mines, the military also safeguards against rebel attacks by armed ethnic groups such as the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). Beech explains that Burma’s precious gems have escaped the international scrutiny that African blood diamonds receive (Beech, 2019), largely because of the secrecy surrounding UMEHL and its business dealings in the region. Like most of the military-controlled businesses and enterprises in Burma, UMEHL operates extremely carefully in a fashion that mirrors the paranoia of the top generals. As history has displayed, this paranoia has allowed the generals to maintain total control over the entire country for more than five decades, and installing the operations of UMEHL only extends that domineering presence despite the transition back to a civilian government. The UMEHL’s success in maintaining control over the activities of the gemstone trade and operations in those geographical regions is also due in part due to the difficulty of enforcing international sanctions from the EU and the US. Because it is almost impossible to differentiate with the naked eye between Burmese jade and stones from other regions, exporting companies are able to simply alter the country of origin paperwork to escape detection (Carl-Yoder, 2008). In addition, the WikiLeaks document posits that many gems are sent to China via illegal border trade or are sold in local markets in order to profit from lower and medium quality stones (Carl-Yoder, 2008). By selling directly to local markets, the UMEHL further entrenches itself in the every-day lives of Burmese citizens, creating added dependence on government and the Tatmadaw. 49