Burma: government presses Kachin rebels

(Vatican Radio) The Burmese army has launched a fresh attack on rebel Kachin forces in the north of the country, breaking a short-lived government ceasefire. Burmese troops attacked a Kachin base just a few kilometres from Laiza, the capital of Kachin state, near the Chinese border. The latest fighting flared after the Kachin rebels refused to stop attacking Burmese army convoys delivering supplies to a base near Laiza. Writing for the Members and Observers of the European Burma Network, the Director of Burma Campaign UK, Mark Farmaner says that a previous, nearly two-decade ceasefire in the historically troubled region that ended in 2011 created a fragile peace in Kachin State. “However,” he continues, “it did not resolve the root problems, namely the lack of democracy and equality for the Kachin people, [nor did it] lead to a meaningful political dialogue.” The northernmost state in Burma, Kachin is bordered by China to the north and east. It is home to three major ethnic groups: the Kachin, who comprise roughly half the state's population and live primarily in the sparsely populated and mountainous northern and eastern parts of the state; the Maw Shan and the Bamar form a substantial minority. The region was not historically a part of Burmese territory, but was brought into the country following British occupation and independence. Listen: