ENAC Briefing No. 19 on the threats of military offensives on the peace process in Burma
The
Burma Army, also known as Tatmadaw, has escalated its military offensives
against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) with air strikes, artillery, and
ground forces. Residents in Kachin State and Yangon as well as the Kachin
diaspora in Thailand and the United States have staged protests, calling on the
Tatmadaw to end its offensives immediately. On 30 September, the United States
Embassy in Yangon also expressed its deep concern and urged “relevant
authorities to adhere strictly to their responsibility to protect civilians.”
This statement came one day before the Tatmadaw’s shelling killed a
two-year-old Kachin girl and seriously injured two other children in Puwang
village, northern Shan State. On 7 October, the local European Union office in
Burma issued a statement, cautioning that the continued fighting “undermines
the trust that is essential for advancing Myanmar peace process,” and called
for “an immediate cessation of hostilities and a return to constructive
dialogue.”
In a
statement on 8 October, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the
political wing of the KIA, and a non-signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire
Agreement (NCA), stated that the Tatmadaw “must be held responsible and be
fully accountable for all the adverse consequences of its offensive war,”
accusing it of “undermining and interrupting the genuine peace process” and
warning that the Tatmadaw’s excessive use of force will intensify the civil war
in Burma as the Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) are trying to seek political
solutions by political means. On the same day, the United Nationalities Federal
Council (UNFC) also condemned the offensives and called on the Burma Army to
stop using force and resolve political problems through negotiation. The UNFC,
of which the KIO is a member, is an alliance of EAOs that have not signed the
NCA.
In
its 9-point proposal to the government, the UNFC affirmed its commitment to
signing the NCA once a prior agreement is reached with the government on the
strengthening of the code of conduct and monitoring mechanism within the NCA
and the Framework for Political Dialogue is reviewed to reflect more
inclusiveness and better representation.
Despite
all these public calls for ceasing the fighting, the Burma Army shows no sign
of deescalating hostilities in Kachin State. More air strikes against the KIA’s
Gideon Post and Lai Hpawng Post were reported near Laiza, the KIO Headquarters.
The State Counselor and the government of Burma have been silent on the
matters.
In
addition to its ongoing offensives against the KIA in Kachin and northern Shan
States, the Tatmadaw has also clashed with the NCA signatory Restoration
Council of Shan State (RCSS), and launched attacks against the Democratic Karen
Buddhist Army in and around the control areas of Karen National Union, another
NCA signatory. These activities by the Tatmadaw not only undermine the efforts
of various parties toward sustainable peace in Burma but also pose grave
dangers to the fragile peace process and could easily collapse the process. For
the sake of peace, reconciliation and democracy in Burma, the Tatmadaw must
halt all of its offensives, avoid clashes and start building trust for a
political dialogue to take place.
Ethnic Nationalities
Affairs Center | www.burmaenac.org
Tags: Mailbox
