By Zin Linn

Burma’s namesake civilian government has been maneuvering war against the Kachin rebels incessantly, even though there are heavy casualties on its side. Starting from 9 June, the six-month long civil war claimed more than a thousand lives of government soldiers. The President Thein Sein government used to say that it has been trying to build a peaceful and developed country; in contrast the momentum of civil war is getting higher. So, the tongue of the government is not in harmony with the work of its armed forces.

What is the government’s goal launching the war against the Kachin rebels? Although, President Thein Sein has been speaking seriously about the national unity for several times, the wars against various ethnic groups carry on increasingly. If these wars go on in this way, the government’s promises of building good governance as well as poverty alleviation seem to be in vain.

Refugees International (RI), an independent humanitarian advocacy organization based in Washington, DC, recently completed an assessment of the impact of the Burma’s political reform on various ethnic communities. The RI team traveled to Kachin, Karen and Mon states to meet primarily with local civil-society organizations, as well as with UN and INGO officials.

The Refugees International’s Lynn Yoshikawa said that during a two-week study tour in Myitkyina (Kachin state), Pa-an (Karen state) and Maw-la-myaing (Mon state) it has come across evidence of widespread human rights abuses especially in Kachin State, where the government armed forces has been fighting the Kachin Independence Organization for the last six months.

The group’s report appeared Friday at a press panel of Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand in Bangkok, while international optimism on Burma’s promise to political reforms has been rising.

“Refugees International is really worried over the security of the internally displaced persons (IDPs), thousands of those are living in insufficient camps in KIO-controlled areas where the sanctuaries are sandwiched between the Tatmadaw (the government armed forces) and the KIO positions,” said Lynn Yoshikawa, Refugees International’s southeast Asia advocate.

“The conflict zones in Kachin State seriously need both urgent humanitarian assistance and long-standing aid,” she informed at a press conference in Bangkok, after a recent visit to Burma including Kachin state capital Myitkyina.

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