Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Myitkyina (Fides Service) - " Fighting rages, the military governments do not hesitate to committing atrocities and revenge on the civilian population; there are over 10 thousand civil refugees of Kachin ethnic group, mostly Christians, who are escaping, victims of violence": is the alarm launched to Fides by a priest of the diocese of Myitkyina (in the North of Myanmar), who requested anonymity for security reasons. The priest says, with great concern, that the situation of civil conflict that has been going on for about two weeks, affects the state of Kachin (one of 14 among states and territories in which the nation is divided), an area that falls under the jurisdiction of the Catholic diocese of Myitkyina (see Fides 16/6/2011). Facing them are the army and guerrillas of the "Kachin Independent Army": This is a conflict on which news is very rare, given that the government "has taken steps to cut power and telephone lines on most of the Land , isolating the area", notes the priest.
The clashes began, says the source of Fides, because the Burmese government reached an agreement with China for the construction of a dam that will power a hydroelectric plant in Kachin territory. The plant will supply energy to the Chinese people and the project will cause the evacuation and the flooding of villages and territories where the Kachin people live, who then have rebelled. The negotiations in recent months have not been successful "because part of the military leadership has no respect for the rights of ethnic minority populations". On the contrary, the episode was considered a useful "casus belli" to unleash a violent repression against the Kachin.
"Today, more than 10 thousand refugees, mostly Christians - continues the priest – are escaping from the war and are crossing the borders with China and India. Hundreds of IDPs, meanwhile, are welcomed in the churches and Buddhist temples. The situation is dramatic because the civilian population, already very poor, is on their last legs".
Moreover, given that the guerrillas are hiding in the forest, "the soldiers of the Burmese army, when they meet Kachin villages, do not hesitate to make violence and atrocities against civilians, for revenge", explains the source of Fides, commenting the news on the systematic rapes on Kachin women. "For now we can not directly confirm this horrible news, but we believe it is true: in war atrocities are carried out and several times in the past the army used the tools of ethnic cleansing against the Karen, Shan, Kachin minorities and other ethnic groups living in Burmese territory", he recalls.
In this painful situation, "the local Church of Myitkyina is doing everything possible to accommodate the refugees, to comfort and encourage the people, exhorting the faithful to help each other. In addition, priests, religious and faithful pray constantly for peace, entrusting to God their immense suffering". (PA) (Agenzia Fides 06/24/2011)
