The Kachin Independence Army on January 14 released eight underage recruits from the Tatmadaw captured during the fighting in Kachin State, the International Labour Organization has confirmed.
The eight soldiers were recruited as minors but are now aged over 18. TheILO acted as an intermediary between the government and Kachin, and is working with the government to have them formally discharged.
“I am pleased to confirm that the ILO has received from the KIA eight Tatmadaw underage recruits who had been held by the KIA as prisoners of war,” Mr Steve Marshall, the ILO’s liaison officer in Yangon, told The Myanmar Times by email on January 20.
“Both the Tatmadaw and the government of Myanmar have cooperated positively in respect of their return with the Ministry of Social Welfare providing direct support.
“The ILO is currently working with the government towards the boys receiving formal discharge documentation. UNICEF and their operating civil society partners will be providing them with rehabilitation support.
“It is very gratifying to see the safe return of these boys and to know that they now have the opportunity to resume normal life – the very positive approaches adopted by the KIA, the government of Myanmar and the Tatmadaw, without which this could never have happened, should be recognised and appreciated.”
Due to the sensitive nature of the case, Mr Marshall said he could not comment on how long or where the boys had been held while in KIA custody.
The KIA is the armed wing of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO). Headquartered in Laiza, on the China border, the group has been fighting the Tatmadaw since June 2011, when a 17-year ceasefire broke down.
ALL INTERVIEWS ABSDF NORTH WITH CAPTURED SOLDIERS http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxh536hqgLz1nAk4o4AmrH7sUYi3XDUAB&feature=view_all
A KIA spokesperson could not be reached for comment last week.
Mr Marshall said in a recent interview with ILO News that the ILO believes there are approximately 5000 child soldiers in Myanmar. He said the process to release them is continuing to gain momentum.
“We started the complaints mechanism in 2007, and between 2007 and 2011 we had approximately 260 boys discharged from the army. Since 2012 so far, it would be close to 60, so it’s increasing,” he said in November.
In late June, the government and the UN signed an action plan that is designed to prevent the recruitment and use of children by the Tatmadaw and allow for the release of underage recruits.
By signing the plan, the Tatmadaw and government have committed to preventing underage recruitment, as well as identifying, discharging and reintegrating underage recruits.
But the Tatmadaw is not alone in using child soldiers in Myanmar. In 2011, the UN said in a report that it believed seven other armed groups were also actively recruiting and using underage soldiers, including the KIA.
Other listed groups were the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, Karen National Liberation Army, Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council, Karenni Army, Shan State Army-South and United Wa State Army.
Ironically, in the past the government tried to place blame on ethnic minorities for the production of opium but now that they are trying to clear the area of drugs the government attacks them. Many believe this is more than enough proof to know who is really behind the drug production.
democracy for burma 
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