PDF troops in Kayah State. / PDF Loikaw
The resistance stronghold of Kayah has become the first ethnic state to form an interim governing body following the 2021 coup.
The Karenni State Interim Executive Council (IEC) was formed on June 6, said the body during an online press conference on Monday. The IEC will manage the state and oversee cooperation among its different anti-regime forces for the duration of the revolution, it announced.
The IEC was established with political leadership and guidance from the Karenni State Consultative Council (KSCC), which was formed on April 9, 2021, two months after the coup.
The new administration is tasked with building peace and stability in Karenni State while guarding checks and balances between the executive, legislative and judicial branches under collective leadership, the statement said.
Khu Oo Reh, chairman of the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), will head the local government, which will consist of 12 departments.
The IEC was formed to protect the lives and property of Kayah people and deliver public services such as education, healthcare, food and necessities, said the statement.
The body will continue to recruit revolutionary forces to defend the people, it added. It will also seek to establish rule of law in Kayah State by overseeing the departments of law enforcement and corrections.
The IEC will work with the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, a body of lawmakers elected in the 2020 general election; the National Unity Consultative Council, a broad-based, inclusive platform working towards a federal democracy objective; and the civilian National Unity Government (NUG). All three bodies are working to establish a federal Union in cooperation with pro-democracy forces at home and abroad.
The IEC will be abolished after the Spring Revolution succeeds and a new Kayah government is formed to ensure self-determination for the state.
NUG acting president Dua Lashi La said he believes the IEC will be a great support in establishing a federal, democratic Union.
“Karenni State has a crucial part to play in the future federal country. I hope the interim executive council of Karenni State will become an example for other states. And I hope it will also cooperate closely and in unity with would-be interim executive councils.
IEC vice chair Khun Be Du, who is also chairman of the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), said the council will use the acting president’s statement as a guide. He added that he was grateful for the support of Karenni people who are enduring the revolution.
Though Khun Be Du referred to the IEC as the Karenni State government at Monday’s press conference, no ministers were appointed.
The KNPP led by Khu Oo Reh had already formed a Karenni State government before the coup and it is not known whether this administration has been dissolved.
Ethnic armed organizations and resistance groups who sent congratulatory messages to the IEC on its founding included the Arakan Army, Ta’ang National Liberation Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Chin National Front, All Burma Students Democratic Front, Mandalay People’s Defense Force, Myanmar Royal Dragon Army and Bamar People’s Liberation Army.