Beijing may be angry with Naypyitaw for pulling out of the Myitsone hydropower project on the Irrawaddy, but it doesn’t mean the opposition, especially the Kachin Independence Organization / Kachin Independence Army (KIO / KIA) will all of a sudden become its blue eyed boy, according to PaO leader Hkun Okker, who returned from the beleaguered Laiza headquarters on Sunday, 2 October.
“First, they don’t like the UNFC (United Nationalities Federal Council, the new coalition of armed ethnic groups formed in February) led by the Kachins,” he said. “They think it’s too pro-West.”
“They (the Chinese officials I met) also asked me why Zawng Hra (KIO president) wrote to UN chief Ban Ki-moon about the armed conflict on the Sino-Kachin border (on 16 September). ‘What could Ban do what the Chinese couldn’t do?’ they said.”
Hkun Okker
“They were apparently pissed off at the KIO for bypassing them.”
Several well-wishers have reportedly been urging the opposition, both armed and unarmed, to lobby the Chinese as well as the Russians, the two permanent UN Security Council (UNSC) members that have generally stood behind Naypyitaw on issues related to Burma.
On the other hand, the Chinese do not appear to be deliberately making it tough for the Kachins. A case in point is the thorny Kachin refugee issue that arose following the attack on the KIO / KIA in June. Tens of thousands of people fleeing from the conflict are finding it extremely difficult to seek sanctuary and relief assistance from China. “The Kachins should seek assistance from the UNHCR (UN High Commissioner on Refugees) instead, I was advised,” said Hkun Okker. “Of course, China will not be the one to broach the subject. But if it is requested by the UNHCR, it will not object.”
Hkun Okker said he had already conveyed the message to the Kachin leaders.
Hkun Okker, 65, is the leader of the PaO National Liberation Organization (PNLO). He is also a constitutional consultant to several groups, including the Shan State Constitution Drafting Commission (SSCDC) and the UNFC. He had been on a 3 week visit to Laiza to hold discussions and workshops on the 2008 constitution and federalism.
