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Govt army orders KIA to withdraw troops
Published on Tuesday, 25 December 2012 00:32
An area in Myitkyina seen on December 25 (Photo - EMG)
The government army informed KIA on December 23 to withdraw their troops from Myitkyina-Banmaw way by December 25, according to Peace-talk Creation Group (Kachin).
"The Commander told me last night [December 23] to inform KIA to move back all its troops from Myitkyina-Banmaw way [in Kachin State] by December 25," said La Mai Gyungyar, a member of Peace-talk Creation Group (Kachin) at 10:00 PM on December 24.
"So we have informed KIA today [December 24] about it. Concerning the matter, Saluk Khan, the leader of KIO peace panel responded to Aung Min, the vice chairman of the government's peace panel today. He replied that the official letter from the commander was like an ultimatum. And KIO sent a reply letter back today to inform that it objected to it," he said.
Kachin has been affected by ethnic conflict after Myanmar regained its independence in 1948. The Burma Socialist Programme Party negotiated with the Kachin Independent Council in June 1963 but talks failed.
There was a ceasefire between the two sides for 10 months from August 1980 to May 1981.
Negotiations were made between the military and Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) on Oct 18, 1990. According to records, the government and KIO held peace talks on Dec 24, 1992, and the armistice was signed on Feb 24, 1994.
The ongoing armed conflict between the army and KIA started in June last year, when fighting broke out after a 17-year ceasefire agreement fell apart.
The first Union-level peace talks between the government and the ethnic armed force was held in the last week of November 2011, and the second one was held in the third week of January this year. The third and the fourth meetings were held from March 8 to 10, and on October 30 in Ruli, China. However, a ceasefire agreement was not reached.
Eleven Media earlier reported that the number of internally displaced persons reached about 50,000 at the refugee camps in Kachin State by end-2011 while international organisations estimated the number of civil war refugees at about 100,000.