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Myanmar delays 30 POW transfer
Published on Monday, 07 January 2013 07:39
There has been some delays to return 30 government soldiers who were taken captive by Kachin Independence Army, said the members of student activist groups.
The members of 88 Generation Student Group are cooperating with Myanmar Peace Centre to bring back the captives from the prison of KIA.
KIA agreed to release the POW after discussion between Maj-General Guan Maw, the KIA deputy chief of staff, and the former student activists led by Mya Aye in Laiza Township on January 3 and 4.
La Nan, spokesperson of KIA, said to the Eleven Media, “We have already informed U Aung Min, head of the government peace negotiating team, to return 30 captives of government soldiers. However, he did not reply anything.”
“Although Mya Aye and his group accepted to bring back the detained soldiers, it was learnt that MPC is not ready to get back the war prisoners because of military law.”
However, a member of MPC –cum-President’s adviser said that KIA did not make official contact with their peace negotiation team on this issue, adding that it is not true that they are not ready to accept these POW while creating mutual trust.
“We are trying to decelerate the conflicts and to resume peace talks between the government and KIA. We do not want to see any political mistrust at both sides,” said Ko Ko Gyi, a leader of 88 Students Generation Group.
The Myanmar Peace Centre was officially opened in the first week of January with the support of the Peace Donor Support Group, comprised of Norway, the United Nations (U.N.), Australia and Britain as well as the World Bank and the European Union (EU). Its inauguration ceremony was held in July.
The centre will provide technical support to the peacemaking process in Myanmar.
The local Peace-talk Creation Group (P.C.G) of businesspersons from Myitkyina Township, Kachin State, said that they have spent over 200 million kyats to sponsor peace talks between the government and KIO.
A total of 2,400 skirmishes between the government troops and KIA occurred up to December 2012 starting June 2011 after 17 years of ceasefire in 1994.