Burma army using Swedish made weapons in Kachin conflict

KIO TROOPS HOLD SWEDISH MADE M-3 CARL GUSTAV LAUNCHER THAT WAS SEIZED IN AUGUST OF THIS YEAR AFTER GOVERNMENT TROOPS LEFT IT BEHIND.

Burma's armed forces have been using Swedish made M-3 Carl Gustav anti-tank weapons against the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) as part of the army's ongoing offensive in northern Burma, according to veteran journalist and Burma expert Bertil Lintner.

Writing in the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper on Tuesday, Lintner revealed that the KIO recently acquired an M-3 launcher and assorted shells following clashes with government forces. Lintner learned of the weapon's seizures during a recent reporting trip to KIO territory in Kachin state. Photos of the shells including their serial number have been posted on the website of the Svenska Dagbladet here http://www.svd.se/nyheter/utrikes/ett-glomt-krig-med-svenska-vapen_7747426.svd

The M-3 Carl Gustav weapon and shells which remain in the possession of the KIO were produced by Saab Bofors Dynamics, part of the Saab group, a firm that is one of Europe's largest weapons exporters. The use of the firing device and the shells by Burma's military is in violation of the European Union arms ban on Burma and Sweden's own arms exports regulations.

Despite restrictions that are supposed to prevent European made weapon's from getting into the hands of Burma's generals and other blacklisted armed forces, peace advocates have long complained that both Sweden and the EU do very little to ensure that Swedish and other European weapon's exports are not re-exported by the approved government's who receive the weapons. Although it remains unclear how the M-3 Carl Gustav weapons were acquired by Burma's military it is likely they were sent by a third party and not directly from Europe.

According to the Independent of London, the Swedish Agency for Non-Proliferation and Export Controls (ISP) has launched an investigation into the matter. Reached for comment Saab Bofors Dynamics spokesperson Sebastian Carlsson told the Independent that his firm would cooperate with the investigation. He acknowledged that Saab Bofors Dynamics exports M-3 Carl Gustav weapons to 20 countries but refused to say any of the places where the weapons have been sent. A sign of what critics have long described as Saab Bofors Dynamics non-transparent business practices.

Fighting between the KIO and Burma's military has taken place on a near daily basis since June 2011 following the collapse of a 17 year ceasefire between Burma's second strongest armed ethnic group and the central government. According to the latest estimates provided by UN agencies working in Burma at least 75,000 people have been displaced by the fighting in Kachin and parts of western Shan state since the conflict began. According to the UN's estimates nearly 40,000 civilians are taking shelter in territory controlled by the KIO. Aid workers operating on the ground in Kachin state say the true number of refugees living in KIO territory is in fact considerably higher.