Conflicts on the Burma border

@taungzalatnews

In the past few weeks, clashes along the northern and eastern borders of Burma have escalated, which has led to the growing concerns from the United WA State Army, or the UWSA. These conflicts have caused a lot of casualties in these areas, and even innocent civilians are caught in the crossfire.

This has also led to the instability of the country’s political and economic sectors, which can affect the overall development of the entire country. President Thein Sein has pushed for peace in these areas; however, the Burmese army has continued to launch attacks against ethnic and radical groups. This is definitely a contradiction to the President’s desire of promoting peace and order in the borders of Burma.

UWSA has urged different groups to refrain from launching offensives and attacks, and should control and limit their movements whenever they are inside the Burmese government territory. In addition, UWSA has also called on the President to command the army to act in accordance with his desires to promote peace and order in the border regions.

Their statements have suggested that some of these military officers may not be acting in accordance with the President’s orders, and should therefore be carefully managed and controlled. These statements support the previous remarks given by KIA, or the Kachin Independence Army, that the President could not control the actions of his military officers in the regional areas.

In addition, there have been several reports of women getting abused, raped and killed by Burmese troops. Some locals have even attested to these incidents, and have confirmed that abuse from the Burmese troops were actually a common and regular occurrence in the border regions.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who is the voice of the opposition in the country, has expressed her concerns about these incidents. She feels that the Burmese troops use their power to abuse civilians, and to intimidate various insurgent groups from going against the government.

These incidents are truly unfortunate because innocent women and civilians are caught in the crossfire. Although the President is saying that he wants to promote peace in the border regions, this remains to be seen since Burmese troops are still launching various attacks against ethnic and insurgent groups. Some groups have even asked to see official documents that would prove that the President has indeed ordered their military units to stop their offensives.

Currently, thousands of civilians have fled the border areas because of the rising fear of getting caught in the action. Across the country, thousands of activists have also called for the fighting to stop, to prevent further killings and abuse from the Burmese troops.

It is very sad to note that the Burmese troops are fighting against their people, instead of fighting for the general good of the entire nation. The government needs to make a clear stand on this issue, and needs to make a swift action to stop these killings and promote peace. The government should be sincere in their desire to stop the killings in the border areas, and should control the movements of their troops to avoid further damage.

source: DVB, Mizzima, Irawaddy