Karen National Union (KNU) Chair Padoh Saw Kwe Htoo Win called for joining the Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union (SCEF), a newly formed resistance coalition comprising four ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), the resistance-run National Unity Government (NUG), and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH).

Formed on March 30 to accelerate the revolution and establish a federal union, the SCEF includes the KNU along with three other EAOs: the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), Chin National Front (CNF), and Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).

“We joined the SCEF with a strong sense of responsibility, and we are ready to work together in the struggle to build a union that respects the rights and aspirations of all,” Padoh Saw Kwe Htoo Win said in a speech on March 31.

He added that the SCEF will build unity while respecting and valuing the differences among the participating groups in the coalition.

The SCEF’s founding statement said the body is built on three pillars: representation of states and federal units; representation of EAOs and the public; and representation of women.

Padoh Saw Kwe Htoo Win highlighted the pillar of women’s representation, explaining that recognizing women’s empowerment and leadership is essential to building a federal union, and was therefore included as a core pillar.

“It is imperative to include women in leadership, so we welcome this move,” he said.

The EAOs that had been cooperating under the K3C framework to reach a common agreement on ending military dictatorship after the coup have joined the SCEF, but the powerful Arakan Army (AA) and Mon EAOs have yet to join.

Meanwhile, the junta has begun convening sessions of a new parliament formed through its widely criticized sham election and is moving to establish a new government.