KNU refutes links to telecom scam gangs

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.