KNPP, Gov’t Agree to Further Peace Negotiations
KNPP, Gov’t Agree to Further Peace Negotiations
The Irrawaddy, 27 Apr 2018
URL: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/knpp-govt-agree-to-further-peace-negotiations.html
CHIANG MAI, Thailand – Formal peace talks between the government and the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) have made progress, with the two sides agreeing to create a mechanism for further negotiations as well as discussing military affairs, negotiators said on Friday.
The government and KNPP met for formal talks for two days on April 26-27 in Loikaw, the capital of Kayah (Karenni) state, and agreed on the implementation of bilateral terms through regular discussions at the state level.
U Kyaw Tint Swe, minister of the Office of the State Counselor and vice chairman of the National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC), led the government delegation accompanied by Peace Commission chairman Dr. Tin Myo Win, along with commission members and advisers. The talks were also joined by Lieutenant-General Than Tun Oo, the commander of the Defense Ministry’s No. 2 Bureau of Special Operations; Kayah State chief minister L Paung Sho; and Kayah State Security and Border Affairs Minister Colonel Myint Wai.
The KNPP’s Peace Negotiation Committee was led by General Bee Htoo, who was accompanied by eight committee members. Absent was Khu Oo Reh, the KNPP’s vice chairman and its key peace negotiator, due to the ill health of his father.
According to a joint statement issued on Friday after the formal talks, the two sides “agreed to further talks so that the KNPP can sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement [NCA] as soon as possible.”
Both sides agreed to the creation of a local monitoring team, reestablishing liaison offices at both the state and Union levels, and regular negotiations at the state level on troop movements of both armed forces, according to the statement.
Although the KNPP has not yet committed to signing the NCA, U Hla Maung Shwe told The Irrawaddy on Friday that “We were able to explain the current process to the KNPP leaders. They accepted when we explained what the government can currently do best to implement the terms of the bilateral agreements. Also we will fully implement those things that the government can do.”
The government and KNPP met for formal talks for two days on April 26-27 in Loikaw, the capital of Kayah (Karenni) state, and agreed on the implementation of bilateral terms through regular discussions at the state level.
U Kyaw Tint Swe, minister of the Office of the State Counselor and vice chairman of the National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC), led the government delegation accompanied by Peace Commission chairman Dr. Tin Myo Win, along with commission members and advisers. The talks were also joined by Lieutenant-General Than Tun Oo, the commander of the Defense Ministry’s No. 2 Bureau of Special Operations; Kayah State chief minister L Paung Sho; and Kayah State Security and Border Affairs Minister Colonel Myint Wai.
The KNPP’s Peace Negotiation Committee was led by General Bee Htoo, who was accompanied by eight committee members. Absent was Khu Oo Reh, the KNPP’s vice chairman and its key peace negotiator, due to the ill health of his father.
According to a joint statement issued on Friday after the formal talks, the two sides “agreed to further talks so that the KNPP can sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement [NCA] as soon as possible.”
Both sides agreed to the creation of a local monitoring team, reestablishing liaison offices at both the state and Union levels, and regular negotiations at the state level on troop movements of both armed forces, according to the statement.
Although the KNPP has not yet committed to signing the NCA, U Hla Maung Shwe told The Irrawaddy on Friday that “We were able to explain the current process to the KNPP leaders. They accepted when we explained what the government can currently do best to implement the terms of the bilateral agreements. Also we will fully implement those things that the government can do.”