Shan Herald Agency for News |
| Unilateral ceasefire and fulfilling Panglong Agreement key to reconciliation success Posted: 02 Oct 2013 01:54 AM PDT Wednesday, 02 October 2013  Sai Wansai The optimistic gesture, stemming from the ambitious nationwide ceasefire signing ceremony, feverishly lobbied by U Aung Min, President Thein Sein's top peace negotiator, couldn't be louder, now that former President Jimmy Carter has openly urged the Kachin Independence Organization/ Army (KIO/KIA) to agree to ink the much talked about, signing of agreement, this coming November. Originally, the signing ceremony was earmarked to take place in October. According to Kachinland News of 28 September, the two Kachin activists, Khon Ja and Hkawn Htoi (also known as May Sabe Phyu), from Kachin Peace Network (KPN) met the Elders led by former US president Jimmy Carter, former Finland president Martti Ahtisaari and former Norway prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland for about an hour, where Jimmy Carter reportedly asked KIO and Kachin to participate in upcoming ceasefire agreement between Burmese government and ethnic armed groups. During the meeting, Jimmy Carter urged KIO and Kachin not to miss the historic opportunity and government's offer for a nationwide ceasefire as UN, International Governments and Security Council will witness the event, said Khon Ja of Kachin Peace Network. She said, "We had some difficulty explaining our perspective to the Elders as they met President Thein Sein, Commander in Chief and officials from Myanmar Peace Centre just before us. It was a big challenge telling our concerns." She said the Elders were too optimistic about change in Burma and preoccupied with words they had heard from Burmese government officials. "Jimmy Carter kept telling us KIO should sign ceasefire agreement even though we are not KIO's representatives and hardly gave us a chance to express our view", said Khon Ja. For the most part, the pro-ceasefire diplomatic offensives are initiated by the lobby groups like Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), the government establishment, and the Euro Burma Office (EBO); the Brussels based organization, which also have a branch office in Rangoon, Burma. Intentionally or unintentionally, the pro-ceasefire lobbyist camp has painted the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), particularly the KIO/KIA, as uncompromising hardliner, resisting the government's good will overtures, to participate in the government initiated, signing of nationwide ceasefire agreement. Let us take a deeper look, if this assumption is valid. First, despite initial ceasefire agreements with the Thein Sein government, responding to its peace and reconciliation calls shortly after he came to power in the early 2011, armed clashes still continue to these days unabated. To date, more than a hundred fire fights have been registered and the count is increasing with the ongoing armed clashes in Shan State, since the signing of ceasefire agreements between the government and both, the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) and Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) two years ago, and even not to mention the continued armed engagement with KIO/KIA in northern Shan State and Kachin State, despite an agreement signed a few months earlier to deescalate the armed conflict with the Burma Army. According to the recent SHAN report, on 30 September, Sao Yawdserk, leader of the RCSS/SSA, said that during the 10 days period, between 13 to 24 September, Burma Army suffered, at least, 80 death and wounded, in its armed engagements with the RCSS/SSA and SSPP/SSA. He is reportedly said to be writing a letter to Vice Senior General Soe Win to settle the ongoing problem of conflict between the two sides in a peaceful way. Since the signing of ceasefire, the two have already fought 133 clashes, including 8 between 13-24 September. The second reason for such continued armed engagements is due to Burma Army's military occupation of the ethnic homelands and the treatment of the non-Burman ethnic nationalities as its colonial possessions, employing almost all of its available armed forces. Finally, it's so-called "area clearance and control" policy of continued military operations, under the pretext of safe guarding national unity, to subjugate the non-Burman ethnic nationalities, pushed the Ethnic Armed Groups (EAGs) to militarily engage the Burma Army in self defence. From the EAGs point of view, the government initiated, ad hoc, nationwide ceasefire signing ceremony is meaningless, so long as the Burma Army (BA) troops are occupying the ethnic homelands and aggressively conducting offensives, by giving one or the other reason to continue doing so. It is not a surprise that the EAGs see the government's move sceptically as deliberately trying to advance its superior position militarily and diplomatically, by its continued military occupation and pressuring the EAGs to yield to its desire of signing the nationwide ceasefire. The Union Peace Working Committee (UPWC), headed by U Aung Min and United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) met for the second time, on September 8, in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai. Regarding government desired and proposed ceasefire signing ceremony again in October; the UNFC released a five points position paper.
Most EAGs have already signed ceasefire agreements with the government and the main question asked by the UNFC was, "Why repeatedly signing the ceasefire agreement, when armed clashes continues unabated, even after signing it?" The answer from the government, or rather the BA, is due to the EAGs breaching of its six moral principles, which was made known only after the signing of ceasefire agreements and not before. They were not to kill, not to force recruit members, not to levy taxes, not to expand armed garrison, not to participate in armed confrontation with the government troops on the side of ethnic armed groups' military alliance, not to interfere with the government administration, and not to attack government control militia groups. This is, of course, the official statement or point of view of the government and the BA. But the hidden real agenda, under the pretext of safe-guarding national sovereignty, is to subjugate and occupy the ethnic homelands and maintain Burman supremacy stance against all ethnic states. It should also be noted that U Aung Min has, indeed, made a commitment to start a political dialogue, once the nationwide ceasefire is signed by all the EAGs. But it is just like selling a cat in the sack, for one wouldn't know how it will look like. The EAGs, including the ethnic political parties, would first like the government and the military to guarantee the rebuilding of a genuine federal union, as has been agreed in 1947, and not just a liberalisation of the presidential unitary system or some kind of "Burmese way to federalism", which will still uphold Burman ethnocentrism and political monopoly. But, if the present regime, and for that matter the Burmese military, is really interested to turn a new leaf and embrace genuine power-sharing and decentralization, leading to the much talked about federal form of government, it should take some confidence-building measures and crucial steps like, unilateral declaration of nationwide ceasefire, redeploying its frontline troops to a relatively safe distance from the positions of EAGs, call off all offensives against the EAGs, and above all, a simple few words of official commitment that it is ready to go back to the original, agreed promise of Panglong Agreement to rebuild a genuine federal union. Only then, the earmarked, November nationwide ceasefire, will become a reality, paving ways for genuine reconciliation and political settlement. The contributor is the General Secretary of Shan Democratic Union (SDU) - Editor |
| Posted: 02 Oct 2013 01:52 AM PDT Just before we left the checkpoint, we saw young travelers in other trucks being herded into the same outpost. At Maesai, the driver who also happened to be my son, handed me over to Captain (retired) Win Thein who took me across the Friendship Bridge that connects the two countries. Once at the Tachilek airport, I bought a ticket at the Air Bagan counter, 69,000 Kyat (B 2,300) and waited at the air-conditioned Yangon Airways office with Sai Oo, Shan liaison officer in Taunggyi, who was on the same flight, until our plane landed. He told me several clashes has taken place during the past week. "Since the ceasefire was signed (on 2 December 2011), the local people have been more open with the Burma Army," he said. "Naturally, they have more accurate information about where our troops are stopping for the day." The reason for the Burma Army's attack was the Shan State Army (SSA)'s levying of tax on the local people, according to Lt-Gen Aung Than Tut, Commander of the Burma Army forces in Shan State. "I never knew there were exceptions to the ceasefire," Sai Oo said. "We have liaison offices, but they never notify us about their movements. They have also never discussed what they want from us." Earlier, U Aung Min, Vice Chairman of the Union Peacemaking Work Committee (UPWC), delivered a 6 point demand from the Burma Army to the SSA representatives:
"We should sit down together to discuss them, instead of issuing demands," SSA leader Yawdserk told me at the time. We boarded the plane after Sao Aung Myat, Chief Minister of Shan State Government, and his party, who were coming from Taunggyi to preside over the two sister cities trade fair in Kengtung. (Kengtung, or Chiangtung to Thais, and Chiangmai were founded by King Mangrai of Chiangsaen during the 13th century.) He didn't take notice of me but Col Aung Thu, Shan State Government Minister for Security and Border Affairs, did and we exchanged 'Mysoong Kha' with each other. It was already 19:00 when we arrived from Heho (Haiwo in Shan) to Taunggyi Hotel at the foothill of Taungchun or "The Spur", Taunggyi's natural emblem. I checked in after the reception found my name on her list. She asked me whether I would like to join the International Peace dinner party being thrown downtown. I politely declined, saying I was up since 04:00 that morning. Taking stock of the day, I found that I had missed meeting U Aung Min who was there since yesterday together with the opening session of the Shan-Kayah-Mon Trustbuilding for Peace forum today, the reason for my coming to Taunggyi. Fortunately, there were two more days for me to listen and make up my mind which information I had would be useful for the participants. With this comforting thought, I treated myself to a hot shower, took some notes and went to bed. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Shan Herald Agency for News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.