Shan Herald Agency for News

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To Hopeland and Back (Part XII) Here comes the Second Labor of Hercules Posted: 09 Apr 2015 11:13 PM PDT Day Four. Wednesday, 18 March 2015 Today the discussion focuses on Code of Conduct (COC) and joint monitoring of ceasefires. It takes some time because some of the clauses reportedly agreed between the two sides earlier have to be negotiated again. The reason, I'm told later, is that the military representatives were not present during the December meeting. Fortunately, they are able to reach mutual agreement that the COC would be drafted and the Joint Monitoring committee (JMC) formed within one month following the signing of NCA. The day however isn't without a hitch. The two sides argue over the UPWC proposal that the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) and the Joint Union Peace Dialogue Committee (JUPDC) to be formed after the NCA signing should be placed under the NCA. As to be expected, the NCCT devotes its time frowning over the proposal. "How can we be supervised by a piece of paper?" asks one of them. "Haven't we already agreed to set up a Joint Union Peace Implementation Committee (JUPIC) during the last meeting?" What has happened, as I'm to learn later, is that the NCCT had proposed earlier that a top level JUPIC be formed to oversee the JMC and the JUPDC. The UPWC had countered it by proposing that the JUPIC be placed under the 11 men Union Peacemaking Central Committee (UPWC) led by the President and the Commander-in-Chief. Understandably, the NCCT re-countered it with a No Way response. The result of the see-saw debate is what takes place today. Today's session ends with agreement to find a better alternative to the inanimate NCA as the peace steward. The evening is spent talking to a young, energetic activist from Shan State, who is working on a program to train more people as ceasefire monitors. "Chins and Kachins are ready," he says. "The Shan State, the biggest, isn't yet." He is also one of the staunch opponents against the megadams on the Salween. "One-third of the State (around 50,000 square kilometers) will be submerged," he tells me. "How could we let this happen without them letting us know what we are up against?"

To Hopeland and Back (Part XII): Here comes the Second Labor of Hercules Posted: 09 Apr 2015 11:05 PM PDT Day Three. Tuesday, 17 March 2015 A lot of things happened which may be relevant to the outcome of the UPWC-NCCT meeting that begins at 11:00 today: On 13 March bombs dropped by the Burmese plans on Kokang rebel positions killed 5 villagers and injured 8 more on the Chinese side prompting protests from both the Chinese foreign ministry and the People's Liberation Army. The event had led to the "sacking" of 3 divisional commanders fighting on the Kokang front, according to sources speaking on the sidelines. "It may or may not be enough to appease Beijing," says an NCCT source. "But what matters is dismissal of them doesn't affect the military operation. Because commanders who have the overall responsibility have not been touched." One of the consequences is witnessing Mr Wang Yingfan, China's special envoy to Burma's peace process who is attending the meeting as an observer, using every opportunity outside the meeting to speak to top negotiators on both sides to put the Kokang issue as an "urgent item on the agenda." On the other hand, the meeting between the KIO and the President plus Commander in Chief yesterday appeared to have gone well: half an hour with the former and one and a  half hours with the military chief. "We only got back this morning at 04:00," says a worn-out looking Kachin representative. The upshot of it is that they have good news for us. When the meeting duly begins, the UPWC acknowledges that both sides met for the first time in recent history and were able to build up mutual "trust". The NCCT agrees saying , "we had touched on military matters and were able to achieve mutual understanding to a certain extent." The subject matter today is Reduction of Conflicts. Naturally, the Kokang issue is put forward by the NCCT. However the UPWC, whose government had granted powers of state of emergency to the military, politely replies the matter is out of the meeting's scope as the Kokang issue had emerged only after the NCA meetings took place in November 2013. It should therefore be dealt separately. (There was a buzz that the military representatives had threatened to walk out if the issue were pursued further by the NCCT, but I couldn't find anyone to either confirm or deny the validity this piece of news.) The outcome of the day is to issue a joint statement on the reduction of conflicts. The meeting adjourns at 15:00 for participants of yesterday's Napyitaw meetings to rest and cool themselves off before tomorrow's negotiations. My impression of the day is that both sides have their own hot heads but are gently handled by those with cooler ones. At the same time, it is certain this will not please everyone. For the world is full of hot heads, even including myself. Maybe, I think afterward, there is hope of finalizing the draft after all, if there were people like this on each side, despite a six-month deadlock. At least a delicate matter has been delicately handled. Which prompts Yup Zau Hkawng, the leading member of the Kachin Peace-talks Creation Group (PCG), to remark: "Negotiations are like a dog trying to push itself through a roll of mat. It is easy to go in, but it will take a lot of effort to push through the middle part where the mat has been tied with strings." He is a happy-go-lucky guy with full of wits. I'll be learning more from him during the coming days.

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