News & Articles on Burma

Saturday, 03 September, 2011
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Burma government puts up posters to disparage KIA leader
Created on Saturday, 03 September 2011 07:01/ Published on Saturday, 03

The military-controlled Burma government put up posters aimed to disparage a Kachin Independence Army (KIA) leader this morning in Manmaw (Bhamo) town, in Kachin State, local eyewitnesses said.

The hand-written poster said, “Brig-Gen Gun Maw has been assassinated”, said residents of Manmaw.

However, KIA officials said that is a false statement. Brig-Gen Gun Maw, the Vice Chief of Staff of the KIA, is alive at the Laiza Headquarters, in eastern Kachin State.

A KIA official in Laiza told the Kachin News Group, “The government’s posters aimed to disparage the KIA, which was not surprising.”

Hand-written posters with 9 facts denouncing the KIA were put up around Manmaw, the second largest town in Kachin State, on August 20. Those posters alleged the KIA was responsible for destroying the peace in Kachin State.

All posters were put up in the name of “a resident of Manmaw district”.

The previous 17-year ceasefire ended in Kachin State when the Burma Army started an offensive against the KIA at Sang Gang, in N’Mawk Township, in eastern Manmaw district, on June 9. http://kachinnews.com/news/2042-burma-government-puts-up-posters-to-disparage-kia-leader.html
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Kachin IDPs reach over 40,000 due to civil war in Northern Burma

The number of Kachin Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) has reached over 40,000 due to renewed civil war in Kachin State, northern Burma since June, between the Burmese government and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which demands self-determination, according to IDP assistance organizations.

Most IDPs are being sheltered in temporary camps in the territories of the KIA near the China border and the rest have fled to major towns in government-controlled areas in Kachin State.

14,470 IDPs have arrived in Bhamo, the second largest town in Kachin State, as of August 10 according to the figures reported by Cathnews India in an interview with Bishop Raymond Sumlut, of Bhamo Township.

In Bhamo, most IDPs are received by Kachin churches, said local church sources.

According to figures provided by IDPs assistance groups up to August 22, 5,276 IDPs have been sheltered in churches in the two main towns in the government-controlled areas of Waingmaw and Myitkyina.

Moreover, there are hundreds of IDPs in Mogaung township, Mohnyin township, Hopin township and Sumprabum township but an exact number is not available, according to KIA officials in the Laiza headquarters.

The Relief Action Network for IDPs and Refugees (RANIR), based in Laiza, said 21,201 IDPs are in shelters in its territories, near the China border.

Currently, Kachin IDPs are helped by churches and local non-governmental organizations like the Metta Development Foundation and the Shalom Foundation. No United Nations’ refugee agency or INGO is supporting Kachin IDPs. http://www.kachinnews.com/news/2040-kachin-idps-reach-over-40000-due-to-civil-war-in-northern-burma.html
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Buddhist Karen army no more, Myanmar media says
Sep 3, 2011, 4:02 GMT

Yangon - An offshoot of the six-decades old Karen insurgency has been dissolved and turned into a border guard force under government control, Myanmar's state-run media claimed Saturday.

The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) was dissolved on August 18 and transformed into a border guard force with 12 battalions under the command of the military, The New Light of Myanmar reported, citing the Karen State Democracy and Development Party.

'There is no DKBA any more,' said the party, which was set up to contest the November 7 general election.

Under the 2008 constitution, all ethnic minority groups were required to dissolve their armies and become border guard forces prior to last year's polls to join the political process.

At least six rebel groups, including elements of the DKBA, refused to do so.

One DKBA battalion led by Commander Saw Lerbwe attacked Myawaddy town, across the border from the Thai town of Mae Sot, on the day of the election and seized it for two days before retreating.

According to sources on the border, Saw Lerbwe's battalion continues to fight the Myanmar military.

'The majority of the DKBA have become border guard forces but Saw Lerbwe's battalion is still active,' Karen National Union (KNU) spokesman David Thakabaw said by phone.

'And many of the border force troops are defecting to his battalion,' he said.

The KNU has been fighting for the autonomy of the Karen State in eastern Myanmar since 1948. The DKBA broke away from the predominantly Christian Karen National Army in the late 1980s.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1660696.php/Buddhist-Karen-army-no-more-Myanmar-media-says
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Amnesty urges Europe to back Myanmar crimes inquiry
Published on Sep 3, 2011

BANGKOK (AFP) - Europe's 'wait and see' approach to army-dominated Myanmar is 'irresponsible', Amnesty International has said, urging the European Union (EU) to back an inquiry into crimes against humanity in the country.

The Myanmar government 'has continued to violate human rights on a massive scale', four years after the brutal suppression of a monk-led protest, known as the Saffron Revolution, said Amnesty's Myanmar researcher Benjamin Zawacki.

He said reports from ethnic minority areas suggest 50,000 people may be internally displaced by conflict, while abuses have continued under a new regime, which came to power after controversial November elections.

In an article on Friday for the online exile news magazine Irrawaddy, Amnesty urged the EU and its member states to lend their support to the establishment of a UN commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity. http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_709073.html
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Regime adopts alternative approach to Wa, Mongla
Thursday, 01 September 2011 11:29 S.H.A.N.

Naypyitaw recently sent two letters to specified areas under the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) inviting them for peace talks, according to sources on the Sino-Burma border.

The letters were reportedly forwarded to Mongla and Panghsang on 29 August and 30 August respectively. “The letter that reached Hsaleu told officials there to contact Mongyang authorities for peace talks and for any problems they would like to address,” said a high official in Mongla, the NDAA’s main base opposite China’s Daluo. “I believe the letter to (the Wa’s) Mongpawk is essentially saying the same thing.”

The local source in Panghsang, confirming the arrival of the letter, however was unable to describe the content. “My friend (in the Wa leadership) just told me the letter was a big disappointment,” he recounted. “And that it would only serve to widen the gap between the two sides.”

Both sources say it is highly unlikely Panghsang and Mongla would be giving up Mongpawk and Hsaleu, not only because the two areas have been under their control for so long, but also because giving them up would mean geographical separation between the two allies which would only make it easier for Naypyitaw to destroy them one after the other.

Radio Free Asia reported earlier that Khun Tun Lu, Naypyitaw-appointed Chairman of the newly formed Wa Self Administered Division’s Leading Body, based in Hopang, had contacted the UWSA by phone on 20 August. (Hopang, Pangwai, Mongmai aka Mongmau, Napharn, Panghsang and Markmang aka Metman have been collectively designated as Wa Self Administered Division by the regime’s 2008 constitution. Only Hopang and Markmang are under the Burma Army control.)

“He told Wa authorities that he had been appointed as head of the Wa region,” the source close to the leadership told SHAN. “But he would like to visit them just as a friend and as a brother.”

According to RFA, Panghsang had not bothered to reply because there was no official letter to back up Khun Tun Lu’s request.

As to the latest letters that have reached their hands, there would be no replies either, according to the Mongla official. “The regime is trying to divide us,” he said. “But we know our people in Hsaleu will do nothing until we ask them to.”

Since the November elections, the semi-civilain government in Naypyitaw has opened three new fronts in Kachin, Shan and Karen states against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), State State Army (SSA) “North” and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), all groups that had concluded ceasefire pacts with the Burma Army. Earlier, it was fighting mostly against the Karen National Union, Karenni National Progressive Party and the Shan State Army (SSA) “South”. http://shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3998:regime-adopts-alternative-approach-to-wa-mongla&catid=85:politics&Itemid=266