By Kantarawaddy Times
As the revolution in Karenni State passes the three-year mark, there have been cases where people are fraudulently soliciting donations by misusing information about revolutionary battalions. In response, the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) issued a statement on November 6, urging the public to carefully verify before making any donations.
Given that the revolution can only progress with the support of the people, it is crucial to maintain trust. To prevent any loss of confidence, KNDF spokesperson Ta Eh Soe told the Kantarawaddy Times that people should verify and carefully consider before contributing to the revolution.
“The main supporters of the revolution are the public. If fraudsters continue to misuse information for funds, the trust of these supporters could decline. However, we urge the people who want to support the revolution to verify carefully and directly contact responsible members of legitimate organizations before donating,” said Ta Eh Soe.
The KNDF advised that before donating, people should directly verify with responsible personnel within the respective battlions, including those responsible for financial affairs, verified social media pages, and official battlion representatives such as Central Committee members, military chiefs, commanders, and strategy officers.
The KNDF emphasized that fraudulent fundraising misuses battalion information, which could erode the trust between the public and the revolutionary forces.
“We have encountered this kind of exploitation three times. We don’t know exactly who the fraudsters are. Some people are deceived without knowing the truth. Some fraudsters use battlion names, others use photos of military personnel, and still others provide false information. For example, in our battlion, we don’t have units like Battalion 3 or 4, but fraudsters claim funds on their behalf. This can easily deceive the public,” explained a logistics officer from KNDF Battalion 8.
While the exact number of fraudulent cases and the amount of money collected through such scams remain unknown, Ta Eh Soe added that the prevalence of these cases is rising on the ground.
