Kachin refugees displaced by the fighting in Kachin State. Photo:Jinghpaw KasaLower House MP Dwe Bu of the Unity and Democracy Party of Kachin State (UDPKS) said that she would discuss the armed conflict in Kachin State in Parliament. UDPKS is a Kachin Party that is reportedly backed by the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

Last week, MPs of the UDPKS went to Kachin churches where war refugees were sheltered to hear their views on the raging war in Kachin State.

Dwe Bu said most of the refugees wanted peace and she would voice their views in Parliament. “Without peace, it is difficult for any development to occur,” she said.

Dwe Bu noted that the recent cease-fire negotiations between the government and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) are largely focused on a temporary peace, but she wanted to put forward suggestions for establishing a permanent peace.

Lower House USDP MP Kyaw Soe Lay of Mohnyin Township said that USDP MPs also planned to introduce ideas for peacemaking in Kachin State.

There are 18 Lower House MPs and 12 Upper House MPs representing Kachin State.

Meanwhile, the largest Kachin armed group, the KIO, continues to hold out for a nationwide cease-fire in its ongoing peace negotiations with the government, which appear stalled.

So far, the government has held to its position that it only wants to talk peace with the Kachin at this time, and other negotiations with armed ethnic groups would have to take place separately.
 
Peacemaking efforts are met with skepticism by some. One Kachin resident, observing the various statements by government officials, said, “The officials of the Kachin State government do not have the authority to speak about the war. Nothing will happen, even though they put forward suggestions for peacemaking in Parliament.”