Myanmar to hold ethnic armed groups conference ahead of nationwide ceasefire accord

Myanmar to hold ethnic armed groups conference ahead of nationwide ceasefire accord

Published on Friday, 11 October 2013 17:22

Myanmar will hold an ethnic armed groups conference in the town of Laiza, Kachin State, according to an agreement reached after three days of peace talks in Myitkyina.

The conference will precede a planned nationwide ceasefire agreement.

The Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) demanded that the conference be held during Union-level peace talks with the government. The conference is aimed at bringing ethnic leaders together to discuss and coordinate their demands, said the KIO's vice-chief of staff Major General Gwan Maw.

"We have demanded to hold a conference of leaders from the ethnic armed groups. The reason is to discuss what we should claim and how we can participate in the nationwide ceasefire accord the government is planning," said Gwan Maw.

The KIO is reportedly to decide whether it will sign the ceasefire agreement only after studying and reviewing the accord's provisions.

The government and the KIO have met 15 times, including four informal talks, but they have yet to sign a ceasefire agreement.

According to Gwan Maw, KIO policy is that there must be trust in order to sign the ceasefire accord.

The government's Union Peacemaking Work Committee and the KIO reached a seven-point agreement after the three-day talks that began on Tuesday.

http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/myanmar-to-hold-ethnic-armed-groups-conference-ahead-of-nationwide-ceasefire-accord/