The Kachin Independence Organization is a political organization of Kachins (also Jinghpaw/Jingpo) in Burma (or Myanmar) which effectively controlled the Kachin State

Kachin State

Kachin State , is the northernmost state of Burma. It is bordered by China to the north and east; Shan State to the south; and Sagaing Division and India to the west. It lies between north latitude 23° 27' and 28° 25' longitude 96° 0' and 98° 44'. The area of Kachin State is . The capital of the...

 (excluding major cities and the railway) during 1960s-1990s until the 1994 cease-fire with the Myanmar government. KIO was established on February 5, 1961.

The 1994 ceasefire froze the Kachin / Burmese conflict in place without addressing its root causes. The KIO continues to exert influence over much of Kachin State, and the political relationship with the Myanmar government remains tense.

The KIO maintains an extralegal bureaucracy in Kachin State and has exclusive control over pockets of territory along the Chinese border. Within this territory, the KIO maintains a police department, fire brigade, educational system, immigration department and other institutions of self-government.

The KIO headquarters are on a hillside overlooking the border town of Laiza

Laiza

Laiza is a town in the Kachin State of Burma, on the border with China at:.-History:Laiza was just a village prior to 1994. It became an important town in Kachin State after Kachin Independence Organization made a cease-fire agreement with the State Peace and Development Council and moved its...

, population approximately 7,500. Headquarters were moved to Laiza in 2005. Previous headquarters were located at a higher elevation base called Pajau

Pajau

Pajau is a town in the Kachin State of Burma. Once the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Organization, the town is in the northern mountains of Burma about two to three hours from Laiza....

.

The KIO collects taxes at border crossings with China and engages in various business deals throughout Kachin State, often related to the exploitation of natural resources such as jade, timber and gold. Some of the KIO's senior leadership have a reputation for corruption because of their business dealings with the Burmese military junta.

In 2002 the KIO embarked on an ambitious opium eradication program that has drawn recognition from international observers.

The military wing of the KIO is the Kachin Independence Army

Kachin Independence Army

The Kachin Independence Army is the military arm of the Kachin Independence Organization , a political group composed of ethnic Kachins in northern Burma...

(KIA). There are 4 KIA brigades stationed in Kachin State, with an additional KIA brigade in northern Shan State and one mobile brigade.

The KIA also maintains a military academy and officer training school near the capital of Laiza.