Aid and Development Plans Undermined by Sustained Military Offensive

In the week that the Nay Pyi Taw Accord for Effective Development Cooperation was signed between the Burma government and international donors and NGOs outlining the big picture plans for aid and development, the full-blown offensive in Kachin State has reached a crisis point.

The document, as expected, is teeming with the current language and concepts of the development industry. Participatory approaches when engaging with civil society, increasing the transparency and effectiveness of government initiatives, pro-poor strategies, and accountability are all mentioned. Statements and announcements made by the government usually sound a lot better than how they are actually implemented. The promised joint review board for political prisoners has not yet materialised, various commissions set up to investigate acts of violence in Arakan State, the crackdown on peaceful protesters at Letpadaung copper mine, and nationwide land confiscations have not produced any tangible, progressive results. A few days after the signing of the accord, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank announced new loans to the Burma government, totalling around US$950 million. Annette Dixon, the World Bank’s Country Director for Burma praised the “unprecedented reforms to improve people’s lives, especially the poor and vulnerable.”

These discussions of progress, lofty ideals, and fashionable development concepts between the central government and international agencies in the expansive new capital of Naypyidaw are in stark contrast with the plight of Kachin people in the far north of the country. The Burma Army is continuing its advance toward the town of Laiza, the last outpost of Kachin Independence Army (KIA) controlled territory, as more and more civilians suffer from the ongoing assault in their homeland. It was reported that on Saturday a strategic mountain post was taken after a sustained, heavy Burma Army assault, and many fear that it is only a matter of time before Laiza is taken. Already, around half of its population has fled […]

Statement to the Chinese Consulate, Chiang Mai

Since the resumption of conflict between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Burmese government army in June 2011, it has been the government which has been one-sidedly launching offensives for the past 19 months. This has caused over 100,000 Kachin people, including women and children, to flee their homes and seek safe shelter elsewhere […]

Statement to the US Consulate, Chiang Mai

Since the resumption of conflict between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Burmese government army in June 2011, it has been the government which has been one-sidedly launching offensives for the past 19 months. This has caused over 100,000 Kachin people, including women and children, to flee their homes and seek safe shelter elsewhere […]

Join Kachin Community in Thailand’s Peaceful Rally in Chiang Mai

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Kachin Community in Thailand invites you to join the peace rally in Chinese Consulate-General in Chiangmai (Thailand) and Consulate General of the United States in Chiang mai in Thailand to raise awareness for armed conflict in Kachin State, Shan State, and other ethnic States in Burma (Myanmar).

• Date: Friday, January 25th, 2013
• Time: 9:00 AM-12:00 PM
• Theme: To Stop War Crimes and Crime against Ethnic Minorities in Burma

Protest locations

1. Chinese Consulate: 111 Changloh Road, Haiya District, Chiang Mai, Thailand 50100
2. U.S Consulate: 387 Wichaynond Road, Chiang Mai 50300, THAILAND[…]

Ongoing Conflict in Burma’s Kachin State

The United States is deeply concerned by ongoing violence in Burma’s Kachin State. Despite the Burmese government’s announcement that a ceasefire was to take effect on January 19, media and NGO reports indicate that the Burmese Army continues a military offensive in the vicinity of the Kachin Independence Army headquarters in Laiza […]

Chance for Change: Ending the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers in Myanmar

This report shows that despite nearly a decade of international engagement and the June 2012 signing of a Joint Action Plan to end the recruitment and use of children between the Myanmar government and the UN, children continue to be recruited and used as soldiers by the Tatmadaw Kyi […]

Urgent Call on ASEAN to Help Halt Intensifying Conflict in Kachin State in Burma

We are movements and organizations calling on the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to add its voice and heed mounting international calls for an immediate stop to the continuing attacks on the Kachin people in Burma.

The Asia Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC) and the signatories below urges all ASEAN governments to end its silence on the humanitarian challenges happening within its own backyard and compel the Burmese government to stand down and stop the violence it is perpetrating in Kachin state […]

Statement of Kachin Independence Organization

It has been noted that the Myanmar Government’s Media Department issued a statement on 18th January 2013. In this statement they announced that Government troops would cease their offensive around the Laja Yang area at 6:00am, 19th January 2013 […]

Burma: Halt Indiscriminate Attacks in Kachin State

The Burmese army appears to have indiscriminately shelled the town of Laiza in northern Burma’s Kachin State in violation of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch urged the government to allow humanitarian agencies access to tens of thousands of ethnic Kachin displaced […]

Freedom in the World 2013: Burma

In April 2012, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) swept parliamentary by-elections, having boycotted the main elections in 2010. The NLD’s inclusion in the political process was accompanied by the continued liberalization of the media, internet, and economy, and by the sporadic release of political prisoners. Burma’s relations with foreign democracies also improved during the year, with several significant visits by international leaders. Despite this progress, ethnic and sectarian violence flared in parts of the country, and armed conflicts between the government and some of the country’s ethnic minority militias remained unresolved […]