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Situation Update 22 June 2011

KIA Launches Targeted Urban Attacks Irrawaddy 22 June 2011 (Edited) By Saw Yan Naing Although fighting between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Burmese government troops in Kachin State has diminished in recent days, tension remains and the KIA continues to launch targeted attacks in urban areas, according to local sources. On Tuesday night, two bombs went off at governments buildingsa police station and an immigration officein Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State in northern Burma La Nan, the joint-secretary of the KIAs political wing, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), said that the bomb attacks were launched by the KIA in accordance with its policy of choosing targets where civilians would not be injured Seng Aung, a Kachin youth living in Laiza, the KIAs headquarters on the Sino-Burma border, said that there was also an explosion last night at a bridge near Baw Hpum Yan, which is located on the route from Bhamo to Myitkyina. Thailand-based Kachin News Group reported that on Tuesday at midnight the KIA used mines to blow up a strategic railway bridge located on the Namkoi River between Myitkyina and Mandalay. The KIA targeted the railway because it is the main route used by the government to send reinforcements and supplies to Kachin State.

The KIA said it has not had any contact with the government following their last talks on June 19, and despite the fact that skirmishes between government troops and the KIA have died down for now, the KIA has not called a cease fire. -----------------------Burmese Army forces civilians to ensure security of Myitkyina-Namti railroad KNG - 21 June 2011 (Edited) The Burmese government has ordered residents of Myitkyina capital of Kachin State to take charge of security of the Myitkyina-Namti railway road. It has been made mandatory for at least 10 civilians from each quarter in Myitkyina to monitor the railway road for security reasons in rotation. If people are reluctant and do not want to go for the security detail then they will have to pay a fine or send a substitute for the duty. The quarter administrative department will collect the money from every house in the quarter. The railway road passes from Myitkyina station to Min Yat, Myo Thit, Aye Yar, Yan Gyi Aung, May Myint, Du Kahtawng, Jan Mai Kawng and San Pya quarter and heads towards Namti, Mogaung Township. -----------------------Interview: We will not make any offer for a cease-fire - KIO spokesman and Joint Secretary La Nan Mizzima - 22 June 2011 Chiang Mai Mizzima reporter Ko Wild interviews Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) spokesman and Joint Secretary La Nan on the recent fighting between government and KIO troops in Kachin State. Question: The KIO recently received a letter from the Kachin State Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) secretary 2 and Kachin State MP Thein Zaw proposing a cease-fire. Answer: Thein Zaw sent a letter to us saying that their Northern Command had issued its order to troops on the frontline to cease fire unless the KIO troops shot first. The KIO was advised to issue a Page 1 of 4

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similar order to its troops. Thein Zaw sent this letter in his capacity as a Myitkyina Township constituency MP. In our return letter, we asked them to produce a guarantee from a responsible person in the military establishment to confirm the cease-fire order given to their troops. Thein Zaws letter just said that he had already informed the Northern Command commander and the commander had already issued cease-fire orders to the troops. But this doesnt mean a military officer sent the letter. So we told them we would reconsider this issue when we receive a letter written by a military officer guaranteeing issuance of the cease-fire order. We received their letter on Sunday and replied on the same day by e-mail. We have received acknowledgment of the receipt of our letter from them. Q: Did you send a letter to Naypyitaw or inform them by some other means? A: We will not make any offer for a cease-fire. We replied to their letter only when we received it from the Kachin Nationality Consultative Council members who visited us. Q: How many government troops are in Kachin State now? A: There are total of about 30 local battalions. All are on full alert for combat readiness. Since the fighting started, more troops are being sent here from other provinces. Its difficult to estimate the exact troop number. They used 11 battalions on June 11 when we fought them on that day, but they were not at full strength. Each battalion had a mere 40 to 60 troops, maximum 80. Q: There are reports that the government troops were committing rape. Can you confirm this? A: Yes, it really happens in our state. Sometimes the reason behind the flight of the refugees is the rape issue. The war refugees who flee to us are not just from conflict zones. The government troops are stationed in their villages, and they beat the men on suspicion of being KIO supporters. Then they rape girls and women, and they dont even spare old women. When this news spreads to other villages, the people from nearby villages in government-controlled areas flee to our controlled area. Q: Can you give an example of such rape cases being committed by government troops? A: For instance, there is Kharun Mudan village in Lweje Township in our 3rd Brigade area. The village is Lisu. The government troops raped a girl and shot her dead in the presence of her parents. Her parents fled to China in fear of further persecution. We learned of this incident from people living in China. They could not identify the army unit of the perpetrators. We are trying hard to get this information in detail. Our women organizations are investigating this case. Q: The government said it launched its offensive to stop you from harassing the Tapein hydropower project area. A: The KIO troops have been stationed and deployed in this Tapein hydropower project area for 30 or 40 years and they understand the situation. First, they brought in Immigration Department officials to check on the influx of Chinese labour into this area. Then they brought in a police force to protect the Immigration officials. Then the military troops entered the area. This is how they expand into our area. But there were no problems between our troops and the Burmese army units. We never kidnapped or threatened the Chinese labours and engineers. We have had friendly relations with Chinese officials along the border for many years. Not only now. The KIO is a dignified organization. The Chinese companies and Chinese officials are aware of our dignity and sincerity. Q: Can us tell us more about the Chinese workers at the Lasa hydropower project? A: This project is still underway. There are two tributaries, the Maykha and Malikha, upstream of Myitsone (the confluence of the Irrawaddy River). The project is located just below Sumprabum and upstream of Maylikha. It is in our 1st Brigade controlled area. There were no government positions and outposts in this area before. The government troops entered the area when the Chinese engineers and workers came in for this project. We had an understanding with them. But the Chinese engineers and workers did some exploring and mining operations for some metals and minerals Page 2 of 4

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besides their main work on the hydropower project. There are gold deposits and other mineral and metal ores in the area. Then we expelled these Chinese mining units from the area. Q: How many big hydropower projects are underway in Kachin State? A: Among them, the Irrawaddy Myitsone project is the largest. As I said, there will be another in the Lasa area. There will be four to five similar projects on the Maykha River. All of the electricity generated by these hydropower projects will be sold to China and the local people will not receive any benefits from the projects. Chinese companies and Asia World Company are implementing the projects in collaboration. Q: How do the Chinese workers enter these project areas? Do they cross KIO-controlled areas? A: The Chinese who work upstream of Irrawaddy and Myitsone enter the project areas through Kanpaiti pass. The New Democratic Army-Kachin controlled this area in the past. The Chinese working on the Tapein project enter their project area through Yinjiang and Lwejie. They do not need to pass through our control area. Q: How many KIO troops and officials have been captured or arrested by the government? A: More than ten. They are detaining many more on suspicion of having contact with us. No one has been released yet. Then chief of Military Affairs Security (MAS) Major General Ye Myint arrested all of them after September 30, 2010. Now he has become the Mandalay Region chief minister, and he was responsible for the arrests. One person who was arrested after June 9 was Lance Corporal Chein Yan, who was later brutally killed by them. Q: The government has said that the Constitution could be amended in Parliament. Do you think this offers some hope for a change in the governments methods? A: In fact they made the Constitution rigid and non-amendable. Thirteen armed ethnic organizations that attended the constitution drafting convention submitted papers on this issue. The KIO was one of them. But the government did not listen to our ideas, and they didnt make any compromise or accommodation to our demands and requests. So its impossible to accept their Constitution because it does not reflect any considerations of the ethnic populations needs. Amending this Constitution in Parliament is a mission impossible. Q: How many refugees are there in KIO camps now? A: More than 10,000 refugees are in our KIO-controlled area. They came from government-controlled areas. First, they fled to China when the war broke out. Then the Chinese officials cleverly urged and persuaded them to go back to their homes by saying that there was no more fighting in their villages. China has not yet built any refugee camps on their soil. The KIO provides assistance to the refugees in our camps as much as we can. -----------------------Mass defections hit govt border forces DVB - 22 June 2011 (Edited) By Naw Noreen Troops from four Border Guard Force units in a Karen state region have mutinied as Burmese army battalions are deployed in preparation for a retaliatory offensive. The majority of the defectors have joined the ranks of the opposition Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), according to DKBA Colonel Kyaw Thu, while some have returned to their original Burmese army brigades.

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Kyaw Thu said that the DKBA, which steadfastly refused to transform into a government-controlled border force, has been bolstered by as many as 1000 soldiers since the series of defections on 12 June. Two Light Infantry Divisions (LID) of the Burmese army are now mobilising in the Myainggyingu region of Karen state where the renegade units are based. The Border Guard Force (BGF) 1012 was the first to break rank last month when around 500 soldiers joined the DKBA. Reports are circulating that two more LIDs have been sent but are yet to reach the Myainggyingu, which lies around 35km from the Thai border. Each LID is made up of 10 Light Infantry Brigades which are specially trained in counter-insurgency and jungle warfare. Kyaw Thu, who belongs to the DKBA unit led by Brigadier General Na Kham Mwe, said that the situation was getting worse in Myainggyingu as more Burmese army units arrive. He added that the DKBA had special plans for a counterattack, and would be joined by the KNLA. -----------------------Clashes increase after more Burma Army troops deployed to Shan territory SHAN - 21 June 2011 (Edited) By Hseng Khio Fah Gunfire was exchanged between the Shan State Army and the Burma Army this morning as soon as reinforcement of the Burma Army troops arrived near SSA controlled territory this week, according to local and SSA sources. Fighting began around 8:00 until the time of reporting at SSAs Tapha Sawng base, located between Shan State Norths Hsipaw township and Shan State Souths Kehsi township. It is said to be one of the SSA bastions. Fire is still coming and going, heavy weapons flying from both sides, said an SSA officer from Wanhai. The number and strength of the recently deployed Burma Army troops is unknown but is estimated to be at least 3 battalions. One of them is said to be Infantry Battalion (IB) 147 based in Nawngkaw, Hsipaw Township. Battalions that are active near the IB#147 are Mongnawng based IB # 286, Mongyai based IB 325 and Namlan based Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) # 504. The SSA has around 30 men and is now asking for reinforcements from its headquarters in Wanhai. Yesterday, more Burma Army soldiers coming from Taunggyi were brought in 50 trucks and headed to Kehsi Township, west of SSA HQ Wanhai, one of the frontline areas of the Burma Army. Likewise, Light Infantry Division (LID) 33 based in Kokang also sent in 16 trucks to areas in Mongyai Township, north of Wanhai. According to an unconfirmed source from Lashio, who has close relations to junta leadership, Naypyitaw has reportedly passed instructions to attack Wanhai, the headquarters of Main General Pang Fai, commander of the SSA. Naypyitaw also allows them [the Burma Army troops] to use chemical weapons if necessary, the source said. Lt-Gen Yawd Serk, Chairman of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), the political wing of the Shan State Army based in Loi Taileng on the Thai-Burma border, also shared information that Wanhai is being surrounded by Burma Army troops from every side except the side that leads to the SSA South areas. Although there has yet to be any major operations against the SSA, small clashes between the two forces have reportedly taken place almost every day in areas around Wanhai. The United Wa State Army (UWSA), one of the strongest armed groups in Burma, released a statement on 16 June urging both the armed groups and the Burma Army to stop fighting and come to the negotiation table. Otherwise, the promise by President Thein Sein made in April to maintain stability in the border region will be meaningless, the statement said.

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