Myitkyina residents defy authorities to mourn 23 Laiza cadets

Despite pressure from local authorities, a large crowd of several thousand mourners gathered in the Kachin state capital of Myitkyina over the weekend to honor the 23 trainees who were killed when their training ground near Laiza was hit by Burma army shell.

Burmese government authorities including officials from the local police department and municipal officials repeatedly ordered that a Kachin Independence Army (KIA) flag flown at half-mast at the ceremony, held in the Myitkyina Manau park, be removed. The assembled mourners taking part in the ceremony defied this demand.

Gum Ja Naw, a member of the central committee of the local Kachin culture and tradition group told the Kachin News Group that those attending took part in hope of peace.

“We pray for the souls of the fallen and their families in accordance with Christian tradition, with respect and grief,” he said. “This sadness comes at a crucial time,” added Gum Ja Naw referring to the ongoing peace process and the continuing conflict in Kachin state.

To express their sorrow many of the participants attending the ceremony in Myitkyina wore black color armbands and Kachin traditional clothing at the service which took place on Saturday and Sunday. On the second day more than one thousand Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Waingmaw based IDPs camps attended the event.

All of those killed in last week's shelling attack near the KIO's Laiza headquarters were from the Kachin armed group's allies and not in fact the KIO as had been initially reported. A number of KIO personnel including trainers were however seriously injured in the blast.

Eleven of the victims were from the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), a close ally of the KIO which operates in northern Shan state. Eight more cadets from the Arakan Army (AA) also died in the attack. The All Burma Student Democratic Front (ABSDF) lost two cadets as did the Chin National Front (CNF).

According to a statement issued by the Free Burma Rangers the names of those killed are as follows:

1.     Mai Sat Chya Dang
2.     Mai Naga Ngye
3.     Mai Hkre Plang
4.     Mai Aik Chya
5.     Mai Sangai Jo
6.     Mai Plaw San
7.     Mai Sangai Htun
8.     Mai Kung Kamai
9.     Mai Aik Myit
10.   Naw Yawt Hkre
11.   Mai Om Hu (Died during hospital treatment)
12.   John Byak Din Lin
13.   Ram Ngawk (Died during hospital treatment)