Latest clash with KIA poses renewed threat to ceasefire
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Concerns grow if the nation-wide ceasefire agreement could be signed before the Union Day, or February 12, as expected now that fighting in some regions, particularly, in Kachin State continues.
On Wednesday, Kachin Independence Army (KIA) troops stopped the convoy carrying the Minister of Transport for Kachin State in Hpakant and arrested three police officers who were escorting the minister.
Lamai Kunjar from the Peace-Talk Creation Group (PCG), said KIA soldiers arrested the police officers as they saw weapons and they did not know the minister, who was on the mission to check road condition in the town.
Just as the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), to which KIA belongs, was prepared to release the officers on the next day, government and KIA troops clashed near the base of KIA Battalion No 6, he said.
“The fighting began at 6am. They fired first using heavy artillery. Over 100 shells were fired. Now we are fighting at close range. We informed our headquarters. We heard that they are now talking with the border affairs minister,” said Major Daung San from KIA Battalion No 6.
There are three villages located near the fighting area, where about 2,000 villagers live. There is a school for the children of refugees in Tan Gaung village.
Sar Gyi from the Kachin Social Development Network said that only in Tan Gaung village, there are about 1,000 villagers.
The fighting continued into the afternoon, and heavy artillery was fired. The KIA ordered its forces to retreat to prevent the villagers from being harmed, said Major Daung San.
The Kachin State government, the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), the Myanmar Peace Centre (MPC) and the Peace-talk Creation Group (PCG) in Myitkyina are negotiating to resolve the conflict.
Both sides have sustained casualties since renewed fighting broke out between the Myanmar government and the KIA in June 2011. More than 100,000 people are still living as internally displaced persons (IDPs) in camps in Kachin State because of the fighting.
Negative impact
There has been heavy fighting in Kachin, near the border with China, since the army's surprise artillery attack on a Kachin Independence Army (KIA) training camp in November, which cast doubt over faltering peace talks.
Then, Rebel spokesman La Nan said the military could erode the trust of all ethnic groups by blaming the KIA for provoking its artillery attack.
"It could create fighting all over the country," he told AFP.
This was followed by a confrontation between a group comprising the 238th Infantry Battalion of the Myanmar Army and the People’s Militia group and a 15-strong unit from the KIA. One man was killed in the incident on December 28.
Local residents suspect that control of the lucrative jade mines in area – specifically the taxes collected from them – is the cause of the mounting tension between Myanmar’s armed forces, Tatmadaw, and KIA.
The fighting has delayed the planned return of some households to their homes.
There is a growing concern that months of painstaking negotiations between the government and multiple ethnic minority armed groups have reached an impasse over key issues such as the potential for the armed groups to continue to exist in some form.
In this month alone, President Thein Sein held two political talks – on January 5 and January 12, where ethnic armed group leaders attended. The nation-wide ceasefire agreement was one of the main agenda.
The government invited all the 16 ethnic armed groups to discuss the ceasefire on January 5. However, four armed groups - KIA, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, the Karenni National Progressive Party and the Chin National Front – did not attend the talks for various reasons.
The ceasefire agreement is believed to ensure distribution of growth in various areas of Myanmar where civil wars, ignited since the independence six decades ago, continue.
Trust
Dr Aye Maung, chairperson of Arakan National Party, said earlier that the armed ethnic groups have become stronger. Therefore, the government should revise its problem-solving methods.
“There should be equality and self regulation for ethnic nationals to solve the conflicts. It’s time for the government to prove its high mindedness.”
After the shelling of KIA academy in November, some ethnic leaders said it could further dent trust for the government.
There are more than 135 different ethnic groups in Myanmar but the majority, Burman ethnic group, makes up about two-thirds of the population and controls the military and the government.
MPs are seen trying to enact the law protecting ethnics’ rights. They are about to discuss the proposal that a new ministry to oversee ethnic affairs be established in 2016.
Khun Myat, the chairperson of the Lower House Bill Committee, said that such would come after the general election. The new government then would appoint union level ministers, including the minister for the new ministry.
Zaw Aye Maung, a Rakhine affairs minister for Yangon Region, proposed the establishment of the new ministry to the Upper House, citing the need for a government unit to oversee ethnics’ affairs.
According to Khun Myat, the Upper House sent the bill back to the Lower House with its comments. He said the issue would be discussed soon by Lower House MPs.
“If there is no different opinion between two parliaments, the bill will be sent to the president. After the president approved the bill within 14 days, a law will be enacted to form the new ministry,” said Khun Myat.
“There will be many good things if ethnic literature and cultural development are shared. Although the Constitution includes rights of ethnic people, there is no law for that. We feel suspicious with each other since we cannot implement trust in reality.”
