Thursday, March 8, 2012

KIO Meets Burmese Govt for Talks in China


By THE IRRAWADDY Thursday, March 8, 2012


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KIA standing committee briefs the peace delegation before the trip to Ruili. (Photo: Irrawaddy)
Delegates of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) set off for Chinese border town of Ruili on Wednesday to re-engage in ceasefire negotiations with representatives from the Burmese central government.

“I'm optimistic,” Sumlut Gam, head of the Kachin delegation and a standing committee member, told The Irrawaddy minutes before departing for Ruili. “Everything will be better.”

The eight delegates will continue negotiations with the Burmese government at a hotel in the town, in China's southwestern province of Yunnan, on Thursday. Chinese authorities are facilitating the meeting by providing transport and accommodation for both delegations.

“We hope that all the ethnic groups get the rights they deserves and live peacefully together in the future,” said Gunhtang Gam, vice-chief of staff of the Kachin Independence Army. “We can't say if [the negotiations] will fail or not. This is not the step of political negotiations yet.”

The Kachin Independence Army is the military wing of the Kachin Independence Organization.
KIO Chairman Lanyaw Zawng Hra and the entire standing committee met with the peace delegation in Laiza on Wednesday to brief them on their mission.

He also expressed optimism for the future in a conversation with The Irrawaddy. The negotiations are scheduled to last for two days.

Two previous rounds of talks between the KIO and Burmese government took place in Ruili in November and January, but failed to bring about a ceasefire that would mark the beginning of a roadmap towards peace in northernmost Burma.

Meanwhile in eastern Burma, the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) signed a three-point peace agreement with the Burmese government on Wednesday following a third round of peace negotiations held in Loikow, the capital of Kayan State, according to local sources.

The three points include an end to armed conflict, the setting up of liaison offices and political talks with the Union level government.

“We agreed to stop fighting each other and we have asked [the Burmese government] to have a nationwide ceasefire in the country, and they told us that they are going to discuss it with the president,” said Khu Daniel, a KNPP central committee member who participated at the peace talks.

The Karenni delegation was led by Khu Oo Reh, joint secretary of KNPP, and met with Burmese Railways Minister Aung Min, who is the government's chief peace negotiator.

They asked the Burmese government to recognize the KNPP as an official armed group to hold political talks within six months of the ceasefire.

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