An online poll conducted by the Thailand-based website, the Kachin News Group’s English version: www.kachinnews.com clearly reveals that people in the State are against the ethnic Kachin Army in northern Burma converting to the contentious Border Guard Force.
The poll titled “Should Kachin Independence Army (KIA) transform as a border security force?” raised three questions. Votes were cast by 1156 website visitors between May 4, 2009 and April 20, 2010.
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Of the total voters, 90.6 per cent were against transforming KIA to the BGF --- 787 voters- 68.1 percent voted “No (rejecting BGF)”; 260 voters- 22.5 per cent voted “Never (strongly rejecting BGF)”, and only 109 voters- 9.4 percent said “Yes (accepting BGF)” according to the poll graph.
The poll was set on May 4, last year when the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the political-wing of the KIA was officially informed by the country’s ruling junta to transform the KIA to the Burmese Army controlled BGF.
The KNG’s web trafficking result revealed Thailand was first as the country, which read the site the most, United States was second, China third and Burma was ninth among 10 countries, which read the KNG English version site the most.
Before the 2007 Saffron Revolution in military-ruled Burma the KNG website was totally blocked by the junta in the last leg of the same year and Burma was the fourth country to read the KNG website the most.
Snr-Gen Than Shwe’s military regime has warned the KIO/KIA that its relations with the junta will have a retrograde effect and go back to the 1994 period - the pre-ceasefire situation - if the KIO/KIA does not respond clearly and accept the proposed BGF, KIO officials said.
Kachin people in Shan State and Kachin State are not in favour of transforming KIA to the BGF because the KIO and KIA were established to usher in complete political rights for Kachin people, according to leaders of Kachin communities in the two states.
Now, the KIO/KIA is preparing to defend itself against the Burmese Army but it will not start a war with the ruling junta, the rebel group officials reiterated.
If you want to check latest poll result, please log on to http://kachinnews.com/Poll-results/Should-Kachin-Independence-Army-KIA-t...
