Aung San Suu Kyi urges Kachin refugee women to endure, avoids criticizing army

ON FEB. 24, 2012, BURMA'S PRO-DEMOCRACY LEADER AUNG SAN SUU KYI TOOK A PARLIAMENTARY BY-ELECTION CAMPAIGN IN MYITKYINA, THE CAPITAL OF KACHIN STATE, NORTHERN BURMA.

Kachin women refugees sheltering in camps in the besieged town of Laiza have received a message of support from National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi. According to Voice of America (VOA), a group of Burmese journalists visiting Laiza's camps on Tuesday hand delivered Aung San Suu Kyi's statement which was addressed to Kachin women refugees.

In her statement the opposition leader reminded the women refugees that the international community has not forgotten about their plight, she also called on them not to “fall victim to depression and lose hope.” The statement comes just over a week after three civilians were killed following government shelling on Laiza, the Kachin Independence Organization's (KIO) de facto capital. Conditions in the camps where some 20,000 civilians have taken shelter continue to deteriorate with food and medicine running in short supply.

In her statement Aung San Suu Kyi pledged that she “will work closely with women in Kachin State towards peace as much as I can.” This somewhat contradicts public comments she made late last year in which she claimed she should would only intervene in the Kachin peace process if asked to do so by Burma's government. The claim that she was waiting for the government before she would act was met with a barrage of criticism of from Kachin civil society groups and activists.

The recent statement appears to be Aung San Suu Kyi's attempt to make amends for her previous stance on the conflict by addressing Kachin women directly. “The responsibility of mothers is to teach their children to love and value peace. This is practical and long-term work,” the Nobel laureate's statement said. “Meanwhile, please try to endure this situation as well as you can and try to overcome the problem of disunity,” she added.

While the statement has been welcomed by some Kachin, many others will likely be disappointed that Burma's famed opposition leader stopped short of openly criticizing the conduct of Burma's armed forces and failed to make any reference to the plight of numerous Kachin women alleged to have been abducted by Burma army soldiers. One such case, that of Sumlut Roi Ja a 26-year-old woman last seen being dragged away at gun point by Burma army soldiers near Mai Ja Yang in October 2011, has become well known throughout the Kachin community.


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