Description:
"Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) was formed
on the 2nd of May 1957, nine years after the beginning
of Karenni National Resistance, prompted by the
invasion of independent Karenni State by the Union of
Burma government in 1948. The party was formed in Ka
Thoe Kee village, Lerpwakho District of Karenni to
provide political leadership for the resistance.
At its inception, KNPP was led by a 9-member Central
Committee that included a chairman, a secretary, and 7
members as follow:
1. Htaw Blo - Chairman
2. Samuel - Secretary
3. Mu Day (Biba Moo) - Member
4. Gay Hsoe (Law Oo) - Member
5. Thawthi Poe (Mee Ei) - Member
6. Kyaw Naing - Member
7. Ta Eh Poe - Member
8. Htoe Kho - Member
9. Kah Poe - Alternate Member
Just 4 months after its founding, KNPP saw its first
crushing test when Chairman Htaw Blo was assassinated
by his own bodyguard on September 28. After Htaw
Blo's assassination, Saw Maw Raw was elected chairman
in January 1958. However, after just two months of
service, he defected to the Burmese government. His
successor Chairman Mee Ei was killed in a battle in
Kwah Kee village in March 1959. The Second National
Congress in 1959 elected Kyaw Naing (Poe Kyaw) as the
4th chairman of the party. Unfortunately, he was
captured by the Burmese government troops during a
trip in 1960.
That turbulent period was the first 3 years of KNPP's
shaky and tragic experience. Yet the party persevered.
New generations of leadership emerged to take the
party to the next level of resistance and political
leadership and build a resistance organization that
worked shoulder to shoulder with its allies of ethnic
resistance organizations and faced its enemies with solid
principles and deadly force.
Yet more tests were to come. Perhaps the harshest of it
all was the largest split within KNPP in 1978 caused by
ideological differences among the party's leadership.
The split rocked KNPP at its core and shook its
foundation. However, it did not fall. The party reflected
and rebuilt to become stronger. It has continued to lead
Karenni resistance through political and military means
towards the realization of Karenni people's selfdetermination
and freedom from oppression and
federal democracy for all in Burma. KNPP has also
provided important administrative services in education,
health, and defense sectors, to name a few, in areas
where the Burmese military juntas have tried to
destroy.
With unwavering principles in its armed struggle, KNPP
was never shy to engage in peace talks. It had joined
such talks in the 1960s, 1990s, and between 2012 to
2020 for bilateral and nationwide ceasefire, either
collectively with allies or unilaterally. However, KNPP
would not take any offer of superficial peace as a
solution for the deep-rooted political problems in
Burma. As such, the Karenni resistance continues.
The 2021 coup ironically granted a new and rare
opportunity for KNPP to work with not only the Karenni
people statewide but also with various ethnicities and
groups across Burma to uproot the evil dictatorship
once and for all. KNPP takes this opportunity very
seriously by engaging all stakeholders domestically and
internationally on all fronts including humanitarian,
political, diplomatic, and military fronts. With the
mandate granted by the 14th Congress of KNPP in 2022,
the new leadership will continue the fight to uproot any
form of dictatorship and built a federal democratic
union together with the people..."
Source/publisher:
Karenni National Progressive Party
Date of Publication:
2022-05-02
Date of entry:
2022-05-02
Grouping:
- Individual Documents
Category:
Countries:
Myanmar
Language:
Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Local URL:
Format:
pdf pdf
Size:
43.45 KB 486.32 KB
Resource Type:
text
Text quality:
- Good