The chairperson of State Administration Council (SAC) for Kachin State donated millions of Burmese kyat to groups in Putao during his first trip to the remote area of the state since the coup, KNG has learned from a participant who attended the meeting.

Hkyet Hting Nan visited Putao town on April 26 to meet leaders of cultural and religious organizations, said a source who requested anonymity.

The chairperson told attendees the military did not stage a coup, explaining that the army took over temporarily according to the 2008 Constitution, and it is not necessary to oppose it. According to the source, he said: “If it was a military coup, soldiers would be ruling the country yet it is civilians in charge.” He said a general election would happen in less than a year.

“I think he visited just to try to persuade us,” the source said.

The Kachin State SAC chairperson donated 2 million kyat to religious organizations and 1.5 million kyat to cultural organizations in Putao.

Like in other townships of Kachin State, protests against the military regime have been frequent since the February 1 coup. Authorities detained some people for demonstrating in the township.

Fighting between Kachin Independence Army and Burma Army has been breaking since the beginning of March after authorities gunned down two protesters in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State.