Myanmar seeks compromise with armed ethnic group

KENGTUNG, Myanmar, May 21 (Xinhua) — Peace-making group of the Myanmar’s central government and a Shan ethnic armed group, the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) of the Shan State Army-South (SSA-South), held their second round of peace talks in Kengtung, Shan state-East in the weekend, reaching a 12-point agreement to be realized for making eternal peace.

The peace talks at central level was held with ethnic armed group for the first time after the government’s peace making group was reformed with 11 top-level members, headed by President U Thein Sein, and the group’s work committee was also established with 52 high-level members, led by Vice President Dr. Sai Mauk Kham.

Held at the headquarters of Triangle Region Command, peace making group of the central government was co-led by General Soe Win, Vice Chairman of the government’s newly-formed peace making group work committee and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Services and Army Chief, and Railways Minister U Aung Min, while that of the RCSS of the SSA-South was headed by its chairman Lieutenant-General Ywet Sit.

The 12-point agreement covered joint combating of narcotic drug, resettlement of SSA members and their livelihood, granting of establishment of Shan ethnic newspaper and journal, release of SSA prisoners, formation of group to monitor peace, revoking of SSA- South as unlawful organization, implementation of economic undertakings, arrangement to issue legal citizen identification cards to the SSA members and allowing them to meet other organizations.

The government attached importance to the peace talks assigning other members also to get involved in the talks in addition to the two said peace making group leaders. They are two ministers of energy and electric power-2, Shan state chief minister and minister of security and border affairs as well as three related regional commanders.

The two sides, in their first round of peace talks at central level held in Taunggyi, Shan state in January, had reached an 11- point initial peace pact which cover territory designation and opening of economic and liaison offices.

Meanwhile, another Shan ethnic armed group — the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP) of Shan State Army-North (SSA-North) had also signed an initial five-point peace agreements with Myanmar’ s government at central level in Taunggyii in January.

These agreements mainly cover ceasefire, allowing SSPP to base in Wanhai, opening of liaison offices in Taunggyi, Lashio and Kholan, allowing negotiated transgression and arms carrying apart from mutually-agreed areas and continued talks at central level as well as cooperation in fight against drug.

So far, 12 ethnic armed groups have reached preliminary peace pacts with the government at state or central levels since President U Thein Sein announced offering of peace talks with ethnic armed groups in August 2011.

The new government’s peace making is being carried out in three phases — the first phase is to reach ceasefire, set up liaison offices and travel without holding arms to each other’s territory, while the second phase is confidence building, holding political dialogue, implement regional development tasks in terms of education, health and communication, and the third phase is to sign agreement for eternal peace in the presence of the parliament represented by nationalities, political parties and different walks of life.

Despite producing some outcome in peace talks with the 12 groups, the talks between the government and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) have not yet made progress.
Although three rounds of peace talks have been held in China’s border town of Ruili between Myanmar’s central government and the KIA, the fightings are still getting intensified, forcing more than 60,000 people to flee the clashes.

In recent months, the KIA reportedly launched a series of mine attacks on passenger trains, rail tracks and bridges on Myikyina- Mandalay railroad.

The latest development was that the KIA blew up four towers of a 230-KV Shweli-Mansan national power grid in Namkham, Shan state- North in the weekend, disrupting normal power distribution to Yangon as claimed by the authorities.

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