Sumlut Gun Maw
Sumlut Gun Maw | |
|---|---|
General Gun Maw at the KIO HQ | |
| Vice Chief of Staff of the Kachin Independence Organization | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 5, 1963 |
| Alma mater | University of Mandalay |
| Occupation | Kachin Revolutionary Leader |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Kachin Independence Army |
| Years of service | 1987–present |
| Rank | ? |
Sumlut Gun Maw is an officer of the Kachin Independence Army[1] who is currently serving as the vice chief-of-staff with the rank of brigadier general since 2009.[2][3][4][5]
Early life and education
Gun Maw was born on February 5, 1963, in the Dukahtawng district of Myitkyina in Kachin state. He is the eldest among five siblings. He completed high school at No. 1 Basic Education High School, Myitkyina, in 1979. Following this, in December 1979, he began studying at Myitkyina Regional College. Subsequently, in 1987, he earned a B.Sc in Physics from Mandalay University. He is from the Zaiwa ethnic group and speaks Jinghpaw, Burmese, Zaiwa and some English and Chinese.
Career
Following his graduation, he enlisted in the Kachin Independence Army in 1987 as a soldier. He was a front line lieutenant and was promoted to captain before the cease-fire era. He was wounded in combat several times. He became one of the youngest leaders of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), after launching several innovative programs.
The Education and Economic Development for Youth (EEDY) program[6] started by then Major Gun Maw. EEDY trains Kachin youth for a multi-month Kachin political history, cultural traditions & Jinghpaw language. Many EEDY graduates joined the KIA/KIO sometime after completing EEDY, bringing in a new generation of leaders to the KIO's ranks.
Aside from his many years as a frontline soldier for the Kachin Independence Army,[7] he holds several key positions within the KIO, such as head of the National Information Services (NIS) and was a key negotiator for the peace talks with the government of Myanmar. He has been very active in improving and reforming the education system of the KIO.[8][9][10]
After attending a reconciliation conference in 2004, where he played golf in Yangon, he founded the Laiza Golf Club.[2] In 2009 he was appointed as the vice chief-of-staff with the rank of brigadier general.[2]
When the ceasefire was broken, Gen, Gun Maw opened a public library in Laiza with his own collection of books.
In 2013, he attended peace talks in Myitkyina where he was hailed by thousands of Kachins as the KIA's representative.[11] The talks resulted in a lessening of hostilities but not a complete ceasefire.[11][12]
In 2017, he assumed the role of vice-chairman of the KIO and participated in the Union Peace Conference - 21st Century Panglong in Naypyidaw as a member of the United Nationalities Federal Council.[13]
His facebook page has over 240,000 followers, his posts get tens of thousands of like & shares.
Gun Maw holds a black belt in Karate and plays the drums.
References
- ^ "Myanmar Stages Surprise Attack on Kachin; 20 Dead". Voice of America. 19 November 2014. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021.
- ^ a b c Edward Wong (7 February 2012), "Myanmar's Guerrilla Golfers Take Time for a Few Rounds", The New York Times, p. 6
- ^ "General Gun Maw: 'If the military changes its behaviour, we will change our policy right away'". Frontier Myanmar. 26 January 2017.
- ^ "Interview: 'The Messages Aung San Suu Kyi Got Are Wrong'". RFA. 27 March 2017.
- ^ "KIO meet 'good omen' for Yangon talks: government". The Myanmar Times. 16 March 2015.
- ^ KLN (2012-08-10). "Kachin youths arrested in connection with KIO". Kachinland News. Retrieved 2025-09-05.
- ^ Cho, Phyo Thiha (2018-07-12). "Conflicting accounts of China's influence on northern armed groups in peace conference". Myanmar Now. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
- ^ "State-Run Media Misleads the Public About War, Says KIO". The Irrawaddy. 13 February 2017.
- ^ "Interview | When NCA Is Comprehensive, We Will Sign: Senior KIO Official". The Irrawaddy. 25 April 2019.
- ^ "Government proposes new dates for KIO talks". The Myanmar Times. 5 May 2014.
- ^ a b Bertil Lintner (2015), Great Game East – India, China, and the Struggle for Asia's Most Volatile Frontier, Yale University Press, p. 253, ISBN 9780300213324
- ^ Lintner, Bertil (19 January 2017). "No peace in sight for Myanmar". Asia Times.
- ^ "KIA General Gun Maw: 'To Talk and Live as Equals, That is Genuine Peace'", The Irrawaddy, 17 January 2017