YANGON, Myanmar, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Tensions are rising in northeastern Myanmar ahead of the Nov. 7 general election as government troops surrounded several offices of "insurgent" Kachin officials.
The Kachin Independence Army confirmed that Myanmar troops surrounded three Kachin Independence Organization offices in Kachin state, which borders China.
"This has happened after the military regime recently labeled the Kachin Independence Army an insurgent group following a bomb blast," a report by the independent New Delhi-based Kachin News Group said.
At least two civilians were killed last week when a group of villagers out hunting stepped on a land mine "planted by KIA insurgents," an article in the government-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar said. Since January, 11 men and three women "have fallen victim to mine attacks by insurgents."
Several days after the mine blast, the KIA released a statement saying it plants security mines around its territories for self protection. But it takes precautions aimed at protecting local people, the KIA said.
After discussions between government troops and KIA forces both groups eventually withdrew from their targets but not before the Myanmar army arrested two KIO officials.
The incidents are the latest skirmishes in restive Kachin, with its population of 1.2 million. It also is where the generals and KIA leaders have had a 16-year modus vivendi, although the KIO is constantly pushing for more autonomy from the military government in the south, in the Myanmar capital Naypyitaw.
The army recognizes the KIO as de facto governors of the sensitive area in return for accepting a light Myanmar military presence. The KIO runs the state power authority and maintains roads and schools through local taxes, much of which comes from a good trading relationship with China to the east.
The agreement, which amounts to a cease-fire, means that the KIA and the ruling junta haven't had to embark on a costly war that would tax the resources of each side. But it also means the junta hasn't spread its complete authority across Myanmar, formally called Burma.
There has been unsuccessful pressure by the army to co-opt the KIA into the mainstream of Myanmar society by having them become state border guards. But the KIA, which claims to have 10,000 regular and 10,000 irregular troops, fear such a move would mean it loses its independence.
The upcoming general election, the first in around 20 years for Myanmar, likely will highlight the divide separating Kachin state from the rest of the country in which the junta rules with an iron fist.
Many countries, including the United States, have denounced the election plan because of its exclusive nature.
KIO leaders have urged its people to boycott the election. Many pro-democracy advocates haven't been allowed to run because of a quickly enacted law forbidding people with criminal sentences from registering, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Her party won a landslide victory in the last election but she remains under house arrest.
The majority of Kachin's population is ethnic Kachin, also known as Jinghpaw or Rawang, and the state also is home to other ethnic groups including Bamar and Shan. Official government statistics state that nearly 60 percent of the population is Buddhist and just more than one-third is Christian.
There is also a small, unrecorded number of Tibetans living in Kachin, an important factor in the ethnic balance of the region. China, which controls Tibet, is a big trading partner with the Kachin.
China also is believed to have a moderating influence on the KIA and KIO so their activities don't provoke open conflict with the junta, something that could spill across borders.
