Myanmar - Why do not Burma’s President and Parliament try to end war with KIO?

Although Burma has had a new so-called union parliament under President Thein Sein since March, the political crisis has been exacerbated as hostilities against ethnic groups more and more spread out. Especially, the military-backed Burmese government and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) are in a deadlock position to sign a truce, sources from KIO side said. It seems too difficult to reach an agreement so far.

The talk involved a Burmese delegation led by Colonel Than Aung, leaders of the Kachin Consultative Council and KIO military wing the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), said KIO Joint-Secretary La Nan. KIA leaders included vice-chief-of-staff Brig-Gen Sumlut Gun Maw and Battalion 4 commander Colonel Zau Raw, he added.
It has not been confirmed so far whether the KIO and Burmese delegation have reached an agreement, with Kachin sources saying further talks between the two sides were likely in the event of a stalemate.

The KIO has offered to end ongoing fighting if the government will commence talks for a nationwide ceasefire. But Burmese government authorities did not show any positive signal, according to La Nang, a spokesman for the KIO. The KIO has met Burmese mission three times within last two months in an attempt to sign a new truce.

The KIO wants to sign a meaningful and strong ceasefire agreement with the Burmese government this time, not like the agreement in 1994, which disadvantaged a lot of rights and benefits for the Kachin people and the armed group itself, quoting a KIO official, Kachin News Group said.

“The 1994 ceasefire agreement made us suffer for 17 years. We knew it was politically fruitless and the wrong agreement but we had to follow it.  As a result, we have been highly criticized by Kachin people.”

Despite the fact that, the KIO had no sufficient option to review the condition and it signed the ceasefire agreement with the then Burmese junta without any political discussion.

The KIO’s joint-secretary said the military backed government, which came into power through the 2008 constitution, should take the lead in negotiating a country-wide ceasefire and resolve political problems based on the spirit of the 1947 Panglong Agreement. The historic Panglong Treaty  has outlined a multi-ethnic Union of Burma by the four major ethnic groups, the Burman, Shan, Kachin and Chin.

One year after Burma gained independence from the British in 1948, the Panglong Treaty was ignored and political argument between the majority Burmans and ethnic minorities brought about a civil war.

A July-28-open-letter offered by Burma’s pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, strongly called for a ceasefire between the Burmese government, led by ex-general, President Thein Sein, and ethnic armed groups, including the KIO, Karen National Union (KNU), New Mon State Party (NMSP) and the Shan State Army (SSA).

“We welcome Suu Kyi’s open letter politically but we have no plan to release a statement on it.  If necessary, it’s better that the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) release a statement because it concerns all ethnic armed groups in the alliance,” said La Nan, General Secretary No. 2 of KIO in Laiza, Kachin News Group reported.

The open letter of the Nobel peace laureate urged for peace talks as the first step toward peace in the country, he said. The letter said, “I would like to request to all to resolve the crisis in a peaceful way.”

The open letter was released three days after a meeting between Suu Kyi and Burmese Government Labor Minister, Aung Kyi, on July 28, to discuss working together to seek peace and stability for the country.

But, it was not the first time, Suu Kyi called for peaceful means. The National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi released a statement dated June 20 calling both government and KIO to stop heavy fighting immediately in order to protect people’s lives and properties. The said statement also called for peaceful talks between stakeholders to settle down the decades long political crisis of the country.

In reality, Burmese government repeated the civil war with the KIO once more on 9 June, after the crash of their Border Guard Force plan, which was dismissed by the KIO several times. Additionally, the new government is acting much like the old one – the decade-long old military dictatorship – with freshly retired generals still making all the decisions.

Conversely, to end this civil war with KIO, Thein Sein government must launch a special parliamentary session immediately. As a parliament-based government, the president has the obligation to lead a discussion in the emergency parliament session in order to get true voice of the members of parliament, how they want to do with the ongoing civil war.

At least, the parliament should assign a mission made up of MPs to achieve peaceful solution that will fulfill the genuine wishes of the people.

By Zin Linn


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