Peace marchers who set off on the 1,300 km journey from Rangoon to the Kachin Independence Organization’s (KIO) capital of Laiza arrived in the besieged town on Wednesday. The activist group received a warm welcome befit for heroes from KIO leaders and some of the thousands of internally displaced civilians who have been largely cut off the rest of the country since a 17-year ceasefire unraveled on June 9, 2011.
Approximately 60 peace marchers, representing a broad spectrum of ethnic and religious backgrounds – including Buddhist monks and Christian leaders – , started the walk on Jan. 21 to call an end to the 21-month long conflict that has resulted in as many as 150,000 civilians being displaced, according to figures from Kachin rights groups.
The march to Laiza took place during the heaviest months of fighting between Kachin resistance forces and the Myanmar military. From late December to early January, government troops attacked KIA positions around Laiza with jet fighters, helicopters and artillery, resulting in several civilians’ deaths and bombs landing on Chinese soil on 2 separate occasions.
During the peach march, earlier in the week, activists were stopped by government troops in Lajayan. Lajayan is located about 14 km outside of Laiza, and one of the areas that were seized by the Myanmar military during the recent fighting. The military told them that they couldn’t go any further because the road ahead was too dangerous. The group camped at Nam Lae Bridge. After successfully negotiating with the army they were finally allowed to continue the last leg of their journey to Laiza.
Laiza, surrounded on three sides by government troops, is home to more than 25,000 displaced civilians.
