With Low-Profile Engagement in Myanmar, U.S. Could Contribute to Kachin Peace

With Low-Profile Engagement in Myanmar, U.S. Could Contribute to Kachin Peace

Kachin leaders are intensifying calls for U.S. involvement in talks between the Myanmar government and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).

At a meeting with State Department officials in Washington last month, Gen. Gun Maw, the KIO’s chief negotiator and deputy commander-in-chief of its military wing, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), raised the possibility of the U.S. playing a more active role in resolving the decades-old Kachin conflict. Since the collapse of a 17-year cease-fire between the Myanmar government and the KIO in June 2011, hostilities have escalated dangerously. Several rounds of talks have taken place, but a breakthrough remains elusive. The KIO appears to be wagering that U.S. involvement might change that.

While the roots of Myanmar’s multiple ethno-political conflicts can be traced to colonial policies, the post-colonial state, which achieved independence in 1948, privileged the language and religion of the majority Burmese ethnic group, alienating ethnic minorities like the Kachin. Initially, the Kachin tried political means to press their demands, turning to armed struggle only in 1961.

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