The Kachin ceasefire group, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) has come forward to support victims of Cyclone Nargis in Burma and those affected by the earthquake in Sichuan province in China. It made a substantial donation last week, a source said.

KIO officials have collected over Chinese Yuan 300,000 (US $ 26,087) and five million Kyats (est. US $ 4,444) from KIO's controlled areas mainly in Mai Ja Yang and Laiza on the Sino-Burma border. The KIO shared the money with both Burmese military junta authorities and Chinese officials on May 26.

Another Kachin ceasefire group, the New Democratic Army Kachin (NDA-K) has also directly donated 60 million Kyats (est. US $ 53,333) to the Burmese military junta to help victims of Cyclone Nargis in Irrawaddy River Delta in southern Burma, said an official of the NDAK.

Cyclone Nargis left 78,000 dead while China's Sichuan earthquake killed more than 69,000 people, according to official figures of the two governments'.