EMG 23.MAY 2013
China’s objection has led to the removal of the participation of the United States and the United Kingdom as observers in a peace talk between the government and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), San Aung of Peace Coordinating Group (PCG) said.
In spite of the representatives of the US and UK being unable to participate in the peace talk, Vijay Nambiar, UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser to Myanmar, and Chinese delegates will attend the peace talk, San Aung said.
The KIO can guarantee that strong pledges will be achieved if the US and the UK participate in the peace talk. We can also do that. We have to monitor how much improvement we will see in the participation of the UN and China in the peace talk, San Aung added.
The KIO invited the US and the UK to participate in the peace talk in April, but as soon as China had known about that, it objected to it. Despite the US and the UK do not participate in the peace talk, the KIO accepted for organizing the peace talk in case it would fail, San Aung said.
All nine ethnic armed groups have been already invited to attend the peace talk. It is not known yet whether they will do or not.
The government and the KIO already agreed in principle to go on the peace talk in Myitkyina, Dr Min Zaw Oo, Director of ceasefire of Myanmar Peace Center said.
The already invited ethnic armed groups are the KNU, the KNPP, the CNF, the PNLO, the NMSP, the SSPP, the UWSP, the RCSS and the NDAA.
The two-month long peace talk was earlier planned in Myitkyina on April 6, but it had to be postponed as China objected to the participation of the UK and the US. The peace talk was due to resume in Myitkyina on May 28.
