Govt eyes meeting with Northern Alliance ahead of next 21CPC
Aung Kyi, the head of the Peace Commission, told DVB that they hoped the ethnic rebel alliance would be “involved in the peace process very soon”.
Aung Kyi, the head of the Peace Commission, told DVB that they hoped the ethnic rebel alliance would be “involved in the peace process very soon”.
“We have been negotiating a meeting, but we don’t yet know when it will take place,” TNLA general-secretary tells DVB.
Conflict Ethnic issues Lead Story News Parliament
In an emergency session on Wednesday, the Shan State legislature passed an urgent proposal to designate as “terrorist organisations” the four ethnic armed groups fighting with Burmese government forces in the state’s north.
A statement on Sunday by the Northern Alliance lays the blame squarely on the shoulders of the Burmese army for the recent wave of hostilities in the Muse area.
The Burmese military is “on a path to annihilate the ethnic rebels,” instead of looking for a peaceful solution, say coalition.
Analysis Ethnic issues Lead Story Peace Process
Insofar as the Union government’s agenda for ethnic reconciliation is concerned, there is little doubt that the north, where the most powerful rebel armies operate, holds the key to a permanent negotiated settlement.
Ethnic issues Lead Story News Peace Process
The Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee released a statement on Thursday conveying the ethnic armed bloc’s intention to join the next iteration of the government’s 21st Century Panglong Conference if its members are officially invited to do so.
The government Peace Commission is preparing to meet “soon” with members of a recently formed alliance of ethnic armed groups based largely in Burma’s north, an apparent signal that the new coalition is increasingly viewed as an important factor in the peace process calculus.
Conflict Lead Story Military News
A damning new report from Amnesty International paints a picture of northern Burma in which the military continues to act with impunity, accused of human rights abuses tantamount to war crimes just weeks after the appointment of a UN fact-finding mission to probe such concerns.
The seven militias say they have formed a committee to negotiate with the government, but will not discuss the NCA.
Fighting broke out on Sunday between the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and government troops along a road linking the villages of Pansan and Pankyan, near the town of Kyaukme in northern Shan State.
SNLD spokesperson Sai Lek speaks to DVB about his party’s plans and its relations with the soon-to-be-ruling NLD.
Kokang Lead Story Military News
Fighting between government troops and some armed groups appears to have decreased in Burma’s restive north eastern region.
Constitution Ethnic issues Lead Story News
The Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) said it has agreed to four of the Burmese military’s six requests, but that it cannot fully adhere to the existing laws of the country nor the current Constitution.
A coalition representing 11 of Burma’s ethnic armed groups and the government are planning to hold a new round of talks after months of delays
The Kokang Self-Administered Zone’s capital Laogai, in northern Shan State, came under attack early Monday morning, with a spokesman for the coalition of ethnic armed groups identifying itself as the Northern Alliance saying one of its members was responsible for the assault.
The UNFC says that by branding the Northern Alliance as ‘terrorists’, the Tatmadaw has derailed peace talks.
Kachin priests Dom Dawng Nawng Latt and La Jaw Gam Hseng had been assisting reporters during the conflict between the Burmese army and the Northern Alliance.
Conflict Lead Story News Peace Process
The eight militias, including the KNU, said that they strongly object to any attempt to label the Northern Alliance as terrorists.
The Northern Alliance has engaged in hostilities against Burmese government forces in northern Shan State for over two weeks.
According to a local law enforcement official, the police officers were killed by the rebel Northern Alliance.
Conflict Lead Story News Parliament
The motion noted concerns over “sovereignty, the rule of law, stability, and peace,” and blamed the Northern Alliance.
As of 8 PM, 4 Jan, a total of 16,990 samples were tested and found 590 new cases and 16 deaths. MoHS has reported 126,935 confirmed cases including 110,200 discharged,[…]
Negotiators gathered on Wednesday to kick off Burma’s latest round of high-level peace talks, ostensibly furthering a process that has bogged down amid ongoing conflict in the country’s border regions.
The 324 villagers are now being sheltered at a Buddhist monastery in Man San village near Namtu town.
How can we know when a patient comes in that he or she is an insurgent? Insurgents do not have the word, ‘insurgent’ written on their foreheads.”
Interview Kachin Lead Story News
DVB sat down with Khon Ja to reflect on the year gone by and what the outlook for 2018 looks like in Kachin State.
“Despite the fact that intense hostilities are continuing between the two sides, I believe that this informal meeting could pave the way for a shift from armed conflict to political dialogues,” Naw Bo told DVB.
As the men have little money to pay hospital fees, donations have been raised among the local Kachin community.
A Shan State court on Friday sentenced two Kachin pastors to harsh multi-year prison sentences after they were caught up in conflict in Muse Township, with the two men found guilty of all charges brought against them, including “unlawful association.”