Min Thu Tha – The government has not set a date for dialogue between U Aung Min’s delegation of peace negotiators and the Pa-Oh National Liberation Organization (PNLO), according to a PNLO source.
U Khun Myint Tun, the general secretary of PNLO, said, “There was an agreement that the dialogue would be held in mid-May, but the government has yet torespond with a fixed date.”
It was after his visit to Norway and during an April 19th meeting in Thailand with PNLO leaders that Railway Minister U Aung Min, the government’s chief peace negotiator, first said a dialogue would be held in May.
“Now, the two Burmese delegations of peace negotiators are set to merge, and Minister U Aung Min already has a full schedule with other groups this month,” said peace negotiator U Nyo Own Myint.
“Minister U Aung Min said there would be a dialogue with the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), but that date also remains unconfirmed.”
Minister U Aung Min is responsible for achieving union-level ceasefire agreements with the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS)/the Shan State Army (SSA), the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), the Karen National Union (KNU), the New Mon State Party (NMSP), and the Chin National Front (CNF).
Five of the above six armed ethnic groups have signed union-level agreements, but the PNLO still has not reached a preliminary ceasefire with the government.
U Aung Min met the PNLO Chairman Khun Oak Kar for the first time in December 2011. A meeting was then held on February 5th between their respective delegations in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where the PNLO presented an eleven-point program.
“Ofthose eleven points, some couldn’t be decided immediately, so U Aung Min said they would present the program to the President,” continued U Khun Myint Tun.
The program demands include the development of a preliminary ceasefire agreement between the government and the PNLO, aunion government declaration of nationwide ceasefire, and an assurance that the government will design a dialogue schedule with the political delegations within 60 days of the nationwide ceasefire.
The PNLO splintered from the Shan Nationalities People’s Liberation Organization (SNPLO) and is currently active on the Thai-Burma border near Southern Shan State.
Yesterday, the delegation of Burmese government representatives led by Minister U Aung Min signed a union-level agreement with the Chin National Front (CNF) in Har Khar, Chin State.
