Burma's Armed groups and government to meet again soon

Representatives from the Burmese government's Union Peace-making Working Committee (UPWC) and their counterparts from the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) will hold a seventh round of peace negotiations later this month.

This was decided last month by representatives from the NCCT and the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), according to Pado Kywe Htu Win, a NCCT representative from the Karen National Union (KNU).

“We had negotiations for the 7th round of meetings between the UPWC and the NCCT”, Pado Kwe Htoo said. According to him the meeting will likely be held sometime between March 12th and 16th. According to Hla Maung Shwe a senior official with the MPC the meetings will be held at the MPC office in Rangoon.

“We have an agreement for the meeting to be held after March 12th” Hla Maung Shwe explained.

During a pre talk meeting held last month in Chinag Mai MPC representatives informed their NCCT counterparts about the details of an agreement that the Thein Sein administration concluded last month with four armed groups. The Deed of Commitment for Peace and National Reconciliation was signed by the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), the Karen National Union (KNU), the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) and the KNU/KNLA Peace Council.

Most of the other NCCT members were however reluctant to sign on to this agreement which was ratified at a ceremony in Naypyidaw on February 12th Union Day. It remains to be seen if the government's negotiating team led by Aung Min will be able to convince more organizations to sign on.