Former separatist group the Kachin Independence Organisation is backing Myanmar’s controversial new constitution. One of the group’s vice-chairmen, Tu Ja, tells Jane’s why.

“Something is better than nothing,” says Tu Ja, the third ranking member of Myanmar’s Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), when asked why the group is supporting the Myanmar government’s controversial constitution. Speaking to Jane’s about the former separatist organisation’s endorsement of Myanmar’s draft constitution, the KIO’s second vice-chairman states: “The constitution is not final, it is the starting point of a federal union.”

At first glance, the KIO’s decision to support the referendum seems

unusual for a former ethnic separatist organisation. Yet Tu Ja claims the constitution is in line with the KIO’s current goals.
While acknowledging that it lacks a framework for ethnic federalism, he insists this will come later. He told Jane’s: “The State Peace and Development Council [SPDC] is focused on change for

the whole country, not just for the ethnics. They want to take steps towards a full democracy.”

The KIO launched an armed uprising in 1961 to attain an independent

Kachin homeland in eastern Myanmar, later altering its demand to an

autonomous state within a democratic federal government. In 1994 the KIO concluded a ceasefire agreement with the Myanmar government. Myanmar’s May referendum marked the conclusion of the SPDC’s fourth step in its ‘roadmap to democracy’, and followed a National Convention (NC) in which regime-appointed delegates rubber-

stamped constitutional principles. Tu Ja has earned the nickname NC

Tu Ja for his steadfast determination to see the process through to

the end, despite the absence of any substantive deliberation within

the body.

The next ostensible steps towards democracy will be the formation of political parties and multi-party elections in 2010.

Far from the edge

The KIO’s support of the constitution has placed it at loggerheads with the democratic opposition, who oppose the government’s roadmap. Tu Ja makes no apologies for breaking ranks with the opposition, claiming the KIO’s policy to be the only pragmatic route. He explained: “Decades of struggle were unsuccessful.
Ultimately we decided to do [it] for ourselves.”

He faults the opposition for failing to “play flexibly, cleverly and without dogma” and for being focused on toppling the regime.
“Regime change is far away. People have been trying to topple the military government for 40 years. But we cannot push the military to the edge. They are far from the edge. We need to think about political reform.” Despite international and opposition concerns that the constitution is merely a legitimisation of the military’s influence in politics, Tu Ja believes otherwise. He said: “With the

holding of elections and the convening of parliament the situation will not be so different from other parliamentary systems.
Eventually a true democracy will emerge.”

Dictating the way

The KIO’s decision to support the constitution was not straightforward. The organisation initially intended to be institutionally neutral toward the referendum, asking its members to refrain from voting. However, according to Tu Ja, the KIO “later realised that everyone has a duty to participate in the process, and decided to allow its members and supporters to participate in the referendum and to choose freely”.

However, on 7 May the KIO’s Executive Committee ordered its staff to cast votes in support of the draft constitution. The order was barely passed by the nine-member body, with only three votes of support coming from Tu Ja, first vicechairman Gauri Zau Seng and vice-commander in chief of the military wing Nban La. Two members abstained and two were absent, including President Zawng Hra. The decision was opposed by Chief of Staff Gam

Shawng and Sumlut Gam, the longest serving member of the KIO.

The six brigade commanders of the KIO’s military wing, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), were reportedly infuriated by the order, as were enlisted soldiers who regarded it as a betrayal of the group’s revolutionary principles.  One senior KIA officer told
Jane’s: “Tu Ja and Gauri Zau Seng are the only Executive Committee members who understand politics so they are able to convince the other members to follow them.”

Next steps

Tu Ja’s political awareness allows him to be in the vanguard of the

challenges facing the KIO in the run-up to the proposed elections in 2010. He concedes that the KIO will be operating in an uncertain

and precarious environment. “We are like a man holding a candle and

running in a race,” he said. “We need encouragement to run.”

Nonetheless, Tu Ja believes the KIO’s Political Working Committee, which he formed in April 2006 and of which he is currently chairman, will “take the initiative in challenging the government in the 2010 elections by helping the Kachin to form one unified political party”.

This is a significant statement, since KIO policy currently prohibits the organisation from forming its own political party. Tu

Ja was agnostic about whether he would resign from the KIO to lead a Kachin party, but acknowledged he might do so if he were needed.
With these lofty goals, it is perhaps unsurprising that Tu Ja is eager to prevent any return to military conflict, more than a decade after the KIO signed a ceasefire.

Although the KIA has recruited heavily during the past decade, Tu Ja warns: “Confrontation can destroy our society so we must avoid it as much as possible. We are a military organization so if we confront the SPDC there is a danger that it will lead to war.
Differences of opinion should be solved by peaceful political means.” This explains the KIO’s current policy of support

for the constitution and hands-off monitoring of the government’s roadmap, a policy that is likely to continue in the future. As Tu Ja explains, despite the democratic opposition’s resistance to the process, the KIO should let the government “go to the end and not disturb the process or be involved in it”.