BANGKOK, Aug 29 (Arab News): 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.
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