To Hopeland and Back: The 23rd trip
Day Six. Thursday, 10 November 2016
It’s just a military rule under democratic
cover.
One EAO leader, 9 November 2016
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The Parami Hotel
(Photo: Trip Advisor)
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Today, the 5 day workshop of the signatory EAOs begins at the Parami
Hotel in Mayangon in preparation for the National level Political Dialogues
(ND) due to be launched by the end of the month. And I’m there to talk with the
participants, 5 from each EAO, each individual participant responsible for one
of the dialogue topics: Politics, Security and Defense, Social, Economic and
Land and Natural Resources Management.
I’m therefore
present at the meeting between some foreign busy bodies and two of the EAO
representatives there. Here are some extracts from their talks:
·
At the top we are friendly to each other. But at the ground level,
things haven’t changed much more than before we signed the NCA.
·
Our basic difference is in our outlooks:
To the government, we are
rebels (Thaung Gyan Thu, meaning rampagers, in Burmese)
To us, the government and
the military are invaders.
These need to be overcome by
both sides.
·
The 6 point principles of the Tatmadaw? # 1-4 are okay, but #5-6 are
against the NCA, confusing even its own officers and men
·
The State Counselor has strangely been silent on continuing offensives
against the non-signatories
·
(On development projects) it’s not that we are against development. The
problem with these government initiated projects is that they come together
with the oppressive system we’ve been fighting against for more than 60 years.
The people want development, but not in this way.
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Green Hill Hotel
(Photo: chiangdao.com)
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I later have an hour of reunion with my childhood
schoolmates at Sanchaung’s Loi Hserm Hsip restaurant near the Winsor Hotel.
Then to Green Hill Hotel to attend an CT-DPN pre-meeting on the Joint
Coordination Body (JCB) for Peace Funding.
There is nothing new to report on the discussion on JCB, but I learn a
few things about the 9-10 November meeting between the DPN and the government’s
PC which adjourned this afternoon:
·
The first day was generally okay. We listened to the government’s
explanations on the military CoC (Code of Conduct) and the ToR (Terms of
Reference) for JMC (that was jointly drafted by the government and the
signatories)
·
It was today when we were scheduled to discuss the remaining points of
our 9-point proposal that the tone changed
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(Photo: mizzima)
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·
There were two questions put
forward by the DPN members, which, though not included in the 9 points, are
relevant to our negotiations: It said an appeal had been sent to the government
via the PC for direct KIO-Naypyitaw negotiations for the de-escalation of the
ongoing fighting more than a month ago. “Isn’t it about time we get the
response?” There was still none. That was the first thing that soured the
meeting’s atmosphere. (According to General Gun Maw’s written note which
appeared in the Mizzima article yesterday, it took place on 9 November, and not
10th, as I’m reporting here. Of course, It’s more than likely I must
have been wrong about the date.)
Such things never happen
during the previous government. The answers might be “Yes” or “No”, but they
were, almost without exceptions, prompt.
·
One problem is that the present government is too set on formal
meetings, and not on informal meetings, unlike its predecessor.
Another may be that since
the matter is a military one, the KIO should have sent its appeal to the
military directly and copying it to the SC (or vice versa). It would then have
a better chance of a quicker response.
·
Another thing which shook the meeting’s atmosphere related to the DPN’s
inquiry on the Commander-in-Chief’s 8 November speech delivered to the EU
(which is best not recounted here).
·
The end result was we reached only token agreement on the 9 points,
which was better than nothing. We also agreed to meet again before the end of
the month. (This planned meeting has yet to take place at the time of this
reporting. The PC is reportedly due to visit China, 26 November-2 December.)
At 22:00, I’m back at my hotel.
Tags: Opinion
