General N'Ban La, the chairman of the Kachin Independence Organisation/Kachin Independence Army (KIO/KIA) said that the junta should use its power to increase Myanmar’s development and prosperity.
The comments were made in a speech to celebrate the 64th Kachin Revolution Day on 5 February 2025.
He said that all resistance forces should strive to end the military dictatorship and to achieve that aim they should collaborate and support each other whenever necessary.
He also said that the different resistance forces should exercise restraint to prevent confrontations between each other. He was more than likely referring to the recent territorial disputes between the KIA and other ethnic armed groups in northern Shan State close to the border with Kachin State.
He explained that territorial disputes between defence forces and ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) could ignite ethnic clashes between neighbouring communities and that it was crucial for such groups to treat each other with mutual respect and understanding.
Kachin Revolution Day honours seven Kachin university students that formed the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) in 1960 and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) the following year.
