By LAWI WENG Thursday, October 27, 2011
Two of Burma’s main ethnic rebel groups, the Shan State Army-South (SSA–South) and the Karen National Union (KNU), are preparing to hold separate peace negotiations with a government delegation in the near future, according to sources close to the rebels.
The talks will focus only on establishing Naypyidaw’s plan for making peace and its sincerity to stand by any agreement, said the sources.
The proposal comes at a time when government troops have launched a military offensive against Kachin rebels in northern and north-eastern Burma.
Before holding talks with the government delegation, the SSA-South will gather opinions from among Shan civilians and Buddhist monks, said a Shan rebel spokesman.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, Sai Hseng Murng, the deputy spokesman of the SSA–South, said, “With regard to ceasefire talks, we are going to take one more week to ask opinions and suggestions from our people. After that, we’ll review the opinions before making a decision on forming a peace talk mission.”
Naypyidaw issued an announcement on Aug. 18 inviting all armed ethnic groups in Burma to enter into individual peace talks with the government.
Sai Hseng Murng said that members of pro-government Shan militias approached the SSA-South last month carrying a proposal on behalf of the Burmese government advocating peace talks.
“I think the government were testing to see whether we would agree to talks,” said the SSA-South spokesman. “With the former government, we did not have a chance to negotiate. But we view this new government differently.”
The SSA-South and Burmese officials met for peace talks once before, in 2007, at the Thai-Burmese border. However, talks broke down and were never resumed.
The KNU, for its part, has been fighting the Burmese army almost continuously for more than 60 years. However, Karen sources said that they were confident talks with a government delegation will go ahead though no date has yet been fixed.
“If they are really serious, we wish to talk with them. If they want peace, we will pursue political dialogue,” said Zipporah Sein, the general secretary of the KNU.
However, KNU officials maintain that they prefer to hold talks in a neighboring country, assumed by observers to mean Thailand.
A source close to the KNU said that a Burmese government delegation tried to meet up with KNU officials last week in Myawaddy.
A government delegation has previously met once with KNU representatives and once with the rebel New Mon State Party, though both times talks concluded without an agreement.
Meanwhile, the United Wa State Army (UWSA) have deployed more troops into Wa-controlled areas on the Thai-Burmese border, according to aShan Herald Agency for News report on Oct. 26.
The Wa rebels have sent more than 30 military trucks since Sunday into Hwe Aw, the UWSA 171st’s headquarters in Mongton township in southern Shan State.
The military manoeuvre follows 171st Military Region commander Wei Xwegang saying he had received a “reliable report” from Burmese army sources that the SSA-South had demanded areas on the Thai-Burmese border that are currently under the control of the UWSA to be transferred to the SSA-South in exchange for peace during a recent meeting with Burmese officials.
The Burmese government recently reached an agreement to uphold a two-decade-long ceasefire with the UWSA and its ally, the National Democratic Alliance Army, both of which are based in Shan State.