Inside Free Kachin Part I

March 28, 2009 | Pulitzer Center

A journalism workshop for Kachin youth was taught by Documentary Arts Asia & sponsored by the KIO.

Unlike the SPDC, the KIO/KIA encourages free access to international media, including Human Rights Watch reports. The KIO TV station syndicates the BBC.

Kachin land is the only source of high quality jade in the world. These days the SPDC controls most of the jade trade, using the profits to buy arms.

The farmers of this valley used to grow opium. Today rice, mustard greens, sugar cane and potatoes are the staples. Much of the produce is sold across the border in China.

The KIA is fighting opium growers and dealers. Heroin addiction remains a serious problem.

Much of the Kachin Independence Organization budget goes to the military, but they are also supporting social services like this boarding school for poor children.

Kachin autonomy may be won on the battlefield or it may be won in cyber-space. They are preparing for both fronts.

Free Kachin - recruits start practicing martial arts well before sunrise. Starting in 1962, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) waged an insurgency against the Burmese military to regain the autonomy promised them in the Panlong agreement in 1947.

The KIA is out-numbered and out-armed by the (SPDC Burmese military), but have never been outright defeated in 5 decades.

The red in the flag represents the sacrifices of those killed in the struggle for freedom, while the green represents the natural beauty of the Kachin homeland.

In addition to soldier skills, recruits are taught about traditional Kachin culture and Kachin History. Kachins see their freedom struggle as separate from political opposition of the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi. The Kachins doubt any Burmese government would respect their cultural and political autonomy. Image 11 of 13

The former KIA headquarters, called Laisin, is at nearly 8,000 ft in the Himalaya foothills. Frost covers the landscape and most soldiers bear the freezing nights in bamboo huts.

The current constitution of Myanmar states that Burmese is the only official language of Myanmar and forbids the use of other languages in official functions, such as schools. Because this school is in free Kachin they can teach in Jingpaw, the native language used my most Kachins.

In the north of Myanmar the Kachin people have been struggling for autonomy for generations.

The KIA (Kachin Independence Army) fought an armed insurgency for over 30 years. Despite being out-numbered and out-armed, the KIA was never fully defeated. Nor were they able to win full autonomy for the Kachin People. During 15 years of precarious peace since the 1994 cease-fire, the KIO ( Kachin Independence Organization) has been trying to build up a civil society in addition to the army. This photo essay explores the current state of affairs in free Kachin and the activities of the KIA / KIO.