Friday, June 30, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Hundreds Protest Detainment of Journalists, Repressive Laws

Posted: 30 Jun 2017 07:20 AM PDT

YANGON — Several hundred Myanmar press members and civil society representatives protested in Yangon on Friday, calling for the release of detained journalists under the colonial-era Unlawful Associations Act and the repeal of the controversial online defamation law.

Members of the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (Myanmar) and other media representatives gathered in front of the Yangon City Hall after the recent arrests of four journalists—The Irrawaddy's Lawi Weng, also known as U Thein Zaw, and U Aye Nai and Ko Pyae Bone Naing (also known as Pyae Phone Aung) from Democratic Voice of Burma, as well as The Voice Daily's chief editor U Kyaw Min Swe, all of whom are facing charges filed by the Myanmar military.

The Irrawaddy's Lawi Weng and the two journalists from DVB were arrested by the army on the road between Namhsan and Lashio townships in northern Shan State on Monday, along with four other unidentified people. The three reporters had gathered information in areas controlled by ethnic armed group the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) for a story on a drug-burning ceremony. The trio were handed over to local police only on Wednesday and they are currently being charged with having violated Article 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act. Police remanded them to Hsipaw Prison.

The Voice Daily's U Kyaw Min Swe was charged with defamation under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law for publishing a satirical article in his newspaper, questioning the country's long-running armed struggle.

Ko Tha Lun Zaung Htet, a member of the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (Myanmar), said that the purpose of the campaign was to respond to the oppression of the press by the military, which has been using controversial laws to arrest journalists.

"Press members must have the right to do their job anywhere," Ko Tha Lun Zaung Htet said. "What is important [for journalists] is to report fairly with no bias…It makes no sense to arrest journalists for doing their job and gathering information."

Protesters in Yangon on Friday, demonstrating against repressive laws affecting the media and the arrest of journalists. (Photo: Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy)

Members of different civil society organizations and rights groups were also present at the campaign supporting the movement, including Equality Myanmar and the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society.

U Aung Myo Min, executive director of human rights advocacy group Equality Myanmar, said that authorities are using the Unlawful Associations Act, enacted under British rule, to threaten media freedom.

"If [the journalists] were simply carrying out their responsibilities, but not supporting the armed groups' operations, they should not be charged under Article 17(1)," U Aung Myo Min said.

The arrests, he explained, are "a threatening message" to "the whole media industry" implying that the military "can do whatever they want to journalists."

Friday's campaign also included a collection of public signatures demanding that Article 66(d) of the 2013 Telecommunications Law be repealed.

"Using Article 66(d) is a dangerous trend for all citizens," Ko Tha Lun Zaung Htet said, highlighting that everyone on social media is made vulnerable by this provision. "It should either be completely revoked or amended not to violate our citizenship rights."

According to the Research Team on the Telecommunications Law led by activist Maung Saungkha—a poet who was himself sentenced and jailed in 2016 under Article 66(d)—there have been a total of 71 lawsuits filed under the law since its enactment. Among these cases, nine involved the press, with 14 journalists facing trial.

The post Hundreds Protest Detainment of Journalists, Repressive Laws appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Fiancée Opens Up About Detained Irrawaddy Reporter

Posted: 30 Jun 2017 06:19 AM PDT

YANGON — The sudden arrest of her fiancé by the Myanmar Army shattered Loa Htaw's dreams. Before Monday—when the Tatmadaw arrested Irrawaddy senior reporter Lawi Weng, also known as U Thein Zaw, on his return from a reporting trip in northern Shan State—the 33-year old Mon woman was thinking about the wedding ring that Lawi had promised to purchase for her ahead of their nuptials in November.

Loa Htaw had recently bought fabric for the traditional Mon clothing that they would both wear for the big day. They had agreed to spend their married life together in Yangon and Mon State. It would mark an end to five years of long-distance love, with Lawi based in Yangon since 2012 and Lao Htaw in Thailand studying for her master's degree in Global Communication Studies at a university in Bangkok.

"I dreamt of building a very peaceful family with him after we were married. I want to have a son. We would go to monasteries and pagodas together," Lawi's fiancée told The Irrawaddy five days after his arrest.

Currently, her partner is in prison, along with two other reporters form the Democratic Voice of Burma, in Hsipaw, a provincial town in northern Shan State. The reporters are charged with violating the Unlawful Associations Act, with the Myanmar Army accusing them of connections with the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), a group labeled as "terrorists" by the Shan State parliament.

The reporters had covered the TNLA's drug burning ceremony on Monday to mark the UN's International Day against Drug Abuse and were detained shortly after. In the wake of the arrest, The Irrawaddy's Kyaw Phyo Tha had a conversation with Loa Htaw detailing her reaction to the arrest, her expectations and requests for her boyfriend's freedom and about Lawi Weng as a person as well.

What are your reactions to Lawi's arrest?

I have never thought he would go through something like this. We are unprepared to have that kind of situation, and when it happened I had no idea how to deal with it. But I really want to talk to him to ask what I can do for his release.

What do you mean by being 'unprepared?'

He didn't seem to think that he would face restrictions on the media under the new [National League for Democracy] government or by the military as well. So he sticks to reporting the truth and what he witnesses, and doesn't seem to worry about his own safety or wellbeing. Sometimes I worried about him while reading his stories, as most of them are about fighting between government troops and ethnic armed groups and the situations in conflict areas. When I raised my concerns to him, he just replied, 'No worries. We are now under a democratic government.'

Do you have any requests to make regarding his release?

 I want to make a request here to anyone concerned: Please release him. He is an innocent man who did his job as a journalist. As he mostly writes about conflict, it's natural that he needs to talk to his sources, whoever they are. If not, how can he write stories without verification? He needs to see what is happening out there as well. I believe 100 percent that he is innocent.

What are your worries at the moment?

I am worried he was forced by the army to confess before they handed him to the police. I don't want him spend time in jail. Based on my 17 years of experience knowing him, I swear he is not a guy who would do something bad. If he has to spend more time in jail, I'm afraid it will have impacts on his health—both physically and mentally. Plus, as he is an ethnic Mon, I'm worried that he wouldn't be seen as speaking properly at the court hearing, because his Burmese is not that good in that kind of situation, despite his knowledge of the language.

When did you two last talk?

I received a message about his safe arrival in Lashio at around 10 p.m. on Saturday. We talked on Friday night before his trip. I complained to him about his frequent travels. He said, 'I want to go there.' When I learned about his arrest on Monday afternoon, I called his phone but there was no answer, and then it was switched off.

How would you describe Lawi Weng's character?

 As a very caring person. Whenever he got back from trips, he always brought something for me. He said he had bought a piece of amber from his recent trip in Kachin State, to make me a pendant for a necklace. I haven't seen it yet as we didn't have a chance to meet. He is someone who knows me very well. As he is older than me, he is also like a brother who never fails to give me guidance or assistance when I am in need. I feel secure when I am with him.

What will you do now?

I will have to wait for his release. After my dad, he is the man who I respect, love and trust most in my life. I used to tease him, by asking which side he was on: journalism or me. But he never answered. I won't even mind, if he no longer needs me after his release.

The post Fiancée Opens Up About Detained Irrawaddy Reporter appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Soldier Photographs Reporters at Article 66(d) Hearing

Posted: 30 Jun 2017 05:49 AM PDT

YANGON — Journalists filed a complaint against a plain-clothed soldier on Friday who was photographing them outside the hearing of a newspaper editor being charged for publishing an article satirizing Myanmar's peace process.

The Protecting Committee for Myanmar Journalists (PCMJ) filed the complaint against Private Soe Myint Aung of Yangon Military Command at Bahan Police Station under a bill enacted this year that was drafted to restrict state surveillance.

Dozens of reporters were outside the fifth court hearing of The Voice Daily chief editor Ko Kyaw Min Swe on Friday who has been prosecuted by Lt-Col Lin Tun of Yangon Military Command under Article 66(d) of the controversial Telecommunications Act.

Most journalists were not allowed inside to witness the trial, in which Ko Kyaw Min Swe was denied bail for the fourth time.

Private Soe Myint Aung approached journalists, including PCMJ committee members, and used his mobile phone to photograph their faces, as they interviewed the chief editor's legal advisor U Khin Maung Myint under Shwe Gone Daing flyover after the hearing.

At first, the soldier refused to answer the journalists' questions concerning his name and organization, but then he answered "territorial security," according to the reporters. The Irrawaddy was also at the scene.

Soe Myint Aung then gave his service number and rank after calling an army officer for permission. The soldier was ordered by a high-ranking official to collect news of the hearing, he said. The plaintiff Lt-Col Lin Tun did not attend the hearing.

The journalists told Soe Myint Aung that by taking photos of individuals instead of a wider shot he was breaching the Protecting the Privacy and Security of Citizens law, which was enacted in March in order to curtail the state's intrusion on people's privacy with surveillance and the repressive security apparatus.

The journalists asked him to delete the photos, but said he only deleted some.

The PCMJ filed the complaint to police, saying its members were targeted. The police will reply to the complaint in 30 days, according to standard procedure.

Some reporters told The Irrawaddy they had been tracked since the beginning of the chief editor's trial.

"The army is closely watching how we gather news," said Ma Thuzar of 7 Day TV, who said she was photographed by Soe Myint Aung. "This is threatening the work and private lives of reporters. As far as I know, that kind of surveillance was carried out by 'Special Branch' officers previously—now the army does the work itself."

Press Council member U Myint Kyaw said surveillance activities should be conducted within the legal framework, adding that a throwback to the activities of the military regime era would now be illegal.

"People who are individually photographed without committing any crime are having their privacy breached. We can't accept such conduct," he said.

The post Soldier Photographs Reporters at Article 66(d) Hearing appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Five Inmates Escape from Mon State Labor Camp

Posted: 30 Jun 2017 04:58 AM PDT

MAWLAMYINE, Mon State — Police and government officials are searching for five male inmates who escaped from Inn Paung labor camp in Mon State's Paung Township on Wednesday after attacking a police lance corporal, a township police officer confirmed.

"[The inmates] threw stones and attacked the policeman with a hammer and ran away from the quarry at around 10 a.m.," police officer Tun Zaw Oo of Paung Township Police Station told The Irrawaddy, adding that the lance corporal who was attacked did not sustain major injuries.

Three of the prisoners are serving terms of 13, nine and eight years while two are serving terms of ten years, according to police records.

Officials from the Correction Department and village administrative bodies joined police in combing the area to search for the escapees, said the police officer.

"There are mountains at the back of the quarry and rubber plantations. We think they are hiding there," said the police officer.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Five Inmates Escape from Mon State Labor Camp appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thousands of Myanmar Migrants Return from Thailand

Posted: 30 Jun 2017 03:20 AM PDT

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Thousands of illegal migrant workers from Myanmar have been returning to the country amid a crackdown by Thai authorities.

The migrants have flocked to the Myawaddy-Mae Sot border and other border checkpoints along the Thaungyin River—known as the Moei River in Thailand—since Thai authorities began arresting illegal migrants on June 22, said U Moe Gyo, chairman of Mae Sot-based Myanmar Citizens Affairs' Committee.

"Thai authorities should not make immediate arrests after imposing new labor laws. Myanmar authorities should also open counters at the border checkpoints to warmly welcome back our citizens. Most of those who have fled from Thailand are now disheartened," U Moe Gyo told The Irrawaddy.

Locals from the Myanmar border town of Myawaddy told The Irrawaddy they had joined immigration officials, police and local authorities in welcoming back those migrants who crossed the border on Thursday.

Thailand's government has made a stream of arrests of illegal migrants since it introduced changes to its labors laws on June 20, pushing many to return to their native countries.

Under Thailand's previous labor laws, illegal migrants were imprisoned for 48 days and then deported to their native countries. But the new amendments carry the possibility of a five-year jail sentence and a fine, according to the migrants.

The majority of illegal migrants in Thailand are Myanmar; others are Cambodian and Laotian among other nationalities, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Thai media reports state thousands of illegal migrants have been arrested in a move heavily criticized by Thai businessmen and politicians, who argue that it has affected Thailand's productivity, said U Kyaw Thaung, chairman of the Myanmar Association in Thailand.

"It has caused controversy in Thailand. Some politicians have warned that it could result in the collapse of the Thai economy. Thai businessmen have asked the government to reconsider its move as it threatens the country's manufacturing industry," said the chairman.

U Kyaw Thaung said he hoped that a meeting between Thai and Myanmar labor officials on Friday in Naypyitaw would deliver good results for Myanmar illegal migrants in Thailand.

Rights groups in Thailand urged the Myanmar government to arrange for its citizens who are working in the country illegally to return through the border, stressing that many of them have already fled raids by Thai authorities and left their belongings behind.

The Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok also told Myanmar workers who are holding passports, pink cards or temporary passports to apply for work permits with their employers.

According to the embassy, there are about 4 million Myanmar migrants in Thailand and about 1.7 million of them have work permits.

The Thai government plans to deport all illegal migrants from the country by 2018.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Thousands of Myanmar Migrants Return from Thailand appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Lawmaker Criticizes Govt on Rakhine Issue

Posted: 30 Jun 2017 01:48 AM PDT

Former chief of general staff for the Myanmar Army U Hla Htay Win criticized the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government for not doing enough to prevent international interference in Rakhine State on Thursday.

The ex-general, who is now a lawmaker in the Lower House, urged the NLD-led government to take action against a UN fact-finding mission appointed to investigate reports of extensive human rights abuses by Myanmar security forces in Rakhine State, among other places in Myanmar.

"My assessment is that what the government is doing is not enough. It should speak out and reject [the mission] as a necessity," he told reporters at the Lower House on Thursday.

He also said the government had failed to oppose use of the word "Rohingya" by the UN and the US Embassy in Myanmar.

The Myanmar government does not recognize Rakhine State's Muslim minority Rohingya among the country's official ethnic groups, and labels them as "Bengali" to suggest they are interlopers from Bangladesh.

Attacks on police border guard posts by Rohingya militants on Oct. 9 of last year flared tensions among Buddhist and Muslim communities in Rakhine State, which remain largely segregated since anti-Muslim violence in 2012 and 2013 displaced around 140,000 people.

Myanmar Army "clearance operations" in response to the attacks led to the displacement of 75,000 Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh and allegations of torture, extrajudicial killings, and widespread sexual violence, prompting the UN Human Rights Council to assign a fact-finding mission to investigate.

Recently, the Myanmar Army and border police found evidence of training camps for suspected Muslim militants, including in the forests of Mayu mountain range of Rakhine State's southern Maungdaw Township last week.

There have also been reports of villagers fleeing their homes after an increasing number of killings in the area.

"We are facing threats in all aspects. We are facing a terrorist threat," said the ex-general. "Rakhine State is being portrayed as a national hotspot of international concern. Therefore there is a need for [the government] to exercise extra caution."

The ex-general is a central executive committee member of the opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and was elected to the Lower House in the 2015 general elections to represent Naypyitaw's Zayarthiri Township.

During the Lower House session on Thursday, he questioned what action the government had taken to stop the UN Fact-Finding Mission from coming to Myanmar, labeling it a "political trap" for Myanmar.

"There are difficulties for security agencies to do their jobs in line with the law, to protect the country from terrorism and to ensure national security due to the sensitivity surrounding the issue," he said.

Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs U Kyaw Tin responded that his ministry had already told the UN that it would not accept the UN fact-finding mission.

The Myanmar government released a statement on March 24, rejecting the UN's resolution to form the mission at the Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva.

"If they are going to send someone with regards to the fact-finding mission, then there's no reason for us to let them come," said U Kyaw Zeya, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, according to Reuters.

"Our missions worldwide are advised accordingly," he said, explaining that visas to enter Myanmar would not be issued to the mission's appointees or staff.

U Oo Hla Saw of the Arakan National Party (ANP), which won the largest number of seats in the Rakhine State Parliament, also criticized the government's response as weak.

"The government should have opposed strongly rather than saying it could not accept it. I think its response is too weak," U Oo Hla Saw told The Irrawaddy.

The post Lawmaker Criticizes Govt on Rakhine Issue appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Myanmar Says it Will Refuse Entry to UN Fact-Finding Mission

Posted: 29 Jun 2017 10:45 PM PDT

YANGON — Myanmar will refuse entry to members of a UN probe focusing on allegations of killings, rape and torture by security forces in Rakhine State, an official said on Friday.

The government led by Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had already said it would not cooperate with a mission set up after a Human Rights Council resolution was adopted in March.

"If they are going to send someone with regards to the fact-finding mission, then there's no reason for us to let them come," said U Kyaw Zeya, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the capital, Naypyitaw.

"Our missions worldwide are advised accordingly," he said, explaining that visas to enter Myanmar would not be issued to the mission's appointees or staff.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who came to power last year amid a transition from military rule, leads Myanmar through the specially created position of "State Counselor", but is also minister of foreign affairs.

Although she does not oversee the military, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been criticized for failing to stand up for the more than 1 million stateless Rohingya Muslims in the western state of Rakhine.

She said during a trip to Sweden this month the UN mission "would have created greater hostility between the different communities."

The majority in Rakhine are ethnic Rakhine Buddhists who, like many in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, see the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Some 75,000 Rohingya fled northwestern Rakhine state to Bangladesh late last year after the Myanmar army carried out a security operation in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents that killed nine border police.

A UN report in February, based on interviews with some of the Rohingya refugees, said the response involved mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya, and "very likely" amounted to crimes against humanity and possibly ethnic cleansing.

Myanmar, along with neighbors China and India, dissociated itself from the March resolution brought by the European Union, which called for a mission to look into the allegations in Rakhine as well as reports of abuses in ethnic conflicts in the north of the country.

Indira Jaising, an advocate from the Supreme Court of India, was appointed to lead the mission in May. The other two members are Harvard-trained Sri Lankan lawyer Radhika Coomaraswamy and Australian consultant Christopher Dominic.

Myanmar insists that a domestic investigation—headed by former lieutenant general and Vice President U Myint Swe—is sufficient to look into the allegations in Rakhine.

"Why do they try to use unwarranted pressure when the domestic mechanisms have not been exhausted?" said U Kyaw Zeya.

"It will not contribute to our efforts to solve the issues in a holistic manner," he said.

An advisory panel headed by former UN chief Kofi Annan is set to propose solutions for the broader issues in Rakhine but has not been asked to investigate human rights abuses.

The post Myanmar Says it Will Refuse Entry to UN Fact-Finding Mission appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Tripartite Power Struggle in the KIO

Posted: 29 Jun 2017 09:49 PM PDT

After major reshuffles in the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) in January 2016, the power struggle among the senior leadership of the KIO is gradually becoming more visible.

The KIO reshuffled seven positions: Vice Chairman of the KIO, the Deputy Chairs 1 and 2 of the Kachin Independence Council (KIC), Vice Chiefs of Staff 1 and 2, General Staff Officer, and Foreign Affairs Liaison. The shakeup was implemented to create a new political landscape in what some skeptics believe to have been a silent coup by the hardline leader Gen N'Ban La.

Regrettably, disagreements between three senior generals—Gen N'Ban La, Lt-Gen Gam Shawng and Maj-Gen Gun Maw—have recently erupted. This raises a number of questions: What makes this power struggle more visible? What are the major controversies at hand? And, lastly, what will be the outcome for the organization?

Historical Savior: Gen N'Ban La

Gen N'Ban La holds two positions: the KIO's Vice Chair and the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). He is also a former chairperson in the ethnic coalition the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC).

Historically, Gen N'Ban La has been known for cracking down on military coups within the Kachin ranks. The first crackdown occurred in 2001. He ousted Lt-Gen Mali Zup Zau Mai, the then KIO chairman, who had attempted to disarm the KIA under a secret agreement with then Myanmar intelligence supremo Gen Khin Nyunt. After deposing Mali Zup Zau Mai, Gen Lamung Tu Jai was appointed to the chairmanship. Since that time, Gen N'Ban La has been hailed by the junior ranks as a savior and protector of the KIO/A.

A second suppression occurred on January 7, 2004 at Pajau, the old KIO/A headquarters by the Chinese border. Gen N'Ban La, then KIA Chief of Staff, cracked down on a handful of senior ranking officers who had attempted a military coup aimed at replacing him. The plan was to instate the KIO intelligence chief, Col Lasang Aung Wah, in his role.

The coup failed. It resulted in both a major split and in Lasang Aung Wah fleeing to National Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K) territory in Pangwah, taking about 100 KIA soldiers with him. Later he would form his own militia group, the Lasang Aung Wah, stationed in Gwi Htu, Waimaw Township. Since then, Gen N'Ban La deposed several senior ranking officers and has taken on many important roles in the KIO/A himself.

Notorious Drug-Eradicator: Lt-Gen Gam Shawng

Lt-Gen Gam Shawng also holds two powerful positions: Chief of Staff of the Kachin Independence Army and Deputy Chair of the Kachin Independence Council (KIC). His name was infamously recorded in history when he commanded that scores of drug users be shot in 1990, while serving as a Commanding Officer in the No. 6 Battalion in Hpakant.

He gradually garnered higher roles in the KIO/A, serving as Commander of the No. 1 Brigade, Chief of the KIO Representative Office (the Liaison Office in Myitkyina) and as General Secretary of the KIO central committee. He then took a position as Chief of Staff after La Sang Aung Wah's failed mutiny in 2004. During the decade of Lt-Gen Gam Shawng's leadership, the KIA has expanded three Brigades—Nos. 6, 7 and 8—and many battalions. The greatest success of the KIA thus far has been to found the military academy in which many potential young leaders, as well as cadets from different ethnic armed groups, are trained.

Popular Maj-Gen Gun Maw

Maj-Gen Gun Maw has arguably been the officer most quickly promoted within the KIO/A ranks. He is popular among the Kachin public, particularly with youth, and is a charismatic leader. He once led a KIO negotiating team and has earned trust both domestically and internationally for his diplomacy. The major success of his career was to initiate the program Education and Economic Development for Youth, in which the KIO provides young people with basic military training and courses on drug awareness, Kachin culture and ideology, democracy and federalism. Maj-Gen Gun Maw also initiated the founding of the Military Strategic Office, of which he was in charge as Colonel. After Vice Chief of Staff Brig-Gen Zau Nan died suddenly, Gun Maw was promoted from Colonel to Brig-Gen and took on the vacant position. In January 2016, he was reshuffled as Deputy Chair II of the KIC.

What Creates Power Struggles?

From external observation, there are three potential causes of the split between these generals.

First, it is likely that there is weak communication amongst the leadership. Gen N'Ban La, who served as a chairman in the UNFC, is known to not often reveal the detailed information or policies set by the ethnic bloc to the KIO's central committee. Due to his UNFC ties, he is known to reside largely in Thailand, contributing to a lower frequency of face-to-face meetings with other members of leadership in Kachin State. There have been reports of miscommunication regarding Gen N'Ban La's attendance at the second session of the 21st Century Panglong Conference in May. The KIO as an organization opted out of participating, but the Chinese special envoy Sun Guoxiang allegedly arranged for the Northern Alliance of ethnic armed groups to attend at the last minute—a delegation which Gen N'Ban La joined.

Another potential source of contention involves the evolving role of Maj-Gen Gun Maw. He was previously involved in several peace talks under the UNFC's delegation for political negotiation (DPN). In this regard, he held a high profile, but his role has diminished since the Myanmar Army rejected the UNFC's nine-point peace proposal.

Following this turn of events, Maj-Gen Gun Maw returned to the KIA's Laiza headquarters. As Gen N'Ban La further invests in peace talks led by the Northern Alliance, Gun Maw's opportunities to contribute to the peace process in turn become more limited.

It is possible that the three men each see one another as believing in different policy approaches and leadership styles, as well. To someone with the stance of Gen N'Ban La, Lt-Gen Gam Shawng could be perceived as being uncomfortably close with the Chinese. After Gam Shawng took a position as chief of the KIO's economic committee, he was approached by a number of Chinese businesspeople interested in extracting the Kachin region's natural resources. According to the economic department of the KIO, Ms. Ali Chye—a prominent Chinese tycoon—negotiated special permits with Lt-Gen Gam Shawng, reportedly bonding over shared religious beliefs.

While Gen N'Ban La has been criticized for his rigidity, the younger Maj-Gen Gun Maw's own popularity and embrace of more "youthful" tools of communication, like social media—including the posting of KIO updates on his personal Facebook page—could also be viewed as threatening to older, more traditional members within the organization.

These three generals each have their own patrons who back them in case of a power struggle. For Gen N'Ban La, this includes junior leaders who respect him for "saving" the KIO/A from attempted coups. Lt-Gen Gam Shawng enjoys the confidence of holding control of the full chain of command from the KIA military. Maj-Gen Gun Maw obtains support from both peers within the central committee and from the greater Kachin public.

Yet historically, internal power struggles lead to splits within organizations. This was witnessed when known druglord Zahkung Ting Ying formed the New Democratic Army-Kachin in 1989, and again in 1990 with Mahtu Naw, along with whom parts of the KIA's 4th Brigade broke away to form the Kachin Defense Army in northern Shan State, and finally, in 2004, when Lasang Aung Wah formed his 100-man militia at Gwi Htu. Observers, myself included, worry how the current fragmentation among the leadership will play out, and what its impact will be on the Kachin movement.

Healing the Fragmentation

It is believed that some Kachin religious leaders have intervened and have been advising the KIO on how to avoid a potential split. Internally, there appear to be two ways in which the KIO could act halt any fragmentation. In what could be described as a worst-case scenario, the organization could enact a statute limiting officers' careers by restricting the maximum serving age to 60 years. Once the ruling is in effect, generals over sixty years old would be forced to resign from their respective positions and hand over power to junior generals. This could serve as a mechanism for a peaceful transfer of power.

The seemingly best option is a face-to-face meeting in which the central committee members confront and address existing contentions. Moreover, the junior officials—particularly Brig-Gen Hkawng Lum (VCS-I), Brig-Gen Aung Seng La (VCS-II), Brig-Gen Zau Tawng (Gen Staff Officer), Col Brang Nan, Col Tawng La, Col Hkun Seng and Col Naw Hkan—would need to collectively step in and put forward solutions.

Absent such a timely intervention, the existing fragmentation among the senior generals could lead to unprecedented results, including the potential split of the KIO, which no Kachin wants.

Joe Kumbun is the pseudonym of a Kachin State-based analyst.

The post The Tripartite Power Struggle in the KIO appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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