Kachin Independence Organization
Founded in February 1961, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) is the leading armed opposition force among the Kachin people in northeastern Myanmar (Burma). An earlier Kachin uprising led by Burmese army mutineer Naw Seng in 1949 failed to find widespread support, but in the early 1960s a new generation of Kachin leaders quickly struck a popular chord.
Striking out from northern Shan State, by the mid-1960s KIO units had penetrated much of Kachin State. Fierce fighting with the Burmese army and rival Communist Party of Burma (CPB), as well as internal divisions, halted the KIO's advance. These events led to the deaths of KIO president Zau Seng and his two brothers in 1975. However, under the revived leadership of Brang Seng (1931–1994), a former high school headmaster, the KIO quickly reestablished itself as one of the most effective insurgent groups in the country, with an estimated 8,000 troops under arms.
Bolstered by control of the black market trade in jade, the KIO became a leading voice in the National Democratic Front, which it joined in 1983 following abortive peace talks with the Ne Win government. The KIO was also one of the main architects of the Democratic Alliance of Burma after the Burmese army's suppression of pro-democracy protests in 1988.
Following the CPB's collapse in 1989, however, the KIO came under increasing pressure. This was compounded by the cease-fires of local NDF allies as well as the defection of several hundred troops in Shan State who formed a rival Kachin Defense Army. Anxious to be part of political discussions within the country at large, KIO leaders agreed a cease-fire with the State Law and Order Restoration Council government in 1994 under a new strategy they termed "peace through development." In a major policy change, the KIO opened offices in the towns and began resettlement and development programs in several parts of northeastern Myanmar. Political problems, however, persisted for the KIO, partly due to the slow pace of reforms, and this saw a leadership struggle during 2001 in which the KIO president Zau Mai was replaced by another party veteran, Tu Jai.
Further Reading
Lintner, Bertil. (1990) Land of Jade: A Journey through Insurgent Burma. Edinburgh: Kiscadale.
——. (1997) The Kachin: Lords of Northern Burma. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Teak House.
Smith, Martin. (1999) Burma: Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity. 2d ed. London: Zed Books.
Tucker, Shelby. (2000) Among Insurgents: Walking through Burma. London: Radcliffe Press.
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