Senior Burmese Army officer threatens to eliminate KIO

Increasingly frustrated with the Kachin Independence Organization’s (KIO’s) refusal to toe the military junta’s line, a senior Burmese Army officer from capital Naypyitaw made public his ire and spoke of eliminating the rebel armed group in Bhamo, Kachin State last week. He was campaigning for the elections, said residents.


An irate Maj-Gen Lun Maung, Auditor General of the junta criticized the KIO, the last remaining Kachin armed group, which has refused to accept the junta-proposed transformation to the Border Guard Force. He was addressing Bhamo residents in four different venues for the general elections by the year end, on Friday, said residents.


The Naypyitaw officer threatened that KIO should be dealt with like disobedient children, “Like children, we will try to convince KIO to accept the BGF through words. If it does not listen, we will beat it with our hands and if not then with a stick. If it still does not work we have to kick it”.

He accused the KIO of lying and refused to believe KIO’s reasons for rejecting the BGF --- that the Kachin people are not willing to transform KIO, and that the KIO has to go in for revolution backed by the desire of Kachin people.

He also said that KIO is not qualified to rule the state saying “It cannot provide leadership to a small district like Bhamo, how can it be trusted to rule the state (Kachin State)?”

Maj-Gen Lun Maung, is a Shan and has grown up in Nawng Hku Sam Pa village, about three miles west of Bhamo, also called Manmaw in Kachin. He was there till high school and moved to Burma proper.

In public meetings in Bhamo he said that there are only 20 per cent Kachins in the three major cities in Kachin State - Bhamo, Mogaung and Mohnyin, and the rest are Shan and Burmese.

On January 4, 1948, the Union of Burma was formed with the proper Burma (the areas around mainly Mandalay and Rangoon) and seven ethnic states--- Kachin, Chin, Shan, Mon, Rakhaing (Arakan), Karen and Karenni. The states populated with ethnic people encircle the proper Burma.
A civil worker, who helped to organize Maj-Gen Lun Maung’s campaign said, “I thought his speech was racist and not meant for unity among races in Kachin State. It will only fuel the desire of Kachins and other races in Kachin State to oppose the ruling junta”.

On April 16, the KIO is going to hold public meetings in Laiza headquarters east of Kachin State, near the China border. It will explain to the people why the series of meetings on BGF with the junta failed to get off the ground, said KIO officers in Laiza.