President Thein Sein Government declared an end to its military
offensive against the Kachin Independence Army on January 18 since the US and
the EU have described their concerns. The ceasefire order of the President was
to be effective from 6am on January 19.
Speaking at the opening of the
First Myanmar Development Cooperation Forum in Nay-Pyi-Taw on January 19,
President U Thein Sein reaffirmed his previous bid for peace negotiations with
the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).
“We have extended an invitation
to the KIO to join the peace meeting. I want to invite my colleagues from KIO
to come to the peace meeting from here on again. I believe KIO will soon join
us in the peace process. I have ordered the Tatmadaw (Burma Army) and other
relevant government agencies to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict. I
want to note that KIO will need to reciprocate in a similar way,” Thein Sein
told hundreds of domestic and foreign delegates at the forum.
However, KIA said government
forces continue to pound rebel positions despite President Thein Sein’s
announcement of a unilateral ceasefire last week, according to Radio Free Asia
(Burmese Service).
KIO/KIA said severe assaults on
their locations have carried on since after that, including a bomb that fell in
downtown Laiza on Wednesday. On Thursday, rebels said the Kha Ya Bum hill near
Laiza was pounded by government troops.
Meanwhile on Thursday National
Parliament, U Win Naung of the Yangon Region Constituency No (5) seconded the
proposal of U Khet Htein Nam from Kachin State Constituency No (1) that advised
the Union government to take on firm principles which help create reciprocal
understanding to build domestic peace, The New Light of Myanmar said Friday.
Win Naung called for negotiation
between the representatives of two sides at the peacemaking-table to start
peace within the country. He expressed his concerns for current troubles of
Kachin State where there was no schooling and no business due to daily combat.
Military
appointed-parliamentarian Col Aung Kyaw said all the previous peace talks
between the government and KIO/KIA were unproductive as a consequence of the
latter’s focus mainly on ‘political dialogue’ rather than expected ‘ceasefire’. He also said that the government has arranged
shelter for 32,434 internally displaced persons in 11 townships and
sub-townships in Kachin State, according to the state-owned newspaper.
The humanitarian assistance in
the form of cash and kind from the President, Kachin State government, Ministry
of Border Affairs, Relief and Resettlement Department, government departments,
social organizations, Red Cross Society, and parliamentarians amounted to Kyats
6, 737, 476, 797 referring Col Aung Kyaw
the NLM newspaper said.
Furthermore, Col Aung Kyaw
mentioned ‘Section 339 of the Constitution’ that, “The Defence Services shall
lead in safeguarding the Union against all internal and external dangers.”
Thus, Tatmadaw (Military) protects the people from attacks of KIO/ KIA is in compliance
with the Constitution, concluded Col Aung Kyaw.
However, the civilians in Kachin
State do not see government soldiers as their protectors, as said by the media
reports. Instead, people see them as bands of robbers, who committed looting,
torturing, killing during their operations in far-off Kachin villages.
The key question between the
government and the KIO/KIA is on ‘political dialogue’. Col Aung Kyaw’s voice in
the parliament highlights that his government wants to delay the ‘political
dialogue’ and just focus on ‘ceasefire’ which KIO says is unnecessary.
In fact, the government armed
forces have unreasonably violated the 1994 ceasefire agreement and invaded
Kachin territory by force. Then, the government deployed more infantry units in
Kachin region and refused to pull out even though have been constant calls from
KIO and local residents.
If government troops moved back
up to the 1994 ceasefire line, it means reinstatement of the ceasefire treaty.
Then, the government should go ahead with ‘political dialogue’ in favor of
long-lasting internal peace.
Moreover, the government
‘ceasefire first’ policy looks like a new tactic inducing surrender in some
way.
The KIO has no satisfactory
option to accept the government’s ‘ceasefire first policy’ which is devoid of
any political discussion.
In hopes of setting up political
dialogue, the KIO signed a ceasefire agreement with the previous military
regime on February 24, 1994 and even supported the military-favored 2008
constitution.
No political dialogue has
occurred during the 17-year ceasefire period and the KIO were intimidated to
remove weapons and transform into the Burmese Army-controlled Border Guard
Force (BGF) before the November 7 election in 2010.
The KIO cast off the BGF plan,
saying it cannot accept transformation of its armed wing.
Talks between the KIO and the
Burmese government were also aborted in 1963, 1972, and 1980 respectively;
though, they all failed to get to the bottom of the political standoff between
the two sides.
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