KIO to celebrate tenth anniversary of truce

Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)

July 13, 2003: The Kachin Independence organization is preparing to celebrate the tenth anniversary of its truce with the junta, a Kachin leader informed Mizzima News.

Lavish celebrations for the decade-old cease-fire celebration will be held on 24 February 2004 at Laiza, close to the China-Burmese border, and are expected to be attended by Kachin delegates from around the world along with non-governmental organizations.

It is not known who will represent the Burmese junta at the festival, which will feature sports and entertainment. "General Khin Nyunt told ceasefire broker Sabweikyun during his last trip to Kachin state that if peace celebrations were planned, he would attend. He said that he would not attend if it was the cease-fire itself that was going to be celebrated", said a KIO officer who requested that his name be withheld.

The KIO entered into a ceasefire agreement in 1994. A local Kachin leader in KIO-controlled Laiza argued that the ceasefire was not beneficial to the Kachin people. He stated that the KIO had lost the Pharkent jade mines and strategically important military bases to government's troops, suffered under the devastation of forests, Chinese influence, as well as large-scale of corruption within the KIO leaderships.

About 50 Burmese battalions are stationed in Kachin state, ten times more than in 1994. The Kachin Independence Army has only 4,000 foot soldiers. So far, political dialogue between the SPDC and the KIO, which the latter had expected to take place after signing cease-fire agreement, has failed to materialize. Meanwhile, the junta has warned the KIO not to lend support to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi during her tour of Kachin State before the 30 May crackdown.

On June 14, one of the regime’s foremost leaders, Brig. Gen Kyaw Thein, met with KIO central committee members and said: "You can do business as much as you like but you must stay away from politics". He strongly warned KIO leaders not to demand a tripartite dialogue and not to corporate with other ethnic political parties. Kyaw Thein added: "The KIO must not support Daw Suu Kyi ".

The seven armed ethnic groups which are bound by ceasefire agreements released a statement regarding the 30 May crackdown in first week of July, demanding the immediate start of a tripartite dialogue to resolve the current political crisis.

These organizations include the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the Kayan New Land Party (KNLP), the Kayinni National People's Liberation Front (KNPLF), the Palaung State Liberation Army (PSLA), the New Mon State Party (NMSP), the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP) and the Shan State Nationalities People's Liberation Organization (SNPLO).