Myanmar's war on Kachin Christian minority escapes international attention

By Raymond Dragunaitis
While the Myanmar military's persecution of the Rohingya people in the southwest part of the country has drawn much vocal international outcry, the military's persecution of the Kachin Christian minority in the north has been largely unnoticed. Aung San Suu Kyi, who was elected president in 2016, has called on rebel groups, including the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), to sign a National Ceasefire Agreement, the KIA refuses to cease hostilities until the military stops bombing Kachin villages. Over 6,800 villagers were displaced by mortar and heavy weapon attacks since April, and international aid agencies say they are being blocked from providing food and vital supplies to villagers trapped in the jungle or conflict zones, in violation of international law. Many point to lucrative amber and jade mines in Kachin as the motivation for the conflict. Between 50 and 80 percent of the jade is smuggled across the border into China's Yunnan province, and "well-connected cronies, military elites, drug lords, armed groups, and the Chinese" make billions while little goes to the government and even less to Kachin communities. Despite its proximity to the conflict, China, an ally of the Myanmar government, has remained silent. It previously accepted Kachin civilians displaced by the fighting, but sent them back in 2017.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/14/slow-genocide-myanmars-invisible-war-on-the-kachin-christian-minority