June marked six years since conflict reignited in Kachin State, where a 17-year ceasefire between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army broke down in 2011. In the years since, more than 100,000 civilians have been displaced, with many forced into “temporary” camps that increasingly have a whiff of permanence.
Over two weeks in June, DVB’s Ye Wint Thu travelled to Kachin State as events were held in the capital Myitkyina to commemorate six years of war. While there, he also visited Tanai Township, at the time site of the latest flashpoint in the conflict, to speak with locals recently displaced by Tatmadaw manoeuvres in an area that hosts several amber and gold mines whose operations have become a point of contention.
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In other portions of this broadcast, DVB travels to Mansi Township to discuss a tragedy that occurred there earlier this year, and tours an IDP camp where many have been displaced much longer than those in Tanai — some since 2011.
This episode of “Close UP” aired in its original Burmese on 21 June 2017.