Police authorities in the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina questioned Reverend Samson, general secretary of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), following a church-led demonstration marking the third anniversary of the Kachin war on June 9th, according to church officials.
Rev. Lama Yaw, the head of KBC's media department, told the Kachin News Group (KNG) that Rev. Samson was questioned on the day of the anniversary at a government office in Myitkyina’s Shwezet Quarter, the neighborhood where Rev. Samson lives.
After questioning Rev. Samson and taking his personal details, police officers then went to a government office in Myitkyina’s Shanzu South Quarter, an area where the KBC has an office. While at the KBC office police officers made further inquiries about Rev. Samson, according to Rev. Lama Yaw.
The police didn’t go to Rev. Samson's house or KBC headquarters, but nevertheless many Kachin people were upset with the police officers’ actions, which local government officials said were carried out under orders from Naypyidaw.
The protest marking the third anniversary of the conflict was quite large and involved several hundred marchers, according to participants. The protest was led by Rev. Dr. Samson and KBC president Rev. Gyung Hkawng. Protesters walked and road vehicles along Myitkyina’s Sumprabum Road from a KBC office to a prayer venue at Kachin Theological College in Nawng Nang Village, where the march concluded with a prayer for peace.
On the day of the protest, KBC issued a statement calling for an end to the Kachin conflict and the creation of a genuine federal system of government in Burma.