Burma government puts up posters to disparage KIA leader

The military-controlled Burma government put up posters aimed to disparage a Kachin Independence Army (KIA) leader this morning in Manmaw (Bhamo) town, in Kachin State, local eyewitnesses said.

The hand-written poster said, “Brig-Gen Gun Maw has been assassinated”, said residents of Manmaw.

However, KIA officials said that is a false statement. Brig-Gen Gun Maw, the Vice Chief of Staff of the KIA, is alive at the Laiza Headquarters, in eastern Kachin State.

A KIA official in Laiza told the Kachin News Group, “The government’s posters aimed to disparage the KIA, which was not surprising.”

Hand-written posters with 9 facts denouncing the KIA were put up around Manmaw, the second largest town in Kachin State, on August 20. Those posters alleged the KIA was responsible for destroying the peace in Kachin State.

All posters were put up in the name of “a resident of Manmaw district”.

The previous 17-year ceasefire ended in Kachin State when the Burma Army started an offensive against the KIA at Sang Gang, in N’Mawk Township, in eastern Manmaw district, on June 9.