Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political)
Kachin material also in the Internal armed conflict section
Websites/Multiple Documents
Source/publisher:
"Kachin News"
Date of entry/update:
2010-12-14
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
Kachin
more
Description:
"Kachin Development Networking Group is a network of civil society groups and development organisations in Kachin State, Burma. KDNG?s purpose is to effectively work for sustainable development together with locally-based organisations in Kachin State. It?s aim is to promote a civil society based on equality and justice for the local people in the struggle for social and political change in Burma"
Source/publisher:
Kachin Development Networking Group
Date of entry/update:
2008-12-26
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Original website is down but the Kachin National Organization has Facebook page.
Date of entry/update:
2010-12-14
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Kachinnet
Date of entry/update:
2010-12-14
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
Kachin
more
Description:
"These are Burma?s voices for change, extraordinary stories of people of Burma from all walks of life. Their experiences, struggles, fears, and successes. These are unheard stories of incredible spirit of resilience and courage, voices of hope and dreams that have emerged from decades of oppression. Help us spread these voices across the globe!"...Stories and voices from Karen, Karenni, Shan, Kachin, Chin, Rakhine, Mon, Palaung, Pa-O, Nagas and other ethnic minorities.
Source/publisher:
Burma Link
Date of entry/update:
2016-03-14
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Ethnic groups in Burma: general studies and articles, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political), Karen (cultural, historical, political), Mon (cultural, political), Karenni (Kayah) - cultural, political, Chin (Zo)- economic, social, cultural, political, Lahu (cultural, political), Nagas (cultural, political), Sub-national administrative areas - general, States and Regions (covering more than one State or Region)
Language:
English
more
Description:
A website related to the book of the same title edited by Mandy Sadan."This website contains some materials that are intended to illustrate or to extend some of the chapters in the book. More material will be added as time permits. You will find general information in About the Book; abstracts for each chapter, questions for further research and supporting documentation in Contents; you can Read the Introduction in full and download it; we also encourage ?Thinking about ...? how the issues raised in the book map onto bigger questions about how societies adapt themselves to war-peace transitions, with a particular emphasis on understanding history, experience, aesthetics and culture, and mobilities."
Mandy Sadan
Source/publisher:
Mandy Sadan
Date of entry/update:
2018-01-24
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
more
Individual Documents
Sub-title:
explains findings from a recent public opinion survey of Kachin in Myanmar.
Description:
"What are Kachin’s attitudes toward their country of citizenship? To what extent do they feel attached (Burmese: Tan yaw zin, Jinghpaw: Myit magyep kap ai) to it? These questions about ethnic minorities are relevant not just to the Kachin, but instead, underlie larger issues of national unity in Myanmar. The answers to these questions reveal the doubts and mental reservations that Myanmar’s ethnic minorities, such as the Kachin, feel about the political community they belong to.
Between 2018 and 2019, I conducted qualitative interviews and collected original survey data to answer these questions about Kachin’s attitudes toward Myanmar. The data reveals that the answers depend on understandings about how inferences are drawn, the limitations of utilizing quantitative and qualitative data, and how different types of data might complement one another.
Most surprisingly, I found that qualitative interviews and survey data produced differing results. According to my interviews with several Kachin activists, religious leaders, and Baptist youths, Kachin feel a relatively weak attachment and harbor, more or less, unfavorable attitudes toward Myanmar, perhaps due to the renewed armed conflict with the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the recent increase in Kachin ethnonationalism. In contrast, according to the survey data, Kachin exhibit relatively high national pride in being citizens of Myanmar and a relatively strong attachment to Myanmar. How can we make sense of these divergent answers? I suggest several explanations that reveal the limitations of my qualitative and quantitative data. Ultimately, my analysis suggests that the divergence most likely resulted from limitations in my qualitative approach, which glossed over diversity within the Kachin community..."
Source/publisher:
"Teacircleoxford" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-07-02
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Topic:
Kachin State, Rawang, ethnic issues, manau, Kachin, language, culture, conflict
Sub-title:
A dispute over how to name the Kachin State Day Manau Festival in Myitkyina has revealed fissures in Kachin’s multi-ethnic society.
Topic:
Kachin State, Rawang, ethnic issues, manau, Kachin, language, culture, conflict
Description:
"AS A CHILD, Khang would eagerly look forward to Kachin State Day on January 10 and the accompanying manau dancing in the state capital, Myitkyina. This year, that feeling all but disappeared, said Khang, now aged 26.
“I feel like Kachin State Day is just for show. The celebration doesn’t come from the bottom of our heart,” said Khang, who is from the Rawang ethnic group in Kachin. “We Kachin are lacking harmony… It’s like there is something between us, that we are not all the same.”
The festival planned for January 5-12 this year was to be the first Kachin State Day celebration initiated by Kachin society, rather than the government, since conflict resumed between the Kachin Independence Army and the Tatmadaw in 2011. The event, commemorated with traditional dancing around the six pillars that stand in Myitkyina’s Kachin National Manau Park, is known popularly as the Manau Festival.
Discord leading up to this year’s Kachin State Day event, however – including a cancellation and last-minute resumption – dampened the spirits of many Kachin.
The dispute, which stemmed from disagreement over what to call Kachin State Day in Jinghpaw, the Kachin lingua franca, touched a nerve within Kachin’s diverse society and prompted a broader debate about Kachin identity and who gets to define it.
Anthropologist of Kachin society Mr Laur Kiik describes Kachin as a multi-ethnic nation, integrating people from six or more ethnic groups to widely varying degrees. Debate over the names and boundaries of a Kachin identity, he said, has existed for decades; and Kachin State Day manau festivals have previously brought these debates out into the open.
Though the Myanmar government recognises 12 Kachin “sub-groups”, the Kachin National Association of Tradition and Culture, or Wunpawng Myusha Htunghking Hpung Ginjaw (known by the clipped acronym WHG), represents six linguistically distinct groups – Jinghpaw, Lachid, Lhaovo, Lisu, Rawang and Zaiwa..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-01-14
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Kachin State, Languages of Burma - general, Languages of Burma/Myanmar, Society and Culture, Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political)
Language:
more
Description:
"Ethnic language teachers who are working in government schools in Sumprabum Township in Kachin State’s Putao District say they have not received a salary since the start of the school year in June.
“As of today, we haven’t received a salary since school started. I teach at school everyday. I have taught at school since it began in June,” high school Jinghpaw language instructor Zau Nan told NMG.
Sumprabum town, where Zau Nan works, has one high school and nearly 10 primary and middle schools. There are reportedly 10 ethnic language teachers working in the town’s government schools, teaching Jinghpaw and Lisu languages since 2016.
“Even though the government has given a promise, we have yet to receive our salaries. Even though we haven’t received our salaries, we are still teaching children in school,” Zau Nan explained. “If I don’t teach, I am so worried that our Kachin children will not be able to read our language. But if I wasn’t a teacher, I could afford to support my family. Now I cannot afford to support my family. Now I am working at another job after school hours because I need to support my children and my family.”
According to ethnic literature and culture organizations, while the government has given permission for them to teach their languages in public schools, proper government assistance and compensation has not been provided..."
Source/publisher:
"Network Media Group" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2019-10-21
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Other Tibeto-Burmese languages (Zo, Karen etc), Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political), Kachin State
Language:
more
Description:
"A group of politically active Kachin gathering in the Kachin State capital Myitkyina says they were very alarmed by the Myanmar army’s decision to send a convoy of military tanks and other military vehicles down the same road they were gathering on. In what the activists say was a clear attempt to intimidate them. The convoy of about 10 vehicles appeared on a major road in Myitkiyna on September 9th as Kachin youth and representatives of a Kachin opposition party were gathering.
“I think they rule the country with an iron fist. If something happens they show off their military power. It should not be like this. Especially when we are going to build a federal nation,” said Duwa Gumgrawng Awng Hkam, a long time Kachin activist and the vice-president of the newly formed Kachin State’s People’s Party.
Another Myitkyina based activist told KNG he considered the action to be a threat to the public. “People were shocked when tanks came into downtown. In other words its threatening people. From a peace perspective, it deviates from the peace process. Do they really want peace? People can ask questions about this” said Tsaji from the Kachin Development Network Group (KDNG).
Lum Zawng, the head of the All Kachin Students and Youth Union (AKSYU), also took issue with the convoy which occurred a day before a high profile court case filed by the army against the head of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) for recent public comments he made about the military to US President Donald Trump. The suit against the KBC chief has since been dropped.
“I think it wasn’t for the security of people but it’s showing off their military power. Because there is a court hearing today at the township court for the case involving the KBC chairman and the army. They intentionally showed off their military power to threaten people,” explained Lum Zawng. Lum Zawng added that he saw no reason for the military to enter Myitkyina’s downtown or patrol the downtown area..."
Source/publisher:
"BNI Multimedia Group" via Kachin News Group
Date of publication:
2019-09-12
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Kachin State, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political), Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies)
Language:
more
Description:
"A court in the Kachin State capital, Myitkyina, has penalised the organisers of the first demonstrations in the city to be held by youth displaced by fighting since a ceasefire collapsed in 2011.
Nhkum La Nu, 20, and Malang Hka Mai, 50, were on September 10 each sentenced to seven days’ imprisonment or a fine of K20,000, and opted to pay the fine. The protests were held over three days, on September 5, 6 and 9.
La Nu and Hka Mai, who are both IDPs, were convicted under section 20 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law over the display of unauthorised placards at a demonstration in the state capital on September 5. Two of the offending placards read “War is not the answer” and “We hate war”.
They were also convicted under the same offence because of slogans on T-shirts that condemned attempts by the Tatmadaw to stifle freedom of expression.
The T-shirts were worn by members of Yangon-based freedom of expression advocacy group Athan, who travelled to Myitkyina to protest at the township courthouse against the Tatmadaw's complaint against Kachin Baptist Convention President Reverend Hkalam Samson. After the complaint was withdrawn on September 9, the Athan members joined the final day of the IDP demonstration instead.
La Nu said that within hours of the September 5 protest, he and Hka Mai were summoned to Myitkyina police station and told they would be charged under a complaint filed by a township police officer because prior approval had not been given to some of the placards displayed at the event, which was attended by about 250 people..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar"
Date of publication:
2019-09-12
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Discrimination against the Kachin, Kachin State, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political)
Language:
more
Description:
"Kachin Baptist Convention president Reverend Hkalam Samson has thanked the prayers of his supporters at home and abroad for the military’s decision to drop its complaint against him for remarks he made to United States President Donald Trump.
In a video posted to the KBC’s social media page on September 10, a day after the case was withdrawn, Hkalam Samson also urged the Kachin community’s different Christian denominations to remain united, and to keep praying in solidarity for the future of the nation.
Tensions have been high in the Kachin State capital Myitkyina in recent days, with a convoy of military vehicles containing armed soldiers rumbling past demonstrators near the Myitkyina Township Court shortly before the court was due to announce if the case against Hkalam Samson would proceed.
The complaint was filed by the Northern Command’s Lieutenant-Colonel Than Htike on August 26 over comments made by Hkalam Samson when survivors of religious persecution from throughout the world met Trump at the White House on July 17.
Samson told the US president that that there was no religious freedom in Myanmar and that oppression and torture were common.
He also described as “helpful” a decision the US announced the previous day to sanction Tatmadaw Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and three other senior officers over what the US State Department called “gross human rights violations” during the “ethnic cleansing” against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State. The decision bans the four officers and members of their families from travelling to the US..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar"
Date of publication:
2019-09-11
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Religious freedom: reports of violations in Burma, Kachin State, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political)
Language:
more
Description:
"In 2018, Burmese government
troops stepped up their war in
Kachin State, further driving out
indigenous populations and expanding control over the area’s
rich natural resources and strategic
trading routes. The fiercest offensive
was fought in northwest Kachin
State’s Hugawng Valley, to secure
the historic Ledo Road linking India
and China, which is part of China’s
Belt and Road Initiative, and to seize
hugely lucrative amber mines.
Kachin State amber is a global
treasure: it is the only type in the
world formed during the age of the
dinosaurs. “Blood amber” is the
Chinese name of the extremely rare,
deep red variety of the gem found
only in the Hugawng Valley – a
name which resonates grimly with
local residents who have been driven
out by the recent offensive.
The amber mining boom began
in 2010, due to demand from the
Chinese market, causing tens of
thousands of migrant miners from
across Burma to flock to the region.
In 2015, discovery of a 99-millionyear-old feathered dinosaur tail in
Hugawng Valley amber further
fuelled the trade..."
Source/publisher:
"Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG)"
Date of publication:
2019-08-19
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Kachin State, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political), Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies), Armed conflict in Kachin State - economic factors associated with the conflict
Language:
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
17.21 MB 1.33 MB
more
Description:
"Three ethnic Kachin political parties said on Monday they sought the “permanent suspension” of the multi-billion dollar Myitsone Dam, discrediting a Chinese embassy statement that implied support for the divisive project among the state’s political leaders.
Manam Tu Ja, chair of the Kachin State Democracy Party, told Frontier that the statement, which was signed by the KSDP, the Kachin Democratic Party and the Unity and Democracy Party, is a clarification of their position aimed at the Kachin people. It could also help the Chinese embassy to understand the wishes and policies of the three parties, he said.
“We have no plan yet to respond directly to the Chinese embassy because some [other] parties in Kachin could have said that they support the project,” he said.
The embassy’s statement on January 13 concerned a December visit by Chinese ambassador Mr Hong Liang to Myitkyina, the Kachin State capital, where he held discussions with political leaders and social organisations on the peace process and IDP resettlement, the anti-drug campaign in northern Myanmar, and investment.
Kachin political leaders and social organisations had a “positive attitude” towards the 6000-megawatt Myitsone Dam, the statement said. It said they assured Hong Liang that “local people of Kachin State do not oppose the Myitsone hydropower project; It is some individuals and social organizations from outside that oppose the project”.
But Reverend Hkalam Samson, chair of the Kachin Baptist Convention, who met Hong Liang during the visit, told Frontier that the statement was untrue..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar"
Date of publication:
2019-01-14
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Kachin State, Assessment of hydropower projects in Burma/Myanmar, Dams and other hydropower projects (global, regional), Dams and other projects on the Irrawaddy and its tributories, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political), Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"The Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) has dropped a lawsuit against an ethnic Kachin religious leader who discussed religious freedom with US President Donald Trump and asked him to support Myanmar’s transition to “genuine” democracy and federalism at the White House last month.
On Monday, Myitkyina Township Court judge U Than Tun said the plaintiff, Lieutenant-Colonel Than Htike, had withdrawn his legal complaint against the Rev. Dr. Hkalam Samson, who is president of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC). Based in Kachin State, the group represents Myanmar’s mostly Christian Kachin ethnic group.
U Than Tun told the media that the court would not proceed with any legal prosecution against Dr. Samson, in accordance with the plaintiff’s will. He did not elaborate on the reason for the plaintiff’s decision.
Rev. Dr. Hkalam Samson told The Irrawaddy on Monday he welcomed the military’s decision to withdraw the complaint against him. He said there had been no negotiations between the KBC and the military aimed at resolving the case..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication:
2019-09-09
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"This History Thread is about the #Amber War in #Kachin State, #Burma #Myanmar. While Kachin St. is known as “the land of jade” other resources have been a conflict curse. Amber is the latest precious commodity to bring hardship instead of prosperity. When I visited Kachinland in 1991 a Kachin Independence Army officer remarked on my amber earrings (from Poland) “Kachin women wear earrings made of that, too.” Baltic Sea and Kachin St. are two regions where amber, fossilized tree sap that is millions of years old, is found. Amber from Kachinland is known as #Burmite. Formed between 95-108 million years ago in the #Cretaceous period, it is the oldest, hardest amber, often a dark cherry red color. Kachins traditionally wore amber jewelry, such as the pointed patlokan earrings of Hkahku women..."
Source/publisher:
"Project Maje"
Date of publication:
2018-02-07
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"This History Thread is about the #MilitaryHistory of the land of the
#Kachin people of northern Burma (Myanmar.) Fiercely independent Kachin warriors fought for and against Shans and Burmese. Kachins (Jinghpaw and other tribes) were allies of Burmese in wars against Assam and British. Many Jingphaw rulers accepted British administration in 1826 but in 1843 raiding flared up again. Britain annexed all of Burma 1885 but Kachin Triangle region continued to resist for decades, incl. 1914 uprising. WW1 Kachins in British 85th Burma Rifles won medals for bravery in Mesopotamia (Iraq.) 1930s Kachin troops helped suppress anticolonial Burmese & Wa rebellions. WW2 #Kachin land was nexus of China/Burma/India Theater. Japan invades, British retreat to India, Japan pushes north, Allies (Britain, US, China) fight to retake. India-China Ledo Rd supply rte begun 1942. Air transport over Hump (Mts.) and Flying Tigers flew above Kachinland..."
Source/publisher:
"Project Maje"
Date of publication:
2018-10-25
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"This History Thread is background on public protests against the war in #Kachin land, Myanmar (Burma.) Civil society groups and individuals also take other steps for peace, incl. negotiation support, conflict resolution training, collective statements, creative work, charity. Anti-war protests were impossible in Myanmar (Burma) under junta rule. Marchers in 1988 and 2007 focused on demands for democracy and economic issues. But overseas, exiled demonstrators connected the regime’s investors to oppression of ethnic groups including Karens and Mons. In 2011 war resumed after a 17 year ceasefire in Kachin State and later adjacent areas of Shan State. Myanmar’s military, the Tatmadaw attacked the Kachin Independence Army and its allies. Myanmar's first major public peace protests were in response to this North War...ဓ
Source/publisher:
"Project Maje"
Date of publication:
2018-05-16
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
''A court in northern Myanmar sentenced Lum Zawng (m), Nang Pu (f), and Zau Jet (m) today to six months imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 MMK (320 USD) each. On 3 September 2018, the three peaceful activists were charged under Section 500 of the Penal Code with defamation of the Myanmar military.
The charges relate to statements they made at a peaceful rally in Myitkyina, Kachin State, on 30 April 2018 and at a press conference the next day, following major escalation in fighting in early April 2018 between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), an ethnic armed group in Kachin State.
The fighting displaced more than 5,000 civilians, 2,000 of whom were trapped for several weeks in a forest near the village of Aung Lawt, without access to humanitarian assistance or safe passage from the conflict-affected area...''
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International
Date of publication:
2018-12-07
Date of entry/update:
2019-01-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Armed conflict in Kachin State - human rights violations, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political), Discrimination against the Kachin
Language:
English
more
Description:
"On December 9, the KPSN joined prominent international human rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch in condemning the conviction and jailing of these three activists. Their statement argues ‘the jailing of these activists is designed to silence criticism of the military,’ but reiterates KPSN’s firm belief that it will not succeed in suppressing the voices of Burma’s ethnic minorities. ‘Ethnic people will stand united for our rights, for peace, and for our freedom.’
KPSN demanded that the NLD use its constitutional power to immediately release all political prisoners and repeal section 500 of the Penal Code, which criminalizes defamation..."
Karen News
Source/publisher:
Karen News
Date of publication:
2018-12-11
Date of entry/update:
2019-01-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Various rights: reports of violations against several ethnic groups, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political)
Language:
English
more
Description:
''Hostilities in Kachin State and northern Shan State remain almost a daily occurrence. Compared to the first two weeks of June which had five clashes and 12 attacks, July has had nine clashes and nine attacks. Most clashes have occurred in Danai and Hpakant townships. Heavy rains have reduced the number of clashes in the region, yet civilians and combatants still suffer from continued Burma Army advances. Throughout the first half of July there were six military actions in Danai Township. Nawng Nyang and Zup Mai villages, approximately 15 kilometers east of Danai Town and the Myitkyina – Danai highway, as well as Nam Hkam Village, approximately 20 kilometers southwest of Danai Town, were the areas of contention. Over 2000 people were displaced east of Danai in April, some of which only recently emerged from hiding in the jungle.
Over the 14th, 15th and 16th of July, there was heavy fighting in Hpakant Township in the region west of Kamaing Town.
The biggest battle occurred throughout the day of July 14th when KIA soldiers from Bum Chyang Post defended against approximately 100 Burma Army soldiers from Ja Ra Yang Base. At 1630 Burma Army forces fired four mortar rounds toward Bum Chyang from Ja Ra Yang...''
Source/publisher:
Free Burma Rangers
Date of publication:
2018-07-30
Date of entry/update:
2018-12-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Armed conflict in Kachin State - general articles, Armed conflict in Shan State - general articles, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political), Shan (cultural, historical, political) articles
Language:
English
more
Description:
"The Burma Human Rights Network is calling on authorities to dismiss charges against three Kachin protesters accused of defamation following mass protests between April 30th and May 6th. The protesters called on the evacuation of civilians from conflict areas after fighting displaced more than 6,000 people in Tanai, Injangyang, Hpankant and Mogaung townships. Following the protests, two were fined 30,000 Kyat for violating the peaceful assemby law section 19. Afterwards, Ko Lum Zawng, U Zaw Jat and Daw Nang Pu were charged in violation of penal code section 500 for defamation of the Military..."
Source/publisher:
Burma Human Rights Network via "Progressive Voice"
Date of entry/update:
2018-06-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"?Peaceful demonstrations are not a crime, they?re a right,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Fortify Rights. ?The authorities should immediately and unconditionally drop the charges against these human rights defenders.”..."
Source/publisher:
Fortify Rights via "Progressive Voice"
Date of publication:
2018-05-12
Date of entry/update:
2018-05-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"The continued offensives by the Burma Army (or Tatmadaw) against the Kachin Independence Army in Kachin State escalated rapidly in April, displacing over 5,000 civilians. On April 30, over 5,000 people protested in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, calling on the government to free more than 3,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) trapped in war zones. Additional protests took place in other major cities across the country including Yangon. Protests led by Kachin diaspora have also been staged at Myanmar embassies around the globe.
The majority of affected civilians remain trapped in dangerous conflict zones, despite multiple letters from religious and civil society organizations urging the Kachin State and Myanmar governments to evacuate the IDPs. Consequently, Kachin youth have set up sit-in protest camps in Myitkyina to call for the rescue of the displaced civilians. If the IDP issue in Kachin State is not solved, similar protests could surface in other states and regions..."
Source/publisher:
Ethnic Nationalities Affairs Center
Date of publication:
2018-05-08
Date of entry/update:
2018-05-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
32.74 KB
Local URL:
more
Description:
"I was born and brought up in Mandalay, the former royal capital of Myanmar. It is one of the biggest cities in Upper Myanmar, which also meant I grew up among Bamars. Although my dad is half Bamar and half Kadu (one of the ethnic minorities from Sagaing, in the northern part of Myanmar) and and my mom is Karen (one of the ethnic majorities that live in the Delta region), at home, we usually speak in Burmese. My mom said I could speak in fluent Karen when I was young, but my knowledge of Karen vanished as soon as I went to pre-school, where the only language taught was Burmese. I had never considered myself a minority as one-fourth of my identity is Bamar, and because I speak Burmese and grew up among Bamars in Mandalay..."
Source/publisher:
TEACIRCLEOXFORD
Date of publication:
2018-01-15
Date of entry/update:
2018-01-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"[Editor?s Note: In this week?s set of two posts, Dr Mandy Sadan, Reader in the History of South East Asia at SOAS University of London, discusses recent experiences of the piracy of her work in Myanmar and reflects on the difficult and competing demands placed upon academics to publish their work in peer reviewed, elite university presses while also reaching a local audience. She also ponders in this essay on the unintended consequences of knowledge piracy upon Myanmar?s higher education sector in a so-called ?digital age?.] ...
Is mimicry the highest form of flattery?
For most of my academic career I have taken a serious interest in the illicit (re)production, circulation, and consumption of ?things? in Myanmar, especially ideas and photographic images. I have also written and talked quite a lot about this interest in various publications and at conferences, and have even followed the progress of some circulations over two decades. I can hardly claim, therefore, to be an innocent bystander to such practices when I express myself so openly to be intrigued and fascinated by them.
However, in October 2017 I was alerted to a translation into Burmese of my book Being and Becoming Kachin: Histories Beyond the State in the Borderworlds of Burma (British Academy and OUP 2013). A young relative had sent a photograph showing the book?s cover and she commented that she was feeling proud that her auntie?s book had finally been translated into Burmese and that she would now be able to read it. I was perturbed by the fact that the translator had not been in touch with me but was prepared to give him or her the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps they had done me a favour? Any work of translation requires time and commitment/energy and I would not be thoughtlessly dismissive of that effort..."
Mandy Sadan
Source/publisher:
teacircleoxford
Date of publication:
2017-11-30
Date of entry/update:
2017-12-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Mandy Sadan discusses the piracy of her work and tensions between academic publishing and reaching local audiences...
[Editor?s Note: In this second part of a two piece series, Dr Mandy Sadan, Reader in the History of South East Asia at SOAS University of London, discusses recent experiences of the piracy of her work in Myanmar and reflects on the difficult and competing demands placed upon academics. She also ponders the unintended consequences of knowledge piracy upon Myanmar?s higher education sector in a so-called ?digital age?. You can find Part I here.]...
A noble path of improving access to knowledge in Myanmar takes a wrong turn
It is very sad that what may have begun as a noble effort to spread and improve access to knowledge in Myanmar has ended up being potentially so counter-productive to this aim. We academics involved in Myanmar also may need to rethink some of our assumptions about these practices and how we personally engage with them. In a time where digital reproduction and circulation changes the scene, we should perhaps reflect more on the distinctions we make between different practices and the damage they may cause within a broader context of trying to rebuild higher education and public learning in Myanmar.
Where do we put the boundary markers of our own academic integrity? Academic integrity is a crucial concept in rebuilding academic standards in Myanmar, but academic integrity is really no more than a set of practices that uphold each other ? or conversely, a spectrum of activities that serve gradually to unravel the academic integrity of an individual, a project or research group, or an institution. The pressured nature of academic life also tends to embed tendencies towards making shortcuts, which can cumulatively undermine this vital ethical underpinning of academic life. Copying as piracy is perhaps the most obvious of a spectrum of activities with which foreign academics involved in Myanmar are sometimes complicit. Many of us unwittingly contribute to a climate in which this kind of activity proliferates. I include myself in this..."
Mandy Sadan
Source/publisher:
teacircleoxford
Date of publication:
2017-12-01
Date of entry/update:
2017-12-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"Despite a number of peace talks having been conducted between the central government and Kachin Independence Army (KIA), there is no sign of the war ceasing in Kachin state. The ongoing armed conflict has been driving thousands of civilians out of their villages. Many IDPs are now living in church supported camps along with relief from international humanitarian agencies. IDPs living in crowded camps with limited support face various obstacles as they cannot practice their livelihood anymore. Women have always been the ones who share most part of family burden and face many issues including domestic violence. In this interview, Burma Link AOC (agent of change) talks to Pausa Kaw Nan (PSK), a 44-year-old Kachin woman, in one of the IDP camps in Bhamo, Kachin State."
Source/publisher:
Burma Link
Date of entry/update:
2016-03-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political), Internal displacement/forced migration of Kachin, Armed conflict in Kachin State - displacement and the humanitarian situation, The Plight of Women and Children in Burma, Kachin State
Language:
English
more
Description:
"We are at a critical juncture in our history, more promising than at any time in recent memory. The country will have a civilian-majority government that came to office through the votes of a multitude of smaller nationality groups for a pan-national party promising political change. If this political transition is to succeed, poverty must be alleviated, corruption curtailed, drug abuse radically reduced, and a host of other social crises addressed that have long blighted our country. At the beginning of the year my son came to the Kachin state with his newly-wed bride to receive our blessings for his marriage. For the first time I began to think about becoming a grandmother, holding a tiny grandchild and then actually thinking that, at some time in the future, I would welcome a granddaughter or grandson to our home for another happy wedding. What can I pass on to this future generation? What will unfold before their eyes? Snow-capped mountains and orchids hidden in deep forests? Streams rushing downhill to join the great Irrawaddy? Flourishing farmlands?
I had a vision of reforested hills in Hpakant, travellers gathering pleasure from the peaceful countryside where camps for internally-displaced persons now dot the hills. I saw organic farmers, where today great swathes of monocultures for export have now displaced the original owners. And I could imagine thriving universities, where drug-addicted young people presently waste away their lives.
These reflections are not simply personal, but concerns that every parent has in our country today. We are now at a critical juncture in our history, more promising than at any time in recent memory. For the first time since the 1950s, the country will have a civilian-majority government that came to office through the votes of a multitude of smaller nationality groups for a pan-national party promising political change.
For non-Burman peoples, however, an underlying question remains, as it has in every political era since independence in 1948: can a multi-ethnic country of such cultural vibrancy and diversity be governed by a party that appears to be led by one majority group?..."
Lahpai Seng Raw
Source/publisher:
Transnational Institute (TNI)
Date of publication:
2016-03-17
Date of entry/update:
2016-03-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Dialogue/reform/transition after the NLD election victory, TNI-BCN Project on Ethnic Conflict in Burma, Peaceful Co-existence - Towards Federal Union of Burma, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political), Natural Resource Use, Burma/Myanmar - reports, articles etc.
Language:
English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Description:
"Moon Nay Li is the General Secretary of the Kachin Women?s Association Thailand (KWAT), an organisation which she joined in 2002 in order to work for her people and community. The KWAT was founded on September 9th 1999 in response to recognising the urgent need for women to organise themselves to help solve the growing social and economic problems in the Kachin State...The KWAT is very concerned that foreign aid and investment is serving to subsidise the government?s war machine. As Moon Nay Li points out; ?They (international community) are [giving] more support to the government, [but] now the government military has not stopped attacking the ethnic people.” Instead of funding the government?s offensives, ?they have to give pressure to Burmese government to have real political dialogue in our country,” says Moon Nai Li. ?They have to know that (the real) situation and also have to give pressure, not listen only to the government side. But also they have to listen to the ethnic leaders and also the ground, and CBOs and ethnic people.”
Source/publisher:
Burma Link
Date of publication:
2015-08-03
Date of entry/update:
2016-03-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political), Armed conflict in Kachin State - displacement and the humanitarian situation, Kachin State
Language:
English
more
Description:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: "The Burmese government?s renewed war against the Kachin has exponentially increased the risk
of human trafficking along the China-Burma border. New documentation by KWAT indicates that large-scale
displacement, lack of refugee protection and shortages of humanitarian aid have become significant new push
factors fuelling the trafficking problem.
Burma Army offensives against the Kachin Independence Army since June 2011 and widespread human rights
abuses have driven over 100,000 villagers from their homes, mainly in eastern Kachin State. The majority of
these refugees have fled to crowded IDP camps along the China border, which receive virtually no international
aid. Desperate to earn an income, but with little or no legal option to pursue migrant work in China, many cross
the border illegally. Their lack of legal status renders them extremely vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers,
who use well-trodden routes to transport and sell people into bonded labor or forced marriage as far as eastern
provinces of China.
Although ongoing attacks and massive social upheaval since the start of the conflict have hampered systematic
data collection, KWAT has documented 24 trafficking cases from Kachin border areas since June 2011, mostly
involving young women and girls displaced by the war, who have been tricked, drugged, raped, and sold to
Chinese men or families as brides or bonded laborers. The sale of women and children is a lucrative source
of income for traffickers, who can make as much as 40,000 Yuan (approximately $6,500 USD) per person.
While some manage to escape, and may be assisted by Chinese authorities in returning home, others disappear
without a trace.
Kachin authorities and community-based groups have played a key role in providing help with trafficking
cases, and assisting women to be reunited with their families. No trafficked women or their families sought
help from Burmese authorities. The Burmese government lists an anti-trafficking border liaison office at Loije
on the Kachin-China border, but it is unknown to the community and thought to be non-functional.
Far from seeking to provide protection to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and mitigate trafficking risks,
the Burmese government has continued to fuel the war, block humanitarian aid to IDPs in Kachin controlled
areas, and even attack and destroy IDP camps, driving refugees into China. It has also closed some of the
immigration offices on the Kachin-China border which could provide border passes for refugees to legally seek
work in China.
It is thus ironic that in 2012, Burma was recognized in the U.S. State Department?s Annual Trafficking in
Persons Report as increasing its efforts in combating human trafficking, resulting in a rise from its bottomlevel
ranking for the first time in the history of the report, and a corresponding increase in financial support to
Burma?s quasi-civilian government.
It is urgently needed to address the structural problems that have led to mass migration and trafficking in the
past and also spurred the recent conflict. The Burmese military?s gross mismanagement of resource revenues
from Kachin State over the past few decades, and ongoing land confiscation, forced relocation, and human
rights abuses, have pushed countless Kachin civilians across the Chinese border in search of peace and the
fulfillment of basic needs. These problems led to the breakdown of the 17-year ceasefire between the Kachin
Independence Army (KIA) and the military-dominated government in 2011. Refusing to engage in dialogue
to address Kachin demands for equality and equitable development, the government launched attacks to seize
total control over the wealth of resources in Kachin State.
Resolving the current conflict via genuine political dialogue would not only be a step towards peace, but
also a concrete move towards curbing human trafficking from Kachin areas. Launching a range of reforms
dealing with the political and economic factors driving people beyond Burma?s borders is critical to addressing
trafficking. Therefore, KWAT recommends the following:..."
Source/publisher:
Kachin Women?s Association Thailand (KWAT)
Date of publication:
2013-06-05
Date of entry/update:
2013-06-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Trafficking: Burma-specific material, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Kachin State, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political), Armed conflict in Kachin State - displacement and the humanitarian situation
Language:
English
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
1.05 MB 40.33 KB
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Description:
On behalf of:
• All Kachin Students and Youth Union (AKSYU)
• BRIDGE
• Kachin Centre
• Kachin Development Networking Group
• Kachin Environmental Organization
• Kachin National Organization
• Kachin Women?s Association – Thailand
• Kachin News Group
• Life Vision Foundation
• Pan Kachin Development Society
Source/publisher:
Burma Partnership
Date of publication:
2012-01-17
Date of entry/update:
2012-10-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
74.99 KB
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Description:
Sie werden nicht gefragt, nicht entschädigt und bald einfach fortgejagt: Ein Staudammprojekt am Ayeyarwady in Myanmar bedroht die Natur und die Existenz tausender Flussanwohner. Der Widerstand gegen die Pläne der Militärjunta ist lebensgefährlich. Chinesische Investitionen, Kachin; Chinese Investment.
Veronika Buter
Source/publisher:
Kontinente
Date of publication:
2008-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-12-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Chinese investment, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political), Dams and rivers - articles, reports, resources
Language:
German, Deutsch
more
Description:
Executive Summary: "The remote and environmentally rich Hugawng valley in Burma?s northern Kachin State has been internationally recognized as one of the world?s hotspots of biodiversity. Indeed, the military junta ruling Burma, together with the US-based Wildlife Conservation Society, is establishing the world?s largest tiger reserve in the valley. However, the conditions of the people living there have not received attention. This report by local researchers reveals the untold story of how the junta?s militarization and self-serving expansion of the gold mining industry have devastated communities and ravaged the valley?s forests and waterways.
The Hugawng valley was largely untouched by Burma?s military regime until the mid-1990s. After a ceasefire between the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and the junta in 1994, local residents had high hopes that peace would foster economic development and improved living conditions. However, under the junta?s increased control, the rich resources of Hugawng valley have turned out to be a curse.
Despite the ceasefire, the junta has expanded its military infrastructure throughout Kachin State, increasing its presence from 26 battalions in 1994 to 41 in 2006. This expansion has been mirrored in Hugawng valley, where the number of military outposts has doubled; in the main town of Danai, public and private buildings have been seized and one third of the surrounding farmland confiscated. Some of the land and buildings were used to house military units, while others were sold to business interests for military profit.
In order to expand and ensure its control over gold mining revenues, the regime offered up 18% of the entire Kachin State for mining concessions in 2002. This transformed gold mining from independent gold panning to a large-scale mechanized industry controlled by the concession holders. In Hugawng valley concessions were sold to 8 selected companies and the number of main gold mining sites increased from 14 in 1994 to 31 sites in 2006. The number of active hydraulic and pit mines had exploded to approximately 100 by the end of 2006.
The regime?s Ministry of Mines collects signing fees for the concessions as well as 35% - 50% tax on annual profits. Additional payments are rendered to the military?s top commander for the region, various township and local authorities as well as the Minister of Mines personally. The junta has announced occasional bans on gold mining in Kachin State but as this report shows, these bans are temporary and selective, in effect used to maintain the junta?s grip on mining revenues.
While the regime, called the State Peace and Development Council or SPDC, has consolidated political and financial control of the valley, it has not enforced its own existing (and very limited) environmental and health regulations on gold mining operations. This lack of regulation has resulted in deforestation, the destruction of river banks, and altering of river flows. Miners have been severely injured or killed by unsafe working practices and the lack of adequate health services. The environmental and health effects of mercury contamination have yet to be monitored and analyzed.
The most dramatic effects of this gold mining boom, however, have been on the social conditions of the local people. The influx of transient populations, together with harsh working conditions, a lack of education opportunities and poverty have led to the expansion of the drug, sex, and gambling industries in Hugawng valley. In one mining area it was estimated that 80% of inhabitants are addicted to opium and approximately 30% of miners use heroin and methamphetamines. Intravenous drug use and the sex industry have increased the spread of HIV/AIDS. Far from alleviating these social ills, local SPDC authorities collect fees from these illicit industries and even diminish efforts to curb them.
The SPDC continually boasts about how the people of Kachin State are benefiting from its border area development program. The case of Hugawng valley illustrates, however, the fundamental lack of local benefit from or participation in the development process. The SPDC is pursuing its interests of military expansion and revenue generation at the expense of social and environmental sustainability
This report documents local people speaking out about this destructive and unsustainable development. Such bravery should be encouraged and supported.".......The main URL for this document in OBL leaqds to a 1.5MB version, obtained by passing the original through ocr software. The original and uthoritative version can be found as an alternate link in this entry.
Source/publisher:
Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG)
Date of publication:
2007-01-09
Date of entry/update:
2010-09-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political), Pollution (various sources), Gold mining and trade
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.51 MB
Local URL:
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Description:
Interview mit dem Präsidenten des Kachin Theological College (KTC).Im Gespräch mit Livenet berichtete er von seiner Schule in der Stadt Myitkyina, der grössten theologischen Ausbildungsstätte im Norden des Landes, die den Bachelor of Theology und den Master of Divinity verleiht und in den letzten 15 Jahren ein starkes Wachstum erlebt hat. Seit dem Zusammenbruch des Sozialismus wollen viele Absolventen von Colleges und Sekundarschulen das KTC besuchen.? Zahlreiche Kurse werden englisch unterrichtet; im abgeschotteten Land sehen Eltern hier offensichtlich ein Sprungbrett für die Laufbahn ihrer Sprösslinge;
Verfolgung von Christen, Kachin
Interview with the president of the baptist Kachin Theological College; Christian students;
Persecution of Christians
Source/publisher:
Livenet
Date of publication:
2007-02-26
Date of entry/update:
2007-08-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
German, Deutsch
more
Description:
Kachin State?s growing ethnic and environmental troubles...
"In recent years, many political analysts in Burma and abroad have predicted growing strife in the country?s troubled ethnic regions, warning that ceasefire agreements with the ruling junta would not guarantee lasting peace. The current instability in Burma?s Kachin State bears these warnings out..."
Khun Sam
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 11
Date of publication:
2005-11-00
Date of entry/update:
2006-05-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Ceasefire and ex-ceasefire Groups, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political), Armed conflict in Kachin State - ceasefires and ceasefire talks
Language:
English
more
Description:
Ancient myths lie at the heart of manau festivities...
"It?s a scene out of the distant past—two columns of dancers loop, coil and weave a sinuous route around a ceremonial arch spanning a circular arena enclosed by a split bamboo fence. The arch is topped by a line of 10 tall boards colorfully decorated with linked linear maze patterns. A crossbeam, decorated with depictions of various birds and other animals, carries the carved head of a hornbill bird at one end and its tail at the other. The structure is called a manau—and that?s also the name of the ritual dance ceremony, performed by the Kachin people of Burma.
In early December it was also being performed in the northern Thai village of Baan Mai Samaki, home to some 500 Kachin refugees who work on land managed by the Thai King?s Highland Development Project. This is the second manau to be celebrated at Baan Mai Samaki—the first was in 2003—and it was expected to draw Kachin exiles from as far away as China and India..."
Geoffrey Walton
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 12
Date of publication:
2005-12-00
Date of entry/update:
2006-05-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Bleak future for students and teachers in Burma?s northernmost state...
"Mai Mai gave up on education after her first year as an English major at Myitkyina University and has no plans to revive her academic career. ?I don?t want to continue university,? she says. ?It?s worthless.? Instead, she spends her time trying to earn money to support her family—something that has occupied her since childhood, when she routinely skipped class to work at nearby jade and gold mines..."
Khun Sam
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 8
Date of publication:
2005-08-00
Date of entry/update:
2006-04-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"An alarming trend is developing in ethnic Kachin communities of Burma. Growing poverty, caused by failed state policies, is driving increasing numbers of young people to migrate in search of work. As a result, young women and girls are disappearing without trace, being sold as wives in China, and tricked into the Chinese and Burmese sex industries. Local Kachin researchers conducted interviews in Burma from May-August 2004 in order to document this trend.
"Driven Away: Trafficking of Kachin women on the China-Burma border", produced by the Kachin Women's Association Thailand (KWAT), is based on 63 verified and suspected trafficking cases that occurred primarily during 2000-2004. The cases involve 85 women and girls, mostly between the ages of 14 and 20. Testimony comes primarily from women and girls who escaped after being trafficked, as well as relatives, persons who helped escapees, and others.
About two-thirds of the women trafficked were from the townships of Myitkyina and Bhamo in Kachin State. About one third were from villages in northern Shan State. In 36 of the cases, women were specifically offered safe work opportunities and followed recruiters to border towns. Many were seeking part-time work to make enough money for school fees during the annual three-month school holiday. Others simply needed to support their families. Those not offered work were taken while looking for work, tricked, or outright abducted.
Women taken to China were most often passed on to traffickers at the border to be transported farther by car, bus and/or train for journeys of up to one week in length. Traffickers used deceit, threats, and drugs to confuse and control women en route..."
Source/publisher:
Kachin Women's Association, Thailand (KWAT)
Date of publication:
2005-05-15
Date of entry/update:
2005-05-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Trafficking: Burma-specific material, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Kachin State, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
2.18 MB
Local URL:
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Description:
Contents:-ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS;
MAP;
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY;
INTRODUCTION & METHODOLOGY;;
BACKGROUND;
UNEARTHING BURMA;
ENVIRONMENT AND MINING LAWS;
THE LAND OF THE KACHIN;
GEOGRAPHY & BIODIVERSITY;
HISTORY;
GOLD IN THE KACHIN HILLS;
CONCESSION POLICY;
ROLE OF THE KIO;
FOREIGN INVESTORS;
CHINA;
GOING FOR KACHIN GOLD: MINING TECHNIQUES;
PLACER MINING;
PANNING;
BUCKET DREDGES;
SUCTION DREDGES;
HYDRAULIC MINING;
GOLD ORE;
OPEN-CAST MINES;
SHAFT MINES;
CHEMICALS IN THE MINING PROCESS;
DANGER: MERCURY;
ALTERNATIVES TO MERCURY;
CYANIDE LEACHING;
CASE STUDIES OF MINING AREAS IN KACHIN STATE;
HUKAWNG;
MALI HKA;
N?MAI HKA;
HPAKANT;
GOLD AND THE ENVIRONMENT3;
AFTER THE GOLD RUSH: TAILINGS AND ACID MINE DRAINAGE;
LAND REHABILITATION;
THE RIVER ECOSYSTEM;
GOLD AND ITS SOCIAL IMPACT;
SEEKING WORK, SEEKING GOLD;
ENDANGERING MINERS;
MINING AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS;
RECOMMENDATIONS... APPENDICES: IVANHOE MINES LTD.; EXAMPLES OF MERCURY AND METHYLMERCURY POISONING; CASES OF CYANIDE POLLUTION; AGREEMENT BETWEEN MYITKYINA TPDC AND NORTHERN STAR MINERALS TRADING AND PRODUCTION CO.
Source/publisher:
Images Asia Environment Desk, Pan Kachin Development Society
Date of publication:
2004-11-00
Date of entry/update:
2004-12-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political), Pollution (various sources), Gold mining and trade
Language:
English
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
3.38 MB 3.3 MB
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Description:
"First an attempted coup then an assassination—the details are sketchy and conspiracy theories abound. It?s clear that all is not well within the Kachin Independence Organization..."
Naw Seng
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 12, No. 4, April 2004
Date of publication:
2004-04-00
Date of entry/update:
2004-07-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) was the first ceasefire group to welcome the Burmese government?s plans to reconvene the National Convention. The Irrawaddy interviewed KIO Chairman Tu Jai, 73, by email, about recent political developments in Rangoon and Kachin State. The organization signed a ceasefire with Rangoon in February 1994 and Tu Jai has been chairman since 2001..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 11, No. 8
Date of publication:
2003-10-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-12-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Interviews with Refugees from Burma on Guam, including recent interviews with Chin and Kachin refugees.
"During the past year, nearly a thousand refugees from Burma have arrived on the island of Guam,
a United States territory in the Pacific Ocean. They are seeking asylum in the US, having fled
extraordinary levels of persecution in their homeland. Most are from northern Burma, especially
the Chin State...
This report consists of interviews with a small cross section of the Guam asylum seekers. It is to
some extent representative of their demographics, in terms of ethnicity and gender. The
interviewees have given us a great bounty of significant new information and details about recent
conditions in Burma...
Numerous topics are covered in these 17 interviews. There is front-line information about the
AIDS epidemic which is making its grim progress into the remote mountains of Burma, and the
efforts to evade the regime?s denial about it..."
Edith Mirante
Source/publisher:
Project Maje
Date of publication:
2001-03-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Chin (Zo)- economic, social, cultural, political, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political), Discrimination against the Kachin, Discrimination against the Chin (Zo) -- websites and reports
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Interviews in the Kachin State, Northern Burma". "The eleven interviews in this report were conducted in a large village in the Kachin State (northern Burma) just across a river boundary from China. The village has been rapidly expanding in population since the 1980s, with a constant influx of internal refugees who flee here to avoid a series of campaigns by Burmese government troops...Some of the interviewees could see nothing but darkness in the future; others expressed a remarkably buoyant optimism....While frustrated by isolation and poverty, the people there have a great faith in themselves and each other, and seem to feel that whatever work they are doing, it will be productive in the end. They are exraordinarily willing to take political risks..."
Source/publisher:
Project Maje
Date of publication:
1991-09-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Women of the Kachin Liberated Area". "12 women, all living in or near the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Organization, were asked essentially the same set of questions. Topics covered included politics, culture, health, violence, and religion. The picture that emerges from their answers is one of strong, independent women, functioning confidently amid considerable hardship..." "The women -- doctors, soldiers, shopkeepers -- reveal many aspects of their lives. They tell how they survive, their perceptions of women's role and political power, and their hopes for the future..."
Source/publisher:
Project Maje
Date of publication:
1995-03-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political), Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma
Language:
English
more