UN chief calls for end to Kachin conflict

KIO'S CHAIRMAN ZAWNG HRA (LEFT) AND BURMESE PRESIDENT THEIN SEIN

Speaking at a press briefing in New York last Thursday a spokesman for Secretary General Ban Ki Moon declared that the head of the UN calls on all parties involved in the Kachin conflict “to cease offensives and to find a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict there”.

The comments made by Ban's chief spokesperson Martin Nesirky were made in response to a question posed by Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press regarding an open letter the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) recently sent to Ban which implored the UN to take an active interest in the plight of the Kachin people.

Nesirky also said that during meetings with Burmese government officials that took place over Ban's recent visit to Rangoon and Nay Pyi Taw the Secretary General “was informed that the Government had ceased offensive operations in Kachin [State]”. This claim will likely be met with ridicule by those who have followed the Kachin conflict as Ban's three day trip to Burma which began April 29 coincided with the Burma army escalating its offensive against KIO positions in Kachin state.  The Thein Sein government's claim to have “ceased offensive operations” in Kachin state raises serious questions about its self-described willingness to be transparent.

Nesirky added that the “UN has been making continuous efforts to resume humanitarian supplies to the affected people in Kachin, and he is hopeful of some progress in this regard”.  A reference to the UN's struggle to continue humanitarian relief convoys to areas behind KIO lines where a growing number of internally displaced people have taken shelter.

Staff from various UN agencies including the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Program (WFP) have so far made four short visits to displaced peoples camps in KIO territory over the past several months however the UN was only permitted to bring a small amount of relief supplies that helped less than 10% of the estimated 45,000 displaced civilians languishing in KIO territory.

US Secretary of State Clinton “concerned” about Kachin situation
At a press conference in Washington on Thursday following her meeting with Burma's Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, US secretary of State Hilary Clinton said the Obama administration is “concerned about violence in Kachin State in recent weeks”.  She added “I was very pleased to hear about new mechanisms, both official and non-governmental, to encourage meaningful dialogue. And as I said, the government must do all it can do.” A reference to President Thein Sein's recent decision to change the composition of the government's peace negotiating team and replace former Industry minister Aung Thaung as chief negotiator.

Aung Thaung, a former general stands accused by opposition activists as being one of the masterminds behind the 2003 Depayin massacre, an infamous episode in Burma's recent history in which dozens of members of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) were killed by a group of government agents from the Union Solidarity Development Association (USDA), the predecessor of the ruling UDSP. Leaked US State department cables describe Aung Thaung as “a notorious hardliner” and note that his sons profited immensely from corrupt deals made possible by their father.