Aug 29

Update on KACHIN IDPs

Updated Dec 12 2013
Kachinnews.com reports that Burmese army troops have shot at “Kachin refugees” and have stolen part of their food supplies, such as rice.
Allegedly these were Burmese Army soldiers who entered ‘Nam Lim Pa’ IDP camp, forcing more than 50 resident villagers to flee to Man Gau village. Free Burma Rangers (FBR) states that these army troops came from five different Battalions under the Military Operations Command (MOC). Such tactics and incidents, where the army uses the aid convoys to advance its ‘sphere of control’ have been used by the army before, for instance earlier military had targeted the UN aid convoy in Kachin state’s jade rich Hpakant to take territory from KIO (Kachin Independence Organization).

Update on Kachin IDPs:
October 25, 2013

IDPs in Kachin State continue to be attacked by Burmese army:
“More than 100,000 civilians have been displaced since the armed conflict began in Kachin state in June 2011, including an estimated 53,000 registered IDPs in KIA-controlled areas. The regime has continuously restricted access to humanitarian aid to these IDPs, with only three deliveries of UN aid permitted in KIA-controlled areas since July 2012. These deliveries were comprised of food, medicine, and other supplies designed to provide short-term relief, but only reached 25% of the IDPs in desperate need of aid”.
For full story check out:
http://www.fidh.org/en/asia/burma/14171-army-attacks-camps-of-displaced-people-in-kachin-state

Update on Kachin IDPs:
August 29, 2013

About Kachin: Northernmost state of Burma (Myanmar) is bordered by China and India, with Myanmar’s highest mountain, forming the southern tip of the Himalayas.

History: Kachin troops formed major part of Burmese army, but with dissolution of Union of Burma in 1962, Kachin forces withdrew and formed the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) under the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO)

Root cause leading up to IDP situation: After a Myanmar army offensive in 1994 seized the jade mines from the KIO, a peace treaty was signed that allowed KIO control of most of the State, under aegis of Myanmar military, resulting in the creation of splinter factions from the KIO and KIA of groups opposed to the peace accord, creating an unstable political landscape.
Continued Conflict: 2011 Outbreak of Civil War: Fighting between KIA and the Myanmar army began in June 2011, lasting till 2012, leading to roughly 5,600 IDPs, displaced from over 300 villages, arriving at 38 Camps under Myanmar government control. By Oct 2012, 100,000 IDPs were still in camps across Kachin state, living in KIA controlled territory.

Current Plight of people: Some among the campers are over 70 years old, desperately wanting to return home, but reluctant to return as security has not been established in the villages they were forced to leave. Gunfires can still be heard and villages continue to be littered with landmines. Aid agencies point to lack of government coordination.

Sudha Rajput
August 29, 2013, 11:26am

srajput2

Dr. Sudha G. Rajput is the author of Internal Displacement and Conflict: The Kashmiri Pandits in Comparative Perspective (Routledge). Her 31-year career at the World Bank touched on multiple aspects of international development, working on thirteen countries of the former Soviet Union. Her co-authored book chapters appear in Scientific Explorations of Cause and Consequence across Social Contexts (Praeger) and in State, Society, and Minorities in Southeast Asia (Lexington Books). She writes for the Forced Migration Review. Her doctoral research has investigated issues of conflict-induced displacement in Kashmir, with a focus on societal and policy reform, leading her efforts to the development of a graduate course, Refugees and IDP Issues, drawing students from fields of conflict resolution, international development, humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding. She is a Senior Researcher at the Refugee Law Initiative, a U.K. based think-tank. She is a Consultant/Trainer for USAID, designing and conducting capacity building workshops in Khartoum, Sudan, promoting cross-border co-existence. As a Professional Lecturer, at George Washington University, she teaches at the Elliott School of International Affairs, where she brings multi-disciplinary approaches to her course on Refugee and Migrant Crisis. She is a trainer for the Forage Center for Peacebuilding Education, where during a 4-day humanitarian assistance simulation, she coaches students on systematic understanding of protracted displacements. She teaches at the University of Maryland Global Campus, delivering the MBA program for the military students. Her interests on post-conflict issues include her past travels to: Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Sudan, and Ukraine. Sudha’s blog on internal displacement can be found at www.internaldisplacement.info. Dr. Rajput lives in Washington, D.C. and can be reached at sudha_rajput@yahoo.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.