Kawthoolei (Burmese: ကော့သူးလေ, S'gaw Karen: ကီၢ်သူလ့ၤ; lit. 'land without darkness') is the endonym for a proposed state that Karen in Myanmar have sought to establish since the beginning of the Karen conflict late 1940s. Kawthoolei roughly approximates to present-day Kayin State, although parts of Mon State, Bago Region, and the Irrawaddy River Delta with Karen populations have sometimes also been controlled and claimed by groups such as the Karen National Union. The name "Kawthoolei" was created by nationalist leader Saw Ba U Gyi in a 1949 declaration of independence of the region, prior to his death in battle. Kawthoolei has also been spelled "Kaw-thu-lay" or "Kawthoolie" with the last syllable replacing the "lay" with "lea". The name "Kaw-thu-lay" was used by the government of the Uni