Kachin in Canada call for an end to Burma army offensive against KIO

HAIR OF THE CANADIAN BURMA PARLIMENTARY CAUCUS JIM KARYGIANNIS EMBRACES KACHIN ELDER DR. MARAN LA RAW AT A MEETING IN TORONTO JANUARY 7, 2012.

A group of concerned Kachin met in Canada earlier this month to call for an end to the Burmese army's offensive against Kachin Independence Organization.  They called on Canada's government to to do more for the estimated 60,000 civilians displaced by the conflict.  They also asked for Canada to put pressure on the Burmese government to stop the army from committing human rights abuses including the rape and torture of civilians.
 
The event called “Appreciation for the Support & Raising Awareness for Human rights Violations in Kachin State, Burma” was held on January 7 and organized by Hkaung Naw and other members of the the Kachin Community in Toronto, Canada's largest city.

Participants included , retired University of Illinois professor Dr. Maran La Raw, who is a Kachin cultural scholar, Jim Karygiannis a Liberal Member of Parliament from the Toronto area who is chairman of the Parliamentary Burma caucus, Canadian human rights lawyer Paul Copeland and Victor Biak Liang, a Chin activist and member of the Ethnic Nationalities Council.

While the Burma policy of Canada's current government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper echoes that of the US and the UK with economic sanctions and a regime visa ban, the Canadian government appears to be behind its allies in commenting on the Kachin situation.

Britain's Foreign Minister William Hague and US secretary of State Hillary Clinton have both spoken out about the growing humanitarian crisis facing Kachin refugees on the China Burma border, neither Canada's foreign Minister or other representatives of the Canadian government appear to have a made reference to the Kachin conflict since it began in June 2011.