1. Today, 10th January 2018 marks the 70th Anniversary of the creation of Kachin State. May this day bring a blessing to the citizens of Kachin State and all the ethnic nationalities of the Union of Burma. The declaration of Independence on January 4, 1948 was the new birth of freedom for the Union of Burma and in the same month on January 10, 1948 a “Kachin State Day” was commemorated from the result of the ‘Panglong Agreement’. Without the historic Kachin State Day, the Union of Burma would have never come into existence.

2. Successive chauvinist Burmese regimes since Independence have continued the abnegation of human rights, have deprived people of equality, and have tried to diminish the cultural diversity of ethnic nationalities in the country.

3. The ^‘Kachin State Day^‘ for us is marked not by celebrations but by recently intensified and indiscriminate attacks from the Burmese Colonist Army. All this occurs in areas where innocent civilians and already displaced people who find themselves in the confines of refugee camps facing enormous difficulties.

4. The evidence of on-going internal military colonisation is obvious in Kachin State today despite so called elected Aung San Suu Kyi lead the NLD government is in power. It’s meticulous plans to take political advantage by holding peace talks with some ethnic armed groups, while also using delaying tactics and the politics of divide and rule in the name of 21^st Century Panglong Conference shows that still there is no aspiration for a genuine Federal Union,

5. We call upon everyone on this historic day, to stand up fervently to defeat the common enemy, which continuously strive to destroy our diversity.

Central Committee

Kachin National Organization

Contacts:
Duwa Bawmwang Laraw, President, Kachin National Organisation (+44 1234 360 725)
Hkanhpa Sadan, General Secretary, Kachin National Organisation (+44 7944 2407 74)

Download this statement HERE.