TAUNGGYI, Myanmar – A draft national cease-fire deal was agreed in March, but whether the agreement will be signed is questionable, given that the government has refused to recognize six of the 21 ethnic armed groups as potential signatories. The government’s stance has caused a rift among the ethnic organizations. Some, including the powerful Karen National Union and the Restoration Council of Shan State – Shan State Army South, said in August that they would back the deal regardless of others’ involvement, but have since wavered. The Kachin Independence Organization, with an estimated 10,000 fighters, has said it will not sign the national cease-fire without all armed groups on board. If the Kachin were to opt out, any deal would be toothless. “You really need the Kachin involved for it to be comprehensive,” said a close observer of the negotiations, who did not want to be identified.
Tag: Karen
‘It should not be propaganda’: ethnic minority TV channel to launch in Burma – The Irrawaddy
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/40351 RANGOON – A new TV channel with shows in ethnic minority languages will air on Burma’s state broadcaster...
Despite ceasefire, shadow hangs over border economic prospects – The Irrawaddy
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/28480 KUALA LUMPUR — Dozens of civilians in Burma’s Karen State say they are not being consulted prior to...
Could Myanmar’s economic reform bring business to war-torn border regions? – Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2012/0910/Could-Myanmar-s-economic-reform-bring-business-to-war-torn-ethnic-regions Myanmar has passed a new foreign direct investment law. Now a cease-fire in the country’s Karen state has...
Ethnic violence in Burma tests Aung San Suu Kyi – RTÉ World Report
http://www.rte.ie/news/player/world-report/2012/0805/ – radio story here, needs realplayer After spending fifteen years under house arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi is now...
Myanmar’s about-face: 5 recent reforms – Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2012/0208/Myanmar-s-about-face-5-recent-reforms/Holding-free-and-fair-elections YANGON – Since 1962, Myanmar’s dictatorship has jailed the opposition, beat up monks, denied aid to disaster victims,...
An end to one of the world’s longest wars? Myanmar rebels cautious – Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2012/0112/An-end-to-one-of-the-world-s-longest-wars-Myanmar-rebels-cautious.-video BANGKOK – After a six-decade war between the government of Myanmar (Burma) and one of the country’s ethnic...
Myanmar buys time with dam block – Asia Times
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/MJ04Ae01.html BANGKOK – China has reacted coolly to Myanmar’s surprise suspension of a controversial US$3.6 billion hydropower dam project...
“There is no protection for people, how can they go back?” – CNN Go
Mae Sot, Thailand – With his crutches resting against the clinic bed, Than Tin rolls up his trouser leg, gingerly pointing to a heavily bandaged leg stump. “All I remember was being blasted up in the air,” recalls the 48 year old father of 5, hoisting both arms to suggest the impact of the landmine. “First was no pain, but half my leg was gone, but then it was like so bad burning.”
Thai-Burma Relations through the Thaksin Prism – The Irrawaddy
http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=18672 BANGKOK — After the crackdown on the two-month-long Redshirt protest in Bangkok, ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra remains a...