The Kachin National Consultative Assembly (KNCA) called for an end to 70-years of civil war in Burma during the International Day of Peace on Monday (September 21).
A KNCA statement said the ethnic armed organizations, Burma Army and the government must build mutual trust to make peace in the country. It also highlighted that the Tatmadaw launched massive offences in Rakhine State and northern Shan State, despite pledging a unilateral ceasefire.
“The Burma Army is resuming its military operations in northern Shan state, and launching an extensive military operation in Rakhine State, while at the same time COVID-19 is spreading across Burma,” said Pastor Nhkum Tang Gun, a former youth director for the Kachin Baptist Convention. “To restore peace and equality, all stakeholders need to stop all forms of violence and armed conflict.”
Nhkum Tang Gun explained that the resettlement of those who have been internally displaced by the conflict in Kachin State depends on a bilateral ceasefire agreement between the Burma Army and Kachin Independence Organization/Army (KIO/A).
Fighting between KIO/A and Burma Army restarted in June 2011, after the latter broke a 17-year ceasefire. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as of January 31, there are 97,322 internally displaced persons living in 138 locations in Kachin State.
International Day of Peace, also known as World Peace Day, was established in 1981 by the UN.
