U Aung Min, minister of railway transport and special representative of President Thein Sein, met delegations from Shan, Karen, Karenni, Chin and Kachin armed movements, Saturday, 19 November, at an undisclosed location on the Thai-Burmese border.
Three of the groups had reportedly agreed to sign the ceasefire agreement with respective state governments:
- Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS)
- Karen National Union (KNU)
- Chin National Front (CNF)
The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), meanwhile, agreed to hold further peace talks first before signing the ceasefire treaty.
The only major ethnic armed group that failed to appear at what has been termed as “the good will meeting” was the New Mon State Party (NMSP). It had unsuccessfully insisted on U Aung Min meeting the negotiating committee formed by the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC). (KNU, CNF, KNPP and KIO are also UNFC members)
The Saturday meeting on the border closely followed Asean’s approval of Burma assuming the grouping’s chair in 2014 as well as Aung San Suu Kyi’s decision to re-register her National League for Democracy (NLD) and contest the upcoming by elections.
Heads of the said delegations were: Sao Yawdserk (RCSS), David Taw (KNU), Bee Htoo (KNPP), Zin Cung (CNF) and N Ban La (KIO).
