Myanmar’s Kachin General Wants Foreign Involvement in Peace Talks

A leader of Myanmar’s ethnic Kachin rebels battling government troops has called for foreign participation in ongoing talks aimed at forging a nationwide cease-fire agreement with more than a dozen armed ethnic groups to bring an end to decades of conflict.

Questioning the government's sincerity in the peace process, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), General Gwan Maw, called for participation of the United Nations and key powers such as the United States and China in negotiations for the much-delayed cease-fire deal.

He said that President Thein Sein's government had stepped up its military offensive in Kachin state in recent days even as negotiations were under way to militarily weaken the KIA before any cease-fire is signed.

“I found two points in the recent rise in clashes between government and KIA forces—[they want] to pressure us militarily and place control over the KIO after having a cease-fire agreement,” he told RFA’s Myanmar Service in an interview late Monday as he wrapped up a trip to Washington and New York where he met with senior U.S. and U.N. officials.

“I think they [the government] are applying pressure so that the KIO would give in at a time when a political dialogue is going on," he said, referring to planned political discussions once a nationwide cease-fire deal is signed and in which ethnic groups are planning to demand greater autonomy.

The Kachin Independence Organization is the political wing of the KIA, which has been embroiled in intermittent fighting with government troops since June 2011, when a 17-year cease-fire was shattered. More than 100,000 civilians have been displaced in the clashes since then.

In the latest bout of fighting, more than 20 people have died and hundreds of villagers have been forced out of their homes and have fled into neighboring China, state media reported.

Lackluster peace talks

Gwan Maw said the peace negotiations had been lackluster purely because the Thein Sein administration refused to recognize the armed groups as genuine representatives of ethnic nationalities and refused to be upfront about the political process once a cease-fire pact is signed.

“We can’t get any agreement on what the armed ethnic groups should do in the political process that will follow if a cease-fire agreement is signed,” he lamented.

Nearly two years ago, he said, the government was asked whether it regarded the groups as “representing the various ethnic nationalities or as armed rebels, but we haven't gotten any answer yet."

The KIA is one of Myanmar’s largest rebel groups and one of two that has not yet signed a full individual cease-fire with the authorities.

Gwan Maw said he met with U.N. special envoy Vijay Nambiar last week and briefed him on the latest situation in relation to the peace talks, and also held talks with U.S. State Department officials.

He called on Washington to be more actively involved in the peace process.

"We approached them first, telling them we want the U.S. to fully understand the true picture of our situation and what the NCCT is working on to achieve a cease-fire pact. And they accepted [my trip] I think to better understand us,” he said.

The rebel groups' 16-member National Cease-fire Coordination Team (NCCT) and the government agreed in March to form a joint committee to draft a single text for a nationwide cease-fire agreement.

Involvement of big powers

Gwan Maw told the Associated Press in a separate interview that the involvement of big powers is critical for the peace talks to move forward.

"Our hope is that by involving big countries like the United States, both sides may be more committed to resolving this conflict," said Gwan Maw, who is among the ethnic negotiators. China, Britain, and the United Nations should also be observers, he said, helping to ensure any deal is adhered to.

Gwan Maw said an invitation was first extended to the United States, Britain, China, and the United Nations to be involved in the peace efforts in February last year.

"This trip, I reaffirmed that invitation," Gwan Maw told Reuters news agency. "We would like to have the U.S. present at the peace process as a witness, so this agreement will become strong," he said.

"At present, we are still asking the U.S. to be involved. Whether they will be, we don't know yet," he said.

After meeting Gwan Maw last week, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Tom Malinowski said he had expressed "firm U.S. support for the post-ceasefire peace process, which will have to tackle long unresolved political grievances," Reuters reported.

"The balance between central and local authority, inclusion for all in national and local political processes, constitutional reform, equitable sharing of natural resources, and humanitarian access to internally displaced people are just a few of the issues that must be negotiated in good faith for a ceasefire to lead to durable peace," he said.

Third quarter target

Hla Maung Shwe, special adviser to the government-affiliated Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), told RFA that he expects a nationwide cease-fire agreement to be signed by the end of the year.

"I believe we can have a cease-fire agreement concluded before the third quarter of 2014. Political dialogue could start soon after that," he said.

Hla Maung Shwe also said that resolving the ethnic conflict in Myanmar is an internal matter but left open the prospects of participation by the United States and other powers if the deadlock cannot be broken.

"This is an internal issue of our country that has been going on for decades, and as there is a lack of trust on both sides, there could be expectations for help from foreign observers,” he said.

“No international observers are present in our current NCCT negotiations," he said. "They might be needed if we ourselves cannot get a solution at all. Right now, the talks are going alright and we don’t need outside help."

Hla Maung Shwe said “it would be difficult at present to accept” the foreign players “as mediators, or as referees between the two sides.”

He said that in peace negotiations held in Kachin state last year, U.N. and Chinese envoys were present as observers.

Reported by Tin Aung Khine and Thin Thiri for RFA’s Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.