairman Pado Saw Tamala Baw. This will be the second change in KNU's top hierarchy in three months.
After General Secretary Pado Man Shar was assassinated on February 14, Maj. Tutu Lay took over and Saw David Tharkapaw became the Joint General Secretary.
"KNU's line and policy will not change following the death of our leader. The change in policy depends on the changing situations. As the SPDC's stance remains unchanged, our policy won't change," Pado Saw David Tharkapaw said.
However, he said while the KNU will adhere to its policy of resolving political issues by peaceful political means, there will be some changes in its political programmes.
"Previously we visited Rangoon, Moulmein for peace talks with the regime. Now we will meet them only on foreign soil. We will not go to their territory. They never come to our controlled area. We had been courting high risk in their territory. They only want to exploit us. They never listen to and comply with our demands of ceasing fire in our controlled areas," he said.
The KNU, Burma's longest running insurgent group, last met the Burmese military junta in 2004 in Moulmein town of Mon State for a peace negotiation, which produced no result.
Pado Saw Ba Thin Sein succeeded KNU Chairman Gen. Saw Bo Mya at the 2004 KNU Congress. After the Chairman's post is occupied by the Vice-Chairman automatically in keeping with the constitution, the vacant post of Vice-Chairman will be filled following elections in the forthcoming 14th Congress.
Pado Saw Ba Thin Sein joined the KNU during the historic Insein battle in 1949 and became General Secretary in 1983 and took over as the Chairman of the group in 2004.
He served as Chairman of the Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC), an umbrella group of ethnic political and armed resistant groups in exile, and Chairman of the National Democratic Front (NDF), and the presidium member of the 'National Council of the Union of Burma' (NCUB) until his death.
The KNU suffered heavy lost earlier this year when it's general secretary Pado Mann Shar was assassinated by unidentified gunmen at his residence at the Thai-Burmese border town of Maesot.
Dr. Salai Lian Hmung Sakhong, ENC General Secretary expressed deep grievance over the death of Pado Saw Ba Thin Sein saying it is a loss of a great leader of the entire Burmese revolutionary movement.
"The leadership of Pado Saw Ba Thin Sein was crucial to our movement. But this tragic loss of a great leader though is really a setback to our cause, we will not cease our revolution. We will the struggle in lines and policies that Pado Saw Ba Thin Sein has envisaged," Dr. Lian Hmung Sakhong said.
