UN rights envoy Quintana finally reaches Laiza

UN rights envoy Quintana finally reached Laiza on Sunday, Feb. 16.

Six months after being denied access to the Kachin Independence Organization's (KIO) de facto capital by Burmese government authorities, UN rights envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana finally arrived in Laiza this past weekend. Quintana who is taking part in his final fact finding visit to Burma before his term as UN envoy expires later this year, met with internally displaced people and senior officials from the KIO.

On Monday morning the UN information center in Rangoon posted a photo on its website of Quintana meeting with KIO Chairman Lanyaw Zawng Hra and another photo of him playing soccer with Kachin IDP children.

According to residents of Laiza, Quintana was warmly welcomed in KIO territory a sharp contrast with his visit last week to the Arakan state capital Sittwe where large numbers of Rakhine activists turned out to protest to him.

Prior to his arrival in Laiza whilst in the Kachin state capital Myitkyina, Quintana met with Kachin state chief minister Lajawn Ngan Seng (also spelled La John Ngan Sai) and other local officials. Quintna is expected in the very near future to submit a full report about his final trip as Burma envoy to the UN general assembly.