The Karen National League, as a non-armed Karen organization, seeks to uplift the lot of the Karen people and bring about the rule of law and true democracy to Burma. It engages in any and all lawful activities incidental to the foregoing purposes.

Membership Recruitment and Public Relations: A Brief Response from KNL Policy Affairs Division,
August 8, 1999

It was quite a pleasure to read interesting discussions on the Karen Website about the KNL?s protocol and membership recruitment. It is indeed encouraging to see that many Karen are increasingly interested in the development of KNL and its activities. We must not fail to appreciate valuable comments made by some of our supporters. In the meantime, we would like to repeat that the KNL at all times welcomes constructive criticism from its friends and supporters, while self-criticism is also encouraged and valued among the KNL leaders.

We should not be ashamed to admit that the KNL membership recruitment system is somewhat weak. And it is true that we did not try to recruit membership through the Karen Website. But, that does not necessarily mean that the KNL will not accept new membership if applied through the Karen Website.

During the First General Conference of KNL recently held in Perth, Australia, it was decided that if an individual wants to join the KNL, we should first know the residence country of that individual. Should there be any existing KNL member organization there, we would encourage him or her to join the KNL through that member organization. In the absence of a KNL member organization in the region, we will certainly welcome that individual to join the KNL, and in such a situation, we do encourage him or her to set up a group or organization in the region or country he or she resides in. This is current policy of KNL, and it shall remain so until the next KNL general conference.

In terms of fund-raising activities, the KNL will proceed as soon as possible. For the past two years, the KNL has not done any fund-raising event simply because the organization was quite new to the public, and we had no wish to be perceived as being totally dependent on donation and aid. If anyone is willing to help the Karen people through the KNL, he or she may contact our organization (either via the Karen Website or through private email account) and just express his or her desire to do so. The KNL will be pleased to cooperate and accept any assistance aiming at improving the lives of Karen people.

Regarding KNL public relations protocol, we have consistently adhered to the policy that we as an organization, except for public statement, do not answer questions that come from unidentified sources. We have maintained such a policy not only to protect the credibility of our organization, but also to prevent unnecessary disclosure of information to any unconfirmed source.

Particularly on the BBS (Bulletin Board Service) of the Website, which is designed only for a discussion forum and where everyone can post anything, the KNL does not issue its official response to public inquiries, because we do not think one can confirm the authenticity of such response, that is, whether it is from the KNL or not. The KNL tries to centralize its public relations protocol through its Communication and Information Division so that whosoever wants official response from KNL can get it from [KNLcomm@aol.com]. This is not to "settle the issue privately", but to provide reliable response officially.

The KNL can and will reply publicly (on Karen Website, but not on BBS section) to some questions if it can confirm the real source of the query. But sometimes, the KNL just does not answer certain questions simply because of the delicacy involved in the issue. We do request your understanding and appreciation of this. The KNL is thankful to all its supporters and friends around the world.

Released by: Communication and Information Division P.O Box 320 518 San Francisco, CA 94132 U.S.A. Email: KNLcomm@aol.com

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