Kachin Independent Army
The Kachin Independent Army (also called Kachin Independence Army , German Independent Army Kachin , abbreviation KIA ) is the armed arm of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), a political organization in Myanmar (former Burma) that campaigns for the rights of the Myanmar ethnic group the kachin kicks in. The KIO is currently adhering to a ceasefire with the Myanmar military regime, the State Council for Peace and Development (SPDC). The strength of the KIO is estimated at 5,000 men. The KIO is organized in 4 brigades . The headquarters of the KIO is in Laiza , Kachin State .
history
The foundation was formed by members of the Kachin Rifles , a unit of the colonial army founded by the British colonial power. After Burma gained independence, this unit was taken over by the new state of Burma. They rebelled in 1961 , which led to the formation of the KIA. The KIO was founded in 1961 together with the KIA. In the same year she began her armed struggle against the Burmese central government.
The KIO fought first for an independent state, then for autonomy within Burma. Since its inception, the KIA ruled almost all of Kachin State with the exception of the larger cities and the rail link to Mandalay . The KIO has worked closely with the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) in the past and has been supported by China . After relations between Burma and China improved in the late 1980s, the Chinese government stopped helping the CPB and thus also the KIO. In 1991, the 4th KIO Brigade, which operated in the border area between Kachin State and Shan State , reached a ceasefire agreement with the central government in Yangon .
Drug trafficking
In the past, the KIA and KIO financed themselves, among other things, by taxing opium harvests. Although the Kachin Independence Organization has declared its areas drug-free zones in the past, the cultivation of opium and its processing into heroin has never ceased entirely. On the contrary, it seems that the KIO and KIA are increasingly financed again from drug income.
Relationship with the government
The relationship between the State Council for Peace and Development (SPDC) and the KIO can rightly be described as tense. In the past, the SPDC has tried again and again to exert more influence on the area of the KIO. Among other things, the SPDC in 2005 prohibited the export of teak to China. He also tried to interfere in the casino business of the KIA and KIO.
In 1980 negotiations regarding autonomy within Burma took place in Rangoon. However, the government did not want to include the possibility of an autonomy in the constitution and the negotiations failed. The fighting resumed.
In February 1994, the Kachin Independence Organization also signed an armistice with the central government. The contract gave the KIO largely autonomous rights in the Kachin State. The KIA was able to keep its weapons and bases in Kachin State and still provides basic security today, although some SPDC units are also stationed in Kachin State.
In 2010 the government in Rangoon took the initiative to integrate the KIA as a border protection unit into the Burmese army. The KIA did not want to agree to this. In 2011 new battles began.
In 2015 the government negotiated a peace agreement with various rebel groups. The KIA did not want to sign the peace agreement.
literature
- Nicholas Farrelly: Ceasing Ceasefire? Kachin Politics Beyond the Stalemates. In: Myanmar's Transition. Openings, obstacles and opportunities. Institute of Southeast Asia Studies, Singapore 2012, pp. 52–71.
swell
- ↑ a b c d A Chronology of Myanmar's Kachin Conflict . In: The Irrawaddy . November 20, 2014 ( irrawaddy.com [accessed August 20, 2018]).
- ↑ Push coming to shove for Kachins archive link ( Memento from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Sakse Collective, The Diplomat: Kachin: Hardly a Ceasefire . In: The Diplomat . ( thediplomat.com [accessed August 20, 2018]).
