Myanmar Peace Process in Rebel Hands, Says Army Chief
Myanmar's army chief said peace in the war-ravaged nation is in the hands of ethnic rebels, in an interview broadcast Monday, as a fresh surge in unrest in northern Kachin state casts doubt over ceasefire efforts.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said peace was the "only path" if the country is to continue its democratization and development, in a rare interview with Singapore's Channel NewsAsia.
"Do they really want peace? If they really want peace, there is no reason that they cannot have it," he said, referring to the country's many ethnic minority armed groups who have fought for greater autonomy for decades.
"We cannot keep disagreeing. Disagreeing hinders the country's development," added the army chief, whose troops have engaged in sporadic heavy fighting with rebels from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), despite ongoing efforts to reach a nationwide ceasefire.
Tensions in Kachin, where a 17-year ceasefire between rebels and the government splintered in 2011, have overshadowed efforts to call an end to the multiple civil wars in Myanmar's ethnic minority borderlands that have blighted the country for more than half a century.
Reaching a nationwide ceasefire deal with some 16 rebel groups is seen as a cornerstone of reforms by Myanmar's quasi-civilian government, which replaced outright junta rule in 2011.
But while the government has pinned its hopes on reaching an agreement within weeks, the peace process continues to stumble on decades-old mistrust and the Kachin conflict.
Activists say hundreds of people have been caught up in clashes since last week around Kachin's Hpakant township, a jade-rich area near the border with China, which officials have blamed on the KIA.
"There are so many reasons to believe that elements within the KIA who do not want peace have intentionally tried to disturb the nationwide ceasefire accord process," Information Minister Ye Htut said in a post on his Facebook page.
The latest unrest was sparked on January 15 with the brief abduction of the Kachin state transport minister, who was later released, and three policemen believed still to be held.
Several attempted bomb attacks on security forces and mining firms have been reported in recent days in the area, according to the state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper on Monday, although most were unsuccessful.
Local activists said a consortium of religious and civil society groups had sent some 200 cars to try and remove civilians from the area but had been prevented from getting through to the village by the national army.
Tsa Ji, director of Kachin Development Networking Group, told AFP that schools were closed and fear had spread through the area.
"The villagers want to get out. They are afraid just seeing (Myanmar) soldiers in uniform. There is no safety for women," he said, referring to long-standing claims of serious human rights abuses by Myanmar's armed forces.
He said he believed the fighting in the area was directly linked to the lucrative mining industry.
The control of plentiful resources is a major source of resentment in Myanmar's ethnic minority border areas.
Some 98,000 people have been forced from their homes by the fighting in Kachin and northern areas of neighboring Shan state, according to the United Nations, which has struggled to reach tens of thousands of those affected.
Source: Agence France Presse
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