Theme: "Unite our people, unite Saw Ba U Gyi's three strategies"
On 22 August 2026, AKO Queensland held the 76th Karen Martyrs' Day commemoration service in Brisbane.
Karen Martyrs' Day is observed each year on 12 August. It marks the anniversary of the death in 1950 of Saw Ba U Gyi, the first president of the Karen National Union (KNU), and honours the soldiers, civilians, volunteers, teachers and medics who have died in the Karen struggle for freedom, self-determination and rights since Burma's independence. The conflict between Karen forces and Myanmar's central government, which began in 1949, is one of the longest-running civil conflicts in the world.
Saw Ba U Gyi is remembered for his four principles, which many Karen people continue to regard as guiding the Karen movement:
- Surrender is out of the question.
- Recognition of the Karen State must be completed.
- We shall retain our arms.
- We shall determine our own political destiny.
The service's theme referred to three strategies that speakers associated with Saw Ba U Gyi's legacy:
- armed struggle
- international intervention
- political negotiation.
Speakers noted that the Karen movement today pursues all three. The day was dedicated to all who have lost their lives during the decades of conflict.
