Monday, March 2, 2015

National News

National News

Kokang: For Myanmar and China, this time it’s different

Posted: 02 Mar 2015 02:36 AM PST

The last upheaval that changed the balance of power in the small, rugged area of northeastern Shan State on the border with China was dubbed the "Kokang Incident".

Peace brings plantations and displacement in Myeik hills

Posted: 02 Mar 2015 02:08 AM PST

Villagers in a remote and mountainous part of Tanintharyi Region are claiming compensation from a joint venture company running a palm oil project on land they say was confiscated from them.

Union Day deal highlights deep rift in the Karen National Union

Posted: 02 Mar 2015 01:57 AM PST

Cracks have once again emerged in the ranks of the Karen National Union as a result of the group's decision to sign the Union Day declaration on February 12.

Teachers get help returning home from Kokang region

Posted: 02 Mar 2015 01:32 AM PST

Teachers who have fled the heavy fighting in Kokang are to be assisted to return to their home towns, the Ministry of Education announced last week.

Shan army urges president to open Kokang peace talks

Posted: 02 Mar 2015 01:20 AM PST

The Shan State Army-North has written to the government urging it to open talks with Kokang rebels, as the death toll continues to rise following more than two weeks of heavy fighting in northeastern Shan State.

Cartoon campaign aims for safer roads

Posted: 02 Mar 2015 01:12 AM PST

Urgent measures are required to prevent more death and injury on the roads, the government has warned at the launch of an innovative campaign to improve education about road safety.

Rare birds return to Gulf of Mottama

Posted: 02 Mar 2015 12:56 AM PST

Conservationists say that persuading local people to be more welcoming has helped boost the number of migrating birds that winter in the Gulf of Mottama.

Irrawaddy dolphin population declines

Posted: 02 Mar 2015 12:51 AM PST

The population of rare Irrawaddy dolphins has declined compared to last year, according to a study just completed.

Shwedagon museum undergoes renovation

Posted: 02 Mar 2015 12:36 AM PST

The Shwedagon Pagoda's board of trustees has started renovation and restoration of its museum near the west gate, said an official on the management committee.

Walking with ghosts on the border

Posted: 02 Mar 2015 12:35 AM PST

The formerly bustling border town of Chinshwehaw south of Laukkai has been deserted by Chinese traders and Myanmar migrant workers alike.
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Shan Herald Agency for News

Shan Herald Agency for News

Latest round of peace talks gone ‘smoothly’

Posted: 02 Mar 2015 01:55 AM PST

For the first time since last September, the talks between the rebels' Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) and the government's technical team, Myanmar Peace Center (MPC,) concluded yesterday, with the two sides departed in a much congenial atmosphere, according to sources from both sides.



"That was due to the fact that the NCCT has replaced idealist notions with realistic ones," one of the leading MPC members said. "In the past, we had to debate on every point. This time? None."

An NCCT member, while agreeing that the meeting went smooth, gave the following reason: "This time, they (the MPC) accepted every point that we proposed without arguments."

The details are not available but it is understood that the two sides will meet formally in Rangoon around mid-March.

Several informal meetings had taken place between the two sides since the deadlock in September. The 4th draft that resulted then was 'not acceptable,' according to several rebel sources including those from non-NCCT groups.

Three more incidents that followed had merely added to the increasing tensions: 19 November shelling near Laiza that killed 23 rebel cadets, 20 January rape-murder of two young Kachin teachers and most recently, the battle that has raged in Kokang since 9 February.
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