NCCT looks to finalise ceasefire in late July
NCCT looks to finalise ceasefire in late July
Myanmar Times, 07 Jul 2014
URL: http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/10929-ncct-proposes-conference-to-finalise-ceasefire.html
Ethnic leaders are expected to meet at the Kachin Independence Organisation headquarters in Laiza later this month to finalise details of a proposed nationwide ceasefire agreement ahead of further talks with the government.
The Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), which is coordinating negotiations on behalf of 16 armed groups, has invited ethnic leaders to a meeting in Laiza in the third week of July.
“We have to make a decision on some obstacles in the draft [such as] the process of political dialogue,” said NCCT leader Phado Saw Kwal Htoo Win, who is also secretary of the Karen National Union.
The meeting will focus on the version of the ceasefire agreed on at a meeting between the NCCT and government negotiators held in Yangon from May 21 to 23.
He said the NCCT had informed armed leaders that the conference needed to result in a final draft to take to the negotiating table with government representatives.
While the KIO has not yet replied to the invitation, Phado Saw Kwal Htoo Win said he was “certain they will allow us to hold the conference in Laiza”.
The conference is considered essential for talks with the government to proceed any further.
Government negotiators and the NCCT had agreed to meet in June to finalise the draft but this round of talks has been postponed until ethnic leaders finalise their position on the draft.
“The government is ready [for the next round of talks],” said U Hla Maung Shwe, a senior adviser at the Myanmar Peace Center. “We are waiting until the ethnic armed groups have confirmed they are ready too.”
The Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), which is coordinating negotiations on behalf of 16 armed groups, has invited ethnic leaders to a meeting in Laiza in the third week of July.
“We have to make a decision on some obstacles in the draft [such as] the process of political dialogue,” said NCCT leader Phado Saw Kwal Htoo Win, who is also secretary of the Karen National Union.
The meeting will focus on the version of the ceasefire agreed on at a meeting between the NCCT and government negotiators held in Yangon from May 21 to 23.
He said the NCCT had informed armed leaders that the conference needed to result in a final draft to take to the negotiating table with government representatives.
While the KIO has not yet replied to the invitation, Phado Saw Kwal Htoo Win said he was “certain they will allow us to hold the conference in Laiza”.
The conference is considered essential for talks with the government to proceed any further.
Government negotiators and the NCCT had agreed to meet in June to finalise the draft but this round of talks has been postponed until ethnic leaders finalise their position on the draft.
“The government is ready [for the next round of talks],” said U Hla Maung Shwe, a senior adviser at the Myanmar Peace Center. “We are waiting until the ethnic armed groups have confirmed they are ready too.”