Kayan armed group backs NLD campaign

Kayan armed group backs NLD campaign

By Ye Mon   |   Friday, 06 June 2014

PEKON, SHAN STATE: Dictatorship will prevail until the 2008 constitution is replaced or completely rewritten, a Shan State-based ethnic armed group has warned, as it pledged support for the joint National League for Democracy-88 Generation constitutional amendment campaign.

The Kayan New Land Party (KNLP) said in a statement to mark the 50^th anniversary of Kayan National Resistance Day that the constitution in its current form would stop Myanmar from building either a federal union or a genuine democracy. It described the constitution as "worrying for those who want peace".

KNLP secretary Colonel Saw Lwin told The Myanmar Times on the sidelines of a ceremony in southern Shan State that the group supported the campaign initiated by the NLD and 88 Generation to amend section 436 of the constitution and remove the military's veto powers.

The campaign, launched on May 17 in Yangon, has heightened tensions between the government and opposition groups, with President U Thein Sein warning it could lead to "suffering".

But Col Saw Lwin said the campaign was absolutely necessary. "We agree with the activities of the NLD and 88 Generation and we condemn those who are disturbing their activities in support of amending the constitution."

The June 4 anniversary celebration, which was held in Pekon township's Seebu village and attended by about 20,000 people, featured a parade by hundreds of the group's soldiers.

KNLP chairman Major General Than Soe Naing said because of the 2008 constitution the struggle for federalism is alive and well.

"As long as there is the 2008 constitution, dictatorship is still alive. Our leaders, who risked their lives in the Kayan national revolutions, have relayed to us the duty of amending the whole constitution or redrawing it," he said.

In a statement, the Kayan group said it wanted to amend the constitution through a conference based on the "Panglong spirit", a reference to the historic 1947 conference organised by Bogyoke Aung San and ethnic leaders that resulted in the Panglong Agreement and, finally, Myanmar's independence the following year.

The KNLP said it wants amendments that would build a federal union and genuine democracy and ensure the country's ethnic groups have equal rights. Letters of support from political parties and armed ethnic groups to the KNLP focused mostly on the need to amend the constitution.

Kayan National Resistance Day marks the anniversary of the day on which the Kayan decided to rebel against the central government. The decision was prompted by the government's demonetisation on May 15, 1964, and the KNLP was formed on August 8 of that year.

After fighting the government for three decades, the group signed a ceasefire agreement on July 26, 1994. Unlike most armed ethnic groups, however, it has not renewed this ceasefire agreement with U Thein Sein's government.

Col Saw Lwin said that while the military regime broke its promise for political dialogue the KNLP planned to sign a planned nationwide ceasefire agreement.

"We signed [a ceasefire] agreement because the government said it planned to hold political negotiations," he said. "But until now there haven't been any talks." – Translation by Thiri Min Htun

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/06/07/kayan-armed-group-backs-nld-campaign/