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Bangkokpost, April 07, 2012 - Myanmar's president held his first meeting with
Karen rebels on Saturday, as the government intensifies efforts to
bolster peace with the country's oldest insurgent group.
The meeting is the latest sign that Myanmar is keen to cement a ceasefire in the war-torn eastern state, amid pressure from the international community to end ethnic conflict as it considers lifting sanctions to reward recent reforms.
Delegates from the Karen National Union (KNU) met President Thein Sein in the capital Nay Pyi Daw, according to unnamed officials, following negotiations with ministers in Rangoon on Friday.
"It was the first meeting between the president and the KNU leaders," an official with links to the peace talks told AFP.
The official said six delegates -- including members of the armed wing of the group -- were taken "by special flight" for the landmark meeting, which lasted about 90 minutes.
A mediator attending the meeting said Thein Sein had indicated that the constitution could be amended to give all groups political representation.
"The weapons held in their hands should not be for fighting each other but for defending the country," he quoted Thein Sein as telling the KNU.
The KNU members have since returned to Yangon and are due to meet opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Sunday, a week after she swept to victory in historic by\elections with her party -- seen as the culmination of burgeoning reforms by the government.
Those changes, brought about since direct military rule ended last year, also saw the regime sign a ceasefire in January with the KNU, whose armed wing has been battling the government since 1949.
Myanmar has also signed a number of similar deals with other rebels.
But ongoing fighting in northern Kachin state has cast a shadow over the peace efforts, displacing tens of thousands of people since it sparked last year.
Authorities postponed the byelections in three constituencies in the state, citing security concerns, and rights groups have claimed that serious abuses, also documented by the BBC this week, continue in the area.
Myanmar has been gripped by civil war in parts of the country since independence from colonial rule in 1948 and the military used the conflict to justify an iron-fisted dictatorship that lasted for nearly half a century.
A commitment to end ethnic conflict was included in the 13-point peace plan negotiated by the KNU and government officials on Friday as part of efforts to find a political settlement to the fighting.
Thailand-based Aung Naing Oo, of the Vahu Development Institute think-tank, said Thein Sein's meeting with the KNU was "very significant".
"The group that the president is meeting is people who are really critical of the military regime and even the current government," he said. "It is a huge confidence building measure and it shows the government is really willing to reach out to many of the ethnic groups."
The KNU has long been considered an illegal organisation and much of its leadership is based in Thailand.
A government official told AFP that four ministers accompanied the KNU delegates to Nay Pyi Daw.
"I think the president organised the meeting so that it was before they held talks with Aung San Suu Kyi," he said.
The KNU said on Thursday it was keen to assess the National League for Democracy (NLD) party and its commitment to reconciliation efforts during Sunday's talks, which will be the democracy icon's first important discussions as an elected politician.
The Nobel peace laureate is largely well-regarded in minority areas, but she is also seen as a member of an ethnic Burman elite.
The Karen, one of at least 135 ethnic groups in Myanmar, make up about 7% of Myanmar's population.
Fighting in Karen state forced huge numbers of villagers to flee their homes and tens of thousands of these refugees live in camps across the border in Thailand.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/287880/myanmar-president-meets-ethnic-rebels-officials
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