OPEN LETTER TO CLINTON

As you will see I added a little extra to give it a different flow as well as get your strong point across. I wll also leave off the heading and end and just include the body of your message...God bless the Kachin State!

This is a special request to the Secretary of State of the United States of America. As you know our political problematic issues are exacerbated by the administrative policies of President U Thein Sein, by using deadly force with his army to thwart the democratic ideals of the Kachin people, along with other Ethnic Nationalities.

-Your Excellency, we, on behalf of the Kachin people, humbly and sincerely submit this written statement to you. We believe that a few of President U Thein Sein's members of parliament need to submit their administrative positions to the will of the citizens, to prove that this parliament has truly adopted the policy of democracy. We, the citizens of Myanmar in general and Kachin people in particular, have been blindfolded, from seeing true information about what really happens in the political platform at Naypyidaw. As a result, we have missed out on opportunities for having meaningful political dialogue with all international leaders. Kachin people, especially, have suffered from their political predicament because we are not allowed to send delegates on behalf of our people to parliament. Just as your country declared independence due to taxation without representation, so the Kachin peoples of Myanmar suffer, having no voice. The present members of parliament, under the leadership of President U Thein Sein are fooling themselves and the rest of the world by showing that they will be a chair of ASEAN; acting as if it will be progressing towards a pathway to democracy; as well as giving an appearance that they advocate for democracy in association with Aung San Suu Kyi. We know that the United States of America will never be distracted by the current military regimes smokescreens, giving the world an untrue picture of how it truly is in our country. The military leaders become obscenely rich on the backs of the minority groups as well as all of its people. There is no middle class and the divide between the upper and lower classes loom ever larger. The Kachin people have been raised arms to fight against this military regime since 1962, when General Ne Win took over Burma under its military control. The purpose of the Kachin Independent Army (KIA) rests solely on the following points: This present government continues to disregard the promise of the Pang-long agreement led by General Aung San, Aung San Suu Kyi's father, on 12th February, 1947. This Pang-long agreement is still alive and significant in the hearts of the Kachin people. General Aung San came ahead of this agreement meeting with the Kachin leaders on 30th, November, 1946. He was able to organize the national minority for the kachin people, and consequently, because of this political unity between Aung San and Kachin people, the origin of the Union of Burma for national independence came into being. How can this milestone of our history, for the national independence of Burma (Myanmar), be so easily ignored by this present government? Because the military power has taken over the government by stamping out our political foundation for the Union of Burma. We, the Kachin people, place no value in the national constitution of 2008, for it was created by the minds of the military regime, once again silencing the minority peoples. The majority of Kachins are Christians, not Buddhists, so our people are always treated with distain and contempt. There is a limit to promotions in the military and the private sector for our people. Our students who generally perform better than Burmese children, for we place high importance on academia, never receive the top marks in the schools because of this prejudice. They are always given to Burmese children whether they earned it or not. We cannot even adopt our families children because as christian, we are forbidden, for only Buddhists are allowed to adopt. Our proud history also show that the Kachin peoples assisted the British during WWI and the United States during WWII. We have never lost our love for America and their allies. Our desire is to emulate the United States by having free, Democratic States of Myanmar. We do not desire independence, or armed conflict, but democratic ideals which protect basic human rights as well as promoting equality. In conclusion, the United States of America should not solely depend on Aung San Suu Kyi alone when addressing the need to improve democracy in Burma. We request, in future discussions with our country that the representatives of all minority groups be included. U Thein Sein and his army are still fighting against the KIA at the same time they were speaking to Your Excellency. We, the Kachin people, therefore humbly request Madam Hillary R. Clinton to listen to our voices transparently so that you may not be caught in the trap of U Thein Sein's government. We know you are truly committed to take up the cause for the welfare of the national minorities in Burma.

Umhta Brang