Irrawaddy-Oct 18
Facing fierce resistance against his regime in Karen State, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing is turning to a divide-and-conquer strategy by asking the former chairman of the country’s oldest ethnic armed organization— the Karen National Union (KNU)—to lead ethnic Karen people towards what he calls “peace.” However, when Mutu Say Poe, a former KNU chairman, met Min Aung Hlaing on Monday, he drew sharp criticism from Karen communities over “peace talks” with the junta boss who asked the 90-year-old to intervene in the war “as the head of ethnic Karen people desirous of peace in Karen State.” The meeting occurred after Mutu Say Poe attended an event to mark the eighth anniversary of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in Naypyitaw on Sunday. The event was boycotted by the KNU. Junta media have reported that Min Aung Hlaing asked Mutu Say Poe to be the leader of ethnic Karen people who want to see peace in Karen State, stressing the need for peace and stability to improve infrastructure and raise the living standards of people in Karen State. In August, residents of Phapya Village in Kyarinseikkyi Township presented awards to Saw Mutu Say Poe and Padoh Saw Shwe Moung–a former KNU district-level chairman–for “their honesty, humility, kindheartedness, and for their sacrifices along the course of Karen revolution, and peace efforts,” Karen media Information Center reported. However, when they and another former KNU official met Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw on September 30, the KNU was quick to say the three did not represent it. It described that meeting as an attempt to sow discord within the KNU and create confusion among the KNU and its allies fighting to end military rule and build a federal, democratic union. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/ethnic-issues/junta-boss-trying-to-sow-division-in-myanmars-oldest-ethnic-armed-group.html
