KIO to return to peace talks

KIO committee chairman Colonel Zaw Taung said that the resumption is to avoid preventable battles such as one that occurred on March 21. Although communication was possible, there was none, resulting in a clash between Myanmar troops and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) near Kainghtate Village in Mansi Town, he said.

The KIO halted the monthly peace talks late last year after government forces attacked a KIA cadet academy. There has been no communication with the government since November 19, 2014, the colonel said.

His comments came in wake of a reportedly positive meeting this week between the government’s Union Peacemaking Work Committee (UPWC) and the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), which represents 16 ethnic armed groups. KIO’s top leaders also met President Thein Sein in Nay Pyi Taw.

The seventh ceasefire talks between the UPWC and NCCT ended on Monday after six days. It will resume today.

"Currently, even though we have not met personally, there has been regular communication through letters. We have not officially talked on the matter of resuming the meetings. So far, this is our intention. If their side responds positively, we are sure to meet."

The government and KIO had a cease fire agreement that lasted 17 years from 1994 to 2011, but more than 1,500 battles have ensued under the new government since June 2011.

Frequent skirmishes occur in Kachin and Shan states.

The government and 14 of the 16 ethnic groups the NCCT represents already have peace deals. The KIA and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) have yet to reach accords.

KIO’s decision sparks hopes for a nationwide ceasefire accord.

In a report by The Straits Times, analysts say the war in Kokang was a wake-up call.

Kokang rebels aided by factions from some other armed groups launched attacks on the Myanmar army but then found themselves subjected to a full-scale offensive by the Army.

It showed that the army was serious and "the longer it - the talks - drag on, the more the armed groups have to lose", a government insider told the Singapore-based newspaper.

All issues have now been agreed upon, except so-called "interim arrangements" that would be put in place to manage a ceasefire until political talks begin in May.

"We are confident that we can start political dialogue in May," Soe Thane, a minister in the President's Office, told The Straits Times.

A new, nationwide ceasefire would bring a measure of stability as the country edges towards a landmark general election at the end of the year.

Richard Horsey, an independent analyst based in Yangon, said: "Things are certainly looking much more hopeful, although there remains some way to go to getting the NCA agreed and signed," he said, referring to the accord.

"The Kokang fighting may have played a part in this, with some groups worrying about a risk of contagion and thus wanting to demonstrate their continued commitment to a political resolution of the conflicts."

Another analyst who asked not to be named said: "The KIO and others felt the need to demonstrate very strongly that they were part of the solution, not part of the problem."

But he cautioned that while a nationwide ceasefire now seemed more likely, contentious issues involving the military had been kicked into the future - thus potentially emerging again to erode an agreement.