Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Gov’t, KNU will hold 3rd round of peace talks in September

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Tuesday, 28 August 2012 16:39 Mizzima News

The third round of peace negotiations between the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Burmese government will be held on Sept. 3-4 in Hpan-an in Karen State.

The negotiations will focus on the guarantee of safety for civilians and also include the following topics:

– The relocation of Burmese Army troops from Karen State and other conflict ridden Karen areas.
– The Code of Conduct, which was drafted by the KNU and submitted to the Burmese government.

The KNU said it believes that lasting peace after decades of armed conflicts and political disputes will be possible through the participation and support of all concerned parties and stakeholders, in a statement released on Tuesday.

On August 8, Mizzima reported that four government soldiers reportedly died in a clash as the KNU and the government peace teams were meeting in the second round of talks about a cease-fire code of conduct.

Four members of the government's Border Guard Force were killed in a clash with the KNU armed wing in a firefight in northern Karen State, the KNU said.

Naw Zipporah Sein, the KNU secretary, told Karen News that the clash might have been caused by a “weakness of command” in Burmese government forces.

“This fighting occurred during the ‘peace-talk’ period and it could possibly be that orders haven’t reached to every command area. We are in the period of making sure all the details are in place and both sides need to continue to discuss these issues,” she said.

In May, the government reshuffled its peacemaking committee to include high-level government and military officials.

KNU peace delegation Secretary Pado David Taw said it was important that the committee included top military commanders, who can give direct orders to the armed forces to implement the various cease-fire and other agreements.

The government committee should be “more effective in peace negotiations and the peace process,” he said.

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