Burma army kills KIA officer, more talks soon

KIA TROOPS WHO HAVE FOUGHT AGAINST THE CENTRAL BURMESE GOVERNMENT TOR SELF-DETERMINATION SINCE 1961.

LAIZA, Burma— Burmese government troops shot and killed a Kachin Independence Army officer on Wednesday morning, in eastern Kachin state's Waingmaw township.


A soldier from the victim's Mobile Battalion said that Lt. Maran Brang Nan was killed by troops during an ambush near Sama village.  According to the solider, the attack on the lieutenant was carried out by troops currently stationed at a base near the village. These troops are thought to have been from Infantry Battalion No. 47.

Lt. Brang Nan was targeted by government forces despite the fact that representatives of the Burmese government and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the political wing of KIA recently agreed they would take steps to avoid armed clashes in Kachin state.  A development that occurred during talks held in China on January 18 and 19.

The Burmese army however has continued to attack KIA positions in Northern Shan state, in an area currently controlled by the KIA's Battalion 8.  KIA officials say the Burmese army is sending more troops to conquer land that will be used for the Shwe gas project's twin oil and gas pipelines.  Originally the route of the Burma to China pipelines was set to avoid most of the KIO's land, but in 2010 the path of the pipeline was altered to cut through a significant amount of KIO territory.

More talks to be held soon
Officials based at the KIO's Laiza headquarters told the Kachin News Group that another round of talks between the KIO and government officials will happen soon. The talks will likely happen after February 5, an important date for the KIO which marks the beginning of the Kachin uprising five decades ago.

During previous talks in China, the KIO proposed to the Burmese government that the discussion focus on bringing about a political dialogue that would solve Burma's ongoing conflict.  It is unclear however if this is acceptable to Burma's government.

This week's edition of the weekly Myanmar Times quoted a member of the government's negotiating team who suggested the KIO's demands would have to be moderated before an agreement could be reached.

"It will be hard to reach an agreement if we follow their wording exactly. For example … words like ‘self-determination’," said Hkyet Hting Nan (also Khet Htein Nan), an Upper House MP and chairman of the Unity and Democracy Party of Kachin State (UDPKS).