On Wednesday U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to Myanmar a nation which has been isolated from the world community after the nullification of the 1990 election which was a landslide victory for the National Democratic League. Human rights abuses have also contributed to this isolation with thousands of political prisoners jailed for simple opposition to the ruling military junta.
Myanmar's problems don't end with the abuses mentioned above there have been long running conflicts between Myanmar's minority populations and the government.
The Kachin Independence Army is one such group fighting against the rule of the military junta and for their own nation
In October 2010 KIA commanders informed the BBC that they have "10,000 regular troops and 10,000 reservists", but the BBC had no way to confirm this,[1] and in 2009 Thomas Fuller of the NYT estimated their numbers at about 4,000 active soldiers.[2] The soldiers are divided into five brigades, plus one mobile brigade. Most are stationed in bases close to the Chinese border, in strips of territory held by the KIO.[2] One brigade is stationed in northern Shan state, where there is a large Kachin population.[citation needed]The KIA formed in 1961 in response to a military coup in Burma led by General Ne Win, who attempted to consolidate Burmese control over regions on the periphery of the state which were home to various ethnic groups. From 1961 until 1994, the KIA fought a grueling and inconclusive war against the Burmese junta. Originally the KIA fought for independence, but now the official KIO policy goal is for autonomy within a federal union of Burma.[citation needed]The 1994 ceasefire agreement between the KIA and the Burmese junta froze the conflict in place.[citation needed] The KIA has not disarmed or surrendered, and continues to recruit, train and mobilize soldiers.[3] Prior to the ceasefire the KIA was predominantly a low-tech guerrilla force, but peace has provided the breathing room to establish a military academy and design rigorous officer training programs
Jingpo people
The Jingpho people or Kachin people (Burmese: ကချင်လူမျိုး; MLCTS: ka. hkyang lu. myui:, pronounced [kətɕɪ̀ɴ lù mjó];simplified Chinese: 景颇族; traditional Chinese: 景頗族; pinyin: Jǐngpō zú; also Jingpo or Singpho; endonyms: Jinghpaw, Tsaiva, Lechi,Theinbaw, Singfo, Chingpaw)[1]) are an ethnic group who largely inhabit the Kachin Hills in northern Burma's Kachin State and neighbouring areas of China and India. The Jingpo form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where they numbered 132,143 people in the 2000 census. The Singpho constitute the same ethnic identity, albeit living in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, an area also controversially claimed by China.
The Jingpo people are an ethnic affinity of several tribal groups, known for their fierce independence, disciplined fighting skills, complex clan inter-relations, embrace of Christianity, craftsmanship, herbal healing and jungle survival skills. Other neighbouring residents of Kachin State include the Shans (Thai/Lao related), the Lisus, the Rawangs, the Nagas, and the Burmans, the latter forming the largest ethnic group in Burma, also called Bamar.
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