This was announced in the statement released by the IKO on the 69th Kayin National Revolutionary Day, which fell on January 31.

“We will stand with the Kayin revolutionary leaders who have a strong conviction and stand on the right path of the revolution. We will join hands with the public and like-minded people from the world to arrive on the right path of the revolution until the KNU (Karen National Union) and the Kayin revolution became successful. We will continue to fight [our] battles,” the IKO’s spokesperson Mahn Orlando told KIC News.

The current nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) is a path in line with the 2008 Constitution and the six-point policy of the Tatmadaw Commander-in-Chief so the KNU leaders should review the NCA since it will not achieve genuine peace, he continued.

He urged the KNU leaders to walk on the genuine path again in order to attain the original demand of the Kayin nationals, which is based on self-determination.

According to the IKO’s statement, the Kayin revolution was successful at first due to patriotism and unity of the Kayin people and it has obtained many revolutionary-based territories, but the Kayin revolution has weakened instead of becoming powerful after 69 years due to the rise of self-centeredness and factionalism among the leadership.

The IKO urged the leaders to fix these weaknesses and reinvigorate the spirit of 1949, which is the year the Kayin revolution started.

In his address on the 69th anniversary of the Kayin National Revolutionary Day, the KNU’s chairman General Mutu Say Poe said: “Currently we see that there is much mistrust, differing understanding and wavering mind in many persons and various organizations. To reduce mistrust and uncertainty over peace building work, there is reason for us to avoid saying things and doing activities that would cause anxiety and fear between one person and another, and between one organization and another. Hence, there is need for us to get together and talk over things to drive away the fear and anxiety. To build mutual trust, we must improve our relationship and understanding of the cooperative work.”

He urged the Kayin national leaders, comrades, and all Kayin nationals to reduce their self-centeredness and anxiety at the time when they are striving to transform the system of government and situation of the country through peaceful means and negotiation.

Kayin organizations from over 30 countries in Asia Pacific, European, and US/Canada regions established the IKO in October 2013 with the aim to uplift the value of the Kayin national, preserve Kayin language, literature, and traditional culture, and assist the peace process implemented by the KNU.

The organization has often released statements to criticize the KNU’s implementation of the peace process.

The government led by the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL) declared the Karen National Defense Organization (KNDO) as an unlawful association on January 31, 1949. This day has been marked as the Kayin Revolutionary Day after the government army and the KNDO started fighting on this day and the Kayin people from the whole country joined the resistance.

The 69th anniversary of the Kayin National Revolutionary Day was marked by respective KNU districts and divisions and some Kayin people from abroad.

Ethnic armed organizations including the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) and the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), who are allies of the KNU and also signatories of the NCA, send formal messages for the 69th Kayin Revolutionary Day.