The commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s armed forces met with the chair of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) in Myitkyina on Tuesday to discuss landmine-clearance efforts and other issues affecting civilians in Kachin state.

The meeting came a day after Senior General Min Aung Hlaing invited Rev Dr Hkalam Sanson to the Northern Regional Command headquarters for an exchange of views on the current situation in the state.

The discussion, which began at 10am and lasted about 90 minutes, covered a variety of topics, according to Dr Hkalam Sanson. Foremost among these, he said, was the plight of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

“Since international aid has lessened, the issue of demining is incredibly important for the IDPs to safely return to their homes by their own means,” Dr Hkalam Sanson said. “So we prioritized the military’s cooperation in this process during the meeting.”

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He also said that Min Aung Hlaing expressed concern about the impact of the military’s ongoing conflict with the Arakan Army (AA) on civilians in Rakhine and Chin states. 

He added that the commander-in-chief told him he did not want to see a similar situation arise with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Kachin state.

The KIA and the AA are both part of the Northern Alliance, which is comprised of four ethnic armed groups that have yet to sign ceasefire agreements with the Tatmadaw. 

The two also discussed last month’s election, which was suspended in some parts of Kachin state for security reasons.

Another subject of discussion was the $3.6 billion Myitsone dam project, which was suspended by former president Thein Sein in 2011. The Chinese-financed project, which was initiated by Myanmar’s former military rulers, faces strong popular opposition in Kachin state. 

This was the third meeting between the two men. The first took place in 2014 during a visit to Kachin state by Thein Sein, and the second was in December 2019.

That meeting followed efforts by some in the military to take legal action against Dr Hkalam Sanson for telling US President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House in July 2019 that Myanmar’s military was guilty of torturing Christians.

However, a case that was brought before the Myitkyina court was revoked three days later and the KBC chair was summoned to the Northwestern Regional Command in Mandalay on September 12.

Six KBC officials, including Dr Hkalam Sanson, were present at last December’s meeting, which was also attended by Maj-Gen Tayza Kyaw, the commander of the Northern Regional Command, as well as Kachin state’s minister for security and border affairs, Col Nay Lin Tun.