The son of the late Karen leader Gen. Bo Mya has declared the creation of a new state called the Republic of Kawthoolei and proclaimed its independence from Myanmar, according to participants and organizers of the event.
On Jan. 6, reporters said the declaration took place a day earlier at U Kae Kee camp in Shu Khali village, Shu Khali subdistrict, Waw Lay township, Myawaddy district in Myanmar’s Karen State, near the Thai border district of Mae Sot.
Gen. Nerdah Mya, the son of Gen. Bo Mya, former president of the Karen National Union, announced the establishment of the Republic of Kawthoolei and declared himself its president. He also announced the formation of a government, including the appointment of a prime minister and cabinet members.
In his declaration, Nerdah Mya said Kawthoolei is the ancestral land of the Karen people and cited international human rights conventions to justify the move. He said the Myanmar government had collapsed and that the Karen people were therefore establishing an independent state.
A statement issued by the new government said the declaration was necessary because the Karen people had faced oppression, discrimination and what it described as a prolonged campaign of violence for 77 years, beginning in 1949.
More than 400 people, including civilians and Karen military leaders and troops, attended the ceremony, which included a parade and the presentation of cabinet members.
Nerdah Mya said the Karen people would no longer accept rule by Myanmar’s military and would work toward establishing a constitution, a functioning government and cooperation with other ethnic groups and pro-democracy forces.
He also said many people in Myanmar did not want to participate in current elections, saying they wanted genuine democracy and no longer trusted the authorities, and warned that instability would continue if authoritarian rule persisted.