Mawlamyine, March (25)
A regional coordination group has been formed to prevent a ceasefire in Karen State and the military council has offered the Karen National Union (KNU) to join the group.
The military council’s Karen State Minister for Security and Border Affairs, Colonel Myo Min Naung, signed the agreement on March 23 and the offer letter was sent to the KNU Central Committee and the Hpa-and Brigade Liaison Office.
The military council has repeatedly called for a ceasefire, but fighting continues. That’s why the offer was not being taken seriously, the KNU spokesman Pado Saw Taw Ni responded.
“They are used to talking like that. They killed people, burned them, and destroyed villages. When I told them to stop, they didn’t. If they keep talking about peace without stopping the violence, nothing can be taken seriously,” he added.
On March 7, a letter was sent to the military council troops in Lay Kay Kaw and southern Kawkareik to leave. There was no withdrawal and the fighting has intensified as more troops have been deployed, Pado Saw Taw Ni said.
“The military council has been talking about peace, but the civilians continue to be tortured and killed. So we will keep working to overthrow the military dictatorship.”
Fighting between the military council and the Karen National Union (KNU) has intensified since the coup, with hundreds of thousands of civilians fleeing.
News – Than Lwin Times
