A statement issued following last week's meeting of 17 Kachin civil society groups called for civil society to be included in the ongoing Kachin peace process. The joint statement noted that the participation of civil society was vital in order to have “genuine political change.” The meeting took place in a town controlled by the Kachin Independence Organizations (KIO) called Mai Ja Yang, located on the Chinese border.
So far there has been very little participation from civil society groups in either the Kachin peace talks or the national ceasefire talks, something the Kachin civil society groups want changed: “We Kachin civil society organizations want to get justice for our communities,” said the statement, which was released on May 23.
The Kachin civil society groups also expressed concern about the deteriorating humanitarian condition of refugees in northern Burma, where more than 120,000 people have been displaced since the Kachin conflict erupted in June 2011.
“We are very concerned about the recent military build-up and escalation of fighting by Burmese government troops, and attacks and abuses against civilians, which have displaced a further 4,000 IDPs in southern Kachin State and northern Shan State since early April,” the statement explained. In this regard, the civil society groups called on the Burmese army to “withdraw their troops from all Kachin conflict areas” and respect the rights of internal displaced people (IDP).
Finally, the joint statement called for a freeze on foreign investment “in Kachin areas while peace negotiations are ongoing,” a reference to the large Myitsone dam project, which is just the first in a series of dams set to be built on the upper Irrawaddy River in Kachin state by China's state-owned CPI company. The Myitsone dam project was suspended in September 2011 by Presidential decree but has yet to be cancelled completely.
The following Kachin civil society groups signed the joint statement:
The All Kachin Students and Youth Union (AKSYU); BRIDGE; Community Health and Development; the Htoi Gender and Development Foundation; JLH Ram Care (Youth Rescue); the Jan Lata Ni Foundation; the Kachin Women Association (KWA); the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC); the Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG); the Kachin Legal Aid Network Group; the Kachin Urban Rural Mission (KURM); the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT); Kachin Women’s Union (KWU); Myitkyina Students’ Union; Mungchying Rawt Jat (MRJ); Wunpawng Ninghtoi (WPN); and Youth and Drug.
