Narinjara news

Settlements of the Kachin Ceasefire Groups in westrern Burma

Maungdw, 7^th November: Members of a Kachin ceasefire group were brought into Rakhine State, in the western part of Burma for settlement on 22^nd October, according to our correspondent.

A total of thirty three ethnic Kachin families from the northern part of Burma were moved to be settled at Ngaraing-chaung model village under Maungdw Township, bordering with Bangladesh. The village formerly called as Kathay model village, where a wide scale forced labour was used, has been renamed as Ngaraing-chaung by the Burmese junta (SPDC).

The group leader of the thirty Kachin families is U Akru, and the second leader is U Angki, and the third one is U Kunpa.

According to local sources, the members of the Kachin ceasefire group brought for settlement carry guns and motorbikes with them, which show that they have been brought to be kept as paramilitary forces to be used for border surveillance and other military duties including guerrilla warfare against dissident insurgent groups.

On 20^th October, some Burmese settlers from Rangoon, the capital of Burma, were also brought into the village.

A welcoming ceremony was arranged for the new settlers on 23^th October. The village is situated at about 1.5 km from the Bangladeshi border, it was learnt.

Before this batch of settlers, about one thousand families from Burma proper have been settled by the Burmese junta in the area close to Bangladesh. #