Upon concluding a peace talk with the New Mon State Party (NMSP) today in Sangkhlaburi, Kanchanaburi province, Aung Min, Minister of Railways and peace negotiator for the Burmese government, told journalists that he would do whatever he could in order to achieve peace in Burma.

Aung Min said that he was very satisfied with his meeting with NMSP leaders and announced that he would hold one more talk with NMSP in January with the aim of signing a peace treaty.

Burmese Minister for Railways Aung Min, standing, meets with representatives from the New Mon State Party in Sangkhalburi, Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand on Thursday, December 22, 2011. (Photo: Akar)

“I trust them and they trust me. I am very satisfied with this meeting,” Aung Min reported.

Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, the secretary of NMSP, Nai Hong Sar, said that his delegation requested that Aung Min encourage the Burmese government to arrange a nationwide ceasefire, end fighting in the Kachin area, release political prisoners, and allow the teaching of the Mon language in public schools and the official use of the language in governmental departments.

He said that his delegation also proposed a three-step permanent peace process that would involve the building of trust through ceasefire agreements, political discussions with all ethnic groups in Burma, and the proposal of constitutional amendments to the parliaments based on agreements reached through the discussions.

The NMSP also proposed the establishment of liaison offices and an agreement by which Burmese and NMSP troops would inform one another when entering into each other’s respective territories. The party suggested that these developments take place with the initial establishment of the ceasefire.

Nai Hong Sar said, “We cannot say that we are completely satisfied with the meeting today. It can only serve to build trust.”

In regards to the peace talk today, two respected Mon Buddhist monks that participated in the meeting said that they have doubts based on Aung Min’s statements at the meeting.

The two monks said that Aung Min told Nai Hong Sar that the government would be willing to have political discussions soon after the signing of the ceasefire agreement, suggesting that the first step in the process would only involve a peace agreement.

According to the monks, Nai Hong Sar revealed that he has doubts regarding the prospect of political talks by pointing out to Aung Min that political discussions never took place following the previous ceasefire agreement between the NMSP and the Burmese government.

The NMSP signed a ceasefire agreement with the regime in 1995. The ceasefire broke down in 2010 when the NMSP refused to join the Border Guard Force, a proposal by the Burmese government that would have incorporated armed ethnic groups along the border under governmental control.

 

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