The Karen National Union (KNU) has accused the junta of using its recent raid on KK Park, located in Myawaddy Township near the Thai border and known as a major hub for telecom scams, to politically smear the KNU.
The junta announced this week that its security forces had raided KK Park, home to telecom scam businesses commonly known locally as Zhapian gangs. The KNU acknowledged that the move has attracted international attention but reassured that it has no involvement in any criminal activities based in KK Park.
KNU spokesperson Padoh Saw Kler Say responded by focusing on the junta's statement, which highlighted that the land on which KK Park is built is near land involved in a pact previously signed between the KNU and a local organization.
“The junta has been trying to drag the KNU into the KK Park scandal for some time. Recently, it seems to have revived those efforts, now focusing on the land issue,” he said.
Junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun has made three key accusations against the KNU following the KK Park raid, claiming its top leadership was involved in profiteering during the KK Park project, that the group exploited, seized, and sold government land, and that it acts as mercenary terrorists willing to sell out the country for money, calling on the international community and the public to oppose the group.
“There was no official government permission to run KK Park on that land. The gambling dens there are protected by armed groups hired as guards, and the money they make is being used to carry out terror acts against the country, ethnic groups, and the people,” he said.
The KNU has strongly denied any involvement in the KK Park scandal and scam operations. “We’ve already made it clear that if anyone from the KNU is involved in these activities, they will be held responsible for what they’ve done,” said Padoh Saw Kler Say.
The junta announced that its raid on KK Park uncovered nothing particularly unusual, but it did seize internet receiver kits for the Starlink satellite service.
The kits are now useless, as the US Congress is investigating losses suffered by American citizens from telecom scams along the Thai-Myanmar border, and Starlink’s parent company, SpaceX, has disabled network support around KK Park under pressure from the congressional probe. The KNU has questioned the junta’s sincerity in seizing the equipment when it is no longer useful.
The KNU claimed that it does not condone any criminal activity, either legally or as part of its policy, and is committed to taking legal action against any perpetrators if they are identified.
“Everyone knows the territory we operate in is difficult and complex. There are different armed groups here, especially in the border areas of KNU Brigade 6 and 7. But the public can’t really tell them apart. They’re all Karen groups, so people often assume they’re all KNU, but there are actually many Karen armed groups in this area with different political goals. It’s not just KNU,” Padoh Saw Kler Say explained.
Controversial crime hotspots like KK Park only appear in areas where the KNU’s administrative and judicial authority is not fully established. He pointed out that the junta is well aware of this but is using it to launch a political smear campaign against the KNU.
The junta’s October 19 statement claimed that 2,198 people were arrested during the KK Park raid and more than 30 Starlink kits were seized.
The junta described the raid as a cross-border crime-fighting operation. However, analysts are skeptical, suggesting the junta may be staging political theater to appease China and neighboring countries and secure their support.
