Letter to the UN from the Government of Kawthoolei - 1981

SEAL

THE GOVERNMENT OF KAWTHOOLEI

SUPREME HEADQUARTERS

Dated October 1, 1981

To, 

His Excellency Kurt Waldhein

The Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of the U.N.O.

New York.

U.S.A.

Subject: The Struggle of the Karen People for Independence.

Your Excellency,

Please permit me to approach you and to draw your kind attention to the statement of your predecessor, in- office, the late U Thant, in the book, "The United Nations and Decolonization" page 1- which say :-

"The United Nations stands for the Self-Government and independence of all peoples, and the abolition of racial discrimination without reservations. It can never afford to compromise on these basic principles." 

Burma is a multi-national State, inhabited by the Burmese, Karens, Shans, Kachins, Chins, Mons, Arakanese, Paohs, Palaungs, Lahus, Was, Nagas and other national minorities. Since Burma attained its independence on the 4th January, 1948, the Burmese, who all along hold the reins of the Government, have been practising Burmese Chauvinism, and the independence of Burma is but the subjugation and domination of the Burmese over other nationalities of Burma.

Now, all the nationalities of Burma, Unable to stand the oppressions of the ruling Burmese, have taken up arms against the Greater Burmans, all fighting for their respective independent state. The Karens, Karennis (Kayahs), Mons and Paohs rose up in 1949, the Shans in 1958, the Kachins in 1962, the Palaungs in 1963, followed by other nationalities like the Arakanese, Lahus, Was and very lately by the Nagas in 1980. This taking up of Arms by all the nationalities against the ruling Greater Burman, is sufficient proof that though Burma got its independence, the independence is for the Burmese people only, whereas the nationalities are subjugated by the ruling Burmese. There is racial discrimination and no equality of people and races under the Burmese Government.

We, the Karens are a nation, having all the essential qualities needed of a nation, and were the first settlers in this country now known as Burma. We are a simple, quiet and peace-loving people, and were later conquered by the Mons and the Burmese who came in after us. The Karens suffered untold miseries in the hands of these overlords, by being ruthlessly persecuted, looted and tortured by them.

Karens were improved.

When the British occupied Burma, the lots of the Karens were improved. They began to earn their livings without being hindered, and enjoyed the right to go to schools for their education, and were then ahead of other peoples in this country in many aspects, especially, in education, athletics and music.

When the Second World War broke out, and the British evacuated Burma, making ways for the Japanese to take the country, the B.I.A (Burma Independent Army) started attacking the Karens, arresting, torturing, raping and killing many Karens.

The bitter experiences gained by the Karens during the Second World War, gave them one lesson, that unless the Karens have their own country they can never grow and prosper. Instead they would always be persecuted and enslaved. This gave the Karens a desire to ask for their lost Country, the Karen State.

So, as soon as the Second World War ended, the Karens started asking for a separate Independent Karen State, through democratic means peacefully. But the ruling British and the Burmese Government paid no heed to the Karen's peaceful demands. On the 11th February, 1948, just barely one month after Burma got its independence, the Karens all over Burma, numbering over 400,000 staged a peaceful demonstration to show their desire for an Independent Karen State. The banners carried in the processions contained (4) slogans, namely,

1. Give the Karen State at once.

2. Show Karen one Kyat and Burmese one Kyat at once.

3. We do not want communal strife, and

4. We do not want civil war.

The slogans of the Karens in this mass demonstration are but the 3 slogans of the oppressed colonies "Liberty, Equality, and Peace."

Instead of meeting the Karens for peaceful discussions, the Burmese Government, and their presses, spoke many ills of the Karens, accusing the Karens of being stooges of the British Imperialists. They later arrested the Karen leaders, attacked many Karen villages, shot and killed many Karens, raped their women, looted their properties, and burnt many of their hearths and homes. These atrocities of the Burmese Government were so unbearable that on the 31st January, 1949, the Karens all over Burma, took up whatever arms they had, and rose up against the Burmese Government to fight for their lives, their honour, and their long cherished Independent State.

When the Karens took arms to fight for their very existence and their independence, they at first attained great successes, but these did not remain long. They soon suffered military reverses and had to withdraw from many fronts, allowing the Burmese troops to re-occupy many of their areas. These military setbacks of the Karens are due to 2 reasons, namely,

1.The Karens, then, had little understanding and no experience of the revolutionary war, and

2. The Karens all along stood on their own feet, fighting along without aid of any kind. from any country, whereas the Burmese Government received large amount of aids, militarily included, from many foreign countries.

The Karen Revolution has now lasted over 32 years. During these long and hard years we have gone through many experiences -- difficulties and pleasantness, successes and defeats. But this 32 years has been a blessing in disguise for us. Our understandings in many fields have increased, our skills in all our works have improved. We have been hardened and steeled both physically and mentally.

We are fully convinced in the just and righteousness of our cause. For, our enemy, the Burmese chauvinists, from U Nu's AFPFL to the current Ne Win's BSPP (Burma Socialist Programme Party) use Burmese Chauvinism when they get power, in suppressing and oppressing our Karens, and all the other nationalities in the country--an act of racial discrimination and national oppression which is abhorred by the United Nations.

Under the rule of the Burmese Chauvinists,

• The Karens are no longer allowed to study their own language in schools,

• Their schools and educational institutions were taken by force and many were destroyed,

• Many of their newspapers and books were stopped, even the religious periodicals are tightly censored,

• They are oppressed in many walks of life, in education, in getting employments and in earning their livelihood,

• Their fields and plots of lands were nationalised and confiscated,

• They were being systematically exterminated by the annihilation, absorption and assimilation programmes of the unscrupulous Burmese Chauvinist,

• Many ways are used to divide the Karens to fight each other,

• The Karens have now to take Burmese names and thus become Burmese Nationals.

  In short, the Burmese Chauvinists,

• Oppress us politically by giving us no democratic rights,

• Exploit us in all economic fields,

• - Absorb our Karen cultures, Karen language, Karen schools, and all our good manners and customs,

• - Attack and kill the Karens militarily.

To-day, the enemy is attacking us with (4) Cuts Operation, fiercely in order to smash and annihilate us. The numbers of our refugees have increased. But, contrarily, it is amazing to see that the strong will and determination of our armed personnels and all our masses to fight to win this war have increased many folds on all sides.

During this long and cruel 32 years' war,

• We have been steeled and hardened both physically and mentally,

• It gives us various correct understandings and trains us to be fit for our heritage,

• It makes us see our own weaknesses in order to be able to correct them and we have actually corrected many of our shortcomings, in moral, in many of our revolutionary lines and in our attitudes and thoughts,

• The morale as well as the military skills of our armed personnels are heightened,

• Our masses in all battle fields have now participated to fight the enemy in various ways,

• Our peoples in towns and cities and in enemy occupied areas have now joined our revolution in great number,

• Many Karen University Graduates in Medicines, Engineering, Laws, finance and Accounts, Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Geology, Philosophy, Education have now also joined our revolution, thus enriching our revolutionary quality,

• All the nationalities in Burma have now taken up arms to fight the Burmese Chauvinistic Government for their respective independent state, and are united in National Democratic Front (NDF), 

• We have now been able to inflict more casualties to the enemy in all our engagements, 

• The masses of all walks of life in the whole country have now tried to oppose the enemy in various ways.

Over all these situations, we, the Karen Revolution, now proclaim that, we have established a Karen State known as Kawthoolei, and have also founded the Kawthoolei Government under the leadership of KNU - The Karen National Union.

• Kawthoolei is Karen Independent State with full right of self-determination.

• The extent of Kawthoolei shall be the areas where Karens are in majority, and shall be in accordance with the wishes of the Karen People and at the same time just and righteous in the eyes of the people of the country and the world. 

The policy of Kawthoolei is National Democracy, which is not Capitalism, neither Socialism nor Communism. It fully accepts private ownerships, but opposes exploitations and monopolies of all forms.

All the people in Kawthoolei shall have full democratic rights politically, economically, socially and culturally.

Freedom and Equality of all religions is guaranteed. To uplift and develop our country, investments of foreign capitals will be allowed on condition that they will not harm us.

Kawthoolei shall maintain cordial relations with its neighbours and other foreign countries which wish to see the prosperity of Kawthoolei, or the basis of mutual respect, trust and benefits.

The basis programme of the Karen Revolution is not only to establish an independent Karen State with full political, economical and cultural rights to all the people of the State, but to establish a New Federal Union, headed by the NDF, comprising of the states of the nationalities on the basis of equality and self- determination for all the nationalities in the country.

The Union of Socialist Republic of Burma, headed by the BSPP (Burma Socialist Programme Party) as it exists today is but a union in name only and it will and can never solve the present conflicts and crisis in Burma. For the Union is dominated by Burmese Chauvinism in both form and content.

We are not a handful of insurgents, blackmarketeers, smugglers as the present ruler of Burma has painted us, but are real revolutionaries who are fighting against national oppressions, subjugation, domination and exploitation of Burmese Chauvinism.

In our march forward to accomplish our aims, Ba U Gyi's (4) principles mentioned below are our motto and guiding principles.

(1) For us surrender is out of question.

(2) The recognition of the Karen State must be completed.

(3) We shall retain our arms.

(4) We shall decide our own political destiny.

The war may be long, hard and cruel, but we are prepared for all eventualities. For, to die fighting is better than to live a slave. But we firmly believe that we shall not die, because our revolution is just and righteous.

We strongly believe in the Charter of the United Nations on the principle of self-determination and the equal rights of peoples -- a cause for which we are fighting.

We are approaching you again to make our cause known to the World Organization, and through you to the whole world. We shall try to send you details of our activities from time to time in due course.

We shall be very grateful if you will do whatever you can to help us gain our independence and build a genuine New Federal Union of Burma free of National oppression, domination and exploitation and where liberty, equality and peace prevail.

At the same time we request you to send a fact finding mission to us for the purpose of gathering firsthand informations about conditions that exist in our area and about the wishes of the nationalities of the National Democratic Front regarding their future.

With deep respect,

Yours faithfully,

(Lt. Gen. Saw Bo Mya)

President

Government of Kawthoolei

Copy forwarded to all Heads of States and Heads of Government.