Kachin civil society organizations (CSOs) issued a statement on July 16 to denounce the Tatmadaw Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s speech for claiming that the Kachin revolution was based on religion.
Seventeen Kachin CSOs stated that the Kachin Independence Organization/Kachin Independence Army was established to protect the right of the Kachin people due to political need and they understand that the KIO/KIA was established in 1960 with the aim to obtain equal rights for the Kachin people due to the government’s failure to carry out in accordance with the 1947 Panglong Agreement.
“The Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s remarks are wrong when we evaluate the actual situation and the events throughout the history so we can’t accept it. We denounce it,” said Daw San Htoi from the Kachin CSO in Myitkyina.
She continued that the ceasefire in 1994 was unable to bring benefits to the public and the public only suffered more. Although the KIO/KIA leaders submitted this issue to the government, the Tatmadaw gave a military response instead of finding a political solution so fighting is still raging up to today and the public is suffering from its consequences.
She added that the world knows that the Tatmadaw has been fighting with all ethnic groups since it seized power in 1962.
The statement pointed out that the Tatmadaw has been constantly expanding its military power and carrying out military operations in the Kachin and Shan states even though the peace process is being implemented since 2012.
