U Poh Reh, the chairman of the All Nationalities Democracy Party (Kayah State) said: “I cannot agree with the crackdown on the students, also it was not legal. The students were just making a peaceful protest to get the education system they want.”

U Nan Ye, the secretary of the Kayan National Party said the government was being unfair and denying students the right to peaceful protest allowed by the constitution with their forcible crackdown on the students.

He said: “I feel so sorry. The police were violent and they beat the students. If we look at democratic norms it was very ugly.”

He added that the government should listen to the opinions of other people and say whether those opinions would benefit the country, or not. He believes that the government should negotiate in good faith because it is very inappropriate if it makes promises that it breaks and then cracks down on those it is negotiating with.

U Po Reh said that all political parties in Kayah (Karenni) State condemned the government’s crackdown on the student protest column at Letpandan as illegal.

Translated by Aung Myat Soe English version written by Mark Inkey for BNI