Day Three. Friday, 30 January 2015

The first thing I notice as we enter the meeting hall is the set of flags lined up along one side of its walls: that of the NDAA, Shan State, and the Union, in that order.

Zhao Guo-ang

Participants include:
Hsan Perh , Htein Lin, Kham Mawng, Hseng La and Sai Mao from NDAA
Zhao Guo-ang,Bao Youliang, and U Aung Myint from UWSP/UWSA
Htoo Htoo Lay, and Isaac from KNU
Sai La from RCSS/SSA
Harn Yawnghwe, EBO, and myself

The meeting is opened at 08:30 Burma Standard Time by Hsan Perh, with Kham Mawng serving as interpreter.

I'm an advocate of the principle of balancing between confidentiality and transparency: that is if you do not respect confidentiality, the negotiations fail (apart from yourself being kicked out of the negotiations). But if you are not transparent enough, you won't get support and cooperation from the people in whose interests you are negotiating. I therefore hope I'm truthful as well as confidential here.

Bao Youliang

Htoo Htoo Lay: This is my third visit. And I would like to talk about three things.

 The first is about how we have been trying to resolve political issues through political means. (He goes into details). Right now the situation is such it appears there will be no political dialogue in the foreseeable future. And we have been trying to find ways to get to the next stage of the peace process without upsetting the current Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) negotiations.

The second is about Karen unity. (He gives details) All in all, our efforts have been 80 percent successful.

The third is about our informal meetings with Naypyitaw and KIO.

We are cultivating close relationship with the government as well the parliament and the military.

U Aung Myint

With the military we have agreed upon a 3 plus 3 arrangement where three from each side will meet regularly to anticipate and resolve problems that may arise together.

With the KIO, we accept that there are differences in our experience and outlook. And we have agreed to meet each other once a month to reconcile them. Already we have met twice, in December and January.

Harn Yawnghwe
As we all know, the Union came into being because of Panglong.

1963
The government sponsored peace talks, but came to nothing because what the government wanted was surrender by the armed resistance

1989
There was ceasefire because everyone wanted political dialogue. There was the National Convention (NC) but it wasn’t political dialogue (PD)

But since 2011, we are having a real chance which should not be let go. If we can’t pull it off now, it is unthinkable the next administration will make another go for it.

The proposed signing of the NCA on 12 February does not seem to be practical, since we still have several points remain to be cleared and the NCA (Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team set up by the armed movements) are not ready yet.

We have therefore made a draft with points that are already agreed by all to be signed so that the political dialogue can begin and we can head off further clashes.

The draft has also been given to U Aung Min (Naypyitaw’s principal negotiator) for consideration.

Hsan Perh
We have preserved the ceasefire with the government for more than 25 years and, hand in hand with the Wa, have carried out local development projects.

And since this government was set up we have already signed 3 initial ceasefire agreements:
7 September 2011           state level in Kengtung
9 October 2011               Union level in Kengtung
27 December 2011         Union level in Mongla

At present, we know the situation between us (Wa and Mongla) and the rest of the armed resistance movements are different. And we are still trying to understand the situation.

Zhao Guo-ang
The NCA at a glance is not for us as we have been enjoying the fruits of ceasefire for more than 25 years. We therefore urge every movement that has yet to conclude a ceasefire agreement to do it as soon as possible.

As for the NCA we will study it thoroughly before we decide whether or not to sign it.

Harn Yawnghwe
At this rate, it doesn’t seem like we will be able to sign the NCA even next year. Our suggestion therefore is we should start the political dialogue before the elections. If we can do that, I believe that will also help convince leaders who are still skeptical about the whole process and even help speed up the NCA negotiations.

We then have a lunch break, when we talk about the Wa proposal for support to its Wa State call, and similar call from the NDAA about a Self Administered Zone status for it. (I’m going to write about it separately)

After lunch the participants made an assessment of what was discussed earlier:
• For Wa, Mongla, RCSS and KNU, NCA is not the issue, but Political Dialogue is
• No objections on the Peace Pledge Agreement (PPA) draft

Harn Yawnghwe
If we are still unable to sign the PPA on 12 February it is certain other options may be explored. If the political parties think they should move on to the next stage with or without the NCA, then the armed resistance movements might lose their initiative.

The day ends with a sumptuous dinner party hosted by Sao Sai Leun.

The only thing I remember is that one of the leaders has brought his own drinks and smoke.