KIA is Ready for Ceasefire, if Offered Through Proper Channels

Kachin refugees flee fighting between KIA and Burmese army troops. (Photo: Jinghpaw Kasa Blog)

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) is ready to stop fighting, but first it wants guarantees that any ceasefire proposal offered on behalf of the government will be respected by Burmese military commanders, according to officials from the group's political wing.

“We want the Burmese government or a leading member of the Burmese army to offer proof that they will stop firing. We can't just accept a short letter saying that they will stop,” said La Nan, the joint-secretary of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).


Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, La Nan said that the KIO recently received a letter from Thein Zaw, the former Minister of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs, stating that “Northern Regional Military Commander Brig-Gen Zeyar Aung has already ordered his troops to stop firing, and the KIA needs to stop firing as well.”

He said that the letter was written by Thein Zaw in his capacity as an MP for Myitkyina, the Kachin State capital, and therefore could not be regarded as representative of the government's position or that of the Burmese military.

La Nan noted that when the KIO agreed to a ceasefire with the Burmese government in 1994, leaders of both sides were present and the agreement was signed in front of several witnesses.

“Even then, we found that the Burmese army couldn't be trusted not to attack our troops. For example, in 2001, they killed about 10 KIA Brigade 4 soldiers in northern Shan State for no reason. We don’t want problems like that in the future. That’s why we're asking for guarantees,” he said.

La Nan said that the KIO also recently received a letter from Zeyar Aung, the Burmese army's northern regional commander, but it made no mention of a ceasefire.

The letter denied that the recent fighting was part of a Burmese military operation, claiming that the conflict started because the army had to “protect a state-level project being carried out in cooperation with a neighboring country”—referring to a hydropower dam being built on the Taping River by a Chinese company.

Clashes between the two sides erupted in the second week of June. Although there has been no major fighting in recent days, there were reports of skirmishes in Putao Township, in the far north of the state, on Wednesday, suggesting that the conflict is spreading.

Despite the relative quiet that has prevailed so far this week, the number of refugees fleeing the affected areas is still high. Many have crossed the border into China, but some have already returned to Kachin State under pressure from the Chinese authorities, according to Mai Ja of the Kachin Women's Association Thailand, one of the groups assisting the refugees.

“Some refugees who are currently in China can't get food or medicine, so they will come back to Kachin State,” she said. “They are forced to stay in small rooms, and conditions aren't very sanitary, so they are having health problems.”

Most of the refugees in China are staying in the villages of Phin Chan, Loi Leng, Jang Fone, Naung Ang and Naung Tao in Yunnan Province's Yingjiang Township. The refugees in Kachin State are receiving assistance from an umbrella group of seven local NGOs known as Wunpawng Ning Htoi (“Lights for the Kachin People”).

Source:http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21555