Refugees from Burma joined Kachin Revolution Day service in Delhi

New Delhi, India – 6 February 2013: Refugees from Burma based in New Delhi, India joined a service for the 53rd Anniversary of the Kachin Revolution Day organized by Kachin Refugee Committee (KRC) on 5 February 2013.

The event taking place at the Burmese Christian Association (BCA) in New Delhi was attended by around 100 people including refugees from both Chin and Burman communities.

Ms Ja Nuai, a Kachin refugee, said: “The objective of this worship service is to send a message that fighting each other would not give us a solution and justice.”

“All we need is to work together for the federal system in the country,” added Ms Ja Nuai, who read a statement of KIO (Kachin Independence Organization) chief on the occasion.

The program included sessions of reading the statement sent by KIO chief, and giving presentations on Kachin conflicts, on the situation of refugees and displaced peoples, followed by a special prayer service.

Another Kachin refugee Ngunla testified: “When Burma Army soldiers came, we fled to the jungles and lived under shelters roofed with banana leaves. Many children and adult died due to malnutrition and physical weakness.”

“In the mean time, the soldiers would kill all our domestic animals for their own foods. We had been forced to construct military camps, dig canals around their camps and carry their ammunition. Many died while doing so,” added Ngunla.

The Kachin community requested a twelve-point prayer which lasted about three hours.

During the months-long conflicts in Kachin State, more than 60 churches were destroyed, and over 200 villages burnt down, with dozens of civilians being killed and raped by Burma Army soldiers, according to reports.

Burma’s government and KIO reached a preliminary agreement at the peace talks held in the Chinese town of Ruili (Shweli) this week, with further discussions to take place before the end of February.

Reporting by A Hmun