Burma army blocks aid group from entering Hpakant

The KBC office in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State.

Last week Burma's military blocked representatives of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) from entering the Hpakant (Hpakan) jade mining district in western Kachin State, according to church officials who wanted to deliver aid.

On Friday Feb. 1, twelve members of a KBC aid team traveling from the Kachin state capital Myitkyina were turned back at the Sang Hka checkpoint near Lawng Hkang (Lone Khin) while they were heading towards Hpakant on the Myitkyina to Hpakant road, according to Rev. Dr. Hkalam Sam Sun, KBC General Secretary.

The team had been dispatched by KBC to assess internally displaced persons (IDPs) trapped in Seng Ra village located north of Hpakant town. “It seems like they blocked our team because they were KBC pastors,” Rev. Dr. Hkalam Sam Sun told Kachin News Group.

“The villagers in Seng Ra are trapped in their village. They've been blocked from fleeing outside. If there is more fighting they are in danger. So, we’re concerned and sent a group”, Dr. Hkalam Sam Sun said.

More than 2,000 IDPs have fled in recent weeks from several villages around Seng Ra because of fighting between Burmese troops and the Kachin Independence Army’s Battalion 6. Most of the local residents have fled to church run camps in Hpakant but at least 400 people remain trapped in Seng Ra, according to villagers.  Those who remain in the village have been forbidden from leaving by troops from Burma's military.  The KIA gate in the village was burnt down by government troops on January 31.

Since January 18 government forces have controlled nearby Ginsi village, which was until very recently the headquarters of KIA Battalion 6.

On January 24, government forces shelled Sang Hka village several times.  Soldiers also destroyed houses and are reported to have stolen jade stones and cash from villagers’ homes, the Kachin News Group has learned.

KBC, the largest Kachin church is distributing aid to IDPs in at least 21 places in both government controlled territory and territory controlled by the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).

A statement released by KBC on January 30 warned the government that “no peace can be made by force. To achieve genuine and lasting justice and peace, precise policies and procedures must be set for political dialogues”.

The statement also asked government forces to allow humanitarian assistance from UN and international organizations in all areas.  It also demanded that the government “stop arbitrary arrests of innocent civilians, stop firing indiscriminately on refugee camps, stop harassing and raping women and respect international human rights laws

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