NoendinsighttonorthMyanmarinsurgency

BySawYanNaing,Aug14,2012
A war between ethnic insurgents and government troops in Myanmar's Kachin State has seen dozens of deaths and displacement of over 70,000 residents over the last year, with no sign of resolution. "There have been at least 1,640 incidents of fighting, and each one of them has involved causalities," said La Nan, the spokesperson for the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), which has resists Burmese troops in the predominantly Christian state in southern Myanmar. Government troops are now targeting even farmers and villagers, accusing them of supporting Kachin rebels and planting bombs, said La Nan. A KIO source in Laiza, the headquarters of the KIO on Sino-Myanmar border, said that the government had plans to overrun their stronghold. The army has reinforced their troops with military supplies, including artillery and mortar launchers, in Kachin State's Bhamo city and in northern Shan State's Muse Township. The KIO - now with an estimated 15,000 militia - signed a ceasefire agreement with the government in 1994, but the latter broke down on June 19 last year when the government launched attacks on the KIO's military wing, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). Many believe the 1994 truce was insignificant, as the KIO's calls for autonomy and fundamental rights were not addressed during the ceasefire period. After the ceasefire, the KIO was offered business opportunities in logging, jade mining and other trades. However, these offers were seen by the KIO as an attempt by Burmese cronies and officials, Chinese businessmen and even some KIA officers to exploit Kachin State's rich forest and natural resources. Some well-respected and educated Kachin leaders thought the ex-Myanmar military government was sincere in bringing about a political solution to the conflict. With that hope, KIO representatives joined the National Convention, which is part of the "Seven-step roadmap" written by former Prime Minister Khin Nyunt, the erstwhile junta's chief spy. Dr Tu Ja, a Kachin politician and a former KIO leader, took part in government meetings as well as the writing of the draft of the 2008 constitution. In 2009, he and some of his colleagues resigned from the KIO to form the Kachin State Progress Party to contest the 2010 general election. However, tensions mounted in 2010 after the government asked all ethnic rebels to serve as part of a "Border Guard Force" under the command of the Myanmar armed forces. The KIO did not accede to the demand. Dr Tu Ja's party was disqualified by the Election Commission. When he tried to contest the election as an independent candidate, his candidature was rejected. Further, the government canceled three constituencies in Kachin State before the April 2012 by-election citing security reasons, and he again lost a chance to contest. It's understandable why KIO leaders are taking time to reach another agreement with the new government. "We will be very careful to sign any agreement this time," La Nan said. Having learnt the hard way about the government's insincerity for 18 years, the KIO now seems to be focusing on the political solution, and not just the ceasefire. In early July, Kachin leaders rejected the government's offer to hold peace talks in Bhamo Township. La Nan said the fighting was escalating in the meantime. On July 6-7, troops shelled the KIA's military bases, Page1of2

about 13 kilometers from the KIO's headquarters. "It is nearly one year President Thein Sein ordered the army to stop attacking us, but it is being ignored by the troops," he added. La Nan also said the government doesn't recognize ethnic armed resistance as a political issue. "They only see us as insurgent groups that cause instability. They think if we don't carry guns, there will be no conflict." But civil wars in Myanmar began because of broken political promises. "This needs to be solved by political means." Ethnic minorities have been fighting for independence or autonomy since after Myanmar gained independence from British colonialists in 1948. After being promised self-determination, autonomy and even separate states, ethnic Kachin, Chin and Shan leaders signed the Panglong Agreement with the Union government in 1947. However, the promise was never kept. "We took up arms and fought simply because we lost our rights and equality," La Nan said. The ceasefire program with the ethnic rebels that the previous regime started in the late 1980s is just to halt the hostilities, and not to bring about permanent peace. In his analysis in last month's The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, Myanmar expert and author Bertil Lintner wrote that the outbreak of hostilities in Kachin State shows that ceasefires only freeze underlying problems without providing lasting solutions. There are still at least 50,000 armed men and women in ethnic resistances, he noted. International pressure will not be on the new government, but on ethnic rebels to cooperate with the government in the new existing political structures, Lintner wrote. The international community is involved. At a meeting with President Thein Sein in Naypyidaw in June, the Peace Donor Support Group (PDSG) - representing the governments of Norway, the UK and Australia, as well as the European Union, the United Nations and the World Bank - offered nearly $500 million to support peacebuilding and other projects. The Norwegian government also independently funds $5 million towards the peace process in eastern Myanmar, including needs assessments aimed at resettling refugees - part of a project conducted by its Norwegian Initiative. Efforts by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) are a good start, La Nan said. "But this alone is not enough," he added. "NGOs and INGOs should seek to eradicate the root of the problem." Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their say. Please click here if you are interested in contributing. Articles submitted for this section allow our readers to express their opinions and do not necessarily meet the same editorial standards of Asia Times Online's regular contributors. Saw Yan Naing is a senior reporter at Chiang Mai-based The Irrawaddy Magazine. He can be reached at yannaing@irrawaddy.org (Copyright2012SawYanNaing.) http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/NH14Ae01.html

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