The long delayed peace talks will finally take place in Kachin state capital of Myitkyina next Tuesday.Originally they were supposed to be held before the end of April however due to disagreements they were postponed. Some of these involved the inclusion of certain third party observers that weren’t allowed to attend.
When representatives of the government and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) sit down in the Kachin state capital it will be the first time formal talks between the two sides have taken place in territory controlled by the central government since fighting resumed in Kachin state in June 2011.
Previous rounds were took place in the Chinese border town of Ruili and Mai Ja Yang; KIO's second largest town and northern Thailand.
Last month a coalition of Kachin civil society groups issued an open letter complaining that Chinese government officials had pressured both the KIO and the Burmese government negotiators to avoid inviting western governments to observe the peace talks. This claim was quickly denied by the Chinese embassy in Rangoon.
It's unclear if the next round of talks will change the situation in Kachin and north western Shan state where sporadic clashes between the KIO and the government troops are ongoing. As the government prepares to meet, the military is sending reinforcement troops to Kambaiti road.
The Burmese government's chief negotiator Aung Min and his team of internationally trained advisers from the European Union funded Myanmar Peace Center have met with KIO leaders more than a dozen times since the ceasefire raveled, but little ground has been gained.
The government won’t accept the KIO's 2 main demands: political talks based on the historic Panglong Agreement and significant withdrawal of government troops from the frontline.
The Panglong Agreement, signed by General Aung San and representatives from the Kachin, Shan and Chin communities in February 1947, promised these groups a fair amount of autonomy over their own affairs in exchange for their support for Burma’s independence. Aung San’s death just months later brought an end to the dream of true federalism; his successor U Nu never fully implemented the agreement, particularly the promise of local autonomy.
At the time of press it wasn’t known if international observers from organizations or foreign government agencies viewed as unaffiliated with the central government will be allowed to observe the talks. So far staff from the Switzerland based Center for Humanitarian Dialogue and Harn Yangwhe of the Euro Burma office have been part of past talks as observers.
Representatives of the Peace-talk Creation Group (PCG) will be observing the upcoming talks on Tuesday. The PCG is a committee of Kachin businessmen and community leaders involved in the Kachin peace process, headed by the jade and logging tycoon Yup Zau Hkawng.
