Date: 16, December 2025
While the ruling military junta continue to push for their illegitimate election, scheduled from late December 2025 to January 2026, we, the Indigenous people of the Thawthi Taw-Oo Indigenous Park (TTIP) in Kawthoolei under the administration of the Karen National Union, have successfully completed the final election of the TTIP Governing Committee (TTIP-GC). This marks the conclusion of a transparent and inclusive process that has built accountable democratic governance from the grassroots level. In stark contrast to the junta’s sham election – carried out while murdering innocent citizens through airstrikes, bombings, and brutal killings – the TTIP community has built a genuine, inclusive democratic system with the full consent and commitment of more than 113,000 community members from 319 villages.
Between December 10 and 12, eleven members of the TTIP Governing Committee (GC) – comprising five women and six men – were elected from among the 99 members of the TTIP General Assembly, the highest governing body of TTIP. These 99 members had been elected earlier through a series of community elections held from July to September this year. With a commitment to 50% representation for women, the Assembly comprised of 36 directly elected community members, 12 ethnic representatives, 34 KNU District representatives, and 14 civil society representatives.
This election follows the adoption of the TTIP Charter during the 2024 TTIP Charter Referendum (with 92% community members’ endorsement across 18 TTIP village tracts), and the ensuing direct election of the 36 community representatives and 12 ethnic representatives to the TTIP General Assembly.
The TTIP aims to revitalise and protect local communities’ traditions, biocultural diversity, and natural resource governance practices. Following several years of collaborative efforts among Thawthi Taw-Oo communities, the TTIP Organizing Committee, KNU leaders, and civil society groups, the TTIP borders have been collectively defined, and the TTIP Charter has been approved by community members from all 18 TTIP village tracts.
The TTIP represents our bottom-up response to the typically top-down approach to resolving some of the most pressing issues of our time, pursuing peace, environmental sustainability and community development that is inclusive and reflective of the local communities’ values and approaches that have been utilized for generations.
Enacting our vision in the TTIP creates another path for our communities to pursue peace and self-determination. Rather than waiting for governments to resolve their differences before taking action, we will demonstrate what a more peaceful and sustainable life can be. By developing our own participatory governance structure to protect the environment and manage our lands and natural resources, we can non-violently defy the centralized exploitation of our territories which fuels conflict and undermines our livelihoods.
We, the Indigenous People of Thaw Thi Taw-Oo, are not waiting idly for federal democracy, but are taking actions to establish this TTIP- which recognizes and upholds our communities’ customary land management systems while simultaneously uniting community, KNU and CSO representation within the TTIP governing body, to demonstrate that federalism is possible in the here and now.
Ultimately, this initiative aims to create peace and to protect this stronghold of Indigenous culture and biodiversity from threats, both old and new. Our traditions are intimately tied to the land, and there are no better protectors of the forests, rivers and natural resources here than our own communities. From December 10-12, 2025, the 1st General Assembly as well as Governing Committee election was successfully convened, and the elected Governing Committee are as follows:
Saw Thaw Tu Htoo – Chairperson
- Naw Say Paw – Vice Chairperson
- Naw S’Leh – Secretary
- Saw Taw Kler Htoo – Joint Secretary
- Saw Eh Wah – Member of Governing Committee
- Naw Hsa Pree Paw – Member of Governing Committee
- Saw Kweh Say – Member of Governing Committee
- Saw Albert – Member of Governing Committee
- Naw Tin Zar Lin Cho – Member of Governing Committee
- Naw Htoo Paw Zar – Member of Governing Committee
- Saw Ki Doh – Member of Governing Committee
To learn more about the Thaw Thi Taw Oo Indigenous Park, please contact:
- Saw Thaw Tu Htoo, Karen and Burmese language (Signal: + 66 651176004, Email: taseipoe.k2@gmail.com)
- Saw Eh Wah, Karen and Burmese language (Signal:+ 95 9458924056 , Email: tawoo2012@gmail.com)
- Saw Paul Sein Twa, Karen and English (Signal and Phone:+66 (0) 817247093, Email: paulkesan@gmail.com)
Download statement in other languages here: