BANGKOK — Myanmar government troops on Saturday captured a crucial hilltop position outside the headquarters of ethnic Kachin rebels, two observers of the fighting said, a significant advance in a long and bloody campaign near the border with China.
The intense fighting come amid increased foreign criticism of the campaign and heightened tensions between the Burmese ethnic majority and minority groups, who make up one third of the country’s population.
In comments that are likely to anger Myanmar’s minorities, the country’s opposition leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, expressed admiration for the military during a visit to Hawaii, where among other activities she is giving a speech titled “Peace Takes Courage and Compassion.”
“I’ve often been criticized for saying that I’m fond of the Burmese army, but I can’t help it — it’s the truth,” Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, whose father was the founder of the modern Burmese army, said on Friday at the East-West Center in Honolulu.
The comments by Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, were made in the context of the military’s role in helping secure independence from Britain. But given the timing they are likely to further alienate ethnic minorities, who have criticized her for not speaking out forcefully against the Kachin campaign.
The Myanmar military ruled Myanmar for five decades, brutally suppressing dissent and jailing its opponents, including Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi. A civilian government took power in 2011.
National reconciliation between the Burmese majority and many ethnic groups is seen as a crucial component of Myanmar’s moves toward democracy under President Thein Sein.
The fighting in Kachin has displaced tens of thousands of civilians in wintry conditions.
The military’s capture of the hilltop position, Hkayabum, comes a week after the government, in an apparent attempt to allay criticism by foreign governments over the air and ground campaign, announced a cease-fire with the rebels.
That cease-fire never went into effect, independent observers say. Instead the Myanmar army continued an intensive artillery assault on rebel positions.
“It’s been a nonstop barrage,” said Ryan Roco, an American photographer documenting the fighting from the front lines. “It’s raining mortars.”
Khon Ja, a Kachin humanitarian worker, said it was possible that rebel forces would retake the hilltop position and described the fighting as “cat and mouse.”
A spokesman for the government, Ye Htut, said he was not aware whether Hkayabum had been taken but that government troops are “very close to the post and heavy fighting is ongoing.”
The Myanmar government has repeatedly said it was acting in self-defense against the Kachin Independence Army, the rebel group known by its acronym KIA.
A statement by the Myanmar foreign ministry published in state newspapers on Saturday said the rebels had “attacked military column with strong forces” immediately after the cease-fire was announced on Jan. 18 and that the military, or Tatmadaw, as it is known in Burmese, had no choice but to fight back.
“As KIA troops have constantly launched such terrorist attacks, the Tatmadaw had to take military actions just to protect and safeguard the peace and tranquillity of the community and for the prevalence of law and order,” the statement said.
Outside observers have challenged that view, saying the military has advanced their positions even as they claim to be acting in self-defense.
The United States embassy in Yangon said on Thursday that it was “deeply concerned” by what it called a continued offensive.
“The United States strongly opposes the ongoing fighting, which has resulted in civilian casualties and undermined efforts to advance national reconciliation,” the statement said.
Myanmar’s foreign ministry criticized the American statement, saying it was “endeavoring in good faith” to achieve a cease-fire.
In the same statement, the foreign ministry said it “strongly objects” to the use of the word “Burma” by the United States government. Using the country’s former name, it said, “may affect mutual respect, mutual understanding and cooperation which have recently been restored between the two countries.”
A military junta changed the country’s English name from Burma to Myanmar in 1989, soon after the bloody suppression of a popular uprising against military rule. The violent context of the name change made many foreign government reluctant to go along with it. But today most governments call the country Myanmar.
Myanmar Military Said to Make Progress in Fight Against Rebels
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Myanmar Military Said to Make Progress in Fight Against Rebels
