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| KIO Chairman Zawng Hra (left) and Burmese president Thein Sein |
Peace talks held in the Kachin state capital Myitkyina on Thursday ended with both the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the government delegation signing a joint agreement to lessen tensions.
Under the seven point agreement both parties agreed to open monitoring offices and begin assistance projects geared towards helping the more than 100,000 people displaced by the fighting.
While the agreement fell short of a full ceasefire, the agreement does aim to “prevent further clashes while efforts are underway to reduce fighting”, according to fish farming businessman turned peace broker Hla Maung Shwe, who made the comments during an interview with the Democratic Voice of Burma on Thursday afternoon. Hla Maung Shwe a member of the EU funded Myanmar Peace Center told DVB that the agreement also includes provisions to hold political discussions between the government and the KIO in the near future.
It remains to be seen what will come of the next rounds of peace talks as the KIO are under pressure from the Kachin general public not to give away too much to the central government which remains largely unpopular with most Kachin people.
It also remains unclear whether the joint monitoring process will actually lead to a reduction in tensions between the two sides. Government forces and the Shan State Army (SSA) continue to regularly fight with each other in eastern Shan state despite the fact that the both sides signed a ceasefire agreement more than a year ago.
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