• Burmese
Thursday, July 10, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
31 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Prominent Peace Negotiator Dies at 83

Kyaw Kha by Kyaw Kha
June 28, 2017
in Burma
Reading Time: 1 min read
0 0
A A
Rev. Dr. Lahtaw Saboi Jum / Virginia Kachin Baptist Church / Facebook

Rev. Dr. Lahtaw Saboi Jum / Virginia Kachin Baptist Church / Facebook

5.1k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Rev. Dr. Lahtaw Saboi Jum, a peace negotiator between Myanmar’s military and ethnic armed group the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), passed away at the age of 83 on Monday.

“According to his daughter, he was bedridden for almost four years, and was not able to speak all those years because of age-related brain problems,” KIO central executive committee member Dr. La Ja told The Irrawaddy, confirming that he passed away in Yangon.

Rev. Dr. Lahtaw Saboi Jum founded the Ethnic Nationalities Mediators Fellowship together with other ethnic and spiritual leaders to broker negotiations between the government and different ethnic armed groups.

RelatedPosts

Propped Up by China, Junta Boss Slams Foreign Meddling in Myanmar ‘Peace Process’

Propped Up by China, Junta Boss Slams Foreign Meddling in Myanmar ‘Peace Process’

June 26, 2025
1.3k
The Farce of Mediation: Anwar, ASEAN and Myanmar

The Farce of Mediation: Anwar, ASEAN and Myanmar

May 28, 2025
1k
Ex-Thai PM Thaksin’s Half-Baked Peace Plan for Myanmar Unlikely to Take Off: Expert

Ex-Thai PM Thaksin’s Half-Baked Peace Plan for Myanmar Unlikely to Take Off: Expert

May 14, 2024
1.6k

He was engaged in peace negotiations between the KIO and the government since 1980, and was an important player in brokering a ceasefire agreement between the two in 1994.

He also intervened when the military regime pressured the KIO into becoming a government militia, known as a Border Guard Force, in 2009.

In 2000, he established the Nyein Foundation to engage in peace and development works across the country. Currently, his daughter leads the foundation.

“Peace is a goal we must all reach for and try to achieve, so we are very sorry that a person who tried for peace has died. I hope the foundation he laid will help fulfill his unfulfilled wishes,” said Dr. La Ja.

He was among the first six ethnic Kachin persons to attend the Myanmar Institute of Theology in 1950. From 1993 to 2000, he served as general secretary of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC).

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Kachin Independence Organization (KIO)Peace Process
Kyaw Kha

Kyaw Kha

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Myanmar Civil Society, Burmanization, and the Bars and Coffee Shops of Thailand
Guest Column

Myanmar Civil Society, Burmanization, and the Bars and Coffee Shops of Thailand

by R. J. Aung and Tony Waters
November 18, 2023
10.9k

After the 2021 coup the donors, NGOs and CSOs of ‘Peaceland’ decamped from Yangon to Thailand, but their Western, ‘we-know-best’...

Read moreDetails
Illusion of Myanmar Military’s Indispensability Has Been Shattered
Analysis

Illusion of Myanmar Military’s Indispensability Has Been Shattered

by Wai Min Tun
November 28, 2023
6.1k

The Spring Revolution and Operation 1027 have debunked once and for all the notion that the Myanmar military is the...

Read moreDetails
Rocky Start for New Bloc of Myanmar EAOs Formed to Join Junta Peace Talks
Analysis

Rocky Start for New Bloc of Myanmar EAOs Formed to Join Junta Peace Talks

by The Irrawaddy
April 12, 2024
3.9k

Seven ethnic armies that formed a new alliance last month to continue peace talks with the military regime are already...

Read moreDetails
8 ½ Lessons for Future Peace in Myanmar
Guest Column

8 ½ Lessons for Future Peace in Myanmar

by David Scott Mathieson
October 19, 2023
2.7k

The failure of the National Ceasefire Agreement, now a fig leaf for the junta’s terror campaign against civilians, also contains...

Read moreDetails
Who’s Who in Myanmar’s NCA, Then and Now
Politics

Who’s Who in Myanmar’s NCA, Then and Now

by The Irrawaddy
October 13, 2023
2.6k

As the junta prepares to mark the peace agreement’s eighth anniversary, The Irrawaddy looks at which ethnic armies signed it—and...

Read moreDetails
Junta Watch: The Cleanest Sham Vote Ever; a Highly ‘Mobile’ Army; and More
Junta Watch

Junta Watch: The Cleanest Sham Vote Ever; a Highly ‘Mobile’ Army; and More

by The Irrawaddy
February 10, 2024
2.4k

Also this week, the junta boss praised the ‘precision’ of his artillery units—known for slaughtering civilians—while his depleted military went...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Rohiakar, a Rohingya Muslim woman, shows a picture of her daughter Saywar Nuyar, 22, who was being held by a human trafficker, at a refugee camp outside Sittwe, Myanmar on May 21, 2015. / Soe Zayar Tun / Reuters

US Upgrades Myanmar From Human Trafficking Blacklist

U Aung Ko / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy

Religion Minister Rejects Nationalists’ Criticism, Intends to ‘Purify’ Buddhism in Myanmar

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

37 Years and Counting: Why Has Myanmar’s Democracy Struggle Taken So Long?

37 Years and Counting: Why Has Myanmar’s Democracy Struggle Taken So Long?

7 days ago
1.4k
China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

2 days ago
742

Most Read

  • Chin Resistance Tensions Boil Over as CNA Seizes Rival’s Myanmar HQ

    Chin Resistance Tensions Boil Over as CNA Seizes Rival’s Myanmar HQ

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Starves Last Rakhine Strongholds as AA Closes In

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Top Russian Arms Supplier Tosses in Quake ‘Donation’

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.