New Delhi: As Myanmar’s military Junta begins its controversial phased general elections on Sunday, the Karen National Union (KNU), the oldest ethnic armed group, has dismissed the polls as a sham designed to manufacture a veneer of legitimacy.In an interview to The Wire, KNU spokesperson Saw Taw Nee, speaking from the Myanmar-Thailand border, warned that the general elections will likely escalate the civil war and asserted that barring a few countries, it will not find any takers.Although India has publicly backed “inclusive” elections in Myanmar, Saw Taw Nee said New Delhi’s stance remained unclear from the KNU’s perspective.For India, the KNU is a critical stakeholder in connectivity, as Karen State serves as the primary corridor for the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway, which aims to link Moreh in Manipur to Mae Sot in Thailand. However, KNU has had very limited contact with Indian authorities.The Myanmar military made territorial gains in 2025, reversing losses suffered the previous year. The KNU spokesperson attributed this shift to support from China, particularly in the form of advanced drones, as well as the junta’s enforcement of compulsory conscription.The spokesperson said the cyber scam centres that trapped hundreds of foreign nationals, including Indians, had largely operated in areas not under KNU control. He accused the Junta-aligned militias of facilitating their expansion, and said the KNU had taken a firm stand against such operations and moved to shut them down wherever it had authority. The interview has been edited for clarity.How do you think this election will impact the future of Myanmar?Our position is very firm. We deeply participated in the peace process for a long time. After we agreed to and signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) and political dialogue, we participated in the peace process with all our heart and resources. We aimed for peace in our country, dealing with the Burmese military and the government for several years since 2015. India was also one of the eyewitnesses to the agreement at that time, along with Japan, Thailand, China, the EU [European Union] and the UN [United Nations].But when the Burmese military violated everything and staged a coup, our policy for the Karen National Union took a sharp turn. We are standing firmly on the position that we can’t accept anything from them anymore. We don’t agree with anything regarding the coup.They have now become an illegitimate and illegal organization. We don’t accept that at all. We are against whatever they do, such as the election.We declared a statement on August 26, 2025, clearly stating that we are against the general election that will happen in our country.Two days later, they declared our organization an illegal and unlawful association and called us terrorists. That is the situation now. The military has lost control of nearly two-thirds of the country. They might only control cities and towns, but in rural areas, they cannot control the main roads or the border areas. We believe the situation will only get worse after the general election.You say that after the election, the situation will get worse. Do you mean militarily or politically?First, the people are not participating. Only those allied with them are involved. It is not a free and fair election, and all revolutionary groups are against it. If they push further to gain legitimacy this way, they will face opposition from all sides. The fighting will get worse after the election.Have you given a statement on what people in Junta-controlled territories should do on election day? They may be under pressure to participate.They cannot hold the election all at the same time. They will have phases, the first part on December 28, 2025, the second in early January, and the third in late January. That’s because they cannot control the whole territory at once.For the KNU, we have announced we are against it in a peaceful way. But we cannot guarantee peace for the whole country because there are many different organizations, and we don’t know what they will do. We can’t guarantee anything for the future.Do you expect more violence or fighting on election days? Will the rebel groups try to engage the military more on those days?We don’t know exactly yet. There are many opposition groups in the country with different ideas and visions. We can’t guarantee what will happen if they go against the will of the people.After the three phases, are you afraid that countries like China or India might give legitimacy to the Junta because “some kind” of election happened?We can see that a few countries, like China, will support them strongly. Even though China is authoritarian, why they would support this kind of election, we don’t understand. However, most of the world, including ASEAN, Western countries, and other democratic countries, will be against this. The military may dream that this will be like the 2010 election, but this time is totally different.Have you read the Indian government’s statements on the election?As far as we know, they [Junta and Government of India] are working together on the election, perhaps helping with technical support. We don’t know clearly, but India and China seem to support them.Your territory doesn’t border India, but do you have any contact with Indian authorities at all? In the last few years, the Indian government has made more contact with the Arakan Army and Chin groups because they border India. We don’t have a very clear channel. I may have some connection to the embassy, but it’s not very active. If you compare it to our contacts with other countries, it is not active.India has many connectivity projects in Myanmar, like the Kaladan project or the Asian Highway project (which overlaps the Trilateral highway project), that connects India’s northeast with South-east Asia. The Asian highway project goes through Karen territory. What is the KNU’s position on these projects?I don’t know all the projects India is involved in. I only know about the Asian Highway that starts from Vietnam, through Thailand, through Burma, and then to India. Our troops controlled part of this road (Asian Highway-1) from Kawkareik and Myawaddy, only 22 kilometres, from December 1 2023 to September 2025.When we started building this Asian Highway through our territory, it was for the sake of peace. We opened it in 2015. But after that, we saw that the military was using this road only for military purposes to attack us. So we are totally against it now. Even though we cannot compare in power, we try to block it, and they have not been able to open the Asian Highway until now.Earlier, in 2024, you had said that the military Junta would not do well in the election. But this has been a comparatively good year for the military government in getting back territory. Are you as optimistic about the rebel groups? What is the reason for the success of the military government in 2025?The main thing is they received a lot of support from China, especially modernized weapons like very advanced drones that we cannot match. That is the first thing. The second thing is their conscription law, which allowed them to force many people into service. Those are the two main reasons.Even with China’s support, it is not easy for them to move forward. They have been trying to regain Shunda Park, the scam centre we seized, but they have been stuck around Myawaddy town, very close to the Asian Highway.So how do you see the military prospects for the coming year?Even with China’s support, they [the Junta] will face a lot of counter-insurgency resistance from many different groups across the country. They cannot move forward. They can only maintain their positions in cities and towns, mostly by using airstrikes. Without their air force, they could not control the country. They are targeting people. In our territory alone, there are 1.2 million Karen IDPs [Internally Displaced Persons]. Despite this, we stand firmly by our policy against the military dictatorship.How much territory does the KNU hold right now in Karen State?That is hard to define precisely because we mostly control rural areas. From the north, very close to Naypyidaw like Taungoo District and Nyaunglebin District, down south to Hpa-An District, Thaton District, Kyainseikgyi, and to Dawei.The Junta has taken control of Myawaddy currently.In Myawaddy, the military is allied with the Border Guard Force and controls only the town itself, while the surrounding rural areas are held by revolutionary groups. Although Myawaddy is a key border trade hub, cross-border commerce has not resumed. The junta has been unable to reopen the Myawaddy-Mae Sot trade route, as access to both sides of the highway remains under the control of our forces.They only have control of the town, and with the support of the BGF, so they can open immigration and customs, but that is all.Regarding the scam centres, what is the KNU’s position, and are you working with foreign governments, like the United States, to stop them?Our policy is very strong. We are totally against the scam centres. We have released at least three or four statements on this.On November 21 last year, we seized a scam centre called Shwe Kokko. We repatriated almost 4,000 people to Thailand and closed it down. It took about three weeks to complete the process. There were many Indians. Our ground assessment team saw people from 24 different countries in that scam centre. We see many nationalities, but 80% to 90% are from China.How did the scam centres become so big?Before 1994, the KNU controlled most of these areas, except for Myawaddy town. After the split in 1994-95, the territory came under DKBA (Democratic Karen Buddhist Army) control. In 2009-10, the group was reorganised as a Border Guard Force that came directly under junta control. Both the BGF and DKBA (renamed as Democratic Karen Benevolent Army) set up and ran these scam centres.It sounds like there isn’t much joint strategy between the different ethnic armed groups. Are you mostly fighting the Junta on your own?We have allies, though we call them “coordinated attacks” rather than a formal alliance. We work very closely with the PDF (People’s Defence Force) and the KNPP (Karenni National Progressive Party) because we are in the same local region.Do you work with larger groups in other parts of the country, like the Arakan Army or the CNF?We have had good relations for a long time. The Arakan Army even set up a troop in our Brigade 5 area a long time ago. But practically, it is difficult because the Arakan area and our area are very far apart. We want to help each other, but it’s not easy. We can mostly only work with the groups close to us, like the Karenni or the Mon groups in the southern part of the country.Since you are near the Thai border, have you seen any changes in the Thai government’s attitude toward Myanmar?I don’t see too much change, but as we gain more territorial control, they approach us more. They see that we control more than 1,000 kilometres of the border (total border is 2400 km), and they realise they cannot only deal with the Myanmar military. They need to deal with us. This is happening at both the Indian border and the Thai border. Compared to five years ago, they are much closer to us.If the Junta becomes stronger militarily, are you afraid the international community, including India, might reassess and return to strongly backing the Junta?That is a challenge for us, but on the ground, we don’t see them getting stronger. Their soldiers rely on the conscription law. They are new and have no experience in fighting. They come to the frontline, give up their weapons, and run away. This happens every day. It’s not easy for the military to control these people for long. No matter how much support they get from other countries, we don’t believe they can win if their soldiers on the ground cannot fight.How has the United States’ position changed under the Trump administration? Have they assisted the KNU?We don’t see any major changes. US policy toward us generally stays the same whether the government is Democratic or Republican. However, the scam issue is a factor. American people lost $15 billion to these scams in 2024. This is being discussed in the Congress and the Senate. One change is that the Trump administration has started cutting off some funds and aid.