Naga Wondin The Kachins were an independent nation from time immemorial ruled by their own Du was without falling into foreign domination or Burmese Kingdom in their history. It was only from 19 to 20 centuries, that the British Colonialist ruled the Kachins under the Kachin Hills regulations of 1894. The British however, allowed the Kachin Duwas to rule their own people according to their traditional norms and Laws without the Burmans interference. The British ruled Burmans according to Burma Act of 1935. This shows the fact that the Kachins and Burmans were different nations even in the British Colonial era. During the World War II, the Burmans fought for their independence under the banner of Burma Independent Army (BIA) but no Kachin nationalist joined in, and also after post World War, the Burmans formed Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL)again to attain their freedom, no Kachins joined the AFPF Leither, because the Kachins had no interest to fight for their independence jointly with the Burmans. But in 1947, the Kachin Duwas changed their mind and decided to demand independent jointly with the Burmans, which resulted in signing of the Panglong Accord on February 12, 1947. The Accord was signed by the national leaders fromfour separate nations;i.e. Kachin, Chin, Shan and Burmanfor the interest of a Union, and hence a Union known as the Union of Burma was immergedin the history of Southeast Asia. Before the Panglong Accord, there was no such Union. The Burman leaders however, deliberately and unilaterally abrogated the Panglong Accord on their own accord when the Military dictators abolished the Constitution of 1947 in 1962 and adopted a new Constitution in 1974. Againin 2008, Gen. Than Shwe wrote another Constitution in tantamount to reject the Panglong Accord. Moreover, Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi convened another 21stPanglong Conference started from August 31, 2016 and nullified the Panglong Accord of the 1947 which was done by her father Gen. Aung San. As the Panglong Accord was time and again rejected and thrown by the Burman leaders, it wasno more legally existed in the history andno Union of Burma existslegally either. Not only the Burmans broke down the Panglong Accord, but also abrogated the ceasefire Agreement on 9th June 2011 which was signed with the KIO/KIA on February 24, 1994 and re-escalated heavy offensive war against the Kachins and causing more than a hundred thousand civilians to become internally displaced people (IDP). In this operation, the Burma Army committed horrendous atrocities such as inhuman and barbaroustorturing of the civilian, molesting and raping women, pillaging and plundering the properties of the Kachins, burning the villages and churches, some Church leaders were inhumanly tortured and killed, also some people were burned alive. The Kachins have thus suffered untold miseries in the hands of marauding Burma Army. Before the Panglong Accord, the Kachins have no treaty or agreement with the Burmans bounding for a Union, but only the Panglong Accord was the boundfor a Union with Burmans. However, as the Burmans broke down the Accord with the Kachins, Chins and Shans; the three nations have the right to declare that they are free from the bounding accord of Panglong and have become free nations. It is only through treaty and agreement that bound different nations to be a Union, but when the treaty and agreement legally breaks down, there is no Union. In August 1991, the Baltic countries; Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia declared they withdrew from all the treaties and agreements with the USSR, they became independent nations. The world immediately recognized them as independent nations, because their declaration was a legal act. In the case of Kachins, they need not declare their withdrawal from the Panglong Accord or from the Union of Burma, because the Burmans had done already to break down the Union by abrogating Panglong Accord as mentioned above. The Kachins therefore only need to address the truth that the Burmans broke down the Union/the Panglong Accord, and that Kachins automatically become an independent nation again as in ancient time. The history tells the fact that the Kachins had exerted all of their efforts to build the Union of Burma even rejecting the suggestion of the British leaders for a separate independent nation of Kachins, and signed the Panglong agreement instead for a Union of Burma in 1947. And also, when the Union of Burmawas endangered to break down when Yangon was almost capturing by the ethnic resistant group in 1949, the Kachin resilient and valiant soldiers vigorously defended the Union of Burma. Again, when the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) became strong and threatened the Union of Burma, there too Kachin soldiers helped to fight against the CPB. Moreover, when the Burma was stepped into reformation under the leadership of Gen. (retd) Thein Sein a quasi-civilian Government, the KIO/KIA led the Ethnic Armed groups under the banner of Union of Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC)since 2012andattempted to solvethe protracted problem through peaceful and amicable means despite the heavy operation has been carrying on by the Burma Army in Kachinl and since 2011. But the Burman leadersrepaid good for evil and mounted to crash the KIO/KIA once for all by using all of their armed strength such as Tank, heavy artilleries, Jetfighters, Aerial Bombardments, Helicopter gunships to help fight the infantry soldiers, and even sent the soldiers from Navy force to fight against Kachins even though the ships cannot sail up to the Kachin Hills.It seems they used all strength they have to fight against the Kachins. Even then they have seen no sign of KIO/KIA tremble for surrendering to the Burma Army, instead they become more strengthened, reunited and build up solidarity to defend the Kachinl and at all cost. The Burma Army captured or overrun some posts of KIA here and there at the cost of pyrrhic. But from the side of KIA,it is not a loss or surrender, because it was compelled them to evacuate some of their posts due to heavy aerial bombardments.Therefore, it is not a victory at all for the Burma Army. Thisbitterwar itself shows the fact that the Burmans are kicking out the Kachins from the Union, if not there was no reason for the Burmans to fight against the Kachins while they were striving to build up the Union of Burma. This may be a purpose of God for the Kachins to be a separate nation on this earth, and so He made the Burman leaders to abrogate the Panglong Accord unilaterally and gave the Kachins the right to be an independent nation in the world. The Kachins now have no time to be confusedfor their future since God’s purpose for them is clearer than ever before. Because even when the enemy attempted to pulverize them by using all of their strength,they united themselves more strongly and withstand against the enemy’s repressive measure. That is a marvelous work of God. But it is a time for Kachins to be careful becausethe enemy is attempting to defeat the Kachins politically knowing the defeating them by Armed might become a futile exercise, and hence forcing the Kachins to sign Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).This is nothing but forcing the Kachins to accept the Peace Road Map of Thein Sein and Gen. Main Aung Hlai and to ratify the Constitution of 2008 by signing the NCA.The peace Road maps are for surrendering the ethnic armed groups and the 2008 Constitution is to entrench the rule of Burma Military dictators forever in the country, but not for leading to a Federal Union.The signing of NCA therefore will lead Kachins nowhere to reach their destiny, either federal union or awmdawm (freedom). The Kachins have much experiences in the past more than sixty yearsthat they have no peaceful co-existence with the Burmans and the Burmans have no fidelity and adhereto any accord and agreement whatsoever. If they easily infringed and abrogated the Panglong Accord and 1994 ceasefire agreement, how can the Kachin people trust the Burmans again for another agreement? Hence, the Kachinshave nothing to chooseexcept to stand for the truth; that is, the Burmansdestroyed the concept of a union by abrogating the Panglong Accord, which madethe Kachins become an independent nation again as in ancient time.To stand for the truth is legal in itself and against no one or Burmans. If they steadfastly uphold the truth and fight for their nation it will lead them to a victory, as God our Lord Jesus says:“You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”(John 8: 32).
