The embattled Shan State Progress Party / Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA), for the third time since the military campaign against it began in March, has been contacted by Burmese authorities to negotiate for peace, according to SSA sources.
“One thing that sets it apart from previous approaches is that this time the offer comes from the Shan State Government, and not Naypyitaw or the Burma Army,” and said Maj Sai La, the SSA spokesman, who added that he was still waiting for further details.
According to other reports, Mon, Karen and Kayah (Karenni) state governments have also sent members of the religious order to get in touch with armed resistance movements in each state.
The latest move followed the 18 August announcement by Naypyitaw inviting “national race armed groups wishing to make peace” to peace talks.
According to Myanmar News Agency, the People’s Assembly has also appointed U Thein Zaw, a former general and a Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) MP, as chairman of the National Race and Internal Peacemaking Committee. His counterpart in the National Assembly is U San Tun, another USDP member.
However, according to Khonumthung News, no other committee members have been appointed so far.
Col Sai Htoo, the SSPP’s Assistant Secretary General #2, maintained that the group, as a key member of the newly formed United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), is against Naypyitaw’s policy to hold “group-wise” peace parleys. “It is time President Thein Sein talked to the UNFC directly,” he said.
Others pointed out that throughout the 63 years after Independence, successive governments had employed the strategy of negotiating with individual groups instead of their alliance. “If it had worked, we wouldn’t be fighting today,” said a politician, who requested anonymity. “It’s time we gave their alliance a chance.”
One stumbling block to the expected talks however is that while Naypyitaw insists on holding talks on the basis of 2008 constitution, the alliances particularly the UNFC says the basis must be the 1947 Panglong Agreement that had guaranteed autonomy, democracy and human rights for the non-Burman states.
Another snag is the vague wording of the 18 August announcement which urges armed groups “wishing to make peace” to contact State or Region government concerned in order “to launch preliminary programmes” upon completion of which, the government will form a team for peace talks.
So far, no group has been able to explain what the “preliminary programmes” entail. “The regime needs to make itself clear about this,” commented Col Okker, leader of the PaO National Liberation Organization, another UNFC member.
