A joint delegation representing the Burma Army, ethnic Karen rebels and the government-affiliated Myanmar Peace Center arrived in Colombia this week to study the country’s peace process.

The delegation from Burma included senior Burmese military officials Lt-Gen Ye Aung and Maj-Gen Tun Tun Naug; Tu Tu Lay, an advisor for the Karen National Union (KNU); Maj. Paw Doh of the KNU; and Maj-Gen Saw Moses, second-in-command of the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA).

At least one representative of the KNU/KNLA Peace Council, a breakaway faction of the Karen minority’s dominant rebel group, as well as members of the MPC also joined the study mission, according to MPC official Hla Maung Shwe.

“It was the first time that Burma Army officials and armed ethnic groups have joined a delegation together. They will study the peace process and conflict resolution in Colombia,” Hla Maung Shwe said.