Myanmar military ignores ceasefire, continues attack against Kachin
January 22, 2013: Myanmar forces continue their offensive against rebels in Kachin
state on the border with China even though Myanmar President Thein Sein last Thursday
called on the military to stop their attacks in La Ja Yang, near the Chinese border.
On that occasion, the Myanmar leader said that Laiza had not been conquered, but some
reports indicate that fighting is taking place. Local sources in fact told AsiaNews
that Myanmar forces are pushing on with heavy shelling and many civilian casualties.
The Myanmar Armed Forces are trying to take strategic positions around Laiza,
the stronghold and headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), as a prelude
to a final assault. Last week, Human Rights Watch accused them of indiscriminately
shelling Laiza resulting in many casualties among the civilian population.
Although
President Thein Sein has called for fresh peace talks, negotiations have so far not
been successful. Kachin leaders rejected his offer, saying talks need evidence of
goodwill, like a stop to the shelling. Anonymous sources told News sources that Myanmese
forces have been involved in heavy fighting in Lagat Bum and Hka Ya, locations crucial
for the defence of Laiza, which is under heavy shelling.
Fighting is also reported
in Shwe Gu, near the Irrawaddy River, where some 2,000 civilians are surrounded by
Myanmese troops. In Yangon, young people have organised a peace march, joined by Buddhist
monks. Marchers plan to walk to Laiza to bring the fighting to a stop. The Kachin
Independence Organisation (KIO), the political wing of the KIA, is the only rebel
group that has rejected a peace offer made by President Thei Sein and his "pro-reform"
government.
Violence flared up again in June 2011 after a hiatus of 17 years
when Kachin leaders refused to give up a strategic position near a hydroelectric plant
built under a joint China-Myanmar agreement. For experts, the Kachin issue is the
key long-term problem for Myanmar's central government, especially if it wants to
continue its democratisation