Security issue deters Kachin refugee resettlements: KIO
Restoring local security is a major challenge before Kachin war refugees can be resettled, said Zaw Taung, the leader of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) conflict resolution team.
More than 100,000 residents of Kachin State remain in refugee camps since fighting between the government army and Kachin Independence Army (KIA) resumed in Kachin State in 2011 after the collapse of the 17-year ceasefire.
Colonel Zaw Taung said last week the resettlement of refugees could not be implemented despite negotiations between the government and KIO.
“In KIO-controlled areas, there are 70,000 to 80,000 internally displaced people (IDPs). Security is a major prerequisite to their return, as fighting is still ongoing. The reason they could not return home is that there is no guarantee of security, and troops are still deployed in some villages,” said Col Zaw Taung.
The conflict resolution teams from the Kachin State government and KIO hold meetings on a monthly basis and in the event of emergency.
Zaw Taung said their teams usually met to discuss military affairs, and the affairs of war refugees are discussed between the government’s Union Peacemaking Working Committee (UPWC) and the KIO.
“When UPWC and KIO last met in October 2013, they negotiated resettlement in about four villages. But the plan has not materialised,” he said.
There have been over 1,500 skirmishes between the Myanmar Army and KIA troops since the fighting resumed in 2011, causing many casualties on both sides as well as civilian deaths.
