BANGKOK: Myanmar’s military government designated the Karen National Union a terrorist organization Thursday, making illegal virtually any activities connected with the major ethnic rebel group, including contact by third parties.
The KNU has been fighting on and off for greater autonomy since Myanmar became independent from Britain in 1948. The group located in Myanmar’s southeast has been engaged in especially fierce combat against the army in the civil war that followed the military takeover from Myanmar’s elected government in 2021.
A KNU spokesperson said Friday the group would not care about the designation. Noting that Myanmar’s military had been indicted by international tribunals, KNU spokesperson Padoh Saw Taw Nee said: “You don’t even need to prove anything on who the real terrorists and international criminals are, and who the unlawful association are.”
The KNU has vowed to disrupt the national elections the military plans to hold beginning Dec. 28, but the terrorist designation will make it more difficult to do even nonviolent information campaigns, which already have been declared illegal.
State-run MRTV television reported a military government committee named the KNU a terrorist group because it has “caused serious losses of public security, lives and property, important infrastructures of the public and private sector, state-owned buildings, vehicles, equipment and materials.”
A separate notice on MRTV said Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the military leader who is serving as Myanmar’s acting president, declared the KNU and its affiliated organizations to be unlawful organizations, which criminalizes contact with them.
After reporting the announcements, the MRTV repeatedly broadcast a 1947 quote from Aung San, Myanmar’s independence hero, to serve as a warning to the KNU about its plans to disrupt the election.
“Our government will not look on with indifference at those who try to disrupt the election,” were the words attributed to Aung San, who was the father of Aung San Suu Kyi, the civilian national leader who has been detained since the 2021 military takeover.
“They will be severely punished. Our government will not interfere with anyone who is competing freely in the election. However, let me clearly warn you that we will use all the power to suppress anyone who tries to disrupt it,” the Aung San broadcast continued.
The polls have been denounced by critics as a sham to normalize the army takeover. They also say that the dissolution of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, which won a landslide victory in the 2020 elections, means the polls cannot be considered fair.
Several opposition organizations, including the KNU, have said they will try to derail the election. The military government enacted an election law last month that carries the death penalty under certain conditions for anyone who opposes or disrupts the polls.
The Karen, like other minority groups living in border regions, have struggled for decades for greater autonomy from Myanmar’s central government.
The KNU, along with seven other ethnic rebel armies, signed a ceasefire agreement in 2015 with the former quasi-civilian government led by former general Thein Sein to end more than six decades of fighting.
However, the group became allies with pro-democracy militias formed after the military seized power in 2021 and offered refuge to the opponents of the military government. After nonviolent protests against the military takeover were put down with lethal force, armed resistance arose that has now embroiled much of the country in civil war.
In addition to directly engaging the military government’s troops on the battlefield in Kayin state, the armed wing of the KNU, the Karen National Liberation Army, has been training hundreds of young activists from the cities in the rudiments of warfare. Kayin state is also known as Karen state.
The KNU, together with the other ethnic minority groups fighting with the army, also boycotted the military government’s proposed peace talks after the army takeover, saying they did not meet their demands.
The group’s demands include the military’s withdrawal from politics, implementation of federal democracy and acceptance of international involvement in solving the country’s crisis.
Myanmar’s military government declares Karen ethnic rebels a terrorist group as elections loom
https://arab.news/bf8wv
Myanmar’s military government declares Karen ethnic rebels a terrorist group as elections loom
- The Karen National Union has been fighting on and off for greater autonomy since Myanmar became independent from Britain in 1948
- The KNU, together with the other ethnic minority groups fighting with the army, boycotted the military government’s proposed peace talks
‘Hero’ who disarmed Bondi gunman recovers in hospital as donations pour in
- Sydney resident Ahmed Al-Ahmed seized rifle from one of the gunmen
- Ahmed was shot in hand and arm his family says
- Australia PM said Ahmed showed ‘best of humanity’
SYDNEY: Donations for a Sydney man who wrestled a gun from one of the alleged attackers during a mass shooting at Bondi Beach have surged past A$1.1 million ($744,000), as he recovers in hospital after surgery for bullet wounds.
Forty-three-year-old Ahmed Al-Ahmed, a Muslim father-of-two, hid behind parked cars before charging at one of the gunmen from behind, seizing his rifle and knocking him to the ground.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Ahmed’s bravery saved lives.
“What we’ve seen in the last 24 hours was the worst of humanity in a terrorist act. But we also saw an example of the best of humanity in Ahmed Al Ahmed running toward danger, putting his own life at risk,” Albanese told state broadcaster ABC News.
He was shot twice by a second perpetrator, Albanese said. Ahmed’s family said he was hit in the hand and arm.
Australian police on Monday said a 50-year-old father and his 24-year-old son carried out the attack at a Jewish celebration on Sunday afternoon, killing 15 people in the country’s worst mass shooting in almost 30 years.
HAILED A HERO FOR DISARMING THE GUNMAN
Ahmed’s father, Mohamed Fateh al Ahmed, told ABC News in an interview that his son was an Australian citizen and sells fruits and vegetables.
“My son is a hero. He served in the police, he has the passion to defend people.”
“When he saw people lying on the ground and the blood, quickly his conscience pushed him to attack one of the terrorists and take away his weapon,” Mohamed Fateh said.
Jozay Alkanji, Ahmed’s cousin, said he had had initial surgery and may need more.
AHMED PICTURED IN HOSPITAL
Tributes have poured in from leaders both abroad and at home.
Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, where Sydney is located, said in a social media post he visited Ahmed at St. George Hospital and conveyed the gratitude of people across the state.
“Ahmed is a real-life hero,” his post said. “Thank you, Ahmed.” A photo showed Minns at his bedside, and Ahmed propped on pillows with his left arm in a cast.
US President Donald Trump called Ahmed “a very, very brave person” who saved many lives.
A GoFundMe campaign set up for Ahmed has raised more than A$1.1 million within one day. Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman was the largest donor, contributing A$99,999 and sharing the fundraiser on his X account.
SUPPORTERS THANK AHMED FOR SAVING LIVES
Outside St. George Hospital, strangers came to show their support.
Misha and Veronica Pochuev left flowers for Ahmed with their seven-year-old daughter, Miroslava.
“My husband is Russian, my father is Jewish, my grandpa is Muslim. This is not only about Bondi, this is about every person,” Veronica said.
Yomna Touni, 43, stayed at the hospital for hours to offer assistance on behalf of a Muslim-run charity also raising funds for Ahmed.
“The intention is to raise as much money as possible for his speedy recovery,” she said. ($1 = 1.5047 Australian dollars) (Writing by Praveen Menon; Editing by Michael Perry, Saad Sayeed, Alexandra Hudson)
