Ministers and ethnic leaders meet ahead of ceasefire talks
Ministers and ethnic leaders meet ahead of ceasefire talks
Myanmar Times, 09 Sep 2015
URL: http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/nay-pyi-taw/16386-ministers-and-ethnic-leaders-meet-ahead-of-ceasefire-talks.html
Government ministers and ethnic leaders held preliminary talks in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday ahead of a key meeting today with the president and military commander-in-chief aimed at finally concluding a nationwide ceasefire agreement.
U Aung Min, head of the government negotiating team, and other Union ministers were meeting in the capital’s Lake Garden Hotel with ethnic leaders, U Hla Maung Shwe, senior adviser to the Myanmar Peace Center, told the media as the discussions began late yesterday.
“So far everything is okay as we have planned,” he said, explaining that the discussions would cover what the eight ethnic negotiators planned to raise with President U Thein Sein and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
He said the talks would not focus on the text of the ceasefire accord but on what steps and measures would follow the signing of the agreement, including what he called “military, political, and social guarantees”. The government wants the signing to take place as soon as possible, hoping the deal will boost prospects for the ruling party in November’s elections.
Asked about the key obstacle blocking an agreement – how many armed groups the government will include in the “nationwide” ceasefire – U Hla Maung Shwe said the text had passed through many hurdles over 18 months of negotiations and the results would be seen after talks with the president.
Both sides are under intense pressure from civil society groups to finalise a deal which U Thein Sein proposed four years ago.
The Civil Society Forum for Peace, which comprises 148 groups, said both sides should take lessons from “past failed peace dialogues” and negotiate “without holding firm only on the position of each side”.
However, it also called on the government to allow the three armed groups fighting in the Kokang region to sign the agreement – something it has repeatedly said it will not allow.
Kachin Peace Network member Daw Khun Ja said the civil society groups were concerned that the different stances of the government and ethnic negotiating teams might result in them failing to reach an agreement today.
“The result of the Nay Pyi Taw meeting is very important for the people. CSOs want an all-inclusive ceasefire and we want discussions on the agreement to finish [today],” she said.
“An all-inclusive ceasefire is very important because currently the Tatmadaw and the TNLA are fighting in northern Shan State. If they are fighting in that area, the Kachin Independence Army could be included in that fighting.”
The civil society groups organised prayer sessions in each state and region yesterday to pray for the success of today’s peace talks.
Members of the Civil Society Forum for Peace also travelled to Nay Pyi Taw and met President U Thein Sein and members of the Union Peace-making Central Committee.
Daw Thein Di Oo of the group Free Thinkers said the civil society delegation prayed with the president and other negotiators for the success of the peace process.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun
U Aung Min, head of the government negotiating team, and other Union ministers were meeting in the capital’s Lake Garden Hotel with ethnic leaders, U Hla Maung Shwe, senior adviser to the Myanmar Peace Center, told the media as the discussions began late yesterday.
“So far everything is okay as we have planned,” he said, explaining that the discussions would cover what the eight ethnic negotiators planned to raise with President U Thein Sein and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
He said the talks would not focus on the text of the ceasefire accord but on what steps and measures would follow the signing of the agreement, including what he called “military, political, and social guarantees”. The government wants the signing to take place as soon as possible, hoping the deal will boost prospects for the ruling party in November’s elections.
Asked about the key obstacle blocking an agreement – how many armed groups the government will include in the “nationwide” ceasefire – U Hla Maung Shwe said the text had passed through many hurdles over 18 months of negotiations and the results would be seen after talks with the president.
Both sides are under intense pressure from civil society groups to finalise a deal which U Thein Sein proposed four years ago.
The Civil Society Forum for Peace, which comprises 148 groups, said both sides should take lessons from “past failed peace dialogues” and negotiate “without holding firm only on the position of each side”.
However, it also called on the government to allow the three armed groups fighting in the Kokang region to sign the agreement – something it has repeatedly said it will not allow.
Kachin Peace Network member Daw Khun Ja said the civil society groups were concerned that the different stances of the government and ethnic negotiating teams might result in them failing to reach an agreement today.
“The result of the Nay Pyi Taw meeting is very important for the people. CSOs want an all-inclusive ceasefire and we want discussions on the agreement to finish [today],” she said.
“An all-inclusive ceasefire is very important because currently the Tatmadaw and the TNLA are fighting in northern Shan State. If they are fighting in that area, the Kachin Independence Army could be included in that fighting.”
The civil society groups organised prayer sessions in each state and region yesterday to pray for the success of today’s peace talks.
Members of the Civil Society Forum for Peace also travelled to Nay Pyi Taw and met President U Thein Sein and members of the Union Peace-making Central Committee.
Daw Thein Di Oo of the group Free Thinkers said the civil society delegation prayed with the president and other negotiators for the success of the peace process.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun