The Myanmar Government on May 30 reached a preliminary ceasefire deal
with the Kachin Independent Organisation (Kachin, KIO) – the political
branch of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) – after almost two
years of violence.
According to Min Zaw Oo,
director of the EU-funded Myanmar Peace Centre, who took part in the
negotiations in the Kachin State capital Myitkyina, Myanmar
Government and KIO representatives signed a seven-point plan, including a
vow to end hostilities.
The two sides would stop fighting and discuss in details the repositioning of troops, he said.
The three-day talks are the first meeting between the two sides held
inside Myanmar. Previous rounds of negotiations were held in
Thailand and China.
The peace talks were
conducted after the Myanmar Government unilaterally ended fighting in
January to seek a solution to the clashes in Kachin which have
displaced nearly 100,000 people since June, 2011.
UN
Secretary General’s special adviser on Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar, also
joined the talks, along with representatives of Chinese and other
ethnic minorities.
Meanwhile, some 25 suspects
have been arrested in Lashio town in the country’s northern Shan state
since a riot was sparked in the town on May 28, causing the death of at
least one person, an official source has said.
A curfew was imposed on the evening of May 28 to restore order in the locality.-VNA