New Book Details Karen Revolution History
A book documenting the history of Karen Revolution was launched in Rangoon on January 31st to mark the 67th Karen Resistance Day.
The Karen Youth group organized the event in honor of the Karen struggle for equality. Saw Tun Tun, from the Karen Youth group leader said that although the book is about the history of the Karen revolution, it also includes the struggles of other ethnic.
The two-hour event was attended by members of the Karen community in Rangoon and journalists.
At the launch ceremony, Saw Kapi, a Karen academic and analyst explained about the history of Karen revolution and he was joined by U Ko Ko Gyi from the 88 Open Society Organization who said.
“I whole-heartedly welcome the emergence of history books because the history of our country had been effaced. After reading this book I feel envious of it for I want to write the history of the 88 struggle for democracy. But I have no record of documents because [at that time] if a written record was seized, then scores of people [noted in the record] would surely be arrested.”
Saw Kapi, said that launching the history of Karen revolution in Rangoon was an “unusual” event as it was the place where the Karen revolution started. He urged people to learn about the Karen revolutionary hero, Saw Ba Oo Gyi, and to take note of the successes and failures of the Karen revolution. Saw Kapi called for young Karen to ‘read history in order not to be naïve’.
The 240-page history book was written by Pu S’gaw Ler Taw also known as Sayadaw Ye Ah, who was a central standing committee member of the KNU. He was assigned to write the book by a KNU central committee meeting. An earlier history of the Karen revolution focused on a 27 year period from 1949 to 1976. The latest edition of the book launched in Rangoon last week covers the period from the beginning of the Karen revolution in 1949 to the present day.
