Talks stall as Burma refuses to meet KIO in China again

ON JANUARY 18 AND 19, THE TALK BETWEEN BURMA GOVERNMENT AND KIO DELEGATIONS WAS HELD IN RUILI, CHINA'S SOUTHWEST YUNNAN PROVINCE.

MAI JA YANG, Burma— According to sources in the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) the latest round of peace talks between Burma's second strongest armed ethnic group and representatives of the Burmese government were delayed this week due to the Burmese delegation's refusal to meet in China, site of two previous rounds of negotiations.


The two sides were expected to sit down again this week, less than three weeks after talks in January failed to reach any agreement other than to meet again.  According to an official based at the KIO's Laiza headquarters the Burmese delegation's latest demand that the upcoming talks be held on Burmese territory is something the KIO will not accept.

According to the official, the KIO counter proposed that talks be held at a neutral place inside Burma in an area located between government controlled territory and that of the KIO. The KIO's proposal included allowing international media to attend, he told the Kachin News Group on Friday.  It is unclear when the Burmese delegation will respond to these suggestions, however the KIO leadership does believe that talks will happen soon, according to our source.

Another source with close knowledge of the inner workings of the Burmese delegation claimed that the Burmese delegation's refusal to meet in China is related to Naypyidaw's general embarrassment that it has not been able to use its military might to force the Kachin side to compromise, this despite having repeatedly told the Chinese government that Burma's notorious Tatmadaw (Army) would crush the KIO easily.

The KIO has suggested that the Burmese government is not serious about having a real dialogue and lasting agreement.  According to senior figures in the group the second day of last month's talks held on January 18 and 19 coincided with a strong Burmese offensive against Kachin positions soldiers in battalion 8 in Northern Shan State.  The attack during the peace talks came at time when all of the Kachin forces in both Kachin state and Northern Shan State were under order to stop their guerrilla attacks on the Burmese army as a sign of good faith.

Currently Burmese army column's containing hundreds of troops are said to be attacking Kachin Independence Army position in northern Shan State. This includes a stretch of KIO territory between Namtu and Muse which lies in the path of the massive 800 km twin oil and gas pipeline part of the Shwe gas project.

Beginning in June of last year, northern Burma has seen some of the country's fiercest fighting in 20 years following the breakdown of a 17-year ceasefire agreement between the KIO and the central government.

A ceasefire agreement ostensibly reached between representatives of Burma's oldest rebel group the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Thein Sein government last month appears to be in doubt after leading figures in the organization including, daughter of the KNU's elderly chairman, publicly denied this week that an actual ceasefire had been agreed to.