October 6, 2006 - The Kachin National Organization, a Kachin political group in exile, today censured Kachin groups attending the Burmese military junta's National Convention, which is to re-convene on Tuesday. Denouncing the convention, the KNO in a withering statement said the ceasefire Kachin groups attending do not represent the will of the Kachin people.

Organizing a protest rally today in New Delhi, the KNO in a scathing attack said, just as the junta's sham convention does not reflect the people's desire, ceasefire groups including the Kachin Independent Organization do not represent the political aspirations of the Kachin people.

Z. Dilla, information and organizer of the KNO told Mizzima, "We [the Kachin] cannot accept the convention and the KIO does not represent us. Knowing that the junta's convention will not bring any good, the KIO should not attend it." "The KIO and other Kachin ceasefire groups, aware of the junta's plan, should not attend the convention if they really represent the Kachin peoples' wishes," Dilla added.

The KIO, an armed rebel group waging a war of independence against Burma's successive governments for more than 45 years, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Reports suggest that ethnic Kachin armed groups – Kachin Independence Organization, Kachin Defence Army (KDA), and New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K) - have arrived at the junta's convention venue in Nyaung Hnapin, about 30 miles north of Rangoon.

The three groups, which had ceasefire agreements with the military junta, are among the over 1,000 handpicked delegates who are to attend the convention, which many critics, including the Kachin political organizations, view as a sham. The Kachin people cannot accept the junta's convention which is designed to legitimize military-rule in Burma and its delegates are handpicked to rubberstamp the junta's plan, said Dilla. "We are demanding federalism and to achieve federalism it should begin with a tripartite dialogue, which the United Nations has suggested," Dilla added.

Source: http://mizzima.com/MizzimaNews/News/2006/Oct/06-Oct-2006-18.html